Coupling response of the Meso–Cenozoic differential evolution of the North China Craton to lithospheric structural transformation

Abstract The destruction of the North China Craton (NCC) is a particularly significant event in the history of global cratonic evolution and represents a critical stage of cratonic evolution. Since the Paleozoic, the NCC has been located at the intersection of three dynamic systems: the Paleo-Asian, Tethys, and Pacific (including the Paleo-Pacific) tectonic domains. It has endured through the formation and evolution of the cratonic basin, the destruction of the craton, and emergent hydrocarbon accumulation and mineralization. Accordingly, the Meso–Cenozoic differential evolution of the NCC and the effect of lithospheric structural transformation have been hot topics and difficult problems for geologists in recent decades. In this study, the basin–mountain coupling relationship, the effect of strike–slip structures, the Meso–Cenozoic magmatic–thermal interaction, the structural transformation of the lithosphere, the coupling effect of basin–mountain evolution, and the crust–mantle interaction in the NCC are comprehensively discussed. We also provide a geological and geophysical interpretation of the typical profiles in the NCC. The results show that (1) the composition and structure of the NCC are not as stable as those of the major global large cratons. The NCC has undergone a long period of tectonic superposition and reconstruction since the Proterozoic, resulting in assorted differentiation and basin types. These different types of basins and their surrounding orogenic belts have different basin–mountain coupling systems, the evolution of which can be divided into three modes: compression, compression–extension transformation, and extension. (2) The Meso–Cenozoic magmatic–thermal activity in the NCC is a result of material and energy exchanges caused by the vertical effect of the crust–mantle interaction. The Early Cretaceous experienced peak crust–mantle interaction, with the magma source area of the NCC gradually deepening from the Mesozoic crust to the Cenozoic mantle through the geological evolution process. A clear history of magmatic heat was recorded in the eastern and central NCC, confirming that the destruction of the NCC mainly affected the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin. (3) Since the Mesozoic, the activation and transformation of the stable lithosphere in the NCC have been the result of the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate, the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates, and crust–mantle interaction. The input of material and heat deep in the lithosphere is key to the formation of different types of lithospheres. From east to west, the present three-dimensional lithospheric structure of the NCC is divided into the extensional lithosphere, represented by the Bohai Bay Basin (BBB); the transitional lithosphere, represented by the Yanshan–Taihang orogenic belt; and the cratonic lithosphere, represented by the Ordos Basin. The activation and transformation of the NCC are characterized by the Early Mesozoic compressional mechanism and the Late Mesozoic to Cenozoic extensional mechanism, combined with a strike–slip effect caused by shearing. (4) The basin–mountain relationship of the NCC is a response to deep crust–mantle action. From the Middle to Late Mesozoic, the Taihang Mountains in the eastern NCC formed a passive extensional basin–mountain relationship with the BBB. However, since the Paleogene, the genesis of the basin has changed to active extension. In the Meso–Cenozoic, under the joint influence of the subduction of the Pacific Plate in the eastern NCC and the compression of the Indian Plate in the western NCC, passive extension and strike-slip processes evolved into active extension and strike-slip processes. Accordingly, this study has important theoretical significance for understanding cratonic evolution, basin–mountain transformation, and crust–mantle processes in the Earth system. Moreover, it plays an important role in studying the occurrence and enrichment of fossil energy and mineral resources in cratonic evolution.