Interaction between the Nazca and South American plates and formation of the Altiplano–Puna plateau: Review of a flexural analysis along the Andean margin (15°–34°S)

The results of a two-dimensional flexural analysis applied to the Andean margin, which is based on the correlation between topography and Bouguer anomaly, are here reviewed in order to characterize rigidity variations across and along the forearc–arc transition of the Central Andes and to understand the role of the forearc in the formation of the Altiplano Plateau. The forearc has maximum rigidities between 15° and 23°S. Forearc rigidity decreases gradually southward and sharply toward the plateau. The main orogen (elevations higher than 3000 m) is very weak along the entire Central Andes. A semi-quantitative interpretation of these trends, based on the relationship between flexural rigidity and the thermo-mechanically- and compositionally-controlled strength of the lithosphere, allows the following conclusions to be made: (1) across-strike rigidity variations are dominated by the thermal structure derived from the subduction process; (2) the forearc constitutes a strong, cold and rigid geotectonic element; (3) southward weakening of the forearc is directly related to the decreasing thermal age of the subducted slab; (4) very low rigidities along the main orogen are caused by the existence of a thick, quartz-rich crust with a low strain rate-to-heat flow ratio; (5) the strength of the plateau lithosphere is localized in an upper-crustal layer whose base at 15 km could be correlated with a P-to-S seismic wave converter (TRAC1 of Yuan et al., 2000 [Yuan, X., Sobolev, S., Kind, R., Oncken, O. et al. 2000. Subduction and collision processes in the Central Andes constrained by converted seismic phases. Nature, V 408, 21/28 Diciembre, p. 958–961]); (6) the forearc–plateau rigidity boundary corresponds to a zone of changing thermal conditions, eastward-increasing crustal thickness and felsic component in the crust, and low strain-rate deformation, which correlates with a west-verging structural system at the surface. These conclusions suggest that the rigid forearc acts as a pseudo-indenter against the weak plateau and allows the accumulation of ductile crustal material that moves westward from the eastern foreland. This pseudo-indenter is geometrically represented by a crustal-scale triangular zone rooted at TRAC1. This model allows the integration of existing contradictory ideas on the dynamics of forearc–plateau interaction that are related to the relative importance of upper-crustal compressive structures and lower crustal accumulation below the forearc.     

Kinematic variations across Eastern Cordillera at 24°S (Central Andes): Tectonic and magmatic implications

The Eastern Cordillera (Central Andes,  24°S) consists of a basement-involved thrust system, resulting from Miocene–Quaternary eastward migrating compression, separating the Puna plateau from the Santa Barbara System foreland. The inferred Tertiary strains arising from shortening in the Eastern Cordillera and Santa Barbara System are similar, higher than in the Puna. Slip data collected on the major  N–S trending faults of Eastern Cordillera show a westward progression from dip-slip (contraction) to dextral and sinistral motions. This, consistently with established tectonic models, may result from partitioning due to the oblique Mio-Quaternary underthrusting of the Brazilian Shield north of 24°S. This strain partitioning has three main implications. (1) As the dextral and sinistral shear in the Eastern Cordillera are  62% and 29% of the compressive strain respectively, the Eastern Cordillera results more strained than Santa Barbara System foreland, contrary to previous estimates. (2) The partitioning in the Eastern Cordillera may find its counterpart in that to the west of the Central Andes, giving a possible structural symmetry to the Central Andes. (3) The easternmost N–S strike-slip structures in the Eastern Cordillera coincide with the easternmost Mio-Pliocene magmatic centres in the Central Andes, at  24°S. Provided that, further to the east, the crust is partially molten, the absence of magmatic centres may be explained by the presence of pure compressive structures in this portion of the Eastern Cordillera.     

Bimodal back-arc alkaline magmatism after ridge subduction: Pliocene felsic rocks from Central Patagonia (47°S)

Volumetrically minor microsyenites, alkali microgranite and related trachytic dykes intrude early Pliocene OIB-like alkali basaltic and basanitic flows of the Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires in Central Patagonia (47°S–71°30′W), and occur together with scarce trachytic lava flows. Whole-rock K–Ar ages between 3.98 and 3.08 Ma indicate that the emplacement of these felsic rocks occurred more or less synchronously with that of the post-plateau basaltic sequence that they intrude, during a bimodal mafic–felsic magmatic episode devoid of intermediate compositions. Chemically, these rocks have A₁-type granitoid affinities and are characterized by high silica and alkali contents (60–68 wt.% SiO₂; 8.7–10.8 wt.% Na₂O + K₂O), major and trace elements patterns evidencing evolution by low-pressure fractional crystallization, and Sr and Nd isotopic signatures similar to those of coeval basalts ((⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_o = 0.70488–0.70571; (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd)_o = 0.512603–0.512645). Nevertheless, some of them have the most radiogenic Sr values ever reported for a magmatic rock in the Meseta and even in the whole Neogene Patagonian Plateau Lavas province ((⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_o = 0.70556–0.70571; (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd)_o = 0.512603–0.512608). In addition, very high contents of strongly incompatible elements in the most evolved rocks, together with Sr isotopic ratios higher than those of coeval basalts, suggest the occurrence of open-system magmatic processes. Continuous fractional crystallization from a primitive basaltic source, similar to post-plateau coeval basalts, towards alkali granites combined with small rates of assimilation of host Jurassic tuffs (AFC) in a shallow magmatic reservoir, best explains the geochemical and petrographic features of the felsic rocks. Therefore, A₁-type magmatic rocks can be generated by open-system crystallization of deep asthenospheric melts in back-arc tectonic settings.

In Central Patagonia, these  3–4 Ma old alkaline intrusions occur aligned along a  N160–170 trending lineament, the Zeballos Fault Zone, stacking the morphotectonic front of one segment of the Patagonian Cordillera. Intrusion along this fault zone occurred during the onset of a new transtensional or extensional event in the area, related to major regional tectonics occurring in possible relation with the collision of one segment of the Chile Spreading Ridge with the trench.     

Differential Late Paleozoic active margin evolution in South-Central Chile (37°S–40°S) – the Lanalhue Fault Zone

The N–S oriented Coastal Cordillera of South Central Chile shows marked lithological contrasts along strike at 38°S. Here, the sinistral NW–SE-striking Lanalhue Fault Zone (nomen novum) juxtaposes Permo-Carboniferous magmatic arc granitoids and associated, frontally accreted metasediments (Eastern Series) in the northeast with a Late Carboniferous to Triassic basal-accretionary forearc wedge complex (Western Series) in the southwest. The fault is interpreted as an initially ductile deformation zone with divergent character, located in the eastern flank of the basally growing, upwarping, and exhuming Western Series. It was later transformed and reactivated as a semiductile to brittle sinistral transform fault. Rb–Sr data and fluid inclusion studies of late-stage fault-related mineralizations revealed Early Permian ages between 280 and 270 Ma for fault activity, with subsequent minor erosion. Regionally, crystallization of arc intrusives and related metamorphism occurred between 306 and 286 Ma, preceded by early increments of convergence-related deformation. Basal Western Series accretion started at >290 Ma and lasted to 250 Ma. North of the Lanalhue fault, Late Paleozoic magmatic arc granitoids are nearly 100 km closer to the present day Andean trench than further south. We hypothesize that this marked difference in paleo-forearc width is due to an Early Permian period of subduction erosion north of 38°S, contrasting with ongoing accretion further south, which kinematically triggered the evolution of the Lanalhue Fault Zone. Permo-Triassic margin segmentation was due to differential forearc accretion and denudation characteristics, and is now expressed in contrasting lithologies and metamorphic signatures in todays Andean forearc region north and south of the Lanalhue Fault Zone.     

Seismic, gravity and petrological evidence for partial melt beneath the thickened Central Andean crust (21–23°S)

On the basis of seismic refraction investigations and gravimetric data we have modelled the crustal structure of the southern Central Andes (21–23°S). A pronounced variation in crustal parameters is seen in N-S- and W-E-crossing seismic profiles over the entire Andean orogene, characterized by a crustal thickness of up to 70 km under the magmatic arc and backarc, strongly reduced seismic velocities and a Bouguer minimum of −450 mGal. Anomalously low velocities of 5.9–6.0 km/s in the deeper crust of the Western Cordillera and Altiplano regions lead to an over-compensation of the Bouguer minima resulting in values of crustal densities higher than estimates based purely on seismic velocity measurements. In an attempt to reconcile these differences, the behavior of crystalline rocks based on published laboratory data was studied under varying pressure and temperature conditions up to the range of partial melting. If the temperature is increased above the melting point, a rapid decrease in seismic velocity is accompanied by a slow decrease in density. For the Central Andes, a good fit of the observed and calculated Bouguer anomalies is obtained if the densities of the rocks from the low-velocity zone (LVZ) beneath the Western Cordillera and the Altiplano are varied. Model calculations lead to a velocity-density relation for partial molten rocks that allows the melt proportions of rocks to be estimated. Model calculations indicate that 15–20 vol.% of basaltic to andesitic melt at depth is necessary to explain the LVZ and Bouguer anomaly beneath the arc and parts of the backarc. High heat flow values (100 mW/m²) support the idea that large areas of the deeper Andean crust are strongly weakened by the presence of partially molten rocks, resulting in reduced seismic velocities, with the Western Cordillera, the active volcanic arc of the Andean mountain range, acting as a ductile buffer between the two more rigid crustal blocks of the forearc and backarc regions.     

Geomorphic expression of the southern Central Andes forebulge (37°S,Argentina)

We present a geomorphologic analysis of an east‐west transect located east of the southern Andes of Argentina (~37°S). We observe a succession of zones that underwent erosion and deposition during the Pleistocene. If the proximal Andean foothills are incised, a proximal depozone receives sediments feeding the megafan of the Rio Colorado on the Chadileuvú plain. More distally, the abandoned palaeo‐valleys and bending of the valley floors reflect a localized uplift. Further to the east, another depozone corresponds to the Pampa Deprimida lowland. This pattern is consistent with the presence of a classical flexural geometry of the lithosphere. The distal uplift of the foreland corresponds in terms of location, length (150 km) and amplitude (240 m) to the Andean forebulge modelled by a geophysical approach. In this study, we identify the morphological imprint of this bulge and show its effect on the fluvial activity.     

Proterozoic–Paleozoic development of the basement of the Central Andes (18–26°S) — a mobile belt of the South American craton

The Late Precambrian–Early Paleozoic metamorphic basement forms a volumetrically important part of the Andean crust. We investigated its evolution in order to subdivide the area between 18 and 26°S into crustal domains by means of petrological and age data (Sm–Nd isochrons, K–Ar). The metamorphic crystallization ages and t_DM ages are not consistent with growth of the Pacific margin north of the Argentine Precordillera by accretion of exotic terranes, but favor a model of a mobile belt of the Pampean Cycle. Peak metamorphic conditions in all scattered outcrop areas between 18 and 26°S are similar and reached the upper amphibolite facies conditions indicated by mineral paragensis and the occurrence of migmatite. Sm–Nd mineral isochrons yielded 525±10, 505±6 and 509±1 Ma for the Chilean Coast Range, the Chilean Precordillera and the Argentine Puna, and 442±9 and 412±18 Ma for the Sierras Pampeanas. Conventional K–Ar cooling age data of amphibole and mica cluster around 400 Ma, but are frequently reset by Late Paleozoic and Jurassic magmatism. Final exhumation of the Early Paleozoic orogen is confirmed by Devonian erosional unconformities. Sm–Nd depleted mantle model ages of felsic rocks from the metamorphic basement range from 1.4 to 2.2 Ga, in northern Chile the average is 1.65±0.16 Ga (1σ; n=12), average t_DM of both gneiss and metabasite in NW Argentina is 1.76±0.4 Ga (1σ; n=22), and the isotopic composition excludes major addition of juvenile mantle derived material during the Early Paleozoic metamorphic and magmatic cycle. These new data indicate a largely similar development of the metamorphic basement south of the Arequipa Massif at 18°S and north of the Argentine Precordillera at 28°S. Variations of metamorphic grade and of ages of peak metamorphism are of local importance. The protolith was derived from Early to Middle Proterozoic cratonic areas, similar to the Proterozoic rocks from the Arequipa Massif, which had undergone Grenvillian metamorphism at ca. 1.0 Ga.     

Zircon U-Pb geochronology,geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes from the metamorphic basement in the Wuhe Complex:Implications for Neoarchean active continental margin along the southeastern North China Craton and constraints on the petrogenesis of Mesozoic g

We report zircon U-Pb geochronology,geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data from mafic granulites and garnet amphibolites of the Wuhe Complex in the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC).In combination with previous data,our results demonstrate that these rocks represent fragments of the ancient lower crust,and have features similar to those of the granulite basement in the northern margin of the NCC.A detailed evaluation of the Pb isotope data shows that Pb isotopes cannot effectively distinguish the role of the Yangtze Craton basement from that of the NCC basement with regard to the source and generation of magmas,at least for southeastern NCC.The age data suggest that the protoliths of the granulites or amphibolites in the Wuhe Complex were most likely generated in Neoarchean and that these rocks were subjected to Paleoproterozoic(1.8-1.9 Ga) high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism. This study also shows that the Precambrian metamorphic basement in the southeastern margin of the NCC might have formed in a tectonic setting characterized by a late Neoarchean active continental margin.     

活动大陆边缘岩浆作用及构造演化——以敦煌地块为例

大陆边缘弧是汇聚板块边界与俯冲有关的岩浆作用产物, 通常记录了造山带弧岩浆作用、造山过程和大陆地壳形成与演化等诸多重要的地质过程。作为中亚造山带中段最南部的构造单元, 敦煌地块为传统定义上具有早前寒武纪变质结晶基底的微陆块, 其后在古生代时期经历了多期次、多阶段的与中亚造山带造山相关的构造热事件并使其发生再活化, 进而产生了一系列广泛的弧岩浆-变质作用事件。然而, 对于该陆块古生代弧岩浆作用机制和地壳构造演化历史缺乏系统的研究。本文综合近十多年来对敦煌地块的诸多最新研究进展, 系统梳理了古生代岩浆岩岩石组合类型、年代格架、地球化学组成以及同时期变质-沉积构造热事件演化特征, 得到以下认识: (1)敦煌地块古生代岩浆作用过程呈现阶段性特征, 即幕式岩浆作用, 构造位置上从东北部逐渐迁移到南部再折返到中部, 大致可划分为五期: ~510Ma、440~410Ma、390~360Ma、~330Ma和280~245Ma, 而变质作用事件主要集中在450~360Ma; (2)古生代岩浆岩类型主要以钙碱性Ⅰ型花岗岩、埃达克质岩石、少量S型花岗岩和高钾花岗岩为主, 且岩石成分从寒武纪低钾拉斑系列逐渐转变为二叠纪高钾、富硅特征; (3)同位素地球化学特征表明, 敦煌地块中-北部寒武纪-泥盆纪发育的与俯冲相关的弧岩浆对新生地壳的生长起了重要贡献, 并伴随古老地壳再造事件; 而南部泥盆纪-石炭纪岩浆作用则以古老地壳物质重熔为主; (4)基于埃达克质岩石的证据, 敦煌地块在古生代时期经历了两次显著的地壳增厚事件, 早期可能是与北山南部石板山地体/弧碰撞以及幔源岩浆底侵有关, 而晚期可能是与俯冲板片后撤或回卷相关, 地壳厚度可达~55km; (5)敦煌地块属于中亚造山带中段最南部一个具有前寒武纪基底的古老微陆块, 后期卷入了古亚洲洋南向俯冲相关的造山事件使其被强烈破坏与改造。该微陆块作为古亚洲洋南部的活动大陆边缘弧, 被与俯冲作用有关的阶段性弧岩浆底侵、部分熔融、增厚地壳和区域性变质作用等机制改造与活化, 产生了阶段性侵位的陆缘弧岩浆作用。这些认识为探究中亚造山带微陆块的起源和造山带的构造演化提供新的约束。

     

The Lancang River Zone of southwestern Yunnan, China: A questionable location for the active continental margin of Paleotethys

In an attempt to constrain a Late Paleozoic tectono-metamorphic event along the Lancang River Zone, fourteen samples were processed for K/Ar dating on fine mineral fractions and detrital muscovites from this zone in southwestern Yunnan, China. The samples include mica schists, mylonites and gneisses from the Proterozoic Lancang Group and phyllites from the western part of the Simao Basin. In addition, one Ar/Ar analysis was performed on separated phengites from a blueschist of the central part of the Lancang Group. The results reveal a considerable spread of ages; the tectonic evolution of the zone is constrained by the new data, which accentuate two temporally separate, but spatially overlapping events: (i) a Late Carboniferous high-P/low-T metamorphism related to an east-vergent, Late Paleozoic thrust belt, inverting a Devonian to Carboniferous marginal basin of the Yangtze-Platform, and (ii) an upper Permian and Triassic low-P/high-T belt caused by a post-orogenic stage of rifting with distinct petrological and geochemical similarities of the igneous rocks to the Emeishan Large Igneous Province. These results imply that no active continental margin accounts for the subduction of the Paleotethys main branch, proposed to be recorded either along the Lancang River or the Changning-Menglian Belt.     

Glacier readvances in the Andes at 12 500–10 000 YR BP: Implications for mechanism of Late-glacial climatic change

Radiocarbon dates from two sites in the Andes (Ecuador and Peru) confirm that glaciers culminated a readvance after 11 000 yr BP. A moraine stage, equivalent in altitude and position relative to existing glaciers, is present in most glacierized ranges, but its age is equivocal. Broadly limiting dates from Colombia and Peru suggest that the stage may be Late-glacial, as it is younger than 12100 yr BP, but formed before the early Holocene; in southern Chile a comparable moraine stage is older than ca. 9100 yr BP. Andean glaciers appear to have advanced at least twice during the Late-glacial interval. Glacier reconstruction from these moraine limits suggests depression of the equilibrium line altitude by at least 300–400 m in the northern and north-central Andes, and possibly less than this farther south. Late-glacial climatic change occurred globally and possibly reflects North Atlantic temperature and circulation changes forced by deglaciation of the northern ice sheets, migrations north and south of the Atlantic Polar Front, and the switching off and on of a ‘dust pump’ in low midlatitudes.     

Coastal neotectonics in Southern Central Andes: uplift and deformation of marine terraces in Northern Chile (27°S)

Neotectonic observations allow a new interpretation of the recent tectonic behaviour of the outer fore arc in the Caldera area, northern Chile (27°S). Two periods of deformation are distinguished, based on large-scale Neogene to Quaternary features of the westernmost part of the Coastal Cordillera: Late Miocene to Early Pliocene deformations, characterized by a weak NE–SW to E–W extension is followed by uppermost Pliocene NW–SE to E–W compression. The Middle Pleistocene to Recent time is characterized by vertical uplift and NW–SE extension. These deformations provide clear indications of the occurrence of moderate to large earthquakes. Microseismic observations, however, indicate a lack of shallow crustal seismicity in coastal zone. We propose that both long-term brittle deformation and uplift are linked to the subduction seismic cycle.     

The transition from an active to a passive margin (SW end of the South Shetland Trench, Antarctic Peninsula)

The lateral ending of the South Shetland Trench is analysed on the basis of swath bathymetry and multichannel seismic profiles in order to establish the tectonic and stratigraphic features of the transition from an northeastward active to a southwestward passive margin style. This trench is associated with a lithospheric-scale thrust accommodating the internal deformation in the Antarctic Plate and its lateral end represents the tip-line of this thrust. The evolutionary model deduced from the structures and the stratigraphic record includes a first stage with a compressional deformation, predating the end of the subduction in the southwestern part of the study area that produced reverse faults in the oceanic crust during the Tortonian. The second stage occurred during the Messinian and includes distributed compressional deformation around the tip-line of the basal detachment, originating a high at the base of the slope and the collapse of the now inactive accretionary prism of the passive margin. The initial subduction of the high at the base of the slope induced the deformation of the accretionary prism and the formation of another high in the shelf—the Shelf Transition High. The third stage, from the Early Pliocene to the present-day, includes the active compressional deformation of the shelf and the base-of-slope around the tip-line of the basal detachment, while extensional deformations are active in the outer swell of the trench.     

The transition from passive to active margin tectonics: a case study from the zone of Samedan (eastern Switzerland)

The Zone of Samedan is part of a fossil, early Mesozoic rift system originally situated in the distal, Lower Austro-Alpine domain of the Adriatic passive continental margin. An early Mesozoic configuration of asymmetrical rift basins bounded by relative structural highs compartmentalized Late Cretaceous active margin tectonics; Jurassic half-grabens were folded into arcuate synclines, whereas relative structural highs engendered thin, imbricated thrust sheets. West-directed thrusting and folding initiated at the surface and continued to depths favoring mylonitization under lower greenschist-facies conditions. At this time Liguria-Piemontese ophiolites were accreted to Lower Austro-Alpine units directly underlying the Zone of Samedan. Late Cretaceous orogenic collapse of the Adriatic active margin involved the reactivation of west-directed thrusts as low-angle, top-to-the-east, normal faults. These faults accommodated extensional uplift of Liguria-Piemontese ophiolites and Lower Austro-Alpine units beneath and within the Zone of Samedan. During Paleogene collision, some Late Cretaceous faults in the Zone of Samedan were reactivated under lower anchizonal conditions as north-directed thrusts. The latter stages of this early Tertiary thickening were transitional to brittle, high-angle normal faulting associated with top-to-the-east extension and spreading above the warm, uplifting Lepontine dome.     

Stress field analysis at the El Teniente Mine: evidence for N–S compression in the modern Andes

There is a large database of triaxial stress measurements at the El Teniente Mine, Central Chile, but the complex geology, severe topography, and proximity of all measurements to extensive mining excavations made interpretation of the stress field difficult. The measurements were analyzed using three-dimensional numerical stress analysis and decomposition of the stress field into gravitational and tectonic components. By removing gravitational stresses plus local effects from the tectonic component of the stress field a calculation of the far-field tectonic stress tensor is made. It is shown that variations in the tectonic component of stress are related to shear zones cutting through the mine. The far-field major principal component of the tectonic stress field was found to be oriented approximately N–S. This is consistent with the most recent direction of local shortening based on kinematic analysis of faults, but is perpendicular to the direction of regional crustal shortening. There appears to be a limiting envelope to the magnitude of the stress field implying that the shear zones are in a state of limiting equilibrium with regional tectonic driving forces.     

华北地块北缘晚古生代——早中生代岩浆活动期次、特征及构造背景

通过对华北陆块北缘近年来获得的晚古生代—早中生代岩浆岩锆石U-Pb及部分39Ar-40Ar测年结果的分析,认为该区晚古生代—早中生代期间至少经历了泥盆纪、早石炭世晚期—中二叠世及二叠纪末—三叠纪等3期明显的岩浆作用过程。泥盆纪岩浆活动时限在400～360Ma左右,岩性主要为碱性岩(正长岩及二长岩),其次为基性-超基性岩、二长闪长岩、碱性花岗岩及流纹岩,出露面积较少。早石炭世晚期—中二叠世岩浆活动时限在330～265Ma左右,岩性主要为闪长岩、石英闪长岩、花岗闪长岩及花岗岩,其次为辉长岩及英云闪长岩。二叠纪末—三叠纪岩浆活动(250～200Ma),岩性主要为钾长花岗岩、二长花岗岩及碱性杂岩,其次为基性-超基性岩及少量中酸性火山岩。华北地块北缘晚古生代—早中生代岩浆岩呈近东西走向的带状分布,其中泥盆纪及早石炭世晚期—中二叠世岩浆岩主要分布在内蒙古隆起上,而二叠纪末—三叠纪岩浆岩分布范围更大,其南界可以到达燕山构造带最南端的蓟县盘山及太行山北段的河北涿鹿矾山地区。这些广泛分布的多期次岩浆活动表明华北地块北缘在晚古生代—早中生代期间经历了复杂的岩浆及构造作用过程。泥盆纪岩浆活动可能与白乃庙岛弧岩带与华北克拉通弧-陆碰撞后的伸展作用有关。早石炭世晚期—中二叠世岩浆活动的形成与古亚洲洋向华北地块的俯冲作用有关。而二叠纪末—三叠纪岩浆活动的形成与华北地块与西伯利亚南缘蒙古增生褶皱带拼合后的伸展及岩石圈拆沉作用有关。     

Cambro-Silurian magmatisms at the northern Gondwana margin (Penninic basement of the Ligurian Alps)

The Early Paleozoic evolution of the northern margin of Gondwana is characterized by several episodes of bimodal magmatism intruded or outpoured within thick sedimentary basins. These processes are well recorded in the Variscan blocks incorporated in the Ligurian Alps because they experienced low temperature Alpine metamorphism. During the Paleozoic, these blocks, together with the other Alpine basements, were placed between the Corsica-Sardinia and the Bohemian Massif along the northern margin of Gondwana. In this framework, they host several a variegated lithostratigraphy forming two main complexes(Complexs I and II) that can be distinguished by both the protoliths and their crosscutting relationships, which indicate that the acidic and mafic intrusives of Complex II cut an already folded sequence made of sediments, basalts and granitoids of Complex I. Both complexes were involved in the Variscan orogenic phases as highlighted by the pervasive eclogite-amphibolite facies schistosity(foliation II). However, rare relicts of a metamorphic foliation at amphibolite facies conditions(foliation I)is locally preserved only in the rocks of Complex I. It is debatable if this schistosity was produced during the early folding event e occurred between the emplacement of Complex I and II e rather than during an early stage of the Variscan metamorphic cycle.New SHRIMP and LA ICP-MS Ue Pb zircon dating integrated with literature data, provide emplacement ages of the several volcanic or intrusive bodies of both complexes. The igneous activity of Complex I is dated between 507 ± 15 Ma and 494 ± 5 Ma, while Complex II between 467 ± 12 Ma and 445.5 ± 12 Ma.The folding event recorded only by the Complex I should therefore have occurred between 494 ± 5 Ma and 467 ± 12 Ma. The Variscan eclogite-amphibolite facies metamorphism is instead constrained between ~420 Ma and ~300 Ma. These ages and the geochemical signature of these rocks allow constraining the Early Paleozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of the Ligurian blocks, from a middleeupper Cambrian rifting stage, through the formation of an Early Ordovician volcanic arc during the Rheic Ocean subduction, until a Late Ordovician extension related to the arc collapse and subsequent rifting of the PaleoThetys. Furthermore, the ~420-350 Ma ages from zircon rims testify to thermal perturbations that may be associated with the Silurian rifting-related magmatism, followed by the subduction-collisional phases of the Variscan orogeny.