Neoproterozoic active continental margin of the Cathaysia block: Evidence from geochronology, geochemistry, and Nd–Hf isotopes of igneous complexes

•The magmatism of the Miaohou and Shanhou complexes coevally occurred at ca. 830 Ma.•These complexes were produced by partial melting of metasomatized mantle wedge.•The AFC process producing the geochemical variations of the different lithologies.•At ca. 1000–825 Ma, an active continental margin formed on the northwest Cathaysia.

Previous studies have suggested that northwest Cathaysia was a passive continental margin during Neoproterozoic time, given the absence of Neoproterozoic magmatism. However, this view has been challenged by recent discoveries of mafic and felsic magmatic rocks with geochemical affinities to continental arc or back-arc volcanic rocks from the 1.0–0.9 Ga Wuyi–Yunkai belt, indicating the development of an early Neoproterozoic continental margin arc and back-arc system in the Cathaysia block. In this paper we present new age data for the Miaohou and Shanhou arc complexes, demonstrating that the active continental margin of the Cathaysia block lasted until ca. 830 Ma. The Miaohou complex is composed of gabbro, diorite, and granite, the Shanhou complex of diorite and granite, and both complexes are bound by the Jiangshao Fault. Twelve samples from the Miaohou and Shanhou complexes give zircon U–Pb ages of ca. 830 Ma, indicating that the magmatism of the Miaohou and Shanhou complexes were coeval. The Miaohou gabbro has high zircon ɛHf(t) (+2.8 to +9.6) and whole-rock ɛNd(t) (+3.9) values together with the geochemical features of volcanic arc basalts, while the Miaohou and Shanhou diorites and granites show large variations and high values of zircon ɛHf(t) and ɛNd(t) [ɛNd(t) (+1.1 to +5.5) and ɛHf(t) (−6.1 to +12.3) for the diorites, and ɛNd(t) (+0.3 to +3.1) and ɛHf(t) (−3.8 to +11.3) for the granites] together with a similar geochemistry to continental arc felsic rocks (e.g., Cordilleran batholiths). The geochemical and isotopic data suggest that the southeastwards subduction of an oceanic plate under the Cathaysia block caused the dehydration of sediments in the subducted slab, leading to the metasomatism of the mantle wedge by subduction-related fluids, partial melting of the mantle wedge, followed by varying degrees of assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) as the magmas ascended. These processes provide a reasonable explanation for the Neoproterozoic arc magmatism on the northwestern margin of the Cathaysia block, represented by the Miaohou and Shanhou complexes.

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