Indosinian Orogenesis in the Lhasa Terrane, Tibet: New Muscovite ^(40)Ar-^(39)Ar Geochronology and Evolutionary Process

Muscovite 40 Ar-39 Ar dating of muscovite-quartz schist, eclogite and retrograde eclogite indicates an Indosinian orogenesis occurred at 220-240 Ma in the Lhasa terrane, which is caused by the closure of Paleo-Tethyan ocean basin and the following collision of the northern Lhasa terrane and southern Gondwana land. This Indosinian orogenesis is further confirmed by the regional sedimentary characteristics, magmatic activity and ophiolite mélange. This evidence suggests that the Indosinian orogenic belt in the Lhasa terrane is widely distributed from the Coqen county in the west, and then extends eastward through the Ningzhong and Sumdo area, finally turning around the eastern Himalayan syntaxis into the Bomi county. Based on the evolutionary process, the geological development of Lhasa terrane from early Paleozoic to early Mesozoic can be divided into seven stages. All of the seven stages make up a whole Wilson circle and reveal a perfect evolutionary process of the Paleo-Tethys ocean between the northern Lhasa terrane and southern Gondwana land. The Indosinian orogenisis is a significant event for the evolution of the Lhasa terrane as well as the Tibetan Plateau.

Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Subduction-related Rocks with High Sr/Y Ratios in the Zedong Area: Implications for the Magmatism in Southern Lhasa Terrane during Late Cretaceous

The southern Lhasa Terrane is famous for its huge magmatic belt which records the magmatism during Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Although the Mesozoic continental-margin setting in the southern Lhasa Terrane has been identified, details of this tectonic setting and the evolution history during the Late Cretaceous remain unclear. To further constrain these issues, we present zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb, Hf isotopic and geochemical data of the Gongbari dacites （of the Sangri Group） which intruded by Paleocene granodiorites from the eastern part of the southern Lhasa Terrane, Tibet. New age data indicate that the dacites were generated at -95.4 Ma, which suggests the Sangri Group volcanism may last to Late Cretaceous. The Gongbari dacites are characterized by high Sr （428-758 ppm） contents, low concentration of heavy rare earth elements and Y （e.g. Yb=0.78-1.14 ppm; Y=8.85-11.4 ppm） with high Sr/Y （41.91-67.59） and La/Yb （22.64-30.64） ratios, similar to those of adakite. The rocks are calc-alkaline, metaluminous, enriched in LILEs, depleted in HFSEs, and have positive tar（t） values （＋7.7 to ＋11.6）. The Gongbari dacites were probably produced by partial melting of young and hot subducted Neo- Tethyan oceanic crust under amphibolite to garnet amphibolite-facies conditions. Though the Gangdese Mountains may have formed before Indo-Asian collision, the southern margin of Lhasa Terrane might not go through obviously crustal thickening during the northward subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere.

Post-subdution evolution of the Northern Lhasa Terrane, Tibet: Constraints from geochemical anomalies, chronology and petrogeochemistry

Bangong-Nujiang collisional zone(BNCZ)is an older one in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and resulted in the famous Bangong-Nujiang metallogenic belt,which plays an important role in evaluating the formation and uplift mechanism of plateau.The northern and central Lhasa Terrane composed the southern part of the BNCZ.Since ore deposits can be used as markers of geodynamic evolution,the authors carried 1∶50000 stream sedimental geochemical exploration in the Xiongmei area in the Northern Lhasa Terrane to manifest the mineralization,and based on this mineralization with geochemical and chronological characteristics of related magmatic rocks to constrain their geodynamics and connection with the evolution of the Lhasa Terrane.The authors find Early Cretaceous magma mainly resulted in Cu,Mo mineralization,Late Cretaceous magma mainly resulted in Cu,Mo,and W mineralization in the studying area.The results suggest a southward subduction,slab rolling back and break-off,and thickened lithosphere delamination successively occurred within the Northern Lhasa Terrane.

A Compilation of New and Existing Thermochronology Data Concerning the Lhasa Terrane Combined with a Geological Synthesis of the Area

The history and geodynamic mechanisms of Cenozoic exhumation and denudation of the Lhasa terrane(LT),southern Tibetan Plateau, remain poorly constrained. Most previous studies investigating the exhumation of the LT have relied on extrapolating interpretations based on a few well-studied but small areas, which inevitably introduce bias. Here,our compilation of new and published thermochronologic ages are plotted against latitude, longitude, and elevation, to illustrate the distribution of cooling ages across broad regions of the LT. Primary results reveal that(1) the north LT experienced significant exhumation during 80–40 Ma;(2) compared with north LT, exhumation and erosion in the south LT continued after ~40 Ma;and(3) N–S striking rifting, E–W striking river incision, and thrusts led to continued local denudation of the south LT between 20–5 Ma.

In Situ Stress Measurements in the Lhasa Terrane,Tibetan Plateau,China

the India and Eurasia plates. Knowledge of the stress state is critical to evaluate the crustal stability and the design of underground excavations. Because of the limitations imposed by natural conditions, little research has been performed on the present crustal in situ stress in the Tibetan Plateau, and further study is imperative. In this study, hydraulic fracturing measurements were conducted in Nyching County （LZX） and Lang County （LX）, Lhasa terrane to characterize the shallow crustal stress state. The results indicate that the stress state in the LZX borehole is markedly different from that in the LX borehole, in both magnitude and orientation. At the same measurement depths, the magnitudes of horizontal principal stresses in the LX borehole are 1.5–3.0 times larger than those in the LZX borehole. The stress regime in the LX borehole favors reverse faulting characterized by SH〉Sh〉Sv, where SH, Sh, and Sv are maximum horizontal, minimum horizontal, and vertical principal stresses, respectively. The SH and Sh values are approximately three and two times greater than Sv. Fracture impression results reveal that SH in the LX borehole are predominantly N–S, while in the LZX borehole the maximum horizontal principal stress is mainly in the NNE-direction. The heterogeneity of the regional stress state might be a result of the population and distribution of local structures and seismic activities. The stress state in the LX borehole has exceeded the critical state of failure equilibrium, and there is an optimally orientated pre-existing fault near the borehole. It can be concluded that the optimally orientated fault is likely to be active when the stress has built up sufficiently to destroy the frictional equilibrium; it is suggested that research focus should be placed on this in future. The stress states in boreholes LZX and LX indicate uniformity of the regional stress field and diversity of the local stress fields resulting from the interactions among regional dynamic forces, tectonic stress field, and geological structures.

Characteristics of the crustal and mantle structures across Lhasa terrane

The Himalayan-Tibetan orogen is the youngest and arguably most spectacular of all the continent-continent collisional belts on the Earth. There are not only north-south extrusions but also east-west extensions in the Tibetan Plateau. All these phenomena are the results of the Indian plate subducting into the Eurasia plate about 70 Ma ago （Yin and Harrison, 2000）, but the deep dynamics mechanism is still an enigma. Exploring the crust and upper mantle structure of Tibetan plateau and revealing the process and the effect of collision are crucial for solving the puzzle of the Tibet uplift and the continent-continent collision. This research is based on the data from the 360km-long Dagze-Deqen-Domar profile, which can be divided into two sections. The Dagze-Deqen section traverses the Nyainqntanglha Mountains and the Yadong-Gulu rift, the biggest rift in the Tibet. The Deqen-Domar section crosses Lhasa terrane and Qiangtang terrane. We study the transverse density structure of the crust and mantle beneath the Dagze-Deqen-Domar profile using a joint gravity-seismic inversion technique in order to obtain the Moho and the asthenospheric configuration beneath the profile and understand the deep dynamics mechanism of the Yadong-Gulu rift.

New Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb Ages of the Langjiu Formation Volcanic Rocks in the Shiquanhe Area,Western Lhasa Terrane and their Implications

Objective The potassic and ultrapotassic rocks relating to the India-Eurasia collision and continual plate convergence are widely distributed in the Lhasa terrane. These rocks are very important to understand the deep processes of the India-Eurasia collision and the uplift and evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. Although high-potassic volcanic rocks are also exposed in the western Lhasa terrane, their formation time is still uncertain for the lack of reliable dating. We carried out zircon U-Pb geochronological study on the Langjiu Formation volcanic rocks, which are part of the Early Cretaceous Zenong group volcanic rocks based on 1：250000 scale Shiquanhe regional geological survey report, in the Shiquanhe area of the western Lhasa terrane. These new age data not only offer chronological basis for the regional stratigraphic correlation and classification, but also provide an essential opportunity for revealing signatures of magmatic pulses hidden in the deep crust of the Lhasa terrane.

Geochronology and Petrogenesis of Late Carboniferous to Early Permian Basalts in the Central Lhasa Subterrane, Southern Tibet: Implications for the Evolution of the Sumdo Paleo-Tethys Ocean

Basalts from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian are extensively developed in the central Lhasa subterrane, southern Tibet. Studying the petrogenesis of these rocks may have implications for the late Paleozoic arc magmatism along the central Lhasa subterrane uncovering more of the evolution of the Sumdo Paleo-Tethys Ocean and its dynamic mechanism. Basalt samples from the Luobadui Formation in the Leqingla area, NW of Linzhou City in the central Lhasa subterrane, southern Tibet exhibit arc-like geochemical signatures in a subduction-zone tectonic setting characterized by high Al_(2)O_(3) and low TiO_(2) contents, fractionated REE patterns with low Nb/La ratios and high LREE concentrations, and negative HFSE anomalies. Based on their higher Th/Ce, Nb/Zr, and lower Ba/Th, Pb/Nd ratios, slightly negative to positive ε_(Nd)(t) values, and the relatively high Sr-Pb isotopic compositions, these samples were probably derived from partial melting of a depleted mantle source of garnet + spinel lherzolite, metasomatized by subducted sediments around 297 Ma. Modeling of the trace elements indicates that these basalts experienced fractional crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene and minor plagioclase during magma ascent and eruption. It is proposed that these Late Carboniferous–Early Permian basalts are associated with the northward subduction of the Sumdo Paleo-Tethys Ocean seafloor along the southern margin of the central Lhasa subterrane.

Records of Indosinian Orogenesis in Lhasa Terrane, Tibet

Based on the deformation characteristics of the ductile shear zones in Sumdo （松多） Group, the quartz fabric by EBSD （electron backscatter diffraction）, the data of muscovite 40Ar-39Ar geochronology （220-230 Ma） from ductile shear zones and the zircon SHRIMP U-Pb chronology （190 Ma） of granites in Sumdo region, Lhasa （拉萨） terrane is thought to have experienced an important Indosinian orogenic event at 220-230 Ma, which caused the closure of the paleo-Tethys Ocean along the tectonic zone of eclogite and the collision between northern part and southern part of the Lhasa terrane. The zircon SHRIMP U-Pb chronology of 190 Ma for biotite adamellite, with the distributing characteristics of the granite massif intruding in Sumdo Group, indicates that the biotite adamellite should be the late orogenic or post-orogenic granite resulting from the Indosinian orogenesis. The discovery of Indosinian orogenic belt in Lhasa terrane expansed the southern boundary of Indosinian orogenic belt in Qinghai （青海）-Tibet plateau to Lhasa terrane from Qiangtang （羌塘） terrane, which changed the understanding about the distribution of Indosinian orogenic belt in Qinghai-Tibet plateau and extended the ＂T＂ type Indosinian orogenic belt in China. The study is very important for the formation and distribution of paleo-Tethys Ocean in Tibet. The ancient terrane framework and evolution of Qinghai-Tibet plateau need further research.

Cenozoic low temperature cooling history of the eastern Lhasa terrane:Implications for high-relief topography of external drainage area in the southern Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau geographically contains internal and external drainage areas based on the distributions of river flows and catchments.The internal and external drainage areas display similar highelevations,while their topographic reliefs are not comparable;the former shows a large low-relief surface,whereas the latter is characterized by relatively high relief.The eastern Lhasa terrane is a key tectonic component of the Tibetan Plateau.It is characterized by high topography and relief,but the thermal history of its basement remains relatively poorly constrained.In this study we report new apatite fission track data from the eastern part of the central Lhasa terrane to constrain the thermo-tectonic evolution of the external drainage area in the southern Tibetan Plateau.Twenty-one new AFT ages and associated thermal history models reveal that the basement underlying the external drainage area in southern Tibet experienced three main phases of rapid cooling in the Cenozoic.The Paleocene-early Eocene(-60–48 Ma)cooling was likely induced by crustal shortening and associated rock exhumation,due to accelerated northward subduction of the NeoTethys oceanic lithosphere.A subsequent cooling pulse lasted from the late Eocene to early Oligocene(-40–28 Ma),possibly due to the thickening and consequential erosion of the Lhasa lithosphere resulted from the continuous northward indentation of the India plate into Eurasia.The most recent rapid cooling event occurred in the middle Miocene-early Pliocene(-16–4 Ma),likely induced by accelerated incision of the Lhasa River and local thrust faulting.Our AFT ages and published low-temperature thermochronological data reveal that the external drainage area experienced younger cooling events compared with the internal drainage area,and that the associated differentiated topographic evolution initiated at ca.30 Ma.The contributing factors for the formation of the high-relief topography mainly contain active surface uplift,fault activity,and the enhanced incision of the Yarlung River.

P-T-t Path of Mafic Granulite Metamorphism in Northern Tibet and Its Geodynamical Implications

Mafic granulites have been found as structural lenses within the huge thrust system outcropping about 10 km west of Nam Co of the northern Lhasa Terrane, Tibetan Plateau. Petrological evidence from these rocks indicates four distinct metamorphic assemblages. The early metamorphic assemblage (M1) is preserved only in the granulites and represented by plagioclase+hornblende inclusions within the cores of garnet porphyroblasts. The peak assemblage (M2) consists of garnet+clinopyroxene+hornblende+plagioclase in the mafic granulites. The peak metamorphism was followed by near-isothermal decompression (M3), which resulted in the development of hornblende+plagioclase symplectites surrounding embayed garnet porphyroblasts, and decompression-cooling (M4) is represented by minerals of hornblende+plagioclase recrystallized during mylonization. The peak (M2) P-T conditions of garnet+ clinopyroxene+plagioclase+hornblende were estimated at 769-905℃ and 0.86-1.02 GPa based on the geothermometers and geobarometers. The P-T conditions of plagioclase+hornblende symplectites (M3) were estimated at 720-800℃ and 0.55-0.68 GPa, and recrystallized hornblende+plagioclase (M4) at 594-708℃ and 0.26-0.47 GPa. It is impossible to estimate the P-T conditions of the early metamorphic assemblage (M1) because of the absence of modal minerals. The combination of petrographic textures, metamorphic reaction history, thermobarometric data and corresponding isotopic ages defines a clockwise near-isothermal decompression metamorphic path, suggesting that the mafic granulites had undergone initial crustal thickening, subsequent exhumation, and cooling and retrogression. This tectonothermal path is considered to record two major phases of collision which resulted in both the assemblage of Gondwanaland during the Pan-African orogeny at 531 Ma and the collision of the Qiangtang and Lhasa Terranes at 174 Ma, respectively.

How does the elevation changing response to crustal thickening process in the central Tibetan Plateau since 120 Ma?

When and how the Tibetan Plateau formed and maintained its thick crust and high elevation on Earth is continuing debated.Specifically,the coupling relationship between crustal thickening and corresponding paleoelevation changing has not been well studied.The dominant factors in crustal thickness changing are crustal shortening,magmatic input and surface erosion rates.Crustal thickness change and corresponding paleoelevation variation with time were further linked by an isostatic equation in this study.Since 120 Ma crustal shortening,magmatic input and surface erosion rates data from the central Tibetan Plateau are took as input parameters.By using a one-dimensional isostasy model,the authors captured the first-order relationship between crustal thickening and historical elevation responses over the central Tibetan Plateau,including the Qiangtang and Lhasa terranes.Based on the modeling results,the authors primarily concluded that the Qiangtang terrane crust gradually thickened to ca.63 km at ca.40 Ma,mainly due to tectonic shortening and minor magmatic input combined with a slow erosion rate.However,the Lhasa terrane crust thickened by a combination of tectonic shortening,extensive magmatic input and probably Indian plate underthrusting,which thickened the Lhasa crust over 75 km since 25 Ma.Moreover,a longstanding elevation>4000 m was strongly coupled with a thickened crust since about 35 Ma in the central Tibetan Plateau.

Geochronology,Geochemistry and Geological Significance of Volcanic Rocks of the Bangba District,Western Segment of the Central Lhasa Subterrane

The Lhasa terrane records voluminous magmatism related to the subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere,the study of which constrains the tectonomagmatic evolution of the region.We report zircon U-Pb ages,whole-rock compositions and Sr-Nd isotopic data from volcanic rocks in the Bangba district within the central Lhasa subterrane to constrain their magmatic source and petrogenesis.Zircon U-Pb dating of two volcanic rock samples yields End Cretaceous ages of 70.0±0.8 and 74.3±1.2 Ma.The rocks have high SiO_(2)(65.41 wt.%-68.45 wt.%),Al_(2)O_(3)(16.16 wt.%-16.59 wt.%)and K_(2)O(5.00 wt.%-6.73 wt.%)contents,and low TFe2O3(2.33 wt.%-2.79 wt.%),MgO(0.64 wt.%-1.44 wt.%)and TiO_(2)(0.61 wt.%-0.65 wt.%)contents,with aluminium saturation indices(A/CNK)of 0.99-1.06.The major-and trace-element compositions of the rocks show they are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous high-K calc-alkaline trachydacite.The relatively high SiO2 and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions((^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr)_(i)=0.722654,0.722038 and 0.725787 andε_(Nd)(t)=-12.27,-12.36 and-6.09,respectively)indicate that the trachydacites formed by partial melting of crustal material.The trachydacites are relatively enriched in light rare earth elements,depleted in heavy rare earth elements,have high(La/Yb)_(N) and(Gd/Yb)_(N) ratios(>61 and>6,respectively),and low Y(<18 ppm)and Yb(<18 ppm)contents,indicating they most likely formed from partial melting of lower crust in the garnet stability field.Considering the geodynamic setting of the region during this period,partial melting of the ancient Lhasa crust was likely triggered by underplating mafic magmas during rollback of the Neo-Tethyan slab.

Paleomagnetism of late Cretaceous dykes in the Gangdese belt: New constraints on the position and structure of the southern margin of Asia prior to the India-Asia collision

This paper report paleomagnetic data from late Cretaceous diorite dykes that sub-vertically intrude granodiorites in the eastern Gangdese belt near the city of Lhasa.Our research goals are to provide further constraints on pre-collisional structure of the southern margin of Asia and the onset of the India-Asia collision.Magnetite is identified as the main magnetic carrier in our study.The magnetite shows no evidence of metamorphism or alteration as determined from optical and scanning electron microscope observations.A strong mineral orientation is revealed by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility analysis both for the intruded dykes and the country rocks.The authors interpret this AMS fabric to have formed during intrusion rather than deformation.Fifteen of 23 sites yield acceptable site mean characteristic remanences with dual polarities.A scatter analysis of the virtual geomagnetic poles suggests that the mean result adequately averaged paleosecular variation.The paleomagnetic pole from the Gangdese dykes yields a paleolatitude of 14.3°N±5.8°N for the southern margin of Asia near Lhasa.The paleolatitude corresponds to an in-between position of the Lhasa terrane during about 130‒60 Ma.Furthermore,the mean declination of the characteristic remanent magnetization reveals a significant counterclockwise rotation of 18°±9°for the sampling location since about 83 Ma.In the light of tectonic setting of the dykes,the strike of the southern margin of Asia near Lhasa is restored to trend approximately about 310°,which is compatible with the hypothesis that the southern margin of Eurasia had a quasi-linear structure prior to its collision with India.