Abstract
Abstract In this study, zircon grains are applied for U–Pb dating, Hf isotopes and trace elements to reveal the origin of magmatism and tectonic evolution of Late Paleozoic rocks of the Indian plate, Northern Pakistan. Most of the zircons are characterized by oscillatory zoning, depletion of light rare earth elements (LREE) and enrichment of heavy rare earth elements (HREE) with Ce and Eu anomalies. The yielded ages for these rocks are 256 ± 1.9 Ma and are plotted in the zones defined for the continental setting with few deviated toward the mid-oceanic ridge and the oceanic arc setting. Deviated zircons are recognized as inherited zircons by displaying a high concentration of normalized primitive La and Pr values, while others are plotted in the continental zones. Rare earth elements (REE) and trace elements including Th, Hf, U, Nb, Sc and Ti discriminate Swat orthogneisses into the within plate setting and the inherited zircons are plotted in the orogenic or the arc-related setting. The LREE discriminated these zircons into a magmatic zone with inherited zircons deviated toward the hydrothermal zone. The temperature calculated for these rocks based on the Ti content in zircon ranges from 679 to 942°C. The ε Hf(t) ranging from −11.1 to +1.4 reveals that the origin is the continental crust with the minute input of the juvenile mantle.
Highlights
The importance of zircon (ZrSiO4) is known for its geochronological dating, but zircon trace element geochemistry is an emerging field to interpret tectonic settings [1,2,3]
As hafnium is most compatible with zircon, the ages determined by the U–Pb dating are used for the Lu–Hf isotope system, which is the best choice for determining the evolution of igneous and metamorphic rocks in collisional zones [15]
This study focuses on Late Paleozoic orthogneisses by interpreting the trace elements from zircon grains
Summary
The importance of zircon (ZrSiO4) is known for its geochronological dating, but zircon trace element geochemistry is an emerging field to interpret tectonic settings [1,2,3]. LREE depletion and HREE enrichment with Eu and Ce anomalies are used to know the magmatic and metamorphic origins of the rocks from the zircon study [8,9]. Zircon occurs in several igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks as an accessory mineral [5]. Trace element geochemistry in zircon is an emerging field to interpret the origin and the tectonic setting of igneous rocks [2,12,13], and this technique is applied for the first time on the Swat orthogneisses, Northern Pakistan. Lu is least compatible with the zircon, while hafnium and zirconium are geochemically similar, and 1–4% of hafnium is present in the zircon, which is geotectonically very
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