Origin of late Carboniferous highly fractionated high-K calc-alkaline I-type granites from the eastern Pontides (Şiran, northern Turkey)

The Sakarya Zone (northern Turkey) is characterized by the emplacement of voluminous granitoids during the late Carboniferous. In this study, we present geological, U-Pb zircon age, elemental abundance and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data on two highly evolved Carboniferous granite bodies within the Early to Late Jurassic volcaniclastic rocks in the Şiran region. The largest body forms a roughly E-W trending ~30 km long and 0.5–2.5 km wide stripe the southern boundary of which is a southvergent thrust, and the other one a subcircular outcrop, ~5 by ~3 km, unconformably overlain by Lower Jurassic volcaniclastic rocks. Their emplacement ages are constrained by LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon dating to 310–313 ± 7 Ma (2σ, late Carboniferous). The granitic rocks consist of quartz, microperthitic K-feldspar, plagioclase, and minor biotite, and are characterized by highly evolved compositions with high concentrations of SiO₂, Na₂O, K₂O and Ba, and low concentrations of TiO₂, Fe₂O₃*, MgO, CaO, P₂O₅ and Sr. Geochemical characteristics indicate a highly fractionated high-K calc-alkaline peraluminous I-type affinity. Chondrite-normalized rare-earth element (REE) patterns are slightly fractionated, with light REEs enriched with respect to middle and heavy ones, and showing variable negative Eu anomalies. On the N-MORB-normalized multi-element variation diagrams, samples display negative anomalies of Ba, Nb, Sr, P, Zr, Eu, and Ti, and positive anomalies of K, and Pb. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and εNd values are 0.70432–0.70610 and −6 to −11, respectively, similar to other Carboniferous high-K calc-alkaline granites and mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the region. The compositional characteristics of the Şiran granites can be explained mainly by fractional crystallization involving hornblende, plagioclase, and biotite and without the involvement of significant amounts of garnet. There is no need to invoke magma mixing and/or melting of a heterogeneous source to account for the geochemical variation. We propose that the late Carboniferous granites formed by remelting of middle- to high-K calc-alkaline mafic rocks at lower crustal depths, followed by extensive fractionation at the upper crustal depths. A thorough review of data from the literature reveals that highly fractionated granites constitute a significant component of the late Carboniferous granites in the Eastern Pontides.