The Northernmost Effects of the Neo-Tethys Oceanic Slab Subduction Under the Lhasa Terrane: Evidence from the Mazin Rhyolite Porphyry
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease show prominently where Figure 1c is located in Figure 1b.
Please add specific zircon U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopic data.
The petrographic observations should be enhanced, such as microscopic characterization of rocks.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThere are many logical errors in English in the manuscript, and the authors are encouraged to ask native English speakers to polish the manuscript in English.
Author Response
Reviewer 1
Question (Q) 1: Please show prominently where Figure 1c is located in Figure 1b.
Response (R): The location of Figure 1c have been depicted in Figure 1b,
Q2: Please add specific zircon U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopic data.
R: Zircon U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopic data have been upload as an attached file online.
Q3: The petrographic observations should be enhanced, such as microscopic characterization of rocks.
R: This suite of rhyolite porphyries is relatively simple in structure and relatively simple in composition, and exposed on a very small scale (as show in Fig. 1c), so we do not describe it too much in the text. We describe these rhyolite porphyries, including occurrence, structure, and mineral composition, as below:
The outcrops exhibit eruptive unconformities,overlying the Lagongtang Formation, Langshan Formation, Jingzhushan Formation, and Baingoin batholith. Widespread wallrock breccias are observed within the Mazin rhyolite porphyry (Figures 2c,d). The rocks exhibit a grey-white coloration and display porphyritic, aphanitic, and massive structures. Phenocrysts predominantly range from 1–3 mm in size, with the composition dominated by quartz (15–20%), potassium feldspar (10–15%), plagioclase (10–15%), and biotite (1–2%). The matrix is mainly composed of felsic components such as potassium feldspar (15–20%), plagioclase (10–15%), and quartz (10–15%).
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript "The northernmost effects of the Neo-Tethys Oceanic slab sub-ducting under the Lhasa Ter rane: Evidence from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry” reported zircon U-Pb dating results, whole-rock major and trace elements, and isotopic compositions for the Mazin rhyolite in Lhasa terrane. They determined that the Mazin rhyolite marks the initial period when rollback of Neo-Tethys oceanic slab commenced. The analytical data are believable and supportive to the conclusion. However, the manuscript was poorly organized and discussed, in particular the abstract, introduction, and discussion. The comments below are listed for consideration.
Major comments:
1. A complete abstract typically contains the following parts: background, objective, methods, results, and conclusions. In the current version of this manuscript, the abstract devotes a large part to the background, only uses one sentence to talk about the conclusion. What’s more, the lines 13-21 are repetitive. So, the abstract may need to be rewritten.
2. The Introduction section should present scientific question and research background. However, the manuscript merely lists some characteristics of volcanic rocks while the major part of introduction is missing.
3. Section 4.2 is titled "Rock Genesis." However, in the discussion part, it merely determines the temperature and pressure conditions during formation simply through major and trace elements and zircon saturation temperatures. The discussion regarding "Rock Genesis" is rather lacking, and it is advisable to add more explanations.
4. In Section 4.3, it is inappropriate to directly use geochemical diagrams to draw conclusions about tectonic environments. Before using different tectonic environment discrimination diagrams, it is essential to fully take into account the applicability conditions of these diagrams. It is recommended to add a brief explanation of the principles underlying the diagrams in order to show that the studied samples are suitable and can, to a certain extent, define the tectonic environment.
5. The English is in great need of improvement and perfection.
Take bellows for example:
Line 37 and 38, the two sentences contain grammar errors. Instead of having “the characteristics of rocks” as the subject, “rocks” should be the subject.
Line 38, replace “,” with “.”.
Line 47, delete “detailed”.
Line 48, delete “successfully”.
Line 49-50, replace “founding” with “finding”.
Line 56, replace “,” with “.”.
Line 66, “terrane ,”
The entire manuscript calls for a comprehensive review.
Author Response
Dear Reviewers:
Many thanks are due to the four reviewers for their comments. Those comments have been very helpful for further improving our manuscript. We have carefully incorporated changes in response to the comments in the current version and have made corrections, which we hope meet with your approval. In addition, the revised manuscript has been carefully checked and edited for English and technical expressions. We have addressed all the concerns and have attached below our point-by-point responses. We hope that this version is acceptable.
My best regards,
Zuosheng Wang
Point-by-point responses to the reviewers' comments:
Reviewer 2
The manuscript "The northernmost effects of the Neo-Tethys Oceanic slab sub-ducting under the Lhasa Ter rane: Evidence from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry” reported zircon U-Pb dating results, whole-rock major and trace elements, and isotopic compositions for the Mazin rhyolite in Lhasa terrane. They determined that the Mazin rhyolite marks the initial period when rollback of Neo-Tethys oceanic slab commenced. The analytical data are believable and supportive to the conclusion. However, the manuscript was poorly organized and discussed, in particular the abstract, introduction, and discussion. The comments below are listed for consideration.
Major comments:
Q1. A complete abstract typically contains the following parts: background, objective, methods, results, and conclusions. In the current version of this manuscript, the abstract devotes a large part to the background, only uses one sentence to talk about the conclusion. What’s more, the lines 13-21 are repetitive. So, the abstract may need to be rewritten.
R: We have rewritten the section of the abstract and key words, and show it below and also in the main text.
Abstract:The India-Asia collision represents the most significant geological event in the formation of the Tibetan plateau. The subsidence of the Neo-Tethys oceanic slab and the closure of the ocean basin were precursors of the India-Asian collision. Linzizong volcanic formations, which range in age from the late Cretaceous to early Cenozoic (70–40 Ma), are widely distributed across the Lhasa terrane and are considered products of the closure of the Neo-Tethys Oceanic basin and the India-Asia collision. Here, we report a newly identified series of rhyolite porphyries, which share similar age and geochemical features with typical Linzizong volcanic formations. These porphyries are the northernmost extension of Linzizong volcanic formations discovered to date. Zircon U-Pb dating suggests that they formed between 58.8 and 56.1 Ma. These porphyries are characterized by high SiO2 (75.04–77.82%), total alkali (K2O: 4.71–5.03%), Na2O: 2.54–3.63%), relatively low Al2O3 (12.30–13.62%), MgO (0.13–0.33%,), and low Mg# values (15.8–25.7). They also exhibit strong enrichment in light rare earth elements ([La/Yb]N = 3.76–11.08), negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.10–0.32), Rb, Ba, Th, U, and Pb enrichments as well as Nb and Ta depletions. The samples have relatively low εNd(t) values (-6.0 to -3.8) and variable zircon εHf(t) values (-6.3 to +3.6). These features suggest they originated from the remelting of the juvenile lower crust of the North Lhasa terrane under high-temperature and extensional conditions. We propose that the Mazin rhyolite porphyries resulted from mantle-derived magma diapirism, triggering the juvenile lower crust remelting during Neo-Tethys oceanic slab rollback at the onset of the Indian-Asian collision. These findings provide new insights into the magmatic processes associated with early collisional tectonics.
Keywords: rhyolite porphyry; North Lhasa terrane; slab rollback; India-Asia initial collision; Linzizong group
Q2. The Introduction section should present scientific question and research background. However, the manuscript merely lists some characteristics of volcanic rocks while the major part of introduction is missing.
R: We have restructured this section to highlight scientific questions and conclusions, see them in the main text.
The evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean(NTO) and India-Asia collision represent the most significant geological processes shaping in the Tibetan plateau. The Linzizong volcanic formation are widely distributed across the Lhasa terrane, with activity spanning from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Cenozoic (70-40 Ma). The Linzizong volcanic formations are characterized by multiple phases and sources, provide valuable insights into the complex processes associated with the India-Asia collision[1-3]. Previous studies have shown that the Linzizong volcanic formations initially exhibited features of continental margin arc igneous rocks; Over time, these characteristics transitioned to those of intracontinental volcanic rocks in the middle stage and potassium-rich basaltic rocks in the late stage. Consequently, the Linzizong volcanic formations are deemed products of the NTO closure and the subsequent India-Asia collision[4-5]. The volcanic formations are mainly distributed along the southern part of the Shiquan River ophiolitic belt in the Lhasa terrane, including Linzhou Basin, Junuo, Cuoqin, and Geji-Shiquanhe areas[4, 6-20]. The volcanic cycles in the Linzhizong formations exhibit distinct evolutionary characteristics, transitioning from early calc-alkaline continental arc rocks to late-stage high-potassium calc-alkaline and potassium basalt series intraplate volcanic rocks. This progression suggests that the source region and magmatic processes involved are highly complex[11, 15, 16, 20-30].
Recently, we identified a series of rhyolite porphyries in the Baingoin area of the North Lhasa terrane, which shares similar ages and geochemical characteristics with the typical Linzizong volcanic formations. This discovery is the northernmost extent of Linzizong volcanic formations identified to date. The emergence of these rocks is crucial for understanding the far-reaching effects of the Neo-Tethys Oceanic slab subduction on the deep lithosphere beyond the Lhasa terrane. These rhyolite porphyries serve as valuable natural samples for investigating magma formation processes at the continental margin during the syn-collision period. Additionally, they provide key insights into the activity and dynamic behavior of the oceanic slab during the initial stages of continental collision.
In this study, we present new zircon U-Pb ages, Hf isotope data, whole-rock major, trace element, and Sr-Nd isotope data for these rhyolite porphyries. This data enables us to understand the petrogenesis of the porphyries and provides further insights into the key geodynamic processes shaping the continental lithosphere in response to oceanic closure and continental collision.
Q3. Section 4.2 is titled "Rock Genesis." However, in the discussion part, it merely determines the temperature and pressure conditions during formation simply through major and trace elements and zircon saturation temperatures. The discussion regarding "Rock Genesis" is rather lacking, and it is advisable to add more explanations.
R: I think you mean section 5.2. After carefully consideration, we modified the title into “Magma source and melting condition”
Q4. In Section 4.3, it is inappropriate to directly use geochemical diagrams to draw conclusions about tectonic environments. Before using different tectonic environment discrimination diagrams, it is essential to fully take into account the applicability conditions of these diagrams. It is recommended to add a brief explanation of the principles underlying the diagrams in order to show that the studied samples are suitable and can, to a certain extent, define the tectonic environment.
R：Thank you for your good suggestion, I have tried to to add a brief explanation of the principles underlying the diagrams.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsZhuosheng Wang and co-workers present a paper on geochronology and geochemistry of from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry in Lhasa Terrane. Their data are interesting but results must be deeply revised and the English style carefully corrected before its acceptance. During this review process, I had to request the zircon isotopic data. However, the data provided are incomplete; the U-Pb zircon geochronological data are still missing. This is completely unacceptable. All data must be published, either in Tables or Appendices.
The paper contains noticeable English errors; for example, in the abstract, where two nearly identical phrases appear. Additionally, some parts of the text are unclear. One example of this is the title, which should be “The northernmost effects of the Neo-Tethys oceanic slab subduction under the Lhasa Terrane: Evidence from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry". The are many obvious typos, as for example, the use of capital letters after comma. There is an inappropriate use of verb tenses, for example “The Al2O3 content was between 12.30% and 13.62%,” should be “The Al2O3 content ranges between 12.30% and 13.62%,”. Some sentences are poorly written and contain avoidable repetitions.
The arguments presented in the discussion are very weak and do not take existing literature into account. This leads to poorly supported results. The reasons for concluding that the period from 58.8 to 56.1 million years ago marks the initial stage of both the rollback of the oceanic slab and the onset of collision between the Indian and Asian plates must be better explained. This mechanism presents many issues, as one would expect significant mantle melting; however, there is no evidence of coeval basic magmatism. Extensional collapse is an important mechanism for producing felsic magmatism of crustal origin. Why could it not have produced by this mechanism? The paper indicates that the rhyolites were generated by low-pressure melting of the lower crust, which implies a significant process of crustal thinning.
In the introduction, relevant references on the relationship between potassic magmatism and the subduction regime should be mentioned. For example:
Dickinson, W. R. (1975). Potash-depth (K-h) relations in continental margin and intra-oceanic magmatic arcs. Geology, 3(2), 53-56.
Gill, J. B. (2012). Orogenic andesites and plate tectonics (Vol. 16). Springer Science & Business Media.
Schmidt, M. W., & Jagoutz, O. (2017). The global systematics of primitive arc melts. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 18(8), 2817-2854.
The discussion on the trace element ratio fractionation in Figure 7 is incorrect and unjustified. It is evident that the La/Sm ratio and, of course, the La/Yb ratio are fractionated during both melting and crystallization processes, as La is more incompatible than Sm and Yb. Although the evolution can be very complex in felsic magmas, where the presence of accessory minerals such as apatite, titanite, monazite, allanite, or xenotime can affect the partition coefficients of these elements. Furthermore, there is a significant body of literature on the fractionation of the Zr/Hf ratio that has not been considered, for example:
Bau, M. (1996). Controls on the fractionation of isovalent trace elements in magmatic and aqueous systems: evidence from Y/Ho, Zr/Hf, and lanthanide tetrad effect. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 123(3), 323-333.
Linnen, R. L., & Keppler, H. (2002). Melt composition control of Zr/Hf fractionation in magmatic processes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 66(18), 3293-3301.
Wang, X., Griffin, W. L., & Chen, J. (2010). Hf contents and Zr/Hf ratios in granitic zircons. Geochemical Journal, 44(1), 65-72.
Although it is rather obvious a crustal origin for the studied rhyolites as, apparently, there are not coeval basic and intermediate magmatic rocks, the argument that low Cr and Ni contents crustal origin suggest from lines 217 and 218 is wrong as it is well-known that crystal fraction is very efficient in depleting the magma in highly compatible elements.
Lines 220-224 “The Th/U values of the Mazin rhyolite porphyry range from 3.8 to 7.4, while the Nb/Ta values range from 3.6 to 9.7, reflecting characteristics typical of lower crust compositions (lower crust Th/U values: 13.8 - 6.0; primitive mantle Th/U value: 4.00; mantle-derived magma Nb/Ta:17.5±2, 223 and crust-derived magma:11.0 - 12.0 [64])”. I don’t agree with this affirmation, since some of the reported Th/U values are also close to those estimated for the upper crust (e.g., upper crust: 3.8-4.1). On the other hand, it is relevant that the Nb/Ta ratio achieves significantly lower values than in the upper and lower continental crust. This may be caused by fluid-melt interaction processes during the magmatic-hydrothermal transition, as discussed in:
Ballouard, C., Massuyeau, M., Elburg, M. A., Tappe, S., Viljoen, F., Brandenburg, J. T., 2020.The magmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of felsic igneous rocks as seen through Nb-Ta geochemical fractionation, with implications for the origins of rare-metal mineralizations. Earth-Science Reviews, 203, 103115.
Ballouard, C., Poujol, M., Boulvais, P., Branquet, Y., Tartèse, R., Vigneresse, J. L., 2016. Nb-Ta fractionation in peraluminous granites: A marker of the magmatic-hydrothermal transition. Geology, 44(3), 231-234.
The conclusions of the paper are rather sparse. Additionally, the first point in the conclusions is somewhat confusing, as it is proposed a crustal source for the rhyolites while it is also indicated that they are a product of mantle-crust interaction.
Detailed comments
Line 67: delete “from south to north” as it is obvious.
Figure 1a: it is a geological map. Label “A” is missing.
Lines 98-100: rephrase modal abundances. It is confusing.
Line 158: “in the rhyolite field”
Line 159: Why Fe2O3T is lower than Fe2O3?
Line 174: LILEs are not light rare earth element, but Large Ion Lithophile Elements. U and Th are not LILEs.
Figure 9: It is necessary to cite the works that proposed the compositional fields.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
The paper contains noticeable English errors; for example, in the abstract, where two nearly identical phrases appear. Additionally, some parts of the text are unclear. One example of this is the title, which should be “The northernmost effects of the Neo-Tethys oceanic slab subduction under the Lhasa Terrane: Evidence from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry". The are many obvious typos, as for example, the use of capital letters after comma. There is an inappropriate use of verb tenses, for example “The Al2O3 content was between 12.30% and 13.62%,” should be “The Al2O3 content ranges between 12.30% and 13.62%,”. Some sentences are poorly written and contain avoidable repetitions.
Author Response
Dear Reviewers:
Many thanks are due to the four reviewers for their comments. Those comments have been very helpful for further improving our manuscript. We have carefully incorporated changes in response to the comments in the current version and have made corrections, which we hope meet with your approval. In addition, the revised manuscript has been carefully checked and edited for English and technical expressions. We have addressed all the concerns and have attached below our point-by-point responses. We hope that this version is acceptable.
My best regards,
Zuosheng Wang
Point-by-point responses to the reviewers' comments:
Reviewer 3
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Zhuosheng Wang and co-workers present a paper on geochronology and geochemistry of from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry in Lhasa Terrane. Their data are interesting but results must be deeply revised and the English style carefully corrected before its acceptance. During this review process, I had to request the zircon isotopic data. However, the data provided are incomplete; the U-Pb zircon geochronological data are still missing. This is completely unacceptable. All data must be published, either in Tables or Appendices.
The paper contains noticeable English errors; for example, in the abstract, where two nearly identical phrases appear. Additionally, some parts of the text are unclear. One example of this is the title, which should be “The northernmost effects of the Neo-Tethys oceanic slab subduction under the Lhasa Terrane: Evidence from the Mazin rhyolite porphyry". The are many obvious typos, as for example, the use of capital letters after comma. There is an inappropriate use of verb tenses, for example “The Al2O3 content was between 12.30% and 13.62%,” should be “The Al2O3 content ranges between 12.30% and 13.62%,”. Some sentences are poorly written and contain avoidable repetitions.
The arguments presented in the discussion are very weak and do not take existing literature into account. This leads to poorly supported results. The reasons for concluding that the period from 58.8 to 56.1 million years ago marks the initial stage of both the rollback of the oceanic slab and the onset of collision between the Indian and Asian plates must be better explained. This mechanism presents many issues, as one would expect significant mantle melting; however, there is no evidence of coeval basic magmatism. Extensional collapse is an important mechanism for producing felsic magmatism of crustal origin. Why could it not have produced by this mechanism? The paper indicates that the rhyolites were generated by low-pressure melting of the lower crust, which implies a significant process of crustal thinning.
Q1. In the introduction, relevant references on the relationship between potassic magmatism and the subduction regime should be mentioned. For example:
Dickinson, W. R. (1975). Potash-depth (K-h) relations in continental margin and intra-oceanic magmatic arcs. Geology, 3(2), 53-56.
Gill, J. B. (2012). Orogenic andesites and plate tectonics (Vol. 16). Springer Science & Business Media.
Schmidt, M. W., & Jagoutz, O. (2017). The global systematics of primitive arc melts. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 18(8), 2817-2854.
R: We have added these references in the section of “Introduction”.
Q2. The discussion on the trace element ratio fractionation in Figure 7 is incorrect and unjustified. It is evident that the La/Sm ratio and, of course, the La/Yb ratio are fractionated during both melting and crystallization processes, as La is more incompatible than Sm and Yb. Although the evolution can be very complex in felsic magmas, where the presence of accessory minerals such as apatite, titanite, monazite, allanite, or xenotime can affect the partition coefficients of these elements. Furthermore, there is a significant body of literature on the fractionation of the Zr/Hf ratio that has not been considered, for example:
Bau, M. (1996). Controls on the fractionation of isovalent trace elements in magmatic and aqueous systems: evidence from Y/Ho, Zr/Hf, and lanthanide tetrad effect. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 123(3), 323-333.
Linnen, R. L., & Keppler, H. (2002). Melt composition control of Zr/Hf fractionation in magmatic processes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 66(18), 3293-3301.
Wang, X., Griffin, W. L., & Chen, J. (2010). Hf contents and Zr/Hf ratios in granitic zircons. Geochemical Journal, 44(1), 65-72.
Q3. Although it is rather obvious a crustal origin for the studied rhyolites as, apparently, there are not coeval basic and intermediate magmatic rocks, the argument that low Cr and Ni contents crustal origin suggest from lines 217 and 218 is wrong as it is well-known that crystal fraction is very efficient in depleting the magma in highly compatible elements.
Q4. Lines 220-224 “The Th/U values of the Mazin rhyolite porphyry range from 3.8 to 7.4, while the Nb/Ta values range from 3.6 to 9.7, reflecting characteristics typical of lower crust compositions (lower crust Th/U values: 13.8 - 6.0; primitive mantle Th/U value: 4.00; mantle-derived magma Nb/Ta:17.5±2, 223 and crust-derived magma:11.0 - 12.0 [64])”. I don’t agree with this affirmation, since some of the reported Th/U values are also close to those estimated for the upper crust (e.g., upper crust: 3.8-4.1). On the other hand, it is relevant that the Nb/Ta ratio achieves significantly lower values than in the upper and lower continental crust. This may be caused by fluid-melt interaction processes during the magmatic-hydrothermal transition, as discussed in:
Ballouard, C., Massuyeau, M., Elburg, M. A., Tappe, S., Viljoen, F., Brandenburg, J. T., 2020.The magmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of felsic igneous rocks as seen through Nb-Ta geochemical fractionation, with implications for the origins of rare-metal mineralizations. Earth-Science Reviews, 203, 103115.
Ballouard, C., Poujol, M., Boulvais, P., Branquet, Y., Tartèse, R., Vigneresse, J. L., 2016. Nb-Ta fractionation in peraluminous granites: A marker of the magmatic-hydrothermal transition. Geology, 44(3), 231-234.
R for Q3 and Q4,
​Thanks for the good advice, we have got them and rewrote this section. the Mazin rhyolite porphyry belongs to typical I-type fractionated granites. We revisit the magma source and the melting P-T condition in section 5.2.
Q5. The conclusions of the paper are rather sparse. Additionally, the first point in the conclusions is somewhat confusing, as it is proposed a crustal source for the rhyolites while it is also indicated that they are a product of mantle-crust interaction.
R: we rewrite the conclusions.
The Mazin rhyolite porphyry, newly identified in the North Lhasa terrane, has zircon U-Pb dating results of 58.8±0.8 Ma and 56.1±0.8 Ma. It belongs to the Dianzhong formation in the Linzizong group and represents the northernmost distribution of the Linzizong group, indicating that the subduction effects of the NTO influenced the North Lhasa terrane during the Paleocene. The Mazin rhyolite porphyry is derived from the melting of the juvenile lower crust of the North Lhasa terrane in a relatively low-pressure, high-temperature environment during slab rollback. These findings provide new insights into the magmatic processes associated with early collisional tectonics.
Detailed comments
Q: Line 67: delete “from south to north” as it is obvious.
R: We accepted it, and deleted “from south to north”
Q: Figure 1a: it is a geological map. Label “A” is missing.
R: We redraw the Figure 1
Q: Lines 98-100: rephrase modal abundances. It is confusing.
R: We have done it
Q: Line 158: “in the rhyolite field”
R: We modified into “in the rhyolite area”.
Q: Line 159: Why Fe2O3T is lower than Fe2O3?
R: It is error, It should be “Fe2O3T from 1.4 % to 2.0 %, FeO from 0.40% to 1.00%”. After do that, we also checked the data table, and deleted several useless data and modified the misrepresentation.
Q: Line 174: LILEs are not light rare earth element, but Large Ion Lithophile Elements. U and Th are not LILEs.
R: We modified it.
Primitive mantle-normalized spider diagram shows that the Mazin rhyolite porphyry are commonly characterized by relative depletion in high field strength elements (HFSEs) such as Nb, Ta, P, and Ti, significant enrichment in Large Ion Lithophile Elements (LILEs) such as Rb and K, and also in Th and U, while show obvious negative anomalies of Ba and Sr and positive anomalies of Zr and Hf.
Q: Figure 9: It is necessary to cite the works that proposed the compositional fields.
We have added the references in the text.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsTry to have a native speaker of English review the manuscript
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
there are a few instances of lack of coherence between illustrations and the text which I identified. Terminology is also tied up with Chinese politics regarding Tibet.
Author Response
Dear Reviewers:
Many thanks are due to the four reviewers for their comments. Those comments have been very helpful for further improving our manuscript. We have carefully incorporated changes in response to the comments in the current version and have made corrections, which we hope meet with your approval. In addition, the revised manuscript has been carefully checked and edited for English and technical expressions. We have addressed all the concerns and have attached below our point-by-point responses. We hope that this version is acceptable.
My best regards,
Zuosheng Wang
Reviewer 4
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Q: Try to have a native speaker of English review the manuscript
P: We have done
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI notice that the revision has been significantly improved. Its publication will help researchers to understand the magmatic process during the Neo-Tethys Ocean closure. Here are some minor points that I hope the authors will revise.
Line 11, insert “The” before “Linzizhong”.
I wonder why it is referred to as “Linzizhong volcanic formations” instead of “Linzizhong volcanic formation”.
Author Response
Comments 1: I notice that the revision has been significantly improved. Its publication will help researchers to understand the magmatic process during the Neo-Tethys Ocean closure. Here are some minor points that I hope the authors will revise.
Line 11, insert “The” before “Linzizhong”.
Response 1: I have modified the question you asked. Insert “The” before “Linzizhong”.
I wonder why it is referred to as “Linzizhong volcanic formations” instead of “Linzizhong volcanic formation”.
My idea is that Linzhouzong consists of three major suites of volcanic rocks formed by the subduction-collision process, and the Mazin rhyolite pegmatite is only a product of a certain stage. In order to help readers better understand, I added an "s" after Linzizhong volcanic formation.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe authors have resolved most problems raised in my previous revision, but there are some small problems that should be solved before final acceptance.
A careful revision of the text is necessary to correct some obvious typos. Please, correct in Appendix 2 the nomenclature of isotopes, e.g., Pb207 should be 207Pb. Correct also (ma), it should be (Ma).
Detailed comments
Lines 120-129: Please indicate the degree of concordance considered.
Lines 241-257: There is an obvious duplication, it is necessary to delete the whole paragraph.
Line 268: Figure 8b does not support low-P conditions.
Lines 270-271: Some references are required. For example:
Miller, C. F., McDowell, S. M., & Mapes, R. W. (2003). Hot and cold granites? Implications of zircon saturation temperatures and preservation of inheritance. Geology, 31(6), 529-532.
Bea, F., Morales, I., Molina, J. F., Montero, P., & Cambeses, A. (2021). Zircon stability grids in crustal partial melts: Implications for zircon inheritance. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 176, 1-13.
Figures 7 and 8: It is necessary to add references for the compositional fields. Explain the abbreviations.
Appendix 1: It is necessary a more detailed description XRF and ICP-MS apparatuses used for major- and trace-element analyses.
Author Response
The authors have resolved most problems raised in my previous revision, but there are some small problems that should be solved before final acceptance.
A careful revision of the text is necessary to correct some obvious typos. Please, correct in Appendix 2 the nomenclature of isotopes, e.g., Pb207 should be 207Pb. Correct also (ma), it should be (Ma).
Thank you for your question. I have made changes to the questions in Appendix 2。
Detailed comments
Comments 1: Lines 120-129: Please indicate the degree of concordance considered.
Response 1: Added relevant descriptions.
Comments 2: Lines 241-257: There is an obvious duplication, it is necessary to delete the whole paragraph.
Response 2: I have removed the duplicated parts.
Comments 3: Line 268: Figure 8b does not support low-P conditions.
Response 3: Our data fit is not as good, reflecting low-pressure conditions, and Figure 8b is provided to better illustrate Figure 8a.
Comments 4: Lines 270-271: Some references are required. For example:
Miller, C. F., McDowell, S. M., & Mapes, R. W. (2003). Hot and cold granites? Implications of zircon saturation temperatures and preservation of inheritance. Geology, 31(6), 529-532.
Bea, F., Morales, I., Molina, J. F., Montero, P., & Cambeses, A. (2021). Zircon stability grids in crustal partial melts: Implications for zircon inheritance. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 176, 1-13.
Response 4:We have included citations to relevant literature.
Comments 5: Figures 7 and 8: It is necessary to add references for the compositional fields. Explain the abbreviations.
Response 5: We have added relevant literature and explained the abbreviations used.
Comments 6: Appendix 1: It is necessary a more detailed description XRF and ICP-MS apparatuses used for major- and trace-element analyses.
Response 6: The experimental content is modeled after that of other English articles, so we will no longer include content related to experimental procedures.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
