Geochemical and zircon U–Pb age constraints on the origin of the Mesozoic Xigaze ophiolite, Yarlung Zangbo suture zone, SW China

The Mesozoic Xigaze ophiolite is a key to understanding the tectonic evolution of the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone. Although many studies have been reported, the formation age and petrogenesis of the Xigaze ophiolite remain controversial. In this paper, new geochronological and geochemical data for mafic dikes (diabase, dolerite), lavas, and gabbros of the Xigaze ophiolite are provided to constrain the origin of the Xigaze ophiolite. Combined with previous studies, three new zircon U–Pb ages of samples from two gabbro and one dolerite samples show that the Xigaze ophiolite was produced at two distinct stages of 174–149 Ma and 137–123 Ma. Whole-rock geochemical data indicate that these rocks exhibit N-MORB-like features, but the gabbros are more depleted in trace elements and belong to cumulates. Geochemical characters, combined with their positive <i>ε</i>_Nd(<i>t</i>) values (+3.2 to +9.6), suggest that these samples originated from depleted mantle sources with minor influence of slab-derived fluids. Considering the previous studies on the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone, the Xigaze ophiolite was likely generated in an active continental margin fore-arc basin with a multistage model associated with the northward subduction of the Yarlung Zangbo Neo-Tethys Ocean beneath the Lhasa terrane. The Middle–Late Jurassic ophiolitic massifs (174–149 Ma) were produced as the result of slab rollback and were followed by subsequent slab break-off at ~ 150 Ma. The fore-arc lithosphere may be frozen at ~150–137 Ma, consistent with the termination of the Gangdese arc magmatism during this period. The Early Cretaceous ophiolitic massifs (137–123 Ma) were developed in relation to the reinitiation of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere subduction, the retreat of the subduction zone, and the creation of a fore-arc basin with strong hyperextension in a new cycle.