Os isotopic evidence for a carbonaceous chondritic mantle source for the Nagqu ophiolite from Tibet and its implications

Early-crystallizing chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) in the Nagqu ophiolite has high Os and low Re contents, and it is resistant to alteration during serpentinization, weathering and metamorphism. The chemical composition of primitive magma is preserved in Cr-spinel, which makes it suitable for determining the initial Os-isotope composition of the mantle source. This study presents Cr-spinel Os isotopes and zircon U-Pb ages for cumulate dunite and gabbro, respectively, in the same cumulate section of the ophiolite at Nagqu in Tibet. The results shed light on the formation and evolution of lithospheric mantle. The Nagqu ophiolite is located in the central part of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone. It is a remnant of the Neotethyan oceanic crust, and contains cumulate dunite and gabbro. Zircon from the gabbro yielded a weighted mean 206 Pb/ 238 U age of 183.7±1 Ma. Cr-spinel exhibits γ Os values of −0.2 to −0.3, suggesting that the mantle source for the dunite is similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites. Thus, the Tibetan lithosphere is primarily a relic of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere, which has formed by the transformation of the normal asthenospheric mantle in the Mesozoic. This is the first study to combine the spinel Os isotopes with accurate zircon U-Pb ages to constrain the geochemical characteristics of the mantle source for the ophiolite.