Abstract
This paper reports on the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb dating of zircon and on the field emission electron probe microanalyzer (FE-EPMA) U–Th–Pb dating of monazite from pelitic granulites and the surrounding Itoshima granodiorite from the Mt. Ukidake area, Sefuri Mountains, northern Kyushu. Zircons from the Itoshima granodiorite give an age of 102 ± 2 Ma. Metamorphic domains within zircons from pelitic granulites yield a slightly older age of 105 ± 2 Ma, which is consistent with ages of 100–120 Ma obtained from analysis of monazite by U–Th–Pb dating using FE-EPMA. Analysis of inherited domains within zircons from the pelitic granulite gives a narrow range of ages from 400 to 510 Ma, with a youngest age of 360 Ma. These ages are comparable with those of the Renge metamorphic rocks in north Kyushu, although the age and conditions of metamorphism at Renge are significantly different from the granulites analyzed here. Metamorphic ages for the granulites are nearly identical to the reheating age of the Higo metamorphic rocks in central Kyushu, as well as the main meta-morphic age of the Ryoke metamorphic rocks in southwest Japan. However, the age distributions of detrital zircons from the Mt. Ukidake area are different from those of the Higo and Ryoke metamorphic rocks, implying a different provenance for each metamorphic rock unit.