Multi-mineral petrochronology on a high-pressure mafic granulite reveals short-lived high-temperature metamorphism in the North China Craton

Accurately defining the peak ages and timescales of high-temperature metamorphism is fundamental to unravelling tectonic dynamics. However, metamorphic constraints are frequently hampered by a large spread of zircon U–Pb ages without explicit textural relationships. Integrated garnet and zircon petrochronology may clarify ambiguous ages retrieved from ancient high-temperature metamorphic rocks. There is a long-standing debate on the interpretation of the spread of zircon ages from c. 2.5–1.8 Ga for the granulites of the North China Craton. In order to clarify the timing and duration of (ultra)high-temperature metamorphism in the North China Craton, we investigated a mafic granulite and the adjoining gneiss from the Yinshan Block of the North China Craton using zircon and titanite U–Pb geochronology combined with garnet Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd geochronology. Pseudosection modelling and conventional thermobarometric calculations constrain the peak metamorphic conditions to be ~1.0 GPa and ~850°C. The near-complete lack of major-element zoning in garnet, aside from ~2 μm diffusion profiles at crystal rims, suggests complete re-equilibration at peak temperatures followed by fast cooling from high temperatures. The Lu–Hf garnet age of 1870 ± 4 Ma and Sm–Nd age of 1870 ± 7 Ma, determined on the same garnet fractions, are indistinguishable from the zircon U–Pb age of 1866 ± 11 Ma obtained from zircon that grew contemporaneously with garnet, evidenced by the chemical equilibrium of coexisting garnet and zircon, and are additionally consistent with a titanite U–Pb age of 1876 ± 7 Ma. We interpret this close agreement of ages, within uncertainty, coupled to the existence of flat Sm–Nd–Hf profiles in garnet that also has well-preserved Lu zoning, to reflect a short-lived high-temperature metamorphic event that was terminated by rapid exhumation and cooling. The short-lived (<4 Myr) high-temperature metamorphism may be generated in the lowermost parts of the crust through magmatic underplating/intraplating during extension that follows collision of the Ordos and the Yinshan Blocks.