Introduction to tectonics of China

The continental crust of China is a mosaic of cratonic blocks and orogenic belts, containing small cratons and terranes with various tectonic settings. They have diverse origins and complex histories of amalgamation, and often suffered repeated reworking after multiple episodes of amalgamation. In the last three decades, extensive geological, geochemical and geophysical investigations have been carried out on these cratonic blocks and intervening orogenic belts, producing an abundant amount of new data and competing interpretations. This provides important insights into understanding the formation and evolution of the Chinese continents. The papers assembled in this volume present a timely and comprehensive overview on major advancements and controversial issues related to the formation and evolution of continental crust in China. Complex tectonic histories were experienced not only by the large-scale cratonic blocks and orogenic belts, but also by small-scale terranes and orogens between and inside these blocks. Nevertheless, our understanding of lithotectonic units and geological processes has been greatly advanced by recent studies of zirconology and geochemistry for various rock types from major petrotectonic units in China. It has been further advanced from integrated interpretations of geochemical and petrological data for petrogenesis of magmatic rocks. An overview of these observations and interpretations provides new insights into understanding the continental plate tectonics and the chemical geodynamics of subduction zones.