Early Jurassic S-type granitoids in the Nyainqêntanglha Range, South Tibet: A record of slab roll-back of subducted Neo-Tethyan Ocean

Abstract The Gangdese orogenic belt in southern Tibet records a succession of arc-trench-basin assemblages formed by the Neo-Tethyan subduction and the subsequent India-Asian collision. However, the geochronology and geodynamics of S-type granites in the northern part of the Gangdese belt are disputed. This paper describes ~190 Ma S-type granitoids outcropped in the Nyainqentanglha Range, South Tibet, focusing on their petrogenesis and their relationship with contemporaneous magmatism. There are three distinct groups of granitoids, based on field relationships, petrology, and geochemistry. The coarse-grained Group I and II granitoids are large, sheet-like bodies and exhibit high contents of incompatible elements and negative Eu anomalies. The fine-grained Group III granites form small laccoliths and have low REE contents and positive Eu anomalies. The negative eNd(t) and eHf(t) values, abundant inherited zircons, moderately light REE and LILE enrichment, and HFSE depletion indicate that the Damxung granitoids were derived mainly by the partial melting of a metapelitic source. Further studies proposed that group I and II samples with high contents of incompatible elements and negative Eu anomalies represent fractionated melts, whereas group III samples with low REE contents and positive Eu anomalies represent cumulates. The age distribution pattern of inherited zircons supports the interpretation that the Lhasa terrane rifted away from the northern margin of the Indian plate. Considering previously published data in the Lhasa terrane, we suggest that the Early Jurassic magmatism could be related to a period of subducted oceanic slab roll-back, which provides new insights into the evolution process of the Neo-Tethyan ocean realm.