Crustal contamination versus an enriched mantle source for intracontinental mafic rocks: Insights from early Paleozoic mafic rocks of the South China Block

Several recent studies have documented that the silicic rocks (SiO2 > 65 wt.%) comprising Silicic Large Igneous Provinces are derived from partial melting of the crust facilitated by underplating/intraplating of “hidden” large igneous province-scale basaltic magmas. The early Paleozoic intracontinental magmatic rocks in the South China Block (SCB) are dominantly granitoids, which cover a combined area of ~ 22,000 km2. In contrast, exposures of...