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 ± 1.1 Ma. The rock shows relatively high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios, low contents of Ni, Cr, and MgO, and markedly negative values of εHf(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. 190–180 Ma 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. 190–170 Ma) 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.