Early palaeozoic arc-continent collision in East Kunlun, northern Tibet: evidence from the minerology, geochemistry, and geochronology of the Adatan garnet amphibolites

The evolution of the Tethys is one of the key issues in revealing the global ocean-continent transition tectonic process. The East Kunlun Orogenic Belt (E-KOB) in the northern Tibetan Plateau witnessed the subduction-accretion process of the Proto- and Palaeo-Tethyan Oceans formed a trench-arc-back arc basin system. Thus, this back arc basin is a window for exploring the tectonic evolution of the Tethys. In this study, the Adatan garnet amphibolites and the host paragneiss were investigated and used to constrain the evolution of the back arc basin. The mineralogical observations and microstructure of the garnet amphibolite suggest the successive formation of three mineral assemblages: a Hb + Pl + Ilm inclusion assemblage within garnet cores, a Grt + Pl + Hb + Bit + Phe matrix assemblage, and a retrograde assemblage of white-eye coronas around the garnet. The thermobarometric calculations suggest a clockwise P-T path with peak metamorphic conditions of 10.1–12.6 kbar and 715–830°C and a subsequent near-isothermal decompression process. The geochemistry indicates that the protolith of the garnet amphibolites was formed in a subduction-related tectonic setting with enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB) geochemical characteristics. U-Pb zircon dating reveals that the crystallization age of the garnet amphibolite’s protolith is ca. 457–452 Ma. Based on field occurrences, the protolith of the amphibolite was probably mafic dikes that intruded into the paragneiss due to subduction of the back-arc basin. Both the garnet amphibolite and gneissic rocks experienced contemporaneous metamorphism at ca. 420–410 Ma, suggesting that a crustal thickening event occurred due to closure of the back-arc basin and arc-continent collision. Based on the above evidence and the results of previous studies, it can be concluded that the Qimantagh back arc basin involved opening, subduction, and closure tectonic processes at ca. 486 Ma, ca. 460 Ma and ca. 420–410 Ma, respectively.