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The Neo-Cimmerian Ophiolite Belt in Afghanistan and Tibet: Comparison and Evolution

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Tectonic Evolution of the Tethyan Region

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 259))

Abstract

From the Farah Rud belt in Afghanistan to the Donqiao ophiolite belt in Tibet, similar magmatic and sedimentary series crop out which were formed or deposited in the same time span. They point to the existence of an EW-trending oceanic domain during Triassic time within a major continental domain separating the two main oceans (Palaeo and Neo-Tethys) which were the result of break-up of Gondwana. This ocean opened in late Palaeozoic time and began to close during the Middle or Late Jurassic. A northward-dipping subduction zone was active in the northern part of this ocean during the Triassic resulting in the formation of the Donqiao-Xainxa ophiolite (Tibet) behind the subduction zone and in the plutonism of the Hindu Kush — Badakhsan complex (Afghanistan) at the southern margin of Eurasia. The ophiolite in Tibet was obducted in late Jurassic time as indicated by ophiolite olistoliths locally occuring in Upper Jurassic limestones (Ilansen olisthostrome Formation) and covered by transgressive shallow marine to continental sediments (Zigetang Formation). During Aptian and Albian times, shallow marine to continental sequences were deposited in Afghanistan as well as in Tibet. A late backthrusting event postdating the deposition of the Albian series in Tibet and of a Palaeogene series in Afghanistan is responsible for the main structures now observed in these regions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Pétrologie Physique, Université Paris 7 et Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Place Jussieu, 75230, Paris cedex 05, France

    J. Girardeau

  2. Laboratoire de tectonique, Université Paris 7, Place Jussieu, 75230, Paris cedex 05, France

    J. Marcoux

  3. Laboratoire de Géologie, Institut Géologique Albert-de-Lapparent, 21 Rue d’Assas, 75270, Paris cedex 06, France

    C. Montenat

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  1. J. Girardeau
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  2. J. Marcoux
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  3. C. Montenat
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  1. Department of Geology, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

    A. M. C. Şengör

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Girardeau, J., Marcoux, J., Montenat, C. (1989). The Neo-Cimmerian Ophiolite Belt in Afghanistan and Tibet: Comparison and Evolution. In: Şengör, A.M.C. (eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Tethyan Region. NATO ASI Series, vol 259. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2253-2_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2253-2_19

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