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Serpentinite plays a crucial role in element mobility during seawater hydrothermal alteration of mid-ocean ridge peridotite on the seafloor and fluid metasomatism of peridotite in the subduction zone. However, element mobility and Mg isotope fractionation during serpentinization of peridotites are still uncertain. In order to address this issue, we present a geochemical study of serpentinites and their associated peridotites in the Xigaze ophiolite from southern Tibet. The serpentinites have lower MgO contents and Mg/Si ratios than the peridotites. The low Mg/Si ratios in serpentinites, along with the Isocon calculation results, indicate the Mg loss during serpentinization. In terms of trace elements, the serpentinites have higher contents of Ba, U, Sr and Pb than the peridotites, though both types of ultramafic rocks exhibit similar REE distribution patterns and HFSE contents. The serpentine-magnetite O isotope thermometry yields a relatively low serpentinization temperatures of 200–300 °C. The trace element composition of the serpentinites is distinct from that of forearc serpentinites but consistent with that of mid-ocean ridge ones. The peridotites show mantle-like δ26Mg values of –0.27 to –0.23‰ with an average of –0.25 ± 0.03‰ (2SD, n = 6). In contrast, the serpentinites have systematically higher δ26Mg values of –0.21 to –0.09‰ with an average of –0.16 ± 0.09‰ (2SD, n = 8). The Mg isotope composition of serpentinites shows no correlations with either the chemical weathering proxy or the talc modal content, indicating that the Mg isotope fractionation between serpentinite and peridotite is not caused by chemical weathering of the serpentinites. Instead, it probably resulted from the serpentinization of peridotite on the seafloor. Thus, there is the loss of not only element Mg but also isotopically light Mg during the serpentinization of peridotites. The isotopically heavy Mg serpentinites can be carried to oceanic subduction zones, giving rise to higher δ26Mg mantle sources for various basalts. The isotopically light Mg can be released into the seawater, regulating the Mg isotope composition of seawater in geological history. Taking into account the sources and sinks of Mg in subduction zone fluids, the formation of isotopically heavy Mg serpentinites during seafloor serpentinization can be probably an important process in changing the Mg isotope composition of mantle sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subduction initiation is one of the key processes in the operation of plate tectonics. Our understanding of this process is largely derived from geochemical studies of basaltic rocks in ophiolites at continental margins. Because of the petrological inheritance in forearc basalts, it is important to acquire geochemical signatures for fluid metasomatism of the nascent mantle wedge at forearc depths. This may be provided by the study of peridotite in ophiolites, which is least affected by tectonic emplacement of the ophiolites onto continental margins. For this purpose, we have carried out a comprehensive study of whole-rock and mineral geochemical compositions for harzburgites from the Xigaze ophiolites in the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone, southern Tibet. The results provide insights into the forearc metasomatism during subduction initiation before the closure of Neo-Tethyan Ocean for the India-Asia continental collision in the Cenozoic. The harzburgites show high spinel Cr# values and strong whole-rock depletion in CaO, Al 2 O 3 and REE, suggesting high degrees of melt extraction (~10–20%) during seafloor spreading to form the Neo-Tethyan mid-ocean ridge basalts. They exhibit positive LILE anomalies in trace element distribution patterns, indicating metasomatism by subduction zone fluids. This is supported by the occurrence of tremolite and dolomite in some of the harzburgites. Based on the presence or absence of carbonate minerals, two types of metasomatic fluids are distinguished. One is the aqueous solutions, leading to the formation of tremolite and the enrichment of LILE in clinopyroxene. The other is the carbonate-bearing fluids, resulting in the formation of dolomites, tremolite and low Mg# (79–82) olivine. The metasomatism also results in the high contents of structural hydroxyl in pyroxenes and elevated δ18O values for the harzburgites. It is inferred that the fluid metasomatism was induced by incipient subduction of the juvenile Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab to forearc depths shortly after conversion of the Neo-Tethyan mid-ocean ridge into the trench. During this period of subduction initiation, the fluids were produced by heating dehydration of the sinking ridge crust to the forearc depths. It is these fluids that would metasomatize the overlying nascent mantle wedge, leading to superimposition of the geochemically enriched signature on the lithochemically depleted harzburgites in the ophiolites. Therefore, the forearc metasomatism of peridotite in ophiolite can be used as a geochemical proxy for subduction initiation. Furthermore, the Xigaze ophiolites were produced by the ridge-trench conversion for subduction initiation in the Mesozoic and they were emplaced onto the southern margin of the Asian continent in the Cenozoic. • The harzburgite experienced melt extraction at the mid-ocean ridge; • The harzburgite was metasomatized by two types of subduction zone fluids; • The fluid metasomatism is closely associated with subduction initiation; • The Xigaze ophiolites were generated through the ridge-trench conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]