Geophysical studies of the structure of the Appalachian orogen in the Atlantic borderlands of Canada

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1205-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Hall ◽  
François Marillier ◽  
Sonya Dehler
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Zone Boundary ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Potential Field Data ◽  
Seismic Surveys ◽  
Seismic Profiling ◽  
Cape Breton ◽  
Appalachian Orogen

Results of 6000 km of crustal seismic profiling are presented with gravity and aeromagnetic maps for the Appalachian orogen in eastern Canada. Wide-angle seismic surveys show that the central mobile belt of the orogen has a thinner crust than its margins. High-velocity lower crust, attributed to underplating, is found below the former Laurentian continental margin in Newfoundland and below the Magdalen basin. Potential field data are used to trace the surface zones of the orogen from the northeast Newfoundland shelf to Cape Breton, but extrapolation to New Brunswick and Quebec is unclear because of late Paleozoic basin development. The central mobile belt of the orogen is only a few tens of kilometres wide in southwest Newfoundland and Cape Breton, but broadens substantially to around 200 km elsewhere. Reflection images show a strong deep-crustal fabric that runs along the orogen, with a margin that crosses into the Avalon zone in southern Newfoundland but coincides with the Avalon-Gander zone boundary elsewhere. The fabric formed during mid-Silurian continental collision and (or) during postorogenic collapse. Variation in fabric pattern and metamorphic grade, tightening of structures towards southwest Newfoundland and Cape Breton, and voluminous plutonism in southern Newfoundland are all in accord with maximal crustal thickening followed by erosion and isostatic readjustment in southwest Newfoundland and Cape Breton, and relatively little in northeast Newfoundland and its adjacent shelf. Reflection fabrics in the upper crust appear to be detached from those in the deeper crust; this is attributed to rheological contrast across the base of a quartz-rich upper crust.

Sm–Nd isotopic geochemistry of Precambrian to Paleozoic granitoid suites and the deep-crustal structure of the southeast margin of the Newfoundland Appalachians

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kerr ◽  
George A. Jenner ◽  
Brian J. Fryer
Keyword(s):  
Fault System ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Simple Extension ◽  
Precambrian Basement ◽  
Zone Boundary ◽  
First Order ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Late Precambrian ◽  
Deep Crustal Structure ◽  
Appalachian Orogen

In the Eastern Central Mobile Belt of the Newfoundland Appalachians, late Precambrian basement inliers have εNd from −3 to +2, but Cambro-Ordovician metasedimentary rocks have initial εNd below −7. This region is inferred to have an "inverted" crustal residence structure, which influenced subsequent Appalachian-cycle magmatism. Ordovician and Silurian granitoid suites have εNd of −8 to −2, bracketing both basement and cover, but peraluminous, "S-type" granites have the lowest εNd. Devonian granites have initial εNd values from −5 to +1, and low εNd is associated with peraluminous character. These Paleozoic granites show geographic trends, with lowest εNd values in areas where metasedimentary rocks are abundant. They are suggested to contain anatectic material from both Precambrian basement and metasedimentary cover, but some "I-type" suites probably also include a mantle-derived component. In the adjacent Avalon Zone, Precambrian plutonic suites mostly have εNd from +1 to +6, but there are negative εNd values (−8 to −4) in the westernmost Avalon Zone. Devonian plutonic suites mostly have εNd from +2 to +5. Thus, the Precambrian crust of the Avalon Zone is largely "juvenile," except at its westernmost edge. Contrasts across the Eastern Central Mobile Belt–Avalon Zone boundary, defined by the Dover–Hermitage Bay fault system, indicate a major, crustal-scale structure, and suggest an isotopically distinct "central block" beneath the central Appalachian Orogen, rather than a simple extension of "Avalonian" crust. Similar geographic–isotopic patterns have been reported in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, suggesting that this pattern represents a first-order deep-crustal subdivision of the northern Appalachian Orogen.

Geological correlations between Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland, northern Appalachian orogen

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1252-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Barr ◽  
R P Raeside ◽  
C E White
Keyword(s):  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Cape Breton Island ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
The North ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Cape Breton ◽  
Appalachian Orogen ◽  
Back Arc

Geological correlations between Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland are apparent both in surface geology and at deeper crustal levels, based on similarities in Sm-Nd isotopic signatures. The Mira terrane of southeastern Cape Breton Island is part of the Avalon terrane sensu stricto and is composed of Neoproterozoic volcanic-sedimentary-plutonic belts and overlying Cambrian rocks directly comparable to those in the western part of the Newfoundland Avalon terrane. The Bras d'Or terrane is also mainly of Neoproterozoic age, but shows lithological and isotopic contrasts with the Mira terrane. Small areas of similar Neoproterozoic rocks occur in southern Newfoundland and to the north as inliers in the Exploits terrane. The Bras d'Or terrane and similar rocks in Newfoundland are interpreted to represent a peri-Gondwanan terrane where rocks of the Gander terrane were later formed. Hence this area is part of the Central Mobile Belt and distinct from Avalon terrane sensu stricto. The Aspy terrane is a complex area that may include fragments of Bras d'Or crust and components of the Gander, Exploits, and possibly Notre Dame terranes of Newfoundland. It formed by subduction and back-arc basin opening and closure during the Silurian to Early Devonian. The Blair River Inlier is a fragment of Grenvillian rocks, similar to those in the Grenvillian inliers in the Humber zone of western Newfoundland in terms of age, rock types, and isotopic composition. Silurian and Devonian promontory-promontory collision resulted in juxtaposition and stacking of these elements in Cape Breton Island, as in the Hermitage Flexure - Port aux Basques area of Newfoundland. Because the lower crust under Bras d'Or - Gander - Aspy terranes seems distinct from that under Avalon terrane sensu stricto, it is preferable to use the term peri-Gondwanan rather than Avalonian to refer to these areas.

Crustal structure of the Valhalla complex, British Columbia, from Lithoprobe seismic-reflection and potential-field data

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1048-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. S. Eaton ◽  
Frederick A. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
North American ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Surface Heat Flux ◽  
Field Data ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Potential Field Data ◽  
Lower Crustal

The Valhalla complex, situated in the Omineca crystalline belt in southeastern British Columbia, is a Cordilleran metamorphic core complex bordering the suture zone between Quesnellia and North American rocks. The region is tectonically interposed between a convergent plate margin along Canada's west coast and the stable North American craton, and is characterized by a crustal thickness of ~ 35 km, high surface heat flux, and elevated lower crustal electrical conductivity. In this study, Lithoprobe deep-crustal seismic-reflection data, potential-field data, and geological constraints have been used to gain a better understanding of crustal structure in the vicinity of the Valhalla complex. Analysis of Bouguer gravity and total-field aeromagnetic data indicates that mafic oceanic rocks and various syn- and post-accretionary granitoid plutonic rocks are not major constituents of the upper crust underlying the complex. The seismic data reveal a moderately reflective upper crust and image several fault zones, including a very high amplitude, west-dipping reflection that is interpreted as a significant Late Cretaceous or Paleocene thrust fault. The fault-zone reflectivity may be related to compositional heterogeneity and (or) seismic anisotropy associated with mylonites. The lower crust appears to be nonreflective, in contrast with other areas of high surface heat flux and elevated lower crustal conductivity. Taken together, the various data show that the Valhalla complex is likely cored by North American metasedimentary rocks and reveal features related to the Jurassic to Paleocene compressional fabric, which has been largely overprinted at the surface by subsequent Eocene extension.

Compiled potential field data and seismic surveys across the Eastern Brazilian continental margin integrated with new magnetometric profiles and stratigraphic configuration for Trindade Island, South Atlantic, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (14) ◽  
pp. 1728-1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Costa Santos ◽  
Webster Ueipass Mohriak ◽  
Mauro Cesar Geraldes ◽  
Werlem Holanda Santos ◽  
Cosme Ferreira Ponte-Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Potential Field ◽  
Field Data ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Potential Field Data ◽  
Seismic Surveys ◽  
Trindade Island

scholarly journals Reconnaissance P,T studies of Proterozoic crustal evolution of the Ammassalik area, East Greenland

1989 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 48-53
Author(s):  
A.P Nutman ◽  
C.R.L Friend
Keyword(s):  
Regional Metamorphism ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Crustal Evolution ◽  
Intrusive Complex ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Northern Half

The Ammassalik area of East Greenland lies in the centre of a 300 km wide early Proterozoic mobile belt, dominated by Archaean gneisses and early Proterozoic metasediments. Regional Proterozoic synkinematic metamorphism was associated with crustal thickening by southerly-directed thrusting and isoclinal folding. Maximum P, T conditions recorded during the regional metamorphism are found in the northern half of the mobile belt and are 9.5 kbar (equivalent to 30 km burial) and c. 700°C. Following some erosion and uplift, the late kinematic 1885 Ma Ammassalik Intrusive Complex (AIC) was intruded at pressures of c. 7 kbar (equivalent to a depth of 20 km). Temperatures in the metamorphic aureole of the AIC reached 800°C. Following further erosion and uplift, post kinematic, c. 1575 Ma granite-diorite-gabbro complexes were intruded, under pressures of 2.5 kbar (equivalent to a depth of 8 km).

The nature and origin of cratons constrained by their surface geology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Celal Şengör ◽  
Nalan Lom ◽  
Ali Polat
Keyword(s):  
North China ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Subsequent Removal ◽  
Total Removal ◽  
Common Misconception ◽  
Resistance To Deformation ◽  
Surface Geology

To the memory of Nicholas John (Nick) Archibald (1951−2014), master of cratonic geology. Cratons, defined by their resistance to deformation, are guardians of crustal and lithospheric material over billion-year time scales. Archean and Proterozoic rocks can be found in many places on earth, but not all of them represent cratonic areas. Some of these old terrains, inappropriately termed “cratons” by some, have been parts of mobile belts and have experienced widespread deformations in response to mantle-plume-generated thermal weakening, uplift and consequent extension and/or various plate boundary deformations well into the Phanerozoic. It is a common misconception that cratons consist only of metamorphosed crystalline rocks at their surface, as shown by the indiscriminate designation of them by many as “shields.” Our compilation shows that this conviction is not completely true. Some recent models argue that craton formation results from crustal thickening caused by shortening and subsequent removal of the upper crust by erosion. This process would expose a high-grade metamorphic crust at the surface, but greenschist-grade metamorphic rocks and even unmetamorphosed supracrustal sedimentary rocks are widespread on some cratonic surfaces today, showing that craton formation does not require total removal of the upper crust. Instead, the granulitization of the roots of arcs may have been responsible for weighing down the collided and thickened pieces and keeping their top surfaces usually near sea level. In this study, we review the nature and origin of cratons on four well-studied examples. The Superior Province (the Canadian Shield), the Barberton Mountain (Kaapvaal province, South Africa), and the Yilgarn province (Western Australia) show the diversity of rocks with different origin and metamorphic degree at their surface. These fairly extensive examples are chosen because they are typical. It would have been impractical to review the entire extant cratonic surfaces on earth today. We chose the inappropriately named North China “Craton” to discuss the requirements to be classified as a craton.

scholarly journals Status, distribution, and nesting ecology of Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Terry Power ◽  
John Gilhen
Keyword(s):  
Carapace Length ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Carapace Width ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Nesting Ecology ◽  
Cape Breton Island ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Cape Breton

Based on current knowledge of the ecology and distribution of Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina), both in eastern Canada and elsewhere, we conclude this species is native to Cape Breton Island. Seventy-two reports of Snapping Turtle from Cape Breton (1999–2017) indicate a range centred in the area south of Bras d’Or Lake. Date of oviposition ranged from 19 June to 10 July (median = 26 June) among 26 nests observed during 2012–2014. Clutch size for these nests was 23–65 eggs (mean = 46) and among 25 protected nests average rate of hatchling emergence was 21.5%. Time from oviposition to emergence of hatchlings (n = 256) was 75–120 days (mean = 87.2; SD = 9.0) among 20 nests. First emergence ranged from 9 September to 20 October (75–114 nest days; mean = 90) and last emergence ranged from 13 September to 28 October (86–120 nest days; mean = 100). Duration of emergence ranged from one day (i.e., synchronous emergence; five nests) to 37 days (mean = 11 days). The number of days on which hatchlings emerged at a nest ranged from one to nine days (mean = 4 days). Maximum carapace length was 25.0–31.8 mm (mean = 29.0 mm) and maximum carapace width was 23.5–30.0 mm (mean = 27.0 mm) for 256 hatchlings that emerged from 20 protected nests. Mass of hatchlings was 4.9–9.9 g (mean = 7.8 g).

An improved velocity model for the crust and upper mantle along the central mobile belt of the Newfoundland Appalachian orogen and its offshore extension

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1238-1251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deping Chian ◽  
François Marillier ◽  
Jeremy Hall ◽  
Garry Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Wide Angle ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Angle Data ◽  
Appalachian Orogen

New modelling of wide-angle reflection-refraction data of the Canadian Lithoprobe East profile 91-1 along the central mobile belt of the Newfoundland Appalachian orogen reveals new features of the upper mantle, and establishes links in the crust and upper mantle between existing land and marine wide-angle data sets by combining onshore-offshore recordings. The revised model provides detailed velocity structure in the 30-34 km thick crust and the top 30 km of upper mantle. The lower crust is characterized by a velocity of 6.6-6.8 km/s onshore, increasing by 0.2 km/s to the northeast offshore beneath the sedimentary basins. This seaward increase in velocity may be caused by intrusion of about 4 km of basic rocks into the lower crust during the extension that formed the overlying Carboniferous basins. The Moho is found at 34 km depth onshore, rising to 30 km offshore to the northeast with a local minimum of 27 km. The data confirm the absence of deep crustal roots under the central mobile belt of Newfoundland. Our long-range (up to 450 km offset) wide-angle data define a bulk velocity of 8.1-8.3 km/s within the upper 20 km of mantle. The data also contain strong reflective phases that can be correlated with two prominent mantle reflectors. The upper reflector is found at 50 km depth under central Newfoundland, rising abruptly towards the northeast where it reaches a minimum depth of 36 km. This reflector is associated with a thin layer (1-2 km) unlikely to coincide with a discontinuity with a large cross-boundary change in velocity. The lower reflector at 55-65 km depths is much stronger, and may have similar origins to reflections observed below the Appalachians in the Canadian Maritimes which are associated with a velocity increase to 8.5 km/s. Our data are insufficient for discriminating among various interpretations for the origins of these mantle reflectors.

scholarly journals Reactivation of the Eastern Highlands Shear Zone, Cape Breton Island, Appalachian Orogen

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Piette-Lauzière ◽  
R Graziani ◽  
K P Larson ◽  
D A Kellett
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zone ◽  
Cape Breton Island ◽  
Cape Breton ◽  
Appalachian Orogen ◽  
Eastern Highlands
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document