Abstract
Geochronological and geochemical analyses were performed on K-feldspar granites and monzonitic granites from the Xilinhot area, Inner Mongolia, China. Zircon U/Pb ages indicate that the two types granites were emplaced during the Lower Carboniferous. The K-feldspar granites (332 Ma) have the typical A-type granite characteristics of a post-collision setting. The monzonitic granites have an emplacement age of 323 Ma. Zircon εHf values of the former range from +12.8 to +14.2, with an average TDM2 of 453 Ma. The latter have lower zircon εHf values, ranging from +5.4 to +10.7, with an average TDM2 of 798 Ma. The strong, positive εHf values of the zircon indicate that both sets of samples are from a juvenile crust formed in an oceanic crust subduction stage, although the monzonitic granite may have undergone a hybridization of crustal materials. These results indicate a younger post orogenic event. The Paleo-Asian Ocean had closed before the Early Carboniferous and the Xilinhot area started its post-orogenic evolution with an extensional tectonic environment during the Early Carboniferous.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to Prof. Defan Xie from the School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan for his guidance during field work, and thanks also go to Jianzhen Geng and Yongqing Zhang for the zircon U-Pb dating by LA-ICP-MS at the Tianjin Center of China Geological Survey. This study was supported by the China Geological Survey (Nos. 1212010510507, 1212010811005, 1212011220448) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (No. CUGL150816). The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0942-2.
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Zhao, X., Zhou, W., Fu, D. et al. Isotope Chronology and Geochemistry of the Lower Carboniferous Granite in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. J. Earth Sci. 29, 280–294 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0942-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-017-0942-2