Full length articlePetrogenesis and tectonic implications of Early Jurassic volcanic rocks of the Raohe accretionary complex, NE China

- The studied volcanic rocks in the Raohe accretionary complex were formed in the Early Jurassic (187-174 Ma).
- The calc-alkaline volcanic rocks are the products of crustal contributions.
- The Nb-enriched and high-Mg volcanic rocks were derived from mantle wedge.
- The Paleo-Pacific Oceanic Plate westward subduction beneath Northeast China probably existed during the Early Jurassic.

The Raohe accretionary complex, located at the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China, is a significant part of the western Pacific Oceanic tectonic regime. Due to lack of precise age and geochemical constraints, the tectonic setting and petrogenesis of the magmatic rocks in this area remain undefined, resulting in debate about crustal growth mechanisms and subduction-related accretionary processes in Northeastern China. Here, we report whole-rock major and trace element and Sr-Nd isotope data, together with zircon U-Pb ages and in situ zircon Hf isotope data for calc-alkaline andesites, dacites, rhyolites, rhyolitic crystal tuffs, Nb-enriched andesites and basaltic andesites, and high-Mg andesites of the Raohe accretionary complex in NE China. Samples were collected from Late Triassic to Early Jurassic strata. However, geochronological results in this study indicated that the studied magmatism occurred in the Early Jurassic (187-174 Ma). The calc-alkaline volcanic rocks possess geochemical characteristics typical of arc magmas that form at active continental margins, such as moderate enrichments in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and light rare earth elements (LREEs), and depletions in high field strength elements (HFSEs). They have positive εHf(t) values of +3.4 to +10.6 and relatively high (87Sr/86Sr)i values of 0.7047-0.7102. While the Nb-enriched andesites and basaltic andesites have higher TiO2, Hf, Nb, and Zr contents and higher Nb/Ta (24.0-87.6), Nb/U (11.9-75.9), (Nb/Th)PM (0.67-2.70), and (Nb/La)PM (1.95-5.00) ratios than typical arc basalts. They have negative εNd(t) values (−5.5 to −6.0) and relatively variable (87Sr/86Sr)i values of 0.7047-0.7114, suggesting an origin via the partial melting of mantle wedge peridotite that had been metasomatized by slab-derived melt. The high-Mg volcanic rocks, characterized by high MgO and Mg#, TiO2, Al2O3, Cr, Ni, (La/Yb)N and (La/Sm)N, but low Ba/Th ratios, are geochemically similar to sanukitoids in southeastern Japan. The occurrence of calc-alkaline, Nb-enriched, and high-Mg volcanic rocks at modern arcs where oceanic slabs are subducting has been well documented. Therefore, we propose that a similar mechanism may explain the generation of the Early Jurassic volcanic rocks of the Raohe accretionary complex in Northeastern China.

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