The early exhumation history of the Western Tianshan UHP metamorphic belt, China: New constraints from titanite U-Pb geochronology and thermobarometry

The Chinese Western Tianshan terrane is a well‐known ultrahigh‐pressure ( UHP ) metamorphic belt that mainly consists of subducted oceanic crustal materials. While two uplift stages have been recognized, the early exhumation history has not been fully constrained. We conducted U–Th–Pb and trace element microanalysis of titanite as well as zircon from UHP eclogites. Apart from several inclusions in garnet, three types of retrograde titanite have...