Seismically imaged lithospheric delamination and its controls on the Mesozoic Magmatic Province in South China

Haijiang Zhang (), Qing-Tian Lü, Xiao-Lei Wang, Shoucheng Han, Lijun Liu, Lei Gao, Rui Wang and Zeng-Qian Hou ()
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Haijiang Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China, School of Earth and Space Sciences
Qing-Tian Lü: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Xiao-Lei Wang: Nanjing University
Shoucheng Han: University of Science and Technology of China, School of Earth and Space Sciences
Lijun Liu: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Lei Gao: University of Science and Technology of China, School of Earth and Space Sciences
Rui Wang: State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, CUGB
Zeng-Qian Hou: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The current lithospheric root of the South China Block has been partly removed, yet what mechanisms modified the lithospheric structure remain highly controversial. Here we use a new joint seismic inversion algorithm to image tabular high-velocity anomalies at depths of ~90–150 km in the asthenosphere beneath the convergent belt between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks that remain weakly connected with the stable Yangtze lithosphere. Based on obtained seismic images and available geochemical data, we interpret these detached fast anomalies as partially destabilized lower lithosphere that initially delaminated at 180–170 Ma and has relaminated to their original position after warming up in the mantle by now. We conclude that delamination is the most plausible mechanism for the lithospheric modification and the formation of a Mesozoic Basin and Range-style magmatic province in South China by triggering adiabatic upwelling of the asthenosphere and consequent lithospheric extension and extensive melting of the overlying crust.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37855-5

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