Late Ordovician to early Devonian adakites and Nb-enriched basalts in the Liuyuan area, Beishan, NW China: Implications for early Paleozoic slab-melting and crustal growth in the southern Altaids

We report newly-defined Nb-enriched basalts, adakites and dacites from the Beishan, NW China of the southern Altaids based on field, geochemical, isotopic and geochronology studies. Two phases of adakites (adakite-I and adakite-II) have been defined, which are calc-alkaline, and characterized by high Na2O/K2O ratios (1.49–1.71 and 2.32–3.64) and Sr contents (494–1213 ppm and 325–494 ppm), negligible to positive Eu anomalies, strong depletion of HREE (e.g., Yb = 0.48–0.93 ppm and 0.50–0.99 ppm) and Y (6.87–9.80 ppm and 6.02–10.30 ppm), and enriched in Rb, Sr, Ba, K and depleted Nb and Ti. They are characterized by relatively low εNd(t) values (− 0.8 to − 0.9 and + 0.6 to + 3.8) and relatively constant high (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios (0.70635–0.70636 and 0.70583–0.70651). The zircons of adakite-I have relatively low εHf(t)(− 0.8 to + 2.7). The Nb-enriched basalts are sodium-rich (N2O/K2O = 1.31–4.44), with higher TiO2, P2O5, Zr and Nb contents and (Nb/Th)PM, (Nb/La)PM and Nb/U ratios than typical arc basalts. They are relatively enriched in Rb, Ba, U, Pb and K, depleted in Nb, and minor negative to positive Ba, Zr, Sr and Ti. They have low positive εNd(t) (+ 0.9 to + 2.3) and relatively high (87Sr/86Sr)i (0.70556–0.70691) ratios. The dacites are typical arc magmas, with moderately enriched LILE, distinctly negative Eu, Nb, Sr and Ti anomalies. They have positive εNd(t) (+ 2.2) and relatively high (87Sr/86Sr)i (0.70786). We argue that the Liuyuan adakites were most probably related to the melting of young/hot subducted crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean, which included tectonically-subducted radiogenic crustal material and/or inheritance from highly radiogenic oceanic crust (e.g. OIB). The Nb-enriched basalts likely resulted from mantle wedge peridotites metasomatized by adakites and/or further changed by components other than adakites (e.g., minor slab-derived fluids). Based on own zircon SIMS U–Pb dating of these key rock types, we further propose that from the late Ordovician to early Devonian, large volumes of magma consisting of late Ordovician Nb-enriched basalts (451 Ma) and dacites (442 Ma), late Silurian adakite-I (424 Ma), early Devonian adakite-II (374 Ma) and I-S-A-type granites (436 Ma–380 Ma), developed in the southern Altaids. Together with other geochronological data from the literature, we conclude that subducted oceanic slab-melting was frequent from 470 Ma to 370 Ma. Our results suggest that frequent hot (and/or young) oceanic crustal subduction and slab-melting were important mechanisms in the accretionary growth of the Southern Altaids.

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► Newly-defined Nb-enriched basalts, adakites and dacites from the Beishan, Southern Altaids.
► Field, geochemical, isotopic and geochronological data indicate subduction and oceanic slab-melting from 450 Ma to 370 Ma.
► Frequently hot (and/or young) oceanic slab subduction and slab-melting contributed to crustal growth in the Altaids.