Light δD apatites reveal deep origin water in North China Craton intracontinental granites and basalts.

Water is essential to the formation of intracontinental granites, but its origin remains elusive. Here we address this scientific problem by analyzing D/H isotopes of apatites, hydrous minerals in Jurassic and Early Cretaceous granites and basalts from eastern North China Craton, where water was previously interpreted as derived from subducting slab. Results reveal extremely low δD values in pristine Early Cretaceous granitic (-203‰ to -127‰) and basaltic (-197‰ to -107‰) apatites, contrasting with relatively high δD values (-137‰ to -47‰) in Jurassic granites.