Phanerozoic granitoids, along with Precambrian basements, are numerous and widely distributed in the Korean Peninsula. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic granitoids can be divided into the Jurassic Daebo and Cretaceous-Paleogene Bulguksa granites. Although previou...
Phanerozoic granitoids, along with Precambrian basements, are numerous and widely distributed in the Korean Peninsula. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic granitoids can be divided into the Jurassic Daebo and Cretaceous-Paleogene Bulguksa granites. Although previously reported in situ zircon U-Th-Pb and Hf isotopic data suggest that these granitoids originated from various source materials in different geotectonic settings, the characteristics of the source materials and their magma petrogenesis remain unclear. Combined zircon and biotite isotopic studies can illuminate the petrogenesis and magmatic processes of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic granitoids.
This thesis deals mainly with two topics on the petrogenesis and evolution of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic granitoids in the Korean Peninsula. The first chapter discusses the interaction of surface materials with magma at shallow depths in a caldera setting, based on in situ zircon U-Pb ages and their O-Hf isotopic compositions and biotite Mg isotopic compositions for the Cretaceous-Paleogene granitoids. Zircon U-Pb dating shows that eight granitoids were emplaced between the late Cretaceous and the Oligocene (88–27Ma), and occasionally contain Cretaceous and Paleoproterozoic to Jurassic inherited zircons, suggesting that pre-existing rocks were partially incorporated in the melt. δ26Mg values of biotites for the four plutons (Daejeon, Namsan, Ijeonri, Gigye), which show a decrease in zircon δ18O values (relative to VSMOW) from core to rim, are exclusively higher than the δ26Mg values of mantle (δ26Mg ≈ –0.25‰ relative to DSM-3), suggesting assimilation of hydrothermally altered material with δ18O values into the magma chamber. The Daejeon, Namsan, Ijeonri, and Gigye plutons were formed through the low-δ18O Yellowstone magmatic process referred to as ‘crustal cannibalization’.
The second chapter discusses possible sources and tectonic settings of Jurassic post-orogenic granitoids in central South Korea on the basis of zircon geochronology and O-Hf isotopic measurements. Early to Middle Jurassic granitoids (177–169 Ma) of Group 1 are widely distributed throughout the Pocheon-Uijeongbu and Yeoju-Wonju-Chungju areas of the Gyeonggi massif, whereas Early Jurassic granitoids (187–184 Ma) of Group 2 are locally distributed in the Chungju-Daejeon area of the central Okcheon belt. Most of the inherited zircons from the former (seven granitoid samples) yielded Archean to Paleoproterozoic ages (ca. 2.5–1.8 Ga), whereas most of inherited zircon grains from the latter (three granitoid samples) range in age from Archean to Paleozoic. The δ18O values of Archean to Paleoproterozoic inherited zircons from all granitoids are higher than those of the mantle (5.3 ± 0.3‰). The δ18O values of Early-Neoproterozoic inherited zircons from the Group 2 granitoids are slightly higher than or similar to the δ18O value of mantle zircon. Mid-Neoproterozoic inherited zircons of Group 2 granitoids have exclusively lower δ18O values (–1.0 to 5.9‰), which are consistent with the protoliths of the South China block. It is notable that inherited zircons of the Group 1 granitoids are dominated by negative initial εHf(t) values whereas inherited zircons of Group 2 granitoids are dominated by supra-chondritic initial εHf(t) values since the Paleoproterozoic. Integrated O-Hf isotope data on inherited zircons from post-orogenic rocks are powerful indicators with which to identify the juxtaposed allochthonous blocks and nature of the source rocks at middle to lower crustal depths.