Scientific article
English

Zircon U-Pb, geochemical and isotopic constraints on the age and origin of A- and I-type granites and gabbro-diorites from NW Iran

Published inLithos, vol. 374-375, no. 105688
Publication date2020
Abstract

The continental crust of NWIran is intruded by Late Cretaceous I-type granites and gabbro-diorites aswell as Paleocene A-type granites. SIMS and LA-ICPMS U-Pb analyses of zircons yield ages of 100–92 Ma (Late Cretaceous) for I-type granites and gabbro-diorites and 61–63 Ma (Paleocene) for A-type granites. Late Cretaceous gabbrodiorites (including mafic microgranular enclaves; MMEs) from NW Iran show variably evolved signatures. They show depletion in Nb and Ta on N-MORB-normalized trace-element spider-diagrams and have high Th/ Yb ratios, suggesting their precursor magmas were generated in a subduction-related environment. Gabbrodiorites have variable zircon εHf(t) values of +1.2 to +8, δ18O of 6.4 to 7.4‰ and bulk rock εNd(t) of −1.4 to ~+4.9. The geochemical and isotopic data attest tomelting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) to generate near-primitive gabbros with radiogenic Nd isotopes (εNd(t) = ~ +4.9) and high Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios, similar to mantle melts (Nb/Ta ~ 17 and Zr/Hf ~ 38). These mafic melts underwent further fractionation and mixing with crustal melts to generate Late Cretaceous evolved gabbro-diorites. Geochemical data for I-type granites indicate both Nb-Ta negative and positive anomalies alongwith enrichment in light REEs. These rocks are peraluminous and have variable bulk-rock εNd(t) (−1.4 to +1.3), zircon εHf (t) (+2.8 to+10.4) and δ18O (4.7–7.3‰) values, but radiogenic bulk rock Pb isotopes. The geochemical and isotopic signatures of these granites suggest interaction of mantle-derived maficmagmas (similar to near-primitive Oshnavieh gabbros) with middle-upper crust through assimilation-fractional crystallization (AFC) to produce Late Cretaceous I-type granites. Paleocene A-type granites have distinctive geochemical features compared to I-type granitoids, including enrichment in Nb-Ta, high bulk rock εNd(t) (+3.3 to +3.9) and zircon εHf(t) (+5.1−+9.9) values. Alkaline granites are ferroan; they have lowMgO, CaO, Sr, Ba and Eu concentrations and high total Fe2O3, K2O, Na2O, Al2O3, Ga, Zr, Nb-Ta, Th and rare earth element (REE) abundances and Ga/Al ratios. These rocks might be related to fractionation of a melt derived from a sub-continental lithospheric mantle, but which interacted with asthenospherederived melts. We suggest that subduction initiation and the resultant slab roll-back caused extreme extension in the overlying Iranian plate, induced convection in the mantle wedge and led to the decompression melting of SCLM. Rising mantle-derived magmas assimilatedmiddle-upper crustal rocks. Fractionating mantle-derivedmagmas and contaminationwith crustal components produced evolved gabbro-diorites and I-type granites. In contrast, asthenospheric upwelling during the Paleocene provided heat for melting and interaction with SCLM to generate the precursor melts to the A-type granites.

Keywords
  • Granitoids
  • Late Cretaceous
  • Subduction initiation
  • Extension
  • Iran
Citation (ISO format)
MOGHADAM, Hadi Shafaii et al. Zircon U-Pb, geochemical and isotopic constraints on the age and origin of A- and I-type granites and gabbro-diorites from NW Iran. In: Lithos, 2020, vol. 374-375, n° 105688. doi: 10.1016/j.lithos.2020.105688
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Article (Published version)
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Journal ISSN0024-4937
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