Contrasting zircon morphology and UPb systematics in peralkaline and metaluminous post-orogenic granite complexes of the Arabian Shield, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Uzircon ages are reported for seven metaluminous-to-peralkaline post-orogenic granites from the Late Proterozoic Arabian Shield of Saudi Arabia. Zircons from the metaluminous rocks are prismatic, with length-to-width ratios of ∼ 2–4: 1 and small pyramidal terminations. In contrast, zircons from three of the four peralkaline complexes either lack well-developed prismatic faces (are pseudo-octahedral) or are anhedral. Some zircons from the peralkaline granites contain inherited radiogenic Pb and have very high common Pb contents ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb < 150), making the UPb method poorly suited for determining the age of these rocks. Zircons in the metaluminous granites do not contain inheritance and yield well-defined concordia intercepts. The span of ages of the seven complexes (670-470 Ma) indicates that post-orogenic granitic magmatism was not a singular event in the Arabian Shield but rather occurred as multiple intrusive episodes from the Late Proterozoic to the Middle Ordovician.