Abstract The tectono‐stratigraphic development of continental basins is critical to an understanding of continental tectonics and the formation of metal deposits. The Neoproterozoic, inter‐cratonic Katangan copper basin of Central Africa records a tectono‐stratigraphic evolution and the generation of potential metal transporting fluid pathways. Integration of lithospheric structure, quantitative basin analysis, sediment routing systems, and basin structure defines the tectono‐stratigraphic model of the basin. The basin lies between the Congo and Kalahari cratons, on lithosphere distinctly thinner than the adjacent craton cores. Crustal scale fault zones parallel the craton margins and suggest lithospheric weaknesses influenced the basin shape. Basin subsidence analysis indicates two phases of rift‐driven subsidence and increasing lithospheric extension from the basin boundary to a Central Rift Zone (CRZ). The CRZ also marks a sediment provenance boundary. Drill core and seismic reflection data show extensional, half graben geometries. Subsequent, Late Ediacaran and Cambrian orogenesis and basin closure and inversion occurred regionally and most intensively within the CRZ. The deformation resulted in crustal thickening, preserved as a ∼50 km wide zone of garnet‐amphibolite facies metamorphism. The CRZ is underlain by relatively thin, continental lithosphere, and is characterized by intense orogenic tectonics and inversion of the earlier formed rifts. The reactivated fault structures imply crustal weakening and define several tectonic domains that occur as fluid pathways for high volume fluid migration of metal bearing brines.

Abstract The Permian evolution of the Yukon‐Tanana terrane and closure of the Slide Mountain Ocean in the northern Cordillera have been inferred to culminate in the collisional “Klondike orogeny,” a northern extension of the Sonoma orogeny of the western USA. The “Klondike orogeny” was thought to be associated with mid‐crustal deformation and metamorphism and development of a thick orogenic welt in the late Permian (ca. 260–252 Ma; Lopingian). A review of lithogeochemical data combined with new U‐Pb geochronology and Hf isotope data of igneous and detrital zircons from the western Yukon‐Tanana terrane supports development of a mid to late Permian (ca. 265–255 Ma; Guadalupian‐Lopingian) arc in a supra‐subduction zone setting. Arc development was preceded by hyper‐extension and emplacement of supra‐subduction zone ophiolites (ca. 268–264 Ma). Precise CA‐TIMS U‐Pb dating of zircon in plutons inferred to constrain the timing of the “Klondike orogeny” show that they are the same age (ca. 260.9 Ma) and that previous dates are too young due to unmitigated Pb loss. A critical review of evidence for regional metamorphism indicates that mid‐crustal deformation and metamorphism is related to accretion of the Intermontane terranes in the Early Jurassic. Mica cooling ages show that the western Yukon‐Tanana terrane was exhumed to upper crustal level in the Jurassic. Sinistral transpression facilitated development of the Yukon‐Tanana terrane and subsequent tectonic activity from mid‐Paleozoic to early Mesozoic and probably linked the Permian closure of the Slide Mountain Ocean with intermittent late Paleozoic deformation culminating in the Sonoma orogeny of the U.S. Cordillera.

Abstract The influence of an oceanic ridge spreading center being subducted on the overlying plate is poorly known. At Chile's Laguna San Rafael, we collected a novel airborne light detection and ranging (lidar)‐derived topographic data set near where an oceanic spreading center, the Chile Ridge, is being subducted under South America. In these data and with corroborative field observations (including fault rocks), we map Quaternary deposits presumably displaced vertically and horizontally along the Liquiñe‐Ofqui Fault Zone's (LOFZ) master fault scarp. Utilizing dated glacier deposits from the well‐researched San Rafael Glacier (among the best studied in Patagonia) with our lidar‐derived offest data (validated in the field) we estimated Holocene horizontal dextral strike slip rates of 13.8 ± 4.9 and 14.1 ± 1.0 mm/yr based on displaced moraine and landslide deposits. The lidar‐derived topographic data set further guided analysis outside of the lidar area, but along strike of the fault, and we document a major vertical fault scarp south of Laguna San Rafael, which have young scarps showing some of Earth's fastest vertical slip rates (∼6 ± 3 mm/yr). Exhumed metamorphic rocks here show long term strike slip displacement and longevity of the LOFZ in Chilean Patagonia. Because the dip slip component is nearly zero 750 km to the north along the LOFZ, the rapid neotectonic surface uplift here is likely controlled and sustained by oblique subduction of the Chile Ridge and associated slab window and contributes to the highest topography in Patagonia (∼4 km).

Abstract Studies of tectonic mélanges provide constraints on the evolution of active plate margins. However, resolving the pressure‐temperature trajectories of these deformed rocks, which are exhumed from low‐temperature conditions, can be challenging. We analyzed a Late Miocene‐Early Pliocene tectonic mélange formed in a shear zone in the southern Apennines (Basilicata, Italy), located in the hanging wall of a regional thrust, to provide estimates of temperature, pressure and strain. The mélange comprises slates with a fine‐grained phyllosilicate matrix embedding larger porphyroclasts with relict S0 bedding. Electronic microscope analysis revealed a disjunctive cleavage (S1), partially to fully transposed by a top‐to‐the‐E/SE crenulation cleavage (S2) marked by white mica and chlorite. A late weak cleavage (S3) is not accompanied by newly formed minerals. Kinematic vorticity analysis indicates a range of 20%–35% coaxial strain, whereas 3D strain analysis of deformed clasts suggests oblate strain. X‐Ray Powder Diffraction analysis of grains <2 μm indicates anchimetamorphic conditions between 200 and 250°C, with temperatures increasing by 50°C toward the thrust contact. Multi‐equilibrium modeling of coarser S1‐S2 grains ranges from 300 to 380°C, independent of their position in the shear zone. We attribute the low‐temperature range of finer grains to Apennine anchimetamorphism, whereas grains >2 μm are likely detrital and record higher pressure‐temperature conditions. Assuming a regional paleogeothermal gradient of 20°C/km, we estimate a maximum burial depth of about 12 km and a pressure of 0.32 GPa. This approach can be applied to similar contexts worldwide, providing a tool for regional tectonic reconstruction and process‐oriented studies.

Abstract A structural analysis of intra‐montane basins establishes the deformation field of the southwestern Tian Shan, that part of the Tian Shan that faces the Pamir and thus the deformation that the Indian mantle‐lithosphere indenter beneath the Pamir imposes—northward indentation and westward crustal collapse. Tight‐isoclinal footwall synclines in the basins accompany major ∼E‐striking Cenozoic reverse faults that reactivate Paleozoic ones, separate basement blocks, and accommodated ∼N‒S shortening and dextral strike‐slip faulting. They connect with ∼WNW‐striking dextral strike‐slip faults, and ∼ENE‐striking thrusts; the latter are confined to the western southwestern Tian Shan. The deformation field resembles that of the Afghan‐Tajik Basin fold‐thrust belt and mimics in shape the geometry of the intermediate‐depth earthquake zone beneath the Pamir that traces the lithospheric delamination zone separating the Indian mantle indenter from Asian lithosphere. The basement‐rooted Cenozoic faults require a detachment underlying the southwestern Tian Shan, likely along the brittle‐ductile transition, consistent with the regular spacing of the intra‐montane basins. This mid‐crustal detachment and the shallow evaporite detachment below the Afghan‐Tajik Basin may root in a common deeper one, likely along the Moho. As the southwestern Tian Shan is involved in the northward motion and westward collapse of the Pamir, the deep detachment must root in the lithospheric delamination zone of the Pamir. The deep structure of the eastern Tian Shan is different; thus, the detachment underlying the southwestern Tian Shan and Afghan‐Tajik Basin must terminate along the eastern margin of the Pamir delamination zone, that is, along the western margin of the Tarim craton.

Abstract As the Tibetan Plateau expands, its outskirts suffer significant seismic hazards. Remotely affected by the expansion of the Tibetan Plateau, the northwestern Ordos area develops an extensional tectonic setting. The occurrence of destructive earthquakes, such as the 1739 Yinchuan‐Pingluo M 8.0 earthquake, reflects serious tectonic activities in this area. Therefore, studying the activity of the boundary normal faults is crucial. This study calculated the vertical slip rate of the Langshan Piedmont Fault (LPF) and integrated it with the parameters of other faults to develop a quantitative tectonic model of the sub‐blocks in the northwestern Ordos area. Using high‐precision unmanned aerial vehicles, drilling, and two Quaternary dating methods (14C and optically stimulated luminescence), the vertical displacement of the LPF was constrained by the same lacustrine layer in a footwall outcrop and in a hanging wall borehole. The vertical slip rate of the LPF since 51 ka was calculated to be 3.14 ± 1.14 mm/a. The northwestern Ordos area primarily includes parts of the Alxa and Ordos blocks, with the Alxa Block further divided into the Northern Alxa, Bayanhot, and Helanshan sub‐blocks. The LPF is the boundary of the Northern Alxa and Ordos blocks. The Ordos, Bayanhot and Helanshan Sub‐blocks move relative to the Northern Alxa Sub‐block at 1.36 ± 0.30 mm/a (N138.04°), 0.24 ± 0.33 mm/a (N65.34°), 0.26 ± 0.15 mm/a (N133.78°), respectively. Therefore, under the northeastward growth and extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau, the tectonic deformation in northwest Ordos area mainly manifested as the relative movement between the Alxa and Ordos blocks.

No abstract is available for this article.

Abstract The subduction of the Paleo‐Pacific plate, and tectonic extension and mineralization in the upper plate, has been extensively studied in the last decades. How plate interactions along plate margins contributed to the upper plate processes, however, remains controversial. This study focuses on the Queshan Metamorphic Core Complex (MCC) and the Songjiagou gold deposit in the northern Jiaodong Peninsula, southeastern North China Craton, to uncover the processes of and factors on Early Cretaceous tectonic extension and gold mineralization. It is shown that the Queshan MCC experienced early nearly east‐west and late northwest‐southeast extensional stress fields, with a critical transition between 123 and 119 Ma. During 136–119 Ma, the average cooling rate of the lower plate exceeded 17.5°C/Myr, but decreased rapidly to 3.5°C/Myr after 119 Ma. Formation of the Songjiagou gold deposit is shown to occur in two distinct stages, that is, weak emplacement of gold‐bearing fluids along the northeast‐southwest fault from 122 to 118 Ma, and large‐scale fluid activities between 118 and 116 Ma. A detachment fault zone, formed during the rapid exhumation of the Queshan MCC due to near east‐west extension, and a brittle fracture system, created under northwest‐southeast extension, contributed to a fracture network that connect the middle and upper crust. This network facilitated the migration of hydrothermal fluids and precipitation of gold from the fluids. The Songjiagou deposit exemplifies the major gold mineralization event of around 120 Ma in the Jiaodong Peninsula. During this period, the Paleo‐Pacific plate shifted from westward to northwestward subduction. It is suggested that changes in subduction direction caused tectonic extension in the upper plate. The latter triggered reopening of pre‐existing fault systems, which enabled gold‐bearing fluids in the big mantle wedge to ascend rapidly from deep sources to the shallow crust, thereby driving large‐scale gold mineralization in the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Abstract Organic and inorganic paleothermal indicators (vitrinite reflectance‐ Ro%; illite content in mixed‐layer illite‐smectite‐ I% in I‐S) are routinely used to unravel the burial and tectonic evolution of fold‐and‐thrust belts by determining levels of thermal maturity of sedimentary successions and the amount of tectonic overburden currently eroded. However, the reliability of these reconstructions depends on the availability and quality of thermal indicators. We introduce the use of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) as an additional proxy for thermal maturity estimations in weakly deformed sedimentary successions. Using original and formerly published data from the Northern Apennines, we calibrate a quantitative relationship between the degree of AMS Foliation (ranging from 1.011 to 1.087) and the respective I% in I‐S and Ro% values. For the computed I% values from the I‐S versus F correlation, we recognize that F values ranging from 1 to 1.050 define the early diagenetic zone (I% in I‐S < 60), F values between 1.050 and 1.108 mark the late diagenetic zone (60 < I% in I‐S < 95), while F values > 1.108 indicate anchizone conditions (I% in I‐S > 95). The computed Ro% versus F correlation provides boundaries for the immature and mature stage of hydrocarbon (HC) generation (0.2 < Ro% < 0.8) with F = 1.055 indicating the transition from diagenesis (immature stage of HC generation) to catagenesis (mature stage of HC generation). The proposed model might serve as a tool for reconstructing the burial and thermal evolution of sedimentary units devoid of organic matter or in siliciclastic sediments consisting of a mixture of detrital and diagenetic minerals.

Abstract Understanding the long‐term tectono‐stratigraphic evolution of active extensional faulting is crucial for unraveling the mode through which continental rifting propagates in space and time. The Pliocene‐Quaternary L’Aquila Intermontane Basin (AIB) in central Apennines offers a natural laboratory for studying a propagating continental rift. Seismicity is related to NW‐SE‐striking normal faults that have been accommodating crustal stretching since the Late Pliocene. Through a multidisciplinary approach integrating field, mineralogical, geochemical (C‐O stable and clumped isotopes) and geochronological (40Ar/39Ar, U‐Th) analyses, this study focuses on the structural connection between the Mount Pettino Fault (MPF) and the Paganica Fault, two active, left‐stepped basin boundary faults of the AIB. A two‐stage tectono‐stratigraphic evolution is proposed during transition from localized to delocalized deformation and fault linkage. Stage‐1 (pre‐Middle Pleistocene) corresponds to nucleation and growth of the MPF, characterized by a ∼5 m thick exhumed fault core, consisting of an isotopically closed cataclasite (T (∆47) ∼33–50°C). Stage‐2 corresponds to the development of a distributed zone of NW‐SE and E‐W extensional faulting in the overlay zone with the Paganica Fault, which is interpreted as a transfer zone linking the basin boundary faults, with maximum long‐term slip rates comparable to those of the connected faults. Structurally controlled circulation of meteoric fluids promoted carbonate veining and travertine formation (T (∆47) ∼8°C). U‐Th carbonate dating of Stage‐2 mineralizations constrains the tectonic activity in the transfer zone at least at ∼182–331 ka. Implications on the tectono‐stratigraphic evolution and on the seismotectonic scenario of the AIB are discussed, providing geodynamic inference at regional scale.