Geochronological, isotopic, and geochemical data from Permo-Triassic granitic gneisses and granitoids of the Colombian Central Andes

Abstract

New U–Pb SHRIMP ages in zircon, Ar–Ar ages in micas and amphiboles, Nd–Sr isotopes, and major and REE geochemical analyses in granitic gneisses and granitic stocks of the Central Cordillera of Colombia indicate the presence of a collisional orogeny in Permo-Triassic times in the Northern Andes related to the construction of the Pangea supercontinent. The collision is recorded by metamorphic U–Pb SHRIMP ages in inherited zircons around 280 Ma and magmatic U–Pb SHRIMP ages in neoformed zircons around 250 Ma within syntectonic crustal granitic gneisses. Magmatic U–Pb SHRIMP and Ar–Ar Triassic ages around 228 Ma in granitic stocks indicate the presence of late tectonic magmatism related to orogenic collapse and the beginning of the breakup of the supercontinent. During this period, the Central Cordillera of Colombia would have been located between the southern United States and northern Venezuela, in the leading edge of the Gondwana supercontinent.