Slab Breakoff of the Neo‐Tethys Ocean in the Lhasa Terrane Inferred From Contemporaneous Melting of the Mantle and Crust

Abstract

AbstractOceanic slab breakoff significantly affects the thermal regime of the lithosphere during continental collision. This often triggers extension‐related mafic magmatism and crustal melting. It is generally accepted that the Neo‐Tethyan lithosphere subducted beneath the southern Lhasa Subterrane, resulting in the formation of the Gangdese magmatic arc. However, the timing of slab breakoff is still disputed, due to a lack of evidence for extension‐related mafic magmatism. In this study, we provide comprehensive age, element and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data of mafic dikes, felsic intrusions, and enclaves from the Daju area, southern Lhasa Subterrane. The timing of mafic dikes and granitoids are contemporaneous at circa 57 Ma. The mafic dikes are characterized by high Th/U, and Zr/Y ratios, their geochemistry indicates an intraplate affinity rather than arc magmas. Furthermore, the mafic dikes show strongly variable igneous zircon ɛHf(t), and lower whole‐rock ɛNd(t) than granitoids. This evidence suggests that the mafic dikes represent asthenosphere‐derived melts contaminated by various degrees of ancient lithosphere. However, the granitoids were directly derived from the juvenile lower crust. Given the abrupt decrease in the convergence rate between India and Asia, and the surface uplift and sedimentation cessation in the southern Lhasa Subterrane in the early Cenozoic, the occurrence of synchronous mafic dikes and granitoids is best explained by a slab breakoff model. The occurrence of intraplate‐type magmas likely corresponds to the magmatic expression of the initial stage of Neo‐Tethyan slab breakoff. The slab breakoff concept also explains the onset of the magmatic “flare‐up” and crustal growth after 57 Ma.