Geochemical characteristics of Proterozoic granite magmatism from Southern Granulite Terrain, India: Implications for Gondwana

摘要

Granitoid intrusions occur widely in the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) of India, particularly within the Cauvery Suture Zone (CSZ), which is considered as the trace of the Neoproterozoic Mozambique ocean closure. Here we present the petrological and geochemical features of 19 granite plutons across thethree major tectonic blocks of the terrain. Our data show a wide variation in the compositions of these intrusions from alkali feldspathic syenite to granite. The whole rock geochemistry of these intrusions displays higher concentrations of SiO2, FeO*, K2O, Ba, Zr, Th, LREE and low MgO, Na2O, Ti, P, Nb, Y and HREEa??s. The granitoids are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous in nature revealing both I-type and A-type origin. In tectonic discrimination plots, the plutons dominantly show volcanic arc and syn-collisional as well as post-collisional affinity. Based on the available age data together withgeochemical constrains, we demonstrate that the granitic magmatism in the centre and south of the terrain is mostly associated with the Neoproterozoic subductiona??collisiona??accretiona??orogeny, followed by extensional mechanism of Gondwana tectonics events. Similar widespread granitic activity has also beendocumented in the Arabian Nubian shield, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Antarctica, providing similarities for the reconstruction of the crustal fragments of Gondwana supercontinent followed by Pan-African orogeny.