scholarly journals The Imbert Formation of northern Hispaniola: a tectono-sedimentary record of arc–continent collision and ophiolite emplacement in the northern Caribbean subduction–accretionary prism

Solid Earth ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Escuder-Viruete ◽  
Á. Suárez-Rodríguez ◽  
J. Gabites ◽  
A. Pérez-Estaún

Abstract. In northern Hispaniola, the Imbert Formation (Fm) has been interpreted as an orogenic “mélange” originally deposited as trench-fill sediments, an accretionary (subduction) complex formed above a SW-dipping subduction zone, or the sedimentary result of the early oblique collision of the Caribbean plate with the Bahama Platform in the middle Eocene. However, new stratigraphical, structural, geochemical and geochronological data from northern Hispaniola indicate that the Imbert Fm constitutes a coarsening-upward stratigraphic sequence that records the transition of the sedimentation from a pre-collisional forearc to a syn-collisional basin. This basin was transported on top of the Puerto Plata ophiolitic complex slab and structurally underlying accreted units of the Rio San Juan complex, as it was emplaced onto the North America continental margin units.The Imbert Fm unconformably overlies different structural levels of the Caribbean subduction-accretionary prism, including a supra-subduction zone ophiolite, and consists of three laterally discontinuous units that record the exhumation of the underlying basement. The distal turbiditic lower unit includes the latest volcanic activity of the Caribbean island arc; the more proximal turbiditic intermediate unit is moderately affected by syn-sedimentary faulting; and the upper unit is a (chaotic) olistostromic unit, composed of serpentinite-rich polymictic breccias, conglomerates and sandstones, strongly deformed by syn-sedimentary faulting, slumping and sliding processes. The Imbert Fm is followed by subsidence and turbiditic deposition of the overlying El Mamey Group.The 40Ar ∕ 39Ar plagioclase plateau ages obtained in gabbroic rocks from the Puerto Plata ophiolitic complex indicate its exhumation at  ∼  45–40 Ma (lower-to-middle Eocene), contemporaneously to the sedimentation of the overlying Imbert Fm. These cooling ages imply the uplift to the surface and submarine erosion of the complex to be the source of the ophiolitic fragments in the Imbert Fm, during or shortly after the emplacement of the intra-oceanic Caribbean island arc onto the continental margin.

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1827-1876 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Escuder-Viruete ◽  
A. Suárez-Rodríguez ◽  
J. Gabites ◽  
A. Pérez-Estaún

Abstract. In northern Hispaniola, the Imbert Formation (Fm) has been interpreted as an orogenic "mélange" originally deposited as trench-fill sediments, an accretionary (subduction) complex formed above a SW-dipping subduction zone, or the sedimentary result of the early oblique collision of the Caribbean plate with the Bahama Platform in the middle Eocene. However, new stratigraphical, structural, geochemical and geochronological data from northern Hispaniola indicate that the Imbert Fm constitutes a coarsening-upward stratigraphic sequence that records the transition of the sedimentation from a pre-collisional forearc to a syn-collisional piggy-back basin. This piggy-back basin was transported on top of the Puerto Plata ophiolitic complex slab and structurally underlying accreted units of the Rio San Juan complex, as it was emplaced onto the North America continental margin units. The Imbert Fm unconformably overlies different structural levels of the Caribbean subduction-accretionary prism, including a supra-subduction zone ophiolite, and consists of three laterally discontinuous units that record the exhumation of the underlying basement. The distal turbiditic lower unit includes the latest volcanic activity of the Caribbean island arc; the more proximal turbiditic intermediate unit is moderately affected by syn-sedimentary faulting; and the upper unit is a (caotic) olistostromic unit, composed of serpentinite-rich polymictic breccias, conglomerates and sandstones, strongly deformed by syn-sedimentary faulting, slumping and sliding processes. The Imbert Fm is followed by subsidence and turbiditic deposition of the overlying El Mamey Group. The 40Ar / 39Ar plagioclase plateau ages obtained in gabbroic rocks from the Puerto Plata ophiolitic complex indicate its exhumation at ∼ 45–40 Ma (lower-to-middle Eocene), contemporaneously to the sedimentation of the overlying Imbert Fm. These cooling ages imply the uplift to the surface and submarine erosion of the complex to be the source of the ophiolitic fragments in the Imbert Fm, during of shortly after the emplacement of the intra-oceanic Caribbean island-arc onto the continental margin.


2013 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-731 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALASTAIR H.F. ROBERTSON ◽  
GILLIAN A. McCAY ◽  
KEMAL TASLI ◽  
AŞEGÜL YILDIZ

AbstractWe focus on an active continental margin related to northwards subduction during the Eocene in which sedimentary melange (‘olistostromes’) forms a key component. Maastrichtian – Early Eocene deep-marine carbonates and volcanic rocks pass gradationally upwards into a thick succession (<800 m) of gravity deposits, exposed in several thrust sheets. The lowest levels are mainly siliciclastic turbidites and debris-flow deposits. Interbedded marls contain Middle Eocene planktonic/benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils. Sandstones include abundant ophiolite-derived grains. The higher levels are chaotic debris-flow deposits that include exotic blocks of Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic neritic limestone and dismembered ophiolite-related rocks. A thinner sequence (<200 m) in one area contains abundant redeposited Paleogene pelagic limestone and basalt. Chemical analysis of basaltic clasts shows that some are subduction influenced. Basaltic clasts from unconformably overlying alluvial conglomerates (Late Eocene – Oligocene) indicate derivation from a supra-subduction zone ophiolite, including boninites. Taking account of regional comparisons, the sedimentary melange is interpreted to have formed within a flexurally controlled foredeep, floored by continental crust. Gravity flows including large limestone blocks, multiple debris flows and turbidites were emplaced, followed by southwards thrust imbrication. The emplacement was possibly triggered by the final closure of an oceanic basin to the north (Alanya Ocean). Further convergence between the African and Eurasian plates was accommodated by northwards subduction beneath the Kyrenia active continental margin. Subduction zone rollback may have triggered collapse of the active continental margin. Non-marine to shallow-marine alluvial fans prograded southwards during Late Eocene – Oligocene time, marking the base of a renewed depositional cycle that lasted until latest Miocene time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-400
Author(s):  
V.A. Makrygina

Abstract —Analysis of geochemical, geochronological, and new geophysical data on metasedimentary and igneous rocks of the Ol’khon region has made it possible to substantiate: (1) the absence of products of the Caledonian suprasubduction magmatism from the adjacent part of the Siberian craton and (2) the presence of a product of this magmatism in the Anga–Talanchan island arc, namely, the Krestovsky massif with gabbro-diorite to granite phases. This suggests subduction of the Paleoasian oceanic crust under the island arc before the collision. The geophysical data showed a steep sinking of the Siberian craton margin. This sinking and the supposed contrary movement and rotation of the Siberian craton prevented the appearance of a subduction zone beneath the craton during the collision but caused the wide development of fault plates in the fold belt at the late collision stage. The residue of oceanic crust slab was pressed out along the fault planes near the surface and formed a row of gabbro-pyroxenite massifs of the Birkhin Complex in the fold belt, where syncollisional granitic melts (Sharanur Complex) formed at the same time. The interaction of two contrasting melts gave rise to the Tazheran and Budun alkaline syenite massifs and alkaline metasomatites of the Birkhin and Ulanganta gabbroid massifs.


1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian F. Windley

The Grenvillian Orogeny was preceded by extensive anorogenic volcanism and plutonism in the period 1500–1300 Ma in the form of rhyolites, epizonal granites, anorthosites, gabbros, alkaline complexes, and basic dykes. An analogue for the mid-Proterozoic anorogenic complexes is provided by the 2000 km by 200 km belt of anorogenic complexes in the Hoggar, Niger, and Nigeria, which contain anorthosites, gabbros, and peralkaline granites and were generated in a Cambrian to Jurassic rift that farther south led to the formation of the South Atlantic. An analogue for the 1 × 106 km2 area of 1500–1350 Ma rhyolites (and associated epizonal granites) that underlie the mid-continental United States is provided by the 1.7 × 106 km2 area of Jurassic Tobifera rhyolites in Argentina, which were extruded on the stretched continental margin of South America immediately preceding the opening of the South Atlantic. The mid-Proterozoic complexes were intruded close to the continental margin of the Grenvillian ocean and were commonly superimposed by the craton-directed thrusts that characterized the final stages of the Grenvillian Orogeny. The bulk of the Keweenawan rift and associated anorogenic magmatism formed about 1100 Ma at the same time as the Ottawan Orogeny in Ontario, which probably resulted from the collision of the island arc of the Central Metasedimentary Belt attached to the continental block in the east with the continental block to the west. The most appropriate modern equivalent would be the Rhine Graben, which formed at the same time as the main Alpine compression.


Solar Energy ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramiro L. Rivera ◽  
Karim Altaii

Solar radiation was measured and recorded on a 5-minute, hourly and daily basis at a number of sites on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico (located from 18° to 18° 30’N latitude and from 65° 30’ to 67° 15’W longitude) over a 24 calendar month time frame. The global solar radiation was measured at four sites (namely: Aguadilla, Ponce, Gurabo, and San Juan). The global solar radiation data was measured by an Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometer (model PSP) mounted on a horizontal surface. This pyranometer is sensitive to solar radiation in the range of 0.285 ≤ λ ≤ 2.8 μm wavelengths. Statistical analysis such as the daily average, monthly average hourly, monthly average daily, and annual average daily global radiation are presented in this paper. Despite its small size, a 13 percent variation in the global solar radiation has been observed within the island. Reasonable solar radiation values, for solar energy conversion system installation, seem to exist at and possibly around Aguadilla.


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