The nature, extension, and evolution of the Meso-Tethys still remain unclear to researchers, and this has thereby hindered in-depth study of the Tethys tectonic domain. In this paper, we review the geology of the Tethys tectonic domain and suggest that the Meso-Tethys is a massive tectonic zone divided into three segments. The central segment includes the Bangong-Nujiang Suture Zone on the Tibetan Plateau and the Shyok Suture Zone in the South Pamir Mountains. This segment has been well studied and is the key link that fully records the birth, evolution, and demise of the Meso-Tethys Ocean from the Permian to Cretaceous, as well as the subsequent continental collision and crustal uplift. The western segment includes the Sanandaj-Sirjan Suture Zone and the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture Zone in the Middle East. Due to limited research on the western segment, our understanding of it is mainly derived from records of the Jurassic forearc extension,development of arc, and subsequent arc-continent collision. The eastern segment includes the Shan Boundary in Southeast Asia. It has received widespread attention in recent years, and it contains complete records of the Jurassic subduction of the Meso-Tethys Ocean. Based on the latest comprehensive data, we propose that the evolution of the Meso-Tethys Ocean can be divided into four stages: (1) the Early Permian rifting and opening stage; (2) the Middle Permian-Triassic seafoor spreading stage; (3) the Late Triassic-Jurassic convergence stage; and (4) the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous diachronous closure from east to west in the central segment and transition from the Meso-Tethys evolution to the Neo-Tethys evolution in both the eastern and western segments. The Meso-Tethys Ocean underwent complex evolution for at least ∼160 Myrs. It has an east-west length of over 8000 km and a maximum north-south width of close to 5000 km during the Late Triassic, which basically reached the scale of the current Indian Ocean. It was an important ocean basin that coexisted with the Paleo- and Neo-Tethys oceans, a key intermediate link in the evolution of the Tethys, and one of the major contributors to the continuous disintegration of Gondwana and the accretion of the Eurasian continent. Its complex evolution process and multiple periods of accretion resulted in the formation of complex geological records and the wide scale of the Meso-Tethys (e.g., the Bangong-Nujiang Suture Zone), making this area a rare natural laboratory for in-depth study of orogenesis, which is of great significance for studying tectonic processes on the global scale from seafloor geology to continental accretion and mineralization.

中文翻译：

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中特提斯洋：性质、延伸与时空演化


中特提斯洋的性质、延伸和演化仍不清楚，这阻碍了对特提斯构造域的深入研究。在本文中，我们回顾了特提斯构造域的地质，并认为中特提斯是一个分为三段的巨大构造带。中段包括青藏高原的班公湖缝合带和南帕米尔高原的什约克缝合带。该段已得到充分研究，是完整记录了二叠纪至白垩纪中特提斯洋的诞生、演化、消亡以及随后的大陆碰撞和地壳隆起的关键环节。西段包括中东的萨南达季-锡尔詹缝合带和伊兹密尔-安卡拉-埃尔津詹缝合带。由于对西段的研究有限，我们对其的认识主要来源于侏罗纪弧前伸展、弧发育以及随后的弧陆碰撞的记录。东段包括东南亚的掸邦边界。近年来受到广泛关注，包含了侏罗纪中特提斯洋俯冲的完整记录。根据最新的综合资料，我们提出中特提斯洋的演化可分为四个阶段：（1）早二叠世裂谷张开阶段； (2)中二叠世—三叠世海底扩张阶段; (3)晚三叠世-侏罗纪汇聚阶段； (4)中段晚侏罗世—早白垩世自东向西的历时闭合和东、西段中特提斯演化向新特提斯演化的过渡。中特提斯洋经历了至少 160 迈尔的复杂演化。 晚三叠世东西长8000多公里，南北最宽接近5000公里，基本达到了现在印度洋的规模。它是与古特提斯洋和新特提斯洋共存的重要洋盆，是特提斯洋演化的关键中间环节，是冈瓦纳大陆不断解体和欧亚大陆增生的主要贡献者之一。其复杂的演化过程和多期增生作用，形成了中特提斯洋（如班公怒江缝合带）复杂的地质记录和广阔的规模，使该地区成为深入研究特提斯洋不可多得的天然实验室。造山作用，对于研究全球范围从海底地质到大陆增生和成矿的构造过程具有重要意义。