The Late Triassic Dengfuxian A-type granite, Hunan Province: age, petrogenesis, and implications for understanding the late Indosinian tectonic transition in South China

Abstract

The Triassic (Indosinian) granites in the South China Block (SCB) have important tectonic significance for understanding the evolution of Eastern Asia. The Dengfuxian biotite granite in eastern Hunan Province, China, reported in this article, was recognized as Late Triassic (late Indosinian) weakly peraluminous A-type granite with a zircon laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–Pb age of 225.7 ± 1.6 Ma. It is enriched in F, Cs, Rb, Th, high field strength elements, and rare earth elements (REEs) and depleted in Ba, Sr, P, Ti, Nb, and Ta, with high Ga/Al ratios and zircon saturation temperatures. The Dengfuxian biotite granite shows high initial Sr isotope values (0.715932 to 0.716499) and negative ɛNd(t) (−10.46 to −9.67) and ɛHf(t) (−9.92 to −6.29) values, corresponding to the Nd model ages of 1.79 to 1.85 Ga and the Hf model ages of 1.65 to 1.88 Ga. It is proposed that the Dengfuxian biotite granite was derived from high-temperature partial melting of the Palaeoproterozoic lower crust undergoing granulitization. Some Late Triassic A-type granites were recently identified in the SCB with the ages between 202 and 232 Ma. These A-type granites have the same geochemical characteristics and petrogenesis as Dengfuxian A-type granite, and show A2-subtype granite affinity. The Late Triassic A-type granite formed a NE-trending granite belt, which is consistent with the main NE-trending faults in the SCB. The formation of these A-type granites was in response to the subduction of the palaeo-Pacific plate underneath the SCB, and indicates an extensional tectonic environment in the SCB. Combined with previous studies on tectonic evolution, we suggest that there may be a tectonic transition inside the SCB from compression to extension at least from 225 to 230 Ma.