Combined analysis on information of xenocrystic/inherited zircons within igneous rocks of Northern Xinjiang in northwestern China: imaging the deep crustal components through time

Inherited/xenocrystic zircons entrained in magmas offer a unique opportunity to identify cryptic magmatic episodes in the deep crust and thus to image lithospheric thickening and crustal evolution. We investigated zircon xenocrysts within igneous rocks (mostly granitoids) from the Northern Xinjiang region in the southwestern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) to evaluate their potential as a probe of crust evolution, by using the previously ignored information of our newly obtained and compiled dataset of xenocrystic/inherited zircons (e.g., U-Pb age and Hf-O isotopic data). Different ancient age distributions of these zircons and the varying U-Pb ages and heterogeneous Hf isotopes demonstrate the ancient magmatic pulses in the crust of NW CAOB. Combined with the information from detrital zircons, and through the published plate motion models, we further compare these ancient age peaks in variable time-slices, e.g., from Proterozoic to Paleozoic, to interpret the recycling and transport of continental material. This innovative approach enhances our understanding of orogenic processes, shedding light on imaging the recycling and transport of deep continental materials.