New Concepts on the Composition, Structure, and Age of the Lower Amur Fragment of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Accretionary Prism, Russian Far East

On the basis of geological observations and the study of conodont and radiolarian microfauna, a new stratigraphic scheme was proposed for the Mesozoic deposits of the Komsomolsk district of the Amur region. The lower Khorpy Group (T(2)-J(3)) consists of two units: the Boktor (T(2)-J(2)) and Kholvasi (J(2-3)). The Boktor Sequence (400 m thick) is represented by pelagic cherts with an admixture of cherty-clayey shales and volcanic rocks. The Kholvasi Sequence (500 m thick) is built up of the predominant siltstones and clayey shales with rare intercalations and lenses of clayey cherts and cherty-clayey shales. The upper Komsomolskaya Group (K(1)) has a terrigenous composition and includes the Gorin, Pionerskaya, and Pivan formations of 5 km total thickness. It is made up of intercalated sandstones, siltstones, mudstones, and often turbidites (proximal to distal). The rocks contain abundant buchia fauna of Volgian-Valanginian age, as well as carbonized plant detritus and flora of the Early Cretaceous habit. The described complex is characterized by a nappe-fold structure typical of the accretionary prisms in the ocean-continent convergence zones. The predominance of the coherent type of accretionary prisms reflects the simple morphology of the oceanic plate.