Formation of the Xigaze Metamorphic Sole under Tibetan continental lithosphere reveals generic characteristics of subduction initiation

Carl Guilmette; Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen; Matthijs A. Smit; Antoine Godet; François Fournier-Roy; Jared P. Butler; Marco Maffione; Shun Li; Kip Hodges

doi:10.1038/s43247-023-01007-w

Formation of the Xigaze Metamorphic Sole under Tibetan continental lithosphere reveals generic characteristics of subduction initiation

Carl Guilmette^*, Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen, Matthijs A. Smit, Antoine Godet, François Fournier-Roy, Jared P. Butler, Marco Maffione, Shun Li, Kip Hodges

^*Corresponding author for this work

Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Abstract

Metamorphic soles found under allochthonous oceanic lithosphere, or ophiolites, are interpreted as derived from lower plate oceanic crust material accreted to upper plate mantle during intraoceanic subduction initiation. Their metamorphic evolution is inferred to reflect the thermal structure at the site of subduction nucleation, with granulite-bearing soles linked to initiation at hot spreading centers. Here we present garnet Lu-Hf geochronology for the granulite-bearing sole of the Xigaze ophiolite in South Tibet, whose oceanic crust formed ∼130 Ma through continental forearc extension. Our study shows that sole metamorphism was ongoing by 144 Ma, implying that north-directed subduction began at least 14 million years before oceanic forearc spreading. The upper plate at the time of subduction initiation was thus continental, not oceanic. Our results demonstrate that metamorphic characteristics of soles are independent of the specific tectonic setting at the subduction nucleation site and rather provide generic constraints on the subduction initiation process.

Original language	English
Article number	339
Number of pages	10
Journal	Communications Earth and Environment
Volume	4
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01007-w
Publication status	Published - 27 Sept 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements:
This research was financially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant RGPIN-2014-05681 to C.G. and RGPIN-2015-04080 to M.A.S.), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (Joint Project 229814 to M.A.S.), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Vici grant 865.17.001 to D.J.J.v.H), and the National Science Foundation Continental Dynamics Grant (EAR- 1007929 to K.H.). We thank Pr. Ding Lin and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research for our permit to conduct research in Tibet. We thank John Wakabayashi and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that helped improve the manuscript, as well as Joao Duarte for editorial handling.

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Guilmette, C., van Hinsbergen, D. J. J., Smit, M. A., Godet, A., Fournier-Roy, F., Butler, J. P., Maffione, M., Li, S., & Hodges, K. (2023). Formation of the Xigaze Metamorphic Sole under Tibetan continental lithosphere reveals generic characteristics of subduction initiation. Communications Earth and Environment, 4(1), Article 339. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01007-w

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abstract = "Metamorphic soles found under allochthonous oceanic lithosphere, or ophiolites, are interpreted as derived from lower plate oceanic crust material accreted to upper plate mantle during intraoceanic subduction initiation. Their metamorphic evolution is inferred to reflect the thermal structure at the site of subduction nucleation, with granulite-bearing soles linked to initiation at hot spreading centers. Here we present garnet Lu-Hf geochronology for the granulite-bearing sole of the Xigaze ophiolite in South Tibet, whose oceanic crust formed ∼130 Ma through continental forearc extension. Our study shows that sole metamorphism was ongoing by 144 Ma, implying that north-directed subduction began at least 14 million years before oceanic forearc spreading. The upper plate at the time of subduction initiation was thus continental, not oceanic. Our results demonstrate that metamorphic characteristics of soles are independent of the specific tectonic setting at the subduction nucleation site and rather provide generic constraints on the subduction initiation process.",

author = "Carl Guilmette and {van Hinsbergen}, {Douwe J. J.} and Smit, {Matthijs A.} and Antoine Godet and Fran{\c c}ois Fournier-Roy and Butler, {Jared P.} and Marco Maffione and Shun Li and Kip Hodges",

note = "Acknowledgements: This research was financially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant RGPIN-2014-05681 to C.G. and RGPIN-2015-04080 to M.A.S.), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (Joint Project 229814 to M.A.S.), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Vici grant 865.17.001 to D.J.J.v.H), and the National Science Foundation Continental Dynamics Grant (EAR- 1007929 to K.H.). We thank Pr. Ding Lin and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research for our permit to conduct research in Tibet. We thank John Wakabayashi and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that helped improve the manuscript, as well as Joao Duarte for editorial handling.",

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AU - Fournier-Roy, François

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AU - Maffione, Marco

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AU - Hodges, Kip

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AB - Metamorphic soles found under allochthonous oceanic lithosphere, or ophiolites, are interpreted as derived from lower plate oceanic crust material accreted to upper plate mantle during intraoceanic subduction initiation. Their metamorphic evolution is inferred to reflect the thermal structure at the site of subduction nucleation, with granulite-bearing soles linked to initiation at hot spreading centers. Here we present garnet Lu-Hf geochronology for the granulite-bearing sole of the Xigaze ophiolite in South Tibet, whose oceanic crust formed ∼130 Ma through continental forearc extension. Our study shows that sole metamorphism was ongoing by 144 Ma, implying that north-directed subduction began at least 14 million years before oceanic forearc spreading. The upper plate at the time of subduction initiation was thus continental, not oceanic. Our results demonstrate that metamorphic characteristics of soles are independent of the specific tectonic setting at the subduction nucleation site and rather provide generic constraints on the subduction initiation process.

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Formation of the Xigaze Metamorphic Sole under Tibetan continental lithosphere reveals generic characteristics of subduction initiation

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