Petrogenesis of the Ramba leucogranite in the Tethyan Himalaya and constraints on the channel flow model

Abstract

Abstract The Himalayan leucogranites are critical for understanding the geodynamic process of Himalayan orogenesis. In this article, we present petrological, geochronological and geochemical results of the Ramba leucogranites that crop out in the center of the Ramba dome within the Tethyan Himalaya. U–(Th)–Pb dating of zircon, monazite and xenotime revealed three episodes of leucogranitic magmatism in the Ramba dome at ca. 44 Ma, ca. 28 Ma and ca. 8 Ma, respectively. The ca. 44 Ma and ca. 28 Ma magmatisms are both represented by strongly deformed porphyritic two-mica granite gneiss dykes that intruded into the margin of the dome. These granite gneisses have high CaO and Sr contents, relatively high Na/K, Sr/Y and low Rb/Sr ratios, and much lower initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios but higher eNd(t) and eHf(t) values than the ancient Indian crustal material. These results indicate that the granite gneisses were not derived from metasedimentary rocks of the High Himalayan Sequence but most likely were derived from partial melting of mafic rocks at a thickened crustal condition. The ca. 8 Ma leucogranites consist of a two-mica granite pluton in the core of the dome and garnet-bearing granite dykes in the margin of the dome. Major and trace element compositions indicate that these Miocene leucogranites are typical S-type granites and were most likely derived from muscovite and/or biotite dehydration melting of metapelites. The relatively lower TiO2, TFeO, MgO and CaO contents, higher Rb concentration and Rb/Sr ratio, and more strongly negative Eu anomaly of the garnet-bearing granite indicate that it was more evolved than the coeval two-mica granite. The non-CHARAC (CHarge-And-Radius-Controlled) trace element behavior and the tetrad effect of the REE distribution of the garnet-bearing granite further suggest that it is a highly fractionated granite. Besides, our study detected some Asian-like materials in the Ramba leucogranites, such as Mesozoic-aged inherited zircons and the relatively depleted Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions of some leucogranite samples. These features of leucogranites in the Tethyan Himalaya have been previously considered as direct geological evidence for the channel flow model. However, detailed geochronological and geochemical studies of the country rocks suggest that these Asian-like materials are most likely sourced from the country rock rather than the Asian lithosphere, thus they may not be used as solid evidence for the channel flow model.