Metamorphic Ages of the Jurassic Accretionary Complexes in the Kanto Mountains, Central Japan, Determined by K-Ar Dating of Illite: Implications for the Tectonic Relationship between the Chichibu and Sanbagawa Belts

To determine the metamorphic ages of the accretionary complexes in the Northern Chichibu Belt in SW Japan, K-Ar dating was conducted using weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks collected from the Kanto Mountains, Central Japan. Whole-rock ages were obtained for chert and red shale samples, and the mineral ages of fine-grained illite with a grain size of less than 4 mu m were obtained for chert, red shale, mudstone, acidic tuff, and basic tuff. The K-Ar ages of chert and red shale presented large variations, with systematically older ages compared to those of mudstone and tuff in the same strata. The influence of submarine hydrothermal activities on chert and red shale before subduction is a possible cause of this deviation. The illite samples, which were fractionated into four grain-size classes using a suspension method, yielded older ages and higher illite crystallinity (i.e., smaller values of Kubler's crystallinity index) for larger grain-size classes. The peak metamorphic ages were determined from the K-Ar ages of the 3-4 mu m class illite in mudstone and tuff. The Late Jurassic to the Earliest Cretaceous accretionary complex of the lowest structural unit (Kashiwagi Unit) was dated within a small range between 117-110 Ma, which is distinctly older than the K-Ar ages of white mica reported from the Sanbagawa Belt. The peak metamorphic age of acidic tuff (113 Ma) at the type locality of the Mikabu Greenstones indicates that the subducted Mikabu seamount is a constituent of the Kashiwagi Unit. The peak metamorphic ages of the Manba and Kamiyoshida Units were obtained as 132-107 Ma and 163-144 Ma, respectively. Major structural discontinuity is suggested within the Middle Jurassic accretionary complexes.

Automated summary

In this study, K-Ar dating was conducted on weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks collected from the Kanto Mountains in Central Japan to determine the metamorphic ages of the accretionary complexes in the Northern Chichibu Belt in SW Japan. The results revealed variations in the ages of chert and red shale compared to mudstone and tuff in the same strata, possibly due to the influence of submarine hydrothermal activities. The mineral ages of illite samples with different grain sizes indicated older ages and higher crystallinity for larger grain-size classes. The peak metamorphic ages of different units within the accretionary complexes were determined, suggesting a major structural discontinuity in the Middle Jurassic accretionary complexes.