Hot subduction in the southern Paleo-Asian Ocean:Insights from clinopyroxene chemistry and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopes of Carboniferous volcanics in West Junggar

The chemical evolution and pressure-temperature conditions of subduction zone magmatism along ancient suture zones in orogenic belts can provide important information regarding plate convergence processes in paleo-oceans.Carboniferous magmatism in West Junggar is key to understanding the tectonothermal and subduction history of the Junggar Ocean,which was a branch of the Paleo-Asian Ocean,as well as the accretionary processes in the southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB).We undertook a geochronological,mineralogical,geochemical,and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopic study of volcanic rocks from the Baikouquan area of West Junggar.We used these data to determine the petrogenesis,mantle source,and pressure-temperature conditions of these magmas,and further constrain the subduction and tectonic history of the Junggar Ocean.The studied volcanic rocks yielded zircon U-Pb ages of 342-337 Ma and are characterized by enrichments of large-ion lithophile elements(LILEs),and depletions in high-field-strength elements(HFSEs),indicative of an island arc affinity.The volcanic rocks have positiveƐNd(t)(5.83-7.04)andƐHf(t)(13.47-15.74)values,87Sr/86Sr(t)ratios of 0.704023-0.705658,and radiogenic 207Pb/204Pb(t)and 208Pb/204Pb(t)ratios at a given 206Pb/204Pb(t)ratio,indicative of a depleted mantle source contaminated by subduction-related materials.Geochemical modeling calculations indicate that≤1%of a subduction component comprising fluid and sediment melt could have generated the source of the parental melts of the Baikouquan volcanic rocks.Clinopyroxene phenocrysts in the volcanic rocks are classified as high-and low-Ti clinopyroxene,and pressure-temperature calculations suggest the host rocks formed at high temperatures(~1300℃)and shallow to moderate depths(<2 GPa).The magma was probably generated by hot and hydrous melting in a mantle wedge in response to subduction of young,hot oceanic lithosphere.The present results,combined with published data,suggest that the Baikouquan volcanic rocks record a transition in tectonic setting from normal cold to anomalous hot subduction of young oceanic lithosphere close to a mid-ocean ridge.This indicates ridge subduction began shortly after 337 Ma.Our results provide new insights into the tectonomagmatic evolution during intra-oceanic subduction prior to ridge subduction.

Origin of the DUPAL anomaly in the Tethyan mantle domain and its geodynamic significance

Mantle heterogeneity has revealed systematic differences in Pb isotopic compositions between the Indian OceanSouth Atlantic mantle in the Southern Hemisphere and the Pacific Ocean-North Atlantic mantle in the Northern Hemisphere.This large-scale difference in mantle isotopes in the Southern Hemisphere is known as the DUPAL anomaly,but its origin remains controversial.Based on a systematic review of the Nd-Pb isotopic evolution of the Tethyan mantle domain,this study identified the long-term presence of the DUPAL anomaly in this domain since the early Paleozoic,characterized by long-term and high mantle thorium/uranium(Th/U)ratios.By comparing the Nd-Pb isotopic compositions of the Tethyan mantle domain with the Panthalassic-Pacific mantle domain(the Paleo-Asian,Paleo-Pacific,and modern Pacific oceans),it is shown that the mantle initially had low Th/U features due to early Earth crust-mantle differentiation,with the crust having high Th/U ratios.As such,the mantle initially had uniformly low Th/U ratios that were inherited throughout the Panthalassic-Pacific mantle domain.However,the plate tectonics and continental collisions in the Tethyan domain affected its characteristics,leading to the long-term and large-scale DUPAL anomaly.During the opening of and subduction in the Tethys Ocean,Gondwanaland fragmentation and frequent continent-continent collisions led to long-term and extensive crust-mantle interactions and the continuous input of highTh/U mantle sources,which thus modified the mantle.This process formed not only the unique DUPAL anomaly in the Tethyan mantle domain,but also the Tethyan tectonic domain dominated by continental collisions.Moreover,the high DUPAL anomaly in the Proto-and Paleo-Tethyan mantle domains records the effects of mantle plumes,which might have occurred primarily during the formation of the Proto-and Paleo-Tethys oceans during the early evolution of the Tethyan domain.Therefore,the inherent coupling of mantle domain properties and plate tectonic mechanisms provides important insights for understanding plate tectonics and geodynamic processes in the Tethyan domain.