A research team led by Prof. Zhang Haijiang from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Prof. Hou Zengqian from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences used a new joint seismic inversion algorithm to reveal lithospheric delamination and its control on the Mesozoic Magmatic Province in South China. The study, published in Nature Communications, provides a new understanding of the formation mechanism of the Mesozoic Magmatic Province.
The researchers used the latest developed seismic joint inversion algorithm to determine a high-resolution shear wave velocity model of the South China lithosphere by using seismic body wave travel time, surface wave dispersion data, and receiver function. Their findings suggest that there are high-velocity anomalies in the asthenosphere at a depth of less than 90 kilometers.
These high-velocity anomalies can be interpreted as lithospheric blocks that began to delaminate at 180-170Ma. Later, they were heated by the deep mantle and returned to their previous position. This large-scale delamination led to the thinning of lithosphere, triggering the adiabatic upwelling of asthenosphere, and lithosphere extension. The overlaying crust melted, forming the Mesozoic Magmatic Province in South China.
Geochemical analysis revealed that delamination required large amounts of water and heat from the convective mantle. This process also formed abundant granitoid and mafic rocks which explains the magmatic rocks and metal deposits.
This study provides new ideas for the establishment of the deep process of the lithosphere and the connection between shallow magma and mineralization. It is a significant step in the understanding of the kinetics of the Paleo-Pacific plate.
More information:
Haijiang Zhang et al, Seismically imaged lithospheric delamination and its controls on the Mesozoic Magmatic Province in South China, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37855-5
Provided by University of Science and Technology of China
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Seismic waves convey lithospheric delamination mechanism in South China (2023, June 9)
retrieved 9 June 2023
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