Metamorphic evolution and geological significance of Early Palaeozoic high-pressure granulites from the East Kunlun (NW China)

Granulites and eclogites are useful for revealing the thermal and tectonic evolution of orogens. Early Palaeozoic granulites and associated eclogites in the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt (EKOB) display contrasting metamorphic age. Such asynchronous granulite–eclogite associations have rarely been reported, and the geological significance of their existence remains to be further explored. In this study, petrological and geochronological techniques were used to investigate two felsic and two mafic granulites collected from the Qingshuiquan area in the eastern section of the EKOB. These rocks record similar P–T paths, which are characterized by a peak stage within suprasolidus and high-pressure (HP) granulite facies conditions (750–832°C and 10.1–12.0 kbar), followed by an initial decompression and cooling stage to subsolidus conditions (600–748°C and 6.5–8.6 kbar), and then a stage of further retrogression under greenschist facies conditions. The protoliths to these granulites are of volcanic and sedimentary origin and suggested to be a component of the continental basement unit. Metamorphic P–T paths indicate that these rocks experienced peak metamorphism at a depth of ~40 km, then cooling and uplift to a depth of ~25 km, and eventually experienced low-grade retrogression at shallow crustal levels. Cathodoluminescence images and compositional data demonstrate that the zircons in these rocks are of metamorphic origin and they crystallized at or near peak conditions. SIMS U–Pb dating of representative zircon grains yield concordant metamorphic ages of c. 490–520 Ma, with a peak value of 505 Ma on the probability density curve. These ages are similar to other 480–530 Ma ages typically retrieved from EKOB granulites and associated rocks, and are markedly older than the 400–450 Ma ages retrieved from eclogites and their host rocks. The HP granulites and eclogites of the EKOB do not show overprinting relationships. Such asynchronous characteristics imply that the two rock types formed in distinct tectonic settings and at different stages of a protracted subduction–collision process. The studied granulites are suggested to have formed in the root of a continental arc during a stage of Proto-Tethys Ocean subduction. The formation of the eclogites could be attributed to subsequent deep continental subduction.