Paleozoic cherts from the Mianl and the Erlangping ophiolite zones of the Qinling orogenic belt are characterized by low Si/Al ratios (52.14-683.52 in the Mianle cherts, 12.29-58.62 in the Erlangping cherts), Fe2O3 (0.01-0.35 and 0.02-1.24) and high Al2O3/(Al2O3+Fe2O3) ratios (0.82-0.99 and 0.83-0.99). The negative correlation between Si2O and Al2O3 in the cherts reflects the important role of terrigenous components. The Erlangping cherts have Lan/Cen=0.9-1.15 and Ce/Ce*=0.95-1.15 with low contents of V, Ni and Cu, consistent with those of cherts forming on the continental margin. In contrast, the Ce/Ce* ratios of the Mianle cherts range from 0.71 to 1.18 and Lan/Cen from 0.88 to 1.43 with slightly high V, Ni and Cu, which are similar to cherts found in the mid-ocean ridges and pelagic basins. Combined with the features of basic lavas associated with the cherts, it is suggested that during the Paleozoic, when the back-arc basin represented by the Erlangping ophiolite commenced shrinking in size in the mid-Ordovician, the southern Qinling was still in an extensional regime and finally grew into a new limited oceanic basin in the early Carboniferous.
LA-ICPMS U-Pb zircon dating of the Sanpinggou, Gangou and Fengzishan granitoids in the Douling Group of the Eastern Qinling yields ages of 760-685 Ma, which represents a strong tectono-magmatic event in the southern Qinling during the late Neoproterozoic. Geochemical data show that these intrusions have wide compositions ranging from minor gabbros through diorites to granodiorites. They are relatively enriched in LILE, poor in HFSE and strongly depleted in Nb and Ta, displaying affinities of Ⅰ-type granites formed in an active continental margin with oceanic subduction. In contrast to granitoids, gabbros and enclaves in the granitoids have higher REE abundances, relatively flat REE patterns, lower LILE, slightly higher HFSE and more depletion in Nb and Ta. All these suggest that the gabbros were formed by partial melting of the upper mantle above the subduction zone and the granitoids by the partial melting of the lower crust. Combined with regional geological data, the subduction-related granitoids in the Douling Group, together with the Tuwushan A-type granite with an age of 725 Ma and contemporaneous basic dikes in the Wudang Block, provide evidence for local subduction of oceanic basins between different blocks during the rifting in the Southern Qinling in the Neoproterozoic. Thus, the coexistences of various magmatic rocks formed in different tectonic environments indicate a complicated tectonic evolution and variety of tectonic frameworks in the Qinling area in the Neoproterozoic.
