Os–Nd–Sr isotopes in Miocene ultrapotassic rocks of southern Tibet: Partial melting of a pyroxenite-bearing lithospheric mantle?

Abstract

Miocene post-collisional ultrapotassic rocks in the southern and central parts of the Lhasa Terrane of southern Tibet provide an opportunity to explore the deep processes and lithospheric evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. The magmatic source of the ultrapotassic rocks is still debated. However, the source can be identified using the Re–Os isotopic system. In this paper, we provide comprehensive data on the Re–Os isotopic compositions of ultrapotassic rocks from Mibale and Maiga areas in southern Tibet, and we refine the age of the Mibale ultrapotassic rocks to 12.5Ma. The Os isotopic data demonstrate that crustal assimilation affected the Os isotopic compositions of some ultrapotassic rocks with low Os contents, but samples with high Os contents have little or no evidence of crustal contamination. The initial 187Os/188Os ratios of the least-contaminated ultrapotassic rocks are higher than those of primitive upper mantle (PUM). The ultrapotassic rocks show a weak correlation between initial 187Os/188Os ratios and Mg# values, a negative correlation between εNd(t) and Mg# values, and high Ni contents and FeO/MnO ratios. These observations indicate that the ultrapotassic rocks were derived from a pyroxenite-bearing lithospheric mantle. Simple calculations indicate <20% pyroxenite in the lithospheric mantle, which is consistent with the pyroxenite xenoliths found in the ultrapotassic rocks of southern Tibet. The Os model ages for the ultrapotassic rocks in the south Lhasa Terrane range from 75 to 541Ma, indicating that the lithospheric mantle beneath southern Tibet underwent multiple magmatic events. We conclude, therefore, that convective removal of a pyroxenite-bearing lithospheric mantle or break-off of the Indian continental lithospheric mantle could have resulted in the generation of the ultrapotassic rocks in southern Tibet.