Abstract
Subduction is thought to be a major factor in the origin and makeover of continental lithospheric mantle, but essential aspects of these processes continue to be debated. Here, we report textural, chemical and Re-Os isotope data on mantle xenoliths from far eastern Russia located at different distances from the Asian Pacific coast to examine how the proximity to subduction zones affects lithospheric mantle compositions. The xenoliths come from the Khanka block close to the border with China and several sites in the Sikhote-Alin orogenic belt (SAOB) near the Japan Sea coast. The inboard Khanka xenoliths are spinel lherzolites with chemical compositions, suggesting that they are residues of low-to moderate-degrees of melt extraction from fertile mantle and essentially unaffected by later events since 1.9 Ga. Such rocks are also common among peridotites in the SAOB, located closer to the subduction margins, but the SAOB suite also includes: a) heterogeneous rocks with veins and patches of pyroxenites or hydrous minerals, and b) rocks enriched in iron (8.8-13.5 wt%), Al2O3 and incom-patible minor elements. The positive correlation between elevated 187Os/188Os ratios (>0.135) and FeO contents in some Fe-rich SAOB xenoliths is interpreted to indicate that the metasomatic melts were derived from the asthenosphere hybridized with recycled materials from the Pacific slab. The lack of correlation between Re- depletion Os model ages (TRD) and depletion indices, as well as the similarity of Os isotopic compositions be-tween the SAOB peridotites and abyssal peridotites are best interpreted to show that the SAOB mantle possibly formed and accreted to Eurasia from the asthenosphere during eastward migration of the Paleo-Pacific sub-duction trench. Based on these results, we infer that the SAOB lithospheric mantle experienced multi-stage metasomatism after its formation, the most significant of which is localized infiltration of subduction-related basaltic melts with recycled characteristics induced by the extension of Japan Sea and release of volatiles from the slab. By contrast, the inboard Khanka lithospheric mantle shows little, if any, evidence for meta-somatism. Such contrasting metasomatic modification implies different degrees and styles of makeover processes at different distances relative to the subduction margins.