Palaeoproterozoic continental arc magmatism, and Neoproterozoic metamorphism in the Aravalli-Delhi orogenic belt, NW India: New constraints from in situ zircon U-Pb-Hf isotope systematics, monazite dating and whole-rock geochemistry

Abstract

Presently, the extent, origin and petrogenesis of late Palaeoproterozoic (ca. 1.85Ga) magmatism in the north-central Aravalli-Delhi orogenic belt, NW India and subsequent metamorphic overprints are poorly constrained. Results of new in situ zircon U-Pb-Hf isotope analyses in combination with whole-rock elemental and isotopic data provide the first hard evidence that granitoid magmatism occurred in a continental magmatic arc setting between 1.86 and 1.81Ga. The Hf-Nd model ages of 3.0–2.6Ga and inherited zircon grains of 3.3–2.5Ga indicate abundant reworking of Archaean crust. Flat HREE patterns with negative Eu anomalies furthermore reveal that the granitoids were generated from garnet-free and plagioclase-rich sources at shallow depths. Significant isotope variation among granitoid samples (εHft=−3.7 to −9.0; εNdt=−4.8 to −7.9) indicate that the reworked Archaean crust was not completely homogenised during the Palaeoproterozoic. This is best reflected by zircon Hf-isotope variation of ca. 9.5 epsilon units within the oldest granitoid sample. Zircon grains from this sample define three discrete Hf-isotope groups at εHf1.86Ga=−8.9, −4.8 and −1.6. These are interpreted to result from mixing of zircon-saturated magmas derived from three distinct sources within the crust prior to solidification. A monazite U-Pb isochron age of 868±4Ma from one of the granitoid samples furthermore indicates that the Aravalli fold belt was affected by an important post-magmatic overprint, perhaps related to the widespread metasomatic, granulite metamorphic and/or magmatic events during the same time span.