Host: Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences
In the islands of Japan, minor amounts of Paleozoic granites are distributed only in the restricted area. Among them, we discuss the geological significance of the late Carboniferous to Permian granitic rocks based on the zircon U--Pb ages and petrochemical features of these rocks. The results of U-Pb geochronology suggest that the onset of the late Carboniferous and Permian granitic activity may have initiated at ca. 300 Ma and continued to Ca. 280 Ma. From the petrochemical investigations, these granitic rocks are considered to be the product of a series of volcanic arc, which was an oceanic arc with subduction of young oceanic lithosphere.