Seismic evidence for plume-induced rifting in the Songliao Basin of Northeast China

•Crustal thinning and mafic/ultramafic lower crust coincides with the Songliao Babin.•A deepening region of the 410 and 660 km discontinuities beneath the Songliao Basin.•New seismic evidence for mantle plume, underplating and rifting process in NE China.

The concept of Pacific slab subduction has been advocated in many popular models as the main cause for lithospheric delamination in the eastern part of the North China Craton since Mesozoic. This process is considered to have induced extensional tectonics generating the Songliao Basin and widespread magma intrusion and eruption. In this paper, we used H-κ and CCP (common-conversion-point) stacking technique of receiver function to characterize the crustal structure and upper mantle discontinuities in this region. Seismic evidence from our results present a different perspective suggesting mantle plume, continental rifting process and magmatic underplating in this region. A projection of the proposed plume onto the surface overlaps with the locations of the lithosphere and crustal thinning as well as the mafic–ultramafic domains. We therefore propose that an upwelling mantle plume and related extension might have been the main trigger for the formation of the Mesozoic Songliao Basin in NE China.