| The collision of India with Asia is an important geologic event preceded by the formation of now obducted ophiolites of Western Pakistan. Ophiolites along the suture zone between India and Asia can help elucidate the pre-terminal and terminal collisional history of the Himalaya orogen. Along the western boundary of the Indian plate, the Bela Ophiolite (BO) and associated allochthonous Sub-Ophiolitic Volcanic Complexes (BSOVC) represent the largest composite exposures of mafic and ultramafic rocks. The Muslim Bagh Ophiolite (MBO) is another well-known ophiolite. Collectively, they have not been extensively studied because of their remote location. A detailed geological map for the BO-BSOVC was created using remote sensing and field data. False-color images (Landsat ETM+ bands 7-4-2 in RGB), color band-ratio composite images of Landsat ETM+ data (5/7-5/1-5/4 in RGB), ASTER data (4/5-6/7-3/4 in RGB), and Mafic Index images along with reflectance spectroscopy data were used to discriminate different lithologies.;Based on the geochemistry, age, and tectonic contact relationships of the samples analyzed, the BO most likely formed in an oceanic supra-subduction forearc environment ∼65 Ma on the upper plate of a westward-dipping subduction zone that consumed Indian plate oceanic crust. The alkali basalts trace elements signatures from the BSOVC show OIB signatures. They are likely to be from seamount complexes that were part of the subducting Indian plate. Analyzed dike samples from the MBO show typical subduction-related trace element signatures on a chondrite-normalized diagram and in a Th-Hf/3-Ta ternary diagram. The island arc affinity for the diabase dikes cutting the mantle section and sheeted dikes indicates that their origin could be analogous to some segments of the Chile ridge. An island arc affinity for dikes cutting the metamorphic sole indicates that emplacement of the MBO was followed by island arc-type magmatism. |
