petrogenesis and tectonic implications

Abstract – Zircon U–Pb dating, whole-rock major oxide, trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic data are presented for the Late Mesozoic mafic intrusive rocks from Yiwulüshan of western Liaoning along the eastern segment of theYanshan belt, NorthChina craton, with two episodes ofmagmatism documented. Middle Jurassic hornblende-rich gabbros show enrichment of large ion lithophile elements and light REE, and prominent depletion in high field strength elements, and possessmoderately enriched isotopic compositions with (87Sr/86Sr)i ranging from 0.7056 to 0.7065 and εNd(t) from −5.0 to −7.1. These features suggest that the gabbros were derived from an amphibole-bearing harzburgitic lithospheric mantle source metasomatized recently by slab-derived fluids. By contrast, Early Cretaceous mafic dykes are gabbroic dioritic to dioritic in composition, with comparable trace element characteristics to continental crust and depleted isotopic signatures ((87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.7048–0.7055, εNd(t) = 0 to −3.0). They probably originated from partial melting of a relatively fertile asthenospheric mantle in the spinel stability field, with subsequent lower crustal assimilation and fractional crystallization. These two contrasting mafic intrusive suites, together with multiple Mesozoic mafic volcanic rocks from western Liaoning, documented a localized lithospheric thinning process, mainly through prolonged hydro-weakening or melt–rock interaction and triggered by gravitational collapse, possibly within an evolved post-collisional to within-plate extensional regime