10.6084/m9.figshare.3452849 Chao Yuan Chao Yuan Min Sun Min Sun Yigang Xu Yigang Xu Guochun Zhao Guochun Zhao Wenjiao Xiao Wenjiao Xiao Xiaoping Long Xiaoping Long Jiyuan Yin Jiyuan Yin Oceanic lithospheric mantle beneath the continental crust of the Chinese Altai Geological Society of London 2016 lithospheric mantle lithospheric mantle forms crust Chinese Altai field strength elements Ashele basalt Phanerozoic continents Oceanic lithospheric mantle subduction oceanic lithospheric mantle Geology 2016-06-21 10:21:50 Dataset https://geolsoc.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Oceanic_lithospheric_mantle_beneath_the_continental_crust_of_the_Chinese_Altai/3452849 <p>Although subduction–accretion is proposed as a major regime in making new continental crust, how the lithospheric mantle forms remains unclear. Formed after the closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean, the Ashele basalt shows normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB)-like characteristics with light REE-depleted patterns and extremely low contents of high field strength elements. The low Zr/Y and Nb/Y ratios of the basalt are significantly different from those of asthenosphere-derived melts, and the excess Eu and Sr suggest that the basalt was probably derived from accreted oceanic lithospheric mantle. The presence of the N-MORB-like terrestrial basalt implies that subduction–accretion is an effective mechanism in building the refractory lithospheric mantle of Phanerozoic continents. </p>