Tectonic evolution of the Grenville Orogen in the central Appalachians

Abstract

Remnants of the Grenville Orogeny—a globally pervasive tectonothermal event resulting from the amalgamation of the supercontinent Rodinia between ca. 1.3 and 1.0 Ga—are exposed throughout eastern North America for ca. 3000 km from Labrador to Alabama. Although tectonic models for the development of the Grenville have historically been based on observations from the large and well-exposed Canadian Grenville Province, recent investigations suggest that initial continental collision occurred proximal to the Appalachian Blue Ridge. Mesoproterozoic rocks within this portion of the orogen are exposed within a series of allochthonous terranes that were extensively reworked during Paleozoic orogenesis. To better understand the tectonic history of this critical region, we utilized garnet and monazite geochronology to reconstruct the metamorphic history of eleven samples of ortho- and paragneiss from the Appalachian Blue Ridge Province.The resultant dates, together with new results from trace element thermobarometry, define a prolonged record of high temperature metamorphism coincident with the timing of continent–continent collision as recognized in the northern portion of the orogen. Initial garnet and monazite growth commenced between 1100 and 1065 Ma with peak granulite-facies conditions (750–900 °C, 0.55–0.85 GPa) occurring from 1050 to 1010 Ma. Burial and heating of the paragneisses progressed rapidly with peak metamorphism occurring ∼20–30 Myr after deposition of the sedimentary protoliths. Local hydrothermal alteration followed peak metamorphism and occurred at 1000–990 Ma with later cooling through ∼660 °C between 980 and 935 Ma (3 ± 2 °C/Myr). The metamorphic history outlined here, together with insights from previous studies, is consistent with formation of the Blue Ridge rocks within a continental suture zone that had an orogenic architecture comparable to that of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen.