Proto-Tethys oceanic slab break-off: Insights from early Paleozoic magmatic diversity in the West Kunlun Orogen, NW Tibetan Plateau |
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Continental collision and subsequent slab break-off can induce granitoid magmatism of variable compositions and ages. We present new geochronological and geochemical data from granitoids in the eastern part of the West Kunlun Orogen, situated along the northwestern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Our data reveal a distinct Late Ordovician-middle Silurian (450-428 Ma) magmatic flare-up event after closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean (Proto-Kunlun Ocean) and following continental collision. Some high-Sr/Y granitoids show variable whole-rock (Sr-87/Sr-86)i. sNd(t), (Pb-206/Pb-204)t, and zircon epsilon(Hf)(t) values, indicating that these rocks were derived from heterogeneous sources comprising both juvenile and older material from the lower crust under amphibolite-facies conditions. We identify a linear spatial distribution of small-scale and short-lived magmatism and magmatic diversity (A-/S-/I-type) along the suture zone, and suggest that this Late Ordovician-middle Silurian magmatism in the West Kunlun Orogen was associated with slab break-off of the Proto-Tethys oceanic plate. The results improve our understanding of the closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean, crustal growth, and the final formation of Gondwana in the NW Tibetan Plateau region. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication name |
LITHOS, 346 10.1016/j.lithos.2019.07.014 NOV 15 2019 |
Author(s) |
Zhang, Qichao; Wu, Zhenhan; Chen, Xuanhua; Zhou, Qing; Shen, Nengping |
Corresponding author(s) |
ZHANG Qichao zhangqc0721@163.com Chinese Acad Geol Sci, Beijing 100037, Peoples R China. |
Author(s) from IGCAS |
SHEN Nengping | View here for the details
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