Early Jurassic granitoids from deep drill holes in the East China Sea Basin: implications for the initiation of Palaeo-Pacific tectono-magmatic cycle

The timing of the Palaeo-Pacific Plate (PPP) subduction in East Asia, following the amalgamation of the North and South China Blocks (NCB and SCB), remains equivocal despite several investigations on the widespread subduction-related Mesozoic magmatism in this region. Here we report newly discovered granodiorites in the East China Sea Basin (ECSB) from deep boreholes (2945-2983 m), which yield SHRIMP zircon U-Pb age of 174 +/- 1.1Ma. The rock shows relatively high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios, low contents of Ni, Cr, and MgO, and markedly negative values of epsilon Hf(t) (21.0 to -27.0). These geochemical and isotopic features are similar to those of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suites produced by the partial melting of the thickened lower continental crust. Our data, together with the ca. 190-180Ma I-type granites reported from the eastern Zhejiang-Fujian and Taiwan areas, lead us to conclude that the continental crust in the coastal areas of South China underwent some degree of thickening during the Early Jurassic. A comparison with the coeval magmatic rocks in South Korea and Japan suggests that a large NE-trending continental arc (ca. 190-170Ma) might have been constructed along the eastern margin of Asia at this time. Our study provides insights into the initiation of the Palaeo-Pacific tectono-magmatic cycle immediately following the consolidation of the SCB and NCB.