Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8911807 | Lithos | 2018 | 19 Pages |
Abstract
By contrast, geochemical and isotope data from the youngest magmatic rocks in the area - 107-99Â Ma old volcanic plugs from Tsost Magmatic Field - have OIB-like trace element patterns and are interpreted to have formed by low degrees of partial melting of a garnet-bearing lherzolite mantle source. These rocks did not undergo significant crustal contamination, and were derived from asthenospheric mantle. The evidence of a gradual shallowing of melting in the Gobi lava provinces, culminating in an asthenospheric source signature in the youngest magmatic rocks is similar to examples from neighboring China, emphasising the wide-scale effect of a regional Mesozoic magmatic event during similar time periods. We suggest that Mongolia underwent lithospheric thinning/delamination during the Mesozoic (between ~Â 125 and ~Â 107Â Ma) with patchy areas thinning sufficiently to enable the generation of relatively small-scale asthenospheric-derived magmatism to predominate in the late Cretaceous.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geochemistry and Petrology
Authors
Thomas C. Sheldrick, Tiffany L. Barry, Douwe J.J. Van Hinsbergen, Pamela D. Kempton,