Secular variability in zircon phosphorus concentrations prevents simple petrogenetic classification

Phosphorus (P) concentrations in zircon have been used to discriminate their derivation from metaluminous versus strongly peraluminous granites (SPGs) based on the empirical observation of lower P concentrations in zircon from Phanerozoic metaluminous versus peraluminous granites. Higher P concentrations in zircon from Phanerozoic SPGs reflect enhanced apatite solubility in peraluminous melts and overall higher P concentrations in peraluminous granites. However, SPGs derived from partial melting of Precambrian sedimentary rocks have lower P concentrations compared to Phanerozoic metaluminous granites, reflecting lower P concentrations in Precambrian versus Phanerozoic sedimentary sources. We demonstrate that zircons from Precambrian SPGs also have lower P concentrations compared to Phanerozoic counterparts, likely reflecting lower P concentrations in their parental melts. Applying the P-in-zircon proxy to the detrital zircon record does not effectively discriminate between metaluminous and peraluminous sources and underestimates contributions from peraluminous granites. Although detrital zircons are an important early Earth archive, a uniformitarian perspective cannot always be applied when using trace element proxies developed on Phanerozoic samples.