Subduction and the rock record: Concepts developed in the Franciscan Complex, California

Abstract

Ernst’s (1970) paper was chosen as the classic paper for the Franciscan Complex because it related high-pressure, low-temperature (high P-T) metamorphism to subduction. Perhaps most significantly, the paper explained the association of low geothermal gradients and the metamorphism. The paper also pointed out the difficult tectonic problem of the exhumation of the high P-T rocks, a problem still vigorously debated today, and proposed a tectonic model explaining the exhumation of the deeply buried rocks. In addition, the paper explained the tectonic contact of the Great Valley forearc over the Franciscan subduction complex in the context of plate tectonics theory (Hamilton, 1969, gave a similar explanation; see following). Ernst’s paper was one of the key advances in the plate tectonics revolution. Variations of Figure 3 of Ernst (1970) have become the textbook model of subductionzone metamorphism. Geologists now regard high P-T (including blueschist facies) metamorphism as the strongest evidence of an exhumed subduction complex. Evaluation of thermal gradients associated with subduction and their connection to metamorphic assemblages, introduced by Ernst (1970), has become an important concept in understanding the evolution of orogenic belts (e.g., Ernst, 1975, 1988). An example of this type of analysis is the premise that Franciscan subduction was continuous, from its inception in the late Mesozoic to conversion to a transform plate boundary in the late Cenozoic, because Franciscan high P-T rocks lack thermal overprints (such as late greenschist facies assemblages) which should have resulted from any cessation of subduction (Cloos and Dumitru, 1987; Ernst, 1988). Ernst’s (1970) paper was one of several key papers that related the Franciscan Complex to subduction processes and established the Franciscan as the type subduction complex. Hamilton (1969) equated the Franciscan to a subduction complex, related subduction to arc volcanism in the Sierra Nevada, and pointed out the far-traveled nature of some Franciscan Complex rocks. Hsu (1968, 1971) formalized the concept and principles of melange (Bailey et al., 1964, had recognized the shear-zone character of what were later called melanges). Dickinson (1970) placed the Franciscan in the context of an arc-trench system, with the Franciscan, Great Valley Group, and Sierra Nevada as the subduction complex, forearc basin, magmatic arc (and main terrigenous sediment source), respectively. Bailey et al. (1964) set the stage for these papers by compiling and evaluating an enormous amount of data and presenting ideas that forecast the plate tectonic interpretation of the Franciscan; this is still a useful reference on the Franciscan. Many major conclusions of these landmark papers have not been significantly challenged since their publication. Subsequent research has continued to provide insight into fundamental processes in subduction zones. Some developments in Franciscan geology since 1970, as well as major controversies, are discussed in the following. The general geology of the Franciscan Complex is shown in Figure 1.