• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.389-410
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• 2016

Wide ranges of fission-track (FT) ages were obtained from the Jurassic granite batholith in Jeonju-Gimje-Jeongeup area, southwestern Okcheon Belt: sphene=158~70 Ma; zircon=127~71 Ma; apatite=72~46 Ma. Thermochronological analyses based on undisturbed primary cooling and reset or partially-reduced FT ages, and some track-length data reveal complicated thermal histories of the granite. The overall cooling of the batholith is characterized by a relatively rapid earlier-cooling (${\sim}20^{\circ}/Ma$) to $300^{\circ}C$ isotherm since its crystallization and a very slow later-cooling ($2.0{\sim}1.5^{\circ}/Ma$) through the $300^{\circ}C-200^{\circ}C-100^{\circ}C$ isotherms to the present surface temperature. It is indicated that the large part of Jurassic granitic body experienced different level of elevated temperatures at least above $170^{\circ}C$ (maximum>$330^{\circ}C$) by a series of igneous activities in late Cretaceous. Consistent FT zircon ages from duplicate measurements for two sites of later igneous bodies define their formation ages: e.g., quartz porphyry=$73{\pm}3Ma$; diorite=$73{\pm}2Ma$; rhyolite=$72{\pm}3Ma$; feldspar porphyry=$78{\pm}4Ma$ (total weighted average=$73{\pm}3Ma$). Intrusions of these later igneous bodies and pegmatitic dyke swarms might play important roles in later thermal rise over the study area including hot-spring districts (e.g., Hwasim, Jukrim, Mogyokri, Hoebong etc.). On the basis of an assumption that the latercooling of granite batholith was essentially controlled by the denudation of overlying crust, the uplift since early Cretaceous was very slow with a mean rate of ~0.05 mm/year (i.e., ~50 m/Ma). Estimates of total uplifts since 100 Ma, 70 Ma and 40 Ma to present-day are ~5 km, ~3.5 km and ~2 km, respectively. The consistent values of total uplifts from different locations may suggest a regional plateau uplift with a uniform rate over the whole granitic body.