Geochemical evolution of intraplate magmatism in the Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Late Neoproterozoic to the Early Cambrian

Abstract

A group of oceanic islands and/or seamounts (hereafter, paleoseamounts) was produced by oceanic hot-spot magmatism in the Late Proterozoic-Early Cambrian in the southwestern margin of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. They were accreted to the Kuznetsk-Altai island arc in the Late Cambrian and were subsequently incorporated during the closing of the paleocean into the accretionary complexes of the western part of the Altai-Sayan area (southwestern Siberia, Russia). The major-and trace-element compositions and Sr and Nd isotopic systematics of pillow lavas and basalt flows from the Kurai (600 Ma) and Katun’ (550–530 Ma) paleoseamounts of Gorny Altai characterize the evolution of Hawaiian-type magmatism in the Paleo-Asian Ocean during that period. The obtained data show a significant change in lava composition between 600 and 550–530 Ma. The tholeiitic basalts of the Kurai Paleoseamount (600 Ma) from the southern part of Gorny Altai have lower incompatible element contents and higher 147Sm/144Nd values compared with the younger tholeiitic and alkali basalts of the Katun’ Paleoseamount (550–530 Ma), whose rocks are exposed in northern Gorny Altai. The trace-element compositions of the Katun’ lavas are similar to those of the Hawaiian tholeiites, and their 147Sm/144Nd ratios are lower than those of the Kurai basalts. It was suggested that the older Kurai Paleoseamount was formed above a thinner oceanic lithosphere, i.e., closer to a paleospreading axis compared with the younger Katun’ Paleoseamount. The observed temporal variations in the chemical and isotopic characteristics of lavas are probably related to differences in the degree of melting of the heterogeneous mantle owing to the different thickness of the oceanic lithosphere above which the Kurai and Katun’ paleoseamounts were formed. During the Ediacaran, a plume developed beneath the younger and, consequently, thinner lithosphere of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The higher degree of melting in the mantle column resulted in a more considerable contribution from the refractory depleted material of the upper mantle. After 50–70 Ma, i.e., in the Early Cambrian, the plume affected a thicker lithosphere, its mantle column became shorter, and the degree of melting was lower. Owing to this, the basaltic melt was more contributed by incompatible element enriched less refractory material of the lower mantle.