Li, Cheng, Ma, Lin, Kerr, Andrew C.  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5569-4730, Wang, Qiang, Yu, Zhiwei and Qiao, Wei
2026.
Late cretaceous large-scale melting of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab in southern Tibet.
Lithos
540-41
, 108635.
10.1016/j.lithos.2026.108635
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Abstract
The role of oceanic crustal melting in arc magmatism remains debated due to thermal constraints (> 800 °C) and limited observations. We present evidence from a newly identified 500 km-long adakite belt in the Neo-Tethyan subduction zone, southern Tibet, showing that adakites originated from melting of Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust, with minor sediment contributions, followed by mantle interaction and fractional crystallization. An E-W trending, high-temperature (> 800 °C), hydrous (H₂O > 3 wt%) magmatic zone, N-S geochemical-petrological zonation, and magma migration toward the suture, coeval with Late Cretaceous magmatic flare-up, are attributed to enhanced thermal gradients and slab dehydration during Neo-Tethyan rollback. Subduction decarbonation modulated magma composition via water activity, while differential melting of upper/lower oceanic crust influenced arc geochemistry and mantle heterogeneity. These findings bridge slab-scale dynamics with melt generation, offering a unified framework for understanding arc magma composition, continental evolution, and mantle heterogeneity.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Additional Information: | RRS policy applied |
| Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
| ISSN: | 0024-4937 |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 8 June 2026 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 20 May 2026 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Jun 2026 10:30 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187470 |
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