Late Paleozoic adakites and Nb‐enriched basalts from northern Xinjiang, northwest China: Evidence for the southward subduction of the Paleo‐Asian Oceanic Plate

Abstract

Abstract Volcanic rocks consisting of adakite and Nb‐enriched basalt are found in the early Devonian Tuoranggekuduke Group in the northern margin of the Kazakhstan‐Junggar Plate, northern Xinjiang, northwest China. The geochemical characteristics of the andesitic and dacitic rocks in this area resemble that of adakites. The relatively high Al2O3, Na2O and MgO content and Mg♯ values indicate that the adakites were generated in relation to oceanic slab subduction rather than the partial melting of basaltic crust. A slightly higher SrI and a lower ɛNd(t = 375 Ma) compared to adakites of mid‐oceanic ridge basalt (MORB) imply that slab sediments were incorporated into these adakites during slab melting. The Nb‐enriched basalt lavas, which are intercalated in adakite lava suite, are silica saturated and are distinguished from the typical arc basalts by their higher Nb and Ti content (high field strength element enrichment). They are derived from the partial melting of the slab melt‐metasomatized mantle wedge peridotite. Apparently, positive Sr anomalies and a slightly higher heavy rare earth element content in these adakites compared to their Cenozoic counterparts indicate that the geothermal gradient in the Paleo‐Asian Oceanic subduction zone and the depth of the Paleo‐Asian Oceanic slab melting are between those of their Archean and Cenozoic counterparts. The distribution of the adakites and Nb‐enriched basalts in the northern margin of the Kazakhstan‐Junggar Plate, northern Xinjiang, indicates that the Paleo‐Asian Oceanic Plate subducted southward beneath the Kazakhstan‐Junggar Plate in the early Devonian period.