The ca. 1.18-1.14 Ga A-type granites in the southwestern Yangtze Block, South China: New evidence for late Mesoproterozoic continental rifting

The late Mesoproterozoic tectonic history of the Yangtze Block, South China in the context of the supercontinent cycles remains poorly understood due to the scarce preservation of geological records of this age. In this study, we report petrology, whole-rock geochemistry, zircon U-Pb ages and Hf-Nd isotopes for newly identified late Mesoproterozoic monzogranites from the southwestern Yangtze Block. SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating results reveal that these monzogranites crystallized at ca. 1.18-1.14 Ga. All the studied samples possess typical geochemical signatures of A1-type granite, such as relatively high SiO2 (73.31-77.50 wt.%), Na2O + K2O (7.14-8.09 wt.%) and Zr + Nb + Ce + Y (362-445 ppm) contents, zircon saturation temperatures (825-851 degrees C), and low Y/Nb ratios (0.78-1.04). They have negative whole-rock epsilon(Nd)(t) values from 6.9 to 5.7 and zircon epsilon(Hf)(t) values from -7.4 to -2.5, with consistent Nd and Hf model ages of 2.4-2.1 Ga. The parental magmas for these monzogranites were generated by partial melting of the early Paleoproterozoic crustal materials at low pressure and high temperature. Taking into account of the coeval within-plate mafic magmatism in the southwestern Yangtze Block, these ca. 1.18-1.14 Ga A1-type monzogranites were most likely emplaced in a continental rift setting. Available data indicate continental rifting may have occurred extensively in the Yangtze Block at 1.2-1.1 Ga, followed by oceanic plate subduction starting at 1.1 Ga. We propose the Yangtze Block was an isolated plate during 1.2-1.1 Ga and started to drift toward the Rodinia supercontinent at ca. 1.1 Ga, favoring the proposal that a coherent supercontinent did not yet exist in the late Mesoproterozoic.

Automated summary

The late Mesoproterozoic tectonic history of the Yangtze Block in South China remains poorly understood due to limited geological records from this age. Newly discovered monzogranites from this region provide insights into continental rifting and oceanic plate subduction, suggesting that a coherent supercontinent did not exist during this time. These findings support the hypothesis that the Yangtze Block was an isolated plate before drifting towards the Rodinia supercontinent around 1.1 billion years ago.