Petrology and Geochemistry of the Dangqiong Ophiolite, Western Yarlung‐Zangbo Suture Zone, Tibet, China

Abstract

The Dangqiong ophiolite, the largest in the western segment of the Yarlung‐Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) ophiolite belt in southern Tibet, consists of discontinuous mantle peridotite and intrusive mafic rocks. The former is composed dominantly of harzburgite, with minor dunite, locally lherzolite and some dunite containing lenses and veins of chromitite. The latter, mafic dykes (gabbro and diabase dykes), occur mainly in the southern part. This study carried out geochemical analysis on both rocks. The results show that the mantle peridotite has Fo values in olivine from 89.92 to 91.63 and is characterized by low aluminum contents (1.5–4.66 wt%) and high Mg# values (91.06–94.53) of clinopyroxene. Most spinels in the Dangqiong peridotites have typical Mg# values ranging from 61.07 to 72.52, with corresponding Cr# values ranging from 17.67 to 31.66, and have TiO2 contents from 0 to 0.09%, indicating only a low degree of partial melting (10–15%). The olivine‐spinel equilibrium and spinel chemistry of the Dangqiong peridotites suggest that they originated deeper mantle (>20 kbar). The gabbro dykes show N‐MORB‐type patterns of REE and trace elements. The presence of amphibole in the Dangqiong gabbro suggests the late‐stage alteration of subduction‐derived fluids. All the lherzolites and harzburgites in Dangqiong have similar distribution patterns of REE and trace elements, the mineral chemistry in the harzburgites and lherzolites indicates compositions similar to those of abyssal and forearc peridotites, suggesting that the ophiolite in Dangqiong formed in a MOR environment and then was modified by late‐stage melts and fluids in a suprasubduction zone (SSZ) setting. This formation process is consistent with that of the Luobusa ophiolite in the eastern Yarlung‐Zangbo Suture Zone and Purang ophiolite in the western Yarlung‐Zangbo Suture Zone.