Establishing the northern limit of Indian lithosphere under the Tibetan Plateau is key to understanding India−Asia convergence mechanisms. Its location is disputed due to conflicting seismic interpretations and in particular the inability to distinguish between the subducted Indian and thickened Tibetan lithospheres in tomographic images. We report the results of a new approach based on the petrology and geochemistry of Miocene (ca. 11 Ma) lamproites recently discovered in northern Qiangtang of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. They are clearly distinguished from other orogenic lamproites by lead isotope ratios plotting to the left of the geochron, and their Pb-Nd-Os isotopes indicate an Archean (>2.7 Ga) Indian cratonic mantle source. This is compelling evidence that Indian cratonic mantle underthrust northward for ∼600 km and had reached below northern Qiangtang in eastern Tibet at least 11 Ma. Such large-scale underthrusting of buoyant cratonic lithosphere resolves competing geophysical interpretations and plays an important role in shaping intraplate topography.
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Research Article|
March 24, 2025
Early Publication
Indian cratonic mantle beneath northern Qiangtang in eastern Tibet ca. 11 Ma
Jun Wang;
Jun Wang
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
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Chuan-Bing Xu;
Chuan-Bing Xu
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China2
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Qiang Wang;
Qiang Wang
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China2
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Chris J. Hawkesworth;
Chris J. Hawkesworth
3
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
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Yi-Gang Xu;
Yi-Gang Xu
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China2
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Gong-Jian Tang;
Gong-Jian Tang
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
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Derek Wyman;
Derek Wyman
4
School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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Andrew C. Kerr;
Andrew C. Kerr
5
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
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Bing-Zhang Wang;
Bing-Zhang Wang
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
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Jin-Heng Liu;
Jin-Heng Liu
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
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Wu-Fu Li;
Wu-Fu Li
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
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Shan-Ping Li;
Shan-Ping Li
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
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Yue Qi;
Yue Qi
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
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Jie Li;
Jie Li
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
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Zhuo Xiao;
Zhuo Xiao
7
College of Artificial Intelligence, Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning, Guangxi 530006, China
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Chun-Tao Wang
Chun-Tao Wang
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
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Jun Wang
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Chuan-Bing Xu
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China2
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Qiang Wang
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China2
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Chris J. Hawkesworth
3
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
Yi-Gang Xu
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China2
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Gong-Jian Tang
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Derek Wyman
4
School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Andrew C. Kerr
5
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
Bing-Zhang Wang
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
Jin-Heng Liu
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Wu-Fu Li
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
Shan-Ping Li
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
Yue Qi
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jie Li
1
State Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Processes and Resources, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Zhuo Xiao
7
College of Artificial Intelligence, Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning, Guangxi 530006, China
Chun-Tao Wang
6
Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, Xining, Qinghai 810012, China
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Received:
12 Oct 2024
Revision Received:
25 Feb 2025
Accepted:
06 Mar 2025
First Online:
24 Mar 2025
Online ISSN: 1943-2682
Print ISSN: 0091-7613
© 2025 Geological Society of America
Geology (2025)
Article history
Received:
12 Oct 2024
Revision Received:
25 Feb 2025
Accepted:
06 Mar 2025
First Online:
24 Mar 2025
Citation
Jun Wang, Chuan-Bing Xu, Qiang Wang, Chris J. Hawkesworth, Yi-Gang Xu, Gong-Jian Tang, Derek Wyman, Andrew C. Kerr, Bing-Zhang Wang, Jin-Heng Liu, Wu-Fu Li, Shan-Ping Li, Yue Qi, Jie Li, Zhuo Xiao, Chun-Tao Wang; Indian cratonic mantle beneath northern Qiangtang in eastern Tibet ca. 11 Ma. Geology 2025; doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G52845.1
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