Ji-Feng Xu

Origin of Mesozoic adakitic intrusive rocks in the Ningzhen area of east China: Partial melting of delaminated lower continental crust?

To the best of our knowledge, modern adakites have not been documented in a nonarc environment. We report geochemical and isotopic data for Early Cretaceous Anjishan adakitic intrusive rocks that are in a continental setting unrelated to subduction. The Anjishan adakitic intrusive rocks, which are exposed in the Ningzhen area of east China, have high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios coupled with low Yb and Y as well as relatively high MgO contents and Mg numbers (Mg#; 0.4-0.6), similar to products from slab melting. However, low ∈ N d ( t ) values (-6.8 to-9.7) and high ( 8 7 Sr/ 8 6 Sr) i (0.7053-0.7066) are inconsistent with an origin by slab melting. The tectonics and geochemistry lead us to conclude that adakitic magmas were most likely derived from partial melting of mafic material at the base of the continental crust. High Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios of the adakitic intrusive rocks suggest that garnet was stable as a residual phase during partial melting, implying that the crustal thickness exceeded 40 km in the Early Cretaceous. The present thickness of the crust in the Ningzhen area is only 30 km, and therefore the crust appears to have been thinned by at least ∼10 km since the Early Cretaceous. The relatively high MgO contents and Mg# of the Anjishan intrusive rocks suggest that adakitic magmas interacted with mantle rocks, possibly coinciding with lower-crustal delamination, which would also account for the observed thinning.

Cenozoic K-rich adakitic volcanic rocks in the Hohxil area, northern Tibet : Lower-crustal melting in an intracontinental setting

It is generally accepted that the Cenozoic potassic volcanic rocks of northern Tibet were derived from a lithospheric mantle source. Here we report new chronological, geochemical, and isotopic data for the Miocene (ca. 18-15 Ma) K-rich adakitic volcanic rocks from the Hohxil area of the Songpan-Ganzi block in northern Tibet. We contend that these rocks were generated by partial melting of the mafic lower crust, in an intracontinental setting unrelated to subduction of oceanic crust. The Hohxil rocks exhibit high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios, high Sr and La contents, but low Yb and Y concentrations, similar to adakites formed by slab melting associated with subduction. However, their relatively low e N d values (-2.09 to -4.58); high 8 7 Sr/ 8 6 Sr (0.7072-0.7075), Th/U, Th/Ba, and Rb/Ba ratios; and distinctive potassium enrichments (K 2 O > Na 2 O) are very different from the composition of typical adakites. In addition, those K-rich adakitic rocks with the highest SiO 2 contents (>61 wt%) exhibit the lowest 8 7 Sr/ 8 6 Sr ratios and highest e N d values and are the oldest Cenozoic volcanic rocks exposed in the Songpan-Ganzi block, suggesting that they were derived neither directly from a mantle source nor by differentiation of a shoshonitic magma. Taking into account the composition of lower-crustal mafic xenoliths in Tibet, as well as the tectonic and geophysical evidence, we conclude that the Hohxil adakitic magmas were produced by partial melting of amphibole-bearing eclogites with a K-rich mafic bulk composition, in the lower part (≥∼55 km) of the thickened northern Tibetan crust. Partial melting of the lower crust may have been triggered by dehydration release of fluids from sedimentary materials in the southward-subducted continental lithosphere.

Partial melting of thickened or delaminated lower crust in the middle of eastern China: Implications for Cu-Au mineralization

Field relations, isotope systematics, and plate tectonic reconstructions require that felsic adakites in the Yangtze Block and the Dabie Orogen, eastern China, were not derived from a subducting slab, despite the signature of a mantle component in the contemporaneous mafic adakite hosts of Cu‐Au deposits in the same areas. The apparently contradictory requirements are accounted for by (a) a deep crustal melting origin for barren adakites and (b) a crustal delamination origin, followed by ascent through lithospheric mantle, for adakites associated with mineralization. The crustal delamination process associated with the prospective porphyries duplicates the metallogenically essential aspects of the subduction environment. The importance of adakitic magmas in the genesis of porphyry‐style Cu‐Au deposits is affirmed by these findings, but the range of prospective tectonic environments is extended to include an important intraplate, postsubduction setting. The porphyries of eastern China demonstrate a previously unrecognized relationship between one particular tectonic environment and porphyry‐style mineralization that may occur elsewhere.

Geochemistry of late Paleozoic mafic igneous rocks from the Kuerti area, Xinjiang, northwest China: implications for backarc mantle evolution

The composition of Kuerti mafic rocks in the Altay Mountains in northwest China ranges from highly geochemically depleted, with very low La, Ta and Nb and high eNd(t) values, to slightly enriched, arc lava-like composition. They display flat to light rare earth element (REE)-depleted patterns and have variable depletions in high field-strength elements (HFSE). These mafic rocks were most probably derived from a variably depleted mantle source containing a subduction component beneath an ancient intra-oceanic backarc basin. Together with the slightly older arc volcanic rocks in the Altay region, the Kuerti mafic rocks display generally positive correlations of their key elemental ratios (e.g., Th/Nb, La/Yb and Th/Yb). These indicate that the more mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) component was contained in these magmas, the less arc component was present in their mantle source. Therefore, we propose a two-stage melting evolution model to interpret the compositional evolution of the Kuerti mafic rocks and associated arc volcanic rocks. First, arc basaltic melts were extracted from the hydrated arc mantle wedge beneath Kuerti, leaving behind a mantle source that is variably depleted in incompatible trace elements. Then, mafic rocks were erupted during seafloor spreading in the Kuerti backarc basin from the upwelling asthenospheric mantle. The variably depleted mantle source produced mafic rocks with composition ranging from arc lava-like to more geochemically depleted than MORB. The recognition of Kuerti mafic rocks as backarc basin basalts (BABB) is consistent with the proposed tectonic model that an active backarc basin–island arc system along the paleo-Asian ocean margin was formed in the Altay region during Devonian–Early Carboniferous. New data further indicate that the final orogenic event in the Altay Mountains, i.e. the collision of the north and south continental plates in the region, most probably took place in Late Carboniferous and Permian.

MORB-type rocks from the Paleo-Tethyan Mian-Lueyang northern ophiolite in the Qinling Mountains, central China: implications for the source of the low 206Pb/204Pb and high 143Nd/144Nd mantle component in the Indian Ocean

Abstract Samples from a basalt and gabbro section of the Paleo-Tethyan (∼350 Ma) Mian-Lue northern ophiolites (MLNO) in the Qinling Mountains of central China display sub-parallel and relatively smooth incompatible trace element-depleted patterns and have high ϵ Nd (350 Ma) (8.1–11.3) and low 206 Pb/ 204 Pb (350 Ma) (16.90–17.25). The MLNO basalts and gabbros are compositionally similar to normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), particularly to those from the Carlsberg Ridge and Indian Ocean Ridge Triple Junction. The basalts and gabbros also have high Δ7/4 and Δ8/4 isotopic values characteristic of the Dupal isotopic anomaly in the southern hemisphere. Although the MLNO is presently in the northern hemisphere, it was previously located within the southerly location of the Indian Ocean based on paleomagnetic data. Thus, assuming that the low 206 Pb/ 204 Pb ratio of the MLNO basalts and gabbros is not due to seawater alteration or continental contamination, the unique isotopic signature of both the Paleo-Tethyan oceanic igneous crust and the modern Indian MORB may have come from a very similar, if not identical mantle reservoir. This indicates that a portion of the modern Indian MORB mantle isotopic domain could have been in existence for at least ∼350 Ma. We propose that the low 206 Pb/ 204 Pb and high 143 Nd/ 144 Nd isotopic character of the MLNO basalts and gabbros as well as similar Indian MORB originated either from a low μ sub-domain of the depleted asthenospheric mantle in the southern hemisphere or due to contamination of the depleted asthenosphere by deep-rooted plumes carrying a low 206 Pb/ 204 Pb mantle component. In contrast, the origin of the more common Indian MORB with low 206 Pb/ 204 Pb and low 143 Nd/ 144 Nd is most probably associated with the delamination of the Gondwanan continental lithosphere during formation of the Indian Ocean.

Origin of two differentiation trends in the Emeishan flood basalts

Both the Bowen and Fenner differentiation trends have been recognized in the Emeishan flood basalts. While the Longzhoushan lavas in Panxi paleorift evolved on a trend of silica enrichment (Bowen trend), the lavas from Guizhou evolved along the Fenner trend leading to the magmas with high Fe2O3 (23%) and low SiO2 (44%) contents. This provides evidence for the existence of Fe-rich and Si-poor magmas in nature. Such contrasting differentiation trends, marked by different timing of crystallization of Fe-Ti oxides, are correlated with the extent of crustal contamination of the magmas. Limited crustal contamination in the Guizhou lavas is coupled with the low oxygen fugacity which delayed the onset of magnetite crystallization. In contrast, significant involvement of crustal components in the Longzhoushan lavas increased ƒO2 which in turn triggered early crystallization of magnetite. The close spatial association between the Longzhoushan lavas and the synchronous V-Fe-Ti deposit-bearing layered intrusions suggests a potential relationship between them.

Adakites related to subduction in the northern margin of Junggar arc for the Late Paleozoic: Products of slab melting

Volcanic rocks with adakitic compositional signature have been recognized in the northern margin of ancient Junggar island arc for the Late Paleozoic. These adakites for the early Devonian from the Tuoranggekudouke Group (D1t) are characteristic of high Sr, Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N but low Y, Yb and HREE. Their compositional characteristics are much similar to those of the typical adakites in the world but distinct from those of the normal arc volcanic rocks from the same Group. We conclude that these adakitic volcanic rocks were produced by slab melting during the early period of Paleoasia-ocean lithosphere subduction. This infers that the Paleoasia Ocean in the north Junggar area began a new subduction process in the early Devonian.

Discovery of Mg-righ volcanic rock series in western Altay area, Xinjiang and its geologic significance

A series of Mg-rich volcanic rocks, including rare Mg-rich dacites in the Asherle copper mine, western Altay Area, has been found. This suite of Mg-rich volcanic rocks is characterized by high SiO2, MgO and low Ti contents. Compared with the island arc tholeiite and MORB, these rocks are depleted in HFSE and are therefore similar to boninite. The dacites show V-shaped distribution REE patterns whereas the basalts display flat or LREE-depletton patterns. Based on their geochemical features and occurrence, it is suggested that they were formed in oceanic island arc setting. Its petrogenesis is related to the slab movement. At the early stage, the peridotite of the ocean upper mantle diapirically uprised to the shallow level and started to melt owing to subduction of the ocean slab, forming the island arc tholeiite with pillow structure. At the late stage, the residual refractory peridotites melted again, giving rise to the formation of the parent magma of Mg-rich basalt.

Adakite-type sodium-rich rocks in Awulale Mountain of west Tianshan: Significance for the vertical growth of continental crust

The sodium-rich dacites and albite porphyries of Permian in the Awulale Mountain of west Tianshan have unique chemical and trace element signatures identical to adakite. These intermediate-acidic igneous rocks are characterized by high Na2O, Al2O3 and Sr contents and high Sr/Y and La/Y ratios (> 40 and > 20, respectively), and low Y and Yb contents, and strong depletion in HREE, and positive Eu anomaly. The (143Nd/144Nd)i is in the range from 0.51236 to 0.51248 and the εNd(t) is positive value (+0.79+3.11); the (87Sr/86Sr)i is in the range from 0.7052 to 0.7054. These Nd and Sr isotopic composition features indicate that the source rocks of these adakite-type rocks are from a weakly depleted mantle, or a depleted mantle, but was contaminated by the crustal materials. These adakite-type rocks were most likely derived from the partial melting of new underplated basaltic rocks under the conditions of amphibolite to eclogite transition in the postcollisional environment of North Xinjiang during the Permian Period. They are not only the Phanerozoic juvenile crust materials, but also are probably animportant symbol of the underplating of mantlederived basaltic magmas and the vertical growth of continental crust in the west Tianshan area during the postcollision of Late Paleozoic.

Determination of rhenium content in molybdenite by ICP-MS after separation of the major matrix by solvent extraction with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxalamine.

A simple and rapid analytical method for determining the concentration of rhenium in molybdenite for Re-Os dating was developed. The method used isotope dilution-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ID-ICP-MS) after the removal of major matrix elements (e.g., Mo, Fe, and W) from Re by solvent extraction with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) in chloroform solution. The effect on extraction efficiency of parameters such as pH (HCl concentration), BPHA concentration, and extraction time were also assessed. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the validity of the separation method was accessed by measuring (187)Re/(185)Re values for a molybdenite reference material (JDC). The obtained values were in good agreement with previously measured values of the Re standard. The proposed method was applied to replicate Re-Os dating of JDC and seven samples of molybdenite from the Yuanzhuding large Cu-Mo porphyry deposit. The results demonstrate good precision and accuracy for the proposed method. The advantages of the method (i.e., simplicity, efficiency, short analysis time, and low cost) make it suitable for routine analysis.