Elsevier

Precambrian Research

Volume 355, April 2021, 106093
Precambrian Research

Identification of two-phased late Paleoproterozoic magmatism in the Wuyishan Domain (SE China): Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Cathaysia Block

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2021.106093Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Two-phased late Paleoproterozoic A- and S-type granitoids were identified in the Wuyishan Domain.

  • These late Paleoproterozoic granitoids were derived in a continental arc/back-arc setting.

  • Two-phased late Paleoproterozoic arc/back-arc magmatism was related to the assembly of the Paleoproterozoic Nuna supercontinent.

Abstract

The Cathaysia Block amalgamated with the Yangtze Block along the Jiangnan orogenic belt to form the South China Craton during early Neoproterozoic time. However, the origin of the Cathaysia Block and its position in the Nuna supercontinent remain controversial. This paper synthesizes geochronological, geochemical and isotopic data from late Paleoproterozoic igneous rocks in the Wuyishan Domain of the Cathaysia Block (SE China). Two-phases of late Paleoproterozoic A- and S-type granitoids were identified and dated at 1925–1848 Ma and 1816–1750 Ma. The A-type granites in the Wuyishan Domain were likely derived from partial melting of mafic lower crust with a tonalitic to granodioritic geochemical composition, and the S-type granites were derived from partial melting of a meta-sedimentary source. These late Paleoproterozoic granitoids were emplaced in a continental arc/back-arc setting and the two-phased arc/back-arc magmatism was related to the assembly of the Paleoproterozoic Nuna supercontinent. Combining our results with previous late Paleoproterozoic geochemical and age data, we suggest that the Cathaysia Block was located close to northern India Shield during Proterozoic time until the breakup of the Rodinia Supercontinent in the late Neoproterozoic.

Introduction

Reconstruction of the Nuna (also known as Columbia) supercontinent is one of the most important focuses of geoscience research (Cawood et al., 2020, Liu et al., 2020, Zhao et al., 2002, Zhao et al., 2004). In particularly, geoscience information about the late Paleoproterozoic era (1.9–1.7 Ga) plays an important role in reconstructing Nuna (Zhao et al., 2002, Zhao et al., 2004). The South China Craton, consisting of the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks bounded by the Jiangnan Orogen, preserved abundant geological records from 1.9 to 1.7 Ga and has been invoked as a key element in the reconstruction of the Nuna supercontinent (Cawood et al., 2018, Liu et al., 2020, Zhao and Cawood, 2012). Geological records during this geological period have mainly been reported in the Wuyishan Domain of the Cathaysia Block (Li et al., 2000, Xia et al., 2012, Yu et al., 2010, Yu et al., 2012, Zhao and Cawood, 2012). However, large uncertainties remain regarding the Paleoproterozoic geographic reconstruction of the Cathaysia Block in Nuna owing to insufficient research on the late Paleoproterozoic Wuyishan Domain, which hinders the identification of the temporal-spatial distribution of magmatism from 1.9 to 1.7 Ga and its late Paleoproterozoic tectonic setting (intraplate rift and syn-collisional or early post-collisional vs. back-arc setting) (e.g., Yu et al., 2012, Zhao et al., 2014, Xia and Xu, 2019, Cawood et al., 2020).

The Wuyishan Domain, with an area of 840 km2, is restricted to a NE–SW trending structural zone extending along the western and central segments of the Cathaysia Block. The basement rocks of this domain consist of Paleoproterozoic migmatites, granitoid gneisses, and amphiolites (e.g., Badu, Mayuan, and Tianjingping complexes) (Fig. 1) (Yu et al., 2009, Yu et al., 2012, Liu et al., 2009, Liu et al., 2014, Li et al., 2011, Xia et al., 2012, Xia and Xu, 2019, Xiang et al., 2008, Zhao et al., 2014, Zhao et al., 2015). We carried out detailed field and geochemical analyses on potential late Paleoproterozoic rocks in the Wuyishan Domain, and identified six granitoid plutons in the northern area. The samples were classified into two flare-ups in 1917–1852 and 1816–1750 Ma. Additionally, late Paleoproterozoic mafic rocks in the Wuyishan Domain also flared up at 1879 Ma (Xia and Xu, 2019) and 1766 Ma (Li et al., 1998). We discuss the petrogenesis of these igneous rocks and their tectonic settings based on our geochronological and geochemical results, and then try to reconstruct the paleogeography of the Cathaysia Block in the Nuna supercontinent.

Section snippets

Geological background and sampling

The early Neoproterozoic amalgamation of the Yangtze Block to the northwest and the Cathaysia Block to the southeast formed the South China Block (SCB) along the Jiangnan orogenic zone (Fig. 1a) (Shu and Charvet, 1996, Li et al., 1999, Wang et al., 2018c). The Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks show distinct crystalline basements. The basement rocks of the Yangtze Block are represented by the Archean Kongling Complex, which is composed of amphibolite, tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) rocks

Analytical methods

Zircon grains for U-Pb dating were separated using conventional heavy liquid and magnetic techniques and purified by handpicking under a binocular microscope. The grains were mounted on adhesive tape, enclosed in epoxy resin, polished and coated with gold. The grains were imaged in transmitted and reflected light, as well as cathodoluminescence (CL), to reveal their internal structures. The zircon U-Pb geochronological analyses for samples 09WG-47, 61a, 62, 67b, 69, 70, 71b, 72, 75b1, 75b2 and

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and in-situ Lu-Hf isotopic results

Fifteen samples were selected for zircon U-Pb dating and six representative samples were selected for in-situ Lu-Hf isotopic analysis. The results are listed in Table 2, Table 3, respectively.

Identification of two-phased late Paleoproterozoic magmatism in the Wuyishan Domain

Many late Paleoproterozoic igneous rocks have been identified in the Wuyishan Domain, but their temporal characteristics remain unknown owing to high-grade Kwangsian and Indosinian metamorphism. Our newly acquired zircon ages determined from the Wuyishan Domain samples show two distinct clusters dated at 1917–1852 and 1816–1750 Ma, with a felsic magmatic gap at 1852–1816 Ma (Fig. 10). We also synthesized the published late Paleoproterozoic age data of granitoids in the Wuyishan Domain

Conclusions

Comprehensive zircon U-Pb geochronological, elemental and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic data for late Paleoproterozoic granitic rocks in the Wuyishan Domain of the Cathaysia Block (SE China) indicate the following:

  • (1)

    Two-phased late Paleoproterozoic A- and S-type granitoids were identified and dated at 1925–1848 and 1816–1750 Ma in the Wuyishan Domain.

  • (2)

    These late Paleoproterozoic granitoids in the Wuyishan Domain were derived in a continental arc/back-arc setting and the two-phased arc/back-arc magmatism was

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Aimei Zhang: Project administration, Conceptualization, Writing - original draft. Liyan Ma: Methodology, Data curation, Formal analysis. Huichuan Liu: Conceptualization. Yongfeng Cai: Investigation, Formal analysis. Min Chen: Visualization, Software. Qi Fang: Software.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Prof. G-C Zhao, Editor and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions which improved our manuscript. We also thank Prof. Y-J Wang, Dr. Y-Z Zhang, Dr. Y-K Wang for their support during field work and zircon U-Pb analyses. This research was jointly funded by the Scientific Research Foundation of Third Institute of Oceanography, MNR (no. 2018002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 41506050).

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