Search

Neoproterozoic I-type granites could provide vital insights into the crust–mantle interaction and the crustal evolution along the western Yangtze Block, South China. This paper presents new zircon U–Pb ages, bulk-rock geochemistry, and in situ zircon Lu–Hf isotope on the Dalu I-type granites from the southwestern Yangtze Block. Zircon U–Pb dating show the crystallization ages of 781.1 ± 2.8 Ma for granodiorites and 779.8 ± 2.0 Ma for granites, respectively. The Dalu granodiorites are Na-rich, calc-alkaline, metaluminous to slightly peraluminous (A/CNK = 0.94–1.08). Zircons from granodiorite have positive εHf(t) values (+2.16 to +7.39) with crustal model ages of 1.21–1.54 Ga, indicating juvenile mafic lower crust source. The Dalu granites are high-K calc-alkaline, peraluminous rocks. They have variable zircon εHf(t) values (−4.65 to +5.80) with crustal model ages of 1.31–1.97 Ga, suggesting that they were derived from the mature metasediment-derived melts by the mixing of newly formed mafic lower crust-derived melts. The geochemical variations in Dalu pluton is dominated not only by the different source rocks but also by the different melting temperatures. Combining with the geochemistry and isotopic compositions of I-type granitoids and tectonic setting in the western Yangtze Block, we propose that the Dalu I-type granodiorites–granites associations are the magmatic response from different crustal levels, which were induced by the heat anomaly due to the asthenosphere upwelling in the subduction-related setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geological mapping and zircon U–Pb laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) dating has identified a Mesoarchean (2857 ± 17 Ma) geological unit in the Luanjiajie area of the northern margin of the North China Craton, within the northern part of Liaoning Province, China. This unit is dominated by tonalitic and trondhjemite gneisses that form part of a typical tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) rock assemblage. These Mesoarchean gneisses are enriched in Na and depleted in K, yield K2O/Na2O ratios of 0.34–0.50, have Rittmann index (σ) values of 1.54–3.04, and are calc-alkaline. They have EuN/EuN* values of 0.77–1.20 (average of 1.03), indicating that these samples have negligible Eu anomalies, and yield high LaN/YbNvalues (4.92–23.12). These characteristics indicate that these Mesoarchean gneisses have fractionated rare earth element (REE) compositions that are enriched in the light REE (LREE) and depleted in the heavy REE (HREE), with steeply dipping chondrite-normalized REE patterns. These gneisses are also enriched in Rb, Th, K, Zr, and Hf, and are relatively depleted in Ta, Nb, P, and Ti. In summary, the magma that formed these tonalitic and trondhjemite gneisses was most likely derived from the partial melting of lower-crustal basaltic rocks during subduction. The timing of formation (2.85 Ga) of the Luanjiajie tonalite and trondhjemite gneisses probably represents the timing of initiation of plate tectonics within the LongGang Block during a SE-directed subduction event. The presence of inherited zircons with ages of >3.0 Ga within the Luanjiajie gneisses suggests that this area may contain as yet undiscovered rocks that formed before 3.0 Ga. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The petrogenesis and geodynamic setting of magmatic rocks in Eastern Tianshan, Xinjiang, are attracting increasing attention. This study explores these issues by providing SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating, and element geochemical and Hf isotope data of magmatic rocks exposed in the Yandong region of Eastern Tianshan, Xinjiang. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating data indicate that the magmatic activities occurred around 335 Ma, and that mineralization of the Yandong porphyry Cu deposit occurred during the same period as that of the rock formation in the region or slightly later. All the magmatic rocks in Yandong are sub-alkaline or high-K, calc-alkaline with A/CNK values ranging from 0.91 to 2.70, enriched in K, Rb, and Ba and clearly depleted in Nb, Ta, P, Ti, and Th, and have geochemical characteristics typical of adakites (i.e, high Al2O3, high La/Yb ratios and Sr contents, low Y and HREE contents, and positive Eu anomalies).In situHf isotopic analyses of zircons that had previously been dated by SHRIMP yielded positive initial εHf(t) values ranging from +9.4 to +15.8. We suggest that the Palaeo-Tianshan oceanic crust subducted northward beneath the Dananhu-Tousuquan arc belt during the early Carboniferous, and the Yandong magmatic rocks were induced by partial melting of the subducted Palaeo-Tianshan oceanic slab, subsequently having been hybridized by peridotite in the mantle wedge. The slab melts play a crucial role particularly in the relatively closed magma system responsible for generating the Yandong porphyry Cu deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]