Yican Liu

• PhD
• Professor at University of Science and Technology of China

In the Dabie orogen, central China, the ultrahigh pressure metamorphism (UHPM) was best recorded from meta-mafic and ultramafic rocks occurring as lenses within voluminous amphibolite-facies metafelsic rocks. However, whether or not these metafelsic rocks experienced ultra-deep subduction (>5 GPa) has been rarely quantified because of the rare pres...

The Susong complex zone is a relatively low‐grade metamorphic unit located in the southern part of the Dabie orogen and preserves a variety of metasedimentary rocks, mostly with epidote‐amphibolite facies. However, their depositional age, provenance and tectonic setting of sedimentary protolith remain controversial due to the lack of fossils, preci...

The formation of Meso-Neoarchean metagranitoids from the Wuhe complex (WC), southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) and the nature of Mesozoic tectonothermal overprinting are unclear. It is the importance of understanding Phanerozoic overprinting in Archean complexes for obtaining a complete understanding of the evolution of the NCC. Th...

Post-collisional mountain-root collapse and subsequent massive partial melting occurred in the high-temperature (HT) ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terrane of the North Dabie complex zone (NDZ), central China. The NDZ was deeply subducted in the Triassic, producing widespread migmatites and various magmatic intrusions in the Cretaceous. Post-...

The Wuhe complex (WC), exposed at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), is an important constituent of the Eastern Block of the NCC. In order to better understand the Precambrian crustal composition and evolution of this region, a comprehensive investigation on zircon geochronology and Hf isotopes, as well as whole-rock geochemis...

A multidisciplinary study integrating P–T pseudosection of phase equilibrium modeling, conventional geothermometry and zircon U–Pb dating with trace element analysis was carried out on the high–T UHP eclogites from the Dabie orogen. The eclogites here underwent a multistage metamorphic evolution including post-peak granulite-facies overprinting and...

The discovery of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) index minerals such as coesite and micro-diamond in supracrustal rocks indicate that a large amount of crustal rocks were subducted to mantle depths and subsequently returned to the Earth’s surface. However, exhumation mechanism of the deeply subducted crustal rocks has been a hot topic in geodynamic commun...

The North Dabie complex zone (NDZ), central China, is a high-T ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terrane. It underwent a complex evolution comprising of multistage metamorphism and multiple anatectic events during the Mesozoic continental collision, characterized by granulite-facies overprinting and a variety of migmatites with different generat...

Corundum-bearing anatectic aluminous rocks are exposed in the deeply subducted North Dabie complex zone (NDZ), of Central China. The rocks consist of corundum, biotite, K-feldspar and plagioclase, and show clear macro- and micro-structural evidence of anatexis by dehydration melting of muscovite in the absence of quartz. Mineral textures and chemic...

A combined geochemical (whole-rock elements and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, zircon trace elements and Hf isotopes) and geochronological (zircon U–Pb ages) study was carried out on the relatively low-grade meta-basites and meta-granitoids from Longjingguan within the central Dabie ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic zone, east-central China. Zircon investig...

The Precambrian lower crust rocks at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) are mainly exposed as granulite xenoliths hosted by Mesozoic dioritic porphyry and metamorphic terrains in the Xuzhou-Suzhou area. Garnet amphibolites and garnet granulites are two kinds of typical lower-crustal xenoliths and were selected to reconstruct di...

The North Dabie complex zone (NDZ), central China is a high-T ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic terrane formed by subduction of the South China Block beneath the North China Block in Triassic [1-4]. This study documentes that there are corundum-bearing and associated aluminous silica-undersaturated rocks in the NDZ. The corundum-bearing aluminous gnei...

The deep-seated granulite xenoliths in the Mesozoic dioritic porphyry in the Xuzhou-Suzhou region at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) belong to the Precambrian lower-crustal or mantle-derived rocks. These xenoliths include garnet amphibolite, garnet granulite, garnet-bearing plagioclase-amphibole gneiss, granitoid gneiss and...

Investigations on metamorphic processes of the Wuhe complex provide new insights into the formation and evolution of Precambrian metamorphic basement at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). In this paper, three Paleoproterozoic stages of metamorphic assemblages from mafic granulites in the Wuhe complex is recognized and a clockw...

Impure calcite marbles from the Precambrian metamorphic basement of the Wuhe Complex, southeastern margin of the North China Craton, provide an exceptional opportunity to understand the depositional processes during the Late Archean and the subsequent Palaeoproterozoic metamorphic evolution of one of the oldest cratons in the world. The studied mar...

Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks are distinctive products of crustal deep subduction, and are mainly exposed in continental subduction-collision terranes. UHP slices of continental crust are usually involved in multistage exhumation and partial melting, which has obvious influence on the rheological features of the rocks, and thus signifi...

Two types of Paleoproterozoic granitoids, i.e., K-feldspar/albite granites and granitic gneisses, were recognized from the Wuhe Complex of the Precambrian basement and neighboring areas in the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). They share the identical ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 2096 ± 9 Ma and 2096 ± 8 Ma defined by zircon SHRIMP U-Pb d...

Deformed low-grade metabasites from the western segment of the Beihuaiyang zone in the Hong’an orogen, central China can be divided into two types, i.e. meta-gabbro and meta-basalt. These lithologies have been studied by using whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic analyses, and zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating. Concordant zircon U-Pb ages of 631 ± 5...

No abstract is available for this article.

No abstract is available for this article.

The Precambrian lower-crustal rocks at the southeastern margin of the North China Block (NCB) occur as high-grade metamorphic or granulite terrains and xenoliths in the Mesozoic dioritic porphyry. These rocks provide an excellent natural laboratory to study formation and evolution of the Precambrian lower crust in the region. The metamorphic terrai...

High-temperature (HT, >850C) metamorphism in continental collision orogens, particularly for those ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, has become one of the remarkable topics in Earth science. It has bearing on the element and isotope behaviors of UHP rocks, their partial melting and related geodynamic effects during exhumation. In this pa...

High-temperature (HT; >850°C) metamorphism in continental collision orogens, particularly for those ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, has become one of the remarkable topics in Earth science. It has bearing on the element and isotope behaviors of UHP rocks, their partial melting and related geodynamic effects during exhumation. In this pa...

In those ultrahigh pressure (UHP) terranes that experienced protracted high/ultrahigh temperature (HT/UHT) exhumation histories, slow exhumation rates and a widespread anatexis, the UHP metamorphism is often elusive and difficult to be constrained. In the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt of central-eastern China, which is the largest UHP terrane in the wor...

The integrated investigations on eclogites from the Luotian dome in the North Dabie complex zone(NDZ), central China suggest that the NDZ wholly underwent high-T/UHP metamorphism and multistage exhumation history as a coherent slice, resulting in the common formation of peculiar multiple decompression textures and the extremely rare preservation of...

Ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites from the northern Dabie orogen, central China underwent a complex metamorphic evolution during Triassic continental deep subduction and subsequent exhumation. The eclogites were strongly affected by multiple decompression and re-crystallization processes during exhumation, thus making the determination of peak met...

Systematic geochronological, geochemical and geological data for the Late Jurassic granitic intrusions from the Bengbu area in the southeastern margin of North China Block (NCB) are presented in this paper. The very low FeO + MgO + TiO 2 contents and ferromagnesian mineral abundance as well as low Al-saturation indexes (ASI = 0.92–1.09) of the rock...

The Dabie Shan metamorphic belt in central China, formed by continental collision between the South China Block and North China Block in the Triassic, is one of the largest HP/UHP terranes in the world. While in the Central Dabie Zone the UHP metamorphism was discovered more than 25 years ago, in the North Dabie Zone (NDZ) UHP peak metamorphic cond...

Granulitized eclogites from the North Dabie complex zone (NDZ) in central China have been documented to undergo a multiple metamorphic events including ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) and HP eclogite-facies metamorphism, and subsequent HP granulite-facies overprinting and amphibolite-facies retrogression during continental subduction and exhumation (Liu e...

The Dabie orogen is a well-known coesite-and diamond-bearing ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt formed by the Triassic continental collision between the North China Block and South China Block (SCB), where various types of eclogites were exposed. In this region, there are a lot of various UHP rocks including eclogites and granitic gneisses....

A variety of deep-seated xenoliths occur within the Mesozoic Jiagou dioritic porphyry in the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). In this study we present a combined petrologic, geochronological, Hf isotope and geochemical study on the different types of xenoliths and use these data to better constrain the composition and age of the...

We report zircon U-Pb geochronology, geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data from mafic granulites and garnet amphibolites of the Wuhe Complex in the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). In combination with previous data, our results demonstrate that these rocks represent fragments of the ancient lower crust, and have features simila...

In the present study, two gneiss xenoliths from the Mesozoic Jiagou intrusion at the southeastern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) are examined for in situ zircon SHRIMP U–Pb dating in combination with zircon trace element and Hf isotope analyses. Cathodoluminescence (CL) images and trace element data reveal that most zircons from the dated s...

The crustal growth of the North China Craton (NCC) during the Neoarchean time (2.5e2.8 Ga) is a hotly controversial topic, with some proposing that the main crustal growth occurred in the late Neoarch-ean (2.5e2.6 Ga), in agreement with the time of the magmatism, whereas others suggest that the main crustal accretion took place during early Neoarch...

The studied eclogite is located in the Luotian dome in the southwestern part of the North Dabie Complex Zone (NDZ), central China, and is a portion of deeply subducted mafic lower continental crust of the South China Block. Petrologic analysis suggests that the eclogite underwent ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) and high-pressure eclogite-facies metamorphi...

The studied ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites, located in the southwestern part of the North Dabie complex zone (NDZ) in central China, represent deeply subducted mafic lower continental crust of the South China Block and display a multiple metamorphic evolution. However, the exact timing of the UHP metamorphism in the NDZ is poorly constrained, a...

Recent investigations of metamorphic rocks from the North Dabie complex, zone ( NDZ ) suggest that the NDZ wholly underwent high-T/UHP metamorphism and multistage exhumation history as a coherent slice, resulting in the common formation of peculiar multiple decompression textures and the extremely rare preservation of former UHP metamorphic record....

Abstract The geometry of the Dabie Mountains is manifested in terms of the distribution of petro-tectonic units in three dimensions. It is identified into three segments from east to west, four horizons in vertical profiles and eight petro-tectonic units from north to south. Three segments are the east, middle and west segments. Four horizons, from...

Based on detailed field investigations and petrographic observations, we discovered Neoproterozoic-emplaced granite from the metavolcanics of the Dingyuan Formation in the western Beihuaiyang zone, the Dabie orogen. This study reports the results of zircon U-Pb dating and preliminary petrographic observations on two metagranite samples. The studied...

In order to understand the vertical structure of the Dabie–Sulu ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) belt, common Pb isotopic compositions of omphacites in eclogites and feldspars in gneisses from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) project (100–5000 m) have been investigated in this study. Samples from 0 to 800 m (unit 1) in the dr...

Garnet-bearing gneissic granite from Laoshan, Bengbu was dated by zircon SHRIMP U-Pb method. The CL images revealed that the zircon from the dated sample generally displayed core-mantle-rim structure. The age of the core domains was Neoproterozoic (a concordant age of 673 Ma±12 Ma), the mantle yielded an age of 210 Ma±4 Ma∼242 Ma±5 Ma with low Th/U...

Abstract The Dabie Mountains are believed to be a collisional orogenic belt between the Yangtze amd Sino-Korean continental plates. It is composed of the foreland fold-thrust zone, the subducting cover and basement of the Yangtze continental plate, the coesite- and diamond-bearing ultra-high pressure métamorphic zone and the meta-ophiolitic mèlange...

In the southeastern margin of the North China Craton, high-pressure (HP) granulite facies meta-basic rocks exposed as bands or lenses in the Precambrian metamorphic basement (e.g. Bengbu) and as xenoliths in Mesozoic intrusions (e.g. Jiagou) are characterized by the assemblage garnet + clinopy-roxene + plagioclase + quartz + rutile ± Ti-rich hornbl...

Metamorphic petrology of eclogites was carried out at Luotian in southwestern part of the North Dabie Complex (NDC) , central China. The results suggested that the eclogites experienced eclogite-, granulite- and amphibolite-facies metamorphism, and displayed multistage breakdown textures. The most striking features of breakdown textures were presen...

Although moissanite has been found in various rocks, reliable primary moissanite has been reported only from kimberlites and meteorites. The Dabie Mountain moissanite reported in this paper is the first occurrence of primary moissanite hosted by serpentinite. It differs from synthetic silicon carbide in optical properties, inclusions and infrared s...

Although tectonic models were presented for exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks during the continental collision, there is increasing evidence for the decoupling between crustal slices at various depths within deeply subducted continental crust. This lends support to the multi-slice successive exhumation model of the UHP metamo...

Although tectonic models were presented for exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks during the continental collision, there is increasing evidence for the decoupling between crustal slices at various depths within deeply subducted continental crust. This lends support to the multi-slice successive exhumation model of the UHP metamo...

Although moissanite has been found in various rocks, reliable primary moissanite has been reported only from kimberlites and meteorites. The Dabie Mountain moissanite reported in this paper is the first occurrence of primary moissanite hosted by serpentinite. It differs from synthetic silicon carbide in optical properties, inclusions and infrared s...

There are many subhorizontal reflectors in the Huangshi-Liu'an migrated seismic reflection profile across the Dabie Mountains, which suggests that subhorizontal stratification also occurs in the middle and lower crust below the central part of the Dabie Mountains and shows the difference in rheology and kinematics. This agrees with the understandin...

Although ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks are present in many collisional orogenic belts, almost all exposed UHP metamorphic rocks are subducted upper or felsic lower continental crust with minor mafic boudins. Eclogites formed by subduction of mafic lower continental crust have not been identified yet. Here an eclogite occurrence that fo...

Zircon SHRIMP U–Pb ages and cathodoluminescence (CL) images reveal that most zircon separated from two tonalitic gneiss samples in the northern Dabie high T/P metamorphic zone (NDZ) have four different domains: (1) inherited core, with clear oscillatory zoning, low-P mineral inclusions and high Th/U ratios, indicating the Neoproterozoic age of the...

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating was performed for olivine gabbro at Wangmuguan in the Beihuaiyang zone of the Dabie orogen and its country rock (garnet-bearing epidote-mica-quartz schist). The results show that the gabbro was crystallized at 635 ± 5 Ma, in the late Neoproterozoic rather than in the late Paleozoic as previously suggested; its country rock...

This paper reports common Pb isotope data of omphacite in eclogite and feldspar in gneiss from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) (100 ∼ 2000m). The radiogenic Pb of samples from the upper section (0 ∼ 800m) in drilling core is moderately high with small variations (206Ph/204Pb = 16.81 ∼ 17.29, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.37 ∼ 15.45, 206Ph/204...

Micro-inclusions and the U-Pb age of zircons were investigated from the banded gneiss in the northern Dabie complex, central China. Mineral inclusions in zircon from the gneiss,combined with cathodoluminescene images and isotopic dating, can be divided into three generations, i. e. primary magma assemblage of feldspar + biotite + quartz + apatite,...

The medusae fossil from the metamorphic rock of Mukeng Formation of Shangxi Group in the east segment of the "Jiangnan Old Land" is an important evidence to time the age of the host strata and disintegrate the host metamorphic stratigraphy. The medusae fossil is different from that of Edicara and Chengjiang fauna. Morphologically, it is similar to...

The study presents U-Pb zircon ages for granitic gneiss and amphibolite from the Luzhenguan Complex (LZC) in northern part of the eastern Dabie Orogen and their geological significance. Two granitic gneisses and one amphibolite give protolith zircon U-Pb ages of 740 Ma and 725 Ma, respectively. The ages show that the LZC is composed mainly of Neopr...

We have found >10 in situ microdiamonds in thin sections of eclogites from the Dabie and Su-Lu regions of central eastern China since the first occurrence of microdiamond in eclogites from the Dabie Mountains (DMT) reported in 1992. The microdiamonds are found not only in the central part but also in the northern part of the DMT. Several free cryst...

The main rock assemblages and their metamorphic petrologic and geochronological data of the lower crustal rocks from the Dabie Mountains were summarized in this paper. The SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating results of the eclogites from the subducted mafic lower continental crust and related gneiss was firstly reported in the Luotian dome. This kind of unus...

Recent discoveries of UHP eclogites from the northern Dabie Complex (NDC) in central China provide an opportunity to improve our understanding of the tectonic setting of the NDC and exhumation mechanism of UHPM rocks. The petrology, geochemistry, Sr–Nd–O isotopic compositions and Sm–Nd isotopic chronology of some eclogites from the NDC were obtaine...

The geometry of the Dabie Mountains is manifested in terms of the distribution of petro-tectonic units in three dimensions. It is identified into three segments from east to west, four horizons in vertical profiles and eight petro-tectonic units from north to south. Three segments ace the cast, middle and west segments. Four horizons, from top to b...

The eclogite produced from the subducted mafic lower crust of the Yangtze continental plate is a new finding within the Luotian dome in northern Dabie Mountains. The eclogites occur as lens in garnet-bearing banded gneisses. The mineral assemblage of the eclogite is garnet, omphacite, rutile and quartz; secondary minerals are hornblende, plagioclas...

The whole rock Pb isotopic compositions of the Luzhenguan complex from northern Dabie Mountains are reported. The results showed that the 204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios for the granitic gneisses are 1.366% to 1.392%, 17. 083 to 17.874 and 38.161 to 38. 794; 204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios for the amphibolites are 1.386% t...

Petrologic geochemistry of the banded gneisses and associated amphibolites from northern Dabie Mountains suggests that their protoliths were alkaline I-type granitoid and basalt respectively. Hf-Rb/10-Ta X 10 and Hf-Rb/10-Ta X 30 discrimination of the banded gneisses imply that they were originated from intracontinental granites, 87Sr/86Sr = 0. 722...

Thrust-nappe structures and extensional structures simultaneously occur in the northern part of the Dabie Mountains. The systematic structural study reveals that extensional structures along the Mozitan-Xiaotian fault and thrust-nappe structures that take the Jinzhai-Shucheng fault as their frontal thrust share the same shear sense, and display a t...

U-Pb zircon and hornblede Ar-Ar ages of granitic gneiss and amphibolite from the Susong Complex of the southern Dabie Orogen constrain the protolith of the monzogneiss at 2018 ± 73Ma 2010 ±38Ma, the protolith of the muscovite plagioclase gneiss was formed at 741 ± 7Ma, and metamorphism of the Susong Complex around 228Ma. These results indicate that...

Micro-diamonds were only found ten years ago in eclogite associated with marble at Xindian in the Dabie Mountains. This paper reports our new finding of mi-cro-diamonds not only in eclogites at Maobei in the Sulu region and at Xindian and Laoyoufang in the south part of the Dabie Mountains (South Dabie), but also in eclogites at Baizhangya and Huan...

The metamorphic petrology of eclogites from northern Dabie Mountains was performed. The results suggested that the metamorphism of eclogite-facies in northern Dabie Mountains could be subdivided into the earlier ultra-high-pressure stage and the later high-pressure stage. The eclogites contain a series of characteristics retrograde textures, includ...

The compositional zoning of the garnet in a strongly deformed eclogite from Raobazhai foliated peridotite has been recognized. The CaO concentrations of the garnet are decreased from the core to the rim, while its MnO concentrations are increased, suggesting the retrograde origin of such CaO—MnO zoning. The tie line of garnet + omphacite from this...

Whole rock Fb isotopic compositions of eclogites from the northern Dabie Mountains are reported. Their 206Pb/204Pb , 207 Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios are 16. 773∼18. 339, 15. 346∼15. 516 and 37. 133∼38. 346 with average values of 17. 65, 15. 45 and 37. 81 respectively, which are close to the compositions of lower crust (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb...

The Ultramafic Rock Belt (UMRB) in northern Dabie Mountains is composed of rootless rock blocks of variant tectonic setting and sheared fine-grained matrix, mainly tonalitic gneiss. A lot of eclogite and eclogitic rocks are the new findings in the last years. Three metamorphic processes can be recognized from the eclogite: eclogitic facies metamorp...

The eclogites from the mafic-ultramafic belt in the Northern part of the Dabie Mountains are distributed as lenses in the foliated peridotites and the ortho-gneisses. Generally, the end members of ompacites are JD = 20 mol%~52 mol% The garnet composition, mineral assemblage of eclogite facies and oriented quartz exsoluiton in Na-clinopyroxene indic...

The UMRB in northern Dabie Mountains is composed of rootless rock blocks of variant tectonic setting and sheared fine-grained matrix, mainly tonalitic gneiss. The most prominent is the more than 160 mafic-ultramafic blocks. A lot of eclogite and eclogitic rocks are the new findings in the last years. Three metamorphic processes can be recognized fr...

At least three metamorphic stages of dolomite marble associated with a few retrograded eclogite lenses can be distingushed from the mafic-ultramafic belt in the northern Dabie Mountains: 1 the peak metamorphic stage of eclogite facies with calcite + dolomite + forsterite + Ti-clinohumite + rutile + Mg-rich ilmenite ± aragonite ± garnet mineral asse...

Eclogite from the Northern Dabie Mountain is a new finding by the authors. These eclogites in foliated perdotite are enveloped by banded gneiss and occur in the mafic-ultramafic rock belt. They are mainly composed of omphacite, garnet, diopside, orthopyroxene, amphibole, plagioclase and magnetite, and a small amount of rutile, spinel, olivin and co...