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Introduction: The Bangong-Nujiang Suture Zone (BNSZ) in central Tibet is a remnant of the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean that records its entire Wilson Cycle. The model of divergent double-sided subduction (DDS) is crucial for elucidating the evolution of tectonomagmatic activity on both sides of the BNSZ and for understanding why no high-pressure metamorphic rocks occur in the BNSZ. However, the DDS geodynamics remain poorly constrained. In particular, there is a lack of reports on magmatic rocks directly associated with slab sinking in the DDS terminal stage.Methods: This study presents new geochronological, geochemical, and isotopic data for the Early Cretaceous bimodal volcanic rocks around the Wuga Co area.Results: The bimodal volcanic rocks are divided into the Wuga Co rhyolites (SiO2 = 77.0–79.0 wt%) and the Wuga Co basaltic andesites (SiO2 = 53.9–55.5 wt%). The isotopic values of the Wuga Co basaltic andesites with low (87Sr/86Sr)i values (+0.7040 to +0.7044) and high εNd(t) values (+3.8 to +4.1) lie among three endmembers (the BNO sediments in accretionary wedge, depleted mantle and the BNO slab).Discussion: These values indicate the partial melting of a mantle peridotite that interacted with the subducted slab and sediment in the accretionary wedge, which was caused by the sinking of the Bangong-Nujiang oceanic slab. The Wuga Co rhyolites (108 Ma) have low (87Sr/86Sr)i values (+0.703 to +0.706), high εNd(t) values (+2.25 to +2.49), and high εHf(t) values (+5.6 to +10.0). These values indicate that the rhyolite formed by partial melting of juvenile basaltic crust. This study also collected Hf isotope data from both sides of the BNSZ to constrain its evolution. Our results show that the εHf(t) values of magma on both sides of the BNSZ were elevated simultaneously at 130 Ma, which may be caused by the Bangong-Nujiang oceanic slab rupture. Based on these new data, we propose that the Bangong-Nujiang oceanic slab ruptured from the two overlying terranes at approximately 130 Ma and subsequently sank into the mantle at approximately 108 Ma.

Investigation of intra-oceanic subduction can improve our understanding of plate tectonic processes and the history of continental growth. Evidence for intra-oceanic subduction in the Paleo-Asian Ocean has recently become an important focus of research, including the Diyanmiao ophiolite in central Inner Mongolia, North China. Here, we report a newly discovered occurrence of early Permian gabbro in the Diyanmiao ophiolite zone. The gabbro yields a weighted mean zircon U–Pb age of 294.4 ± 2.2 Ma. The gabbro samples are characterized by moderate SiO2 (47.32–50.51 wt%), low TiO2 (0.26–0.54 wt%) and K2O (0.04–0.75 wt%), and high Na2O (1.84–4.52 wt%) contents, high Na2O/K2O ratios (2.92–58.29), and depleted chondrite-normalized light rare Earth element patterns that are similar to N-MORB. The gabbros show slightly lower contents of high-field-strength elements (e.g., Nb, Ta, and Ti) and slightly higher contents of large-ion lithophile elements (e.g., K, Rb, Ba, and U) relative to N-MORB. In addition, the gabbros show high εNd (t) values (8.0–9.8) that are similar to those of forearc basalt in the Diyanmiao ophiolite and N-MORB. Integrating these new data with available results for ophiolite and arc-magmatic rocks of central Inner Mongolia, we propose that the studied gabbro was formed during the initial stage of intra-oceanic subduction and that the Paleo-Asian Ocean was still in a subduction setting during the early Permian.