The tectono-magmatic evolution of the West Junggar terrane (NW China) unravelled by U–Pb ages of detrital zircons in modern river sands

The West Junggar terrane (WJT) is an outstanding laboratory for studying the tectonic evolution of the Junggar–Balkhash Ocean, because it contains widespread Paleozoic magmatism in different tectonic settings. We attempt to reconstruct the tectono-magmatic evolution of WJT through U–pb analysis of detrital zircons from three modern river sand samples from the Harabura, Baibuxie, and Aletengyemule rivers in the Barleik Mountains of the central WJT. A total of 232 concordant spots show Th/U ratios of 0.14–1.69, typical of igneous origin, and they contain abundant Paleozoic (96%) and few Precambrian (4%) ages, with major age populations at 450–530, 400–430, 320–380, and 265–320 Ma. The first two groups may be derived from the early subduction- and accretion-related magmatic rocks of the WJT, whereas the third group is congruent with magmatic activities related to the final subduction and basin-filling processes within a framework of the remnant Junggar–Balkhash Ocean. By combining with the regional data, the last group of magmatic events is referred to as post-subduction magmatism. The missing Mesozoic–Cenozoic magmatism clearly indicates a pre-Permian closure for the Junggar–Balkhash Ocean, nearly coeval with the closure of other oceans in the southwestern Palaeo-Asian Ocean.