A comparison of Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic intraplate magmatic areas in Central Asia and paleomagnetic reconstructions of the anomalous-mantle location

The Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic location of volcanic zones in the Central Asian intraplate volcanic province has been reconstructed. The anomalous-mantle regions related to magmatism in the province changed in shape in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. In the early Early Cretaceous, the anomalous-mantle regions spanned from 42° to 61° N (about 2000 km in latitude), and their location might have remained unchanged throughout the Cretaceous. Magmatism in the province took place in the lithospheric regions of the Eurasian Plate with a thickness close to or smaller than that of the oceanic lithosphere. Late Mesozoic magmas originated mainly from hydrated mantle sources with isotopic compositions typical of PREMA or EM-II. In the Early Cenozoic (50 Ma), the anomalous mantle was considerably less active than in the Early Cretaceous. Magmatic melts were generated only in two mantle regions: the local South Hangay hotspot and, apparently, the fairly extensive (at least 800 km wide) mantle region north and northeast of it. The entire anomalous mantle spanned from 46° to 59° N (about 1300 km in latitude). Magmas of OIB type originated from slightly hydrated sources with isotopic compositions typical of PREMA or EM-I. In the Miocene, the mantle might have again “ejected” heated decompressed anomalous matter. The ejection led to an outburst of magmatism and expansion of the volcanic province up to 2000 km in latitude. The lithosphere in all the volcanic zones was thin, including the entire Eurasian territory over the South Hangay hotspot.