Permian exhumation of the Buffalo Pitts orogenic peridotite massif, northern Cordillera, Yukon

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
S T Johnston ◽  
D Canil ◽  
L H Heaman

We report the results of a geochemical and U–Pb zircon geochronological study aimed at constraining the timing and tectonic setting of the exhumation of an orogenic peridotitic mantle massif in central Yukon within northern Canadian Cordillera. The Buffalo Pitts orogenic massif is inferred to have been exhumed into continental metasedimentary rocks within the pericratonic Yukon–Tanana terrane. Structurally admixed with the peridotite were boudins of metaleucogabbro and metatroctolite. A metamorphic aureole, defined by migmatite with abundant leucosome, characterizes the metasedi mentary wall rocks to the massif. Whole-rock chemical analyses indicate significant light rare-earth element enrichment of the leucogabbro and the metatroctolite, characteristics commonly ascribed to within-plate or rift settings. Crystallization of the leucogabbro occurred at 261.5 ± 2.3 Ma. The metatroctolite yields a similar crystallization age. These ages are coeval with metamorphism of the wall rocks to the orogenic massif, as indicated by leucosome crystallization at 262.3 ± 0.43 Ma. These geochemical and geochronological data are consistent with the orogenic massif having been exhumed within a continental rift at about 262 Ma, giving rise to metamorphism of the upper crustal rocks into which the massif was exhumed, and coeval with rift-related magmatism. Regional considerations suggest that rifting occurred within the back arc of a northeast-facing magmatic arc, represented by the Klondike schist. Coeval eclogite and blueschist along the northeast margin of the Yukon–Tanana terrane may mark the paleo-trench, along which a southwest-dipping slab is assumed to have subducted beneath Yukon–Tanana 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.


Author(s):  
H.S. Moghadam ◽  
Q.L. Li ◽  
W.L. Griffin ◽  
M. Chiaradia ◽  
K. Hoernle ◽  
...  

New trace-element, radiogenic Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic and geochronological data from Middle-Late Cretaceous Zagros ophiolites of Iran give new insights into the tectono-magmatic history of these supra-subduction zone (SSZ)-type ophiolites. The distribution of Middle-Late Cretaceous SSZ-type ophiolites in Iran comprises two parallel belts: (1) the outer Zagros ophiolitic belt and (2) the inner Zagros ophiolitic belt. These Middle-Late Cretaceous ophiolites were generated by seafloor spreading in what became the fore-arc and back-arc during the subduction initiation event and now define a ∼3000-km-long belt from Cyprus to Turkey, Syria, Iran, the UAE, and Oman. The Zagros ophiolites contain complete (if disrupted) mantle and crustal sequences. Mantle sequences from both outer-belt and inner-belt ophiolites are dominated by dunites, harzburgites, and lherzolites with minor chromitite lenses. Peridotites are also intruded by gabbros and a variety of mafic to minor felsic (plagiogranite and dacite) dikes. Crustal rocks comprise ultramafic-mafic cumulates as well as isotropic gabbros, sheeted dike complexes, pillowed and massive lavas, and felsic rocks. Our new zircon U-Pb ages indicate that the outer-belt and inner-belt ophiolites formed near coevally during the Middle-Late Cretaceous; 100−96 Ma for the outer belt and 105−94 Ma for the inner belt. Both incompatible-element ratios and isotopic data confirm that depleted mantle and variable contributions of subduction components were involved in the genesis of outer-belt and inner-belt rocks. Our data for the outer belt and inner belt along with those from better-studied ophiolites in Cyprus, Turkey, the UAE, and Oman lead to the conclusion that a broad, ∼3000-km-long swath of fore-arc lithosphere was created during Middle-Late Cretaceous time.


2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen E Mezger ◽  
Robert A Creaser ◽  
Philippe Erdmer ◽  
Stephen T Johnston

The Coast Belt of the northern Cordillera in Canada is the locus of the boundary between accreted and ancient North American margin rocks. The largest exposure of metasedimentary rocks in the Coast Belt is the Kluane metamorphic assemblage (KMA), a northwest-striking belt 160 km long of graphitic mica–quartz schist and gneiss with minor interfoliated olivine serpentinite. The KMA does not appear to correlate with other sedimentary or metamorphic rock assemblages in the Canadian Cordillera. To determine its tectonic setting and protolith provenance, we analyzed trace element, rare earth elements, and neodymium isotope compositions of the KMA, of the adjacent pericratonic Aishihik metamorphic suite (AMS) of the Yukon–Tanana terrane, and of adjacent slates of the Dezadeash Formation (DF), filling a Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous flysch basin. The εNd(0) values of analyzed KMA samples range from –1.4 to –5.6 and depleted mantle model ages (TDM) range from 1.16 to 1.45 Ga. KMA samples are intermediate between more evolved AMS samples (average εNd(0) –25, TDM = 2.6 Ga) and more juvenile DF samples (εNd(0) = +1.9, TDM = 0.95 Ga). The intermediate characteristics of the KMA samples cannot be linked to a known source region and are interpreted to reflect homogeneous mixing from predominantly juvenile and minor evolved sedimentary sources. A compatible tectonic setting is a back-arc basin within influence of a continental source. Eastward subduction of the KMA beneath ancient North America collapsed the back-arc basin by latest Cretaceous time.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 00006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eko Bayu Purwasatriya ◽  
Sugeng Sapto Surjono ◽  
Donatus Hendra Amijaya

<p>This study attempts to reconstruct paleogeography of Banyumas Basin in association with magmatic arc evolution and its implication to petroleum potential. Based on the volcanic rocks distribution, their association and relatives age, there are three alignments of a magmatic arc, that are: (1) Oligo-Miocene arc in the south (2) Mio-Pliocene arc in the middle (3) Plio-Pleistocene arc in the north. The consequences of the magmatic arc movement were tectonic setting changing during Oligocene to Pleistocene, as well as their paleogeography. During Oligo-Miocene where magmatic arc existed in the southern part, the Banyumas tectonic setting was a back-arc basin. This tectonic setting was changing to intra-arc basin during Mio-Pliocene and subsequently to fore-arc basin since Plio-Pleistocene until today. Back-arc basin is the most suitable paleogeography to create a depositional environment for potential source rocks. Exploration activity to prove the existence of source rocks during Oligo-Miocene is needed to reveal petroleum potential in Banyumas Basin.<br></p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Javier Álvaro ◽  
Teresa Sánchez-García ◽  
Claudia Puddu ◽  
Josep Maria Casas ◽  
Alejandro Díez-Montes ◽  
...  

Abstract. A geochemical comparison of Early Palaeozoic felsic magmatic episodes throughout the south-western European margin of Gondwana is analysed. The comparison is made between (i) Furongian–Early Ordovician (Toledanian) activies recorded in the Central Iberian and Galicia-Trás-os-Montes Zones of the Iberian Massif, and (ii) Early–Late Ordovician (Sardic) activities in the eastern Pyrenees, Occitan Domain (Albigeois, Montagne Noire and Mouthoumet massifs) and Sardinia. Both phases are related to uplift and denudation of an inherited palaeorelief, and stratigraphically preserved as distinct angular discordances and paraconformities involving gaps of up to 30 m.y. The geochemical features of the Toledanian and Sardic, felsic-dominant activies point to a predominance of byproducts derived from the melting of metasedimentary rocks, rich in SiO2 and K2O and with peraluminous character. Zr / TiO2, Zr / Nb, Nb / Y and Zr vs. Ga / Al ratios, and REE and ƐNd values suggest the contemporaneity, for both phases, of two geochemical scenarios characterized by arc and extensional features evolving to distinct extensional and rifting conditions associated with the final outpouring of mafic tholeiitic-dominant lava flows. The Toledanian and Sardic phases are linked to neither metamorphism nor penetrative deformation; on the contrary, their unconformities are associated with foliation-free open folds subsequently affected by the Variscan deformation. The geochemical and structural framework precludes a subduction scenario reaching the crust in a magmatic arc to back-arc setting, but favours partial melting of sediments and/or granitoids in a continental lower crust triggered by the underplating of hot mafic magmas during extensional events related to the opening of the Rheic Ocean.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fausto Ferraccioli ◽  
Aisling Dunn ◽  
Chris Green ◽  
Tom Jordan ◽  
Rene Forsberg ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;An Andean-style convergent margin was active between ca 580 and 460 Ma along the margin of Gondwana. It led to the emplacement of a major magmatic arc, which is in parts exposed along the much younger Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). Arc magmatism, thrusting, deformation and metamorphism are hallmarks of the long-lived subduction-related Ross Orogen (RO).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Despite the wealth of knowledge on the RO, the location, structure and evolution of the unexposed boundary between the Precambrian Mawson Craton and the RO remains very poorly known, particularly in the South Pole (SP) region- one of the largest poles of ignorance in the whole of East Antarctica.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here we combine new aeromagnetic data collected during the ESA PolarGAP campaign with vintage ADMAP 2.0 (Golynsky et al., 2018- GRL) aeromagnetic datasets in the SP region and level these using the satellite magnetic LCS-1 model to investigate the craton margin and RO. The final levelled data were draped at 2800 m above the bedrock topography (Morlighem et al., 2020, Nature Geo.) and reduced to the pole. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To enhance magnetic signatures and reveal subglacial basement terranes we applied pseudo-gravity transforms, derivatives and upward continuation. We also computed new airborne gravity residual maps and compared these with enhanced magnetic anomaly images. We applied a variety of depth to source of the magnetic and gravity residual anomalies, including tilt depth, Werner and Euler Deconvolution and constructed simple 2D models of the crustal architecture of the RO and the adjacent Precambrian craton margin. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Using the information from enhanced aeromagnetic imaging and combined magnetic and gravity modelling we propose a new tectonic model for the region. In our model, a former late Neoproterozoic rifted margin that developed along an irregular cratonic margin of the Mawson continent evolved during the Ross Orogen in a wide back-arc basin tectonic setting, linked to a predominantly retreating accretionary subduction-related setting from ca 530 Ma to 500 Ma. This led to the emplacement of magnetite-rich ribbons of arc crust, which are magnetically imaged for the first time in this sector of the active margin. Complex deformation of these ribbons is also imaged from aeromagnetic signatures and appears to resemble some of the deformation patterns observed in the Tasmanides in Australia in evolving retreating accretionary arc and back arc systems (e.g Moresi et al., 2014, Nature).&lt;/p&gt;


Author(s):  
Henrik Rasmussen ◽  
Lars Frimodt Pedersen

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Rasmussen, H., & Frimodt Pedersen, L. (1999). Stratigraphy, structure and geochemistry of Archaean supracrustal rocks from Oqaatsut and Naajaat Qaqqaat, north-east Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 181, 65-78. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v181.5114 _______________ Two Archaean supracrustal sequences in the area north-east of Disko Bugt, c. 1950 and c. 800 m in thickness, are dominated by pelitic and semipelitic mica schists, interlayered with basic metavolcanic rocks. A polymict conglomerate occurs locally at the base of one of the sequences. One of the supracrustal sequences has undergone four phases of deformation; the other three phases. In both sequences an early phase, now represented by isoclinal folds, was followed by north-west-directed thrusting. A penetrative deformation represented by upright to steeply inclined folds is only recognised in one of the sequences. Steep, brittle N–S and NW–SE striking faults transect all rock units including late stage dolerites and lamprophyres. Investigation of major- and trace-element geochemistry based on discrimination diagrams for tectonic setting suggests that both metasediments and metavolcanic rocks were deposited in an environment similar to a modern back-arc setting.


Author(s):  
L. T. Silver ◽  
B. W. Chappell

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.


2021 ◽  

Mesozoic plate convergence in SE Sundaland has been a source of debate for decades. A determination of plate convergence boundaries and timing have been explained in many publications, but not all boundaries were associated with magmatism. Through integration of both plate configurations and magmatic deposits, the basement can be accurately characterized over time and areal extents. This paper will discuss Cretaceous subductions and magmatic arc trends in SE Sundaland area with additional evidence found in JS-1 Ridge. At least three subduction trends are captured during the Mesozoic in the study area: 1) Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous trend of Meratus, 2) Early Cretaceous trend of Bantimala and 3) Late Cretaceous trend in the southernmost study area. The Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous subduction occurred along the South and East boundary of Sundaland (SW Borneo terrane) and passes through the Meratus area. The Early Cretaceous subduction occurred along South and East boundary of Sundaland (SW Borneo and Paternoster terranes) and pass through the Bantimala area. The Late Cretaceous subduction occurred along South and East boundary of Sundaland (SW Borneo, Paternoster and SE Java – South Sulawesi terranes), but is slightly shifted to the South approaching the Oligocene – Recent subduction zone. Magmatic arc trends can also be generally grouped into three periods, with each period corresponds to the subduction processes at the time. The first magmatic arc (Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous) is present in core of SW Borneo terrane and partly produces the Schwaner Magmatism. The second Cretaceous magmatic arc (Early Cretaceous) trend is present in the SW Borneo terrane but is slightly shifted southeastward It is responsible for magmatism in North Java offshore, northern JS-1 Ridge and Meratus areas. The third magmatic arc trend is formed by Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks in Luk Ulo, the southern JS-1 Ridge and the eastern Makassar Strait areas. These all occur during the same time within the Cretaceous magmatic arc. Though a mélange rock sample has not been found in JS-1 Ridge area, there is evidence of an accretionary prism in the area as evidenced by the geometry observed on a new 3D seismic dataset. Based on the structural trend of Meratus (NNE-SSW) coupled with the regional plate boundary understanding, this suggests that both Meratus & JS-1 Ridge are part of the same suture zone between SW Borneo and Paternoster terranes. The gradual age transition observed in the JS-1 Ridge area suggests a southward shift of the magmatic arc during Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous times.


2021 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 239-273
Author(s):  
Allan Ludman ◽  
Christopher McFarlane ◽  
Amber T.H. Whittaker

Volcanic rocks in the Miramichi inlier in Maine occur in two areas separated by the Bottle Lake plutonic complex: the Danforth segment (Stetson Mountain Formation) north of the complex and Greenfield segment to the south (Olamon Stream Formation). Both suites are dominantly pyroclastic, with abundant andesite, dacite, and rhyolite tuffs and subordinate lavas, breccias, and agglomerates. Rare basaltic tuffs and a small area of basaltic tuffs, agglomerates, and lavas are restricted to the Greenfield segment. U–Pb zircon geochronology dates Greenfield segment volcanism at ca. 469 Ma, the Floian–Dapingian boundary between the Lower and Middle Ordovician. Chemical analyses reveal a calc-alkaline suite erupted in a continental volcanic arc, either the Meductic or earliest Balmoral phase of Popelogan arc activity. The Maine Miramichi volcanic rocks are most likely correlative with the Meductic Group volcanic suite in west-central New Brunswick. Orogen-parallel lithologic and chemical variations from New Brunswick to east-central Maine may result from eruptions at different volcanic centers. The bimodal Poplar Mountain volcanic suite at the Maine–New Brunswick border is 10–20 myr younger than the Miramichi volcanic rocks and more likely an early phase of back-arc basin rifting than a late-stage Meductic phase event. Coeval calc-alkaline arc volcanism in the Miramichi, Weeksboro–Lunksoos Lake, and Munsungun Cambrian–Ordovician inliers in Maine is not consistent with tectonic models involving northwestward migration of arc volcanism. This >150 km span cannot be explained by a single east-facing subduction zone, suggesting more than one subduction zone/arc complex in the region.


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