Early Paleozoic mantle evolution of East Kunlun Orogenic Belt in Qinghai, NW China: evidence from the geochemistry and geochronology of the Late Ordovician to Late Silurian mafic-ultramafic rocks in the Qimantag region

Abstract

ABSTRACT Subduction-related basaltic rocks in active continental margins should record information about the lithospheric mantle. Mafic rocks from the Qimantag region of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt (EKOB), NW China, can be used to constrain the evolution of mantle sources. The Heishan basalts (445 Ma) and Xiarihamu gabbros (427 Ma) display distinct geochemical and isotopic features, with basalts yielding relatively lower Na2O+K2O (1.48–4.16 wt.%) and Mg# (0.50–0.57) than gabbros (Na2O+K2O = 2.96–4.07 wt.%, Mg# = 0.65–0.81). Although the basalts and gabbros show similar enrichment of LILE and depletion of HFSE, the gabbros have higher Th/Y and lower Sm/Th and Nb/U ratios than the basalts, indicative of derivation from a more enriched mantle source. The Heishan basalts have relatively positive εNd(t) values (+4.7 to +5.8) whereas the Xiarihamu gabbros have negative εNd(t) values ranging from −5.5 to −3.8. Crustal contamination played an insignificant role in the formation of the basalts and gabbros. Our data suggest that the basalts originated from a depleted mantle source, slightly enriched by subduction-related fluids, whereas the gabbros originated from an enriched mantle source. These findings support a subduction-related progressive lithospheric mantle enrichment model over ~20 Ma beneath the Qimantag region in the Early Palaeozoic.