Doming in the southern foreland of the Dabieshan (Yangtse block, China)

Abstract

In China, the foreland of the Dabieshan is characterized by E–W trending domes and basins. From South to North the Wugongshan, Jiulingshan, Lushan and Dabieshan domes consist of Proterozoic metamorphics unconformably covered by late Proterozoic to Triassic sediments. Ductile and brittle extensional structures are described along the margins of the metamorphic domes. Along the N–S striking lineation, kinematic indicators show divergent top‐to‐the‐north and ‐south shear in the north and south flanks of the domes, respectively. The superposition of Proterozoic phyllite over Permian–Triassic carbonates is reinterpreted as extensional allochthons formed by tilting, shearing and sliding on the layers. Plate convergence is responsible for continental subduction in the Dabieshan and deep‐seated thrusting in the Yangtse plate. As compression continued, the thrust contacts were folded and several antiformal stacks developed. Domal uplift induced the formation of gravity‐driven extensional structures.