Late Cenozoic basaltic lavas from the Changbaishan-Baoqing Volcanic Belt, NE China: Products of lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction induced by subduction of the Pacific plate

Abstract

Cenozoic intraplate basalts are low in volume but widespread in eastern China. They are predominantly alkaline and have oceanic island basalt (OIB)-like trace element compositions. Despite numerous studies, the origin of Cenozoic basalts in eastern China remains elusive. Possible roles of lithosphere thickness, subduction of Pacific plate and lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction in triggering spatial geochemical variations have not yet been clarified. Here, we have carried out mineral chemistry, major and trace element and SrNdHf isotope analyses of the late Cenozoic (<20 Ma) basaltic rocks from the Changbaishan-Baoqing Volcanic Belt (CVB), NE China, which revealed clear spatial compositional variations. The North CVB is dominated by basanites and alkali basalts with OIB-like trace element patterns and depleted SrNdHf isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr = 0.7039–0.7047, εNd = 3–5.6; εHf = 6.7–12), which may have been derived from low degree partial melting of a depleted source from asthenospheric mantle beneath a thick lithosphere. On the other hand, the South CVB consists of both alkali and sub-alkali lavas (alkali basalts, tholeiites and basaltic andesites) that display generally higher SiO2, Sm/Nd, Ba/Nb, Th/U, and lower Nb/Th, La/Sm and more enriched SrNdHf isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr = 0.7038–0.7056, εNd = −2.4 – +3.2; εHf = 3–8.2). These rocks may have been produced by larger degrees of partial melting of asthenospheric mantle beneath a relatively thin lithosphere. Ancient metasomatized lithospheric mantle might also have contributed to their genesis. In addition, the similar ranges of Mn, Ni and Fe/Mn for olivine phenocrysts from both the North and the South CVB suggest that they may have been derived from hybrid mantle sources containing similar proportions of peridotite and pyroxenite/eclogite components. We propose that decompression melting of upwelling asthenosphere and mechanical-chemical erosion of basal lithosphere related to lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction responsible for the genesis of the CVB magmas were likely associated with upper mantle convection and back-arc extension induced by deep subduction of the Pacific plate and its stagnancy in the transition zone.