Melt-Lithosphere Interaction Controlled Compositional Variations in Mafic Dikes from Fujian Province, Southeastern China

Abstract

Late Mesozoic magmatism in southeastern China has been widely considered to be related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate. However, it remains controversial whether mafic rocks are derived from the lithosphere or the asthenosphere. Here we present a comprehensive study on mafic dikes from Fujian Province in southeastern China, aiming to understand their source. Two types of mafic rocks have been recognized based on their trace-element features. Type-I rocks show arc-like trace-elemental characteristics, while type-II rocks are distinguished by their relatively flat patterns in primitive-mantle-normalized trace-element diagram. Despite such differences between two types of rocks, these mafic dikes show two trends in the plots of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_(i) versus La/Nb, which can be explained by the influences of crustal contamination and melt-lithospheric mantle interaction, respectively. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr(i), La/Nb, Sr/Y and Zr/Y ratios of type-I rocks are significantly correlated to the thickness of the underlying lithosphere, and the signals of lithosphere are clearer with increasing lithospheric thickness. This highlights the important influences of melt-lithosphere interaction during their formation. Such observations also indicate that these mafic rocks are more likely to have been originated from the asthenosphere rather than the lithospheric mantle.

Keywords

mafic dike / lithospheric mantle / asthenosphere / melt-lithosphere interaction / southeastern China

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