Carboniferous ridge subduction in the Xingmeng Orogenic Belt:Constraints from geochronological,geochemical,and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic analysis of strongly peraluminous granites and gabbro-diorites in the Xilinhot micro-continent

The Xingmeng Orogenic Belt evolved through a long-lived orogeny involving multiple episodes of subduction and accretion.However,there is a debate on its tectonic evolution during the Late Paleozoic.Here,we report geochemical,geochronological,and isotopic data from strongly peraluminous granites and gabbro-diorites from the Sunidzuoqi-Xilinhot region.Zircon U-Pb ages suggest that the intrusive rocks were emplaced during the Early Carboniferous(333-322 Ma).The granites exhibit geochemical characteristics similar to S-type granites,with high SiO_(2)(72.34-76.53 wt.%),Al_(2)O_(3)(12.45-14.65 wt.%),and A/CNK(1.07-1.16),but depleted Sr,Nb,and Ta contents.They exhibit positiveε_(Nd)(t)andε_(Hf)(t)values(-0.3 to 2.8 and 2.7-5.7,respectively)and young Nd and Hf model ages(T_(DM2)(Nd)=853-1110 Ma and T_(DM2)(Hf)=975-1184 Ma),suggesting that they may be the partial melting products of heterogeneous sources with variable proportions of pelite,psammite,and metabasaltic rocks.The meta-gabbro-diorites from the Maihantaolegai pluton have low SiO_(2)(47.06-53.49 wt.%)and K_2O(0.04-0.99 wt.%)contents,and demonstrate slight light rare earth element(REE)depletion in the chondritenormalized REE diagrams.They have high zirconε_(Hf)(t)values(14.41-17.34)and young Hf model ages(T_(DM2)(Hf)=230-418 Ma),indicating a more depleted mantle source.The variations of the Sm/Yb and La/Sm ratios can thus be used to assess the melting degree of the mantle source from 5%to 20%,suggesting a quite shallow mantle melting zone.We propose that the petrogenesis and distribution of the strongly peraluminous granites and gabbro-diorites,as well as the tectonic architecture of the region,can be explained by a ridge subduction model.Based on these results,and previous studies,we suggest a southward ridge subduction model for the Sunidzuoqi-Xilinhot region.

Early Ordovician strongly peraluminous granite in the middle section of the Yarlung Zangbo junction zone and its geological significance

LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb isotopic dating and rock geochemical analysis were done of the Xarru granite in the middle section of the Yarlung Zangbo junction zone. Zircon 2-6pb/Z38u weighted mean ages of 474.9±2.3 and 478.3±1.7 Ma have been obtained for two gneiss granite samples respectively, which represent the formation age of the granite. This is the first discovery of the Early Ordovician magmatism in the Yarlung Zangbo junction zone. The rocks are high-K calcic-alkalic granite, contain tour- maline but not hornblende, with aluminum saturation index （ASI） of A/CNK〉I.1 （1.10-1.20）, and are enriched in Rb, Th and U and relatively depleted in Ba, Nb, Sr, Zr, Ti and Eu. They are strongly peraluminous S-type granite, resulting from partial melting of argillaceous components in the crust in a syn-collisional setting. According to previous studies as well as the analy- sis in this paper, the formation of the Xarru granite is probably related to the Andean-type orogeny in the process of subduction of the Proto-Tethys Ocean towards the Gondwanaland, and it is a product of partial melting of the thickened upper crust as a result of collision between blocks or micro-blocks in the northern margin of the Gondwana supercontinent in the process of oceanic subduction. The Xarru granite is identified as the Early Ordovician granite, indicating that the wall rocks had probably formed in the Cambrian or Precambrian.

Testing final closure time of the Paleo-Asian Ocean along the Solonker suture by a transition of compressional and extensional setting

The giant Central Asian Orogenic Belt is an extensive accretionary orogen,of which the Solonker suture,as a major regional suture,coincides closely with an early Permian paleobiogeographical boundary.This suture is considered to mark the location of the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean between the North China Craton and the Mongolian Terrane.Although the closure time of the Paleo-Asian Ocean along the Solonker suture has generally been regarded as Late Permian-Early Triassic,uncertainty remains because of a lack of typical collisionrelated features(e.g.,high-grade regional metamorphism and well-developed fold-thrust structures)and a scarcity of outcrops.The present study reports Early Permian foliated gabbros and dikes(288-275 Ma)and Middle-Late Permian undeformed layered gabbros,strongly peraluminous granites,and I-type granites(265-254 Ma)in the Xinhure area along the northern margin of the North China Craton.The Early Permian foliated intrusions have a subduction-related geochemical signature and were derived from partial melting of lithospheric mantle modified by subduction-related melts or fluids at the active margin of the North China Craton.In contrast,the Late Permian undeformed layered gabbros and strongly peraluminous granites were derived from partial melting of lithospheric mantle and middle-upper crust,respectively,triggered by asthenospheric upwelling.Therefore,a transition from an end-compressional to an extensional environment according to a transition from collision termination to postcollision of the North China Craton and Mongolian Terrane may have occurred between 275 Ma and 262 Ma.This time span can be considered as the final closure time of the Paleo-Asian Ocean along the Solonker suture.

Post-Orogenic Granites in Pingwu Region, Northwest Sichuan: Evidence for North China Block and Yangtze Block Collision during Triassic

The Nanyili （南一里）, Laohegou （老河沟）, and Shaiziyan （筛子岩） granitic intrusions are located in the southern margin of the Bikou （碧口） block in Pingwu （平武） area, Northwest Sichuan （四川）. The petrography and geochemical characteristics of the granitic intrusions as well as their source and tectonic settings are reported and discussed in this article. The Laohegou and Shaiziyan granites are with high SiO2 （69.89 wt.%-73.05 wt.%） and Al2O3 contents, and A/CNK=1.04-1.12. They are typical strongly peraluminous granites, with supersaturation in AI and Si. The abundance of ∑REE varies in the range of （33.13-89.12）×10^-6. The rocks show an LREE enrichment pattern and obvious Eu negative anomaly. The trace element geochemistry is characterized evidently by a negative anomaly of Ta, Nb, Ti, etc. and a positive anomaly of Rb, Ba, Sr, etc.. Zircons of the Nanyili granite have higher Th/U ratios, and their CL images have internal oscillatory zoning, suggesting that the zircons of the samples are igneous in origin. The LA ICP-MS zircon U-Pb isotopic concordia diagram yields an age of 223.1±2.6 Ma （MSWD=1.4）, which indicates that the granodiorite intrusions formed in the early Late Triassic. The Nanyili, Laohegou, and Shaiziyan granites have the characteristics of post-collisional granites and are regarded as post-orogenic granites. Thus, the granite intrusions are interpreted as syn-collisional granites that resulted from the crustal thickening caused by the collisions between the North China plate and the Yangtze plate during the Indosinian. The granitic intrusions formed in a transitional environment from syn- （compressional environment） to post-collision （extensional environment）.