3600-m.y. Rb [sbnd]Sr ages from very early Archaean gneisses from Saglek Bay, Labrador

Abstract

Field studies in the vicinity of Saglek Bay, Labrador, demonstrated that it was possible to subdivide the Archaean gneiss complex into distinct lithologic units and erect a geologic chronology similar to that recognized in Godthaabsfjord, West Greenland. The Uivak gneisses are the oldest quartzo-feldspathic suite in the area and are distinguished from a younger gneissic suite in the field, the undifferentiated gneisses, by the presence of porphyritic basic dykes (Saglek dykes) within the Uivak gneisses. The Uivak gneisses range in composition from tonalites to granodiorites, with the two chemically distinct suites recognized: a grey granodioritic suite and an iron-rich plutonic igneous suite which locally intrudes or grades into a grey gneiss which strongly resembles the grey Uivak gneiss. Rb-Sr isotopic studies indicate an age of 3622 ± 72 m.y. (2σ) and initial Sr isotopic composition of 0.7014 ± 0.0008 (2σ) for the Uivak gneiss suite, i.e. grey gneiss plus iron-rich suite (λ Rb = 1.39 × 10 −11 yr −1). The grey Uivak gneiss suite, treated independently, defines a Rb-Sr isochron with an age of 3610 ± 144 m.y. (2σ) and initial Sr isotopic composition of 0.7015 ± 0.0014 (2σ) which is indistinguishable from the age and initial ratio of the total Uivak gneiss suite, grey gneisses plus iron-rich suite. The undifferentiated gneisses define a Rb-Sr isochron with an age of 3121 ± 160 m.y. (2σ), and initial Sr isotopic composition of 0.7064 ± 0.0012 (2σ). The isotopic data support field observations suggesting the undifferentiated gneisses were derived by local remobilization of the grey Uivak gneisses. The Uivak gneisses resemble the Amitsoq gneisses of Godthaabsfjord both chemically and isotopically. The interpretation of the initial Sr isotopic composition of the Uivak gneisses is interpreted as the time of regional homogenization rather than the initial ratio of the plutonic igneous parents of the Uivak gneisses as suggested for the Amitsoq gneisses. Although the undifferentiated gneisses are contemporaneous with the Nuk gneisses of West Greenland, they do not form a well-defined calc-alkaline suite and may not be associated with major crustal thickening in the Labrador Archaean.