Abstract
Garnet-hornblende-plagioclase gneisses rich in incompatible elements occur in the crystalline basement of the Austro-Alpine Silvretta nappe and are associated with clinopyroxene norites and harzburgite cumulates. It is proposed here that the gneisses were formerly oceanic plagiogranites. An eNd(530) value of +5.6 for the gneisses as well as initial87Sr/86Sr values of 0.7036–0.7037 for the gabbroic rocks and 0.7026–0.7027 for the ultramafic rocks suggest a mantle source for this rock association. The geochemical characteristics of the garnet-hornblende-plagioclase gneisses indicate that their precursors were derived by fractional crystallization from a basaltic parent magma, by the same process which produced the adjacent clinopyroxene norites and ultramafic cumulates as well. The combined U-Pb upper intercept ages of zircons from two gneiss samples yield an igneous crystallization age of 532 ± 30 Ma, similar to previously dated (mostly calcalkaline) orthogneisses in the same area. High-quality transparent zircons showed the least degree of discordance, but contain extremely low U and Pb levels. The rock suite, including this plagiogranite, was emplaced within oceanic crust which formed in the latest Precambrian-early Palaeozoic off the northern continental margin of Gondwana.
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