A review of Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic rocks of the Jiamusi–Khanka Massif, NE China: a rifted fragment from the Siberian Craton?

Abstract

The tectonic setting of the Jiamusi–Khanka Massif in the eastern sector of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in NE China is still highly controversial. This review considers all existing data to evaluate the origin of the Jiamusi–Khanka Massif. The Precambrian basement in the Jiamusi–Khanka Massif is dominated by the Neoproterozoic orthogneisses (898–891 and 757–751 Ma), the Mashan Complex (peak metamorphism at 530–500 Ma), and syntectonically deformed early Palaeozoic granitoids (530–484 Ma) related to the metamorphism of the Mashan Complex. The Mashan Complex reveals a clockwise orogen-style P–T path with peak conditions of 850–870°C/8–9 kbar followed by isothermal decompression. It was intruded by syn- (530–500 Ma) and post-tectonic (490–476 Ma) granitic rocks. The Jiamusi–Khanka Massif cannot be directly derived from the North China, South China, or Tarim cratons. Instead, it may have originated in the Siberian Craton and formed once part of the Altai-Sayan and Baikal orogens at ~500 Ma. For the Jiamusi Massif, we developed a plate tectonic model, and relate the final granulite facies metamorphism to slab break-off after consumption of a branch of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean.