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Thermal state and structure of the lithosphere beneath eastern China: A synthesis on basalt-borne xenoliths

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Abstract

Application of reliable thermobarometer on garnet-bearing mantle xenoliths and granulite xenoliths entrained by Cenozoic basalts in eastern China reveals two main types of geotherm. The first type, as exampled by Hannuoba (汉诺坝), Mingxi (明溪) and probably Northeast China, is characterized by constant slope of data in the P-T space. The second type, as exampled by the high geotherms of Nüshan (女山) and probably Xinchang (新昌), is characterized by variable slopes, with the samples with pressure <2 MPa defining a slow slope, whereas the samples with pressure >2 MPa define a virtually vertical slope. The different slopes in the second type of geotherm may correspond to different heat transfer mechanisms, with conductive transfer for the shallow upper mantle and advective transfer for the deep mantle. This observed transition in thermal transfer mechanism is consistent with theoretical modeling. The two types of geotherm are not mutually exclusive, because the second type may characterize the thermal state of whole lithospheric section including both mechanical boundary layer (MBL) and thermal boundary layer (TBL), while the first type may only depict the MBL. The variable geotherms for different regions are indicative of a heterogeneous lithospheric structure in eastern China. (a) Eastern North China craton (NCC) is characterized by a second-type geotherm, corresponding to a thin lithosphere (∼70 km). Comparison of the equilibrium temperatures of spinel peridotites with this geotherm constrains the depth to Moho in eastern North China craton to be 30 km. In contrast, western NCC (Hannuoba: the first-type geotherm) possesses a relatively low thermal gradient, indicative of a thick lithosphere (>90–100 km) and a thick crust-mantle transition zone. The dramatic change in crustal and mantle structure across the DTGL (Daxing’anling (大兴安岭)-Taihangshan (太行山) gravity lineament) is consistent with recent seismic studies. (b) There is a decrease in thermal gradient and in lithospheric thickness from the coast (Xinchang: the second-type geotherm) to the inland (Mingxi: the first-type geotherm) in South China (from ∼80 km to >90 km), which is collaborated with westward variation in basalt geochemistry. (c) The weak convex-upward pattern of the geotherm in Qilin (麒麟) and Leizhou (雷州) Peninsula is peculiar, probably reflecting a transitional feature between conductive and advective heat transfer. It may result from impregnation of mantle plume on the base of the lithosphere. These new results not only provide a basic framework for the ongoing 4-D lithosphere mapping project in eastern China, but also yield important implications for deep processes that operated over the past.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochronology and Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Xiaolong Huang  (黄小龙) & Yigang Xu  (徐义刚)

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  1. Xiaolong Huang  (黄小龙)
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  2. Yigang Xu  (徐义刚)
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Correspondence to Yigang Xu  (徐义刚).

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This study was financially supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-Q08-3-6), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 90714001, 40773015), and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (No. KZCX2-YW-Q04-06).

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Huang, X., Xu, Y. Thermal state and structure of the lithosphere beneath eastern China: A synthesis on basalt-borne xenoliths. J. Earth Sci. 21, 711–730 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-010-0111-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-010-0111-3

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