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K–Ar ages of the Ohmine Granitic Rocks, south‐west Japan
Author(s) -
Sumii Tomoaki,
Shinjoe Hironao
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
island arc
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.554
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1440-1738
pISSN - 1038-4871
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1738.2003.00401.x
Subject(s) - geology , pluton , granitic rock , igneous rock , geochemistry , pyroclastic rock , peninsula , biotite , felsic , magma , volcanic rock , paleontology , volcano , archaeology , quartz , tectonics , history
Abstract The Ohmine Granitic Rocks are a series of granitic rocks that are distributed in a chain stretching along the central axis of the Kii Peninsula. Their precise ages have not been determined, although precise ages have been reported for other geological units of the early to middle Miocene distributed over the peninsula. In this study, biotite K–Ar ages were obtained for the six major granitic plutons of the Ohmine Granitic Rocks: Dorogawa, Shirakura, Kose, Asahi, Tenguyama and Shiratani. Most are aged from 14.8 to 14.6 Ma. Although one pluton is older (15.4 ± 0.2 Ma) and two are younger (14.0 ± 0.2 Ma and 13.4 ± 0.1 Ma), these ages are excluded from the discussion of the mutual correlation among the plutons because some ambiguities exist in their ages. The age of the southernmost unit, the Katago–Mukuro Dykes, was not determined because of its intense alteration, but stratigraphic constraints suggest that it is younger than 16.1 Ma. The majority of the Ohmine Granitic Rocks concentrate within a narrow age window of approximately 14.8–14.6 Ma, although their geochemical/petrographical characteristics suggest that they were generated by multiple magma batches. The results of this study also reveal the simultaneous occurrence of the major activities of the Ohmine Granitic Rocks and the gigantic felsic igneous activities in the Kii Peninsula, such as the Kumano Acidic Rocks and the Muro Pyroclastic Flow Deposit.