In addition to fluids, the concept of sediment‐derived melts infiltrating the fore‐arc mantle during subduction initiation has been proposed based on studies of modern subduction zones and ophiolite mélange. However, outcrops that contain the products of such melts are rare, especially in conjunction with boninite. New U‐Pb zircon dating reveals that the Darutso volcanic rocks (DVRs) within ophiolitic mélange in the Beila area, central Tibet, crystallized at ∼164–162 Ma. This is the first recognition of Jurassic volcanic rocks in the middle section of the Bangong‐Nujiang Suture Zone. Geochemically, the DVRs are high‐Mg andesites with moderate SiO2 (59.03–63.62 wt %) and high MgO (3.74–6.53 wt %), Cr (up to 395 ppm), and Mg# (50.3–67.9). They also have high Th contents, (La/Sm)N ratios, and (87Sr/86Sr)i values (0.7085–0.7147); low Ba/Th, U/Th, and Sr/Y ratios; and negative values of εNd(t) (−8.7 to −9.8) and zircon εHf(t) (−7.4 to −9.9). The εNd(t) values of the DVRs overlap those of regional sediments. Detailed analyses of these geochemical characteristics indicate that the DVRs were derived from partial melting of subducted sediments and subsequent interaction with overlying mantle peridotite in a shallow and hot setting. In combination with the regional geology, in particular adjacent ophiolites that contain MORB‐like and boninite mafic lavas, these rocks collectively recorded the evolution of a fore‐arc setting during the initiation of the northward subduction of the south branch of the Bangong‐Nujiang Ocean. Therefore, the results provide direct evidence for sediment melting during subduction initiation and constrain the Jurassic tectonic evolution of the Lhasa terrane.

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The Permian tectonic setting of the Lhasa Terrane in southern Tibet remains controversial (i.e., continental rift vs. subduction‐collision) and is crucial to palinspastic reconstructions of the eastern Tethys during the breakup of Gondwana. In this study, we present new geochronological, geochemical, and mineralogical data for the Permian (~262 Ma) Yawa intrusions in the southern Lhasa Terrane. These rocks are silica‐undersaturated and alkaline, with high TiO2 and moderate MgO, and exhibit enrichments in Th, light rare earth elements, and Nb‐Ta, and depletions in K. These chemical compositions, combined with uniform whole‐rock (87Sr/86Sr)i (0.7039–0.7044), εNd(t) (1.85–2.81), and εHf(t) (4.21–6.90) values, and zircon εHf(t) (4.53–9.97) and δ18O (5.04‰–5.76‰) values, indicate the magmas were derived by partial melting of amphibole‐rich lithospheric mantle. The magmas subsequently underwent fractionation of clinopyroxene, amphibole, and Fe‐Ti oxides. The amphibole in the lithospheric mantle likely formed as cumulates from low‐degree asthenospheric melts during incipient extension. Given that the amphibole‐rich metasomatic veins have a lower melting temperature than the surrounding peridotite, they were susceptible to melting during the early stages of thermal perturbation of the mantle. Because there is no evidence of Permian continental subsidence in the Lhasa Terrane, we suggest the Yawa intrusions were formed at the onset of lithospheric extension associated with initial rifting of the Lhasa Terrane from the Indian Plate during Gondwana breakup, which was a precursor to the opening of the Neo‐Tethys Ocean.

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Oceanic slab breakoff significantly affects the thermal regime of the lithosphere during continental collision. This often triggers extension‐related mafic magmatism and crustal melting. It is generally accepted that the Neo‐Tethyan lithosphere subducted beneath the southern Lhasa Subterrane, resulting in the formation of the Gangdese magmatic arc. However, the timing of slab breakoff is still disputed, due to a lack of evidence for extension‐related mafic magmatism. In this study, we provide comprehensive age, element and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data of mafic dikes, felsic intrusions, and enclaves from the Daju area, southern Lhasa Subterrane. The timing of mafic dikes and granitoids are contemporaneous at circa 57 Ma. The mafic dikes are characterized by high Th/U, and Zr/Y ratios, their geochemistry indicates an intraplate affinity rather than arc magmas. Furthermore, the mafic dikes show strongly variable igneous zircon ɛHf(t), and lower whole‐rock ɛNd(t) than granitoids. This evidence suggests that the mafic dikes represent asthenosphere‐derived melts contaminated by various degrees of ancient lithosphere. However, the granitoids were directly derived from the juvenile lower crust. Given the abrupt decrease in the convergence rate between India and Asia, and the surface uplift and sedimentation cessation in the southern Lhasa Subterrane in the early Cenozoic, the occurrence of synchronous mafic dikes and granitoids is best explained by a slab breakoff model. The occurrence of intraplate‐type magmas likely corresponds to the magmatic expression of the initial stage of Neo‐Tethyan slab breakoff. The slab breakoff concept also explains the onset of the magmatic “flare‐up” and crustal growth after 57 Ma.

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