Petrogenesis of early Paleozoic granitoids in the Dunhuang Block, NW China: Insights into magma evolution and crustal thickening

The occurrence of adakitic rocks can provide insight into the evolution of continental crust and deep geodynamic processes in subduction zones. In this paper, we investigated zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotope, whole-rock major and trace elements, and whole-rock Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes of the Lianghu quartz diorites and Shigong monzogranites in the Dunhuang Block, to understand their petrogenesis and tectonic setting as well as the tectonic evolution of the Dunhuang Block in the early Paleozoic. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating results suggest that the Lianghu quartz diorites and Shigong monzogranites were emplaced at ca. 455 ± 3 Ma and 431 ± 3 Ma, respectively. The Ordovician quartz diorites exhibit relatively high Sr (734–904 ppm) contents, negative-to-negligible Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.87–0.99), high Sr/Y (52.5–124) ratios, but low Yb (0.68–1.32 ppm) and Y (7.27–14.0 ppm) contents. Moreover, they exhibit relatively high Mg# (52.0–54.7) values, Cr (23.1–88.0 ppm) and Ni (15.0–53.3 ppm) contents, similar to those of adakitic rocks originating from subducted oceanic crust. The quartz diorites display low initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.703464–0.704783), negative εNd(t) of −3.2 to −1.3, and positive εHf(t) of +3.8 to +8.0, with two-stage model ages for the Nd and Hf systems of 1.12 to 1.09 Ga and 1.17 to 0.91 Ga, respectively, indicative of a heterogeneous magma sources. They have relatively high radiogenic 206Pb/204Pb(t) (18.219–19.066), 207Pb/204Pb(t) (15.616–15.669), and 208Pb/204Pb(t) (39.042–39.198), signifying that some subduction-related materials (e.g., ocean island basalts) may be involved as sources. These characteristics indicate that the Lianghu quartz diorites were derived from the partial melting of subducted oceanic slabs (sediments + fluids), and that they underwent subsequent interaction with peridotite in the mantle wedge, with limited assimilation of crustal materials during magma ascent. The Silurian monzogranites contain high Sr content (655–674 ppm) but very low contents of Y (2.49–4.19 ppm) and Yb (0.24–0.37 ppm), yielding high Sr/Y ratios (161–263); those values, together with low MgO (0.30–0.41 wt.%), Mg# (40.6–41.4), Cr (2.39–3.28 ppm), and Ni (2.19–2.95 ppm) contents, resemble those of thickened lower crust-derived adakitic rocks. They show εHf(t) and εNd(t) values of −2.5 to +3.0 and −3.6, with the respective two-stage model ages of 1.55 to 1.20 Ga and 1.32 Ga. Their low Pb values, 206Pb/204Pb(t) = 18.184, 207Pb/204Pb(t) = 15.595, and 208Pb/204Pb(t) =