Insights into OIB-like magmatism contemporaneous with oceanic subduction: Petrogenetic constraints on the Kendelong metagabbro in the North Qaidam

Abstract Compared with the statement of the mantle plume hypothesis for large-scale plus high-volume intraplate magmatism, a series of OIB-like mafic rocks which are low-volume and spatially closely related to subduction zones still remain mysterious and inapposite to be explained by using traditional mantle plume hypothesis. In the North Qaidam, most previous studies have focused on ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks and have paid little attention to mafic magmatism as a mechanism of generating magma with a mantle signature. The Kendelong (KDL) metagabbro with consistently intrusive ages of 485–490 Ma within the Olongbuluke microblock that is overriding plate above the subduction zone is analogous to Oceanic Island Basalts (OIBs) in geochemistry and formed contemporaneously with oceanic subduction. Analyzed samples of the KDL metagabbro have sporadic (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios of 0.7008–0.7063 that have been influenced by paulopost alteration, relatively uniform positive eNd(t) values of +0.3 to +1.4, zircon eHf(t) values of +1.5 to +6.8, and coupled Nd Hf isotopes that lie on the terrestrial array. After ruling out the possibility of contributions from subducted enriched components and mantle metasomatites, geochemical features and isotopic compositions indicate that the magmas were derived from a relatively primitive asthenosphere without prior large-volume melt extraction. Rare earth element modeling shows that a low degree of partial melting (