中国东北地区的构造格局与演化:从500Ma到180Ma

中国东北变质基底为由含矽线石榴片麻岩、角闪斜长片麻岩、石墨大理岩和各种长英质片麻岩组成的孔兹岩系。采自额尔古纳、兴安、佳木斯和兴凯地块的矽线石榴片麻岩样品的锆石U-Pb测年均指示高级变质发生在500Ma左右。来自松辽地块古生代沉积物碎屑锆石的证据也表明约500Ma构造岩浆事件的存在。跨越整个中国东北不同地块的泛非期高级变质岩形成了超过1 300km北西向展布的晚泛非期"中国东北孔兹岩带",以顺时针p/T轨迹的孔兹岩带与同期岩浆杂岩共同构成了一巨型的约500Ma前后的造山带,笔者这里命名为"中国东北早古生代造山带"。这证明了中国东北各地块在500Ma之前已经拼合,并与西伯利亚克拉通具有构造亲缘性,曾是晚泛非期(500 Ma)西伯利亚南缘Sayang-Baikal造山带的组成部分。450Ma之后,已经拼合的中国东北地块群从西伯利亚裂解,向南朝现今的中国东北漂移;230Ma前后,东北地块群沿索伦—西拉沐伦—长春缝合带与华北板块碰撞;210～180 Ma,由于太平洋板块的俯冲导致佳木斯地块与西部松辽地块最终拼贴,沿佳木斯—兴凯地块西缘和南缘形成一弧形高压带(包括佳木斯—兴凯地块西缘黑龙江蓝片岩带和佳木斯—兴凯地块南缘长春—延吉带),这里简称"吉林—黑龙江高压变质带",之后东北地区进入了环太平洋构造域演化阶段并持续至今。     

佳木斯地块构造演化

佳木斯地块位于中亚造山带东段,是我国东北地区一个重要的大地构造单元,古生代以来经历了复杂的多构造体系叠合的演化过程。本文在总结近二十年已报导的相关研究成果基础上,结合笔者近年工作,探讨了佳木斯地块的基底属性和来源,重塑了佳木斯地块西缘碰撞拼贴,以及东缘俯冲-增生的构造演化过程。研究表明,佳木斯地块具有亲冈瓦纳大陆的构造属性,裂离后经历了长距离的北漂。与松辽地块先后两次拼合,首次发生于中志留世(～425Ma),在晚二叠世前后(～250Ma)沿原缝合带位置发生裂解,拉张出新的有限洋盆(牡丹江洋),并于侏罗纪(185～145Ma)与松辽地块沿牡丹江-依兰构造带再次碰撞拼贴,形成了高压变质的黑龙江增生杂岩带。而佳木斯地块东缘受晚石炭世-晚三叠世(305～250Ma)泛大洋的俯冲-增生事件影响,形成了跃进山增生杂岩,随后于中侏罗世-早白垩世(165～128Ma)在古太平洋板块的西向俯冲作用下,形成了饶河增生杂岩。因此,佳木斯地块的构造演化既涉及了晚古生代古亚洲洋构造域的消亡,又经历了中生代古太平洋构造域的叠加与改造,而黑龙江杂岩的形成标志着古太平洋构造体制与古亚洲洋构造体制的转换始于晚三叠世(～210Ma)。     

东北中生代增生杂岩及对古太平洋向欧亚大陆俯冲历史的制约

吉林-黑龙江东部地区的中生代增生杂岩,主要由吉林-黑龙江高压变质带和那丹哈达增生杂岩(或那丹哈达地体)组成。它们将为古亚洲洋与环太平洋构造域的转换作用,大洋板块地层(OPS)层序重建,特别是古太平洋板块向欧亚大陆的俯冲历史提供重要的科学依据。吉林-黑龙江高压带分布在佳木斯-兴凯与松辽地块之间的具有高压变质带性质的缝合带,新的地质年代学研究表明其形成时代为210～180Ma,表明晚三叠-早侏罗世为南北向古亚洲洋关闭和西向俯冲增生开始的关键时期。那丹哈达增生杂岩则发育在佳木斯-兴凯地块东侧,并具体分为西部的跃进山杂岩和东部的饶河杂岩。新近发表的数据显示,跃进山杂岩就位时代为210～180Ma,这与佳木斯-兴凯地块西缘的吉黑高压带形成时代相似。而饶河杂岩就位时代为晚侏罗-早白垩世,最晚期就位的时代为早白垩世(137～130Ma)。因此,吉黑东部地区的中生代增生杂岩为古太平洋向欧亚大陆中生代的俯冲过程提供了关键的信息。     

中亚造山带东段古生代山弯构造

中亚造山带东段位于西伯利亚和华北克拉通之间，经历了多构造体系叠加和多旋回洋陆转换的复杂演化过程，目前大量研究均以构造带为核心来限定区域构造格局，但一直争议较大。本文以构造单元的构造属性及其形成过程为主线，结合区域构造带演化，重新厘定了中国东北地区基本构造格局，建立了中国东北山弯构造演化模型。研究表明，古生代时期中国东北地区的主要构造单元由两个具前寒武纪基底的古老地块——额尔古纳地块和佳木斯地块及其张广才岭陆缘弧与两个古生代增生地体——兴安增生地体和松辽增生地体组成，其间由古亚洲洋分支新林- 喜桂图洋、贺根山- 嫩江洋、龙凤山洋和索伦洋分割。早古生代，西部额尔古纳地块东南部为西太平洋型活动陆缘，发育有嘎仙- 吉峰- 环宇洋内弧和头道桥等洋岛，~500 Ma随着新林- 喜桂图洋的关闭，这些洋内弧和洋岛拼贴增生至额尔古纳地块东南缘。随后贺根山- 嫩江洋的俯冲和后撤形成了一系列沟- 弧- 盆体系，持续的俯冲导致弧陆碰撞和陆缘增生，形成兴安增生地体的主体。同时，东部佳木斯地块西侧发育有龙凤山洋的安第斯型俯冲活动陆缘，形成了张广才岭陆缘弧。伴随着各大洋的俯冲和陆缘增生，额尔古纳地块和佳木斯地块以及它们的陆缘增生带构成了一个早古生代近东西向展布的地块链。南部以锡林浩特- 龙江微地块为核心发生陆缘俯冲，形成松辽增生地体雏形。索伦洋发生双向俯冲，并通过弧陆碰撞产生陆缘增生。晚古生代，伴随着古亚洲洋的北向俯冲和后撤，早期形成的地块链逐渐发生向南弯曲。二叠纪末期—中三叠世古亚洲洋俯冲消减闭合以及西北部蒙古- 鄂霍茨克洋和东部泛大洋的俯冲挤压，导致地块链进一步弯曲，同时，早期的古老地块、增生地体、弧岩浆岩、沉积建造等发生汇聚，最终形成一个以额尔古纳地块和兴安增生地体为西翼，佳木斯地块和张广才岭陆缘弧为东翼，松辽增生地体为核心的大规模山弯构造——中国东北山弯构造。     

吉黑造山带二叠纪生物古地理区划及特征

吉黑造山带其实质是天山－兴安造山带的东延部分,夹持于华北板块与西伯利亚板块之间,北部为以佳木斯地块为中心的地块群,南部为古生代陆缘褶皱带,东北部为中生代走滑拼贴的那丹哈达－比金地体。该造山带是由于晚古生代末期华北板块与北部中间地块间的陆－陆碰撞对接和中生代太平洋板块的斜向俯冲挤压形成的。二叠纪是吉黑造山带古地理、古气候和古构造变化最为显著的时期,反映在生物古地理方面的生物混生和交融也非常明显。详细研究该时期生物古地理格局与演化是解决造山带二叠纪古构造格局的关键。     

松辽盆地基底显生宙岩浆热事件:来自营城组火山岩捕获锆石的SHRIMP定年证据

盆地基底的研究对了解成盆历史及恢复区域古大地构背景具有重要意义.本文从松辽盆地北部早白垩世营城组火山岩的显生宙基底捕获锆石入手.对其进行SHRIMP U-Pb定年,得到7组显生宙年龄:482～481Ma、381～350Ma、297～290Ma、252～237Ma、225～219Ma、200～189Ma、183-158Ma.研究认为松辽盆地北部显生宙基底至少经历了晚泥盆世、早二叠世早期、三叠纪和早-中侏罗世等多次大规模的岩浆热事件,其中以中生代三叠纪和侏罗纪火山活动最为频繁,中生代火成岩是松辽盆地显生宙基底花岗岩的主体.这一系列显生宙的岩浆活动可能与晚古生代额尔古纳-兴安、松嫩-张广才岭、佳木斯.兴凯等地块相互间碰撞拼合后的岩石圈伸展作用、华北板块和西伯利亚板块在二叠纪末期碰撞拼合(古亚洲洋闭合造山)后的岩石圈伸展作用、侏罗纪佳木斯地块西缘洋壳俯冲并与松嫩地块拼合作用、东北亚古亚洲洋构造域向太平洋构造域转换等古大地构造运动有关.482～481Ma为变质成因锆石的年龄,代表了早奥陶世(Tremadocian阶)松辽盆地基底的变质增生作用,该变质过程可能与盆地西北部额尔古纳地块与兴安地块的拼合作用.     

长春-延吉缝合带：性质与意义

长春-延吉缝合带(或长春-延吉增生杂岩带),是由佳木斯-兴凯地块与华北板块之间俯冲拼贴形成的增生杂岩带。该缝合带自西向东分为三个部分,具体包括西段吉林-红旗岭、中段桦甸-两江和东段华集岭-开山屯组成。长春-延吉增生杂岩带以延边地区发育的开山屯混杂岩为代表,自西向东包括石头口门-烟囱山高压红帘石片岩,以及原定为"呼兰群"、"色洛河群"、"青龙村群"等一系列沿着缝合带分布的构造杂岩等,它们均发育"基质包裹外来岩块(block-in-matrix)"的混杂岩结构,并在吉林东部石头口门、烟囱山和延边开山屯等地区发现高压矿物组合,因此,这些杂岩应代表了佳木斯-兴凯地块向华北板块俯冲-拼贴过程中形成的增生杂岩。长春-延吉增生杂岩原岩年龄大致为晚古生代-早中生代(最小峰期240～250Ma),并被时代为～220Ma的晚三叠世大酱缸组磨拉石层序不整合覆盖,这一直接证据与近期发表的年代学证据一致,共同证明了长春-延吉缝合带的就位时代为中三叠世(220～240Ma),而不是前人认为的晚古生代或更早。区域构造分析显示,长春-延吉增生杂岩带不是天山-北山-西拉木伦河-长春断裂带的东延部分,而是佳木斯-兴凯地块西南缘分布的吉林-黑龙江高压变质带的南部组成部分,形成于三叠纪-早侏罗世太平洋板块西向俯冲过程中,佳木斯-兴凯地块自东向西的"剪刀式"闭合过程。因此,长春-延吉增生杂岩带记录了古亚洲构造域的结束和太平洋俯冲开始的关键时期,为两大构造域叠加与转换的关键性地质证据。     

吉中早中生代高镁安山岩：性质与意义

高镁安山岩主要产出于板块会聚边缘的大洋俯冲消减带岛弧环境，是岛弧岩浆作用的代表性产物，研究其相关构造属性，对示踪板块俯冲时限、俯冲带构造背景、大洋俯冲作用过程中岩石圈地幔演化等方面至关重要。长春- 延吉缝合带位于佳木斯- 兴凯地块和华北板块之间，为古亚洲洋的闭合和古太平洋的启动过程提供了关键的信息，但有关缝合带位置与俯冲方式仍然存在很大的争议。本文对采自长春- 延吉缝合带吉东地区的色洛河群绿片岩样品进行了主量和微量元素分析以及锆石U- Pb年龄测定，结果表明这套样品原岩为一套赞岐质高镁安山岩，具有富Mg、低Al、低Ti、高Cr、Ni等特征，与日本Setouchi火山岩带中的赞岐岩具可比性，由俯冲板片(洋壳+上覆沉积物)部分熔融的流体与地幔发生混合而成，形成于华北板块北部边缘之上的陆缘岛弧环境，由吉林- 黑龙江洋的俯冲所致。锆石U- Pb定年结果表明其形成时代为中三叠世(246±2 Ma)。本文证据显示原定义为中元古代的色洛河群时代可能为早中生代，并非元古宙或者晚古生代增生杂岩，而应该为华北板块上形成于早中生代的陆缘岛弧安山岩。区域构造分析显示，长春- 延吉缝合带不是天山- 索伦- 西拉木伦- 长春缝合带的东延部分，而是吉林- 黑龙江高压变质带的南延部分，形成于三叠纪前后古太平洋板块的西向俯冲作用导致的佳木斯- 兴凯地块与华北板块之间的拼合。     

吉林-黑龙江高压变质带的初步厘定:证据和意义

本文定义的吉林-黑龙江高压变质带是指我国东北地区佳木斯-兴凯地块西缘和南缘共同发育的呈弧形展布的高压变质带,具体包括佳木斯-兴凯地块西缘增生杂岩带(黑龙江蓝片岩带和张广才-小兴安岭增生杂岩带)和佳木斯-兴凯地块南缘的长春-延吉增生杂岩带.其中佳木斯-兴凯地块西缘增生杂岩带形成于晚三叠-早侏罗世(180 ～ 210Ma),为佳木斯-兴凯地块向西冲增生而形成的高压变质带;而长春-延吉增生杂岩带由一系列特征性俯冲-增生杂岩组成,包括石头口门-烟筒山红帘石片岩带、呼兰群变质杂岩、色洛河群变质杂岩、青龙村群变质杂岩和开山屯变质杂岩等,形成时代为187～230Ma,峰期为220～230Ma.长春-延吉增生杂岩带曾被认为是西拉木伦河断裂带的东延部分,但是区域构造分析表明,它们形成的动力学背景与佳木斯-兴凯地块西缘增生杂岩带相同,均为太平洋板块三叠纪-早侏罗世的西向俯冲导致佳木斯-兴凯地块自东向西的“剪刀式”闭合过程.我们将佳木斯-兴凯地块西缘和南缘发育的三叠纪-早侏罗世增生杂岩带作为统一的构造单元来考虑,结合该区发育有典型的高压变质带,因此命名为“吉林-黑龙江高压变质带,简称吉黑高压带”.吉黑高压带形成于太平洋板块三叠纪-早侏罗世的西向俯冲导致佳木斯-兴凯地块自东向西的“剪刀式”闭合的过程,同时该带记录了古亚洲构造域的结束和太平洋俯冲开始的关键时期,为两大构造域叠加与转换的关键性地质证据.     

大兴安岭中-南段古生代构造演化:来自内蒙东部上二叠统林西组砂岩物源分析的证据

<正>大兴安岭中-南段是由众多微地块(额尔古纳地块、兴安地块和松嫩地块)伴随着古亚洲洋的消减闭合,于晚石炭世拼贴所形成的统一地块(本文将该统一地块称之为"内蒙地块群")。该区域大地构造属性上归属于中亚造山带东段(兴蒙造山带),是华北板块与西伯利亚板块碰撞拼合的部位。在构造演化方面,该区域形成于古生代古亚洲洋构造体制,又经历了中生代以来鄂霍茨克构造体制和古太平洋构造体制的构造叠合,产生了"三种体制,两次叠合"的复杂过程,故成为地学界研究古亚洲洋构造域、鄂霍茨克构造域     

兴蒙造山带的基底属性与构造演化过程

为了解兴蒙造山带基底属性和多个构造体系演化与叠加历史,系统总结了近年来在基础地质研究中取得的新成果,并利用这些成果讨论了兴蒙造山带的基底属性与演化历史.兴蒙造山带是指我国东北地区古生代构造作用影响的地区,这些地区也遭受了中生代构造作用的叠加与改造.兴蒙造山带主要由微陆块和其间的造山带组成.虽然传统上认为属于前寒武纪结晶基底的地质体主要已解体为古生代和早中生代,但随着新太古代和古元古代地质体的相继发现,以及新生代玄武岩中幔源古元古代橄榄岩包体的发现,可以判定兴蒙造山带内微陆块应具有古老的前寒武纪基底,并且壳幔是耦合的.微陆块内部地壳增生以垂向增生为主,且主要发生在新元古代和中元古代,以及次要的新太古代和古生代.相反,陆块间造山带或岛弧地体的陆壳则以侧向增生为主,且主要发生在新元古代和古生代.额尔古纳地块与兴安地块的拼合发生在早古生代早期;兴安地块与松嫩地块的拼合发生在早石炭世晚期;松嫩地块与佳木斯地块的拼合发生在早古生代晚期,中生代早期又经历了裂解与再闭合的构造演化过程;华北克拉通北缘增生杂岩带与北方微陆块群的最终拼合发生在晚二叠世-中三叠世,古亚洲洋的最终闭合发生在中三叠世,且为剪刀式闭合.晚古生代晚期蒙古-鄂霍茨克大洋板块南向俯冲作用的发生以及早中生代(三叠纪-早侏罗世)的持续南向俯冲,控制了大兴安岭-冀北-辽西地区的岩浆活动,蒙古-鄂霍茨克大洋的闭合发生在中侏罗世,晚侏罗世-早白垩世主要表现为闭合后的伸展环境.古太平洋板块中生代的俯冲起始时间为早侏罗世,晚侏罗世-早白垩世早期东北亚陆缘主要表现为走滑的构造属性和陆缘地体从低纬度到高纬度的构造就位过程,早白垩世晚期-古近纪岩浆作用的向东收缩揭示了古太平洋板块的持续俯冲和俯冲板片的后撤过程,古近纪晚期日本海的打开标志着东北亚陆缘从活动陆缘已经转变为沟-弧-盆体系,并且标志着东亚大地幔楔的形成.     

Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt in NE China

The eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in NE China is a key area for investigating continental growth. However, the complexity of its Paleozoic geological history has meant that the tectonic development of this belt is not fully understood. NE China is composed of the Erguna and Jiamusi blocks in the northern and eastern parts and the Xing’an and Songliao-Xilinhot accretionary terranes in the central and southern parts. The Erguna and Jiamusi blocks have Precambrian basements with Siberia and Gondwana affinities, respectively. In contrast, the Xing ’an and Songliao-Xilinhot accretionary terranes were formed via subduction and collision processes. These blocks and terranes were separated by the Xinlin-Xiguitu, Heilongjiang, Nenjiang, and Solonker oceans from north to south, and these oceans closed during the Cambrian (ca. 500 Ma), Late Silurian (ca. 420 Ma), early Late Carboniferous (ca. 320 Ma), and Late Permian to Middle Triassic (260 –240 Ma), respectively, forming the Xinlin-Xiguitu, Mudanjiang-Yilan, Hegenshan-Heihe, Solonker-Linxi, and Changchun-Yanji suture zones. Two oceanic tectonic cycles took place in the eastern Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO), namely, the Early Paleozoic cycle involving the Xinlin-Xiguitu and Heilongjiang oceans and the late Paleozoic cycle involving the Nenjiang-Solonker oceans. The Paleozoic tectonic pattern of the eastern CAOB generally shows structural features that trend east-west. The timing of accretion and collision events of the eastern CAOB during the Paleozoic youngs progressively from north to south. The branch ocean basins of the eastern PAO closed from west to east in a scissor-like manner. A bi-directional subduction regime dominated during the narrowing and closure process of the eastern PAO, which led to “soft collision” of tectonic units on each side, forming huge accretionary orogenic belts in central Asia.©2022 China Geology Editorial Office.     

Rock associations and their spatial-Temporal variations of the early mesozoic igneous rocks in the NE Asia: Constraints on the initial subduction timing of the paleo-pacific plate北大核心CSCD

This paper summarizes rook associations and spatial-Temporal variations of the early Mesozoic igneous rocks in the NE Asia, with the aim of revealing the initial subduction timing of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath the Eurasia, and the relationships between the early Mesozoic magmatisms and the Paleo-Asian tectonic system, Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic system, and amalgamation of the Yangtze and North China cratons. Dating results indicate that the early Mesozoic magmatisms in the NE Asia can be subdivided into three stages, i.e., Early-Middle Triassic, Late Triassic, and Early Jurassic. The early Mesozoic calc-Alkaline magmatisms within the Erguna Massif reveal southward subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk oceanic plate. The Triassic alkaline and bimodal magmatisms within the northern margin of the North China Craton indicate an extensional environment related to the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The Late Triassic A-Type rhyo- lites and bimodal magmatisms, together with the Late Triassic stable sedimentary rocks, in eastern Heilongjiang-Jilin provinces, reveal an extensional environment and passive continental margin setting, whereas the Early Jurassic calc-Alkaline magmatisms and its compositional variations, together with the coeval accretionary complex, reveal the onset of the Paleo- Pacific plate beneath the Euirasian continent.     

内蒙古中部花岗质岩类年代学格架及该区构造岩浆演化探讨

内蒙古中部广泛出露花岗质岩类,这些花岗质岩类的时空分布及岩石组合类型的变化,反映了华北板块北缘与蒙古陆块碰撞拼合的进程.本文从花岗质岩类的角度对古亚洲洋在内蒙古中部地区的演化进行了探讨.古亚洲洋在该区的演化经历了十分复杂的过程,包括奥陶纪双向俯冲、志留纪拼贴/增生、泥盆纪拉张、二叠纪南部带俯冲和北部带拉张、并以晚古生代末至早中生代初发生的陆-陆碰撞为标志宣告该区洋盆演化的结束.     

Convergence History of the Songliao and Jiamusi Blocks in the Eastern End of Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Evidence from Detrital Zircons of Late Paleozoic Sedimentary Rocks

Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB) is one of the largest accretionary orogenic belts in the world. The eastern segment of CAOB is dominated by Paleozoic Paleo Asian Ocean tectonic regime, Mesozoic Paleo-Pacific tectonic regime and Mongolian-Okhotsk tectonic regime. The Songliao and Jiamusi blocks are located in the easternmost part of the CAOB and are the key region to solve the problem about overprinting processes of multiple tectonic regimes. It is generally believed that the Mudanjiang Ocean between the two blocks was finally closed in the Mesozoic, but the Paleozoic magmatism also developed along the Mudanjiang suture zone, while on both sides of the suture zone, there were comparable Paleozoic strata, indicating that the two blocks had converged during the Paleozoic, and the evolution history of the two blocks in the Late Paleozoic remains controversial. The Carboniferous-Permian terrestrial strata mainly developed in Binxian, Wuchang and Tieli on Songliao Block, Baoqing and Mishan on Jiamusi Block. Samples from the Songliao and Jiamusi blocks in the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian and Late Permian are collected for comparative analysis. The LAICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating results show that the maximum depositional age of Middle Permian Tumenling Formation and Late Permian Hongshan Formation in Songliao Block is ～260 Ma, while that of Tatouhe Formation and Carboniferous strata in Jiamusi Block are ～290 Ma and ～300 Ma, respectively, which supports the previous stratigraphic division scheme. The age peaks of ～290–300 Ma, ～400 Ma, ～500 Ma appeared in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian strata of Jiamusi Block and the Middle Permian strata of Songliao Block. The age peak of ～500 Ma in the Middle Permian strata of Songliao Block may come from the Cambrian basement, Mashan Complex, of Jiamusi Block, while the age peaks of ～420–440 Ma in the Carboniferous strata of Jiamusi Block may come from the Silurian magmatic arc in Zhangguangcai Range in the eastern margin of Songliao Block, reflects the history that they had been potential sources of each other, indicating that they may have combined in the Paleozoic. The Hongshan Formation of Songliao Block in the Late Permian lacks the age peak of ～500 Ma, which indicate that Jiamusi Block was not the provenance of Songliao Block in the Late Permian, that is, there was a palaeogeographic isolation between the two blocks. Combined with the ～210 Ma bimodal volcanic rocks developed along the Mudanjiang suture zone reported previously, we believe that the oceanic basin between the Songliao and Jiamusi blocks should have been connected in Late Permian and reopened during Late Permian to Late Triassic.     

End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processes of the southern Altaids: implications for the geodynamic evolution,Phanerozoic continental growth,and metallogeny of Central Asia

The Altaids is one of the largest accretionary orogenic collages in the world with the highest rate of Phanerozoic continental growth and significant metallogenic importance. It is widely accepted that subduction-related orogenesis of the Altaids started in the late Precambrian and gradually migrated southward (present coordinates). However, it is uncertain when and how the building of the Altaids was finally completed. Based on structural geology, geochemical, geochronological, and paleomagnetic data, this paper presents late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic accretionary tectonics of two key areas, North Xinjiang in the west and Inner Mongolia in the east, together with neighboring Mongolia. The late Paleozoic tectonics of North Xinjiang and adjacent areas were characterized by continuous southward accretion along the wide southern active margin of Siberia and its final amalgamation with the passive margin of Tarim, which may have lasted to the end-Permian to early/mid-Triassic. In contrast, in Inner Mongolia and adjacent areas two wide accretionary wedges developed along the southern active margin of Siberia and the northern active margin of the North China craton, which may have lasted to the mid-Triassic. The final products of the long-lived accretionary processes in the southern Altaids include late Paleozoic to Permian arcs, late Paleozoic to mid-Triassic accretionary wedges composed of radiolarian cherts, pillow lavas, and ophiolitic fragments, and high-pressure/ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks. Permian Alaskan-type zoned mafic-ultramafic complexes intruded along some major faults of the Tien Shan. We define a new Tarim suture zone immediately north of the Tarim craton that is probably now buried below the Tien Shan as a result of northward subduction of the Tarim block in the Cenozoic. The docking of the Tarim and North China cratons against the southern active margin of Siberia in the end-Permian to mid-Triassic resulted in the final closure of the Paleoasian Ocean and terminated the accretionary orogenesis of the southern Altaids in this part of Central Asia. This complex geodynamic evolution led to formation of giant metal deposits in Central Asia and to substantial continental growth.