Crustal formation in the Nanling Range, South China Block: Hf isotope evidence of zircons from Phanerozoic granitoids

Granitic rocks are the principle agent of crustal differentiation, therefore their origins yield important information on crustal formation and reworking. An extensive survey of zircon Hf isotopes from granitic rocks in a large region can provide a profile of crustal characteristics that may be further linked to previous crustal evolution. In this study, we measured U–Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions of zircon grains extracted from twenty-five Jurassic, five Triassic and two Ordovician granitic plutons from the Nanling Range, South China Block (SCB). Combined with the published Lu–Hf isotopic data for the granitic rocks in the studied and adjacent areas, three domains with different crustal formation histories have been identified in the southern part of the SCB: eastern side, middle part and western side. The eastern side extends to the coastal area of the SCB, with dominant Hf crustal model ages (TDM2) in zircons falling within the range of 2.2–1.6 Ga. The middle part is partly coincided with the low-Nd model age belt proposed by Chen and Jahn (1998), with zircon Hf TDM2 ranging from 1.6 to 1.0 Ga. The western side covers the westernmost Nanling Range and the western end of the Jiangnan orogen, in which the granitoids have zircon Hf TDM2 model ages spanning 2.2–1.8 Ga. The Paleo- to Meso-Proterozoic model ages of the Phanerozoic granitoids in the Nanling Range imply a long-term crustal reworking. Zircons from the western and eastern sides have an average εHf(155 Ma) at around −10, about 4 epsilon units lower than the middle part (εHf(155 Ma) = −6). Hf TDM2 histogram from the western Nanling Range is similar to that of the Neoproterozoic granitoids in northern Guangxi Province to the west but much lower to the granites in the middle part to the east. The eastern side has a broader range of Hf model ages in zircons, with the main peak low to ca 1.6 Ga, suggesting the reworking of Mesoproterozoic crust. However, granitoids in the middle part have zircon Hf TDM2 ages at 1.6–1.0 Ga, which indicates the incorporation of younger crust materials into the magma sources. The Hf model ages of granitoids, as well as four zircon xenocrysts with ages around 920 Ma within the Mesozoic granitoids in the middle part, indicate that the middle part has similar crustal features with the eastern Jiangnan orogen. We propose that this low TDM2 granite belt is probably part of the early Neoproterozoic arc-continent collision belt between different continents (possibly Yangtze and Cathaysia) during the early assembling processes, while the granitoids in the western and eastern sides have similar crustal compositions.

► A transverse zircon Hf-isotope profile of granitoids was constructed in southern China.
► Large variations of Hf isotopes in these zircons need not imply the mantle input.
► The crust in the southern part of the South China Block can be subdivided into three parts.
► West and east sides have similar crustal compositions, with Paleoproterozoic model ages.
► Middle part represents the Neoproterozoic boundary between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks.