Reactivation of the Archean lower crust: Implications for zircon geochronology, elemental and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic geochemistry of late Mesozoic granitoids from northwestern Jiaodong Terrane, the North China Craton

The late Mesozoic granitoids widely distributed in the northwestern Jiaodong Terrane are important markers of cratonic destruction and lithospheric thinning of the eastern North China Craton (NCC). Here we investigate the Late Jurassic Linglong and Luanjiahe granites and report zircon U–Pb emplacement ages of 157–159 Ma. These rocks also contain abundant late Archean, Paleoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, early Paleozoic and Triassic inherited zircons, suggesting the involvement of continental crustal materials from both the NCC and Yangtze Craton in magma tectonics. The rocks investigated in this study show high Na2O + K2O and low MgO and are peraluminous, with enrichment in LREEs and LILEs (Rb, Ba, U, and Sr) and depletion in HFSEs (Nb, Ta, P, and Ti). They also display low εHf(t) values and high Sr/Y ratios, comparable to adakitic rocks, suggesting that the Linglong and Luanjiahe granitoids formed under relatively high pressure conditions and were likely derived from the partial melting of the thickened lower crust of the NCC. The Guojialing granodiorites were emplaced in the early Cretaceous (129 Ma), and also contain abundant late Archean and Paleoproterozoic inherited zircons. The rocks possess high CaO, TFe2O3 and MgO, and are metaluminous, with enrichment in LREEs and LILEs and depletion in HFSEs. They are also characterized by high Sr/Y ratios, and have higher εNd(t) and εHf(t) values than the Late Jurassic granitoids, suggesting the involvement of mantle components in the magmatic source. We correlate the magma tectonics with the processes accompanying the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the NCC and the associated asthenospheric upwelling.

► Late Jurassic granites were derived from partial melting of thickened lower crust.
► Early Cretaceous granodiorites were triggered by subduction of the Pacific Plate.
► Zircon ages suggest the involvement of both NCC and Yangtze Craton in magma tectonics.
► They provide marker for cratonic destruction and lithospheric thinning of the NCC.