Exhumation Of Core Complexes Research Articles

Sveconorwegian vs. Caledonian orogenesis in the eastern Øygarden Complex, SW Norway – Geochronology, structural constraints and tectonic implications

The Øygarden Complex is the westernmost basement window in the Norwegian Caledonides, yet, the age and evolution of this part of the Baltic Shield is largely unknown. We examined the eastern part of the window by detailed field mapping and SIMS U–Pb zircon geochronology, to disentangle the record of Caledonian and Sveconorwegian orogenesis and to constrain the long-term crustal evolution. The eastern Øygarden Complex comprises mainly Sveconorwegian metaigneous rocks, which intrude Telemarkian granitic basement, dated at 1506 ± 5 Ma. Sveconorwegian magmatism occurred in two distinct phases: Contemporaneous hornblende biotite granite and gabbro intrusions revealed crystallization ages of 1042 ± 3 Ma and 1041 ± 3 Ma, respectively. We dated younger leucogranitic intrusions at 1027 ± 4 Ma, 1024 ± 6 Ma and ca. 1022 Ma. The new ages clearly identify the Øygarden Complex as a part of Telemarkia and correlate it with the Sirdal Magmatic Belt. Furthermore, they show that the Precambrian evolution of the Øygarden Complex is distinctly different from the Western Gneiss Region. Bimodal magmatism at 1041 Ma and the absence of Sveconorwegian high-grade metamorphism in the eastern Øygarden Complex support the idea of an accretionary Sveconorwegian orogen. Following long-term residence at low temperatures, a temperature increase caused resetting of high-U metamict zircons at ca. 482 Ma. This early Ordovician thermal event might reflect extension of the Baltican margin or early Caledonian convergence. Caledonian ductile reworking involved top-to-E shearing and recumbent lineation-parallel folding followed by the formation of ductile-to-brittle normal-sense shear zones. We discuss this structural evolution in the light of existing and new tectonic models, including early Devonian core-complex exhumation of the Øygarden Complex.

Synconvergent exhumation of metamorphic core complexes in the northern North American Cordillera

Continental metamorphic core complexes of the northern North American Cordillera were exhumed during the early Paleogene while the Farallon–North American plate convergence rate remained high. Such convergent boundary conditions can excite localized mid-crustal exhumation in numerical simulations of collisions of softer accreted terranes with a rigid, irregular craton margin. Resulting simulated temperature-time ( T - t ) paths match T - t paths interpreted from observed footwall exposures in several core complexes of the northern North American Cordillera, including variability of maximum temperatures, duration of exhumation, and exhumation velocities among individual complexes.

Rheology of the middle crust under tectonic extension: Insights from the Jinzhou detachment fault zone of the Liaonan metamorphic core complex, eastern North China Craton

Although exhumation of metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) have been traditionally attributed to collapse of orogenically overthickened crust, recent studies reveal that they can also result from extension of lithosphere with normal crustal thickness. For example, there is an ongoing debate about the mechanisms responsible for exhumation of the Liaonan MCC, which occurred during late Mesozoic lithospheric thinning of the North China Craton. This paper attempts to present rheological constraints on middle to upper crustal detachment faulting during the exhumation of the Liaonan MCC and, therefore, on the genesis of the MCC based on a comprehensive study of the microstructural and fabric characteristics of tectonites from the Jinzhou master detachment fault of the Liaonan MCC.The Jinzhou detachment fault zone comprises a thick sequence of fault rocks of middle to shallow crustal depths. Three types of mylonitic rocks characterize middle crustal deformation along the detachment fault during early Cretaceous lithospheric extension. Microstructural and fabric studies reveal that these fault rocks were formed via different mechanisms of crystal plastic deformation and dynamic recrystallization at temperatures from ca. 300 to 650°C. The flow stresses at different crustal depths were calculated using classical paleopiezometers. This study suggests that a pre-heated crust was responsible for the low flow stresses during the Jinzhou detachment faulting, which is somehow different from, e.g., the Whipple Mountain detachment faulting in the North American Cordillera. Based on inferences about the properties of middle to upper crustal flow associated with the Jinzhou detachment faulting, it is suggested that the Liaonan metamorphic core complex was formed by tectonic extension of cratonic lithosphere with a normal crustal thickness, instead of being a typical Cordilleran-type core complex that occurred in a setting with overthickened crust.

Galicia Bank ocean–continent transition zone: New seismic reflection constraints

The West Iberia continental margin is a type locale for magma-poor rifting, and studies there have been instrumental in changing the classical view of the ocean–continent transition (OCT) from a discrete boundary juxtaposing continental and oceanic crust, into a more complicated zone of varying width that can include exhumed mantle. This study examines two new seismic lines in the Galicia Bank area extending west of the Peridotite Ridge, showing high resolution images of five new ridges. These ridges could be hyperextended continental crust, exhumed continental mantle, or rough ultra-slow spreading oceanic crust. There are no tilted fault blocks with pre-syn rift stratigraphy that would indicate continental crust. There are also no faults indicating mid-ocean spreading with seismic layer stratigraphy indicating normal oceanic crust. The ridges have no coherent internal seismic structure, and some resemble the topographic profile of the Peridotite Ridge. Therefore, it is likely the western ridges are also mainly composed of serpentinized mantle. These western ridges are also similar to small oceanic core complexes observed along the active part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which also contain exhumed serpentinized mantle. This implies that there is a gradual transition within our study area from continental extension to seafloor spreading. Exhumation of continental mantle results in the formation of peridotite ridges, then transitions to episodic volcanism, which produces local thin basaltic crust, and exhumation of oceanic core complexes. Asymmetric processes during initial rifting and spreading result in contrasting structures on the two resulting margins.

Tectono-metamorphic history of the eastern Taureau shear zone, Mauricie area, Québec: Implications for the exhumation of the mid-crust in the Grenville Province

This study investigates the tectono-metamorphic history and exhumation mechanisms of the mid-crustal Mékinac-Taureau domain of the Mauricie area, central Grenville Province. Macro- and micro-structural analyses reveal the top-down-to-the-ESE sense of shear on the eastern Taureau shear zone, a major extensional structure that exhumed the mid-crustal Mékinac-Taureau domain and juxtaposed it against the lower grade rocks of the Shawinigan domain. Peak metamorphism in the Mékinac-Taureau domain, inferred to be the result of northwestward thrusting and regional crustal thickening, took place under P–T conditions of 1000–1100MPa and 820–880°C prior to 1082±20Ma. Retrograde conditions varying from 775 to 675°C and from 800 to 650MPa were registered in its upper structural levels prior to and/or during shearing along the eastern Taureau shear zone that was active at 1064±15Ma. The Shawinigan domain records P–T conditions ranging from 850 to 625MPa and from 775 to 700°C, P–T values that are similar to or slightly lower than those for retrogressed samples from the upper structural levels of the Mékinac-Taureau domain, but clearly lower than the peak metamorphism values of the latter domain. Finally, the area cooled below 550–600°C at ∼1000–1030Ma and below 450°C at ∼900–970Ma on the basis of 40Ar/39Ar geochronology on amphibole and biotite. Structural and metamorphic characteristics of the Mauricie area are similar to those expected from a metamorphic core complex formed during post-convergence orogenic collapse in a gravity-driven fixed-boundary mode. The Mékinac-Taureau and Shawinigan domains were thus probably exhumed by a similar process, which supports the orogenic collapse model recently proposed to explain the exhumation of mid-crustal metamorphic core complexes in the Grenville Province.

Tectonic inversion of an asymmetric graben: Insights from a combined field and gravity survey in the Sorbas basin

The formation of sedimentary basins in the Alboran domain is associated with the exhumation of metamorphic core complexes over a ca. 15 Ma period through a transition from regional late-orogenic extension to compression. An integrated study coupling field analysis and gravity data acquisition was performed in the Sorbas basin in the southeastern Betic Cordillera. Detailed field observations revealed for the first time that extensional tectonics occurred before shortening in this basin. Two extensional events were recorded with NW-SE to N-S and NE-SW kinematics respectively; the first of which being likely responsible for the basin initiation. Tectonic inversion of the basin then occurred around 8 Ma in an overall ca. N-S shortening context. 2D-gravity sections reveal that the basin acted as an active depocenter as the basin floor locally exceeding 2 km-depth is characterized by a marked asymmetric architecture. Based on this integrated study, we explore a new evolutionary scenario which can be used as a basis for interpretations of the Neogene tectonic history of the southeastern Betics.

Adakitic magmatism in post-collisional setting: An example from the Early–Middle Eocene Magmatic Belt in Southern Bulgaria and Northern Greece

Post-collisional (56.0–40.4Ma) adakitic magmatism in the Rhodope Massif and the Kraishte region, including W. Srednogorie, in South Bulgaria followed the collision of the Rhodope and Pelagonian Massifs. It forms a 250km NW trending belt which continues into the 1000km long belt of Eocene magmatism in northern Turkey and Iran. The rocks are represented by felsic subvolcanic dykes and sills in the Kraishte and plutons in the Rhodopes. Here, we synthesize new chemical (whole-rock major and trace elements, and Sr and Nd isotopes) and LA–ICP/MS mineral and U–Pb zircon age data along with published similar data in order to constrain the genesis of this magmatism and the early Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the central Balkan Peninsula. The rocks display typical subduction-related characteristics with enrichment in LILE and LREE and depletion in HFSE (Nb, Ta and Ti). In the Kraishte and western Srednogorie Zones these are calc-alkaline to high-K calc-alkaline rhyolites, displaying a typical adakitic signature, i.e. high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios. The studied Rhodope Massif rocks are predominantly high-K calc-alkaline and subordinate calc-alkaline granites and granodiorites with a minor amount of tonalites. Petrographically, they are H2O- and accessory-rich (allanite, epidote, titanite, apatite) rocks, showing geochemical affinities from non-adakitic tonalites and mafic granodiorites to adakitic granodiorites and granites. Similarity of Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of the Kraishte subvolcanic and Rhodope intrusive adakitic rocks with the neighboring and coeval NW Anatolian basaltic to dacitic volcanics and plutons suggests that the most likely source for the South Bulgarian adakitic rocks is the subduction-enriched depleted lithospheric mantle. The nearby and contemporaneous East Serbian alkaline basalts are isotopically and compositionally different and, probably, originate from an OIB-like mantle source. Subsequent fractionation within an isotopically similar lower or middle crust in the Kraishte and interaction with the mid- to lower part of collision- and underplating-induced thickened crust in the Rhodopes can explain their isotopic variations. Transition from non-adakitic tonalites and granodiorites into adakitic granodiorites and granites in the Rhodopes was developed in response to amphibole fractionation accompanied by trace-element rich accessory minerals. Data from the literature show that the adakitic signature of the Early–Middle Eocene rocks disappeared in the following Late Eocene–Early Oligocene (35–26Ma) magmatic episode. Our interpretation is that adakitic magmatism is related to a deep (>250km) slab break-off, followed by asthenospheric upwelling, heating, fast exhumation and formation of core complexes in the Rhodopes and Kraishte in the interval 42–35Ma. The process was followed by thinning of the crust, orogenic collapse, steep faulting and extensional magmatism.

Thermomechanics of an extensional shear zone, Raft River metamorphic core complex, NW Utah

A detailed structural and microstructural analysis of the Miocene Raft River detachment shear zone (NW Utah) provides insight into the thermomechanical evolution of the continental crust during extension associated with the exhumation of metamorphic core complexes. Combined microstructural, electron backscattered diffraction, strain, and vorticity analysis of the very well exposed quartzite mylonite show an increase in intensity of the rock fabrics from west to east, along the transport direction, compatible with observed finite strain markers and a model of ``necking'' of the shear zone. Microstructural evidence (quartz microstructures and deformation lamellae) suggests that the detachment shear zone evolved at its peak strength, close to the dislocation creep/exponential creep transition, where meteoric fluids played an important role on strain hardening, embrittlement, and eventually seismic failure.Empirically calibrated paleopiezometers based on quartz recrystallized grain size and deformation lamellae spacing show very similar results, indicate that the shear zone developed under stress ranging from 40 MPa to 60 MPa. Using a quartzite dislocation creep flow law we further estimate that the detachment shear zone quartzite mylonite developed at a strain rates between 10−12 and 10−14 s−1. We suggest that a compressed geothermal gradient across this detachment, which was produced by a combination of ductile shearing, heat advection, and cooling by meteoric fluids, may have triggered mechanical instabilities and strongly influenced the rheology of the detachment shear zone.

Continental and oceanic core complexes

Core-complex formation driven by lithospheric extension is a first-order process of heat and mass transfer in the Earth. Core-complex structures have been recognized in the continents, at slow- and ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges, and at continental rifted margins; in each of these settings, extension has driven the exhumation of deep crust and/or upper mantle. The style of extension and the magnitude of core-complex exhumation are determined fundamentally by rheology: (1) Coupling between brittle and ductile layers regulates fault patterns in the brittle layer; and (2) viscosity of the flowing layer is controlled dominantly by the synextension geotherm and the presence or absence of melt. The pressure-temperature-time-fluid-deformation history of core complexes, investigated via field- and modeling-based studies, reveals the magnitude, rate, and mechanisms of advection of heat and material from deep to shallow levels, as well as the consequences for the chemical and physical evolution of the lithosphere, including the role of core-complex development in crustal differentiation, global element cycles, and ore formation. In this review, we provide a survey of ∼40 yr of core-complex literature, discuss processes and questions relevant to the formation and evolution of core complexes in continental and oceanic settings, highlight the significance of core complexes for lithosphere dynamics, and propose a few possible directions for future research.

Miocene core complex development and coeval supradetachment basin evolution of Paros, Greece, insights from (U–Th)/He thermochronometry

The Aegean region of Greece hosts a series of crustal-scale extensional detachment systems that have accommodated the southward retreating Hellenic subduction zone. Extension has overprinted and dissected the Alpine nappe pile and locally exhumed Cordilleran-type metamorphic core complexes. On the island of Paros, a low-angle extensional detachment fault separates metamorphic footwall rocks from an unmetamorphosed sedimentary succession of the hanging wall. Basement orthogneisses were extensionally sheared in the footwall of the detachment until after 16Ma (zircon U–Pb age of a slightly deformed granite), but pervasive ductile deformation had ceased by 7Ma (zircon U–Pb age of an undeformed rhyolite dike that intrudes gneisses). Apatite and zircon (U–Th)/He ages from the gneisses confirm a period of cooling at rates >100°C/Ma from 16 to 7Ma. In the upper-plate, the basal sedimentary unit yields reset detrital apatite (U–Th)/He (DAHe) ages from 17 to 7Ma and detrital zircon (U–Th)/He (DZHe) ages ranging from 270 to 18Ma. DAHe ages from the stratigraphically higher fanglomerate units are reset to 10–7Ma. The DZHe data have a primary thermal signature of 12–7Ma, but preserve ages up to 113Ma. The uppermost conglomerates exhibit completely reset DAHe ages of 15–9Ma and reset DZHe ages from 10 to 8Ma, with DZHe ages up to 104Ma. Reset DAHe ages indicate late exposure of the footwall and constrain the depositional age of most sedimentary rocks on Paros to be from 14 to 7Ma. Unreset DZHe ages preserve thermal signatures from the major Mesozoic–Tertiary tectonic events in the Aegean Region: [1] Cretaceous Pelagonian-type metamorphism; [2] Eocene peak HP metamorphism; and [3] Miocene Barrovian overprinting. Preservation of these signatures indicates long-term upper-plate recycling prior to syn-extensional deposition. The Paros supradetachment basin represents a classic inverted unroofing sequence deposited during progressive core complex exhumation in the Middle to Late Miocene.

Giant Mesozoic gold provinces related to the destruction of the North China craton

Lode gold deposits in Precambrian cratons represent the world's major gold source and were mostly generated during formation and stabilization of the cratons. However, there is an extraordinary exception in the North China craton (NCC), where lode gold deposits formed after prolonged stabilization of the craton. Molybdenite Re–Os and hydrothermal sericite and biotite 40Ar/39Ar dating of major gold deposits from the Xiaoqinling district, southern NCC, bracket their emplacement in the range of 154.1±1.1 to 118.9±1.2Ma (n=23), postdating formation of the craton by more than 1.7 billion years. Fluid inclusions extracted from gold-bearing pyrite have elevated 3He/4He ratios (1.52–0.22Ra) and mantle-like Ne isotopes (20Ne/22Ne=10.02−9.22 and 21Ne/22Ne=0.033−0.027), indicating presence of mantle-derived fluids in the ore system. Measured δ34S of pyrite and δD and δ18O of hydrothermal micas and fluid inclusion waters in auriferous quartz further confirm a magmatic/mantle source for sulfur and ore fluids. Gold deposits of similar ages also widely occur in the eastern and northern margins of the NCC, which, together with those in the Xiaoqinling district, have a total reserve of ∼2500t gold, forming the only known giant late Mesozoic gold province in the world's Precambrian cratons. These deposits formed coevally with extensive felsic to mafic magmatism, development of intracontinental rift basins, and exhumation of metamorphic core complexes across the eastern NCC, events interpreted as indicating thinning and destruction of the lithosphere beneath the craton. Rising of asthenosphere coupled with destruction of the lithosphere has generated voluminous mafic and felsic magmas that provided sufficient fluids, sulfur and, by inference, other ore components to form the giant gold provinces.

Tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Wadi Hafafit Culmination (central Eastern Desert, Egypt): implication for Neoproterozoic core complex exhumation in NE Africa

The Neoproterozoic rock assemblages in the Wadi Hafafit Culmination (WHC) can be subdivided into two main units which are separated by the Nugrus Thrust. The structurally higher Nugrus unit is mainly composed of low grade micaschists, metavolcanic, serpentinites, and metagabbros. The overthrusted Hafafit unit forms the Hafafit domes and is composed of ortho- and para-gneisses associated with amphibolite and ultramafic rocks. Mineral chemistry and thermobarometry indicate that the WHC was affected by two main metamorphic phases. The first metamorphic phase (M1), observed in the micaschists of the Nugrus unit, is characterized by greenschist-facies conditions. Garnet-biotite and garnet-muscovite geothermometry, as well as temperatures calculated by means of the TWEEQU program yield temperatures of 400°-550°C, whereas the white mica geobarometer reveals pressure of 3.7-4.9 kbar for this metamorphic phase (M1). The second metamorphic phase (M2), observed in gneisses and amphibolites of the Hafafit unit, is characterized by amphibolite-facies conditions. Garnet-biotite, garnet-amphibole and amphibole-plagioclase geothermometry yield temperatures of 600°-750°C, whereas the garnet-hornblende-plagioclase-quartz geobarometer indicates pressures of 6-8 kbar for the second metamorphic phase (M2). Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr whole rock-mineral isochron ages around 590 Ma for gneisses and amphibolites probably represent cooling from the metamorphic thermal peak which was attained around 600 Ma or slightly earlier. A 3-stage geologic evolution model is proposed for the tectonic evolution of the WHC. The first stage started earlier than 680 Ma ago with rifting and ocean floor spreading at a time which is as yet unspecified. It was followed by a second stage of subduction and emplacement of subduction-related granitoids around 620-640 Ma. At this time, the Hafafit region has become an active margin with the production of large amounts of calc-alkaline subduction-related volcanic and plutonic sequences. Subduction was terminated by collision and NW-ward Nugrus Nappe thrusting under greenschist-facies conditions (M1) around 620-640 Ma. At this stage, rocks of Hafafit unit were subjected to intense deformation and metamorphism in amphibolite facies (M2). Next came the third stage of late-orogenic extension and crustal thinning that was controlled by the Najd transform faults (620-580 my) and that resulted in exhumation of the Hafafit domes through a combination of transpression and lateral extrusion.

Cooling history of the Chapedony metamorphic core complex, Central Iran: Implications for the Eurasia–Arabia collision

New apatite and zircon (U–Th)/He thermochronometry is used to constrain the late-stage cooling history of the Chapedony metamorphic core complex in the Saghand region of Central Iran, providing new constraints on the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of this segment of the Euro–Arabian collision zone. Zircon and apatite He ages from the footwall indicate that it cooled to near-surface temperatures by 30Ma. Combined with previous high temperature thermochronology, the new data require that the Chapedony metamorphic core complex cooled from ~750°C to ~60°C in less than 20million years (at ~80°C/Myr). Cooling of the complex occurred through tectonic exhumation at a rate of 1.2–1.5km/Myr. Exhumation of the core complex occurred during the main phase of subduction of the distal Arabian margin beneath the Central Iranian Plate at 49 to 30Ma. Zircon He ages from the hangingwall units of the complex suggest an earlier pulse of exhumation in Middle–Late Cretaceous. Apatite He ages from the hangingwall (22–30Ma) are significantly younger than the core complex exhumation but is consistent with the regional timing of initial Eurasia–Arabia collision.

Alteration of the Oceanic Lower Crust at a Slow-spreading Axis: Insight from Vein-related Zoned Halos in Olivine Gabbro from Atlantis Massif, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Incipient-stage alteration products in relatively fresh oceanic gabbros from deep boreholes provide critical information on hydration processes in the oceanic lower crust and their effect on lithosphere dynamics.We present the results of a petrographic study on the alteration of olivine-bearing gabbroic rocks recovered from the deeper parts of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1309D in the Atlantis Massif near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 308N. In these rocks, alteration is localized in proximity to fluid-infiltration veins or igneous contacts. It is most conspicuous in halos surrounding amphiboleþ chlorite veins or leucocratic veins in olivine-bearing gabbros, where coronitic fringes of tremolite, chlorite and talc occur around discrete olivine grains. Many of the halos exhibit a zonal pattern with systematic changes in mineral assemblage, generally consisting of three zones: tremoliteþ chlorite around relict olivine^ plagioclase contacts; talc pseudomorphs after olivine; and tremolite pseudomorphs after olivine. The tremoliteþ chlorite assemblage appears in increasing amounts and talc grows unevenly with increasing thickness toward the veins.The alteration minerals have highly magnesian compositions, reflecting the compositions of the precursor igneous phases.Within the zone closest to the veins, green hornblende with a relatively high Al content occurs, showing textures suggestive of its later formation than the coronitic tremolite and chlorite. Considering the mode of occurrence and chemical composition of the minerals combined with thermodynamic calculations of silica and water activities in a simplified system, we conclude that the zoned halos were caused by metasomatism owing to protracted or sequential infiltration of hydrothermal fluids at amphibolite-facies conditions (450^7508C, 1·5^2 kbar). Textural relationships clearly indicate that zoned halos formed earlier than serpentinization and clay mineral formation, and suggest that the high-temperature, amphibolite-facies alteration took place in a near-axis region before the exhumation of the lower crustal rocks. Recent results of seafloor drilling have provided supporting evidence for the predominance of gabbroic rocks in oceanic core complexes.The similarity in mineral association between zoned halos and schistose fault rocks suggests that preferential formation of talc and/or chlorite, rather than serpentine, at contacts between gabbroic rocks and peridotite plays an essential role in detachment faulting and tectonic exhumation of oceanic core complexes from lower crustal levels.

Neoproterozoic structural evolution of SE Sinai, Egypt: II. Convergent tectonic history of the continental arc Kid Group

The Neoproterozoic Wadi Kid Group includes volcano-sedimentary sequences deposited in active continental margin back-arc, remnant arc and intra-arc settings. The ENE–WSW to E–W arc trend and arrangement of arc-related basins suggests subduction to the N or NNW. The four stage deformation history (events D1–D4) of the northern Wadi Kid area is described in the companion paper (part I). This contribution (part II) reveals three deformation events (D1–D3) in the southern Wadi Kid area. These three events can be correlated with D1–D3 in the northern Wadi Kid area, with differences in D1–D3 intensity and orientation patterns between the northern and southern areas. In the southern Wadi Kid area D1 probably involved NW-ward thrust stacking of beds with lesser folding effects. D2 structures include gently dipping foliation, semi-recumbent mesoscopic folds, and SSE-vergent thrust faults. D3 is a macroscopic folding event with mainly gentle upright WNW–ESE trending folds. The Quneia Diorite intruded syn-D2 and is also D3 affected. For the Wadi Kid area as a whole, recent workers interpreted D1 as the main crustal thickening event, followed by D2 gravitational collapse, regional extension and core complex exhumation. Our investigation finds both D1 and D2 to be folding and thrusting events (i.e. both convergent tectonic events) that emplaced high T schists in the north over the lower T arc metavolcanics in the south. The core complex and thrust tectonic interpreted models are both consistent with clockwise metamorphic P– T–t histories, however, they have distinct P– T–t–D diagrams.

The role of the Najd Fault System in the tectonic evolution of the Hammamat molasse sediments, Eastern Desert, Egypt

The Hammamat molasse sediments of the Eastern Desert of Egypt were deposited in isolated basins formed during an initial stage of orogen parallel N–S extension (650–580 Ma) in the Neoproterozoic time. Supply of sediments to the molasse basins began after the eruption of Dokhan volcanics (602–593 Ma), exhumation of core complexes (650–550 Ma), and intrusion of late tectonic granites (610–550 Ma). The late Neoproterozoic structures in the molasse sediments include: (1) NNW-directed thrusts due to NNW–SSE shortening (650–640 Ma), indicated by the presence of NE-, ENE-, and WSW-trending folds and NNW-directed thrusts. (2) SW- and NE-directed thrusts due to ENE–WSW constriction during oblique convergence and arc accretion at around 640–620 Ma. Many of the map- and mesoscopic-scale NW-trending folds in the core complexes, the molasse sediments, and the Neoproterozoic nappes in the Eastern Desert are related to this event. Sinistral shearing along the Najd Fault System (650–540 Ma) resulted in the development of subvertical foliation, subhorizontal stretching lineation, and NW-trending tight folds overprinting earlier folds. Stretched pebbles are oriented NW–SE and WNW–ESE in the molasse basins localized within the Najd Fault System, and NE–SW in the basins outside the influence zone of this NW-trending fault system. Strain estimated using pebbles from nine molasse basins indicate that the amount of strain differs from one basin to another and from one place to another within the same basin. Weak tectonic strain (Rs = 2.16–2.24) is obtained from post-orogenic basins; moderate strains are reported from foreland basins (Rs = 2.37–3.18), whereas moderate to high tectonic strains are recorded from the intermontane basins (Rs = 2.40–4.36). The obtained tectonic strain and K values indicate that the flattening strain prevails in the post-orogenic and foreland basins, whereas as both constrictional and flattening strains are recorded in intermontane basins. Strain variation from one basin to another and within the individual basin is attributed to presence of thrust and sinistral shear zones. Away from the deformed zones, the pebbles show no significant stretching. Two phases of thrusting and an episode of transpressional sinistral shearing are the latest structure features of the East African orogeny in the Arabian–Nubian Shield.

Cretaceous felsic volcanism in New Zealand and Lord Howe Rise (Zealandia) as a precursor to final Gondwana break-up

Abstract We report new, highly precise, U–Pb and Ar/Ar ages for seven Cretaceous rhyolites, tuffs and granites from across Zealandia spanning a 30 Ma period from arc magmatism to continental break-up. Combined with previously published data, these reveal a strong episodicity in Cretaceous silicic magmatism outside the Median Batholith. 112 Ma tuffs are known only from the Eastern Province in association with a Cretaceous normal fault system. Both 101 and 97 Ma groups of rhyolites and tuffs occur across the entire width and half the length of Zealandia from near the palaeotrench to the continental interior, indicating widespread and effectively instantaneous extension. We attribute an increase in A-type character with time (112–101–97–88–82 Ma) to the progressive thinning of the Zealandia continental crust whereby, with time, there is less opportunity for crustal contamination. Extension directions associated with 101, 97 and 82 Ma magmatism and associated core complex exhumation across Zealandia are all oriented c. 30° oblique to the margin. These observations suggest Zealandia rifting was controlled by either >83 Ma capture of Zealandia by the Pacific Plate and/or <83 Ma Zealandia–West Antarctica spreading, rather than by laterally migrating triple junctions, slab windows or plume heads.

Rapid exhumation and cooling of the Liaonan metamorphic core complex: Inferences from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology and implications for Late Mesozoic extension in the eastern North China Craton

The Liaonan metamorphic core complex formed during crustal extension in the Liaodong Peninsula, eastern North China craton, and consists of the Jinzhou detachment fault, Proterozoic–Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in its upper plate, and exhumed high-grade Archean metamorphic rocks and Early Cretaceous granitic plutons in the lower plate. Exhumation of its footwall from mid-crustal levels is evidenced in the detachment fault zone by the temporal transition from amphibolite facies mylonitization at depth, through retrograde chloritic shearing and brecciation, to brittle faulting during final uplift. The footwall mylonite zone is 2.5–3.5 km thick and includes Early Cretaceous (128–118 Ma) granitic rocks, together with older metamorphic rocks. The 40Ar/39Ar ages of muscovite, hornblende, biotite, and K-feldspar from the mylonitic rocks record that the core complex cooled between ca. 120 and 107 Ma, from the time of initial crystallization of zircons (122–118 Ma) at 700–800 °C in syntectonic leucocratic dikes and granitic rocks, to closure of argon diffusion in hornblende, micas, and K-feldspar at ∼500 to ∼200 °C. Throughout the eastern North China craton, the synchroneity of cooling and exhumation of metamorphic core complexes, the formation of pull-apart basins, and regional alkaline igneous activity, reflects regional extensional tectonics in the Early Cretaceous. This accompanied lithospheric thinning, possibly resulting from the rollback of the subducted Pacific plate along the eastern Asian margin during the Early Cretaceous.

Kinematics of the Southern Rhodope Core Complex (North Greece)

The Southern Rhodope Core Complex is a wide metamorphic dome exhumed in the northern Aegean as a result of large-scale extension from mid-Eocene to mid-Miocene times. Its roughly triangular shape is bordered on the SW by the Jurassic and Cretaceous metamorphic units of the Serbo-Macedonian in the Chalkidiki peninsula and on the N by the eclogite bearing gneisses of the Sideroneron massif. The main foliation of metamorphic rocks is flat lying up to 100 km core complex width. Most rocks display a stretching lineation trending NE–SW. The Kerdylion detachment zone located at the SW controlled the exhumation of the core complex from middle Eocene to mid-Oligocene. From late Oligocene to mid-Miocene exhumation is located inside the dome and is accompanied by the emplacement of the synkinematic plutons of Vrondou and Symvolon. Since late Miocene times, extensional basin sediments are deposited on top of the exhumed metamorphic and plutonic rocks and controlled by steep normal faults and flat-ramp-type structures. Evidence from Thassos Island is used to illustrate the sequence of deformation from stacking by thrusting of the metamorphic pile to ductile extension and finally to development of extensional Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary basin. Paleomagnetic data indicate that the core complex exhumation is controlled by a 30° dextral rotation of the Chalkidiki block. Extensional displacements are restored using a pole of rotation deduced from the curvature of stretching lineation trends at core complex scale. It is argued that the Rhodope Core Complex has recorded at least 120 km of extension in the North Aegean, since the last 40 My.

Lithospheric structure of the Aegean obtained from P and S receiver functions

Combined P and S receiver functions from seismograms of teleseismic events recorded at 65 temporary and permanent stations in the Aegean region are used to map the geometry of the subducted African and the overriding Aegean plates. We image the Moho of the subducting African plate at depths ranging from 40 km beneath southern Crete and the western Peloponnesus to 160 km beneath the volcanic arc and 220 km beneath northern Greece. However, the dip of the Moho of the subducting African plate is shallower beneath the Peloponnesus than beneath Crete and Rhodes and flattens out beneath the northern Aegean. Observed P‐to‐S conversions at stations located in the forearc indicate a reversed velocity contrast at the Moho boundary of the Aegean plate, whereas this boundary is observed as a normal velocity contrast by the S‐to‐P conversions. Our modeling suggests that the presence of a large amount of serpentinite (more than 30%) in the forearc mantle wedge, which generally occurs in the subduction zones, may be the reason for the reverse sign of the P‐to‐S conversion coefficient. Moho depths for the Aegean plate show that the southern part of the Aegean (crustal thickness of 20–22 km) has been strongly influenced by extension, while the northern Aegean Sea, which at present undergoes the highest crustal deformation, shows a relatively thicker crust (25–28 km). This may imply a recent initiation of the present kinematics in the Aegean. Western Greece (crustal thickness of 32–40 km) is unaffected by the recent extension but underwent crustal thickening during the Hellenides Mountains building event. The depths of the Aegean Moho beneath the margin of the Peloponnesus and Crete (25–28 and 25–33 km, respectively) show that these areas are also likely to be affected by the Aegean extension, even though the Cyclades (crustal thickness of 26–30 km) were not significantly involved in this episode. The Aegean lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (LAB) mapped with S receiver functions is about 150 km deep beneath mainland Greece, whereas the LAB of the subducted African plate dips from 100 km beneath Crete and the southern Aegean Sea to about 225 km under the volcanic arc. This implies a thickness of 60–65 km for the subducted African lithosphere, suggesting that the Aegean lithosphere was not significantly affected by the extensional process associated with the exhumation of metamorphic core complexes in the Cyclades.