Ar–Ar dating and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic character of Paleogene basalts from the Xialiaohe Depression, northern Bohai Bay Basin: implications for transformation of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle under the eastern North China Craton

Paleogene basalts are widely distributed in the Xialiaohe Depression, which lies in the northern part of the Bohai Bay Basin, the second largest petroleum-bearing basin of China, in the northeastern part of the North China Craton. The basalts mainly occur in three formations: the Paleocene Fangshenpao Formation (PFF), the Eocene Shahejie Formation (ESF), and the Oligocene Dongyin Formation (ODF). The PFF is dominated by tholeiites, whereas the ESF and ODF are characterized by alkaline basalts with minor tholeiites. These basalts contain generally lower contents in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and most high-field-strength elements (HFSEs) relative to ocean-island basalts (OIBs), except for positive anomalies for Ba, Sr, Eu, and Ti, and are characterized by OIB-like Sr and Nd isotopic compositions and by abnormally low radiogenic lead isotopic composition. They display a positive correlation between 206Pb/204Pb and 143Nd/144Nd, and a negative correlation between 206Pb/204Pb and 87Sr/86Sr. The geochemical characteristics of these basalts are quite different from that expected from magmas derived from crustal contamination or melting from a uniform asthenospheric mantle source, but is consistent with derivation from newly formed lithospheric mantle. Combined with the geochemical character of the ESF and ODF basalts, we ascribe the abnormally low radiogenic lead isotopic composition for the Paleocene PFF basalts to newly formed lithospheric mantle that originated from recycling of delaminated thickened lithosphere in Late Mesozoic, including a lower crustal component.

Download Full-text

Evolution of Meso-Cenozoic lithospheric thermal–rheological structure in the Jiyang sub-basin, Bohai Bay Basin, eastern North China Craton

International Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s00531-016-1360-x ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 107 (1) ◽

pp. 153-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Wei Xu ◽

Nansheng Qiu ◽

Ye Wang ◽

Jian Chang

Keyword(s):

North China Craton ◽

North China ◽

Bohai Bay ◽

Bohai Bay Basin

Download Full-text

Oxidized Late Mesozoic subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the eastern North China Craton: A clue to understanding cratonic destruction

Gondwana Research ◽

10.1016/j.gr.2019.11.012 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 81 ◽

pp. 230-239

Author(s):

Lubing Hong ◽

Yigang Xu ◽

Le Zhang ◽

Zhe Liu ◽

Xiaoping Xia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North China Craton ◽

Lithospheric Mantle ◽

North China ◽

Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle ◽

Late Mesozoic ◽

Cratonic Destruction

Download Full-text

Meso-Cenozoic Lithosphere Thinning in the Eastern North China Craton: Evidence from Thermal History of the Bohai Bay Basin, North China

The Journal of Geology ◽

10.1086/684830 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 124 (2) ◽

pp. 195-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Nansheng Qiu ◽

Yinhui Zuo ◽

Wei Xu ◽

Wenzheng Li ◽

Jian Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal History ◽

North China Craton ◽

North China ◽

Bohai Bay ◽

Bohai Bay Basin ◽

Lithosphere Thinning ◽

History Of

Download Full-text

Zoned olivine xenocrysts in a late Mesozoic gabbro from the southern Taihang Mountains: implications for old lithospheric mantle beneath the central North China Craton

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756809990379 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 147 (2) ◽

pp. 161-170 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

JI-FENG YING ◽

HONG-FU ZHANG ◽

YAN-JIE TANG

Keyword(s):

North China Craton ◽

Lithospheric Mantle ◽

Large Scale ◽

North China ◽

Eastern China ◽

Late Mesozoic ◽

Mantle Peridotites

AbstractZoned olivine grains are abundant in the late Mesozoic Shatuo gabbro (southern Taihang Mountains, central North China Craton). Olivine cores are rich in MgO and NiO, rims are rich in FeO and MnO, and both cores and rims have very low CaO contents. The cores invariably have a high Mg no. (92–94), similar to olivine xenocrysts from Palaeozoic kimberlites in eastern China. The compositional features of these olivines imply that they are xenocrysts rather than phenocrysts, namely, disaggregates of mantle peridotites at the time of intrusion. The compositional similarity of olivine cores to xenocrysts from Palaeozoic kimberlites suggests that the lithospheric mantle beneath the central North China Craton is ancient and refractory in nature, and quite different from eastern China, where the mantle is mainly composed of newly accreted materials resulting from large-scale lithospheric removal and replacement. The contrasting features of the lithospheric mantle beneath the eastern and central North China Craton imply that the large-scale lithospheric removal in Phanerozoic times was mainly confined to the eastern North China Craton.

Download Full-text

Pyroxenite xenoliths record complex melt impregnation in the deep lithosphere of the northwestern North China Craton

Journal of Petrology ◽

10.1093/petrology/egaa079 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hong-Kun Dai ◽

Jian-Ping Zheng ◽

William L Griffin ◽

Suzanne Y O’Reilly ◽

Qing Xiong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North China Craton ◽

Lithospheric Mantle ◽

North China ◽

Northwestern Part ◽

Isotopic Ratios ◽

Late Mesozoic ◽

Peridotite Xenoliths ◽

Lithospheric Extension ◽

Melt Impregnation ◽

Convex Upward

Abstract Transformation of refractory cratonic mantle into more fertile lithologies is the key to the fate of cratonic lithosphere. This process has been extensively studied in the eastern North China Craton (NCC) while that of its western part is still poorly constrained. A comprehensive study of newly-found pyroxenite xenoliths from the Langshan area, in the northwestern part of this craton is integrated with a regional synthesis of pyroxenite and peridotite xenoliths to constrain the petrogenesis of the pyroxenites and provide an overview of the processes involved in the modification of the deep lithosphere. The Langshan pyroxenites are of two types, high-Mg# [Mg2+/(Mg2++Fe2+)*100 = ∼ 90, atomic ratios] olivine-bearing websterites with high equilibration temperatures (880 ∼ 970 oC), and low-Mg# (70 ∼ 80) plagioclase-bearing websterites with low equilibration temperatures (550 ∼ 835 oC). The high-Mg# pyroxenites show trade-off abundances of olivine and orthopyroxene, highly depleted bulk Sr-Nd (ƐNd = +11.41, 87Sr/86Sr = ∼0.7034) and low clinopyroxene Sr isotopic ratios (mean 87Sr/86Sr = ∼0.703). They are considered to reflect the reaction of mantle peridotites with silica-rich silicate melts derived from the convective mantle. Their depletion in fusible components (e.g., FeO, TiO2 and Na2O) and progressive exhaustion of incompatible elements suggest melt extraction after their formation. The low-Mg# pyroxenites display layered structures, convex-upward rare earth element patterns, moderately enriched bulk Sr-Nd isotopic ratios (ƐNd = -14.20 ∼ -16.74, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7070 ∼ 0.7078) and variable clinopyroxene Sr-isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr = 0.706-0.711). They are interpreted to be crustal cumulates from hypersthene-normative melts generated by interaction between the asthenosphere and heterogeneous lithospheric mantle. Combined with studies on regional peridotite xenoliths, it is shown that the thinning and refertilization of the lithospheric mantle was accompanied by crustal rejuvenation and that such processes occurred ubiquitously in the northwestern part of the NCC. A geodynamic model is proposed for the evolution of the deep lithosphere, which includes long-term mass transfer through a mantle wedge into the deep crust from the Paleozoic to the Cenozoic, triggered by subduction of the Paleo-Asian ocean and the Late Mesozoic lithospheric extension of eastern Asia.

Download Full-text