Coupling response of the Meso–Cenozoic differential evolution of the North China Craton to lithospheric structural transformation

The destruction of the North China Craton (NCC) is a particularly significant event in the history of global cratonic evolution and represents a critical stage of cratonic evolution. Since the Paleozoic, the NCC has been located at the intersection of three dynamic systems: the Paleo-Asian, Tethys, and Pacific (including the Paleo-Pacific) tectonic domains. It has endured through the formation and evolution of the cratonic basin, the destruction of the craton, and emergent hydrocarbon accumulation and mineralization. Accordingly, the Meso–Cenozoic differential evolution of the NCC and the effect of lithospheric structural transformation have been hot topics and difficult problems for geologists in recent decades. In this study, the basin–mountain coupling relationship, the effect of strike–slip structures, the Meso–Cenozoic magmatic–thermal interaction, the structural transformation of the lithosphere, the coupling effect of basin–mountain evolution, and the crust–mantle interaction in the NCC are comprehensively discussed. We also provide a geological and geophysical interpretation of the typical profiles in the NCC. The results show that (1) the composition and structure of the NCC are not as stable as those of the major global large cratons. The NCC has undergone a long period of tectonic superposition and reconstruction since the Proterozoic, resulting in assorted differentiation and basin types. These different types of basins and their surrounding orogenic belts have different basin–mountain coupling systems, the evolution of which can be divided into three modes: compression, compression–extension transformation, and extension. (2) The Meso–Cenozoic magmatic–thermal activity in the NCC is a result of material and energy exchanges caused by the vertical effect of the crust–mantle interaction. The Early Cretaceous experienced peak crust–mantle interaction, with the magma source area of the NCC gradually deepening from the Mesozoic crust to the Cenozoic mantle through the geological evolution process. A clear history of magmatic heat was recorded in the eastern and central NCC, confirming that the destruction of the NCC mainly affected the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin. (3) Since the Mesozoic, the activation and transformation of the stable lithosphere in the NCC have been the result of the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate, the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates, and crust–mantle interaction. The input of material and heat dee