Changing Carboniferous Arc Magmatism in the Ossa-Morena Zone (Southwest Iberia): Implications for the Variscan Belt

: Carboniferous magmatism in late Gondwana the the Carboniferous a new tectonic model the Iberia Variscan belt as the site of coeval collisional and accretionary orogenic processes. Early Carboniferous plutonic rocks of southwest Iberia indicate arc magmatism in Gondwana. The Ossa-Morena Zone (OMZ) acted as the upper plate in relation to the geometry of the Paleotethys subduction. This active accretionary-extensional margin was progressively involved in a collisional phase during the Late Carboniferous. Together, the É vora Massif and the Beja Igneous Complex include three successive stages of bimodal magmatism, with a chemical composition indicative of a long-lived subduction process lasting from the Tournaisian to the Moscovian in the OMZ. The earliest stage of arc magmatism includes the Tournaisian Beja and Torr ã o gabbro-dioritic rocks of the Layered Gabbroic Sequence. We present new geochemical and Nd isotopic and U-Pb geochronological data for magmatic rocks from the Main (Visean-Serpukhovian) and Latest (Bashkirian-Moscovian) stages of arc magmatism. Visean Toca Moura trachyandesite and rhyolites and Bashkirian Baleiz ã o porphyries and Alc á çovas quartz diorite share enriched, continental-crust like characteristics, as indicated by major and trace elements, mainly suggesting the addition of calc-alkaline magma from various mantle sources in a subduction-related setting Paleotethys subduction). a temporal link with Baleiz ã o porphyry. Positive ε Nd(t) values for the Carboniferous igneous rocks of the Beja Igneous Complex and the É vora gneiss dome indicate production of new juvenile crust, whereas negative ε Nd(t) values also suggest different grades of magma evolution involving crustal contamination. The production and evolution of Carboniferous continental crust in the OMZ was most likely associated with the development of an active continental margin during the convergence of the Paleotethys Ocean with Gondwana, involving juvenile materials and different grades of crustal contamination.


Introduction
The production and preservation of the juvenile continental crust are mainly associated with tectonic processes in complex zones of lithosphere-asthenosphere interplay such as convergent plate margins [1]. The recognition of the involvement of crustal and mantle sources in the generation and evolution of the juvenile continental crust may be determined using whole-rock geochemistry data [2,3] and Sm-Nd isotopes [4] from arc magmatic rocks. Mantle input in magmatic arcs and back-arc basins largely results in material being transferred to the mantle through subduction [5]. However, because recycling in subduction zones provides a substantial contribution to establishing mantle compositional heterogeneities [6], it is expected that mantle-derived magmas may have different geochemical and isotopic signatures. Furthermore, the introduction of a juvenile component into arc-related granitic rocks could influence the contribution of a more greatly enriched old continental lower crust and the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) [7,8] and even a more greatly depleted source derived from the deep asthenospheric mantle underlying the subducted oceanic lithosphere during the opening of the slab window [9].
This has been interpreted as the suture zone of the Rheic Ocean that closed in the Late Devonian [13,17] and was then reworked during the Carboniferous, while the proposed subduction of the Paleotethys Ocean was taking place [16,18]. In a recently proposed model for the tectonic evolution of southwestern Iberia [16,18], after the closure of the Rheic Ocean in Devonian times, the subduction of the Paleotethys Ocean was initiated and proceeded during the Carboniferous. According to this tectonic model, in the first place, the OMZ is regarded as having acted as the lower plate during Rheic Ocean subduction, with the formation of a Devonian magmatic arc on the Laurussia margin (Pulo do Lobo and South Portuguese zones). Later, in the Carboniferous, the OMZ formed the upper plate during the subduction of the Paleotethys Ocean, creating ideal conditions for the emergence of a new magmatic arc.
The OMZ southwestern-most domain contains extensive exposures of Carboniferous arc-related igneous rocks, which have been studied over the last 15 years [16,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Despite some progress having been achieved, the timing and viability of the tectonic setting as related to the origin of such arc magmatic rocks are not yet fully understood. Indeed, little information has been compiled or examined on the chemical composition and age of key outcrops of a Late Carboniferous volcanic-subvolcanic suite from the Beja Igneous Complex (Baleizão porphyry and Alcáçovas dioritic rocks; [30][31][32]), occupying an area of about 500 km 2 in southwestern Iberia (Figure 1b). In this paper, a sampling survey was conducted on Carboniferous magmatic rocks of the Beja Igneous Complex with the aim of complementing previous geochemical and geochronological studies. We present new results for whole-rock geochemistry (analyses of major and trace elements) and Sm-Nd isotopic geochemistry for Baleizão porphyry and Alcáçovas dioritic rocks. Furthermore, we present the first SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronology data for Alcáçovas quartz diorite. The results obtained allowed us to (i) achieve a better estimate of the time scale of Carboniferous arc magmatism in the OMZ and (ii) improve on a recently suggested tectonic model and thus provide a better understanding of the sources of arc-related magmas within the framework of Paleotethys subduction during the Carboniferous.

Geological Setting
The OMZ southwestern-most domain includes (i) the Evora Massif, representing a Carboniferous gneiss dome [34,35], and (ii) Carboniferous magmatic rocks of the Beja Igneous Complex [22,23] (Figure 1). The oldest rocks of the Évora gneiss dome are the Ediacaran siliciclastic rocks of the Série Negra Group, derived from the denudation of a Cadomian magmatic arc [36,37]. The Ediacaran Serie Negra Group is overlain by Cambrian-Ordovician siliciclastic and carbonate rocks associated with rift-related bimodal volcanic rocks [38,39]. This stratigraphy is recognized in other OMZ domains [40][41][42] where the metamorphic grade and associated extensional deformation intensity are not as great as in the Évora gneiss dome.

Results
In this study, a set of nine fresh samples of igneous rocks from the Beja Igneous Complex (Visean Toca da Moura volcano-sedimentary complex and Bashkirian Baleizão porphyries and Alcáçovas quartz dioritic rock) was analyzed for major and trace elements and Sm-Nd isotopes. Furthermore, SHRIMP U-Pb analyses were performed for the first time on magmatic zircon from Alcáçovas quartz diorite to validate the age relation with spatially associated Baleizão porphyries. Toca da Moura volcanic rocks and Baleizão porphyries were sampled from selected exposures from the River São Cristovão, the River Alcáçovas and the Pêgo do Altar Reservoir. Alcáçovas quartz diorite was sampled from a site located 2 km west of the village of Alcáçovas. Analytical results are listed in Tables S1-S3 (Supplementary Materials) and shown in   5b) in accordance with [51,52]. Groups 1 and 2 show similar abundances of fluid immobile elements such as Nb-Ta and Zr-Hf (Figure 5f,g).    Almost all samples are classified as magnesian (Figure 3c), and they vary from alkalicalcic to calcic according to the MALI index ( Figure 3d). Igneous rocks from the Beja Igneous Complex do not follow the main cotectic array (MCA in Figure 3e) or the Évora magmatism trend. Harker diagrams display a good correlation for higher silica content and scattered values for the low-silica end of the series, except for Na 2 O and K 2 O, neither of which show any correlation with SiO 2 . Both groups, igneous rocks from ca. 335 Ma and ca. 318 Ma [16], have silica-poor members (andesitic, SiO 2 < 60 wt%) associated with higher MgO, FeO, TiO 2 and CaO content than silica-rich compositions (SiO 2 > 70 wt%), having high alkali content ( Figure 4). The variability of the major element (Mg, Ca, K and Na) content of Toca da Moura mafic-intermediate volcanic rocks is probably associated with the metasomatic exchange between igneous precursors and hydrothermal fluids. Metasomatism was produced, resulting in the albitization, sericitization and carbonatization of pillow-lavas [50]. REE patterns are marked by Eu negative anomalies ( Figure 5). Trachyandesite and quartz diorite present similar patterns, which are less pronounced than those of rhyolites and porphyroids (Figure 5c,d). Almost all samples are classified as volcanic arc and syncollisional granites (Figure 5a) and plot into the field of active continental margin (Figure 5b) in accordance with [51,52]. Groups 1 and 2 show similar abundances of fluid immobile elements such as Nb-Ta and Zr-Hf (Figure 5f,g).
Porphyries contain phenocrysts of quartz, albite, K-feldspar, amphibole, and biotite, sometimes reaching 3 mm in diameter and forming mineral aggregates, surrounded by a very fine-grained quartz-feldspathic matrix with opaque minerals. In coarse-grained samples, quartz and feldspar angular intergrowths, such as those typical of granophyric texture, are recognized (granophyre). Feldspar phenocrysts almost always show hydrothermal alteration, with the growth of sericite and opaque minerals, whereas amphibole and biotite phenocrysts are partially replaced by chlorite and epidote. Sample SCV-8-18 (SiO 2 = 56 wt%), which falls into the basaltic trachyandesite field, shows a phaneritic texture, and plagioclase, amphibole, quartz and biotite are identified; it is classified as a quartz dioritic rock.

U-Pb Zircon Geochronology Data
Alcáçovas fine-grained dioritic rock (sample SCV-8-18) consists of hornblende, plagioclase, biotite, quartz and K-feldspar. It is characterized by a zircon population containing subhedral to prismatic euhedral grains (50-160 µm in diameter). Prisms are equant to moderately elongated, showing a simple internal structure characterized by concentric zoning or revealing a variable-width concentric zoned rim surrounding unzoned, banded or complex zoning cores (composite grains). A total of 22 U-Th-Pb SHRIMP analyses for sample SCV-8-18 yielded a U content ranging from 427 to 5713 ppm (Table S3, Supplementary Materials). The 15 grains in the 208 Pb/ 238 U age range ca. 327-305 Ma ( 208 Pb-corrected and with discordance < 10) yielded a weighted mean age of 317 ± 3 Ma (MSWD = 0.65; Figure 7b), which is the best estimate for the crystallization age of Alcáçovas quartz diorite. This estimation is slightly older than the age of 316 ± 4 Ma (MSWD = 1.5; Figure 7a) obtained from the lower intercept of the Concordia curve for common lead uncorrected 208 Pb/ 238 U ages (discordance < 30) and overlaps with the age of 318 ± 2 Ma recently obtained for Baleizão porphyry [16].

Discussion: Sources of the Carboniferous Magmatic Arc
The compositional variability of OMZ Carboniferous calc-alkaline magmatic rocks may reflect the contribution of various types of magma sources. There is an almost complete absence of silica of around 60 wt% (Figure 4 and Table S1), which is common for the igneous rocks from Évora magmatism. Group 1 trachyandesite (sample SCV-1-18) and the same age mafic and intermediate-mafic rocks of the Toca da Moura volcano-sedimentary complex [50], Group 2 quartz diorite (sample SCV-8-18) and the dioritic rocks of Alvito-Alcáçovas [20] represent samples with a SiO 2 content lower than 60 wt%. These rocks may represent residues in the fractionation process, whereas compositions with SiO 2 > 60 wt% correspond to differentiated liquids from Évora magmatism.
The REE-pattern is similar to that associated with previous data for Baleizão porphyries [20] (Figure 5c,d). The prominent negative Eu anomaly is indicative of plagioclase present in a residue or cumulate. Figure 5a,b show that Toca da Moura rhyolites and Baleizão porphyries (including data from [20]) have a low Nb and Ta content relative to neighboring elements, typical of subduction-related magmas [52]. For the purpose of comparison, Baleizão porphyres, Alvito-Alcáçovas dioritic rocks [20] and Toca da Moura intermediatemafic volcanic rocks [50] are also plotted in the VAG+SynCOLG field in accordance with the Nb vs. Y tectonic discriminating diagram [52] (Figure 5a), increasing the likelihood that these rocks may have been generated in magmatic arcs. Furthermore, in the Th/Yb vs. Ta/Yb diagram for basalts generated in distinct tectonic settings [51], samples of Groups 1 and 2 share the same continental arc magmatic signature as most of the plutonic rocks of the Évora gneiss dome (Figure 5b). The compositional link between Groups 1 and 2 is also demonstrated by their Primitive mantle-normalized trace elemental patterns (Figure 5e,f).
Our geochemical, isotopic and geochronological findings allowed us to (i) complement previous information about Visean and Bashkirian magmatism in the OMZ; (ii) establish the timing and the compositional changes of Carboniferous arc-related magmatism in the OMZ; and (iii) discuss the tectonic framework of OMZ Carboniferous magmatism during the process of the convergence of the Laurussian and Gondwanan continental margins; this Carboniferous arc magmatism was probably emplaced in the OMZ (upper plate) immediately after the closure of the Rheic Ocean, following the onset and development of the Paleotethys subduction. From the perspective of the temporal and spatial transition from one locally superimposed orogenic cycle to another, it may be assumed that the onset of Carboniferous OMZ arc magmatism may have overlapped chronologically with (i) the magmatic activity recognized in the South Portuguese Zone (i.e., Pyrite belt) that took place after the Laurussia-Gondwana collision (i.e., Variscan orogeny) as a result of the slab break-off of the Rheic oceanic lithosphere beneath the Laurussian margin during the Tournaisian [23]; and (ii) the production of magmatism in the Central Iberian and West Asturian-Leonese zones that mainly derived from the extensional collapse of the Variscan orogen in the Serpukhovian-Bashkirian [53][54][55], and the subsequent development of the Iberian orocline from Moscovian to Gzhelian times [56,57].
In this discussion, we assume that the geochemical and isotopic pattern of OMZ Carboniferous magmatic rocks may result from the Paleotethys subduction process (i.e., ocean-continent convergence), as observed in modern analogues of the Pacific region, and consequently, that it is not directly associated with Variscan collision (i.e., continentcontinent convergence).
Calc-alkaline magmas could have derived from melting of mélange diapirs that carried fertile subducted materials into hot regions of the supra-subduction mantle wedge under the SCLM during the Paleotethys subduction; likewise, this is described for Cordillerantype Batholiths [58]. Similar composition melts could also have resulted from the product of crustal recycling of the magmatic arc roots formed during the initial stages of Paleotethys subduction [18]. Furthermore, the origin of calc-alkaline magmas linked to the inherited compositional signature of an older Cadomian (Ediacaran) subduction process transferred to the SCLM beneath the OMZ, which then became the source, or a source component, has been recognized for other regions of Iberia [59]. Enriched magma sources derived from successive subduction processes are not easy to distinguish from each other. However, because some Carboniferous OMZ mafic rocks show negative εNd(t) values and older depleted mantle model ages than Ediacaran-Ordovician OMZ mantle-derived igneous rocks (a proxy for the isotopic composition of the SCLM beneath the OMZ; see discussion below), it may be assumed that Paleotethys subduction played a role in the contamination of the sub-continental mantle. In contrast, the presence of mafic rocks (Acebuches MORB amphibolites; [60]) with very high εNd(t) values compared to those of the SCLM under the OMZ suggests the involvement of a putative highly depleted mantle source. This high depleted magma probably derived from the asthenospheric mantle beneath the subducted Paleotethys ridge. Thus, the different components that may have contributed with depleted or enriched magmas derived from the mantle do not seem to have been the only cause of the compositional variability of Carboniferous arc-related magmatic rocks. The contribution of enriched magma sources is most likely derived from the partial melting of older (Ediacaran-Cambrian) metasedimentary and metaigneous country rocks with a calc-alkaline signature [24], also indicative of crustal contamination in the Carboniferous.
The evolution of the juvenile basaltic magmas from which the ca. 350 Ma Beja and Torrão mafic plutonic rocks (Figure 9) derived was probably associated with a degree of crustal contamination during ascent [22] and may have been dominated by fractional crystallization of mafic phases and plagioclase, combined with variable degrees of assimilation of silicate melts and hydrous fluids due to subduction of the oceanic lithosphere [23]. The origin and emplacement of the Layered Gabbroic Sequence have been ascribed to a process of slab break-off that followed the Devonian subduction of the Rheic oceanic lithosphere and the collision of Laurussia and Gondwana [22,23]. As an alternative, we propose a distinct tectonic model for the emplacement of the Layered Gabbroic Sequence involving the first stage of a continental magmatic arc in the OMZ due to Paleotethys subduction (Figure 10a). Thus, immediately after the closing of the Devonian Rheic Ocean, the subduction of the Paleotethys oceanic lithosphere under the OMZ (upper plate) became active in Tournaisian times, resulting in the earliest stage of the emplacement of the arc-derived magmas of the Layered Gabbroic Sequence [16,18] (Figure 10b). As a consequence, the overriding of a mantle anomaly or enhanced decompression melting of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle could have favored extension and magma emplacement in the OMZ upper crust, causing volcanism in Tournaisian marine basins [65,66].

Visean-Serpukhovian: Main Stage of Arc-Magmatism
According to our tectonic model, the oblique convergence of Laurussia and Gondwana persisted during the Visean-Serpukhovian with Paleotethys ridge subduction under the OMZ [16]. As a result, the development of a slab window beneath the Gondwanan margin favored asthenosphere upwelling [18,60]. The newly established profound thermal anomaly this produced could have triggered the partial melting of crustal materials and lithosphere D 2 extension (Figure 10c), creating the right conditions for the development of gneiss domes in the OMZ [33,34,43]. The emplacement of voluminous calc-alkaline magmas from which the ca. 339-335 Ma granitic and gabbro-dioritic rocks of the Évora gneiss dome [18,24,25,34,44] derived is coeval with the intrusion of maficultramafic rocks with a transitional composition between mid-ocean ridge basalts and island arc basalts [60,75] of ca. 340-332 Ma [68] Beja-Acebuches amphibolites (Figure 9). Most Almansor and Valverde granitic rocks and migmatites present negative εNd(t) values ranging from −1.6 to −9.2 [24] and Nd model ages of 1191 to 2299 Ma, with some samples overlapping the range defined by Ediacaran Série Negra metasedimentary rocks (εNd(t) = −4.1 to −10.3 and T DM ages = 1491-1854 Ma [36]) and Cambrian Early Rift Event rhyolitic rocks (εNd(t)= −2.9 to −13.2 and T DM ages = 1426-1789 Ma [37]) ( Figure 8). These negative εNd (t) values, which, together with Paleoproterozoic model ages, characterize Carboniferous Almansor and Valverde granitic rocks, indicate the involvement of ancient crustal material. The Cadomian basement is the most likely source of this because juvenile arc magmas associated with Neoproterozoic magmatic arc activity were contaminated by the Eburnian crust of the West African craton [76]. In turn, other samples of Almansor and Valverde granitic rocks and migmatites follow the flat trend of less LREE-enriched ca. 337 Ma Hospitais quartz dioritic rocks displaying negative εNd(t) values from −1.9 to −3.2 [25] (Figure 9) and Nd model ages ranging from 1219 to 1769 Ma ( Figure 8). Hospitais quartz diorites probably derived from parental mafic magmas formed in a metasomatized mantle wedge above a long-lived subduction zone or the mixing of mafic melts from a depleted mantle source and anatexis melts derived from Cambrian felsic metaigneous sources [25]. Conversely, Beja-Acebuches amphibolites of the same age present positive εNd(t) values from +8.0 to +9.2 [60] and geologically unexpected model ages, which are significantly younger than their Carboniferous crystallization ages (Figure 8), indicative of a juvenile mantle source highly depleted in LREE. In contrast with this evidence of mantle rejuvenation, other samples of Beja-Acebuches amphibolites show negative εNd(t) values from −2.2 to −2.9 and old Nd model ages (Figure 8) characteristic of a more greatly enriched mantle source consistent with some crustal contribution [23]. The emplacement of Visean plutonism was coeval, with flexural subsidence of continental lithosphere, marine sedimentation, and volcanism (ca. 335-331 Ma, Toca da Moura and Cabrela volcano-sedimentary complexes [16]) ( Figure 9). Visean Toca da Moura bimodal volcanic rocks (Group 1), intercalated in turbidites, are interpreted as being genetically related to the fractional crystallization of parental magmas with a calc-alkaline composition, similar to taking place in recent magmatic arcs [50].
It is notable that the Nd isotopic signature of the more greatly enriched Toca da Moura rhyolitic rocks matches those of the Hospitais quartz diorites and gabbros with the youngest Nd model ages (Figure 8). This similarity suggests a link between magma chambers and volcanism. The other samples of the Toca da Moura rhyolites and trachyandesite show a trend marked by positive εNd(t) values from +1.1 to +1.9 and younger Nd model ages of 782 to 1009 Ma, that is, close to the isotopic composition of the SCLM beneath the OMZ (Figure 8b). The variability recorded in Visean magmatic rocks from juvenile to enriched Nd isotopic compositions suggests the involvement of mantle sources and distinct degrees of crustal contribution.
The Serpukhovian plutonic rocks of Alto de São Bento and Pavia probably derived from magmatic differentiation and the melting of calc-alkaline magmatic and sedimentary protoliths [18,24,27]. The granitic rocks of the Pavia pluton (ca. 328 Ma [26]) with positive εNd(t) = +0.3 to +3.0 and negative εNd(t) = −0.3 to −2.7 corresponding to T DM ages of 821-871 Ma and 868-1068 Ma, respectively, are isotopically similar [27] (Figure 8). Less enriched granitic rocks fall into the range defined for the SCML beneath the OMZ. The other more enriched Pavia granitic rocks characterized by a pronounced negative Nb anomaly [27] follow a trend of isotopic composition, indicating contribution from crustal materials. Most Pavia pluton granitic rocks are chemically similar to adakites [27], suggesting derivation from the partial melting of a subducted oceanic lithosphere. In turn, Alto de São Bento orthomigmatites (metadioritic rocks) with Visean protolith age (ca. 338-336 Ma) contain granitic new melts (ca. 329-327 Ma; leucosomes) that are characterized by a typical arc calc-alkaline signature associated with a source of andesitic composition [18]. This finding supports the recycling of intermediate-mafic plutonic rocks, representing former stages of growth of the root of a magmatic arc at the time of the coeval subduction of the Paleotethys oceanic lithosphere [77].
The huge volume of Visean-Serpukhovian plutonic and volcanic rocks extending from the Évora gneiss dome and the Beja Igneous Complex to other eastern domains of the OMZ (Spain) (Figure 9) is regarded as representing the main stage of arc-derived magmatism in the Carboniferous [18,33,44] (Figure 10c).

Bashkirian-Gzhelian: Latest Stage of Arc-Magmatism
Évora gneiss dome high-grade metamorphic rocks and the Visean Toca da Moura volcano-sedimentary complex are intruded by ca. 318 Ma Baleizão porphyries [16], interpreted as being a subvolcanic suite [45], which occupies an extensive area of the Beja Igneous Complex (Figure 9). Baleizão porphyries and Alcáçovas dioritic rocks (317 ± 3 Ma; this study) show significant enrichment in LREE and a more pronounced negative Eu anomaly as silica content increases. The fractionation of amphibole in intermediate magmas could be the cause of the mitigation of the negative Eu anomaly in Bashkirian quartz dioritic rocks, whereas the rhyolitic-to-dacitic composition of Baleizão porphyries is probably due to varying degrees of plagioclase fractionation [20]. Baleizão porphyries most likely crystallized from melts derived from the same parental magma that generated Alcáçovas intermediate rocks during the functioning of a subduction zone [20]. The Baleizão porphyries trend linking the ranges defined for the SCML beneath the OMZ and Ediacaran Série Negra metasedimentary rocks and Cambrian Early Rift Event rhyolitic rocks (Figure 8b) indicates either a more depleted mantle source (εNd(t) = +3.7 and T DM age = 782 Ma) and more greatly enriched sources or a contaminated mantle-derived magma (negative εNd(t) = −0.6 to −1.7 and older isotopic ages ranging from 1047 to 1153 Ma). The isotopic signature of Alcáçovas quartz diorite (εNd(t) value = +3.8 and TDM age = 782 Ma) is juvenile in comparison with Baleizão porphyries and similar to the more greatly depleted magmatic rocks of the Tournaisian Layered Gabbroic Sequence and the Serpukhovian Pavia pluton (Figure 8b), suggesting that they derived from the same mantle source and emplaced during the successive stages of arc magmatism.
The stratigraphy of the Serpukhovian marks a regional uplift event that probably coincides with the beginning of D 3 contractional deformation in the OMZ (Figure 9a), as indicated by the evolution of the Carboniferous Guadalmellato basin, located near the boundary with the Central Iberian Zone ( [78] Figure 9b). Later, the Moscovian to Gzhelian sedimentary record is characterized by continental sedimentation as a result of OMZ progressive uplift, mainly determined by active strike-slip faults [79]. Moscovian-Gzhelian volcanism is lacking in the stratigraphy but calc-alkaline plutonism is recognized in the Évora gneiss dome due to the presence of porphyritic granites (ca. 314-313 Ma [18,26,34]) ( Figure 9). This plutonism extends further north, close to the boundary with the Central Iberian Zone, involving several plutons composed of granites and gabbro-dioritic rocks (ca. 303-297 Ma, Santa Eulália-Monforte massif [71]; and the Nisa-Albuquerque and Los Pedroches batholiths (ca. 314-303 Ma [72,73]) (Figures 1 and 8).
Moscovian-Gzhelian granitic and gabbro-dioritic rocks have geochemical signatures that are broadly similar to the Sierra Nevada and Patagonia batholiths of the North American Cordillera and the Andes continental active margins [71]. The gabbro-dioritic rocks forming the Santa Eulália-Monforte pluton yield εNd(t) values from −2.9 to +1.8 and T DM ages ranging from 995 to 1712 Ma, whereas granitic rocks from the same ca. 303 Ma pluton and the ca. 312 Ma Los Pedroches batholith present εNd(t) values ranging from −0.8 to −5.8 corresponding to T DM age = 938-1297 Ma (Figure 8). This evolutionary trend in terms of Nd isotopic composition coincides with those of Visean Toca da Moura volcanic rocks, Serpukhovian Pavia granitic rocks and Bashkirian Baleizão Porphyries (Figure 8b), suggesting a mixture of old crustal sources and less enriched sources derived from the SCLM beneath the OMZ or other juvenile mantle sources. This mixture of distinct components may have intensified in the main and latest stages of arc magmatism. The result of the simultaneous action of two major tectonic processes in the core of Pangea, including (i) the development of the Iberian oroclinal from the Moscovian to the Gzhelian [80] and (ii) the gradual northward drift of Cimmerian terranes toward the Eurasian active margin [81], may have favored the lateral migration of Paleotethys subduction and the associated magmatic arc during the Permian [82], leading to the waning of the evolution of the Paleotethys magmatic arc in southwestern Iberia (Figure 10d).

Conclusions
(1) The enriched, continental-crust-like major and trace element features of the Carboniferous igneous rocks of the Beja Igneous Complex (Group 1-Toca da Moura and Group 2-Baleizão and Alcáçovas) and the Évora gneiss dome document three stages of arc magmatism, mainly with the addition of calc-alkaline magma extracted from various mantle sources, in a subduction-related setting (i.e., Paleotethys subduction). (2) The U-Pb zircon dating of 317 ± 3 Ma confirms the Bashkirian age of Alcáçovas Qz-dioritic rock, which together with Baleizão porphyries, represents the latest stage of Carboniferous arc magmatism in the OMZ. (3) Positive εNd(t) values for the Tournaisian-Bashkirian igneous rocks of the Beja Igneous Complex and the Évora gneiss dome indicate that the OMZ basement was a site of new juvenile crustal production in the Carboniferous. Furthermore, negative εNd(t) values also suggest different grades of crustal contamination for this magmatism. (4) The Tournaisian-Bashkirian igneous rocks of the Beja Igneous Complex and Évora gneiss dome igneous rocks probably derived from a mantle-derived magma that interplayed, at different grades, with crustal-derived magmas. An active continental margin involving juvenile materials and crustal contamination is inferred for the tectonic setting, which determined the production and evolution of Carboniferous OMZ igneous rocks. (5) Our findings contribute to reinforcing the recently proposed tectonic model for this region of the Iberian Variscan belt. It is reasonable that subduction of Paleotethys oceanic lithosphere under the OMZ, close to a former (Rheic Ocean) suture zone, was contemporaneous with collisional orogenic processes. This tectonic framework may explain the Carboniferous spatial distribution of crustal extension, dome formation, exhumation of high-grade metamorphic rocks, and compositional variations of synorogenic magmatism dominated by arc-like signatures that lasted for at least 60 m.y. in this region of the Pangea supercontinent.