Anatexis in Himalayan crust: Evidence from geochemical and chronological investigations of Higher Himalayan Crystallines

Abstract

Migmatization in Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) results from anatexis. The widely distributed migmatites in HHC are an important clue to investigate the relationship between anatexis and the origins of Higher Himalayan leucogranites (HHL), and to understand the effect of anatexis on crustal evolution during the post-collision period. We studied in detail the chemical features of three basic constituent parts of the migmatites, i.e. leucosome, mesosome and melanosome, and determined the K-Ar ages of leucosomes. Our studies indicate that type-I leucosome is the product of crystallization of melt generated by partial melting of mesosome at source region, but type-II leucosome and HHL probably underwent crystallization differentiation of plagioclase during melt aggregation and migration. The age of 22.67 Ma of Type-I leucosome, which is a little older than the beginning of MCT movement, indicates that anatexis may have played an important role in the formation of MCT. That the ages of type-II leucosome (ranging from 14.82 to 18.37 Ma) are consistent with that of HHL provides new chronological evidence for the relationship between migmatization and HHL. We obtained a very young age of 6.23 Ma of Type-II leucosome that provides new time constraint on magma activity in the central segment of Higher Himalayas.