Age, petrogenesis and tectonic implications of Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rocks in the South Altyn, NW China

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In this paper, we report zircon U–Pb dating, Hf isotopes, geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic data, with the aim the petrogenesis and regional tectonic evolution of Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rock in the South Altyn, NW China. New LA-ICPMS zircon U–Pb isotopic data constrained them at ca. 406Ma. The mafic samples are characterized by high Fe, Cr and Ni contents, low Ti and Mg contents, slightly enriched LREE patterns, and low (La/Yb)N, La/Nb and La/Ta ratios, and positive εNd(t) values (+3.3 to +3.4), indicating that they were likely derived from strong batch-melting of the asthenosphere in the spinel facies field. The felsic rocks show an A-type affinity, with high alkalis, Fe, Ga, Zr, Nb, Ce and Y contents, low Mg, Sr content, high Rb/Sr and Ga/Al ratios, enrichment in LILE (e.g., Rb, K, Th, U and LREE) and depletion in Ba, Sr, Nb, Ta, P and Ti, and fractionated REE patterns with very strong negative Eu anomalies. These features, along with distinct εNd(t) values (−0.5 to +2.3) and mostly positive εHf(t) (−0.29 to +5.18), indicate that the felsic rocks were mainly generated by partial melting of the crust in low pressure and high temperature conditions, and simultaneously underwent slight magma mixing of such melts with mantle magma. According to the petrogenetic schemes and geological background of the Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rocks (tholeiite and A-type dacite–rhyolite), they should have formed in a post-collisional extensional setting. Moreover, on the basis of spatial and temporal distribution, and formation mechanism, the tectonic magmatic evolution of the early Paleozoic South Altyn Tagh could be divided into three stages: ① 505–472Ma (continental collision), the magmatite formed under high-pressure conditions due to the deep subduction and initial tearing of continental slab; ② 467–450Ma (continental slab break-off), the magmatite formed at high temperature and low pressure in virtue of felsic upper crust uplifting and mantle magma underplating; and ③ 432–385Ma (post-collisional extension), the magmatite consists of A-type granites and bimodal volcanic rocks, which are the products of the interaction between mantle and crust, and asthenosphere upwelling.