HP–UHP eclogites in the East Kunlun Orogen, China: P–T evidence for asymmetric suturing of the Proto-Tethys Ocean

The Early Paleozoic eclogite belt extends discontinuously for ~500 km within the East Kunlun Orogen (EKO) and records the subduction history of the Proto-Tethys Ocean. This eclogite belt, therefore, is an excellent site for studying the first-order transition in convergent-margin tectonic systems, and the tectonic events associated with subduction and collision can be determined by reconstructing the high-pressure (HP)–ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) P–T–time path. In this contribution, we present P–T results from phase equilibrium modeling and Zr-in-rutile/titanite thermometry for eclogites located on the east and west sides of the EKO. In the eastern EKO, MT–UHP eclogite records peak conditions of ~30 kbar/650–720 °C, retrograde conditions of 10 kbar at ~650–700 °C, and then further retrograde conditions at 3–6 kbar and 500–580 °C. In the western EKO, LT–HP eclogite records peak conditions of ~27 kbar at 570 °C and then retrograde conditions at 10 ± 2 kbar/470–560 °C. These two types of eclogite record oceanic subduction (west) and continental collision (east), respectively. The EKO, therefore, contains two types of eclogites that indicate two end-member subduction complexes within the orogenic belt, further indicating that there are differences in the subduction-depth and collision-time from east to west. This finding is consistent with asymmetric suturing of the subducted Proto-Tethys Ocean within the EKO. Together, the P–T conditions and time-scales of the HP–UHP metamorphism can be applied to understand the process from subduction to collision between the Qaidam Block and the South Kunlun Block, as a consequence of asymmetric closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean.