The mafic–ultramafic complex of Aniyapuram, Cauvery Suture Zone, southern India: Petrological and geochemical constraints for Neoarchean suprasubduction zone tectonics

• Detailed studies of the Aniyapuram Mafic–Ultramafic Complex reveal a dismembered ophiolite sequence.
• The petrology of different rock types suggests that the protoliths of amphibolites represent basalts.
• Geochemistry of amphibolites reveals their origin in island arc environment of suprasubduction zone tectonics.
• Age relationship reveals that the complex might be evolved in Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic periods.

Several Precambrian mafic–ultramafic complexes occur along the Cauvery Suture Zone (CSZ) in Southern Granulite Terrain, India. Their origin, magmatic evolution and relationship with the associated high-grade rocks have not been resolved. The Aniyapuram Mafic–Ultramafic Complex (AMUC), the focus of the present study in southern part of the CSZ, is dominantly composed of peridotites, pyroxenites, gabbros, metagabbros/mafic granulites, hornblendites, amphibolites, plagiogranites, felsic granulites and ferruginous cherts. The rock types in the AMUC are structurally emplaced within hornblende gneiss (TTG) basement rocks and are highly deformed. The geochemical signature of the amphibolites indicates tholeiitic affinity for the protolith with magma generation in island arc-setting. N-MORB normalized pattern of the amphibolites show depletion in HFS-elements (P, Zr, Sm, Ti, and Y) and enrichment of LIL-elements (Rb, Ba, Th, Sr) with negative Nb anomalies suggesting involvement of subduction component in the depleted mantle source and formation in a supra-subduction zone tectonic setting. Our new results when correlated with the available age data suggest that the lithological association of AMUC represent the remnants of the Neoarchean oceanic lithosphere.

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