Cadomian tectonic evolution of Iran: records of an unusually hot and broad extensional convergent margin on the northern margin of Gondwana
International Geology Review, vol.66, no.7, pp.1352-1372, 2024 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 66 Issue: 7
- Publication Date: 2024
- Doi Number: 10.1080/00206814.2023.2238219
- Journal Name: International Geology Review
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Geobase, INSPEC, Pollution Abstracts
- Page Numbers: pp.1352-1372
- Keywords: active margin, Cadomian, Kariznou region, NE Iran, Proto-Tethys Ocean
- Karadeniz Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
The continental crust of Iran is dominated by abundant calc-alkaline and alkaline plutonic and volcanic rocks and by rifted basins filled with mostly terrigenous sedimentary rocks that formed at a Late Ediacaran to Cambrian extensional convergent plate margin along the northern margin of Gondwana. Here we present new zircon U–Pb age, geochemical, and isotopic data from plutonic (granite-granodiorite) and metamorphic (gneiss) rocks in the Kariznou region of NE Iran to provide insights into the nature of the Cadomian convergent margin of Iran. Geochemical data indicate calc-alkaline signatures, characterized by strong depletions in Nb, Ta, P, and Ti and arc-like trace element patterns. New zircon U–Pb ages show that calc-alkaline granitoids and granitic gneiss formed at ~564 to 537 Ma and 538 Ma, respectively. Bulk rock Sr-Nd isotopic data of calc-alkaline rocks have εNd(t) = –5.42 to −5.53 and −6.93 to −7.43 for granite and gneiss, respectively. The gneisses show stronger interaction with and/or re-melting of older continental crust than do granitic rocks. We interpret Kariznou magmatic rocks as forming in association with strong extension accompanied by crustal assimilation. Extension initiated ~570 Ma with the deposition of Late Ediacaran sediments, and magmatism began at 545–535 Ma, generating calc-alkaline magmas. The tectonomagmatic evolution of the Kariznou region encapsulates the prolonged transition of Cadomian Iran from a strongly extensional convergent margin, possibly as a result of oblique oceanic subduction and slab roll-back of the subducting Proto-Tethys oceanic lithosphere, culminating in the formation of an Early Palaeozoic passive margin on the northern side of Gondwana.