Subduction-modified mantle-derived Triassic high-Mg andesites in the Sanjiang Tethys, eastern Tibet

Abstract

Andesites in the Yangla district of the Sanjiang Tethys, eastern Tibet, are characterized by relatively high MgO and with rich large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs), indicating similarities to typical high-Mg andesites formed in continental collisional zones. Zircon U-Pb age of 232 ± 1 Ma for these andesites shows that they occurred synchronously with the regionally widespread late Middle Triassic granitoids and bimodal volcanic rocks. Primitive mantle-normalized spidergrams for these andesites show depletion in high field-strength elements (HFSEs), with Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions that are comparable to both arc- and MORB-like high-Mg rocks generated from subduction-modified sources. Modelling results suggest that an input of ~20% sediment-derived melts into mantle-derived melts could be possibly responsible for the Sr-Nd isotopic characteristic of these andesites. MORB- and arc-like compositions likely indicate a metasomatized mantle wedge modified by subduction processes during the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and subsequent continental collision. It is speculated that the late Middle to Late Triassic intra-continental re-activation associated with regional tectonic collapse and thermal relaxation triggered the melting of this previously subduction-modified mantle, leading to the formation of the high-Mg andesites in the Yangla district.