Remnant magmatic activity in the Coastal Range of East Taiwan after arc–continent collision: fission-track data and [formula omitted] ratio evidence

Abstract

The magma activity of the North Luzon Arc is considered to have ceased, due to collision with the Asian continental margin, since late Miocene. New fission track dates of zircons taken from dike swarms in the central Coastal Range of East Taiwan show very young ages of ∼0.5 Ma . Furthermore, the high 3 He/ 4 He ratios ( ∼2.5 R A ; R A is the air ratio) of hot spring gases near the same area indicate that more than 30% of a mantle-derived source component is necessary to account for the helium composition. These results suggest the existence of later remnant magmatic activity (more than 4 Ma) in the central Coastal Range. Therefore, arc magmatism may survive longer than the previously expected after collision.