The Lower Cretaceous Chaswood Formation in southern New Brunswick: provenance and tectonics

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
David JW Piper ◽  
Georgia Pe-Piper ◽  
Thian Hundert ◽  
D V Venugopal

The most northwesterly outcrop of Lower Cretaceous Chaswood Formation is in a pit at Vinegar Hill, south of Sussex, New Brunswick. New mapping and boreholes show thick, fluvial, loosely lithified conglomerates and lesser sandstones unconformably overlying 12 m of mudstone in a 1 km2 basin bounded to the northwest by the Clover Hill fault. Sparse paleocurrent indicators to the southwest parallel this fault. The tectonic setting is similar to that of the Chaswood Formation in the fault-bounded Elmsvale basin in Nova Scotia. In both cases, a basal unit is paraconformable on underlying upper Mississippian rocks, was folded into a syncline within which a middle unit accumulated and was further deformed, and is capped by thin flat-lying sandstone and conglomerate. The tectonic style of the Chaswood Formation at Vinegar Hill demonstrates that early Cretaceous deformation was widespread in the southern Maritimes. Gravel clasts consist overwhelmingly of vein quartz, but sparse lithic clasts match source rocks in south-central New Brunswick. Heavy minerals are mostly ilmenite (40%–70%) and staurolite (20%–40%), with monazite, zircon, and andalusite more abundant than at other Chaswood Formation localities. Heavy mineral chemistry and monazite geochronology suggest a provenance from Silurian metasedimentary rocks and tourmaline granites in central New Brunswick. Different mineral assemblages from the Chaswood Formation in Nova Scotia suggest that an ancestral St. John River drained western New Brunswick and supplied sediment to the Shelburne delta of the Scotian basin.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongmei Wang ◽  
Chunming Han ◽  
Wenjiao Xiao ◽  
Patrick Asamoah Sakyi

<p>  Paleoproterozoic is a pivotal time for understanding the geochronological framework of the Tarim Craton. Located on the southeastern margin of the Tarim Craton, the northern Altyn Tagh is the main exposed region for Paleoproterozoic magmatic-metamorphic rocks. These rocks are diverse, diachronous and modified by multiple magmatic and/or metamorphic events. In this study, we performed systematic analyses on the amphibolite, felsic gneisses, and metasedimentary rocks in the Aketashitage area, southeastern Tarim Craton, including petrography, mineral chemistry, and whole-rock geochemistry, as well as in-situ zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes, to examine the Paleoproterozoic magmatic-metamorphic events in the northern Altyn Tagh. Geochemically, the amphibolite and felsic gneisses in the Aketashitage area seemingly represent the typical bimodal associations of mafic and acidic volcanic rocks. In addition, the felsic gneisses are characterized by high Sr and low Y contents, with high Sr/Y and La<sub>N</sub>/Yb<sub>N</sub> ratios, and indistinctive Eu anomalies, closely resembling high-SiO<sub>2</sub> adakites derived from subducted basaltic slab-melt. The palimpsest textures and geochemical features of the Aketashitage metasedimentary rocks suggest that their protoliths are argillaceous rocks. The amphibolite has a metamorphic age of 1.96 Ga, and the felsic gneisses yield crystallization ages of 2.54-2.52 Ga. For the metasedimentary rocks, the major age peaks of 2.72 Ga, 2.05 Ga and 1.97 Ga are consistent with the magmatic and/or metamorphic events in the study area. The minimum age peak suggests that the depositional age is no earlier than 1.97 Ga. The geochemical and geochronological evidences documented by the exposed rock associations in the Aketashitage area suggest a subduction-related tectonic setting in the Paleoproterozoic. Our new data combined with the previous studies indicate that the Paleoproterozoic magmatism and metamorphism in the northern Altyn Tagh area are nearly synchronous, and both are likely related to oceanic subduction.</p>


2007 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. H. Dawood ◽  
H. H. Abd El-Naby

AbstractElectron microprobe analysis (EMPA) and microscopic investigations were performed on monazite grains from the black sand deposits of northern Sinai beach. Electron microprobe backscattered electron images, X-ray mapping and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy line scans showed some grains with sector zoning and others with thorite inclusions. Based on the EMPA data, the studied monazite is grouped into monazite-(Ce) and Th-rich monazite. Monazite-(Ce) is enriched in REE and P, whereas Th-rich monazite is enriched in Th, U, Ca, Y, Si and Fe. The compositional variations of monazite are governed by the substitution of REE by Th, U, Ca and Y. The monazite grains show enriched chondrite-normalized REE patterns represented mainly by LREE and only Gd from the HREE. These patterns demonstrate negative Nd and Euanomalies. The floods associated with the pluvial periods which prevailed in Egypt during the Pleistocene, were able to erode the source rocks and liberate heavy minerals including monazite. The mineral grains were transported through several wadis and tributaries to the main channel of the River Nile. At the confluence sites, these heavy minerals were mixed with Ethiopian and central African heavy mineral assemblages. The grains continued to move together downriver until being deposited in their current locations. The analytical results suggest that pegmatites and granites of the Eastern Desert are the most likely source of the monazite. However, due to the large area of the Nile watershed, other undiscovered sources are possible.


2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 084 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W.F. Waldron ◽  
Rebecca A. Jamieson ◽  
Hayley D. Pothier ◽  
Chris E. White

<p align="LEFT">Fine-grained metasedimentary rocks of the Halifax Group in southern mainland Nova Scotia can be subdivided into mappable units. In Halifax Peninsula, sulphide-rich hornfels, black slate, metasiltstone, and metasandstone of the Cunard Formation are overlain by grey metasedimentary rocks with abundant cross-laminations and local carbonate and calc-silicate concretions, assigned to the Bluestone Quarry Formation. No fossils are known from the Bluestone Quarry Formation but lithological correlatives elsewhere are Tremadocian. The Bluestone Quarry Formation is here divided into four members. The lowest (Point Pleasant member) contains thin parallel-laminated and cross-laminated <span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: small;">metasandstone beds with Bouma T</span></span><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: xx-small;">bcde </span></span><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: small;">and T</span></span><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: xx-small;">cde </span></span><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: MinionPro-Regular; font-size: small;">structures, and thicker beds with Bouma ‘a’ divisions. The Black Rock </span></span>Beach member lacks the thicker massive beds and is dominated by rippled and cross-laminated metasedimentary rocks. The overlying Chain Rock member, an erosion-resistant ridge-forming unit, is disrupted by folds and boudinage. Bedding is truncated at the upper contact, and the internal structures are overprinted by (and therefore predate) the Neoacadian cleavage. They are interpreted as products of synsedimentary mass transport. Scarce folds in the Chain Rock member and current ripples in the underlying unit are consistent with a N or NW transport direction. The overlying Quarry Pond member consists of thinly bedded coherent metasedimentary rocks that generally resemble those of the Black Rock Beach member. Although there are indications of upward shallowing in equivalent successions elsewhere in the Halifax Group, the presence of a major mass transport deposit in the Bluestone Quarry Formation shows that this part of the Halifax Group was deposited on a submarine paleoslope. The failure of geologists to identify this feature in much-visited outcrops testifies to the difficulty of identifying synsedimentary deformation features that have been overprinted by later tectonic deformation.</p>


1986 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Peter Gravesen

The quartz sand of the Lower Cretaceous Robbedale Formation and lowermost part of the Jydegard Formation in the Arnager-Sose fault block of Bornholm has been investigated with respect to mineralogy, grain-size, grain rounding and grain shape. Analyses of both light and heavy minerals have been carried out for 18 samples from different localities and facies. The purpose of the investigation was to try to recognize the possible types of source rocks and provenance areas. The Precambrian basement rocks of Bornholm are not the main sources of the sand, especially not the heavy minerals, but parts of the sand may have originated from the basement. The Palaeozoic sandstones and siltstones have delivered only a small amount of material. Parts of the older Mesozoic sediments of the Bornholm Group and Homandshald Member may have been redeposited in the Lower Cretaceous as they contain the same kinds of heavy minerals as the Robbedale and Jydegard Formations, although in differing amounts. It seems very possible, however, that most of the Mesozoic sediments of Bornholm have had a source area outside Bornholm, and this source area has been nearly the same during the whole span of time. The Fenno-Scandian Shield seems to be the most obvious provenance area, but eastern and southern areas are possibilities too. It is concluded that most of the Lower Cretaceous sands are first deposition cycle sediments of both local and distant origin combined with minor amounts of polycyclic sediments of mainly local origin.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Md Aminur Rahman ◽  
Sudeb Chandra Das ◽  
Mark I. Pownceby ◽  
James Tardio ◽  
Md Sha Alam ◽  
...  

Sediments from stable sand bars along a 40 km section of the Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh were analyzed for their major, trace and rare earth element contents to determine their provenance, compositional maturity, source area weathering and tectonic setting. Geochemically, the sediments were classified as litharenites and the Index of Compositional Variability (ICV) varied between 1.4 and 2.0, indicating low compositional and mineralogical maturity. A high mean SiO2 concentration (72.9 wt.%) and low Al2O3 (11.1 wt.%) were consistent with a low abundance of shale and clay components. The depletion of the oxide components Na2O, CaO and K2O relative to average upper crustal compositions (UCC) reflected loss of feldspar during chemical weathering in the source region. Average TiO2 values for most samples were higher than average crustal levels, consistent with the northern section of the Brahmaputra River being a potential resource for valuable Fe-Ti oxide heavy minerals. Major and trace element ratios indicated the sediments represented erosional products from typical felsic upper continental crustal materials with contamination (30%–40%) from more intermediate/mafic compositions. The rare earth element patterns showed negative Eu anomalies (0.57–0.71), indicating they were derived mainly from fractionated felsic rocks. Resemblance of the sediment compositions to mean compositions from Higher Himalaya crystalline rocks pointed to these being potential source rocks but with components from a mafic source also present. Major element chemistries and low to intermediate weathering indices for all sediments indicated a lack of substantial chemical weathering. Evidence from tectonic discrimination diagrams suggested the Brahmaputra River sediments were derived from rock types that formed in a transitional tectonic setting ranging from an ancient passive margin to an active continental margin. Deposition occurred under cool to semi-arid climatic conditions in an oxic environment.


1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1349-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Evans

Recent work on the carbonates and sulfates of the Mississippian Windsorian rocks of the Maritime Provinces has led to the idea that the widespread evaporites in the area are the product of sedimentation in supratidal fiats and in depressions in those flats. The tectonic setting and lithologic features of the more soluble evaporites, however, suggest a comparison with the Plio-Pleistocene sediments of the Dead Sea Graben, and it is proposed that the great thicknesses of chlorides known to exist in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are the result of rapid sedimentation in possibly deep water within the Fundy Rift formed at the end of the Acadian Orogeny.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian F. Park ◽  
Robert L. Treat ◽  
Sandra M. Barr ◽  
Chris E. White ◽  
Brent V. Miller ◽  
...  

The Partridge Island block is a newly identified tectonic element in the Saint John area of southern New Brunswick, located south of and in faulted contact with Proterozoic and Cambrian rocks of the Ganderian Brookville and Avalonian Caledonia terranes. It includes the Lorneville Group and Tiner Point complex. The Lorneville Group consists of interbedded volcanic and sedimentary rocks, subdivided into the Taylors Island Formation west of Saint John Harbour and West Beach Formation east of Saint John Harbour. A sample from thin rhyolite layers interbedded with basaltic flows of the Taylors Island Formation at Sheldon Point yielded a Late Devonian – Early Carboniferous U–Pb (zircon) age of 358.9 +6/–5 Ma. Petrological similarities indicate that all of the basaltic rocks of the Taylors Island and West Beach formations are of similar age and formed in a continental within-plate tectonic setting. West of Saint John Harbour, basaltic and sedimentary rocks of the Taylors Island Formation are increasingly deformed and mylonitic to the south, and in part tectonically interlayered with mylonitic granitoid rocks and minor metasedimentary rocks of the Tiner Point complex. Based on magnetic signatures, the deformed rocks of the Tiner Point complex can be traced through Partridge Island to the eastern side of Saint John Harbour, where together with the West Beach Formation, they occupy a thrust sheet above a redbed sequence of the mid-Carboniferous Balls Lake Formation. The Tiner Point complex includes leucotonalite and aegirine-bearing alkali-feldspar granite with A-type chemical affinity and Early Carboniferous U–Pb (zircon) ages of 353.6 ± 5.7 and 346.4 ± 0.7 Ma, respectively. Based on similarities in age, petrological characteristics, alteration, iron oxide – copper – gold (IOCG)-type mineralization, and deformation style, the Partridge Island block is correlated with Late Devonian – Early Carboniferous volcanic–sedimentary–plutonic rocks of the Cobequid Highlands in northern mainland Nova Scotia. Deformation was likely a result of dextral transpression along the Cobequid–Chedabucto fault zone during juxtaposition of the Meguma terrane.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
G. U. Ozulu ◽  
A. U. Okoro ◽  
V. O. Ndubueze

The petrography and geochemistry of major and trace elements distribution pattern for the Lokoja Sandstones, Southern Bida Basin, Nigeria; were used to interpret their provenance, weathering conditions and paleotectonic setting. A total of seven (7) representative sandstone samples were selected for petrographic, heavy minerals and inorganic geochemical analyses; that is X- ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Results of the petrographic analysis showed 52.14 % quartz, 39.29 % feldspar, 2.00 % rock fragments, 5.14 % matrix and cement fraction as well as 1.43 % unfilled voids. Results of major elements and oxides suggests intermediate to felsic source rocks while the dominance of Na-rich feldspar to the k-feldspar and high value of Fe2O3+MgO shows contribution from ferromagnesian minerals of mafic igneous source provenance and oceanic island arc region. Average concentrations of designated trace elements in the studied sandstones are low in concentrations. The lower concentrations of Cr, Co, and Ni and higher concentrations of Zr, Ba, and Sr suggest a felsic progenitor rock. But significantly high values of Ni (7.02 ppm), La/Co (7.99), and Ni/Co (3.28) as well as the low concentration value of Y, (3.23 ppm) suggests contributions from mafic source rocks. Low average ratios for La/Co, Th/Co, Th/Sc, Ni/Co, Cr/Ni, Cr/Sc, Cr/Th, Ni/Co, Cr/Ni, Cr/Th, Cr/Sc, Th/Sc, La/Co and Th/Co also suggest a felsic source provenance. An average CIA value of 78.04% is indicative of an intense recycling in the source area while an average MIA value of 56.13% suggests a moderate degree of weathering. The high clay matrix and feldspar content have been used to classify the sandstones as feldspathic greywackes deposited in dry arid climatic conditions under a basement uplifted tectonic setting.   


1988 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 31-49
Author(s):  
J. C. Bailey ◽  
C. K. Brooks

The whole-rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry of six samples of Lower Cretaceous tholeiitic basalt from Franz Josef Land, U.S.S.R., have been studied. Geochemical criteria indicate that the basalts are initial rifting tholeiites characterised by low contents of Ti and other H-elements, suggesting derivation from a depleted mantle source. These tholeiites formed during a Lower Cretaceous rifting stage in the formation of the Arctic Ocean basin, most likely the opening of the Canada Basin.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Qing Ma ◽  
Yaoqi Zhou ◽  
Hongyu Mu ◽  
Tengfei Zhou ◽  
Hanjie Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of Lingshan Island, located along the continental margin of East Asia, have received increased attention. The Lingke-1 core mainly belongs to the Lower Cretaceous Laiyang Group. We investigate provenance, tectonic setting, palaeoclimate and palaeoredox conditions in the study area using elemental geochemistry, thereby elucidating the depositional history of the Lower Cretaceous sediments and reconstructing the palaeo-environment. To achieve this, 90 siltstones and 76 mudstones were sampled from this core and other outcrops on Lingshan Island. The chemical index of alternation (CIA) values for the majority of the samples and the bivariate diagrams indicate that the sedimentary rocks were subjected to minor weathering processes. Geochemical results suggest that source rocks for the region are felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks, along with minor proportions of intermediate igneous rocks. Major- and trace-element discrimination diagrams, deciphering the tectonic history, indicate that source rocks mainly originated from the continental island-arc and active continental margin. Several representative geochemical indices and the bivariate plots based on elemental contents show that the Laiyang Group was predominantly deposited in arid conditions. Sr/Ba values suggest a palaeosalinity transition from brackish to saline, demonstrating a depositional transformation from lacustrine facies for the lower Laiyang Group to marine facies in the upper Laiyang Group. U/Th and V/(V+Ni) ratios and Ce anomalies in the rocks indicate anoxic conditions. We conclude that the conspicuous decline in the trends of the above three geochemical indices, ranging between 400 and 800 m, may be related to the latest Hauterivian oceanic anoxic event.


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