Editorial preface to special issue: From Prototethys to Neotethys: Deep time paleobiogeographic and paleogeographic evolution of blocks in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) contains rock successions that record the detailed history of the evolution of the Tethyan oceans. The purpose of this Special Issue is to improve understanding of the complex evolution of the blocks/terranes and oceans in the QTP. It comprises 21 papers covering diverse disciplines including stratigraphy, palaeontology, geochemistry, paleomagnetics and sedimentology. Some of the major findings of the collection are as follows: (1) There exist many branches of the Prototethys Ocean in the QTP with complex history of evolution and subduction; (2) The Paleotethys Ocean along the Longmu Co-Shuanghu suture zone began to widen in Early Carboniferous times; (3) The Mesotethys Ocean opened during Early Permian times as indicated by both paleobiogeographic and provenance studies; (4) There are more than two forearc basins developed during the subduction of the Neotethys Ocean. The various contributions in this Special Issue provide detailed evidence to reconstruct the complicated evolution of the Tethyan oceans involved in the formation of the QTP. The articles will be of interests to scholars across many disciplines in the geosciences.