Age Constraints on Late Mesozoic Lithospheric Extension and Origin of Felsic Volcanism in the Songliao Basin, NE China

Late Mesozoic lithospheric extension in NE Asia resulted in the development of a large extensional province and widespread formation of volcanosedimentary basins. Songliao basin is the biggest in that region, situated between the Siberian and Sino-Korean (North China) cratons. The Songliao basin contains voluminous volcanic rocks as a major part of the basin fill. Volcanic successions form a significant but unexposed part of the late Mesozoic magmatic province in NE China. Here we report zircon U-Pb ages and geochemical data for felsic volcanic rocks from the Songliao basin. Zircon populations of two types of rhyolites with distinct I- and A-type affinities, analyzed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, yielded similar U-Pb ages of 114 ± 2 and 113 ± 2 Ma, respectively. Whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotope data of the felsic rocks indicate an origin from newly formed crustal protoliths. The I-type dacites and rhyolites show geochemical signatures with subduction-related affinity, indicating generation by partial melting of juvenile crust that originated from melting of subduction-modified mantle sources, whereas the A-type rhyolites have higher heavy rare earth element and high field strength element concentrations and lower Ba/Nd ratios that are interpreted as evidence for melting of I-type felsic lower crustal sources in an intraplate tectonic environment. Typical geochemical compositions of A-type rhyolites indicate anorthite-rich plagioclase as a residual magmatic phase and imply melting at shallow crustal levels. The A-type felsic rocks were generated during a period of maximum lithospheric extension below eastern China around 110 Ma, and this thinning process was probably related to the retreat of the Paleo-Pacific trench.