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The complex life cycle of oceanic lithosphere: A study of Yarlung-Zangbo

ophiolitic peridotites, Tibet

Article  in  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · March 2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2020.03.024

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Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
www.elsevier.com/locate/gca

The complex life cycle of oceanic lithosphere: A study of

Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolitic peridotites, Tibet
Yong Xu a, Jingao Liu a,⇑, Qing Xiong b, Ben-Xun Su c, James M. Scott d, Bo Xu a
Di-Cheng Zhu a, D. Graham Pearson e
a
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
b
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
c
Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
d
Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
e
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada

Received 16 October 2019; accepted in revised form 17 March 2020; Available online 31 March 2020

Abstract

The ultramafic mantle sections of the Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolites (YZO) along the suture of India and Asia in Tibet pre-
serve 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/188Os = 0.126),
mixed with more ancient mantle domains (187Os/188Os: 0.113–0.121, with model ages up to 2.2 Ga), probably through sub-
duction or delamination of older lithosphere prior to its re-encapsulation into Mesozoic oceanic lithosphere. Whole-rock
major and trace elements indicate that this composite mantle lithosphere experienced moderate to high degrees (10–30%)
of partial melting in the Permian-Triassic, possibly due to the rifting of the back-arc basin in the northern margin of East
Gondwana and the opening of Neo-Tethys. However, the generally flat primitive upper mantle-normalized highly siderophile
element patterns do not match the depleted lithophile element characteristics. Sub-vertical (Pd/Ir)N-Al2O3 variations, coupled
with the occurrence of variable amounts of interstitial base metal sulfides (BMS) and correlations with (Pd/Ir)N and Cu con-
tents, indicate the addition of S-saturated (or BMS-rich) melts or fluids into this oceanic lithosphere. This may have occurred
at 130–120 Ma during a new episode of Neo-Tethyan subduction, during which S-saturated forearc basaltic magmas were
produced and subsequently overprinted the overlying peridotitic lithospheric mantle. The Tibetan YZO illustrate the complex
life cycle of ophiolitic peridotites related to multi-stage regional tectonic events, and provide insights into understanding geo-
dynamic mechanisms that have operated in the Earth’s upper mantle.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolitic peridotites; HSE abundances; Os isotopic compositions; Neo-Tethys ocean

1. INTRODUCTION composition of the mantle (cf., Hofmann, 1997; Herzberg,

Multiple mantle processes (e.g., lithospheric recycling,
convective mixing, melt extraction and mantle metasoma-
tism) have worked together to change the structure and
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: jingao@cugb.edu.cn (J. Liu).
2004; Bodinier and Godard, 2014; Becker and Dale,
2016). These processes are linked to plate tectonics and
are crucial for understanding the geochemical evolution
and geodynamic mechanism of the Earth’s upper mantle.
Much progress has been made in the study of mantle geo-
chemistry, such as the composition of the primitive mantle
(e.g., Becker et al., 2006; Day et al., 2017), the scales and

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.03.024
0016-7037/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
176 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
causes of mantle heterogeneity (e.g., Rampone and
Hofmann, 2012; O’Driscolla et al., 2018), the isotopic mis-
match between oceanic crust and mantle (e.g., Alard et al.,
2005; Xiong et al., 2020), and even the mixing history of
late accretion (e.g., Morgan et al., 2001; van de Löcht
et al., 2018). However, the link between mantle processes
and tectonic evolution remains unclear because of the diffi-
culty in directly observing the mantle.
With often well-preserved mantle profiles and field con-
text, ophiolitic peridotites provide an opportunity to study
mantle processes and tectonic events recorded in them.
Ophiolites represent slivers of oceanic lithosphere obducted
onto continental margins (Dilek and Furnes, 2014). Com-
pared to mantle xenoliths and abyssal peridotites, they
may convey more information about tectonic environments
(Pearce, 2014) and can contain an entire record from for-
mation, accretion to modification of lithosphere (e.g.,
Xiong et al., 2016; Scott et al., 2019). However, ophiolitic
peridotites are often strongly serpentinized. Unlike litho-
phile elements and their radioactive isotopes, the absolute
and relative abundances of the highly siderophile elements
(HSE, here including: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd and Re) and the
Re-Os isotope system are relatively resistant to secondary
alteration processes. Moreover, the fractionation of the
HSE and the long-term evolution of the 187Re-187Os decay
system have the potential to identify mantle processes
which link to different tectonic events (Pearson et al.,
2004; Rudnick and Walker, 2009).
The mantle section of Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolites
(YZO) in southern Tibet (Fig. 1A) is an ideal place to build
the connection between mantle processes and tectonic evo-
lution due to excellent profile and the context provided by
previous work on geochronology and geochemistry.
Uranium-Pb zircon dating of basalts, diabases, gabbros
and plagiogranites indicates that the crustal component
formed mainly at 130–120 Ma (e.g., Hébert et al., 2012;
Dai et al., 2013; Wu et al., 2014; Xiong et al., 2016).
Whole-rock and mineral major and trace element geochem-
istry of mantle and crustal rocks has led to diverse interpre-
Fig. 1. (A) Tectonic framework of Tibetan Plateau; (B) Geological map of the Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone (modified after Dai et al., 2013),
showing the distribution of ophiolitic massifs. Abbreviations: YZSZ, Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone; BNSZ, Bangong-Nujiang suture zone;
JSSZ, Jinshajiang suture zone; AKSZ, Anyimaqen-Kunlun suture zone; MBF, Main Boundary Fault; GCT, Great Counter thrust; ZGT,
Zhongba-Gyangze thrust; GT, Gangdese thrust.
tations of formation at mid-ocean ridge (MOR; e.g.,
Nicolas et al., 1981; Wu et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2014),
intra-oceanic supra-subduction zone (SSZ; e.g., Malpas
et al., 2003; Dai et al., 2013; Maffione et al., 2015), or from
MOR to SSZ (e.g., Zhou et al., 2005; Hébert et al., 2012;
Gong et al., 2016; Xiong et al., 2017).
In combination with petrology, mineralogy and whole-
rock geochemistry, we utilize HSE abundances and Re-Os
isotopic compositions to trace the evolution of YZO mantle
peridotites. We report the geochemistry and isotopes of 52
ophiolitic peridotites from 3 localities (Purang, Baigang,
Zedang; Fig. 1B) along the Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone
to supplement 85 published Re-Os data from another 4
localities (Cuobuzha, Dongbo, Dazhuqu and Luobusa;
Fig. 1B). We recognize three major mantle processes from
this compilation, including: mixing of the convective upper
mantle and the recycled ancient sub-continental litho-
spheric mantle (SCLM), followed by a regional melt extrac-
tion to form the oceanic lithosphere which was
subsequently involved in a forearc setting and then infil-
trated by S-saturated (or BMS (base metal sulfides)-rich)
melts. This phenomenon is reported on a 2000 km scale
for the first time, which provides important constraints on
the multi-stage evolution in the life cycle of ophiolitic ocea-
nic lithosphere.
2. GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND AND SAMPLES
The Tibetan Plateau is divided into several blocks by
major tectonic boundaries from north to south, including
the A’nemaqin-Kunlun, Jinshajiang, Bangong-Nujiang
(BNSZ), and Yarlung-Zangbo suture zones (YZSZ)
(Fig. 1A; Yin and Harrison, 2000; Dai et al., 2013). The
YZSZ extends for more than 2000 km across the southern
Tibet and marks the boundary between the Tethyan Hima-
laya from the Greater Indian continent and the Lhasa ter-
rane from the Asian continent. The BNSZ extends for more
than 1200 km across the central Tibet and separates the
Lhasa Terrane from the Qiangtang Terrane (Allégre
 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
et al., 1984; Yin and Harrison, 2000; Zhu et al., 2013).
Ophiolites occurring along these two suture zones represent
remnants of two different oceanic lithospheres known as the
Neo-Tethys ocean and the Paleo-Tethys ocean, respectively
(Zhu et al., 2013 and references therein). This study primar-
ily focuses on the ophiolites in YZSZ which record the sub-
duction of Neo-Tethys ocean and the subsequent
collision of India with Eurasia during the Late Cretaceous
to early Cenozoic (e.g., Aitchison et al., 2011; Hébert
et al., 2012).
The YZO crop out discontinuously as a string of ophi-
olitic massifs that can be divided into the western, central
and eastern segments (Hébert et al., 2012). The western
YZO are mainly distributed in the regions from Dajiweng
to Zhongba (Fig. 1B), and are further grouped into two
ophiolite subbelts which are separated by the Zhongba Ter-
rane (Dai et al., 2011). The ophiolitic rocks in the southern
subbelt, such as the Dongbo (400 km2) and Purang
(700 km2) massifs, are known for occurrences of abun-
dant fresh mantle peridotites but fewer dykes and lavas.
The central YZO occur continuously from Saga to Renbu
(Fig. 1B), and are also referred as the Xigaze ophiolites
(comprising ophiolitic massifs in Jiding, Luqu, Qunrang,
Deji, Baigang and Dazhuqu), which possess well-
preserved profiles of mantle to crustal rocks together with
the overlying sedimentary strata (Dai et al., 2013). The east-
ern YZO include the Zedang, Luobusa and the east syntaxis
massifs (Fig. 1B). The Luobusa massif is famous as the lar-
gest chromite deposit in China (Zhou et al., 1996). The 52
peridotite samples of this study were collected from the
western (Purang; n = 24), central (Baigang; n = 17) and
eastern (Zedang; n = 11) YZO (Fig. 1B). Considering that
some dunites and chromitites could be products of melt-
rock reaction (e.g., Zhou et al., 1996; Shi et al., 2007), we
selected only lherzolites and harzburgites for this study.
The peridotites from Purang and Zedang have been
petrologically described in detail by Su et al. (2015, 2019)
and Gong et al. (2016, 2020), and Xiong et al. (2016,
2017), respectively. Although the selected twelve lherzolites
and twelve harzburgites from Purang have been variably
serpentinized, some show well-preserved coarse equigranu-
lar to porphyroclastic microscopic textures, and have min-
eral assemblages comprising olivine, orthopyroxene,
clinopyroxene and spinel (Su et al., 2015). The seven lherzo-
lites and four harzburgites from Zedang are relatively fresh,
consisting of porphyroblastic olivine, orthopyroxene
± clinopyroxene, as well as medium- to fine- grained matrix
of olivine + orthopyroxene ± clinopyroxene + spinel ± sul-
fide ± serpentine ± magnetite (Xiong et al., 2016). All Bai-
gang peridotites are spinel harzburgites, and the extent of
alteration is generally much higher than Purang and
Zedang. Porphyroclastic olivine and orthopyroxene grains
can be seen in the selected seventeen harzburgites (Fig. S1
in the Electronic Annex). Olivine grains commonly display
irregular shapes of embayment and undulose extinction or
interior kink bands. Orthopyroxene grains are euhedral to
subhedral, some with exsolution lamellae of clinopyroxene,
and occur in close spatial association with spinel. Spinel
usually appears as brown to dark red vermicular crystals.
In addition, sulfide abundances are variable in the YZO
177
peridotites, ranging from no visible sulfides to dozens of
sulfides per thin section (e.g., 17BG10). Enclosed and inter-
stitial base metal sulfides are present, although the latter are
more abundant than the former. In these sulfides, pent-
landite is dominant relative to chalcopyrite (Fig. S1). Some
sulfide petrography has also been reported in previous stud-
ies (e.g., Xiong et al., 2017, 2020).
3. ANALYTICAL METHODS
Detailed analytical procedures used to produce the data
in this study, as well as analytical precision and accuracy,
are provided in the Electronic Annex. All analyses were
conducted at China University of Geosciences, Beijing,
and here we briefly summarize the methods: (1) Whole-
rock major element compositions were determined by an
inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer
(ICP-OES) and the analytical precision is 1–3% (e.g.,
Song et al., 2015); (2) Whole-rock trace element concentra-
tions were analyzed by a quadrupole inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometer (Q-ICP-MS) using external cali-
bration and Rh as an internal standard. The analytical
accuracy of USGS rock standards AGV-2, W-2, and
BHVO-2 was generally better than 5% within the accepted
values (e.g., Song et al., 2015); (3) Whole-rock HSE abun-
dance and Re-Os isotope analyses were conducted using
an isotope dilution technique coupled with Carius tube
aqua regia digestion. An appropriate amount of mixed iso-
topic spikes (including 99Ru, 105Pd, 185Re, 190Os, 191Ir,
194
Pt) was added to each sample powder (0.5–1.0 g), sealed
along with inverse Aqua Regia (1:2 ratio by volume of dis-
tilled 10 N HCl and purged 16 N HNO3) into a chilled
borosilicate Carius tube, and heated to 240 °C for 72 h.
Osmium was extracted from the acid solution using CCl4,
then back-extracted into HBr, and finally purified via
micro-distillation. Iridium, Ru, Pt, Pd and Re were sepa-
rated and purified by cation exchange column chromatog-
raphy using AG50 W-X8 resin (100–200 mesh) followed
by BPHA solvent extraction, in order to reduce the concen-
tration levels of interfering elements (see more details in Li
et al. (2014)). Osmium concentrations and isotopic compo-
sitions were determined by negative thermal ionization
mass spectrometry (N-TIMS), and the raw ratios were cor-
rected for oxygen isotope interferences using
17
O/16O = 0.0003749 and 18O/16O = 0.0020439 (Nier,
1950), spike reduction and mass-dependent fractionation
using 192Os/188Os = 3.08271 via the exponential law. All
other HSE abundances were measured by sector-field
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SE-ICP-
MS), and the raw data of each sample were corrected and
reprocessed offline in the following order: background,
oxide and isobaric interferences, instrumental mass frac-
tionation, and isotope dilution calculations. A rock stan-
dard UB-N was also repeatedly analyzed to evaluate the
reliability of our data. The measured 187Os/188Os ratio of
UB-N was 0.12742 ± 0.00007 (2r, n = 3), and the mea-
sured HSE concentrations were 3.71 ± 0.03 ppb for Os,
3.34 ± 0.11 ppb for Ir, 6.97 ± 0.19 ppb for Ru, 7.44
± 0.25 ppb for Pt, 5.93 ± 0.26 ppb for Pd, and 0.21
± 0.01 ppb for Re (2r, n = 3), which are identical within
178 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191

uncertainties to the analyzed results in literature (Ishikawa low Al2O3/SiO2 (compared to the PM values) generally
et al., 2014 and references therein). form good linear arrays, respectively (Fig. 2); 2) they gener-
ally have LREE-enriched spoon-shaped to U-shaped REE
4. RESULTS patterns and are depleted in HFSE and LILE (Fig. 3).

4.1. Whole-rock major and trace element compositions
Whole-rock major and trace element compositions of
the Purang and Zedang samples were reported by Su
et al. (2015) and Xiong et al. (2017), respectively, and thus
they are not described in detail here but summarized along
with other YZO ophiolites in Tables S1 and S2. All Baigang
harzburgites have very high LOI values (11.8–14.8 wt.%)
owing to strong serpentinization, and their anhydrous
whole-rock major element compositions are reported in
Table 1 and Fig. 2. These peridotites have low Al2O3
(0.63–1.39 wt.%), CaO (ranging from low (1.10–1.94 wt.
%) to extremely low (0.06–0.38 wt.%)), TiO2 (0.01–0.02
wt.%) and Na2O (0.02–0.06 wt.%) contents, and moderate
to high whole-rock Mg# (atomic Mg2+/[Mg2++Fe2+] 
100) of 89.7–91.6. Whole-rock trace element compositions
of the Baigang peridotites are presented in Table 2 and
Fig. 3. The primitive mantle-normalized rare earth elements
(REE) patterns for these harzburgites exhibit flat to spoon-
shaped patterns with slight to moderate LREE-enriched
signatures (Fig. 3A). Moreover, most samples have much
lower high field-strength element (HFSE, e.g., Nb, Ta, Zr,
Hf and Ti) and large-ion lithophile element (LILE, e.g.,
Rb, Ba and Sr) (Fig. 3B) contents compared to the primi-
tive mantle (PM; McDonough and Sun, 1995).
From the whole-rock data of all the YZO peridotites, it is
evident that the variable major and trace element composi-
tions of the central YZO (including Baigang) peridotites are
broadly similar to those from the western and eastern YZO,
such as: 1) their low CaO and Al2O3, high MgO/SiO2 and
4.2. Whole-rock HSE abundances and Re-Os isotopic
compositions
The Purang (western YZO) peridotites have variable
HSE abundances (Os: 1.83–8.70 ppb; Ir: 1.00–7.79 ppb;
Ru: 4.95–15.84 ppb; Pt: 2.60–27.26 ppb; Pd: 0.19–
14.34 ppb; and Re: 0.130–0.944 ppb; Table 3). While the
majority exhibit HSE patterns similar to that of the primi-
tive upper mantle (PUM; Becker et al., 2006), a few samples
display prominent to moderate PPGE (palladium-like plat-
inum group elements: Pt and Pd) depletion relative to IPGE
(iridium-like platinum group elements: Os, Ir and Ru)
(Fig. 4A). This matches their variable Pd/Ir and Pt/Ir
ratios, which range from a depleted range (CI chondrite-
normalized (Pd/Ir)N: 0.07–1.49; (Pt/Ir)N: 0.24–1.08) to an
enriched range ((Pd/Ir)N: 1.66–2.40; (Pt/Ir)N: 1.17–2.59)
(Table 3). Significant positive Pt anomalies occur
in PL1205-3 and PL1208-1 as indicated by their high
(Pt/Ir)N of 1.86 and 2.59, respectively. Compared to the
PUM value of 0.1296 (Meisel et al., 2001), the 187Os/188Os
(0.11267–0.13004, except 0.14472 for sample PL1205-4;
Table 3) is mostly less radiogenic. The Purang peridotites
fall into two Re-depletion mode age (TRD) groups: one
juvenile (0.07–0.92 Ga) group and an ancient (1.00–
2.16 Ga) group. The two samples with the oldest TRD ages
(PL1205-1: 2.16 Ga; PL1212-1: 2.04 Ga) are characterized
by extremely low (Pd/Ir)N values (0.07 and 0.44).
Unlike the Purang peridotites, the Baigang (central
YZO) peridotites have a relatively limited range of HSE
abundances (Os: 4.21–9.11 ppb; Ir: 2.93–5.90 ppb; Ru:

Table 1
Whole-rock major element compositions of the Baigang (central YZO) peridotites in southern Tibet.
Sample SiO2 TiO2 Al2O3 Fe2Oa3T MnO MgO CaO Na2O LOI Mg#b
17BG01 45.01 0.01 1.12 9.24 0.13 44.29 0.14 0.05 13.62 90.5
17BG02 44.04 0.01 1.18 9.22 0.12 43.94 1.44 0.05 12.37 90.4
17BG04 44.57 0.02 1.34 9.10 0.12 43.21 1.58 0.06 12.02 90.4
17BG08 44.86 0.01 1.33 8.81 0.12 42.88 1.94 0.04 11.84 90.6
17BG09 44.69 0.01 1.21 8.78 0.12 44.00 1.14 0.05 12.87 90.8
17BG10 43.96 0.01 1.06 8.80 0.12 44.75 1.25 0.04 13.06 91.0
17BG12 44.78 0.01 1.22 8.73 0.12 43.81 1.29 0.04 12.41 90.9
17BG13 44.25 0.01 1.13 8.77 0.12 44.59 1.10 0.03 13.71 91.0
17BG15 44.51 0.01 1.08 9.18 0.12 45.01 0.06 0.03 13.61 90.7
17BG16 44.94 0.01 1.35 8.96 0.12 42.99 1.60 0.03 11.88 90.5
17BG17 45.93 0.01 1.39 7.87 0.12 43.44 1.22 0.02 13.49 91.6
17BG18 45.41 0.01 1.03 9.27 0.14 43.89 0.23 0.02 13.57 90.4
17BG19 44.38 0.02 1.04 8.98 0.13 44.11 1.33 0.03 13.37 90.7
17BG22 44.22 0.02 0.96 8.33 0.11 45.06 1.26 0.04 13.39 91.5
17BG23 40.54 0.01 0.63 10.81 0.14 47.60 0.25 0.02 14.82 89.7
17BG24 44.56 0.01 1.38 8.81 0.12 43.70 1.38 0.03 12.32 90.8
17BG25 45.60 0.01 1.37 8.54 0.11 43.96 0.38 0.03 12.97 91.1
Note: Major elements are reported as anhydrous oxides with units of wt. %. The major element data for all other YZO peridotites reported in
literature are provided in Table S1.
a. Fe2O3T: total Fe.
b. Mg#: whole-rock molar Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)  100, assuming that all Fe is Fe2+.
 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
Fig. 2. Plot of bulk-rock anhydrous MgO/SiO2 vs. Al2O3/SiO2 (A)
and CaO vs. Al2O3 (B) of the YZO peridotites. The solid diamond,
circle and triangle represent samples which were used to analyze
HSE and Re-Os isotopes in this study, while the empty diamond,
circle and triangle are from literature (data sources are listed in
Table S1). The grey parallelogram and blue arrow in Fig. 2(A)
represent ‘Terrestrial array’ (Hart and Zindler, 1986). Estimated
compositions of primitive mantle (PM, McDonough and Sun,
1995) and depleted MORB mantle (DMM, Workman and Hart,
2005) are shown for comparison, as are the ranges of abyssal
peridotites (Niu, 2004). Melting trends in Fig. 2(B) are modeled by
polybaric (initial pressure at 25 kbar) near fractional melting and
isobaric (at pressure of 20 kbar) batch melting (Niu, 1997) of PM.
7.68–15.99 ppb; Pt: 3.65–11.26 ppb; Pd: 1.61–7.93 ppb; and
Re: 0.140–0.864 ppb; Table 3). Their HSE patterns are
characterized by nearly flat IPGE with some having Ru
positive anomalies. The moderately to slightly convex
downward features in PPGE + Re contrast to the Dazhuqu
peridotites, which have convex upwards PPGE patterns
(Fig. 4B; Liu et al., 2019). Such HSE variations are also
exhibited by the variable, relatively low (Pd/Ir)N (0.80–
1.67, only 17BG23 low to 0.45) and (Pt/Ir)N (0.57–1.41)
(Table 3). The 187Os/188Os ratios (0.12086–0.13027; Table 3)
of these samples are mostly lower than, or similar to, that of
179
PUM (0.1296). These peridotites yield TRD ages ranging
from near zero to 0.79 Ga with one sample 17BG23 of
1.02 Ga.
Like the Baigang peridotites, the variations of HSE
abundances of the Zedang (eastern YZO) peridotites are
also limited (Table 3). These samples have uniformly higher
IPGE abundances (Os: 4.11–8.50 ppb; Ir: 3.52–5.62 ppb;
and Ru: 7.56–9.91 ppb, only ZD1125 up to 16.17 ppb) than
those of PUM estimates, while their Pt (6.74–12.00 ppb)
and Pd (5.06–9.74 ppb) abundances are similar to the
PUM, except that one sample (ZD11-25) has low PPGE
abundances (Pt: 4.76 ppb; Pd: 1.67 ppb). Like the Purang
and Baigang, the Zedang peridotites show variable and
somewhat elevated Re abundances (0.071–0.641 ppb).
Moreover, the HSE patterns of the Zedang samples are
nearly flat (Fig. 4C) except that sample ZD11-25 has a
PPGE + Re-depleted pattern ((Pd/Ir)N: 0.24–2.19;
(Pt/Ir)N: 0.45–1.80; Table 3). The Zedang peridotites also
have a limited range of 187Os/188Os (0.12298–0.12702, only
ZD11-25 up to 0.13523; Table 3). Compared to the Purang
peridotites, the TRD ages of the Zedang peridotites are con-
centrated in a much younger range (0.15–0.73 Ga), which is
consistent with that reported by Lai et al. (2018).
5. DISCUSSION
5.1. Serpentinization and weathering
Ophiolitic peridotites commonly experience serpen-
tinization and/or weathering subsequent to their formation.
The YZO peridotites also exhibit evidence for various
degrees of alteration. For instance, the LOI values (near
zero to 14.8 wt.%; Table S1) and the amounts of serpentine
and magnetite increase for peridotites from the eastern to
the western and central YZO. Although these alteration
processes usually have little effect on relative abundances
of most major and trace elements in peridotites (e.g., Day
et al., 2017), the loss of some major elements (e.g., Si, Mg
and Ca) can also be observed (Fig. 2). For example, the
YZO peridotites mostly plot below the ‘terrestrial array’
(Hart and Zindler, 1986) in the Al2O3/SiO2-MgO/SiO2 dia-
gram (Fig. 2A), which could be ascribed to Mg loss during
seafloor weathering (e.g., Niu, 2004). The trend of extre-
mely low CaO contents (0.38 wt.%) compared to the
immobile Al2O3 (0.63–1.39 wt.%) in several central YZO
samples (Fig. 2B) has been interpreted to have resulted
from (sub)-surficial weathering (Ulven et al., 2017). Since
surficial oxidative weathering can potentially disturb at
least some of the HSE hosts (e.g., sulfides; Becker and
Dale, 2016), the altered areas of the specimens in this study
were identified and removed for processing the whole-rock
powders. Therefore, we consider only the influence of ser-
pentinization on whole-rock HSE abundances and Os iso-
topic compositions.
Becker and Dale (2016) have emphasized that serpen-
tinization of mantle peridotites occurs under reducing con-
ditions (owing to the production of H2 + CH4; e.g., Evans
et al. 2013) and that this process does not alter the HSE fea-
tures of the host phases (e.g., sulfides and alloys), thus
enabling the HSE to remain in low valences and be retained
Table 2

180
Whole-rock trace element compositions of the Baigang (central YZO) peridotites in southern Tibet.
Sample 17BG-
01 02 04 08 09 10 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 22 23 24 25
Li 0.90 2.05 1.68 2.47 1.15 1.63 2.30 0.26 0.86 3.16 1.47 0.68 1.78 0.18 0.08 6.00 2.11
P 40.3 23.7 23.5 38.8 71.8 51.5 51.1 10.1 47.4 75.5 54.2 107 42.4 53.9 67.6 58.2 36.5
K 346 313 366 370 506 610 484 51.0 481 493 515 1113 522 558 570 595 540
Sc 14.5 14.5 15.3 17.9 15.8 15.8 16.6 10.5 15.2 18.3 18.8 20.8 17.1 8.6 6.1 18.5 19.2
Ti 74.3 64.0 79.6 86.0 93.2 105 84.5 60.0 79.0 87.4 97.1 100 82.3 83.2 42.8 119 81.9
V 55.2 80.6 52.8 71.9 65.2 77.1 49.7 74.1 64.7 50.5 72.4 83.3 62.2 13.6 193 57.0 83.8
Cr 3116 3094 3086 3139 2962 3226 2736 2394 3056 3200 3408 3386 2880 2460 6518 3348 3496

Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191

Mn 867 882 876 911 917 898 916 788 852 903 883 1025 942 738 1070 956 720
Co 119 114 112 111 113 112 114 103 121 113 117 125 116 115 134 119 111
Ni 2212 2152 2138 2088 2164 2192 2170 1956 2234 2176 2268 2446 2246 2214 2416 2238 2150
Cu 20.4 21.1 23.6 20.7 18.3 57.7 17.8 22.6 19.0 23.3 11.4 14.6 19.1 14.0 18.6 23.6 19.5
Zn 70.1 64.1 60.2 73.1 72.7 83.5 66.3 50.3 67.6 64.6 54.5 71.0 57.4 57.3 78.2 61.5 57.8
Ga 1.18 1.15 1.26 1.27 1.20 1.17 1.16 0.917 1.20 1.27 1.37 1.27 1.11 0.844 1.09 1.37 1.45
Rb 0.166 0.121 0.113 0.141 0.269 0.490 0.196 0.056 0.256 0.179 0.166 0.311 0.189 0.219 0.205 0.152 0.252
Sr 1.94 0.435 1.50 0.821 1.01 3.22 0.594 0.725 2.60 2.15 1.31 1.05 1.63 1.38 0.87 1.00 7.98
Y 0.270 0.238 0.306 0.373 0.282 0.277 0.290 0.265 0.314 0.280 0.300 0.244 0.308 0.237 0.061 0.382 0.348
Zr 0.620 0.573 0.636 0.508 0.853 1.43 0.574 0.729 1.065 0.565 0.386 0.544 0.576 0.436 0.666 0.780 0.686
Nb 0.158 0.061 0.046 0.230 0.131 0.159 0.084 0.152 0.124 0.044 0.058 0.075 0.061 0.386 0.121 0.362 0.085
Cs 0.005 0.004 0.004 0.007 0.009 0.030 0.008 0.007 0.007 0.006 0.007 0.009 0.006 0.010 0.007 0.007 0.010
Ba 0.664 0.337 0.344 0.462 1.03 2.84 0.527 0.543 1.48 0.949 1.21 0.641 0.312 0.290 3.75 0.585 0.806
La 0.027 0.009 0.006 0.005 0.033 0.176 0.027 0.015 0.138 0.012 0.011 0.024 0.010 0.013 0.010 0.031 0.029
Ce 0.063 0.028 0.023 0.027 0.080 0.311 0.061 0.042 0.278 0.028 0.029 0.058 0.033 0.040 0.033 0.074 0.063
Pr 0.007 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.006 0.043 0.006 0.005 0.032 0.003 0.003 0.007 0.003 0.004 0.003 0.007 0.007
Nd 0.030 0.017 0.015 0.010 0.027 0.142 0.027 0.020 0.110 0.015 0.015 0.036 0.017 0.025 0.015 0.034 0.032
Sm 0.009 0.006 0.009 0.007 0.010 0.033 0.009 0.008 0.022 0.007 0.010 0.013 0.012 0.011 0.007 0.014 0.011
Eu 0.002 0.002 0.001 0.002 0.002 0.012 0.002 0.001 0.004 0.002 0.003 0.002 0.004 0.002 0.003 0.003 0.003
Gd 0.013 0.011 0.013 0.016 0.013 0.029 0.014 0.012 0.025 0.008 0.013 0.019 0.014 0.016 0.009 0.021 0.018
Tb 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.004 0.003 0.006 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.002 0.005 0.004
Dy 0.034 0.031 0.037 0.045 0.032 0.041 0.030 0.030 0.041 0.028 0.035 0.031 0.036 0.031 0.008 0.045 0.043
Ho 0.009 0.007 0.009 0.012 0.008 0.012 0.010 0.010 0.011 0.009 0.010 0.008 0.011 0.008 0.003 0.012 0.011
Er 0.037 0.032 0.041 0.048 0.035 0.036 0.037 0.035 0.040 0.036 0.040 0.033 0.043 0.032 0.008 0.049 0.043
Tm 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.009 0.007 0.009 0.007 0.008 0.007 0.008 0.008 0.006 0.008 0.006 0.002 0.009 0.008
Yb 0.057 0.052 0.062 0.071 0.057 0.054 0.058 0.056 0.060 0.058 0.067 0.051 0.060 0.048 0.016 0.069 0.063
Lu 0.010 0.009 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.013 0.010 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.012 0.010 0.010 0.008 0.003 0.011 0.011
Hf 0.014 0.013 0.014 0.012 0.022 0.035 0.013 0.018 0.026 0.013 0.010 0.013 0.013 0.010 0.016 0.019 0.015
Ta 0.012 0.004 0.004 0.023 0.008 0.011 0.005 0.014 0.009 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.004 0.024 0.012 0.041 0.008
Pb 0.124 0.129 0.036 0.059 0.255 2.253 0.454 0.130 0.414 0.199 0.155 0.078 0.082 0.257 0.125 0.135 0.429
Th 0.140 0.150 0.150 0.157 0.142 0.116 0.144 0.124 0.029 0.149 0.149 0.149 0.083 0.150 0.148 0.147 0.146
U 0.003 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.014 0.004 0.003 0.019 0.001 0.004 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.002 0.003
Note: Trace elements are reported in units of ppm. The trace element data for all other YZO peridotites from literature are provided in Table S2.
 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
Fig. 3. Primitive mantle (PM)-normalized rare earth element
patterns (A) and trace element patterns (B) of the YZO peridotites.
Fractional melting models follow Niu (2004) from a depleted
mantle source (Niu and Hékinian, 1997). PM values are from Sun
and McDonough (1989). Also plotted are literature data: western
YZO (Purang), light green shade; eastern YZO (Zedang), light red
shade. Data sources are listed in Table S2.
in the rocks. Although serpentinization may have occurred
when the oceanic lithosphere was still under the sea, the
extremely low contents of Os in seawater (Os concentra-
tions 10 5 ppb, 187Os/188Os  1; Levasseur et al., 1998)
mean that this should not affect 187Os/188Os ratios. Further-
more, correlations of LOI vs. HSE contents or 187Os/188Os
observed in these rocks (Fig. S2), indicate that serpentiniza-
tion did not modify the relative HSE abundances and Os
isotopic compositions of the YZO peridotites. Therefore,
it is likely that whole-rock HSE and Os isotope geochem-
istry of the YZO peridotites can be used to assess high-
temperature mantle processes.
5.2. Partial melting and metasomatism
The low Al2O3/SiO2 and high MgO/SiO2 ratios indi-
cate that the YZO peridotites mostly have more refractory
compositions than depleted MORB mantle (DMM)
(Fig. 2A). Such refractory compositions are similar to
depleted abyssal peridotites, but are distinct from fertile
orogenic peridotites (Bodinier and Godard, 2014). The
generally positive correlation between CaO and Al2O3
(Fig. 2B) of these samples could, however, be produced
by mantle melt extraction or silicate melt metasomatism/
refertilization. However, these peridotites plot in good
agreement with partial melting trends based on polybaric
181
fractional melting and isobaric batch melting models
(Fig. 2B; Niu, 1997). Furthermore, the depletion in incom-
patible and relatively immobile trace elements (e.g., Nb,
Ta, Zr, Hf and HREE; Fig. 3) also suggests that the
YZO peridotites are residues after melt extraction. In spite
of the enrichment of LREE, a near-fractional melting
model from Niu (2004) can well expain the abundances
of MREE and HREE, which indicates that the YZO peri-
dotites have experienced moderate to high degrees (10–
30%) of partial melting (Fig. 3A). Therefore, we conclude
that melt extraction played a major role in determining the
chemical compositions of the YZO peridotites, consistent
with previous studies (e.g., Dai et al., 2011, 2013; Liu
et al., 2012, 2014; Gong et al., 2016; Xiong et al., 2016,
2017; Su et al., 2019).
On the basis of contrasting behavior among HSE (i.e.,
incompatibility or preferential removal in the order of
Re > Pd > Pt > Ir  Ru  Os; Pearson et al., 2004), the
HSE patterns of mantle residues often exhibit PPGE
+ Re depletions relative to IPGE. However, the PUM-
normalized HSE patterns of most YZO peridotites are
nearly flat, especially for those from the central and eastern
segments (Fig. 4). Such limited depletions or enrichments of
PPGE relative to IPGE cannot match their moderate to
high degrees of partial melting. The indices of PPGE/IPGE
fractionation, such as (Pd/Ir)N and (Pt/Ir)N ratios, in com-
bination with an indicator of depletion by melting such as
bulk Al2O3 contents, can be used to evaluate the influence
of partial melting on HSE fractionation and also deduce
the effect of metasomatic alteration (e.g., Liu et al., 2010).
Unlike the positive trend presented by (Pt/Ir)N and
(Pd/Ir)N (Fig. 5A), there is no robust correlation between
(Pd/Ir)N and Al2O3 (Fig. 5B). Distinct from lithophile ele-
ments, the HSE in mantle peridotites are mainly hosted
by base metal sulfides and/or rare platinum group alloys,
and thus the composition and abundance of sulfides pre-
dominantly control their behavior (Lorand and Luguet,
2016 and references therein). This can explain why correla-
tions are only exhibited between (Pt/Ir)N and (Pd/Ir)N,
which presumably reflect their similar hosts of Pt and Pd
in the peridotites (Fig. 5A), but not between (Pd/Ir)N and
Al2O3 (Fig. 5B). Therefore, the co-variation between
(Pt/Ir)N and (Pd/Ir)N does not necessarily represent the
melt extraction process despite most samples plotting along
a common fractional melting curve (Fig. 5A).
Modelling results indicate that some YZO peridotites
plot within the fractional melting field at different sulfide
melt-silicate melt partition coefficients (Dsulfide/silicate)
(Fig. 5B; Fleet et al., 1999; Marchesi et al., 2013). However,
a significant number of samples have higher (Pd/Ir)N for a
given Al2O3 when compared to the well-preserved orogenic
massif peridotites (Fig. 5B; Liu et al., 2010, 2020 and refer-
ences therein). Orogenic massif peridotites usually display
good correlations between (Pd/Ir)N, (Pt/Ir)N and other
lithophile depletion indices (e.g., Al2O3), because they are
mainly the products of mantle partial melting and often free
of the influence of severe secondary metasomatism
(Bodinier and Godard, 2014). Therefore, the decoupling
of (Pd/Ir)N and Al2O3 for the YZO peridotites may not
be simply ascribed to different melting processes with vari-
Table 3

182
Highly siderophile element abundances and Os isotope compositions of the Yarlung-Zangbo ophiolitic peridotites in southern Tibet.
Sample Os (ppb) Ir (ppb) Ru (ppb) Pt (ppb) Pd (ppb) Re (ppb) (Pd/Ir)N (Pt/Ir)N Re/188Os
187 187
Os/188Os 2r (187Os/188Os)i cOs(t) TRD (Ga)
Western YZO (Purang)
PL1202-1 3.41 3.21 6.45 5.70 4.81 0.258 1.21 0.94 0.364 0.12643 0.00001 0.12565 1.92 0.35
PL1202-2 4.12 3.80 7.49 9.86 7.78 0.351 1.66 1.38 0.411 0.12849 0.00001 0.12760 0.39 0.07
PL1204-11 4.68 4.67 9.27 10.95 13.06 0.399 2.27 1.24 0.411 0.12709 0.00003 0.12619 1.49 0.27
PL1204-11R 4.47 4.04 7.74 7.15 8.42 0.271 1.69 0.94 0.292 0.12717 0.00001 0.12653 1.22 0.22
PL1205-1 3.61 2.29 6.72 1.04 0.19 0.319 0.07 0.24 0.125 0.11295 0.00001 0.11267 12.04 2.16
PL1205-2 1.83 1.00 6.89 2.60 1.01 0.355 0.82 1.38 0.132 0.11599 0.00007 0.11570 9.68 1.74
PL1205-3 6.73 7.79 15.37 27.26 5.09 0.356 0.53 1.86 0.255 0.12472 0.00001 0.12416 3.07 0.56
PL1205-4 5.22 4.84 9.53 11.14 14.34 0.944 2.40 1.22 0.873 0.14661 0.00007 0.14472 12.97 2.42

Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191

PL1205-4-5 4.88 4.16 9.63 5.25 4.74 0.532 0.92 0.67 0.525 0.12328 0.00001 0.12214 4.65 0.84
PL1205-5 2.62 3.49 5.76 5.37 3.85 0.346 0.89 0.82 0.635 0.12817 0.00002 0.12680 1.02 0.19
PL1205-6 8.70 6.62 15.84 5.99 4.86 0.135 0.59 0.48 0.075 0.11848 0.00002 0.11832 7.64 1.38
PL1206-4 4.35 3.94 9.10 7.27 4.88 0.329 1.00 0.98 0.364 0.12744 0.00001 0.12665 1.13 0.21
PL1206-7 4.52 4.43 13.17 9.80 6.41 0.383 1.17 1.17 0.408 0.12781 0.00002 0.12693 0.92 0.17
PL1204-7 5.75 5.71 10.66 11.60 9.28 0.647 1.32 1.08 0.542 0.12537 0.00001 0.12420 3.04 0.55
PL1204-9 5.94 5.62 9.96 14.19 8.78 0.545 1.26 1.34 0.442 0.12632 0.00001 0.12536 2.14 0.39
PL1207-2 4.76 4.70 9.15 8.31 8.48 0.407 1.46 0.94 0.412 0.12663 0.00001 0.12574 1.84 0.34
PL1207-3 3.77 4.07 7.07 5.59 3.72 0.130 0.74 0.73 0.166 0.11816 0.00001 0.11780 8.04 1.45
PL1207-4 2.65 2.56 4.95 6.37 4.71 0.200 1.49 1.32 0.363 0.12752 0.00005 0.12674 1.06 0.19
PL1207-6 5.12 4.43 9.43 7.55 5.48 0.211 1.00 0.90 0.199 0.12148 0.00001 0.12105 5.50 1.00
PL1208-1 3.85 4.43 6.30 21.66 3.36 0.298 0.61 2.59 0.373 0.12237 0.00001 0.12156 5.10 0.92
PL1209-2 4.58 4.31 8.56 12.04 10.53 0.491 1.98 1.48 0.517 0.12944 0.00001 0.12832 0.17 0.03
PL1209-3 4.52 4.26 8.74 9.65 8.80 0.372 1.67 1.20 0.397 0.13090 0.00002 0.13004 1.52 0.28
PL1211-3 4.92 4.33 8.26 10.57 5.97 0.611 1.12 1.29 0.597 0.12800 0.00001 0.12671 1.09 0.20
PL1212-1 4.39 4.61 8.87 3.60 2.50 0.144 0.44 0.41 0.157 0.11391 0.00002 0.11357 11.34 2.04
PL1212-7 4.13 4.44 7.36 6.85 6.68 0.415 1.22 0.82 0.484 0.12172 0.00001 0.12067 5.80 1.05
Central YZO (Baigang)
17BG01 4.65 4.29 10.32 7.12 4.24 0.725 0.80 0.88 0.751 0.12553 0.00002 0.12390 3.28 0.60
17BG02 5.47 5.11 9.19 7.08 7.17 0.572 1.14 0.74 0.504 0.12701 0.00001 0.12591 1.71 0.31
17BG04 4.21 4.09 8.15 7.02 6.83 0.842 1.35 0.91 0.964 0.12725 0.00005 0.12516 2.30 0.42
17BG08 4.67 4.22 8.30 9.90 7.49 0.549 1.44 1.24 0.567 0.12829 0.00001 0.12706 0.81 0.15
17BG09 4.28 4.40 8.39 6.11 5.43 0.461 1.00 0.74 0.519 0.12367 0.00003 0.12254 4.34 0.79
17BG10 5.86 4.22 9.26 11.26 7.93 0.243 1.52 1.41 0.200 0.12542 0.00016 0.12499 2.43 0.44
17BG12 4.66 3.68 8.02 5.52 6.06 0.197 1.34 0.80 0.204 0.12564 0.00020 0.12520 2.26 0.41
17BG13 7.08 4.24 11.55 4.59 6.85 0.864 1.31 0.57 0.588 0.12213 0.00001 0.12086 5.65 1.02
17BG15 4.45 3.52 7.78 7.26 4.80 0.140 1.10 1.09 0.151 0.12519 0.00015 0.12487 2.53 0.46
17BG16 4.60 3.67 8.35 9.57 7.56 0.325 1.67 1.38 0.341 0.12757 0.00010 0.12683 0.99 0.18
17BG17 6.54 5.90 10.84 8.66 7.31 0.353 1.00 0.78 0.260 0.12861 0.00020 0.12804 0.05 0.01
17BG18 6.97 4.78 9.83 7.66 5.55 0.206 0.94 0.85 0.143 0.12603 0.00014 0.12572 1.86 0.34
17BG22 9.11 4.19 15.99 6.00 5.86 0.174 1.13 0.76 0.092 0.12858 0.00033 0.12838 0.22 0.04
17BG23 5.48 2.93 13.01 3.65 1.61 0.478 0.45 0.66 0.420 0.12690 0.00002 0.12599 1.65 0.30
17BG24 4.61 4.25 7.68 6.24 6.52 0.414 1.24 0.78 0.433 0.12554 0.00001 0.12461 2.73 0.50
 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191 183

Rhenium-depletion Os model ages (TRD) are calculated using the ordinary chondritic mantle reference (187Os/188Os = 0.1283, 187Re/188Os = 0.422; Horan et al., 2003), along with kRe = 1.666 -
ous Dsulfide/silicate, but most likely reflects metasomatic pro-
cesses caused by melt infiltration.
0.31

1.03
0.18
0.17
0.19
0.15
0.67
0.40
0.23
0.20
0.73
0.33
0.31
0.20
Moderate to high degrees of partial melting and metaso-
matic characteristics of these peridotites are believed as the
evidence of an arc-related setting (Zhou et al., 2005; Dai
0.99
0.93
1.07
0.84
3.70
2.18
1.24
1.11
4.00
1.79
1.68
1.12
et al., 2011, 2013; Xiong et al., 2016, 2017; Su et al.,
1.69

5.57
2019), which is also exemplified by the plot of the olivine-
spinel mantle array (OSMA; Fig. S3). With regards to the
types of percolating melts in forearc systems, the main
occurrences are boninitic melts (e.g., Zhou et al., 2005;
0.13027

0.12683
0.12692
0.12673
0.12702
0.12336
0.12530
0.12651
0.12668
0.12298
0.12581
0.12595
0.12667
0.13523
Dai et al., 2011, 2013) and forearc basaltic melts (e.g.,
Xiong et al., 2017). Boninitic melts are produced by partial
melting of refractory harzburgites that were hydrated by
0.00011

0.00008
0.00013
0.00008
0.00013
0.00008
0.00008
0.00008
0.00008
0.00008
0.00014
0.00008
0.00008
0.00009
slab-derived fluids (König et al., 2010; Senda et al., 2016)
and they are characterized by depletion in HFSE and
enrichment in LREE (Ishizuka et al., 2014; Woelki et al.,
2018). Forearc basalts are generated from clinopyroxene-
impoverished residual mantle and they have LREE-
0.13113

0.12830
0.12738
0.12788
0.12781
0.12474
0.12667
0.12694
0.12740
0.12349
0.12593
0.12626
0.12763
0.13535

depleted patterns akin to mid-ocean-ridge basalts (MORB;

 10 11/year. (187Os/188Os)i represents the initial value when the YZO were formed using an accepted emplacement age of 130 Ma.

Reagan et al., 2010; Ishizuka et al., 2014). Both types of

magmas are possible candidates that lead to U-shaped
REE patterns in the YZO peridotites. One obvious differ-
ence between them is that forearc basaltic melts lack
0.396

0.680
0.215
0.528
0.366
0.635
0.633
0.199
0.335
0.235
0.058
0.145
0.440
0.055

remarkable enrichment in LILE compared to REE and

HFSE (Fig. 3B), implying that the mantle source received
little inputs from slab-derived materials (Ishizuka et al.,
2014). Given the observed geochemical features of the
1.31

1.24
1.22
1.80
1.26
0.96
1.08
1.12
1.29
0.93
1.31
1.26
0.94
0.45

YZO peridotites (e.g., low TiO2, Na2O and HFSE contents,

and U-shaped REE patterns), boninitic melts were sug-
gested as the candidate of melt infiltration to the YZO
lithospheric mantle (e.g., Zhou et al., 2005; Dai et al.,
1.61

1.59
1.81
1.81
1.31
1.59
1.52
1.64
1.12
0.85
2.19
1.04
0.24

2011, 2013). On the other hand, based on Nd-Hf isotopes

and trace element compositions, Xiong et al. (2017) argued
that the metasomatic agents in the Zedang peridotites (east-
ern YZO) were probably related to forearc basaltic magmas
0.382

0.531
0.251
0.478
0.343
0.641
0.540
0.266
0.340
0.252
0.071
0.133
0.507
0.097

generated during the subduction initiation of the Neo-

Tethyan slab at 130–120 Ma.
As discussed above, the Pt, Pd and Re abundances of the
majority of YZO peridotites are much higher than those of
7.89

7.52
7.90
7.96
6.76
6.90
8.01
7.82
5.33
5.06
9.74
5.80
1.67

pristine mantle residues with similar degrees of melt extrac-

tion. The relative enrichments of PPGE and Re of these
samples compared to typical mantle residues (e.g., the
12.00

11.87

massif and cratonic peridotites) require interaction with

9.82

9.05
8.82

8.50
7.60
7.14
9.01
9.40
6.74

8.58
8.01
4.76

S-saturated or BMS-rich melts, because these melts are typ-

Note: R represents a replicate analysis of the sample.

ically enriched in PPGE and other chalcophile elements

(e.g., S, Se, Te and Cu) relative to IPGE (Rudnick and
16.17

Walker, 2009; Luguet and Pearson, 2019 and references

8.90

8.12
8.99
7.92
8.24
9.03
7.56
8.81
8.11
8.75
9.91
8.05
9.11

therein). Concentrations of Cu, which can be applied as a

proxy for Cu-rich sulfide melt addition, show a good posi-
tive correlation with (Pd/Ir)N, unlike the curved melt deple-
3.97

3.86
3.83
3.53
3.56
4.18
3.52
4.26
3.86
3.86
4.80
3.60
4.53
5.62

tion trend as defined by orogenic massif peridotites

(Fig. 5C). This trend, however, is not observed in abyssal
peridotites (Day et al., 2017), which reinforces the interpre-
Eastern YZO (Zedang)

tation that these YZO peridotites are not simple analogues

4.65

4.39
5.62
4.36
4.51
4.86
4.11
5.09
4.89
4.34
5.87
4.29
5.55
8.50

of abyssal peridotites. Moreover, variable amounts of sul-

fides are observed in the YZO peridotites. For example,
sample 17BG10 displays elevated (Pd/Ir)N (1.52) and extre-
10ZD-6–17
ZD11-18R

ZD11-22R

10ZD-6–1

10ZD-6–3

mely high Cu concentration (58 ppm), which is supported by

ZD11-18

ZD11-22

ZD11-64

ZD11-46
ZD11-49
ZD11-23

ZD11-68
ZD11-25
17BG25

the preservation of dozens of sulfides (Fig. S1). This fact,

184 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
combined with geochemical evidence, indicates that the
YZO peridotites were percolated by S-saturated melts.
Base metal sulfides are common phases in MORB glass,
which means that basaltic melts are S-saturated during the
initial stages of magmatic evolution (Gannoun et al., 2016
and references therein). However, boninitic melts are likely
S-undersaturated because they form from highly depleted
upper mantle residues with almost all S removed previously
(Hamlyn and Keays, 1986; Zhou et al., 1998). Considering
the difference in S saturation between basaltic and boninitic
melts, we speculate that the forearc basaltic melts were the
dominant percolating melts. In addition to S-saturated melt
metasomatism, other types of HSE hosts may have
involved in the melt percolation. For example, the positive
Pt anomalies (Fig. 4) as denoted by the elevated (Pt/Ir)N
Fig. 4. Primitive upper mantle (PUM)-normalized HSE patterns of
the western YZO (Purang) (A), central YZO (Baigang) (B) and
eastern YZO (Zedang) peridotites (C). Previous studies (Purang:
Liu et al., 2012; Dazhuqu: Liu et al., 2019; Zedang: Lai et al., 2018)
are also shown for comparison. PUM data are from Becker et al.
(2006).
(Fig. 5A), may be the result of Pt-rich alloy precipitation
(e.g., Aulbach et al., 2016).
Although the partial melting is significant, the melt
extraction of the YZO peridotites that occurred recently
(i.e., TRD = 0.25 Ga; see more details below) did not result
in statistically meaningful aluminochrons in the plot
of 187Os/188Os vs. Al2O3 (Fig. 6A). In spite of the two sam-
ples with abnormally supra-chondrite 187Os/188Os ratios
(i.e., PL1205-4: 0.14472; ZD11-25: 0.13523), the impact of
percolating melts on Os isotope systematics appears to have
been relatively limited. For instance, although the (Pd/Ir)N
of most samples were probably modified, their 187Os/188Os
ratios do not vary with elevated (Pd/Ir)N (Fig. 6B). Further-
more, the metasomatic addition of Re could not accumulate
substantial radiogenic 187Os in the short periods of time
(120–130 Myr) to change 187Os/188Os ratios of the rocks,
because there is little difference between measured present-
day 187Os/188Os ratios and recalculated initial 187Os/188Os
ratios (Table 3).
5.3. Coexistence of ancient and juvenile mantle
The vast majority of YZO peridotites display less
radiogenic Os isotopic characteristics compared to the
PUM (187Os/188Os = 0.1296; Becker et al., 2006)
and are more isotopically similar to the DMM
(187Os/188Os = 0.1266, estimated from abyssal peridotites;
Day et al., 2017). During melt extraction, moderately
incompatible Re tends to enter melts, while strongly com-
patible Os retains in mantle residues. Thus, this process
leads to low Re/Os ratios in mantle peridotites, producing
unradiogenic 187Os/188Os values over time. Therefore, the
more unradiogenic 187Os/188Os ratios the peridotites show,
the older partial melting events they have experienced
(Shirey and Walker, 1998; Luguet and Pearson, 2019). More
directly, Re-depletion Os model age (TRD) can be calculated
assuming that no Re remains in the residue evolving from
the mantle reference line, and, thus, is a minimum estimate
of mantle partial melting (Walker et al., 1989; Pearson et al.,
1995).
All peridotites along the 2000 km long Yarlung-
Zangbo suture zone (n = 139, including data from litera-
ture; Table S3) share a peak of 187Os/188Os near 0.126
(Fig. 7A), corresponding to a TRD age of 0.25 Ga. This
age peak is identical within error to that of Tibetan Os-Ir
alloys from Luobusa (eastern YZO) (Fig. 7B; Pearson
et al., 2007; Shi et al., 2007), which may indicate that the
YZO melt extraction was part of a global-scale mantle
melting event having occurred 0.2 Ga during the breakup
of the Pangea supercontinent (e.g., Seton et al., 2012;
Yoshida, 2014). By contrast, the main TRD age mode for
the YZO peridotites (0.25 Ga) is distinctly younger than
that of the peridotites occurring along the Bangong-
Nujiang suture zone in central Tibet (1.0 Ga; Fig. 7C).
Geochronological data indicate that the formation of crus-
tal rocks of the Bangong-Nujiang ophiolites (170–
150 Ma; Huang et al., 2015) was earlier than that of the
YZO (130–120 Ma; Hébert et al., 2012; Dai et al., 2013;
Wu et al., 2014), thus the discrepancy in Os isotopic compo-
sitions of their peridotites marks the formation of oceanic
Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191 185
186 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191

lithosphere from different mantle domains in an older tec-

tonic environment. The peak TRD age (1.0 Ga) of
Bangong-Nujiang ophiolitic peridotites may be related to
a global late Mesoproterozoic mantle depletion event
recorded by detrital Os-rich alloys (Dijkstra et al., 2016).
Moreover, the peak value (0.126) for the YZO peridotites
is very similar to those of the global abyssal peridotites
(Fig. 7D; Day et al., 2017), implying that the formation
of the YZO was dominated by Mesozoic mantle melt
depletion.
The YZO peridotites also contain ancient materials with
TRD ages extending from the Mesoproterozoic to Paleopro-
terozoic (1.0–2.2 Ga; Table S3). Sample PL1205-1, with a
TRD = 2.16 Ga and PL1212-1 with a TRD = 2.04 Ga record
the oldest Re-depletion ages for peridotites in the YZSZ
ophiolitic belt, although not as old as the whole-rock TRD
(3.5 Ga) of the Luobusa chromitites (Shi et al., 2012a).
Such ancient Os isotopic signatures were most likely
derived from fragments of ancient SCLM (Liu et al.,
2015; Aulbach et al., 2016; Luguet and Reisberg, 2016).
The low-187Os/188Os end member in the YZO peridotites
(Fig. 7A) therefore may reflect ancient SCLM domains that
were not fully re-homogenized with asthenospheric mantle
before being incorporated into newly formed oceanic litho-
sphere (e.g., Pearson et al., 2007; Liu et al., 2015; Becker
and Dale, 2016). Considering the link between the opening
of Neo-Tethys ocean and the rifting of Gondwana conti-
nent (e.g., Hassler and Shimizu, 1998), these ancient SCLM
domains may originate from East Gondwana.
Older domains are commonly found within younger
mantle (e.g., Parkinson et al., 1998; Harvey et al., 2006;
Liu et al., 2008, 2015; Scott et al., 2019). The YZO mantle
may have formed from a mixture of recycled ancient SCLM
domains and ambient convective mantle, with or without
subsequent melt depletion or enrichment. The two western Fig. 6. 187Os/188Os versus bulk-rock Al2O3 content (A) and (Pd/
YZO samples with TRD ages > 2.0 Ga appear to have lar- Ir)N (B) for the YZO peridotites. The solid diamond, circle and
gely avoided significant mixing with ambient mantle, while triangle represent samples in this study, while the empty diamond,
the other samples might represent mixed mantle compo- circle and triangle from literature (data sources are listed in Tables
S1–S3). The mixing scenarios are made, in an increment of 5%,
between relict Paleoproterozoic component (represented by sample
3 PL1205-1 (187Os/188Os = 0.1127) but having variable siderophile
element abundances, e.g., Os concentrations ranges from one third
Fig. 5. (A) Whole-rock (Pt/Ir)N versus (Pd/Ir)N, (B) (Pd/Ir)N
to two times of that of PUM: 1.3 ppb, 1.95 ppb, 3.9 ppb and
versus Al2O3 contents and (C) (Pd/Ir)N versus Cu concentrations
7.8 ppb) and the convective upper mantle (CUM), of which the
for the YZO peridotites. The solid diamond, circle and triangle 187
Os/188Os value (0.1281) is calculated from the mean of the PUM
represent samples in this study, while the empty diamond, circle
(0.1296; Becker et al., 2006) and the DMM (0.1266; Day et al.,
and triangle from literature (data sources are listed in Tables S1–
2017) and also similar to the Ordinary Chondrite average (0.1283;
S3). Melt extraction curves were calculated in the form of non-
Horan et al., 2003) that is used as the mantle reservoir to calculate
modal, fractional melting using a primitive mantle source contain-
the Os model ages (Table 3). Arrow fields mark the possible
ing 300 ppm S and assuming that the extracted melts have a S
additional processes to account for the data. Also plotted are the
capacity of 1000 ppm. The partition coefficients between sulfide
abyssal, forearc and massif peridotites, and data sources are the
and silicate melt used in the modeling curves are: (A) DPt(sulfide/
same as Fig. 5.
silicate) = 4600, DPd(sulfide/silicate) = 3500, DIr(sulfide/silicate)
= 51,000; (B) DPd(sulfide/silicate) = 3500, 7000, 14,000 and
35,000, DIr(sulfide/silicate) = 51,000 (after Fleet et al., 1999;
nents after a second melt depletion (Fig. 6A). The mixing
Marchesi et al., 2013); (C) DPd(sulfide/silicate) = 3500,
DIr(sulfide/silicate) = 51,000, DCu(sulfide/silicate) = 800 (after Lee
scenarios of (Pd/Ir)N vs. 187Os/188Os between relict Paleo-
et al., 2012). Tick marks indicate 5% melting increments. Also proterozoic component (represented by sample PL1205-1)
plotted are the abyssal (after the compilation by Day et al. (2017)), and ambient convective mantle can explain about half of
forearc (IBM: Parkinson et al., 1998; New Caledonia: Liu et al., the YZO samples (Fig. 6B). However, they cannot explain
2018; Xu and Liu, 2019; New Zealand: after the compilation by the sub-vertical Al2O3 or (Pd/Ir)N-187Os/188Os variations
Scott et al. (2019)) and massif (after the compilation by Liu et al. in the majority of the YZO peridotites as shown in Fig. 6.
(2010)) peridotites. These observations require one additional process, which
 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
Fig. 7. Probability density plots and histograms of 187Os/188Os
ratios and TRD ages of the YZO peridotites (Fig. 7A; this study and
literature data in Table S3); the Luobusa Os-Ir alloys (Fig. 7B;
Pearson et al., 2007; Shi et al., 2007); the BNSZ ophiolitic
peridotites (Fig. 7C; Shi et al., 2012b; Huang et al., 2015) and the
global abyssal peridotites (Fig. 7D; after the compilation by Day
et al. (2017)).
187
Fig. 8. Schematic cartoons (not to scale) illustrating the tectonic
evolution of the Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. (A) the first-stage:
Earlier than 250 Ma, subduction and/or delamination resulted in
global mantle heterogeneity, some ancient SCLM domains were
brought into asthenosphere and mixed with ambient depleted
mantle; (B) the second-stage: During the Permian to Triassic
(250 Ma), the continuous southward subduction of Paleo-Tethys
ocean resulted in the rifting of the back-arc basin in the northern
margin of East Gondwana and the opening of Neo-Tethys ocean
(Zhu et al., 2013 and references therein). The roll-back of Paleo-
Tethyan slab caused the melt depletion and emplacement of the
mixture of ancient, depleted SCLM and newly-formed oceanic
lithosphere peridotites; (C) the third-stage: At 130–120 Ma, the
oceanic lithosphere was involved in a new episode of Neo-Tethyan
subduction (Xiong et al., 2016, 2017), which generated S-saturated
forearc basaltic magmas that infiltrated the overlying peridotites.
Abbreviations: SCLM: sub-continental lithospheric mantle; OLM:
oceanic lithospheric mantle; FAB: forearc basalts; YZO: Yarlung-
Zangbo ophiolites.
188 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
most likely was having had younger melt extraction and
decoupling the bulk-rock geochemistry from the Os iso-
topes (e.g., Liu et al., 2015; Scott et al., 2019).
5.4. Implications for tectonic evolution of Neo-Tethys
While the YZO are well-established as representing frag-
ments of the Neo-Tethys oceanic lithosphere, the mode of
formation of these peridotites is debated. The YZO have
been inferred to have formed at a slow-spreading mid-
ocean ridge (MOR) on the basis of the occurrence of thick
mantle and thin crust compared to Penrose-type ophiolites
(Nicolas et al., 1981; Wu et al., 2014) and the MORB-like
geochemistry of their mafic crustal rocks (Hébert et al.,
2012 and references therein). The similarity of the HSE pat-
terns of some of the YZO peridotites to those of abyssal peri-
dotites has also been used in support of this hypothesis (Liu
et al., 2019). However, the MORB-like to arc basalt-like
mafic lavas that were all generated in one belt over such a
short time scale (10 Myr) are inconsistent with a simple
MOR setting. Combined with moderate to high degrees of
partial melting and metasomatic enrichment for ophiolitic
mantle peridotites, as well as the OSMA plot (Fig. S3), a fore-
arc setting was suggested for the YZO, with rapid extension
related to subduction initiation and slab roll-back (Dai et al.,
2013; Moresi et al., 2014; Griffin et al., 2016). A forearc tec-
tonic setting is also supported by the Re-Os isotope and HSE
data of the YZO peridotites examined in this study, which
indicates the pervasive infiltration of S-saturated basaltic
melts into the mantle lithosphere, likely during the subduc-
tion initiation of the Neo-Tethyan slab. In addition, as men-
tioned above, the multiple discrete tectonic and magmatic
processes identified in the YZO are unlikely to have taken
place in a one-stage MOR setting. Therefore, we conclude
that the YZO formed most likely in multiple stages, including
in SSZ and possibly MOR settings accompanied by multi-
stage subduction of the Tethys ocean.
In an attempt to account for the coexistence of
ancient and juvenile peridotites and their geochemical
characteristics in the YZO, we propose a multi-stage tec-
tonic model (Fig. 8) based on Griffin et al. (2016). Prior
to 250 Ma, subduction and/or delamination dissemi-
nated ancient Proterozoic SCLM fragments into the con-
vecting mantle, contributing to mantle heterogeneity on a
global scale. In the Permian-Triassic (250 Ma), as the
southward subduction of Paleo-Tethys ocean and contin-
uous extension of the back-arc basin in the northern mar-
gin of East Gondwana were proceeding, a global large-
scale mantle melting event occurred along with the open-
ing of Neo-Tethys ocean (Zhu et al., 2011, 2013; Stampfli
et al., 2013 and references therein). This successive rifting
process played an important role in the formation and
emplacement of the observed mixture of ancient, depleted
SCLM and juvenile mantle domains, through upwelling
of asthenospheric mantle triggered by slab roll-back
(Moresi et al., 2014). At 130–120 Ma, the oceanic litho-
sphere was incorporated, emplaced and perhaps partially
newly formed (Xiong et al., 2016, 2017) in a new episode
of Neo-Tethyan subduction. During the initiation of
Neo-Tethyan subduction, S-saturated forearc basaltic
magmas were produced and subsequently interacted with
the overlying peridotites on their ascent. This infers that
the YZO mafic dikes and lavas were formed later than
these depleted harzburgites, therefore accounting for the
isotopic and genetic mismatch between oceanic crust
and mantle in the ophiolites (e.g., Wu et al., 2014;
Xiong et al., 2020). The Tibetan YZO peridotites there-
fore demonstrate that the life cycle of ophiolitic oceanic
lithospheric mantle records complex mantle processes
including continental lithospheric recycling, convecting
mantle mixing/heterogeneity, and oceanic lithospheric
formation followed by mantle metasomatism. Such
multi-stage tectonic events provide insights into our
understanding of the geodynamic processes taking place
within the Earth’s upper mantle.
6. CONCLUSIONS
The YZO peridotites are dominated by depleted
harzburgites with minor lherzolites. Three mantle pro-
cesses are recognized in these peridotites: mixing of
asthenospheric mantle (with a TRD age primary mode
at 0.25 Ga) and ancient SCLM (TRD of 1.0–2.2 Ga),
followed by large-scale melt extraction to form mixed
oceanic lithosphere which was subsequently infiltrated
by S-saturated melts. We propose a multi-stage subduc-
tion model to account for the origin of these peridotites
during the evolution of Tethyan lithosphere. Prior to
250 Ma, subduction and/or delamination brought
ancient SCLM fragments into the convective mantle.
During the Permian to Triassic (250 Ma), the continu-
ous southward subduction of Paleo-Tethys ocean resulted
in the rifting of the back-arc basin in the northern mar-
gin of East Gondwana and the opening of Neo-Tethys
ocean, thus leading to melt depletion and formation of
oceanic lithosphere that incorporated Mesozoic depleted
mantle mixed with some fragments of ancient, depleted
SCLM. At 130–120 Ma, the oceanic lithosphere was
involved and emplaced in a new episode of Neo-
Tethyan subduction, which generated forearc basaltic
magmas that subsequently infiltrated the overlying peri-
dotites. This model emphasizes that the YZO primarily
formed in a SSZ setting accompanied by multi-stage sub-
duction events associated with the evolution of the
Tethys ocean.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by funding from the Second Tibe-
tan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP)
(2019QZKK0801), the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Nos. 41822301, 41790451, 41730214, 41873032 and
91755205), China ‘‘1000 Youth Talents Program” and the 111
project (B18048). We thank Gongcheng Tian for assistance in
the field, and Peter A. Cawood, Jin-Gen Dai, and Xiao-Han
Gong for discussion. We are grateful to Associate Editor Rich
Walker for his efficient handling, and to Tom Ireland and one
anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and sugges-
tions, which greatly improved the quality of this manuscript.
This is CUGB petro-geochemical contribution no. PGC2015-
0044 (RIG-no.4).
 Y. Xu et al. / Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 277 (2020) 175–191
APPENDIX A. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.03.024.
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