Crust evolution in Southeast China: evidence from Nd model ages of granitoids

Nd isotopic compositions of 58 granitoids in South China have been reported in this paper. These data together with other published data reveal that granites with Nd model ages(tDM) greater than 1.8 Ga are distributed mainly in three areas: southwestern Zhejiang-northwestern Fujian, two sides of the Wuyi Mountain and Wanyangshan-Zhuguangshan. These granites are believed to be derived from partial melting of old crust in these areas. The Mesozoic granites withtDM < 1.6 Ga are distributed in three zones: the Gangang structural zone, Nanling latitudinal structural zone and Fujian-Zhejiang coastal zone. These zones may have been an extensional tectonic setting and mantle-derived components or magmas may have been involved to different extents in the granite formation. Based on Nd model ages of granites and published chronological data of mafic and ultramafic rocks, it is believed that the crust in South China experienced episodic accretions, among which the early-middle Proterozoic is the most important period of crustal accretion.