Adakitic rocks at convergent plate boundaries: Compositions and petrogenesis

Abstract

Adakitic rocks are intermediate-acid magmatic rocks characterized by enrichment in light rare-earth elements, depletion in heavy rare-earth elements, positive to negligible Eu and Sr anomalies, and high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios. Cenozoic adakitic rocks generated by partial melting of subducted oceanic crust (slab) under eclogite-facies conditions (i.e., the original definition of “adakite”) occur mainly in Pacific Rim volcanic arcs (intra-oceanic, continental, and continental-margin island arcs), whereas those generated by partial melting of thickened lower crust occur mainly in Tethyan Tibetan collisional orogens. In volcanic arcs, adakitic melts derived from the melting of subducted oceanic crust metasomatize the mantle wedge to form a unique rock suite comprising adakite-adakite-type high-Mg andesite-Piip-type high-Mg andesite-Nb-rich basalt-boninite. This suite differs from the basalt-andesite-dacite-rhyolite suite formed from mantle wedge metasomatized by fluids derived from subducted oceanic crust. Previously published data indicate that partial melting of mafic rocks can generate adakitic magmas under pressure, temperature, and hydrous conditions of 1.2–3.0 GPa, 800–1000°C, and 1.5–6.0 wt.% H2O, respectively, leaving residual minerals of garnet and rutile with little or no plagioclase. Cenozoic Au and Cu deposits occur proximally to adakitic rocks, with host rocks of some deposits actually being adakitic rocks. Adakitic rocks thus have important implications for both deep-Earth dynamics and Cu-Au mineralization/exploration. Although studies of Cenozoic adakitic rocks have made many important advances, there remain weaknesses in some important areas such as their tectonic settings, petrogenesis, magma sources, melt-mantle interactions of pre-Cenozoic adakitic rocks, and their relationship with the onset of plate tectonics and crustal growth. Future research directions are likely to involve (1) the generation of adakitic magmas by experimental simulations of partial melting of different types of rock (including intermediate-acid rocks) and magma fractional crystallization at different temperatures and pressures, (2) the relationship between magma reservoir evolution and the formation of adakitic rocks, (3) the tectonic setting and petrogenesis of pre-Cenozoic adakitic rocks and related geodynamic processes, (4) interactions between slab melts and the mantle wedge, (5) the formation of Archean adakitic tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite and its link to the onset of plate tectonics and crustal growth, and (6) the relationship between the formation of adakitic rocks and metal mineralization in different tectonic settings.