Simultaneous determination of zircon crystallisation age and temperature: Common thermal evolution of mafic magmatic enclaves and host granites in the Kurobegawa granite, central Japan

Abstract

• Zircon U-Pb age and Ti concentration are simultaneously determined by LA-ICP-MS. • This method aids in determining the t–T paths of a magma chamber . • This method allows us to directly relate zircon crystallisation age to temperature. • MMEs and host rocks in the Kurogebawa granite show common cooling behaviours. • This method better defines magma chamber processes and formation history of MMEs. Simultaneous determination of the U-Pb age of zircon and concentration of titanium in a single analysis spot, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with laser ablation sample introduction, produces paired age and temperature data of zircon crystallisation, potentially revealing time–temperature ( t–T ) histories for evolved magma. The Kurobegawa granite, central Japan, contains abundant mafic magmatic enclaves (MMEs). We applied this method to evaluate MMEs and their host (enclosing) granites. Cooling behaviour common to both MMEs and host rocks was found between 1.5 and 0.5 Ma. Rapid cooling from the zircon crystallisation temperature to the closure temperature of biotite K-Ar system was within ∼1 million year. Combining the obtained t–T paths of MMEs and host rocks with petrological information can provide insights into magma chamber processes. This suggests that MME flotation, migration, and spread through the magma chamber ceased at 1.5–0.5 Ma, indicating the emplacement age of the Kurobegawa granitic pluton, as no large-scale reheating episodes have occurred since then.