Tectonic Overview of the Verkhoyansk-Kolyma Orogenic Region

Andrei Prokopiev, Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

Jaime Toro, Dept. of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, USA

The Moma Range, Eastern Yakutia, August 1998

U.S.-Russia Joint Workshop on the Plate Tectonic Evolution of NE Russia

STANFORD UNIVERSITY, DECEMBER 9-12, 2004

Outline• Review of the Verkhoyansk from N to S• Kular-Nera Slate Belt• Cratonal and Miogeoclinal Terranes

– Kolyma-Omolon, Okhotsk, Kotelnyi

• Island Arc Terranes and Ophiolites• Plutonic Belts• Paleomagnetic Review• Cenozoic Tectonics• Tectonic Reconstructions• Outstanding Problems

Geological map of the Verkhoyansk-Kolyma orogenic region

(after Tretiakov, 2004)

Middle Paleozoic grabens in the basement

(after Parfenov et al., 2001)

Main Tectonic Units of the Verkhoyansk-

Kolyma orogenic region

(after Parfenov et al., 2001)

Schematic Cross Section

Structural scheme

of the Verkhoyansk

fold-and-thrust belt

(after Prokopiev, 2001)

Verkhoyansk Ridge

Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust beltWest Verkhoyansk sector

Late Paleozoic - Early Mesozoic passive continental margin

(after Parfenov, 1991)

Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt

(after Prokopiev, 2001)

Olenek sector

Kharaulakh segment

Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust beltWest Verkhoyansk sector

(after Prokopiev, 1998)

Kuranakh segment

Orulgan segment

Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust beltWest Verkhoyansk sectorBaraya segment

(after Prokopiev, 1998)

Cross-section

Priverkhoyansk foreland basin

(after Prokopiev, 2001)

Mesozoic structural stage

Ust’-Vilyui gas condensate field

(after Gaiduk, Prokopiev, 1999)

(after Safronov et al., 2001)

Priverkhoyansk foreland basin

Three Lower Jurassic sandstone reservoirs (180 m total) interbedded with siltstones.

•Gas production – 2.5 million m3/day•Condensate fraction – 25 g/cm3

Main structures of the South-Verkhoyansk sector

of Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt

(after Prokopiev, 2001)

Geological cross-section across the central part of South Verkhoyansk

(unpublished data)

Fold and thrust (Belaya river)

Overlap and stitch assemblages Geochemical composition and age of granitoids

Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust beltSouth Verkhoyansk sector

40Ar/39Ar dating

119 to 123 Ma

Paleotectonic reconstructions

across the South Verkhoyansk

and the Okhotsk terrane

(Prokopiev, Toro et al., 2003)

(after Parfenov et al., 2001)

Kular-Nera slate belt

Strike-slip deformation

Kinematics of deformation in the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt

(after Prokopiev, 1998)

150-130 Ma 130-70 Ma

Kolyma-Omolon Superterrane (microcontinent)

•Cratonal Terranes

•Miogeoclinal Terranes

•Oceanic Terranes

•Island Arc Terranes

•Accretionary Wedge Terrane

0 3 kм .

O kl2

O kl2

O kl2 O kl2

O kl2

O kl2

O kl2

O kl2O kl2

O vl2O vl2

O vl2

O vl2

O vl2

O vl2

O tr2

O tr2

O tr2

O tr2O tr2

O tr2

O tr2

O un1 O un1 O un1

O un1O un1

O un1

O un1

O un1

O un1

O sk1

O sk1

O sk1

O 2-3

O 2-3

O2-3

O 2-3

O2-3O2-3

O3

O3

O3

O 3

O 3

S1

S 1

S 1

S 1

S 1

S 1

S1-2

S1-2 S1-2

S1-2

D1-2

D1-2

D1-2D2-3

D2-3

D2-3

C 1

C 1

C 1 C 1

0 0

2000

1000

-2000 -2000

-4000-4000

-6000 -6000

A

N W S E

P Z 1 -2

PZ1 -2

S eim chan th rus tS ekdekun th rust

N alchan sutu re

0 4 8 км .

а

б

в

г

е

д

L1

= 5.5 км .

L2 = 12 км .L3 = 17 км .

A

B

S horten ing- 65%

`J r2

Jr 1Tr3

C -P

.а-е marcers for balance section; L1 , L2, L3 - amounts of horizontal displacement of individual sheets. Assemblages of Polousnenskii sinclinorium and Tostakhakh block: M iddle Jurassic (Jr 2), Low Jurassic (Jr1), Triassic (T), Perm ian-Carbonifererous (C-P); Carbonate and carbonate-terrigenous deposits of Selennyakh block: Low carboniferous (C 1), Middle-Upper Devonian (D2-3) , Low-M iddle Devonian (D 1-2), Silurian (S1-2 ); inach formation Low Silurian (S1in), Upper Ordovician (O3 ), Middle-Upper Ordovician (O2-3 ), Middle Ordovician: Kaluchan formation (O 2kl), Volchin formation (O2vl), Taryng-Uriakh formation (O 2tr), Upper Ordovician: Ungin formation (O1un), Sekdekun formation (O1sk); Greenshists-metamorphosed Paleozoic assemblages (PZ 1-2

Balanced (А ) and reconstructed (B ) sections o f w est part Selennyakh b lock

)

B

Uyandina ophiolite

G abbro -am ph ibo lite, m e tabas lt

U ltram a fite, serpentin ite m elange

A m ph ibo lite , am phibo le c rys ta lline sch ists (m e tabas ites ) (aP Z 1), tw o -m ica andpera lum unious schis ts (m etapelites)(sPZ1 )

Greenschists volcanogenic-terrigenous-carbonate assemblagesEarly ordovician (О1 ), Late ordovician(О2 )

Paleozoic carbonate and carbonate - terrigenous rocks

LateJurassic vo lcanogenic-terrigenous rocks

Early Cretaceous granitoids

Fig. . Geological cross-section of Uyandina ophiolites.

O2 O2O2

O2 O2O2 O2

O1

O1 O1O1

sPZ1 sPZ1 sPZ1 sPZ1aPZ1 aPZ1

S1 S1 O3 -S1O2 Jr 3 J 3

N W

SE

0

0

0

10 00

1 00 0

10 00

-10 00-10 00

Polym etamorphic assemblages

МII

IIМ

М

3

3 3

1

1

12

2

2

2

2

3

3

4

4

4

5

5

5

6

6

6

77

7

1 а

2 а

3 а

4 а

5 а

1 в

2 в

2 в

3 в

2

Т м

Э с

Уя

К л1

2

4 4

4

46

67

7

7

УяВ к

5

5

6

6

66

Уя

М г

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 0

11

1 2

1 3

1 4

1 5

1 6

1 7

1 8

1 40 0 0 '0

1 40 0 0 '0

1 41 0 0 '0

1 41 0 0 '0

1 42 0 0 '0

1 42 0 0 '0

6 82 0 '

06 82 0 '

0

6 84 0 '

0

6 84 0 '

0

6 86 0 '

0

23

A

Д

А

В

Structures of accretion deformations (after Oxman, 2000, 2002)

Structures of accretion deformations (after Oxman, 2000, 2002)

Omulevka miogeoclinal terraneOmulevka miogeoclinal terrane

(after Oxman, 2003, 2004)

Munilkan oceanic (ophiolite) terrane

P-T-t evolution ophiolites and metamorphic rocks

Omolon cratonal terraneOmolon cratonal terrane Stratigraphic columns

(after Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

Pri-Kolyma miogeoclinal terranePri-Kolyma miogeoclinal terrane

(after Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

Stratigraphic columns

Island Arc Terranes

•Alazeya

•Khetachan

•Oloy

Oloy Is. Arc TerraneOloy Is. Arc Terrane

(after Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

Alazeya Is. Arc Alazeya Is. Arc TerraneTerrane

(after Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

Polousnyy-Debin and Kenkel’da accretionary Polousnyy-Debin and Kenkel’da accretionary wedge terraneswedge terranes

(after Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

A – Pri-Kolyma, B - Beryozovka, C - Kenkel'da and Alazeya terranes

The Ilin’-Tas antilinoriumThe Ilin’-Tas antilinorium and Zyryanka basin and Zyryanka basin

(after Gaiduk, Prokopiev, 1999)

(after Layer et al., 2001 and unpublished data)

Results of 40Ar/39Ar dating of granitoids of Main and Northern batholith belts, transverse belts

OloyOloy magmatic arc

Uyandina - Yasachnaya magmatic arc

Paleomagnetic data

(after Nokleberg et al., 1998; Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

Uyandina and Irgichan pull-apart basins

The northern part of the Lower Aldan basin (after Tectonics, geodynamics and metallogeny ..., 2001)

Cenozoic tectonics

Paleotectonic reconstructions

(after Sengor and Natal’in, 1996)

Paleotectonic reconstructions

(after Parfenov, 2001)

L. Devonian to E. Carb. Carb. to E. Triassic L. Triassic to E. Jurassic

M.-L. Jurassic E. Cretaceous

Aptian to Campanian

Paleotectonic reconstructions

(after Bondarenko, 2004)

Outstanding Research Questionsin the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt

• Late Proterozoic rift of North Asia Margin.– Siberia-Laurentia Connection?

• Mid-Paleozoic Rift– Conjugate margins links to outboard terranes– Verkhoyansk clastic wedge, stratigraphic links

to the Arctic– Control on Mesozoic Structures

• Origin of the Baraya Salient

• Priverkhoyansk foreland subsidence

Outstanding Research Questionsin the Verkhoyansk

• Mesozoic Shortening– Deep structure– Along-strike variation of structural style– Regional kinematics– Timing of deformation- thermochronology– Driving mechanisms for deformation:

• Collision/terrane accretion/subduction/strike-slip

– Origin of magmatic rocks– Role of strike-slip deformation– Tertiary-recent tectonics

Outstanding Problems

The available tectonic models of Northeast Asia are incomplete and contradict one another (Fujita, Newberry, 1982; Parfenov, Natal’in, 1986; Zonenshain et al., 1990; Bogdanov, Til’man, 1992; Sokolov, 1992; Parfenov, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996; Sengor, Natal’in, 1996; Nokleberg et al., 2000; Tectonics……, 2001).

• Kinematics of accretion

•Effect of inhomogeneity of the craton boundaries

•Relationship between the Pz and superposed Mz tectonic events

•Definition of subduction and collisional structures

The Growth of a Continent

Goal A Coherent Tectonic Model

Questions and Unsolved problemsQuestions and Unsolved problems

•Nature and age of paleo-oceanic basins east of the Siberian continent in the Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic (Oimyakon, South Anyui)

Tectonic Evolution

•Tectonic setting and age of Early Paleozoic arc complexes of the Alazeya upland.

•Nature and age of metamorphic complexes at the basement of the Omulevka and Prikolyma terranes.

•Problem of outlining an Early Paleozoic active continental margin along the eastern edge of the Siberian continent.

•Tectonic setting, age, and inner structure of ophiolites

Questions and Unsolved problemsQuestions and Unsolved problems

•Where is the accretionary wedge complex between the Verkhoyansk foldbelt and Kular-Nera terrane and the Kolyma-Omolon microcontinent?

•North collision with Kolyma-Omolon microcontinent

•South accretion along Okhotsk margin

Can we distinguish structures and magmatism due to these two synchronous processes?

Accretionary Tectonics

Questions and Unsolved problemsQuestions and Unsolved problems

Evolution of Sedimentary Basins

Setting and evolution of Late Pz and Mz basins surrounding the Kolyma-Omolon microcontinent

(Polousnyy, In’yali-Debin synclinoria, etc.).

Rift? Accretionary Prisms? Syn -collisional? Post-collisional?

Determination of source areas and links.

Links between basin evolution and tectonic/magmatic events

Sedimentological and geochemical characterization

Questions and Unsolved problemsQuestions and Unsolved problems

•Geodynamic setting of the Main and Northern Granite Belts?

Volcanic Arcs and Magmatic Belts

•Mantle plumes and their role in Late Mesozoic geodynamic events.

•Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic volcanism on passive and active continental margins.

•In what direction did the subduction zone dip between N. Asia and Kolyma-Omolon?

Questions and Unsolved problemsQuestions and Unsolved problems

•Recognition of Proterozoic and Mid-Paleozoic rift events in the Kolyma region

Role Extensional Tectonics

•Mechanisms for large-scale extension in the Indigirka belt.

•Are there metamorphic core complexes in the Okhotsk, Omolon, Omulevka and Prikolyma terranes?

•Origin of the Indigirka lowlands?

Thank you!Thank you!