Late Paleozoic Woniusi basaltic province from Sibumasu terrane: Implications for the breakup of eastern Gondwana’s northern margin

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 2015 Late Paleozoic Woniusi basaltic province from Sibumasu terrane: Implications for the breakup of eastern Gondwana’s northern margin Shi-Yong Liao; Shi-Yong Liao † 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China2Key Laboratory of Planetary Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China †E-mail: liaosy@hotmail.com or syliao@pmo.ac.cn. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dong-Bing Wang; Dong-Bing Wang 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yuan Tang; Yuan Tang 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Fu-Guang Yin; Fu-Guang Yin 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Shu-Nan Cao; Shu-Nan Cao 3Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Li-Quan Wang; Li-Quan Wang 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Bao-Di Wang; Bao-Di Wang 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhi-Ming Sun Zhi-Ming Sun 1Chengdu Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chengdu 610082, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2015) 127 (9-10): 1313–1330. https://doi.org/10.1130/B31210.1 Article history received: 20 Sep 2014 rev-recd: 30 Jan 2015 accepted: 02 Mar 2015 first online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Shi-Yong Liao, Dong-Bing Wang, Yuan Tang, Fu-Guang Yin, Shu-Nan Cao, Li-Quan Wang, Bao-Di Wang, Zhi-Ming Sun; Late Paleozoic Woniusi basaltic province from Sibumasu terrane: Implications for the breakup of eastern Gondwana’s northern margin. GSA Bulletin 2015;; 127 (9-10): 1313–1330. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B31210.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The tectonic mechanism responsible for detachment of the Sibumasu terrane in the eastern Cimmerian continent from the Australian Gondwana margin remains poorly understood and debated. Our study on the late Paleozoic Woniusi basaltic province in the northern Sibumasu terrane may provide a new perspective on this problem, and further, on the rifting dynamics of eastern Gondwana’s northern margin. In this study, we revealed that the Woniusi basaltic province is spread over an area of ∼12,000 km2 with a thickness of ∼300–500 m for the eruptive phase. Direct zircon U-Pb dating of mafic dikes indicates that the Woniusi basaltic province was emplaced between the latest Carboniferous and late Early Permian (301 Ma to 282 Ma), synchronous with basaltic rocks from the Panjal Traps, Tethyan Himalaya (Bhote Kosi, Selong, Abor), Lhasa, and southern Qiangtang. Geochemically, the Woniusi basaltic rocks show subalkaline tholeiitic affinity and relatively homogeneous features of enriched light rare earth elements (LREEs) and large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) but depleted Nb and Ta patterns. They were most likely derived from an enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle source and triggered by the mantle plume–induced rifting process. The Woniusi basaltic province, together with other coeval basaltic provinces from the Panjal Traps, Tethyan Himalaya, Lhasa, and southern Qiangtang, belongs to a fragmented large igneous province that may have had an original area of over 2 × 106 km2, which is comparable to that of the Ontong-Java, Deccan, or Siberian Traps. These Tethyan basaltic provinces share a common mantle plume centered in northern Greater India. It was this mantle plume that may have triggered the initial rifting of the eastern Cimmerian terranes (e.g., Sibumasu, southern Qiangtang) from both the northern Indian and Australian Gondwana margins, as well as the opening of Meso-Tethys Ocean. This study, moreover, sheds light on the paleopositions of the Lhasa and Tengchong terranes before their breakups. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.