Early Paleozoic intrusive rocks from the eastern Qilian orogen, NE Tibetan Plateau: Petrogenesis and tectonic significance

Abstract

Voluminous Early Paleozoic intrusive rocks occur in the Qilian orogenic belt, northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Their petrogenesis can provide insights into the tectonic evolution of Qilian and its adjacent areas. This paper carries out an integrated study of U–Pb zircon dating, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions for the Bamishan and Heishishan plutons in the eastern Qilian orogen. Both the Bamishan and Heishishan plutons consist of mafic, intermediate and felsic intrusive rocks. U–Pb zircon dating yielded the magma crystallization ages of 459–449Ma for the Bamishan pluton and 447–438Ma for the Heishishan pluton. Their geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data show that the parental magmas of the Bamishan monzogranites and quartz diorites were generated by slab (MORB and overlying sediments) melting. The Bamishan hornblende gabbros have extremely high Cr (1159–1163ppm), Ni (220–353ppm) and Mg# (73–74), indicating a cumulate origin. The Heishishan granodiorite–granite has adakitic geochemical signatures and they were produced by partial melting of the mafic lower crust. The Heishishan hornblende gabbro and quartz diorites were derived from the enriched lithospheric mantle metasomatized by subduction-related fluid/melt. In light of the available data, we propose that there was an Early Paleozoic ocean basin between the Central-South Qilian and Qaidam–West Qiling belts. The northward closure of this basin and subsequent continental collision and post-collisional processes resulted in the generation of the Early Paleozoic magmatism in the eastern Central Qilian. The Late Ordovician to Early Silurian (~460–440Ma) intrusive rocks in the eastern Central Qilian formed in a post-collisional setting. A slab break-off model may account for the magma generation.