Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of Palaeocene (ca. 54 Ma) rhyolites in the western Lhasa Terrane, south Tibet: Constraints from geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope compositions

The widespread Linzizong volcanic successions (LVS) in the Lhasa Terrane was a magmatic response to the tectonic transition from Neo-Tethyan oceanic subduction to the India-Asia collision, which has been the subject of many studies; however, studies on the LVS in the western Lhasa Terrane are scarce compared to those in the east, limiting our understanding of the tectonic transition. Zircon U-Pb ages of two rhyolitic samples from the Shiquanhe region in the west of the Lhasa Terrane indicate that at least part of the Zenong Group, previously thought to have formed during the Early Cretaceous, was actually erupted during the Late Palaeocene (ca. 54 Ma) and belongs to the LVS. The rhyolites are characterized by high SiO(2)and Al2O3, moderate K2O and Na2O, and low MgO, CaO, and FeO contents, enrichment in Rb and Th, depletion in Sr, Ba, Eu, Nb, and Ta, and have relatively uniform whole-rock epsilon(Nd)(t) (-1.90 to -0.89) and zircon epsilon(Hf)(t) (+0.95 to +5.03) values. These geochemical characteristics indicate that they were formed by the partial melting of juvenile continental crust with subsequent plagioclase, biotite, amphibole, and Fe-Ti oxide fractionation. Combined with the results of previous studies, our data show that the western Lhasa Terrane underwent intensive Early Cenozoic crustal growth, similar to what occurred in the east, due to underplating of mantle-derived magma resulting from the roll-back and eventual break-off of the Neo-Tethys slab after the initial continental collision.

Automated summary

The Linzizong volcanic successions in the western Lhasa Terrane were a magmatic response to the tectonic transition from Neo-Tethyan oceanic subduction to the India-Asia collision. Zircon U-Pb ages of rhyolitic samples from the Shiquanhe region suggest that part of the Zenong Group erupted during the Late Palaeocene, indicating intense Early Cenozoic crustal growth in the region.