Vice professor PENG Peng and his team study Halaqin volcano-sedimentary succession in the central-northern margin of the North China Craton.

Their field observations, new U–Pb zircon age determinations and geochemical data lead to the following conclusions. They suggest that the HVSS was most likely generated by ridge subduction below active continental margin just prior to the final amalgamation of the North China Craton. This ridge subduction contributed to the ultra-high temperature metamorphism in this area. Terminal collision tectonics was responsible for the regional metamorphism and high deformation of the Halaqin succession, when it was transported northwestwards onto the Yinshan terrane.

Peng et al. Halaqin volcano-sedimentary succession in the central-northern margin of the North China Craton: products of Late Paleoproterozoic ridge subduction. Precambrian Research. 2011, 187: 165-180. (Download Here)

Fig.Cartoons showing the geological setting and tectonic evolution of the Halaqin succession at ∼1900Ma (three dimensional) and at ∼1800Ma (two dimensional). (Image by PENG)