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We present comprehensive petrological, geochronological, major and trace element, and Nd–Hf isotopic data for the Baishishan, Jingangshan, and Wushan granitic plutons on the southeastern coast of Fujian Province, South China, with the aims of elucidating their origin and gaining new insights into the petrogenesis of aluminous A-type granites. Zircon U–Pb ages obtained by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry show that the three investigated plutons were emplaced at 92–86 Ma, indicating that they were generated during a Late Cretaceous magmatic event. The granites from the three plutons are composed mainly of perthite, quartz, plagioclase, and minor biotite; they have high SiO 2 contents, and low CaO, MnO, Fe 2 O 3 tot , and MgO contents, and show a metaluminous to slightly peraluminous signature. The granites are enriched in some large ion lithophile elements (e.g., Rb, Th, and U) and high field strength elements (e.g., Nb and Ta) with elevated Ga/Al ratios, and spidergrams show strong depletions in Ba, Sr, Ti, and P. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns show relative enrichments in light rare earth elements, flat heavy rare earth element profiles, and strongly negative Eu anomalies. These mineralogical and geochemical characteristics suggest that all three plutons can be classified as aluminous A-type granites. The plutons exhibit nearly identical whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotopic compositions, and yield Mesoproterozoic two-stage model ages (1.4–1.1 Ga) for both Nd and Hf isotopes. Based on a synthesis of the geochemical and isotopic data and petrogenetic modelling, we suggest that these A-type granitic rocks were most likely formed by variable degrees of fractional crystallization of magmas produced by the partial melting of a tonalitic to granodioritic source, with plagioclase-rich residual phases in the middle to lower crust, and emplaced at shallow crustal levels along the Changle–Nan’ao Fault. Our data on the Baishishan, Jingangshan, and Wushan granites, coupled with previous studies of Cretaceous magmatism in coastal areas of SE China, indicate that a gradually intensifying regional extension took place in the region during the late Yanshanian (Cretaceous), which peaked during the Late Cretaceous in response to the roll-back of the Palaeo-Pacific plate. Consequently, we conclude that the generation of A-type granites was related to intensive tectonic extension along the Changle–Nan’ao Fault and the induced underplating of mantle-derived magma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Cretaceous plutonic suites in the Fujian coastal area include abundant I-type and A-type granitoids and lesser gabbroids. They are important components of the Late Yanshanian magmatic belt along the southeastern coast of China, and define a linear NNE–SSW-trending belt of magmatism. Geochronological, geochemical and geological data from thirty intrusions are summarised in this paper, and the data provide distinct magmatic, geochemical and tectonic patterns in the area. A compilation of geochronological data for these intrusive rocks indicates emplacement mainly from around 125 to 90Ma, with a major peak from 115 to 90Ma, and a subordinate peak from 125 to 115Ma. Besides their temporal and spatial coexistence, all these intrusive rocks have similar geochemical patterns which point to involvement of components from a depleted asthenospheric mantle source for the parental magmas, most probably by magma mixing. The first appearance of sparse I-type granitoids with post-collisional extensional granite affinities, and the emplacement of the Baijuhuajian and Suzhou A-type granites, mark the beginning of extension during the Early Cretaceous at ca. 125 to 119Ma. The subsequent development of bimodal magmatism at 115 to 90Ma, with numerous arc-related mafic gabbros and I-type granites, together with some A-type granites, suggests that this major igneous event took place as a response to back-arc extension. On the basis of petrology, geochronology, tectonics, and elemental and isotopic geochemistry, we speculate that break-off and rollback of the subducting Palaeo-Pacific Plate during the Cretaceous were responsible for the Late Yanshanian regional tectono-magmatic evolution in the area. We suggest that this process facilitated a strong and rapid linear upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle beneath the coastal area of southeastern China, with consequential extension of the overlying continental lithosphere, and ultimately the large-scale Late Yanshanian magmatism of the study area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Quanzhou (QZ) and Huacuo (HC) gabbro–granite complexes on the southeast coast of Fujian, South China, are important components of a Late Mesozoic calc-alkaline volcanic–plutonic belt in the region. The complexes provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the genetic relationships between acid and basic magmas, and their interactions within the intrusive environment. The complexes are composed mainly of monzogranite and biotite granodiorite in the QZ complex, and biotite granite in the HC complex, with lesser amounts of hornblende gabbro. Zircon U–Pb dating provides consistent crystallization ages of 109 ± 1 Ma and 108 ± 1 Ma for the QZ gabbros and monzogranites, and an age of 111 ± 1 Ma for the HC gabbro, which is contemporaneous with the spatially associated HC granites. Both the mafic and felsic intrusions in these complexes are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs), and are depleted in high-field-strength elements (HFSEs; e.g. Nb and Ta). They show similarly homogeneous Sr–Nd isotopic compositions. All these factors indicate a close genetic relationship between the gabbroic and granitic rocks in the QZ and HC complexes. Although the enriched Sr–Nd isotopic signatures of the QZ and HC gabbros seemingly point to an enriched mantle source (EM-1), they have highly variable zircon Hf isotopic compositions, with εHf(t) values ranging from negative to positive (specifically –4.6 to +6.1 for the QZ gabbros and –4.8 to +11.6 for the HC gabbros). We interpret the parental basic magmas of these gabbros to have received contributions from a depleted mantle source and crustal components. Contributions from such a depleted mantle source resulted in the growth of juvenile basaltic lower crust, the partial melting of which generated the parental felsic magmas of the QZ and HC complexes. Furthermore, based on a synthesis of petrography, geochronology, elemental and isotopic geochemistry and tectonics, we propose that break-off and rollback of the Late Mesozoic subducted Palaeo-Pacific Plate triggered the upwelling of asthenospheric mantle below the coastal area of the South China Block, which induced extension of the overlying continental lithosphere, and finally initiated the large-scale Late Yanshanian magmatism in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]