Permian bimodal dyke of Tarim Basin, NW China: Geochemical characteristics and tectonic implications

This study reports for the first time the occurrence of bimodal dyke in the Shuigongtuan area of Bachu County, Tarim Basin, NW China. Here, quartz syenite porphyry and diabase dykes occur in direct contact showing bimodal feature. The quartz syenitic porphyry is metaluminous, enriched in K2O + Na2O (10–11 wt.%) and total rare earth elements (REE), with low Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratios, high LREE/HREE, and negative Eu anomalies. The chemical characteristics and tectonic discriminative diagrams show that the rocks have geochemical affinity with A-type granites. The diabase dyke shows 45–52 wt.% SiO2 and Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio in the range of, with high total REE, high LREE/HREE ratios and lack of Eu anomalies, broadly corresponding to tholeiitic composition. Based on low Y/Nb (as low as 0.4, and less than 1.2), enrichment in LILE and HFSE, and uniform Nb-enrichment patterns in spider diagram for the quartz syenitic porphyry, together with the geochemical patterns of the diabases, this biomodal association is interpreted to be derived from a mantle source and formed under typical within-plate environment. The quartz syenitic porphyry and diabase have Daly gap of 46 wt.%–67 wt.% in SiO2, which is explained through formation under bimodal rifting. The quartz syenitic dyke probably formed during Early Permian (277 Ma) and has geochemical affinity with the Xiaohaizi syenitic body. We propose that magmas sourced from the mantle intruded into middle–upper crust and were emplaced as dykes, which indicate large-scale extension during the Permian in Tarim Basin. The bimodal dyke has genetic affinity with the huge volume of Permian basalts and igneous rocks (248–292 Ma) that occur in the Tarim Basin. The magmatism manifests the culmination of the major thermal event in the Tarim Basin.