Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2025, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1): 343-366.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2024.4.60

• Special Section on The India-Eurasia Collision and Its Long-Range Effect (Part 11) • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Crustal thickness evolution of the Central Lhasa Terrane inferred from trace elements in zircon of Tangra Yumco

LIU Xiaohui1(), LIU Yimin2,*(), DING Lin3, GUO Xiaoyu4,5, HUANG Xingfu6, LI Huilin4,5, GAO Rui4,5   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, College of Geophysics, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
    3. State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    4. School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China
    5. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
    6. College of Earth Sciences, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
  • Received:2024-04-11 Revised:2024-05-08 Online:2025-01-25 Published:2025-01-15

Abstract:

The Lhasa terrane is located in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau and is one of the regions with the greatest crustal thickness globally. However, the timing and process of crustal thickening in the Lhasa terrane remain debated. Zircon trace element characteristics are controlled by the co-existing relationships between zircon and other trace element carrier minerals, meaning different minerals have varying partition coefficients, thus zircon trace elements can be used to quantitatively reconstruct crustal thickness. This study conducted U-Pb geochronological and trace element geochemical research on zircons from igneous and sedimentary rocks in the Dangra Yongcuo area of the central Lhasa terrane. Using zircon europium anomalies to quantitatively reconstruct crustal thickness, the results reveal that the central Lhasa terrane experienced two crustal thinning events (150-130 Ma and 85-65 Ma) and two crustal thickening events (130-85 Ma and 65-15 Ma) during the Jurassic to Neogene periods. During 150-130 Ma, crustal thinning in the central Lhasa terrane was primarily related to slab retreat of the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean. Between 130-85 Ma, the central Lhasa terrane underwent crustal thickening due to northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and southward subduction of the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean. During 85-65 Ma, slab retreat of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and back-arc extension led to another crustal thinning event. From 65-15 Ma, collision and subsequent compression between the Indian and Eurasian plates caused the central Lhasa terrane to thicken again.

Key words: Tibetan Plateau, central Lhasa terrane, crustal thickness, zircon U-Pb age, zircon trace elements

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