Provenance analysis of the Mesozoic Hoh‐Xil‐Songpan‐Ganzi turbidites in northern Tibet: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the eastern Paleo‐Tethys Ocean

Researchers have uncovered critical evidence of Jurassic-age marine sediments in the northwestern Hoh-Xil-Songpan-Ganzi complex, northern Tibet, which unconformably overlie Upper Triassic turbidites. This discovery challenges previous understanding of the region's geological history and provides new insights into the tectonic evolution of the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Through detailed geological mapping, stratigraphic analysis, and U-Pb geochronology of detrital zircons from 4128 samples across multiple terranes, the study reveals that Middle-Upper Triassic marine gravity-flow deposits were sourced from distant regions including the North and South China blocks, Kunlun, Qiangtang terranes, and the ultrahigh-pressure Qinling-Dabie orogenic belt. The findings suggest significant horizontal tectonic transport and the opening of large back-arc basins during the Paleo-Tethys Ocean's evolution, marking a pivotal phase in its demise and the accretion of Gondwana-derived terranes to Eurasia.

Ding, L., Yang, D., Cai, F. L., Pullen, A., Kapp, P., Gehrels, G. E., Zhang, L. Y., Zhang, Q. H., Lai, Q. Z., Yue, Y. H., & Shi, R. D. (2013). Provenance analysis of the Mesozoic Hoh‐Xil‐Songpan‐Ganzi turbidites in northern Tibet: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the eastern Paleo‐Tethys Ocean. Tectonics, 32(1), 34–48. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/tect.20013