New age constraints on magmatism and metamorphism in the Morin terrane (Grenville Province, Quebec)

The Morin terrane is an allochthonous crustal block in the southwestern Grenville Province with a relatively poorly-constrained metamorphic history. In this part of the Grenville Province, some terranes were part of the ductile middle crust during the 1.09–1.02 Ga collision of Laurentia with the Amazon craton (the Ottawan phase of the Grenvillian orogeny), while other terranes were part of the orogen’s superstructure. New U-Pb geochronology suggests that the Morin terrane experienced granulite-facies metamorphism during the accretionary Shawinigan orogeny (1.19–1.14 Ga) and again during the Ottawan. Seven zircon samples from the 1.15 Ga Morin anorthosite suite were dated to confirm earlier age determinations, and Ottawan metamorphic rims (1.08–1.07 Ga) were observed in two samples. U-Pb dating of titanite in nine marble samples surrounding the Morin anorthosite suite yielded mixed ages spanning between the Shawinigan and Ottawan metamorphisms (n=7), and predominantly Ottawan ages (n=2). Our results show that Ottawan zircon growth and resetting of titanite ages is spatially heterogeneous in the Morin terrane. Ages with a predominantly Ottawan signature are recognized in the Morin shear zone, which deforms the eastern lobe of the anorthosite, in an overprinted skarn zone on the western side of the massif, and in the Labelle shear zone that marks its western boundary. In the rest of the Morin terrane titanite with Shawinigan ages appear to have been only partially reset during the Ottawan. Further work is needed to better understand the relationship between the character of Ottawan metamorphism and resetting in different parts of the Morin terrane.

Crustal thickness of the Grenville orogen: A Mesoproterozoic Tibet?

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.

The Pre-Grenvillian assembly of the southeastern Laurentian margin through the U–Pb–Hf detrital zircon record of Mesoproterozoic supracrustal sequences (Central Grenville Province, Quebec, Canada)

The detrital zircon perspective on the pre-collisional crustal evolution of the Grenville Province remains poorly explored. In this study, we conducted in situ laser ablation U–Pb–Hf isotopic microanalysis on detrital zircon grains from three pre-orogenic (>1 Ga) supracrustal sequences that crop out in the Central Grenville Province (Lac Saint-Jean region, QC, CA). Detrital zircon grains from vestiges of these sequences record three dominant age peaks at c. 1.46 Ga, 1.62 Ga, 1.85 Ga, and a subordinate peak at 2.7 Ga. The 1.46 Ga and 1.62 Ga age peaks are recorded in detrital zircon grains from a quartzite associated with a metavolcanic sequence (i.e. Montauban Group) with a maximum depositional age of c. 1.44 Ga. In contrast, the c.1.85 Ga age peak is observed from recycled zircon grains in metasediments with maximum depositional ages between 1.2 and 1.3 Ga. The suprachondritic Hf isotope composition in detrital zircon grains of the 1.46 Ga and 1.62 Ga age populations records juvenile crustal growth during peri-Laurentian accretionary orogenesis related to the Pinwarian (1.4–1.5 Ga) and Mazatzalian–Labradorian (1.6–1.7 Ga) events. The detrital zircon grains associated with Penokean–Makkovikian (1.8–1.9 Ga) source rocks record reworking of c. 2.7 Ga continental crust derived from a near-chondritic mantle reservoir. Overall, crust-forming and basement reworking events associated with accretionary orogenesis in southeastern Laurentia are retained in the detrital zircon load of Precambrian basins even after the terminal Grenvillian collision and assembly of Rodinia.

Neodymium isotope mapping a polygenetic TTG batholith: Failed back-arc rifting in the Central Metasedimentary Belt, SW Grenville Province

Fifty-five new Nd isotope analyses are presented for plutonic orthogneisses from the Grimsthorpe domain in the marble-rich segment of the Grenvillian Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB) to test the back-arc aulacogen model for its origin. Nd isotope analyses from the Weslemkoon batholith, Elzevir batholith, Lingham Lake complex and Canniff tonalite are used to probe the crustal formation age of their source rocks. Despite its concentric foliation, the Weslemkoon batholith displays a complex geochemical pattern consisting of several NE trending domains with older TDM ages, surrounded by juvenile crustal material. The new Nd isotope results, coupled with geochemistry for the Weslemkoon and Elzevir batholiths depict the fragmentation of a block of old crust that formed a screen between en echelon segments of a mid-Mesoproterozoic back-arc rift zone. The isotope boundaries identified within the Weslemkoon batholith delineate magma pulses sampling two distinct sources, interpreted as Laurentian basement and juvenile basaltic underplate. Underplating could be attributed to slab rollback under the pre-Grenvillian continental margin arc. The intensification of rift-related magmatism in the CMB is demonstrated by its bimodal petrological character. A modern analogue for the tectonic context of the CMB is the Gulf of California, where subduction-related magmatism has transitioned to rift-related magmatism. However, the Gulf of California exhibits more transcurrent motion than is evidenced by the geometry of the CMB rift. A geometrical analogue for the break-up of the Elzevir block between two rift segments is provided by the Danakil block of the Red Sea, which is currently undergoing similar tectonic fragmentation.

Crustal structure, seasonal and directional variations of ambient seismic noise in SE Canada and the NE USA

<p>Long-duration stacks of ambient seismic noise cross-correlation can be used to generate high-resolution images of the lithosphere. In this study, we investigate the crustal structure beneath southeastern Canada and the northeastern USA, using an ambient noise tomography technique. Our study area covers the Phanerozoic northern Appalachians and the Proterozoic eastern Grenville Province, recording a complex tectonic history since ~1 Ga. Our datasets include continuous records of vertical component time series, recorded by 69 stations belonging to 7 seismograph networks over a more than two-year period. The ambient seismic noise directionality and seasonality variations of our datasets are analyzed in detail, and possible noise source locations are proposed in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Our analysis suggests strong variations of dominant seismic noise sources at both Primary (11-20 s) and Secondary (5-10 s) bands in various months, with different observed patterns at these passband periods. Our tomographic models indicate complex and strong variations of Rayleigh wave phase velocities across the study area, providing us evidence to discuss tectonic implications. The resulting Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps suggest generally slower velocities beneath the Appalachians than the Grenville province. A sharp velocity contrast is observed across the Grenville Province-Appalachian domain boundary at periods sensitive to the lower crust, suggesting a step-like geometry of the Moho interface beneath this area.</p>

Gore Mountain Garnet Amphibolite records UHT Conditions: Implications for the Rheology of the Lower Continental Crust During Orogenesis

The Gore Mountain Garnet Amphibolite (GMGA), part of the Mesoproterozoic Grenville province in the Adirondack Highlands, NY, USA, is an iconic rock type known for hosting the world’s largest garnets (up to 1 m diameter). We present a new detailed petrographic study of these rocks. Field relations, whole rock, and mineral major and trace element chemistry suggest that these rocks formed via a prograde hydration reaction of a metagabbro during an increase in pressure and temperature. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) U-Pb geochronology applied to zircon interpreted to be metamorphic in origin dates this reaction to 1053.9±5.4 Ma (2σ; MSWD = 0.94), during the Ottawan Orogeny (1090-1020 Ma). Our results on peak metamorphic P-T conditions based on thermobarometry, diffusion models, and thermodynamic modelling indicate that these rocks formed at ultra-high temperature (UHT, >900˚C) conditions (P = 9–10 kbar, T = 950±40˚C), significantly hotter than previously estimated. Diffusion models pinned by nearby cooling ages require the GMGA to initially cool quickly (9.1 ˚C Myr<su-1p>), followed by slower cooling (2.6 ˚C Myr<su-1p>). The two-stage cooling history for the GMGA could reflect initial advection-dominated cooling followed by conduction-dominated cooling once flow ceases. Our results suggest that the region was hot enough to undergo topography-driven lower crustal flow similar to that hypothesized for modern Tibet for 20–0 Myr (25–0 Myr when the effects of melt are included).

Nd isotope mapping of the Frontenac Terrane in the SW Grenville Province

Nd isotope analyses are presented for granitoid rocks from the western part of Frontenac Terrane in the Grenville Province of Ontario. TDM ages show no correlation with the silica content of the rocks, but instead correlate with geographical location, suggesting that the TDM ages are indicative of regional crustal formation age, and do not result from mixing between sources with different provenance ages. Based on these observations, we identify a new crustal age boundary that follows the Desert Lake – Canoe Lake fault and the Rideau Lake fault, and hence a new juvenile crustal block (Westport domain). This domain is identified as part of the ensimatic back-arc rift zone that formed the juvenile segment of the Central Metasedimentary Belt in Ontario. However, additional sampling along the Ottawa River suggests that the juvenile Westport domain does not extend into Quebec. Instead, a narrower ensialic rift zone is represented by the Marble domain in Quebec. Based on comparison with the Taupo volcanic zone and the northern Red Sea as modern analogues, we suggest that the transition from a wide ensimatic rift zone in Ontario to a narrow ensialic rift in Quebec was accommodated by transtensional motion along a zone of diffuse shear east of Ottawa.