Subduction—Modified Subcontinental Mantle in South China：Trace Element and Isotope Evidence in Basalts from Hainan Island

Cenozoic lavas from Hainan Island,South China,comprise quartz tholeiite,olivine tholeiite,alkali basalt,and basanite and form a continuous,tholeiite-dominated,compositional spectrum.Highly incompatible elements and their relationships with isotopes in these lavas are shown to be useful in evaluating mantle-source composition,whereas modeling suggests that ratios of elements with bulk partition coefficients significantly larger than those of Nb and Ta may be sensitive to partial melting.Th/Ta and La/Nb ratios of alkali basalts are lower than those of tholeiites,and they are all lower than those of the primitive mantle,These ratios correlate positively with ^207Pb/^204Pb and ^87Sr/^86Sr ratios.Such relationships can be explained by mixing of depleted and enriched source components.A depleted component is indicated by alkali basalt compositions and is similar to some depleted OIB (PREMA).The enriched component,similar to sediment compositions,is indicated by tholeiites with high LILE/HFSE,^207Pb/^204Pb,and ^87Sr/^86Sr ratios.In general,basalts from Hainan and the South China Basin(SCB)share common geochemical characters.e.g.high Rb/Sr,Th/Ta,^207Pb/^206Pb,and low Ba/Th ratios.Such a geochemical trend is comparable to that of EMII-type OIB and best explained as the result of subduction.Occurrence of these characteristics in both continental Hainan basalts and SCB seamout basalts indicates the presence of a South China geochemical domain that exists in the mantle region below the lithosphere.     

Geochemistry of the Caledonian basic volcanic rocks at the south margin of the Qinling orogenic belt, and its tectonic implications

The geochemistry of the basic volcanic rocks at the south margin of the Qinling orogenic belt(SMQOB) suggests that they were formed in an intraplate tectonic setting.The REE distribution patterns show these rocks are strongly enriched in LREE with high ∑REE, and their trace elements geochemistry is similar to that of contimental flood basalt.All the above evidence suggests that the Caledonian basic volcanic rocks in the SMQOB were tholeiitic basalts formed in an intraplate spreading-initial rift tectonic setting.The characteristics of regional geology and geochemistry indicate that there was an intraplate spreading-rift tectonic setting between the South Qingling block and the Yangtze block in the Caledonian epoch.The dynamic spreading in this district began in the Early Caledonian and then the intraplate spreadinginitial rifts were formed in the Late Caledonian.As a result of spreading of the Tethys and geodynamic processes in deep mantle ,the Mianlue-Huashan oceanic basin was formed between the Qinling block and the Yangtze block in Devonian,and the Qinling microplate was separated from the northern part of the Yangtze plate.     

牛头山地区玄武岩类的高压分异作用

The Nutoushan basaltic cone, eonsisting of subalkali (quartz-tholeiite and olivinetholeiite) and alkali basalts, is Late Tertiary in age. Its major characteristics are generalized as follows: (1) Both early subalkali and late alkali basalts are formed under the same geological environment. (2) The continuity in chemical composition from snbalkali to alkali and the low FeO/MgO in alkali basalts show that they arc the products of cognate magmatic diffcrcntiation. (3) The change from low REE abundance and weak enrichment of LREE in subalkali to high REE abundance and strong enrichment of LREE in alkali basalts indicates obvious REE cnrichment and fractionation during magmatic differentiation.Weak positive Eu anomalies in the REE patterns arc indicative of their formation under low oxygen fugacity conditions. (4) According to the calculated values, 70-75% of the primary olivine tholeiitic magma had been separated as subalkaline basalic magma, the rest residual magma became alkaline basaltic magma. This result is consistent to the field observation that the outcrop area of subalkali basalts is four times as much as that of alkali basalts. (5) The basaltic rocks of Nutoushan show an S-type distribution straddling the thermal barrier on Ol‘-Ne‘-Qu‘ diagram and an evolution tendency for Ne to increase with increasing FeO/MgO. This is in agreement with the melting experimental data on olivine basalts at 10-20 kb. (6) Mantle-derived inclusions (spinel lherzolite) in this area occur in both alkali olivine basalts and olivine tholeiites. The latter is of extremely rare oceurrence. The formation temperature and pressure of the inclusions in alkali basalts and olivine tholeiites have been calculated. The results silow that the alkaline basaltic magma was separated from the subalkaline basaltic magma at about 20 kb. Basaltic rocks in Nutoushan were formed through the soealled “high pressure differentiation”, that is, at about 20 kb the crystallization of clinopyroxene and orthpyroxene resulted in the separation of subalkaline basaltic magma from the primary olivine tholeiitic magma, and then the residue gradually became alkaline olivine basaltic magma.     

Equilibrium between Clinopyroxene and Host Rocks: Implication for the Magmatic Source and Evolution of Alkali Basalts of the Taohekou Formation in the Northern Daba Mountains, China

The Taohekou Formation is a volcanic-sedimentary terrane formed in the early Silurian in the northern Daba Mountains, China. The volcanic rocks, with dominant alkali basalts and minor mantle xenoliths, are enriched in clinopyroxene phenocrysts. Geochemical analysis shows that the composition of clinopyroxenes from different lithofacies has a close affinity. There is a liner correlation present in composition of clinopyroxenes (including phenocryst, microcrystal and xenocryst) from coarse porphyritic basalts, pillow or fine porphyritic basalts to amygdaloidal basalts. All the clinopyroxenes, except the clinopyroxenes in mantle xenoliths, show a similar pattern of trace elements and REE, which indicates that they are likely products of successive fractional crystallization from cognate magma. Clinopyroxenes in mantle xenoliths, however, are mantle xenocrysts. The crystallization pressure of clinopyroxenes gradually decreases from mantle xenolith, deep-seated xenocryst, coarse porphritic basalts, pillow or fine porphritic basalts, to amygdaloidal basalts, which are 1.92-4.41 GPa, 1.18-2.36 GPa, 1.13-2.05 GPa, 0.44-0.62 GPa and 0.14-0.28 GPa respectively. Calculation results suggest that the primary magma originated from a mantle region deeper than 68 km and stagnates in intervals of 37-68 km, 15-20 km and 5-9 km during its ascent. The alkali basalts are characterized by increasing concentrations of Si and alkaline with the magmatic evolution. Meanwhile, they are markedly enriched in LREE, and the patterns of trace elements and REE are similar to those of oceanic island basalts.     

Trace Element Geochemistry of Hannuoba Ultramafic Inclusion—bearing Alkali Basalts

Presented in this paper are the trace element abundances of 16 samples of Hannuoba ultramafic inclusion-bearing aldali basalts,which were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.The Petrogenesis of the alkali basalt suite has been modeled by batch partial melting and and Rayleigh fractional crystallization processes,The geochemical characteristics of the mantle source from where alkali basalts were derived are described in terms of variations in trace element abundances of the alkali basalt suite.     

Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Volcanic Rocks in the Yeba Formation on the Gangdise Magmatic Arc, Tibet

The Early Jurassic bimodal volcanic rocks in the Yeba Formation, situated between Lhasa, Dagzê and Maizhokunggar, composed of metabasalt, basaltic ignimbrite, dacite, silicic tuff and volcanic breccia, are an important volcanic suite for the study of the tectonic evolution of the Gangdise magmatic arc and the Mesozoic Tethys. Based on systematic field investigations, we carried out geochemical studies on representative rock samples. Major and trace element compositions were analyzed for these rock samples by XRF and ICP-MS respectively, and an isotope analysis of Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd was carried out by a MAT 262 mass spectrograph. The results show that the SiO2 contents in lava rocks are 41 %-50.4 % and 64 %-69 %, belonging to calc-alkaline basalt and dacite. One notable feature of the basalt is its low TiO2 content, 0.66 %-1.01 %, much lower than those of continental tholeiite. The ΣREE contents of basalt and dacite are 60.3-135 μg/g and 126.4-167.9 μg/g respectively. Both rocks have similar REE and other trace element characteristics, with enriched LREE and LILE relative to HREE and HFS, similar REE patterns without Eu anomaly. The basalts have depleted Ti, Ta and Nb and slightly negative Nb and Ta anomalies, with Nb*＝0.54-1.17 averaging 0.84. The dacites have depleted P and Ti and also slightly negative Nb and Ta anomalies, with Nb*＝0.74-1.06 averaging 0.86. Major and trace elemental and isotopic studies suggest that both basalt and dacite originated from the partial melting of the mantle wedge at different degrees above the subduction zone. The spinal lherzolite in the upper mantle is likely to be their source rocks, which might have been affected by the selective metasomatism of fluids with crustal geochemistry. The LILE contents of both rocks were affected by metamorphism at later stages. The Yeba bimodal volcanic rocks formed in a temporal extensional situation in a mature island arc resulting from the Indosinian Gangdise magmatic arc.     

Trace Element Geochemistry of Tertiary Continental Alkali Basalts from the Liuhe—Yizheng Area,Jiangsu Province,China

Reported in this paper are the chemical compositions and trace element (REE,Ba,Rb,Sr,Nb,Zr,Ni,Cr,V,Ga,Y,Sc,Zn,Cu,etc)abundances of Tertiary continental alkali basalts from the Liube-yizheng area,Jiangsu Province,China.The olivine basalt,alkali olivine basalt and basanite are all derived from evolved melts which were once af-fected by different degrees of fractional crystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene(1:2)under high pres-sures.The initial melts were derived from the garnet lherzolite-type mantle source through low-degree par-tial melting.The mantle source has been affected by recent mantle-enrichment events(e.g.mantle metasomatism),resulting in incompatible trace element enrichment and long-term depletion of radiogenic isotopic compositions of Sr and Nd.     

Geochemistry of Platinum Group Elements in Mafic—Ultramafic Rocks of Xinjie Intrusion

The platinum group elements(PGE)in the mafic-ultramafic suite in the Xinjie layered intrusion and associated basalts and syenites were analyzed using neutron activation techniques after fire-assay preconcentration.On this basis,the geochemistry of the platinum group during the magmatic stage is discussed.With respect to PGE distribution,the Xijie layered intrusion is similar to the Bushveld ferruginous ultramafic series and is distinct from komatiite and Alpine-type peridotite.It is also similar to the Emeishan basalt in PGE characteristics,implying that the original magmas of them may be of the same type.     

Petrology and Petrogenesis of the Eclogite in Mt.Dabie Area,Central China

The occurrence,mineralogy and geochemistry of eclogites in the Mt.Dabie area show that they were subjected to a high-pressure metamorphism together with the country rocks,but their petrochemistry and REE geochemistry show some difference from those of the country rocks.The geochemical characteristics of the eclogites are similar to those of bot continental tholeiitic basalt and oceanic tholeiitic basalt.The rocks probably subducted to the upper mantle with the Dabie metamorphic complex.When elevated to the surface,they were subjected to different staes of retrogressive metamorphism.     

Study on the geochemical characteristics of ocean-ridge and oceanic-island volcanic rocks in the Nan-Uttaradit zone,northern Thailand

Field investigations and laboratory integrated research as indicated that ophiolite mélange in the Nan-Uttaradit zone, northern Thailand, consists of fragments of tectonites such as metamorphic peridotite (extremely silicified serpentinite), cumulates (pyroxenolite, gabbro, and gabbro-diorite), ocean-ridge basalt, oceanic-island ba-salt and radiolarian silicalite, and it was formed during D3-P. The rock series, rock types and petrogeochemical characteristics of metamorphic tholeiites in the Nan area of the Nan-Uttaradit zone are similar to those of ocean-ridge basalts (C1) in China's Ailaoshan zone. As for the Hawaiites in the Nan area of the Nan-Uttaradit zone, their major elements, REEs and trace elements are similar to those of oceanic-island basalts in China's Jinshanjiang zone (P11). In the Uttaradit area of this zone the metamorphic alkaline basalts show transitional petrogeochemical characteristics between ocean-ridge basalts and oceanic-island basalts, which were still formed in oceanic-island environments. The above-described basalts are all oceanic volcanic rocks and they are the most important part of the Paleo-Tethys oceanic crust in the Nan-Uttaradit zone.     

The Principles for Discrimination of the Source Composition of Mantle-Derived Igneous Rocks and the Nature of the Mantle Source Region of the Emeishan Basalts

This paper discusses the discrimination principles. deduction and methods for probing into the source composition of mantle-derived magma. The magmatophile (incompatible) source elements are not all optimal tracers for mantle source composition. The ratios of two strong magmatophile elements (D<1) or the ratios of two trace elements with the same D value are not controlled by the formation mode and evolution degree of a magma, but maintain the characteristics of their composition in mantle source region prior to the magma formation. The ratios are related to different mantle-crust structures and dynamics. The mantle source composition of the Emeishan Basalt series is similar to that of the South Atlantic Rio Grande Rise-Walvis Ridge Basalts and Brazil continental-margin basalts. This may indicate that these basalt series might have similar source regions and tectonic environments.     

Destruction of the Northern Margin of the North China Craton in Mid-Late Triassic: Evidence from Asthenosphere-derived Mafic Enclaves in the Jiefangyingzi Granitic Pluton from the Chifeng Area, Southern Inner Mongolia

The petrology, geochronology and geochemistry of the mafic enclaves in the Mid-Late Triassic Jiefangyingzi pluton from Chifeng area, southern Inner Mongolia, in China are studied to reveal their petrogenetic relationship with the host pluton. Furthermore, the coeval magmatic assemblage and its petrogenesis on the northern margin of the North China craton(NCC) are studied synthetically to elucidate their tectonic setting and the implications for the destruction of the NCC. Zircon U-Pb dating reveals that the mafic enclaves formed at 230.4 ± 2.2 Ma, which is similar to the age of the host pluton. The most basic mafic enclaves belong to weak alkaline rocks, and they display rare earth element(REE) and trace element normalized patterns and trace element compositions similar to those of ocean island basalt(OIB). In addition, they have positive εNd(t) values(+3.84 to +4.94) similar to those of the Cenozoic basalts on the northern margin of the NCC. All of these geochemical characteristics suggest that the basic mafic rocks originated from the asthenosphere. Petrological and geochemical studies suggest that the Jiefangyingzi pluton and the intermediate mafic enclaves were formed by the mixing of the asthenosphere-derived and crust-derived magmas in different degrees. The Mid-Late Triassic magmatic rocks on the northern margin of the NCC could be classified into three assemblages according to their geochemical compositions: alkaline series, weak alkaline–sub-alkaline series and sub-alkaline series rocks. Petrogenetic analyses suggest that the upwelling of the asthenosphere played an important role in the formation of these Mid-Late Triassic magmatic rocks. Basing on an analysis of regional geological data, we suggest that the northern margin of the NCC underwent destruction due to the upwelling of the asthenosphere during the Mid-Late Triassic, which was induced by the delamination of the root of the collisional orogeny between Sino-Korean and Siberian paleoplates in Late Permian.     

Minerogenesis of Shilu Iron Ores with Special Reference to Sm—Nd Isotope Geochemical Characteristics of Shilu Group Bimodal Volcanic Rocks in Hainan Island

Presented in this paper are Sm-Nd isotope and major, trace and rare-earth element analyses of bimodal volcanic rocks of the Shilu Group and other stratigraphic units in northwestern Hainan Is-land ,South China. It is shown that there are some N-MORB-type basalts(spilites) in the western part of the bimodal volcanic belt, in addition to some E-MORB-type and initial rift-type tholeiites (IRT) in th emiddle and eastern parts.Sm-Nd model ages of these basalts range from 545 Ma to 460Ma .The other extremes of the bimodal volcanics are porphyritic quartz rhyolites, which are characteristic of crustal material source.Sm-Nd model ages of the rhyolites range from 1562 Ma to 1371 Ma .The bimodal volcanic rocks are almost distributed in fifts or faulted depressions,as well as in the Upper Paleozoic rift of Hainan Island.Tholeiites of the Shilu Group can be compared with Cenozoic basalts in the middle and south-ern parts of the Red Sea Rift Belt in petrology, elemental geochemistry and Sm-Nd isotope geology. Shilu iron ores are closely associated with N-MORB-type basalts located in the western bimodal vol-canic belt.It is very interesting to note that the Shilu Fe-Co-Cu deposit can also be compared with Atlantis II Deep in the Red Sea Rift Belt.Therefore ,the present authors believe that the Shilu depos-it is a kind of hydrothermal deposit related to ocean volcanic belt ,where the geotectonic setting be-longs to initial extensional rifts in the oceanic crust.On the other hand, the largest Fe-Co-Cu ore de-posit in China used to be influenced by Hercynian granites after mineralization ,as is clearly observed on both εNd(T)-1/Nd and εNd(T)-^147Sm/^144Nd diagrams.     

Petrogenesis of Cenozoic Basaltic Rocks from Jiangsu Province,China:Evidence from Geochemical Constraints

Cenozoic（Miocene to Pleistocene） basaltic rocks in Jiangsu province of eastern China include olivine tholeiite and alkali basalt.We present major,trace element and Sr-Nd isotopic data as well as Ar-Ar dating of these basalts to discuss the petrogenesis of the basalts and identify the geological processes beneath the study area.On the basis of chemical compisitions and Ar-Ar dating of Cenonoic basaltic rocks from Jiangsu province,we suggest that these basalts may belong to the same magmatic system.The alkali basalts found in Jiangsu province have higherΣFeO,MgO,CaO,Na₂O, TiO₂ and P₂O₅ and incompatible elements,but lower Al₂O₃ and compatible elements contents than olivine tholeiite which may be caused by fractional crystallization of olivine,pyroxene and minor plagioclase.In Jiangsu basaltic rocks the incompatible elements increase with decreasing MgO/ΣFeO ratios.The primitive mantle-normalized incompatible elements and chondrite-normalized REE patterns of basaltic rocks found in Jiangsu province are similar to those of OIB.Partial loss of the mantle lithosphere accompanied by rising of asthenospheric mantle may accelerate the generation of the basaltic magma.The ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd vs.⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr plot indicates a mixing of a depleted asthenospheric mantle source and an EMI component in the study area.According to Shaw’s equation,the basalts from Jiangsu province may be formed by l%-5%partial melting of a depleted asthenospheric mantle source.On the basis of Ar-Ar ages of this study and the fractional crystallization model proposed by Brooks and Nielsen（1982）,we suggest that basalts from Jiangsu province may belong to a magmatic system with JF-2 as the primitive magma which has undergone fractional crystallization and evolved progressively to produce other types of basalts.     

Geochemical Constrains on Petrogenesis and Tectonic Setting of Volcanic Rocks from the Baimianxia and Sanwan Formations in the Northern Margin of the Yangtze Plate

On the basis of petrogeochemical data, the volcanic lavas of the Baimianxia Formation can be classified into two units: high TiO2 and low TiO2. The TiO2 concentration of the former is generally higher than 1%, which occurs in the lower part with high-grade metamorphism, but the latter is less than 1% and crops out in the upper part with low-grade metamorphism. The high-TiO2 unit is dominated by tholeiitic lavas showing high rare earth element (REE) contents (ΣREE?=?83.4–180.8?μg/g), high light/heavy REE (LREE/HREE) ratios (LREE/HREE=2.17–5.85) and weak negative Eu anomaly (Eu=0.79–1.01). Its trace element patterns display weak Nb-Ta anomalies with respect to Th, K, La, Ce, showing within-plate basalt affinities. In contrast, the low-TiO2 unit is characterized by low REE contents, low LREE/HREE ratios, and pronounced Nb-Ta anomalies, indicating typical arc or continental arc signature. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of basalts and andesites from the Sanwan Formation are flat or LREE depletion, which is very similar to normal mid-oceanic basalt. Therefore, we suggest that these lavas should be formed in a back-arc basin setting. Sr-Nd isotopic data of the basalt in the lower part suggest that the rocks would have been formed in ~1144?Ma. Based on the geochemical and isotopic features of the basalts, we suggest that these rocks in the low part of the Baimianxia Formation should originate from an asthenospheric oceanic-island basalt-like mantle source, which may be produced by partial melting of garnet lherzolite, and significantly underwent fractional crystallization and crustal or lithospheric mantle contamination en route to the surface. However, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry zircon U-Pb dating of the basalt sample from the upper part of the Baimianxia Formation gives a 437 Ma, indicating a Early Paleozoic age. The geochemical analysis in this paper suggests that they may originate from an arc or continental arc in response to aqueous fluids or melt expelled from a subducting slab, and the partial melting occurred in the garnet stability field. The samples of basalts and andesites in the Sanwan Formation show they are derived from depleted mantle source similar to normal mid-oceanic basalt. Finally, we can conclude that the lavas in the lower part of the Baimianxia Formation represent the geological records of rift-related volcanism in the middle Proterozoic, which is commonly considered to be the precursor of continental breakup and followed by oceanic basin forming from Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic. Whereas, the lavas in upper part of the Baimianxia Formation and Sanwan Formations may have been generated by the oceanic and continental conversion that occurred in the early Paleozoic.     

印度与欧亚板块东部碰撞边界——腾冲火山岩的Nd-Sr同位素与微量元素研究

The Tengchong volcanies in western Yunnan Province, China, are located in the eastern part of the collision margin between Indian and Eurasian Plates. Alternating extention and compression controlled the eruption, from late Tertiary to Holeeno, of at least 5 groups of volcanics consisting of a Major series of hlgh-Al basalts (3 groups), a high-K andesite-dacite group and a high-Mg basalt group. The Major series has a range of GNd from 0.7 to-6.7 and Sr^87/Sr^86 from 0.70595 to 0.70881, exhibiting good linear correlations between Zr/Ni and Zr as well as between Nd. and both Sm/Nd and 1/Nd and similar chondrite-normalized incompatible element patterns. This suggests an ecologitic source metasomatized with fluids derived from parts of thesubducted Indian plate.The high-K andesite-dacite group shows a more extreme isotopic composition of GNd=-12.3, Sr^87/Sr^66=0.71124. It is chemically comparable to the calc-alkaline lavas in Xizang and could be resulted from mixing between shallow mantle zones and lower crust. The high-Mg basalt group has Sr^87/Sr^86-0.708 and slightly negative GNd (-2). They are similar, in chemical composition and possibly also in source, to the intraplate basalts in east China. A partial melting model of isotopic tmequilibrium system has been proposed to explain the isotope and trace element correlations of Tengchong volcanics.     

Geochemical Characteristics of Eolian Deposits in the Chengdu Plain of Sichuan Province and the Implications for Provenance

In this study Chengdu Red Earth （CRE） from the Chengdu Plain （CP）,Sichuan province,was analyzed for its elemental （major and trace elements） and isotopic （Sm-Nd） geochemistry and compared with Pleistocene loess and paleosol samples from the Chinese Loess Plateau （CLP） in Northern China.The geochemical composition of CRE is similar to north China loess,and also resembles the average UCC.This indicates that CRE,as loess deposits in Northern China,was derived from well-mixed sedimentary protoliths that have undergone numerous upper crustal recycling processes.However,obvious differences in the geochemical characteristics of CRE and the north China loess are also revealed in our results.For chemically stable elements,CRE has higher Ti,Zr,Hf and lower ΣREE,Ba contents in comparison with loess samples from the CLP.Further analysis shows that CRE has higher TiO2/Al2O3,SiO2/Al2O3,Ba/Rb and lower Ce/Yb,Eu/Yb,LaN/YbN and ΣLREE/ ΣHREE ratios.In Sm-Nd isotopic geochemistry,Sm and Nd content and the εNd（0） value in CRE are significantly higher than those in north China loess.The higher TiO2 content in CRE coincided with a high background concentration of Ti in the Sichuan Basin and the surrounding regions.The lower ΣREE and higher Sm,Nd,εNd（0） values are related to the wide distribution of basalt in the southwest Sichuan Basin.The elemental and isotopic geochemistry of CRE indicates that eolian materials in the CP predominantly come from the Sichuan Basin and the surrounding regions,which differs from loess deposits in the CLP.     

Geochemistry and Tectonic History of Seamount Remnants in the Xingshuwa Subduction Accretionary Complex of the Xar Moron Area,Eastern Margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

This study focuses on the geology, geochemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology and tectonic settings of the three types of seamount basalts from the Xingshuwa subduction accretionary complex in the Xar Moron area, eastern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB). The seamount remnants are composed of carbonate 'cap' sediments, large volumes of pillow and massive basalts, carbonate breccia slope facies and radiolarian cherts. Group 1 basalts are characterized by high contents of P2 O5 and TiO2 with alkaline affinity and LREE enrichment, indicating that they are derived from intraplate magma. Group 2 basalts display N-MORB LREE depletion patterns, indicating that they were formed at a mid-ocean ridge. Group 3 basalts have shown distinct Nb depletion and high Th/Yb ratios, indicating that they were generated in an island arc tectonic setting. The zircon U-Pb age of Group 1 basalt sample XWT18-131 is 576.4 ± 9.4 Ma, suggesting that the oceanic island seamount was the product of intraplate magmatism related to a mantle plume or 'hot spot' in the late Neoproterozoic. The zircon U-Pb age of Group 2 basalt sample XWT18-132 is 483 ± 22 Ma, indicating that the Paleo-Asian Ocean(PAO) was continuously expanding in the Early Ordovician. The zircon U-Pb age of Group 3 basalt sample XWT18-101 is 240.5 ± 8.2 Ma, suggesting that this area underwent the evolutionary path of ocean-continent transition, developing towards continentalization during the Middle Triassic. Thus, we believe that there was both mantle plume-related intraplate magmatism and intraoceanic subduction during the evolution of the PAO, the CAOB possibly being an evolutionary model of an intraoceanic subduction and mantle plume magmatism complex.     

The Early Permian Woniusi Flood Basalts from the Baoshan Terrane, SW China: Petrogenesis and Geodynamic Implications

The Woniusi flood basalts from the Baoshan terrane, SW China, represent a signi?cant eruption of volcanic rocks which were linked to the Late Paleozoic rifting of the Cimmeria from the northern margin of East Gondwana. However, the precise mechanism for the formation and propagation of the rifting is still in debate. Here we report 40Ar/39Ar dating, whole-rock geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes for the Woniusi basalts from the Baoshan terrane of SW China, with the aim of assessing if a mantle plume was related to the formation of the continent Cimmeria. 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Woniusi basalts yielded ages of 279.3 ± 1.1 Ma and 273.9 ± 1.5 Ma, indicating they were emplaced during the Early Permian. Whole-rock geochemistry shows that these basalts have subalkaline tholeiitic af?nity, low TiO2 (1.2–2.2 wt%), and fractionated chondrite-normalized LREE and nearly ?at HREE patterns [(La/Yb)N = 2.86–5.77; (Dy/Yb)N = 1.21–1.49] with noticeable negative Nb and Ta anomalies on the primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagram. The ?Nd(t) values (?4.76 to +0.92) and high (206Pb/204Pb)i (18.40?18.66) along with partial melt modeling indicates that the basalts were likely derived from a sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) source metasomatized by subduction-related processes. On the basis of a similar emplacement age to the Panjal basalts and Qiangtang mafic dykes and flood basalts in the Himalayas, combined with a tectonic reconstruction of Gondwana in the Early Permian, we propose that the large-scale eruption of these basalts and dykes was related to an Early Permian mantle plume that possibly initiated the rifting on the northern margin of East Gondwana.     

The Discovery and Study of Mantle-Derived Spinel-Lherzolite in the Darbut Ultrabasic Zone, Xinjiang

The spinel-lherzolite under study was discovered in the magnesian ultrabasic rocks in a Palaeozoic ophiolite zone. It occurs as spheroidal inclusions. Its petrofabric features, slip system of plastic deformation, REE distribution and estimation of temperature and pressure conditions of rock formation are all very similar to those of the ultramafic inclusion in Cenozoic and Mesozoic alkali basalt and kimberlite.