40
Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology and exhumation of high-pressure to
ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks in east-central China
Elizabeth A. Eide*
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University,
Michael O. McWilliams
Stanford, California 94305-2115
Juhn G. Liou
ABSTRACT
New 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages from rocks in the high-pressure and ultra-
high-pressure (HP-UHP) metamorphic complex in the Hong'an and
Dabie Mountains areas, east-central China, document a two-phase
cooling and exhumation history following Triassic continental collision
and metamorphism. Phengite ages from blueschist through kyanite-
bearing eclogite facies rocks in Hong'an record initial exhumation
from the collision zone between 230 and 195 Ma. Biotite and horn-
blende ages from migmatites and eclogite-bearing gneisses from the
Dabie Mountains record a cooling event between 128 and 117 Ma,
corresponding to a regional episode of crustal anatexis and emplace-
ment of granitic plutons.
The Triassic through Early Jurassic 40Ar/3<')Ar cooling ages cor-
roborate U-Pb and Sm-Nd metamorphic ages from previous studies
and suggest that initial exhumation of these rocks was rapid. Em-
placement of granitic melts within the HP-UHP sequences —80 m.y.
after metamorphism suggests that the metamorphic rocks were either
exhumed at slower rates or became arrested at depth subsequent to the
initial, rapid exhumation episode.
INTRODUCTION
The Dabie Mountains and Hong'an areas of east-central China
contain high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure (HP-UHP) metamor-
phic rocks within the Qinling-Dabie orogen (Fig. 1). These HP-UHP
rocks were created during collision between the Yangtze and Sino-
Koreän cratons (Wang et al., 1989; Okay et al., 1989; Ernst et al.,
1991; Ames et al., 1993; Zhou et al., 1993). Coesite and microdia-
mond in some eclogites and gneisses from Hong'an and the Dabie
Mountains attest to unusually deep subduction of these continental
rocks during collision (Wang et al., 1989; Okay et al., 1989; Xu et al.,
1992; Zhang et al., 1993; Okay, 1993). The preservation of these
minerals has inspired different models to explain the mechanisms of
genesis of extreme crustal thicknesses and subsequent unroofing of
deep-seated metamorphic rocks (e.g., see Chopin, 1984; Andersen
et al., 1991; Michard et al., 1993).
We used 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology to determine limits for the
postmetamorphic cooling history of migmatites and HP-UHP
schists and gneisses in the Hong'an region and Dabie Mountains.
Protolith and metamorphic ages of eclogites and gneisses in the
Dabie Mountains have been established by U-Pb and Sm-Nd
geochronology (Ames et al., 1993; Li et al., 1994). Our 40 Ar/ 39 Ar
cooling ages support a Triassic date for continental collision and
metamorphism and provide thermal history data which suggest that
exhumation of the HP-UHP rocks was marked by changes in ex-
humation rate and tectonic style.
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION AND METAMORPHISM OF
HP-UHP ROCKS
We present here a concise summary of the distribution and
metamorphic petrogeneses of the rocks in Hong'an and Dabie; for
further information see Wang et al. (1989, 1990, 1992). Wang and
*Present address: Geological Survey of Norway, Leiv Eirikssons vei
39, P.O. Box 3006 Lade, N-7002 Trondheim, Norway.
GEOLOGY, v . 22, p. 601-604, July 1994
Liou (1991), Ernst et al. (1991), Ames et al. (1993), Zhou et al. (1993),
Eide (1993), and Okay (1993).
Transitional blueschist-greenschist facies rocks in southern
Hong'an and Dabie are superseded progressively northward by gar-
net-bearing epidote amphibolite, eclogite, kyanite-bearing eclogite,
and coesite-bearing eclogite facies sequences (Fig. 1). The eclogitic
and amphibolitic rocks occur as lenses or layers in phengite and
biotite-hornblende gneiss. The northern Dabie Mountains are com-
posed of migmatitic gneiss with some granuiites and ultramafic
rocks. Granitic plutons are exposed throughout the Dabie Moun-
tains and Hong'an regions.
In Hong'an, the transitional blueschist-greenschist facies rocks
preserve a high pressure and low-temperature mineral assemblage
with peak metamorphic conditions from 300 to 475 °C and 4 to 8
kbar. Conditions for eclogite through coesite-bearing eclogite facies
metamorphism are between 460 and 650 °C at pressures from 8 to 32
kbar (Zhang et al., 1993; Zhou et al., 1993; Eide, 1993). All of the
HP-UHP sequences contain some retrograde metamorphic mineral
assemblages generated under amphibolite through greenschist facies
conditions. Retrogression is attributed to decompression and cool-
ing during exhumation and completes a clockwise P-T path for these
rocks. The southeastern Dabie Mountains preserve a similar, north-
ward increase in peak metamorphic and retrograde P-T conditions
for eclogite through coesite-bearing eclogite facies rocks (Wang et
al., 1992; Wang and Liou, 1991; Okay, 1993). However, the large
gradient in metamorphic temperatures between northern and south-
ern eclogite occurrences in the Dabie Mountains (Wang et al., 1992;
Okay, 1993) is not evident in the Hong'an region. Equivalent met-
amorphic conditions and evolutionary paths for country rocks sur-
rounding eclogites in Hong'an and the Dabie Mountains have been
established (Wang and Liou, 1991; Ames et al., 1993; Zhou et al.,
1993).
ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES
Minerals separated for 40 Ar/ 39 Ar analysis included phengite
from Hong'an schist and gneiss, biotite and hornblende from gneisse
and migmatite in the Dabie Mountains, and biotite and K-feldspar
from a granite in Hong'an (see Fig. 1 and Table 1). Standard mineral-
separation techniques were used. Resistance furnace and Ar-laser
analyses were conducted at Stanford University with an experiment
protocol similar to that of Hacker (1993). Full procedural techniques
were discussed in Eide (1993). Table 1 summarizes the data.
RESULTS
40
Ar/ 39 Ar ages reported are total fusion ages except where
noted. The total fusion ages are generally slightly lower than cor-
responding plateau ages, but this fact does not affect intersample
comparisons or tectonic implications.
Hong'an Area. Phengite analyses from two transitional blue-
schist-greenschist facies rocks and four gneisses yield ages of 225
Ma, 222 Ma, 213 Ma, 201 Ma, 230 Ma, and 195 Ma (Fig. 1, Table 1).
Rapid increases in apparent ages for most of the spectra over the
initial —10% of 39 Ar released are followed by broadly concordant
apparent ages over the remaining —60% to 80% of the experiments;
slightly variable to decreasing apparent ages characterize the final
601
Figure 1. Schematic geologic map showing 40 Ar/ 39 Ar sample localities arid corresponding age spectra In Hong'an and Dable Mountains regions, China.
Age spectra are grouped according to mineral and rock types (see Table 1). All abcissa and ordinate axis labels are like those shown for Hong'an
phengites (upper left spectra group); note differences in age scales. Sample number adjacent to total fusion age (TFA) and associated spectrum
corresponds to sample number on map. One unconventional age "spectrum" (DB-91-24A, lower right spectrum) shows TFA for laser fusion of single
and multiple biotite grains; number of grains fused is noted above each step.

temperature steps (Fig. 1). Only sample 91-8A has a slightly con-
vex-up spectrum, attributed to partial resetting by a nearby granitic
pluton (Fig. 1).
Inverse isochron plots yield ages usually within error of the
total fusion ages. Three of the six samples show no significant pres-
ence of extraneous argon, whereas the other three samples have
40
Ar/ 36 Ar ratios significantly lower than atmospheric value (295.5)
(Table 1). Electron microprobe analyses of phengites do not show
compositional variations that might support the presence of extra-
neous argon. However, all phengites are highly radiogenic and do
not facilitate precise fit of an isochron to the data; this fact probably
accounts for the low 40 Ar/ 36 Ar ratios calculated in three of the
samples.
Dabie Mountains. Biotite analyses from two gneisses and one
migmatite in the Dabie Mountains yield ages of 125,124, and 119 Ma
(Fig. 1). Inverse isochrons for all three biotite samples are well cor-
related and yield 40 Ar/ 36 Ar values very close to atmospheric value
(Table 1). The consistent convex shapes of the resistance furnace
spectra may be related to mechanical factors, such as delamination,
associated with in vacuo release of Ar from biotite grains during the
resistance furnace experiments (Gaber et al., 1988), and are not ar-
tifacts of incorporation of excess Ar or of significant Ar loss after
Cretaceous crystallization and cooling. This is supported by the fact
that single-grain laser fusion ages of biotite from DB-91-24A are
indistinguishable from the bulk heating, resistance furnace biotite
age from the sample (Table 1, Fig. 1).
Nearly 80% of the release spectrum for DB-91-24A hornblende
is flat, and the total fusion age of 128 Ma is slightly older than the age
for biotite from the same rock (Fig. 1, Table 1). Hornblende from
DB-91-40A yields a saddle-shaped spectrum with a total fusion age
of 118 Ma (Fig. 1), but the inverse isochron for the sample has a
40
Ar/ 36 Ar intercept of nearly atmospheric composition (Table 1).
Single-grain laser fusion analyses of hornblende from sample
DB-91-52Ayield a mean age of 117 Ma. Inverse isochron analysis of
these laser data was not meaningful due to the highly radiogenic gas
evolved.
Hong'an Granite. Inverse isochron plots for biotite and K-feld-
spar indicate that there was no incorporation of extraneous Ar (Ta-
ble 1). The K-feldspar spectrum shape is similar to other K-feldspar
40
Ar/ 39 Ar spectra interpreted to represent Ar release from multiple
diffusion domain sizes in the mineral (McDougall and Harrison,
1988; Richter et al., 1991). The central 80% of the spectrum may
represent two different ages during the cooling of the body: one
between 120 and 122 Ma and another from 116 to 118 Ma. These ages

602 GEOLOGY, July 1994

 TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF RESISTANCE FURNACE AND SINGLE-GRAIN LASER FUSION 40Ar/39Ar DATA:
HONG'AN AND DABIE REGIONS

TFA Inverse Laser

Sample Location Mineral, Rock (Ma) isochron age MSWD 40
Ar/ 36 Ar ratio fusion age
±lo (Ma) ±2a (Ma)
±la ±la
Hong'an
90-EE-28A South Phengite, blueschist 225.1 ±0.4 225.7 ±0.7 9.43 297.5 ±21.3
90-EE-26C South Phengite, blueschist 222.0+0.3 222.3 ±0.4 7.90 300.3 ±22.0
90-EE-9 Central Phengite, phengite-bearing schist 213.3 ±0.8 214.6 ±0.2 1.41 284.8 ±4.8
91-22A West Phengite, phengite-bearing gneiss 201.3 ±0.2 202.4 ±0.2 0.43 265.8 ±8.5
91-8A North Phengite, phengite-bearing gneiss 195.2 ±0.2 197.0 ±0.4 10.71 255.2 ±16.7
90-EE-60 North-central Phengite, phengite-bearing gneiss 230.1 ±0.4 231.4 ±0.3 1.18 275.6 ±6.6 229.3 ±0.6
90-EE-ll Southwest Biotite, granite 128.3 ±0.3 128.2 ±0.5 4.74 303.4 ±14.3
90-EE-ll Southwest K-feldspar, granite 119.3 ±0.2 120.1 ±0.8 27.37 283.2 ±29.8
Dabie
DB-91-6 South Biotite, biotite gneiss 124.8 ±0.3 126.3 ±0.5 7.28 297.4 ±24.5 124.5 ±0.2
DB-91-24A Central Biotite, biotite-hornblende gneiss 124.5 ±0.3 124.1 ±0.3 1.46 297.6 ±6.4
DB-91-24A Central Hornblende, biotite-hornblende gneiss 127.6 ±0.3 126.1 ±0.6 3.53 322.8 ±16.5
DB-91-40A West-central Hornblende, migmatite 118.3 ±0.6 122.2 ±0.9 11.84 296.9 ±34.4
DB-91-52A North Biotite, migmatite 118.9 ±0.5 119.7 ±0.4 18.61 299.6 ±29.1
DB-91-52A North Hornblende, migmatite N.A. N.A. 3.90 707.5 ±119.4 116.8 ±1.4

Note: Data reduction techniques of Dalrymple et al. (1981), Roddick (1978), and Steiger and Jäger (1977). TFA (total fusion ages), inverse
isochron ages, and 40Ar/36Ar ratios were calculated by means of program EyeSoreChron by B. Hacker. MSWD = mean square of weighted
deviates. Laser analyses were conducted using a Spectra Physics 2016 continuous argon laser. Gas evolved from the three laser samples was
derived by laser step-heating (90-EE-60) or single-grain laser fusion (DB-91-24A and DB-91-52A); a defocused beam was used for 90-EE-60 with
beam power from 0.25W (first steps) to 2.0W (final fusion). A focused beam at full power (2.0W) was used for the single-grain fusion analyses.

are consistent with K-Ar and U-Pb ages between 95 and 140 Ma 800 metamorphism
from numerous granite bodies analyzed in Hong'an and the Dabie (1)
Mountains (Li and Wang, 1991). ^ g 30 kbar plutonism
(3)
DISCUSSION AND TECTONIC SYNTHESIS
16.5 kbar
It 4 kbar
Two groups of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar cooling ages from HP-UHP rocks met- 12 kbar E 40Ar/39Ar hornblende
amorphosed during the same Triassic collision event suggest distinct
exhumation episodes and exhumation rates. Rapid exhumation dur- 400 7 kbar
4 kbar
ing the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic is demonstrated by apparent 40Ar/39Ar biotite
overlap of metamorphic and cooling ages (Fig. 2). Initial exhumation
40Ar/39Ar ph^ngite
of the HP-UHP materials may have been facilitated by continuous 200
stacking of continental crustal materials as collision progressed
(Eide, 1994). This was probably expedited by clockwise rotation of collision ^40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar
" fc?
the Yangtze craton during collision, suggested by paleomagnetic -AAAA
-t- -t- -t 1
evidence (see, e.g., Lin et al., 1985). This sequence of events is
300 250 200 150 100 50
similar to methods of crustal thickening and simultaneous extrusion
proposed for the coesite-bearing rocks of the Dora Maira area (Mi- Age (Ma)

chard et al., 1993). The importance of oblique subduction for the
exhumation of rocks in collision-related zones was also suggested by
Ave Lallemant and Guth (1990).
A second exhumation phase, probably at slower rates than the
first, is represented by 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data which show HP-UHP rocks
located at depth during Late Jurassic-Cretaceous magma emplace-
ment. Regionally, the Jurassic-Cretaceous plutonism coincided with
the start of sedimentaiy deposition in extensional basins and the
advent of minor extrusive volcanism in regions immediately sur-
rounding the Hong'an and Dabie areas (Watson et al., 1987; Xu et
al., 1987; Hubei (China) Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources,
1990; Eide, 1994). Therefore, this second episode of cooling during
exhumation may have been influenced by extensional tectonics and
an exhumation rate appropriate for normal erosional processes (see
Eide, 1994).
A change in tectonic style during exhumation from one domi-
nated by compression to one controlled mainly by extension and
erosion has been suggested for other collisional orogens (e.g.,
Burchfiel and Royden, 1985; Carmignani and Kligfield, 1990;
Figure 2. Schematic time vs. temperature diagram of metamor-
phic and cooling history of Dabie and Hong'an high-pressure and
ultrahigh-pressure (HP-UHP) rocks. P-T information is derived
from Wang et al. (1992), Zhou et al. (1993), Okay (1993), and Eide
(1993), and Is described briefly in text. U-Pb and Sm-Nd meta-
morphic ages are from Ames et al. (1993) and LI et al. (1994).
""Ar/^Ar cooling ages are from this study. Patterned boxes rep-
resent primary HP-UHP metamorphic units: coesite-bearing ec-
logite (CE), kyanite-bearing eclogite (KE), eclogite (E), and blue-
schist-greenschist (BG) fades rocks. HP-UHP metamorphism
and collision (1) was followed by cooling (2). Rapid cooling sug-
gests rapid initial exhumation for Hong'an HP-UHP rocks. Two
potential cooling paths for rocks in Dabie Mountains are de-
picted: other cooling path configurations are also possible, but
we lack age data to constrain path shape more precisely. On
basis of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data, Jurassic-Cretaceous plutonism (3) ther-
mally affected Dabie Mountains HP-UHP rocks, while those in
Hong'an retained postmetamorphic cooling ages. Pressure es-
timates for granite intrusives are from Liou and Q. Wang (un-
published data); intrusion temperatures have not been estab-
lished. Ar-closure temperatures for minerals are from Purdy and
Jäger (1976), Harrison (1981), Sisson and Onstott (1986), and Wij-
brans and McDougall (1986).

602 GEOLOGY, July 1994

 Michard et al., 1993). Direct comparison between exhumation rates
proposed in some of these areas and those possible for central China
has not been attempted because we do not find compelling evidence
from which to define a thermal profile through the thickened
Hong'an-Dabie "crust" after collision. Any exhumation rates cal-
culated without knowledge of the changing thermal profile would
necessarily have large associated errors (England and Molnar,
1990). The calculation of exhumation rates for the area is also com-
plicated by the fact that cooling age differences between and within
the Hong'an and Dabie areas imply differential cooling and tectonic
repositioning of parts of the orogen during exhumation (Eide, 1994).
Hurford et al. (1991) used fission-track ages to describe late
episodic exhumation for some high-pressure rocks in the Sesia
Lanzo zone in the Alps: their model proposes differential uplift of
fault-bounded blocks in the region and may be comparable to the
situation proposed for central China. More comprehensive identifi-
cation of faults within the HP-UHP orogen may indicate the extent
of differential uplift between the Hong'an and Dabie areas. Within
the limits of the current data, however, we do support the idea that
initial exhumation from this zone was rapid relative to exhumation
from —140 Ma onward (Fig. 2; Eide, 1994). These data also concur
with models from other collisional orogens that advocate exhuma-
tion through a continuum of changing tectonic conditions, indicative
of changing thermal and mechanical properties of the crust following
significant stress.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Funding for research associated with this paper was provided by National Science
Foundation grants EAR 89-17319 and EAR 92-04563, the Stanford-China Geosciences
Industrial Affiliates, several Geological Society of America research grants to Eide, and
the Mr. and Mrs. Dean A. McGee fund (Stanford). Liu Yuan-Jun, Zhou Gaozhi, Xiong
Baocheng, and Zeng Yi at the Hubei Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources orga-
nized field work and contributed to geologic discussions and interpretations. We thank
Brad Hacker, Gary Ernst, Virginia Sisson, and George Tilton for constructive reviews
of this paper.
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Manuscript received December 22, 1993
Revised manuscript received March 28, 1994
Manuscript accepted April 7, 1994
GEOLOGY, July 1994