U-Pb geochronology of Late Palaeozoic plutons, Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia, Canada: evidence for Late Devonian emplacement adjacent to the Meguma-Avalon terrane boundary in the Canadian Appalachians

Abstract

The Cobequid Highlands in the Canadian Appalachian orogen lie within Avalonia adjacent to the Meguma Terrane. U-Pb (zircon) data show that the age range of voluminous bimodal plutonism in the highlands is from 358 to 363 Ma (late Devonian). This age range is much narrower than that previously suggested by Rb/Sr geochronology and confirms that the Cobequid Highlands preserve the youngest large-scale plutonic event in the Canadian Appalachians. Late Palaeozoic tectonic history of the Appalachian orogen is profoundly influenced by predominantly dextral motion on the Avalon-Meguma terrane boundary. This age of plutonism is coeval with previously published 40Ar/39Ar (muscovite) plateau ages derived from shear zones in the Meguma terrane adjacent to the terrane boundary, which is defined by the Minas fault zone. The NNE trending structural grain of the Appalachian orogen is disturbed in this area by the E-W Minas fault zone and pluton emplacement may have been associated with motion along this terrane boundary.