Mineralogy and geochemistry of trachytic rocks from the Lichi Volcanics, Eastern Himalaya: insights into the Kerguelen mantle plume activity in the Eastern Himalayan Region

The Lichi volcanics are a suite of mafic-intermediate-felsic rocks and are considered coeval with the Abor volcanics(~132 Ma) of the Siang window in the Eastern Himalaya. Here, we present the first report of trachytic rocks from the Lichi volcanics, which are exposed in the Ranga valley, along the Kimin-Yazali road section in the Eastern Himalayan Region, Northeast India. The trachytes occur in close association with sandstones of the Gondwana Group of rocks and are characterised based on field, petrographical, and geochemical investigations.These fine-grained trachytes are composed of alkali feldspar, biotite, plagioclase, sodic-amphibole, apatite, illmenite, and titanite. The REE profiles of the evolved trachytic rocks(higher SiO_(2)content) display fractionated trends. The fractionation of accessory mineral phases, like apatite and titanite, was possibly responsible for the strongly fractionated REE patterns of the evolved samples.The trachytic rocks demonstrate high apatite saturation temperatures of 988 ± 14 ℃(1σ, n = 8). The Aluminium Saturation Index(< 1.1) and binary discrimination diagrams of these peralkaline trachytes define their affinity with A-type granitoids. Elemental ratios like Y/Nb, Nb/U,and Ce/Pb signify that the Lichi trachytes are differentiated products of mantle-derived ocean island basalts. Trace elemental discrimination diagrams Th/Yb versus Nb/Yb, Y versus Nb, and Y + Nb versus Rb reflect a within-plate tectonic regime for the trachytes. From the results presented in this work, we infer that the development of rifting events during the breakup of eastern Gondwana due to the onset of Kerguelen plume activity further led to underplating of basic magma in lower crustal levels. These parental basaltic magmas underwent fractionation processes forming differentiated trachyandesites and trachytes.Taking into consideration the similarities recorded between the Lichi volcanics and Abor volcanics, this study supports the idea that Kerguelen plume activities resulted in the emplacement of these volcanics in the Eastern Himalayas.

Characteristics and origin of mafic and ultramafic xenoliths in trachyandesite lavas from Heikongshan volcano,Tengchong,Yunnan Province,China

The trachyandesite lavas from Heikongshan volcano of the Tengchong volcanic cluster, Yunnan Province contain relatively abundant mafic and ultramafic small xenoliths comprising mainly gabbro, pyroxenite and rare lherzolites, all less than 2.5 cm in size. Gabbro xenoliths are characterized by "open" texture represented by relatively abundant vesicles and ground-mass fillings, while pyroxenite xenoliths are characterized by equigranular and poikilitic texture. Their mineral compositions (clinopyroxene ± orthopyroxene ± plagioclase) are similar to those of phenocrysts in lavas, and their equilibration temperature (1000-1125°C) is consistent with the crystallization temperature of the phenocrysts (998-1108°C). Thus, the textures and compositions of these xenoliths are different from those of lower crustal and mantle xenoliths, and were derived from the magma chamber. Among them, the gabbroic xenoliths come from the crystal-bubble-liquid zone at the top of the magma reservoir, while the pyroxenite xenoliths come from the cumulates in the bottom of magma reservoir. The studied single lherzolite xenolith with porphyroclastic texture has similar mineral compositions to the mantle xenoliths from eastern China, and is considered to be of upper mantle origin. It was brought into magma reservoir by replenishment magma, and might have experienced a cooling event before eruption. The formation of xenoliths in trachyandesite flows largely reflects the ascent, storage, evolution and eruption processes of magma.