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Paleozoic igneous rocks exposed in the northern Yili Block are thought to have resulted from the subduction of the North Tianshan oceanic crust. However, the exact timing of the transition of the northern margin of the Yili Block from a passive to an active continental margin remains unknown. In this paper, the petrological and geochemical features, zircon U-Pb chronology, Lu-Hf isotopes, and Sr-Nd isotopes of volcanic rocks in the Nailenggeledaban area on the northern margin of the Yili Block were studied. Zircon U-Pb dating results show that the crystallization ages of the volcanic rocks in the Nailenggeledaban area on the northern margin of the Yili Block are 491 ± 2 Ma and 500 ± 2 Ma, suggesting they were formed during the Late Cambrian. Geochemical features show that the volcanic rocks are alkaline basalts with rare earth and trace element distribution patterns similar to OIB, although they exhibit some degree of Zr and Hf depletion. The εHf(t) values of alkaline basalts in the Nailenggeledaban area at the northern Yili Block range from −3.48 to −1.00, with a TDM1 age of 1152 to 1263 Ma. The εNd(t) values range from −3.53 to −0.96, with a TDM1 age of 1471 to 2162 Ma. Combined with geochemical data, the alkaline basalt magma in the Nailenggeledaban area on the northern margin of the Yili Block may be derived from the Mesoproterozoic enriched lithospheric mantle. The composition of the mantle source area is potentially garnet lherzolite, and the magma appears to have been either unaffected or only minimally contaminated by crustal materials during the ascending process. On the basis of the research results of the Early Paleozoic tectonic evolution in the northern margin of the Yili Block, this paper proposes that the volcanic rocks in the Nailenggeledaban area, located on the northern margin of the Yili Block, were formed in a back-arc extensional environment resulting from the subduction of the North Tianshan Ocean (or Junggar Ocean) beneath the northern margin of the Yili Block during the Late Cambrian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin and tectonic implication of Early–Middle Devonian magmatism in the northern margin of YB (Yili Block) remain enigmatic and are important for understanding Late Paleozoic evolution of the Junggar Ocean and southern Kazakhstan Orocline. Here, we present the systematic study of whole-rock geochemical and Sr–Nd isotope features as well as U–Pb–Hf isotope characteristics of zircon crystals for newly identified Early Devonian volcanic rocks from the northern margin of YB. The volcanic rocks are composed of rhyolite, rhyolite porphyry, and rhyolitic tuff. Zircon U-Pb age dating indicates they were formed at ca. 407~418 Ma. They have high SiO2 (70.16–77.52 wt.%) and alkali (5.10–9.56 wt.%) contents, and high Zr + Nb + Ce + Y content (~456 ppm), indicative of A-type magma. Their relative depletion of Nb, Ta, and Ti, and enrichment of LILEs show arc affinity. Their low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.699708–0.709822) and negative εNd(t) values (−1.8 to −4.0) indicate a mainly continental magma source and their positive εHf(t)values (+6.13 to +14.81) are possibly due to the garnet effect. All these above reveal that volcanic rocks were generated by re-melting of lower crust under a high temperature condition, which was induced by long-lived heat accumulation with no or minimal basalt flux. Combined with active continental margin inference evidenced by contemporaneous sedimentary rocks, we attribute the generation of the volcanic rocks to a continental arc setting related to the southward subduction of Junggar oceanic crust. Thus, we infer the Early–Middle Devonian arc-related magmatic rocks in the northern margin of YB are eastward counterparts of the southern limb of the Devonian Volcanic Belt, which resulted from a relatively steady-state southward subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]