Identifying the leucogranites in the Ailaoshan-Red River shear zone:Constraints on the timing of the southeastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau

The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau significantly affected the global climate system.However,the timing of its uplift and the formation of its vast expanse are poorly understood.The occurrence of two types of leucogranites(the two-mica leucogranites and garnet-bearing leucogranites) identified in the Ailaoshan-Red River(ASRR) shear zone suggests an extension event in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.The age of these leucogranites could be used to constrain the timing of uplift and southeastward expansion of the plateau.Petrography,geochronology and geochemistry investigations,including Sr-Nd isotope analysis,were conducted on the two-mica leucogranites and garnet-bearing leucogranites from the ASRR shear zone.LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating indicates that these rocks were emplaced at ~27 Ma,implying that the Tibetan Plateau had already achieved maximum uplift prior to the late Oligocene.It subsequently started to expand southeastward as a result of crustal flow.Compared to classic metapelite-derived leucogranites from Himalaya,the two-mica leucogranites show high K_2 O/Na_2 O(1.31-1.92),low Rb/Sr,CaO,lower ^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr ratios(0.7089-0.7164) and higher ε_(Nd)(t)(-8.83 to-3.10).This whole-rock geochemical characteristics likely indicates a mixing source origin,composed predominantly of amphibolite with subordinated metapelite,which is also evidenced by ^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr vs.ε_(Nd)(t) diagram.However,The garnetbearing leucogranites with high SiO_2 contents(72.25-74.12 wt.%) have high initial ^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr ratios(0.7332-0.7535) and low ε_(Nd)(t)(-16.36 to 18.98),indicating that they are derived from the source comprised of metapelite and results of fluexed muscovite melting under lower crustal level,which is also evidenced by the Rb-Sr-Ba systematics.These leucogranites formed from partial melting of the thickened lower crust,which resulted in the formation of granitic melt that weakened the crust.The weakened crust aided the left-lateral strikeslip movement of the ASRR shear zone,triggering the escape of the Indochina terrane in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau during the late Oligocene.

U-Pb Geochronology, Elemental and Sr-Nd Isotopic Geochemistry of the Houyaoyu Granite Porphyries： Implication for the Genesis of Early Cretaceous Felsic Intrusions in East Qinling

The Early Cretaceous Houyaoyu granite porphyries are located in the south margin of the North China Craton. Field observations, petrography, geochronology, major and trace elemental and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions are reported to elucidate the genesis of the Houyaoyu granite porphyries. SIMS zircon U-Pb analyses for the Houyaoyu granite porphyries yield two concordant ages of 133.2±2.3 （2σ） and 131±1.1 （2σ） Ma, respectively. Major and trace elemental compositions indicate that these porphyries are high-K I-type granites with high contents of SiO2, K20, Rb, U, Pb, low Nb, Ta, Ti, and P. Initial S：Sr/S6Sr ratios range from 0.708 3 to 0.709 7, and εNd（t） values range from -9.13 to -12.3, with corresponding two-stage depleted-mantie Nd model ages （T2DM） varying from 1.57 to 1.91 Ga. This suggests that the Houyaoyu granite porphyries were predominantly derived from ancient lower conti- nental crust, with minor involvement of mantie-derived components. On the basis of the tectonic evolution of the Qinling Orogen and geochemical characteristics of the Houyaoyu granite porphyries, it is proposed that they were formed in an extensional tectonic setting related to lithospheric destruction of the North China Craton, and produced Mo and Pb-Zn mineralization in East Qinling Orogen. KEY WORDS： East Qinling, granite porphyries, ancient lower continental crust, destruction of North China Craton.