TWO MISTAKES IN THE STUDY OF THE FORMATION AGE OF THE OPHIOLITE BELTS, CHINA

There are two mistakes in researching the formation age of the ophiolite belts, China. The first mistake took place before 1970's when many geologists determined the formation age of the Ophiolite belts mainly based on the macrofossils of the limestone block in the melanges. Because the age shown by these macrofossils is generally earlier than the formation age of the Ophiolite belts, it can not represent the true time of plate collisions. The second one took place after the 1970's when numerous geological workers determined the formation age of the Ophiolite belts commonly based on the radiolites and radiolarian faunas. But, in the Ophiolite belts sometimes there are two sets of radiolites. The first radiolite belongs to allochthonous removal with the characters of deep water and without any relation with the oceanic crust; the second radiolite represents relics of true oceanic crust overlying the pillow basalt. In all published geological references, most geologists did not describe the positions of the radiolites in the ophiolite belts, therefore, the conclusions drawn by them for the formation age of the ophiolite belts are always doubtful.

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Clc Number:

P588.1