Di-Cheng Zhu

China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Sedimentary basins adjacent to subduction-related continental arcs provide important archives for deciphering the intricate history of convergent plate margins. The east-west trending Gangdese magmatic arc was one of the most predominant topographic features located at the southern margin of Tibet before the arrival of the Indian plate. However, th...

The Mesoarchean to Neoarchean period (ca. 3.0−2.5 Ga) is the most important stage during the emergence and evolution of plate tectonics. However, plate subduction at this time may have been less stable and perhaps more susceptible to the lubrication effect of sediments than the modern counterpart. Such predictions have not yet been verified by fiel...

Zircon U-Pb dating by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) is a widely used analytical method in the field of geology. However, the U-Pb dating of zircons with...

Assisted with laser ablation (LA) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) analytical techniques, calcite is now accepted as an important U-Pb dating mineral applying to various issues in geology. However, appropriate calcite reference materials with homogeneous composition and structure remain lacking due to limited work on such refere...

The crustal thickening process is the key to understanding global tectonic evolution and climatic patterns. The Sr/Y, (La/Yb)N ratios of granitoids can be used to quantitatively estimate crustal thickness and reconstruct the crustal thickening process. We present the geochemical characteristics, petrogenesis, and geodynamic implications of Eocene d...

Apatite is an essential mineral for geochronology and geochemistry. Precise and accurate U-Pb Laser ablation (LA)-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) dating of apatite requires suitable matrix-matched reference materials (RMs), but young RMs (<30Ma) are lacking from existing apatite RMs. We provided a gem-quality apatite MAP-2 coll...

Differentiating between advancing and retreating subduction zones and delineating the timing and processes for switching between these end-member types are critical factors in understanding orogenic evolution. In this study, we used temporal composition variations and spatiotemporal distribution of igneous rocks to constrain the types and direction...

The continental crust in the overriding plate of the India-Asia collision zone in southern Tibet is characterized by an overthickened layer of felsic composition with an underlying granulite-eclogite layer. A large data set indicates that this crust experienced magmatism from 245 to 10 Ma, as recorded by the Gangdese Batholith. Magmatism was punctu...

Thermo-chemical modelling and chemical data suggest that the genesis of arc melts commonly involves re-melting of older intrusions, triggered by the injection of mantle-derived melts, followed by magma mixing. Remelting and mixing may lead to complex zircon populations, which can be used to gain insights into the conditions of mixing. This paper in...

The Kohistan Island Arc, an oceanic arc obducted on top of the Indian Plate, formed in the equatorial region of the Tethys Ocean during the Mesozoic to Cenozoic eras. The Chilas Complex, a unit of this arc, contains gabbronorite, ultramafic, anorthosite and diorite rocks, and represents exhumed lower arc crustal sections. Previous studies suggest t...

Apatite is an important mineral widely distributed in various geological environments, which can be used for in situ U–Pb dating and Sr–Nd isotope analyses. The LA-ICPMS U–Pb dating and Sr–Nd...

Zirconium isotopes have been suggested as a new geochemical fingerprint for tracing magmatic evolution and continental crust differentiation. In this study, we optimized the Zr isotope measurement by laser-ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) and reported stable Zr isotope compositions for different z...

Generation of continental crust in collision zones reflect the interplay between oceanic subduction and continental collision. The Gangdese continental crust in southern Tibet developed during subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab in the Mesozoic prior to reworking during the India-Asia collision in the Cenozoic. Here we show that continental...

A new zircon reference material available for in situ zircon radiogenic Hf isotope and stable Zr isotopic determinations is required due to the high data productivity and therefore reference material consumption rate of laser ablation multi‐collector inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS). This study examines a new natural zirc...

In convergent belts, a collision between two blocks can reshape upper mantle geometry and processes responsible for a change in mechanisms of magma generation with distinct geochemical compositions. Therefore, identifying the turning point of a magma compositional shift can provide key constraints on collision timing, which is decisive in building...

Paleogene potassium-rich volcanic rocks (PVRs) are widespread in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, providing an opportunity to illustrate the architecture of the lithosphere and further constrain the development of the SE Plateau. Their petrogenesis, together with the geodynamic mechanism, remains in dispute. Mg isotopic compositions of the PVRs in...

Plain Language Summary Continental crust (CC) is extracted from the mantle primarily by subduction‐related magmatism in accretionary orogens. However, igneous rocks sourced from the mantle have low SiO2 (basalt), whereas average CC has high SiO2 (andesite) and high MgO. To resolve this paradox, we analyzed Quaternary subduction‐related igneous rock...

The geological evolution of orogens is the sum of events related to both their cycle of generation as well as features inherited from their basement units. The Himalayan Orogen provides a well‐constrained Cenozoic history of active plate convergence and orogenic processes overprinting an early Paleozoic orogen. A total of 1,627 Himalayan leucograni...

Past geodynamic events can be reconstructed using the spatial and temporal patterns of geochemical variability in igneous rocks. Here we apply this principle to define the timing and geometry of breakoff of the Neo-Tethyan slab after the India-Asia collision. Two episodes of mafic magmatism (∼53 Ma and ∼48 Ma) are preserved in the Quxu area of the...

The history of crustal thickening is critical for comprehending the evolution process of the Tibetan plateau. The genetic relationship and spatiotemporal distribution of adakitic rocks with high Sr/Y, (La/Yb)N ratios may impose fundamental constraints on specific geodynamic and crustal thickening processes. The Songka intrusive suite consists of ad...

Potassium-rich adakitic rocks have been used to infer high-pressure (HP) melting of thickened or foundered mafic lower crust in post-collisional settings. However, their origin remains debated because of their potassic rather than sodic nature. We address this debate by investigating the source of post-collisional Oligocene high-K adakitic granites...

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is one of the largest accretionary orogens on Earth and preserves evidence that more than 50% of this orogen represents juvenile crustal growth over an extended period of some 750 million years from ca. 1000 Ma to ca. 250 Ma. However, the mechanism of crustal growth is controversial, as implied by a variety of...

Large and homogeneous plutons can assemble incrementally over millions of years, yielding large age spans. Determination of the age span is crucial to constrain the timing and nature of the batholith assembly. This paper reports comprehensive whole-rock geochemical data, LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age, and zircon Hf isotopic data to constrain the timing...

The Phanerozoic granites in northeast China bear key information for studying the tectonic evolution and crustal growth or reworking in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). The Daqing granitic batholith widely outcrops as a high-level intrusion in the Xing’an-Mongolia Orogenic Belt, southeastern CAOB. Three types of enclaves in granites have bee...

Apatite is a powerful research tool because it is common in various rocks and incorporates many chemical elements. Understanding how elements partition between apatite and melt and the controls on the partition are critical for applications of apatite. It has been recently proposed that MgO content in magmatic apatite is proportional to that of the...

The Yadong-Gulu Rift, cutting across the Gangdese belt and Himalayan terranes, is currently associated with a thermal anomaly in the mantle and crustal melting at 15-20 km depth. The rift follows the trace of a tear in the underthrusted Indian continental lithospheric slab recognized by high resolution geophysical methods. The Miocene evolution of...

Identifying magmatic rock associations in a subduction zone is substantial for understanding the related geodynamic evolution. The final closure time of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and the exact subduction processes have continuously been controversial, hindering our recognition of the tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Here we...

The temporal and spatial distribution of enriched source components at sites of continent-continent collision provides critical insights into mantle dynamic processes associated with subduction- and collision-related events. However, determining the origin of such enriched components remains a significant challenge. We report a comprehensive datase...

The recent discovery of large Cenozoic porphyry copper deposits in the Tibetan Plateau has revealed atypical features. Their formation all postdate the India-Asia collision at 55 ± 10 Ma, and therefore they are not affiliated with normal arc magmatism. Three major nonarc porphyry copper belts or provinces in Tibet comprise the Gangdese porphyry Cu-...

U-Pb geochronology of carbonate by laser ablation multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) is a rapidly growing research field due to its great potential to solve geological problems related to basin, tectonic, magmatism, and environmental evolution. In this paper, grid diagram was used to improve analytical ef...

Mesozoic magmatic rocks are widespread in the Lhasa terrane, but most of them are of cretaceous age. Because Jurassic rocks are relatively rare and our knowledge on such earlier magmatism in the context of the tectonic setting and evolution is limited. In this study, we focus on the mid-late Jurassic granitoids that occur in the west central Lhasa...

Amphibole plays an important role in the petrogenesis and evolution of arc magmas, but its role is not completely understood yet. Here, a field, petrological, geochronological and geochemical study is carried out on ultramafic-mafic arc cumulates with textural and chemical heterogeneities and on associated host diorites from the eastern Gangdese Ba...

Plain Language Summary The Himalayas have been formed from the collision between two tectonic plates. During their formation, the rocks of the continental crust have melted to form leucogranites which potentially provide important information on how the collision process evolves. Several recent studies of rare‐element mineralization associated with...

Plain Language Summary Precisely understanding the paleogeography of the Lhasa Terrane in southern Tibet is crucial to reconstruct the opening and drifting histories of the Neo‐Tethys that controls on the evolution of the India‐Asia collision zone. The paleogeography of the Lhasa Terrane has been variously proposed to originate from northern India,...

The asthenosphere beneath both ancient and modern oceans is highly heterogeneous owing to the recycling of continental, sub-arc, or sub-oceanic mantle domains and subducted oceanic crust and pelagic sediments. The identification and discrimination of those “old” mantle domains are important for understanding of the generation of oceanic crust and t...

Associations between tholeiitic and calc-alkaline arc magmatism with close spatial and temporal relationships can provide critical constraints on magma genesis and allow the reconstruction of subduction polarity at convergent margins. This study identifies two compositionally distinct intrusive series from the Yusufeli region in the Eastern Pontide...

Potassic alkaline rocks are instrumental in unveiling the composition and geodynamic evolution of mantle lithosphere. The Zhuopan alkaline complex, located in the western Simao block, SW China, exhibits features of high potassium, enrichment in LILEs, and depletion in HFSEs. These same elemental features and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions are also evi...

Cenozoic mantle-derived magmas are widespread on the Tibetan Plateau, and provide evidence for the evolution of deep mantle and its influence on the Plateau development. Miocene basalts in the Maguan area on the southeastern Plateau have high MgO (9.13–13.10 wt%) and Mg# (0.60–0.70) with high Ce/Pb (10.6–32.5) and Nb/U (43.7–52.9) ratios, similar t...

Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene hypabyssal intrusives near Bayburt in northeastern Turkey, in the Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt (EPOB), host a variety of xenoliths, including clinopyroxenite, hornblendite, hornblende- and plagioclase-rich gabbro, quartz diorite and amphibole-rich diorite, quartz syenite, and amphibolite. We report major and tra...

Resolving the time of rifting of the Black Sea basin is critical to reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the Pontides arc in northern Turkey. U–Pb geochronology of detrital zircons from Middle Jurassic, Upper Cretaceous, and lower Eocene formations in the Eastern Pontides (NE Turkey), as well as published data from circum-Black Sea terranes, re...

The co-existence of Cretaceous adakitic and A-type granitoids in southern Tibet can offer fundamental constraints on subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate and associated crustal growth processes, if their petrogenetic relationships are understood. Here, we report whole-rock geochemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology, in situ zircon Hf isotopes a...

The Eastern Pontides Orogenic Belt (EPOB) in northeastern Turkey is a continental arc that is part of the Himalayan-Alpine orogeny. Late Cretaceous magmatism in this belt is dominated by high-K calc-alkaline, shoshonitic, and alkaline rocks that occur over an area of ∼ 600 km (E-W) and ∼ 200 km (N-S). We present new geochemical data (whole rock maj...

Detrital zircon analysis of the Triassic Kashala Formation of the Alpurai Group in Swat, Pakistan, west of Indus syntaxis, record Archean to Paleozoic ages. The U-Pb age spectra show distinctive age clusters at 3510–3100 Ma, 2700–2400 Ma, 1750–1500 Ma, 1350–750 Ma, 700–600 Ma and 580–470 Ma, with one youngest age of 229 Ma, suggesting secular and e...

Earth’s continental crust has a lower Nb/Ta ratio than that of its building blocks –basaltic melts from the mantle. This Nb/Ta mass imbalance implies the existence of a complementary high Nb/Ta reservoir in deep crust. Amphibole-rich arc cumulates have been proposed to be one such candidate due to the preferential partitioning of Nb over Ta into am...

The present-day lithospheric architecture of modern and ancient orogens can be imaged by geophysical techniques. For ancient orogens, unravelling their architecture at the time of formation is hindered by later tectono-magmatic events. In this paper, we use spatial variations in radiogenic isotopic compositions of Late Triassic magmatism from the Y...

Mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs), widespread in intermediate to felsic arc plutons, carry significant information on the genesis and evolution of arc magmas, yet their origin remains debatable. Here, we examine MME-host diorite pairs from the ca. 200 Ma Cuijiu Igneous Complex in the eastern Gangdese Batholith, southern Tibet, to constrain the pe...

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) was established in response to multiple subduction-accretion-collision processes. However, the origin and evolution of the accreted arc terranes remain unclear, as exemplified by the question how ancient and juvenile materials were accreted and constructed in the accretionary belts. This question is addressed...

Determining the formation mechanism (fractional crystallization vs. melt-fluid interaction) of the REE tetrad effect in high-silica granites is critical for understanding trace elemental behaviors (e.g., enrichment of rare metals) during magmatic and hydrothermal evolution. This study reports new petrography, zircon UPb ages, trace elemental and Hf...

Mechanisms of syn-collision magma generation are unclear due to the uncertainty in defining the term collision. We address this issue by presenting detailed petrographic, chronological, and geochemical data for the Tanggula Batholith located immediately to the north of the Longmu Tso–Shuanghu suture zone (LSSZ) in northern Tibet. Zircon LA–ICPMS U–...

Understanding the formation of high-silica rhyolites (HSRs, SiO2 = 75 wt%) is critical to revealing the evolution of felsic magma systems and magma chamber processes. This paper addresses HSR petrogenesis by investigating an integrated data set of whole-rock geochemistry, geochronology, and mineral composition of the ~74 Ma Nuocang HSR (SiO2 = 74.5...

The recent discovery of large Cenozoic porphyry copper deposits in the Tibetan Plateau has revealed atypical features. Their formation all postdate the India-Asia collision at 55 ± 10 Ma, and therefore they are not affiliated with normal arc magmatism. Three major nonarc porphyry copper belts or provinces in Tibet comprise the Gangdese porphyry Cu-...

Voluminous Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks in the central Lhasa subterrane provide an ideal opportunity for understanding the mantle–crust interaction and tectonic‐magmatic evolution of the Lhasa Terrane. Here, we report zircon U–Pb ages, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotopic data for the Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks, including high‐silica rhyoli...

The origin of intermediate rocks in large igneous provinces (LIPs) is unclear. We investigated this with an integrated petrological, mineralogical, geochronological, and geochemical study of the Chigu Tso tholeiitic intrusive suite (including dolerite, diorite, and tonalitic dykes and sills) in central Comei LIP, SE Tibet. The intermediate rocks (d...

Oceanic crust and the mantle are thought to have identical Sr–Nd–Hf–Os isotopic compositions. However, there is increasing evidence of isotopic differences between the two units, suggesting the existence of oceanic crust–mantle decoupling. Here we present updated whole-rock and mineral Sr–Nd–Hf–Os isotope data for the Kızıldağ (southeast Turkey) an...

The Tethyan metallogenic domain (TMD), as one of the three major domains in the world, extends over 10000 km from east to west, and has developed several world-class metallogenic belts, such as the Gangdese porphyry Cu belt, the Sanjiang metallogenic belt, the Iran porphyry Cu belt, the Pakistan porphyry Cu belt, the southeastern European epitherma...

The petrogenesis of granites with high Sr/Y signatures similar to adakitic rocks in continental settings is much debated. It is especially controversial whether these rocks are indicative of high-pressure magmatism (i.e., partial melting or crystallization fractionation) related to a thickened crust, or their high Sr/Y signatures are merely inherit...

Determining the origin and related mantle dynamics responsible for the generation of giant granitic batholiths in convergent margins is critical to unravel the formation mechanism of the silica–rich continental crust. This paper reports the whole–rock major element, trace element, SrNd isotopic, and zircon UPb age and Hf isotope data of samples fro...

The ultramafic mantle sections of the Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolites (YZO) along the suture of India and Asia in Tibet preserve the mantle history of the formerly intervening oceanic lithosphere. Fifty-two ophiolitic peridotites from three localities (Purang, Baigang and Zedang) reveal that these rocks comprise Mesozoic depleted mantle (peak mode ¹⁸⁷Os/...

The Linglong porphyry Cu deposit is located in the Dananhu–Tousuquan Arc Belt, adjacent to the large Tuwu–Yandong Cu deposits in Eastern Tianshan, northwest China. In this study, zircon U–Pb, whole rock geochemistry, and zircon Hf–O isotopic analyses were carried out on the Linglong intrusions (i.e., quartz albite porphyry and diorite porphyry). Ne...

Post-collisional potassic and high Sr/Y magmatism in the Lhasa terrane provides critical constraints on the timing and mechanism of subduction of Indian lithosphere and its role in the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Here, we report whole-rock geochemistry, mineral geochemistry, zircon UPb ages, and in situ zircon Hf isotope ratios for the Nyemo plu...

Porphyry Cu deposits (PCDs) in continental collision settings are new targets for modern mineral exploration, and the relationships among locations, tectonic environments, tonnages, and metal associations are not yet understood. The Gangdese PCD belt formed in a typical continental collision setting between the Indian and Asian plates. In the prese...

Identifying arc‐trench systems along with spatial and temporal variations in their record of tectono‐magmatic events is crucial for determining the orogenic divers and evolution of orogenic systems. New geochronological and geochemical data of Jurassic igneous rocks, as well as detrital zircon data from contemporaneous sedimentary units, within the...

In Southern Tibet, voluminous granitoids emplaced between 225‐20 Ma provide a spatiotemporal window into the geochemical and tectonic evolution of the crust. Hf and O isotope geochemistry of whole rocks and constituent zircons together with whole‐rock chemistry reveal a coherent magmatic history of Gangdese granitoids, and by extension, crustal thi...

In order to reconstruct tectonic evolution history of the southern margin of Asia (i.e., Lhasa terrane) before the India-Asia collision, here we present a comprehensive study on the clastic rocks in the southern Lhasa terrane with new perspectives from sedimentary geochemistry, detrital zircon geochronology and Hf isotope. Clasts from the Jurassic-...

In western Yunnan, potassic felsic suites with important Cu mineralization have been interpreted as being genetically associated with the Ailao Shan-Red River (ASRR) shear zone. In this paper, we show that the magmatism is unrelated to the shear zone, but shares many characteristics in common with potassic suites along the Jinsha suture to the nort...

Geochemical data on widely distributed igneous rocks of southern Tibet are used to reconstruct paleo-crustal thickness during the 50+ million years that have elapsed since the onset of the India-Asia collision. We use two approaches, one based on Nd isotopes and an assimilation-recharge model for granitic magma genesis and another empirical method...

Igneous complexes with a wide variety of lithologies in continental magmatic arcs provide a critical insight into the composition and formation mechanism of continental crust. We report, for the first time, a systematic dataset for the petrology, mineralogy, geochronology, and geochem-istry of the Cuijiu Igneous Complex in the eastern Gangdese Arc...

The study area is located in the southern part of the Ailaoshan-Red River shear zone, between the Tibet Plateau and Yangtze craton, where a series of alkali-rich porphyries was intruded in the Cenozoic. The chronology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of three types of porphyry rocks were studied in Luchun-Jinping area, which provided new evidence for...

The research on the petrogenesis, magma source region and evolution of the Mesozoic magmatism in the western Central Lhasa Terrane is still ambiguous and further geological, geochemical and geochronological work is needed. This work mainly focuses on petrography, geochemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology, trace elements and Hf isotope analysis, in or...

The Late Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the southern Lhasa sub-terrane are the best records in revealing the dynamic evolution of the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys. Many researches have been carried out on various types of Late Cretaceous magmatic rocks in different sections of the west-east trending Gangdese batholith, but there are still s...

We provide geochronological (zircon UPb) and geochemical data (whole rock major and trace elements, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, mineral compositions, zircon trace elements) for Late Cretaceous I- and A-type granitoids and associated gabbros from three areas (Dereli, Şebinkarahisar, Divriği), along a north-south traverse in eastern Turkey from the northern p...

Late Cretaceous magmatism in the southern Lhasa subterrane, Tibet, provides critical constraints on the subduction processes of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate. Here, we provide data on the whole-rock geochemistry, zircon U–Pb ages, trace element contents, and Hf isotopes of early Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks from Sangri County to Sangye Temple (SS...

The steep eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is thought to have developed in the Cenozoic by brittle crustal thickening or lower crustal flow related to India-Asia collision. However, our data indicate that Late Triassic crustal shortening and voluminous magmatism contributed to crustal thickening and topography of the region. Sr/Y ratios of int...

How the continental crust is formed has long been a fundamental scientific question for the international academic community. Magmatic origin and density filtering of arcs at active continental margins are crucial to understanding formation and evolution of continental crust. The Cretaceous Cordilleran continental margin arc in North America may ha...

Zircon research has been well developed in the past 10 years, from simple U-Pb dating and Hf isotopic analysis to detailed investigation of major and trace elements in various types of zircons. Trace elements in zircons were used not only for estimating magma temperatures by Ti thermometer or identifying rock type and origin, but also for discrimin...

A compilation of 290 zircon U–Pb ages of intrusive rocks indicates that the Gangdese Batholith in southern Tibet was emplaced from c. 210 Ma to c. 10 Ma. Two intense magmatic pulses within the batholith occur at: (1) 90 ± 5 Ma, which is restricted to 89–94° E in the eastern segment of the southern Lhasa subterrane; and (2) 50 ± 3 Ma, which is wides...

Mantle-derived alkaline magmatism along major strike-slip faults provides unique insights into the lateral growth of the Tibetan Plateau. Here we use the geochemistry of perovskites from the West Qinling melilitite to probe into the nature and dynamics of sub-lithospheric mantle beneath the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The texture and chemical com...

Leucogranites are important in understanding intracrustal differentiation and regional tectonic evolution, but how these rocks form remains a matter of much debate. The Luoza batholith in the central Lhasa subterrane provides an important opportunity to address these issues as this batholith consists of normal calc-alkaline S-type granodiorites (Gr...

Compositional changes of magma in space and time can be used to infer mantle dynamics and crust-mantle interaction that are responsible for the generation of magma and evolution. This study reveals, for the first time, the presence of magma compositional transition at approximately 84 Ma in the eastern Pontides arc (NE Turkey), providing important...

Magmatic records with high Mg and low Y signatures provide important insights into the deep mantle dynamics that dictate the evolution of ancient orogenic belts. This paper reports the presence of felsic intrusive dikes with high Mg and low Y signatures intruding the Baingoin Batholith (central Tibet) at ca. 94 Ma. These dikes show adakitic signatu...