The relationship between calc-alkaline volcanism and within-plate continental rift volcanism: evidence from Scottish Palaeozoic lavas

Lower Carboniferous lavas from the Midland Valley and adjacent regions of Scotland are mildly alkaline and intraplate in nature. The sequence is dominated by basalt and hawaiite, although mugearite, benmoreite, trachyte and rhyolite are also present. Basic volcanic rocks display the LIL element and LREE enrichment typical of intraplate alkali basalt terrains. Low initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7029–0.7046), high ε_Nd (−0.4 to +5.6) and moderately radiogenic²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (17.77–18.89) ratios are also comparable with alkali basalts from other continental rifts and oceanic islands.When the Carboniferous lavas are compared with subduction-related lavas of Old Red Sandstone age, erupted in and around the Midland Valley ca. 50 Ma earlier (at 410 Ma) remarkable similarities are apparent. Significant overlap occurs in Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. Sr isotopic compositions are, however, more radiogenic in the older subduction-related lavas. This, combined with high K and Rb concentrations in ORS lavas may be explained by the incorporation of a sediment component derived from the subducted slab, which by Lower Carboniferous times had been lost from the mantle source region by convection. A pronounced negative Nb anomaly in the ORS subduction-related lavas may be explained by the retention of a Nb-bearing phase in the mantle during hydrous melting of the mantle wedge above the subduction zone.Allowing for the effects of the added component from the subducted slab, there appears to be no necessity to invoke separate mantle source regions for the two suites of lavas: both may have been derived from chemically similar portions of mantle. If volcanic arc lavas are derived from the mantle wedge, the implication is that such a source lies at relatively shallow depth within the upper mantle: the same may therefore apply to the Carboniferous continental rift basalts. This evidence, combined with the fact that there is no evident hot-spot trail across the Midland Valley despite a long period of within-plate volcanism and rapid plate movements during the Carboniferous, suggests that the alkali basalt magmatism is not the product of a deep-seated mantle plume. Rather, the volcanism appears to owe more to passive rifting and to diapiric upwelling from a source region within the uppermost mantle.     

中国东北地区地壳、上地幔速度结构及其对矿产能源形成的控制作用

中国东北地区处于古亚洲洋和滨太平洋构造域叠合部位,地质构造极其复杂.利用东北及华北地区部分台网所接收的近震及远震走时资料获得东北地区地壳与上地幔三维P波速度结构,成像分辨率在80 km左右.成像结果表明东北地区地壳与上地幔具有较强的横向不均匀性.P波速度异常走向大体呈北东向,与该区地表构造走向一致.5 km深度的速度异...     

Mesozoic mafic magmatism in North China: Implications for thinning and destruction of cratonic lithosphere

The North China Craton (NCC) has been thinned from >200 km to <100 km in its eastern part. The ancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) has been replaced by the juvenile SCLM in the Meoszoic. During this period, the NCC was destructed as indicated by extensive magmatism in the Early Cretaceous. While there is a consensus on the thinning and destruction of cratonic lithosphere in North China, it has been hotly debated about the mechanism of cartonic destruction. This study attempts to provide a resolution to current debates in the view of Mesozoic mafic magmatism in North China. We made a compilation of geochemical data available for Mesozoic mafic igneous rocks in the NCC. The results indicate that these mafic igneous rocks can be categorized into two series, manifesting a dramatic change in the nature of mantle sources at ~121 Ma. Mafic igneous rocks emplaced at this age start to show both oceanic island basalts (OIB)-like trace element distribution patterns and depleted to weakly enriched Sr-Nd isotope compositions. In contrast, mafic igneous rocks emplaced before and after this age exhibit both island arc basalts (IAB)-like trace element distribution patterns and enriched Sr-Nd isotope compositions. This difference indicates a geochemical mutation in the SCLM of North China at ~121 Ma. Although mafic magmatism also took place in the Late Triassic, it was related to exhumation of the deeply subducted South China continental crust because the subduction of Paleo-Pacific slab was not operated at that time. Paleo-Pacific slab started to subduct beneath the eastern margin of Eruasian continent since the Jurrasic. The subducting slab and its overlying SCLM wedge were coupled in the Jurassic, and slab dehydration resulted in hydration and weakening of the cratonic mantle. The mantle sources of ancient IAB-like mafic igneous rocks are a kind of ultramafic metasomatites that were generated by reaction of the cratonic mantle wedge peridotite not only with aqueous solutions derived from dehydration of the subducting Paleo-Pacific oceanic crust in the Jurassic but also with hydrous melts derived from partial melting of the subducting South China continental crust in the Triassic. On the other hand, the mantle sources of juvenile OIB-like mafic igneous rocks are also a kind of ultramafic metasomatites that were generated by reaction of the asthenospheric mantle underneath the North China lithosphere with hydrous felsic melts derived from partial melting of the subducting Paleo-Pacific oceanic crust. The subducting Paleo-Pacific slab became rollback at ~144 Ma. Afterwards the SCLM base was heated by laterally filled asthenospheric mantle, leading to thinning of the hydrated and weakened cratonic mantle. There was extensive bimodal magmatism at 130 to 120 Ma, marking intensive destruction of the cratonic lithosphere. Not only the ultramafic metasomatites in the lower part of the cratonic mantle wedge underwent partial melting to produce mafic igneous rocks showing negative ε_Nd(t) values, depletion in Nb and Ta but enrichment in Pb, but also the lower continent crust overlying the cratonic mantle wedge was heated for extensive felsic magmatism. At the same time, the rollback slab surface was heated by the laterally filled asthenospheric mantle, resulting in partial melting of the previously dehydrated rocks beyond rutile stability on the slab surface. This produce still hydrous felsic melts, which metasomatized the overlying asthenospheric mantle peridotite to generate the ultramafic metasomatites that show positive ε_Nd(t) values, no depletion or even enrichment in Nb and Ta but depletion in Pb. Partial melting of such metasomatites started at ~121 Ma, giving rise to the mafic igneous rocks with juvenile OIB-like geochemical signatures. In this context, the age of ~121 Ma may terminate replacement of the ancient SCLM by the juvenile SCLM in North China. Paleo-Pacific slab was not subducted to the mantle transition zone in the Mesozoic as revealed by modern seismic tomography, and it was subducted at a low angle since the Jurassic, like the subduction of Nazca Plate beneath American continent. This flat subduction would not only chemically metasomatize the cratonic mantle but also physically erode the cratonic mantle. Therefore, the interaction between Paleo-Pacific slab and the cratonic mantle is the first-order geodynamic mechanism for the thinning and destruction of cratonic lithosphere in North China.     

Water and partial melting of Earth’s mantle

Water plays a crucial role in the melting of Earth’s mantle. Mantle magmatisms mostly occur at plate boundaries (including subduction zones and mid-ocean ridges) and in some intraplate regions with thermal anomaly. At oceanic subduction zones, water released by the subducted slab may induce melting of the overlying mantle wedge or even the slab itself, giving rise to arc magmatism, or may evolve into a supercritical fluid. The physicochemical conditions for the formation of slab melt and supercritical fluid are still under debate. At mid-ocean ridges and intraplate hot zones, water and CO₂ cause melting of the upwelling mantle to occur at greater depths and in greater extents. Low degree melting of the mantle may occur at boundaries between Earth’s internal spheres, including the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB), the upper mantletransition zone boundary, and the transition zone-lower mantle boundary, usually attributed to contrasting water storage capacity across the boundary. The origin for the stimulating effect of water on melting lies in that water as an incompatible component has a strong tendency to be enriched in the melt (i.e., with a mineral-melt partition coefficient much smaller than unity), thereby lowering the Gibbs free energy of the melt. The partitioning of water between melt and mantle minerals such as olivine, pyroxenes and garnet has been investigated extensively, but the effects of hydration on the density and transport properties of silicate melts require further assessments by experimental and computational approaches.     

松辽盆地北缘的上地幔速度结构及该区火山成因探讨

中国东北是研究板内新生代火山活动及其成因的天然场所.以往的研究根据不同的壳幔速度结构,提出多种模型用以解释中国东北地区的火山活动.由于松辽盆地北缘的观测台站相对较少,导致这些模型对盆地北缘的约束较弱.我们利用近年来覆盖松辽盆地北缘的流动宽频带观测台站数据开展远震体波走时层析成像研究,获得了深达800 km的深部速度结构,在盆地北缘的火山群区域内得到如下认识：诺敏河和五大连池火山群共用一个200~300 km深处的地幔岩浆房.该地幔岩浆房内的低速异常为水平展布,未下延至地幔转换带内,并仅在该区域上地幔的局部范围内有所体现.结合前人的研究结果分析,我们认为该水平的局部低速异常可能是中生代晚期岩石圈拆沉导致的软流圈上涌热物质.     

大别造山带地壳结构反演及其动力学意义

大别造山带是全球最大的碰撞造山带之一,三叠纪时期,扬子板块深俯冲至地幔的200km处,经历了超高压变质作用。白垩纪早期,该造山带发生了强烈的伸展和垮塌,以及大规模的后造山地幔源岩浆侵入和火山活动。本研究收集了大别造山带及其邻区(29°~34°N、114°~119°E)的震相资料,采用双差层析成像技术,对大别造山带地壳结构进行反演,研究地壳结构与后造山地幔源岩浆侵入和火山活动之间的关系。结果显示,大别造山带中上地壳存在低速结构,该低速结构可能是熔融的幔源侵入物质,由于俯冲板片断裂,或下地壳/岩石圈发生拆沉,导致软流圈物质上涌至地壳底部、侵入地壳中,形成大别造山带地壳中的低速结构;同时,合肥盆地显示为低速区,可能是受浅部沉积层影响。研究中横切大别山的4条剖面显示,该地区下方存在北向倾斜高速结构,该高速结构可能是襄樊-广济断层,或者是扬子板块向华北板块下方俯冲的遗迹。     

Temporal evolution of the Mariana arc during rifting of the Mariana Trough traced through the volcaniclastic record

The sedimentary sequences that accumulate around volcanic arcs may be used to reconstruct the history of volcanism provided the degree of along-margin sediment transport is modest, and that reworking of old sedimentary or volcanic sequences does not contribute substantially to the sediment record. In the Mariana arc, the rare earth and trace element compositions of ash layers sampled by Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) site 451 on the West Mariana Ridge, and sites 458 and 459 on the Mariana Forearc, were used to reconstruct the evolution of the arc volcanic front during rifting of the Mariana Trough. Ion microprobe analysis of individual glass shards from the sediments shows that the glasses have slightly light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched compositions, and trace element compositions typical of arc tholeiites. The B/Be ratio is a measure of the involvement of subducted sediment in petrogenesis, and is unaffected by fractional crystallization. This ratio is variable over the period of rifting, increasing up-section at site 451 and reaching a maximum in sediments dated at 3–4 Ma, ∼ 3–4 million years after rifting began. This may reflect increased sediment subduction during early rifting and roll-back of the Pacific lithosphere. Parallel trends are not seen in the enrichment of incompatible high field strength (HFSE), large ion lithophile (LILE) or rare earth elements (REE), suggesting that flux from the subducting slab alone does not control the degree of melting. Re-establishment of arc volcanism on the trench side of the basin at ca 3 Ma resulted in volcanism with relative enrichment in incompatible REE, HFSE and LILE, although these became more depleted with time, possibly due to melt extraction from the mantle source as it passed under the developing back-arc spreading axis, prior to melting under the volcanic front.     

The earliest stage of Izu rear‐arc volcanism revealed by drilling at Site U1437, International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 350

The International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 350 drilled between two Izu rear‐arc seamount chains at Site U1437 and recovered the first complete succession of rear‐arc rocks. The drilling reached 1806.5 m below seafloor. In situ hyaloclastites, which had erupted before the rear‐arc seamounts came into existence at this site, were recovered in the deepest part of the hole (～15–16 Ma). Here it is found that the composition of the oldest rocks recovered does not have rear‐arc seamount chain geochemical signatures, but instead shows affinities with volcanic front or some of the extensional zone basalts between the present volcanic front and the rear‐arc seamount chains. It is suggested that following the opening of the Shikoku back‐arc Basin, Site U1437 was a volcanic front or a rifting zone just behind the volcanic front, and was followed at ~ 9 Ma by the start of rear‐arc seamount chains volcanism. This geochemical change records variations in the subduction components with time, which might have followed eastward moving of hot fingers in the mantle wedge and deepening of the subducting slab below Site U1437 after the cessation of Shikoku back‐arc Basin opening.     

Volcanic history and tectonics of the Southwest Japan Arc

Abstract Remarkable changes in volcanism and tectonism have occurred in a synchronous manner since 1.5–2 Ma at the junction of the Southwest Japan Arc and the Ryukyu Arc. Although extensive volcanism occurred in Kyushu before 2 Ma, the subduction-related volcanism started at ca 1.5 Ma, forming a NE–SW trend volcanic front, preceded by significant changes in whole-rock chemistry and mode of eruptions at ca 2 Ma. The Median Tectonic Line has intensified dextral motion since 2 Ma, with a northward shift of its active trace of as much as 10 km, accompanied by the formation of rhomboidal basins in Central Kyushu. Crustal rotation and incipient rifting has also occurred in South Kyushu and the northern Okinawa Trough over the past 2 million years. We emphasize that the commencement age of these events coincides with that of the transition to the westward convergence of the Philippine Sea plate, which we interpret as a primary cause of these synchronous episodes. We assume that the shift in subduction direction led to an increase of fluid component contamination from subducted oceanic slab, which then produced island-arc type volcanism along the volcanic front. Accelerated trench retreat along the Ryukyu Trench may have caused rifting and crustal rotation in the northern Ryukyu Arc.     

Cenozoic volcanism and lithospheric tectonic evolution in Qiangtang area, northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Accompanying with the shortening,thickening and uplifting of the lithosphere,a series of Cenozoic potassic volcanic rock zones are developed in the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.From south to north,the volcanic rocks can be divided into three volcanicrock belts:Qiangtang-Nangqian volcanic belt,Middle Kunlun-Hoh Xil volcanic belt and Western Kunlun-Eastern Kunlun volcanic belt[1].Spatiotemporal evolu-tion of the volcanism and the origins of magmas con-strains on the pulsing uplifting and …     

东北日本地震波速度、VP/VS和各向异性结构:对俯冲带水迁移过程的探讨

本文利用区域地震初至波到时数据,通过地震层析成像研究获得了东北日本俯冲带上地幔（深至约150 km）的P波速度（V_P）、S波速度（V_S）、V_P/V_S和P波各向异性结构.结果表明,低速及高V_P/V_S比异常体主要分布在火山下方的下地壳和地幔楔中,其与低频地震的分布吻合,该区域与俯冲板块脱水所释放的流体及其导致的部分熔融密切相关;俯冲的太平洋板块内可能由于脱水脆化导致的双层地震带区域则没有表现出整体的高V_P/V_S值,其可能与俯冲板块内部含水矿物含量有关;俯冲板块内双重地震带区域及上覆地幔楔薄层主要表现为与海沟平行的方位各向异性和正的径向各向异性,其可能是由于含水矿物的脱水使橄榄石晶格结构发生了从A型到B型的变化所引起的.我们研究表明,结合地震波速度和各向异性结构能够加深对俯冲带内水运移过程的认识.     

Middle Miocene to Quaternary primary basalt and high magnesian andesite magmas of North Hokkaido, Japan: Source mantle characteristics and degrees of partial melting

Abstract   Middle Miocene to Quaternary primitive basalts and high magnesian andesite (HMA) in North Hokkaido resulted from three periods of intense volcanism; early-stage (12–10 Ma), middle-stage (9–7 Ma) and late-stage (3–0 Ma). Based on the chemical compositions of olivines and chromian spinels and bulk chemistry of the primitive rocks, we examined depths of segregation of the calculated primary magmas and the degrees of partial melting of the source mantle. In the context of asthenospheric mantle upwelling, petrological data from the present study can be accounted for by the secular change in the depth of magma segregation from the upwelled asthenospheric mantle, which is composed of fertile peridotite. Thus, the early-stage primary magmas were generated by higher degrees of partial melting of the shallower part of hot asthenospheric mantle, whereas the middle- and late-stage primary magmas resulted from lower degrees of partial melting of a deeper part of the asthenospheric mantle. The early-stage HMA magma was generated by partial melting of the remnant subcontinental lithospheric mantle composed of refractory peridotite. This melting might have resulted from an increased geothermal gradient caused by upwelling of hot asthenosphere.     

Impact of tectonic erosion by subduction processes on intensity of arc volcanism

Abstract According to new estimates, more than 2 km³ of terrestrial material is transported every year with the subducting lithospheric plates to depths greater than 20-30 km. A comparable amount of subducted material is partly restored to the nearby margins through underplating, diapirism or forearc volcanism; partly rejuvenated through arc and back-arc magmatism; and the rest is recycled into the deep mantle. This study emphasizes the connection between the consumption of some arcs and the intensity of arc volcanism. In many cases (Japan, Peru, Izu-Bonin, Guatemala), interruption in tectonic erosion of the margin is followed by a hiatus of arc volcanism. The delay between the presumed cause (i.e. absence of subducted arc-type crust) and the response (i.e. lack of explosive volcanism) corresponds to the time required for the subducting slab to reach the melting depth (i.e. 2-4 million years). Alternately, intense tectonic erosion of the margin is followed by paroxysms of arc volcanism. Crustal contamination of volcanic rocks may be caused directly by magma sources which may contain arc material derived from the subcrustal erosion of the margin.     

Across-arc variation of lava chemistry in the Izu-Bonin Arc: identification of subduction components

In order to understand the role of the subducted lithosphere in producing the geochemical characteristics of arc magmas, major- and trace-element along with Sr- and Nd-isotope compositions have been determined for Quaternary volcanic rocks from the Izu-Bonin intra-oceanic arc. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios decrease away from the volcanic front of this arc and lie on mixing lines between the assumed isotopic compositions of fluid phases mainly derived from the basalt layer of the subducted lithosphere and upper-mantle materials in the sub-arc wedge. This across-arc variation can be explained through a simple sequence of processes involving initial release of fluid phases from the subducted oceanic crust to produce hydrous peridotite at the base of the mantle wedge. This hydrous peridotite is dragged downward with the slab and releases a second-stage metasomatizing fluid beneath the volcanic arc. The higher concentrations of both Sr and Nd in the fluid beneath the volcanic front than those beneath the back-arc side may be a possible cause of the observed across-arc variation in Sr-Nd isotopic ratios. The difference in compositions of fluid phases is attributed to the different hydrous phases which decompose in the hydrous peridotite layer; amphibole beneath the volcanic front and phlogopite beneath the back-arc side of the volcanic arc. The mineralogically controlled fluid addition may also be responsible for the across-arc variation in Rb/K and Rb/Zr ratios, increasing away from the volcanic front.     

活动海岭俯冲与岛弧火山活动的热模拟研究

为解释活动海岭的俯冲会造成岛弧火山活动的间断这一现象,本文采用有限单元法对活动海岭俯冲的热演化过程进行了模拟计算．一般情况下,摩擦剪切生热使岛弧下100km左右深度形成地温反转,俯冲板片海洋地壳内角门岩等含水矿物脱水,释放的水进入其上覆板块,降低了地幔岩石的熔点,使热的地幔楔状体内发生部分熔融,形成岛弧火山活动．高温的活动海岭俯冲时不再出现这种温度反转,俯冲板片在较浅深度达到较高温度而脱水,水进入上覆相对较冷的地幔楔状体不能造成熔融,因此岛弧火山活动会中断．     

Upper Mantle Domains beneath Central-Southern Italy: Petrological, Geochemical and Geophysical Constraints

—The Italian peninsula shows high complexity of the mantle-crust system and of the Plio-Quaternary magmatism. The lithospheric thickness has remarkable lateral variations from about 110 km to about 30 km. Intermediate and deep-focus earthquakes indicate the presence of a lithospheric slab under the Aeolian-Calabrian area and at the southern end of Campania. Much less extensive intermediate-depth seismicity characterizes the Roman-Tuscany region, where the existence of a relic slab has been hypothesized. The deep seismicity in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea is associated with active calcalkaline to shoshonitic volcanism in the Aeolian arc. Alkaline potassic volcanism occurs in central Italy, and potassic lamproitic magmatism coexists with crustal anatectic and various types of hybrid rocks in the Tuscany area.¶The parallelism between changing magmatism and variation of the structure of the crust-mantle system makes central-southern Italy a key place where petrological and geophysical data can be used to work out an integrated model of the structure and composition of the upper mantle. Beneath Tuscany the upper mantle has been affected by intensive subduction-related metasomatism. This caused the formation of phlogopite-rich veins that cut through residual spinel-harzburgite and dunite. These veins, possibly partially molten, may explain the unusually soft mechanical properties that are detected just below the Moho. In the Roman Province, the upper mantle is formed by a relatively thin lid (the mantle part of the lithosphere) and by metasomatic fertile peridotite, probably connected with the upraise of an asthenospheric mantle wedge above the Apennines subduction zone. Geochemical data indicate that metasomatism, though still related to subduction, had different characteristics and age than in Tuscany. In the eastern sector of the Aeolian arc and in the Neapolitan area, the upper mantle appears to be distinct from the Roman and Tuscany areas and is probably formed by fertile peridotite contaminated by the presently active subduction of the Ionian Sea floor.¶The overall picture is that of a mosaic of various mantle domains that have undergone different evolutionary history in terms of both metasomatism and pre-metasomatic events. The coexistence side by side of these sectors is a key factor that has to be considered by models of the geodynamic evolution of the Central Mediterranean area.     

西太平洋俯冲板块对中国东北构造演化的影响及其动力学意义

中国东北地区在古生代期间以众多微陆块的拼合以及古亚洲洋的闭合为特征,其后又经历了中-新生代太平洋构造域及中生代蒙古—鄂霍茨克构造域的叠加与改造,以致东北地区的构造行迹显得极为复杂,而大兴安岭重力梯级带及其西部地区构造演化是否与西太平洋俯冲有关仍然存在争议.本研究利用分布于中国东北、华北地区以及韩国、日本等部分台网所接收的近震与远震走时数据获得了中国东北地区壳幔精细的三维P波速度结构.成像结果显示,太平洋板块持续西向俯冲,俯冲板片的前缘停滞在大兴安岭—太行山重力梯度带以东区域的地幔转换带之中;长白山火山区上地幔存在着显著的低速异常体,推测西太平洋板块的深俯冲脱水导致了上地幔底部岩石的熔点降低,从而形成了大范围的部分熔融物质上涌.通过分析上地幔的速度结构,我们认为由于太平洋板块的大规模西向深俯冲,在大地幔楔中发生板片脱水、低速热物质上涌等复杂的地球动力学过程;俯冲板片前缘带动上地幔中不均匀分布的地幔流强烈作用于上部的岩石圈,这对东北地区深部壳幔结构乃至大兴安岭重力梯级带的形成、演化有着重要的影响.     

Magmatic response to early aseismic ridge subduction: the Ecuadorian margin case (South America)

A geochemical and isotopic study of lavas from Pichincha, Antisana and Sumaco volcanoes in the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) in Ecuador shows their magma genesis to be strongly influenced by slab melts. Pichincha lavas (in fore arc position) display all the characteristics of adakites (or slab melts) and were found in association with magnesian andesites. In the main arc, adakite-like lavas from Antisana volcano could be produced by the destabilization of pargasite in a garnet-rich mantle. In the back arc, high-niobium basalts found at Sumaco volcano could be produced in a phlogopite-rich mantle. The strikingly homogeneous isotopic signatures of all the lavas suggest that continental crust assimilation is limited and confirm that magmas from the three volcanic centers are closely related. The following magma genesis model is proposed in the NVZ in Ecuador: in fore arc position beneath Pichincha volcano, oceanic crust is able to melt and produces adakites. En route to the surface, part of these magmas metasomatize the mantle wedge inducing the crystallization of pargasite, phlogopite and garnet. In counterpart, they are enriched in magnesium and are placed at the surface as magnesian andesites. Dragged down by convection, the modified mantle undergoes a first partial melting event by the destabilization of pargasite and produces the adakite-like lavas from Antisana volcano. Lastly, dragged down deeper beneath the Sumaco volcano, the mantle melts a second time by the destabilization of phlogopite and produces high-niobium basalts. The obvious variation in spatial distribution (and geochemical characteristics) of the volcanism in the NVZ between Colombia and Ecuador clearly indicates that the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge beneath the Ecuadorian margin strongly influences the subduction-related volcanism. It is proposed that the flattening of the subducted slab induced by the recent subduction (<5 Ma?) of the Carnegie Ridge has permitted the progressive warming of the oceanic crust and its partial melting since ca. 1.5 Ma. Since then, the production of adakites in fore arc position has deeply transformed the magma genesis in the overall arc changing from ‘typical’ calc-alkaline magmatism induced by hydrous fluid metasomatism, to the space- and time-associated lithology adakite/high-Mg andesite/adakite-like andesite/high-Nb basalts characteristic of slab melt metasomatism.     

Mantle transition zone structure beneath the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Over the past decades, there have been hot debates in the geodynamic community regarding to the deep evolution mechanisms of Cenozoic volcanism in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB). Of all the constraints available, high resolution structure of upper mantle discontinuities, especially the discontinuities at depths of 410 km(D410) and 660 km(D660), is of the most important, which may provide reliable clues on the magma channel as well as its evolution. In this work, we adopt the common conversion point stacking technique with teleseismic radial P-wave receiver functions to examine the D410 and D660 discontinuities. The primary results exhibit that the major characteristics of the mantle transition zone(MTZ) obtained by different velocity models are largely consistent. Obviously elevated D410 and slightly depressed D660 are observed beneath the Hannuoba Volcano, suggesting possible delamination of the local lithosphere deposited at the D410. This process may induce upwelling of the asthenospheric materials filling the space left by the delaminated lithosphere, and subsequently trigger volcanic eruptions. Strong depressions are observed at both D410 and D660 depths beneath west of the Dariganga Volcano, and the depression of D660 is more pronounced. It leads to the apparently thickened MTZ, indicating the presence of cold material at the D660. This cold material is speculated as a stagnant slab from the subducted Pacific Plate or the remains of a detached island arc system from the collision and formation of the CAOB. Slightly thinner MTZ is found beneath the Hentey Mountains and the Middle Gobi Volcano. Apparently, this thinner MTZ is not significant enough to support the existence of high thermal anomalies,which may rule out the possibility of large-scale hot material upwelling from either the local MTZ or even the lower mantle.     

Subduction and retreating of the western Pacific plate resulted in lithospheric mantle replacement and coupled basin-mountain respond in the North China Craton

The North China Craton (NCC) witnessed Mesozoic vigorous tectono-thermal activities and transition in the nature of deep lithosphere. These processes took place in three periods: (1) Late Paleozoic to Early Jurassic (～170 Ma); (2) Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (160–140 Ma); (3) Early Cretaceous to Cenozoic (140 Ma to present). The last two stages saw the lithospheric mantle replacement and coupled basin-mountain response within the North China Craton due to subduction and retreating of the Paleo-Pacific plate, and is the emphasis in this paper. In the first period, the subduction and closure of the Paleo- Asian Ocean triggered the back-arc extension, syn-collisional compression and then post-collisional extension accompanied by ubiquitous magmatism along the northern margin of the NCC. Similar processes happened in the southern margin of the craton as the subduction of the Paleo-Tethys ocean and collision with the South China Block. These processes had caused the chemical modification and mechanical destruction of the cratonic margins. The margins could serve as conduits for the asthenosphere upwelling and had the priority for magmatism and deformation. The second period saw the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean and the shear deformation and magmatism induced by the drifting of the Paleo-Pacific slab. The former led to two pulse of N-S trending compression (Episodes A and B of the Yanshan Movement) and thus the pre-existing continental marginal basins were disintegrated into sporadically basin and range province by the Mesozoic magmatic plutons and NE-SW trending faults. With the anticlockwise rotation of the Paleo-Pacific moving direction, the subduction-related magmatism migrated into the inner part of the craton and the Tanlu fault became normal fault from a sinistral one. The NCC thus turned into a back-arc extension setting at the end of this period. In the third period, the refractory subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) was firstly remarkably eroded and thinned by the subduction-induced asthenospheric upwelling, especially those beneath the weak zones (i.e., cratonic margins and the lithospheric Tanlu fault zone). Then a slightly lithospheric thickening occurred when the upwelled asthenosphere got cool and transformed to be lithospheric mantle accreted (～125 Ma) beneath the thinned SCLM. Besides, the magmatism continuously moved southeastward and the extensional deformations preferentially developed in weak zones, which include the Early Cenozoic normal fault transformed from the Jurassic thrust in the Trans-North Orogenic Belt, the crustal detachment and the subsidence of Bohai basin caused by the continuous normal strike slip of the Tanlu fault, the Cenozoic graben basins originated from the fault depression in the Trans-North Orogenic Belt, the Bohai Basin and the Sulu Orogenic belt. With small block size, inner lithospheric weak zones and the surrounding subductions/collisions, the Mesozoic NCC was characterized by (1) lithospheric thinning and crustal detachment triggered by the subduction-induced asthenospheric upwelling. Local crustal contraction and orogenesis appeared in the Trans-North Orogenic Belt coupled with the crustal detachment; (2) then upwelled asthenosphere got cool to be newly-accreted lithospheric mantle and crustal grabens and basin subsidence happened, as a result of the subduction zone retreating. Therefore, the subduction and retreating of the western Pacific plate is the outside dynamics which resulted in mantle replacement and coupled basin-mountain respond within the North China Craton. We consider that the Mesozoic decratonization of the North China Craton, or the Yanshan Movement, is a comprehensive consequence of complex geological processes proceeding surrounding and within craton, involving both the deep lithospheric mantle and shallow continental crust.