The multiple stages of regional triassic crustal reworking in eastern Tianshan, NW China: Evidence from the Xigebi area

Wei, Ming, Li, Haiquan, Zhou, Wenxiao, Muredili, Mahemuti, Chi Fru, Ernest ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2673-0565 and Sheldrick, Thomas 2025. The multiple stages of regional triassic crustal reworking in eastern Tianshan, NW China: Evidence from the Xigebi area. Minerals 15 (8) , 829. 10.3390/min15080829

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Abstract

The eastern Tianshan region in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is characterized by multiple complex tectonic activity of uncertain historical contribution to the construction of the CAOB. This study utilizes a multi-proxy geochemical approach to characterize I-type monzogranite pluton rocks and their associated hornblende-rich dioritic enclaves to decipher the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Xigebi area, eastern Tianshan. Zircon geochronology indicates a Triassic and Permian crystallization age of ca. 224.2 ± 1.7 Ma and ca. 268.3 ± 3.0 Ma for the host monzogranites and the dioritic enclaves, respectively. Major, trace and rare earth element distribution, together with Hf isotope systematics displaying noticeable positive εHf(t) anomalies for both rock types, point to partial melting of meta-mafic rocks in an intraplate extensional setting. The diorite was formed by the melting of lower crustal meta-igneous rocks mixed with mantle melts, and the monzogranite, predominantly from deep crustal meta-basalts contaminated by shallow metasedimentary rocks, with some degree of mixing with deeply sourced mantle magma. While both the host monzogranites and their dioritic enclaves are the products of upwelling magma, the younger Triassic monzogranites captured and preserved fragments of the dioritic Permian lower continental crust during crystallization. These multiple stages of magmatic underplating and crustal reworking associated with vertical stratification of the juvenile paleo-continental crust suggest the monzogranites and diorites indicate a change from a post-collisional setting to a regional intraplate regime on the southern margin of the CAOB.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2025-08-04
Publisher:	MDPI
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 August 2025
Date of Acceptance:	30 July 2025
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2025 11:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/180557

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