Fresh insights into the onset of big mantle wedge beneath the North China Craton

Abstract

The onset of the big mantle wedge (BMW) structure beneath the North China Craton remains debated. Research on the genesis of Late Mesozoic granites associated with gold deposits in the Jiaodong Peninsula above the BMW could provide fresh insights into this question. The monzogranite from the Zhaoxian-Shaling gold district was intruded during 154–148 Ma. This I-type granite has high-K calc-alkaline and metaluminous characteristics. The monzogranite formed at medium temperatures (718–770 °C) and was generated in a thickened lower crust at depths within the stability field of garnet. The monzogranite's high zircon Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺ and Eu_N/Eu_N* values and low FeO^T/MgO ratios, suggest that it formed in a high oxygen environment. Its variable ε_Hf(t) values with T_DM2 of 1.93–2.87 Ga imply that it originated from the melting of ancient crust basement, with contributions from mantle-derived materials. The granite's enrichment in LREEs and LILEs, and depletion in HREEs and HFSEs, along with its trace element tectonic discrimination diagrams and medium Sr/Y, indicate an adakite affinity in an active continental margin setting. The transition from S-type granites to I-type granites and finally to A-type granites observed in the eastern part of North China Craton suggests a shift in the tectonic environment from compression to extension. This change is also reflected in the transition from flat subduction to steep subduction. Therefore, the monzogranite was formed in a tectonic transition setting triggered by a change in the subduction angle of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean slab during the Late Jurassic. This event may have marked the initiation of the BMW above the North China Craton.