Orthogneiss Samples Research Articles

Naturaliste Plateau, offshore Western Australia: A submarine window into Gondwana assembly and breakup

The origin of the submarine Naturaliste Plateau off the southwestern coast of Australia is controversial; previous work supports both oceanic and continental affinities for the basement to volcanic and sedimentary sequences. We report the first evidence of reworked Mesoproterozoic (ca. 1230–1190 Ma) continental crust, based on laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry analysis of zircons from granite and orthogneiss samples dredged from the southern margin of the plateau. Thermobarometry of peak metamorphic minerals and electron microprobe chemical dating of monazite reveal that these igneous rocks were metamorphosed to ~700 °C and ~6.5 kbar during the Cambrian Pinjarra Orogeny at ca. 515 Ma. These data confirm a continental origin for a significant swathe of the southern Naturaliste Plateau, and suggest that the protoliths may have affinities to Mesoproterozoic crust within the Albany-Fraser-Wilkes Orogen (Australia-Antarctica). The present Naturaliste Plateau basement beneath its volcanic carapace probably represents a middle-to lower-crustal extensional allochthon exhumed during Cretaceous hyperextensional breakup between Australia and Antarctica.

Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean gneiss complexes in northern Greenland: Palaeoproterozoic terrane assembly in the High Arctic

The Precambrian shield of northern Greenland has been investigated by SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of 14 orthogneisses and granitoids plus 5 metasediments, integrated with mapping by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland and whole-rock Nd isotopic studies. The Inglefield Mobile Belt is a tract of Palaeoproterozoic sedimentation, plutonism, polyphase deformation and high-grade metamorphism that underlies Inglefield Land and northern Prudhoe Land. In the southern part of the belt at 78°30′N, the E–W-trending Sunrise Pynt Straight Belt is a high-grade, but structurally late, shear zone with contrasts in the geology on either side. South of the Sunrise Pynt Straight Belt, ca. 1980 Ma diorites and tonalites were emplaced into older orthogneisses and metasediments. Detrital zircons from two metaquartzites (deposited on Archaean basement?) yielded complex age spectra from ca. 3250 Ma to 2350 Ma, with 2600–2450 Ma grains dominant. In associated mica schist, low Th/U, 1923 ± 8 Ma zircons date high-grade metamorphism. The most southern orthogneiss investigated (77°45′N) is Neoarchaean (ca. 2600 Ma), in agreement with previously published isotopic data. North of the Sunrise Pynt Straight Belt to 79°10′N an amphibolite–granulite-facies complex with extensive pelitic to psammitic paragneisses are the oldest rocks recognised. Two psammitic paragneisses yielded unrounded zircons with a unimodal detrital age population centred on 2000–1980 Ma. Their source could be ca. 1980 Ma orthogneisses from south of the Sunrise Pynt Straight Belt, or from basement inliers in the North-East Greenland Caledonian fold belt. The metasediments were intruded by tonalites and diorites with dates of 1949 ± 13 Ma and 1943 ± 11 Ma, and then by granitoids (free of zircon inherited from older rocks) with ages of 1924 ± 29 Ma to 1915 ± 19 Ma. The metasediments show development of low Th/U zircon overgrowths at ca. 1920 Ma, coeval with the granitoids. Finally, other granites, some locally transformed into gneisses, have ages of 1783 ± 22 Ma to 1741 ± 15 Ma. Inherited zircons in the latter are up to 2650 Ma old. A granite dyke with a zircon age of 1783 Ma has an T DM age of 2981 Ma and a strongly negative ɛ Nd at 1.78 Ga, indicating derivation by melting or reworking of Archaean crust. Thus, by 1800 Ma this juvenile Palaeoproterozoic terrane had probably overridden crust with Archaean components. North of Inglefield Land, Precambrian crystalline rocks are obscured until Victoria Fjord (81°30′N). One reconnaissance orthogneiss sample from there contains ca. 3400 Ma oscillatory-zoned zircons, which probably date the rock, rather than being a xenocrystic component in a younger rock. Thus, from north to south there is an assemblage of Archaean, Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean to early Palaeoproterozoic gneiss terranes. The Inglefield Mobile Belt is dominated by juvenile Palaeoproterozoic arc crust trapped between two unrelated blocks of Archaean crust of contrasting age. The collision, and probably thrusting of a Palaeoproterozoic arc over a southern Archaean foreland, occurred at ca. 1920 Ma—dated by metamorphic zircon. The new isotopic results consolidate the regional mapping of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic complexes across northern Baffin Bay that show continuity from Canada into Greenland, without displacement across the Nares Strait.

Neoproterozoic magmatism and Carboniferous high-grade metamorphism in the Sredna Gora Zone, Bulgaria: An extension of the Gondwana-derived Avalonian-Cadomian belt?

Numerous basement massifs within the Alpine-Carpathian Orogen record the Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic development of the southern margin of Europe. This area is critical for adequate understanding of the interactions between the northern (i.e., Laurentia and Baltica) and southern (i.e., Gondwana) continents during this time, yet it is poorly known. We dated zircon by HR-SIMS from samples of basement rocks of the Sredna Gora Zone in central Bulgaria in order to shed light on the pre-Alpine tectonic development of this region. Analyses of magmatically zoned zircons from orthogneiss samples yield ages of 616.9 ± 9.5 and 595 ± 23 Ma, indicating Neoproterozoic emplacement ages for these units. These ages are very similar to the Neoproterozoic rocks that form the basement of Gondwana-derived terranes across North America and Europe. The position of the Sredna Gora Zone outboard of other Gondwana-derived terranes, along with the Late Neoproterozoic igneous emplacement age, lead us to suggest that the Sredna Gora Zone represents a continuation of the Gondwana-derived terranes that are presently positioned along the eastern end of Laurentia and the southwestern margin of Baltica. Zircons from a leucosome enclosed in migmatitic paragneisses contain ubiquitous, high-U, homogeneous metamorphic rims that yield an age of 336.5 ± 5.4 Ma. This age of metamorphism is indistinguishable from other published ages of Variscan metamorphism across Central and Western Europe. Cores of zircon grains in the leucosome have variable interior zoning patterns, and are interpreted as original detrital material in the parent sedimentary rock. HR-SIMS dating of these detrital cores yields several age populations at ∼500–700, 900–1100, 1900–2200, 2350, 2550, and 2700 Ma. The depositional age of the sedimentary rocks that were the parent to the migmatitic paragneisses is constrained between the Ordovician (youngest detrital age ∼500 Ma) and the Early Carboniferous (high-grade metamorphism at 336.5 ± 5.4 Ma). Collectively, these data suggest that both Gondwana-derived terranes and the Variscan Orogeny extend much farther eastward in southern Europe than has been previously recognized.

Crustal evolution and metamorphism in east-central Eritrea, south-east Arabian-Nubian Shield

The crust of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) was formed in oceanic settings in the Mozambique Ocean during the Neoproterozoic (c. 0.9–0.6 Ga). Convergence started to coalesce island arcs, closed the ocean, and continental collision followed (<c. 0.7 Ga). The investigated rocks of east-central Eritrea occupy a southeasterly position in the ANS. Mafic and felsic rocks from both the greenschist facies Bizen and amphibolite facies Ghedem sub-domains are calc-alkaline to tholeiitic with typical arc geochemical characteristics. The Nd and Sr isotopic composition of five felsic, mafic and metasedimentary gneisses from the Ghedem sub-domain are all highly juvenile ( ε Nd at 800 Ma: +4.9 to +7.2, and 87Sr/ 86Sr: 0.7027–7054). SIMS geochronology of two amphibolite-facies orthogneiss samples yielded ages of magmatically zoned zircon at 795 ± 14 and 818 ± 9 Ma. A few cores, indicating the presence of relatively older crust, yielded ages of maximum c. 890 Ma, and no metamorphic rims were observed. TIMS geochronology on monazite from an orthogneiss and a kyanite schist from the Ghedem sub-domain yielded 593 ± 5 and 587 ± 2.5 Ma, respectively, while rutile from the latter gave 565 ± 7 Ma. Metamorphic conditions in garnet-bearing kyanite schists from the Ghedem and Barka sub-domains in eastern and western Eritrea, respectively, were estimated using garnet–biotite–plagioclase–kyanite–quartz thermobarometry. Peak metamorphic conditions for the Ghedem sample was c. 700 °C and 8 kbar and for the Barka sample c. 600 °C and 9 kbar. The geochemistry and Nd–Sr isotopes of the east-central Eritrean rocks confirm a juvenile oceanic arc origin for the crust in this region, allowing only very small contributions from older crust. The c. 800 Ma igneous ages are typical for juvenile Eritrean and ANS crust. The peak amphibolite facies metamorphic conditions were reached during continental collision between east and west Gondwana, at c. 590 Ma in this area, while the c. 565 Ma rutile age represents cooling and exhumation through c. 400 °C and 3–4 kbar after collision.

Seismic velocities of granulite-facies xenoliths from Central Ireland: Implications for lower crustal composition and anisotropy

V p and V s values have been measured experimentally and calculated for granulite-facies lower crustal xenoliths from central Ireland close to the Caledonian Iapetus suture zone. The xenoliths are predominantly foliated and lineated metapelitic (garnet–sillimanite–K-feldspar) granulites. Their metapelitic composition is unusual compared with the mostly mafic composition of lower crustal xenoliths world-wide. Based on thermobarometry, the metapelitic xenoliths were entrained from depths of c. 20–25 ± 3.5 km and rare mafic granulites from depths of 31–33 ± 3.4 km. The xenoliths were emplaced during Lower Carboniferous volcanism and are considered to represent samples of the present day lower crust. V p values for the metapelitic granulites range between 6.26 and 7.99 km s − 1 with a mean value of 7.09 ± 0.4 km s − 1 . Psammite and granitic orthogneiss samples have calculated V p values of 6.51 and 6.23 km s − 1 , respectively. V s values for the metapelites are between 3.86 and 4.34 km s − 1 , with a mean value of 4.1 ± 0.15 km s − 1 . The psammite and orthogneiss have calculated V s values of 3.95 and 3.97 km s − 1 , respectively. The measured seismic velocities correlate with density and with modal mineralogy, especially the high content of sillimanite and garnet. V p anisotropy is between 0.15% and 13.97%, and a clear compositional control is evident, mainly in relation to sillimanite abundance. Overall V s anisotropy ranges from 1% to 11%. Poisson's ratio ( σ) lies between 0.25 and 0.35 for the metapelitic granulites, mainly reflecting a high V p value due to abundant sillimanite in the sample with the highest σ. Anisotropy is probably a function of deformation associated with the closure of the Iapetus ocean in the Silurian as well as later extension in the Devonian. The orientation of the bulk strain ellipsoid in the lower crust is difficult to constrain, but lineation is likely to be NE–SW, given the strike-slip nature of the late Caledonian and subsequent Acadian deformation. When corrected for present-day lower crustal temperature, the experimentally determined V p values correspond well with velocities from the ICSSP, COOLE I and VARNET seismic refraction lines. Near the xenolith localities, the COOLE I line displays two lower crustal layers with in situ V p values of 6.85–6.9 and 6.9–8.0 km s − 1 , respectively. The upper (lower velocity) layer corresponds well with the metapelitic granulite xenoliths while the lower (higher velocity) layer matches that of the basic granulite xenoliths, though their metamorphic pressures suggest derivation from depths corresponding to the present-day upper mantle.

Timing and duration of melting in the mid orogenic crust: Constraints from U–Pb (SHRIMP) data, Muskoka and Shawanaga domains, Grenville Province, Ontario

The Central Gneiss Belt in the Grenville Province, Ontario, exposes metaplutonic rocks, orthogneisses, and minor paragneisses that were deformed and metamorphosed at crustal depths of 20–35 km during the Mesoproterozoic Grenvillian orogeny. We present sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb zircon data from eight samples of migmatitic orthogneiss, granite, and pegmatite from the Muskoka and Shawanaga domains that constrain the age and duration of partial melting in the mid orogenic crust. Our results support earlier interpretations that the protoliths to these migmatitic orthogneisses formed at ca. 1450 Ma. Emplacement and crystallization of granite and pegmatite in the Shawanaga domain took place at ca. 1089 Ma, apparently coevally with deformation and high-grade metamorphism. Leucosomes in the Muskoka and Shawanaga domains yield ages of 1067 and 1047 Ma, respectively, interpreted as the ages of melt crystallization. The geochronological data and field observations suggest that melt was present at the mid-crustal level of the Grenville orogen during a significant part of its deformational history, probably at least 20–30 million years. By analogy with modern orogens, the amount and duration of melting observed in the Muskoka and Shawanaga domains may have had an impact on the orogenic evolution of the area.

Neoproterozoic and Cambro-Ordovician magmatism in the Variscan K?odzko Metamorphic Complex (West Sudetes, Poland): new insights from U/Pb zircon dating

The Klodzko Metamorphic Complex (KMC) in the Central Sudetes consists of meta-sedimentary and meta-igneous rocks metamorphosed under greenschist to amphibolite facies conditions. They are comprised in a number of separate tectonic units interpreted as thrust sheets. In contrast to other Lower Palaeozoic volcano-sedimentary successions in the Sudetes, the two uppermost units (the Orla-Gologlowy unit and the Klodzko Fortress unit) of the KMC contain meta-igneous rocks with supra-subduction zone affinities. The age of the KMC was previously assumed to be Early Palaeozoic–Devonian, based on biostratigraphic findings in the lowermost tectonic unit. Our geochronological study focused on the magmatic rocks from the two uppermost tectonic units, exposed in the SW part of the KMC. Two orthogneiss samples from the Orla-Gologlowy unit yielded ages of 500.4±3.1 and 500.2±4.9 Ma, interpreted to indicate the crystallization age of the granitic precursors. A plagioclase gneiss from the same tectonic unit, intimately interlayered with metagabbro, provided an upper intercept age of 590.1±7.2 Ma, which is interpreted as the time of igneous crystallization. From the topmost Klodzko Fortress unit, a metatuffite was studied, which contains a mixture of genetically different zircon grains. The youngest 207Pb/206Pb ages, which cluster at ca. 590-600 Ma, are interpreted to indicate the maximum depositional age for this metasediment. The results of this study are in accord with a model that suggests a nappe structure for the KMC, with a Middle Devonian succession at the base and Upper Proterozoic units at structurally higher levels. It is suggested here that the KMC represents a composite tectonic suture that juxtaposes elements of pre-Variscan basement, intruded by the Lower Ordovician granite, against a Middle Palaeozoic passive margin succession. The new ages, combined with the overall geochemical variation in the KMC, indicate the existence of rock assemblages representing a Gondwana active margin. The recognition of Neoproterozoic subduction-related magmatism provides additional arguments for the hypothesis that equivalents of the Tepla-Barrandian domain are exposed in the Central Sudetes.

Laser ablation ICPMS dating of zircons in Erzgebirge orthogneisses: evidence for Early Cambrian and Early Ordovician granitic plutonism in the western Bohemian Massif

U-Pb isotopic data obtained by laser ablation ICPMS analysis of nine zircons with centre to margin oscillatory growth zones from a K-feldspar-rich augen gneiss in the allochthonous Lower Crystalline Nappe of the Erzgebirge domain of the western part of the Bohemian Massif yield a concordia age of 524 ± 10 Ma (2 sigma). This Early Cambrian age represents the time of magmatic crystallization of the protolith of a representative, from near Měděnec, of the allochthonous “Red gneiss” whose igneous nature is shown by the presence of (deformed) xenoliths. Data from TIMS analysis of zircons with variable proportions of unzoned xenocrystic cores surrounded by oscillatory-zoned overgrowths point to magma derivation from upper Proterozoic, or older, rocks. Data obtained for five zircon grains from another “Red gneiss” in the Lower Crystalline Nappe (in the Klinovec anticline) plot below the concordia with the age of the one point that is near concordant being 519 ± 26 Ma (2 sigma). These data, together with internal features of the zircons, are consistent with Early Cambrian granitic plutonism also in this part of the Erzgebirge but with later Pb loss, possibly associated with considerable fluid movement during thrust nappe development. Another sample of a coarse-grained orthogneiss from the autochthonous St Catherine9s dome yielded a significantly younger Early Ordovician age of 480 ± 10 Ma (2 sigma) calculated from eight zircon analyses. However, three zircon grains from the same sample gave a significantly older near-concordant Late Proterozoic age of ca. 620 Ma. Provided that the age difference of ca . 40 Ma between orthogneisses from Měděnec - Klinovec and St Catherine9s dome holds also for other orthogneisses in the Erzgebirge, zircon U-Pb age data could be used to discriminate between allochthonous and autochthonous units in this region. The ca. 25 Ma difference between the Early Cambrian protolith age of the augen gneiss from near Měděnec determined by the laser ablation ICPMS technique and a previously reported older age of 550 ± 9 Ma for a nearby sample determined by the Pb-Pb evaporation technique is accounted for on the basis of the latter not being adequate for dating zircons with a small xenocrystic component. This study demonstrates the importance of high spatial resolution dating techniques, such as SHRIMP or laser ablation ICPMS, in dating zircons with complex growth history that are common in crustally-derived melts.

Two types of gneisses associated with eclogite at Shuanghe in the Dabie terrane: carbon isotope, zircon U–Pb dating and oxygen isotope

There are two types of gneisses, biotite paragneiss and granitic orthogneiss, to be closely associated with UHP eclogite at Shuanghe in the Dabie terrane. Both concentration and isotope composition of bulk carbon in apatite and host gneisses were determined by the EA-MS online technique. Structural carbonate within the apatite was detected by the XRD and FTIR techniques. Significant 13C-depletion was observed in the apatite with δ 13C values of −28.6‰ to −22.3‰ and the carbon concentrations of 0.70–4.98 wt.% CO 2 despite a large variation in δ 18O from −4.3‰ to +10.6‰ for these gneisses. There is significant heterogeneity in both δ 13C and δ 18O within the gneisses on the scale of several tens meters, pointing to the presence of secondary processes after the UHP metamorphism. Considerable amounts of carbonate carbon occur in some of the gneisses that were also depleted in 13C primarily, but subjected to overprint of 13C-rich CO 2-bearing fluid after the UHP metamorphism. The 13C-depleted carbon in the gneisses is interpreted to be inherited from their precursors that suffered meteoric–hydrothermal alteration before plate subduction. Both low δ 13C values and structural carbonate in the apatite suggest the presence of 13C-poor CO 2 in the UHP metamorphic fluid. The 13C-poor CO 2 is undoubtedly derived from oxidation of organic matter in the subsurface fluid during the prograde UHP metamorphism. Zircons from two samples of the granitic orthogneiss exhibit low δ 18O values of −4.1‰ to −1.1‰, demonstrating that its protolith was significantly depleted in 18O prior to magma crystallization. U–Pb discordia datings for the 18O-depleted zircons yield Neoproterozoic ages of 724–768 Ma for the protolith of the granitic orthogneiss, consistent with protolith ages of most eclogites and orthogneisses from the other regions in the Dabie–Sulu orogen. Therefore, the meteoric–hydrothermal alteration is directly dated to occur at mid-Neoproterozoic, and may be correlated with the Rodinia supercontinental breakup and the snowball Earth event. It is thus deduced that the igneous protolith of the granitic orthogneiss and some eclogites would intrude into the older sequences composing the sedimentary protoliths of the biotite paragneiss and some eclogites along the northern margin of the Yangtze plate at mid-Neoproterozoic, and drove local meteoric–hydrothermal circulation systems in which both 13C- and 18O-depleted fluid interacted with the protoliths of these UHP rocks now exposed in the Dabie terrane.

Mid to late Archaean (3.3–2.5 Ga) tonalitic crustal formation and high-grade metamorphism at Mt. Riiser-Larsen, Napier Complex, East Antarctica

Abstract The Archaean Napier Complex consists of felsic orthogneiss, mafic granulite and a variety of paragneisses metamorphosed in the granulite facies, in part at ultrahigh-temperature (UHT, >900 °C). Orthopyroxene-bearing felsic orthogneiss of tonalitic-granodioritic composition, the highly recrystallized Archaean tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) crust, is a major constituent of the complex, especially at Mt. Riiser-Larsen, which is located within the UHT region. Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb analyses of zircon grains from three different layers of orthopyroxene-bearing felsic orthogneiss were carried out. Two of the analyzed orthogneiss samples yield 3270±12 Ma and 3267±5 Ma concordia ages from igneous zircon cores. Another sample shows slightly scattered and discordant ages (∼3350 Ma) with a concordia age of 3073±12 Ma. These data suggest that the initial TTG crust of the Mt. Riiser-Larsen was formed at ∼3270 Ma, and perhaps at 3070 Ma. These ages are considerably younger than the formation of tonalitic crust at Mt. Sones, Gage Ridge, and at Fyfe Hills (3840–3770 Ma), but older than that at Proclamation Island (2980 Ma) and several other areas at ∼2840 Ma. Two of the orthogneiss samples yield subordinate 2850–2790 Ma zircon concordia ages that are considered to result from a high-grade metamorphic event, which may also relate to 2830 Ma granitic magmatism recorded in the area. Zircon grains from the three analyzed orthogneiss samples yield an intense 2520–2450 Ma age cluster that probably reflect the UHT metamorphic event in the area. The ca. 3300 Ma age for TTG magmatism and ca. 2500 Ma age for high-grade metamorphism are comparable to the events in South India, which is thought by some authors to have been continuous with the Napier Complex from the Mid Proterozoic until Gondwana break up.

Large-scale displacement along the Median Tectonic Line, Japan: evidence from SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating of granites and gneisses from the South Kitakami and paleo-Ryoke belts

In this paper we present new U–Pb zircon ages determined with Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) for nine plutonic rocks or orthogneisses and one paragneiss from the Higo and Maana belts (here referred to as the paleo-Ryoke belt) in southwest Japan, and the South Kitakami belt in northeast Japan. Both belts are Paleozoic–Mesozoic continental terranes discontinuously distributed along the Median Tectonic Line (MTL), and structurally lying on the Sambagawa belt in the Japanese Islands. Three groups of U–Pb zircon ages showing the timing of different magmatic events were determined for the plutonic rock or orthogneiss samples: ca. 500 Ma (Early Ordovician, two samples), a mean age of 292.0±12.4 Ma (Late Carboniferous–Early Permian, one sample) and ca. 110 Ma (Early Cretaceous, six samples). Furthermore, zircons with core–rim microstructures from a garnet–biotite–cordierite paragneiss in the Higo belt were also dated with SHRIMP. The cores yielded 2155–184 Ma inherited U–Pb ages (mostly varying between 330 and 184 Ma), while the rims yielded a mean age of 116.5±18.7 Ma (Early Cretaceous) U–Pb recrystallization ages comparable with the igneous ages, limiting the sedimentary age of the protolith to between Early–Middle Jurassic (ca. 180 Ma) and Early Cretaceous time. These SHRIMP U–Pb ages of plutonism, metamorphism and sedimentation, together with previously reported radiometric ages, have revealed a strong similarity in the tectonic histories of the paleo-Ryoke and South Kitakami and Abukuma belts, suggesting that these belts can be correlated. At present the paleo-Ryoke belt and the South Kitakami and Abukuma belts are separated by more than 1000 km. However, these belts may have originally comprised a continuous continental terrane that was later displaced and juxtaposed, together with the underlying Sambagawa belt, against the Ryoke belt by large-scale sinistral faulting along the MTL and associated major strike–slip faults during the Latest Cretaceous.

Sheeted intrusion of the synkinematic McDoogle pluton, Sierra Nevada, California

Field, microstructural, and geochronologic evidence indicates that the Late Cretaceous McDoogle pluton, located near the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada batholith, was emplaced as a subvertically sheeted complex into a steep reverse-sense shear zone. Evidence of internal subvertical sheeting includes abundant concordant wall-rock inclusions and screens that separate the pluton from adjacent Jurassic plutons, preservation of a ghost tectonostratigraphy in the distribution of the inclusions, and rare interphase contacts. The solid-state tectonic fabric in the wall rocks and the magmatic, submagmatic, and weak solid-state fabrics in the McDoogle pluton all are concordant and record northeast-southwest horizontal shortening, subvertical extension, and a significant component of northeast-side-up simple shear. Intrusive contacts generally are concordant with the fabrics but, where discordances occur, the wall-rock fabric invariably is truncated by the contact. However, late synkinematic emplacement of the McDoogle pluton is indicated by synintrusive boudinage of apophyses of the pluton and by the overall concordance of pluton fabrics including magmatic lineation. Zircon U-Pb isotope dates were obtained from the quartz monzodiorite central phase of the McDoogle pluton (94 ± 4 Ma), the mafic granodiorite border phase (94.8 ± 0.6 Ma), and an older hornblende granodiorite included in the central phase (97.6 ± 0.4 Ma). Granodiorite orthogneiss in the wall rock yielded a U-Pb zircon date of 164 +2.1/–6.8 Ma, which we interpret to be the crystallization age and which is indistinguishable from a new age of 164.5 ± 2.3 Ma for the Twin Lakes pluton. A U-Pb titanite date of 94.4 ± 0.9 Ma from the 164 Ma orthogneiss sample may reflect thermal effects of the intruding McDoogle pluton, synkinematic growth of titanite in the shear zone, or perhaps both. The age of the Sawmill Lake shear zone that hosts the McDoogle pluton is bracketed between 148 Ma, the age of the Independence dike swarm, and 92 Ma, the age of the Lamarck pluton that crosscuts both the McDoogle pluton and the shear-zone fabrics. Regional evidence suggests a shear-zone age younger than 110 Ma, but older deformation is possible. The predominance of horizontal shortening over transcurrent motion and an age older than 90 Ma exclude a direct relationship to the dextral Sierra Crest shear system, which has been proposed to pass near the study area. The location, age constraints, and kinematics of the shear zone are consistent with both the later stages of movement in the East Sierran thrust system and isostatic sinking of the arc magmatic complex into its substrate.

Ultrahigh-pressure mineral inclusions in zircons from gneissic core samples of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Site in eastern China

The Chinese drillhole CCSD-PP2 penetrated to a depth of 1028.28 m near Donghai in the southwestern Sulu terrane. Core samples consist mainly of para- and orthogneisses with minor intercalated layers of amphibolite and eclogite. Coesite and coesite-bearing ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) mineral assemblages were identified using Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis as inclusions in zircon separates from para- and orthogneiss samples. Matrix minerals in the coesite-bearing para- and orthogneiss samples are amphibolite-facies assemblages of quartz + feldspar + epidote + biotite ± amphibole ± garnet ± titanite. In most cases, zircons, however, preserve multi-stage assemblages in different domains; the parageneses and compositions of these included minerals yielded P-T paths consistent with those deduced previously from eclogite and garnet peridotite outcrops in Donghai. In generally, quartz inclusions were identified in zircon cores and rims, whereas coesite and other UHP mineral inclusions occur in the mantles (intermediate zircon growth zone between core and rim) of the same zircons. The occurrence of coesite inclusions in zircon indicates that eclogites together with their country rock gneisses experienced UHP metamorphism and retrogression. Coesite inclusions are ubiquitous in paragneiss and orthogneiss core samples in CCSD-PP2 drillhole and in outcrop samples from the southwestern Sulu terrane, indicating that coesite-bearing lithologies are widespread in the Sulu terrane, requiring subduction of a large terrane to mantle depths. Cathodoluminescence images of zircons from gneissic rocks display distinct zoning from core to rim, that can be genetically correlated with inherited (especially in the orthogneisses) or prograde, UHP, and retrograde mineral inclusion assemblages. These images reveal irregular zoning patterns and various thickness of cores, mantles, and rims. The abundance of inclusions complicates conventional U-Pb age dating, therefore the SHRIMP microspot U-Pb analyses are essential for protolith and metamorphic age dating.

Mineral inclusions in zircons of para- and orthogneiss from pre-pilot drillhole CCSD-PP1, Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project

The pre-pilot drillhole CCSD-PP1, Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD), with depth of 432 m, is located in the Donghai area in the southwestern Sulu terrane. The core samples are mainly comprised of paragneiss, orthogneiss and ultramafic rock with minor intercalated layers of eclogite and phengite-bearing kyanite quartzite. All analyzed paragneiss and orthogneiss samples were overprinted on amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphism. Coesite and coesite-bearing ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) mineral assemblages were identified by Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis as inclusions in zircons separated from paragneiss, eclogite and phengite-bearing kyanite quartzite samples. In the paragneiss samples, UHP mineral inclusion assemblages mainly consist of Coe+Omp+Grt+Phe, Coe+Jd+Phe+Ap preserved in the mantles (M) and rims (R) of zircons. These UHP mineral inclusion assemblages yield temperatures of 814–852 °C and pressures of ≥28 kbar, presenting the P– T condition of UHP peak metamorphism of these country rocks. According to the mineral inclusions and cathodoluminescence images of zircons, the orthogneisses can be divided into two types: UHP (OG1) and non-UHP (OG2). In OG1 orthogneisses, low-pressure mineral inclusion assemblage, mainly consisting of Qtz+Phe+Ab+Ksp+Ap, were identified in zircon cores (C), while coesite or coesite-bearing UHP mineral inclusions were identified in the mantles (M) and rims (R) of the same zircons. These features suggest that the OG1 orthogneisses, together with the paragneisses, phengite-bearing kyanite quartzite and eclogite experienced widespread UHP metamorphism in the Sulu terrane. However, in the zircons of OG2 orthogneiss samples, no UHP mineral inclusions were found. Inclusions mainly comprised Qtz+Phe+Ap and were identified in cores (C), mantles (M) and rims (R) of OG2 zircons; the cathdoluminescence images of all analyzed zircons showed clear zonings from cores to rims. These features indicate that the OG2 orthogneisses in pre-pilot drillhole CCSD-PP1 did not experience UHP metamorphism. Therefore, we should not rule out the possibility that some orthogneisses in Sulu terrane might represent relatively low-pressure granitic intrusives emplaced after the UHP event.

Monazite–xenotime thermochronometry: methodology and an example from the Nepalese Himalaya

Monazite–xenotime thermochronometry involves the integration of petrographic, geochronological, and geochemical techniques to explore the thermal evolution of igneous and metamorphic rocks containing these accessory minerals. The method is illustrated in this paper by application to an orthogneiss sample from the Everest region of the Nepalese Himalaya that contains leucogranitic segregations produced by in-situ anatexis. Observations of phase relationships and the internal structure of accessory minerals made using both transmitted light and electron microscopy revealed the existence of multiple generations of monazite and xenotime and guided microsampling efforts to isolate grain fragments of Himalayan (Tertiary) and pre-Himalayan age. Nearly concordant U–Pb isotopic ratios for 13 single monazite and xenotime grains ranged in age from 28.37 to 17.598 Ma, making determination of the timing of anatexis difficult without additional information. Presuming that monazite and xenotime were in equilibrium over that entire interval, temperatures estimated from the yttrium contents of dated monazites range from 677–535 °C. Only the highest temperatures are consistent with experimental constraints on the conditions necessary to produce anatectic melts of appropriate composition, implying that the ~25.4–24.8 Ma dates for the grains with high apparent equilibration temperatures provide the best estimates for the age of anatexis. Two monazite crystals yielded 207Pb/235U dates that are statistically indistinguishable from the 207Pb/235U dates of coexisting xenotime crystals, permitting the application of both quantitative Y-partitioning and semi-quantitative Nd-partitioning thermometers as a cross-check for internal consistency. One of these sub-populations of accessory minerals, with a mean 207Pb/235U date of 22.364±0.097 Ma, provides inconsistent Y-partitioning (641±39 °C) and Nd-partitioning (515–560 °C) temperatures. We suspect the discrepancy may be caused by the high Th concentration (6.12 wt% ThO2) in this subpopulation's monazite. The Y-partitioning thermometer was derived from experimental data for the (Ce, Y)PO4 binary and may be inappropriate for application to high-Th monazites. For the other subpopulation (mean 207Pb/235U date=22.11±0.22 Ma), the Y- and Nd-partitioning temperatures are indistinguishable: 535±49 and 525–550 °C, respectively. This consistency strongly suggests that the sample experienced a temperature of ~535 °C at 22.11 Ma. This finding is tectonically important because temperatures at higher structural levels were much higher (by ~100 °C) at the same time, lending support to earlier suggestions of a major structural discontinuity within the upper part of the Himalayan metamorphic core at this longitude. An additional finding of uncertain importance is that inherited monazite and xenotime yielded U–Pb discordia with indistinguishable upper intercept ages (465.5±8.7 and 470±11 Ma, respectively) and application of the Y-partitioning thermometer to the inherited monazites produced a restricted range of model temperatures averaging 470 °C. Whether or not these temperatures are geologically meaningful is unclear without independent corroboration of the assumption of equilibrium between the inherited monazites and xenotimes, but it appears that monazite–xenotime thermochronometry may be useful for "seeing through" high-grade metamorphism to extract temperature-time information about inherited mineral suites.

Zircon U-Pb dating of the metamorphic rocks of different grades from the southern part of the Dabie terrain in China

Zircon U-Pb dating was carried out for a number of the metamorphic rocks of different grades in the southern part of the Dabie terrain. They include regional orthogneisses and enclosed phyllite in South Dabie unit as well as schist and amphibolite in Susong metamorphic belt. The ages of one orthogneiss sample indicate an emplacement time of its protolith at Neoproterozoic (576±49Ma) and a metamorphic event at 245±33Ma. Ages of 400 to 500Ma were obtained for the samples of the orthogneiss and phyllite in South Dabie ultrahigh pressure terrain as well as schist and amphibolite in Susong metamorphic belt suggesting that these rocks were affected by a tectono-thermal event at Early Palaeozoic. This implies that the rocks were not subducted to mantle depths by plate subduction and did to suffer resetting of U-Pb isotopic system by ultrahigh pressure metamorphism at Triassic.

Evolution of Archean components in the Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogen, West Greenland

The Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogen in West Greenland is largely composed of variably reworked orthogneisses with Archean protolith ages and volumetrically subordinate amounts of Paleoproterozoic metamorphosed mafic and sedimentary rocks and calc-alkaline intrusions. The dominant components of the Archean orthogneisses of the orogen are weakly deformed to foliated granodioritic to tonalitic orthogneisses that include older, polycyclic mafic and intermediate gneisses. The orthogneisses appear to contain field evidence for two Archean migmatization events and are associated with Archean metasedimentary rocks. Samples of orthogneisses collected in a north-south transect across the orogen yield similar magmatic ages between 2.87 and 2.81 Ga, indicating that a fundamental Archean crustal boundary cannot be geochronologically identified within the orogen. Both pre–2.87 Ga gneissic inclusions and the 2.87–2.81 Ga magmatic suite were deformed and metamorphosed between 2.81 and 2.72 Ga, immediately after their emplacement. Tonalitic sheets cut at least one high-strain zone at 2.50 Ga, implying that these gneisses locally had a coherent structural grain prior to onset of the Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogeny. Undeformed 2.79 Ga granites in the northern Nagssugtoqidian foreland provide a northern limit for pervasive Late Archean and Nagssugtoqidian deformation and metamorphism. After the Archean deformation, granites were emplaced into both the Nagssugtoqidian orogen proper and the southern foreland between 2.72 and 2.70 Ga. Despite strong Late Archean and Paleoproterozoic reworking, the Archean basement to the Nagssugtoqidian orogen preserves clear evidence for a cycle of magmatism, sedimentation, deformation, metamorphism, and posttectonic magmatism that is similar to the sequence of events recorded at modern convergent margins (i.e., subduction-related juvenile tonalitic-granodioritic magmatism, collision with attendant deformation and metamorphism, and posttectonic granitoid magmatism). This growth by magmatic accretion may have built upon the older Archean core of southwestern Greenland to form a coherent North Atlantic craton by the end of the Archean, an evolution comparable to that of northeastern Laurentia and Scotland.

Metamorphic evolution, mineral chemistry and thermobarometry of schists and orthogneisses hosting ultra-high pressure eclogites in the Dabieshan of central China

As is typical of ultra-high pressure (UHP) terrains, the regional extent of the UHP terrain in the Dabieshan of central China is highly speculative, since the volume of eclogites and paragneisses preserving unequivocal evidence of coesite and/or diamond stability is very small. By contrast, the common garnet ( X Mn=0.18–0.45)–phengite (Si=3.2–3.35)–zoned epidote (Ps 38–97)–biotite–titanite–two feldspars–quartz assemblages in the more extensive orthogneisses have been previously thought to have formed under low P– T conditions of ca. 400±50°C at 4 kbar. However, certain orthogneiss samples preserve garnets with X Ca up to 0.50, rutile inclusions within titanite or epidote and relict phengite inclusions within epidote with Si contents p.f.u. of up to 3.49 — overlapping with the highest values (3.49–3.62) recorded for phengites in samples of undoubted UHP schists. These and other mineral composition features (such as A-site deficiencies in the highest Si phengites, Na in garnets linked to Y+Yb substitution and Al F Ti −1 O −1 substitution in titanites) are taken to be pointers towards the orthogneisses having experienced a similar metamorphic evolution to the associated UHP schists and eclogites. Re-evaluated garnet–phengite and garnet–biotite Fe/Mg exchange thermometry and calculated 5 rutile+3 grossular+2SiO 2+H 2O=5 titanite+2 zoisite equilibria indicate that the orthogneisses may indeed have followed a common subduction-related clockwise P– T path with the UHP paragneisses and eclogites through conditions of P max at ca. 690°C–715°C and 36 kbar to T max at ca. 710°C–755°C and 18 kbar, prior to extensive re-crystallisation and re-equilibration of these ductile orthogneisses at ca. 400°C–450°C and 6 kbar. The consequential conclusion, that it is no longer necessary to resort to models of tectonic juxtapositioning to explain the spatial association of these Dabieshan orthogneisses with undoubted UHP lithologies, has far-reaching implications for the interpretation of controversial gneiss–eclogite relationships in other UHP metamorphic terrains.

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of Grenville‐age events in the western part of the Musgrave Block, central Australia

Shrimp U–Pb zircon dating of structurally constrained felsic orthogneiss samples in the western Musgrave Block has been used to delineate discrete magmatic and metamorphic events at c.1300 and c.1200 Ma. The dating of pre‐D1 and post‐D1 felsic orthogneiss constrains D1 to have occurred at 1312±16 to 1324±4 Ma. This is the first geochronological study to identify such a metamorphic and deformation event in the Musgrave Block. D1 was accompanied by a major magmatic event involving the emplacement of voluminous felsic orthogneiss between 1296 and 1324 Ma. Zircon overgrowths on numerous igneous zircon cores give a consistent age of c.1200 Ma, reflecting zircon growth during a second high‐grade metamorphic event (D2). This c.1200 Ma metamorphic event was followed by the intrusion of a c.1190 Ma megacrystic granite. The c.1300 and c.1200 Ma events in the Musgrave Block can be tentatively correlated with metamorphic events in the Albany‐Fraser Orogen, and the Windmill Islands and Bunger Hills in east Antarctica. A major continuous Grenville‐age orogenic belt joining these areas may have represented a plate boundary between the pre‐Rodinian proto‐Australian continent and proto‐Antarctica during the formation of Rodinia in the Mesoproterozoic.

Structural relations and PbPb zircon ages for the Makuti gneisses: evidence for a crustal-scale Pan-African shear zone in the Zambezi Belt, northwest Zimbabwe

The Makuti Group of northwest Zimbabwe is composed of mafic and intermediate biotite-rich gneisses interlayered with quartzofeldspathic gneisses of granitic composition, and minor sedimentary units. The gneisses have experienced a multi-staged metamorphic history, including an early high temperature-high pressure event and subsequent reworking at upper- to mid-amphibolite-facies conditions. They are positioned along the strongly deformed, southern margin of the east-west trending Zambezi Belt, and have been correlated with supracrustal gneiss units along the northern margin of the Zimbabwe Craton. The Makuti Group is characterised by an intensely developed gneissic layering and complex disharmonic folds that resulted from non-coaxial deformation involving repeated stages of transposition. The basal contact of the g roup coincides with a decrease in strain intensity, but not with a directional change of characteristic structural elements (e.g. lineations, fold axes), nor with a clear change in rock types. Pink quartzofeldspathic gneisses of granitic composition are typical for the Makuti Group, but locally intrude basement gneiss as well. The quartzofeldspathic gneisses occur as porphyritic and non-porphyritic varieties that are, invariably, intensely sheared. The age and nature of the basal contact of the Makuti Group and its relationship to the quartzofeldspathic gneisses has been investigated. Samples for single zircon PbPb dating were collected from a felsic biotite gneiss just below (2704 ± 0.3 Ma) and above (2510 ± 0.4 Ma) the lower contact of the Makuti Group at an ‘unconformity’ 2 km northwest of Vuti. Further samples were collected from pink quartzofeldspathic units at the base (737 ± 0.9 Ma), central part (764 ± 0.9 Ma; 797 ± 0.9 Ma) and top (794 ± 0.5 Ma; 854 ± 0.8 Ma) of the Makuti Group. Two samples of Kariba orthogneiss (1920 ± 0.4 and 1963 ± 0.4 Ma) underlying the Makuti Group in the northwest were also collected. In all samples, long-prismatic, colourless to brown, igneous zircon grains were selected. Dates were obtained using a stepwise single-grain evaporation technique. Although this technique only allows minimum age estimates, the dates are highly reproducible, indicating that they approximate emplacement ages. The ages conform with the field observations that the basement has been reworked in the Makuti Group and that the quartzofeldspathic units may have been emplaced as granites. It is proposed that the Makuti Group represents a crustal scale shear zone that partly reworked basement gneisses and acted as a conduit for granite emplacement. Shearing took place in an extensional setting around 800 Ma ago, and may have resulted in the exhumation of lower crustal rocks.