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The Truong Son and Kon Tum terranes in northeastern Indochina are thought to, respectively, form part of the Indian and Australian margins of Gondwana and separated one another by the Tam Ky–Phuoc Son Ocean during the early Paleozoic. In this paper, we present results of a comprehensive geochronological and geochemical study on a trondhjemite–tonalite suite identified in the Tam Ky–Phuoc Son Suture Zone. LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating yielded weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 518.5 ± 7.1 Ma and 502.1 ± 6.0 Ma for the trondhjemite and tonalite, respectively. These are the oldest magmatic zircons recorded in this area so far. Both rocks consist primarily of plagioclase (oligoclase), quartz, with minor, variable amounts of hornblende and biotite. They have high SiO2, Na2O and Y, but low Al2O3, K2O, Sr and Rb contents, and are characterized by depletion in LREEs with flat HREE patterns. These features are similar to those of typical oceanic plagiogranites. Our new evidences from field geology, geochemistry, and zircon Hf isotopic data, along with previously published data from the Tam Ky–Phuoc Son Suture Zone, suggest that the plagiogranites were originated from extensive fractionation of hydrous basaltic magmas. Furthermore, they were generated in an intra-oceanic arc system above a northward subduction zone within the Tam Ky–Phuoc Son Ocean. The final closure of this ocean took place before the late Silurian, marked by collision of the Truong Son Terrane with the Kon Tum Terrane along the Tam Ky–Phuoc Son Suture Zone to form the Indochina Block. After elimination of the southeastward offset along the Red River shear zone and the clockwise rotation of Indochina relative to South China since the Tertiary, the eastern part of the Tam Ky–Phuoc Son Suture aligns well with the Kuungan Suture on Hainan Island, together they have likely recorded the final assembly of Gondwana in this region.

This study was financially supported by projects from the China Natural Science Foundation (41672222) and State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (MSFGPMR201802). PAC acknowledges support from Australian Research Council grant FL160100168. This study was also supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Viet Nam, Project BĐKH.29/16-20 to Dung My Tran. Our understanding of the early evolution of the Yangtze Block is limited by the sparsely dispersed nature of pre-Neoproterozoic exposures. New, integrated petrographic, zircon U-Pb age and Hf-Nd isotope analyses, and whole-rock geochemical data for early Paleoproterozoic granites in the Phan Si Pan Complex provides new insights into the evolution of the Yangtze Block as well as its role in the Pre-Nuna supercontinent. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of magmatic zircons from quartz monzonite and gneissic granite yielded 207Pb/206Pb ages of 2306 ± 12 Ma and 2096 ± 15 Ma, respectively. Zircons from the quartz monzonite have εHf(t) values ranging from -4.1 to -2.1, corresponding to TDM2 model ages of 3002–2890 Ma, whereas zircons in the gneissic granite have εHf(t) values between -0.95 and +1.72 and corresponding TDM2 model ages of 2660–2516 Ma, which are consistent with their whole-rock Nd isotope values. Geochemically, the quartz monzonites are I-type granites. Combined with their relatively high Sr/Y ratios and low Y concentrations, as well as fractionated REE patterns with relatively high LREE but low HREE concentrations, they were probably generated by partial melting of the thickened middle-lower crust under elevated temperature. Geochemical and isotopic signatures suggest that the ca. 2.1 Ga gneissic granites are high-K calc-alkaline, ferroan A-type granites formed by partial melting of juvenile crustal source at high temperature and low pressure with little involvement of ancient crustal material. The Phan Si Pan complex has a distinct early Paleoproterozoic crustal evolution history compared with the other crustal provinces of the Yangtze Block, suggesting independent histories that were not unified until the late Paleoproterozoic during the assembly of Nuna. Moreover, the magmatism and tectonic evolution of the north Vietnam region is broadly similar to that of the Arrowsmith Orogen of the Rae craton in Laurentia suggesting a potential spatial linkage. The geologic record of the Yangtze Block does not support an early Paleoproterozoic shutdown of plate tectonics. Postprint

This study was financially supported by projects from the China Natural Science Foundation (41672222) and State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (MSFGPMR201802). PAC acknowledges support from Australian Research Council grant FL160100168. This study was also supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam, Project BĐKH.29/16-20 to Dung My Tran. Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Phan Si Pan Complex, North Vietnam, constitute the southern extension of the Yangtze Block, and provide a valuable record of the early evolution of the continental crust. We present results of U-Pb zircon geochronology and geochemistry for Precambrian granites in this complex to constrain their emplacement age and genesis. Granites from three plutonic bodies yielded ages of 2848 ± 15 Ma, 2768 ± 19 Ma and 1869 ± 30 Ma, which represent newly-recognized late Archean to Paleoproterozoic potassic granite plutonism in the southern Yangtze Block. The average εHf(t) values range from −6.2 to 0.1 for the 2.85–2.77 Ga granitic rocks and -13.1 to -9.2 for the ca. 1.86 Ga granitic rocks, with two-stage model ages of 3.64 to 3.20 Ga and 3.31 to 3.07 Ga, respectively, suggesting derivation from partial melting of Paleoarchean and Mesoarchean crust. The late Archean potassic granites exhibit high K2O, and high Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios with negligible Eu anomalies, indicating derivation from melting of the thickened lower crust, which is inferred to have occurred in an active margin setting. The late Paleoproterozoic alkali feldspar granites are characterized by high FeOT/(FeOT + MgO)(0.96–0.99) and 10000∗Ga/Al (2.75–2.94) ratios, showing an affinity of A-type granite. These A-type granites exhibit flat chondrite-normalized HREE patterns and strong negative Eu anomalies, and low Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios, corresponding to melting at a shallow depth, probably in a post-collisional extension setting. Comparison of the rock units and events recorded by the Phan Si Pan complex with other Archean to Paleoproterozoic complexes (Houhe, Dongchuan, Yudongzi, Douling, Zhongxiang and Kongling complexes) in the Yangtze Block indicate spatially distinct histories of crustal growth, and thus may reflect independent terranes. The ca. 1.86 Ga post-collisional magmatism, which succeeds a 2.0–1.9 Ga metamorphic event, is distributed throughout the Yangtze Block, including the Phan Si Pan Complex, suggesting assembly of the disparate terranes and final cratonization of the Yangtze Block overlaps with, and may be related to, assembly of the Nuna supercontinent. Postprint

Karstified assemblages occur widely in, and distinctively shape, the geological landscape of the northeastern part of Vietnam. These carbonate rocks were deposited during three major periods of basinal evolution including: (1) Late Cambrian, (2) Early Devonian to Early Carboniferous, and (3) Carboniferous to Earliest Triassic. These sedimentary units contain primary sedimentary structures and have undergone numerous post-depositional geological processes including multiple deformational events, which can be regionally correlated. Several thrusting events and associated folding have led to significant thickening of the carbonate units. The subsequent post-thrusting cross-folding events, followed by several phases of brittle faulting and fracturing further modified the spatial geometry and outcrop of these rocks. The combination and interaction of the primary structures with those formed during the long-lived and complicated deformational history is an important controlling factor in local and regional hydrogeological systems in the region. The geological structures now recorded in the carbonate units ultimately govern the formation of the unique modern surface and sub-surface geomorphology of the karstic terrains in northeastern Vietnam. These structures should be further investigated in the context of water resource assessment and natural hazard prediction and mitigation.