Petrogenesis and geodynamic implications of the Late Devonian dioritic and granitic intrusive rocks in the Dananhu Belt, Eastern Tianshan Orogenic Belt

Heliyon. 2024 Feb 13;10(4):e26053. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26053. eCollection 2024 Feb 29.

Abstract

The Late Devonian magmatism of the Dananhu arc belt in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt provides a critical geological record. This study provides new comprehensive geochronological, geochemical, and Sr-Nd isotopic data of granodioritic and dioritic intrusions in the Dananhu belt. These findings contribute to unraveling the regional tectonic history and constraining the geodynamic processes involved. Zircon U-Pb dating indicates that the granodiorites and diorites were formed at 382.7 ± 3.8Ma and 363.1 ± 4.3Ma, respectively. The granodiorites show characteristics similar to I-type granites with high SiO2, low MgO and Mg# and aluminium saturation index (<1.1), negligible Eu anomalies, low (K2O + Na2O)/CaO ratios and zircon saturation temperatures (average = 696 °C). Granodiorites also show depleted isotope signatures (εNd(t) = +5.85 to +6.27 and low (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.704082-0.704583) and juvenile TDM ages (741-793Ma), indicating their origin from a juvenile crust. The diorites are characterized by enrichments in large ion lithophile elements, U and Pb, but depleted in Nb and Ta displaying typical geochemical features of a subduction-related origin, together with high εNd(t) (+6.10 to +6.84) and low initial Sr isotopes (0.703745-0.704601), suggesting that they originated from a subduction fluid modified depleted mantle. The petrogenesis of both granodiorites and diorites in the Dananhu arc provides evidence that they formed through magmatic processes in a subduction tectonic setting. Considering the adakites associated with slab melting from previous studies in the Dananhu arc, it is plausible that the north-dipping subduction of the North Tianshan oceanic lithosphere have contributed to the Dananhu arc magmatism during the Late Devonian.

Keywords: Central Asian Orogenic Belt; Dananhu arc; Late Devonian; Magmatic source.