Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb age, geochemical, Sr-Nd isotopic, and in-situ Hf isotopic data of the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian plutons in the northern margin of the North China Craton.

The main rock types of the Boluonuo and Daguangding plutons are diorite, quartz diorite, tonalite, granodiorite, and subordinate plagioclase-bearing hornblendite and hornblende gabbro. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating for a quartz diorite of the Boluonuo pluton suggests that the pluton was emplaced at about 296 ± 4 Ma. Plagioclase-bearing hornblendites show typical cumulative textures, which, in combination with their convex-upward REE patterns and the large variation of compatible elements such as Co, V and Sc, suggests that these hornblendites formed through accumulation of hornblende during magma evolution. Microgranular mafic enclaves (MMEs) are common in the Boluonuo and Daguangding intermediate to felsic plutons. Many plagioclase grains show compositional and textural disequilibrium, with calcium-rich cores (An) mantled abruptly by sodium-rich plagioclase (An). Whole-rock samples of the plutons are characterized by quite negative ɛ( t) values (−16.5 to −11.8) and ɛ( t) values (−22.5 to −16.8), and the ɛ( t) values are negatively correlated with silica contents. All these features suggest that the intermediate to felsic plutons formed through magma mixing of enriched mantle-derived, evolved basaltic magma with granitic, crustal melts, followed by fractional crystallization of mainly hornblende and small amounts of pyroxene, apatite and zircon. The hornblende-dominated fractionation contributed significantly to the adakite-like features of the intermediate to felsic plutons, like the high Sr and Sr/Y ratios and low Yb abundance. In addition, the Boluonuo and Daguangding plutons are highly enriched in LILEs (e.g., Ba and Sr), but depleted in HFSEs (e.g., Nb, Zr and Ti), which is typical of arc magmas. Therefore, the formation of Boluonuo and Daguangding plutons was probably related to the subduction of the Paleo-Asian oceanic slab beneath the North China Craton in the Paleozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]