Syncollisional rapid granitic magma formation in an arc-arc collision zone: Evidence from the Tanzawa plutonic complex, Japan

Abstract

The Tanzawa plutonic complex (TPC), central Japan, is a suite of tonalitic-gabbroic plutons exposed in a globally unique arc-arc collision zone, where an active intraoceanic Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc is colliding against the Honshu arc. The TPC has been widely accepted as an exposed middle crust section of the IBM arc, chiefly because of geochemical similarities between the TPC and IBM rocks and previously reported precollisional Miocene K-Ar ages. However, new zircon U-Pb ages show that the main pulse of TPC magmatism was syncollisional and that plutons were emplaced rapidly and cooled soon after Pliocene collision. Trace element compositions of TPC zircon show distinctively elevated Th/Nb ratios compared to zircon from other noncollisional IBM silicic plutonic rocks, indicating the involvement of continental sediments from the Honshu arc in their magma genesis.