Late Paleozoic volcanic record of the Eastern Junggar terrane, Xinjiang, Northwestern China: Major and trace element characteristics, Sr–Nd isotopic systematics and implications for tectonic evolution

The Eastern Junggar terrane of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt includes a Late Paleozoic assemblage of volcanic rocks of mixed oceanic and arc affinity, located in a structurally complex belt between the Siberian plate, the Kazakhstan block, and the Tianshan Range. The early history of these rocks is not well constrained, but the Junggar terrane was part of a Cordilleran-style accreted arc assemblage by the Late Carboniferous. Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks of the northern part of the east Junggar terrane are divided, from base to top, into the Early Devonian Tuoranggekuduke Formation (Fm.), Middle Devonian Beitashan Fm., Middle Devonian Yundukala Fm., Late Devonian Jiangzierkuduke Fm., Early Carboniferous Nanmingshui Fm. and Late Carboniferous Batamayineishan Fm. We present major element, trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic analyses of 64 (ultra)mafic to intermediate volcanic rock samples of these formations. All Devonian volcanic rocks exhibit remarkably negative Nb, Ta and Ti anomalies on the primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagrams, and are enriched in more highly incompatible elements relative to moderately incompatible ones. Furthermore, they have subchondritic Nb/Ta ratios, and their Zr/Nb and Sm/Nd ratios resemble those of MORBs, characteristics of arc-related volcanic rocks. The Early Devonian Tuoranggekuduke Fm., Middle Devonian Beitashan Fm., and Middle Devonian Yundukala Fm. are characterized by tholeiitic and calc-alkaline affinities. In contrast, the Late Devonian Jiangzierkuduke Fm. contains a large amount of tuff and sandstone, and its volcanic rocks have dominantly calc-alkaline affinities. We therefore propose that the Jiangzierkuduke Fm. formed in a mature island arc setting, and other Devonian Fms. formed in an immature island arc setting. The basalts from the Nanmingshui Fm. have geochemical signatures between N-MORB and island arcs, indicating that they formed in a back-arc setting. In contrast, the volcanic rocks from the Batamayineishan Fm. display geochemical characteristics of continental intraplate volcanic rocks formed in an extensional setting after collision. Thus, we propose a model that involves a volcanic arc formed by northward subduction of the ancient Junggar ocean and amalgamation of different terranes during the Late Paleozoic to interpret the formation of the Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the Eastern Junggar terrane, and the Altai and Junggar terranes fully amalgamated into a Cordilleran-type orogen during the end of Early Carboniferous to the Middle–Late Carboniferous.