Zhang Hongfu

Highly heterogeneous Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton: evidence from Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic systematics of mafic igneous rocks

The lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton changed dramatically in its geophysical and geochemical characteristics from Palaeozoic to Cenozoic times. This study uses samples of Mesozoic basalts and mafic intrusions from the North China Craton to investigate the nature of this mantle in Mesozoic times. Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data demonstrate that the Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle was extremely heterogeneous. In the central craton or the Luzhong region, it is slightly Sr–Nd isotopically enriched, beneath the Taihangshan region it has an EM1 character ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i = 0.7050–0.7066; e Nd(t) = −17– −10), and beneath the Luxi–Jiaodong region, it possesses EM2-like characteristics (87Sr/86Sri up to 0.7114). Compositional variation with time is also apparent in the Mesozoic lithospheric mantle. Our data suggest that the old lithospheric mantle was modified during Mesozoic times by a silicic melt, where beneath the Luxi–Jiaodong region it was severely modified, but in the Luzhong and Taihangshan regions the effects were much less marked. The silicic melt may have been the product of partial melting of crustal materials brought into the mantle by the subducted slab during the formation of circum-cratonic orogenic belts. This Mesozoic mantle did not survive for a long time, and was replaced by a Cenozoic mantle with depleted geochemical characteristics.

Time range of Mesozoic tectonic regime inversion in eastern North China Block

An important tectonic inversion took place in eastern North China Block(NCB) during Mesozoic, which caused a great lithosphere thinning, reconstruction of basin-range series, powerful interaction between mantle and crust, a vast granitic intrusion and volcanism, and large-scale metallogenic explosion. The time range of the Mesozoic tectonic regime inversion in the eastern North China Block is one of the key issues to understand mechanism of tectonic regime inversion. Our updated results for recognizing the time range are mainly obtained from the following aspects: structural analyses along northern and southern margins of the NCB and within the NCB for revealing tectonic inversion from compression to extension and structural striking from ~EW to NNE; geothermic analyses of the eastern sedimental basins for a great change of thermal history and regime; basin analysis for basin inversion from compression to extension and basin migration from ~EW to NNE; petrological and geochemical studies of volcanic rocks and lowermost crust xenoliths for recognizing peak period of mantle upwelling and intense interaction between mantle and crust, and main metallogenic epoch. All the studies of the above give the same time range from~150-140 Ma to~110-100Ma, peaking at ~120 Ma.

Magma underplating and Hannuoba present crust-mantle transitional zone composition: Xenolith petrological and geochemical evidence

On the basis of mineral assemblage, mineralogy, petrology, and major, trace elemental and isotopic geochemistry of the underplated granulite- and eclogite-facies accumulate, peridotite and pyroxenite xenoliths entrained in Hannuoba Cenozoic basalts, this work constrained the petrological constituents for the crust-mantle transitional zone, which is supported by the results of high-temperature and pressure velocity experiments on rocks and geophysics deep survey. Present lower part of lower crust is mainly composed of granulite-facies mafic accumulates (dominantly plagioclase websterite) and crust-mantle transitional zone dominantly composed of eclogite-facies pyroxenites with or without garnet and spinel lherzolites; Archaean terrain granulite is only nominally early lower crust. Magma underplating in the crust-mantle boundary led to the crustal vertical accretion and the formation of the crust-mantle transitional zone, which is a significant mechanism for the chemical adjustment of the crust-mantle boundary since the Phanerozoic.

Major and trace element studies on garnets from Palaeozoic kimberlite-borne mantle xenoliths and megacrysts from the North China craton

Palaeozoic kimberlites from Mengyin, Shandong and Fuxian, Liaoning, eastern China, contain plenty of mantle xenoliths (peridotites, eclogites) and megacrystic minerals.In-situ electron and ion microprobe analyses on garnets from these xenoliths and megacrysts as well as relevant theoretical modeling reveal that these garnets were more or less affected by kimberlitic silicate melts prior to the encapsulation, in which eclogitic garnet from Fuxian, Liaoning Province, was little affected by mantle metasomatism, representing the primitive depleted mantle composition. In contrast, garnet from Mengyin, Shandong Province, and all megacrystic garnets were completely modified by metasomatic melts/fluids and reached perfectly chemical equilibrium, thus reflecting the characteristics of the enriched mantle. It is inferred that old lithospheric mantle beneath the North China craton was fairly strongly modified by metasomatism before Palaeozoic kimberlite emplacement.

Geochemical research on C—O and Sr—Nd isotopes of mantle-derived rocks from Shandong Province, China

This paper presents systematic studies on the C—O and Sr—Nd isotopic compositions for Cretaceous Badou carbonatites, Fangcheng basalts, and Jiaodong lamprophyres and Paleozoic Mengyin kimberlites in Shandong Province, China. Paleozoic kimberlites have normal and uniform C—O isotopic compositions with δ13C and δ18O in the range of −4.8‰—−7.6‰ and +9.9‰—+13.2‰, respectively. However, Cretaceous three different types of mantlederived rocks have quite different C—O isotopic compositions, indicating that the mantle sources are probably partially contaminated with organic carbon-bearing crustal materials. These Cretaceous rocks show uniform and EMII-like Sr—Nd isotopic compositions and also indicate that the mantle sources were affected by recycled crustal materials. Comparative studies of C—O and Sr—Nd isotopes reveal that the lithospheric mantle beneath the eastern North China Craton had different isotope characteristics in the Paleozoic, the early Cretaceous, and the Tertiary time. This demonstrates that the lithospheric mantle beneath the region underwent at least twice reconstructions since the Paleozoic. Available data imply that the first reconstruction mainly happened during the Triassic-Jurassic time with gradual changes and the second in the Cretaceous with abrupt changes. Results also show that the early Cretaceous (especially at 120-130 Ma) was perhaps the key period leading to the dramatic change of the Mesozoic geodynamics on the eastern North China Craton.