Early Cretaceous granitoids and gabbro in the Liaodong Peninsula: implications for delamination of the North China Craton and Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction

Abstract

New petrological, whole-rock geochemical, zircon U–Pb geochronological, and zircon Lu–Hf isotopic data have been reported for Early Cretaceous intrusive rocks in the Wulong region of the Liaodong Peninsula on the North China Craton. The zircon U-Pb chronology shows that the crystallization age of six groups of intrusive rocks from this region is 129–123 Myr ago. These intrusive rocks can be categorized into A-type granite (granodiorite), K-rich adakite (porphyritic-like monzogranite), highly fractionated I-type granites (porphyritic-like biotite monzogranite, porphyritic-like syenogranite, and syenogranite), and gabbro. These granitoids are shown to have negative zircon eHf(t) values(-21.0 to -11.1) with old two-stage Hf model ages (TDM2(Hf)) (1.88–2.50 Ga), while gabbro has higher zircon eHf(t) values(-14.3 to -9.4) with younger TDM2(Hf) (1.77–2.08 Ga) model ages. According to our results, we believe that the porphyritic-like monzogranite was produced through partial melting of the thickened eclogitic lower crust, the gabbro was generated by partial melting of a source formed by the mixing of enriched lithospheric mantle and delaminated eclogitic lower crust, the granodiorite was formed by mixing crust materials and mafic melts, the porphyritic-like biotite monzogranite, porphyritic-like syenogranite, and syenogranite originated from the medium- to high-K basaltic lower crust. The bimodal intrusive rocks (gabbro, porphyritic-like monzogranite, and porphyritic-like biotite monzogranite) and A-type granites (granodiorite) were emplaced in an extensional setting associated with Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction. We also determined that the tectonic setting changed from extension to transpression during 125–120 Myr ago (porphyritic-like syenogranite and syenogranite). Moreover, we confirmed the hypothesis that the Early Cretaceous delamination is the result of Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction.