High-temperature metamorphism of the Yushugou ophiolitic slice: Late Devonian subduction of seamount and mid-oceanic ridge in the South Tianshan orogen

Abstract

The South Tianshan Orogenic Belt (STOB), representing the southern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), underwent a long-lived and subduction-related accretionary orogenic process. Revealing the petrogenesis of high-pressure (HP) metamorphic ophiolitic slices within this orogen is of crucial importance to understanding the geodynamic evolution of the STOB. In this study, we carry out a petrological, geochemical and geochronological study of HP mafic granulites from the Yushugou ophiolitic slice within the South Tianshan Accretionary Complex. Our results combined with previously published data suggest that the Yushugou mafic granulites, including garnet-clinopyroxene granulite, garnet two-pyroxene granulite and garnet-orthopyroxene granulite, are generally subalkaline to alkaline basalts, and show geochemical characteristics of MORB and OIB. The nominally anhydrous minerals of the mafic granulites contain certain but trace amounts of water in the manner of structural OH and sub-microscopic fluid inclusions. The granulites have a possible protolith age of ca. 400Ma and metamorphic age of 390–360Ma, and underwent HP and high-temperature (HT) granulite-facies metamorphism under conditions of 12–14kbar and 840–950°C and low H2O activity. Our study indicates that the Yushugou ophiolitic slice was probably derived from seamount that formed at mid-oceanic ridge closing to the oceanic trench and subduction zone during the Early Devonian, and then underwent metamorphism and deformation as a result of the subduction of the seamount and associated spreading ridge during the Middle to Late Devonian. Therefore, the Yushugou HP ophiolitic slice provides an important information of the Paleozoic tectonic evolutionary of the STOB.