geochemical and sr nd isotopic constraints on the genesis of the cenozoic linzizong volcanic successions southern tibet abstract the linzizong volcanic successions that crop out in the lhasa terrane southern tibet have been conventionally regarded as the products of northward subduction of the neotethyan oceanic slab beneath south asia this study reports geochemical data of 100 volcanic rocks from the lhasa terrane to better constrain the temporal spatial distribution and petrogenesis of the linzizong volcanism the linzizong volcanic successions consist dominantly of calc alkaline rocks that erupted from ca 69 to 43 ma and show typical arc lava geochemical features marked with lile enrichment and hfse depletion in the spidergram their sr and nd isotope ratios e nd t 3 3 to 2 4 i sr 0 7048 0 7072 are generally similar to those of the associated gangdese i type granitoids the linzizong volcanism is characterized by a flare up period ca 50 ma that shows significant geochemical variations manifested by the coexistence of five types of volcanic rocks 1 the main suite of calc alkaline rocks sio 2 45 80 wt la 12 45 ppm e nd t 3 8 to 4 9 i sr 0 7037 0 7105 that could be interpreted by partial melting of the mantle wedge followed by assimilation and fractional crystallization afc processes with 10 crustal contamination and or magma mixing 2 the low k low ree suite sio 2 48 61 wt k 2 o 0 5 1 1 wt la 7 10 ppm that has the highest nd isotope ratios e nd t 5 9 to 3 5 suggesting a juvenile mantle origin possibly related to decompression melting of the asthenosphere 3 the shoshonitic suite sio 2 53 71 wt k 2 o 3 8 6 7 wt e nd t 2 8 to 6 1 from small degree melting of the metasomatized lithospheric mantle 4 the high ree suite sio 2 61 75 wt la 36 87 ppm e nd t 2 6 to 3 2 originating from remelting of a newly underplated basaltic lower crust and 5 the evolved suite of rhyolitic flows and ignimbrites sio 2 65 wt that have the lowest e nd t values of 14 to 18 representing remelting products of the basement or continental crust of the lhasa terrane such geochemical heterogeneities are attributed to breakoff of the subducted neotethyan slab under southern tibet that occurred in the early stage of the india asia collision

miocene high sr y magmatism south tibet product of partial melting of subducted indian continental crust and its tectonic implication abstract post collisional 26 10 ma high sr y and hree depleted intrusive rocks occur in an e w trending belt paralleling the yarlung zangbo suture in south tibet their petrogenesis has been a subject of debate here we present chronological geochemical and sr nd hf isotopic data for two newly discovered large volume high sr y granitoids the pagu granodiorite and the nanmuqie granite and three high sr y porphyries intruding the granitoids in the lhasa terrane la icp ms zircon u pb dating for the pagu granodiorite and nanmuqie granite yielded identical magma crystallization ages of 14 0 14 4 ma which is indistinguishable from their associated high sr y porphyries 14 2 14 6 ma the granitoid was intruded at middle crust depth whereas the porphyry was intruded at upper crust depth indicating that the lhasa terrane has experienced a rapid crustal uplift during the high sr y magma emplacement zircon hf isotopic and whole rock sr nd isotopic compositions for these granitoids and porphyries suggest that their magmas were dominantly derived from partial melting of crustal materials the granitoids and porphyries have ehf t values overlapping with the mafic granulites in the himalayan terrane indian plate their sr nd isotopic compositions show two endmember mixing between the himalayan mafic lower crust and the ultrapotassic lavas the lhasa lower crust we suggest that the high sr y magmas in the lhasa terrane could be derived from partial melting of subducted indian mafic lower crust with incorporation of the ultrapotassic lava and or the lhasa lower crust components our study suggests a new model for the high sr y magma generation in the lhasa terrane and provides a line of geochemical evidence that the indian continental crust was subducted beneath the southern lhasa terrane in the early middle miocene

adakites from continental collision zones melting of thickened lower crust beneath southern tibet adakites are geochemically distinct intermediate to felsic lavas found exclusively in subduction zones here we report the first example of such magmas from southern tibet in an active continental collision environment the tibetan adakites were emplaced from ca 26 to 10 ma and their overall geochemical characteristics suggest an origin by melting of eclogites and or garnet amphibolites in the lower part 50 km of thickened tibetan crust this lower crustal melting required a significantly elevated geotherm which we attribute to removal of the tectonically thickened lithospheric mantle in late oligocene time the identification of collision type adakites from southern tibet lends new constraints to not only the himalayan tibetan orogenesis how and when the indian lithosphere started underthrusting asia can be depicted but also the growth of the early continental crust on earth that consists dominantly of the tonalite trondhjemite granodiorite suites marked by adakitic geochemical affinities

miocene adakitic intrusions in the zhongba terrane implications for the origin and geochemical variations of post collisional adakitic rocks in southern tibet abstract post collisional adakitic rocks 26 9 ma have been recognized in southern tibet for almost 20 years however their origins and geodynamics remain highly controversial this paper reports geochronological and geochemical data for the lasa intrusion exposed in the zhongba terrane and proposes implications for the origins of the miocene adakitic rocks in southern tibet the lasa intrusion consists of granite and granodiorite porphyries with zircon u pb ages of ca 16 ma the porphyries have high sio2 65 14 67 61 wt al2o3 15 13 16 10 wt k2o 2 87 3 54 wt and sr 727 1046 ppm contents and low y 9 13 ppm and yb 0 82 1 19 ppm contents they are enriched in light rare earth elements lrees and depleted in heavy rare earth elements hrees the porphyries display relatively low mgo contents 1 39 1 98 wt high sr y 65 98 and la yb n 18 8 25 5 ratios initial 87sr 86sr i ratios of 0 70912 0 70805 end t values of 6 4 to 7 9 206pb 204pb t ratios of 18 7108 18 7665 207pb 204pb t ratios of 15 6837 15 7118 and 208pb 204pb t ratios of 39 1600 39 3034 these signatures indicate that the lasa porphyries are adakitic rocks derived from the partial melting of a thickened lower crust the miocene adakitic rocks in the zhongba terrane have similar sr nd isotopic compositions to those of western lhasa and the himalaya terrane which differ from coetaneous adakitic rocks of the eastern lhasa terrane in terms of sr nd isotopic compositions based on the spatial distributions and isotopic features of the post collisional adakitic rocks in southern tibet we suggest that all of the adakitic rocks were derived from the partial melting of thickened lower crust and that their geochemical variations are mainly caused by the heterogeneity of lower crust

timing of tibetan uplift constrained by analysis of volcanic rocks the tibetan plateau has had a central role in the development of recent models for the mechanics of mountain belts1 2 and cenozoic global climate change3 the present elevation and extensional deformation of the plateau probably result from uplift owing to convective thinning of the underlying lithospheric mantle1 2 an age for the uplift would provide a valuable constraint on these models but because recently proposed indicators of uplift are all climate dependent they are equivocal possibly reflecting global cooling rather than regional uplift4 here we present new geochemical data on post mid miocene lavas from the plateau which show that the lavas were derived from the lithospheric mantle simple thermal arguments indicate that the generation of such magmas also necessitates thinning of the lithospheric mantle thus volcanism is coincident with uplift providing a climate independent means of dating the onset of uplift dating by the laser 40ar 39ar technique places the beginning of this volcanism and therefore the time of uplift of the tibetan plateau at 13 myr ago

high sr y and la yb ratios the meaning of the adakitic signature abstract the name of adakite is used to describe a far too large group of rocks whose sole common feature is high sr y and la yb ratios however such a signature can be achieved via different processes melting of a high sr y and la yb source deep melting with abundant residual garnet fractional crystallization or afc or interactions of felsic melts with the mantle causing selective enrichment in lree and sr over hree a database of the compositions of adakitic rocks including high silica and low silica adakites martin h smithies r h rapp r p moyen j f champion d c 2005 an overview of adakite tonalite trondhjemite granodiorite ttg and sanukitoid relationships and some implications for crustal evolution lithos 79 1 2 1 24 continental adakites and archaean adakites was assembled geochemical modeling of the potential processes is used to interpret it and reveals that 1 the classical model of slab melting provides the best explanation for the genesis of high silica adakites 2 low silica adakites are explained by garnet present melting of an adakite metasomatized mantle i e at depths greater than 2 5 gpa 3 continental adakites is a term encompassing a huge range of rocks with a corresponding diversity of petrogenetic processes and most of them are different from both low and high silica adakites 4 archaean adakites show a bimodal composition range with some very high sr y examples similar to part of the ttg suite reflecting deep melting 2 0 gpa of a basaltic source with a relatively high sr y while lower sr y rocks formed by shallower 1 0 gpa melting of similar sources comparison with the archaean ttg suite highlights the heterogeneity of the ttgs whose composition spreads the whole combined range of hsa and archaean adakites pointing to a diversity of sources and processes contributing to the ttg suite

transition from oceanic to continental lithosphere subduction in southern tibet evidence from the late cretaceous early oligocene 91 30 ma intrusive rocks in the chanang zedong area southern gangdese little is known about the detailed processes associated with the transition from oceanic to continental lithosphere subduction in the gangdese belt of southern tibet gbst here we report zircon u pb age major and trace element and sr nd hf isotopic data for late cretaceous early oligocene similar to 91 30 ma intermediate acid intrusive rocks in the chanang zedong area immediately north of the yarlung tsangpo suture zone these rocks represent five magmatic episodes at similar to 91 similar to 77 similar to 62 similar to 48 and similar to 30 ma respectively the 91 48 ma rocks have slightly lower initial sr 87 sr 86 0 7037 to 0 7047 and higher epsilon nd t 1 8 to 4 3 and epsilon hf t 3 5 to 14 7 values in comparison with those 0 7057 to 0 7062 3 3 to 2 5 and 2 2 to 6 6 of the similar to 30 ma intrusive rocks the similar to 91 similar to 62 and similar to 30 ma rocks are geochemically similar to slab derived adakites the similar to 91 ma somka adakitic granodiorites were likely derived by partial melting of the subducting neo tethyan oceanic crust with minor oceanic sediments and the similar to 91 ma somka dioritic rocks with a geochemical affinity of adakitic magnesian andesites likely resulted from interactions between adakitic magmas and overlying mantle wedge peridotite the similar to 77 ma luomu diorites were probably generated by partial melting of juvenile basaltic lower crust the similar to 62 ma naika and zedong adaldtic diorites and granodiorites were likely generated mainly by partial melting of thickened juvenile mafic lower crust but the source region of the zedong adakitic rocks also contained enriched components corresponding to indian continental crust the similar to 48 ma lamda granites were possibly generated by melting of a juvenile basaltic crust the younger similar to 30 ma chongmuda adakitic quartz monzonites and minor granodiorites were most probably derived by partial melting of early oligocene north ward subducted indian lower crust beneath the southern lhasa block taking into account the regional tectonic and magmatic data we suggest that the gangdese belt of southern tibet gbst underwent a tectonodynamic transition from oceanic subduction to continental subduction between 100 and 30 ma it evolved through four stages 100 65 ma roll back of subducted neo tethyan oceanic lithosphere 65 60 ma initial collision between indian and asian continents 60 40 ma breakoff of subducted neo tethyan oceanic lithosphere and similar to 30 ma northward subduction of the indian continent c 2014 elsevier b v all rights reserved

adakitic rocks from slab melt modified mantle sources in the continental collision zone of southern tibet abstract major trace element and sr nd pb isotopic data are presented for newly discovered adakitic rocks in the western gangdese belt southern tibet the miocene 26 10 ma adakitic rocks from the southern tibetan continental collision zones exhibit distinct differentiation trends typical of arc magmas these rocks display geochemical affinities similar to those of cretaceous 136 80 ma adakitic rocks derived from the partial melting of subducted neotethyan slab in southern tibet the whole rock geochemical and isotope characteristics of the post collision adakitic rocks reveal that their magmas likely originated from an upper mantle region previously metasomatized by slab melts during the cretaceous subduction event an interesting observation is that the e w trending belt of adakitic rocks along the yarlung tsangpo suture zone occupies a fore arc position reflecting a geotectonic setting compatible with the genesis of adakitic magmas the widespread occurrences of cretaceous adakitic rocks in this region are interpreted to testify to the former location of the adakite metasomatized mantle our favoured interpretation is that the spatial isotopic variation in the post collision adakitic rocks is mostly linked to a westward increase in sediment input in the tibetan mantle region under the framework of our paleo subduction model a slab break off event that initiated at around 25 ma would have allowed an asthenospheric upwelling beneath southern tibet which was instrumental in generating the post collision adakitic magmatism in southern tibet

generation of sodium rich magmas from newly underplated basaltic crust sodium rich rocks of trondhjemite tonalite dacite ttd or granodiorite ttg suites form much of precambrian continental crust1 they are thought to have formed by partial melting of subducted oceanic crust2 3 a process that would have been much more widespread early in earth history than at present owing to the higher thermal gradients prevailing at that time4 phanerozoic ttd suites do exist however and seem also to relate to subduction zones5 defant and drummond6 proposed that these suites form where young 25 myr hot oceanic lithosphere is subducted and melts thus locally simulating the conditions that led to widespread crustal growth in the archaean here we describe plutonic and volcanic rocks from the cordillera blanca complex in peru which have characteristics of the high al ttd suite but which were produced above a subduction zone containing a 60 myr old slab we present evidence that the complex formed by partial melting of newly underplated basaltic crust and argue that this mechanism should be considered more generally as an additional way of generating sodium rich arc magmas

implications of crustal property variations for models of tibetan plateau evolution shear coupled teleseismic p waves sampling the interior of the tibetan plateau provide evidence of systematic variations in crustal structure the crust thins by up to 20 km from south to north with a concomitant increase in poisson s ratio from normal values in the south to unusually high values in the north this suggests that the crust of the northern plateau is partially melted due to high temperatures these changes imply spatial and perhaps temporal variations in the way the elevation of the high plateau is created and maintained

geochemical variations in miocene adakitic rocks from the western and eastern lhasa terrane implications for lower crustal flow beneath the southern tibetan plateau abstract it is generally believed that miocene adakitic rocks in the lhasa terrane block of southern tibet were derived from a thickened lower crust and that their compositions will therefore reflect the geochemical characteristics of their lower crustal source s adakitic rocks in the western part of the lhasa terrane possess geochemical and sr nd isotopic characteristics that are clearly different from those in the eastern part of the lhasa terrane the former display a more enriched nd sr isotopic signature together with an older model age relative to the latter suggesting that the compositions of the lower crust under the western and eastern parts of the lhasa terrane also differ in addition the adakitic rocks in the himalayas on the southern side of the indus yalu suture iys have similar geochemical characteristics and sr nd isotopic compositions to the adakitic rocks of the western lhasa terrane but differ from rocks in the eastern lhasa terrane and from igneous rocks derived from crust beneath the himalayas we suggest that the lower and or middle crustal materials beneath the western lhasa terrane probably extend to the southern side of the iys due to channel flow if mid lower crustal flow has occurred below southern tibet the southeastward moving anatectic mid lower crustal material was probably derived from below the western part of the lhasa terrane rather than the eastern moreover the emplacement ages of adakitic rocks from mayum on the southern side of the iys imply that southeastward ductile flow of mid lower crust beneath western lhasa may have occurred as early as 17 ma

the effect of ash and needle cover on surface runoff and erosion in the immediate post fire period abstract hillslopes are thought to be most susceptible to enhanced surface runoff and erosion immediately following wildfire due to removal of protective vegetation and litter cover and in many cases a fire induced reduction in soil wettability this enhanced susceptibility declines as vegetation and litter layer recover for logistical reasons however few studies have been able to examine the responses of burnt terrain immediately following burning and little is therefore known about the effect of the wettable ash layer that often covers the ground until it is redistributed or removed by wind or water erosion here we quantify the effects of ash and needle cast ground cover on surface runoff generation and soil erodibility in the immediate post fire period 2 10 days following a severe wildfire in an aleppo pine forest over calcareous soils in mediterranean eastern spain a homogenous vegetation cover and lack of wind during the fire resulted in 100 ash cover 36 mm mean depth across the study area the ground fire did not consume the tree crowns but its high intensity caused complete tree mortality leading to subsequent needle fall hydrological and erosional responses were measured for fifteen 1 hour rainfall simulations 55 mm h 1 on 0 25 m2 circular plots for each of three terrain types i ash and needle covered ii ash only covered and iii bare furthermore ash and needle cast cover were monitored over an eleven week period on otherwise undisturbed terrain to examine its evolution during the first critical months following burning the soils exhibited no or slight post fire water repellency the overlying wettable ash layer had a porosity of 83 providing a water storage capacity of 30 mm a third of the plots with ground cover did not generate any surface runoff ash needle and ash only plots showed 25 and 18 fold reductions in surface runoff respectively compared to bare terrain mean sediment yield from covered plots was more than two orders of magnitudes lower than from bare plots the ash cover remained unchanged during the first two weeks while overlying needle cast more than doubled heavy rainfall 153 mm over a subsequent six day period removed the ash almost entirely where no needle cast was present whereas on ash and needle covered ground only a limited redistribution and accumulation into litter dams occurred the results quantify the potential importance of ash deposits on the susceptibility of hillslopes to surface runoff and erosion immediately following fire the combination of ash and needle cast appears particularly effective in reducing hillslope responses the outcomes demonstrate clearly that the widely held notion of landscapes being most susceptible to surface runoff and erosion directly after burning is not correct where a fire has resulted in substantial ash deposition instead the susceptibility will be greatest following a storm event of sufficient severity to remove this protective layer and before the onset of vegetation recovery

causes and consequences of protracted melting of the mid crust exposed in the north himalayan antiform gneiss domes exposed by the north himalayan antiform in southern tibet provide evidence for protracted melting of the mid crust during convergent tectonics anatexis was initiated during underthrusting and recurred during the southwards extrusion of a low viscosity crustal sheet sr nd isotope systematics establish that the cores of the domes dominated by cambrian gneiss form a window of the high himalayan crystalline series hhcs indian plate combined trace element and isotopic analyses from 4 two mica granites that intrude both core and the metasedimentary mantle of the domes indicate an origin from melting of the high himalayan crystalline series by the incongruent breakdown of muscovite and to a lesser extent biotite at temperatures from 680 to 760 c u pb dating of accessory phases extends the known period of granite magmatism from the late oligocene to mid miocene a ca rich garnet bearing leucogranite of oligocene age 27 5 ma provides a rare insight into the pre miocene history of the underthrust indian plate reflecting prograde melting at greater depths during a period of crustal thickening the origin of the miocene granites 15 10 ma can be modeled from the exhumation of an extruding channel at a rate of ca 1 mm year constrained by ar isotope data melting over a protracted time scale along the leading edge of the indian plate less than 50 km from the suture accelerated horizontal shortening within the collision zone and provided a positive feedback mechanism between magmagenesis and deformation

origin of late oligocene adakitic intrusives in the southeastern lhasa terrane evidence from in situ zircon u pb dating hf o isotopes and whole rock geochemistry abstract we describe the whole rock geochemistry biotite ar ar and zircon u pb geochronology and in situ hf o isotopic compositions of the linzhi two mica granitoid in the southeastern lhasa terrane the granitoids are calc alkaline to high k calc alkaline in composition and they have geochemical affinities with adakites the whole rock geochemistry with high sio 2 and al 2 o 3 contents low mgo cr and ni contents low mg values negative e nd t 6 2 to 2 9 and low 87 sr 86 sr i 0 7059 0 7074 together with the in situ zircon hf o isotopic data e hf t 2 7 to 2 7 18 o 7 2 8 8 indicates that the granitoid was derived mainly from the partial melting of a rejuvenated lower crust underneath the lhasa terrane this lower crust was dominated by ancient crustal material with the minor involvement of juvenile mantle inputs 40 ar 39 ar ages for biotites and the presence of magmatic epidote suggest the granitoid was intruded at mid crustal depths indicating that the eastern lhasa terrane experienced a pulse of rapid uplift in the interval from 26 to 22 ma the geochemical features of the linzhi adakitic rocks are significantly different from those of eocene adakitic rocks from the north himalayan belt and this suggests that we can rule out the possibility of crustal thickening in the eastern part of lhasa terrane caused by impingement of the indian lower crust post collisional 26 10 ma adakitic rocks occur within an e w trending magmatic belt that runs parallel to the yarlung tsangpo suture in the lhasa terrane these rocks have distinctive variations in geochemistry along the strike of the lhasa terrane indicating that the lower crust is isotopically heterogeneous from west to east along the terrane these geochemical variations probably result from variable degrees of input along strike of juvenile mantle derived melts into an old lower crust the middle part of the lhasa terrane is marked by a juvenile lower crust that contains large amounts of mantle derived melt underplated during neo tethyan oceanic crust subduction in contrast the lower crust below the western and eastern parts of the terrane is relatively ancient therefore crustal thickening caused by underplating of mantle derived magmas could play an important role in the middle segment of the terrane whereas crustal compression and shortening as a result of the collision of the indian and asian plates could be the major cause for crustal thickening in the western and eastern segments

the gangdese magmatic constraints on a latest cretaceous lithospheric delamination of the lhasa terrane southern tibet abstract this paper presents a systematic study of late cretaceous to early tertiary magmatism in the eastern gangdese batholith lhasa nyingchi segment the southern lhasa terrane southern tibet based on zircon u pb age rock association and geochemistry the magmatism can be divided into three stages 95 86 ma stage 1 85 73 ma stage 2 and 68 60 ma stage 3 with a short magmatic quiescence or gap of 73 69 ma the stage 1 is composed mainly of intermediate mafic rocks including norite gabbro diorite charnockite and subordinate granodiorite whereas the stage 2 consists largely of felsic rocks including tonalite granodiorite monzogranite and granite in contrast the stage 3 comprises a wide range of rock types from gabbro to granite all these samples show i type geochemical characteristics with high zircon hf isotope ratios e hf t 7 1 13 0 medium k calc alkaline and metaluminous to weakly peraluminous features stage 1 granitic rocks show low sr y 31 43 and la yb n 6 3 8 3 ratios in contrast to stage 2 that show gradually increasing sr y 47 450 and la yb n 6 38 ratios their magma temperatures constrained by titanium in zircon thermometer decrease from 740 719 c stage 1 to 685 628 c stage 2 these are consistent with an interpretation of progressive magma source deepening coupled with crustal thickening stage 3 granitoids in turn show reduced sr y 3 40 and la yb n 3 5 17 6 ratios and elevated magma temperatures 755 676 c suggesting a high temperature low pressure melting condition and thus a shallow magma source which may imply the presence of thinner crust the contrasting temperature pressure conditions between stage 2 and stage 3 magmatism suggest an event of crustal thinning which we interpret through a synthesis of other lines of geologic evidence to have resulted from a lithospheric delamination of the lhasa terrane in the latest cretaceous in conclusion the lhasa terrane underwent continuous crustal thickening in the late cretaceous and lithospheric delamination in the latest cretaceous this implies that the overthickened crust of southern tibet is generated in the cenozoic

origin of miocene cu bearing porphyries in the zhunuo region of the southern lhasa subterrane constraints from geochronology and geochemistry abstract the zhunuo cu bearing porphyries are located in the westernmost part of the miocene gangdese porphyry cu mo au deposit belt zircon u pb dating of the diorite porphyry k feldspar granite porphyry and monzonitic granite porphyry in zhunuo yielded crystallization ages of 12 5 0 4 ma 12 3 0 3 ma and 12 4 0 3 ma respectively the diorite porphyry is characterized by low sio 2 58 61 61 14 wt and th 0 30 0 76 ppm concentrations low th la 0 05 0 1 ratios and high mg 49 values coupled with low 87 sr 86 sr i 0 703777 0 703783 and high e nd t 4 07 to 4 90 values they also have adakite like affinities such as low y 10 5 12 0 ppm and high sr y ratios 61 65 they were probably derived from a thickened juvenile lower continental crust the k feldspar granite porphyry probably originated in the middle upper continental crust because of their high sio 2 73 59 74 98 wt and th 50 1 52 1 ppm concentrations high th la 1 67 2 10 and low sr y 20 2 20 7 ratios and mg 32 38 values combined with high 87 sr 86 sr i 0 710921 0 712008 low e nd t 8 47 to 9 26 isotopic compositions and old nd model ages 1 16 1 25 ga their magmas were most likely partial melts of the preserved ancient crust similar to the central lhasa subterrane the geochemical characteristics and sr nd isotopic compositions of the monzonitic granite porphyry display trends that lie between those of the diorite porphyry and k feldspar granite porphyry and they are therefore likely to be production of hybridization between the above two melts the ore bearing diorite porphyry and monzonitic granite porphyry have higher zircon ce 4 ce 3 ratios than the ore barren k feldspar granite porphyry indicating a higher oxygen fugacity in the ore bearing magmas we suggest that metals were released from the re melting of arc related cumulates which formed during lower crustal growth and thickening this mechanism provides a reasonable explanation for the significant flare up of mineralization during the miocene in the gangdese region the lower continental crust beneath southern lhasa subterrane probably was uniformly juvenile but the region to the west of zhunuo was not mineralized due to input of large ancient crustal materials in the source of these ore barren adakite like rocks

plankton percentage of the foraminiferal fauna in seafloor samples from the australian irian jaya continental margin eastern indonesia abstract plankton percentages of the formainiferal fauna in seafloor samples from the australian irian jaya continental margin show a consistent relationship with waterdepth based on this relationship a regional model has been constructed to estimate paleowaterdepth from the plankton percentage of fossil foraminiferal fauna in addition to paleobathymetric information obtained from the study of benthic foraminifera this model can be applied to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of late cenozoic sections sampled on the eastern indonesian islands

miocene adakites in south tibet partial melting of the thickened lhasa juvenile mafic lower crust with the involvement of ancient indian continental crust compositions

southern tibetan oligocene miocene adakites a record of indian slab tearing abstract oligocene miocene granitoids exposed within the 1500 km long gangdese arc of southern tibet exhibit adakitic compositions five plutonic samples from the southeastern lhasa terrane near namche barwa area were analyzed to determine their geochemical characteristics and to better understand the geodynamic evolution of the eastern himalayan syntaxis orogen the samples yielded u pb zircon ages in the range of 30 26 ma are intermediate to silicic in composition and have elevated k2o 1 5 8 9 th la ratios 0 14 1 10 low mgo

early miocene adakite like volcanism in the balkuyumcu region central anatolia turkey petrology and geochemistry the balkuyumcu region located in the southwestern part of ankara in the izmir ankara suture zone central anatolia turkey consists of basic andesitic andesitic dacitic and rhyolitic rocks extruded during the early miocene 20 22 ma as a result of post collisional volcanism balkuyumcu volcanic rocks can be divided into two groups on the basis of their mineralogy and composition the basic andesitic ba and andesitic dacitic and rhyolitic adr groups the adr and ba group of rocks have adakite like and calc alkaline characteristics respectively the adr group has higher sio2 content sr y and la yb ratios and low mgo mg y and yb contents than the ba group both groups have nearly the same sr nd isotopic compositions and display similar normalized multi element patterns with enrichments in lile and lree depletions in nb ti zr p and a lack of eu anomalies major trace element and sr nd isotopic data indicate that both groups of rocks were derived from the same source but affected by different magmatic processes during ascent the adakite like rocks may have been produced by partial melting of thickened lower continental crust fractional crystallization also played a major role in their formation however the ba group rocks were derived from partial melting of lower continental crust that was probably delaminated these rocks appear to have had limited interaction with mantle peridodite during ascent to the surface

geochemical and nd pb isotopic characteristics of the tethyan asthenosphere implications for the origin of the indian ocean mantle domain abstract it is unclear why the pb nd and sr isotopic composition of the modern mid ocean ridge basalts morb from the indian ocean is different from that of the north atlantic and pacific oceans a possible explanation for this is that the indian morb type isotopic signature is a long lived regional feature of the mantle as evidently shown by the isotopic composition of the 350 ma morb like mian lue northern ophiolite which was formed in the same region presently occupied by the indian ocean however this hypothesis is in conflict with the lack of indian morb type isotopic signature in a number of 150 ma tethyan and indian ocean crusts to further constrain the origin of the indian morb type isotopic signature we analyze the geochemical and pb nd and sr isotopic composition of representative mafic rocks from four tethyan ophiolites ranging in age from 90 to 360 ma the sr isotopic composition of the samples is unreliable due to alteration but the age corrected nd and pb isotopic ratios and geochemical data indicate that these tethyan rocks were derived from a geochemically depleted asthenospheric source that had a clear indian morb type isotopic signature we therefore conclude that the bulk of the indian suboceanic mantle was most probably inherited from the tethyan asthenosphere a few regions in both the tethyan and indian oceans however are most probably underlain by pacific and north atlantic morb type mantle and vice versa because of the flow of the asthenosphere in response to tectonic plate reorganizations that lead to openings and closures of ocean basins the indian morb type isotopic signature of the western pacific marginal basin crusts could be due to either flow of the indian ocean mantle into the western pacific or to endogenous production of such an isotopic signature from delaminated east asian sublithospheric materials during closure of the tethys ocean

origin of potassic c type adakite magmas experimental and field constraints the postcollisional mesozoic c type or high k adakitic intrusions k adakites of china lack either temporal or spatial association with subduction and have k2o na2o around unity otherwise their geochemistry is very similar to ordinary adakites new experimental data geological observations and theoretical considerations lead us to suggest that these k adakites were high t 1050 and probably 1075 c rather hydrous magmas 6 wt h2o produced by fluid absent partial melting of metatonalites meta andesites or possibly potassic metabasalts at pressures exceeding 2 gpa their peculiar chemistry is a consequence of both the elevated k2o na2o in the protolith and the very high pressure of partial melting the most likely tectonic setting is one of extreme crustal thickening followed by delamination of the eclogitic keel and partial melting of this continental crustal material at mantle depths with high mantle heat flow during orogenic collapse

eocene neotethyan slab breakoff in southern tibet inferred from the linzizong volcanic record abstract formation of the linzizong volcanic successions in the lhasa terrane southern tibet has long been related to northward subduction of the neotethyan oceanic slab under asia here we report new 40ar 39ar age results for the volcanic rocks recovered from a large area 29 n to 32 n and 85 e to 93 e that together with literature data delineate two discrete stages of volcanism these are a widespread cretaceous stage and an intense but spatially confined paleogene stage the latter occurring only in the southern part of the lhasa terrane resulted in the linzizong volcanic successions our data furthermore suggest southward migration and intensification of the volcanism in the lhasa terrane with magmatic flare ups at ca 50 ma while the volcanic successions consist dominantly of calc alkaline rocks typical of arc lava geochemistry those formed during the flare up period show significant compositional variations from low k tholeiitic through calc alkaline to shoshonitic magma suites these observations enable us to interpret the volcanic southward migration and following flare ups as the consequences of rollback and breakoff of the subducted neotethyan slab that occurred ahead and in the early stage respectively of the india asia collision our interpretation that involves a major eocene tectonomagmatic activity and concomitant topographic uplift in southern tibet is consistent with himalayan metamorphic constraints regional sedimentary records and seismic tomography

evolutionary model of the himalaya tibet system geopoem based on new modelling geological and geophysical data a two dimensional thermo mechanical laboratory modelling of continental subduction was performed the subducting continental lithosphere includes a strong brittle upper crust a weak ductile lower crust and a strong upper mantle the lithosphere is underlain by a low viscosity asthenosphere subduction is produced by a piston push force and the pull force from the mantle lithospheric layer which is denser than the asthenosphere the lithospheric layers are composed of material whose strength is sensitive to and inversely proportional to temperature throughout the experiment the model surface was maintained under relatively low temperature and the model base at higher temperature the subduction rate satisfied the peclet criterion modelling confirms that the continental crust can be deeply subducted and shows that slab break off delamination and tectonic underplating are fundamental events with drastic consequences on the subsequent evolution of the convergent system combining these results with previous purely mechanical modelling we elaborate a new evolutionary model for the himalaya tibet convergent system the principal successive stages are 1 subduction of the indian continental lithosphere to 200 250 km depth following subduction of the tethys oceanic lithosphere 2 failure and rapid buoyancy driven uplift of the subducted continental crust from ca 100 km depth to some depth that varies along the mountain belt 20 30 km on average 3 break off of the indian subducted lithospheric mantle with the attached oceanic lithosphere 4 subduction underplating of the indian lithosphere under asia over a few to several hundred kilometers 5 delamination roll back and break off of the indian lithospheric mantle 6 failure of the indian crust in front of the mountain belt formation of the main central thrust and underthrusting of the next portion of indian lithosphere beneath tibet for a few hundred kilometers at the beginning of stage 6 the crustal slice corresponding to the crystalline himalayas undergoes erosion activated uplift and exhumation fl 2000 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

oblique stepwise rise and growth of the tibet plateau two end member models of how the high elevations in tibet formed are i continuous thickening and widespread viscous flow of the crust and mantle of the entire plateau and ii time dependent localized shear between coherent lithospheric blocks recent studies of cenozoic deformation magmatism and seismic structure lend support to the latter since india collided with asia 55 million years ago the rise of the high tibetan plateau likely occurred in three main steps by successive growth and uplift of 300 to 500 kilometer wide crustal thrust wedges the crust thickened while the mantle decoupled beneath gently dipping shear zones did not sediment infilling bathtub like of dammed intermontane basins formed flat high plains at each step the existence of magmatic belts younging northward implies that slabs of asian mantle subducted one after another under ranges north of the himalayas subduction was oblique and accompanied by extrusion along the left lateral strike slip faults that slice tibet s east side these mechanisms akin to plate tectonics hidden by thickening crust with slip partitioning account for the dominant growth of the tibet plateau toward the east and northeast

zircon u pb geochronology and hf isotopic constraints on petrogenesis of the gangdese batholith southern tibet abstract during the mesozoic cenozoic northward neotethyan subduction and subsequent india asia collision gave rise to the extensive transhimalayan magmatism that stretches from burma and western yunnan through southern tibet to the ladakh and kohistan complexes to understand the age distribution and petrogenesis of the gangdese batholith the largest intrusive exposure along the transhimalayan magmatic belt fifty granitic samples were selected for in situ zircon u pb and hf isotopic analyses the u pb data suggest four discrete stages of magmatic activity i e 205 152 109 80 65 41 and 33 13 ma respectively with the 65 41 ma stage being the most prominent the hf isotopic data indicate that the gangdese batholith is overwhelmed by positive e hf t values which are comparable to those of the kohistan ladakh batholiths in the west but differ markedly from those of the chayu burma batholiths in the east most of the gangdese granites show similar and young hf model ages 1000 300 ma indicating their derivation from juvenile crust however those formed in the 65 41 ma stage exhibit more heterogeneous hf isotopic ratios with negative e hf t values being observed in some granites younger than 50 ma suggesting the involvement of old indian continental crust in their petrogenesis this age may thus mark the onset of the india asia collision the newly established zircon u pb age and hf isotope database of the gangdese batholith can be used as a powerful tracer or fingerprint when studying the source to sink relation of the sediments eroded from the southern tibetan plateau

the nature and timing of crustal thickening in southern tibet geochemical and zircon hf isotopic constraints from postcollisional adakites abstract rising as the roof of the world the tibetan plateau is now underlain with the thickest continental crust on earth how and when was this crust formed which would have exerted pivotal controls to the formation of the plateau has long been an issue of hot debates this paper reports zircon u pb ages and hf isotope data for postcollisional 30 9 ma adakites in the southern lhasa terrane southern tibet a comparative analysis of whole rock rare earth element geochemistry and zircon hf isotopes between the adakites and associated gangdese igneous rocks suggests that the tibetan crust underwent a major phase of tectonic thickening between ca 45 and 30 ma in the region the lower part of the thickened crust consisted prevailingly of mafic lithologies which we argue to have resulted from intense basaltic underplating and subsequent remelting that took place during the late cretaceous and eocene time related to the neotethyan subduction processes including breakoff of the subducted slab at ca 50 ma in the early stage of the india asia collision these processes were responsible for not only the juvenile crust formation but also for the creation of a thermally softened lithosphere in the southern lhasa terrane the indentation of india consequently caused distributed lithospheric thickening with formation of an orogenic root beneath southern tibet root foundering during the oligocene gave rise to the adakitic magmatism regional topographic uplift and onset of northward underthrusting of the indian plate that has since played a key role in forming the entire tibetan plateau

assembly of the lhasa and qiangtang terranes in central tibet by divergent double subduction abstract integration of lithostratigraphic magmatic and metamorphic data from the lhasa qiangtang collision zone in central tibet including the bangong suture zone and adjacent regions of the lhasa and qiangtang terranes indicates assembly through divergent double sided subduction this collision zone is characterized by the absence of early cretaceous high grade metamorphic rocks and the presence of extensive magmatism with enhanced mantle contributions at ca 120 110 ma two jurassic cretaceous magmatic arcs are identified from the caima duobuza rongma kangqiong amdo magmatic belt in the western qiangtang terrane and from the along tso yanhu daguo baingoin daru tso magmatic belt in the northern lhasa terrane these two magmatic arcs reflect northward and southward subduction of the bangong ocean lithosphere respectively available multidisciplinary data reconcile that the bangong ocean may have closed during the late jurassic early cretaceous most likely ca 140 130 ma through arc arc soft collision rather than continent continent hard collision subduction zone retreat associated with convergence beneath the lhasa terrane may have driven its rifting and separation from the northern margin of gondwana leading to its accretion within asia

early eocene crustal thickening in southern tibet new age and geochemical constraints from the gangdese batholith abstract the lhasa terrane southern tibet is where the thickest part of the earth s crust occurs as a result of the india asia collision this paper reports zircon u pb age and geochemical data of samples collected from the gangdese batholith southern lhasa terrane a subset of which has already been dated at 65 41 ma using zircon u pb geochronology ji w q wu f y chung s l li j x liu c z 2009a zircon u pb chronology and hf isotopic constraints on the petrogenesis of gangdese batholiths southern tibet chemical geology 262 229 245 to constrain the timing and mechanism s responsible for crustal thickening beneath southern tibet our new data indicate that the gangdese magmatism lasted continuously from ca 65 to 34 ma during which geochemical evidence for crustal thickening is observed crustal thickening is best illustrated by the progressive increase in la yb and sr y of the early to latest eocene magmatic rocks associated with the decrease in hf isotopic ratios of paleocene to eocene magmatic zircons we also identify in this study the oldest ca 51 ma post collisional adakitic granitoids in the gangdese batholith interpreted as products from partial melting of underplated basaltic lower crust therefore a thickened crust likely existed by that time at least locally in the southern lhasa terrane tibet

the geological evolution of the tibetan plateau the geological evolution of the tibetan plateau is best viewed in a context broader than the india eurasia collision zone after collision about 50 million years ago crust was shortened in western and central tibet while large fragments of lithosphere moved from the collision zone toward areas of trench rollback in the western pacific and indonesia cessation of rapid pacific trench migration 15 to 20 million years ago coincided with a slowing of fragment extrusion beyond the plateau and probably contributed to the onset of rapid surface uplift and crustal thickening in eastern tibet the latter appear to result from rapid eastward flow of the deep crust probably within crustal channels imaged seismically beneath eastern tibet these events mark a transition to the modern structural system that currently accommodates deformation within tibet

petrogenesis of the early eocene adakitic rocks in the napuri area southern lhasa partial melting of thickened lower crust during slab break off and implications for crustal thickening in southern tibet abstract cenozoic adakitic rocks in the lhasa block southern tibet have been widely used to trace the lateral extent of crustal thickening however their petrogenesis remains controversial here we report geochronological and geochemical data for the napuri intrusive rocks in the core area of the quxu batholith southern lhasa zircon u pb dating suggests that they were generated at approximately 48 ma the studied samples show significant geochemical variations manifested by the coexistence of three types of igneous rocks groups i and ii rocks exhibit variable and high sio 2 66 4 73 9 wt high al 2 o 3 14 0 17 4 wt k 2 o 3 9 5 3 wt sr 273 718 ppm and sr y 18 3 to 81 3 values and low y 3 6 to 16 ppm heavy rare earth element ree e g yb 0 48 to 1 8 ppm mgo 0 4 1 0 wt cr 2 9 7 4 ppm and ni 1 6 4 5 ppm contents which are similar to those of thickened lower crust derived adakitic rocks the group i rocks show higher sr y 77 5 81 3 ratios and lower total ree 55 5 63 2 ppm contents with clearly positive eu and sr anomalies whereas the group ii rocks have relatively lower sr y 18 3 65 7 ratios and higher total ree 115 375 ppm contents with negligible or slightly negative eu and sr anomalies group iii rocks have the highest sio 2 74 5 76 0 wt y 17 0 23 7 ppm and yb 2 91 3 30 ppm contents and the lowest al 2 o 3 12 5 13 2 wt sr 81 3 141 ppm and sr y 4 8 5 9 values with distinctly negative eu and sr anomalies compared with the jurassic cretaceous granitoids in southern lhasa the relative enrichment in sr nd hf isotopic compositions 87 sr 86 sr i 0 7049 0 7055 e nd t 0 3 0 7 and e hf t zircon 3 6 11 4 for the napuri intrusive rocks indicates that they likely contained indian continental components the group i and group ii rocks most probably originated from thickened mafic lower crust amphibolite eclogites or garnet amphibolites with garnet rutile plagioclase as residual minerals in the source at 1 5 gpa corresponding to depths of 50 km and group iii rocks were probably generated by fractional crystallization of plagioclase from the adakitic magmas taking into account the narrow linear nature of the eocene magmatic belt and reported synchronous asthenosphere derived basaltic rocks in southern lhasa we suggest that upwelling asthenosphere triggered by the break off of subducted neo tethyan slab probably provided the required thermal conditions for lower crustal melting the identification of indian continental components in the napuri intrusive rocks probably indicates that the asia india collision had taken place prior to their emplacement the dramatic changes in the la yb n ratios and e nd t and e hf t values of magmatic rocks in the gangdese area at ca 51 46 ma indicate that the cenozoic crustal thickening associated with the indentation of the indian continent began in the early eocene ca 51 46 ma at the latest

tears or thinning subduction structures in the pacific plate beneath the japanese islands abstract the nature of a subduction zone at depth is affected by the evolution of its tectonic system and the geometry of the trench line can change over time due to slab roll back or the arrival of a distinctive feature with the incoming oceanic lithosphere the configuration of the plate has to accommodate such changes with buckling thinning or the formation of tears depending on the rate of influx to the trench tomographic imaging is commonly used to recognise the presence of such tears through marked reductions in wavespeed anomalies in localised zones a good example is provided by pacific plate subduction beneath the japanese islands a horizontal tear in the plate below 300 km depth can be recognised at the southern end of the izu bonin arc associated with the change in slab morphology to the much steeper mariana arc beneath southern honshu a break in the fast wavespeeds associated with the pacific plate has been described as a tear based on the evidence of converted phases from the edge of the zone and tensional focal mechanisms for seismic events in the tear zone in the north close to the hokkaido bend in the subduction zone the reduction in the shear wavespeed anomaly is just as dramatic but here the characteristics of high frequency guided waves from deep earthquakes indicate continuity of slab material with thinning of the slab the thinned slab has less wavespeed contrast within the affected cells and so appears in the tomographic images as a weakened anomaly the various modes of slab deformation represent different ways in which the subducted material accommodates the strains imposed by the evolution of the geometry of the subduction scenario not all significant reductions in wavespeed anomalies represent tears and thus it is important that such interpretations be checked against the characteristics of wave propagation through the zone

implications of shortening in the himalayan fold thrust belt for uplift of the tibetan plateau 1 recent research in the himalayan fold thrust belt provides two new sets of observations that are crucial to understanding the evolution of the himalayan tibetan orogenic system first u pb zircon ages and sm nd isotopic studies demonstrate that 1 greater himalayan medium to high grade metasedimentary rocks are much younger than true indian cratonic basement and 2 these rocks were tectonically mobilized and consolidated with the northern margin of gondwana during early paleozoic orogenic activity these observations require that greater himalayan rocks be treated as supracrustal material in restorations of the himalayan fold thrust belt rather than as indian cratonic basement in turn this implies the existence of greater himalayan lower crust that is not exposed anywhere in the fold thrust belt second a regional compilation of shortening estimates along the himalayan arc from pakistan to sikkim reveals that 1 total minimum shortening in the fold thrust belt is up to 670 km 2 total shortening is greatest in western nepal and northern india near the apex of the himalayan salient and 3 the amount of himalayan shortening is equal to the present width of the tibetan plateau measured in an arc normal direction north of the indus yalu suture zone this information suggests that a slab of greater indian lower crust composed of both indian cratonic lower crust and greater himalayan lower crust with a north south length of 700 km may have been inserted beneath the tibetan crust during the cenozoic orogeny we present a modified version of the crustal underthrusting model for himalayan tibetan orogenesis that integrates surface geological data recent results of mantle tomographic studies and broadband seismic studies of the crust and upper mantle beneath the tibetan plateau previous studies have shown that incremental mesozoic and early cenozoic shortening had probably thickened tibetan crust to 45 55 km before the onset of the main cenozoic orogenic event thus the insertion of a slab of greater indian lower crust with maximum thickness of 20 km tapering northward could explain the cenozoic uplift of the tibetan plateau the need for tibetan crust to stretch laterally as the greater indian lower crust was inserted may explain the widespread east west extension in the southern half of the plateau our reconstruction of the himalayan fold thrust belt suggests that indian cratonic lower crust of presumed mafic composition and high strength should extend approximately halfway across the tibetan plateau to the banggong suture from there northward we predict that the tibetan plateau is underlain by more felsic and therefore weaker lower crust of greater himalayan affinity two slab break off events are predicted by the model the first involved neotethyan oceanic lithosphere that foundered 45 35 ma and the second consisted of greater indian lithosphere most likely composed of greater himalayan material that delaminated and foundered 20 10 ma asthenospheric upwelling associated with the break off events may explain patterns of cenozoic volcanism on the tibetan plateau although the model predicts a northward migrating topographic front due solely to insertion of greater indian lower crust the actual uplift history of the plateau was complicated by early middle tertiary shortening of tibetan crust

dehydration melting of a basaltic composition amphibolite at 1 5 and 2 0 gpa implications for the origin of adakites this study presents the results of dehydration melting experiments on a basaltic composition amphibolite under conditions appropriate to a hot slab geotherm 1 5 and 2 0 gpa and temperatures of 850 to 1150 c dehydration melting produces an omphacitic augite and garnet bearing residue coexisting with rhyolitic to andesitic composition melts at 1 5 gpa the amphibolite melts in two stages between 800 and 1025 c the 2 0 gpa data also define two melting stages at 2 0 gpa the first stage involves nearly modal melting of the original amphibolite minerals qtz pl amp to produce melt cpx grt during the second stage the eclogite restite melts non modally 0 86 cpx 0 14 grt 1 melt the experimental results were combined with data from the literature to generate a composite p t phase diagram for basaltic composition amphibolites over the 800 to 1100 c temperature range for pressures up to 2 0 gpa comparison of the major element compositions of the experimentally produced melts with compositions of presumed slab melts adakites shows that partial melting of amphibolite at conditions appropriate to a hot slab geotherm produces melts similar to andesitic and dacitic adakites except for significant mgo and cao depletions trace element modelling of amphibolite dehydration melting using the 2 0 gpa melting reactions produces ree abundances similar to those of adakites at 10 15 wt batch melting but the models do not reproduce the high sr y ratios characteristic of adakites taken together the major and trace element results are not consistent with the derivation of adakites by dehydration melting of the subducted slab with little or no interaction with the mantle wedge or crust if adakites are partial melts of the subducted slab they must undergo significant interaction with the mantle and or crust during which they acquire a number of their distinctive characteristics

mid eocene high sr y granites in the northern himalayan gneiss domes melting thickened lower continental crust abstract within the himalayan collisional belt granotoids occur along two sub parallel belts the northern himalayan gneiss domes nhgd and the high himalayan crystalline series hhcs in the yardoi area of nhgd two mica granite a new type granite occurs in the core of the yardoi gneiss dome ygd dala and quedang from north to south and extends at least 50 km long these granites have similar mineral composition elemental and radiogenic isotope geochemistry and age of formation shrimp zircon u pb dating indicates that the yardoi and the quedang two mica granites formed at 42 6 1 1 ma and 42 8 0 6 ma respectively similar to the dala pluton these two mica granites have 1 high sio2 68 wt al2o3 15 wt and a cnk 1 0 2 relatively high sr and lree but low y 40 and up to 250 and la yb 30 4 very weak or no eu anomalies and 5 as compared with those in the himalayan leucogranites low initial sr 87sr 86sr i

high pressure melting of metapelite and the formation of ca rich granitic melts in the namche barwa massif southern tibet abstract a detailed geochemical and geochronological study of anatectic migmatites from the namche barwa massif nbm southern tibet has been carried out to place important constraints on the thermal and tectonic evolution of the eastern himalayan syntaxis shrimp zircon u pb dating indicates that the granulite facies metapelite underwent metamorphism at 21 8 0 7 ma and 24 5 0 7 ma respectively the latter is similar to the timing of partial melting and the formation of ca rich leucosomes at 24 25 ma these leucosomes are characterized by 1 high cao na 2 o and na k ratios 2 radiogenic sr 87 sr 86 sr t 0 7407 0 7904 but unradiogenic nd e nd t 7 0 to 21 2 isotope compositions 3 depleted hfse and 3 variable but depleted hree relative to their host pelites some of the leucosomes show large degrees of nd isotopic disequilibrium up to 10 epsilon units with respect to their hosts these high cao and na 2 o leucosomes were derived from fluxing melting of metapelite at high pressures a similar process could have operated during the formation of the himalayan leucogranites and contributes to the heterogeneities in such granites

late cretaceous crustal growth in the gangdese area southern tibet petrological and sr nd hf o isotopic evidence from zhengga diorite gabbro abstract recent studies of gangdese granitic magmatism demonstrate a mantle contribution to crustal growth in southern tibet during the jurassic early eocene however the specific mechanism for adding such juvenile crust has been disputed owing to a lack of reliable evidence for contemporaneous deep mantle geodynamic processes here we report on the zhengga diorite gabbro suite from the gangdese area they consist of plagioclase labradorite and anorthite amphibole clinopyroxene biotite and minor magnetite epidote zircon and apatite la icp ms zircon u pb dating for two samples gives a ca 94 ma age for the zhengga intrusive rocks i e the late cretaceous apart from one high sio 2 52 2 wt diorite sample with slightly high k 2 o 1 72 wt and initial 87 sr 86 sr 0 7068 and low e nd t 5 6 values the gabbro samples are geochemically characterized by low sio 2 39 8 50 1 wt and k 2 o 0 3 1 1 wt strongly negative nb ta and positive sr anomalies and uniform initial 87 sr 86 sr 0 7043 0 7048 the gabbros can be divided into two groups group i gabbros with relatively low total rare earth element ree rb and sio 2 contents and positive eu anomalies and group ii gabbros with slightly higher total ree rb and sio 2 contents and negative eu anomalies the group i gabbros have e nd t 1 7 to 4 1 and zircon e hf t 6 5 to 11 1 and 18 o 5 89 to 7 24 values which are slightly different to those of the group ii gabbros 0 2 to 2 0 2 9 to 6 5 and 6 24 to 7 05 trace element compositions of amphibole and clinopyroxene grains suggest that the zhengga mafic magmas contained a significant fluid transported component probably released from subducted oceanic lithosphere we suggest that the parental magmas of the zhengga gabbros were generated by the hydrous partial melting of lithospheric mantle metasomatized by sediment melts fluids the group i gabbros were likely generated by the fractional crystallization of olivine or clinopyroxene from such parental magmas with insignificant crustal contamination whereas the group ii gabbros were probably produced by assimilation and fractional crystallization afc processes from mafic magmas that were geochemically similar to the group i gabbros pre collisional underplating of mantle derived mafic magmas likely played an important role in crustal growth and supplied the source materials for some late late cretaceous cenozoic granitoids of the gangdese batholiths this study also demonstrates that the hydrous partial melting of mantle wedge triggered by the dehydration in a subduction setting has a capacity to create significant volumes of juvenile continental crust

origin of cenozoic alkaline potassic volcanic rocks at konglongxiang lhasa terrane tibetan plateau products of partial melting of a mafic lower crustal source abstract it is generally believed that cenozoic potassic and ultrapotassic volcanic rocks of the tibetan plateau were generated by partial melting of enriched mantle this paper reports new data regarding the elemental and isotopic compositions of the konglongxiang volcanic rocks kvr k2o na2o 2 and low mgo contents in the middle western lhasa terrane tibetan plateau ar ar isotope dating of a sample from the kvr yields an age of 21 3 ma indicating that the kvr lavas erupted during the early miocene the kvr consists mainly of trachyte and rhyolite a comparison of the kvr with cenozoic potassic volcanic rocks of the tibetan plateau and the results of melting experiments involving k rich volcanic rocks as well as other k rich volcanic rocks from throughout the world reveals that the kvr trachytes originated from a mafic lower crust containing k rich minerals rather than from a mantle source the kvr rhyolites were probably derived from the middle upper crust based on age data compositional data and the regional tectonic setting we propose that the formation of the kvr and associated n s grabens was triggered by early miocene e w regional extension in the area of the southern tibetan plateau

underplating related adakites in xinjiang tianshan china abstract intermediate to acidic porphyries and dacites in the awulale and sanchakou area of the xinjiang tianshan region china conform to the definition of high sio2 adakite hsa these volcanic or subvolcanic rocks are characterized by high na2o na2o k2o high sr y 51 327 and strong depletions in hree and hfse nb ta and ti despite these characteristics they are distinct from a suite of adakites in the same area that are inferred to be derived from partial melting of subducted slab differences between the two suites are evident mainly in their rock association isotopic ages and compositions of sr and nd isotopes the subducted slab related adakites are associated with common island arc rocks niobium enriched basalt neb and high mg andesite hma formed in the late carboniferous 320 334 ma and are characterized by relative high nd t 3 4 11 6 and low 87sr 86sr i ratios 0 7032 0 7063 in contrast the awulale and sanchakou adakites were generated during the middle to late permian 260 278 ma possess a wide range of low nd t 0 75 5 69 a greater range of 87sr 86sr i 0 7039 0 7054 and have young nd model ages t2dm 472 699 ma in addition their mg 35 56 and compatible element contents mgo 0 93 2 22 wt cr 4 95 16 41 ppm ni 2 9 25 8 ppm are relative low compared to the subducted slab related adakites mg 55 71 mgo 1 22 6 78 wt cr 24 132 ppm ni 2 28 45 61 ppm based on these characteristics the regional association of igneous rocks and evidence from a global geoscience transect ggt the awulale and sanchakou adakites represent a genetically distinct suite in the xinjiang region we proposed that the source of these adakites was basaltic rock underplated to the base of the lower crust that partial melted at the rutile bearing amphibole eclogite facies 650 c and 1 5 gpa minimum pressure 50 km