40Ar/39Ar

Single Grain Laser-Probe Mineral Ages:

Slab Detachment-related Magmatism and Reheating

Followed by Very Fast Cooling in the Imjingang Belt and
Uppermost Gyeonggi Massif (Korea)
Koen de Jong

Seoul National University, Korea

keuntie@yahoo.com

Seokyoung Han Seoul National University, Korea

Gilles Ruffet

Ar/Ar - CNRS, University of Rennes, Rennes, France

Keewook Yi

SHRIMP - Korea Basic Science Institute, Ochang, Korea

Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014

Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

- 2014 07 29

Dpasser les frontires

Outline
Present the 40Ar/39Ar laser probe single grain age
spectra of white mica, biotite and amphibole from the
northern and western margin of the Gyeonggi Massif
SHRIMP U-Pb ages metamorphic titanite, and
magmatic zircon
Discuss their regional tectonic meaning in terms of:
Concordance of Triassic metamorphic and magmatic ages
Heating, very fast cooling and exhumation
Slab detachment as reason regional thermal pulse

- 2014 07 29

Dpasser les frontires

Ar/Ar single grain ages (1)

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

northernmost Gyeonggi massif (strongly

retrogressed), and Imjingang belt,
westernmost Gyeonggi massif in the
Hongseong belt (migmatites)
and Anmyeondo (greenschist facies)

40Ar/ 39Ar

laser step-heating dating of single grains (Hongseong)

Hongseong belt (Koreas only eclogite relics):

Western Gyeonggi Massif: Neoproterozoic Deokjeongri Gneisses

Amphibolite layer in a gneiss

Foliated garnet corona amphibolite

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

Widespread anatexis (Hongseong area)

Garnet amphibolite

Amphibolite-bearing Gneiss
K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

40Ar/ 39Ar

laser step-heating dating of single grains (Hongseong)

Biotite in amphibolite JK02

gave a 228 Ma 1 plateau
age.

The biotite plateau age is

concordant to both 230 Ma
hornblendes

230-235 Ma SHRIMP U-Pb

ages in zircon rims in
neighboring Neoproterozoic
Deokjeongri gneisses.
The age concordance
points to fast cooling in
the top of the Gyeonggi
massif in Hongseong area.

de Jong K, Ruffet G, (2014) Jou. Geol. Soc. Kor. 50(5)

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

Taean Formation - Middle Paleozoic Turbidite Sequence (Anmyeondo)

Anmyeon Island:

Taean Formation: thick rhythmically layered metasandstone - metapelite

sequence

Along western boundary Gyeonggi Massif

Likely equivalent of the Imjingang Belt

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

Taean Formation - Middle Paleozoic Turbidite Sequence (Anmyeondo)

Meta-sandstone and minor
intercalated metapelites
Greenschist-facies
metamorphism (400-450C)

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

40Ar/ 39Ar

laser step-heating dating of single grains (Taean Formation)

Muscovite from a metapelite gave a 231 Ma 1

plateau age.

Age is concordant to
biotite and hornblende
ages in the Hongseong
area, pointing to a similar
cause.

As the metamorphic
temperature 400-450C is <
closure temperature:
metamorphic age

de Jong K, Han S, Ruffet G, Yi K, (2014) Jou. Geol. Soc. Kor. 50(5)

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

KBSI - SHRIMP U-Pb dating titanite (Taean Formation)

Intercalation of biotite-rich
layers (brown) and
amphibole-carbonateepidote-titanite rock (green).

Meta tuffaceous rock

Prismatic metamorphic
titanite gave a lower
intercept age of 232.5 Ma

Concordant to 231 Ma
muscovite age

As the metamorphic
temperature 400-450C is <
closure temperature for
titanite 650-700C:
metamorphic age

de Jong K, Han S, Ruffet G, Yi K, (2014) Jou. Geol. Soc. Kor. 50(5)

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

10

KBSI - SHRIMP U-Pb dating zircon (syenite in Taean Formation)

Post-collisional syenite mingled with

mafic intrusives, cut all earlier-formed
folds and cleavages.

Concordia age 229.6 Ma

Intrusion age syenite

Concordant to the
metamorphic 231 Ma
muscovite and 233 Ma
titanite ages

Data KBSI SHRIMP

Han S, MSc. Thesis
(2014)

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

11

Regional Tectonic Meaning

50 km
Haemi pluton
226-233

Rims of zircons have ages

between 231 and 237 Ma.

Dates formation of rims

around zircon, at anatectic
conditions, maybe as high as
700-800C.

231 237 Ma metamorphism

226 233 Ma magmatism

Kee et al. KIGAM 2011

Zhai & Guo 2006

Kim et al. Lith 2006

Kim et al. PR 2008

This age concordance points

to heating, magmatism,
metamorphism, followed by
fast cooling in the top of the
Gyeonggi massif and
Anmyeondo.

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

12

Regional Tectonic Meaning

50 km
Haemi pluton
226-233

Kee et al. KIGAM 2011

Zhai & Guo 2006

Kim et al. Lith 2006

Kim et al. PR 2008

Regional 226-233 Ma magmatism in Korea

Gabbrodioritemonzonitesyenitegranite
association
High-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic
compositions, evolved from enriched
mantle in a post-collisional setting
(slab detachment) (Williams et al., Lithos 2009;
Kim et al. GR 2011; Oh JPSK 2012).

(Triassic intrusives and ages KIGAM;

Kim et al. GR 2011)

Himalayas, Alps, Betics, Tianshan, Dabie-Sulu

K. de Jong Asia Oceania Geoscience Society 2014 Sapporo, July 28 August 1, 2014

13

Take-home Message
Post-collisional evolution in Korea:
Oldest Ar/Ar ages 243 - 239 Ma: early exhumation phase.
Metamorphism and recrystallization: 231 - 237 Ma zircon ages (Hongseong).
Concordance of:

230 Ma Ar/Ar amphibole and biotite ages (Hongseong),

233-231 Ma Ar/Ar muscovite and U-Pb metamorphic titanite (Anmyeondo)

231 - 237 Ma zircon rims:

Fast cooling.
Coeval with 226 - 233 Ma post-collisional magmatism, injected into a
spreading orogen. Active until 220 Ma (youngest shear zone muscovite)
Gravity-controlled extensional collapse triggered by slab detachment,
delamination, or convective removal of lithosphere

14

REFERENCES FOR DATA AND FURTHER READING

de Jong K, Ruffet G, 2014. 243-220 Ma 40Ar/39Ar laser probe muscovite single grain
ages in the northernmost Gyeonggi Massif (Juksung area) and their tectonic
implications. Journal of the Geological Society of Korea 50 (6), 771-782, DOI 10.14770/
jgsk.2014.50.6.771 <download here>

de Jong K, Ruffet G, 2014. Tectonic implications of the very fast cooling shown by
concordant 230-228 Ma 40Ar/39Ar laser probe hornblende and biotite single grain
ages in the Hongseong area. Journal of the Geological Society of Korea 50 (5),
611-626, DOI 10.14770/jgsk.2014.50.5.611 <download here>

de Jong K, Han S, Ruffet G, Yi K, 2014. First age constraints on the timing of

metamorphism of the Taean Formation, Anmyeondo: concordant 233 Ma U-Pb
titanite and 231-229 Ma 40Ar/39Ar muscovite ages. Journal of the Geological Society
of Korea 50 (5), 593-609, DOI 10.14770/jgsk.2014.50.5.593 <download here>

de Jong K, Han S, Ruffet G, 2015. Fast cooling following a Late Triassic metamorphic
and magmatic pulse and their bearing on the tectonic evolution of the Korean
Collision Belt. Invited paper in: Kusky, T., W.J. Xiao, Eds.; Comparative tectonic and
dynamic analysis of cratons, orogens, basins, and metallogeny: Tectonophysics a special
volume to honor the career of Brian F. Windley. Accepted pending minor revisions.

15

ABSTRACTS
de Jong K, Ruffet G, 2014. 243-220 Ma 40Ar/39Ar laser probe muscovite single grain
ages in the northernmost Gyeonggi Massif (Juksung area) and their tectonic
implications. Journal of the Geological Society of Korea 50 (6), 771-782, DOI 10.14770/
jgsk.2014.50.6.771
Laser step-heating of muscovites from strongly retrogressed and ductilely deformed
rocks in the top of the northern Gyeonggi massif (Juksung area) yielded 1 40Ar/39Ar
(pseudo)plateau ages of: 242.8 1.0 Ma and 240.3 1.0 Ma (mica schists) and 219.7 0.9 Ma
(mylonitic quartzite). A biotite single grain yielded a hump-shaped age spectrum with 245-250
Ma step ages pointing to 39Ar recoil, an irradiation artifact. It is possible that the 243-240 Ma
muscovite ages record an early phase of exhumation following or during collision, and that the
much younger muscovite age from the mylonitic quartzite implies extended or renewed
recrystallization. These ages are 10 million years older and younger, respectively, than 40Ar/
39Ar ages from amphibolites in anatectic gneisses (Hongseong area) and low-grade
metasediments on Anmyeondo, linked to post-collisional tectonic and magmatic processes. Our
study thus shows that cooling, exhumation and recrystallization in the Triassic occurred in
distinct phases that were not coeval in all areas. This underscores that the younger age sets in
metamorphic terranes cannot always be simply interpreted as due to passive post-tectonic
cooling, but rather reflects distinct tectonic phases.
<download here>

16

ABSTRACTS
de Jong K, Ruffet G, 2014. Tectonic implications of the very fast cooling shown by
concordant 230-228 Ma 40Ar/39Ar laser probe hornblende and biotite single grain
ages in the Hongseong area. Journal of the Geological Society of Korea 50 (5),
611-626, DOI 10.14770/jgsk.2014.50.5.611
We obtained identical 40Ar/39Ar (pseudo)plateau ages of 230.1 1.0 and 229.8
1.0 Ma (1) on two hornblendes from garnet-bearing corona-textured amphibolites in the
Hongseong area. These ages are concordant with the 228.1 1.0 Ma plateau age of biotite in
the slightly older amphibolite. The concordant ages of hornblende and biotite, minerals with
very different closure temperatures, show that the samples cooled very rapidly, probably in
the order of 100-150C/Ma. The efficiency of cooling is further underlined by the nearcoincidence of these 40Ar/39Ar ages with 243-229 Ma (error 2-4%, average: 234.5 Ma) zircon
U-Pb ages in the Gyeonggi Massif and the Hongseong belt, reported in the literature.
Very fast cooling rates require a fundamental tectonic control. Consequently, we
discuss our data in the context of a relatively short-lived, tectonically induced, magmatic and
metamorphic pulse that affected the crust in Korea in the Late Triassic. This could have been
post-collisional delamination of the lower crust and uppermost mantle, and/or oceanic slab
break-off to which the 237-219 Ma mantle-sourced potassic Mg-rich magmatic rocks that are
widespread in Korea, also points.
<download here>
17

ABSTRACTS
de Jong K, Han S, Ruffet G, Yi K, 2014. First age constraints on the timing of
metamorphism of the Taean Formation, Anmyeondo: concordant 233 Ma U-Pb
titanite and 231-229 Ma 40Ar/39Ar muscovite ages. Journal of the Geological Society
of Korea 50 (5), 593-609, DOI 10.14770/jgsk.2014.50.5.593
Isotopic dating has established that the middle Paleozoic turbidites of the Taean
Formation on Anmyeondo in the West Sea were affected by metamorphism the Late Triassic.
We obtained a 206Pb/238U lower intercept age of 232.5 3.0 Ma (95% confidence, MSWD = 1.2)
of metamorphic titanite from a calc-silicate rock by Multi Collector Sensitive High-Resolution
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and 40Ar/39Ar laser probe pseudo-plateau ages of 230.7 1.0
Ma and 228.8 1.0 Ma (1) for two single grains of metamorphic muscovite. We estimate that
the metamorphic temperature was below the closure temperatures of titanite and muscovite.
Consequently, the concordant U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar mineral ages are not cooling ages but
demonstrate that the metamorphism of the Taean Formation on the island occurred in the
earliest Late Triassic (Carnian), using the most recent international chronostratigraphic chart.
The dated muscovite occurs as undeformed grains that cross-cut the main tectono-metamorphic
fabric in greenschist facies metapelites, or from undeformed grains in rocks with a welldeveloped secondary crenulation cleavage. This suggests that the two phases of ductile
deformation that affected these Paleozoic sediments occurred earlier. The muscovite age
spectra show evidence of an earlier isotopic system of about 237 Ma, which could relate to the
observed pre-magmatic folding of the Taean Formation.
<download here>
18

ABSTRACTS
Our 40Ar/39Ar study of the Gyeonggi Massif, the only Korean Paleoproterozoic high-grade gneiss
terrane significantly affected by Permo-Triassic metamorphism, indicates 25 million years of postcollisional evolution, and distinct phases of cooling and exhumation. We obtained single grain ages
for muscovite, biotite and hornblende in the range of 245-220 Ma, which are almost all plateaux
(1 errors <0.5%; 50-80% 39Ar release). 245 Ma age components in one hornblende grain
suggest that retrograde hydration of a corona-textured garnetclinopyroxene-rich mafic granulite in
the lowermost Imjingang belt (northern margin of the massif) and its exhumation occurred in the
earliest Triassic. Our age data further imply that at least part of the ductile deformation fabrics in the
Gyeonggi Massifs top formed around 240-245 Ma too. But the 220 Ma-old muscovite in a mylonitic
quartzite implies extended or renewed recrystallisation in low-angle normal shear zones in the
massif's uppermost part.
Hornblende and biotite in the Hongseong belt (uppermost western Gyeonggi Massif)
yielded concordant plateau ages of 230 Ma, which are only marginally younger or concordant to
231-237 Ma SHRIMP U-Pb literature data of zircon in the area. This points to an important thermal
event, followed by rapid cooling and exhumation, 10 million years later than that of the Imjingang
Belt's high-pressure rocks. The late Triassic metamorphic mineral ages overlap with post-collisional
233-226 Ma-old syenitemonzonitegranitegabbro magmatism with high-K calc-alkaline and
shoshonitic affinity. Thus suggesting that tectono-metamorphic events may have occurred due to
late Triassic slab detachment, following plate collision in Paleozoic-Mesozoic boundary times,
suggested by 250 Ma U-Pb ages in zircon rims reported in the literature. Many of the late Triassic
intrusives are ductilely deformed, so these magmatic rocks intruded into an orogen that was actively
deforming by gravity spreading associated with upper crustal normal faulting around 220 Ma,
following/accompanying slab-detachment.

19