Neoproterozoic geodynamics in NW India – evidence from Erinpura granites in the South Delhi Fold Belt

Erinpura Granites form the basement for the Neoproterozoic Malani Igneous Suite in NW India. Based on this study, the Erinpura granites can be divided into Erinpura-East (gneissic fabric), a belt parallel to the southern sector of the South Delhi Fold Belt, and Erinpura-West (magmatic fabrics). EPMA dating on monazites gives a time frame of 890 to 860 Ma for crystallization of both types. The geochemically homogeneous peraluminous S-type granites with ε_Nd values of −2.1 to −10.8 are interpreted as melting products of Archaean crust. REE pattern follows the pattern of the average continental crust, but Erinpura-East samples are more fractionated with steeper HREE depletion indicating melting in a deeper crustal level. A thermal pulse between 835 and 820 Ma constrains the timing of deformation in granite-gneisses during uplift along thrust planes, coeval with shear-bound exhumation of high-grade metamorphic rocks and initiated by delamination of the lower crust in this southern sector of the South Delhi Fold Belt. This is in contrast to the northern sector of the SDFB with arrested orogenic development and without considerable delamination or erosion of the lower crust. Latest movement related to the 200 Ma tectono-magmatic history overlaps with initiation of rifting during the Malani igneous event. A change from S-type to A-type granites and shift of isotopic signatures to ε_Nd values of −2.8 to −1.7 indicate substantial contribution of asthenospheric material in the Malani melting process.