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GEOLOGIA 2009 Tom 35 Zeszyt 2/1 339343
EARLY PALEOZOIC EVOLUTION
OF THE PERI-GONDWANA PLATES
Wczesnopaleozoiczna ewolucja perygondwañskich p³yt litosfery
Jan GOLONKA
1
, Micha³ KROBICKI
1
,
Pawe³ POPRAWA
2
, Zbigniew PAUL
3
& Andriej KHUDOLEY
4
1
AGH University of Science and Technology,
Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection,
Department of General Geology, Environmental Protection and Geotourism;
al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland;
e-mail: jan_golonka@yahoo.com, krobicki@geol.agh.edu.pl
2
Polish Geological Institute;
ul. Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warsaw, Poland;
e-mail: pawel.poprawa@pgi.gov.pl
3
Polish Geological Institute, Carpathian Branch;
ul. Skrzatów 1, 31-560 Krakow, Poland;
e-mail: zbigniew.paul@pgi.gov.pl
4
St. Petersburg State University;
University Nab. 7/9, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia;
e-mail: khudoley@AH3549.spb.edu
Treæ: Przedstawiono g³ówne etapy wczesnopaleozoicznej ewolucji perygondwañskich p³yt litosfe-
rycznych w nawi¹zaniu do historii superkontynentu Rodinia, a zw³aszcza efektu neoproterozoicznego
ryfto
wania, które doprowadzi³o do izolacji Gondwany, Laurencji, Syberii i Ba³tyki. Wskazano z kolei
na wczesnopaleozoiczne (póny kambr
wczesny ordowik) ryftowanie terranów awaloñskich, które
objê³o m.in. pó³nocno-zachodni¹ i po³udniow¹ Polskê. Na tym tle zobrazowano równie¿ wczesnopale-
ozoiczne wydarzenia geotektoniczne w dalekowschodniej Azji.
S³owa kluczowe: Pery
gondwana, Rodinia, Awalonia, wczesny paleozoik
Key words: Peri-Gondwana, Rodinia, Avalonia, Early Paleozoic
PANNOTIA AND PERI-GONDWANA TERRANES
The Proterozoic history of the supercontinent is defined by two major orogenies. The Grenvil-
lian orogeny around 1100 Ma is related to the formation of supercontinen
t Rodinia (Dalziel
1991, Hoffman 1991). The Cadomian/Pan-African orogeny is related to the assembly of the su-
percontinent Pannotia (Dalziel et al. 1994, Dalziel 1997, Golonka 2000, Golonka et al. 2006a, b)
340 J. Golonka, M. Krobicki, P. Poprawa, Z. Paul & A. Khudoley
around the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary. More than 500 hundred million years between
these two events allows assuming two full Wilson orogenic cycles during this time. It allows
also many different,
speculative paleogeographic approaches, causing lively discussion.
The Cadomian orogeny caused the deformation and magmatic events of terranes from
Iberia through Armorica. The Baltica
(Eastern Europe) might have collided with the Cado-
mian part of Gondwana during the Vendian time causing deformation in the Timan area and
proto-Uralian area. The Pechora-Timan b
elt (Roberts & Siedlecka 2002) and fragments of
Ural, Novaya Zemlya and Taimyr are related to the Cadomian belt (Golonka 2000, 2002). At
the same time rifting occurred along the other Baltica b
order, related perhaps to the opening of
the Iapetus Ocean (Poprawa 2006). Laurentia rifted away from Pannotia along future Iapetus
Ocean during Vendian time and along the Ouachita Ocean during Cambrian
time (Golonka et
al. 2006c). Pannotia supercontinent is not so badly constrained, however, it was short lived. Its
history resembled somewhat the history of Pangea, which assembled finally during Early
J
urassic and broke-up during Middle Jurassic time. One of the possible, speculative recon-
structions is linking Central Asian Orogenic Belt terranes (Tuva?) with the Cadomian orogeny
in Eur
ope (Golonka et al. 2006b).
Both Gondwana and Baltica were included in the Pannotia supercontinent (Golonka et
al. 2006a, b). The continents forming the core of Gondwana include South America, A
frica,
Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia. The location of numerous smaller continental
blocks that bordered Gondwana is less certain. These smaller blocks were assembled during
the E
arly Paleozoic time to Gondwana, forming the so-called Peri-Gondwanian zone. The
following were adjacent to Gondwana at some time during the Paleozoic: Yucatan, Florida,
Avalonia, central European (Cadomian) terranes between th
e Armorica and Bohemian Mas-
sif, Moesia, Iberia, Apulia and the smaller, southern European terranes, central Asian terranes
(Karakum and others), China (several separate blocks), and the Cimmerian terranes of T
urkey,
Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet and Southeast Asia.
THE RIFTING OF AVALONIAN TERRANES
The south-dipping subduction developed along the central margin of Gondwana in Late Cam-
brian Early Ordovician time. It caused the onset of rifting of the Avalonian terranes. Tradi-
tionally, the contin
ent of Avalonia consists of northwestern and possibly southern Poland,
some accreted terranes in the basement of East Carpathians and their foredeep, terranes in
northern Germany, the Ardennes of
Belgium and northern France, England, Wal es, southe-
astern Ireland, the Avalon Peninsula of eastern Newfoundland, much of Nova Scotia, southern
New Brunswick, and some coastal parts of Ne
w England. Brunovistulicum and Ma³opolska
massives, parts of the Scythian platform, Dzurilla massif of Caucasus, terranes in Tian-Shan
and adjacent parts of Kazakhstan and Southern Mongolia terrane could have
constitute of the
eastern extension of the Avalonia (Paul et al. 2003, Golonka et al. 2006b). The Avalonian
plates probably started to rift from Gondwana and move towards Baltica in the Late Tremado-
cian and were in
a drift stage by the Llanvirnian. This subduction caused also the formation of
the vast Rheic Ocean. The Turkmen and Solonker oceans in Asia could constitute the eastern
parts of this Rhe
ic Ocean. The plates drifted northward toward the nucleus of Asia (Fig. 1).
Early Paleozoic evolution of the Peri-Gondwana plates 341
Fig. 1. Plate tectonic map of the Middle Ordovician (plates position as of 472 Ma): 1 oceanic spre-
ading center and transform faults, 2 subduction zone, 3 thrust fault, 4 normal faul
t, 5 transform
fault
Fig. 1. Mapa tektoniki p³yt rodkowego ordowiku (pozycja p³yt 472 milionów lat temu): 1 centrum
spredingu oceanicznego i uskok transformuj¹cy, 2 strefa subdukcji, 3
nasuniêcie, 4 uskok normal-
ny, 5 uskok przesuwczy
THE PALEOZOIC OROGENIES IN CENTRAL ASIA
The sedimentary sequences in the Gobi desert area in Mongolia as well as in the Chinese Inner
Mongolia record the plate tectonic development of Central Asia. Collision between micro
con-
tinents (Salairian orogeny) during Late Cambrian Early Ordovician time in the Mongolia-
Tuva area marked the onset of the formation of the Amuria (Mongolia) microcontinent. Rela-
tion
ship of eastern peri-Gondwana terranes and Avalonia plates remain unknown and
speculative. It is not impossible that South China and Indochina plates also were rifted
from Gondwana in the Ordovician. The uplift and volcani
sm support such a possibility. Ac-
cording to Shouxin & Yongyi (1991), the Ordovician conformably overlies the Cambrian over
most of the South China plate. The northern part of the plate (Yangzi
Platform) was covered
with carbonates and mixed carbonate/clastic facies. The southern part of the plate is partially
uplifted and partially covered by deep water synorogenic
clastic deposits more than 4000 m
of weakly metamorphosed flysch, sandstones and graptolitic shales. Similar rocks formed on
the margins of Indochina plate. They are known as Pa Ham formation
(Ordovician-Silurian).
Late Silurian was the time of the major development of the Caledonian orogeny and
final closure of the Iapetus (Fig. 2). The collision between Baltica and Greenland con
tinued,
marked by nappes in Norway and Greenland. After the complete closure of the Iapetus Ocean,
the continents of Baltic, Avalonia, and Laurentia formed the continent of Laurussia
(Ziegler
1989). This Caledonian orogeny and transpressional collision of Gondwana and Laurentia
342 J. Golonka, M. Krobicki, P. Poprawa, Z. Paul & A. Khudoley
was related to the formation of the enigmatic large supercontinent Oldredia, which existed
during Early Devonian times, and included all major plates (Golonka 2000, Golonka et al.
2006b).
Fig. 2. Plate tectonic map of the Late Silurian (plates position as of 425 Ma): 1 oceanic spreading
center and transform faults, 2 subduction zone, 3 thrust fault, 4 normal fault, 5
transform fault
Fig. 2. Mapa tektoniki p³yt pónego syluru (pozycja p³yt 425 milionów lat temu): 1 centrum spredin-
gu oceanicznego i uskok transformuj¹cy, 2 strefa subdukcji, 3 nasuniêcie, 4
uskok normalny, 5
uskok przesuwczy
The above mentioned events indicate possible connection of Asiatic plates with Oldre-
dia. During Middle Devonian times, rifting of continental margins of Oldredia led to disas-
sembly of
the supercontinent (Golonka 2000, 2006b). The collision of the North China plate
and closure of Solonker ocean (ªengör & Natalin 1996) in Permian time concluded the oroge-
nic process.
This
research has been in part financially supported by the AGH University of Science
and Technology in Kraków, grant No. 11.11.140.447.
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