Evolution of calc-alkaline to alkaline magmatism through Carboniferous convergence to Permian transcurrent tectonics, western Chinese Tianshan

Abstract

Continuous magmatic activity occurred in the western Chinese Tianshan, Central Asia, from the Carboniferous to the Permian, i.e. before and after the Late Carboniferous amalgamation of Junggar and the Yili Blocks. Zircon U-Pb LA-ICPMS and Ar-Ar data reveal a coincidence in time between regional wrench faulting and granitoid emplacement. Permian post-collisional granitoids crop out within or at the margins of large-scale dextral strike-slip shear zones, some of them show synkinematic fabrics. The whole rock geochemical features of the Early-Middle Permian granitoids indicate an evolution from high-K calc-alkaline towards alkaline series. In other places of the North Tianshan, alkaline magmatism occurred together with deep marine sedimentation within elongated troughs controlled by wrench faults. Therefore, in contrast with previous interpretations that forwarded continental rift or mantle plume hypotheses, the coexistence of diverse magmatic sources during the same tectonic episode suggests that post-collisional lithosphere-scale transcurrent shearing tightly controlled the magmatic activity during the transition from convergent margin to intraplate anorogenic processes. © Springer-Verlag 2009.