The South Tianshan is located north of the Tarim block and defines the southern margin of the Paleozoic Central Asian orogenic belt. This study presents new structural, geochronological, and geochemical data for the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange in the Chinese segment of the South Tianshan. In the south, the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange shows typical block-in-matrix fabrics and occurs in the footwall of a south-dipping thrust fault, the hanging wall of which is composed of weakly metamorphosed and deformed Lower Paleozoic marine to deep-marine sequences from the South Tianshan. In the north, a south-dipping thrust fault juxtaposes the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange in its hanging wall against the high-grade and strongly deformed metasedimentary rocks from the Central Tianshan in its footwall. Three stages of ductile deformation are distinguished on the basis of structural and kinematic analyses on different lithotectonic units across the region. They are, from older to younger: (1) regional top-to-the-north ductile shearing linked with subduction and accretionary tectonics; (2) widespread refolding of the earlier foliation, which likely resulted from a subsequent collision (or amalgamation) event; and (3) localized ductile right-lateral strike-slip faulting attributed to late-orogenic extrusion tectonics. Geochemical data indicate that the igneous rocks in the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange include mid-ocean-ridge basalt− and oceanic-island basalt−type volcanic rocks with arc-like features. Sr and Nd isotopic data further indicate that these igneous rocks formed in a back-arc oceanic basin. Our zircon U-Pb ages combined with published data indicate that the igneous blocks in the mélange formed during 334−309 Ma. An undeformed granite dike crosscutting the ophiolite mélange yielded an age of ca. 300 Ma and provides a minimum age of mélange formation. Meta-sandstones, which were previously interpreted as Devonian or Proterozoic in age, were deposited during the late Carboniferous (ca. 325−310 Ma) and yielded U-Pb detrital zircon ages consistent with a single Central Tianshan provenance. We propose an updated geodynamic model for the Paleozoic tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the South Tianshan. We suggest that the Central Tianshan was locally separated from the Tarim block by back-arc oceanic basins during the Devonian to Carboniferous. This study shows that the Paleozoic tectonic activity of the Central and South Tianshan was characterized by the opening and subsequent closing of back-arc basins prior to its final amalgamation to the Tarim block, similar to the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the western Pacific region, and such processes may be major characteristics of orogenic belts during the transition from accretionary to collisional systems.

The southeastern (SE) Tibetan Plateau (Yunnan) is characterized by low‐relief uplands that were deeply incised by large rivers. The thermal history of basement rocks in this region remains poorly investigated, while this data is needed to elucidate the complex relationship between tectonics and climate in shaping the surface. To better understand its thermo‐tectonic evolution, we carried out apatite fission track thermochronology on 31 samples collected from a large area that covers different tectonic units, including a vertical profile in the middle Mekong River valley; additional zircon LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb dating was performed on four basement rocks. Our results confirm that a large portion of Mesozoic crystalline rocks constitute the basement of the SE Tibetan Plateau. Inverse thermal history modeling of fission track data reveal extensive late Oligocene to Miocene rapid basement cooling and exhumation episodes from both inside and outside the active zones (i.e., ductile shear zone and river valley). These thermal events were coincident with the activities of large‐scale strike‐slip faults that dominate the structural framework. Combined with the published data, we propose that widespread crustal shortening and thickening took place in the SE Tibetan Plateau during the Oligocene‐Miocene in the context of a compressive tectonic regime. Low‐temperature thermochronological data reveal that both tectonic forcing and climate‐driven erosion have played important roles in exhuming the basement rocks in the region. It is also deduced that the present‐day relatively low‐elevation landscape of the Yunnan area resulted from complex interaction between regional tectonic activity and surficial erosion since the late Oligocene.

Bogda Shan is a mountain belt located at the eastern extremity of the Chinese Tianshan and records a complex and debated exhumation history. Previous studies have reported a young Cenozoic thermal history for the exhumation of Bogda Shan, which is in conflict with the observation of preserved Mesozoic erosion surfaces in the area. This study re-evaluates the Meso-Cenozoic thermo-tectonic evolution of Bogda Shan using apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology. Palaeozoic basement (meta-sandstone) samples collected from the northern and southwestern flanks of the mountain ranges reveal apparent Mesozoic AFT ages ranging from ~202 Ma to ~97 Ma. Inverse thermal history modelling results reveal slow to moderate basement cooling during the early Mesozoic, corresponding to relatively low levels of exhumation. This accounts for the preservation of low-relief Mesozoic peneplanation surfaces recognized at elevations of ~3500–4000 m. None of the presented AFT data and thermal history models show any evidence for significant deep Cenozoic exhumation. In the neighbouring Junggar Basin, a Middle Jurassic sandstone sample records partial resetting of the AFT system during the Cretaceous. This observation conflicts with previous data (from the same Jurassic strata) where complete resetting of the AFT clock during the Cenozoic was suggested. Furthermore, Lower Cretaceous and Palaeogene sediments from the Turpan-Hami Basin show non-reset detrital AFT age populations of ~197, ~135, and ~104 Ma, which are coincident with the main pulses of exhumation recorded in the Chinese North Tianshan. Based on a comprehensive summary of the published data, we argue for a Mesozoic building of the Bogda–Balikun–Harlik mountain chain in the eastern Chinese Tianshan. Subsequent Cenozoic exhumation must have been relatively modest at most (<2 km) as it was not recorded by AFT thermochronology. Graphical abstract

The Oligocene–Miocene magmatic rocks extensively developed in the Gangdese magmatic belt are key records of the post-collisional tectono-magmatic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, petrological, zircon U-Pb geochronological, zircon Hf isotopic and whole-rock geochemical investigations were carried out on two granitic porphyry stocks exposed in the Chunzhe area of the middle Gangdese belt. LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb dating, cathodoluminescence (CL) images and trace element characteristics indicate that the granitic porphyries were emplaced at 11.8 ± 0.2 Ma (MSWD = 1.1) and 11.5 ± 0.1 Ma (MSWD = 1.2), with a small number of zircon grains yielding ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 51.1~59.5 Ma, 29.8 Ma and 19.4~12.2 Ma, which are interpreted as inherited or captured zircon components. The analyzed samples are monzogranite porphyries composed mainly of quartz, plagioclase and alkali feldspar, with variable secondary white mica/sericite. In whole-rock composition, they display high-K calc-alkaline and weakly peraluminous characteristics. These rocks are enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) such as Ba, Sr and Rb, and relatively depleted in Nb-Ta-Ti as well as Cr and Ni. They show light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment and heavy rare earth element (HREE) depletion, with distinctly high chondrite-normalized La/Yb ratios (31.05~71.25) and Sr/Y ratios (35.90~49.07), and a positive correlation between the LREE/HREE ratio and La content, indicating robust adakite-like trace element characteristics. Zircon εHf(t) values of the Miocene magmatic rocks range from −4.44 to 2.41, corresponding to two-stage Hf model ages of 1380~944 Ma, suggesting that the magmas were mainly derived from juvenile continental crust materials with the addition of a small amount of ancient continental crust materials. Combined with the regional geological setting, the Chunzhe Miocene granitic porphyries were most likely generated by partial melting of the thickened lower crust in the Gangdese belt during the late stage of Oligocene–Miocene post-collisional magmatism; local lower-crustal delamination may also have contributed, although this is not uniquely constrained by the present dataset.