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Syn-collisional transform faulting of the Tan-Lu fault zone, East China

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Abstract

Origin of the continental-scale Tan-Lu fault zone (TLFZ), East China, remains controversial. About 550 km sinistral offset of the Dabie orogenic belt (DOB) and Sulu orogenic belt (SOB) is shown along the NE-NNE-striking TLFZ. Syn-collisional, sinistral ductile shear belts in the TLFZ have been identified. Thirteen phengite bulk separates from the mylonites were dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method. They gave cooling ages of the 198–181 Ma for the shear belts along the eastern margin of the DOB and 221–210 Ma from the western margin of the SOB. Distribution of the foreland basin deposits suggests that sinistral offset of the DOB and SOB by the TLFZ took place prior to deposition of the Upper Triassic strata. The marginal structures around the DOB and SOB support syn-collisional faulting, and indicate anticlockwise rotation of the DOB during the displacement. The folding and thrust faulting related to crustal subduction, coeval with the Tan-Lu faulting, is older than the foreland basin deposition related to the orogenic exhumation. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that the TLFZ was developed as a syn-collisional transform fault during latest Middle to earliest Late Triassic time when the DOB and SOB experienced crustal subduction of the South China Block (SCB). Eastward increase of the crustal subduction rates is believed to be responsible for the sinistral transform faulting.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 40272094, 40672131). We gratefully acknowledge the support and advice on the 40Ar/39Ar analyses from Dr W J Dunlap from the Thermochronological Laboratory, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Australia and Mr.Luo Xiuquan from the Laboratory Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing, China. We are grateful to Prof. Clark Burchfiel for constructive comments and editing the manuscript. The manuscript also benefited from helpful suggestions from another anonymous reviewer.

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  1. School of Resource and Environment Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Road Tunxi 193, Hefei, Anhui, 230009, People’s Republic of China

    Guang Zhu, Guo Sheng Liu, Man Lan Niu, Cheng Long Xie, Yong Sheng Wang & Biwei Xiang

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  1. Guang Zhu
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  2. Guo Sheng Liu
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Correspondence to Guang Zhu.

Appendix

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Table 2 Detailed 40Ar/39Ar analytical results
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Zhu, G., Liu, G.S., Niu, M.L. et al. Syn-collisional transform faulting of the Tan-Lu fault zone, East China. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 98, 135–155 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-007-0225-8

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