Zircon U–Pb, O, and Hf isotopic constraints on Mesozoic magmatism in the Cyclades, Aegean Sea, Greece

Abstract

Compared to the well-documented Cenozoic magmatic and metamorphic rocks of the Cyclades, Aegean Sea, Greece, the geodynamic context of older meta-igneous rocks occurring in the marble–schist sequences and melanges of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit is as yet not fully understood. Here, we report O–Hf isotopic compositions of zircons ranging in age from ca. 320 Ma to ca. 80 Ma from metamorphic rocks exposed on the islands of Andros, Ios, Sifnos, and Syros with special emphasis on Triassic source rocks. Ion microprobe (SHRIMP II) single spot oxygen isotope analysis of pre-Cretaceous zircons from various felsic gneisses and meta-gabbros representing both the marble–schist sequences and the melanges of the study area yielded a large range in δ18O values, varying from 2.7 ‰ to 10.1 ‰ VSMOW, with one outlier at −0.4 %. Initial eHf values (−12.5 to +15.7) suggest diverse sources for melts formed between Late Carboniferous to Late Cretaceous time that record derivation from mantle and reworked older continental crust. In particular, variable δ18O and eHf(t) values for Triassic igneous zircons suggest that magmatism of this age is more likely rift- than subduction-related. The significant crustal component in 160 Ma meta-gabbros from Andros implies that some Jurassic gabbroic rocks of the Hellenides are not part of SSZ-type (supra-subduction zone) ophiolites that are common elsewhere along the margin of the Pelagonian zone.