Thermochronology and the three-dimensional cooling pattern of a granitic pluton: an example from the Toki granite, Central Japan

Abstract

The three-dimensional spatial variations in the cooling pattern of the Toki granitic body, a zoned pluton in Central Japan, have been evaluated quantitatively by thermochronology using cooling age determination based on the different closure temperatures for target mineral species. The Toki granite has hornblende K–Ar ages of about 74.3 ± 3.7 Ma (N = 2; closure temperature of 510 ± 25°C), biotite K–Ar ages of 78.5 ± 3.9 to 59.7 ± 1.5 Ma (N = 33; 300 ± 50°C), and zircon fission-track ages of 75.6 ± 3.3 to 52.8 ± 2.6 Ma (N = 44; 240 ± 50°C). The spatial variation in the biotite K–Ar age is similar to that in the zircon fission-track age in samples collected from 11 boreholes and seven outcrop sites in the Toki granite, indicating that cooling was effectively from the roof and also from the northwest margin. This cooling pattern shows a strong correlation with the Alumina Saturation Index (ASI) distribution of the body. Larger ASI values correspond to earlier and more rapid cooling after emplacement and smaller value to slower cooling. Toki granite was effectively cooled from the peraluminous regions where assimilation of country sedimentary rock was most extensive.