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Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic subduction to continental collision

  • Special Topic/Progress/Geochemistry
  • Published:
Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The studies of continental deep subduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism have not only promoted the development of solid earth science in China, but also provided an excellent opportunity to advance the plate tectonics theory. In view of the nature of subducted crust, two types of subduction and collision have been respectively recognized in nature. On one hand, the crustal subduction occurs due to underflow of either oceanic crust (Pacific type) or continental crust (Alpine type). On the other hand, the continental collision proceeds by arc-continent collision (Himalaya-Tibet type) or continent-continent collision (Dabie-Sulu type). The key issues in the future study of continental dynamics are the chemical changes and differential exhumation in continental deep subduction zones, and the temporal-spatial transition from oceanic subduction to continental subduction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    YongFei Zheng

  2. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Kai Ye

  3. MOE Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belt and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    LiFei Zhang

Authors
  1. YongFei Zheng
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  2. Kai Ye
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  3. LiFei Zhang
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Correspondence to YongFei Zheng.

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Supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. kzcx2-yw-131) and Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2009CB825000)

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Zheng, Y., Ye, K. & Zhang, L. Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic subduction to continental collision. Chin. Sci. Bull. 54, 2549–2555 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-009-0464-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-009-0464-0

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