Detrital zircon provenance constraints on the final closure of the middle segment of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

The main site and timing of the final closure of the middle segment of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO) has been an issue of hot debate, which hampers us from better understanding the late-stage tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Synthesizing the available geological records for the ophiolitic mélanges in the Beishan Orogenic Belt (BOB), we regard the Liuyuan ophiolitic mélange as the main site of the final closure of the...