Record of assembly and breakup of Rodinia in the Southwestern Altaids: Evidence from Neoproterozoic magmatism in the Chinese Western Tianshan Orogen

• The Neoproterozoic gneissic granitoids in the CTA represent a continental arc setting.
• The ca. 730 Ma bimodal intrusive complex was generated in a continental rift setting.
• A record of assembly and breakup of Rodinia exists in the Southwestern Altaids.

Neoproterozoic gneissic granitoid rocks and a bimodal intrusive complex exposed in the Chinese Western Tianshan Orogen were geochemically and geochronologically studied in order to evaluate the assembly and breakup of Rodinia in the Southwestern Altaids. Zircon U–Pb ages of 903.5 ± 2.2 Ma and 933.6 ± 1.2 Ma were obtained for the Huoshaoqiao and the Wulasutanwutuaiken gneissic granitoid plutons, respectively. Both intrusions have a calcic to calci-alkalic composition and display an enrichment of LREE and LILE and a depletion of HREE and HFSE resembling the geochemical characteristics of Andean arc granites. Their in-situ zircon εHf(t) values of −1.7 to +1.9 and −2.2 to +4.5 further suggest a Late Paleoproterozoic crustal source with limited input of juvenile materials. The Wuwamen bimodal intrusive complex consists of meta-gabbro host rocks and crosscutting granitic dykes. Zircon U–Pb ages of 733 ± 5 Ma and 730 ± 5 Ma were determined for the meta-gabbros and the granitic dykes, respectively. The relative depletion of Nb, Ta and Ti, the Nd isotopic value (εNd(t) = −4.3) of the meta-gabbros, and the Hf isotopic values of gabbroic zircon grains (εHf(t) = +0.4 to +2.8) suggest that the protolithic mafic magma originated from a sub-continental fertilized lithospheric mantle source. Furthermore, the Nd isotopic value (εNd(t) = −11.2) of the granitic dykes and the Hf isotopic values of granitic zircon grains (εHf(t) = −14.3 to −5.6) indicate that the acidic magma originated from lower crustal melting. The dataset presented here in conjunction with previously published data suggest that the ∼900 Ma plutons originated from remelting of older crust in an Andean-type active continental arc setting associated with the assembly of Rodinia, whereas the development of the ∼730 Ma bimodal intrusive magmatism is interpreted as a result of the Rodinia breakup. Thus, the Neoproterozoic magmatism is believed to be a direct consequence of the geodynamic process related to the assembly and breakup of Rodinia in the Southwestern Altaids.