Subduction-related 200 Ma Talun metagranite, SE Taiwan: an age constraint for palaeo-Pacific plate subduction beneath South China Block during the Mesozoic

ABSTRACTVarious tectonic models have been proposed to account for the widely distributed igneous activities in the southeastern part of the South China Block (SCB) during the Triassic–Jurassic period. One of the major contending debates is on the timing of initiation of the palaeo-Pacific plate subduction under the SCB, due to lack of unequivocal evidence for arc magmatism during the period in this region.The 191 ± 10 Ma (N = 5, MSWD = 12) calc-alkalic high-K I-type Talun metagranite occurs in the southern Tailuko belt of the Tananao metamorphic complex, Taiwan. In terms of age, this metagranite belongs to the Early Yanshanian igneous activity in the southeastern part of the SCB. However, its geographic position does not accord with the well-known general oceanward younging trend of the Yansnanian igneous rocks. In view of the large age uncertainty reported, this metagranite is redated in this study. Some zircons of this metagranite are high in U content and are metamict. Zircons with low U contents are a...