New geological and paleomagnetic data from Siberian Craton and implications for the post 2 Ga global paleogeography

Author(s):  
Sergei Pisarevsky ◽  
Tatiana Donskaya ◽  
Dmitry Gladkochub

<p>Siberian Craton is generally recognised as one of the building blocks of two supercontinents: Mesoproterozoic Nuna (Columbia) and Neoproterozoic Rodinia. Although the exact Siberian positions in Nuna and Rodinia are debated, most workers agree that the southern part of Siberia (hereafter in present day coordinates) has been located not too far from the northern margin of Laurentia (cratonic part of North America) between ca. 1600 Ma and ca. 700 Ma. New geochronological, paleomagnetic and geochemical data from the Siberian craton obtained in recent years improved our understanding of Siberian geological history comparing to previous reviews. The progress in global Precambrian paleogeography also contributed to a re-evaluation of the Siberian tectonic history. The compilation of Siberian paleomagnetic data suggests that after the final assembly of Siberian Craton and until Ediacaran time the craton mostly occupied the low- to moderate latitudes. Most of this time western, northern and eastern Siberian edges have been passive or active oceanic margins. The southern margin Siberian margin has been probably connected with some other continent. Using new geological and paleomagnetic data, in particular recent results of the detrital zircons distributions in Siberia, Laurentia and other ancient continents, we tested several paleogeographic reconstructions of this connection. We also propose a new model of the breakup of Siberia from the remnants of Rodinia and consequent opening of the Paleo-Asian Ocean.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cemil Arkula ◽  
Nalan Lom ◽  
John Wakabayashi ◽  
Grant Rea-Downing ◽  
Mark Dekkers ◽  
...  

<p>The western edge of the North America plate contains geological records that formed during the long-lived convergence between plates of the Panthalassa Ocean and North America. The geology of different segments along western North America indicates different polarities (eastward and westward) for subducted slabs and thereby various tectonic histories and settings. The western United States (together with Mexico) plays a key role in this debate, many geologic interpretations assume continuous eastward subduction in contrast to observations within proximal geologic segments and tomographic images of the lower mantle below North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean which suggest a more complex subduction history. In this study, we aim to evaluate the plate tectonic setting in which the Jurassic ophiolites of California formed. Geochemical data from these ophiolites suggest that they formed above a nascent intra-oceanic or continental margin subduction zone. We first developed a kinematic reconstruction of the western US geology back to the Jurassic based on published structural geological data. Importantly, we update the reconstruction of the various branches of the San Andreas fault system to determine the relative position of the ophiolite fragments and adopt a previous restoration of Basin and Range extension which we expand northward towards Washington state. We then reconstruct North American margin deformation associated with Cretaceous to Paleogene shortening and strike-slip faulting. We find no clear candidates in the geological record that may have accommodated major subduction between the Jurassic ophiolite belt and the North American margin and consequently concur with the school of thought that considers that the ophiolite belt, as well as the underlying subduction-accretionary Franciscan Complex, likely formed in the North American fore-arc. We collected paleomagnetic data to reconstruct the spreading direction of the Jurassic Californian ophiolites, by providing new paleomagnetic data from sheeted dykes of the Josephine and Mt. Diablo Ophiolites. These suggest a NE-SW paleo-ridge orientation, oblique to the North American margin which may be explained by partitioning of a dextral component of subduction obliquity relative to North America. We used this spreading direction in combination with published ages of the ophiolites and our restoration of the relative position of these ophiolites prior to post-Jurassic deformation to construct a ridge-transform system at which the Jurassic ophiolites accreted. The results will be used to evaluate which parts of the subduction systems that existed in the eastern Panthalassa Ocean may reside in the western US, and which parts may be better sought in the northern Canadian Segment or/and in the southern Caribbean region.</p>


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludmila I. Popeko ◽  
Yulia N. Smirnova ◽  
Victor A. Zaika ◽  
Andrey A. Sorokin ◽  
Sergey I. Dril

The Chiron Basin extends along the southern periphery of the Siberian Craton and the western margin of the Mongol–Okhotsk Belt. Here, we present whole-rock geochemical data (major and trace elements and Sm–Nd isotopes) along with zircon U–Pb geochronology and Lu–Hf isotopic data from Paleozoic sedimentary rocks within the Chiron Basin to investigate their provenance and tectonic history. εNd(t) values of the siliciclastics rocks of the Khara–Shibir, Shazagaitui, and Zhipkhoshi formations vary from −17.8 to −6.6, with corresponding two-stage Nd model ages (tNd(C)) ranging from 2.56 to 1.65 Ga. Detrital zircon grains from these rocks are predominantly Archean, Paleoproterozoic, and Carboniferous–Devonian in age. The data suggest that the southern flank of the Siberian Craton is the only viable source area for Archean and Paleoproterozoic zircon grains with Hf model ages (tHf(C)) of >2.20 Ga. The majority of zircon grains from sandstones from the Khara–Shibir, Shazagaitui, and Zhipkhoshi formations are Devonian–Carboniferous in age. With respect to their Hf model ages, the zircon grains can be subdivided into two groups. The first group of Devonian–Carboniferous zircon grains is characterized by relatively old (mainly Paleoproterozoic) tHf(C) model ages of 2.25–1.70 Ga and the source was the southern margin of the Siberian Craton. The second group of Devonian–Carboniferous zircon grains is characterized by significantly younger (mainly Neoproterozoic) tHf(C) model ages of 1.35–0.36 Ga, which are consistent with a juvenile source, most likely eroded island arcs. Our data, show that sedimentary rocks of the Chiron Basin likely formed in a back-arc basin on the southern periphery of the Siberian Craton facing the Paleozoic Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean.


Geosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich Bahlburg ◽  
Udo Zimmermann ◽  
Ramiro Matos ◽  
Jasper Berndt ◽  
Nestor Jimenez ◽  
...  

Abstract The assembly of Rodinia involved the collision of eastern Laurentia with southwestern Amazonia at ca. 1 Ga. The tectonostratigraphic record of the central Andes records a gap of ∼300 m.y. between 1000 Ma and 700 Ma, i.e., from the beginning of the Neoproterozoic Era to the youngest part of the Cryogenian Period. This gap encompasses the time of final assembly and breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent in this region. We present new petrographic and whole-rock geochemical data and U-Pb ages combined with Hf isotope data of detrital zircons from the volcanosedimentary Chilla beds exposed on the Altiplano southwest of La Paz, Bolivia. The presence of basalt to andesite lavas and tuffs of continental tholeiitic affinity provides evidence of a rift setting for the volcanics and, by implication, the associated sedimentary rocks. U-Pb ages of detrital zircons (n = 124) from immature, quartz-intermediate sandstones have a limited range between 1737 and 925 Ma. A youngest age cluster (n = 3) defines the maximum depositional age of 925 ± 12 Ma. This is considered to coincide with the age of deposition because Cryogenian and younger ages so typical of Phanerozoic units of this region are absent from the data. The zircon age distribution shows maxima between 1300 and 1200 Ma (37% of all ages), the time of the Rondônia–San Ignacio and early Sunsás (Grenville) orogenies in southwestern Amazonia. A provenance mixing model considering the Chilla beds, Paleozoic Andean units, and data from eastern Laurentia Grenville sources shows that >90% of the clastic input was likely derived from Amazonia. This is also borne out by multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis of the data. We also applied MDS analysis to combinations of U-Pb age and Hf isotope data, namely εHf(t) and 176Hf/177Hf values, and demonstrate again a very close affinity of the Chilla beds detritus to Amazonian sources. We conclude that the Chilla beds represent the first and hitherto only evidence of Rodinia breakup in Tonian time in Andean South America.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 490-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuo-Zhen Han ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Zhi-Gang Song ◽  
Wen-Jian Zhong ◽  
Chao Han ◽  
...  

In this study, we present detrital zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic data and whole-rock geochemical data from meta-sedimentary rocks of the Jiangyu Group in eastern Jilin Province (Northeast China) to constrain the late Silurian – Early Devonian tectonic evolution of the southeastern Xing’an–Mongolia Orogenic Belt. Two samples of the meta-sedimentary rocks from the Jiangyu Group yielded concordant ages ranging from 2926 to 415 Ma, and the youngest zircon populations of the two samples yielded weighted mean ages of 427 ± 3 and 426 ± 3 Ma, respectively. Combined with reliable published muscovite 40Ar-39Ar ages of 408 Ma from the overlying metamorphic ophiolitic mélange, these data indicate that the protoliths of the Jiangyu Group were deposited during the late Silurian – Early Devonian Era. A comparison of the U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic data for detrital zircons from northeastern Gondwana and the Jiangyu Group indicates a probable tectonic affinity. The whole-rock geochemical data indicate that the protoliths of the meta-sedimentary rocks from the Jiangyu Group were graywackes deposited in a continental arc setting. Based on the recognition of the early to middle Paleozoic subduction–accretion events along the eastern segment of the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), we infer that the subduction–accretion events may have occurred in the Yanbian area followed by one or more arc–continent collisions after the Early Devonian.


1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Corfu ◽  
S. L. Jackson ◽  
R. H. Sutcliffe

The paper presents U–Pb ages for zircons of the calc-alkalic to alkalic igneous suite and associated alluvial–fluvial sedimentary rocks of the Timiskaming Group in the late Archean Abitibi greenstone belt, Superior Province. The Timiskaming Group rests unconformably on pre-2700 Ma komatiitic to calc-alkalic volcanic sequences and is the expression of the latest stages of magmatism and tectonism that shaped the greenstone belt. An age of 2685 ± 3 Ma for the Bidgood quartz porphyry, an age of about 2685–2682 Ma for a quartz–feldspar porphyry clast in a conglomerate, and ages ranging from 2686 to 2680 Ma for detrital zircons in sandstones appear to reflect an early stage in the development of the Timiskaming Group. The youngest detrital zircons in each of three sandstones at Timmins, Kirkland Lake, and south of Larder Lake define maximum ages of sedimentation at about 2679 Ma; the latter sandstone is cut by a porphyry dyke dated by titanite at [Formula: see text], identical to the 2677 ± 2 Ma age for a volcanic agglomerate of the Bear Lake Formation north of Larder Lake. Similar ages have previously been reported for syenitic to granitic plutons of the region. The dominant period of Timiskaming sedimentation and magmatism was thus 2680–2677 Ma. Xenocrystic zircons found in a porphyry and a lamprophyre dyke have ages of 2750–2720 Ma, which correspond to the ages of the oldest units in the belt, predating the volumetrically dominant ca. 2700 Ma greenstone sequences. The presence of these xenocrysts and the onlapping of the Timiskaming Group on all earlier lithotectonic units of the southern Abitibi belt support the concept that the 2700 Ma ensimatic sequences were thrust onto older assemblages during a phase of compression that culminated with the generation of tonalite and granodiorite at about 2695–2688 Ma. Published geochemical data for the Timiskaming igneous suite, notably the enrichments in large-ion lithophile elements and light rare-earth elements and the relative depletion of Nb, Ta, and Ti compare with the characteristics of suites at modern convergent settings such as the Eolian and the Banda arcs and are consistent with generation of the melts from deep metasomatized mantle in the final stages of, or after cessation of, subduction. Late- and post-Timiskaming compression caused north-directed thrusting and folding. Turbiditic sedimentary units of the Larder Lake area which locally structurally overly the alluvial–fluvial sequence and were earlier thought to be part of the Timiskaming Group, appear to be older "flyschoid" sequences, possibly correlative with sedimentary rocks deposited in the Porcupine syncline at Timmins between 2700 and 2690 Ma.


2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1027-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Canil ◽  
D J Schulze ◽  
D Hall ◽  
B C Hearn Jr. ◽  
S M Milliken

This study presents major and trace element data for 243 mantle garnet xenocrysts from six kimberlites in parts of western North America. The geochemical data for the garnet xenocrysts are used to infer the composition, thickness, and tectonothermal affinity of the mantle lithosphere beneath western Laurentia at the time of kimberlite eruption. The garnets record temperatures between 800 and 1450°C using Ni-in-garnet thermometry and represent mainly lherzolitic mantle lithosphere sampled over an interval from about 110–260 km depth. Garnets with sinuous rare-earth element patterns, high Sr, and high Sc/V occur mainly at shallow depths and occur almost exclusively in kimberlites interpreted to have sampled Archean mantle lithosphere beneath the Wyoming Province in Laurentia, and are notably absent in garnets from kimberlites erupting through the Proterozoic Yavapai Mazatzal and Trans-Hudson provinces. The similarities in depths of equilibration, but differing geochemical patterns in garnets from the Cross kimberlite (southeastern British Columbia) compared to kimberlites in the Wyoming Province argue for post-Archean replacement and (or) modification of mantle beneath the Archean Hearne Province. Convective removal of mantle lithosphere beneath the Archean Hearne Province in a "tectonic vise" during the Proterozoic terminal collisions that formed Laurentia either did not occur, or was followed by replacement of thick mantle lithosphere that was sampled by kimberlite in the Triassic, and is still observed there seismically today.


Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Xiaoyong Yang ◽  
Shengyuan Shu ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
Sihua Yuan

Zircon U–Pb dating and Hf isotopic analyses are performed on clastic rocks, sedimentary tuff of the Dongchuan Group (DCG), and a diabase, which is an intrusive body from the base of DCG in the SW Yangtze Block. The results provide new constraints on the Precambrian basement and the Late Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the SW Yangtze Block, South China. DCG has been divided into four formations from the bottom to the top: Yinmin, Luoxue, Heishan, and Qinglongshan. The Yinmin Formation, which represents the oldest rock unit of DCG, was intruded by a diabase dyke. The oldest zircon age of the clastic rocks from the Yinmin Formation is 3654 Ma, with εHf(t) of −3.1 and a two-stage modeled age of 4081 Ma. Another zircon exhibits an age of 2406 Ma, with εHf(t) of −20.1 and a two-stage modeled age of 4152 Ma. These data provide indirect evidence for the residues of the Hadean crustal nuclei in the Yangtze Block. In combination with the published data, the ages of detrital zircons from the Yinmin Formation yielded three peak ages: 1.84, 2.30 and 2.71 Ga. The peaks of 1.84 and 2.71 Ga are global in distribution, and they are best correlated to the collisional accretion of cratons in North America. Moreover, the peak of 1.84 Ga coincides with the convergence of the global Columbia supercontinent. The youngest age of the detrital zircon from the Yinmin Formation was 1710 Ma; the age of the intrusive diabase was 1689 ± 34 Ma, whereas the weighted average age of the sedimentary tuff from the Heishan Formation was 1414 ± 25 Ma. It was presumed that the depositional age for DCG was 1.71–1.41 Ga, which was in accordance with the timing of the breakup of the Columbia supercontinent. At ~1.7 Ga, the geochemical data of the diabase were characterized by E-MORB and the region developed the same period A-type granites. Thus, 1.7 Ga should represent the time of the initial breakup of the Yangtze Block. Furthermore, the Yangtze Block continues to stretch and breakup until ~1.4 Ga, which is characterized by the emergence of oceanic island, deep-sea siliceous rock and flysch, representing the final breakup. In brief, the tectonic evolution of the Yangtze Block during the Late Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic coincided with the events caused by the convergence and breakup of the Columbia supercontinent, because of which, the Yangtze Block experienced extensive magmatic activity and sedimentary basin development during this period.


Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Brudner ◽  
Hehe Jiang ◽  
Xu Chu ◽  
Ming Tang

The Grenville Province on the eastern margin of Laurentia is a remnant of a Mesoproterozoic orogenic plateau that comprised the core of the ancient supercontinent Rodinia. As a protracted Himalayan-style orogen, its orogenic history is vital to understanding Mesoproterozoic tectonics and paleoenvironmental evolution. In this study, we compared two geochemical proxies for crustal thickness: whole-rock [La/Yb]N ratios of intermediate-to-felsic rocks and europium anomalies (Eu/Eu*) in detrital zircons. We compiled whole-rock geochemical data from 124 plutons in the Laurentian Grenville Province and collected trace-element and geochronological data from detrital zircons from the Ottawa and St. Lawrence River (Canada) watersheds. Both proxies showed several episodes of crustal thickening and thinning during Grenvillian orogenesis. The thickest crust developed in the Ottawan phase (~60 km at ca. 1080 Ma and ca. 1045 Ma), when the collision culminated, but it was still up to 20 km thinner than modern Tibet. We speculate that a hot crust and several episodes of crustal thinning prevented the Grenville hinterland from forming a high Tibet-like plateau, possibly due to enhanced asthenosphere-lithosphere interactions in response to a warm mantle beneath a long-lived supercontinent, Nuna-Rodinia.


Author(s):  
Qiong Chen ◽  
Guochun Zhao ◽  
Min Sun

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic sedimentation shows systematic temporal-spatial variations within South China, which must be considered in reconstructing geological evolution of South China in response to global plate reorganization from the breakup of Rodinia to the assembly of Gondwana. We use >1000 new U-Pb and Hf isotopic data for detrital zircons from Neoproterozoic−Cambrian strata across the western (i.e., Longmenshan) and eastern (i.e., Wuyishan) margins of South China, coupled with compiled stratigraphic and magmatic information, to constrain change in provenance through time. First-order conclusions are as follows: (1) detrital zircons from the Neoproterozoic strata of the two margins were mainly sourced from the Panxi-Hannan arc and the Jiangnan orogen, signaling a rough self-sufficient sedimentary system; (2) newly identified Cambrian molasse-like sediments in the western margin, in which abundant detrital zircons are 550−500 Ma old with positive εHf(t) values, were mainly derived from the 580−500 Ma Cadomian arc belt along the Iran-Turkey margin; and (3) the Cambrian sediments in the eastern margin document more increased contributions from the Grenvillian-age provinces most possibly in Australia. Such spatial-temporal provenance variations signal the northward drifting of South China, from a position connecting with Iran-Turkey and northern India to that approaching Australia during the late Neoproterozoic−Cambrian period. We highlight that the activity of oblique oceanic-continental convergence accreted Asian terranes onto the northern margin of Gondwana, hence contributing to the ultimate Gondwana architecture under global plate reorganization.


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