Complex metasomatism of lithospheric mantle by asthenosphere-derived melts: evidence from peridotite xenoliths in Weichang at the northern margin of the North China Craton

Abstract

The petrology, in situ analyses of major and trace elements as well as Sr isotopic compositions of spinel-facies lherzolite and harzburgite xenoliths from Weichang within the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) are reported for the first time in this study to evaluate the nature and evolution of the lithospheric mantle. These peridotite xenoliths display porphyroclastic texture and can be subdivided into two groups. Group I peridotites have slightly higher forsterite contents (Fo) (90.6–91.2) and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7025–0.7043) in the cores than those in the rims (89.8–90.8; 0.7025–0.7038) of olivines and clinopyroxenes, respectively. The clinopyroxenes in these rocks exhibit uniform LREE-depleted patterns. These geochemical features suggest that the Group I peridotites were weakly metasomatized by recent asthenospheric melts. In contrast, Group II peridotites show sieve-texture and clear compositional zoning in minerals. The olivines and clinopyroxenes from these rocks have higher Fo (86.9–91.3) and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7035–0.7049) in the cores than those in the rims (76.9–90.6; 0.7021–0.7046). The clinopyroxenes show three types of REE patterns: LREE-enriched, convex-upward and spoon-shaped. The LREE-enriched clinopyroxenes have the highest (La/Yb)N and lowest Ti/Eu and those with spoon-shaped REE patterns show an increase in LREE, Ba, Th and U contents from the cores to the rims. These features indicate that the Group II peridotites witnessed a high degree of refertilization by recent asthenosphere-derived silicate and carbonatite melts or their mixture. Compared with the data of the Mesozoic NCC lithospheric mantle, the heterogeneous and low 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7025–0.7049) in the LREE-depleted clinopyroxenes reveal that the ancient lithospheric mantle could have been modified by asthenospheric melts before the recent metasomatism event. We conclude that the lithospheric mantle beneath Weichang underwent multiple modifications through asthenosphere-lithosphere interaction, which plays an important role in the transformation of the lithospheric mantle of the NCC at least during Cenozoic.