Extensive Resetting of Feldspar Pb Isotopic Composition in Archean–Paleoproterozoic Granitic Rocks from the Kongling Terrane,South China:Implications for Tracing Thermal Evolutionary History

Feldspar Pb isotopes have been widely used to trace magmatic formation and evolution processes.However,it remains unclear whether post-magmatic thermal events can affect feldspar Pb isotopic ratios.Here,the in situ Pb isotopic composition of feldspar hosted in granitic rocks(thirteen Archean and one Paleoproterozoic)from the northern Kongling terrane,Yangtze Craton,South China,is analyzed.The samples reveal a substantial variation in their Pb isotopic composition,spanning the gap between the 1.9 Ga and present-day geochrons,which indicates extensive resetting by later tectonothermal events.This resetting was interpreted to have likely resulted from Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic tectonothermal events related to the assembly and breakup of the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents.These results suggest that Pb isotopes should be used cautiously when tracing magma sources and petrogenesis in magmatic rocks that have experienced post-magmatic reworking.However,the in situ Pb isotopic composition of feldspar in ancient granitoids may also potentially be used to reveal later tectonothermal events.The extensive resetting of the Pb isotopic composition in feldspar by regional thermal events may also provide new insights into our understanding of the Pb isotope paradox.

A ca. 2.2Ga Acidic Magmatic Event at the Northern Margin of the Yangtze Craton: Evidence from U-Pb Dating and Hf Isotope Analysis of Zircons from the Kongling Complex

Objective The Yangtze craton collisional orogeny at ca. extensional events at ca. 1 experienced Paleoproterozoic 1.95-2.0 Ga and post-orogenic 85 Ga related to amalgamation of the Columbia （Nuna） supercontinent （Zhao and Cawood, 2012）. A ca. 2.15 Ga suprasubduction zone ophiolitic melange was recongized in the Archean- Paleoproterozoic Kongling Complex of the northern Yangtze craton （Han et al., 2017）. However, the tectonic evolution in early Paleoproterozoic from 2.4 Ga to 2.2 Ga remains unclear. We report here the presence of a suite of Paleoproterozoic （2.2 Ga） granites in the Huangling dome, northern Yangtze craton, which may provide important insights into crustal growth processes in the craton prior to the assembly of Columbia.

Redefinition of Early Mesoproterozoic (1800-1600Ma) stratigraphy in the northern Kongling area,China:The nucleus of Yangtze Craton and its tectonic significance

The Wujiatai Formation, which is well exposed in Huangjiatai-Xichahe region of the northern Kongling area of central Yangtze Craton, is a suite of epimetamorphic conglomerates to pebbly sandstones to fine sandstone-dolostones deposited in littoral-carbonate platform facies. The formation has angular unconformity contacts with both the overlying Neoproterozoic Nantuo Formation and the underlying Paleoproterozoic Huanglianghe Formation complex. Detrital zircons from metafine sandstones of the lower Wujiatai Formation have ages ranging from 3377 –1828 Ma, with the youngest zircons dating to about 1828 Ma. In addition, whole-rock Pb-Pb isochron ages from dolostones in the upper Wujiatai Formation yield an age of 1718±230 Ma. These dates constrain the depositional age of the Wujiatai Formation between 1800 Ma and 1600 Ma. These are the earliest Mesoproterozoic sedimentary records reported in the Kongling region, and fill the gaps in Early Mesoproterozoic stratigraphy in Yangtze Craton. Histograms of detrital zircon ages for the Wujiatai Formation reveal four major peaks at 2039 Ma, 2691 Ma, 2966 Ma and 3377 Ma, which is consistent with the ages of the basement rocks that underlie the center of Yangtze Craton, indicating that sediment provenance is mainly from the Kongling complex. The lower Wujiatai Formation mainly consists of clastic rocks, whereas the upper Wujiatai Formation consists of dolostones. This stratigraphic change implies a deepening sequence in an expanding basin with an initial cratonic rifting tectonic setting, corresponding to the initial breakup of the Columbia supercontinent in Yangtze Craton.

Geochemical Characteristics of Archean High-Grade Terrain of Kongling Complex and Early Crustal Evolution of Yangtze Craton

This paper reports the systematic studies of geochemistry on the meta sedimentary rocks, felsic gneisses and amphibolites of the Kongling complex from the Archean high grade terrain of the Yangtze craton. It shows that the amphibolites originated from a weakly depleted mantle resource. Nb negative anomaly, negative ε (Nd, t ) and the t DM ages which older than their isochron ages of the TTG gneisses imply the possible existence of the crust older than round about 2.7 Ga in the region. Three types of meta sedimentary rocks are identified from the Kongling complex. The first type originated from the juvenile crust with the features of the first cycle sedimentary rocks. Cratonic sedimentary rocks characterize the second type. Mobilization of REE and other elements resulted from partial melting during the migmatization is found in the third type of meta sedimentary rocks. Apart from the early TTG gneisses, some of the mafic rocks are also expected to be the source rocks of the first type of para rocks. The deposition times of the first and second type paragneisses are closed in the Neoarchean of about 2.7 Ga and the early period of Proterozoic respectively, and the period when cratonization of the Yangtze continental block completed is referred to be earlier than the Mesoproterozoic. Nd isotopic tracing on the magma sources of the Jinning granitic rocks in the region reveals that the major part of the Kongling basement is Neoarchean.

2.2Ga Subduction-Related Mafic Magmatic Rocks in the Kongling Complex:Evidence for the Assembly of the Columbia Supercontinent

Objective Petrogenesis of the Paleoproterozoic mafic dikes and their tectonic implications are of great significance to the tectonic evolution of the Yangtze craton as well as the paleoposition of the Yangtze craton relative to the Columbia supercontinent.Till now,

SHRIMP single zircon U-Pb dating of the Kongling high-grade metamorphic terrain: Evidence for >3.2 Ga old continental crust in the Yangtze craton

Single zircons from two trondhjemitic gneisses and two clastic metasedimentary rocks without Eu anomaly of the Kongling high-grade metamorphic terrain are dated by the in situ SHRIMP U-Pb method. The results show that the trondhjemitic magma emplaced at 2947-2903 Ma. Concordant age of as old as 3.3 Ga is present in the detrital zircons from the clastic metasedimentary rocks. Together with the depleted mantle Nd model age (TDM =3.2-3.3 Ga) of the clastic metasedimentary rocks, this documents the presence of Paleoarchean continental crust in the Yangtze craton.

An Sm-Nd isotopic dating study of the Archean Kongling Complex in the Huangling area of the Yangtze Craton

Sm Nd isotopic compositions of associated amphibolites, TTG gneisses and granitic gneisses from the Archean Kongling Complex of the Yangtze Craton, South China are systematically analyzed. The results show that the amphibolites and TTG gneisses have a similar age of ca. 2 700 Ma, which well agrees with zircon U Pb dating of previous studies. However, their ε Nd ( t ) are different, suggestive of possible dissimilarity in source composition.

2.0 Ga orogenic graphite deposits and associated 13C-enriched meta-carbonate rocks from South China Craton:Implications for global Lomagundi event

The Lomagundi(-Jatuli)event,characterized by extremely high positive global inorganic carbon isotope excursion at about 2.2 billion years ago,is pivotal in investigating the causes and consequences of great oxygenation event,inventory and sequestration of carbon on the Earth’s surface,evolution of life,and more profoundly tectonic control on Earth’s environment.However,the reasons that caused the isotopic excursion are not resolved yet.Herein,we report the discovery of meta-carbonate rocks with distinct positive carbon isotopic excursion from the Paleoproterozoic continental collision zone of the Kongling Complex,South China Craton.The δ^(13)C_(V-PDB) values for meta-carbonate rocks show positive values in the range from+5.5‰to+11.6‰,whereas the δ^(13)C_(V-PDB) values of associated graphite deposits range from-25.8‰to-9.5‰.Zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopes from zircon-bearing meta-carbonate sample yielded weighted average _(207)Pb/_(206)Pb age of 2001.3±9.5 Ma,with correspondingε_(Hf)(t)range from-7.05 to-3.16,comparable to the values of local 2.9–2.6 Ga basement rocks.Geochemical characteristics of meta-carbonate rocks,such as their rare earth element patterns and the trace element parameters of La,Ce,Eu,and Gd anomalies and Y/Ho ratio,suggest that the carbonate deposition took place in passive continental margin in association with large volumes of organic carbon.The extensive graphite deposits from Kongling Complex in South China Craton,their equivalents in the North China Craton and elsewhere across the globe prove that the burial of ^(12)C-enriched organic carbon has eventually resulted in the global enrichment of ^(13)C in the atmospheric CO_(2),which is recorded in the marine carbonate rocks.Isotopic mass balance estimates indicate that more than half of the organic carbon was buried during the oceanic closure.Hence,the observed global shift could be directly related to the continent collision event in greater China,thus resolving the long-standing paradox of the Lomagundi global positive carbon isotope excursion.Moreover,the present results suggest that orogenesis play a significant role in sequestration of carbon into the continental crust.

The oldest basement rock in the Yangtze Craton revealed by zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotope composition

Here we report an integrated study of zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotope composition for a gneiss sample from the Kongling terrain in the Yangtze Craton. CL imaging reveals that most zircons are magmatic, and a few of them have thin metamorphic rims. The magmatic zircons gave a weighted mean U-Pb age of 3218±13 Ma, indicating the gneiss is the oldest basement rock in the Yangtze Craton found to date. They have εHf(t) value of -2.33±0.51,and two-stage Hf model age of 3679±49 Ma,indicating that the gneiss was derived from partial melting of >3.6 Ga crustal rock. The metamorphic rims yielded an age of 2732±16 Ma, implying that the metamorphic event occurred in the Neoarchean era, which may be also a major tectono-thermal event in the Yangtze Craton.

The recognizing of ca. 1.95 Ga tectono-thermal eventin Kong-ling nucleus and its significance for the evolution of Yangtze Block, South China

Some 1.95 Ga metamorphism of high-grade Ar-chean rocks in Kongling terrain, continental nucleus of Yangtze Block, South China, are recognized by Sm-Nd dating. This event is further confirmed by the ages of single zircon SHRIMP U-Pb and K-Ar analyses of TTG and (or) paragneisses, and intrusions of potassic-granitic batholith in the region. The coincidence in period between the high-grade metamorphism in the Kongling area and the creation of major basement rocks of its neighborhoods of the Yangtze Block around the Kongling Archean nucleus makes it a favorable explanation for their tectonic connections that, in the whole Yangtze Block there was some tectono-thermal event of ca. 2.0-1.8 Ga, which resulted in the formation of unitive Yangtze basement.