Baddeleyite U-Pb age and whole-rock geochemical characteristics of ∼ 1670 Ma diabase dyke in the Shennongjia area: Implications for the tectonic setting of northern Yangtze Craton during the late Paleoproterozoic

The Shennongjia Group in the northern margin of the Yangtze Craton consists mainly of thick carbonate rocks interlayered with some intervals of volcanic and terrigenous clastic rocks. With the geochronological achievements in recent years, the depositional age of this group can be constrained into the time span of 1400–1000 Ma at present, belonging to the Mesoproterozoic Ectasian period. It is also a potential candidate interval for the “Undefined System/Period” in the Regional Chronostratigraphic Chart of China. According to the 1:200,000-scale conventional regional geological survey in the ‘1960–1970 s’, at the northwest side of the dominant peak of the Mt. Shennongding, it shows a ring-shaped gabbro-diabase dyke intruded in these Ectasian formations. However, due to the lack of comprehensive studies, there are lots of controversy both about the intrusion time and the tectonic setting of the mafic dyke.In this study, by means of the LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP method successfully, the baddeleyite from the Banbiyan gabbro-diabase dyke yielded gained the weighted average 207Pb/206Pb age 1668.3 ± 5 Ma (MSWD = 1, N = 53) and 1667.8 ± 7 Ma (MSWD = 0.7, N = 23), respectively. It represents an unambiguous late Paleoproterozoic Statherian Period magmatic event in northern Yangtze Craton. Further, for the first time, it indicates the existence of the geological records prior to ∼ 1.67 Ga in the Shennongjia area.In addition, Banbiyan gabbro-diabase samples have relatively concentrated SiO2 (48.33 % to 49.65 %) and high whole iron content (10.25 % to 12.78 %). They show Na2O + K2O ranging from 2.9 % to 4.64 % and TiO2 from 1.36 % to 1.62 %. All samples are enriched in LILE, e.g., Rb, K, and Ba. The REE pattern shows a moderately right-inclined curve between E-MORB and OIB. These geochemiacal characteristics are agreed with contemporaneous magmatic event in the southwestern Yangtze Craton, indicating a within-plate rifting background and should correspond to the rifting of the Columbia Supercontinent.