title: Partial melting of deeply subducted eclogite from the Sulu orogen in China.
abstract: We report partial melting of an ultrahigh pressure eclogite in the Mesozoic Sulu orogen, China. Eclogitic migmatite shows successive stages of initial intragranular and grain boundary melt droplets, which grow into a three-dimensional interconnected intergranular network, then segregate and accumulate in pressure shadow areas and then merge to form melt channels and dikes that transport magma to higher in the lithosphere. Here we show, using zircon U-Pb dating and petrological analyses, that partial melting occurred at 228-219 Myr ago, shortly after peak metamorphism at 230 Myr ago. The melts and residues are complimentarily enriched and depleted in light rare earth element (LREE) compared with the original rock. Partial melting of deeply subducted eclogite is an important process in determining the rheological structure and mechanical behaviour of subducted lithosphere and its rapid exhumation, controlling the flow of deep lithospheric material, and for generation of melts from the upper mantle, potentially contributing to arc magmatism and growth of continental crust.
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [3] Three Gorges Research Center for Geohazards, Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Kusky
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Polat
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Songjie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Xingfu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Keqing
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Junpeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Global Tectonics, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China [2] School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jianmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu