Petrogenesis and tectonic significance of mafic-ultramafic rocks from southwestern Yunnan, China

This study focuses on the mafic-ultramafic lavas of the Early Carboniferous outcrop in Mangxin, southwestern Yunnan, China. Picrites with 26–32 wt% MgO and a quenched texture are the most significant components of this rock association. This article divides the Mangxin picrites into two types. The mantle potential temperature (T_p) of these picrites is higher than the T_p range of mid-ocean ridges and reaches that of mantle plumes. According to their geochemical characteristics, type-1 picrites probably formed from the melting of the mantle plume head and were contaminated by the ambient depleted mantle, whereas type-2 picrites formed from the melting of mantle plume tails. These plume-related mafic-ultramafic rocks in Mangxin and the ocean island basalt (OIB)-carbonate rock associations in many areas of the Changning–Menglian belt provide significant evidence for the improvement of previous models of the Palaeotethyan oceanic plateau.