The tectonic transition from oceanic subduction to continental subduction: Zirconological constraints from two types of eclogites in the North Qaidam orogen, northern Tibet

Abstract

In the plate tectonics theory, continental subduction is pulled by subduction of dense oceanic crust. In practice, however, it is not easy to demonstrate that preceding oceanic crust exposes as oceanic-type eclogite together with continental-type eclogite in collisional orogens. The North Qaidam orogen in northern Tibet is an ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt that contains the two types of eclogites, providing us with an excellent opportunity to study the tectonic transition from oceanic subduction to continental subduction. In order to constrain the protolith nature and metamorphic evolution of eclogites, we performed a combined study of zircon U–Pb ages, trace elements, mineral inclusions and O–Hf isotopes for various eclogites from the orogen. We discriminate the two types of eclogites by their differences in zircon U–Pb ages and O–Hf isotopes. CL-dark zircon domains exhibit high Th/U ratios, steep HREE patterns and significantly negative Eu anomalies, indicating that they are protolith zircons of magmatic origin with different extents of metamorphic recrystallization. Relict magmatic zircon domains in Type I eclogites yield Neoproterozoic protolith ages of >830Ma and Hf model ages of 850–1100Ma, whereas those in Type II eclogites yield Cambrian protolith U–Pb ages of >489Ma and Hf model ages of 500–650Ma. Most of the CL-bright zircon domains show low Th/U ratios, flat HREE patterns and no negative Eu anomalies, and contain mineral inclusions of garnet, omphacite and rutile, indicating their growth under eclogite-facies metamorphic conditions. These metamorphic domains have consistent eclogite-facies metamorphic ages of 433–440Ma throughout the North Qaidam orogen, regardless of the eclogite types and locations. The metamorphic zircon domains in Type I eclogites mostly exhibit δ18O values higher than normal mantle values, whereas Type II eclogites mostly have δ18O values lower than the normal mantle values. The difference in the δ18O values indicates that their protoliths underwent different temperatures of hydrothermal alteration at different tectonic settings. Combining zircon U–Pb ages and O–Hf isotope compositions with local tectonics, it is inferred that Type I eclogites were metamorphosed from Neoproterozoic continental mafic rocks, whereas Type II eclogites were metamorphosed from oceanic mafic rocks that were subducted prior to the continental subduction. The consistent eclogite-facies metamorphic ages for the two types of eclogites indicate that the exhumed oceanic-type eclogite was detached from the subducted oceanic crust and then entrained by the exhuming continental crust. Therefore, the coexistence of oceanic- and continental-type eclogites in the North Qaidam orogen demonstrates the tectonic transition from oceanic subduction to continental collision in the early Paleozoic.