Phanerozoic reactivation of the Archean North China Craton through episodic magmatism: Evidence from zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes from the Liaodong Peninsula

The Archean lithospheric root of the North China Craton (NCC) has been considerably eroded and modified by Phanerozoic magmatic processes. Here we investigate the decratonization of the NCC through U–Pb and Hf isotopic analyses of zircons from Cenozoic basalts in the Liaodong Peninsula using ion-probe and MC-ICPMS techniques. The U–Pb zircon geochronology identifies three zircon populations: Precambrian, Paleozoic and Mesozoic. The Precambrian zircons yield 207Pb/206Pb ages of 2275–2567 Ma with a peak at around 2.5 Ga. They define a U–Pb discordia with upper intercept ages of 2447 ± 50 Ma to 2556 ± 50 Ma and a wide range of Hf TDM ages with a mode at 2.7–2.8 Ga. Our results clearly demonstrate the presence of an Archean lower crust in the Liaodong region. The Paleozoic zircons from the Liaodong region lack the clear internal zoning and are subhedral to rounded in shape, and yield a narrow 206Pb/238U concordant ages of 419–487 Ma with a weighted mean age of 462 ± 16 Ma. The Mesozoic zircons predominantly show crystallization in the early Cretaceous and yield a relatively large range in 206Pb/238U ages from 100 to 138 Ma (n = 53) with a peak around 120 Ma. Three samples give indistinguishable weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 120 ± 5 Ma, 120 ± 4 Ma and 121 ± 2 Ma. These early Cretaceous zircons have enriched Hf isotope compositions with εHf(t) values from −26 to −16. Our results provide important constraints on episodic magmatism during the Phanerozoic in the Liaodong region, which led to substantial reactivation of the Archean basement of the North China Craton.

Graphical AbstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch Highlights►From zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry, we demonstrate that the lower crust beneath the Liaodong region in the eastern part of North China Craton formed in the Neoarchean. ►We identify for the first time Paleozoic magmatism in the Liaodong region, in addition to Jurassic and Cretaceous magmatic pulses. ►Episodic magmatism in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic modified the composition of the ancient lower crust of the NCC and destroyed the structure of the lithosphere in the Liaodong region, substantially contributing to the decratonization of the NCC.