Tectonic evolution of the Tianshan Akeyazi metamorphic complex (NW China)

The South Tianshan orogen (northwest China) comprises a thick volcanoclastic HP-UHP metamorphic belt, the Akeyazi (high-pressure) metamorphic complex (AMC), exhibiting well-preserved eclogite- and blueschist-facies rocks and pervasive deformation throughout all units. In order to clarify the tectonic evolution of this fossil subduction zone, which remains controversial due to the lack of systematic field observations combining structural and petrological data, we herein present the results of extensive mapping of lithologies, deformation patterns and petrological evolutions.