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Differentiating between advancing and retreating subduction zones and delineating the timing and processes for switching between these end-member types are critical factors in understanding orogenic evolution. In this study, we used temporal composition variations and spatiotemporal distribution of igneous rocks to constrain the types and directions of the subduction zone beneath the Lhasa terrane in southern Tibet during the mid-Mesozoic. Comprehensive geochronological and geochemical data from mid- Mesozoic magmatic rocks in five areas of the central Lhasa terrane document two compositionally distinct magmatic suites: older (ca. 172-150 Ma) high-Mg diorite-granodiorite and younger (ca. 150-130 Ma) low-Mg granodiorite-syenogranite. The high-Mg rocks with enriched isotopes were likely generated by the mixing of Lhasa terrane basement- derived magmas with mantle-derived magmas that incorporated extensive contributions from subducted sediments. The low- Mg rocks with relatively depleted isotopes are interpreted as derived from a mixed lowercrust source (ancient basement and juvenile crust) with minor mantle contributions followed by crystal fractionation. Both high-Mg and low-Mg rocks show arc signatures and formed the 1200 km Shiquan-Zhegu-Menba arc. A combination of the Mesozoic geological and geochemical data suggests that both the Neo-Tethyan and Bangong Tethyan slabs were likely subducting beneath the Lhasa terrane, creating two opposing subduction zones. The change from high-Mg to low- Mg magmatism within the Shiquan-Zhegu- Menba arc likely records a tectonic switch from advancing to retreating subduction of the south-dipping Bangong Tethyan slab. Our results provide a good example for identification of subduction polarities and types of ancient orogenic belts through spatiotemporal distributions and changes in geochemical compositions of igneous rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast eastern-Tethyan oceanic domain that throughout the Mesozoic extended between Gondwana and Eurasia was a puzzle of larger and smaller microcontinents separated by larger and smaller oceans, the paleogeographic reconstruction of which poses major challenging problems. This review article summarizes the available stratigraphic, sedimentological, petrological, geochronological, geochemical, tectonic, and paleomagnetic evidence on the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone and adjacent geological domains now at the heart of the Tibetan Plateau, with the final aim to reconstruct the history of the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean from its birth to its growth and final demise. The vivid debate on these highly controversial geological issues touches on several key problems in plate tectonics, including the birth of an ocean, the nature of microcontinents and seamounts, the initiation of oceanic subduction, the implications of subduction polarity, and the timing of continental collision. Rifting between South Qiangtang and the Lhasa blocks took place in the Early to Middle Permian. The Bangong-Nujiang Ocean was still narrow in the Late Permian. The Triassic saw the rapid northward drift of South Qiangtang and active sea-floor-spreading in the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean, which reached a maximum north–south width of ~4000 km in about 50 million years. In the Early Jurassic (~190–180 Ma), Bangong-Nujiang oceanic lithosphere began to subduct northward. After some 30–40 million years of oceanic subduction, documented by arc magmatism and high-pressure metamorphic rocks, the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean closed its northern branch (the Dongqiao-Amdo ocean) in the latest Middle Jurassic (166–163 Ma), when the Amdo and Dongkacuo microcontinents collided with South Qiangtang. The southern oceanic branch (the Beila-Nagqu ocean) closed in the latest Jurassic (150–145 Ma) at the onset of collision between the Lhasa and Qiangtang blocks. Early Cretaceous (140–120 Ma) syncollisional arc-type magmatism was widely distributed in the Lhasa-Qiangtang collisional zone. At earliest Late Cretaceous time, the complete demise of seaways and the transition to widespread deposition of continental red beds along the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone marked the onset of intracontinental convergence leading to initial uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. • Critical review of geological data related to the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean from its birth to its growth and demise. • Bangong-Nujiang Ocean opened in the Early Permian and started to subduct northward -~190–180 Ma. • Dongqiao-Amdo and Beila-Nagqu oceans closed at 166–163 Ma and 150–145 Ma, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]