Rollback, scissor-like closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and formation of an orocline: magmatic migration based on a large archive of age data

A large data-set of ages of magmatic rocks reveals tightly 'curved' linear magmatic belts and their migrations towards the central suture, which indicates a scissor-like closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean. These well-documented relations help us better understand the closure process of an ocean with irregular margins and the formation of curved mountain belts. Tracing the closure of oceans with irregular margins and the formation of an orocline are crucial for understanding plate reconstruction and continental assembly. The eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt, where the Mongol-Okhotsk orocline is situated, is one of the world's largest magmatic provinces. Using a large data set of U-Pb zircon ages, we updated the timing of many published igneous rocks, which allowed us to recognize tightly 'folded' linear Carboniferous-Jurassic magmatic belts that wrap around the Mongol-Okhotsk suture and their migrations both sutureward and suture-parallel. The new successive magmatic belts reveal a rollback, scissor-like (or zipper-like) closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean that was fundamentally controlled by coeval subduction rollback and rotation of the Siberian and Mongolian-Erguna blocks. This study also demonstrates the complex mechanisms and processes of the closure of an ocean with irregular margins and the formation of a consequent orocline.

Automated summary

A large data-set of ages of magmatic rocks shows tightly curved linear magmatic belts and their migrations towards the central suture, indicating a scissor-like closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean. Understanding the closure of oceans with irregular margins and the formation of curved mountain belts is crucial for plate reconstruction and continental assembly.