Discovery of ∼4.0 Ga detrital zircons in the Aermantai ophiolitic mélange, East Junggar, northwest China

Abstract

The East Junggar is an important part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Using in situ zircon dating and Hf isotopic analysis by LA-ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS, respectively, a detrital zircon of ∼4040 Ma age was found in sedimentary sequences from the Aermantai ophiolitic melange, East Junggar. This is the oldest age record in the East Junggar terrane, and also marks the first zircon locality in the CAOB with an age older than 4.0 Ga, which is attributed to the Hadean crust. The ∼4040 Ma detrital zircon has an ɛHf(t) value of −5.2 and a two-stage Hf modal age of 4474 Ma, suggesting the presence of very old (Hadean) crustal material in the source area. Beside peak ages of 446 Ma, we found four age groups of 3.6-3.1 Ga, 2.53–2.37 Ga, 1.14–0.89 Ga and 0.47–0.42 Ga from 141 effective measuring points. The age of 426±4 Ma for the five youngest detrital zircons defines the lower limit of the deposition time of sedimentary sequencess in the Aermantai ophiolitic melange. The 0.47–0.42 Ga zircons exhibit 176Hf/177Hf ratios of 0.282156 to 0.282850, corresponding to variable ɛHf(t) values from −9.3 to 12.0 and Hf model ages from 2011 to 646 Ma. These characteristics are similar to those of the early Paleozoic igneous and gneissic zircons from the Altai, but significantly different from those of the East Junggar. Based on the material structures of felspathic greywacke, the morphology, internal texture and age distributions of dated detrital zircons, in combination with a study of the regional geological data, it is suggested that the sedimentary sequences in the Aermantai ophiolitic melange was deposited in the Late Silurian, with the main provenance from the Altai Orogen in the north. This indicates that the early Paleozoic ocean represented by the Aermantai ophiolitic melange was readily closed during the Late Silurian, and the northern edge of the East Junggar terrane was accreted to the Altai Orogen. The joint of them then served as a marginal orogen in the southern edge of the Siberia Paleocontinent.