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Paleoproterozoic–Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the Longshou Shan, western North China craton

The Longshou Shan of western China is the northern backstop of the Cenozoic Himalayan-Tibetan orogen and occupies a key linkage between the Tarim continent and North China craton which separate the pre-Cenozoic Tethyan orogenic system and Central Asian orogenic system. Therefore, the Paleoproterozoic–Paleozoic evolution of this region is critical to understanding the extent of overprinting Cenozoic deformation, construction of the Eurasian continent, and relationships between the pre-Cenozoic Tethyan orogenic system and Central Asian orogenic system. Here we present detailed field observations and results of geochronological and major and trace element and Sr-Nd isotope geochemical analyses of samples from the Longshou Shan to decipher its complex Paleoproterozoic–Paleozoic tectonic history. Our results show that the Paleoproterozoic basement rocks of the Longshou Shan were part of the North China craton and involved in Paleoproterozoic northern North China orogeny. A ca. 965 Ma granitoid in the Longshou Shan provides key evidence for a spatial linkage between northern Tibetan continents, the North Tarim continent, and the North China craton in the early Neoproterozoic. The presence of Early Ordovician granitoids and arc volcanic rocks in the Longshou Shan suggest that bivergent subduction of Qilian oceanic lithosphere occurred during the early Paleozoic. Crustal shortening and thickening during Ordovician–Carboniferous orogenesis are evidenced by the presence of several unconformities in the Longshou Shan. Late Carboniferous arc granites exposed in the study area are likely associated with the southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean to the north and with Permian siliciclastic strata sourced from a proximal arc-subduction system, based on detrital zircon ages. Although the tectonic history of the Long- shou Shan can be traced back to Neoproterozoic time, most of the recorded deformation and uplift of the region occurred during the early Paleozoic Qilian orogeny and late Paleozoic Central Asian orogeny. Furthermore, we interpret that the several orogenic events recorded in the Longshou Shan (i.e., northern North China, Qilian, and Central Asian orogenies) are spatially and temporally correlative along strike with those recorded in the Tarim and North China cratons.