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Tectonophysics 407

The Liaonan metamorphic core complex, Southeastern Liaoning

Province, North China: A likely contributor to Cretaceous

rotation of Eastern Liaoning, Korea and contiguous areas

Liu Junlai a,*, Gregory A. Davis b,c, Lin Zhiyong d, Wu Fuyuan e

a State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources and Key Laboratory of Lithospere Tectonics and

Lithoprobing Technology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, 29, Xueyuan Road, 100083, Beijing, Chinab Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0740, USAc College of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China

d Research and Development Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100037, Beijing, Chinae Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing P.O.Box 9825, 100029, Beijing, China

Received 18 July 2004; received in revised form 1 July 2005; accepted 9 July 2005

Available online 16 August 2005

Abstract

The Mesozoic Liaonan metamorphic core complex (mcc) of the southeastern Liaoning province, North China, is an

asymmetric Cordilleran-style complex with a west-rooting master detachment fault, the Jinzhou fault. A thick sequence of

lower plate, fault-related mylonitic and gneissic rocks derived from Archean and Early Cretaceous crystalline protoliths has

been transported ESE-ward from mid-crustal depths. U–Pb ages of lower plate syntectonic plutons (ca. 130–120 Ma),40Ar–39Ar cooling ages in the mylonitic and gneissic sequence (ca. 120–110 Ma), and a Cretaceous supradetachment basin

attest to the Early Cretaceous age of this extensional complex. The recent discovery of the coeval and similarly west-rooting

Waziyu mcc in western Liaoning [Darby, B.J., Davis, G.A., Zhang, X., Wu, F., Wilde, S., Yang, J., 2004. The newly discovered

Waziyu metamorphic core complex, Yiwulushan, western Liaoning Province, North China. Earth Science Frontiers 11, 145–

155] indicates that the Gulf of Liaoning, which lies between the two complexes, was the center of a region of major crustal

extension.

Clockwise crustal rotation of a large region including eastern Liaoning province and the Korean Peninsula with respect

to a non-rotated North China block has been conclusively documented by paleomagnetic studies over the past decade. The

timing of this rotation and the reasons for it are controversial. Lin et al. [Lin, W., Chen, Y., Faure, M., Wang, Q., 2003.

Tectonic implication of new Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic constraints from Eastern Liaoning Peninsula, NE China.

Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B-6) (EPM 5-1 to 5-17)] proposed that a clockwise rotation of 22.58F10.28 was

largely post-Early Cretaceous in age, and was the consequence of extension within a crustal domain that tapers southwards

towards the Bohai Sea (of which the Gulf of Liaoning is the northernmost part). Paleomagnetic studies of Early Cretaceous

0040-1951/$ - s

doi:10.1016/j.tec

* Correspondi

E-mail addre

(2005) 65–80

ee front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

to.2005.07.001

ng author. Tel.: +86 010 8232 2156.

ss: [email protected] (J. Liu).

J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–8066

strata (ca 134–120 Ma) in the Yixian–Fuxin supradetachment basin of the Waziyu mcc indicate the non-rotation of North

China and the basin [Zhu, R.X., Shao, J.A., Pan, Y.X., Shi, R.P., Shi, G.H., Li, D.M., 2002. Paleomagnetic data from

Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks of West Liaoning: Evidence for intracontinental rotation. Chinese Science Bulletin 47,

1832–1837]. Such upper-plate non-rotation supports our conclusion that the lower plates of the Waziyu and Liaonan

metamorphic core complexes were displaced ESE-ward in an absolute sense away from the stable North China block, thus

contributing to the rotation of Korea and contiguous areas. Rotation is inferred to have affected only the upper crust above

mid-crustal levels into which we believe the Jinzhou and Waziyu detachment fault zones flattened. If this is the case, the

regional Tan Lu fault that lies between the two core complexes was truncated at mid-crustal depth, since in areas to the

south it forms the boundary between the North and South China lithospheric blocks. It is noteworthy that the two

extensional complexes lie not far north of the Bohai Bay, the area proposed by Lin et al. [Lin, W., Chen, Y., Faure, M.,

Wang, Q., 2003. Tectonic implication of new Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic constraints from Eastern Liaoning Peninsula,

NE China. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B-6) (EPM 5-1 to 5-17)] as the site of the pole of rotation for Korea’s

clockwise displacement.

Lin et al. [Lin, W., Chen, Y., Faure, M., Wang, Q., 2003. Tectonic implication of new Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic

constraints from Eastern Liaoning Peninsula, NE China. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B-6), (EPM 5-1 to 5-17)] were

unaware of the Liaonan and Waziyu mcc’s and argued that most of the regional block rotation was post-Early Cretaceous and, in

part, early Cenozoic. However, the ca. 130–120 Ma ages of the two Liaoning mcc’s and a Songliao basin mcc (Xujiaweizi), the

latter discovered only by recent drilling through its younger stratigraphic cover, support our and some Korean coworkers’

conclusions that most of the clockwise rotation was Early Cretaceous.

D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Liaonan metamorphic core complex; Early Cretaceous; Crustal rotation; Eastern Asia

1. Introduction

The late Mesozoic and early Cenozoic was a per-

iod of major lithospheric thinning and crustal exten-

sion in the North China (Sino-Korean) bcratonQfollowing a long and complicated history of late

Paleozoic and earlier Mesozoic contractional defor-

mation (Menzies and Xu, 1998; Griffin et al., 1998;

Xu, 2001; Davis et al., 2001). This period was char-

acterized by the widespread development of Early

Cretaceous half graben sedimentary basins (e.g.,

Zhang, 1997; Hu et al., 1998; Ma, 2001; Ren et al.,

2002; Meng, 2003), by scattered and isolated devel-

opment of metamorphic core complexes, including

the Liaonan complex discussed here (e.g., Zheng

and Zhang, 1994; Davis et al., 1996, 2002; Webb et

al., 1999; Darby et al., 2004), and by alkalic A-type

magmatism and associated gold mineralization (e.g.,

Zhang and Xu, 1998; Webb et al., 1999; Davis et al.,

2002; Darby et al., 2004).

The existence of extensional structures in the Liao-

nan area was first discussed by Xu et al. (1991) who

proposed processes of contraction and extension

related to Indosinian orogenesis at about 250 Ma.

Xu et al. (1994) later suggested that the Liaonan

mylonitic rocks could be attributed to N–S shortening

during Indosinian (Triassic) to Early Yanshanian (Jur-

assic) deformation. The concept of an extensional

Liaonan metamorphic core complex (mcc) was first

applied by the Liaoning Bureau of Geology and

Mineral Resources (LBGMR, 1994), and later ampli-

fied by Yang et al. (1996) and Yin and Nie (1996).

Yang et al. (1996) suggested that the extensional

complex was the consequence of magmatic upwelling

and emplacement related to Triassic subduction of the

Pacific plate beneath Eurasia. Yin and Nie (1996),

relying on 40Ar/39Ar age determinations for lower

plate mylonites and quartzofeldspathic dikes in the

mylonites, proposed a Cretaceous age for mcc exten-

sion. This paper describes the geologic characteristics

and age of the Liaonan metamorphic core complex

and presents new data and interpretations on its tec-

tonic significance in eastern Asia.

The Liaonan complex is located in the southern

part of the Liaodong Peninsula of Liaoning province

(Fig. 1). It consists of three major elements—the

Jinzhou master detachment fault, a lower plate of

Archean metamorphic rocks, Early Cretaceous syntec-

tonic (synextensional) intrusions and fault-related

mylonitic and gneissic rocks, and an upper plate

Fig. 1. Geological map of Liaonan mcc.

J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80 67

supradetachment basin of Cretaceous age and its base-

ment rocks (weakly deformed Neoproterozoic and

Lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks).

2. Structural associations and major components

of the core complex

2.1. Jinzhou detachment fault and lower plate rock

assemblages

The controlling structural element of the Liaonan

mcc is the Jinzhou fault, which has an arcuate map

trace resulting from antiformal folding (Fig. 1). Its

western segment strikes NNE and dips WNW,

whereas a southerly segment, east of Jinzhou, strikes

ENE and dips SSE (Fig. 1). Whether the folded

detachment fault is due to synextensional folding at

high angles to the extension direction, as observed in

other mcc’s (cf. Davis and Lister, 1988; Lister and

Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 2002), or formed after

extension has not yet been resolved.

Lower plate Archean gneiss was mainly derived

from granitic plutons (Zhang et al., 1994; Gang et al.,

1999). Supracrustal rocks are present as xenoliths in

the Archean orthogneisses. All Archean rocks, both

supracrustal and plutonic, are of lower amphibolite

grade, and were retrograded under greenschist facies

conditions (Yang, 1985; Zhang et al., 1994; Gang

et al., 1999; Wang and Wang, 2001).

The Archean orthogneisses are generally tonalitic,

trondhjemitic and granodioritic in composition, with

biotite and hornblende contents that vary from 18%–

31%. Pb–Pb dating of single grain zircons from the

gneisses gave ages of 2467F18 Ma and 2773F50

Ma (LBGMR, 1994); more recently, LA-ICPMS dat-


ing of zircon grains from granodioritic gneisses in the

complex yielded U–Pb ages of 2501F17 Ma and

2436F17 Ma (Lu et al., 2004).

Precambrian crystalline rocks underlying the

detachment fault have been transformed by shearing

and partial to complete recrystallization into mylonitic

gneisses and related tectonites under conditions of the

amphibolite to upper greenschist facies. Tectonites

thus formed exhibit a clear increase in fabric develop-

ment upwards towards the master detachment fault.

The mylonitic rocks grade downwards into fault-

related schist and gneiss in which all minerals exhibit

crystal–plastic recrystallization. These hotter, deeper

fault-related rocks transit downward into the pre-

extensional Precambrian basement assemblage. Mylo-

nitic foliation generally parallels the Jinzhou fault,

although locally the fault cuts early-formed (but fault

related) mylonitic fabrics at small angles, reflecting a

protracted history of uplift (cf. Lister and Davis, 1989;

Davis et al., 2002). Near Jinzhou, the strike of mylo-

nitic foliation changes gradually from NNE to ENE

across a narrow (ca 1000 m wide) zone within the

antiformal hinge area between the western and south-

ern branches of the detachment fault (Figs. 1 and

2a,b). In contrast to the variation in foliation orienta-

tion, stretching and mineral lineations have consis-

tent orientations in different parts in the footwall of

the mcc (Fig. 2c). Both mineral and mylonitic linea-

tions plunge ca 3108 in the western part of the

detachment fault zone, and ca. 1308 in the southern

zone (Figs. 1 and 2c). As discussed and interpreted

in the following section, there is a gradual transition

from magmatic mineral lineation in some lower plate

plutons (e.g. Yinmawanshan pluton) to parallel mylo-

Fig. 2. Stereographic projections (lower hemisphere) of foliation in detac

Liaonan mcc. a. Projection of foliations in NNE detachment fault zone;

diagram for all mcc lineation (in total 45 data): solid triangles—NNE br

detachment fault zone (17 data); circles—Yinmawanshan monzogranite (8

nitic lineations in the detachment zone above them

(Fig. 2c).

Strongly foliated mylonitic rocks in uppermost

levels of the lower plate are typically overprinted by

brittle structures and microstructures. The cataclasized

rocks just below the Jinzhou fault exhibit varying

degrees of shattering, brecciation, grain size reduction

by shearing with included lenses (phacoids) of relict

mylonitic rocks, and local occurrence of pseudotachy-

lite and gouge. Sparse pseudotachylite is present

locally along the main fault and up to several tens

of meters below in breccias and chloritic breccias.

Due to involvement of fluid phases during deforma-

tion, most mafic minerals in the cataclasized tectonites

become chloritized, leading to the occurrence of dis-

tinctive chloritic breccias (Lister and Davis, 1989; Lin

et al., 2002). Pseudotachylite in the brecciated zone

occurs as black, irregular networks of microcrystalline

(now) veins with geometric characteristics of injec-

tion. The total thickness of ductile and brittle fault-

related rock units in the deformation zone beneath the

Jinzhou fault ranges from about 700 m near Jinzhou to

about 250 m near Pulandian; the zone dies out in areas

north of Fig. 1.

2.2. Synkinematic Cretaceous intrusions

Syntectonic granitic intrusions, interpreted as A-

type by Guo et al. (2004) and Wu et al. (2005), are

important components of the Liaonan lower plate

(Fig. 1). They are typically in either direct contact

with the Jinzhou detachment fault or lie in close

proximity to it. These intrusions were emplaced at

different stages of core complex development (U–Pb

hment fault zones, and mylonitic and mineral lineations (c) in the

b. projection of foliations in ENE detachment fault zone; c. point

anch detachment fault zone (20 data); solid squares—ENE branch

data).


zircon ages of ca. 129 to 122 Ma, Guo et al., 2004;

Wu et al., 2005), but all exhibit concordant relation-

ships with their wall rocks.

A typical example of the major syntectonic intru-

sions in the mcc is the multiple-stage Yinmawanshan

granodiorite–granite complex (Fig. 1; Guo et al.,

2004). Two zones are recognized in the complex, an

early marginal zone of granodiorite and porphyritic

monzogranite, and a younger inner zone of finer

grained granodiorite. Biotite defines a weak magmatic

foliation in the inner zone. Although most minerals in

the inner zone have weak dimensional and crystal-

lographic orientations, they do not show obvious

intracrystalline fabrics. The magmatic foliation in

the inner zone, and the inner zone–outer zone bound-

ary generally have very high dip angles (ca 608 to

808), suggesting that a vertical emplacement process

dominated intrusion of the pluton’s core. The outer or

marginal zone is composed of two different members,

an older medium to coarse-grained granodiorite in the

west and a younger porphyritic monzogranite in the

east. Coarse tabular plagioclase crystals (up to 5 cm)

in the monzogranite define a primary magmatic folia-

tion and lineation. Hornblende grains and grain aggre-

gates in the coarse-grained granodiorite are also

oriented, with increasing fabric strengths approaching

the detachment fault zone. A gradual transition from

magmatic fabric to mylonitic foliation is observed

within 30 m of the detachment fault zone. The transi-

tion is shown frommicroscopic fabrics of the rocks, i.e.

from magmatic fabrics in the unsheared part, through

mylonitized magmatic fabrics in the transitional zone,

to mylonitic fabrics in the detachment fault zone.

Oriented crystals in the magmatic fabrics do not show

evidences for crystal plastic deformation, whereas

mylonitic foliation is composed of strongly elongated

and plastically deformed grains and grain aggregates.

Both fabrics, i.e. foliation in magmatic rocks and that

in mylonitic rocks, have identical orientation pat-

terns, dipping WNW at the western part of the Yin-

mawanshan pluton. The shear sense in these granitic

mylonitic gneisses is top to the WNW and is con-

sistent with that of the Jinzhou detachment’s mylo-

nitic footwall.

The Chaoyangsi and Zhaotun granites (Fig. 1) are

small lower plate intrusions within the southern

detachment fault zone that we interpret as syntectonic.

The Chaoyangsi granite is represented by several

small intrusions distributed rather randomly within

the ductile shear zone. The intrusions appear to have

been spatially controlled by the detachment fault zone

and some of their original magmatic fabrics have been

transposed into mylonitic fabrics containing relict mag-

matic crystals. Their shear zone rocks have equally

developed mylonitic foliation and stretching lineation,

and are therefore, S-L type tectonites. The Zhaotun

granite, in contrast, is a granitic sheet with a well-

developed stretching lineation. Foliation is so weakly

developed in comparison with the lineation that LNNS

tectonites are its major rock type.

It is significant that magmatic lineations in the

intrusions have consistent WNW–ESE orientations

that are parallel to the stretching lineations in the

overlying detachment fault rocks (Fig. 2c). This par-

allelism is suggestive of a syntectonic process of

magmatic emplacement (Paterson et al., 1989; Ver-

non, 2000), i.e. that magmatic flow in the lower plate

may have been influenced by relative slip between the

upper plate and the igneous melt below it. Accord-

ingly, we believe, as did Guo et al. (2004), that the

Yinmawanshan pluton was deformed in close proxi-

mity to the Jinzhou detachment fault despite its map

appearance on Fig. 1 of being distant from it. The

western margin of the pluton has parallel magmatic

and mylonitic fabrics, the latter comparable to those of

the detachment fault’s lower plate. It is, therefore,

likely that the western margin of the pluton lay not

far below west-dipping detachment fault prior to sub-

sequent erosion.

2.3. Deformational history of the lower plate

As is characteristic of the lower plates of other

metamorphic core complexes, Jinzhou fault-related

footwall rock assemblages record a history of progres-

sive uplift under increasingly colder and brittle con-

ditions. Such Jinzhou assemblages exhibit transitions

in time and space (upwards in the complex) from

fault-related gneiss to mylonitic schist and gneiss,

retrograded schist and gneiss, brecciated mylonite,

microbreccia, pseudotachylite and gouge (Fig. 3).

These lithologic transitions document progressive

overprinting of the fault’s footwall from depths

below the crust’s brittle–ductile transition to near sur-

face conditions as it was drawn up and out from

beneath its hanging wall.

Fig. 3. Structural, microstructural characteristics and shear indicators in mylonitic rocks from the detachment fault zones in Liaonan mcc. a.

Shear bands in mylonites; b. sigmoidal fabric in quartzofeldspathic mylonite; c. S-C fabric in sheared monzogranite; d. S-C fabric in sheared

amphibolite (Scale: base line, a—50 cm; b–d—2.5 mm).


Biotite–plagioclase gneiss and hornblende–plagio-

clase gneiss derived from the Archean gneiss units are

the major types of fault-related gneisses. Rocks are

completely recrystallized with all mineral phases,

including quartz, plagioclase, biotite and hornblende,

showing characteristics of plastic flow. In contrast, the

gradationally overlying mylonitic zone is character-

ized by crystal–plastic deformation of some minerals,

primarily quartz, and by the brittle behavior of most

other silicates (Fig. 3). Outcrop and microscopic scale

structural elements of this zone include mylonitic

foliation, shear bands and extensional crenulation

cleavage (Fig. 3a), j fabrics (Fig. 3b), S-C fabrics

(Fig. 3c,d), stretching lineations, sheath folds and

other types of a-folds. They are useful shear-sense

indicators in the mylonitic rocks and indicate deforma-

tion in the crust’s brittle–ductile transition (Kawamoto

and Shimamoto, 1997; Fig. 3 a–d) accompanying a

relative southeast to northwest sense of shear. This

shear sense is compatible with the absolute southeast-

ward displacement of the footwall of the Jinzhou fault

(see below).

In the microscopic domain, quartz, plagioclase

and biotite grains show distinct deformation micro-

structures. Quartz grains are intensely deformed via

crystal–plastic mechanisms (e.g. Nicholas and Poir-

ier, 1976; Passchier and Trouw, 1996; Lin et al.,

2002), resulting in deformation microstructures

(elongated grains and grain aggregates, undulose

extinction, deformation lamellae), recovery micro-

structures (subgrains) and recrystallization micro-

structures (grain size reduction by subgrain rotation

and dynamic recrystallization, Fig. 3a,b). Micro-

structures indicating both crystal–plastic and brittle

deformation are preserved in plagioclase grains,

indicating their superposed deformation from deeper

to higher crustal levels (c.f. Tullis and Yund, 1987;

Fig. 3c).

2.4. Upper plate Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic rocks

(Fig. 4a–b, c–d)

The Liaonan mcc upper plate includes Archean

gneiss, and Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic strata


(Wang et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 1994) (Fig. 4a–b, c–

d). Brittle-deformed Neoproterozoic quartz sandstone,

siltstone, calcareous shale, and limestone are the most

common upper plate rocks. Their possible lower plate

counterparts, however, have been transformed into

quartzite (or quartz mylonite), mica schists, marble

(and calc-mylonite). Upper plate Paleozoic sedimen-

tary rocks include interlayered limestone, sandstone

and, subordinate shale.

2.5. Cretaceous supradetachment basin

An important, but relatively little studied, compo-

nent of the Liaonan mcc is an upper plate suprade-

tachment basin (LBGMR, 1994; Friedmann and

Burbank, 1995; Davis et al., 2002) that covers

more than 200 km2 along the western trace of the

Jinzhou detachment (Figs. 1 and 4e–f). This Cretac-

eous half-graben unconformably overlies Archean

and Neoproterozoic rocks in the west. To the east

it lies above the west-dipping detachment fault,

where its strata dip eastward at moderate to steep

angles (ca. 308 to 508) into the fault. Andesitic

Fig. 4. Geological sections across the Liaonan mcc (see Fig. 1 for locatio

sedimentary rocks; Lower plate: Mainly Archean gneisses and Mesozoic

from LBGMR, 1989); ef section length, 13 km.

volcanic rocks have been reported in the base of

the basin (LBGMR, 1994), but they are found higher

in the section as well. Fluviatile and lacustrine sedi-

mentary rocks are the dominant deposits in the basin

(LBGMR, 1994). Clasts of quartz sandstone and

limestone from Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic units,

and schist and gneiss from the lower plate basement

are found in the sediments. Sedimentary rocks in the

basin contain Cretaceous fossils, supportive of an

Early Cretaceous age, e.g. Dictyozamites, Cycadole-

pis, Elatocladus and Otozamites (LBGMR, 1994).

Radiometric dating of the volcanic units is needed to

more clearly establish the basin as being synchro-

nous with mcc extension.

West-dipping normal faults that cut Neoproterozoic

to Lower Paleozoic (Cambrian–Ordovician) strata in

the hanging wall of the detachment fault north of

Jinzhou may be related to core complex development.

Large-scale basin groups in the Gulf of Liaoning to

the west and the Bohai Sea to the southwest may have

developed under similar conditions, although only

small basins are observed on the Liaodong Peninsula

(Qiu et al., 1994; Zhang, 1997).

ns). Pz–Pt unit: Partly metamorphosed Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic

plutons. ab section length, 25 km; cd section length, 5 km (revised


3. Debate on core complex geochronology and

recent data

The age of the Liaonan mcc has been controver-

sial (cf. Yang, 1985; Xu et al., 1991; Yang et al.,

1996; Chen et al., 1999). Yang (1985) first identified

the southern, ENE-striking segment of the detach-

ment fault zone and named it the Dongjiagou ductile

shear zone (after the Archean Dongjiagou Formation

in the Anshan Group). It was thought of as an

Archean ductile shear zone. Xu et al. (1991) first

recognized and discussed extension and contraction

in the area and considered both to reflect Indosinian

deformation based on a whole rock Rb–Sr age (226

Ma) of a mylonite and K–Ar dating (225 Ma) of

muscovite grains in a felsic dike intruding the mylo-

nite. The LBGMR (1994) was first to apply the

metamorphic core complex concept to Liaonan

extensional deformation. Yang et al. (1996) later

concluded that the Liaonan mcc was of Triassic

age, although the pluton they dated is not clearly

part of the mcc.

Recent reliable dating has established a new and

younger geochronological framework for the Liao-

nan mcc. Yin and Nie (1996) obtained 40Ar/39Ar

cooling ages within the NNE ductile shear zones

of ca. 110 to 113 Ma (biotite). Yang J.H. (personal

communication, 2004) has dated lower plate mylo-

nitic rocks in both shear zone segments and has

obtained reasonably consistent 40Ar–39Ar ages with

the following ranges: hornblende, 124.2 to 113.3

Ma; biotite, 122.6 to 111.3 Ma; K-feldspar, 118.2

to 112.0 Ma; and muscovite, 111.9 Ma. These Jinz-

hou fault-related ages are consistent with 121–113

Ma 40Ar/39Ar ages (muscovite, biotite, K-feldspar)

from an extensional ductile shear zone across the

Jurassic Heigou pluton in the southern Liaodong

Peninsula (Yang et al., 2004); the shear zone is on

strike with the ENE-trending segment of the Jinzhou

detachment fault farther to the southwest.

In contrast, U–Pb dating of syntectonic plutons in

the Liaonan mcc is, not surprisingly, generally older

than its lower plate cooling ages. For example, single

zircon grains from the footwall Zhaotun monzogranite

yield an age of 128F5 Ma (Guo et al., 2004; Wu

et al., 2005). Yinmawashan U–Pb zircon ages vary

within the composite pluton, including 122F6 Ma for

an inner zone fine grained monzogranite, 129F2 Ma

for a porphyritic granite along the northern margin of

the pluton, and three ages varying between 120F4

Ma and 125F2 Ma for gneissic granitic rocks and

associated dikes in its southwestern margin (Guo et

al., 2004; Wu et al., 2005; Fig. 1). There is no conflict

between crystallization ages of the synkinematic plu-

tons and cooling ages of footwall rocks in the detach-

ment fault zone. Collectively, they document a

protracted period of crustal extension within the Liao-

nan mcc from ca. 130 Ma to 110 Ma. The final stages

of lower plate uplift and erosion must be still younger

than about 110 Ma.

4. Tectonic significance and implications of the

Liaonan metamorphic core complex

4.1. The tectonic setting of the Liaonan mcc

The Liaonan mcc is, to date, one of the two east-

ernmost documented examples (Liaonan and Xujia-

weizi) of core complex formation within a large

region of southern Siberia, Mongolia, and eastern

China affected by Cretaceous NW–SE to N–S crustal

extension. The origin of this extensional province

remains unresolved and constitutes one of the major

tectonic problems of eastern Asia. This problem stems

in part from (1) the vastness of the area of crustal

extension (more than two million km2), (2) the sud-

denness of the onset of extension across this huge

region (generally at 130–125 Ma), and (3) the com-

plexities of the region’s earlier tectonics.

Following closure of a Paleoasian Ocean along the

northern margin of the North China plate in the Per-

mian, and the Triassic collision of the North and

South China (Yangtze) plates to the south, the North

China (or Sino-Korean block) became the northern

part of an amalgamated continental plate (Li, 1994;

Yin and Nie, 1996; Zorin, 1999). In the late Mesozoic

this plate was further affected by Jurassic–Early Cre-

taceous closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean that

separated it from Siberia, by subduction of Pacific

plates beneath it, and by Cenozoic collision with the

Indian plate to the south (Watson et al., 1987; Zhang

et al., 2001; Ren et al., 2002).

The Liaonan complex is one of six Early Cretac-

eous North China mcc’s that developed across the

northern margin of the Archean-floored North China


block (or bcratonQ as it is misleadingly called, given its

Phanerozoic history of complex orogenesis; cf. Davis

et al., 2001; Li et al., 2004). All developed, albeit in a

scattered, isolated pattern, across areas of major

Mesozoic north–south contraction and presumed crus-

tal thickening related to thrust faulting, folding, and

Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous plutonism (Zheng and

Zhang, 1994; Li, 1994; Davis et al., 1996, 2002;

Darby et al., 2004). The Liaonan mcc lies within

just such an area of complicated prior tectonic history

(Zhang and Wang, 1995; Yin and Nie, 1996; Chen et

al., 1999; Gang et al., 1999; Wu et al., 2002).

The youngest major thrusting event in the Yan-

shan area of the North China block has been dated at

about 127 Ma in the Yunmeng Shan north of Beijing

(Davis et al., 1996, 2001). This age approximates the

beginning of distributed and somewhat diachronous

Early Cretaceous crustal extension in eastern Asia

(Li, 2000; Han et al., 2001; Davis et al., 1996, 2002;

Ren et al., 2002; Meng, 2003; Darby et al., 2004).

Much Mesozoic magmatism in eastern China prior to

the Early Cretaceous has adakitic signatures suggest-

ing melt generation in or below a thick (N45 km)

continental crust (Zhang et al., 2001). A correlation

between the spatial and temporal occurrence of con-

tractional structures in the Yanshan belt of North

China and adakitic magmatism was recently pro-

posed by Davis (2003). In contrast, the onset of

crustal extension in eastern Asia generally coincides

with regional intrusion of alkalic and subalkalic A-

type granites, including the synkinematic plutons of

the Liaonan mcc (Wu et al., 2002, 2005; Guo et al.,

2004; Li et al., 2004).

Many different tectonic models have been pro-

posed to elucidate the regional transition between

crustal contraction and extension. Amongst the most

often discussed are (1) gravitational collapse of con-

tractionally thickened crust, perhaps triggered by plu-

tonism (Davis et al., 2001, 2002; Zhang and Xu,

1998); (2) delamination of North China lithosphere

during subduction of the Izanagi plate under the Eur-

asian plate (Wu et al., 2002); (3) rollback of an

Izanagi (or other Pacific) subducting plate (Traynor

and Sladen, 1995; Davis et al., 2001); and (4) exis-

tence of a mantle plume and its effects on the over-

lying Eurasian lithosphere (Deng et al., 2003). As

stated at the beginning of this section, the problem

remains unresolved.

4.2. Liaonan mcc and the Tan Lu fault

The recent discovery of the Waziyu mcc in the

Yiwulu Shan of western Liaoning (Fig. 1; Darby et

al., 2004) with its WNW-dipping master detachment

fault compliments the earlier discovery of the Liao-

nan mcc in southeastern Liaoning with its similar

geometry. Both master detachment faults were active

in the Early Cretaceous, and their coeval develop-

ment both west and east of the NNE-striking Tan Lu

fault raises interesting questions regarding the tem-

poral, kinematic, and mechanical relationships of that

eastern Asian strike-slip fault to the extensional core

complexes.

Early Cretaceous sinistral slip has been documented

on the southernmost part of the Tan Lu fault in Anhui

province, including areas along the eastern margin of

the Dabie Shan collisional complex between the North

and South China blocks. Zhu et al. (2001) have

reported 6 whole rock 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages from

fault zone mylonite, ultramylonite, and phyllonite ran-

ging in age from 132.5F0.5 to 120.5F0.75 Ma and,

subsequently (Zhu et al., 2004), a muscovite 40Ar/39Ar

age of 127.6F0.2 Ma from a Tan Lu mylonite; all

dated samples are characterized by horizontal stretch-

ing lineations. The age range of their dated samples,

e.g. 132.5 to 120.5 Ma, is closely similar to timing

constraints on the Liaonan mcc presented in this paper

(ca. 130 to 110 Ma), and on the Waziyu mcc to the

northwest (ca. 130 to 116 Ma; Zhang et al., 2003b;

Darby et al., 2004).

Despite evidence for Early Cretaceous Tan Lu fault

displacement in southern areas, however, the occur-

rence of such slip on more northerly portions of the

Tan Lu fault, specifically from the Shandong penin-

sula to the north, is considerably more problematic.

For one reason, sinistral slip on the Tan Lu fault in

these northern areas is stress and strain incompatible

with concurrent major WNW–ESE crustal extension

on both sides of the fault in the Gulf of Liaoning and

in close proximity to it. In addition, paleomagnetic

studies of the Korean Peninsula, eastern Liaoning, and

eastern Shandong (respectively, Doh et al., 2002; Lin

et al., 2003; Koo et al., 2003) are in agreement that no

latitudinal displacement between those areas and the

North China block (NCB) to the west is discernible

from Cretaceous data, although the sensitivity of such

studies does not preclude limited strike-slip displace-


ment on the intervening Tan Lu fault. As an aside, we

note that Early Cretaceous sinistral slip has been

documented in more outboard (coastal) regions of

the east Asian margin, including South Korea (e.g.,

Chough et al., 2000), northeast Japan (e.g., Sasaki,

2003), and Sikhote Alin, Russia (e.g., Golozubov and

Khanchuk, 1996).

Recent Shandong peninsula and neighboring North

China basin studies appear to be in agreement that

Early Cretaceous deformation in those areas was not

related to Tan Lu sinistral faulting. Zhang et al.

(2003c) have proposed that the earliest Cretaceous

Jiaolai basin in northern Shandong is a pull-apart

basin within a dextral Tan Lu system, and that the

middle Early Cretaceous was boverwhelmingly rift-

dominated and characterized by widespread inter-

mediate volcanism, normal faulting, and basin sub-

sidenceQ (op. cit., p. 243).Most large gold deposits in Shandong, including

some on the northern margin of the Jiaolai basin that

were controlled by a low-angle normal fault, are

related to Early Cretaceous magmatism and were

mineralized between 130 and 115 Ma (Yao et al.,

2002; Zhang et al., 2003a). This age range is coin-

cident with formation of the Liaonan mcc. Jin et al.

(2002) relied on extensive seismic data in the North

China basin to report that a NW-striking Middle to

Late Mesozoic fold-thrust belt was succeeded in the

Late Mesozoic by normal faults striking in the same

direction, a history similar to that of the Yanshan fold-

thrust belt exposed to the north where a contractional

to extensional tectonic transition occurred at about

130 Ma (Davis et al., 2001; Davis, 2003).

4.3. Liaonan mcc and large-scale crustal rotation

The paleomagnetic studies of Cretaceous strata

cited above (Doh et al., 2002; Lin et al., 2003; Koo

et al., 2003), while not supporting latitudinal displace-

ments across the Tan Lu fault in northern China, are in

good agreement that the Korean peninsula, eastern

Liaoning, and contiguous areas generally east of the

fault have been rotated with respect to a western,

previously amalgamated North China–South China

block. Estimates of the clockwise rotation of the

ELK block (East Liaoning–Korea; Lin et al., 2003)

with respect to the SCB–NCB range from ca 348 to

208 (Zhao et al., 1999; Doh et al., 2002; Lin et al.,

2003; Koo et al., 2003). Collective paleomagnetic

data from Cretaceous strata within the rotated domain

indicate an average clockwise rotation of 22.58F10.28(Lin et al., 2003, their Table 3, Fig. 7).

Most early hypotheses to explain the clockwise

rotation favored large sinistral displacements on a

curviplanar Tan Lu fault system, concave to the ESE

in northeastern China (cf. Doh et al., 2002). However,

the limited or absent Early Cretaceous slip on this

fault as discussed above effectively negates this hypo-

thesis. More recently, Lin et al. (2003) have attributed

the rotation of the ELK to large-scale Cretaceous and

Cenozoic extension within a south-tapering wedge- or

triangular-shaped area, in northeastern China. This

area contains the large Songliao basin and a number

of smaller extensional basins of variable age (Xia-

liaohe, Zeya, Sanjiang). Lin et al. (2003) proposed

that the pole of rotation for this rotating triangular

crustal block lay in the southern part of the Bohai Sea

near the western edge of the Shandong peninsula; the

peninsula itself appears to be part of the NCB–SCB

block.

4.4. ELK block rotation and its relationship to Liaon-

ing province mcc’s

Our studies in the Liaonan mcc and the recent

discovery of the Waziyu mcc in western Liaoning

(Darby et al., 2004) support the hypothesis of Lin et

al. (2003) that the rotation of the ELK block is the

consequence of Cretaceous extension along the east-

ern margin of the NCB. Those authors were unaware

of the two mcc’s and their significant contribution to

crustal extension in the southern region of their

hypothesized extensional wedge (Fig. 5).

Studies of core complexes in the lower Colorado

River region of the southwestern United States (e.g.

Davis and Lister, 1988; Lister and Davis, 1989; John

and Foster, 1993), and elsewhere, have confirmed that

core complex extension is accompanied by the active

footwall (i.e. lower plate) uplift of mid-crustal rocks,

leaving hanging walls more or less in situ with respect

to such reference surfaces as sea level or the geoid.

Both Liaoning master detachment faults, Waziyu and

Jinzhou, root WNW-ward and both had footwall rock

assemblages that were translated ESE-ward in Early

Cretaceous time—ca. 130 to 110 Ma for the Liaonan

complex (see above), and ca. 130 to 116 Ma for the

Japa

nese

Islan

ds

Sikh

ote-

Alin

Sut

ure

ShandongPeninsula

SCB

NCBLmcc

Wmcc

Xmccxx

22°

Xing-Meng Suture

Sulu

ELK

Tan

Lu

Fau

lt

Dabie

90 km

N

B

B

C

Q

A

Gulf ofLiaoning

Fig. 5. Tectonic map of eastern Liaoning, Korea, and contiguous areas (modified from Lin et al., 2003). The bold dashed lines define

approximately a wedge-shaped area of Mesozoic extensional basins, including the Songliao basin and the Early Cretaceous Xujiaweizi (Xmcc),

Waziyu (Wmcc), and Liaonan (Lmcc) metamorphic core complexes. The bold open circle is the pole of rotation inferred by Lin et al. (2003) for

clockwise rotation of the ELK block relative to a stable North China block (NCB). The upper left inset shows the locations of the Waziyu and

Liaonan mcc’s relative to the Gulf of Liaoning and the location of cross-section AB–B’C (Fig. 6) through them.


Waziyu mcc to the northeast (Zhang et al., 2003b;

Darby et al., 2004).

We estimate that the horizontal component of

extension along each of the master detachment faults

was in tens of kilometers. Estimates of such large

displacements can be deduced from the large transport

needed to bring mid-crustal rocks deformed in and

below the brittle–ductile transition to the surface along

faults of probable low dip (V308–358 based on world-

wide studies; cf. John and Foster, 1993; Pease and

Argent, 1999). Accordingly, we propose that (1) foot-

wall displacements to the ESE in both mcc’s produced

absolute, not relative, crustal displacements away

from the stable NCB–SCB block, and that (2) these

displacements contributed significantly to rotation of

the ELK block in the vicinity of its pole of rotation.

This interpretation is supported by recent paleo-

magnetic studies on NCB Early Cretaceous volcanic

rocks in western Liaoning that were deposited within

the Yixian–Fuxin supradetachment basin above the

active west-dipping Waziyu detachment fault and its

lower plate (Zhu et al., 2002). Over 400 oriented

cores were taken from 55 lava flows in the Yixian

Formation at Sihetun and Zhuanchengzi and from

the Tuhulu and Dalinghe Formations of the Yixian–

Fuxin basin. Fifteen samples from the Yixian For-


mation provided new K–Ar ages ranging from

133.6F2.6 Ma to 120.4F2.3 Ma, an age range

that agrees well with recent 40Ar–39Ar dating of

the Sihetun section (132.9F5.1 to 123.9F1.5 Ma;

Chen et al., 2003). A Tuhulu Formation basalt from

the Fuxin basin yielded a K–Ar age of 119.0F0.4

(Zhu et al., 2002). Detailed paleomagnetic analysis

of these Cretaceous (K1) units led Zhu et al. (above)

to conclude that the Yixian–Fuxin basin area has

undergone neither significant latitudinal displace-

ments nor rotation with respect to the NCB and

Eurasia, and was not, therefore, involved in the

rotation of the ELK.

The likelihood that both master detachment faults

root westward into the middle crust—as is typical of

most mcc’s given that detachment fault-related mylo-

nitic and gneissic rocks typically have metamorphic

grades no higher than middle amphibolite facies—

raises the interesting possibility that crustal rotation

of the ELK may have involved only the upper crust

above an intracrustal zone of detachment related to the

brittle–ductile transition (Fig. 5). In this scenario, the

Tan Lu fault between the Waziyu and Lionan mcc’s

was cut off at mid-crustal depth, since in areas south

of Bohai Bay the fault separates different SCB and

NCB lithospheric blocks (Yin and Nie, 1998). Zheng

et al. (2003) reported that seismic imaging of the

Tanlu fault across the Luxi uplift in Shandong pro-

vince clearly indicates that it crosses the entire crust

and offsets the Moho by 4 km.

4.5. Timing of ELK block rotation and Liaonan core

complex extension

Our conclusion that formation of the Liaonan and

Waziyu mcc’s contributed significantly to the rota-

tion of the ELK crustal block is at variance with

conclusions of Lin et al. (2003) regarding the timing

of rotation. Although agreeing that crustal extension

in the Songliao Basin within the wedge-shaped ter-

rane north of the Bohai Sea began in the Late

Jurassic or Early Cretaceous, they favor a later

Mesozoic–Cenozoic time for most of the block rota-

tion. One reason for this conclusion is their inter-

pretation that Early (K1) and Late (K2) Cretaceous

paleomagnetic poles from a very limited ELK data

set (6 pole determinations) are bstatistically consis-

tentQ (Lin et al. (2003), pages 5–11, Table 3), and

thus require that most block rotation occurred at a

time younger than the sampled rock units. The two

bK2Q data sets come from poorly dated Dayu Group

units in the Benxi area of eastern Liaoning. Lin et al.

(2003) assigned an age range of 118–83 Ma to the

group based on the assumption that its non-reversed

magnetic signatures indicate formation during the

long Cretaceous normal polarity field. Even if their

assumption is correct, given that the K1–K2 bound-

ary has been variably set at 96 Ma and 98.9 Ma

(Remane et al., 2000), rocks of the Dayu Group

could be wholly, or in part, Early Cretaceous.

South Korean paleomagnetic studies support lar-

gely Early Cretaceous rotation. Zhao et al. (1999)

collected new Cretaceous paleomagnetic data consis-

tent with the hypothesis that regions south of the

Okchon zone experienced up to 368 clockwise rota-

tion from the NCB between 121 and 114 Ma (34.38for the early Aptian, 24.98 for the middle Aptian, and

�0.98 for the late Aptian) in the middle part of Early

Cretaceous. Lin et al. (2003) dispute these interpreta-

tions, although they seem broadly compatible with the

more recent Korean data-based conclusions of Doh et

al. (2002). Based on a recent study of the Late Cretac-

eous Gongu basin in southwestern Korea (K–Ar vol-

canic rock ages ca. 82 Ma to 73.5 Ma) and an analysis

of other Korean paleomagnetic data, Doh et al. have

concluded that the bKorean Peninsula underwent

clockwise rotation of 21.28F5.38 for the middle

Early Cretaceous, 12.68F5.48 for the late Early Cre-

taceous, and 7.18F9.88 for the Late Cretaceous with

respect to EurasiaQ (p. 737).Returning to the age of extension in the Songliao

basin, Ren et al. (2002) have concluded that syn-rift

deposition in the Songliao Basin began in the latest

Jurassic (Yinsheng, Shahexi, Huoshiling Fms.), con-

tinued through the Early Cretaceous (Denglouku

Fm.), and ended in the Aptian (K1; Quanton Fm.);

no radiometric ages in support of these stratigraphic

calls were provided. However, Zhang et al. (2000)

report that Early Cretaceous extension in the Xujia-

weizi area of the west-central Songliao Basin was

accompanied by a mcc-related detachment fault active

between ca. 133 Ma and 120 Ma based on K–Ar ages.

Mylonitic rocks in the footwall of the detachment

fault (recovered only from cores) have yielded a40Ar–39Ar age of 126.7F1.5 Ma (op.cit.). Collec-

tively, these ages indicate synchrony with activity


along the Waziyu and Liaonan detachment faults

farther south, and support the interpretations for ELK

rotation proposed by Lin et al. (2003) and amplified

here.

5. Conclusions

The Liaonan mcc of southeastern Liaoning pro-

vince is an asymmetric Cordilleran-style metamorphic

core complex with a master detachment fault, the

Jinzhou fault. That fault roots to the WNW under

the western Liaodong Peninsula and, in all likelihood,

the Gulf of Liaoning. A thick sequence of lower plate

fault-related mylonitic and gneissic rocks derived

from Archean and Early Cretaceous crystalline rock

protoliths has been transported to the surface from

mid-crustal depths. U–Pb ages of lower plate syntec-

tonic plutons (ca. 130–120 Ma), 40Ar–39Ar cooling

ages in the mylonitic and gneissic sequence (ca. 120–

110 Ma), and an Early (?) Cretaceous supradetach-

ment basin attests to the Early Cretaceous age of the

extensional complex.

The recent discovery of a comparable and coeval

mcc in western Liaoning, the Waziyu mcc of the

Yiwulu Shan (Darby et al., 2004), indicates that the

Gulf of Liaoning region was a locus of profound

crustal extension. This conclusion is supportive of

the recent hypothesis of Lin et al. (2003) regarding

the cause of the paleomagnetically documented clock-

Fig. 6. Synchronous Early Cretaceous extension in the Waziyu and Liaona

Middle crustal rocks below the brittle–ductile transition are drawn out from

are displaced upwards to surface levels in the two core complexes. The gra

complex initiation. As rocks in the brittle–ductile transition and underlying

brittle–ductile transitions are progressively formed under appropriate T and

uplifted in the footwall of the western Waziyu mcc remain at depth farthe

Although the diagram shows extension across the two complexes as additi

the two complexes are only en echelon examples of more limited extensi

wise rotation (ca 22.58F10.28) of the Korean penin-

sula and adjacent areas with respect to a non-rotated

North China–South China continental block. They

proposed that the rotation is the consequence of crus-

tal extension within a wedge-shaped block, dominated

by the Songliao basin, which tapers southwards to-

wards the Bohai Sea (of which the Gulf of Liaoning is

the northernmost part).

Lin et al. (2003) were unaware of the Liaonan and

Waziyu mcc’s and argued that most of the rotation

was post Early Cretaceous and, in part, early Ceno-

zoic. However, the ca. 130–120 Ma ages of the two

Liaoning mcc’s and a Songliao basin mcc (Xujia-

weizi), discovered only by recent drilling through its

younger stratigraphic cover, support Korean workers’

conclusion that most of the clockwise rotation was

Early Cretaceous. The well-dated Yixian–Fuxin su-

pradetachment basin lies above the WNW-dipping

Waziyu detachment fault. Paleomagnetic data from

volcanic rocks in this upper plate section (ca. 134–

120 Ma) indicate that it, and therefore its basement,

has not been rotated significantly with respect to the

North China–South China block (Zhu et al., 2002).

This finding leads to our conclusion that the lower

plates of the Waziyu and Liaonan metamorphic core

complexes have been displaced ESE-ward in an abso-

lute sense away from the stable Eurasian block, thus

contributing to the significant rotation of Korea and

contiguous areas. The displacement is likely to have

affected only the upper crust, with the Waziyuu and

n metamorphic core complexes, Liaoning province, northern China.

beneath the fixed upper crust of the North China Block (NCB) and

y shaded zone is the brittle–ductile transition only at the time of core

crust are uplifted in the footwalls of the two detachment faults, new

P (depth) conditions across the uplifting units. Middle crustal rocks

r east where they underlie the upper plate of the Liaonan complex.

ve, they are not aligned in a NW–SE direction and it is possible that

on.


Jinzhou faults flattening into a mid-crustal shear zone

below the brittle–ductile transition (Fig. 6). If this is

the case, the Tan Lu fault that lies between the two

core complexes was probably truncated at depth, since

in areas to the south it forms the boundary between

the North China and South China lithospheric blocks.

Finally, it is of interest that the two extensional com-

plexes lie not far north of the Bohai Bay, the area

proposed by Lin et al. (2003) as the site of the pole of

rotation for Korea’s clockwise displacement.

Acknowledgements

This study is funded by NNSF Project Nos:

40472105, 40272084, and 40272045. Careful reviews

by two anonymous reviewers of an earlier version of

this manuscript were very helpful in preparation of the

current paper, as were the constructive comments of

Editor Jean-Pierre Burg.

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