Petrogenesis and geodynamic implications of the Late Carboniferous felsic volcanics in the Bogda belt, Chinese Northern Tianshan

• The Bogda I-type felsic volcanics are intermediate ignimbrites and rhyolite lavas.
• The rhyolites are formed by partial melting of a hydrated and juvenile arc crust.
• The ignimbrites are affected by magma mingling and feldspar fractionation.
• It suggests that the Bogda belt was an island arc in the Late Carboniferous.

An integrated study on petrology and geochemistry has been carried out on the Late Carboniferous I-type felsic volcanics of the Liushugou Formation in the Bogda belt to constrain the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the Bogda belt. The felsic volcanics were dated to be 315 to 319 Ma and are composed of trachy-andesite–trachyte ignimbrites and rhyolite lavas. They are in conformable contact with high-Al basalt. The eruption of the felsic volcanics and high-Al basalt is not bimodal volcanism, but is related to bimodal magma (basaltic and rhyolitic magmas). MELTS modeling and comparison with previous basaltic melting experiments indicate that the felsic volcanics are likely produced by partial melting of hydrated mafic crust rather than fractional crystallization of high-Al basalt. It is also supported by relatively large amounts of felsic volcanics to high-Al basalts and remarkably different incompatible element ratios (e.g., Th/Zr, Nb/Zr and U/Zr) of the rocks. The Bogda felsic volcanics have positive εNd(t) values (6.2–7.4), low Pb isotopes and low zircon saturation temperatures, consistent with a derivation from a juvenile crust in an arc setting. The intermediate ignimbrites display melting–mingling textures and abundant feldspar aggregates and have various δEu ratios, indicating that magma mingling and feldspar fractionation processes may have played an important role in the genesis of the ignimbrites. In contrast, the Early Permian felsic rocks in this region are of post-collisional A-type. We therefore propose that the Bogda belt was an island arc in the Late Carboniferous and then switched to a post-collisional setting in the Early Permian due to the arc–arc collision at the end of the Late Carboniferous.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide