Geochemical variations of the Late Mesozoic granitoids in the southern margin of North China Craton: A possible link to the tectonic transformation from compression to extension

The composition of the continental crust of the North China Craton (NCC) is more felsic than that of the average bulk crust, which is regarded to be the result of the delamination of the thickened lower crust during Mesozoic. However, whether the thickened continental crust existed and when the delamination event happened along the southern margin of the NCC are still debated. Here, we report geochronological, geochemical and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb...