Multiple Phases of Mafic Magmatism in Gyangze-Kangma Area: Implications for the Tectonic Evolution of Eastern Tethyan Himalaya

A number of E-W trending subparallel mafic dikes of diabase composition occurred in Gyangze-Kangma area,eastern Tethyan Himalaya,southern Tibet.They intruded into the Tethyan Himalaya sedimentary sequence.Whether they belong to the;32 Ma Comei LIP（Zhu et al.,2009）or

Elusive Cenozoic Metamorphism in Mafic Dike Swarms within the Tethyan Himalaya, Southern Tibet

Mafic dike swarms are well-developed within the Tethyan Himalaya,southern Tibet,in response to the breakup of Gondwana supercontinent,seafloor spreading of the Tethyan Ocean,and forearc hyperextension during the

Fingerprints of the Kerguelen Mantle Plume in Southern Tibet: Evidence from Early Cretaceous Magmatism in the Tethyan Himalaya

Early Cretaceous magmatism suggested to be related with the Kerguelen mantle plume has been reported in both the eastern and western Tethyan Himalayan terrane.Coeval magmatism(133-138 Ma)recorded by hypabyssal intrusive rocks have been recently discovered in the central Tethyan Himalaya(TH).The hypabyssal intrusions are dominated by OIB-like basaltic rocks intruded by later porphyritic/ophitic intermediate rocks and are characterized by strongly light rare earth element enrichment and prominent Na-Ta depletion and Pb enrichment.The basaltic rocks have low 143Nd/144Nd ratios ranging from 0.512365 to 0.512476 but relatively high 87Sr/86Sr ratios ranging from 0.708185 to 0.708966.TheεNd(t)ratios of the basaltic rocks are between-4.33 and-2.20 and initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios are 0.707807 to 0.708557.Geochemical data demonstrate that these rocks have experienced combined crustal assimilation and fractional crystallization processes.Magmatic zircons from the hypabyssal rocks exclusively have negativeεHf(t)values ranging from-0.7 to-12.7,suggestive of assimilation of crustal material.Zircons from these hypabyssal rocks have UPb ages ranging from 130 to 147 Ma.Inherited zircons have UPb ages from 397 to 2495 Ma.All the zircons are characterized by negativeεHf(t)values.The Jiding ocean island basalt(OIB)-like magmatism is geochemically and geochronologically comparable with that in the western and eastern Tethyan Himalaya,indicating widespread OIB-like magmatism in the northern margin of Greater India during the Cretaceous.Collectively,these rocks can be correlated with other early Cretaceous magmatism in western Australia and northern Antarctica.Considering the similarities,we suggest that the Jiding hypabyssal rocks are also genetically related to Kerguelen plume.Within the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone(YZSZ),there are also numerous occurrences of OIB-like rocks derived from mantle sources different from those of N-MORB-like magmas.The OIB-like magmatism in the YZSZ is nearly coeval with that in the TH,and the two are geochemically similar.We suggest that the OIB-like magmatism in the Neo-Tethyan ocean and the northern margin of Greater India may represent the dispersed fingerprints of the Kerguelen plume preserved in southern Tibet,China.

RECORD OF BLOCK ROTATION AND MAGNETIC FIELD REVERSALS IN THE TETHYAN HIMALAYA(HIDDEN VALLEY,CENTRAL NEPAL)

Metasediments from the Tethyan Himalaya (TH) were sampled for paleomagnetic studies in several areas. In this paper, we will present the first results from Carboniferous and Early Triassic marly limestones from Hidden Valley (Central Nepal).. The paleomagnetic directions reflect a Tertiary overprint probably synchronous with the metamorphism. In this area, the metamorphic conditions reached during Tertiary are poorly constrained. Temperatures are probably in between 300 and 400℃. The age of the thermal event is still debated. No geochronological data is available in this area. Previously published geochronological data from the northern part of TH metasediments in India ranges from 47 to 42Ma (Ar/Ar Illite) after Weissman et al. (1999) and Bonhomme and Garzanti (1991). While in the southern part (close to HHC), biotite Ar/Ar data ranges from 30 to 26Ma in Marsyandi Valley (Coleman and Hodges, 1998) and muscovite Ar/Ar ranges from 18 to 12Ma in the upper Kali Gandaki Valley (Godin et al., 1998).. In this context, the age of the magnetization can′t be defined with precision.

Planktic Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds in Kangmar,Southern Tibet,China

The planktic foraminifera of the Chuangde Formation （Upper Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds, CORBs） as exposed at Tianbadong section, Kangmar, southern Tibet has been firstly studied for a detailed for a detailed biostratigraphy elaboration. A rich and well-preserved planktic foraminifera were recovered from the Chuangde Formation of the Tianbadong section and the Globotruncanita elevata, Globotruncana ventricosa, Radotruncana calcarata, Globotruncanella havanensis, Globotruncana aegyptiaca, Gansserina gansseri and Abathomphalus mayaroensis zones have been recognized. The planktic foraminiferal assemblage points to an early Campanian to Maastrichitian age for the CORBs of the eastern North Tethyan Himalayan sub-belt, which also provides a better understanding of the shifting progress of the Indian Plate to the north and the evolution of the Neotethyan ocean. The lithostratigraphy of the Chuangde Formation of the Tianbadong section comprises two lithological sequences observed in ascending succession： a lower unit （the Shale Member） mainly composed of purple （cherry-red, violet-red） shales with interbedded siltstones and siliceous rocks; and an upper unit （the Limestone Member） of variegated limestones. The strata of the Chuangde Formation in the Tianbadong section are similar to CORBs in other parts of the northern Tethyan Himalaya area of Asia （Gyangze, Sa＇gya, Sangdanlin, northern Zanskar, etc.）. The fossil contents of the Chuangde Formation in the sections （CORBs） studied provide a means of correlation with the zonation schemes for those of the northern Tethyan Himalayan sub-belt and the Upper Cretaceous of the southern Tethyan Himalayan sub-belt. Paleogeographic reconstruction for the Late Cretaceous indicates that the Upper Cretaceous Chuangde Formation （CORBs） and correlatable strata in northern Zanskar were representative of slope to basinal deposits, which were situated in the northern Tethyan Belt. Correlatable Cretaceous strata in Spiti and Gamba situated in the southern Tethyan Belt in contrast were deposited in shelf environments along the Tethyan Himalayan passive margin. CORBs are most likely formed by the oxidation of Fe（II）-enriched, anoxic deep ocean water near the chemocline that separated the oxic oceanic surface from the anoxic.

Behavior of apatite in granitic melts derived from partial melting of muscovite in metasedimentary sources

Fluid-absent and fluid-fluxed melting of muscovite in metasedimentary sources are two types of crustal anatexis to produce the Himalaya Cenozoic leucogranites.Apatite grains separated from melts derived from the two types of parting melting have different geochemical compositions.The leucogranites derived from fluid-fluxed melting have relict apatite grains and magmatic crystallized apatite grains,by contrast,there are only crystallized apatite grains in the leucogranites derived from fluid-absent melting.Moreover,apatite grains crystallized from fluid-fluxed melting of muscovite contain higher Sr,but lower Th and LREE than those from fluid-absent melting of muscovite,which could be controlled by the distribution of partitioning coefficient(D_(Ap/Melt))between apatite and leucogranite.D_(Ap/Melt) in granites derived from fluidabsent melting is higher than those from fluid-fluxed melting.So,not only SiO_(2) and A/CNK,but also types of crustal anatexis are sensitive to trace element partition coefficients for apatite.In addition,due to being not susceptible to alteration,apatite has a high potential to yield information about petrogenetic processes that are invisible at the whole-rock scale and thus is a useful tool as a petrogenetic indicator.

Baddeleyite and zircon U-Pb ages of the ultramafic rocks in Chigu Tso area,Southeastern Tibet and their constraints on the timing of Comei Large Igneous Province

A suite of ultramafic and mafic rocks developed in the Chigu Tso area,eastern Tethyan Himalaya.Baddeleyite and zircon U-Pb ages acquired by SIMS and LA-ICP-MS from olivine pyroxenite rocks in the Chigu Tso area are 138.9±3.0 Ma and 139.0±1.9 Ma,respectively.These two Early Cretaceous ages are similar with the ages of the more abundant mafic rocks in the eastern Tethyan Himalaya,indicating that this suite of ultramafic and mafic rocks in the Chigu Tso area should be included in the outcrop area of the Comei Large Igneous Province(LIP).These ultramafic rocks provide significant evidence that the involvement of mantle plume/hot spot activities in the formation of the Comei LIP.Baddeleyite U-Pb dating by SIMS is one reliable and convenient method to constrain the formation time of ultramafic rocks.The dating results of baddeleyite and zircon from the olivine pyroxenite samples in this paper are consistent with each other within analytical uncertainties,suggesting that baddeleyite and zircon were both formed during the same magmatic process.The consistency of baddeleyite U-Pb ages in the Chigu Tso area with zircon U-Pb ages for a large number of Early Cretaceous mafic rocks in the eastern Tethyan Himalaya further support that zircon grains from such mafic rocks yielding Early Cretaceous ages are also magmatic in origin.

The influence of Cretaceous paleolatitude variation of the Tethyan Himalaya on the India-Asia collision pattern

Identifying when, where, and how India and Asia collided is a prerequisite to better understand the evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau. Whereas with essentially the same published paleomagnetic data, a large range of different India-Asia collision models have been proposed in the literature. Based upon the premise of a northwards-moving Indian plate during the Cretaceous times, we analyze the significant variations in relative paleolatitude produced by a nearly 90° counterclockwise(CCW)rotation of the plate itself during the Cretaceous. Interestingly, recent studies proposed a dual-collision process with a Greater India basin or post-Neo-Tethyan ocean for the India-Asia collision, mainly in the light of divergent Cretaceous paleolatitude differences of the Tethyan Himalaya between the observed values and expected ones computed from the apparent polar wander path of the Indian plate. However, we find that these varied paleolatitude differences are mainly resulted from a nearly 90° CCW rotation of a rigid/quasi-rigid Greater Indian plate during the Cretaceous. On the other hand, when the Indian craton and Tethyan Himalaya moved as two individual blocks rather than a united rigid/quasi-rigid Greater Indian plate before the India-Asia collision, current available Cretaceous paleomagnetic data permit only multiple paleogeographic solutions for the tectonic relationship between the Indian plate and the Tethyan Himalayan terrane. We therefore argue that the tectonic relationship between the Indian plate and the Tethyan Himalayan terrane cannot be uniquely constrained by current paleomagnetic data in the absence of sufficient geological evidence, and the so-called Greater India basin model is just one of the ideal scenarios.

First record of stable isotopes(δ^(13)C, δ^(18)O) and element ratios(Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) of Middle to Late Jurassic belemnites from the Indian Himalayas and their potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

Middle to Late Jurassic belemnites from the Spiti and Zanskar valleys in the Indian Himalayas were used for stable isotope(δ^(13)C, δ^(18)O) and element(Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) analyses. Although the Himalayan orogeny deformed and altered a large portion of the collected fossils, cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy in combination with analyses of iron and manganese contents allowed the identification of belemnites believed to still retain their original chemical composition. Results indicate a long-term temperature decrease from the Middle Callovian–Oxfordian to the Tithonian, which is proposed to have been caused by a concomitant drift of eastern Gondwana into higher palaeolatitudes. Reconstructed absolute temperatures depend on the used equation and assumed δ^(18)O value of seawater, but most likely varied between 17.6 ℃ to 27.6℃ in the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian with average values between 22 ℃ to 24 ℃. This way, temperatures were similar to slightly warmer than today at comparable latitudes. The reconstruction of absolute temperatures for the Middle Callovian–Oxfordian was hindered by a larger number of poorly preserved belemnites representing this time interval.

Recent approach to Buchia biostratigraphy from the Tethyan Himalaya area,China

Recent collections from six sections in Lanongla area,Tethyan Himalaya allow the establishment of four buchia assemblages.In ascending order,they are Buchia-Buchia spitiensis,Buchia masquensis-Buchia rugasa,Buchia blanfordiana,Buchia piochii and Buchia subokensis assemblages.These Buchia assemblages first demonstrate that not only the Upper Jurassic strata but also the highest Buchia assemblage-Buchia subokensis,which appeared in Lower Cretaceous strata all over the world are present in Lanongla area.This first records the highest Buchia assemblage in Lanongla area.

Silurian ostracods from the Nyalam region,southern Tibet,China and their implications on palaeoenvironment and palaeobiogeography

The overall occurrence,stratigraphical distribution,palaeoenvironmental and palaeobiogeographical significances of the ostracod faunas from the Silurian Pulu Formation in the Yalai West Ⅱ section,Nyalam region,southern Tibet,China,are documented for the first time.Thirty-two species belonging to 19 genera are identified and figured herein.The ostracod fauna in the Pulu Formation indicates an age of the late Llandovery-Pridoli.The ostracods belong to a podocope-rich association,which suggests an offshore environment for the Yalai West II section.The ostracods of the Pulu Formation have strong affinities with the South China taxa and also share some similarities with those from Baltica.This implies that ostracods could probably benefit from sea-level changes to facilitate faunal exchanges between peri-Gondwana and Baltica.Geographical isolation and global sea-level changes are proposed as the primary factors controlling the palaeobiogeographical distribution of ostracods during the Silurian.