Abstract
Garnet-rich granulite xenoliths collected from the Hannuoba basalts, the North China craton (NCC), were studied to reveal the Mesozoic crust-mantle interaction. These xenoliths are characterized by low SiO2 (37.7 wt.%–46.0 wt.%) and high Al2O3 (10.8 wt.%–17.9 wt.%) contents. Their Mg# (60–75, Mg#=100×Mg/(Mg+Fe), atomic number) are relatively low for their low SiO2 contents. They have low rare-earth element (REE) contents and LREE-rich REE patterns, and show remarkable enrichments in Sr relative to the adjacent REE. Some of them exhibit convex REE patterns with a maximum at Nd and remarkably positive Eu anomalies. Taking into account their high garnet mode (generally >30%), these features suggest that they are high-pressure metamorphic products of low-pressure cumulates (e.g., gabbro) after it had been depressed into the garnet stability field. They have evolved Nd and Sr isotopic compositions (143Nd/144Nd=0.511 763–0.512 173, 87Sr/86Sr=0.705 34–0.706 99) and fall in the trend defined by the >110 Ma Mesozoic basalts and high-Mg# andesites from the NCC. Zircon U-Pb dating by LA-ICP-MS shows a wide age range from 83 to 2 581 Ma, most of which cluster in 83–134 Ma. CL images of some Mesozoic zircons from the granulites show typical features of igneous zircons, providing direct evidence for the Mesozoic underplating event in this area. Neither peridotite-derived basaltic underplating model nor residue model of ancient lower crust after lithospheric thinning alone can reasonably explain the above features of the garnet-rich granulite xenoliths. Combined with the previous research, we propose that most of the granulite xenoliths from the Hannuoba basalts are products of the Mesozoic magmatic underplating and mixing with the pre-existing lower crust (i.e., AFC process). However, the melts could be mostly derived from partial melting of basaltic layers that were previously subducted (a fossil oceanic slab) or underplated into the base of the lithospheric mantle, or from partial melting of Archean lithospheric mantle that was variably hybridised by melts derived from foundered lower crustal eclogite, although it cannot be excluded that some of the melts were derived from depleted mantle peridotite. In other words, parent melts of most granulite xenoliths could share the same petrogenesis as the >110 Ma Mesozoic basalts from the NCC.
Similar content being viewed by others
References Cited
Chen, D. G., Zhi, X. C., Li, B. X., et al., 1997. Nd, Sr and Pb Isotopes and Petrogenesis of the Pyroxenite Xenoliths from the Hannuoba Basalt. Geochimica, 26(1): 1–11 (in Chinese with English Abstract)
Chen, D. G., Zhi, X. C., Li, B. X., et al., 1995. Chemical and Isotopic Characteristics of Gabbroic Xenolith from Hannuoba, China. Chinese J. Geochem., 14(3): 276–287
Chen, S. H., O’Reilly, S. Y., Zhou, X. H., et al., 2001. Thermal and Petrological Structure of the Lithosphere beneath Hannuoba, Sino-Korean Craton, China: Evidence from Xenoliths. Lithos, 56(4): 267–301
Davis, W. J., Canil, D., MacKenzie, J. M., et al., 2003. Petrology and U-Pb Geochronology of Lower Crustal Xenoliths and the Development of a Craton, Slave Province, Canada. Lithos, 71(2–4): 541–573
Downes, H., Dupuy, C., Leyreloup, A. F., 1990. Crustal Evolution of the Hercynian Belt of Western Europe: Evidence from Lower-Crustal Granulitic Xenoliths (French Massif Central). Chemical Geology, 83(3–4): 209–231
Fan, Q. C., Liu, R. X., 1996. The High-Temperature Granulite Xenoliths in Hannuoba Basalt. Chinese Science Bulletin, 41(3): 235–238 (in Chinese)
Fan, Q. C., Liu, R. X., Li, H. M., et al., 1998. Zircon Geochronology and Rare Earth Element Geochemistry of Granulite Xenoliths from Hannuoba. Chinese Science Bulletin, 43(2): 133–137 (in Chinese)
Gao, C. G., Liu, Y. S., Zong, K. Q., et al., 2010. Microgeochemistry of Rutile and Zircon in Eclogites from the CCSD Main Hole: Implications for the Fluid Activity and Thermo-history of the UHP Metamorphism. Lithos, 115(1–4): 51–64
Gao, S., Rudnick, R. L., Carlson, R. W., et al., 2002. Re-Os Evidence for Replacement of Ancient Mantle Lithosphere beneath the North China Craton. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 198(3–4): 307–322
Gao, S., Rudnick, R. L., Xu, W. L., et al., 2008. Recycling Deep Cratonic Lithosphere and Generation of Intraplate Magmatism in the North China Craton. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 270(1–2): 41–53
Gao, S., Rudnick, R. L., Yuan, H. L., et al., 2004. Recycling Lower Continental Crust in the North China Craton. Nature, 432(7019): 892–897
Griffin, W. L., O’Reilly, S. Y., 1986. The Lower Crust in Eastern Australia: Xenolith Evidence. In: Dawson, J. B., Carswell, D. A., Hall, J., et al., eds., The Nature of the Lower Continental Crust. Geol. Soc. Spec. Pub., 363–374
Griffin, W. L., Zhang, A., O’Reilly, S. Y., et al., 1998. Phanerozoic Evolution of the Lithosphere beneath the Sino-Korean Craton. In: Flower, M., Chung, S. L., Lo, C. H., et al., eds., Mantle Dynamics and Plate Interactions in East Asia: Geodynamics Series. American Geophysical Union, Washington D.C.. 107–126
Grimes, C. B., John, B. E., Kelemen, P. B., et al., 2007. Trace Element Chemistry of Zircons from Oceanic Crust: A Method for Distinguishing Detrital Zircon Provenance. Geology, 35(7): 643–646
Ishikawa, A., Kuritani, T., Makishima, A., et al., 2007. Ancient Recycled Crust beneath the Ontong Java Plateau: Isotopic Evidence from the Garnet Clinopyroxenite Xenoliths, Malaita, Solomon Islands. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 259(1–2): 134–148
Jackson, S. E., Pearson, N. J., Griffin, W. L., et al., 2004. The Application of Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry to In Situ U-Pb Zircon Geochronology. Chemical Geology, 211(1–2): 47–69
Jiang, N., Guo, J. H., 2010. Hannuoba Intermediate-Mafic Granulite Xenoliths Revisited: Assessment of a Mesozoic Underplating Model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 293(3–4): 277–288
Jiang, N., Liu, Y. S., Zhou, W. G., et al., 2007. Derivation of Mesozoic Adakitic Magmas from Ancient Lower Crust in the North China Craton. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71(10): 2591–2608
Kelemen, P. B., Hart, S. R., Bernstein, S., 1998. Silica Enrichment in the Continental Upper Mantle via Melt/Rock Reaction. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 164(1–2): 387–406
Kusky, T. M., Li, J. H., Tucker, R. D., 2001. The Archean Dongwanzi Ophiolite Complex, North China Craton: 2.505-Billion-Year-Old Oceanic Crust and Mantle. Science, 292(5519): 1142–1145
Lee, C. T. A., Cheng, X., Horodyskyj, U., 2006. The Development and Refinement of Continental Arcs by Primary Basaltic Magmatism, Garnet Pyroxenite Accumulation, Basaltic Recharge and Delamination: Insights from the Sierra Nevada, California. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 151(2): 222–242
Leeman, W. P., Menzies, M. A., Matty, D. J., et al., 1985. Strontium, Neodymium and Lead Isotopic Compositions of Deep Crustal Xenoliths from the Snake River Plain: Evidence for Archean Basement. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 75(4): 354–368
Li, J. H., Kusky, T. M., Huang, X. N., 2000. Archean Podiform Chromitites and Mantle Tectonites in Ophiolitic Melange, North China Craton: A Record of Early Oceanic Mantle Processes. GSA Today, 12(7): 4–11
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Hu, Z. C., et al., 2010a. Continental and Oceanic Crust Recycling-Induced Melt-Peridotite Interactions in the Trans-North China Orogen: U-Pb Dating, Hf Isotopes and Trace Elements in Zircons of Mantle Xenoliths. Journal of Petrology, 51(1–2): 537–571
Liu, Y. S., Hu, Z. C., Zong, K. Q., et al., 2010b. Reappraisement and Refinement of Zircon U-Pb Isotope and Trace Element Analyses by LA-ICP-MS. Chinese Science Bulletin (in press)
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Jin, S. Y., et al., 2001. Geochemistry of Lower Crustal Xenoliths from Neogene Hannuoba Basalt, North China Craton: Implications for Petrogenesis and Lower Crustal Composition. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 65(15): 2589–2604
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Kelemen, P. B., et al., 2008a. Recycled Crust Controls Contrasting Source Compositions of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Basalts in the North China Craton. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72(9): 2349–2376
Liu, Y. S., Hu, Z. C., Gao, S., et al., 2008b. In Situ Analysis of Major and Trace Elements of Anhydrous Minerals by LA-ICP-MS without Applying an Internal Standard. Chemical Geology, 257(1–2): 34–43
Liu, Y. S., Zong, K. Q., Kelemen, P. B., et al., 2008c. Geochemistry and Magmatic History of Eclogites and Ultramafic Rocks from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drill Hole: Subduction and Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphism of Lower Crustal Cumulates. Chemical Geology, 247(1–2): 133–153
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Lee, C. T. A., et al., 2005. Melt-Peridotite Interactions: Links between Garnet Pyroxenite and High-Mg# Signature of Continental Crust. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 234(1–2): 39–57
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Liu, X. M., et al., 2003. Thermodynamic Evolution of Lithosphere of the North China Craton: Records from Lower Crust and Upper Mantle Xenoliths from Hannuoba. Chinese Science Bulletin, 48(21): 2371–2377
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Luo, T. C., 1999. Geochemistry of Terrain Granulites from North China Craton: Implications for the Composition of the Lower Continental Crust. Geol. Geochem., 27(3): 40–46 (in Chinese with English Abstract)
Liu, Y. S., Gao, S., Yuan, H. L., et al., 2004. U-Pb Zircon Ages and Nd, Sr, and Pb Isotopes of Lower Crustal Xenoliths from North China Craton: Insights on Evolution of Lower Continental Crust. Chemical Geology, 211(1–2): 87–109
Ludwig, K. R., 2003. ISOPLOT 3.00: A Geochronological Toolkit for Microsoft Excel. Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley
McDonough, W. F., Sun, S. S., 1995. The Composition of the Earth. Chemical Geology, 120(3–4): 223–253
Menzies, M. A., Fan, W. M., Zhang, M., 1993. Paleozoic and Cenozoic Lithoprobes and the Loss of >120 km of Archean Lithosphere, Sino-Korean Craton, China. In: Prichard, H. M., Alabaster, T., Harris, N. B. W., et al., eds., Magmatic Processes and Plate Tectonics. Geol. Soc. Spec. Pub., Londan. 71–81
Pertermann, M., Hirschmann, M. M., 2003. Anhydrous Partial Melting Experiments on MORB-Like Eclogites Phase Relations, Phase Composition and Mineral-Melt Partitioning of Major Elements at 2–3 GPa. Journal of Petrology, 44(12): 2173–2201
Rubatto, D., Hermann, J., 2007. Experimental Zircon/Melt and Zircon/Garnet Trace Element Partitioning and Implications for the Geochronology of Crustal Rocks. Chemical Geology, 241(1–2): 38–61
Rudnick, R. L., 1992. Xenoliths-Samples of the Lower Continental Crust. In: Fountain, D. M., Arculus, R., Kay, R. W., eds., Continental Lower Crust (Developments in Geotectonics). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 269–316
Rudnick, R. L., Gao, S., Ling, W. L., et al., 2004. Petrology and Geochemistry of Spinel Peridotite Xenoliths from Hannuoba and Qixia, North China Craton. Lithos, 77(1–4): 609–637
Rudnick, R. L., Goldstein, S. L., 1990. The Pb Isotopic Compositions of Lower Crustal Xenoliths and the Evolution of Lower Crustal Pb. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 98(2): 192–207
Rudnick, R. L., McDonough, W. F., McCulloch, M. T., et al., 1986. Lower Crust Xenoliths from Queensland, Australia: Evidence for Deep Crustal Assimilation and Fractionation of Continental Basalts. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 50(6): 1099–1115
Schmitz, M. D., Bowring, S. A., 2001. The Significance of U-Pb Zircon Dates in Lower Crustal Xenoliths from the Southwestern Margin of the Kaapvaal Craton, Southern Africa. Chemical Geology, 172(1–2): 59–76
Song, Y., Frey, F. A., Zhi, X. C., 1990. Isotopic Characteristics of Hannuoba Basalts, Eastern China: Implications for Their Petrogenesis and the Composition of Subcontinental Mantle. Chemical Geology, 88(1–2): 35–52
Tang, Y. J., Zhang, H. F., Nakamura, E., et al., 2007. Lithium Isotopic Systematics of Peridotite Xenoliths from Hannuoba, North China Craton: Implications for Melt-Rock Interaction in the Considerably Thinned Lithospheric Mantle. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71(17): 4327–4341
Taylor, S. R., McLennan, S. M., 1985. The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Oxford, Blackwell Scientific Publications, London. 328
Wiedenbeck, M., Hanchar, J. M., Peck, W. H., et al., 2004. Further Characterisation of the 91500 Zircon Crystal. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 28(1): 9–39
Wilde, S. A., Zhao, G. C., Sun, M., 2002. Development of the North China Craton during the Late Archaean and Its Final Amalgamation at 1.8 Ga: Some Speculations on Its Position within a Global Palaeoproterozoic Supercontinent. Gondwana Research, 5(1): 85–94
Wilde, S. A., Zhou, X. H., Nemchin, A. A., et al., 2003. Mesozoic Crust-Mantle Interaction beneath the North China Craton: A Consequence of the Dispersal of Gondwanaland and Accretion of Asia. Geology, 31(9): 817–820
Wu, F. Y., Lin, J. Q., Wilde, S. A., et al., 2005. Nature and Significance of the Early Cretaceous Giant Igneous Event in Eastern China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 233(1–2): 103–119
Xu, W. L., Hergt, J. A., Gao, S., et al., 2008. Interaction of Adakitic Melt-Peridotite: Implications for the High-Mg# Signature of Mesozoic Adakitic Rocks in the Eastern North China Craton. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 265(1–2): 123–137
Xu, Y. G., 2002. Evidence for Crustal Components in the Mantle and Constraints on Crustal Recycling Mechanisms: Pyroxenite Xenoliths from Hannuoba, North China. Chemical Geology, 182(2–4): 301–322
Yuan, H. L., Wu, F. Y., Gao, S., et al., 2003. Determination of U-Pb Age and Rare Earth Element Concentrations of Zircons from Cenozoic Intrusions in Northeastern China by Laser Ablation ICP-MS. Chinese Science Bulletin, 48(22): 2411–2421
Zhai, M. G., Bian, A. G., Zhao, T. P., 2000. The Amalgamation of the Supercontinent of North China Craton at the End of the Neoarchaean, and Its Break-up during the Late Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic. Sci. China (D), 43(Suppl.): 219–232
Zhang, G. H., Sun, M., 1998. Sr, Nd and Pb Isotopic Characteristics of Granulite and Pyroxenite Xenoliths in the Hannuoba Basalts, Hebei Province: Implications for Geological Processes. Acta Petrologica Sinica, 14(2): 190–197 (in Chinese with English Abstract)
Zhang, G. H., Zhou, X. H., Sun, M., et al., 1998. Heterogeneity of the Lower Crust: Evidence from Geochemistry of the Hannuoba Granulite Xenoliths, Hebei Province. Geochimica, 27(2): 153–163 (in Chinese with English Abstract)
Zhang, H. F., Sun, M., Zhou, X. H., et al., 2003. Secular Evolution of the Lithosphere beneath the Eastern North China Craton: Evidence from Mesozoic Basalts and High-Mg Andesites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67(22): 4373–4387
Zhang, Q., Wang, Y., Qian, Q., et al., 2001a. Existence of East China Plateau in Mid-Late Yanshan Period: Implication from Adakite. Scientia Geologica Sin., 36(2): 248–255 (in Chinese with English Abstract)
Zhang, Q., Wang, Y., Wang, Y. L., 2001b. Preliminary Study on the Components of the Lower Crust in East China Plateau during Yanshanian Period: Constraints on Sr and Nd Isotopic Compositions of Adakite-Like Rocks. Acta Petrologica Sinica, 17(4): 505–513 (in Chinese with English Abstract)
Zhao, G. C., Wilde, S. A., Cawood, P. A., et al., 2001. Archean Blocks and Their Boundaries in the North China Craton: Lithological, Geochemical, Structural and P-T Path Constraints and Tectonic Evolution. Precambrian Research, 107(1–2): 45–73
Zhao, G. C., Cawood, P. A., Wilde, S. A., et al., 2000. Metamorphism of Basement Rocks in the Central Zone of the North China Craton: Implications for Paleoproterozoic Tectonic Evolution. Precambrian Research, 103(1–2): 55–88
Zheng, J. P., Griffin, W. L., Qi, L., et al., 2009. Age and Composition of Granulite and Pyroxenite Xenoliths in Hannuoba Basalts Reflect Paleogene Underplating beneath the North China Craton. Chemical Geology, 264(1–4): 266–280
Zhou, X. H., Sun, M., Zhang, G. H., et al., 2002. Continental Crust and Lithospheric Mantle Interaction beneath North China: Isotopic Evidence from Granulite Xenoliths in Hannuoba, Sino-Korean Craton. Lithos, 62(3–4): 111–124
Zhu, B. Q., 1998. Theory and Applications of Isotope Systematics in Geosciences: Evolution of Continental Crust and Mantle in China. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese)
Zong, K. Q., Liu, Y. S., Gao, C. G., et al., 2010. In Situ U-Pb Dating and Trace Element Analysis of Zircons in Thin Sections of Eclogite: Refining Constraints on the Ultra High-Pressure Metamorphism of the Sulu Terrane, China. Chemical Geology, 269(3–4): 237–251
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This study was co-supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 90914007, 40821061, 90714010), the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs of China (No. B07039), the MOST Special Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources and State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, and the Special Fund For Basic Scientific Research of Central Colleges, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, Y., Gao, S., Gao, C. et al. Garnet-rich granulite xenoliths from the Hannuoba basalts, North China: Petrogenesis and implications for the Mesozoic crust-mantle interaction. J. Earth Sci. 21, 669–691 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-010-0125-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-010-0125-x