Precambrian origin of the North Lhasa terrane, Tibetan Plateau: Constraint from early Cryogenian back-arc magmatism

The origin of ancient continental blocks in the Tibetan plateau and their paleogeographic locations in the Rodinia supercontinent remain enigmatic. Here, we report the early Cryogenian metamorphic magmatic rocks (including amphibolites and granitic gneisses) from the North Lhasa terrane of the central Tibetan Plateau. The amphibolites (ca. 822 Ma) are tholeiitic and exhibit both MORB- (e.g., flat patterns of rare-earth and high field strength...