The application of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to in situ U–Pb zircon geochronology

Plesovice zircon : A new natural reference material for U-Pb and Hf isotopic microanalysis

Iolite is a non-commercial software package developed to aid in the processing of inorganic mass spectrometric data, with a strong emphasis on visualisation versus time of acquisition. The goal of the software is to provide a powerful framework for data processing and interpretation, while giving users the ability to implement their own data reduction protocols. It is intended to be highly interactive, providing the user with a complete overview of the data at all stages of processing, and allowing the freedom to change parameters and reprocess data at any point. The program presents a variety of windows for the selection and viewing of data versus time, as well as features for the generation of X-Y plots, summary reports and export of data. In addition, it is capable of generating X-Y images from laser ablation rasters, and combining information from up to four separate elemental concentrations (intensities of red, green and blue, and the z-axis) in a false-colour three-dimensional image. By virtue of its underlying computing environment—Igor Pro—Iolite is capable of processing very large datasets (i.e., millions of timeslices) rapidly, and is thus ideal for the interrogation of multi-hour sessions of laser ablation data that can not be easily manipulated in conventional spreadsheet applications, for example. It is also well suited to multi-day sessions of solution-mode inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS) or thermal ionisation mass spectrometer (TIMS) data. A strong emphasis is placed on the interpolation of parameters that vary with time by a variety of user selectable methods including smoothed cubic splines. Data are processed on a timeslice-by-timeslice basis, allowing outlier rejection and calculation of statistics to be employed directly on calculated results. This approach can reduce the risk of processing biases associated with the manipulation of integrated datasets, while also allowing the implementation of more complex data reduction methods.

Iolite: Freeware for the visualisation and processing of mass spectrometric data

Hf isotopic compositions of the standard zircons and baddeleyites used in U-Pb geochronology

Nature and significance of the Early Cretaceous giant igneous event in eastern China

U–Pb dating of detrital zircons for sediment provenance studies—a comparison of laser ablation ICPMS and SIMS techniques

The distribution of noble metals, Ni and Cu in mafic and ultramafic rocks is thought to be controlled by sulphides, chromite, olivine and platinum-group minerals (PGM). One method for presenting noble metal, Ni and Cu data focuses on the sulphide control by recalculating the data to 100% sulphides and presenting the data chondrite normalized. The relative importance of the influence of sulphides, chromite, olivine and PGM on the noble metals, Ni and Cu is examined here using two alternative methods.

The Use of Mantle Normalization and Metal Ratios in Discriminating between the Effects of Partial Melting, Crystal Fractionation and Sulphide Segregation on Platinum-Group Elements, Gold, Nickel and Copper: Examples from Norway

The Late-Proterozoic Sveconorwegian pegmatite province in southern Norway and southwest Sweden hosts seven rare-element pegmatite districts with more than 5000 rare-element pegmatites. Most of these pegmatites with Niobium-Yttrium-Fluorine (NYF) signature are not related to a parental granite, but instead occur in areas of high-grade metamorphism and are the result of migmatization and local melt collection. There are three groups of pegmatites: (1) rare-element pegmatites related to H P -H T high-grade metamorphism associated with the assembly of the Sveconorwegian orogen; (2) rare-element pegmatites related to post-orogenic extension with L P -H T granulites; and (3) rare-element pegmatites related to granite magmatism during post-orogenic extension. The pegmatite formation principally comprises four periods restricted to certain tectono-metamorphic domains: (I) 1094–1060 Ma (Bamble sector); (II) 1041–1030 Ma (Idefjord terrane); (III) 992–984 Ma (Idefjord terrane, Rogaland-Hardangervidda-Telemark sector); and (IV) 922–901 Ma (Rogaland-Hardangervidda-Telemark and Bamble sectors). The observed relationships between pegmatite formation and regional high-grade metamorphism reveal that the majority of Sveconorwegian pegmatites are formed by anatexis, either by crustal stacking during different stages of continental/terrane collision (H P metamorphism) (periods I to III), or by mafic magma underplating (H T metamorphism) during orogenic extension (period IV). In several provinces that have been affected both by early H P metamorphism during continental collision and by late H T metamorphism during crustal extension, there may occur several generations of pegmatites that show mineralogical and geochemical affinity, even though they formed during several different periods. In addition, the results imply that the majority of Sveconorwegian NYF pegmatites are not necessarily formed in an anorogenic setting in relation to A-type magmatism, but in compressional or extensional orogenic settings unrelated to pluton-scale magmatism. In light of this, the genetic criteria of the pegmatite family classification scheme [NYF versus Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT)] will have to be re-evaluated.

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The Sveconorwegian Pegmatite Province – Thousands of Pegmatites Without Parental Granites

Metabasalts of the Upper Ordovician Solund-Stavfjord Ophiolite Complex of the westernmost Norwegian Caledonides, show N-to E-MORB affinity, with high Th/Ta (or Nb) ratios giving evidence of subduction influence. The Solund–Stavfjord Ophiolite Complex is overlain by a heterogeneous assemblage of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, the Stavenes Group, of which the Heggoy Formation of metasandstones and phyllites conformably overlies the metabasalts of the Solund–Stavfjord Ophiolite Complex. The Heggoy Formation contains, in places, abundant metabasalt pillow lavas and minor intrusions, geochemically similar to those of the Solund–Stavfjord Ophiolite Complex, and basic metavolcaniclastites of island arc tholeiite (IAT) composition. This indicates that the Solund–Stavfjord Ophiolite Complex and Heggoy Formation developed in a marginal basin between a continental margin and an active subduction system, for which the present-day Andaman Sea may provide a realistic model. The other magmatic rocks of the Stavenes Group, showing both calc-alkaline and alkaline affinities, are less well time-constrained, but they are thought to represent an advanced stage of the island arc development, and ocean island build-up, respectively.

The Solund-Stavfjord ophiolite complex and associated rocks, West Norwegian Caledonides; geology, geochemistry and tectonic environment

The Sulitjelma Gabbro in the central Norwegian Caledonides has been dated with the U/Pb zircon/sphene method to 437±2 Ma. Geological relationships as well as trace-element geochemistry and Nd and Sr isotopic compositions suggest that the gabbro and associated dyke swarms and pillow lava formed during the initial stages of back-arc spreading. The age constrains the timing of juxtaposition of an older island-arc terrane and continental-margin lithologies exposed within the Caledonian nappes. The age of the gabbro is similar to that of the Solund–Stavfjord Ophiolite in west Norway, and confirms that spreading-related magmatism and marginal-basin development took place along the margin of Iapetus in late Ordovician–early Silurian times.

Rolf-Birger Pedersen

Papers

U–Pb dating of detrital zircons for sediment provenance studies—a comparison of laser ablation ICPMS and SIMS techniques

The Use of Mantle Normalization and Metal Ratios in Discriminating between the Effects of Partial Melting, Crystal Fractionation and Sulphide Segregation on Platinum-Group Elements, Gold, Nickel and Copper: Examples from Norway

The Sveconorwegian Pegmatite Province – Thousands of Pegmatites Without Parental Granites

The Solund-Stavfjord ophiolite complex and associated rocks, West Norwegian Caledonides; geology, geochemistry and tectonic environment

A U/Pb age for the Sulitjelma Gabbro, North Norway: further evidence for the development of a Caledonian marginal basin in Ashgill–Llandovery time