Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

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Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

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The petrogenesis and tectonic implications of the granitoid gneissesfrom Xingxingxia in the eastern segment of Central Tianshan

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2014.03.0151367-9120/� 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

⇑ Corresponding authors at: State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution,Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029,China. Tel.: +86 10 82998520; fax: +86 10 62010846.

E-mail addresses: wangzm@mail.iggcas.ac.cn (Z.-M. Wang), cm-han@mail.iggcas.ac.cn (C.-M. Han).

Zhong-Mei Wang a,b,c,⇑, Chun-Ming Han a,b,⇑, Wen-Jiao Xiao a,b, Ben-Xun Su a, Patrick Asamoah Sakyi d,Dong-Fang Song a,b, Li-Na Lin a,b,c

a State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, Chinab Xinjiang Research Center for Mineral Resources, Urumqi 830011, Chinac University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, Chinad Department of Earth Science, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 58, Legon-Accra, Ghana

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history:Received 12 December 2013Received in revised form 3 March 2014Accepted 18 March 2014Available online 26 March 2014

Keywords:Central TianshanTarim CratonGrenvillianGranitoid gneissesZircon U–Pb dating and Hf isotopes

As part of Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), the Central Tianshan zone plays a crucial role in the recon-struction of the tectonic evolution of the CAOB. Furthermore, it is bordered by the Tarim Craton to thesouth, and the comparable evolutionary history between them enables the Central Tianshan zone to pro-vide essential information on the crustal evolution of the Tarim Craton. The eastern segment of the CentralTianshan tectonic zone is characterized by the presence of numerous Precambrian metamorphic rocks,among which the Xingxingxia Group is the most representative one. The granitoids gneisses, intruded intothe Xingxingxia Group, consist of two major lithological assemblages: (1) biotite-monzonitic gneisses and(2) biotite-plagioclase gneisses. These metamorphosed granitoid rocks are characterized by enrichment inSiO2, Al2O3 and K2O and depletion in MgO and FeOT. The Rittmann index (r) spreads between 1.44 and2.21 and ACNK (Al2O3/(CaO + Na2O + K2O)) ranges from 1.03 to 1.08, indicating that these granitoid gneis-ses are high-K calc-alkaline and peraluminous. Trace element data indicate that the studied samples areenriched in LREE with moderate REE fractionated patterns ((La/Yb)N = 10.5–75.3). The concentrations ofHREE of the garnet-bearing gneisses are significantly higher than those of garnet-free gneisses. The formershow pronounced negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.32–0.57), while the latter are characterized by neg-ligible negative Eu anomalies to moderate positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.80–1.35). In addition, theenrichment of LILE (Rb, Th, K, Pb) and depletion of HFSE (Ta, Nb, P, Ti) of the examined granitoid gneissesare similar to typical volcanic-arc granites. Zircons U–Pb dating on the biotite monzonitic gneiss yields aweighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 942.4 ± 5.1 Ma, suggesting their protoliths were formed in the early Neo-proterozoic, which is compatible with the time of the assembly of supercontinent Rodinia. The zirconshave a large eHf(t) variation from �5.6 to +3.2, suggesting that both old crust-derived magmas andmantle-derived juvenile materials contributed to the formation of their protoliths. Based on field observa-tion, and petrological, geochemical and geochronological investigations, we infer that the granitoid gneis-ses from Xingxingxia were probably formed on a continental arc that resulted from the interaction ofAustralia and the Tarim Craton during the assembly of the Rodinia supercontinent, and that the CentralTianshan zone was a part of the Tarim Craton during that time. Besides, the Grenvillian orogenic eventsmay have developed better in the Tarim Craton than previously expected.

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1. Introduction

The Tianshan, resulted from polyphase accretion and deforma-tion, is the longest mountain range in Central Asia. The Chinese

Tianshan belt is divided into North Tianshan, Central Tianshanand South Tianshan by large-scaled faults. The Central Tianshantectonic zone is a narrow domain between the early PaleozoicSouth Tianshan passive continental margin and the late PaleozoicNorth Tianshan arc zone (Liu et al., 2004), with the Precambrianrocks widely exposed and well preserved in the easternmost ofthe zone. However, most of the basement rocks are unconformablyoverlain by unmetamorphosed Paleozoic–Mesozoic sedimentarycover with only sporadic outcrops (Liu et al., 2004; Zhang et al.,

278 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

2004; Li et al., 2005, 2009). The representative basement rockswhich outcrop in Jianshanzi uplift and Tianhu sag are defined asXingxingxia Group and Tianhu Group, respectively (Toby, 1997;Hu et al., 2006a,b, 2007). Granitoid intrusions with varying agesare widely distributed in these basement rocks, and most of themhave crystallization age of 960–910 Ma (Hu et al., 2010).

Rocks of the Xingxingxia Group used to be considered as theoldest rocks in the Eastern Tianshan Mountains (Hu et al., 1986,2001, 2006; Toby, 1997; Li et al., 1999, 2003; Liu et al., 2004), zir-con SHRIMP U–Pb ages of the granodioritic gneisses, which belongto the Xingxingxia group, indicate that they crystallized at 1.4 Gaand subsequently underwent a 0.9–1.1 Ga tectono-thermal event,resulting in the intrusion of some migmatites and granitoid

Fig. 1. Simplified tectonic map of the Eastern

Fig. 2. Simplified geological map of the Xingxingxia area, Eastern Tianshan Moun

gneisses (Hu et al., 1986, 2006). Previous studies have been carriedout on the early Precambrian evolution of the Eastern Tianshan (Huet al., 1986, 2010; Gu et al., 1990; Xiu et al., 2002; Liu et al., 2004;Zhang et al., 2004, 2005; Song et al., 2013), and provided importantinformation on the crystallization and metamorphism ages ofthese granitoid intrusions. The whole-rock Rb–Sr data yielded theage of 913.8 ± 4.5 Ma for the gneissic granite, interpreted as theemplacement age (Gu et al., 1990). The zircon SHRIMP U–Pb age,942 ± 7 Ma, of the augen gneissic granite in the Xingxingxia Moun-tain, was interpreted as the crystallization age of the granite body(Hu et al., 2010). Granodioritic gneiss, intruded into the Xingxing-xia Group, yielded a zircon U–Pb upper intercept age of1218 ± 17 Ma, representing the magma crystalline age (Liu et al.,

Tianshan region (after Li et al. (2003)).

tains (modified after the geological map of Xingxingxia and Anxi, 1:200,000).

Fig. 3. Field photos (a–c) and representative photomicrographs of the granitoid gneisses from the Xingxingxia area. Detailed descriptions are given in the main text.Abbreviations: Pl, Plagioclase; Kf, K-feldspar; Qtz, Quartz; Bi, Biotite; Grt, Garnet.

Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292 279

2004). The above limited work conducted on the XingxingxiaGroup showed that there was a possible tectono-thermal eventduring the Neoproterozoic.

However, the nature of the metamorphic basement rocksremains controversial, and different models have been proposedfor the tectonic affinity of the Central Tianshan basement, includ-ing a long uplifting crystalline axis (Hu et al., 1964), a separatedsegment of the Tarim Craton (Li et al., 1981; Shu et al., 1998,1999; Zhu et al., 2004; Su et al., 2011; Lei et al., 2011; Ma et al.,2012b), an independent continent (Li et al., 2002) or an accretedcrust that was derived from mantle differentiation at 2.0–1.8 Gabased on Sm–Nd geochronology and isotopic tracers of granitoidgneisses and metasedimentary rocks of the Xingxingxia Group(Hu et al., 2000). All the arguments resulted from the paucity ofdata in geochronology, petrology and geochemistry. Xingxingxia,

located in the easternmost of the Central Tianshan, is bounded bythe Tarim Craton in the south, widely developed Neoproterozoicmagmatic activities. The Xingxingxia granitoid gneisses, which con-tributed significantly to the tectonic evolution of the Central Tian-shan zone, may shed a light on the evolutionary history of theTarim Craton. However, the several studies conducted on the Xing-xingxia Group were focused on geochronology (Chen, 1993; Guet al., 1994; Fu et al., 1999; Guo, 2009; Wang et al., 2009; Maoet al., 2010), whereas the petrogenesis of the granitoid gneisseshas received little attention. This paper presents new LA-ICP-MSU–Pb dating and Hf isotope results of zircon grains from the Xing-xingxia granitoid intrusion, and aims to contribute a better under-standing of the protoliths and petrogenesis of the gneisses. Thecomparison between Xingxingxia granitoids and those from thePrecambrian basement of the Tarim Craton aims to further

280 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

constrain the nature and characteristics of these basement rocksand the tectonic affinity of the Central Tianshan zone.

2. Geological setting

The eastern segment of the Central Tianshan tectonic zone isseparated from the northern Tianshan volcanic arc and the south-ern Tianshan orogenic belt by sutures in both the northern andsouthern sides (Fig. 1). This zone is characterized by the presenceof numerous metamorphic blocks in various shapes and scales,with the Xingxingxia Group being the most representative one.The Xingxingxia Group, which locally intruded by the Meso-Neo-proterozoic granitoid gneisses and Paleozoic granitoids, predomi-nantly consists of banded and augen granitic gneisses, quartzites,amphibolites, migmatites, marbles and various schists, and thisset of rocks were mainly metamorphosed in greenschist- oramphibolites-facies and locally in granulite-facies (Gu et al.,1990; Hu et al., 2000; Liu et al., 2004; Li et al., 2007). The intrudedgranitoid gneisses and amphibolites were considered to be meta-morphosed igneous plutons or volcanic rock series (Hu et al.,1997). Based on Nd isotopic characteristics, Li et al. (2007) sug-gested that the granitoid gneisses in the eastern segment of theCentral Tianshan tectonic zone formed in a late Mesoproterozoiccontinental marginal arc. Previous structural data have demon-strated that these Precambrian rocks underwent polyphase defor-mation, but much of the early structural history was probablyobliterated during Paleozoic overprinting (Li et al., 2000;Laurent-Charvet et al., 2003; Shu et al., 2004).

Li et al. (2000) reported that the eastern segment of the CentralTianshan contains various kinds of deformation indicators, such asS–C fabric, stretching lineation and asymmetric structures, sug-gesting left-lateral motion. The ‘‘augen structure’’ of the myloni-tized granitoid gneisses in this study confirms the above-mentioned observations and interpretation. The study area, situ-ated between Shaquanzi Fault and Xingxingxia Fault, extends fromNE to SW as a belt and intruded locally by Proterozoic granitoidgneisses and Paleozoic granites (Fig. 2). Occasionally, small lentic-ular dark diorites emerge as enclaves in the granitoid gneisses(Fig. 3a) or scattered gabbro-diabases occur as dykes, veins withinthe granitoid gneisses (Fig. 3b), and extend in the same orientation

Table 1Representative analyses of plagioclases of the granitoid gneisses from Xingxingxia.

Sample no. XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX0Analysis no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SiO2 62.7 62.6 62.4 62.7 62.5 62.9 62.0TiO2 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.00 0.03 0.03 0.00Al2O3 22.1 22.6 22.5 22.3 22.5 22.1 22.0FeO 0.05 0.02 0.07 0.07 0.01 0.01 0.04MnO 0.02 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.01MgO 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.03CaO 4.78 4.77 4.93 4.69 4.99 4.78 5.05Na2O 8.57 8.68 8.83 8.54 8.48 8.59 8.69K2O 0.14 0.25 0.23 0.16 0.16 0.19 0.23Cr2O3 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.00ZnO 0.00 0.05 0.00 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.05NiO 0.04 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00Total 98.4 99.0 99.0 98.5 98.8 98.6 98.20O 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00Si 2.82 2.80 2.79 2.81 2.80 2.82 2.80Al 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.17 1.17Ca 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.23 0.24 0.23 0.24Na 0.75 0.75 0.77 0.74 0.74 0.75 0.76K 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01Ba 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00An 23.4 23.0 23.3 23.1 24.30 23.3 24.0Ab 75.8 75.6 75.5 76.0 74.8 75.6 74.7Or 0.84 1.45 1.27 0.92 0.93 1.10 1.31

with the gneissosity of these gneisses, strongly indicating that theveins intruded earlier than the deformation. The predominant out-crops of the Precambrian rocks in the Xingxingxia area are granit-oid gneisses and metasedimentary rocks. In this study, we focus ontwo main lithological assemblages of the granitoid gneiss intru-sions: (1) biotite-monzonitic gneisses, and (2) biotite-plagioclasegneisses, parts of the latter experienced intense mylonitization,even though both assemblages have suffered varying degrees ofmigmatization.

3. Sample descriptions

The granitoid gneisses, intruded into the Xingxingxia Group,possess distinct characteristics, and two lithological assemblageswere recongnized based on the detailed petrographic examination:(1) biotite-monzonitic gneisses (sample XXX05, 05-1, 05-2 and 14),and (2) biotite-plagioclase gneisses (sample 06 and XXX12-2, 12-3,12-4, 12-5). Their detailed features are described as below.

3.1. Biotite-monzonitic gneisses

The biotite-monzonitic gneiss is characterized by granitic tex-tures with poorly-developed gneissosity (Fig. 3c). It is a grayishand medium- to coarse-grained massive rock, and contains up to50% quartz, plagioclase (15–25%), K-feldspar (20–30%) and biotite(10% ±). The quartz grains display undulatory extinction and sub-grain structure, and some of them are fractured with hackly edgesshowing the characteristics of syntectonics deformation (Fig. 3d).The plagioclase crystals are commonly pelitized and display poly-synthetic twin, with the latter being a typical characteristic of pla-gioclase from pluton (Fig. 3e). K-feldspar is mostly perthite withanomalous cross-hatched twins. Biotite is elongated and displaysa preferred orientation which defines the foliation resulting fromintense compression (Fig. 3f).

3.2. Biotite-plagioclase gneisses

The biotite-plagioclase gneiss is classified into two distinguish-ing groups based on their mineral assemblages: one group consistsof pink garnets while the other does not. The first group comprises

5-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX05-1 XXX12-3 XXX12-3 XXX12-38 9 10 11 1 2 3

62.4 62.3 62.8 62.4 64.9 65.3 64.90.00 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0022.1 22.3 22.2 22.2 21.3 20.1 21.30.09 0.12 0.20 0.26 0.05 0.06 0.050.02 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.00 0.01 0.000.02 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.004.89 4.82 4.68 4.87 3.49 2.62 3.498.45 8.70 8.79 8.39 9.17 9.79 9.170.30 0.21 0.11 0.16 0.12 0.12 0.120.05 0.01 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.000.12 0.22 0.00 0.13 0.04 0.00 0.040.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.0198.5 98.7 98.9 98.5 99.0 98.0 99.08.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.00 8.002.81 2.80 2.81 2.81 2.88 2.93 2.881.17 1.18 1.17 1.18 1.11 1.06 1.110.24 0.23 0.22 0.24 0.17 0.13 0.170.74 0.76 0.76 0.73 0.79 0.85 0.790.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.010.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0023.8 23.2 22.6 24.1 17.3 12.8 17.374.5 75.6 76.8 75.0 82.1 86.5 82.11.76 1.22 0.64 0.92 0.70 0.67 0.70

Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292 281

predominantly of quartz (55–60%), plagioclase (25–30%) and bio-tite (10% ±) with minor K-feldspar and garnet. All the plagioclaseshave oligoclase composition (An = 12.4–14.2; Table 1). Garnet isextremely altered with the original crystal morphology completelyobliterated (Fig. 3g). The second group preserves intense deforma-tion with well-developed ‘‘augen structures’’, and asymmetricstructure indicating a left-lateral motion (Fig. 3i, j, k and l). Thestudied samples in the second group are composed mainly ofquartz (45–50%), plagioclase (35–40%) and biotite (10–15%) withminor K-feldspar, muscovite and accessory minerals, such as zir-con, apatite and sphene.

4. Analytical methods

4.1. Mineral chemistry

The chemical compositions of minerals (plagioclases and bio-tites, Tables 1 and 2) were determined using JEOL JXA-8100 micro-probe analyzer in the State Key Laboratory of LithosphericEvolution, IGGCAS. The analytical conditions were 15 kV accelerat-ing voltage, 10 nA beam current and 2 lm electron beam diameter.Counting time was 20 s and 10 s on peaks and each background,respectively. The data were processed with online ZAF-typecorrection.

4.2. Whole-rock geochemistry

To avoid the probable effects of alteration on the geochemistry,all the analyzed samples (XXX05, 05-1, 05-2, 06, 12-2, 12-3, 12-4,12-5 and 14) in this study are fresh. Major-element oxides (wt.%)were determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), usingShimadzu XRF 1700/1500 at the Institute of Geology and Geophys-ics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS). Uncertainties of mostoxides were <2%, but for MnO and P2O5, the uncertainties were<5%. Trace element concentrations were analyzed by inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), using ICP-MSElement II at the IGGCAS. We used pure elemental standards for

Table 2Representative analyses of biotites in the biotite-plagioclase gneisses.

Sample no. XXX06 XXX06 XXX06 XXX06 XAnalysis no. 1 2 3 4 5

SiO2 36.9 36.6 35.5 36.1 3TiO2 3.12 2.77 2.61 3.38 3Al2O3 16.7 17.1 16.7 16.7 1FeO 23.5 23.5 24.3 23.1 2MnO 0.39 0.40 0.42 0.36 0MgO 6.75 6.78 6.95 6.75 6CaO 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.02 0Na2O 0.15 0.06 0.13 0.18 0K2O 9.56 9.42 9.63 9.55 9Si 2.79 2.80 2.75 2.78 2AlIV 1.21 1.20 1.25 1.22 1AlVI 0.30 0.34 0.28 0.30 0Ti 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.20 0Fe3+ 0.25 0.26 0.18 0.25 0Fe2+ 1.26 1.24 1.39 1.24 1Mn 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0Mg 0.77 0.77 0.80 0.78 0Ca 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0Na 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.03 0K 0.94 0.92 0.95 0.94 0Total 7.75 7.73 7.82 7.75 7MF 0.34 0.33 0.33 0.34 0AlVI + Fe3+ + Ti 0.73 0.76 0.62 0.74 0Fe2+ + Mn 1.28 1.28 1.42 1.26 1Ti/(Mg + Fe + Ti + Mn) 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.08 0Al/(Al + Mg + Fe + Ti + Mn + Si) 0.22 0.23 0.22 0.22 0

external calibration and granite as a reference material. The accu-racy of the analyses was better than 2.5%. A more detailed descrip-tion of the procedures is available elsewhere (Qian et al., 2009).

4.3. Zircon U–Pb dating and Hf isotope analysis

Zircons were separated using heavy liquid and magnetic tech-niques and then handpicked under a binocular microscope. Zircongrains were mounted on adhesive tape, enclosed in epoxy resinand polished to approximately half their respective thicknesses.To observe the internal structure and select a potential target sitefor U–Pb and Hf isotopic analyses, CL imaging was conducted usinga JXA8100 electron microprobe for high-resolution imaging spec-troscopy at the IGGCAS.

Zircon U–Pb dating was performed using LA-ICP-MS at the IGG-CAS. A Geolas-193 laser-ablation system equipped with a 193 nmArFexcimer laser and connected to an ELAN6100 DRC ICP-MSwas used. The analyses were conducted with a beam diameter of44 lm with a typical ablation time of approximately 30 s for 200cycles of each measurement, an 8 Hz repetition rate, and a laserpower of 100 mJ/pulse (Yang et al., 2006). A more detaileddescription of the analytical technique is provided by Yuan et al.(2004). The common-Pb correction followed a method describedby Andersson et al. (2002). The age calculation and plotting of con-cordia diagrams was performed using Isoplot/Ex 3.0 (Ludwig,2003).

Similarly, zircon Hf isotope analysis was conducted by means ofMC-ICP-MS at the IGGCAS, using the same Geolas-193 laser abla-tion system. During the Hf analyses, isobaric interference correc-tions of 176Lu and 176Yb on 176Hf were made. Due to theextremely low 176Lu/177Hf (normally < 0.002), in the zircon grains,the isobaric interference of 176Lu on 176Hf was negligible (Iizukaand Hirata, 2005). Based on the evaluation of five correction meth-ods to the isotopic interference of 176Yb on 176Hf in the literature,the mean bYb value in the same spot was recommended (Yanget al., 2006). The interference of 176Yb on 176Hf was corrected bymeasuring the interference-free 172Yb isotope and using a com-mended 176Yb/172Yb ratio of 0.5886 (Chu et al., 2002) to calculate

XX06 XXX06 XXX12 XXX12 XXX12 XXX12 XXX126 1 2 3 4 5

5.9 36.2 36.7 36.9 36.2 36.9 37.1.04 3.56 3.20 3.26 3.57 2.97 3.226.6 16.1 16.2 16.1 15.5 15.7 15.83.6 23.7 23.3 23.5 23.5 23.0 23.1.40 0.26 0.27 0.25 0.28 0.27 0.26.72 6.63 6.74 7.03 7.38 7.27 7.09.03 0.12 0.07 0.09 0.10 0.04 0.07.08 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.14 0.08 0.05.33 9.26 9.62 9.58 9.36 9.44 9.82.78 2.79 2.82 2.82 2.80 2.84 2.84.22 1.20 1.18 1.18 1.20 1.16 1.15.30 0.26 0.29 0.27 0.21 0.27 0.27.18 0.21 0.18 0.19 0.21 0.17 0.18.25 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.24 0.26 0.26.28 1.26 1.24 1.25 1.28 1.24 1.22.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02.78 0.76 0.77 0.80 0.85 0.84 0.81.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01.92 0.91 0.95 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.96.75 7.73 7.74 7.74 7.76 7.74 7.74.33 0.33 0.34 0.34 0.36 0.35 0.35.73 0.74 0.73 0.71 0.66 0.70 0.72.31 1.28 1.26 1.26 1.29 1.26 1.24.07 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.07.22 0.22 0.22 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21

Table 3Major (wt.%) and trace element (ppm) compositions of the granitoid gneisses from Xingxingxia area.

Sample XXX05 XXX05-1 XXX05-2 XXX06 XXX12-2 XXX12-3 XXX12-4 XXX12-5 XXX14

SiO2 73.8 73.1 74.6 70.6 72.5 71.8 72.2 71.5 67.2TiO2 0.22 0.23 0.15 0.44 0.25 0.35 0.31 0.32 0.53Al2O3 14.0 14.0 13.8 14.8 14.7 14.7 14.8 15.2 16.4TFe2O3 1.97 2.02 1.44 3.29 1.76 2.38 2.16 2.35 3.77MnO 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.07 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.05MgO 0.51 0.39 0.30 0.90 0.59 0.70 0.70 0.66 1.42CaO 1.45 1.74 1.14 2.71 2.75 2.83 1.73 2.73 3.98Na2O 3.32 3.36 3.35 3.31 3.46 3.50 4.47 3.81 4.09K2O 4.70 4.61 5.01 3.55 3.84 3.10 2.95 3.14 1.82P2O5 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.23 0.07 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.14LOI 0.48 0.60 0.62 0.46 0.68 0.54 1.06 0.46 0.70Total 100.5 100.2 100.4 100.4 100.6 100.1 100.5 100.3 100.1r 2.09 2.11 2.21 1.71 1.81 1.51 1.89 1.70 1.44DF 2.00 2.41 2.25 1.92 2.72 2.26 2.98 2.79 2.88A/CNK 1.06 1.03 1.06 1.04 0.99 1.03 1.08 1.04 1.03La 43.7 54.9 37.7 54.7 22.7 44.3 37.7 41.9 50.5Ce 86.1 79.2 66.4 108.8 34.4 69.9 57.1 62.3 82.6Pr 9.37 11.3 7.96 12.8 3.70 7.55 6.12 6.70 8.45Nd 33.0 40.5 28.5 46.2 12.1 22.2 19.6 20.5 27.0Sm 6.14 7.31 5.80 7.54 1.87 3.60 2.88 3.21 4.27Eu 0.78 0.87 0.61 1.32 0.74 0.81 0.77 0.86 1.10Gd 5.54 6.52 5.91 6.31 1.36 2.38 1.98 2.20 3.20Tb 0.90 1.00 1.09 0.90 0.16 0.27 0.23 0.26 0.37Dy 5.13 5.50 6.83 4.84 0.76 1.25 1.15 1.05 1.62Ho 1.08 1.09 1.53 0.94 0.14 0.19 0.22 0.18 0.27Er 2.96 2.84 4.22 2.55 0.36 0.51 0.56 0.47 0.62Tm 0.45 0.43 0.65 0.37 0.05 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08Yb 2.98 2.81 4.25 2.24 0.34 0.57 0.48 0.55 0.48Lu 0.46 0.43 0.65 0.33 0.06 0.09 0.08 0.09 0.07Y 27.9 28.0 42.2 23.8 2.90 5.59 4.94 5.06 6.40Li 22.7 20.4 12.4 27.2 27.1 23.3 22.2 37.4 35.3Be 2.47 2.50 3.75 1.62 1.61 1.83 3.64 1.77 1.82Sc 4.94 4.57 4.17 8.90 3.92 2.54 4.14 4.74 7.99V 19.2 17.3 12.0 37.3 21.6 25.6 24.1 24.0 47.9Cr 4.27 7.72 6.06 13.4 9.39 12.4 13.5 12.1 20.1Co 5.47 3.30 3.64 6.50 3.55 4.40 4.03 4.20 8.32Ni 6.17 8.90 7.19 8.24 2.75 5.65 5.69 4.99 5.39Cu 20.8 7.17 13.3 10.6 2.72 4.21 3.71 2.71 6.09Zn 26.6 30.8 16.2 49.4 42.8 47.4 46.4 54.6 82.1Ga 18.2 18.3 18.5 17.7 18.3 17.9 16.5 19.8 22.2Rb 210 210 268 112 101 114 99.3 97.1 81.2Sr 148 151 115 167 256 323 209 254 356Zr 170 155 126 182 132 205 194 188 233Nb 11.5 11.9 11.8 9.98 3.48 4.35 6.66 6.73 8.03Cs 6.58 6.11 7.38 4.10 3.18 5.31 2.03 3.18 4.86Ba 608 654 466 657 708 1241 740 831 452Hf 5.65 5.11 4.54 5.44 4.14 5.94 5.60 5.42 6.15Ta 1.62 1.56 4.23 0.54 0.25 0.35 0.66 0.64 0.63Tl 1.24 1.22 1.44 0.70 1.09 1.03 0.77 1.01 0.85Pb 27.3 30.6 34.0 27.6 24.7 24.2 26.3 27.2 17.4Bi 0.46 1.13 1.13 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.12 0.09Th 38.8 35.8 33.8 17.9 9.97 17.1 15.6 16.2 14.9U 6.40 4.75 9.86 1.68 1.33 1.56 2.68 1.64 2.23RREE 199 215 172 250 78.8 154 129 140 181LREE 179 194 147 2311 75.5 148 124 135 174HREE 19.5 20.6 25.1 18.5 3.22 5.34 4.76 4.87 6.71(La/Yb)N 10.5 14.0 6.36 17.6 47.6 55.7 56.5 55.1 75.3dEu 0.40 0.38 0.32 0.57 1.35 0.80 0.93 0.93 0.87

282 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

the 176Hf/177Hf ratios. The standard zircon 91500 was used in thiscorrection to the 176Yb–176176Hf interference, showing variable176Yb/177Hf ratios of 0.0066–0.0126 with an average of 0.0077 for91500 (Yang et al., 2006). A detailed description of the isobaricinterference correction and analytical procedures are provided inWu et al. (2007) and Xie et al. (2008). Because zircons are generallyformed in granitic magma derived from granitoid crust, the two-stage model ages (TDM2) are more meaningful than the depletedmantle model ages. The mean 176Lu/177Hf ratio of 0.008 for theupper continent crust (Taylor and McLennan, 1985) was used tocalculate the TDM

C , and the subsequent discussion in this study isbased on the TDM

C ages.

5. Results

5.1. Mineral composition

The plagioclases from biotite-monzonitic gneisses and garnet-bearing biotite-plagioclase gneisses are dominated by oligoclasewith An (Anorthite) ranges from 12.8% to 24.1% and 12.4% to14.2%, respectively (Table 1). The plagioclases of the garnet-freebiotite-plagioclase gneisses are andesine and oligoclase(An = 26.0–33.8%; Table 1). The biotites show dark brown colora-tion with high content of TiO2 (2.6–3.6 wt.%; Table 1), indicatingthat they were formed at a relatively high temperature (Fig. 3h).

Fig. 4. Petrochemical classification diagrams of the granitoid gneisses from the Xingxingxia area. (a) TiO2–SiO2 diagram (after Tarney (1976)); (b) SiO2–K2O classificationdiagram (after Richwood (1989)); (c) ACNK–ANK classification diagram (after Maniar and Piccoli (1989)). ANK = Al2O3/(Na2O + K2O) molar ratio; ACNK = Al2O3/(CaO + Na2O + K2O) molar ratio; and (d) K–Rb fractionation trends for the granitoid gneisses from the Xingxingxia area (after Shaw (1968)). OT, oceanic tholeiitic basalt;MT, main trend; PH, pegmatite-hydrothermal.

Fig. 5. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element diagrams and primitive mantle normalized spider-diagrams for the granitoid gneisses in the Xingxingxia area. Chondrite-and primitive mantle-normalized values are from Sun and McDonough (1989).

Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292 283

5.2. Major and trace elements

Whole-rock major and trace element compositions of all sam-ples analyzed in this paper are listed in Table 3. All the samples

exhibit high values of SiO2 (67.2–74.6 wt.%) with CaO > MgO. Theyare characterized by varying Al2O3 (13.8–16.4 wt.%) and Fe2O3

T con-tents (1.20–4.54 wt.%), falling into the range of orthometamorphite(<20% and <15%, respectively). This is also illustrated in the SiO2 vs.

Fig. 6. Representative cathodoluminescence images for zircons from the granitoidgneisses of Xingxingxia Group. The analytical spots and ages are marked.

284 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

TiO2 diagram (Fig. 4a). The analyzed samples show high-K calc-alkaline and peraluminous compositions when plotted on theSiO2–K2O and ACNK–ANK classification diagrams (Fig. 4b, c).

All samples display left-to-right slanted chondrite-normalizedREE patterns and varying degrees of HREE depletion and Eu anom-alies in the different rock types. The biotite-monzonitic gneissesexhibit higher (La/Yb)N ratios and slightly negative Eu anomaliesin contrast to the biotite-plagioclase gneisses (Fig. 5a). In the prim-itive mantle-normalized spiderdiagram (Fig. 5b), all the analyzedsamples are characterized by a enrichment in LILE (e. g., Rb, Th,K, Pb), and a depletion in HFSE (e.g., Ta, Nb, P, Ti), which are thetypical characteristics of volcanic-arc granitoids (Harris et al.,1986; Guo et al., 2002; Shi et al., 2010). To some extent, the traceelement concentrations are related to the maturity of volcanic-arc, since, for example, calc-alkaline continental arc granitoids usu-ally possess enhanced LILE abundances and low ratios of HFSE/LILE(Brown et al., 1984). The pronounced negative Ba, Sr, P, and Tianomalies of the Xingxingxia ganitoid gneisses probably resultedfrom fractional crystallization of plagioclase, K-feldspar and apatite(Brown et al., 1984).

5.3. Zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions

Zircons from the biotite monzonitic gneiss (XXX05) wereselected for U–Pb dating and Hf isotope analysis. They displayeuhedral to subhedral prismatic shapes (�40–150 lm in length)with abraded pyramid faces. Concentric oscillatory zoning occurs

Table 4U-Pb data for zircons of the granitoid gneisses from Xingxingxia.

Spot no. Content Ratios

Th U Th/U 207Pb/206Pb 1r 207Pb/235U 1r

XXX05 Granitic gneiss1 613 864 0.71 0.07055 0.00076 1.53106 0.015572 214 511 0.42 0.07024 0.00044 1.52319 0.008683 195 465 0.42 0.07006 0.00040 1.51881 0.007954 420 445 0.94 0.07001 0.00125 1.53515 0.026065 733 1876 0.39 0.07356 0.00041 1.52465 0.007816 244 2111 0.12 0.07353 0.00040 1.52482 0.007507 272 497 0.55 0.06993 0.00043 1.52380 0.008698 291 556 0.52 0.06937 0.00039 1.52167 0.007819 336 1095 0.31 0.07110 0.00045 1.52902 0.00890

10 5327 6954 0.77 0.07814 0.00040 1.51843 0.0070011 496 1408 0.35 0.07129 0.00053 1.54401 0.0108212 365 877 0.42 0.06964 0.00038 1.52336 0.0076113 441 853 0.52 0.07218 0.00062 1.52315 0.0124014 561 1178 0.48 0.07361 0.00039 1.51761 0.0075515 1086 2226 0.49 0.07449 0.00038 1.60080 0.0076416 195 500 0.39 0.07092 0.00044 1.52158 0.00889

in most of the zircon grains (Fig. 6), suggesting a magmatic origin.A total of sixteen analyses were conducted on sixteen zircon grainswith oscillatory zoning, and ten yielded concordant or nearly con-cordant ages. Uranium concentrations display a large range from445 to 6954 ppm and Th/U ratios vary between 0.12 and 0.94(Table 4), seem to be magmatic in origin, in contrast to metamor-phic zircons whose Th/U ratios are general lower than 0.1 (Jianet al., 2001; Rubatto, 2002; Corfu et al., 2003; Hoskin andSchaltegger, 2003). We obtained a weighted mean 206Pb/238U ageof 942.4 ± 5.1 Ma (95% confidence, MSWD = 0.62, n = 10; Fig. 7)from the ten zircon ages which cluster together, interpreted to rep-resent the crystallization age of the Xingxingxia granitoid gneissintrusion.

Out of the sixteen zircons, nine were analyzed for Hf isotopiccompositions. The analytical spots either overlapped or were prox-imal with those that had been dated with LA-ICP-MS method. Sixzircon grains have positive eHf(t) values ranging from 0.3 to 1.2with TDM

C model ages from 1618 Ma to 1805 Ma. Four grains havenegative eHf(t) values ranging from �5.6 to �1.0 with TDM

C modelages from 1890 Ma to 2102 Ma (Table 5; Fig. 13).

6. Discussion

6.1. Element mobility

Most of the Precambrian plutonic rocks have experienced meta-morphic overprinting or migmatization which normally affect themobility of elements (Roser and Nathan, 1997; Li et al., 2007), soit is essential to evaluate the elemental mobility of our studiedsamples. Previous studies reported that at the scale of several cen-timeters or more, the effect of solid-state diffusion and melt gener-ation on elements mobility within rocks is insignificant, and theloss of volatile phases is the main compositional changes duringregional metamorphism (Shaw, 1956; Rollinson, 1993; Roser andNathan, 1997). In this study, all the major elements have coherentvariations in Harker diagrams (Fig. 8), indicating that the elementswere not significantly altered during subsequent metamorphism.The K/Rb ratios of our examined samples varying from 154 to301 (224 on average), conforming to the main trend of igneousrocks (Fig. 4d) defined by Shaw (1968), further suggesting thatmetamorphism and migmatization had not caused large scaleremoval of Rb from the protolith (Rudnick et al., 1985; Rudnickand Fountain, 1995; Li et al., 2007). Again, previous studies(Cullers et al., 1974; Taylor et al., 1986; Girty et al., 1994) showed

Ages (Ma) Con. (%)

206Pb/238U 1r 207Pb/206Pb 1r 207Pb/235U 1r 206Pb/238U 1r

0.15726 0.00153 945 22 943 6 942 9 1000.15716 0.00142 936 13 940 3 941 8 1000.15712 0.00141 930 12 938 3 941 8 1000.15892 0.00179 929 36 945 10 951 10 990.15024 0.00135 1029 11 940 3 902 8 1040.15030 0.00135 1029 11 940 3 903 8 1040.15797 0.00144 926 13 940 4 946 8 990.15903 0.00144 910 12 939 3 951 8 990.15591 0.00143 960 13 942 4 934 8 1010.14090 0.00128 1151 10 938 3 850 7 1100.15706 0.00148 966 15 948 4 940 8 1010.15863 0.00146 918 11 940 3 949 8 990.15304 0.00148 991 17 940 5 918 8 1020.14952 0.00139 1031 11 938 3 898 8 1040.15586 0.00145 1055 11 971 3 934 8 1040.15561 0.00146 955 13 939 4 932 8 101

Fig. 7. (a) U–Pb concordia diagrams and (b) weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb ages for zircons of the granitoid gneisses from the Xingxingxia area.

Table 5Lu–Hf isotopic data for zircons of the granitoid gneisses from Xingxingxia.

Spot no. U–Pb age 176Yb/177Hf 2r 176Lu/177Hf 2r 176Hf/177Hf 2r 176Hf/177Hf(i) eHf(t) TDMC fLu/Hf

XXX05 Granitic gneiss1 942 0.024787 0.001012 0.000847 0.000033 0.282290 0.000036 0.282570 3.2 1618 �0.973 941 0.035452 0.000159 0.001210 0.000005 0.282248 0.000037 0.282570 1.4 1728 �0.964 941 0.030337 0.000398 0.001042 0.000014 0.282228 0.000032 0.282570 0.8 1766 �0.975 951 0.043832 0.000694 0.001464 0.000017 0.282215 0.000029 0.282563 0.3 1805 �0.967 903 0.031751 0.000339 0.001119 0.000009 0.282130 0.000035 0.282598 �3.5 2012 �0.97

16 934 0.023556 0.000568 0.000840 0.000019 0.282253 0.000033 0.282575 1.7 1706 �0.9724 850 0.061895 0.004546 0.002131 0.000154 0.282120 0.000032 0.282637 �5.6 2102 �0.9434 949 0.048211 0.000584 0.001657 0.000018 0.282182 0.000035 0.282564 �1.0 1890 �0.9536 898 0.050437 0.000377 0.001764 0.000013 0.282288 0.000031 0.282601 1.6 1684 �0.95

Note: eHf(t) = [176Hf/177HfZ/176Hf/177HfCHUR(t) � 1] � 10,000; 176Hf/177HfCHUR(t) = 176Hf/177HfCHUR (0) � 176Lu/177HfCHUR � (ekt � 1); TDM = (1/k) � ln[1 + (176Hf/177HfDM -

� 176Hf/177HfZ)/(176Lu/177HfDM � 176Lu/177HfZ)]; fLu/Hf = 176Hf/177HfZ/176Lu/177HfCHUR � 1; where fZ and fDM are the fLu/Hf values of the zircon sample and the depleted mantle;subscript Z = analyzed zircon sample, CHUR = chondritic uniform reservoir; DM = depleted mantle; k = 1.867 � 10�11 year�1, decay constant of 176Lu; 176Hf/177HfDM =0.28325; 176Lu/177HfDM = 0.0384; present-day 176Hf/177HfCHUR (0) = 0.282772; 176Hf/177HfCHUR = 0.0332. TDM represents the model age calculated from the measured176Hf/177Hf and 176Lu/177Hf ratios of a zircon, giving a minimum limit for the crustal residence age of the hafnium in the zircon.

Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292 285

that, with the exception of areas characterized by partial melting,concentrations of REEs, HFSEs and Y are largely preserved duringhigh-grade metamorphism. These elements have low solubility innatural waters and are generally immobile. All the analyzed sam-ples display coherent behavior in the primitive mantle-normalizedspider diagram (Fig. 5), suggesting that the elements were not sig-nificantly altered during metamorphism. In addition, samples withevidence of partial melting, migmatization and veinlets wereexcluded from our analyses.

6.2. Source and petrogenesis

On the discrimination diagrams (Fig. 9), most of the studiedsamples plot in the field of I-type granite, this is in agreement withthe field observation and the geochemical data, e. g., the dioriteenclaves, the ACNK values (ACNK < 1) and the Na2O content(Na2O > 3.2 wt.%). Although emergence of garnets in some samplesmakes them similar to the characteristics of S-type granite, there isa lack of evidence to support. The forming of these aluminous-richminerals is mainly attributed to the feature of weak peraluminous.

The combination of the TiO2–SiO2 diagram (Fig. 4a) and the DFnumbers (1.92–2.98; DF = 10.44 � 0.21SiO2 � 0.32Fe2O3 (totalFe) � 0.98MgO + 0.55CaO + 1.46Na2O + 0.54K2O, Shaw, 1972) con-firms that the studied samples originated from igneous rocks. Inthe An–Ab–Or diagram (Fig. 10), most samples fall within the ton-

alite, granodiorite and granite fields. Barbarin (1999) consideredthat peraluminous granitoids are of crustal origin while calc-alka-line granitoids are comprised of mixed materials of both crustaland mantle origin. However, the calc-alkaline granitoids, character-ized by K enrichment, is dominated mostly by deep crustal material(Rudnick et al., 1985; Rudnick and Fountain, 1995). The analyzedsamples possess the features of high-K, calc-alkaline and peralumi-nous, suggesting a deep crustal origin. Besides, they are character-ized by pronounced negative Ba, Sr, Nb, Ti anomalies, andprominent positive Rb, Th, K, La anomalies, the lines of evidencestrongly indicating derivation from crustal source. The low eHf(t)values (�5.6 to �1.0) and old TDM

C model ages (2102–1890 Ma) alsosuggest that crustal materials played a significant role in the petro-genesis of the Xingxingxia granitoid gneisses. Accordingly, we inferthat the Xingxingxia granitoid gneisses most likely originated fromthe deep crust with involvement of the mantle materials. This isalso demonstrated by the field relationship and microscopic obser-vation. For example, the interpenetration of the gneisses by irregu-lar diabase veins suggests that the veins are the products ofcrystallization differentiation of mantle basaltic magma. The dior-ites, occurring as enclaves in the gneisses, are probably the rem-nants of basic magma. The undulatory extinction of quartz, thedistorted polysynthetic twins of plagioclase and the elongated bio-tite indicate that the granitoid gneisses underwent intense ductiledeformation. In the granitoid crust, the depth of the transformation

Fig. 8. Harker diagrams for the granitoid gneisses from the Xingxingxia area.

286 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

from brittle deformation to ductile deformation is about 10–15 km,so we infer that the Xingxingxia granitoid gneisses are the productsof structural deformation of deep crustal material.

The ANK vs. ACNK diagram suggests that the samples mostlikely formed in a continental arc setting (Fig. 4c). In the Y vs. Nband Y + Nb vs. Rb diagrams (Fig. 11), the samples plot mostly involcanic arc granites field, even though this kind of granites usuallyappear in active continental margin (Shi et al., 2010). Jakes andWhite (1972) stated that the calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of conti-nental margin usually display high SiO2 contents (56–75 wt.%)and K2O/Na2O ratios (0.6–1.1), with (FeO + Fe2O3)/MgO > 2. The

granitoid gneisses from Xingxingxia display varying SiO2 contents(68–75 wt.%), K2O/Na2O ratios (0.4–1.5) and (FeO + Fe2O3)/MgOratios (2.7–5.2), implying that they were more likely formed on acontinental margin.

6.3. Tectonic implications

The U–Pb zircon age of 942.4 ± 5.1 Ma for the Xingxingxiagranitoid gneiss suggests that the Eastern Tianshan underwent atectono-thermal event during the Neoproterozoic. The analyzedzircons exhibit eHf(t) values ranging from �5.6 to +3.2, and among

Fig. 9. Genetic diagrams for the granitoid gneisses from Xingxingxia. (a) SiO2 vs. (Fe2O3 + FeO)/MgO diagram (after Eby (1990)); (b) K2O vs. Na2O diagram (after White andChappell, 1983); (c) and (d) 10,000*Ga/Al vs. Ce and Nb diagrams (after Whalen et al. (1987)).

Fig. 10. An–Ab–Or classification diagram (after Barker (1979)).

Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292 287

the nine zircon grains, three of them have negative eHf(t) values,suggesting a contribution of old crustal materials, while thepositive eHf(t) values indicate that significant amounts of mantle-derived juvenile materials were added during the Neoproterozoic.

The Central Tianshan zone has been commonly interpreted tobe a polystage tectonic unit, characterized by Precambrianmetamorphic basement, Ordovician to early Devonian arc andpost-Carboniferous cover (Gao et al., 1998; Xiao et al., 2004,

2009; Ao et al., 2010; Han et al., 2010; Wan et al., 2010, 2013;Charvet et al., 2011; Su et al., 2011; Ma et al., 2012b, 2013; Maoet al., 2012). However, tectonic affinity of the Precambrian base-ment of this zone is still the subject of debate. The Precambrianbasement rocks are well-developed in Xingxingxia and Weiyaareas in the eastern Central Tianshan, and the main lithologies ofthese areas are banded and augen gneisses, amphibolites, marbles,migmatite, schists and quartzites. Some of them have undergonegranulite-facies metamorphism, which is represented by the gran-ulites of Weiya (Chen et al., 1998; Hu et al., 2000).

The north Tarim terrane, adjoined to the Southern Tianshan, is agenuine continental terrane characterized by Archean bimodalsuite (TTG gneisses and amphibolites) and Proterozoic graniticgneisses (Hu et al., 2000), which are widely exposed in the Aksuand Quruqtagh areas. The terrane is a fragment of ancient conti-nental crust which tectonically separated from the Tianshan Paleo-zoic Orogenic Belt to the north by the Southern Tianshan Fault.Tectono-thermal records during the assembly and breakup of Rodi-nia are relatively well-preserved in the Tarim Craton (Chen et al.,2004; Xu et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2006, 2007a, 2009a, 2012; Liet al., 2008; Lu et al., 2008; Zheng et al., 2010; Lei et al., 2011;Zhu et al., 2011; Ge et al., 2012; He et al., 2012b; Wang et al.,2013a, b), indicating that the latter was probably a constituent ofRodinia supercontinent. Sporadic magmatic records around theTarim Craton dated between 1.05 and 0.9 Ga were interpreted as

Fig. 11. Y vs. Nb and Y + Nb vs. Rb diagrams (after Pearce (1984)). WPG, within-plate granite; VAG, volcanic-arc granite; ORG, ocean-ridge granite; Syn-COLG, Syn-collisiongranite.

288 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

Grenvillian events (Zhang et al., 2003; Long et al., 2011; Shu et al.,2011).

Based on the identical features and same age spectra exhibitedby the Central Tianshan and Tarim, several studies have docu-mented that the Central Tianshan was originally a part of the TarimBlock during the Precambrian time (Li et al., 1981; Gao and Peng,1985; Gao et al., 1998; Zhu et al., 2004; Charvet et al., 2007; Leiet al., 2011; Shu et al., 2011; Su et al., 2011; Ma et al., 2012a,b).The both lithological and geochronological characteristics of theXingxingxia, Kawabulark and Tianhu Groups in the CentralTianshan zone are respectively comparable to the Yangjibulake,

Table 6Age summery of magmatism in the Eastern Tianshan and Tarim Craton.

Location Rocks A

Eastern TianshanTianhu Migmatite 6Tianhu Migmatite 6Tianhudong Gneissic granodiorite 6Tianhudong Gneissic granite 7Back Hill Gneissic granodiorite 7Xingxingxia Granodiorite 8Pingdingshan Augen-gneissic monzonitic granite 9Pingdingshan Granite 9Xingxingxia Migmatite 9Xingxingxia Gneissic granite 9Kawabulark Augen gneissic granite 9Kawabulark Augen gneissic granite 9Kawabulark Augen gneissic granite 9Xingxingxia Migmatite 9Xingxingxia Migmatite 9Xingxingxia Migmatite 9Xingxingxia Migmatite 9Kawabulark Granodiorite 1Gangou-Kumishi Augen granitoid gneiss 1Weiya Granodioritic gneiss 1Weiya Granodioritic gneiss 1

Northern TarimQuruqtagh Andesite 6Korla Syenogranite 6Korla Syenogranite 6Korla Spessartite dykes 6Korla Granite 6Korla Diabase dykes 6Kuqe Granite 6Korla Diabase dykes 6Korla Migmatite 6

Aierji and Paergangtage Groups in the Qurugtagh region (Leiet al., 2011). The Precambrian basements of both regions are repre-sented mainly by TTG gneisses and metasedimentary rocks withlarge-scale greenschist- or amphibolites-facies metamorphismand localized granulite-facies metamorphism (Li et al., 2007; Liuet al., 2004; Ma et al., 2012b; Shu et al., 2004).

Available age data (Nakajima et al., 1990; Liou et al., 1996; Xiuet al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2004, 2005, 2007b, 2009a, 2011, 2012;Zhu et al., 2008; Hu et al., 2010; Lei et al., 2011; Long et al.,2011; Luo et al., 2011; Shu et al., 2011; Ge et al., 2012; He et al.,2012a) strongly indicate that the Precambrian tectono-magmatic

ge (Ma) Method Reference

19 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)60 ± 105 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)97 ± 6 Rb–Sr isochron Gu et al. (1990)08 ± 5 Rb–Sr isochron Zhang et al. (2004)24 ± 8 Rb–Sr isochron Gu et al. (1990)09 ± 41 Zircon U–Pb Lei et al. (2011)14 ± 5 Rb–Sr isochron Gu et al. (1990)27 ± 9 Rb–Sr isochron Zhang et al. (2005)41 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)42 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (2010)46 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)63 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)64 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)82 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)84 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)86 Zircon U–Pb Hu et al. (1986)98 ± 54 Rb–Sr isochron Hu et al. (1997)141 ± 60 Zircon U–Pb Xiu et al. (2002)142 ± 120 Sm–Nd isochron Liu et al. (2004)216 ± 74 Zircon U–Pb Liu et al. (2004)218 ± 17a Zircon U–Pb Liu et al. (2004)

15 ± 6 Zircon U–Pb Xu et al. (2009)27 ± 5 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)29 ± 5 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)29 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Zhu et al. (2008)35 ± 3 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)43 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Zhu et al. (2008)47 ± 4 Zircon U–Pb Luo et al. (2011)52 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Zhu et al. (2008)59 ± 3 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)

Fig. 12. Age data histogram of tectono-thermal events related to Rodinia super-continent in the Tarim Craton and Central Tianshan zone.

Table 6 (continued)

Location Rocks Age (Ma) Method Reference

Korla Quartz syenite 661 ± 6 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)Korla Quartz syenite 662 ± 4 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)Korla Quartz syenite 663 ± 3 Zircon U–Pb Ge et al. (2012)Aksu Blueschist 698 ± 26 Rb–Sr isochron Nakajima et al. (1990)Quruqtagh Basalt 705 ± 10 Zircon U–Pb Gao et al. (2010)Aksu Phengitic mica(blueschist) 718 ± 22 K–Ar isochron Nakajima et al. (1990)Quruqtagh Basalt 725 ± 10 Zircon U–Pb Xu et al. (2009)Quruqtagh Volcanic rocks 732 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Xu et al. (2008)Quruqtagh Basalt 739 ± 6 Zircon U–Pb Gao et al. (2010)Quruqtagh Rhoyolite 740 ± 7 zircon U–Pb Xu et al. (2009)Aksu Crossite(blueschist) 754 Ar–Ar Liou et al. (1996)Quruqtagh Quartzdiorite 754 ± 4 Zircon U–Pb Long et al. (2011)Xinger Volcanic rocks 755 ± 15 Zircon U–Pb Xu et al. (2005)Aksu Gabbroic dykes 759 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2009a)Quruqtagh Noritic gabbro 760 ± 6 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2011)Quruqtagh Dioritic dykes 773 ± 3 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2009a)Xingdi Meta-gabbro 775 ± 12 Zircon U–Pb Shu et al. (2011)Quruqtagh Diabase dykes 777 ± 9 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2009b)Quruqtagh Granodiorite 785 ± 8 Zircon U–Pb Long et al. (2011)Aksu Mafic dykes 785 ± 31 Zircon U–Pb Zhan et al. (2007)Quruqtagh Granodiorite 790 ± 3 Zircon U–Pb Long et al. (2011)Quruqtagh Metamorphic supracrustal rocks 792–820 Zircon U–Pb He et al. (2012b)Quruqtagh Granite 795 ± 10 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2007)Quruqtagh Biotite granite 798 ± 3 Zircon U–Pb Long et al. (2011)Xingdi Granite 798 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Deng et al. (2008)Xingdi Granite 798 ± 7 Zircon U–Pb Shu et al. (2011)Xingdi Granite 806 ± 8 Zircon U–Pb Shu et al. (2011)Aksu Mafic dykes 807 ± 12 Zircon U–Pb Chen et al. (2004)Xingdi Diabase dykes 816 ± 15 Zircon U–Pb Deng et al. (2008)Quruqtagh Pyroxenite 818 ± 11 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2007)Quruqtagh Granodiorite 820 ± 10 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2007)Quruqtagh Diabase dykes 824 ± 9 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2009b)Aksu Glaucophane(blueschist) 862 ± 1 Ar–Ar Chen et al. (2004)Aksu Crossite(blueschist) 872 ± 2 Ar–Ar Chen et al. (2004)Aksu Blueschist 890 ± 23 Sm–Nd isochron Zheng et al. (2010)Quruqtagh Granite 920 ± 20 Rb–Sr isochron Lu et al. (1992)Xingdi Granite 933 ± 11 Zircon U–Pb Shu et al. (2011)Aksu Glaucophane 944 ± 12 Rb–Sr isochron Gao et al. (1993)Aksu Glaucophane 962 ± 12 Rb–Sr isochron Gao et al. (1993)Xingdi Granite 1048 ± 19 Zircon U–Pb Shu et al. (2011)Quruqtagh Felsic pegmatite 1052 ± 22 Zircon U–Pb Zhang et al. (2012)

Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292 289

and thermal events of the Central Tianshan zone are comparable tothose of the northern Tarim Craton (Table 6, Fig. 12). The age pop-ulation of 1.0–0.9 Ga and 0.85–0.75 Ga respectively indicate eventsrelated to the assembly and breakup of Rodinia supercontinent. Itis apparent that the Central Tianshan zone is a part of the TarimCraton during the Precambrian time, and both of them might havebeen part of Rodinia supercontinent. The age from the CentralTianshan zone reported in current study (942 Ma) is also compara-ble to the record obtained from the Tarim Craton.

Condie (1998) suggested that the episodic supercontinental for-mation seemed correlated with the global growth of juvenile con-tinental crust at 2.7, 1.9 and 1.2 Ga, and each of the super eventprobably comprised three or four sub-events, each of which mightbe reflected in slab avalanches at different locations and timesalong the 660 km discontinuity. In the present study, the�942 Ma could be a period of crustal growth. We, therefore, sug-gest that the growth of the continental crust at 942 Ma may beone of the sub-events of the global growth of juvenile continentalcrust at 1.2 Ga, and that the former age could represent the periodwhen the Tarim Craton collided with Australia. Considering thatXingxingxia is located on the northern margin of the Tarim Craton,we infer that the studied granitoid gneisses were probably theproducts of continental arc during the interaction betweenAustralia and the Tarim Craton.

The Mesoproterozoic Grenvillian orogenic events (1300–1000 Ma, Li et al., 1996, 2002; Li et al., 2008; Li and Mu, 1999;Zhou et al., 2008), which were related to the assembly of Rodinia,

were interpreted to have taken place in the three major blocks ofChina (the North China Craton, the Yangtze Craton and the TarimCraton). More specifically, the Grenvillian-age orogens were well-developed in the South China Craton, only along the very southernmargin of the North China Craton and possibly the southeastmargin of the Tarim Craton (Li et al., 1996; Toby, 1997; Long

Fig. 13. Diagram of eHf(t) values vs. crystallizing ages for zircons of the Xingxingxiagranitoid gneisses.

290 Z.-M. Wang et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 88 (2014) 277–292

et al., 2007; Zhou et al., 2008). However, in recent studies, sporadicmagmatic records around and Chinese Tianshan and the Tarim Cra-ton dated between 1.05 and 0.9 Ga were interpreted as Grenvillianevents (Zhang et al., 2003; Long et al., 2011; Shu et al., 2011; Wanget al., 2014). In the study area, several defining features and char-acteristics of the Grenvillian Orogenic Belt appear, including theancient rocks with granulite-facies metamorphism and the graniticveins produced by in situ melting of felsic rocks. Therefore, it isprobable that the Grenvillian-age orogens developed better in theTarim Craton than previously expected.

7. Conclusions

(1) The protoliths of the granitoid gneiss intrusion from Xing-xingxia belong to the high-K calc-alkaline peraluminous vol-canic series, and they originated from a continental arc.

(2) U–Pb and Hf isotope data for zircons of the Xingxingxiagranitoid gneisses indicate that they were resulted fromthe assembly of the Rodinia supercontinent, and involvedboth mantle-derived juvenile materials and old crustalmaterials during the formation.

(3) The Grenvillian continental collision, which is significant inthe assembly of Rodinia, may develop better in the TarimCraton than previously expected.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to He Li, Xin-Di Jin, Yue-Heng Yang and Lie-Wen Xie for their important contributions toexperimental analyses. We are grateful to the journal editor Bor-ming Jahn, Bo Wang and one anonymous reviewer for their valu-able and constructive comments which significantly improve themanuscript. This work was financially supported by National Nat-ural Science Foundation Projects (41272107, 41230207, 41190072,41390441, 41202150 and 41102132) and the National 305 Projects(2011BAB06B04-1). This paper is a contribution to IGCP 592.

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