Revealing hidden magmatic underplating in the East China Sea shelf basin using three-dimensional gravity modelling and its tectonic implications

SUMMARY Lower crustal high-velocity bodies (LCHBs) are key indicators of deep magmatic addition and lithospheric modification at rifted continental margins. Integrating 3-D gravity modelling with regional geophysical and geological constraints, we identify a prominent LCHB beneath the Xihu Sag of the East China Sea shelf basin. This body is NNE–SSW elongated, ~5–7 km thick and spatially coincides with major depocentres and fault systems. We propose a two-stage mafic emplacement model linking its formation to the tectonic transition from fore-arc compression to back-arc extension. During the early-mid Cretaceous, compressional subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate facilitated arc-related underplating and accumulation of mafic material in the lower crust. In the early Cenozoic, slab rollback and asthenospheric upwelling during back-arc extension renewed melt supply, further thickening the lower crust. The absence of surface volcanism indicates that magmas were largely trapped and crystallized at depth, forming dense mafic cumulates. Present-day low shallow-mantle temperatures and high densities beneath the Xihu Sag suggest that preservation of these cumulates was sustained not solely by mantle thermal conditions, but also by prolonged subsidence, sedimentary insulation and inherited compressional structures. These results underscore the need to integrate tectonic, thermal and structural factors to fully understand deep magmatic processes in marginal basins.