Geochemical and zircon isotopic evidence for extensive high level crustal contamination in Miocene to mid-Pleistocene intra-plate volcanic rocks from the Tengchong field, western Yunnan, China

- New zircon ages and O-Hf isotopic compositions for Tengchong volcanic rocks
- U-Th disequilibrium correction of Miocene to mid-Pleistocene zircon ages
- Fractional crystallization and intense crustal contamination
- Upwelling of contaminated asthenosphere in the intra-plate extensional tectonic setting

SHRIMP zircon Pb/U dating of Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the Tengchong area, western Yunnan Province, China, shows that the dacite and andesitic breccia lavas from Qushi village were intruded at 480 ± 10 ka and 800 ± 40 ka, respectively. Moreover, Pb/U dating of trachyandesite from Tuantian village and olivine basalt from Wuhe village give weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 2.82 ± 0.08 Ma and 12.28 ± 0.30 Ma. Corrections for initial 230Th disequilibrium of zircon were used for the former two younger ages.The Tengchong volcanic rocks have a large range of SiO2 (48.6-66.9 wt.%) and mostly belong to a high-K calc-alkaline series. The lavas originated from heterogeneous sources and were modified by subsequent fractional crystallization. The REE and other trace element patterns of the Tengchong volcanic rocks resemble magmas having a large component of continental crust. All have similar degrees of LREE and HREE fractionation and are enriched in LILE, La, Ce and Pb, with depletions in Nb, Ta, Ti, Sr and P relative to primitive mantle. Zircon δ18O values of 6.96 ± 0.17 and 7.01 ± 0.24‰ and highly varied negative εHf(t) values of − 1.5 to − 11.0 and − 10.3 to − 13.7, as well as the presence of inherited zircon grains in the studied samples, indicate that the magmas contain crustal material on a large scale.The Tengchong volcanic rocks have HFSE ratios (e.g., Nb/Ta, La/Nb, Zr/Y) similar to continental flood basalts, indicative of an intra-plate extensional tectonic setting. Widespread distributed faults might have facilitated upwelling of mantle-derived melts and eruptions from shallow crustal magma chambers to form the large volcanic field.