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Structural analysis and deformation

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Journal of Structural Geology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsg

Structural analysis and deformation characteristics of the Yingba

metamorphic core complex, northwestern margin of the North China
craton, NE Asia
Congyuan Yin, Bo Zhang*, Bao-Fu Han, Jinjiang Zhang, Yang Wang, Sheng Ai
The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The presence of the Yingba (YinggeteeBagemaode) metamorphic core complex (MCC) is conrmed near
Received 8 July 2016 the Sino-Mongolian border in China. We report its structural evolution and the rheological features of
Received in revised form ductile shear zones within this complex. Three deformations (Ds, Dm, and Db) since the Late Jurassic are
14 November 2016
identied. Ds is characterized by ductile structures that resulted from early NW-oriented, low-angle,
Accepted 25 November 2016
extensional ductile shearing. Dm is associated with partial melting and magmatic diapirism, which
Available online 2 December 2016
accelerated the formation of the dome-like geometry of the Yingba MCC. Synchronously with or slightly
subsequently to Ds and Dm, the Yingba MCC was subjected to brittle, extensional faulting (Db), which
Keywords:
North China craton
was accompanied by the exhumation of the lower crust and the formation of supracrustal basins. The
Metamorphic core complex ductile shearing (Ds) developed under greenschist-to amphibolite-facies metamorphic conditions (400
Microstructures e650
C), as indicated by microstructures in quartz and feldspar, quartz [c] axis fabrics, and two-feldspar
Two-feldspar geothermometry geothermometry. The mean kinematic vorticity estimates of 48e62% show a pure shear-preferred ow
Quartz fabrics during Ds. The Yingba MCC provides an excellent sample that recorded an intermediate to high tem-
Vorticity perature shearing, which also implies the widely extensional regime in northeastern Asia at that time.
2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction statistics, shape preferred orientations and crystallographic

Metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) are popular structures
within the continental crust and form in tectonic settings of large-
magnitude crustal extension. Their structures and evolution are
critical to understanding the exhumation of the middle-to lower-
crust and the rheological conditions within it (Brace and Kohlstedt,
1980; Coney and Harms, 1984; Lister and Davis, 1989; Spencer and
Reynolds, 1990; Foster and Fanning, 1997; Jolivet et al., 1998; Liu
et al., 2005; Passchier and Trouw, 2005; Wang et al., 2011; Lin
et al., 2013; Platt et al., 2015). The balance between individual
structures that accommodate exhumation processes, fabric devel-
opment and various deformation mechanisms is related to the
physical and chemical conditions, e.g., temperature, strain rate,
vorticity and uids (Hirth and Tullis, 1992; Rutter, 1995; Stipp et al.,
2002a). MCCs are characterized by various mylonitic rocks, which
record rheological features and conditions in the exhumed middle
crust. The characteristics of microstructures, fabrics (e.g., grain size
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: geozhangbo@pku.edu.cn (B. Zhang).
preferred orientations) and chemical component variations in
major minerals (e.g., feldspar and two-feldspar geothermometry)
in mylonitic rocks can be used to infer the ductile/brittle defor-
mation conditions of MCCs (Passchier and Trouw, 2005; Xypolias,
2010).
The tectonic setting and evolution of northeastern Asia during
the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic periods have been major topics of
considerable interest (Wang et al., 2011). Late Mesozoic MCCs are
common in NE Asia (Darby et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2002), and most
have been intensely studied, including the Liaonan (LN; Lin et al.,
2008; Liu et al., 2005), Yiwulshan or Waziyu (WZ; Darby et al.,
2004); Yagan (YG; Wang et al., 2004; Webb et al., 1999; Zheng
and Zhang, 1994), and Hohhot (HH; Davis and Darby, 2010)
(Fig. 1). Some mechanical and rheological studies of MCCs have
been conducted in North America (Behr and Platt, 2011; Platt et al.,
2015); however, few data exist on the rheological processes and
deformation conditions during exhumation at middle-to lower-
crustal levels in NE Asia.
Tao (2003) only speculated on the existence of an MCC in the
Yingba area near the Sino-Mongolian border, but no detailed

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2016.11.011
0191-8141/ 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
196 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
Fig. 1. Distribution of metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) or domes with a major shear sense in NE Asia during the Mesozoic (modied after Wang et al., 2011 and references there
in). MCC Code: BU, Buteel; ED, Ereendavaa; FS, Fangshan; GZ, Ganzhuermiao; HH, Hohhot; LN, Liaonan; LZ, Louzidian; QS, Queshan; TH, Taihang; UU, Ulan Ude; WZ, Waziyu or
Yiwulushan; YB, Yingba; YG, Yagan; XK, Xinkailing; YM, Yunmeng Shan; ZG, Zagan.
research was performed. Tectonic and magmatic events were later
identied by Han et al. (2010), who showed that the Yingba granite
pluton was emplaced at 313 5 Ma, one quartz-monzonite struc-
ture intruded at 130 2 Ma and some small granite plutons
intruded into a gabbro pluton in the southwestern of Yingba pluton
at ~277 Ma. A NE-striking, NW-dipping, low-angle shear zone in
the Yingba area was recognized by Zhou et al. (2012). This shear
zone was regarded as the southwestward extension of the Zuun-
bayan fault in Mongolia (Fig. 1; Darby et al., 2004; Zhou et al., 2012).
In the present study, macro- and micro-structural, kinematic and
fabric studies, combined with temperature estimates, were con-
ducted in the Yingba area to obtain a better understanding of the
rheological processes and deformational constraints of this MCC.
2. Geological setting
2.1. Large-scale crustal extension in NE Asia
The northeastern portion of the Asian continent experienced
large-scale crustal extension during the late Mesozoic over an area
of >3,000,000 km2, making this region the largest crustal exten-
sional province in the world (Fig. 1; Wang et al., 2011). This late
Mesozoic extensional regime continued westward from the west-
ern Pacic margin to the hinterland of Asia (Wang et al., 2011). Late
Mesozoic crustal extension is evidenced by various structures,
including MCCs (Davis et al., 1996; Zheng and Zhang, 1994; Darby
et al., 2004; Liu et al., 2005; Webb et al., 1999), detachment faults
(Meng et al., 2003), half-graben and graben structures (Graham
et al., 2001; Meng et al., 2003) and A-type magmatism (Hong
et al., 2003; Wu et al., 2002, 2005). These MCCs are variably char-
acterized by faults with NE-SW trends and shear zones with top-to-
the-NW or top-to-the-SE shear senses (Wang et al., 2011) (Fig. 1).
The MCCs that formed in continental NE Asia during the late
Mesozoic are mainly distributed in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt
(CAOB) and the North China Craton (NCC). The Buteel MCC
(Donskaya et al., 2008), Ulan-Ude MCC (Mazukabzov et al., 2011),
Ereendavaa MCC (Daoudene et al., 2009), and Zagan MCC (Sklyarov
et al., 1997) are representative MCCs in the CAOB. The Yagan MCC
(Wang et al., 2004), Hohhot MCC (Davis and Darby, 2010), Yun-
mengshan MCC (Davis et al., 1996), Yiwulshan or Waziyu MCC
(Darby et al., 2004; Liang et al., 2015), Louzidian MCC (Wang et al.,
2005), and Liaonan MCC (Liu et al., 2005) are representative MCCs
in the NCC to the south of the CAOB.
Normal faults with variable dips and graben or half-graben ba-
sins are structurally high features of these MCCs. The basins are
scattered across a vast area and featured almost uniform NE-SW
trends with normal faults on their NW or SE sides (Meng et al.,
2003). Fossil assemblages (Fu et al., 2007), the radiometric dating
of intercalated volcanic rocks and lithological correlations show
that these basins formed from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous
(Meng et al., 2003). Geochronological studies have shown that the
magmatic rocks mostly developed from Late Jurassic (180e150 Ma)
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
to Early Cretaceous (144e113 Ma), and few Triassic magmatism
events (238e210 Ma) has been reported (Wu et al., 2005; Zhou
et al., 2012). Abundant A-type granites and volcanic rocks devel-
oped from 130 to 110 Ma in NE China, indicating crustal extension
during the Early Cretaceous.
Several different explanations have been proposed to explain
such a large continent-scale extensional event: 1) the Mesozoic
subduction of the Paleo-Pacic plate to the west (Ji et al., 2015; Ren
et al., 2002; Traynor and Sladen, 1995) and/or MongoleOkhotsk
plate to the southeast or south (Wang et al., 2002); 2) the Late
Jurassic to Early Cretaceous gravitational collapse of crust that was
thickened by earlier contractional orogenesis or extension coeval
with contraction within the Yinshan-Yanshan Belt (Yin and Nie,
1996; Webb et al., 1999; Davis et al., 2001; Graham et al., 2001;
Gao et al., 2002; Meng, 2003); 3) extension from mantle plume-
related uplift (Deng et al., 2004; Zhao et al., 2004); 4) the exten-
sional spreading of a Pacic back-arc basin related to radial tectonic
escape from collision among the surrounding plates (Schmid et al.,
1999; Ratschbacher et al., 2000); and 5) thermal weakening caused
by magmatism during the Early Cretaceous (Darby et al., 2004).
2.2. Geology of the Yingba area
The Yingba area (N41
200 e42
000 , E105
000 e106
300 ) is located
near the Sino-Mongolian border in China between the CAOB and
NCC to the west-northwest of the YinshaneYanshan fold-thrust
belt (Fig. 1). The northeast-southwest-trending Yingba granite
pluton zone is 15e25 km wide and more than 80 km long. Its oldest
rocks are Proterozoic strata that are partially covered by Carbonif-
erous sedimentary rocks (Fig. 2). Both rocks were intruded by late
Paleozoic and Mesozoic granitoids (Han et al., 2010; Zhou et al.,
2012), which dene the main core of the Yingba area. All the
aforementioned rocks are unconformably overlain by Cretaceous
continental strata.
Two Mesozoic basins (the Chagan Basin to the southeast and the
Maima Basin to the northwest) are located along the margins of the
granitoid core in the Yingba area. These two basins belong to the
composite Yingen-Ejina Basin, which has been interpreted as a late
Mesozoic half-graben based on seismic proles across the region
(Tao, 2003).
3. Yingba metamorphic core complex
The Yingba MCC consists three major units, from structurally
lower to higher: 1) a crustal assemblage of migmatites, gneissic and
different types of granitoids; 2) the superposed Yingba ductile
shear zone and its overlying brittle detachment fault; and 3)
hanging wall Carboniferous and Cretaceous strata and Proterozoic
metamorphic rocks.
3.1. Lower plate of the Yingba detachment fault
The domed lower plate is mainly composed of granitoid gneisses
and undeformed granites, migmatites and granitic dikes (Fig. 2).
Late Paleozoic to Mesozoic YinggeteeBagemaode granitoids
comprise the majority of the lower unit, and include biotite granite,
granodiorite, and quartz diorite. Granitic gneisses and migmatites
are widely exposed within the lower unit, but the central portion of
the dome typically lacks a ductile fabric. The geometry of the dome
is dened by foliation in the granitic gneisses that strikes NEeSW
on both the NW and SE limbs, and NWeSE along the SW and NE
margins (Fig. 3). Three cross-sections and the outcrop of the Yingba
pluton also suggest a dome shape (Fig. 4AeC). Both deformed and
undeformed granitic rocks are locally intruded by granitic dikes
with U-Pb zircon ages from 334 Ma to 130 Ma (Han et al., 2010;
197
Zhou et al., 2012) (Fig. 3B). Migmatites show melanosome and
leucosome layers. In some areas, the migmatite layers are parallel
to the gneissic foliation, although disorganized and curved mig-
matitic layers are also present. Granitic layers and lenses are
frequently intercalated within migmatites and gneisses. In some
places, signicant partial melting generated larger-volumes
(~1 km2) of granites.
3.2. Master ductile shear zone and detachment fault
The ductile shear zone along both the NW and SE anks of the
granitic and gneissic core is approximately 80 km in length and
1 km in thickness (Fig. 2). This zone separates core units from
overlying non-metamorphic or weakly metamorphosed upper
units. Mylonitization mainly occurred in the granitoid rocks, but
locally involved lower-late Proterozoic and Carboniferous
metasediments.
Shallow-dipping foliations and gently dip-slipping lineations
characterize the mylonitic shear zone, which contains a large
number of micro- and outcrop-scale kinematic indicators,
including oblique foliation, S-C structures, asymmetric folds, por-
phyroclasts or augens, extensional crenulation cleavages (C0 ),
stretching lineations, and sheared magmatic veins or boudins. C0 -
foliation is identiable in most of the mylonites. The mylonitic
shear zones on both anks of the dome exhibit a uniform top-to-
the-northwest shear sense, and are regarded as two components
from the same shearing deformation.
The northwest-dipping mylonitic shear zone is capped by
normal faults to form the Yingba detachment fault, with nearly
down-dip slickenside striations on its surface. Fault breccias are
characterized by fragments of chlorite breccias and gouges, and
clasts derived from Mesozoic sandstones, quartzites from Protero-
zoic strata, granitic rocks and mylonitic rocks. Normal faults within
the ductile shear zone itself expectedly overprint its mylonitic
fabrics.
3.3. Upper unit
The oldest rocks in the upper unit are the Proterozoic rocks.
These rocks consist of mica and quartz schist, carbonate and felsic
gneiss and are unconformably overlain by Carboniferous and
Cretaceous rocks. The Carboniferous rocks are mainly sandstones,
limestones, gray slates with carbonate enclaves, volcanic rocks and
quartzite. Cretaceous sedimentary rocks lled the two NEeSW-
trending sedimentary basins adjacent to the Yingba dome. From
older to younger, the Cretaceous sediments and volcanics are
divided into the Bayin Gobi, Suhongtu, and Yingen Formations. The
Bayin Gobi Formation is mostly composed of conglomerate, sand-
stone, mudstone, and dolomite. The Suhongtu Formation consists
of olivine basalt, andesitic basalt, siltstone and mudstone. The
Yingen Formation is composed of mudstones intercalated with
siltstone and sandstone, as well as pebbly sandstone. The Wulan-
suhai Formation consists of ne-grained sandstone, calcareous
mudstone, and some conglomerate (BGMRNAR, 1991). An uncon-
formity was detected in the Suhongtu Formation (Fig. 4D). A
seismic prole shows blind normal and reverse faults beneath the
Cretaceous Chagan basin (Fig. 4D).
3.4. Overview of the Yingba area
The Yingba massif, which is situated in the NW area of the NCC,
has an elliptical shape with a NEeSW-oriented long axis and covers
an area of ca. 80  25 km2 (Fig. 2). According to previous studies
and our observations, the deformed northwestern border of the
dome separates the footwall plutonic and metamorphic unit from
198 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
Fig. 2. Structural and geological map of the Yingba area.
the weakly metamorphosed or unmetamorphosed hanging-wall
unit through a master extensional shear zone characterizes by
both ductile and brittle conditions. Thus, the northwestern border
of the Yingba dome can be considered as the master detachment
fault with a top-to-the-northwest shear sense. We propose that the
Yingba dome is an MCC because of this structure's geometry,
metamorphism and deformation. According to Charles et al. (2011),
the extension amount approximately corresponds to what was
observed in the lower unit of the MCC. This NEeSW-striking MCC
thus accounts for approximately 25 km of NWeSE horizontal
stretching of the crust (Fig. 2). The above features are consistent
with the geometrical characteristics of the well-known MCCs in the
Basin and Range province (Davis and Coney, 1979), East Asian areas
(e.g., Davis et al., 1996; Liu et al., 2005; Charles et al., 2011), and the
Aegean domain (Jolivet et al., 2004).
4. Deformation phases
Three deformation phases are recognized within the Yingba
MCC and adjacent regions based on structural and kinematic
analyses.
4.1. Ductile shearing (Ds)
The domal, low-angle ductile shear zone is the oldest structure
(Ds) and is exposed along the NW and SE limbs of the Yingba MCC
(Fig. 2). This shear zone is dened as a narrow (~1 km) high-strain
zone with rocks that exhibit well-developed ductile deformation
(Fig. 5AeD).
Evidence of ductile deformation is relatively evident along the
NW ank of the Yingba MCC, as shown by the formation of a
mylonitic foliation (Ss) (Figs. 2 and 5AeC, E, F) that exhibits rela-
tively shallow dip from 10
to 34
. The granitic rocks are strongly
deformed and contain NEeSW-striking foliation. Mineral lineations
marked by quartz and feldspar plunge at low angles to the NW
(10
e45
, with most at ~20
). Large (cm-scale) asymmetric d-type
feldspar porphyroclasts consistently indicate a top-to-the-
northwest shear sense in thin sections and outcrops (the inset in
Fig. 5C). Stretched and lens-shaped dikes also exhibit top-to-the-
northwest stretching (Fig. 5F). NE-SW-striking foliations in the
mylonitized rocks along the SE ank of the MCC dip at low angles to
the SE and SW, and the mineral stretching lineations plunge at low
angles (16
e22
) to the SE (Fig. 5D). The shear sense criteria
consistently indicate a top-to-the-northwest shear sense, which
supports our interpretation that the two shear zones are compo-
nents of a single shear zone that has been domed rather than
representing separate shear zones.
Granitic lenses are well developed parallel or at low angles to
the Ss foliations of the shear zone (Fig. 5F). The structural features
of the granitic lenses indicate that they were deformed coeval with
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212 199

Fig. 3. Structural geological map with the available radiometric ages (the legend is the same as in Fig. 2). The planar and linear structural elements of the Yingba MCC are plotted on
the map, namely, foliation (line) and mineral and stretching lineations (dot). All the diagrams are equiareal, lower hemisphere Schmidt nets.

ductile shearing at 145e134 Ma based on U-Pb (LA-ICP-MS) zircon
dating (Zhou et al., 2012).
4.2. Magmatic activities (Dm)
The intruded granitic core, which has a dome shape as dened
by the surrounding mylonitic and gneissic foliation, represents the
second generation of deformation (Dm).
Granitic rocks are widely distributed in the Yingba MCC. Granitic
leucosomes are found in the mylonitic rocks along the Ss foliations
(Fig. 6A). Within the mylonitic gneiss, a mass of granite dikes is
subparallel to the Ss foliation. This phenomenon may suggest that
these dikes were deformed during the ductile shearing (Fig. 5F)
(Ds). Low-angle foliations (Ss) in mylonites and weakly deformed
granites are present near the master detachment shear zone
(Fig. 6BeE). In some sites, mylonitic fragments were encapsulated
by undeformed granite with a zircon age of 133 1 Ma (unreported
data) (Fig. 6B), which indicates that some granite intruded after the
Ds ductile shearing. The contact between the mylonitic rocks and
the cross-cutting granite is sharp (Fig. 6C). A large dome-like
granitic pluton is observed in the core of the MCC, and the atti-
tudes of the Ss foliations around the dome change relative to the
dome (Fig. 6D and E). These structural features imply the
emplacement of granites occurred after NW-oriented ductile
shearing. The widespread granitic dikes crosscut the mylonitic fo-
liations and older granites (Fig. 6B and F), which indicate that the
magmatism might have been active for a long period but peaked
during or after the main ductile shearing movement.
4.3. Brittle extensional structures (Db)
The third generation of structures (Db) is characterized by the
widespread development of brittle extensional faults (Fb) and
cleavages (Sb) (Fig. 7AeD). The traces of the Db structures cut those
of the Ds and Dm fabrics. The brittle normal faults (Fb) and cleav-
ages (Sb) displaced the Ss foliations in the mylonites.
The C0 structures are characterized by extensional crenulation
cleavages in strongly foliated mylonite. The C0 shear bands
accommodate normal displacement with net extension parallel to
the dominant mylonitic fabric (Passchier and Trouw, 2005). This
200 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212

Fig. 4. Cross-sections through the Yingba MCC and surrounding basins (the pluton roots are hypothetical). The traverse lines of the cross-sections are shown in Fig. 2. The gure
captions are the same as in Fig. 2. AeC: Cross-sections drawn parallel to the direction of the Ds northwestward deformation. D: NW-SE-oriented seismic prole located SE of
Bagemaode in the Chagan basin (re-interpretation from Tao, 2003).

type of cleavage is thought to be related to extensional shearing
(Platt and Vissers, 1980) and occurred after the nal preferred
orientation of the minerals developed, which probably indicates an
energetically favorable ow partitioning surface in strong aniso-
tropic materials (Passchier, 1991; Platt, 1984; Platt and Vissers,
1980). The C0 surfaces are thus similar to the Riedel shears (R) in
brittle shear zones and can only be separated from shear zone-
parallel C surfaces when their orientation relative to the shear
zone boundaries is known (Fossen, 2010).
Abundant C0 structures can be observed in the mylonites within
the shear zone (Fig. 7E). Notably, the Fb fault plane, instead of the
mylonitic foliation (Ss), is parallel to the C0 foliation in the mylonite.
The C0 planes are often inclined approximately 15e35
compared to
the primary mylonitic foliation. The attitudes of the C0 cleavages are
similar to the attitudes of the normal faults (Fb), which suggests
that the C0 structures may have promoted the generation of later
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212 201

Fig. 5. Field photographs of various deformed structures related to Ds. Ss in the following gures represent mylonitic foliation. (A) Domino structures that indicate the defor-
mation direction in the Carboniferous strata. (B) A characteristic white deformed layer that shows low-angle, NW-oriented stretching. (C) Granitic mylonite that shows NW shearing
deformation with SeC fabrics indicating a top-to-NW shear sense. The insert shows a d-type K-feldspar porphyroclast with a top-to-NW shear sense in porphyritic granitic gneiss.
(D) Shear zone with abundant ductile shearing phenomena, SE of Yingba. (E) Mylonitic foliation with stretching lineation that dips to the NW, NW of Yingba. (F) Granite that
intruded along the contacts of foliations and deformed into a lenticular shape.

brittle faults (Fb) and cleavages (Sb). Both the C0 -type and C-type
foliations in the Yingba MCC might have been related to the same
mylonitization event but formed at different times.
In the Cretaceous Maima basin (NW margin of the Yingba MCC),
high-angle extensional faults with NW-dipping fault planes sepa-
rate the core metamorphic and magmatic rocks from the sedi-
mentary rocks (Fig. 2). Extensional displacements are documented
by clear offset markers (Fig. 7C). Mylonitic gravels were also found
in the Maima basin (Fig. 7F), which indicates that Db is younger
than Ds. Based on the eld observations, some normal fault out-
crops dene the boundary of the Maima basin in the NW Yingba
MCC (Fig. 7F). Cleavages (Sb) with NE-SW strikes were widely
observed in the granite body in the core of the Yingba MCC, and the
granitic dikes in the core of the MCC also exhibit NE-SW trends
(Fig. 6F).
5. Deformation temperature
Deformation temperatures were estimated by using (1) micro-
structures of recrystallized quartz and feldspar, (2) quartz slip
systems, and (3) two-feldspar geothermometry.
5.1. Microstructures
According to observations under a microscope, crystaleplastic
deformation features are present in most quartz grains from the
mylonite samples. For example, the grains exhibit obvious undu-
latory extinction, numerous subgrains, and distinct serrated or
irregular grain boundaries, and some grain boundaries are char-
acterized by lobate or amoeboid shapes, which exhibit dynamic
recrystallization microstructures such as sub-grain rotation (SGR)
and grain-boundary migration (GBM) recrystallization (Fig. 8AeD),
with GBM being dominant. Some quartz ribbons or aggregates with
serrated grain boundaries occur along the foliations (Ss) and in the
pressure shadows of feldspar porphyroclasts (Fig. 8E and F). Ac-
cording to Stipp et al. (2002b), SGR recrystallization occurs at
temperatures of 400e490
C and GBM recrystallization (Fig. 8AeC)
develops at temperatures of >520
C. Thus, high-temperature
microfabrics are exhibited by the quartz grains. Combined with
their relationship to the kinematic setting, these microfabrics are
thought to have been caused by the ductile deformation. However,
only slight undulatory extinction was observed in some elongated
quartz grains, which suggests that they are only weakly recrystal-
lized. The protection effect from porphyroclasts is thought to have
caused this feature.
Most of the K-feldspar porphyroclasts in the high-strain zone
exhibit considerable dynamic recrystallization and strong crystal-
plastic deformation (Fig. 8E and F), while plagioclase exhibits
brittle deformation (rotation and fractures). Some micro-fractures
are found in the interiors of K-feldspar porphyroclasts, with mi-
nor dislocation glide. Stress stripes are also observed (Fig. 8E). Some
elongated feldspar grains, combined with quartz and biotite grains,
202 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212

Fig. 6. Field photographs related to Dm deformation. (A) NW-dipping Carboniferous stratum with layer-parallel leucosomes (granite). (B) Young granitic dike that cuts both the
residual mylonite and the earlier granite. The mylonite was encapsulated by the later intruding granite. (C) Distinct contact between the mylonitic rocks and the later granite. (D)
Undeformed granitic dome that intruded into the mylonitic Carboniferous strata. (E) Overview of the local granitic dome. The mylonitic gneiss to the left exhibits an almost vertical
attitude, and the mylonitic gneiss to the right dips slightly to the NW. (F) Numerous dikes observed in the granitic core, almost all of which strike NE-SW.

dene the foliation (Fig. 8D). The orientation of the quartz ribbons
was inuenced by nearby feldspar grains, especially the larger
grains. Most of the K-feldspar porphyroclasts feature irregular rims
of recrystallized grains that formed from SGR. Some dynamically
recrystallized feldspar grains are characterized by transitional mi-
crostructures between the core and the mantle. The strongly
serrated boundaries of adjacent K-feldspar grains suggest that dy-
namic recrystallization was also caused by GBM, with accompa-
nying dislocation creep (Fig. 8F). According to Vernon (2004), the
coexistence of recrystallized plagioclase and K-feldspar generally
indicates high-temperature deformation. The presence of myrme-
kite in the K-feldspars also indicates high-temperature deforma-
tion. Some boundaries of the K-feldspar were replaced by relatively
Na-rich plagioclase (oligoclase) and quartz, and nally formed
myrmekite structures. This type of myrmekite has been suggested
to imply plastic deformation and occurs at feldspar recrystallization
temperatures, i.e., above 550
C (Menegon et al., 2006; Vernon,
1991).
for data analysis. We plotted the results on equal-area, lower-
hemisphere projections with the foliation (Ss) and lineation (Ls) as
the standard reference directions (Fig. 9). Systematic mis-indexing
points were substituted by zero solution pixels during data
analysis.
All the samples were located on the NW or SE anks of the MCC
(Fig. 2). The volume fraction of quartz in these samples ranged from
30 to 50%. Under the microscope, twenty-three samples showed
well-developed bands of recrystallized quartz (Fig. 8D). The second
phases may have inuenced the EBSD fabric and textures, so we
measured different positions only where the recrystallized quartz
grains were homogeneously distributed (e.g., the dotted rectangle
in Fig. 8D) and no other phases existed. We also tested different
portions in the same samples (YB158-01 and YB158-02; YB159-01
and YB159-02; YB99-01 and YB99-02; and YB164-3-01 and YB164-
3-02). The synthetic EBSD analysis results and the quartz crystal-
lographic preferred orientations (CPOs) are presented in Fig. 9A.

5.3. Two-feldspar geothermometry

5.2. EBSD fabric analysis

The myrmekite-formation reaction is thought to be an impor-

Twenty-three granitic mylonite samples were chosen for
tant mechanism in the decrease in the grain size of K-feldspar
electron-backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis (for sample loca-
porphyroclasts (Menegon et al., 2006). The formation of myrmekite
tions, see Fig. 2). Thin sections were cut parallel to the lineation (Ls)
during the replacement or metasomatism of K-feldspar can be
and perpendicular to the foliation (Ss), with a thickness of 30 mm.
expressed as follows:
The EBSD fabric analysis was conducted in the Key Laboratory of
Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space
K  feldspar Na Ca plagioclase quartz K (1)
Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, by using an EBSD detector
mounted on an FEI Quanta 650 eld emission scanning electron Tsurumi et al. (2003) proposed that the myrmekite-formation
microscope (SEM). The HKL Channel 5 software package was used reaction proceeds with mylonitization. In the Yingba MCC, myr-
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212 203

Fig. 7. Field photographs related to Db deformation. (A) Normal fault (Fb) that overprints the Ss foliation. The inset presents the planar fabric orientations of the Ds and Db de-
formations in a lower hemisphere (Schmidt) projection. (B) Sketch of a portion of (A). (C) Detailed evidence that shows that the Sb (Fb) cuts the Ss foliation produced during Ds. The
leucosome (felsic minerals) layer denoted by white dashed lines was displaced to different horizons by the later faults (Fb) that dip to the NW, which makes this feature a good
offset marker. (D) Sketch of a portion of (C). (E) Granitic mylonite with penetrative foliation and a clear C0 structure. The guiding joints are anastomotic to the C0 attitudes (see the
schematic plot). (F) Overview of the mylonitic zone and nearby basins. Pebbles of mylonite and undeformed granite are situated in the uppermost part of the Early Cretaceous
conglomerate in the nearby basin.

mekites were identied along K-feldspar grain margins parallel to
the foliation (Figs. 8F and 10A,B), and recrystallized K-feldspars
were found in the tail regions. Thus, the calculated temperatures
from the myrmekite represent the temperatures during
mylonitization.
Two-feldspar thermometry was proposed by Whitney and
Stormer (1977) to evaluate the temperature during myrmekite
development. Plagioclase and its adjacent interstitial K-feldspar in
the myrmekite were assumed to be in equilibrium during the
myrmekite-formation reaction. This thermometry has been suc-
cessfully utilized on solid solutions of microcline and can thus be
used to the coexistence of K-feldspar with high orthoclase com-
ponents and plagioclase with low anorthite components (oligo-
clase) (Tsurumi et al., 2003).
Samples YB37, YB38, YB96-1, YB96-2, YB138-1, YB143, YB148,
and YB164-2 contain signicantly asymmetric K-feldspar por-
phyroclasts with myrmekite. The plagioclase blades and some
vermicular quartz grains (myrmekite) extend into the inner part of
the K-feldspar porphyroclasts (Fig. 10A and B). These myrmekites
are asymmetrically developed on the rim of the K-feldspar por-
phyroclasts and protrude ~90
relative to the Ss foliation. Some
studies (Hippert and Valarelli, 1998; Vernon, 1991) suggested no
evidence for metasomatism or the replacement of K-feldspar by
myrmekite in mylonites and stated that the formation of
myrmekite is not induced by strain. However, we found that myr-
mekite in the rims of K-feldspar porphyroclasts usually extended
into the K-feldspar at approximately 90
to the foliations (Ss)
(Fig. 10A and B). Consequently, we argue for a close relationship
between myrmekite and ductile shearing. These strain-induced
myrmekites provide an ideal opportunity to directly estimate the
temperatures during ductile deformation (Ds).
Electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) of feldspar was completed
on a JEOL electron microprobe (JXAe8230) at the Institute of Ti-
betan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a JEOL
electron microprobe (JXAe8100) at the Key Laboratory of Orogenic
Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences,
Peking University. A 15 kV acceleration voltage and a 20 nA beam
current were used in the JXA8230, and a 15 kV acceleration voltage
and a 10 nA beam current were used in the JXA 8100. In situ
backscatter electron (BSE) (Fig. 10B) and energy dispersive spec-
trum (EDS) analyses were used to determine the positions of the
myrmekite blades. The standard ZAF and PRZ corrections were used
to reduce the raw data. The activity coefcients were calculated
with the AX program (with an error of 3%) (Holland and Powell,
2000).
The equation that we used was modied from the primary
feldspar geothermometer (Stormer, 1975; Whitney and Stormer,
1977):
204 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212

n   o
2
7973:1  16910:6Xab;AF 9901:9Xab;AF 2
0:11  0:22Xab;AF 0:11Xab;AF P
Tk n   o
Xab;AF
 1:9872 ln aab;PL 6:48  21:58Xab;AF 23:72Xab;AF
2  8:62Xab;AF
3

where the pressure P (bars) is assumed (0.5Gpa or 0.8Gpa in of albite in the K-feldspar porphyroclasts, and the activity coef-
Langille et al., 2010), Xab, AF and aab, PL represent the molar fraction cient of albite in the myrmekite is calculated from the EPMA data.

Fig. 8. Microscopic characteristics of the mylonites in the Yingba MCC. (A, D, E, F) Crossed polarized light photomicrographs (perpendicular to foliation and parallel to lineation
when present). Other photomicrographs are taken with an SEM (B, C). (AeD) Magmatic quartz that turns into fully recrystallized aggregate. (AeC) Grains that exhibit grain
boundary migration (BGM, white arrows). (B) BSE image of lobate microstructure (white arrows) in a fully recrystallized aggregate and sub-grain boundary (black arrows). (C) SEM
image showing the GBM (white arrows) and pores (gray arrows). (D) Polymineralic matrix showing compositional layers with plagioclase, K-feldspar, biotite and some muscovite.
The dotted line areas are polycrystalline quartz aggregates for EBSD analysis in the highly strained portion of the mylonite. (E) Stress stripes and micro-faults in K-feldspar. (F)
Myrmekite texture that developed along the Ss sides of the K-feldspar porphyroclast. Note the absence of myrmekite at the short ends, i.e., on the sides that face the incremental
stretch direction. White micas were observed around the myrmekites. Abbreviations: BiBiotite, KfsK-feldspar, MfMicro-fault, MyrMyrmekites, MsMuscovite, PlPlagioclase,
QtzQuartz.
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212 205

Fig. 9. (A) Quartz textures of mylonite from EBSD and their corresponding orientations on pole gures, which were contoured with multiples of uniform distribution (lower-
hemisphere, equal-area projection). The northern (southern) poles correspond to the shear plane normal. The number of quartz analyses (n) of each sample is shown on the bottom
of the pole gures. (B) Plots that were oriented as indicated in the specimen and kinematic reference frame. (C) Generalized correlation between the locations of quartz [c] axes and
activity of slip systems in mylonitic tectonites (based on Schmid and Casey, 1986). (D) Schematic diagram (right bottom) that was modied after Passchier and Trouw (2005), and
showed the correlation between the CPO and temperature.
206 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
Fig. 10. (A & B) Optical (left) and BSE (right) images of the myrmekitic structure. The dotted line areas mark the locations of the EPMA analysis. (C) Probability diagram of the
temperature calculated from myrmekite in K-feldspar with two-feldspar geothermometry (0.5 GPa). (D) Temperature estimate distribution for samples from the Yingba MCC. The
gray rectangle represents the temperature ranges.
Thus, we can obtain the maximum and minimum temperatures.
5.4. Results and interpretation
Microstructural observations in the mylonitic samples from the
Yingba MCC indicated that the quartz recrystallization predomi-
nantly occurred via SGR and GBM. The geothermometer (Stipp
et al., 2002a, 2002b) suggests a deformation temperature of
>400
C. Some of the feldspar porphyroclasts in the samples within
the major ductile shear zone exhibited recrystallization, deforma-
tion stripes and myrmekite, all indicating temperatures of
400e650
C during ductile deformation (Passchier and Trouw,
2005).
The primary observed CPOs of quartz from all twenty-three
samples could be divided into three fabric patterns. The rst is
the strong maximum along or near Y (prism <a> slip is dominant).
The second pattern is resulted from combined prism <a> and
rhomb <a> slip (e.g. YB42-1, YB38) and the third is fabrics that
indicate an additional activity of basal <a> (e.g., YB158-02 and
YB159-02) (Fig. 9). However, the congurations of the c-axis ori-
entations mainly exhibited active prismatic <a> slip and rhombic
<a> slip and only partially prismatic <c> slip and basal <a> slip
(Schmid and Casey, 1986) (Fig. 9C). The fabric pattern formed by
dominant rhomb<a> slip is formed at lower temperature than that
formed by dominant prism<a> slip (Takeshita and Wenk, 1988)
(Fig. 9D). Combined with the microstructure of quartz and feldspar,
these fabric patterns indicate an intermediate to high temperature
deformation under greenschist-facies to amphibolite-facies defor-
mation conditions (400e650
C) (Stipp et al., 2002a; Passchier and
Trouw, 2005) (Fig. 9D). The explanation for the difference in tem-
peratures may come from the deformation mechanism (Peternell
et al., 2010), kinematic vorticity (Lister and Hobbs, 1980; Wallis
and Behrmann, 1996), strain partitioning controlled by the activ-
ity of a weak matrix (Heilbronner and Tullis, 2006) and different
resetting degrees of high temperature CPOs during later deforma-
tion (see Toy et al., 2008).
Three transects crosscut the shear zone, two located on the NW
ank (samples YB168 e YB169 e YB169-1 and YB96-1 e YB98-2 e
YB99) and the third located on the SE ank (samples YB158 e
YB162 e YB159 e YB161) (Fig. 2). The EBSD results of all three
transects exhibited nearly the same fabric (active main prismatic
<a> slip with rhombic <a> slip). Minor differences existed among
the deformation temperatures along each transect in the shear
zone. Therefore, we propose that this shear zone developed in a
similar environment and was later exhumed.
We also tested different portions in the same samples (YB158-01
and YB158-02; YB159-01 and YB159-02; YB99-01 and YB99-02;
and YB164-3-01 and YB164-3-02). The results showed that
different portions in the same sample may show slightly different
temperature ranges, which implies that the deformation was not
homogeneous or that some portions were affected by later activity.
However, the quartz c-axis fabric is quite sensitive to temperature
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
and often reects the environment of later deformation events
(Hongn and Hippertt, 2001; Lebit et al., 2002). The quartz with
CPOs that exhibited low temperatures represents the deformation
environment during the nal shearing. Thus, we propose that the
upper portion of the range represents the peak temperature con-
ditions of the ductile deformation.
The quartz CPOs showed moderate to high temperature fabrics
with a predominant prismatic <a> slip and rhombic <a> slip sys-
tem. The results are internally consistent within the study area. The
deformation temperatures estimated from the quartz c-axis fabric
pattern fell within the 400e650
C range.
Assuming a P of 0.5 Gpa (general value from Langille et al., 2010),
the two-feldspar geothermometer (Fig. 10C and D) applied to the
strain-induced myrmekite in the samples yielded a temperature
range from 337
C to 618
C. Statistical analysis indicated two
deformation temperatures peaks (440
C and 518
C), which are
thought to present the preserved deformation temperature re-
cords. Langille et al. (2010) demonstrated that this calculation was
relatively insensitive to changes in the assumed pressure, with
differences of less than 40
C. The temperatures calculated via the
two-feldspar geothermometer also matched other independent
results from the quartz and feldspar microstructures (Fig. 8) and the
quartz CPOs (Fig. 9A). However, a number of factors (including
water) can inuence the formation of myrmekite in addition to
deformation (Menegon et al., 2006). Considering the large range of
temperatures from the myrmekite, we propose that the higher
temperature (440e618
C) may represent the peak ductile defor-
mation event.
Different methods resulted in different temperature ranges. The
quartz and feldspar microstructure results were roughly consistent
with the results from the other methods; the temperatures from
the two-feldspar geothermometry analyses matched the quartz
CPO results (YB38 and YB96-1). However, why some differences
existed among these methods is unknown. Apart from the limits of
the methods themselves, the abilities of quartz and feldspar to
record the deformation environment differ. We suggest that the
lower temperatures may be related to the later stages of the ductile
deformation, whereas the highest temperature may have recorded
the initial - or peak Ds - ductile deformation temperature.
In summary, the ductile detachment shear zone of the Yingba
MCC developed under temperatures of 400e650
C. The mylonites
in the extensional shear zone of the Yingba MCC experienced a
temperature decrease during progressive uplift and the later,
lower-temperature conditions were recorded by some c-axis pat-
terns and myrmekites.
6. Kinematic vorticity analysis
6.1. Method: rigid-grain technique
The kinematic vorticity value (Wk) is often used to quantify the
relative proportions between pure shear (Wk 0) and simple shear
(Wk 1) within ductile shearing deformation. Quantifying the
contributions of pure and simple shear is important in structural
analysis. A signicant pure shear component suggests considerable
thinning or vertical extension. A value of Wk 0.71 means that the
contributions of the pure shear and simple shear components are
equivalent (Law et al., 2004; Tikoff and Fossen, 1995). Assuming a
stable setting for the ductile deformation (Ds), the mean kinematic
vorticity number (Wm) was calculated to express the time-averaged
uctuation of the kinematic vorticity in space and time (Fossen and
Tikoff, 1997, 1998).
Four methods, namely, the Wallis, PHD, Passchier and Rigid
Grain Net (RGN), can be used to calculate Wm. Jessup et al. (2007)
found that these four methods yield consistent Wm estimates.
207
However, the RGN method is more easily plotted for the same re-
sults, and the results are less ambiguous. Thus, we chose the RGN
method (Wallis et al., 1993) as the preferred approach for Wm
calculation.
The RGN method has only been applied to rigid grains that lack
evidence of plastic deformation (Fig. 11A, Mx and Mn represent the
long and short axes of the rigid grains, respectively). The quality of
the grains was rst assessed by using photomicrographs. The
measurements were performed directly on the photomicrographs
taken with a high-resolution Nikon DSeRi1 camera. R and q were
collected from real-time on-screen images by using the measure-
ment tools in the Nikon Imaging SystemeElements D 3.22 imaging
software (Fig. 11A).
Nine samples (YB193-1, YB192, YB164-3, YB162, YB145, YB138-
1, YB128, YB42-1, and YB26) that contained abundant rigid grains
were analyzed. A minimum of 300 grains (except YB145) were
measured in each sample for statistical accuracy. Some sources of
systematic errors can arise because (1) these measurements are
usually performed in two dimensions (Tikoff and Fossen, 1995) and
(2) the sectional radii of a rigid grain in a thin section can
misrepresent the true radii (Iacopini et al., 2008, 2011). Some
criteria must be satised when applying the RGN technique
(Langille et al., 2010; Jessup et al., 2007) to meet given accuracies:
the grains should exhibit little to no evidence of internal plastic
deformation or brittle fracturing, and the grains should exhibit no
obvious mechanical interaction with other grains. According to
Passchier (1987), the samples should satisfy the following ve
primary requirements: 1) the deformation should be dominantly
homogeneous, 2) grain size discrepancies between the rigid grains
and surrounding matrix must be distinct, 3) grains that rotate to-
ward the stable-sink positions must have high nite strain, 4) the
shape of the porphyroclast must be close to orthorhombic, and 5) a
fairly large number of rigid grains with a large range of aspect ratios
(P) and orientations (q) should be present.
6.2. Results and interpretation
According to the RGN technique, the Wm estimates (Fig. 11B and
C) of this area ranged between 0.52 and 0.72 and indicated that the
exhumation of the metamorphic rocks within the MCC was pro-
moted by a component of pure shear strain (48e62% pure shear)
(n 9). The vorticity estimates and prism <a> slip patterns in the Y-
direction (Fig. 9) indicated plane strain deformation (Lister and
Hobbs, 1980) (except YB158-02). Similar evidence was also re-
ported by Zhou et al. (2012) in the Yingba shear zone. These results
are consistent with the fact that the crust was thick during the Late
Jurassic (Graham et al., 2001; Meng et al., 2002, 2003; Webb et al.,
1999) and that the heavy load of the crust might have triggered the
Ds deformation. According to Law et al. (2004), the RGN method
tends to underestimate the vorticity if clasts with large aspect ratios
are not present. Therefore, the upper bound of the Wm range within
an individual sample is likely closer to the true value. In this case,
the component of simple shear may be more signicant than we
estimated. Therefore, we propose that the Yingba MCC experienced
exhumation with a main component of pure shear and a minor
component of simple shear and that the non-coaxial deformation
was related to the extensional thinning that followed the
thickening.
7. Discussion and interpretation
7.1. Ductile deformation temperature
Microstructural and textural analysis within 35 mylonitic sam-
ples revealed relatively medium to high temperature deformation
208 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212

Fig. 11. (A) Measurement example of grain axis and angle. Mx and Mn are the long and short axes, and q is the angle to the foliation. (B) Vorticity estimate distribution of samples
from Yingba; the gray rectangle represents the vorticity range. (C) Rigid Grain Net (RGN) of rigid grains in sample YB128. n number of grains measured. B* is the shape factor, and
the numbers in parentheses are the aspect ratios. (D) Relationship between the kinematic vorticity (Wk) number and components of pure and simple shear; the black arrows
indicate the pure and simple shear components when Wk 0.71 and Wk 0.50.

in the range of 400e650
C. Twenty-six quartz CPOs showed
moderate to high temperature (400e650
C) fabrics with pre-
dominantly prismatic <a> slip and rhombic <a> slip, which also
indicated at least amphibolite-face deformation conditions. Some
quartz CPOs were reported by Zhou et al. (2012) in this area, and
their c-axis orientations were concentrated near the Y-direction
and indicated moderate-high temperatures (~500
C). These data
are consistent with our results. The two-feldspar thermometry of
myrmekite produced a deformation temperature from 337
C to
618
C. Although some uncertainties are associated with the un-
known terms in each method, these different methods demon-
collement shearing developed under
strate that the major ductile de
greenschist-facies to amphibolite-facies conditions.
Several different dynamics have been suggested to explain such
intermediate to high temperature ductile shearing in the crust of
NE Asia. First, heating from crustal thickening may have been the
most important reason. Assuming an average geothermal gradient
of 33
C/km (Liang et al., 2015), this ductile deformation likely
developed at depth of 12e19 km. The crust at this location was
thickened during the Late Jurassic (Graham et al., 2001; Meng et al.,
2002, 2003; Webb et al., 1999). The rising temperature and pro-
grade metamorphism in the lower portion will eventually pro-
moted partial melting (Dm). A signicant weakening of the
strength of the crust in conjunction with the formation of a partially
molten layer has been reported (Arzi, 1978; van der Molen and
Paterson, 1979; Vanderhaeghe and Teyssier, 2001). This over-
thickened and weak crust eventually developed ductile shearing
because of pressure differences (Platt and Vissers, 1989). This
conclusion was also supported by our vorticity data, which indi-
cated pure shear-dominated northwestward shear deformation
(Ds).
The transfer of heat and material from deep to shallow levels
increases the temperatures in the crust. This condition has often
been suggested to be related to the emplacement of magma (Cao
et al., 2009). During the upwelling and emplacement of magma,
progressive shearing is thought to strongly affect the emplaced
magmatic rocks, with the magma providing the heat that promotes
the shearing; thus, the sheared rocks preserve evidence of high
temperatures. Cao et al. (2012) proposed that the high tempera-
tures along the Ailao Shan-Red River shear zone were caused by the
heat from the early kinematic emplacement of granitic magma
before solid-state ductile shearing. Magma intruded the shear zone
in the Yingba MCC before, during and after the ductile shearing
occurred (Zhou et al., 2012) (Fig. 3). In the eld, we did nd that
magma intruded into the old rocks, including both the mylonites
and the older undeformed granite (Fig. 6). The high-temperature
magma associated with these deep intruded rocks would have
surely provided heat to the shear zone.
Another possible explanation of the medium to high tempera-
tures in the ductile decollement involves shear friction. Compared
to radioactive decay, shear heating produces 1e2 orders of
magnitude more heat during the same time interval in the upper
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
crust (Souche et al., 2013). According to Wang et al. (2002), a two-
stage process is proposed to interpret the development of the MCCs
in NE Asia: an earlier period of ductile extension at lower levels at
145e135 Ma and a later period of thermal uplift and exhumation at
135e126 Ma. This type of deformation implies that the early ductile
extension generates some heat for the later thermal uplift activity
in the middle crust (Wang et al., 2002). Shear heating within such a
highly deformed zone can raise temperatures by up to 100
C
(Souche et al., 2013). However, directly measuring the amount of
heat generated during geological shearing is still difcult.
Self-heating from radioactive decay (Beaumont, 2004), together
with strain localization and the rheological weakening of the
thickened orogenic crust, could also contribute to the development
of a medium to high temperature mid-crustal shear zone.
7.2. Effects of magmatism on the formation of the Yingba MCC
Magmatism and migmatites are widespread in the Yingba MCC.
The following reasons suggest that the late Mesozoic magmatism
affected the nal formation of the Yingba MCC. The zircon U-Pb
ages and deformation of the granite implied that the granite was
emplaced before, during or after the ductile extension (Ds) (Fig. 3).
The emplacement of granite added to the volume of the core
(Fig. 6D), resulting in its expansion, and served as a driving force for
the uplift of the MCC (Wang et al., 2002). Therefore, we conclude
that the addition of juvenile granitic components promoted the
formation of the Yingba MCC. However, what is the origin of these
juvenile granitic components?
The rocks that were buried during the collision were fertile
sediments, which were suitable for partial melting. Either an in-
crease in temperature or a decrease in pressure could have enabled
partial melting (Calvert et al., 1999). Both heating related to the
thickening of the crust and decompression related to exhumation
are expected to have occurred in the Yingba MCC. When the
amount of partial melting in the crust becomes signicant, rising
diapirs break out, and decompression from the rising of buoyant
felsic melt and extensional activities on the surface accelerate the
partial melting. Geophysical studies and numerical simulations of
thickened crust in orogenic settings have identied regions with
approximately 20% melt in mid-crustal regions (Schilling and
Partzsch, 2001), and the amount of total partial melt has been
estimated to be greater than 40% in some areas (Nyman et al., 1995).
The wide occurrence of migmatites in the Yingba MCC also suggests
that a large proportion of melt was present in the mid-crustal re-
gions (e.g., Brown, 1994).
7.3. Evolution of the Yingba MCC
A vast extensional basin and fault system developed in conti-
nental NE Asia during the Late JurassiceEarly Cretaceous and
internally comprised a number of sub-basins of various scales.
Meng et al. (2003) suggested that the formation of the late Meso-
zoic extensional system was caused by extension in the shallow
levels of the crust, which occurred dynamically from the signicant
gravitational collapse of the crust that had been over-thickened by
earlier contractional orogenesis (Graham et al., 2001; Meng et al.,
2002, 2003; Webb et al., 1999).
Isostatic compensation and thermal relaxation in the Yingba
area, which occurred because of the Late Jurassic contraction,
promoted the subsequent collapse and ductile shearing (Ds). The
rising temperature and prograde metamorphism in the lower re-
gions eventually promoted the partial melting (Dm). The temper-
ature and vorticity estimates suggested that the ductile shearing
(Ds) occurred after the previous contraction. Supracrustal normal
faults and basins (Db) developed at the same time. Discriminating
209
the relative chronology between Dm and Db/Ds is difcult because
the original relationship between granitic magmatism and exten-
sion is unclear. In some cases, structural and geochronological ev-
idence indicated that magma activities and extensional movements
were coeval (Vanderhaeghe, 1999). We propose that Dm was active
for a long period, specically, after the earlier contraction and
during and after Ds, because deformed or undeformed granite veins
were observed in the mylonite zone. Db was also superimposed on
the exhumed mylonites, which suggests that this phase lasted a
long time, even after the exhumation of the mylonite zone. As this
MCC evolved, sub-basins combined and formed larger basins (such
as the Yingen basin). Meanwhile, the lateral coalescence of neigh-
boring supracrustal normal faults around the Yingba area will
eventually connected to the updoming ductile shear zone, gener-
ating the master detachment fault of the Yingba MCC. Notably, the
formation of brittle extensional faults (Db) and basins occurred
during Ds. However, the formation of larger Cretaceous basins
around the Yingba MCC and the brittle extensional faults in the
basins (Fig. 4D) indicate that Db was more intense during its later
period. Db was an important component of the widespread
extension, and the coalescence of faults and basins during Db in the
Yingba MCC probably represents the peak period of the widespread
extension in NE Asia.
Decollement shearing, magmatism, vertical uplift and exten-
sional faults are closely linked to the formation of the Yingba MCC.
Three types of deformation in this area recorded different tectonic
processes according to our eld and experimental analyses, espe-
cially the temperature and vorticity estimates of the ductile
deformation. The tectonic history of the Yingba MCC was inu-
enced by a previous period of orogenic crustal thickening and the
gravity imbalance that triggered the low-angle ductile extensional
shearing in the middle crust (Fig. 12), which was accompanied by
subsequent or simultaneous magmatism-driven uplift, and the
development of the supracrustal extensional faults and basins that
eventually formed the Yingba MCC. The Yingba MCC provides
another piece of evidence for late Mesozoic intracontinental
extension in NE Asia and shows that contractional tectonic activity
occurred after the extension (Fig. 12).
8. Conclusions
Our analyses in the Yingba area enabled us to reach the
following main conclusions:
(1) The fault geometry and kinematics of the Yingba area show
that this structure is a metamorphic core complex that
consists of migmatites and granitoids bounded by a detach-
ment fault and structurally overlain by Cretaceous strata.
(2) Since the late Mesozoic, the evolution of the Yingba MCC has
been characterized by the following tectonic deformations.
Ds structures recorded a NW-oriented low-angle ductile
shearing deformation. Dm was associated with magma ac-
tivities. The Yingba MCC experienced Db extensional fault-
ing, synchronously with or slightly subsequently to Ds and
Dm, resulting in exhumation to shallow crustal levels and the
formation of the surrounding basins and normal faults.
(3) A top-to-the-NW ductile shear zone formed between 400
and 650
C. We infer that crustal thickening, magmatic in-
trusions and shear friction were responsible for the inter-
mediate to high temperatures in the shear zone.
(4) Vorticity estimates indicated that pure shear dominated
during the Ds ductile shearing (48e62% pure shear). We
propose that the effects from previous crustal thickening and
magma emplacement during this shearing contributed to
pure shear.
210 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212

Fig. 12. Cartoon illustrating the structural and kinematic geometric evolution of the Yingba MCC as viewed from snapshots of the crustal section over time (modied from Fossen,
2010). The portion of the PeT path for the ductile unit is demonstrated by the dashed arrows on the PeT diagram. (A) Crustal thickening that resulted from the compression
associated with plate convergence before the Late Jurassic. (B) Initial geometry of the lower plate and low-angle shear zone. Partial melting occurred in the middle-crust, and
supracrustal normal faults and basins developed. (C) Uplifting after the accumulation of melt in the middle crust, unloading caused by extensional deformation, and isostatic effects
that led to the updoming of the mylonite zone. (D) Combination of normal faults and the coalescence of basins in the surrounding areas. Magmatism became more intense, the
lower plate was exhumed to the surface, and the normal faults were connected to the mylonite zone to form the Yingba detachment fault.

(5) The development of the Yingba MCC was caused by exten- component of the large extensional tectonic setting in NE
sion following previous crustal thickening and was a Asia during the late Mesozoic.
 C. Yin et al. / Journal of Structural Geology 94 (2017) 195e212
Acknowledgements
Our work is nancially supported by the National Natural Sci-
ence Foundation of China (Grant No. 41422206) and Ministry of
Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2013CB429806). Many
thanks to Gregory A. Davis and Paul Kapp for their extremely
thoughtful and detailed discussions. We greatly thank Paris Xypo-
lias, an anonymous reviewer and editor Toru Takeshita for their
thoughtful reviews and helpful comments that help improve the
clarity of the manuscript. We also gratefully thank the technical
help of Dr. Jing Xie in the elemental analysis and the language help
of Fabio Speranza, Matt Dettinger and Yan Zhan in the manuscript
writing.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2016.11.011.
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