Paleozoic post-collisional magmatism and high-temperature granulite-facies metamorphism coupling with lithospheric delamination of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt, NW China

Lithosphere extension and upwelling of asthenosphere at post-collisional stage of an orogenic cycle generally induce diverse magmatism and/or associated high-temperature metamorphism. Nevertheless, the intimate coexistence of post-collisional magmatic activity and high-temperature metamorphism is rare. In this contribution, a lithological assemblage composing of diverse magmatic rocks deriving from distinct magma sources and coeval high-temperature metamorphism was identified in eastern Kunlun. Petrography, ages, mineral chemistry and whole-rock geochemistry demonstrated that those intimately coexistent diverse rocks were genetically related to post-collisional extension. The garnet-bearing mafic granulites in Jinshuikou area interior of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt are mainly composed of garnet, orthopyroxene, and plagioclase, with peak metamorphic P-T conditions of similar to 701-756 degrees C and 5.6-7.0 kbar, representing a granulite-facies metamorphism at 409.7 +/- 1.7 Ma. The diverse contemporaneous magmatic rocks including hornblendites, gabbros and granites yield zircon U-Pb ages of 408.6 +/- 2.5 Ma, 413.4 +/- 4.6 Ma, and 387-407 Ma, respectively. The hornblendites show N-MORB-like REE patterns with (La/Sm)(N) values of 0.85-0.94. They have positive zircon epsilon(Hf)(t) values of 0.1-4.9 and whole-rock epsilon(Nd)(t) values of 3.9-4.7 but relatively high (Sr-87/Sr-86), values of 0.7081 to 0.7088. These features demonstrate that the hornblendites derived from a depleted asthenospheric mantle source with minor continental crustal materials in source. As for the gabbros, they exhibit arc-like elemental signatures, low zircon epsilon(Hf)(t) values (-4.3 to 2.5) and variable whole-rock epsilon(Nd)(t) values (-4.9 to 1.2) as well as high (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) values (0.7068 to 0.7126), arguing for that they were originated from partial melting of heterogeneous lithospheric mantle anteriorly metasomatized by subducted-sediment released melts. Geochemistry of the granites defines their strongly peraluminous S-type signatures. Zircons from the granites yield a large range of epsilon(Hf)(t) values ranging from -30.8 to -5.1, while the whole-rock samples yield consistent (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) values (0.7301 to 0.7342) and negative epsilon(Nd)(t) values (-10.1 to -12.4). These features indicate that the S-type granites could be generated by reworking of an ancient crust. Taken together, the penecontemporaneous magmatism and metamorphic event, demonstrated the early-middle Devonian transition from crustal thickening to extensional collapse. The post-collisional mantle-derived magmas serve as an essential driving force for the high-temperature granulite-facies metamorphism and anataxis of the crust associated with formation of S-type granite. This study not only constructs a more detail Proto-Tethys evolution process of the eastern Kunlun, but also sheds new light on better understanding the intimate relationship between magmatism and metamorphism during post-collisional extensional collapse. (C) 2021 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.