Zircon U–Pb ages and geochemistry of Devonian A-type granites in the Iraqi Zagros Suture Zone (Damamna area): New evidence for magmatic activity related to the Hercynian orogeny

Abstract

The Damamna granite (DG) is located in the Shalair Valley area in northeast Iraq within the Sanandaj Sirjan Zone (SSZ). The zircon U–Pb ages for the DG rocks are 364–372Ma, indicating crystallization of the granitic body. The DG rocks are A-type granites, hypersolvus and peraluminous. They are enriched in SiO2, alkalis, Ga/Al, Ga, Zr and Rb/Sr and depleted in CaO, MgO, Sr, P, and Ti. These rocks show steep REE patterns, with LREE enrichment relative to HREE ((La/Yb)N=5.7–42.5) and pronounced negative Eu anomalies reflecting feldspar fractionation. The geochemical characteristics and relationships suggest that the DG rocks are anorogenic and were emplaced in an extensional tectonic regime having an OIB-like magma affinity. The DG rocks are characterized by low Y/Nb ratios (0.2–1.5) and positive εNd (371Ma) values (+1.6 to +4.2), which indicate a mantle origin. In the Y/Nb–Yb/Ta diagram, the DG rocks plot in the A1-type granite field, with slightly higher Y/Nb values and a tendency of transitioning from A1 to the nearby A2 field, which possibly indicates a slight crustal contamination effect. The isotopic and geochemical data suggest that a combination of enriched mantle source magma with crustal contamination and fractional crystallization contributed to the generation of the magma for the DG. The geochemical and geochronological results for the DG rocks in the SSZ suggest an extensional zone that probably represents an early stage of Neo-Tethys opening during the Late Devonian or earlier, and this was associated with the Hercynian orogeny and tectono-magmatic activity in northern Arabia and northwestern Iran.