Abstract
Based on studies of the water content of the early Cretaceous Feixian high-magnesium basalts in the eastern part of the North China Craton (NCC), it has been suggested that the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle of the eastern NCC was highly hydrous (>1,000 ppm, H2O wt.) and that this high water content had significantly reduced the viscosity of the lithospheric mantle and provided a prerequisite for the destruction of the NCC. The eastern part of the NCC had undergone multistage subduction of oceanic plates from the south, north, and east sides since the early Paleozoic, and these events may have caused the strong hydration of the NCC lithospheric mantle. To determine which subduction had contributed most to this hydration, we measured the water contents of the peridotite xenoliths hosted by the early Cretaceous high-magnesium diorites of Fushan in the south-central part of the Taihang Mountains. Our results demonstrate that the water content of the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle beneath the south part of the Taihang Mountains was ~40 ppm and significantly lower than that of the contemporary lithospheric mantle beneath the eastern part of the NCC. Thus, the hydration of the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle of the eastern part of the NCC can be ascribed to the subduction of the Pacific plate from the west side. Thus, the main dynamic factor in the destruction of the NCC was likely the subduction of the Pacific plate.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs11434-014-0203-z/MediaObjects/11434_2014_203_Fig1_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs11434-014-0203-z/MediaObjects/11434_2014_203_Fig2_HTML.gif)
References
**a QK, Liu J, Liu SC et al (2013) Earth Planet Sci Lett 361:85–97
Dixon JE, Dixon TH, Bell DR et al (2004) Earth Planet Sci Lett 222:451–467
Li ZXA, Lee CT, Peslier AH et al (2008) J Geophys Res 113:B0921010. doi:10.1029/2007JB005540
Peslier AH, Woodland AB, Bell DR et al (2010) Nature 467:78–108
Menzies MA, Xu YG, Zhang HF et al (2007) Lithos 96:1–21
Fan WM, Menzies MA (1992) Geotecton Metallog 16:171–180
Windley BF, Maruyama S, **ao WJ (2010) Am J Sci 310:1250–1293
Huang JL, Zhao D (2006) J Geophys Res 111:B09305. doi:10.1029/2005JB004066
Xu W, Yang D, Gao S et al (2010) Chem Geol 270:257–273
Liu JG, Rudnick RL, Walker RJ et al (2011) Geochim Cosmochim Acta 75:3881–3902
**a QK, Hao YT, Li P et al (2010) J Geophys Res 115:B07207. doi:10.1029/2009JB006694
Kovács I, Hermann J, O’Neill HSC et al (2008) Am Miner 93:765–778
Bell DR, Rossman GR (1992) Science 255:1391–1397
Peslier AH, Luhr JF, Post J (2002) Earth Planet Sci Lett 201:69–86
Hauri EH, Gaetani GA, Green TH (2006) Earth Planet Sci Lett 248:715–734
Aubaud C, Withers AC, Hirschmann MM et al (2007) Am Miner 92:811–828
Grant K, Ingrin J, Lorand JP et al (2007) Contrib Miner Pet 154:15–34
Tenner TJ, Hirschmann MM, Withers AC et al (2009) Chem Geol 262:42–56
**a QK, Hao YT, Liu SC et al (2013) Gondwana Res 23:108–118
Kovács I, Green DH, Rosenthal A et al (2012) J Pet 53:2067–2093
Demouchy S, Jacobsen SD, Gaillard F et al (2006) Geology 34:429–432
Peslier AH, Luhr JF (2006) Earth Planet Sci Lett 242:302–319
Peslier AH, Woodland AB, Wolff JA (2008) Geochim Cosmochim Acta 72:2711–2722
Peslier AH, Woodland AB, Bell DR et al (2012) Geochim Cosmochim Acta 97:213–246
Baptiste V, Tommasi A, Demouchy S (2012) Lithos 149:31–50
Karato SI (2010) Tectonophysics 481:82–98
Zhang JJ, Zheng YF, Zhao ZF (2009) Lithos 110:305–326
Zhu RX, Xu YG, Zhu G et al (2012) Sci China Earth Sci 55:1565–1587
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Wenliang Xu for providing the Fushan samples and three anonymous reviewers, and the editor for constructive comments. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91014007 and 41225005).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, S., **a, Q. Water content in the early Cretaceous lithospheric mantle beneath the south-central Taihang Mountains: implications for the destruction of the North China Craton. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 1362–1365 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0203-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0203-z