Chemical imprint of highly metamorphosed volcanic-hosted hydrothermal alterations in the La Romaine Supracrustal Belt, eastern Grenville Province, Quebec

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1783-1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Laure Bonnet ◽  
Louise Corriveau ◽  
Marc R La Flèche

The La Romaine Supracrustal Belt and the southeastern end of the Wakeham Group in the eastern Grenville Province, Canada, host a series of Pinwarian, 1.50 Ga felsic-dominated volcanic centres metamorphosed at amphibolite to granulite facies during the Grenville orogeny. The centres are interpreted as being related to the emergence of rhyolitic domes in shallow-marine intra-arc basins within the active Pinwarian continental magmatic arc. High-grade metamorphosed hydrothermal alteration zones are intimately associated with pyroclastic deposits composing these volcanic centres and an overlying composite amphibolite unit. They comprise layers of rhyolitic metatuff bearing networks of aluminous nodules and veins, migmatized garnet–biotite–sillimanite gneiss with well-preserved volcanic fragments, and mottled quartz–cordierite gneiss with textures similar to those of vuggy silica facies. Alteration zones of ironstone, carbonate and calc-silicate rocks, garnetite, diopsidite, epidosite, and sulphide mineralization collectively cut across the internal contacts of a composite amphibolite unit inferred to be a mafic lava and sill complex. Lithogeochemical analysis of inferred metamorphosed altered rocks and precursors highlights chemical changes typical of metamorphosed sericitic zones, advanced argillic and silicic zones, and discharge zones characterized by calcic alterations and copper mineralizations. Such zones involve the interaction of hot, very acidic to neutral fluids. Medium to heavy rare-earth elements (REE) and Zr behave as mobile elements in the hydrothermal system as a result of the presence of F-rich fluids. The chemical changes recorded by the various alteration zones share similarities with those observed in high-sulphidation, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits occurring in proximal, shallow-marine, volcanic sequences.


2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1749-1782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Corriveau ◽  
Anne-Laure Bonnet

Volcanic belts developed along the southeastern continental margin of Laurentia between 1.70 and 1.30 Ga and subsequently metamorphosed at high grade are today largely concealed among gneiss complexes of the Grenville Province. At the eastern end of the Wakeham Group and in the La Romaine Supracrustal Belt to the east, four 1.50 Ga volcanic centres were found among gneissic synvolcanic intrusions typical of the 1.52–1.46 Ga Pinwarian continental magmatic arc. Upper amphibolite- to granulite-facies rhyolitic to dacitic lavas and coarse lapillistone overlie or are intimately associated with arenites typical of the Wakeham Group. Garnetite, ironstone, carbonate rock, calc-silicate rock, and sillimanite-bearing nodules, veins, and gneiss, locally preserving lapilli, are also present. The distribution, paragenesis, and modes of most of these latter units differ from those of normal metasediments but are diagnostic of metamorphosed exhalites and hydrothermal alteration zones. In the La Romaine Supracrustal Belt, they are associated with pyroclastic horizons and a mineralized composite amphibolite unit. Volcanic textures include flow banding, wispy lapilli moulding fragmented lapilli and rounded lapilli with quartz-feldspar mosaics (filled vesicles), and in situ shattering of lapilli. These textures and the presence of advanced argillic alteration point to vesicular volcanism and hydrothermal activity in a subaerial to shallow submarine environment. Rare mafic lapilli attest to coeval mafic magmatism. The pervasive calc-alkaline signature of the eruptive and intrusive felsic to mafic rocks and their distribution are compatible with the development of 1.50 Ga intra-arc volcano-sedimentary belts stemming from the Wakeham Group basin and extending eastward within the Pinwarian continental magmatic arc.



1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1545-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Van Kranendonk ◽  
R. J. Wardle

Large variations in metamorphic grade over short distances, disparate orientations and diverse kinematics of contemporaneous structures, and a previously unexplained, 90° counterclockwise bend in the orogenic boundary of the amphibolite- to granulite-facies northern segment of the Paleoproterozoic Torngat Orogen are shown to be the result of multiple tectonic events acting upon an orogenic boundary perturbation. The perturbation was initiated when a promontory on the Nain Province margin, composed of a 1910–1885 Ma continental magmatic arc (Burwell domain), indented the Rae Province hinterland during the onset of collisional orogeny at ca. 1870 Ma (Dn+1). Sinistral transpression at ca. 1845–1822 Ma (Dn+2) caused formation of the orogen-parallel Abloviak shear zone and oblique burial of the Nain Province margin beneath a tilted section of the hot, buoyant magmatic arc. Reactivation of the orogen at ca. 1798–1770 Ma (Dn+3) involved crustal-scale flexural slip folding of the perturbation and simultaneous exhumation of the Burwell domain and the previously buried Nain crust across the Komaktorvik shear zone, which represents a sheared, tightened fold train localized along the western limit of thinned Nain crust affected by preorogenic rifting, but which does not represent a fundamental plate boundary. The along-strike heterogeneities in the Torngat Orogen document the influence of geometrical and competency heterogeneities in the colliding margins on subsequent deformation and the fact that heterogeneities in the deep crust persist through high-grade metamorphism.



Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot K. Foley ◽  
R.A. Henderson ◽  
E.M. Roberts ◽  
A.I.S. Kemp ◽  
C.N. Todd ◽  
...  

The tectonic setting of the Australian sector of the eastern Gondwanan margin during the Jurassic and Cretaceous is enigmatic. Whether this involved convergent tectonism and a long-lived continental magmatic arc or rift-related extension unrelated to subduction is debated. The paucity of Australian Jurassic–Cretaceous igneous outcrops makes resolving these competing models difficult. We used the detrital zircon record of the Jurassic–Cretaceous Great Australian Superbasin (GAS) as a proxy for igneous activity. We attribute the persistent magmatism recorded in GAS sedimentary fill throughout the Mesozoic to ca. 95 Ma to continuation of the established Paleozoic continental arc system. The detrital zircon record signals short (~10 m.y.) pulses of elevated Jurassic and Cretaceous magmatic activity and strongly positive εHf values, indicating juvenile crust or mantle-derived magmatism. Margin reconstruction indicates sustained continental growth at rates of at least ~55 km3 km–1 m.y.–1, mainly to the tract now represented by submerged northern Zealandia, due to the retreat of this arc system. We posit that arc retreat was a key factor in rapid crust generation and preservation, and that continental sedimentary systems globally may host cryptic records of juvenile crustal addition that must be considered in estimating crustal growth rates along convergent plate margins.



Author(s):  
William H Peck ◽  
Matthew P Quinan

The Morin terrane is an allochthonous crustal block in the southwestern Grenville Province with a relatively poorly-constrained metamorphic history. In this part of the Grenville Province, some terranes were part of the ductile middle crust during the 1.09–1.02 Ga collision of Laurentia with the Amazon craton (the Ottawan phase of the Grenvillian orogeny), while other terranes were part of the orogen’s superstructure. New U-Pb geochronology suggests that the Morin terrane experienced granulite-facies metamorphism during the accretionary Shawinigan orogeny (1.19–1.14 Ga) and again during the Ottawan. Seven zircon samples from the 1.15 Ga Morin anorthosite suite were dated to confirm earlier age determinations, and Ottawan metamorphic rims (1.08–1.07 Ga) were observed in two samples. U-Pb dating of titanite in nine marble samples surrounding the Morin anorthosite suite yielded mixed ages spanning between the Shawinigan and Ottawan metamorphisms (n=7), and predominantly Ottawan ages (n=2). Our results show that Ottawan zircon growth and resetting of titanite ages is spatially heterogeneous in the Morin terrane. Ages with a predominantly Ottawan signature are recognized in the Morin shear zone, which deforms the eastern lobe of the anorthosite, in an overprinted skarn zone on the western side of the massif, and in the Labelle shear zone that marks its western boundary. In the rest of the Morin terrane titanite with Shawinigan ages appear to have been only partially reset during the Ottawan. Further work is needed to better understand the relationship between the character of Ottawan metamorphism and resetting in different parts of the Morin terrane.



2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 840-854
Author(s):  
Richard A. Volkert

New geochemical and 40Ar/39Ar hornblende and biotite data from the Grenvillian Trenton Prong inlier provide the first constraints for the identification of lithotectonic units, their tectonic setting, and their metamorphic to post-metamorphic history. Gneissic tonalite, diorite, and gabbro compose the Colonial Lake Suite magmatic arc that developed along eastern Laurentia prior to 1.2 Ga. Spatially associated low- and high-TiO2 amphibolites were formed from island-arc basalt proximal to the arc front and mid-ocean ridge basalt-like basalt in a back-arc setting, respectively. Supracrustal paragneisses include meta-arkose derived from a continental sediment source of Laurentian affinity and metagraywacke and metapelite from an arc-like sediment source deposited in a back-arc basin, inboard of the Colonial Lake arc. The Assunpink Creek Granite was emplaced post-tectonically as small bodies of peraluminous syenogranite produced through partial melting of a subduction-modified felsic crustal source. Prograde mineral assemblages reached granulite- to amphibolite-facies metamorphic conditions during the Ottawan phase of the Grenvillian Orogeny. Hornblende 40Ar/39Ar ages of 935–923 Ma and a biotite age of 868 Ma record slow cooling in the northern part of the inlier following the metamorphic peak. Elsewhere in the inlier, biotite 40Ar/39Ar ages of 440 Ma and 377–341 Ma record partial to complete thermal resetting or new growth during the Taconian and Acadian orogens. The results of this study are consistent with the Trenton Prong being the down-dropped continuation of the Grenvillian New Jersey Highlands on the hanging wall of a major detachment fault. The Trenton Prong therefore correlates to other central and northern Appalachian Grenvillian inliers and to parts of the Grenville Province proper.



2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letícia Alexandre Redes ◽  
Maria Zélia Aguiar de Sousa ◽  
Amarildo Salina Ruiz ◽  
Jean-Michel Lafon

The Taquaral Granite is located on southern Amazon Craton in the region of Corumbá, westernmost part of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), near Brazil-Bolivia frontier. This intrusion of batholitic dimensions is partially covered by sedimentary rocks of the Urucum, Tamengo Bocaina and Pantanal formations and Alluvial Deposits. The rock types are classified as quartz-monzodiorites, granodiorites, quartz-monzonites, monzo and syenogranites. There are two groups of enclaves genetically and compositionally different: one corresponds to mafic xenoliths and the second is identified as felsic microgranular enclave. Two deformation phases are observed: one ductile (F1) and the other brittle (F2). Geochemical data indicate intermediate to acidic composition for these rocks and a medium to high-K, metaluminous to peraluminous calk-alkaline magmatism, suggesting also their emplacement into magmatic arc settings. SHRIMP zircon U-Pb geochronological data of these granites reveals a crystallization age of 1861 ± 5.3 Ma. Whole rock Sm-Nd analyses provided εNd(1,86 Ga) values of -1.48 and -1.28 and TDM model ages of 2.32 and 2.25 Ga, likely indicating a Ryacian crustal source. Here we conclude that Taquaral Granite represents a magmatic episode generated at the end of the Orosirian, as a part of the Amoguija Magmatic Arc.



Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoqiang Sun ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Jiajia Guo ◽  
Yetong Wang ◽  
Yongheng Yang

The average thickness of Paleogene sandstones reaches about 3000–4000 m at the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin. However, the provenance and sedimentary environment of these sandstones are uncertain; thus, more comprehensive research is needed. Integrated research is conducted on the provenance and weathering process based on petrographic characteristics, clay minerals, and geochemical compositions of sandstones in the center of the northern Qaidam Basin. The results of lithofacies analysis show that the Paleogene sandstones were mainly derived from an active continental magmatic arc, subduction accretion, or a fold-thrust belt. The average illite content in the Paleogene clay minerals is more than 50%, followed by chlorite and smectite, which reflect climatic and environmental characteristics that were arid to semi-arid, whereas the characteristics of carbon–oxygen isotopes reveal a mainly freshwater sedimentary environment. The corrected chemical index of alteration (CIAcorr) is between 56.3 and 75.7, with an average value of 66.5. These results indicate that the provenance of the Paleogene sandstones in the center of the northern Qaidam Basin mainly formed under cold and dry climatic conditions and experienced limited chemical weathering with a small amount that underwent intermediate chemical weathering under warm and humid conditions.



1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. G. M. Dirks ◽  
Chris J. Carson ◽  
Chris J. L. Wilson

The Larsemann Hills represent a low-pressure granulite terrain with a complex structural-metamorphic history that comprises two parts: 1) granulite facies D1 structures transposed within an early form surface that probably formed at 1000 Ma, and 2) a sequence of progressive, upper amphibolite to lower granulite facies D2–D6 structures that formed during the Pan-African at 500 Ma and were associated with the emplacement of granites and pegmatites with high-grade alteration zones. D2–D6 events comprise an early form surface that has been tightly folded and sheared twice after which it was warped and transected by discrete mylonites. D2–D6 assemblages are associated with decompression textures on D1 peak-assemblages, such as cordierite coronas on garnet + sillimanite in metapelite and plagioclase coronas on garnet in metabasite. This suggests that D2–D6 formed at slightly lower pressures than D1 structures. However, the spatial correlation between the coronas and alteration zones around pegmatitic intrusives indicates that the apparent decompression textures may have partly resulted from transient fluxes in water pressure following melt crystallization. Throughout East Antarctica tectonic provinces have been recognized in which the 1000 Ma tectonothermal events are identified as the main stage in the evolution, and Pan-African events are dismissed as a minor thermal overprint. Although the Larsemann Hills are small in area, they are representative of a great many granulite terrains in East Antarctica, and suggest that great care is needed in the structural-metamorphic analysis of such terrains to ensure the separation of tectonic stages before an interpretation of the tectonic path is attempted.





Geosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1225-1248
Author(s):  
Hannah J. Blatchford ◽  
Keith A. Klepeis ◽  
Joshua J. Schwartz ◽  
Richard Jongens ◽  
Rose E. Turnbull ◽  
...  

Abstract Recovering the time-evolving relationship between arc magmatism and deformation, and the influence of anisotropies (inherited foliations, crustal-scale features, and thermal gradients), is critical for interpreting the location, timing, and geometry of transpressional structures in continental arcs. We investigated these themes of magma-deformation interactions and preexisting anisotropies within a middle- and lower-crustal section of Cretaceous arc crust coinciding with a Paleozoic boundary in central Fiordland, New Zealand. We present new structural mapping and results of Zr-in-titanite thermometry and U-Pb zircon and titanite geochronology from an Early Cretaceous batholith and its host rock. The data reveal how the expression of transpression in the middle and lower crust of a continental magmatic arc evolved during emplacement and crystallization of the ∼2300 km2 lower-crustal Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO) batholith. Two structures within Fiordland’s architecture of transpressional shear zones are identified. The gently dipping Misty shear zone records syn-magmatic oblique-sinistral thrust motion between ca. 123 and ca. 118 Ma, along the lower-crustal WFO Misty Pluton margin. The subhorizontal South Adams Burn thrust records mid-crustal arc-normal shortening between ca. 114 and ca. 111 Ma. Both structures are localized within and reactivate a recently described >10 km-wide Paleozoic crustal boundary, and show that deformation migrated upwards between ca. 118 and ca. 114 Ma. WFO emplacement and crystallization (mainly 118–115 Ma) coincided with elevated (>750 °C) middle- and lower-crustal Zr-in-titanite temperatures and the onset of mid-crustal cooling at 5.9 ± 2.0 °C Ma−1 between ca. 118 and ca. 95 Ma. We suggest that reduced strength contrasts across lower-crustal pluton margins during crystallization caused deformation to migrate upwards into thermally weakened rocks of the mid-crust. The migration was accompanied by partitioning of deformation into domains of arc-normal shortening in Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and domains that combined shortening and strike-slip deformation in crustal-scale subvertical, transpressional shear zones previously documented in Fiordland. U-Pb titanite dates indicate Carboniferous–Cretaceous (re)crystallization, consistent with reactivation of the inherited boundary. Our results show that spatio-temporal patterns of transpression are influenced by magma emplacement and crystallization and by the thermal structure of a reactivated boundary.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document