Yibing Li

Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences

Plain Language Summary In this study, we explore how pieces of Earth's outer layer, known as the continental crust, can dive deep into the layer beneath it, called the mantle, reaching depths of up to 660 km. Seismologists struggle to observe this because using current seismological methods is hard to detect crustal signals beyond 150–180 km. To ad...

Cratonic peridotites are typically depleted but have overall higher modal orthopyroxene than young oceanic and continental peridotites. The origin of this enrichment remains debatable. Here we focus on a spinel harzburgite block from the Mogok metamorphic belt, Myanmar, presenting major and trace element data for 27 harzburgite samples. Twelve samp...

The start of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycle is typically taken as the initiation of orogenesis at ca. 2.1 Ga leading to the assembly of Earth's first supercontinent, Columbia. However, the dearth of ca. 2.5–2.2 Ga geological records makes it difficult to deduce tectonic factors during the onset of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycl...

When and how plate tectonics operated throughout Earth’s history remain a matter of debate. The absence of low-temperature/high-pressure metamorphic rocks during Earth’s middle age (∼1.8–0.8 Ga) leads to some arguing for a temporary shutdown or change of modern-style plate tectonics throughout the Mesoproterozoic and Early Neoproterozoic. Here we r...

Geological evidence has demonstrated the presence of an intra−Neo-Tethyan subduction system during the Cretaceous. However, when and how this intra-oceanic subduction was initiated, especially for the eastern Neo-Tethys, are still not well constrained. Here we present geochemical and geochronological analyses of the Indawgyi mafic rocks from the Ce...

After two continents collide, plate convergence and orogenesis are sustained because subducted continental lithosphere continues pulling the surface plate. It remains controversial how, why, and when continental plate convergence and collision slow down and eventually cease. We use an unprecedented data coverage and present a regional-scale seismic...

The relationship of the crustal contact between the Indian and Eurasian plates is a key issue in understanding crustal thickening and the subduction of the Indian lithosphere beneath the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Across the middle of the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture (YZS), we deployed an ∼450-km-long SN-trending wide-angle reflection/refraction profile to...

The generation and migration of slab-derived fluids modulate subduction zone seismicity, arc magmatism, and deep volatile cycling. However, the redox species and oxygen fugacity (fO2) (hereafter expressed as log units relative to the fayalite–magnetite–quartz buffer, △FMQ) of slab-derived fluids are highly debated. Here we conducted phase equilibri...

Orogenically thickened lower crust is the key site of crustal differentiation, crustal deformation, and Moho modification. However, the composition of thickened lower crust is still highly debated. Here, we calculate a set of pseudosections with mafic lower crust compositions in the Na2O–CaO–K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–O2 (NCKFMASHTO) system. O...

White mica is an important reservoir of boron (B) in subducted metasedimentary rocks. To quantify the effect of phengite breakdown on B release and transfer, we investigated the replacement processes of phengitic mica and associated element redistribution in exhumed ultra-high pressure (UHP) impure marbles from the Dabie terrane, China. Three types...

Ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism is critical for understanding the most extreme thermal evolution of continental crust. However, UHT metamorphism predominantly occurred in the Precambrian and is rarely observed in the modern Earth. Here, we report the discovery of~25 Ma UHT granulites from the Mogok metamorphic belt (MMB) in Myanmar via a c...

High‐pressure (HP) eclogite and associated garnet–omphacite granulite have recently been discovered in the Mulantou area, northeastern Hainan Island, South China. These rocks consist mainly of garnet, omphacite, hornblende, quartz, and rutile/ilmenite, with or without zoisite and plagioclase. Textural relationships, mineral compositions and thermob...

A detailed petrographic, microstructural and geochemical investigation of pyrites from four eclogites / blueschists and their veins in the Tianshan (NW China) have revealed the occurrence of four types of pyrites: δ34S values of the pyrites range from −24.7 to +13.2‰, whereby three populations can be distinguished that have distinct δ34S ranges cor...

Mantle wedge hybridization by crust‐derived melt is a crucial mechanism responsible for arc lavas. However, how the melt‐rock reactions proceed in the mantle wedge and affect melt compositions is poorly understood. Garnet peridotites from Jiangzhuang in the Sulu orogen (eastern China) host garnetite and pyroxenite veins formed by slab‐mantle intera...