Plume-proximal mid-ocean ridge origin of Zhongba mafic rocks in the western Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, Southern Tibet

Abstract

The >2000km-long Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) in southern Tibet includes the remnants of the Mesozoic Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere, and is divided by the Zhada-Zhongba microcontinent into northern and southern branches in its western segment. Zircon U–Pb dating of a doleritic rock from the northern branch has revealed a concordant age of 160.5±1.3Ma. All of the doleritic samples from the northern branch and the pillow basalt and gabbro samples from the southern branch display consistent REE and trace element patterns similar to those of modern OIB-type rocks. The geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic signatures of these OIB-type rocks from the western segment are identical with those of OIB-type and alkaline rocks from other ophiolite massifs along the central and eastern segments of the YZSZ, suggesting a common mantle plume source for their melt evolution. The enriched Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic character of the gabbroic dike rocks from the southern branch points to a mantle plume source, contaminated by subducted oceanic crust or pelagic sediments. We infer that the mafic rock associations exposed along the YZSZ represent the remnants of a Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere, which was developed as part of a plume-proximal seafloor-spreading system, reminiscent of the seamount chains along-across the modern mid-ocean ridges in the Pacific Ocean.