A model for the origin of the Lac St. Jean anorthosite massif

1976 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Frith ◽  
K. L. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Partial Melting ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Thermal Event ◽  
Anorthosite Massif ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Potassic Rocks

An ancient tonalitic complex becomes migmatitic around the Lac St. Jean massif, ultimately losing its identity in the high grade metamorphic rocks surrounding the anorthosite. Field relations suggest extreme metamorphism and anatexis of tonalitic rocks. Experimental data show that extensive partial melting of the tonalite leaves an anorthositic residue. The same process operating on more potassic rocks would leave monzonitic or quartz syenitic residues. Synthesis of experimental data suggests that the process could operate at pressures of 5–8 kbar and temperatures of 800–1000 °C, which are compatible with mineral assemblages around the anorthosite massif. Slightly higher temperatures at the end of the process could generate magmatic anorthosite.Application of the model to the Grenville province as a whole predicts generation of anorthosite during a long-lived thermal event of unusual intensity. Residual anorthosite would occur as a substratum in the crust, overlain by high-grade metamorphic rocks intruded by anorthosite and syenitic rocks, while higher levels in the crust would display abundant calc-alkaline plutons and extrusives.

Progressive metamorphism of pelitic and quartzofeldspathic rocks in the Grenville Province of western Labrador — tectonic implications of bathozone 6 assemblages

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1791-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Rivers
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Lithostatic Pressure ◽  
Lower Grade ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Grenvillian Orogeny

Aphebian metapelites and quartzofeldspathic rocks from the Grenville Province south of the Labrador Trough display progressive changes in mineral assemblages as a result of Grenvillian metamorphism, consistent with variation in grade from greenschist to upper amphibolite facies. The following metamorphic zones have been delineated: (i) chlorite–muscovite; (ii) chlorite–muscovite–biotite; (iii) chlorite–muscovite–biotite–garnet; (iv) muscovite–staurolite–kyanite; (v) muscovite–garnet–biotite–kyanite; (vi) muscovite–garnet–biotite–kyanite–granitic veins; (vii) K–feldspar–kyanite – granitic veins; (viii) K-feldspar–sillimanite–granitic veins. Reactions linking the lower grade metamorphic zones are interpreted to be dehydration phenomena, whilst anatectic reactions occur at higher grades. At lower metamorphic grades aH2O was high [Formula: see text] but it declined progressively as water entered the melt phase during higher grade anatectic reactions. With the onset of vapour-absent anatexis, the restite assemblage became essentially "dry" [Formula: see text], and biotite breakdown occurred in granulite-facies rocks east of the study area. Consideration of available experimental data suggests that metamorphic temperatures ranged from approximately 450 to 750 °C across the study area. Lithostatic pressure during metamorphism reached about 8 kbar (800 MPa) in the high-grade zones, with estimates at lower grades being poorly constrained; however, a steep pressure gradient across the map area is postulated.This is the first reported occurrence of bathozone 6 assemblages from a progressive metamorphic sequence, and it indicates the presence of an unusually great thickness of supracrustal rocks during the Grenvillian Orogeny. This was achieved by imbricate stacking of thrust slices, perhaps doubling the thickness of the crust in the Grenville Front Tectonic Zone, creating a huge gravity anomaly of which a remnant still persists today.

Significance of “gneissic” rocks in the Liscomb Complex, Nova Scotia

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 927-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. Owen ◽  
R. Corney ◽  
J. Dostal ◽  
A. Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Peraluminous Granite ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
Conventional View ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Intrusive Rocks

The Liscomb Complex comprises Late Devonian intrusive rocks (principally peraluminous granite) and medium- to high-grade metamorphic rocks (“gneisses”) that collectively are hosted by low-grade (greenschist facies) metasediments of the Cambro-Ordovician Meguma Group. The conventional view that these “gneisses” contain high-grade mineral assemblages and represent basement rocks has recently been challenged, and indeed, some of the rocks previously mapped as gneisses, particularly metapelites, have isotopic compositions resembling the Meguma Group. Amphibole-bearing enclaves in the Liscomb plutons, however, are isotopically distinct and in this regard resemble xenoliths of basement gneisses in the Popes Harbour lamprophyre dyke, south of the Liscomb area. Metasedimentary enclaves with Meguma isotopic signatures can contain garnets with unzoned cores (implying high temperatures) that host high-grade minerals (prismatic sillimanite, spinel, and (or) corundum) and are enclosed by retrograde-zoned rims. These features are interpreted here as having formed during and following the attainment of peak temperatures related to Liscomb magmatism. The amphibole-bearing meta-igneous rocks described here contain cummingtonite or hornblendic amphibole and occur as enclaves in granodioritic to tonalitic plutons. They are mineralogically, texturally, and isotopically distinct from Meguma metasediments and at least some of the plutonic rocks that enclose them, so remain the most likely candidate for basement rocks in the Liscomb Complex.

scholarly journals Partial melting of high-grade metamorphic rocks in lower crustal part of the Hidaka Arc (Main Zone of the Hidaka metamorphic belt), northern Japan.

2006 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 623-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhito Osanai ◽  
Masaaki Owada ◽  
Toshiaki Shimura ◽  
Nobuhiko Nakano ◽  
Seishi Kawanami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Main Zone ◽  
Metamorphic Belt ◽  
Lower Crustal ◽  
Northern Japan

Labradorian and Grenvillian crustal evolution of the Goose Bay region, Labrador: new U–Pb geochronological constraints

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 2315-2327 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Philippe ◽  
R. J. Wardle ◽  
U. Schärer
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Evolution ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Crust Formation ◽  
Pb Isotope ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Previous Evidence ◽  
Anorthosite Massif ◽  
Thrust System ◽  
Grenvillian Orogeny ◽  
Geochronological Constraints

Major initial crust formation in the northeastern Grenville Province of Labrador occurred during the Labradorian orogeny (1710–1620 Ma) prior to re-deformation in the Grenvillian orogeny between 1050 and 950 Ma. The Goose Bay region includes several types of juvenile Labradorian crust, including calc-alkaline (arc-related?) terranes and the granite–anorthosite massif of the Mealy Mountains Terrane. New U–Pb dates corroborate previous evidence that calc-alkaline plutonism occurred ca. 1672 Ma and was followed closely by Labradorian metamorphism ca. 1659 Ma. Dates from strongly deformed rocks at the base of the Mealy Mountains Terrane have yielded ca. 1712, 1754, and 1775 Ma maximum upper intercept ages of plutonic and (or) metamorphic origin. These apparent ages represent the oldest component of the Labradorian crust that has been recognized to date and appear to be a distinctive feature of Mealy Mountains Terrane. The initial Pb isotope signature of these rocks, however, precludes the presence of significantly earlier (pre-1.8 Ga) crust.New U–Pb ages also support previous models for episodic Grenvillian metamorphism and indicate metamorphic pulses ca. 1035, 1010, 990, and 970 Ma, which probably represent the metamorphic response to progressive overthrusting by Mealy Mountains Terrane. Overthrusting of this terrane occurred along the Grand Lake thrust system, which is highlighted as a fundamental structure of the eastern Grenville Province and one that may have developed by reactivation of a Labradorian terrane boundary.

Proterozoic metamorphism in the Grenville Province: a study in the Double Mer – Lake Melville area, eastern Labrador

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1895-1905 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Gower ◽  
P. Erdmer
Keyword(s):  
Granulite Facies ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Structural Configuration ◽  
Geochronological Data ◽  
Granitic Gneiss ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Accessory Minerals ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Host Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic Gradient

A regional metamorphic gradient from upper greenschist to granulite facies is identified south of the Grenville front in the Double Mer – Lake Melville area of eastern Labrador. Mineral assemblages in politic–granitic gneiss, amphibole-bearing quartzo-feldspathic gneiss, and coronitic metagabbro allow three major metamorphic domains to be established. These are collectively divisible into 11 subdomains. Geothermobarometry applied to the higher grade domains suggests that each is characterized by specific P–T conditions, which achieved 1000–1100 MPa and 700–800 °C in the deepest level rocks.The problem of reconciling geochronological data (which record a major orogenic event at 1650 Ma) with the occurrence of high-grade mineral assemblages in 1426 Ma metagabbro (which suggests a pervasive Grenvillian event) is discussed in terms of three models. The preferred model envisages crustal stabilization at 1650–1600 Ma to give high-grade mineral assemblages seen in the host rocks and with which mineral assemblages in coronitic metagabbro equilibrated after their emplacement at 1426 Ma. During Grenvillian orogenesis (1080–920 Ma) the present structural configuration was achieved by thrust stacking. This imparted a sporadic metamorphic and structural overprint and Grenvillian ages in selected accessory minerals.

Polymetamorphism of marbles in the Morin terrane, Grenville Province, Quebec

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1949-1965 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H Peck ◽  
Michael T DeAngelis ◽  
Michael T Meredith ◽  
Etienne Morin
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zones ◽  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Anorthosite Massif ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Granitic Intrusions ◽  
T Path ◽  
The Village

The Morin terrane (Grenville Province, Quebec) is dominated by the 1.15 Ga Morin Anorthosite Massif and related granitic intrusions, all of which exhibit granulite-facies mineral assemblages. Anorthosite-suite rocks are deformed both in shear zones and in the interior of the terrane and show intrusive contact relations with marble along road cuts near the village of St. Jovite. Intrusive rocks exposed in these road cuts have well-developed skarns, which were deformed with the intrusions after emplacement. Skarn minerals are consumed by garnet-forming reactions (e.g., An + Wo = Gr + Qtz) that preserve granulite-facies temperatures and pressures. Calcite–graphite thermometry of Morin terrane marbles records temperatures of 755 ± 38 °C (n = 21), independent of proximity to anorthosite-suite plutons. Preserved metamorphic conditions and the retrograde pressure–temperature (P–T) path in the Morin terrane are very similar to conditions during the 1.07 Ga Ottawan orogeny in the Adirondack Highlands. Metamorphism and deformation of anorthosite-suite rocks and marbles of the Morin terrane are consistent with anorthosite intrusion followed by a distinct granulite-facies overprint.

Petrology of the Blue Mountain and Bigwood felsic alkaline complexes of the Grenville province of Ontario

1977 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Duke ◽  
A. D. Edgar
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Nepheline Syenite ◽  
Regional Metamorphism ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Blue Mountain ◽  
Melting Curves ◽  
Mineral Compositions ◽  
Alkaline Complexes

The Blue Mountain, Methuen Township, and Bigwood, District of Sudbury, alkaline gneiss complexes of the southwestern Grenville province occur in areas of medium to high grade regional metamorphism equivalent to temperatures between 550 °C to 700 °C and [Formula: see text] to 7 kb (350 to 700 Mega Pascals (MPa)) total pressure. Textures of the undersaturated alkaline gneisses of both complexes are predominantly characteristic of metamorphic–metasomatic processes. Compositions of the major (feldspar, nepheline) and minor (biotite, muscovite, amphibole, pyroxene, garnet) minerals in these rocks, when compared to known stability relations and minimum melting curves of the Blue Mountain nepheline-bearing gneiss, indicate equilibration at temperatures and pressures below the maximum values for the regional metamorphism.Textures and mineral compositions in the rocks of both complexes also suggest that extensive metasomatism has taken place. Consequently these rocks must now be regarded as metamorphic metasomatic rocks produced during one or more periods of regional metamorphism. Age relationships in both complexes are in agreement with this hypothesis. The ultimate origins of the rocks of both complexes are unknown but, in the case of the Blue Mountain complex, partial melting of alkali olivine basalts, or of an unknown and possibly mantle derived source in the Bigwood complex, may have produced liquids of nepheline syenite compositions from which the present rocks were derived by metamorphic and metasomatic processes.

scholarly journals Pictorial 4: New Indicator of Partial Melting of High-grade Metamorphic Rocks

1997 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. Plate11-Plate12
Author(s):  
Yoshikuni HIROI
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
High Grade

Early Tertiary resetting of potassium–argon dates in the Kootenay Arc, southeastern British Columbia

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 867-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Mathews
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Thermal Event ◽  
Grade Metamorphism ◽  
Early Tertiary ◽  
Common Control ◽  
High Grade Metamorphism

K–Ar analyses of rocks in the central Kootenay Arc indicate a Paleocene (or slightly earlier) thermal event, locally reaching 350 °C, that has reset this isotope clock. The area of resetting is nearly coincident with a north–south belt, 20 km wide, of metamorphic rocks resulting from an earlier (mid-Jurassic?) thermal event with temperatures reaching an estimated 625 °C. The strata involved in both high-grade metamorphism and resetting seem not to have been uplifted more than older weakly metamorphosed strata to the east. The mid-Jurassic? and Paleocene thermal events appear to be distinct in time from one another, but may both be related to some common control in the deeper crust or upper mantle.

Partial melting of metapelites in the Gagnon terrane below the high-pressure belt in the Manicouagan area (Grenville Province): pressure–temperature (P–T) and U–Pb age constraints and implications

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 1309-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherri L Jordan ◽  
Aphrodite Indares ◽  
Greg Dunning
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Partial Melting ◽  
Metamorphic Event ◽  
Dehydration Melting ◽  
Melting Reaction ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Thermal Event ◽  
Zircon Crystallization ◽  
Age Constraints ◽  
Comparable Intensity

Metapelites of the parautochthonous Gagnon terrane at the footwall of the high-pressure (high-P) belt in the Manicouagan area (central Grenville Province) preserve an impressive textural record of partial melting reactions, mainly in polymineralic inclusions within garnet. The dominant textures were developed within the pressure–temperature (P–T) field of the continuous dehydration melting reaction biotite + kyanite (or sillimanite) + plagioclase + quartz = garnet + K-feldspar + melt, with sillimanite instead of kyanite in the southern part of the footwall. Inferred P–T paths have a hair-pin form in the range of 750–850 °C and 1000–1500 MPa for the kyanite-bearing rocks. Monazite crystallization ages are consistently late Grenvillian, either 995 or 985 Ma, and one sample contains monazite of both ages. Two of these samples also contain inherited monazite with ages of 1738 ± 5 and 1719 ± 30 Ma, indicative of an earlier metamorphic event. Tonalite and diorite from the same area yield Archean zircon crystallization ages and titanite ages of 961 ± 3 and 956 ± 4 Ma, the youngest in the Manicouagan region. The late Grenvillian metamorphism was of comparable intensity but ~50 Ma younger than in the overlying high-P belt in this area and therefore seems to be unrelated to the emplacement of the latter over the Parautochthonous Belt, as previously suggested. Rather, this younger metamorphism suggests a reactivation of the footwall by underthrusting of the Gagnon terrane during the waning stages of convergence, and a link with a major coeval post-tectonic thermal event farther south in the hinterland.

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