Ultrahigh-temperature granites and a curious thermal eye in the post-collisional South Bohemian batholith of the Variscan orogenic belt (Europe)

Abstract

Abstract Comprehensive zircon thermometry that takes into account zircon saturation temperatures, Ti-in-zircon measurements, and zircon morphologies and microstructures can provide key information on the thermal evolution of a granite batholith. The Variscan South Bohemian batholith (Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic) comprises a series of granitoid units that intruded between ca. 330 and ca. 300 Ma. We categorize the granitic rocks according to their emplacement temperature into very low temperature (T) (VLT; <750 °C), low T (LT; 750–800 °C), medium T (MT; 800–850 °C), high T (HT; 850–900 °C), and ultrahigh T (UHT; >900 °C). The first stage of batholith formation (ca. 330–325 Ma) is characterized by LT to MT melting of mainly metasedimentary sources driven by their isothermal exhumation. In turn, ca. 322 Ma HT and UHT granites in the southern half of the batholith reveal an ephemeral thermal anomaly in the subbatholithic crust, which is presumably linked to a hidden mafic intrusion. The HT and UHT granites are weakly peraluminous, high-K, I-type rocks. Although sharing some features with A-type granites such as high Zr and rare earth element contents, they differ from classical A-type granites in being magnesian, not enriched in Ga over Al, and having high Ba and Sr contents. A ring structure of ca. 317 Ma MT and/or LT plutons is observed around the HT and/or UHT granite complex and interpreted as an aftermath of the hotspot event. This study is an example of how deep-crustal hotspots, presumably caused by mantle magmatism, can significantly enhance the effects of decompressional crustal melting in a post-collisional setting.