Campanian transformation from post-collisional to intraplate tectonic regime: Evidence from ferroan granites in the Southern Qiangtang, central Tibet

Ferroan granitoids are typically generated in the extensional tectonic settings, and thus record important geodynamic processes related to crustal and mantle evolution. However, their petrogenesis remains controversial. In this study, we investigated newly identified ferroan granites in the Lake Cona region of the southern Qiangtang subterrane (SQT), central Tibet. We present zircon U–Pb age and Hf–O isotope, whole-rock major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotope, and mineral major element data for these rocks. The Lake Cona granites consist of biotite monzogranite and granite porphyry. Zircon U–Pb dating indicates these rocks were generated in the late Late Cretaceous (ca. 75 Ma). The biotite monzogranites are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, and characterized by relatively high SiO2 (67.1–68.6 wt%), total alkali (10.4–10.8 wt%), Th (31–46 ppm), light rare earth element (LREE), and Zr + Nb + Ce + Y (421–730 ppm) contents, and high Fe-numbers (0.83–0.91; FeOt/[FeOt + MgO]). These rocks can be classified as alkalic ferroan granites. However, compared with the typical ferroan granitoids generated under relatively anhydrous conditions, the biotite monzogranites have higher Al2O3 (15.9–17.0 wt%) contents, lower 10000 × Ga/Al (2.1–2.5) ratios, and small negative Eu anomalies, suggesting that they were generated by brine-assisted (a fluid with low water activity) crustal anatexis. The biotite monzogranites have (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.7065–0.7069, εNd(t) = −2.3 to −1.9, δ18O = 6.0–6.6‰, and εHf(t) = +2.1 to +9.3, indicative of a magma source that was a mixture of juvenile and ancient crustal components. The granite porphyries also have high contents of total alkalis (9.9–10.2 wt%) and Fe-numbers (0.87–0.90), and similar Sr–Nd–Hf–O isotopic compositions as the biotite monzogranites, but have higher SiO2 and lower TiO2, MgO, TFe2O3, P2O5, CaO, and REE contents, and larger negative Eu anomalies. These features suggest that the granite porphyries represent the highly evolved biotite monzogranitic magmas that underwent differentiation in the shallow crust. The Lake Cona ferroan granites formed in a post-collisional extensional setting that had additional heat input from the deep mantle. Unlike the early Late Cretaceous that was dominated by calc-alkaline magmatism in the SQT, the occurrence of alkali ferroan granites in the late Late Cretaceous may record the transformation from a post-collisional to an intraplate tectonic regime in the central Tibet.