A complete arc-trench system recognized in Gondwana sequences of the Antarctic Peninsula region

1981 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Smellie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Radiometric Dating ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Complete Arc ◽  
The Antarctic

SummaryPrior to Late Triassic–Early Jurassic times, the geological history of the Antarctic Peninsula region was dominated almost entirely by Gondwana sequences that together comprised a major arc-trench system. Subduction complex, trench-slope-break and fore-arc basin sedimentation can all be recognized, and deposition was at least partly on early Palaeozoic or older continental crust. The only evidence for a contemporaneous magmatic arc situated in the Antarctic Peninsula at this time consists of patchy occurrences of metavolcanic rocks, possibly representing the frontal edge of the arc, and the major outcrop area of these rocks is believed to lie under the broad shallow continental shelf E of the Antarctic Peninsula. This is contrary to most current hypotheses in which a marginal basin, presumably floored by oceanic crust, is thought to crop out close to the E coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. However, the complete absence of substantial outcrops of pre-Jurassic volcanic rocks anywhere in eastern Antarctica and South Africa, which are the closest and most likely places in which these should exist, supports the new proposal. Moreover, the identification of back-arc elements of the arc-trench system (foreland fold-thrust belt and retro-arc foreland basin) in eastern Antarctica and South Africa greatly strengthens the likelihood of the arc cropping out in the area suggested.Towards the end of the Triassic and during the Early Jurassic Periods, an intense diastrophic event, or culmination of events, of orogenic magnitude occurred (Gondwanian orogeny), causing substantial redistribution of the pre-existing elements of the arc-trench system. In particular, all the fore-arc sequences were strongly deformed, some possibly for the first time (e.g. in the fore-arc basin), and became firmly accreted to the continental margin. Moreover, the magmatic foci migrated trenchwards to intrude the deformed rocks in the Antarctic Peninsula. Because many of the plutons were emplaced synkinematically, they often closely resemble ‘basement’ gneisses. The distinction between these rocks remains a serious problem in the Antarctic Peninsula and it can be solved only partially by radiometric dating.

scholarly journals Zircon U-Pb dating of Mesozoic volcanic and tectonic events in north-west Palmer Land and south-west Graham Land, Antarctica

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 633-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.T. Leat ◽  
M.J. Flowerdew ◽  
T.R. Riley ◽  
M.J. Whitehouse ◽  
J.H. Scarrow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Geochronological Data ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
North West ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Tectonic Events ◽  
South West ◽  
Silicic Volcanic ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractNew whole rock Rb-Sr and zircon U-Pb geochronological data and Sm-Nd isotopic data are presented from the central magmatic arc domain of the Antarctic Peninsula in the area of north-west Palmer Land and south-west Graham Land, Rb-Sr isochrons indicate an age of 169 ± 6 Ma for basement orthogneisses and 132 ± 9 to 71 ± 9 Ma for plutons. A U-Pb age of 183 ± 2.1 Ma, with no detectable inheritance, on zircons from an orthogneiss from Cape Berteaux provides the first reliable age for the orthogneisses, which are interpreted as metamorphosed silicic volcanic rocks, and Sm-Nd data indicate derivation in a mature volcanic arc. The age indicates they may be correlatives of the Jurassic ‘Chon Aike’ volcanism of the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. A U-Pb zircon age of 107 ± 1.7 Ma on a terrestrial volcanic sequence overlying an uncomformity strongly suggests a mid-Cretaceous age for the extensive volcanic cover of north-west Palmer Land that was previously thought to be Jurassic. The unconformity is interpreted to have been a result of compressional uplift related to the Palmer Land event. This is the first date for the event in the western part of the central magmatic arc terrane of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Central volcanoes as sources for the Antarctic Peninsula Volcanic Group

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip T. Leat ◽  
Jane H. Scarrow
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
North West ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Volcanic Group ◽  
Land Sliding ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Antarctic

From at least the Early Jurassic to the Miocene, eastward subduction of oceanic crust took place beneath the Antarctic Peninsula. Magmatism associated with the subduction generated a N-S linear belt of volcanic rocks known as the Antarctic Peninsula Volcanic Group (APVG), and which erosion has now exposed at about the plutonic/volcanic interface. Large central volcanoes from the APVG are described here for the first time. The structures are situated in north-west Palmer Land within the main Mesozoic magmatic arc. One centre, Zonda Towers, is recognized by the presence of a 160 m thick silicic ignimbrite, containing accidental lava blocks up to 25 m in diameter. This megabreccia is interpreted as a caldera-fill deposit which formed by land sliding of steep caldera walls during ignimbrite eruption and deposition. A larger centre, Mount Edgell-Wright Spires, is dominated by coarse-grained debris flow deposits and silicic ignimbrites which, with minor lavas and fine-grained tuffs, form a volcanic succession some 1.5 km thick. Basic intermediate and silicic sills c. 50 m thick intrude the succession. A central gabbro-granite intrusion is interpreted to be a high-level magma chamber of the Mount Edgell volcano.

A unifying lithostratigraphy of late Cretaceous–early Tertiary fore-arc volcanic sequences on Alexander Island, Antarctica

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe J. McCarron
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Ridge Subduction ◽  
Volcanic Group ◽  
Early Tertiary ◽  
Plutonic Rocks ◽  
The Antarctic

Late Cretaceous–early Tertiary subduction-related fore-arc volcanic rocks are exposed in a north–south linear belt along the length of Alexander Island. The age and tectonic setting of these rocks is well understood; they are not considered to represent “normal” arc magmas but were generated in the fore-arc as a result of ridge subduction. Due to their distinct composition and mode of formation, they are no longer considered to be genetically related to the Antarctic Peninsula magmatic arc. They are therefore removed from the Antarctic Peninsula Volcanic Group and placed in a newly defined Alexander Island Volcanic Group. The group is made up of the Monteverdi, Staccato, Walton, Colbert, Elgar and Finlandia formations, which vary widely in lithology, facies and age. The Colbert and Elgar formations are subdivided into nine and three members respectively. Type localities, representative lithologies and age of each of the formations are discussed. The Staccato and Colbert Magmatic complexes are defined to include volcanic and plutonic rocks that are considered to be coeval. The Rouen Intrusive complex combines the plutonic rocks from the Rouen Mountains and Rothschild Island on the basis of age and chemistry.

The geology of Cape Dubouzet, northern Antarctic Peninsula: continental basement to the Trinity Peninsula Group?

1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Hervé ◽  
Jorge Lobato ◽  
Ignacio Ugalde ◽  
Robert J. Pankhurst
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Metamorphic Complex ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Trinity

Cape Dubouzet is mainly composed of a volcanic-subvolcanic complex of extrusive rhyolitic breccias, a banded rhyolite and a semi-annular body of dacite porphyry rich in xenoliths of metamorphic rocks. Major and REE geochemistry indicate that the volcanic rocks are calc-alkaline and that they are genetically related by fractional crystallization of a plagioclase-bearing assemblage from a common magma. Rb-Sr data suggest that the rhyolitic complex is of Middle-to-Late Jurassic age, and that it is intruded by Late Cretaceous stocks of banded diorite and gabbro. All these rocks are partially covered by moraines whose clasts are of local provenance. Xenoliths in the dacite porphyry suggest that the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula is underlain by a metamorphic complex composed of amphibolites, meta-tonalites and pelitic gneiss containing garnet, sillimanite, cordierite, hercynite, and andalucite. Such rocks are not known in the Scotia metamorphic complex, nor in the Trinity Peninsula Group and its low grade metamorphic derivatives, which also occur as rare xenoliths in the dacite. Previous dating of xenoliths collected from the moraines suggested a late Carboniferous age for this amphibolite-grade metamorphism. Both the Jurassic-Cenozoic magmatic arc of the Antarctic Peninsula and the accretionary complex rocks of the Trinity Peninsula Group were thus developed, at least in part, over pre-existing continental crust.

The age and stratigraphy of fore-arc magmatism on Alexander Island, Antarctica

1997 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOE J. MCCARRON ◽  
IAN L. MILLAR
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Arc Magmatism ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Pyroclastic Deposits ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Magmatic Rocks ◽  
Zircon Fission Track ◽  
Cretaceous Magmatism ◽  
The Antarctic

Fore-arc magmatic sequences associated with high Mg number andesite lavas unconformably overlie LeMay Group accretionary complex in Alexander Island. High-resolution 40Ar/39Ar, U–Pb zircon, fission track and K–Ar ages demonstrate that subduction-related fore-arc magmatism migrated northwards along the length of Alexander Island between c. 80 Ma and c. 46 Ma. The magmatic rocks represent a third of the western margin of the Antarctic Peninsula magmatic arc and are critical to the understanding of the final phase of subduction along the southern Antarctic Peninsula margin. The onset of late Cretaceous magmatism is recorded by poorly exposed volcanic rocks on Monteverdi Peninsula (79.7±2.5 Ma). In central and northern Alexander Island, the magmatic rocks can be distinguished by the proportion, range and types of lithofacies present, and by the periods of magmatism represented. The volcanic rocks of the Colbert Mountains range in age from c. 69–62 Ma and are dominated by large volume dacitic and rhyolitic crystal-rich ignimbrites interpreted as caldera-fill deposits. Elgar Uplands sequences range in age from c. 55–50 Ma, and contain approximately equal proportions of pyroclastic deposits and less evolved (basaltic-andesite and andesite) lavas including high Mg number andesite lavas near the base of three sequences. The volcanic rocks of Finlandia Foothills probably represent the youngest calc-alkaline units on Alexander Island (48±2 Ma). The sequence is lithologically similar to the Elgar Uplands and also contains high Mg number andesite lavas, but it is dominated by polymict conglomerates, with minor lavas, which were deposited in a graben associated with regional extension. Plutonic rocks exposed in the Rouen Mountains, adjacent to the Elgar Uplands, yielded a U–Pb age of 56±3 Ma which is in discordance with a previously published Rb–Sr age (46±3 Ma), probably due to hydrothermal perturbation of the Rb–Sr system. Northwards migration of magmatism was caused by the progressive collision and subduction of three ridge segments prior to the previously reported ridge crest–trench collisions that occurred c. 20–30 Ma later and following which subduction ceased.

The Peninsular Ranges Batholith: an insight into the evolution of the Cordilleran batholiths of southwestern North America

1988 ◽  
Vol 79 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. T. Silver ◽  
B. W. Chappell
Keyword(s):  
Baja California ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Radiometric Dating ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Basaltic Composition ◽  
Peninsular Ranges ◽  
General Aspects

ABSTRACTThe Peninsular Ranges Batholith of southern and Baja California is the largest segment of a Cretaceous magmatic arc that was once continuous from northern California to southern Baja California. In this batholith, the emplacement of igneous rocks took place during a single sequence of magmatic activity, unlike many of the other components of the Cordilleran batholiths which formed during successive separate magmatic episodes. Detailed radiometric dating has shown that it is a composite of two batholiths. A western batholith, which was more heterogeneous in composition, formed as a static magmatic arc between 140 and 105 Ma and was intrusive in part into related volcanic rocks. The eastern batholith formed as a laterally transgressing arc which moved away from those older rocks between 105 and 80 Ma, intruding metasedimentary rocks. Rocks of the batholith range from undersaturated gabbros through to felsic granites, but tonalite is the most abundant rock throughout. Perhaps better than elsewhere in the Cordillera, the batholith shows beautifully developed asymmetries in chemical and isotopic properties. The main gradients in chemical composition from W to E are found among the trace elements, with Ba, Sr, Nb and the light rare earth elements increasing by more than a factor of two, and P, Rb, Pb, Th, Zn and Ga showing smaller increases. Mg and the transition metals decrease strongly towards the E, with Sc, V and Cu falling to less than half of their value in the most westerly rocks. Oxygen becomes very systematically more enriched in18O from W to E and the Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic systems change progressively from mantle values in the W to a more evolved character on the eastern side of the batholith. In detail the petrogenesis of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith is not completely understood, but many general aspects of the origin are clear. The exposed rocks, particularly in the western batholith, closely resemble those of present day island arcs, although the most typical and average tonalitic composition is distinctly more felsic than the mean quartz diorite or mafic andesite composition of arcs. Chemical and isotopic properties of the western part of the batholith indicate that it formed as the root of a primitive island arc on oceanic lithosphere at a convergent plate margin. Further E, the plutonic rocks appear to have been derived by partial melting from deeper sources of broadly basaltic composition at subcrustal levels. The compositional systematics of the batholith do not reflect a simple mixing of various end-members but are a reflection of the differing character of the source regions laterally and vertically away from the pre-Cretaceous continental margin.

scholarly journals Upper Karoo vertebrate assemblages (Late Triassic/Early Jurassic) of the Lake Kariba region, Zimbabwe

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M Barrett ◽  
Tim Broderick ◽  
Kimberley Chapelle ◽  
Jonah Choiniere ◽  
Steve Edwards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Lower Jurassic ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Lake Kariba ◽  
Aquatic Fauna ◽  
Mudstone Facies

Southern Africa provides critical information on Late Triassic–Early Jurassic terrestrial tetrapod faunas. Most of the localities in this region are in South Africa and Lesotho, but preliminary work in Zimbabwe has revealed significant potential. Early Jurassic Zimbabwean localities have yielded the basal sauropodomorph Massospondylus, the early sauropod Vulcanodon and theropod material. Late Triassic localities are also known, but have yielded only fragmentary specimens thus far. In early 2017, a joint South African-Zimbabwean-UK team conducted fieldwork in the upper Karoo-aged deposits along the shores of Lake Kariba, northern Zimbabwe (Mid-Zambesi Basin). We relocated the Vulcanodon type locality on Island 126/127 and found that, contrary to previous reports suggesting a Toarcian age, the quarry was in a horizon pre-dating the onset of Drakensburg volcanism (= Batoka Basalts). It is situated instead within the earlier Lower Jurassic Forest Sandstone. This indicates that Vulcanodon is 10–15 million years older than thought previously, recalibrating several nodes within Sauropoda and indicating extensive overlap between true sauropods and 'prosauropods'. Other new vertebrate localities show that sauropodomorphs are present in the Forest Sandstone and upper Tashinga (Late Triassic) formations, but a grey mudstone facies within the Pebbly Arkose Member of the latter unit yields a more aquatic fauna, including lungfish and phytosaurs, but lacking sauropodomorphs. The phytosaur occurrence is the first in Africa south of the Sahara. Faunal and sedimentological evidence indicates that the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sites in this region were deposited under more mesic environments than their lateral equivalents in South Africa.

Chapter 3.1b Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands: petrology

2021 ◽  
pp. M55-2018-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip T. Leat ◽  
Teal R. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Contact Metamorphism ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
High K ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThe Antarctic Peninsula contains a record of continental-margin volcanism extending from Jurassic to Recent times. Subduction of the Pacific oceanic lithosphere beneath the continental margin developed after Late Jurassic volcanism in Alexander Island that was related to extension of the continental margin. Mesozoic ocean-floor basalts emplaced within the Alexander Island accretionary complex have compositions derived from Pacific mantle. The Antarctic Peninsula volcanic arc was active from about Early Cretaceous times until the Early Miocene. It was affected by hydrothermal alteration, and by regional and contact metamorphism generally of zeolite to prehnite–pumpellyite facies. Distinct geochemical groups recognized within the volcanic rocks suggest varied magma generation processes related to changes in subduction dynamics. The four groups are: calc-alkaline, high-Mg andesitic, adakitic and high-Zr, the last two being described in this arc for the first time. The dominant calc-alkaline group ranges from primitive mafic magmas to rhyolite, and from low- to high-K in composition, and was generated from a mantle wedge with variable depletion. The high-Mg and adakitic rocks indicate periods of melting of the subducting slab and variable equilibration of the melts with mantle. The high-Zr group is interpreted as peralkaline and may have been related to extension of the arc.

Chapter 4.1b Antarctic Peninsula: petrology

2021 ◽  
pp. M55-2018-40
Author(s):  
Malcolm J. Hole
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Ridge Crest ◽  
Ridge Subduction ◽  
Simple Geometry ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Slab Window

AbstractScattered occurrences of Miocene–Recent volcanic rocks of the alkaline intraplate association represent one of the last expressions of magmatism along the Antarctic Peninsula. The volcanic rocks were erupted after the cessation of subduction which stopped following a series of northward-younging ridge crest–trench collisions. Volcanism has been linked to the development of a growing slab window beneath the extinct convergent margin. Geochemically, lavas range from olivine tholeiite through to basanite and tephrite. Previous studies have emphasized the slab-window tectonic setting as key to allowing melting of peridotite in the asthenospheric void caused by the passage of the slab beneath the locus of volcanism. This hypothesis is revisited in the light of more recent petrological research, and an origin from melting of subducted slab-hosted pyroxenite is considered here to be a more viable alternative for their petrogenesis. Because of the simple geometry of ridge subduction, and the well-established chronology of ridge crest–trench collisions, the Antarctic Peninsula remains a key region for understanding the transition from active to passive margin resulting from cessation of subduction. However, there are still some key issues relating to their tectonomagmatic association, and, principally, the poor geochronological control on the volcanic rocks requires urgent attention.

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