Isotopic spatial-temporal evolution of magmatic rocks in the Gangdese belt: Implications for the origin of Miocene post-collisional giant porphyry deposits in southern Tibet

Author(s):  
Chen-Hao Luo ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Roberto F. Weinberg ◽  
Zengqian Hou

Crustal growth is commonly associated with porphyry deposit formation whether in continental arcs or collisional orogens. The Miocene high-K calc-alkaline granitoids in the Gangdese belt in southern Tibet, associated with porphyry copper deposits, are derived from the juvenile lower crust with input from lithospheric mantle trachytic magmas, and are characterized by adakitic affinity with high-Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios as well as high Mg# and more evolved isotopic ratios. Researchers have argued, lower crust with metal fertilization was mainly formed by previous subduction-related modification. The issue is that the arc is composed of three stages of magmatism including Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Paleocene−Eocene, with peaks of activity at 200 Ma, 90 Ma, and ca. 50 Ma, respectively. All three stages of arc growth are essentially similar in terms of their whole-rock geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions, making it difficult to distinguish Miocene magma sources. This study is based on ∼430 bulk-rock Sr-Nd isotope data and ∼270 zircon Lu-Hf isotope data and >800 whole-rock geochemistry analyses in a 900-km-long section of the Gangdese belt. We found large scale variations along the length of the arc where the Nd-Hf isotopic ratios of the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Paleocene−Eocene arc rocks change differently from east to west. A significant feature is that the spatial distribution of Nd-Hf isotopic values of the Paleocene−Eocene arc magmas and the Miocene granitoids, including metallogenic ones, are “bell-shaped” from east to west, with a peak of εNd(t) and εHf(t) at ∼91°E. In contrast, the Jurassic and Cretaceous arc magmas have different isotopic distribution patterns as a function of longitude. The isotopic spatial similarity of the Paleocene−Eocene and Miocene suites suggests that the lower crust source of the metallogenic Miocene magmas is composed dominantly of the Paleocene−Eocene arc rocks. This is further supported by abundant inherited zircons dominated by Paleocene−Eocene ages in the Miocene rocks. Another important discovery from the large data set is that the Miocene magmatic rocks have higher Mg# and more evolved Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions than all preceding magmatic arcs. These characteristics indicate that the involvement of another different source was required to form the Miocene magmatic rocks. Hybridization of the isotopically unevolved primary magmas with isotopically evolved, lithospheric mantle-derived trachytic magmas is consistent with the geochemical, xenolith, and seismic evidence and is essential for the Miocene crustal growth and porphyry deposit formation. We recognize that the crustal growth in the collisional orogen is a two-step process, the first is the subduction stage dominated by typical magmatic arc processes leading to lower crust fertilization, the second is the collisional stage dominated by partial melting of a subduction-modified lower crust and mixing with a lithospheric mantle-derived melt at the source depth.

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 655
Author(s):  
Hanzhi Chen ◽  
Mingcai Hou ◽  
Fuhao Xiong ◽  
Hongwei Tang ◽  
Gangqiang Shao

Miocene felsic magmatic rocks with high Sr/Y ratios are widely distributed throughout the Gangdese belt of southern Tibet. These provide a good opportunity to explore the magmatic process and deep dynamic mechanisms that occurred after collision between the Indo and the Asian plates. In this paper, felsic volcanic rocks from the Zongdangcun Formation in the Wuyu Basin in the central part of the southern Gangdese belt are used to disclose their origin. Zircon U-Pb geochronology analysis shows that the felsic magmatism occurred at ca. 10.3 ± 0.2 Ma, indicating that the Zongdangcun Formation formed during the Miocene. Most of these felsic magmatic rocks plot in the rhyolite area in the TAS diagram. The rhyolite specimens from the Zongdangcun Formation have the characteristics of high SiO2 (>64%), K2O, SiO2, and Sr contents, a low Y content and a high Sr/Y ratio, and the rocks are rich in LREE and depleted in HREE, showing geochemical affinity to adakitic rocks. The rocks have an enriched Sr-Nd isotopic composition (εNd(t) = −6.76 to −6.68, (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.7082–0.7088), which is similar to the mixed product of the juvenile Lhasa lower continental crust and the ancient Indian crust. The Hf isotopes of zircon define a wide compositional range (εHf(t) = −4.19 to 6.72) with predominant enriched signatures. The Miocene-aged crustal thickness in southern Tibet, calculated on the basis of the Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios was approximately 60–80 km, which is consistent with the thickening of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The origin of Miocene felsic magmatic rocks with high Sr/Y ratios in the middle section of the Gangdese belt likely involved a partial melting of the thickened lower crust, essentially formed by the lower crust of the Lhasa block, with minor contribution from the ancient Indian crust. After comprehensively analyzing the post-collisional high Sr/Y magmatic rocks (33–8 Ma) collected from the southern margin of the Gangdese belt, we propose that the front edge tearing and segmented subduction of the Indian continental slab may be the major factor driving the east-west trending compositional changes of the Miocene adakitic rocks in southern Tibet.


Author(s):  
Yuan-Yuan Jiang ◽  
Ze-Ming Zhang ◽  
Richard M. Palin ◽  
Hui-Xia Ding ◽  
Xuan-Xue Mo

Continental magmatic arcs are characterized by the accretion of voluminous mantle-derived magmatic rocks and the growth of juvenile crust. However, significant volumes of meta-sedimentary rocks occur in the middle and lower arc crust, and the contributions of these rocks to the evolution of arc crust remain unclear. In this paper, we conduct a systematic study of petrology, geochronology, and geochemistry of migmatitic paragneisses from the eastern Gangdese magmatic arc, southern Tibet. The results show that the paragneisses were derived from late Carboniferous greywacke, and underwent an early Cenozoic (69−41 Ma) upper amphibolite-facies metamorphism and partial melting at pressure-temperature conditions of ∼11 kbar and ∼740 °C, and generated granitic melts with enriched Hf isotopic compositions (anatectic zircon εHf(t) = −10.57 to +0.78). Combined with the existing results, we conclude that the widely distributed meta-sedimentary rocks in the eastern Gangdese arc deep crust have the same protolith ages of late Carboniferous, and record northwestward-decreasing metamorphic conditions. We consider that the deeply buried sedimentary rocks resulted in the compositional change of juvenile lower crust from mafic to felsic and the formation of syn-collisional S-type granitoids. The mixing of melts derived from mantle, juvenile lower crust, and ancient crustal materials resulted in the isotopic enrichment of the syn-collisional arc-type magmatic rocks of the Gangdese arc. We suggest that crustal shortening and underthrusting, and the accretion of mantle-derived magma during the Indo-Asian collision transported the supracrustal rocks to the deep crust of the Gangdese arc.


2019 ◽  
pp. 73-82
Author(s):  
R.V. Kuzhuget ◽  
A.O. Mongush ◽  
N.N. Ankusheva

The paper presents the S isotopic composition of sulfdes from the Ak-Sug Au-Cu-porphyry deposit hosted by Early Proterozoic magmatic rocks. The S isotopic composition of sulfdes varies from +1.0 to +3.2 ‰: +2.5 to +3.2 ‰ for molybdenite-I, +1.0 to +3.1 ‰ for pyrite-III, –2.3 to – 0.9 ‰ for chalcopyrite-III–V,–2.9 to –2.4 ‰, for chalcopyrite-VI and –1.0 ‰ for pyrite-V. The close-to-zero S isotopic ratios of sulfdes from the Ak-Sug deposit indicate magmatic (from –5 to +5 ‰) or mantle (from –3 to +3 ‰) S source typical of most Cu-porphyry deposits of the Pacifc Fire Ring. Figures 5. Table 1. References 23.


2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (8) ◽  
pp. 1281-1298
Author(s):  
Hang Li ◽  
Ming Wang ◽  
Xiao-Wen Zeng ◽  
An-Bo Luo ◽  
Yun-Peng Yu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe study of the petrogenesis of some magmatic rocks with special geochemical attributes provides effective information for us to explore the deep geodynamic background of their formation. A series of granitic porphyry dykes have been found in the mélange zone of the Asa region in southern Tibet, whose genesis may be closely related to the evolution of the Meso-Tethyan Ocean. Regional geodynamic evolution is investigated by whole-rock geochemical analysis, zircon U–Pb dating and Lu–Hf isotopic analysis of two porphyritic granites. The Asa porphyritic granites have high SiO2 (74.29–78.65 wt %) and alkalis (Na2O + K2O = 6.51–9.35 wt %) contents, and low Al2O3 (11.60–14.51 wt %), CaO (0.04–0.19 wt MgO (0.01–0.10 wt %) contents. They are enriched in Zr, Nb, Ce, Y and Hf and depleted in Ti, Ba, Sr and P, consistent with A-type granites. The samples are relatively rich in LREEs, with LREE/HREE ratios of 1.73–3.04. They display negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.24–0.28) and obvious Ce anomalies in some samples. Zircon U–Pb analyses show that the porphyritic granites formed in late Early Cretaceous time, 107.4 to 105.5 Ma. Zircon εHf(t) values are in the range of 6.9 to 12.0. These data indicate that the porphyritic granites were sourced from interaction between mantle-derived and juvenile lower crust-derived melts, with the addition of oceanic sediment-derived melts. This occurred when the subducting Bangong–Nujiang oceanic crust split to create a slab window. Rising asthenosphere triggered re-melting of lower crust basalts, resulting in the formation of the late Early Cretaceous A-type granites around Asa.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chetan Nathwani ◽  
Matthew Loader ◽  
Jamie Wilkinson ◽  
Yannick Buret ◽  
Robert Sievwright ◽  
...  

<p>The chemical diversity observed in the rock record of volcanic arcs is determined by a multitude of processes operating between the magma source region and the surface. A fundamental step in producing this variability is fractional crystallisation, assimilation and melting in the lower crust which drives magmas to more evolved and hydrous compositions. During extensive fractionation of hydrous magmas in the lower crust, amphibole (± garnet) is stabilized in the fractionating assemblage and plagioclase is suppressed resulting in melts with elevated Sr, an absence of strong negative Eu anomalies (both elements being compatible in plagioclase), and depleted Y (compatible in amphibole and garnet). The high Sr/Y values that result can be used to provide insights into arc magma evolution, evaluate whether a magmatic system has the potential to form a porphyry-related ore deposit and track crustal thickness. However, this deep fractionation history may be obscured due to differentiation and mixing upon ascent to the shallow crust. Since arc rocks are a product of this multi-stage, polybaric process, unravelling the complete history of magmatic evolution using bulk-rock chemistry alone can be challenging. However, accessory minerals such as apatite, are capable of capturing discrete periods of melt evolution during differentiation [1]. For example, apatite has been shown to record the Sr content of the melt at the time of its crystallization which has been used to reconstruct host rock compositions in provenance studies [2, 3].</p><p>Here, we use a novel approach to track the petrogenesis of arc magmas using apatite trace element chemistry in volcanic formations from the Cenozoic arc of Central Chile. These rocks formed during magmatism that culminated in high Sr/Y magmas and porphyry ore deposit formation in the Miocene. We use Sr/Y, Eu/Eu* and Mg in apatite to demonstrate that apatite tracks the multi-stage differentiation of arc magmas. We apply fractional crystallization modelling to show that early crystallizing apatite inherits a high Sr/Y and Eu/Eu* melt chemistry signature that is predetermined by amphibole-dominated fractional crystallization in the lower crust. Our modelling shows that crystallisation of the in-situ host rock mineral assemblage in the shallow crust causes competition for trace elements in the melt that leads to apatite compositions diverging from bulk magma chemistry. Understanding this decoupling behaviour is important for the use of apatite as an indicator of metallogenic fertility in arcs and for interpretation of provenance in detrital studies. We suggest our approach is widely applicable for unravelling the composite evolution of arc magmas and studying magmatic processes conducive to porphyry ore deposit formation.</p><p>References</p><p>[1] Miles, A.J., Graham, C.M., Hawkesworth, C.J., Gillespie, M.R., and Hinton, R.W., 2013, Evidence for distinct stages of magma history recorded by the compositions of accessory apatite and zircon: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology.</p><p>[2] Jennings, E.S., Marschall, H.R., Hawkesworth, C.J., and Storey, C.D., 2011, Characterization of magma from inclusions in zircon: Apatite and biotite work well, feldspar less so: Geology.</p><p>[3] Bruand, E., Storey, C., and Fowler, M., 2016, An apatite for progress: Inclusions in zircon and titanite constrain petrogenesis and provenance: Geology, v. 44, p. 91–94.</p>


Author(s):  
Jia Chang ◽  
Andreas Audétat ◽  
Jian-Wei Li

Abstract Two suites of amphibole-rich mafic‒ultramafic rocks associated with the voluminous intermediate to felsic rocks in the Early Cretaceous Laiyuan intrusive-volcanic complex (North China Craton) are studied here by detailed petrography, mineral- and melt inclusion chemistry, and thermobarometry to demonstrate an in-situ reaction-replacement origin of the hornblendites. Moreover, a large set of compiled and newly obtained geochronological and whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd isotopic data are used to constrain the tectono-magmatic evolution of the Laiyuan complex. Early mafic‒ultramafic rocks occur mainly as amphibole-rich mafic‒ultramafic intrusions situated at the edge of the Laiyuan complex. These intrusions comprise complex lithologies of olivine-, pyroxene- and phlogopite-bearing hornblendites and various types of gabbroic rocks, which largely formed by in-situ crystallization of hydrous mafic magmas that experienced gravitational settling of early-crystallized olivine and clinopyroxene at low pressures of 0.10‒0.20 GPa (∼4‒8 km crustal depth); the hornblendites formed in cumulate zones by cooling-driven crystallization of 55‒75 vol% hornblende, 10‒20 vol% orthopyroxene and 3‒10 vol% phlogopite at the expense of olivine and clinopyroxene. A later suite of mafic rocks occurs as mafic lamprophyre dikes throughout the Laiyuan complex. These dikes occasionally contain some pure hornblendite xenoliths, which formed by reaction-replacement of clinopyroxene at high pressures of up to 0.97‒1.25 GPa (∼37‒47 km crustal depth). Mass balance calculations suggest that the olivine-, pyroxene- and phlogopite-bearing hornblendites in the early mafic‒ultramafic intrusions formed almost without melt extraction, whereas the pure hornblendites brought up by lamprophyre dikes required extraction of ≥ 20‒30 wt% residual andesitic to dacitic melts. The latter suggests that fractionation of amphibole in the middle to lower crust through the formation of reaction-replacement hornblendites is a viable way to produce adakite-like magmas. New age constraints suggest that the early mafic-ultramafic intrusions formed during ∼132‒138 Ma, which overlaps with the timespan of ∼126‒145 Ma recorded by the much more voluminous intermediate to felsic rocks of the Laiyuan complex. By contrast, the late mafic and intermediate lamprophyre dikes were emplaced during ∼110‒125 Ma. Therefore, the voluminous early magmatism in the Laiyuan complex was likely triggered by the retreat of the flat-subducting Paleo-Pacific slab, whereas the minor later, mafic to intermediate magmas may have formed in response to further slab sinking-induced mantle thermal perturbations. Whole-rock geochemical data suggest that the early mafic magmas formed by partial melting of subduction-related metasomatized lithospheric mantle, and that the early intermediate to felsic magmas with adakite-like signatures formed from mafic magmas through strong amphibole fractionation without plagioclase in the lower crust. The late mafic magmas seem to be derived from a slightly different metasomatized lithospheric mantle by lower degrees of partial melting.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Hao Luo ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
et al.

Two supplemental pictures and five supplemental tables. The pictures exhibit the Nd-Hf isotopic spatial distribution of the Gangdese belt magmatic rocks, southern Tibet, by using the average isotopic values of per 0.5 longitude (Fig. S1) and two additional magma mixing models related to the Jurassic and Cretaceous Gangdese belt magmatic rocks, southern Tibet (Fig. S2). The talbes contain all the data used in this research and their references.


Lithos ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 126 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 265-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Xiang Li ◽  
Ke-Zhang Qin ◽  
Guang-Ming Li ◽  
Bo Xiao ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Houxiang Shan ◽  
Mingguo Zhai ◽  
RN Mitchell ◽  
Fu Liu ◽  
Jinghui Guo

Abstract Whole-rock major and trace elements and Hf isotopes of magmatic zircons of tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) rocks with different ages (2.9, 2.7 and 2.5 Ga) from the three blocks (the Eastern Block, Western Block and Trans-North China Orogen) of the North China Craton were compiled to investigate their respective petrogenesis, tectonic setting and implications for crustal growth and evolution. Geochemical features of the 2.5 Ga TTGs of the Eastern Block require melting of predominant rutile-bearing eclogite and subordinate garnet-amphibolite at higher pressure, while the source material of the 2.7 Ga TTGs is garnet-amphibolite or granulite at lower pressure. The 2.5 Ga TTGs have high Mg#, Cr and Ni, negative Nb–Ta anomalies and a juvenile basaltic crustal source, indicating derivation from the melting of a subducting slab. In contrast, features of the 2.7 Ga TTGs suggest generation from melting of thickened lower crust. The 2.5 and 2.7 Ga TTGs in the Trans-North China Orogen were formed at garnet-amphibolite to eclogite facies, and the source material of the 2.5 Ga TTGs in the Western Block is most likely garnet-amphibolite or eclogite. The 2.5 Ga TTGs in the Trans-North China Orogen and Western Block were generated by the melting of a subducting slab, whereas the 2.7 Ga TTGs in the Trans-North China Orogen derived from melting of thickened lower crust. The Hf isotopic data suggest both the 2.5 and 2.7 Ga TTG magmas were involved with contemporary crustal growth and reworking. The two-stage model age (TDM2) histograms show major crustal growth between 2.9 and 2.7 Ga for the whole North China Craton.


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