The Late Paleoproterozoic Orogeny in the North China Craton

Granulite TTG and khondalite formations are the two typical types of Precambrian metamorphic basement in the North China Craton. The former belongs to the basement of the Archean craton, while the latter is a Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rock series. The formation of the TTG rock series took place during the period of 2500 to 2450 Ma, near the end of the Archean, and it has undergone multiple times of metamorphism. The cooling rate of the TTG lower crust is quite low (less than 0.3°/Ma), developed during slow crustal cooling in a rather stable tectonic environment. The khondalite rock series underwent amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphism that is isotopically constrained to 2000 to 1800 Ma followed by fast crustal cooling from 2.4° to 3.4°/Ma. Based on the thermal and dynamic features of different types of metamorphic rocks, the tectonic state of the crust, and the obvious change of crustal cooling rate from Neo-Archean to Paleoproterozoic, it is clear that continental orogeny existed in the North China craton between 2000 Ma and 1800 Ma.