Destruction of the Northern Margin of the North China Craton in Mid-Late Triassic: Evidence from Asthenosphere-derived Mafic Enclaves in the Jiefangyingzi Granitic Pluton from the Chifeng Area, Southern Inner Mongolia

The petrology, geochronology and geochemistry of the mafic enclaves in the Mid-Late Triassic Jiefangyingzi pluton from Chifeng area, southern Inner Mongolia, in China are studied to reveal their petrogenetic relationship with the host pluton. Furthermore, the coeval magmatic assemblage and its petrogenesis on the northern margin of the North China craton(NCC) are studied synthetically to elucidate their tectonic setting and the implications for the destruction of the NCC. Zircon U-Pb dating reveals that the mafic enclaves formed at 230.4 ± 2.2 Ma, which is similar to the age of the host pluton. The most basic mafic enclaves belong to weak alkaline rocks, and they display rare earth element(REE) and trace element normalized patterns and trace element compositions similar to those of ocean island basalt(OIB). In addition, they have positive εNd(t) values(+3.84 to +4.94) similar to those of the Cenozoic basalts on the northern margin of the NCC. All of these geochemical characteristics suggest that the basic mafic rocks originated from the asthenosphere. Petrological and geochemical studies suggest that the Jiefangyingzi pluton and the intermediate mafic enclaves were formed by the mixing of the asthenosphere-derived and crust-derived magmas in different degrees. The Mid-Late Triassic magmatic rocks on the northern margin of the NCC could be classified into three assemblages according to their geochemical compositions: alkaline series, weak alkaline–sub-alkaline series and sub-alkaline series rocks. Petrogenetic analyses suggest that the upwelling of the asthenosphere played an important role in the formation of these Mid-Late Triassic magmatic rocks. Basing on an analysis of regional geological data, we suggest that the northern margin of the NCC underwent destruction due to the upwelling of the asthenosphere during the Mid-Late Triassic, which was induced by the delamination of the root of the collisional orogeny between Sino-Korean and Siberian paleoplates in Late Permian.

Geochemical Characteristics and Geological Significance of Early Permian Baya'ertuhushuo Gabbro in South Great Xing'an Range

Field geological investigation and geochemical analysis are carried out on Baya＇ertuhushuo Gabbro in South Great Xing＇an Range. Field investigation reveals that the gabbro is a magmatic intrusion rather than a component of an ophiolite suite as previously thought. Zircon laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy （LA-ICP-MS） U-Pb dating indicates the gabbro was formed in 274-275 Ma, just as the widespread volcanic rocks of Dashizhai Formation （P1d）, monzogranites and miarolitic alkali-feldspar granites in the study area. The gabbro has SiO2 content between 47.23 wt% and 50.17 wt%, high MgO and FeOT contents of 6.95-11.29 wt% and 7.32- 12.24wt%, respectively, and it belongs to low-K tholeiitic series in the SiO2-K2O diagram. The Chondrite-normalized rare earth element （REE） patterns and primitive mantle-normalized spider diagrams of the gabbro are similar to those of Normal Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt （N-MORB） except for the enrichment of large ion lithophfle elements （LILE）, such as Rb, Ba and K. In trace element tectonic discriminative diagrams, the samples are mainly plotted in the N-MORB field, and Zircon in situ Lu-Hf isotopic analysis also indicates the gabbro originated from depleted mantle. Through synthetic studies of the geochemical characteristics and petrogenesis of Baya＇ertuhushuo gabbro, volcanic rocks of Dashizhai Formation and granitoids in the area, it is suggested that the early Permian magmatism in the Xilinhot-Xiwuqi area formed in the tectonic setting of asthenosphere upwelling, which was caused by breaking-off of the subducted Paleo-Asian Ocean slab.

Petrogenesis of high-Mg# Cenozoic volcanic rocks of southern Qiangtang area, Tibetan Plateau： geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic evidence

The Nadingcuo volcanic rock suite is the most volmninous Cenozoic volcanic suite in the southern Qiangtang area of the northern Tibetan Plateau. These high-K calc-alkaline volcanic rocks were formed between 36 and 34 Ma, characterized by high Mg# values, high concentrations of TiO2 and P205, 87Sr/S6Sr ratios of 0. 704682--0. 706 112, and aNd（t） values of - 1.2 to 1.6. There is a lack of reasonable explanations for sour- cing and origin of magmas that formed the rocks with high Mg# values and TiO2 and P2O5 enrichments, which makes the previous research results still controversial. This study reviews the geochemical characteristics of Nadingcuo volcanic rocks and the data we have newly found in our fieldwork. We give some new interpretation to the magmatic evolution of the basaltic magmas in the discussed area dominated by fractional crystallization. The geochemistry of trachyandesite and trachyte units in the studied area is indicative of formation from mantle- derived magmas that mixed with crustal materials. The high values of Mg# and TiO2 and P205 enrichment in these units are evident to show the mixing between mantle-derived magmas with -30-40 wt.% rhyolitic melt or assimilation of a similar amount of felsic rocks. The geochemistry of basaltic rocks in the area also suggests that the Nadingcuo basalts may have been derived from an ocean island basalt （OIB） -type source that contained and was mixed with ancient mantle wedge derived material, indicating that a 36-34 Ma asthenospheric upwelling e- vent in the Qiangtang area may relate to the northward subduction of Indian lithospheric mantle and the south- ward subduction of Asian lithospherie mantle. This upwelling of asthenospherie material was centered in the southern Qiangtang area between 36 and 34 Ma, while the northward movement of the Indian Craton caused this upwelling mantle flow to continuously migrate northward, resulting in the current centering of this upwelling in the Hoh Xil-Kunlun region.

Geochemistry and tectonic significance of volcanic rocks from Qushenla Formation in Gerze area of northern Tibetan Plateau

By using petrological,isotope chronological,and geochemical methods,the authors studied the volcanic rocks in the studied area,mainly including dacites and trachytes. The results show that they formed during the late Early Cretaceous. Geochemically,the volcanic rocks are relatively enriched in large-ion lithophile elements( Rb,K,and Th) and depleted in high field strength elements( Nb,Ta,and Ti),and rich in light rare earth elements,and depleted in heavy rare earth elements. The fact indicates that the main body of the volcanic rocks in the Qushenla Formation was derived from the partial melting of lower crust. The lithological assemblages are characterized by continental high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic series,suggesting that the southward-subducting oceanic slab in southern Bangong Lake had break off and that the Bangong Lake-Nujiang Ocean had closed before 107 Ma. The main dynamic mechanisms for the genesis of this set of intermediate-acidic volcanic rocks were upwelling of the asthenosphere and partial melting of the lower crust caused by slab break-off.