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Geochronological and mineral chemical constraints on the age and formation conditions of the leucogranite in the Mawat ophiolite, Northeastern of Iraq: insight to sync-subduction zone granite

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Abstract

Daraban leucogranite occurs as cactus-like dykes hosted in serpentinized harzburgite in the mantle section of the Mawat ophiolite, Kurdistan region, northeastern Iraq. It has a primary mineral assemblage of quartz + orthoclase + albite + tourmaline + muscovite, with Mg-rich biotite, phlogopite, zircon, ilmenite–titanohematite exsolution, xenotime, and monazite as the most abundant accessory minerals. New laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–(Th)–Pb dating of zircon, monazite, and xenotime reveal a single episode of leucogranite magmatism in the Mawat ophiolite at 92.6 ± 1.2 Ma. These data indicate that the intrusion ages of leucogranite rocks postdate the 105 ± 5 Ma formation age of Mawat ophiolite obtained by K–Ar hornblende method. The leucogranite magma originated by anatexis of pelagic sediments during the late Cretaceous subduction in the Neo-Tethys Ocean, leading to the formation of the Mawat ophiolite as part of the main Zagros ophiolite belt in Iraq and Iran. Tourmaline and biotite from leucogranite dykes were examined regarding their microchemistry and formation environment. Electron microprobe studies show that the tourmalines form mainly dravite–schorl solid solutions with a tendency to schorl compositions. Biotites in the leucogranite have bimodal composition represents by phlogopite and Mg-rich biotite. The tourmaline and biotite compositions, as well as field observations, appear to exclude a late-stage magmatic differentiation origin for the leucogranite. A probable source is S-type granitic magma rich in boron that resulted from the anatexis of silica-rich Ca-poor subduction wedge sediments like those of the Qulqula group. This intruded the ophiolites during the subduction stage. Calculated biotite and Fe–Ti oxide equilibria indicate that the parent magma formed along the subduction zone and solidified in the mantle wedge at a pressure 3.8–4.2 kbar, equivalent to 12.5–13.8 km depth.

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Acknowledgements

YO Mohammad is grateful to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Kurdistan Regional Government for providing a scholarship award which helped in producing this work. Thanks to the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, for inviting and hosting the first author to prepare his post-doctorate research. DH Cornell is highly appreciated for isotope analysis and comments on the early draft. The reviews of two anonymous reviewers enhanced the quality of the paper.

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  1. Department of Geology, School of Science, Faculty of Science and Science Education, University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

    Yousif O. Mohammad & Jabbar H. Qaradaghi

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 460, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Yousif O. Mohammad

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a and b Concordia age results for several zircon and monazite standards analysed in the same run as our analyses. (DOCX 19 kb)

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Mohammad, Y.O., Qaradaghi, J.H. Geochronological and mineral chemical constraints on the age and formation conditions of the leucogranite in the Mawat ophiolite, Northeastern of Iraq: insight to sync-subduction zone granite. Arab J Geosci 9, 608 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2630-4

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