Remnants and fragments of the subducted paleo-Pacific plate:Constraints from geochemistry and geophysics

The subduction and rollback of the paleo-Pacific plate during Mesozoic time was the key engine for the evolution of the continental margin in eastern China. It led to lateral accretion of continental crust in Northeast China, lithospheric destruction beneath the North China Craton, and the generation of huge volumes of felsic magmatic rocks in South China. This had a profound influence on deep material cycles and the evolution of epigenetic environmental systems along the continental margin of East Asia. To fully understand the transformation of the dynamic mechanism during the subduction and rollback of the paleoPacific plate, we have attempted to trace the remnants and fragments of the subducted paleo-Pacific plate at great depths. Such remnants in both temporal and spatial dimensions can be tracked by using geochemical and geophysical approaches. Studies of the trace elements, Mg-Zn isotopes and Os-Nd-Hf-Pb-O isotopes in continental basalts from eastern China reveal a significant number of the remnants of subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate, and the initial subduction can be traced back to the Early Jurassic. Large-scale geophysical imaging unveils a multitude of high-velocity anomalies in the lower mantle of East Asia.Notably, many high-velocity bodies, aptly referred to as “slab graveyards”, are nestled at the base of the lower mantle. Numerous isolated high-velocity anomalies are also present in the upper part of the lower mantle, creating conduits for the descent of the subducted slabs into the lower mantle. However, a resolution of the remnants for the subducted slabs within the lower mantle are quite low. Consequently, their impact on the lower mantle's dynamics is yet to be thoroughly investigated. Finally, the presently observed big mantle wedge(BMW) in East Asia has developed through subduction of the Pacific plate in the Cenozoic.However, following the rollback of the paleo-Pacific plate(began at ~145 Ma), a Cretaceous BMW system would also form above the mantle transition zone in East Asia. There are significant differences in tectonic-magmatic processes and basinforming and hydrocarbon-accumulation processes among different regions along the East Asian continental margin. Such differences may be controlled by variations in the speed and angle of rollback of the paleo-Pacific plate.

Geochronology and geochemistry of gneissic metagranites in eastern Dabie Mountains:Implications for the Neoproterozoic tectono-magmatism along the northeastern margin of the Yangtze Block

The gneissic metagranites with Neoproterozoic protolith ages are widely exposed along the eastern margin of the Dabie ultra-high-pressure(UHP) metamorphic belt.In this paper,five representative plutons,including Huangzhen,Daba,Shima,Shuanghe,and Sanzusi,were selected for a detailed chronological and geochemical study aiming to identify the nature of the protoliths and to reveal their implications for the Neoproterozoic tectono-magmatic evolution along the northeastern margin of the Yangtze Block.These gneissic metagranites consist mainly of quartz,albite(oligoclase) and K-feldspar,and minor amphibole and biotite,as well as some metamorphic minerals due to the UHP metamorphism,such as phengite,epidote and minor kyanite and garnet.Mafic alkaline minerals(e.g.,aegirine or aegirine-augite) have been observed in some of these plutons.Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating results indicate that the protoliths of the gneissic metagranites have been generated in Mid-Neoproterozoic(770-780 Ma),and suffered both ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in Early Mesozoic and subsequently high-pressure eclogite-facies recrystallization at about 215 Ma.Although the gneissic metagranites generally have high SiO2 contents(70.23%-77.23%) and show metaluminous-weakly peraluminous signatures(ASI=0.90-1.05),there are still some geochemical variances between different plutons.Compared with the Sanzusi pluton,the metagranites from the Huangzhen,Daba,Shima,and Shuanghe have high K2O+Na2O contents(7.76%-9.45%),FeOtotal/(FeOtotal+MgO) ratios(0.82-0.96),HFSEs and Ga concentrations with an average 104×Ga/Al ratio up to 3.07.Combined with the features that the four plutons commonly contain aegirine-augite and have high zircon saturation temperatures(816-918°C),it is suggested that their proto-liths belong to peralkaline A-type granites.The Sanzusi pluton generally contains biotite and epidote generated from metamorphic reaction of amphibole,and is chemically enriched in calcium and depleted in potassium with K2O/Na2O ratios ranging from 0.42 to 0.54,suggesting their protoliths should be ascribed to calc-alkaline granitoids(I-type).The gneissic metagranites in the eastern margin of Dabie Mountains show both arc-and rift-like geochemical signatures,and their protoliths likely have been generated by reworking of the preexisting arc-related crust under an extensional setting,suggesting that the northeastern margin of the Yangtze Block during the Middle Neoproterozoic likely have been under the initial stage of a passive rifting rather than in an active rifting setting typically induced by the upwelling of a mantle plume.

Garnet granulite facies xenoliths from Yingfengling Cenozoic basalt in Leizhou, Guangdong Province

The granulite xenoliths are first found in Yingfengling pyroclastic rocks of Leizhou region, Guangdong Province. Of them high_pressure garnet granulite xenolith found is very sparse in China. Garnet granulite is different from pyroxene granulite in mineral assemblage and composition. \%P_T\% calculation shows that garnet granulite was formed at 1 130-1 160℃and 1.4-1.7 GPa, and pyriclasite at about 800℃and 0.65-0.80 GPa. High xenolith_derived paleogeotherm indicates Cenozoic rifting in Leizhou area. Granulites with varied mineral assemblages were formed at different depths by the metamorphism of the underplated basaltic melt.