Subduction-stalled plume tail triggers Tarim large igneous province

Abstract

Cold slab subduction and hot plume burst are generally envisaged as independent triggers for convergent margin and intraplate magmatisms, respectively. However, descending oceanic plates occasionally encounter ascending mantle plumes, leading to contrasting hypotheses that plumes interrupt subduction processes and/or slabs choke plume pathways. This study used 2-D numerical simulation to reproduce a Paleozoic scenario in Central Asia where a subduction-induced plume head is invoked to interpret the formation of the Tarim large igneous province (LIP). The model assumes a long-lived mantle plume beneath the South Tianshan oceanic plate adjacent to the trench. As subduction initiated, plume materials spread first under the moving oceanic lithosphere, which developed a sequence of seamounts. Subsequently, the continual subduction drove a strong downwelling flow that stalled or restricted plume ascent in the upper mantle and caused the accumulation of hot materials in the uppermost lower mantle. Ultimately, the slab break-off after collision provided an opening pathway allowing for the accumulated hot materials to reach the surface, resulting in the development of a concurrent plume head and the formation of LIP on the overriding Tarim craton. Bending and rollover of the subducted oceanic lithosphere beneath an implemented stationary trench may contribute slab components to the LIP source, which can reasonably explain the slab-like geochemical fingerprints of basaltic rocks. Our work offers a tentative interpretation for the paradox that seamount formation preceded the LIP eruption in Tianshan and highlights possible slab effects, where subduction can stall the plume tail, causing heat accumulation that triggers a LIP.