Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of Triassic A-type granites in southeastern China: insights from zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopic and whole-rock geochemical compositions of the Luoguyan and Guiyantou granites in northwestern Fujian Province

<p>Triassic A-type granites in eastern South China Block (SCB) are abundant in the Wuyi–Yunkai tectonic domain and provide an important opportunity to explore the early Mesozoic evolution of continental crust of the SE part of the SCB. We carried out U–Pb zircon dating, Lu–Hf isotope analyses of zircon, and whole-rock geochemical analyses for two granitic plutons, the Guiyantou (GYT) and Luoguyan (LGY) granites, from northwestern Fujian Province. LA–ICP–MS U–Pb zircon analyses yielded ages of 232 ± 4 to 231 ± 7 Ma and 221 ± 5 Ma (Middle-Late Triassic) for the GYT and LGY granites. These two granites belong to metaluminous to weakly peraluminous high K calc-alkaline A-type granite that are enriched in K, Al, light rare earth element and Rb, Th, U, and Pb, and depleted in Nb, Ta, P, and Ti. Their rare earth element patterns are highly fractionated with (La/Yb)<i>_N</i> ratios of 2–21 and strong negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.02–0.31). <i>In situ</i> Hf isotopic analysis of zircon from the GYT and LGY granites yielded <i>ε</i>_Hf(<i>t</i>) values ranging from –11.5 to –1.1, with corresponding two-stage Hf model ages from 1.98 to 1.33 Ga, from which it is inferred that the GYT and LGY magmas formed by partial melting of Proterozoic metasedimentary rock in the Cathaysia block. The two granites were emplaced at 232 and 221 Ma and together with Triassic A-type granites in coastal region of the SCB, which is in agreement with an extensional tectonic setting in the Middle-Late Triassic. We suggest that the Middle-Late Triassic A-type granites in eastern SCB were probably formed in an intracontinental, post-orogenic extensional regime that collision was between the SCB and an ‘unknown block’ or the eastern extension of Indochina block.</p

The role of mafic microgranular enclaves in the generation of Early Cretaceous granitic rocks of SE China: evidence from zircon U–Pb geochronology, geochemistry, and Hf isotopic data for the Liangnong pluton, eastern Zhejiang Province

<p>In order to constrain the timing and petrogenesis of both the hosting rocks and the inner mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) of the Liangnong pluton, SE China, we have performed a series of bulk-rock geochemistry, zircon U–Pb, and Hf isotopic analysis, respectively. Zircon laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry U–Pb isotopic analysis yielded ages of 106.3 ± 1.1 Ma for the granodiorite and 103.9 ± 1.6 to 105 ± 1.8 Ma for monzogranite phases within the hosting pluton, as well as an age of 104.7 ± 0.8 Ma for the associated MMEs. The host rocks are metaluminous, have A/CNK values of 0.91–1.09, contain relatively high concentrations of SiO₂ and K₂O, are enriched in Rb, Th, Ba, Zr, and Hf, are depleted of Sr, P, Ti, Nd, and Ta, contain high concentrations of the rare earth elements (REE) and the light REE, and have moderately negative Eu anomalies (Eu*/Eu = 0.6–0.8). In comparison, the MMEs contain high concentrations of Al₂O₃, FeO, MgO, and TiO₂, are relatively enriched in Ba, U, and Sr, and are depleted in Th, Nd, and Zr. They have lower total REE concentrations and higher Eu*/Eu values than the hosting granites. The zircons within the hosting granites have Hf crustal model ages (T_DM^C) that show a peak at 1.29–1.85 Ga. Zircons within the MMEs have different εHf(t) values (–3.7 to +4.9) than the zircons within the hosting granites (–10.8 to –1.9). The results indicate that the MMEs and the hosting granites crystallized from magmas with different sources, thereby showing that the Early Cretaceous magmatism in the coastal areas of SE China was generated by the widespread injection of mantle-derived magmas caused by rollback of the subducting palaeo-Pacific Plate.</p

Crust–mantle interaction triggered by oblique subduction of the Pacific plate: geochronological, geochemical, and Hf isotopic evidence from the Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks of Zhejiang Province, southeast China

<div><p>Large-scale volcanism in the late Mesozoic was a prominent geological event in southeast China. The late Mesozoic volcanic sequences, named the Moshishan Group, are exposed in Zhejiang Province and are predominantly felsic in composition with subordinate mafic magma and rare andesites. To understand the late Mesozoic tectonic evolution of southeast China, we present zircon U–Pb dating, major and trace element analyses, and Hf isotopic compositions from felsic volcanic rocks of the Moshishan Group. Zircon U–Pb dating shows that the Moshishan Group formed between 145 and 129 Ma. The ε_Hf(<i>t</i>) of the analysed zircons ranges from −16.58 to +6.89, and the <i>T</i>_DM2 age ranges from 753 to 2238 Ma with a major peak at ca. 1870 Ma. Hf isotopic compositions of zircons in Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks are more radiogenic than that of the metamorphic basement rocks, indicating a juvenile component in these magmas. Major element concentrations show that the volcanic rocks mainly belong to the high-K calc-alkaline series. Both zircon saturation temperatures and the ε_Hf(<i>t</i>) values of zircons gradually increased with the evolution of the magma. Trace element data indicates that neither magmatic differentiation of mantle-derived magma nor mixing of magmas from different sources were the predominant magmagenetic processes. Earlier studies suggest that contemporaneous underplating contributed to the heat source that induced crustal melting and to the material origin that inconsistently mixed with the local crustal melts. Magmatic underplating is likely to have occurred because of the southwestward subduction of the Pacific plate with episodic slab rollback. The data obtained in this study suggest that the crust–mantle interaction under the influence of slab rollback played a progressive role in the formation of Early Cretaceous felsic volcanic rocks in southeast China.</p></div