Whole-Rock and Apatite Geochemistry of Late Triassic Plutonic Rocks in the Eastern Songpan-Ganzi Orogenic Belt: Petrogenesis and Implications for Tectonic Evolution

Abstract

To constrain the late Triassic tectonic evolution of the Songpan-Ganzi orogenic belt, we present new whole-rock and in situ apatite geochemistry for plutonic rocks in its eastern margin. The Taiyanghe pluton can be classified into two rock types: dioritic and granitic rocks. The former exhibits low SiO2 and MgO contents but high Al2O3, Th, LREE contents, and Th/Yb and Th/Nb ratios, as well as low Ba/La and Ba/Th ratios and enriched Sr-Nd isotopic compositions, which, together with apatite geochemistry and Nd isotopes, indicate that they were derived from low degrees of partial melting of lithospheric mantle metasomatized by sediment-derived melts. The latter is characterized by high Sr and low Y and Yb, with elevated Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios, implying an adakitic affinity. Notably, their similar Sr-Nd isotopic compositions indicate an origin from partial melts of a newly underplated lower crust. The Maoergai granitic rocks, characterized by high Sr and low Y and Yb contents with high Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N ratios, are indicative of adakitic rocks. In combination with the enriched whole-rock Sr-Nd isotopes and the apatite Nd isotopic data, we suggest that they were generated by the partial melting of the ancient thickened mafic lower crust. The Markam and Yanggonghai felsic granitoid rocks are peraluminous and similar to typical S-type granitoids, indicating an origin from remelting of the Triassic metasedimentary rocks. Based on the temporal-spatial relationship of the late Triassic plutonic rocks in the orogenic belt, we suggest that these rocks were formed in association with the roll-back and subsequent break-off of a subducted slab of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. During the subduction, the formation of the Maoergai adakitic rocks was triggered by slab roll-back, whereas the magmatic “flare up” (ca. 216–200 Ma) was likely caused by slab break-off. This indicates that the final closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean happened in the end of the Triassic or Early Jurassic.