Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265 – 286

www.elsevier.com/locate/chemgeo

Petrological and geochemical evidence for the origin of the

Yarlung Zangbo ophiolites, southern Tibet
V. Dubois-Côtéa,*, R. Héberta, C. Dupuisa, C.S. Wangb, Y.L. Lib, J. Dostalc
a
Département de géologie et de génie géologique, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Qc., Canada G1K 7P4
b
Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610059, People’s Republic of China
c
Department of Geology, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 3C3
Received 2 July 2003; accepted 22 October 2004

Abstract

The Early Cretaceous Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) ophiolites form a nearly continuous E–W-trending belt in
southern Tibet. They are remnants of the Neo-Tethys ocean-floor, marking the suture between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
Seven ophiolitic massifs in the Xigaze area (from west to east: Lhase, Jiding, Beimarang, Qunrang, Bainang, Dazhuqu and
Jinlu), the focus of this study, consist of crustal (volcanic and subvolcanic rocks and cumulates) and mantle (peridotites) units.
Crustal samples (basalts and diabases) are subdivided into two groups. The rocks of the first group are LREE-depleted, with
[La/Yb]CN=0.6F0.1 and with slight negative Ta–Nb anomalies. They have back-arc basin affinity and occur in the western
portion of the study area (Jiding, Beimarang, Qunrang, Bainang massifs and part of the Dazhuqu massif). The second group
includes rocks that are LREE-enriched, with [La/Yb]CN=4.6F1.4, and display distinct negative Ta–Nb anomalies. These rocks
have an intraoceanic arc affinity and occur in the eastern segment of the study area (the Jinlu massif and part of the Dazhuqu
massif). Rocks from the mantle parts of the massifs are mainly harzburgites and can also be subdivided into two groups.
Harzburgites of the first group occur in the western part (the Lhase massif and part of the Qunrang massif); they are LREE-
depleted with [La/Sm]CN=0.3F0.2, and their spinel composition shows a limited compositional range. The rocks represent the
residue after 7–12% melting of a N-MORB-like mantle source. The mantle rocks of the second group occur in the eastern
segment of the area (part of the Qunrang massif and in the Bainang and Dazuhuqu massifs). They are LREE-enriched, with [La/
Sm]CN=2.8F0.8, and their spinels have a highly variable composition (Cr# varies from 0.13 to 0.82 and Mg# from 0.75 to
0.27). These rocks are inferred to be residue after 30–40% melting of a depleted mantle source but were metasomatically
modified by a Ti-poor fluid or magma.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Tethys; Ophiolites; Suprasubduction; Tibet

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 418 656 2193; fax: +1 418 656 7339.
E-mail address: viviane.dubois-cote.l@ulaval.ca (V. Dubois-Côté).

0009-2541/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2004.10.004
266 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
1. Introduction
The Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) is a
major geological feature in southern Tibet that
separates the Lhasa Block, which is part of the
Eurasian plate, from the Indian plate to the south.
Convergence between these two plates was accom-
panied by northward subduction of the Tethyan
oceanic plate during Late Jurassic and Cretaceous
times (Allègre et al., 1984; Aitchison et al., 2000;
McDermid et al., 2002). The continent–continent
collision that followed during Eocene (Molnar and
Tapponnier, 1975) formed the E–W-trending YZSZ.
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ophiolites, wide-
spread along the YZSZ, were obducted towards the
south over Indian basement (Tapponnier et al., 1981;
Allègre et al., 1984). Late deformational events such
as strike-slip and east–west extension (Tapponnier et
al., 1981) led to the dismemberment and shortening of
the ophiolitic massifs. A better understanding of the
geodynamical evolution of these ophiolites is impor-
tant for the reconstructions of the Tethys basin.
Ophiolitic massifs in the Xigaze area were studied
in the early 1980s by French and Chinese scientists,
who interpreted these rocks as pieces of the Tethys
ocean-floor, formed at an oceanic ridge near the
continental margin (Nicolas et al., 1981; Xiao, 1984;
Girardeau et al., 1985a; Girardeau and Mercier, 1988),
but there was only a rather limited amount of
geochemical data available.
Since 1998, our investigation has focussed on the
ophiolitic complexes in a 300-km-long portion of
Fig. 1. Location map of the YZSZ and the studied ophiolitic massifs. Modified after Wang et al. (2000) and Gansser (1991).
YZSZ ophiolites in order to reassess these fragments
of Tethyan lithosphere (Hébert et al., 1999, 2000, 2001,
2003; Huot et al., 2002; Varfalvy et al., 2002). The
investigated section of the YZSZ is situated between
Lhase to the west and Jinlu to the east (Fig. 1). The aim
of this study is to present new observations and
geochemical data for samples collected in 1998, 1999
and 2001. It includes the composition of primary
phases and whole-rock major and trace element as well
as rare-earth element (REE) analyses. The data provide
a robust tool for the petrogenetic and geodynamic
evaluation of this segment of YZSZ ophiolites. The
paper is complementary to an earlier paper focussing
on the mineral composition of ophiolitic mantle and
lower crust (Hébert et al., 2003).
Our data suggest that YZSZ crustal rocks are
mainly composed of mafic extrusives and intrusives,
which have back-arc basin affinity in the western part
of the belt but arc affinities in the east. The mafic
rocks are underlain by a heterogeneous residual
harzburgitic mantle, which can also be divided into
two groups.
2. Geological setting
2.1. Regional geology
YZSZ ophiolites are part of a complex collage of
pieces of oceanic lithosphere brought together by the
accretion of the Indian plate to the Lhasa block during
Eocene times (Molnar and Tapponnier, 1975). The
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
Palaeozoic to Cretaceous basement of the Lhasa Block
is exposed north of the suture. The southern margin of
the Lhasa Block is intruded by calcalkaline plutons of
the Gangdese complex. Plutonic activity began about
120 Ma (Yin and Harrison, 2000), as a result of
northward subduction of the Tethyan lithosphere under
Eurasia (Allègre et al., 1984; Girardeau et al., 1985b).
This was followed by the deposition of the Xigaze
Group, a 8-km-thick, Mid- to Late Cretaceous turbi-
ditic flysch containing abundant material from the
Gangdese complex. The flysch is interpreted to be a
forearc basin deposit (Nicolas et al., 1981). The Xigaze
Group, which contains radiolarites at its base, has either
tectonic contact (Girardeau et al., 1984) or strati-
graphically overlies the ophiolitic sequence (Girardeau
and Mercier, 1988; Allègre et al., 1984). The ophiolites
rest on mélange zones containing blocks of ophiolites
(Huot et al., 2002; Nicolas et al., 1981) and amphib-
olites (Guilmette and Hébert, 2003). This ophiolitic
sequence also has a fault contact with the Late
Cretaceous to Early Tertiary Liuqu conglomerate,
which consists of polymictic coarse clastic sediments
(Aitchison et al., 2000; Davis et al., 2002). The
ophiolitic sequence was thrusted to the south on the
Tethyan series (Girardeau et al., 1984, 1985a) com-
posed of the Mesozoic flysch (Allègre et al., 1984;
Dupuis et al., 2003).
According to U–Pb whole-rock ages, the crustal
section of the ophiolite belt in the Xigaze area was
formed 120F10 Ma (Göpel et al., 1984). Likewise,
Zyabrev et al. (1999) reported late Barremian/Early
Aptian–Early Albian ages (~125–110 Ma) for radio-
larites deposited on top of volcanic rocks. Northwest of
the studied area, the 40Ar/39Ar age of hornblende from
basaltic dike of the Yungbwa ophiolite gave an age of
152F33 and 123 Ma (Miller et al., 2003). East of the
Jinlu area, radiolarian cherts were collected in the
Zedong terrane, which is thought to be tectonically
juxtaposed to the porphyritic basalts belonging to the
Jinlu ophiolitic volcanic section (Aitchison et al.,
2000). McDermid (personal communication) obtained
upper Bajocian–lower Bathonian/Callovian ages (165–
155 Ma) from radiolarites overlying pillows from the
Zedong area. McDermid et al. (2002) obtained U–Pb
ages on zircon and 40Ar/39Ar ages on hornblende from
crustal samples of the Zedong terrane of 152–156 Ma.
Clinopyroxene from harzburgites of the Xigaze ophio-
lites gave a Pb model age of 404 Ma (Göpel et al.,
267
1984), leading to a suggestion that the contact between
the crust and the mantle is tectonic, and that crust and
the mantle are not genetically related.
From west to east, the studied ophiolitic massifs are
Lhase, Jiding, Beimarang, Qunrang, Bainang, Daz-
huqu and Jinlu (formerly named Zedang). A summary
of the characteristics of some of the massifs was
reported by Hébert et al. (2003). Although the massifs
are lithologically distinct, they have common charac-
teristics (Nicolas et al., 1981; Girardeau et al., 1985a):
(1) a thin crustal section, typically 2–4-km thick; (2) the
absence or small amounts of gabbroic rocks and (3) the
occurrence of abundant sills and dykes of gabbro and
diabase that cut both the mantle and the crustal sections.
2.2. Crustal rocks
The ophiolitic complexes contain only a minor
amount of extrusive rocks. Their limited thickness is
partly due to tectonic activities (thrusting and faulting;
Girardeau et al., 1985a) and due to inefficient
extraction of magma from the mantle (Nicolas et al.,
1981; Hébert et al., 2003). These rocks are almost
always found at the northern limb of the ophiolitic
sequence. The major part of the mafic unit of the
ophiolites is made up of the diabase-sheeted dyke/sill
complex, averaging 2 km in thickness. The transition
between these hypabyssal rocks and the volcanic
rocks is gradational (Girardeau et al., 1985b). Lower
level ultramafic to mafic crustal rocks are rare. The
crustal ophiolite samples were collected from each
massif except for Lhase.
Extrusive rocks from the western ophiolite segment
consist mainly of basaltic pillowed and massive lava
flows; volcaniclastic rocks are nearly absent (Huot et
al., 2002). Pillows are slightly vesicular, and the
vesicles are filled with quartz, calcite, chlorite and/or
epidote. The lavas are strongly altered; alteration
includes silicification, chloritization and epidotization.
The average diameter of the pillows is between 40 and
80 cm, and the lava flows are generally a meter to a
few meters in thickness (Girardeau et al., 1985a). The
basalts are mostly aphanitic to microporphyritic with
phenocrysts of plagioclase and clinopyroxene which
commonly display intersertal texture. Glass and
opaque minerals are present in a subordinate amount.
Volcanic rocks from the Jinlu area are mainly
basalts and basaltic andesites with porphyritic textures
268 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
and phenocrysts of clinopyroxene and plagioclase.
The rocks are typically altered, and epidote, chlorite,
clay minerals and amphiboles are the major secondary
phases.
Diabases of the sheeted dyke/sill complexes dis-
play intergranular textures, with plagioclase and
clinopyroxene as the main primary phases. Clay
minerals, epidote, chlorite and actinote are ubiquitous
secondary minerals. Hypabyssal rocks from the
Dazhuqu massif in the eastern part of the studied area
sporadically show secondary green hornblende as a
replacement phase after pyroxene. One diabasic
sample collected in the Jinlu area (01-JIN-04) shows
primary hornblende phenocrysts.
Lower crustal rocks (ultramafic and gabbroic
cumulates) occur at Jiding, Dazhuqu and Jinlu
massifs. At Jiding, there is a 300-m transitional
crust–mantle section (Hébert et al., 2003). In the
Dazhuqu massif, fine-grained intrusives and extru-
sives of the upper crustal sequence are underlain by
ultramafic crustal rocks (troctolite, wehrlite, harzbur-
gite and dunite). They show poikilitic clinopyroxene
and the replacement of primary minerals by prehnite,
chlorite and epidote. The lower crustal portion of the
Jinlu massif contains a gradation from ultramafic to
mafic rocks. In this sequence, five rock types have
been recognized; in a younging order, they are
wehrlite (01-JIN-14), dunite (01-JIN-12), olivine
websterite (01-JIN-15), lherzolite (01-JIN-13) and
fine-grained gabbro (01-JIN-16).
2.3. Mantle rocks
The ultramafic mantle unit varies in apparent
thickness from a hundred meters to 10 km and was
affected by postemplacement tectonic events (Girar-
deau and Mercier, 1988). The upper portion of the
mantle unit is in transitional or tectonic contact with
the crustal part of the ophiolite (Girardeau et al., 1984;
Nicolas et al., 1981). The rocks are variably serpenti-
nized. The mantle unit consists of dunite and
harzburgite at the top of the sequence and grades
downward to Cr-diopside harzburgite and lherzolite
(Girardeau and Mercier, 1988). Fresh spinel is always
present as an accessory phase. These ultramafic rocks
display a well-defined high-temperature (HT) folia-
tion, marked by spinel or a pyroxene-preferred
orientation. Petrographically, two groups of ultramafic
rocks can be defined. The first group includes some
harzburgites from the western part; these rocks exhibit
porphyroclastic textures (this study and Girardeau and
Mercier, 1988) characterized by large orthopyroxene,
with kink bands and ubiquitous clinopyroxene exso-
lutions, which is surrounded by small olivine grano-
blasts, concentrated in deformation corridors. The
olivine shows slip planes and kinks. The second group
consists of peridotites with granular texture from the
eastern part of the studied area. Most of these rocks
are Cr-diopside harzburgite, with much coarser
crystals than those in the rocks of the first group.
Cr-diopside in the harzburgite of the second group (up
to 2%) is often interstitial to olivine grains or
associated with orthopyroxene and devoid of high-
temperature (HT) plastic deformation (Hébert et al.,
2003). Lherzolitic samples in the ophiolitic massifs
are protogranular to porphyroclastic (Hébert et al.,
2003; Girardeau and Mercier, 1988).
Concordant to discordant orthopyroxene bands and
websterite veins (both several cm thick) are common
in the YZSZ ophiolitic mantle. Although some
websterite samples exhibit a granular texture, most
pyroxenites have a granoporphyroclastic texture with
fine-grained pyroxenes at interstices between coarser
pyroxene crystals. Olivine is a rare phase in these
rocks. Irregular to tabular dunite lenses also occur in
the mantle. The whole ultramafic rock sequence is
intruded by diabase and gabbro dykes, which are
more abundant in its upper part (Girardeau and
Mercier, 1988). Some of them show HT foliation,
rotated with respect to the host mantle foliation.
Rodingitization of these intrusions is widespread.
3. Mineral chemistry
Hébert et al. (2003) reported composition of
mineral phases for the ophiolitic mantle and lower
crust. The present study enlarges the database, and all
the results are discussed here. The complete set of
electronic microprobe data is available upon request.
3.1. Analytical methods
Mineral composition was determined using a
CAMECA SX-100 five-spectrometer electron microp-
robe at Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Canada. Ana-
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
Fig. 2. Cr2O3 (w.%) in clinopyroxene from YZSZ ophiolitic rocks.
(A) Clinopyroxene chemistry for crustal ophiolites (basalts,
diabases and cumulates). Back-arc-basin-basalt (BABB) field drawn
from Hawkins and Allan (1994). Abyssal peridotite field taken from
Johnson et al. (1990) and forearc peridotite field from Ishii et al.
(1992). Fractional crystallisation curve from Constantin (1999). (B)
Clinopyroxene chemistry for pyroxenite from the mantle section of
the ophiolite. Field for peridotites and plagioclase-dunite taken from
Constantin (1999). (C) Clinopyroxene chemistry of harzburgites
from the mantle section of the ophiolite.
269
lytical conditions were 15 kV, 20 nA with counting
time of 20 s on peaks and 10 s on background. ZAF
correction factors were followed. A combination of
natural and synthetic standards was used. Single spot
analysis focussed on primary phases.
3.2. Crustal rocks
Due to secondary processes, including alteration
and metamorphism, rocks from the upper portion of
the ophiolitic crust (basalt and diabase) often contain
clinopyroxene as the only primary phase. Clinopyr-
oxene chemistry of the upper crust samples shows a
wide composition range, resembling that of the back-
arc-basin basalt (BABB) from Lau Basin (Ewart et al.,
1994; Fig. 2A). Interestingly, analyses of different
crystals coming from the same ophiolitic massifs may
Fig. 3. Spinel composition in harzburgite and cumulate rocks. Sixty-
eight samples were analyzed for spinel composition. Fields for
spinel in abyssal peridotites, N-MORB and boninites are taken from
Dick and Bullen (1984). Others have been drawn from data for
spinel in forearc peridotites (Ishii et al., 1992), ferrogabbro veins in
peridotites and peridotite wall-rock of ferrogabbro veins (Constan-
tin, 1999), cumulate rocks from Oman (Lippard et al., 1986) and
ultramafic and mafic rocks from Garrett that underwent magmatic
metasomatism (Constantin, 1999). The curve with ticks represents
the experimental percentage of melting of the host peridotite (Hirose
and Kawamoto, 1995).
270 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286

Table 1a
Elemental content for YZSZ group 1 and group 2 lavas
Group 1 lavas
Jiding Qunrang Bainang
98J-31 98X-13A 98X-14A 98X-17 01-BAI-01c 01-BAI-02c 01-BAI-03c 01-BAI-04c 01-BAI-05c 01-BAI-06c 01-BAI-07c
Oxides (wt.%)
SiO2 51.5 52.5 50.8 48.0 55.4 51.4 53.2 52.1 52.3 51.3 50.1
Al2O3 15.3 14.2 15.7 12.1 13.6 15.9 15.2 14.8 15.6 16.4 15.8
Fe2O3 10.3 9.4 10.2 9.2 7.5 8.3 8.6 8.4 9.3 7.8 6.9
MnO 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
MgO 7.7 6.7 7.3 7.2 8.2 8.2 6.0 6.0 5.4 7.8 7.5
CaO 7.3 8.4 6.7 13.1 6.8 6.7 9.2 10.9 8.8 10.0 11.4
Na2O 1.6 2.7 3.1 2.5 4.0 4.8 3.6 3.2 4.7 2.8 3.7
K2O 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.1
TiO2 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.7 0.5
P2O5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
L.O.I.d 4.8 4.7 4.8 6.5 3.0 3.3 3.1 3.5 2.5 2.6 3.7
TOTAL 100.3 100.0 100.1 99.6 100.1 99.9 100.1 100.2 100.0 100.1 99.9
Mg# 41.6 40.4 40.4 42.8 51.4 48.6 40.2 40.4 35.8 49.1 51.2

REE (ppm)
La 2.6 2.9 2.6 1.9 1.6 1.6 2.5 2.5 2.6 1.5 1.2
Ce 6.5 8.9 8.8 5.8 5.5 5.3 7.5 7.7 8.0 4.9 3.8
Pr 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.8 0.6
Nd 7.1 8.8 9.1 5.7 5.3 5.2 6.8 6.9 7.3 4.8 3.6
Sm 2.3 2.9 3.0 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.4 2.4 2.5 1.8 1.3
Eu 0.8 1.1 1.1 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.6
Gd 3.1 4.0 4.1 2.9 2.7 3.1 3.6 3.5 3.7 2.6 2.0
Tb 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.4
Dy 3.5 4.6 4.7 3.5 3.4 3.8 4.3 4.4 4.5 3.2 2.5
Ho 0.7 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.5
Tm – 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2
Yb 2.2 2.9 2.8 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.0 1.5
Lu 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2

HFSE (ppm)
V 226 270 281 207 196 222 222 226 237 215 178
Y 23 29 30 21 17 21 24 24 25 17 14
Zr 58 80 81 56 54 50 62 63 69 47 35
Hf 1.8 2.4 2.5 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.1
Nb 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.6c 0.4c – – 0.7c – 0.3c
Ta – 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.06c 0.04c – – 0.07c – 0.03c

LILE (ppm)
Rb 11.0 0.7 2.3 0.3 6.1 5.7 – – – 3.4 8.3
Ba 18 3 5 5 7 – – 3 6 –
Pb 2.0 0.5 0.7 0.8 – – – – – – –
Th – 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2c 0.1c 0.1 0.1 0.1c – 0.1c
U – 0.25 0.07 0.09 0.05c 0.04c – – 0.08c – 0.06c
Sr 440 74 218 44 110 143 140 26 26 96 130
a
BIR-1 values were obtained during 2001 first analytical run. Analyses of certified materials for 1998–1999 samples are found in Dostal et al.
(1986).
b
BIR-1 recommended values (recom. values) are found in Govindaraju (1994).
c
Values obtained from the 2001 second analytical run.
d
L.O.I.—Loss on ignition.
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286 271

Group 2 lavas BIR-1a BIR-1b

recommended
Dazhuqu Dazhuqu Jinlu
values
c c
01-BAI-08 01-DAZ-14 98D-33A 98Z-24A 98Z-24B 01-JIN-02c 01-JIN-02Bc 01-JIN-03c 01-JIN-03Bc

54.6 52.7 54.9 48.7 46.6 57.2 57.8 56.0 56.0 47.8 47.8
16.2 14.6 18.0 16.0 15.2 15.5 15.6 16.7 16.9 15.5 15.4
7.3 9.1 7.0 8.7 10.5 5.7 5.4 6.3 6.3 11.2 11.4
0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2
4.6 7.6 3.5 5.9 7.3 4.2 4.1 2.4 2.4 9.7 9.7
7.4 6.9 6.5 9.5 11.8 5.9 5.8 11.1 11.0 13.2 13.2
6.4 5.0 3.3 2.5 2.1 4.3 4.2 3.1 3.1 1.9 1.8
0.1 0.2 0.1 2.1 1.1 2.9 3.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0
0.9 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.0
0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0
2.3 2.6 5.2 4.7 4.0 2.8 2.9 3.5 3.4
100.0 100.0 99.4 99.2 99.8 99.3 99.7 100.3 100.2 100.6 100.5
37.9 44.5 32.6 39.5 40.0 41.7 42.0 26.7 26.6

2.6 2.0 11.1 8.3 8.3 9.2 9.5 12.2 13.0 0.7 0.6
7.9 7.1 22.8 16.3 17.8 17.2 17.2 22.4 23.1 2.1 2.0
1.2 1.2 3.0 2.2 2.5 1.8 1.9 2.4 2.5 0.4 0.4
6.9 6.9 13.2 9.5 11.1 7.8 8.0 10.2 10.8 2.4 2.5
2.4 2.4 2.9 2.4 2.8 1.9 1.9 2.4 2.5 1.1 1.1
0.9 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.5
3.4 3.5 2.7 2.6 3.0 2.2 2.2 2.9 3.0 1.8 1.9
0.6 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4
4.0 4.3 2.5 2.8 3.0 2.4 2.4 3.1 3.2 2.8 2.5
0.8 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
2.4 2.5 1.3 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 2.3 2.2 1.8 1.7
0.3 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

205 212 162 253 287 144 147 148 147 323 313
22 23 15 17 17 14 14 18 19 16 16
70 67 75 67 61 62 63 74 76 17 16
2.0 2.1 2.3 1.5 1.4 1.8 1.7 2.1 2.1 0.7 0.6
– 0.5c 4.7 2.0 3.9 1.7 1.8 2.3 2.4 0.5 0.6
– 0.06c 0.33 0.13 0.24 0.14 0.14 0.16 0.16 0.05 0.04

– – 3.9 63.7 35.8 75.4 84.6 4.6 4.8 – 0.3

– – 60 243 112 537 558 52 49 7 7
– – 7.0 6.4 5.4 5.1 – 11.1 7.8 – 3.0
0.1 0.1c 2.2 1.8 1.4 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.7 – 0.0
– 0.04c 0.71 0.68 0.56 0.80 0.80 0.89 0.87 0.01 0.01
58 132 355 267 142 160 157 451 489 112 108
272 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
be highly variable. Mg# in the clinopyroxene varies
from 0.72 to 0.89, Cr2O3 (wt.%) from 0.01 to 1.17 and
TiO2 (wt.%) from 0.14 to 1.19. All clinopyroxene
analyses follow the main tholeiitic fractional crystal-
lisation trend of Constantin (1999). In the upper-
crustal samples, plagioclase is always retrograded to
albite, coexisting with epidote.
Lower crustal rocks were collected from the Jiding,
Dazhuqu and Jinlu massifs. Clinopyroxene in the
lower crustal rocks from Jiding and Dazhuqu massifs
has a composition which resembles clinopyroxene of
abyssal (Johnson et al., 1990) and forearc (Ishii et al.,
1992) peridotites. Mg# values vary between 0.88 and
0.95, Cr2O3 (wt.%) between 0.26 and 1.26 (Fig. 2B)
and TiO2 (wt.%) from 0.02 to 0.32. Clinopyroxene in
the lower crustal rocks of Jinlu has a composition
resembling that of clinopyroxene in massive and
intrusive Ol-gabbro and gabbro of the Garrett trans-
form fault (Constantin, 1999).
Spinel composition in the lower crustal rocks
defines a trend of a decrease in Mg# (0.54–0.59)
along with a slight Cr# increase (0.43–0.60; Hébert et
al., 2003; Fig. 3). Composition of most spinels in
these rocks resembles that of spinel from cumulate
rocks of Oman (Lippard et al., 1986) and from
oceanic rocks that underwent magmatic metasoma-
tism in the Garrett transform fault (Constantin, 1999).
These rocks are the only rock type containing fresh
interstitial plagioclase. Plagioclase composition varies
from the calcic end-member (An97) down to sodic
composition (An3; Hébert et al., 2003).
3.3. Mantle rocks
Spinel is often the only preserved primary phase in
the mantle peridotites. Mg# of spinel varies from 0.75
to 0.27, and corresponding Cr# values are between
0.13 and 0.82. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the trend
defined by these values is subparallel to the array
given by Hirose and Kawamoto (1995), which defines
the evolution of spinel composition of peridotites that
experienced variable degrees of partial melting.
According to this array, peridotites from Lhase and
Qunrang underwent only low degrees of partial
melting. The highest degrees of melting are found in
peridotites from Qunrang and Beimarang, implying
that the mantle ultramafic rocks are heterogeneous
along strike. Also, different degrees of partial melting
are observed in rocks from the same massif. When
compared with modern oceanic settings, most of the
spinels analyzed in peridotites from YZSZ ophiolitic
mantle fall in the fields for abyssal (Dick and Bullen,
1984) and forearc peridotites (Ishii et al., 1992).
Spinel analyzed in a harzburgite sample from Qun-
rang (98X-8) have a composition similar to those
found in boninites (Dick and Bullen, 1984).
Among rocks of the ophiolitic mantle, analyzed
clinopyroxene is mostly from pyroxenite (Fig. 2B)
and less commonly from harzburgite (Fig. 2C).
Clinopyroxene from pyroxenite shows Cr2O3 values
between 0.01 and 1.4 wt.% and Mg# between 0.69
and 0.95. Clinopyroxene from harzburgite has Cr2O3
content between 0.45 and 1.59 wt.% and Mg#
between 0.82 and 0.95. The chemistry of clinopyrox-
ene in YZSZ ophiolitic mantle is similar to that of
clinopyroxene from abyssal and forearc peridotites.
Orthopyroxene of harzburgite, pyroxenite and
gabbro from the mantle ophiolites has relatively
uniform composition throughout a single or different
massif (e.g., Mg# ~0.87–0.92). The composition of
the analyzed orthopyroxene is similar to those of
abyssal (Dick and Bullen, 1984) and forearc perido-
tites (Ishii et al., 1992).
Olivine compositions in harzburgites range between
Fo90 and Fo92, and NiO between 0.36 and 0.50 wt.%.
Olivines with less NiO (0.03–0.23 wt.%) and corre-
sponding values of Fo90 are found in intrusives from
the lower crustal part of the Jinlu massif.
4. Whole rock chemistry
4.1. Analytical methods
Samples from 1998 and 1999 field seasons were
analyzed for major and some trace (Rb, Sr, Ba, Zr, Nb,
Y, Cr, Ni, V, Cu and Zn) elements by X-ray
fluorescence at the Geochemical Centre of Saint
Mary’s University. Analytical precision, as determined
on replicate analyses, is generally better than 5% for the
major oxides and between 5% and 10% for minor and
trace elements (Dostal et al., 1986). Additional trace
elements (REE, Hf, Nb, Ta, U and Th) were analyzed
by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
(ICP-MS) at the Department of Earth Sciences of
Memorial University of Newfoundland, using a
Table 1b
Elemental content for YZSZ group 1 and group 2 crustal diabases
Location Group 1 crustal diabases Group 2 Cr. Diab.
sample
Jiding Beimarang Qunrang Bainang Dazhuqu Jinlu
98J-1B 98J-4C 98J-22A 99-BEI-23 99-BEI-25 01-QUN-10 01-QUN-12 01-QUN-13 01-BAI-09 98D-12C 98D-15B 01-DAZ-10 01-DAZ-12 01-DAZ-13 01-JIN-04
Oxides (wt.%)
SiO2 50.8 51.0 34.0 50.2 51.3 50.3 53.1 51.4 50.6 47.2 40.0 54.0 51.7 54.1 63.3
Al2O3 14.7 15.1 15.9 15.6 15.2 14.6 15.2 15.4 15.9 16.5 13.3 15.8 15.0 15.9 17.9
Fe2O3 10.0 10.8 13.5 9.2 9.0 8.4 9.0 10.0 7.8 7.8 8.5 8.1 8.9 7.4 4.3
MnO 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2
MgO 7.8 6.3 10.8 6.9 7.3 11.3 6.9 6.9 7.9 9.3 6.5 5.9 7.2 4.5 2.1
CaO 8.6 9.2 17.2 8.9 9.1 6.8 6.7 6.9 9.2 12.3 27.3 6.6 8.9 10.8 2.4
Na2O 4.1 3.8 0.0 3.3 3.3 3.9 5.1 4.9 4.4 2.2 – 6.0 4.6 4.6 4.1

V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286

K2O 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.8 0.5 0.4 – 0.3 – 0.1 – 0.1 0.1 0.0 3.0
TiO2 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.0 0.8 0.5 0.9 1.3 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.5
P2O5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3
L.O.I.a 2.7 2.5 6.8 3.9 3.1 3.5 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.5 2.8 2.6 2.5 1.6 1.1
TOTAL 100.3 100.4 99.9 100.1 99.9 99.9 99.9 100.3 100.2 99.7 99.5 100.2 100.3 100.0 99.2
Mg# 42.9 35.9 43.3 41.9 43.7 56.2 42.3 39.8 49.3 53.5 42.4 56.2 42.3 39.8 32.1

REE (ppm)
La 2.3 3.0 1.9 2.2 1.6 1.1 1.7 2.8 1.9 1.1 1.9 2.2 1.9 2.4 28.2
Ce 7.6 9.1 7.4 6.7 4.8 3.1 5.6 9.1 6.2 3.7 6.1 7.1 6.4 6.9 50.1
Pr 1.4 1.6 1.4 – – 0.5 0.9 1.4 1.0 0.7 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 5.0
Nd 7.7 8.9 9.1 6.5 4.8 2.8 5.3 8.5 5.5 4.2 6.6 6.5 6.2 6.2 19.4
Sm 2.6 2.9 3.3 2.4 1.9 1.0 2.0 3.0 1.9 1.4 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.1 3.7
Eu 1.0 1.1 1.4 0.9 0.7 0.4 0.8 1.2 0.9 0.6 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.4 1.2
Gd 3.6 4.1 4.6 3.5 2.8 1.7 3.0 4.4 2.8 2.1 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.5
Tb 0.6 0.7 0.8 – – 0.3 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Dy 4.3 4.9 5.8 4.1 3.4 2.3 3.9 5.2 3.2 2.5 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.6
Ho 0.9 1.1 1.3 – – 0.5 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7
Tm 0.3 0.4 0.5 – – 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4
Yb 2.6 3.1 3.5 2.4 2.1 1.6 2.5 3.0 1.9 1.5 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.7
Lu 0.3 0.5 0.5 – – 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4

HFSE (ppm)
V 252 279 389 240 242 216 262 249 181 179 235 193 203 239 52
Y 26 31 35 25 21 13 22 29 18 16 24 21 21 21 21
Zr 71 84 52 46 42 32 55 83 54 36 43 68 59 59 156
Hf 2.1 2.5 2.0 – – 1.0 1.7 2.5 1.6 1.1 1.5 2.1 1.8 1.8 4.4
Nb 1.0 1.3 1.1 1.0 0.8 – 0.4b 1.0b – 0.3 0.7 0.5b – – 7.5
Ta 0.10 0.14 – – – – 0.05b 0.10b – – – 0.06b – – 0.58

LILE (ppm)
Rb 1.3 0.7 – 8.5 3.1 – – – – – – – – – 106.4
Ba 214.3 32.7 – 51.0 12.5 – – – 4.2 – – – 5.5 – 641.3
Pb 0.6 0.4 0.3 – – – – – – – – – – – 11.7
Th 0.1 0.1 – 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1b 0.2b – – – 0.1b – – 7.0
U 0.05 0.08 – – – – 0.06b 0.06b – – – 0.06b – – 1.98
Sr 620 186 14 305 434 187 123 107 80 488 14 65 142 238 254
a
L.O.I.—Loss on ignition.
b
Values obtained from the 2001second analytical run.

273
274 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286

Na 2 O 2 sintering technique. The method was Table 2

described by Longerich et al. (1990). The precision is Elemental content for lower crustal rocks of the Jinlu massif
between 2% and 4%. Samples collected in 2001 were Sample 01-JIN-12 01-JIN-13 01-JIN-14 01-JIN-15 01-JIN-16
analyzed for major and some trace elements by ICP- Tupe Dunite Lherzolite Werhlite Websterite Microgabbro
AES and for an additional trace elements by ICP-MS at Oxides (wt.%)
Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario. Samples SiO2 39.2 39.9 49.5 52.9 52.0
were crushed to 10 mesh (1.7 mm), and approx- Al2O3 0.6 5.9 0.8 2.0 16.5
Fe2O3 7.5 9.7 4.3 3.7 10.2
imately 100 g was mechanically split and then MnO – 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
pulverized in a mild steel ring and puck pulverizer to MgO 39.9 29.4 25.2 19.1 5.2
95%–150 mesh (106 Am). A lithium metaborate/ CaO – 6.6 15.4 20.9 7.2
tetraborate fusion method was used. A second more Na2O – 0.1 0.1 0.2 5.3
precise run for Nb, Ta, Th and U was performed for K2 O – – – – –
TiO2 – 0.1 – 0.1 0.8
selected mafic samples. REE of peridotites were P2O5 – – – – 0.1
analyzed during this second run. For the second run, L.O.I.a 12.1 7.2 4.4 1.3 2.2
0.2 g of sample was mixed with 1.2 g lithium TOTAL 99.3 99.0 99.8 100.3 99.7
metaborate/tetraborate, and a multiacid dissolution Mg# 83.5 74.5 84.8 83.3 32.8
was used. The quality of the data is comparable to
REE (ppm)
those from the previous field seasons. Values presented La – 0.30 – 0.07 1.32
here (Tables 1a, 1b, 2 and 4) are at least twice the Ce 0.12 0.64 0.06 0.32 4.04
detection limit for each element and method. Pr 0.03 0.09 0.01 0.05 0.66
Nd 0.20 0.60 0.12 0.39 3.96
4.2. Crustal rocks Sm 0.09 0.30 0.06 0.22 1.50
Eu 0.04 0.15 0.03 0.10 0.62
Gd 0.15 0.54 0.12 0.40 2.34
Alteration and hydrothermal metasomatism varia- Tb 0.03 0.11 0.03 0.08 0.44
bly affected the crustal rocks. Some major elements Dy 0.23 0.77 0.19 0.55 3.10
were variably mobilized. Huot et al. (2002) docu- Ho 0.05 0.16 0.04 0.11 0.66
mented the mobility of Na2O, K2O and CaO during Tm 0.02 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.30
Yb 0.15 0.40 0.10 0.30 2.01
rodingitization of mafic rocks in the Beimarang Lu 0.02 0.06 0.02 0.05 0.32
mélange. However, the concentrations of most major a
L.O.I.—Loss on ignition.
elements, high-field-strength elements (HFSE), REE
and transition elements are thought to be immobile and 1b). The composition of these rocks is charac-
under most metamorphic conditions (e.g., Winchester terized by a progressive increase of Ti (2788–8651
and Floyd, 1976). An agreement between the petro- ppm) and V (162–389 ppm) with the degree of
graphic and geochemical subdivision of the rocks as differentiation (Zr, an incompatible trace element, was
well as the consistency of various compositional taken as an index of differentiation; Fig. 4). Compared
trends shown by the ophiolitic rocks and their to glasses from the East Pacific Rise (Thompson et al.,
similarities to those of modern igneous rocks suggest 1989), the abundances of these elements are low, but
that the distribution of these elements was not they are similar to those in glasses from the Mariana
significantly modified and is assumed to reflect their Trough (Sinton and Fryer, 1987) and the Tonga–
primary magmatic distribution. According to trace Kermadec island arc (Turner et al., 1997).
element data, the crustal rocks can be subdivided into Trace elements plotted in a chondrite-normalized
two groups, which correspond to the groups recog- multielement diagram are shown in Fig. 5A for
nized on the basis of the petrography. volcanic rocks and in Fig. 5B for diabases. All
samples from the first group show a depletion of
4.2.1. Group 1 crustal rocks highly incompatible elements (LILE and light REE
The first group comprises volcanic rocks and [LREE]), compared to the less incompatible elements,
diabases from the western massifs (i.e., Jiding, such as heavy REE (HREE). Patterns are relatively
Beimarang, Qunrang, Bainang, Dazhuqu; Table 1a flat from HFSE to HREE. Compared to N-MORB
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
Fig. 4. Trace elements variation diagrams for mafic rocks of the
YZSZ ophiolites. Fields for Mariana Trough, Tonga–Kermadec
island arc and East Pacific Rise glasses are drawn from Sinton and
Fryer (1987), Turner et al. (1997) and Thompson et al. (1989),
respectively. Samples from the Jinlu massif are circled by dashed
lines. (A) Ti vs. Zr diagram. Most of the group 1 rocks show an
increase in Ti along with a Zr increase. Increase in Ti along with Zr
is less marked in group 2 rocks. Because glasses from the East
Pacific Rise show Ti values higher than 9000, they are not shown on
this diagram. (B) V vs. Zr diagram. While variation of V with Zr
content is less evident in this diagram, rocks from Jinlu show a
slight decrease in V when Zr increases.
(Sun and McDonough, 1989), volcanic rocks and
diabases of this group have lower incompatible
element abundances, and their patterns show distinct
negative anomalies of Nb, Ta and Ti. Furthermore, the
amplitude of these anomalies increases from rocks of
the western massifs to those from the east. From
Jiding in the west to Dazhuqu in the east, [La/Nb]CN
increases from 3.9 to 4.3 in lavas and from 2.5 to 4.7
in diabases. Similar geochemical trends are shown by
REE, for example, [La/Yb]CN increases from 0.5 to
0.9 and from 0.4 to 0.8 and [La/Sm]CN from 0.5 to 0.7
and from 0.4 to 0.7 in lavas and diabases, respectively.
However, the patterns from different massifs crosscut
275
each other, and it appears that each massif has its
particular signature. This implies that the crustal
magmatic sequences were derived from a heteroge-
neous mantle source. The abundances of incompatible
elements of the first group are similar to those of
BABB from Lau Basin (Ewart et al., 1994). When
plotted on the discrimination diagram of Wood
(1980), rocks of the first group fall at the boundary
between N-MORB and arc basalt fields (Fig. 6).
4.2.2. Group 2 crustal rocks
The second group is made of volcanic rocks and
diabases from the eastern part of the segment of the
studied area. (Table 1a and 1b). These rocks show
contrasting variations of Ti and V with the degree of
differentiation (Fig. 4A,B). Ti shows a slight increase
(2421–4316 ppm), while V decreases (287–52 ppm)
with increasing differentiation (Zr varies from 45 to
156 ppm). In comparison with glasses from the East
Pacific Rise (Thompson et al., 1989), the Mariana
Trough (Sinton and Fryer, 1987) and the Tonga–
Kermadec island arc (Turner et al., 1997) as well as
with the rocks of the first group, these rocks are
strongly depleted in Ti and V.
Chondrite-normalized multielemental diagrams
(Fig. 5A,B) for the rocks of the second group show
that all samples have similar patterns of enrichment of
highly incompatible elements with respect to the less
incompatible elements, and the patterns are slightly
concave from HFSE to HREE and display large
negative Nb, Ta and Ti anomalies. [La/Nb]CN varies
from 2.5 to 5.6 in lavas and one diabase from this
group. [La/Yb]CN varies from 3.2 to 6.0 and [La/Sm]CN
from 1.9 to 3.4 in lava samples, while [La/Yb]CN equals
7.6 and [La/Sm]CN is 4.9 in the diabasic sample. Once
again, subtle differences in the shape of the patterns
suggest heterogeneities in the mantle sources. The
abundances of incompatible elements in these rocks are
comparable to those of mature arc stage volcanics from
Tonga intraoceanic island arc (Gill, 1987). The arc-like
nature of these rocks is also supported by the Wood’s
(1980) discrimination diagram, which suggests that the
rocks are arc basalts (Fig. 6). Trace element geo-
chemistry of group 2 lavas is also similar to some
continental arc lavas of the Ryukyu arc (Shinjo et al.,
2000). In this regard, we believe that Nd and Sr isotope
geochemistry would be useful to determine the exact
nature of these volcanic rocks.
276 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286

Fig. 5. Multielement diagrams for lavas and diabases, normalized to C1 chondrites (Sun and McDonough, 1989). (A) Lavas from YZSZ
ophiolites. N-MORB is from Sun and McDonough (1989). Fields for Lau Basin and Tonga arc rocks are drawn from Ewart et al. (1994) and Gill
(1987), respectively. (B) Diabases intruded in the crustal part of the YZSZ ophiolites. (C) Diabases intruded in the YZSZ ophiolitic mantle.
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286 277

Fig. 6. Zr–Th–Nb discriminant diagram for lavas, crustal diabases and mantle diabases (Wood, 1980).

4.2.3. Lower level crustal rocks
The compositional variations of the lower level
rocks from Jinlu (troctolite, wehrlite, harzburgite and
dunite) show a gradation from primitive to more
evolved rocks (Table 2). Chondrite-normalized REE,
Ti and Y patterns along with Mg# for each rock and
relative chronology of emplacement are shown in Fig.
7. The samples display subparallel flat HREE patterns
with a progressive depletion from MREE to LREE,
along with a Ti negative anomaly; these rocks may be
cogenetic. This sequence differs from the associated
upper-crustal arc-like rocks. This suite could bear the
overprinted signature of late metasomatic fluids/
magma, circulating in the lower portion of the
ophiolitic crust.
4.3. Mantle rocks
4.3.1. Mafic intrusions
Diabases and gabbros are common in the ophiolitic
mantle. Trace elements patterns are shown for the
diabases from the ophiolitic mantle of four massifs

Fig. 7. REE content for lower crustal level rocks of the Jinlu massif. Relative timing of emplacement is also shown on the diagram. Numbers to
the right of each curve are corresponding Mg#.
278 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286

(Beimarang, Dazhuqu, Qunrang and Jinlu; Table 3) in [La/Yb]CN varying between 0.3 and 0.8 and [La/Sm]CN
Fig. 5C. These samples all display similar patterns, between 0.3 and 0.7 and also with Nb, Ta and Ti
which resemble those of group 1 crustal rocks, with negative anomalies. One sample from the Jinlu massif

Table 3
Elemental content for YZSZ group 1 mantle diabases
Location Group 1 mantle diabases
sample Jiding Beimarang Bainang Dazhuqu Jinlu
98-J-36 99-BEI-2C 99-BEI-8 99-BEI-16 01-BAI-11 01-BAI-15 98D-1C 98D-25 98D-27A 98D-27B 99-JIN-12 98Z-17B
Oxides (wt.%)
SiO2 39.3 47.8 47.3 50.8 43.5 49.8 32.2 48.2 50.9 51.9 50.0 48.8
Al2O3 15.4 9.6 14.9 15.2 17.2 15.8 14.8 15.8 15.0 16.0 16.0 14.9
Fe2O3 12.6 11.1 10.9 10.9 8.7 8.3 12.6 9.9 11.6 9.5 9.1 9.5
MnO 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
MgO 8.2 16.0 8.9 6.3 6.6 7.1 4.2 7.2 5.2 6.1 6.6 6.0
CaO 17.0 12.9 12.7 10.4 17.8 12.0 27.1 10.9 8.8 7.8 9.6 12.4
Na2O – 0.2 2.3 3.5 1.0 3.1 – 3.5 4.5 5.0 4.7 5.3
K2O 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 – 0.1 – 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1
TiO2 1.5 0.1 0.9 1.4 1.1 0.9 1.6 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9
P2O5 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
L.O.I.a 5.5 2.0 2.0 0.7 4.1 3.0 6.4 3.4 3.4 2.7 2.6 1.7
TOTAL 99.8 99.9 100.3 99.6 100.2 100.3 99.2 100.3 100.5 100.2 99.9 99.9
Mg# 38.4 58.1 43.7 35.5 42.1 45.0 24.4 40.9 30.2 38.0 40.9 37.8

REE (ppm)
La 3.1 0.3 1.3 3.0 3.0 1.7 3.9 1.8 1.3 1.6 1.9 2.4
Ce 10.4 0.7 4.5 10.0 9.1 5.6 12.6 6.2 4.3 5.2 5.6 7.4
Pr 1.9 – – – 1.4 0.9 2.2 1.1 0.8 0.9 – 1.3
Nd 10.4 – 6.0 9.3 8.0 5.3 12.5 6.5 5.0 5.3 5.6 7.2
Sm 3.4 – 2.5 3.2 2.7 2.0 4.1 2.4 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.4
Eu 1.3 0.1 0.9 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.4 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9
Gd 4.9 – 3.6 5 3.8 3.0 5.5 3.3 2.7 2.8 2.8 3.2
Tb 0.8 – – – 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.5 – 0.6
Dy 6.0 0.3 4.8 5.4 4.4 3.7 6.7 4.1 3.3 3.6 3.3 3.8
Ho 1.3 – – – 0.9 0.8 1.5 0.9 0.7 0.8 – 0.8
Tm 0.5 – – – 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.4 – 0.4
Yb 3.8 0.3 2.9 3.1 2.6 2.2 4.3 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.0 2.4
Lu 0.5 – – – 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.3 – 0.4

HFSE (ppm)
V 325 82 – – 231 208 430 251 285 271 245 226
Y 37 14 29 33 25 20 42 25 21 23 20 23
Zr 98 7 29 70 80 53 129 45 42 50 48 68
Hf 2.9 – – – 2.2 1.7 3.8 1.7 1.4 1.6 – 2.1
Nb 1.4 0.6 1.0 1.7 1.0 – 1.8 0.5 0.4 0.6 1.1 1.1
Ta – – – – – – – 0.05 0.04 0.05 – 0.09

LILE (ppm)
Rb – 1.0 2.0 1.3 – – – 2.6 0.2 0.2 2.8 2.4
Ba 8.5 5.0 4.0 11.0 – 51.1 9.7 10.3 10.3 9.2 18.5 2.0
Pb 0.6 – – – – – 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.3 – 0.6
Th – 0.2 – – 0.1 0.2 – 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
U 0.05 – – – – – 0.09 0.03 0.03 0.04 – 0.07
Sr 188 260 145 123 17 1080 17 107 31 164 200 256
a
L.O.I.—Loss on ignition.
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286 279

shows [La/Yb]CN of 0.7 and [La/Sm]CN of 0.6. These
rocks differ from the group 2 crustal rocks. As crust and
mantle at Jinlu massif are in fault contact (McDermid et
al., 2002), the mantle and crust could have a different
evolution (Göpel et al., 1984). When plotted in the
Wood’s (1980) discrimination diagram (Fig. 6), the
mafic intrusions of the mantle portion of the ophiolitic
massif plot in the same field as group 1 crustal rocks.
4.3.2. Peridotites
Trace elements and REE were used in order to
characterize these rocks. The peridotites given in
Table 4 are those which have concentrations of REE at
least two times higher than the detection limit for most
of the REE. Chondrite-normalized enlarged REE
patterns, including Ti, are shown in Fig. 8. Ti is
positioned according to Parkinson et al. (1992). Full
lines are used for samples with LOI values less than
6%, while dashed lines are used for samples with LOI
values higher than 6%. The compositional field for
Leg 125 peridotites (Parkinson et al., 1992) and
boninites (Hickey and Frey, 1982) are also shown for
reference. According to the shapes of these patterns,
two groups of peridotites can be distinguished.

Table 4
Major elements and REE content for representative analyses of YZSZ harzburgites
Location Group 1 peridotites Group 2 peridotites W-2a W-2b recom.
sample Lhase Qunrang Qunrang Bainang Dazhuqu values

01-LHA-22 01-LHA-25 01-QUN-06 01-QUN-07 01-BAI-12 01-DAZ-02 01-DAZ-03

Oxides (wt.%)
SiO2 43.4 43.2 39.2 39.4 39.6 44.0 42.7
Al2O3 2.2 2.7 1.9 0.9 0.7 1.3 0.4
Fe2O3 8.1 7.6 5.9 7.4 6.9 8.6 7.1
MnO 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
MgO 42.0 37.6 38.6 39.2 39.0 44.5 47.2
CaO 2.2 3.0 0.3 0.1 0.1 1.4 0.5
Na2O 0.1 0.1 0.1 – – – 0.1
K2O – – – – 0.0 – 0.1
TiO2 0.03 0.05 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
P2O5 – – – – – – –
L.O.I.c 1.5 5.6 12.8 13.2 13.6 0.1 0.8
TOTAL 99.5 100.0 98.7 100.3 100.0 100.2 99.0
Mg# 86.5 82.5 86.3 83.6 84.4 83.2 83.3

REE (ppm)
La 0.026 0.016 0.013 0.073 0.012 0.022 0.016 11.843 11.4
Ce – 0.006 0.005 0.013 0.003 0.005 – 23.285 24
Pr 0.007 0.051 0.047 0.062 0.016 0.023 0.004 4.750 5.9
Nd 0.04 0.048 0.049 0.012 0.004 0.005 0.016 13.701 14
Sm 0.031 0.026 0.022 0.005 0.003 0.002 0.004 3.229 3.25
Eu 0.018 0.109 0.096 0.018 0.009 0.009 0.001 1.227 1.1
Gd 0.078 0.031 0.027 0.004 0.003 0.004 0.006 3.571 3.6
Tb 0.022 0.270 0.237 0.037 0.030 0.046 0.002 0.657 0.63
Dy 0.211 0.062 0.054 0.010 0.008 0.014 0.014 4.268 3.8
Ho 0.051 0.211 0.175 0.037 0.031 0.055 0.004 0.841 0.76
Tm 0.032 0.037 0.032 0.007 0.007 0.011 0.003 0.395 0.38
Yb – 0.213 0.174 0.048 0.044 0.076 – 2.115 2.05
Lu 0.035 0.038 0.030 0.010 0.009 0.015 0.005 0.344 0.33
REE contents were obtained from the 2001 second analytical run.
a
W-2 values were obtained during 2001 second analytical run.
b
W-2 recommended values (recom. values) are found in Govindaraju (1994).
c
L.O.I.=Loss on ignition.
280 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
4.3.2.1. Group 1 peridotites. These peridotites are
from the Lhase and Qunrang massifs. Their REE
patterns show a progressive depletion from Lu to
Pr, with a slight increase towards La and with [La/
Yb]CN between 0.05 and 0.10 and [La/Sm]CN
between 0.2 and 0.5. All the samples show
negative Ti anomalies. Compared to typical N-
MORB-like mantle (McCulloch and Bennett, 1994),
YZSZ group 1 peridotites have a negative Ti
anomaly and a more pronounced depletion in
LREE.
4.3.2.2. Group 2 peridotites. These peridotites were
collected at Qunrang, Bainang and Dazhuqu mas-
sifs. Their REE patterns are less uniform than those
of group 1 peridotites. All samples display a U-
shaped REE pattern (Fig. 8) with [La/Yb]CN
between 0.2 and 1.1 and [La/Sm]CN between 1.9
and 3.9 and display a negative Ti anomaly. LREE
enrichment in these peridotites is similar to LREE
enrichment observed in group 2 lavas. The shape of
their REE pattern differs from N-MORB-like
mantle. The low REE abundances and their U-
shaped patterns are similar to those of forearc
peridotites from the Marianas and Izu-Bonin regions
(Parkinson et al., 1992). The patterns are also
similar to those of boninites (e.g., Hickey and Frey,
1982), although they have much lower absolute
concentrations.
Fig. 8. REE+Ti content of some YZSZ peridotites normalized to C1 (Sun and McDonough, 1989). Composition for the oceanic mantle is from
McCulloch and Bennett (1994), and composition for Leg 125 peridotites is from Parkinson et al. (1992). Boninites field is drawn from Hickey
and Frey (1982).
5. Discussion
5.1. REE modelling
To explore the partial melting processes involved
in formation of these ophiolitic rocks, modelling of
REE abundances was performed, assuming a N-
MORB-like mantle source that undergoes batch
melting to form the residual YZSZ peridotites. For
the calculations, the equations of Shaw (1970) for
modal batch melting and the distribution coefficients
of Ewart et al. (1994) were used. The assumed
elemental abundances of a depleted oceanic mantle
source were taken from McCulloch and Bennett
(1994) and mineral proportions of a spinel peridotite
mantle from Maaloe and Aoki (1977).
Percentages of partial melting were estimated from
the less mobile HREE since the contents of LREE in
peridotites could have been modified by a slab-
derived fluid phase (Tatsumi et al., 1986) or later
stages of metasomatism (O’Reilly et al., 1991).
Results show that 7–12% partial melting of a N-
MORB-like source produces a residue with REE
content similar to those of group 1 peridotites (Fig
9A). For group 2 peridotites, 20–30% partial melting
of the same source is inferred (Fig. 9B). Using a
different method, Parkinson et al. (1992) suggested
that more incompatible element-depleted Leg 125
forearc peridotites are results of 20–25% of partial
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286 281

partial melting of a fertile mantle source to generate

the group 1 peridotite. Another group of spinels from
group 2 peridotites suggests that these rocks are
residue after the source underwent 20–30% partial
melting. These results are in very good agreement
with the calculated REE distributions.

5.2. Geodynamic implications

Integration of our petrological and geochemical

data as well as paleontological and radiometric ages
from literature and modeling results allow us to
propose a geodynamical model for these ophiolites.
Petrological and geochemical data imply that, in the
YZSZ ophiolites, there are two groups of mafic rocks
and two groups of peridotitic rocks. Crustal mafic
rocks of the western part of the studied segment
(group 1) are about 120 Ma old. Göpel et al. (1984)
obtained 120F10 Ma with U–Pb radiometric meth-
ods, and Zyabrev et al. (1999) reported late Barre-
mian/Early Aptian–Early Albian ages for radiolarites
overlying the volcanic rocks. This rock-group has
back-arc basin geochemical affinity, and the rocks

Fig. 9. Results of the REE modelling on peridotites. Oceanic mantle

from McCulloch and Bennett (1994). Equations from Shaw (1970)
for modal batch melting, and Kds from Ewart et al. (1994) were
used. (A) Results of the REE modelling for group 1 peridotites.
Seven percent to 12% partial melting of an oceanic mantle is
inferred. (B) Results of the REE modelling for group 2 peridotites.
Twenty percent to 30% partial melting of an oceanic mantle is
inferred.

melting of an N-MORB. The calculated LREE values

do not match the LREE content of group 2 peridotites
because of their LREE enrichment by metasomatic
fluids.
Results of the REE model calculations are com-
pared to Cr# in spinels from peridotites in Fig. 10,
which shows the curve of Hirose and Kawamoto
(1995) for wet partial melting together with the
composition of spinels from the peridotites used for
petrogenetic modelling. A wet partial melting curve
was employed because we assumed that water was Fig. 10. Mg/(Mg+Fe2+) vs. Cr/(Cr+Al) content of spinels from
peridotites used for REE modelling. Partial melting curve from
present during peridotite melting (cf. Tatsumi et al., Hirose and Kawamoto (1995). This figure shows that partial melting
1986; Gaetani, 1998). In Fig. 10, spinels from sample estimated by spinel composition is in good agreement with partial
01-LHA-22 (group 1 peridotites), suggest about 10% melting estimated by REE modelling.
282 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286

were formed within a deep basin which opened above
a north-dipping intraoceanic subduction zone in the
Tethys ocean. This contradicts previously proposed
models of formation of these rocks at a midoceanic
ridge (Nicolas et al., 1981; Xiao, 1984; Girardeau et
al., 1985a; Girardeau and Mercier, 1988). Aitchison et
al. (2000) also invoked the formation of YZSZ
ophiolites in a suprasubduction setting, but they did
not present geochemical data. The REE patterns of
these rocks show LREE depletion compared to HREE
content. Their multielement plots exhibit significant
negative anomalies of Ti, Nb and Ta, which indicate
an arc component in the rocks (Pearce and Cann,
1973; Pearce and Norry, 1979). These anomalies are
more pronounced in the rocks of the eastern massifs
than in rocks from the western massifs. This suggests
that the arc signature as well as the contribution from
the subducted slab in the formation of these rocks
becomes more prominent towards the east. The crustal
rocks from Dazhuqu and Jinlu massifs in the eastern-
most part of the studied area have an intraoceanic arc
affinity and were probably a part of an ancient
intraoceanic arc. We propose that the back-arc basin-
arc system was produced by an intraoceanic sub-
duction zone dipping to the north.
Peridotites from the western part of the segment,
i.e., from Lhase and Qunrang massifs, belong to the
first group of ultramafic rocks. These peridotites
probably represent a residue left after 7–12% partial
melting of a N-MORB-like mantle source. The
second group of peridotites is from the eastern
segment, from the Qunrang, Bainang and Dazhuqu
massifs, and they were probably formed by 20–30%
partial melting of an oceanic mantle. This is suggested
by low HREE abundances and high Cr# of spinels
varying from 0.41 to 0.62 (Fig. 10). Their U-shaped
REE patterns imply that metasomatic silicate fluids
percolated through these peridotites (Bodinier et al.,
1990). Sakai et al. (1990) inferred that dehydration of
the descending slab could produce metasomatic fluids

Fig. 11. Schematic reconstruction of YZSZ ophiolites intraoceanic setting (not to scale). Modified after Yin and Harrison (2000). Diachronic
convergence is occurring between India and the Lhasa Block. Northward subduction in the Tethys Ocean occurs during the Cretaceous. This
subduction is closely related to the formation of YZSZ crustal ophiolites, which show intraoceanic arc or back-arc basin signatures. In the
eastern part of the studied area, crustal portions of the Jinlu massif and part of the Dazhuqu massif have intraoceanic arc signatures. The crustal
rocks of the western segment (Jiding, Beimarang, Qunrang and Bainang massifs as well as a part of the Dazhuqu massif) have a back-arc basin
signature. These massifs show an increase of arc contribution from west to east. The back-arc basins were displaced by sinistral faults. Hence,
the crustal portion of the western ophiolitic massifs was generated in pull-apart basins near the Lhasa Block margin. If the ophiolitic mantle is
cogenetic to the crust, peridotites from the mantle wedge were more or less metasomatised by fluids coming from the dehydration of the
subducted slab. However, it is still not clear whether the peridotites and the crustal rocks are genetically linked. A second subduction occurred
between 120 and 30 Ma (Yin and Harrison, 2000), when oceanic crust of the Tethys ocean subducted under the Lhasa Block. This subduction
generated the Gangdese plutons and mostly postdates intraoceanic subduction.
 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
that would form U-shaped peridotites in the mantle
wedge.
Although there is an eastward increase in a degree
of partial melting and metasomatic enrichment in the
mantle and crustal rocks, it is possible that the crustal
and mantle ophiolites are not genetically related.
Göpel et al. (1984) argued that peridotitic and basaltic
rocks were tectonically juxtaposed. Parkinson et al.
(1992) noted that harzburgites from suprasubduction
zone ophiolites as well as Leg 125 peridotites rarely
show any obvious relationship to spatially related
lavas as far as their trace elements are concerned.
Fig. 11 presents a schematic reconstruction of the
YZSZ ophiolites before their emplacement on Indian
terranes. The ophiolitic massifs were formed in
response to an intraoceanic subduction, which was
active at least during the Early Cretaceous (Wang et
al., 2000; Aitchison et al., 2000; Zyabrev et al., 1999;
Göpel et al., 1984). This subduction was north-
dipping (Allègre et al., 1984; Aitchison et al.,
2000), and recent tomographic images seem to
confirm the presence of the ancient subducted slab
beneath India (Van der Voo et al., 1999). An
intraoceanic arc, represented by the Jinlu massif and
part of the Dazhuqu massif, was formed in the eastern
part of the studied field. A back-arc basin opened
behind the Jinlu massif, forming the other ophiolitic
massifs. Since the collision between India and Eurasia
was not orthogonal, sinistral strike-slip motion most
likely occurred behind the subduction zone, causing
relative displacement between the different pull-apart
extensional basins. Pozzi et al. (1984) noted the
presence of sinistral shear zones in the ultramafic part
of the ophiolite, interpreted as incipient thrust zones
formed along transform faults. We suggest that a
subduction process was already ongoing at that time.
Basins and ophiolitic massifs situated to the west of
the studied sequence contain progressively less an arc
component in their source. Further west along the
suture zone, the Yungbwa ophiolite shows a N-
MORB chemistry (Miller et al., 2003). In the studied
area, eastern ophiolitic massifs formed closer to the
active arc axis.
Further compression was accommodated by a
second Andean-type subduction of Tethyan litho-
sphere under the Lhasa Block. This subduction
generated calcalkaline intrusives and extrusives of
the Gangdese arc. The plutons were dated between
283
120 and 30 Ma (Yin and Harrison, 2000). This
episode of plutonic activity mostly postdates the
intraoceanic subduction and started shortly after
pull-apart back-arc basins formed.
6. Conclusions
The new geodynamic model proposed for YZSZ
ophiolites suggests that these rocks were formed in a
marginal basin that developed by subduction of the
Tethys ocean, in response to the convergence of India
and Eurasia. Active intraoceanic convergence may
have begun at least 155 Ma. Peridotites and Early
Cretaceous mafic crustal rocks can each be divided
into two groups. Crustal rocks from the western part
of the YZSZ ophiolites (Jiding, Beimarang, Qunrang
and Bainang massifs and part of the Dazhuqu massif)
have back-arc basin affinities, while rocks from the
eastern portion of the segment (Jinlu massif and part
of the Dazhuqu massif) represent the adjacent arc-like
environment. Peridotites underlying these crustal
rocks are heterogeneous, showing diverse degrees of
melting and mantle metasomatism. Peridotites from
the western part of the ophiolite (Lhase and part of the
Qunrang massif) underwent slight partial melting (7–
12%), while those from the eastern portion (Bainang
and Dazhuqu massifs and part of the Qunrang massif)
underwent higher degrees of partial melting (20–30%)
and show evidence of stronger metasomatic enrich-
ment ([La/Sm]CN varies from 1.9 to 3.9). Metasomatic
enrichment was more pronounced in the eastern part
than in the western part of the ophiolite since [La/
Nb]CN in the crustal ophiolitic rocks varies from 2.5 to
4.7 in rocks from Jiding to Dazhuqu, respectively.
This may correspond to their initial position relative to
the arc, the massif more influenced by the presence of
the downgoing slab being closer to the active arc axis.
The episode of subduction and opening of a back-arc
basin that led to the formation of YZSZ ophiolites is
an early step in the convergence between India and
Eurasia. Further convergence was accommodated by
north-directed subduction of Tethyan lithosphere
under the Lhasa Block, which produced plutons and
volcanics of the Gangdese arc. These rocks have the
same age or are younger than those in YZSZ
ophiolites (120–30 Ma) according to Yin and Harrison
(2000).
284 V. Dubois-Côté et al. / Chemical Geology 214 (2005) 265–286
Several lines of evidence show that subduction was
involved in the genesis of the YZSZ ophiolites. They
are remnants of a marginal intraoceanic transtensional
basin created in response to the convergence of India
and Eurasia. Intraoceanic subduction was initiated as
early as Late Jurassic (McDermid et al., 2002). The
ophiolites are younger and formed by Early Creta-
ceous time. A suprasubduction zone setting is now
inferred for the formation of these ophiolites. Such a
setting has also been proposed by Hébert et al. (1999,
2000), Huot et al. (2002) and Aitchison et al. (2000).
The model is significantly different from those
proposed in the 1980s since it was then believed that
YZSZ ophiolites formed in small basins related to a
slow-spreading midocean ridge located near the
Eurasian paleocontinent (Nicolas et al., 1981; Xiao,
1984; Girardeau et al., 1984; Pozzi et al., 1984;
Girardeau et al., 1985a; Girardeau and Mercier, 1988).
This work provides an additional example of an
ophiolitic crust formed in a marginal basin that
developed over a subduction zone.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by NSERC/Grant no.
1253 to R.H. We would like to thank C. Guilmette from
GÉO-Team at Université Laval for helpful discussions.
We are also grateful to J.Bédard, M. Constantin, S.-L.
Chung, F. Huot, R. Rudnick and G.P. Yumul for review
of the initial version of this paper. [RR]
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