Thermotectonic history of SE China since the Late Mesozoic: insights from detailed thermochronological studies of Hong Kong

Abstract

The late Mesozoic Yanshanian volcanic arc affected an extensive region of SE China, but the conclusion of magmatism and later evolution are not fully understood. Widespread Yanshanian ignimbrites and their contemporaneous granites exposed in Hong Kong represent a microcosm of this magmatic arc. To constrain the post-magmatic thermal history of the region, we present zircon and apatite fission-track analyses from these rocks. Double dating using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U-Pb and fission-track techniques on detrital zircons from post-volcanic Cretaceous sediments is used to further constrain the tectonothermal evolution. The resulting dataset and thermal mode..