Anewmethodfordeterminingthepartialmeltingdepthofmantle-derivedmagmaandlithosphericthicknessincontinentalregionsisderivedfromREEgeochemistry.ThiseffectivetechniqueusesvariationsintheCe/YbandSm/YbratiosfoundinmainlyvolcanicrocksincontinentalChina.TheratioschangewiththedepthoforiginconsistentwiththecorrelationbetweenlithosphericthicknessandtheCe/YbandSm/Ybratiosfoundinoceanicbasalt.Theseratiosincreaseexponentiallywiththedepthoforigin,thelithosphericthickness,ofawidevarietyofCenozoicvolcanicbasaltandPaleozoickimberliteintheNorthChinaCraton,northeasternChinacontinentandvicinity.Thisfunctionalrelationshipwithdepthisshowninaplotoftheratiosthatformsaconcordiacurve,whichiscloselyexpressedbyformulasusing8-degreepolynomials.Theseprovideamoreaccurategageinmeasuringthelithosphericthicknessthanthetraditionalgeophysicalmethods.Whenappliedtovolcanicrockofdifferentagesitalsorevealshowthethicknesshaschangedovertimeandthus,greatlyaidstheunderstandingofthetectonichistory.RelationsbetweentheCO2content,mineralreactionsandpressureintheupperasthenospherebeneaththebaseofthelithosphereappearstoaffecttheproportionsofREEinpartialmeltsandbringsaboutaclosecorrelationbetweenlithosphericthicknessandtheCe/YbandSm/Ybratiosinmantle-derivedmagmaticrock.Thisthicknessgauge,forbothcontinentalandoceaniclithosphere,providesanewapproachinanalyzingthelithosphericthicknessindifferenttectonicsettingsandgeologictimes.
