Showing papers on "Terrane published in 2008"

Triassic continental subduction in central Tibet and Mediterranean-style closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean

Abstract: The Qiangtang metamorphic belt (QMB) in central Tibet is one of the largest and most recently documented high-pressure (HP) to near-ultrahigh-pressure (near-UHP) belts on Earth. Lu-Hf ages of eclogite- and blueschist-facies rocks within the QMB are 244–223 Ma, indistinguishable from the age of UHP metamorphism in the Qinling-Dabie orogen. Results of a U-Pb detrital zircon study suggest that protoliths of the QMB include upper Paleozoic Qiangtang continental margin strata and sandstones that were derived from a Paleozoic arc terrane that developed within the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to the north. We attribute QMB HP metamorphism to continental collision between the Qiangtang terrane and a Paleo-Tethys arc terrane. This collision, and the coeval South China–North China collision, may have slowed convergence between Laurasia and Gondwana-derived terranes and initiated Mediterranean-style rollback and backarc basin development within much of the remnant Paleo-Tethys Ocean realm.

From the Early Paleozoic Platforms of Baltica and Laurentia to the Caledonide Orogen of Scandinavia and Greenland

Abstract: The Caledonide Orogen in the Nordic countries is exposed in Norway, western Sweden, westernmost Finland, on Svalbard and in northeast Greenland. In the mountains of western Scandinavia, the structure is dominated by E-vergent thrusts with allochthons derived from the Baltoscandian platform and margin, from outboard oceanic (Iapetus) terranes and with the highest thrust sheets having Laurentian affinities. The other side of this bivergent orogen is well exposed in northeastern Greenland, where W-vergent thrust sheets emplace Laurentian continental margin assemblages onto the platform. Svalbard's Caledonides are disrupted by late Caledonian faults, but have close affinity with the Laurentian margin in Northeast Greenland. Only Svalbard's Southwestern terrane is foreign to this margin, showing affinity to the Pearya terrane of northern Ellesmere Island in arctic Canada. Between the margins of western Scandinavia and eastern Greenland, the wide continental shelves, now covered by late Paleozoic and younger successions, are inferred to be underlain by the Caledonide hinterland, probably incorporating substantial Grenville-age basement. In northernmost Norway, the NE-trending Caledonian thrust front truncates the NW-trending Neoproterozoic Timanide orogen of northwest Russia. Much of the central and eastern parts of the Barents Shelf are thought to be underlain by Caledonian-deformed Timanide basement. Caledonian orogeny in Norden resulted from the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and Scandian collision of continent Baltica with Laurentia. Partial subduction of the Baltoscandian margin beneath Laurentia in the midlate Silurian was followed by rapid exhumation of the highly metamorphosed hinterland in the early Devonian, and deposition of Old Red Sandstones in intramontane basins. Late Scandian collapse of the orogen occurred on major extensional detachments, with deformation persisting into the late Devonian.

Archean crustal evolution of the Jiaodong Peninsula, China, as revealed by zircon SHRIMP geochronology, elemental and Nd-isotope geochemistry

Abstract: The Jiaodong Terrane in eastern Shandong Province is an important part of the Eastern Block of the North China Craton (NCC). In order to better understand the Precambrian crustal evolution of the NCC, we conducted a study of zircon geochronology, bulk-rock elemental and Nd-isotope geochemistry on gneisses and granodiorites from the Jiaodong Terrane. Zircon U-Pb SHRIMP analyses on biotite leptites and TTG gneisses yielded two groups of ages, one at ca. 2.90 Ga, and the other at 2.71 to 2.73 Ga. The new age results establish the existence of Mesoarchean and Neoarchean continental crust in the Jiaodong Terrane. The association of leptites, interpreted as metadacitic rocks, and TTG gneisses at 2.9 Ga was likely generated in an island-arc system, hence implying that plate tectonics, similar to the modern regime, was operative during the Mesoarchean. On the other hand, the results also indicate that the period of 2.71 to 2.73 Ga represents the most significant crust-forming episode in the Jiaodong Terrane. This is in contrast to the general understanding that the most important period of crustal growth and related metamorphism/deformation in the NCC took place in the terminal Archean (∼2.5 Ga). The geochemical and age constraints of the Neoarchean TTG rocks suggest that their formation was not related to subduction of oceanic crust, but to underplating and subsequent partial melting of lower crustal mafic rocks. Nd isotope data indicate that the Mesoarchean and Neoarchean rocks were mainly derived from juvenile sources with a limited amount of old crustal component. Like in other parts of the NCC, these rocks represent a juvenile addition to the late Archean continental crust. Finally, the formation of supracrustal rocks and most TTG gneisses in the period of 2.9 to 2.7 Ga distinguishes the Jiaodong Terrane from other tectonic units of the North China Craton.

Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic tectonostratigraphy and palaeogeography of the peri-Gondwanan terranes: Amazonian v. West African connections

Abstract: Within the Appalachian–Variscan orogen of North America and southern Europe lie a collection of terranes that were distributed along the northern margin of West Gondwana in the late Neoproterozoic and early Palaeozoic. These peri-Gondwanan terranes are characterized by voluminous late Neoproterozoic (c. 640–570 Ma) arc magmatism and cogenetic basins, and their tectonothermal histories provide fundamental constraints on the palaeogeography of this margin and on palaeocontinental reconstructions for this important period in Earth history. Field and geochemical studies indicate that arc magmatism generally terminated diachronously with the formation of a transform margin, leading by the Early–Middle Cambrian to the development of a shallow-marine platform–passive margin characterized by Gondwanan fauna. However, important differences exist between these terranes that constrain their relative palaeogeography in the late Neoproterozoic and permit changes in the geometry of the margin from the late Neoproterozoic to the Early Cambrian to be reconstructed. On the basis of basement isotopic composition, the terranes can be subdivided into: (1) Avalonian-type (e.g. West Avalonia, East Avalonia, Meguma, Carolinia, Moravia–Silesia), which developed on juvenile, c. 1.3–1.0 Ga crust originating within the Panthalassa-like Mirovoi Ocean surrounding Rodinia, and which were accreted to the northern Gondwanan margin by c. 650 Ma; (2) Cadomian-type (e.g. North Armorican Massif, Ossa–Morena, Saxo-Thuringia, Moldanubia), which formed along the West African margin by recycling ancient (c. 2.0–2.2 Ga) West African crust; (3) Ganderian-type (e.g. Ganderia, Florida, the Maya terrane and possible the NW Iberian domain and South Armorican Massif), which formed along the Amazonian margin of Gondwana by recycling Avalonian and older Amazonian basement; and (4) cratonic terranes (e.g. Oaxaquia and the Chortis block), which represent displaced Amazonian portions of cratonic Gondwana. These contrasts imply the existence of fundamental sutures between these terranes prior to c. 650 Ma. Derivation of the Cadomian-type terranes from the West African craton is further supported by detrital zircon data from their Neoproterozoic–Ediacaran clastic rocks, which contrast with such data from the Avalonian- and Ganderian-type terranes that suggest derivation from the Amazonian craton. Differences in Neoproterozoic and Ediacaran palaeogeography are also matched in some terranes by contrasts in Cambrian faunal and sedimentary provenance data. Platformal assemblages in certain Avalonian-type terranes (e.g. West Avalonia and East Avalonia) have cool-water, high-latitude fauna and detrital zircon signatures consistent with proximity to the Amazonian craton. Conversely, platformal assemblages in certain Cadomian-type terranes (e.g. North Armorican Massif, Ossa–Morena) show a transition from tropical to temperate waters and detrital zircon signatures that suggest continuing proximity to the West African craton. Other terranes (e.g. NW Iberian domain, Meguma) show Avalonian-type basement and/or detrital zircon signatures in the Neoproterozoic, but develop Cadomian-type signatures in the Cambrian. This change suggests tectonic slivering and lateral transport of terranes along the northern margin of West Gondwana consistent with the transform termination of arc magmatism. In the early Palaeozoic, several peri-Gondwanan terranes (e.g. Avalonia, Carolinia, Ganderia, Meguma) separated from West Gondwana, either separately or together, and had accreted to Laurentia by the Silurian–Devonian. Others (e.g. Cadomian-type terranes, Florida, Maya terrane, Oaxaquia, Chortis block) remained attached to Gondwana and were transferred to Laurussia only with the closure of the Rheic Ocean in the late Palaeozoic.

The Basement of the Central Andes: The Arequipa and Related Terranes

Abstract: The basement of the Central Andes provides insights for the dispersal of Rodinia, the reconstruction of Gondwana, and the dynamics of terrane accretion along the Pacific. The Paleoproterozoic Arequipa terrane was trapped during collision between Laurentia and Amazonia in the Mesoproterozoic. Ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism correlates with the collapse of the Sunsas-Grenville orogen after ∼1000 Ma and is related to slab break-off and dispersal of Rodinia. The Antofalla terrane separated in the Neoproterozoic, forming the Puncoviscana basin. Its closure was coeval with the collision of the eastern Sierras Pampeanas. The rift-drift transitions of the early Paleozoic clastic platform showed a gradual younging to the north, in agreement with counterclockwise rotation based on paleomagnetic data of Antofalla. North of Arequipa arc magmatism and high-grade metamorphism are linked to collision of the Paracas terrane in the Ordovician, during the Famatinian orogeny in the Sierras Pampeanas. The early Paleozoic ...

Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust

Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction Michael Brown and Tracy Rushmer 2. Structure of the continental lithosphere Alan Levander, Adrian Lenardic and Karl E. Karlstrom 3. Thermo-mechanical controls on heat production distributions and the long-term evolution of the continents Mike Sandiford and Sandra McLaren 4. Composition, differentiation, and evolution of continental crust: constraints from sedimentary rocks and heat flow Scott M. McLennan, Stuart Ross Taylor and Sidney R. Hemming 5. The significance of Phanerozoic arc magmatism in generating continental crust Jon P. Davidson and Richard J. Arculus 6. Crustal generation in the Archean Hugh Rollinson 7. Structural and metamorphic processes in the lower crust: evidence from a deep-crustal isobarically-cooled terrane, Canada Michael L. Williams and Simon Hanmer 8. Nature and evolution of the middle crust: heterogeneity of structure and process due to pluton-enhanced tectonism Karl E. Karlstrom and Michael L. Williams 9. Melting of the continental crust: fluid regimes, melting reactions and source-rock fertility John D. Clemens 10. Melt extraction from lower continental crust of orogens: the field evidence Michael Brown 11. The extraction of melt from crustal protoliths and the flow behavior of partially molten crustal rocks: an experimental perspective Ernie H. Rutter and J. Mecklenburgh 12. Melt migration in the continental crust and generation of lower crustal permeability: inferences from modeling and experimental studies Tracy Rushmer and Steve Miller 13. Emplacement and growth of plutons: implications for rates of melting and mass transfer in continental crust Alexander R. Cruden 14. Elements of a modeling approach to the physical controls on crustal differentiation George W. Bergantz and Scott A. Barboza.

The Rheic Ocean: Origin, Evolution, and Significance

Abstract: The Rheic Ocean, which separated Laurussia from Gondwana after the closure of Iapetus, was one of the principal oceans of the Paleozoic Its suture extends over 10,000 km from Middle America to Eastern Europe, and its closure assembled the greater part of Pangea with the formation of the Ouachita-Alleghanian-Variscan orogen The Rheic Ocean opened in the Early Ordovician, following protracted Cambrian rifting that represented a continuum of Neoproterozoic orogenic processes, with the separation of several Neoproterozoic arc terranes from the continental margin of northern Gondwana Separation likely occurred along a former Neoproterozoic suture in response to slab pull in the outboard Iapetus Ocean The Rheic Ocean broadened at the expense of Iapetus and attained its greatest width (>4000 km) in the Silurian, by which time Baltica had sutured to Laurentia and the Neoproterozoic arc terranes had accreted to Laurussia, closing Iapetus in the process Closure of the Rheic Ocean began in the Devonian and was largely complete by the Mississippian as Gondwana and Laurussia sutured to build Pangea In this process, North Africa collided with southern Europe to create the Variscan orogen in the Devono-Carboniferous, and West Africa and South America sutured to North America to form the Alleghanian and Ouachita orogens, respectively, during the Permo-Carboniferous The Rheic Ocean has long been recognized as the major Paleozoic ocean in southern Europe, where its history dominates the basement geology In North America, however, the Rheic has historically received less attention than Iapetus because its suture is not exposed Yet, it was the Rheic Ocean that played the dominant role in creating the AppalachianOuachita orogen, and an important record of its history may be preserved in Mexico

Triassic Nb-enriched basalts, magnesian andesites, and adakites of the Qiangtang terrane (Central Tibet): evidence for metasomatism by slab-derived melts in the mantle wedge

Abstract: New chronological, geochemical, and isotopic data are reported for Triassic (219–236 Ma) adakite-magnesian andesite-Nb-enriched basaltic rock associations from the Tuotuohe area, central Qiangtang terrane. The adakites and magnesian andesites are characterized by high Sr/Y (25–45), La/Yb (14–42) and Na2O/K2O (12–49) ratios, high Al2O3 (15.34–18.28 wt%) and moderate to high Sr concentrations (220–498 ppm) and eND (t) (+0.86 to +1.21) values. Low enrichments of Th, Rb relative to Nb, and subequal normalized Nb and La contents, and enrichments of light rare earth elements combine to distinguish a group of Nb-enriched basaltic rocks (NEBs). They have positive eND (t) (+2.57 to +5.16) values. Positive correlations between Th, La and Nb and an absence of negative Nb anomalies on mantle normalized plots indicate the NEBs are products of a mantle source metasomatized by a slab melt rather than by hydrous fluids. A continuous compositional variation between adakites and magnesian andesites confirms slab melt interaction with mantle peridotite. The spatial association of the NEBs with adakites and magnesian andesites define an “adakitic metasomatic volcanic series” recognized in many demonstrably subduction-related environments (e.g., Mindanao arc, Philippines; Kamchatka arc, Russia; and southern Baja California arc, Mexico). The age of the Touhuohe suite, and its correlation with Triassic NEB to the north indicates that volcanism derived from subduction-modified mantle was abundant prior to 220 Ma in the central Qiangtang terrane.

Uplift of the Longmen Shan Range and the Wenchuan Earthquake

Abstract: The 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (M s =80) struck on the Longmen Shan foreland thrust zone The event took place within the context of long-term uplift of the Longmen Shan range as a result of the extensive eastward-extrusion of crustal materials from the Tibetan plateau against the rheologically strong crust of the Sichuan Basin The Longmen Shan range is characterized by a Pre-Sinian crystalline complex constrained by the Maoxian-Wenchuan-Kangding ductile detachment at the western margin and the Yingxiu-Beichuan-Luding ductile thrust at the eastern margin The Longmen Shan uplift was initiated by intracontinental subduction between the Songpan-Ganzi terrane and the Yangtze block during the Pre-Cenozoic The uplift rate was increased considerably by the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates since ∼50 Ma The Wenchuan earthquake resulted in two major NE-striking coseismic ruptures (ie, the ∼275 km long Yingxiu- Beichuan-Qingchuan fault and the ∼100 km long Anxian-Guanxian fault) Field investigations combined with focal solutions and seismic reflection profiles suggest that the coseismic ruptures are steeply dipping close-topure reverse or right reverse oblique slip faults in the ∼15 km thick upper crust These faults are unfavorably oriented for frictional slip in the horizontally compressional regime, so that they need a long recurrence interval to accumulate the tectonic stress and fluid pressure to critically high levels for the formation of strong earthquakes at a given locality It is also found that all the large earthquakes (M s >70) occurred in the fault zones across which the horizontal movement velocities measured by the GPS are markedly low (<3 mm/yr) The faults, which constitute the northeastern fronts of the enlarging Tibetan plateau against the strong Sichuan Basin, Ala Shan and Ordos blocks, are very destructive, although their average recurrence intervals are generally long

Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect and continental evolution involving subduction underplating and synchronous foreland thrusting

Abstract: We investigate the crustal structure and tectonic evolution of the North American continent in Alaska, where the continent has grown through magmatism, accretion, and tectonic under-plating. In the 1980s and early 1990s, we conducted a geological and geophysical investigation, known as the Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect (TACT), along a 1350-km-long corridor from the Aleutian Trench to the Arctic coast. The most distinctive crustal structures and the deepest Moho along the transect are located near the Pacific and Arctic margins. Near the Pacific margin, we infer a stack of tectonically underplated oceanic layers interpreted as remnants of the extinct Kula (or Resurrection) plate. Continental Moho just north of this underplated stack is more than 55 km deep. Near the Arctic margin, the Brooks Range is underlain by large-scale duplex structures that overlie a tectonic wedge of North Slope crust and mantle. There, the Moho has been depressed to nearly 50 km depth. In contrast, the Moho of central Alaska is on average 32 km deep. In the Paleogene, tectonic underplating of Kula (or Resurrection) plate fragments overlapped in time with duplexing in the Brooks Range. Possible tectonic models linking these two regions include flat-slab subduction and an orogenic-float model. In the Neogene, the tectonics of the accreting Yakutat terrane have differed across a newly interpreted tear in the subducting Pacific oceanic lithosphere. East of the tear, Pacific oceanic lithosphere subducts steeply and alone beneath the Wrangell volcanoes, because the overlying Yakutat terrane has been left behind as underplated rocks beneath the rising St. Elias Range, in the coastal region. West of the tear, the Yakutat terrane and Pacific oceanic lithosphere subduct together at a gentle angle, and this thickened package inhibits volcanism.

Mesoarchean assembly and stabilization of the eastern Kaapvaal craton: A structural-thermochronological perspective

Abstract: [1] Understanding the construction and stabilization of Archean continental lithosphere has important implications for models of tectonic and thermal regimes in the early Earth, as well as for the subsequent evolution of continents. We provide new constraints for the amalgamation and stabilization of the eastern Kaapvaal craton in the vicinity of the Barberton greenstone belt circa 3.3–3.1 Ga. Isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-Pb geochronology and thermochronology are combined with mapping and structural analysis around the margins of this belt in order to constrain movement on major shear zones that separate high-grade orthogneiss terranes from low-grade supracrustal rocks and to relate this movement to the timing of differential exhumation. New and existing data are consistent with accretion at ∼3.23 Ga within an oblique subduction plate boundary manifested in the BGB as an asymmetric flower-like structural geometry. For >100 Ma following terrane assembly, transform boundary tectonics, manifested partially as transtension on reactivated faults, led to large-scale juxtaposition of middle to lower crustal basement orthogneiss complexes against upper crustal greenstone sequences and episodic emplacement of granitic batholiths. Stabilization of this portion of Archean lithosphere involved at least a three-stage process: (1) creation of a thick and rigid mantle lithosphere during crustal growth, subduction, and terrane assembly from circa 3.30 to 3.23 Ga, (2) generation of a rigid crust during strike-slip and transtensional tectonics coupled with migration of granites and heat-producing elements into the upper crust between circa 3.2 and 3.1 Ga, and (3) erosion and removal of the uppermost crust during regional peneplanation that lasted until circa 2.9 Ga.

Geochronology and geodynamics of Scottish granitoids from the late Neoproterozoic break-up of Rodinia to Palaeozoic collision

Abstract: Thirty-seven granitoids from Scotland have been dated using the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe zircon method. Granitoids were intruded during: (1) crustal stretching at c . 600 Ma after Rodinia broke up (A-types); (2) the Grampian event of crustal thickening when the Midland Valley Arc terrane collided with Laurentia at c . 470 Ma (S-types); (3) erosion and decompression of the over-thickened Laurentian margin at c . 455 Ma (S-types); (4) subduction of Iapetus Ocean lithosphere under Laurentia starting at 430 Ma (I-types); (5) roll-back beginning at 420 Ma (I-types); (6) bilateral slab break-off and lithospheric delamination at 410 Ma (I- and S-type granites) when Baltica hard-docked against the Northern Highland terrane and Avalonia soft-docked against the Grampian Highland terrane. Far-field Acadian events at 390 Ma were recorded by I-type granites intruded along active sinistrally transpressive faults. I-types formed in lower crustal hot zones above subduction zones, whereas S-types formed in lower crustal hot zones above lithospheric windows through which hot asthenosphere had risen.

The Mesoproterozoic in the Nordic countries

Abstract: During the Mesoproterozoic, central Fennoscandia and Laurentia (Greenland) were characterized by a weakly extensional stress regime, as evident from episodic rapakivi granites, dolerite dykes, continental rift intrusives, sandstone basins and continental flood basalts. Along the southwestern active margin of Fennoscandia, the 1.64-1.52 Ga Gothian and 1.52-1.48 Ga Tele-markian accretionary events resulted in oceanwards continental growth. The 1.47-1.42 Ga Hallandian-Danopolonian event included high-grade metamorphism and granite magmatism in southern Fennoscandia. The pre-Sveconorwegian 1.34-1.14 Ga period is characterized by bimodal magmatism associated with sedimentation, possibly reflecting transcurrent tectonics. The Sveconorwegian otogeny involved polyphase imbrication of terranes between 1.14 and 0.97 Ga, as a result of a collision between Baltica and another major plate, followed by relaxation and post-collisional magmatism between 0.96 and 0.90 Ga. Recent geologic data support classical models restoring the Sveconorwegian belt directly to the east of the Grenville belt of Laurentia at 1.0 Ga. Fragments of Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic crust showing late Grenvillian-Sveconorwegian (1.00-0.92 Ga) magmatism and/or metamorphism are exposed in several tectonic levels in the Caledonides of Scandinavia, Svalbard and East Greenland, on both sides of the inferred lapetus suture. Linking these fragments into a coherent late-Grenvillian tectonic model, however, require additional study. (Less)

Brunovistulian terrane (Bohemian Massif, Central Europe) from late Proterozoic to late Paleozoic: a review

Abstract: The Brunovistulian terrane represents a microcontinent of enigmatic Proterozoic provenance that was located at the southern margin of Baltica in the early Paleozoic. During the Variscan orogeny, it represented the lower plate at the southern margin of Laurussia, involved in the collision with the Armorican terrane assemblage. In this respect, it resembles the Avalonian terrane in the west and the Istanbul Zone in the east. There is a growing evidence about the presence of a Devonian back-arc at the margin of the Brunovistulian terrane. The early Variscan phase was characterized by the formation of Devonian extensional basins with the within-plate volcanic activity and formation of narrow segments of oceanic crust. The oldest Visean flysch of the Rheic/Rhenohercynian remnant basin (Protivanov, Andelska Hora and Horni Benesov formations) forms the highest allochthonous units and contains, together with slices of Silurian Bohemian facies, clastic micas from early Paleozoic crystalline rocks that are presumably derived from terranes of Armorican affinity although provenance from an active Brunovistulian margin cannot be fully excluded either. The development of the Moravo–Silesian late Paleozoic basin was terminated by coal-bearing paralic and limnic sediments. The progressive Carboniferous stacking of nappes and their impingement on the Laurussian foreland led to crustal thickening and shortening and a number of distinct deformational and folding events. The postorogenic extension led to the formation of the terminal Carboniferous-early Permian Boskovice Graben located in the eastern part of the Brunovistulian terrane, in front of the crystalline nappes. The highest, allochthonous westernmost flysch units, locally with the basal slices of the Devonian and Silurian rocks thrusted over the Silesicum in the NW part of the Brunovistulian terrane, may share a similar tectonic position with the Giessen–Harz nappes. The Silesicum represents the outermost margin of the Brunovistulian terrane with many features in common with the Northern Phyllite Zone at the Avalonia–Armorica interface in Germany.