A long-lived mafic magma reservoir: Zircon evidence from a hornblende peridotite in the Hida Belt, Japan

Abstract Zircon geochronology has contributed to our understanding of the longevity of transcrustal magmatic systems; however, most studies focus on zircon records from felsic rocks due to the restricted occurrence of zircon in mafic-ultramafic rocks. We present U–Pb age, geochemical, and Hf–O isotope data for zircons from a hornblendite peridotite in the Hida Belt, Japan, that offers a unique opportunity to investigate the lifetime of a long-lived mafic plumbing system in an arc setting. We found two zircon U–Pb age clusters: an incompatible element-rich cluster at 196 Ma and an incompatible element-poor cluster at 186 Ma. Their homogeneous isotopic signatures (δ18O = 7.7‰ ± 0.8‰, εHf = 10.3‰ ± 1.7‰) indicate the same magma source despite the 10 m.y. age gap. These two clusters are explained by different zircon formation mechanisms that differ depending on whether or not zircon saturation requires differentiated melt with high SiO2. The enriched older zircons formed by local zircon saturation at the mafic melt-olivine interface, whereas the younger depleted zircons precipitated from the last drop of interstitial felsic melt co-existing with hornblendes. Our finding substantiates the longevity of mafic systems at lower crusts, which sustain transcrustal magma systems and crustal evolution.