Pb Zircon Ages Research Articles

Geochronology, geochemistry and isotope systematics of a mafic–intermediate dyke complex in the İstanbul Zone. New constraints on the evolution of the Black Sea in NW Turkey

Abstract We report new U–Pb zircon ages, major and trace element data, mineral chemistry, and Sr–Nd isotopic analyses of the mafic–intermediate dykes and intrusions in the İstanbul Zone. Mafic dykes are represented by calc-alkaline to alkaline lamprophyre and diabase. Intermediate dykes and subvolcanics are andesitic to dacitic in composition and calc-alkaline in character, while intrusive rocks (stocks and small plutons) are granodioritic and dioritic in composition. New zircon U–Pb laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) dating yielded ages from 72.49 ± 0.79 (Upper Cretaceous–Campanian) to 65.44 ± 0.93 Ma (Lower Paleocene–Danian) for the intermediate dykes, and 58.9 ± 1.8 Ma (Upper Paleocene–Thanetian) for a small granodiorite stock. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (i) values of the mafic and intermediate dykes and small stocks span a range from 0.703508 to 0.706311, while their 143 Nd/ 144 Nd (i) values vary from 0.512614 to 0.512812 and eNd (i) values from 5.09 to 1.24. Nd TDM model ages range between 0.46 and 0.77 Ga. Dykes are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and light rare earth elements (LREEs) relative to high field strength elements (HFSEs). Normal-type mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB)-normalized multi-element spidergrams of the majority of the mafic and intermediate dykes display a clear subduction signature, except a subset, which cut the Palaeozoic of İstanbul and the upper part of the Upper Cretaceous volcanics in the north of İstanbul (i.e. feeder dykes of the Kısırkaya Formation) and show a clear ocean island basalt (OIB) signature indicating that the melts feeding the dyke system during the Upper Cretaceous–Paleocene period were derived from two contrasting mantle sources: (1) initially a lithospheric mantle modified by subducted slab-derived melts which sourced the magmas with a clear subduction signature; and (2) followed by an asthenospheric mantle from which basic magmas with OIB signature. Petrological models indicate the interaction of these two discrete magma series via magma-mixing processes. Geothermometric calculations based on the composition of amphiboles are in the range of 769–953 and 938–994°C. Geobarometric calculations indicate crystallization depths ranging over an interval between 3.0 and 20.2 km, implying a polybaric crystallization. The oxygen fugacity (logƒO 2 ) values vary between −10.10 and −13.07 bar in the dykes cutting the Upper Cretaceous volcanics, and from −8.71 to −10.33 bar in intermediate dykes cutting the İstanbul Palaeozoic unit. H 2 O melt contents change between 4.91–6.89 and 4.82–7.51%, respectively implying that the dykes were emplaced at mid to shallow crustal levels. Dyke complexes of the İstanbul zone are interpreted to have been emplaced in a rifted volcanic arc margin related to the opening of the Black Sea during the Late Cretaceous–Paleocene period.

Triassic age for a conglomerate clast in the Waipapa Terrane, North Island, New Zealand

ABSTRACTA granite clast in a local conglomerate horizon in Hunua Facies (Waipapa Terrane), metasedimentary rocks at Punaruku Stream, Northland, yields a U–Pb zircon age 229 ± 3 Ma, setting a maximum early Late Triassic depositional age for the succession.

Palynology and detrital zircon geochronology of the Carboniferous Fenestella Shale Formation of the Tethyan realm in Kashmir Himalaya: Implications for global correlation and floristic evolution

First palynological data, supplemented by detrital zircon U–Pb ages, from the Fenestella Shale Formation near the Gund Village in the Banihal area of Jammu and Kashmir State, India, provide new insights into the floristic evolution of Gondwana during the Late Palaeozoic, especially in India, from where the Carboniferous–Permian macro- and microfloral records are impoverished. We also present a first approach to the palynological correlation of the Carboniferous–Permian palynoassemblages described from the various Gondwana countries. The palynomorphs from the Fenestella Shale Formation are fairly well preserved and diversified and include 11 genera and 18 species. While the trilete spores and striate bisaccate pollen grains are scarce, monosaccate pollen taxa mainly – Parasaccites, Plicatipollenites and Potonieisporites are dominant. The assemblage is most similar to the Parasaccites korbaensis palynozone of the Lower Gondwana basins of the Indian peninsula and the Stage 2 palynozone of the late Carboniferous of east Australia. Besides, it is comparable with the known Carboniferous assemblages of Pakistan, Yemen and South America; Carboniferous-early Permian assemblages of South Africa and Permian assemblages of Antarctica. The sediment source of the siliciclastic shelf and delta deposits intercalated in the Fenestella Shale Formation is a hinterland in which Precambrian rocks dominantly were exposed and the Th–U ratios of detrital zircons suggest, that most rocks exposed on the erosion level in the hinterland had a felsic composition. The youngest U–Pb zircon age of the investigated fossiliferous strata is 329±16Ma (late Visean to early Serpukhovian), providing a maximum age of deposition of the studied succession. Based on the affinities of the palynofloral assemblage and earlier palaeontological records, a warm, temperate and arid climate has been inferred for the Fenestella Shale Formation.

A reworked Lake Zone margin: Chronological and geochemical constraints from the Ordovician arc-related basement of the Hovd Zone (western Mongolia)

The primary relationships and character of the boundaries between principal lithotectonic domains in the Mongolian tract of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) are still poorly constrained. This brings much uncertainty in understanding of the orogeny configuration and the complete accretionary history. The plutonic Khuurai Tsenkher Gol Complex and the mainly metasedimentary Bij Group represent associated medium- to high-grade basement complexes exposed in the Hovd Zone close to its boundary with the Lake Zone in western Mongolia. The Khuurai Tsenkher Gol Complex is composed of variously deformed acid to basic magmatic rocks intimately associated with the metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Bij Group.Results of our field work, new U–Pb zircon ages and whole-rock geochemical data suggest an existence of two separate magmatic events within the evolution of the Khuurai Tsenkher Gol Complex. Early to Mid-Ordovician (476±5Ma and 467±4Ma protoliths) normal- to high-K calc-alkaline orthogneisses, metadiorites and metagabbros predominate over Mid-Silurian (430±3Ma) tholeiitic–mildly alkaline quartz monzodiorites. Whereas the geochemical signature of the former suite unequivocally demonstrates its magmatic-arc origin, that of the latter quartz monzodiorite suggests an intra-plate setting. As shown by Sr–Nd isotopic data, the older arc-related magmas were derived from depleted mantle and/or were generated by partial melting of juvenile metabasic crust. Detrital zircon age populations of the metasedimentary rocks together with geochemical signatures of the associated amphibolites imply that the Bij Group was a volcano-sedimentary sequence, formed probably in the associated fore-arc wedge basin. Moreover, our data argue for an identical provenance of the Altai and Hovd domains, overall westward sediment transport during the Early Palaeozoic and the east-dipping subduction polarity. The obvious similarities of the Khuurai Tsenkher Gol Complex (Hovd Zone) with the neighbouring Togtokhinshil Complex (Lake Zone) suggest that both magmatic complexes originally belonged to the same magmatic arc, related to the Palaeo-Asian subduction system. The geodynamic cause of the later, within-plate magmatic pulse is unclear, but was probably still related to the effects of retreating subduction (slab window/ocean ridge subduction or back-arc lithosphere thinning). The Khuurai Tsenkher Gol Complex was subsequently separated from the western margin of the Lake Zone and imbricated into the Hovd Zone mélange. It is proposed that the Lake/Hovd zones boundary in the study area represents a younger deformation zone rather than a true terrane boundary/suture. This could be a general feature of the suture zones within this part of the CAOB.

Neoproterozoic complexes of the shelf cover of the Dzabkhan terrane basement in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

The formation stages of high-grade metamorphic complexes and the related granitoids of the Dzabkhan terrane basement are considered. The age data (U–Pb method, TIMS) of zircons from the trondhjemite block of the eastern part of the Dzabkhan terrane, which is directly overlain by the dolomite sequence of the Tsagaan Oloom Formation, are given. Trondhjemites yield the U–Pb zircon age of 862 ± 3 Ma. In their structural position, they are assigned to typical postmetamorphic formations that determine the formation and cratonization of rocks of the host block. The geochronological study of trondhjemites gives grounds to distinguish fragments of the continental crust in the Dzabkhan terrane basement, the formation of which occurred at different periods of time: ∼860 and ∼790 Ma. Geological–geochronological and Sm‒Nd isotope–geochemical studies indicate that the Dzabkhan terrane basement is not a single block of the Early Precambrian continental crust, but a composite terrane, comprising Neoproterozoic ensialic and island-arc structural and compositional complexes. Correlation of Sr isotopic characteristics with the 87Sr/86Sr variation curve in the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian seawater shows that carbonate deposits accumulated at the eastern margin of the Dzabkhan terrane near the end of the Neoproterozoic, 700–550 Ma, and in the central part of the terrane in the Early Cambrian, 540–530 Ma.

U–Pb zircon ages of the host rocks of the Juomasuo Au–Co–Cu deposit, northeastern Finland

U–Pb zircon ages of the host rocks of the Juomasuo Au–Co–Cu deposit, northeastern Finland

REE partition among zircon, orthopyroxene, amphibole and garnet in a high-grade metabasic system

AbstractA mafic amphibole-bearing granulite with porphyroblastic garnet was investigated to evaluate: (1) the rare earth element (REE) partition among garnet, zircon, orthopyroxene and amphibole during the metamorphic evolution; (2) the significance of the REE distribution along lobes and bights of reabsorbed garnet rim; and (3) REE distribution coefficient values (DREE) suggestive of chemical equilibrium, assuming garnet as a reference. The results have been compared with those deriving from an intermediate granulite containing porphyroblastic garnet, without amphibole. Porphyroblastic garnet from both samples is rimmed by a continuous corona formed during post-peak decompression characterized by REE-enriched lobes and REE-poor bights. The amphiboles from corona have various REE abundances, reflecting a different dissolution rate of original garnet rim. The initial slow rate of garnet dissolution caused high REE concentration in the new garnet rim due to intra-crystalline diffusion, leading to the formation of REE-poorer amphiboles in corona. Subsequently, under an increasing geothermal gradient and fluid-present conditions, the faster dissolution of garnet determined the formation of bights and the transfer of REEs towards the corona. The timing of garnet growth and its dissolution were checked by U–Pb zircon ages. The zircons dated from 339 Ma to 303 Ma in two rock types combined with the garnet domains (core, outer core, rim) show similar distribution of patterns relative to heavy rare earth elements for zircon and garnet (DHREEzrn/grt), suggesting chemical equilibrium. Zircons dated at c. 300 Ma do not appear in equilibrium with REE-rich garnet lobes, and younger zircons (278 Ma) show a new equilibrium with REE-poor garnet bights. On this basis, the DHREEamph/grt values obtained in specific textural sites might be interpreted as suggestive of equilibrium under granulite conditions.

Formation of the Eğrikar (Gümüşhane) Fe–Cu skarn type mineralization in NE Turkey: U–Pb zircon age, lithogeochemistry, mineral chemistry, fluid inclusion, and O-H-C-S isotopic compositions

The Eğrikar Fe–Cu skarn type mineralization is located approximately 100km NW of Gümüşhane in NE Turkey. Geochemical analyses of diorite, which is thought to cause skarn, indicate medium K calc-alkaline (1.3 to ~2.3wt% K2O), metaluminous to peraluminous (A/CNK=0.76 to 1.13) and resembles a continental arc granite. The age of U–Pb zircon obtained from diorite is 42.3±1.0Ma, which reflects the age of skarn metasomatism after intrusion into Late Cretaceous sandy carbonates. Skarn formation zones are recognized as endo- and exoskarn. The endoskarn zone mainly consists of pyroxene with hedenbergite (Di4.31–28.14Hd59.29–80.82Jo5.0–35.55) at prograde stage. Mn content of pyroxene increases a slight from endo to exoskarn. Pyroxene is replaced by epidote and hornblende at the retrograde stage. The exoskarn zone comprises garnet with andradite (Ad91-99Gr01–07) and grossular-andradite (Ad44-95Gr05–54), epidote and quartz as silicate minerals, and magnetite and hematite as ore minerals. Magnetite is the abundant ore mineral and is accompanied by chalcopyrite and minor pyrite at retrograde stage.On the basis of fluid inclusion values of minerals, the temperature range for hedenbergite in endo-exoskarn is 350°C–425°C, for epidote in exoskarn is 365°C–376°C, and for quartz in exoskarn 200°C–380°C. NaCl equivalent salinity for hedenbergite 6.88–10.73wt% and for quartz is 3.9–15.38 wt. The δ18O values of hedenbergite is 4.1 to 4.7‰ and for garnet 3.4‰ at prograde stage, for epidote 7.9–9.2‰, for magnetite 1 to 4.4‰, for hematite −2.9 to −1.6‰ and for quartz range between 8.5‰ and 15.2‰. The δ18O value of epidote suggests that oxygen is a magmatic fluid whereas hedenbergite, garnet, quartz and magnetite show the mixing of magmatic and meteoric fluids. In addition, the C isotope values (−3.2 to 2.8‰) of calcite and marble in Eğrikar Fe–Cu skarn reflect those of metamorphic, and skarns. Based on oxygen isotope data from mineral pairs, the retrograde skarn formation is characterized by epidote–magnetite assemblage formed at 255°C–438°C. Fluid oxygen isotope compositions of magnetite and epidote pairs of the exoskarn skarn zone indicate a mixing of magmatic and meteoric fluids with narrow δ18O values between 7.17‰ and 8.9‰. The δ34S values of the pyrites exhibit a narrow range of 3‰ and 4.4‰, thereby indicating that sulfur were probably leached from magmatic rocks.Based on the field and laboratory observation, mineral chemistries, fluid inclusion studies and isotope composition analysis, it is suggested that the Eğrikar Fe–Cu skarn mineralization occurs in a magmatic origin fluids being initially under reduced conditions, subsequently under oxidized conditions, and at shallow depth.

Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of early Palaeozoic igneous rocks of the western South Qilian Belt, central China

ABSTRACTEarly Palaeozoic granitoids in the South Qilian Belt, central China, record details of the tectonic evolution and crustal growth of the Qilian orogenic belt. Five representative granitoids from the western South Qilian Belt were sampled for zircon LA-ICPMS U–Pb dating, Lu–Hf isotopes, and whole-rock geochemical analyses. Zircon U–Pb dating of two porphyritic granodiorites and a porphyritic monzogranite yielded ages of 442.7 ± 3.5, 441.8 ± 4.3, and 435.4 ± 3.5 Ma, respectively. These granitoids exhibit a geochemical affinity to I-type granite, are metaluminous with a low aluminium saturation index (A/CNK = 0.75–1.15), have moderate Al2O3 and low MgO contents, high La/Yb and low Sr/Y ratios, and are depleted in Nb, Ta, P, and Ti, which suggests a subduction zone magmatic arc affinity, with mixing between a primary mantle-derived magma with lesser continental crustal material. The syenogranite and monzogranite from the South Qilian Belt, which yield U–Pb zircon ages of 440.4 ± 9.0 and 442.3 ± 1.2 Ma, respectively, have pronounced S-type geochemical affinities, are peraluminous with A/CNK values of 1.07–1.16, have relatively high SiO2, Al2O3, K2O, and Rb contents, low Y and Yb, low Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios, positive Th, U, and light Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies, and depletions in Nb, Ta, Sr, and Ti. Their geochemical signature suggests derivation from partial melting of continental crust in a syn-collisional setting. The Hf isotopic data of zircons from the granitoids show a significant input of Paleoproterozoic crust in the crustal formation of the western South Qilian Belt in Palaeozoic. Compare the εHf(t) value of S-type granite with that of I-type granite, the former may have a comparatively homogeneous source. Together with regional evidence, it is proposed that a collisional event occurred between the South Qilian Belt and the Central Qilian Belt at ca. 442–435 Ma.

Metavolcanics from Capo Malfatano, SW Sardinia, Italy: New insight on the age and nature of Ordovician volcanism in the Variscan foreland zone

The tectonic/stratigraphic interpretation of the Cambro–Ordovician rocks exposed in the south‐westernmost sectors of the Sardinia island (i.e., belonging to the Bithia Formation or Unit) is still a hot point of discussion. A debated question is also the age of the metavolcanics interbedded in these rocks. In order to provide a clear answer to this problem, in this paper, we provide new U–Pb zircon dating and a petrographic–geochemical comparison of metavolcanics interbedded within the Bithia Formation with similar Sardinian Ordovician calc‐alkaline rocks. The Bithia metavolcanics plot in the rhyodacite/rhyolite field. They show negative troughs for Nb and Ta, negative anomalies for Sr, P, and Ti, and positive peaks for Cs, Rb, K, Th, U, and Pb in the multielement diagram normalized to primitive mantle and significant LREE enrichment, marked negative Eu anomaly, and flat HREE patterns in the chondrite‐normalized REE diagram. Owing to these geochemical features, the Bithia metavolcanics plot in the volcanic arc and active continental margin fields closely resembling Middle‐Late Ordovician felsic metavolcanics from the Sarrabus, Gerrei, Goceano, and Mt. Grighini units. A new U–Pb zircon age of 462.1 ± 4.3 Ma yielded by a metavolcanic layer within the Bithia Formation at Capo Malfatano must be interpreted as the emplacement age. The CL and BSE images of zircon grains do not show any evidence of interaction with late hydrothermal fluids that could have caused Pb loss and rejuvenated ages, confirming the Middle‐Late Ordovician age of the metavolcanics.

Hot lherzolite exhumation, UHT migmatite formation, and acid volcanism driven by Miocene rollback of the Banda Arc, eastern Indonesia

The northern Banda Arc, eastern Indonesia, exposes upper mantle/lower crustal complexes comprising lherzolites and granulite facies migmatites of the ‘Kobipoto Complex’. Residual garnet–sillimanite granulites, which contain spinel+quartz inclusions within garnet, experienced ultrahigh-temperature (UHT; >900°C) conditions at 16Ma due to heat supplied by lherzolites exhumed during slab rollback in the Banda Arc. Here, we present U–Pb zircon ages and new whole-rock geochemical analyses that document a protracted history of high-T metamorphism, melting, and acid magmatism of a common sedimentary protolith. Detrital zircons from the Kobipoto Complex migmatites, with ages between 3.4Ga and 216Ma, show that their protolith was derived from both West Papua and the Archean of Western Australia, and that metamorphism of these rocks on Seram could not have occurred until the Late Triassic. Zircons within the granulites then experienced three subsequent episodes of growth – at 215–173Ma, 25–20Ma, and at c. 16Ma. The population of zircon rims with ages between 215 and 173Ma document significant metamorphic (±partial melting) events that we attribute to subduction beneath the Bird's Head peninsula and Sula Spur, which occurred until the Banda and Argo continental blocks were rifted from the NW Australian margin of Gondwana in the Late Jurassic (from c. 160Ma). Late Oligocene-Early Miocene collision between Australia (the Sula Spur) and SE Asia (northern Sulawesi) was then recorded by crystallisation of several 25–20Ma zircon rims. Thereafter, a large population of c. 16Ma zircon rims grew during subsequent and extensive Middle Miocene metamorphism and melting of the Kobipoto complex rocks beneath Seram under high- to ultrahigh-temperature (HT–UHT) conditions. Lherzolites located adjacent to the granulite-facies migmatites in central Seram equilibrated at 1280–1300°C upon their exhumation to 1GPa (~37km) depth, whereupon they supplied sufficient heat to have metamorphosed adjacent Kobipoto Complex migmatites under UHT conditions at 16Ma. Calculations suggesting slight (~10vol%) mantle melting are consistent with observations of minor gabbroic intrusions and scarce harzburgites. Subsequent extension during continued slab rollback exhumed both the lherzolites and adjacent granulite-facies migmatites beneath extensional detachment faults in western Seram at 6.0–5.5Ma, and on Ambon at 3.5Ma, as recorded by subsequent zircon growth and 40Ar/39Ar ages in these regions. Ambonites, cordierite- and garnet-bearing dacites sourced predominantly from melts generated in the Kobipoto Complex migmatites, were later erupted on Ambon from 3.0 to 1.9Ma.

The age of volcanic tuffs from the Upper Freshwater Molasse (North Alpine Foreland Basin) and their possible use for tephrostratigraphic correlations across Europe for the Middle Miocene

The Middle Miocene Upper Freshwater Molasse sediments represent the last cycle of clastic sedimentation during the evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin. They are characterized by small-scale lateral and temporal facies changes that make intra-basin stratigraphic correlations at regional scale difficult. This study provides new U–Pb zircon ages as well as revised 40Ar/39Ar data of volcanic ash horizons in the Upper Freshwater Molasse sediments from southern Germany and Switzerland. In a first and preliminary attempt, we propose their possible correlation to other European tephra deposits. The U–Pb zircon data of one Swiss (Bischofszell) and seven southern German (Zahling, Hachelstuhl, Laimering, Unterneul, Krumbad, Ponholz) tuff horizons indicate eruption ages between roughly 13.0 and 15.5 Ma. The stratigraphic position of the Unterneul and Laimering tuffs, bracketing the ejecta of the Ries impact (Brockhorizon), suggests that the Ries impact occurred between 14.93 and 15.00 Ma, thus assigning the event to the reversed chron C5Bn1r (15.032–14.870 Ma) which is in accordance with paleomagnetic evidence. We combine our data with published ages of tuff horizons from Italy, Switzerland, Bavaria, Styria, Hungary, and Romania to derive a preliminary tephrochronological scheme for the Middle Miocene in Central Europe in the age window from 13.2 to 15.5 Ma. The scheme is based on the current state of knowledge that the Carpathian–Pannonian volcanic field was the only area in the region producing explosive calc-alkaline felsic volcanism. This preliminary scheme will require verification by more high-quality ages complemented by isotopic, geochemical and paleomagnetic data.

Geochemistry, mineralogy, and zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopes in peraluminous A-type granite xenoliths in Pliocene–Pleistocene basalts of northern Pannonian Basin (Slovakia)

Anorogenic granite xenoliths occur in alkali basalts coeval with the Pliocene–Pleistocene continental rifting of the Pannonian Basin. Observed granite varieties include peraluminous, calcic to peralkalic, magnesian to ferroan types. Quartz and feldspars are dominant rock-forming minerals, accompanied by minor early ilmenite and late magnetite–ulvospinel. Zircon and Nb–U–REE minerals (oxycalciopyrochlore, fergusonite, columbite) are locally abundant accessory phases in calc-alkalic types. Absence of OH-bearing Fe, Mg-silicates and presence of single homogeneous feldspars (plagioclase in calcic types, anorthoclase in calc-alkalic types, ferrian Na-sanidine to anorthoclase in alkalic types) indicate water-deficient, hypersolvus crystallization conditions. Variable volumes of interstitial glass, absence of exsolutions, and lacking deuteric hydrothermal alteration and/or metamorphic/metasomatic overprint are diagnostic of rapid quenching from hypersolidus temperatures. U–Pb zircon ages determined in calcic and calc-alkalic granite xenoliths correspond to a time interval between 5.7 and 5.2 Ma. Positive eHf values (14.2 ± 3.9) in zircons from a 5.2-Ma-old calc-alkalic granite xenolith indicate mantle-derived magmas largely unaffected by the assimilation of crustal material. This is in accordance with abundances of diagnostic trace elements (Rb, Y, Nb, Ta), indicating A1-type, OIB-like source magmas. Increased accumulations of Nb–U–REE minerals in these granites indicate higher degree of the magmatic differentiation reflected in Rb-enrichment, contrasting with Ba-enrichment in barren xenoliths. Incipient charnockitization, i.e. orthopyroxene and ilmenite crystallization from interstitial silicate melt, was observed in many granite xenoliths. Thermodynamic modeling using pseudosections showed that the orthopyroxene growth may have been triggered by water exsolution from the melt during ascent of xenoliths in basaltic magma. Euhedral-to-skeletal orthopyroxene growth probably reflects contrasting ascent rates of basaltic magma with xenoliths, intermitted by the stagnation in various crustal levels at a <3 kbar pressure. The Tertiary suite of intra-plate, mantle-derived A1-type granites and syenites is geochemically distinct from pre-Tertiary, post-orogenic A2-type granites of the Carpatho–Pannonian region, which exhibit geochemical features diagnostic of crustal melting along continental margins.

Neoproterozoic magmatic flare-up along the N. margin of Gondwana: The Taknar complex, NE Iran

Magmatic “flare-ups” are common in continental arcs. The best-studied examples of such flare-ups are from Cretaceous and younger continental arcs, but a more ancient example is preserved in Late Ediacaran–Cambrian or Cadomian arcs that formed along the northern margin of Gondwana. In this paper, we report new trace-element, isotopic and geochronological data on ∼550 Ma magmatic rocks from the Taknar complex, NE Iran, and use this information to better understand episodes of flare-up, crustal thickening and magmatic periodicity in the Cadomian arcs of Iran and Anatolia. Igneous rocks in the Taknar complex include gabbros, diorites, and granitoids, which grade upward into a sequence of metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary rocks with interlayered rhyolites. Granodioritic dikes crosscut the Taknar gabbros and diorites. Gabbros are the oldest units and have zircon U–Pb ages of ca 556 Ma. Granites are younger and have U–Pb zircon ages of ca 552–547 Ma. Rhyolites are coeval with the granites, with U–Pb zircon ages of ∼551 Ma. Granodioritic dikes show two U–Pb zircon ages; ca 531 and 548 Ma. Geochemically, the Taknar igneous rocks have calc-alkaline signatures typical of continental arcs. Whole-rock Nd and zircon O–Hf isotopic data show that from Taknar igneous rocks were generated via mixing of juvenile magmas with older continental crust components at an active continental margin. Compiled geochronological and geochemical data from Iran and Anatolia allow identification of a Cadomian flare-up along northern Gondwana. The compiled U–Pb results from both magmatic and detrital zircons indicate the flare-up started ∼572 Ma and ended ∼528 Ma. The Cadomian flare-up was linked to strong crustal extension above a S-dipping subduction zone beneath northern Gondwana. The Iran–Anatolian Cadomian arc represents a site of crustal differentiation and stratification and involved older (Archean?) continental lower–middle crust, which has yet to be identified in situ, to form the continental nuclei of Anatolia and Iran. The Cadomian crust of Anatolia and Iran formed a single block “Cimmeria” that rifted away from northern Gondwana and was accreted to southern Eurasia in late Paleozoic time.

Geochemistry and U–Pb detrital zircon ages of late Permian to Early Triassic metamorphic rocks from northern Liaoning, North China: Evidence for the timing of final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

This paper reports LA–ICP–MS U–Pb zircon ages and geochemical data from the Zhaobeishan Formation on the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC). These data are used to better constrain the depositional age, provenance characteristics and tectonic evolution regarding particularly the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Major, trace, and rare earth element (REE) characteristics show that the Zhaobeishan Formation formed in an active continental margin environment. Clastic particles in the formation display varied provenance sources from basic to intermediate–acid arc igneous rocks. Twenty-two zircon rim analyses from a diopside granulite yield a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 245±2Ma (MSWD=3.2), which represents the timing of metamorphism, whilst 45 concordant zircon core analyses yield apparent ages of 257–2592Ma that fall into eight age populations. The depositional age of the Zhaobeishan Formation is constrained to be between 257 and 245Ma, based on the youngest concordant 206Pb/238U age of the zircon cores and the metamorphic age of zircon rims. The provenance of the formation is dominated by Paleozoic magmatic arcs of the northern margin of the NCC, with material also derived from the interior of the NCC and the Songliao Block (SLB). Mixed detrital zircons from the NCC and SLB, which were separated by the Paleo-Asian Ocean, indicate a short distance between the NCC and SLB, and a narrow ocean at the time of sedimentation. The Paleo-Asian Ocean still existed in the eastern segment of the CAOB during the late Permian to Early Triassic, and the metamorphic age (ca. 245Ma) of zircon rims in the diopside granulite sample may represent the timing of final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean.

A high‐Tmetamorphic complex derived from the high‐PSuo metamorphic complex in the Omuta district, northern Kyushu, southwest Japan

AbstractNew U–Pbages of zircons from migmatitic pelitic gneisses in the Omuta district, northern Kyushu, southwest Japan are presented. Metamorphic zonation from the Suo metamorphic complex to the gneisses suggests that the protolith of the gneisses was the Suo metamorphic complex. The zircon ages reveal the following: (i) a transformation took place from the high‐PSuo metamorphic complex to a high‐Tmetamorphic complex that includes the migmatitic pelitic gneisses; (ii) the detrital zircon cores in the Suo pelitic rocks have two main age components (ca1900–1800 Ma and 250 Ma), with some of the detrital zircon cores being supplied (being reworked) from a high‐grade metamorphic source; and (iii) one metamorphic zircon rim yields 105.1 ±5.3 Ma concordant age that represents the age of the high‐Tmetamorphism. The high‐Pto high‐Ttransformation of metamorphic complexes implies the seaward shift of a volcanic arc or a landward shift of the metamorphic complex from a trench to the sides of a volcanic arc in an arc–trench system during the Early Cretaceous. The Omuta district is located on the same geographical trend as the Ryoke plutono‐metamorphic complex, and our estimated age of the high‐Tmetamorphism is similar to that of the Ryoke plutono‐metamorphism in the Yanai district of western Chugoku. Therefore, the high‐Tmetamorphic complex possibly represents the western extension of the Ryoke plutono‐metamorphic complex. The protolith of the metamorphic rocks of the Ryoke plutono‐metamorphic complex was the Jurassic accretionary complex of the inner zone of southwest Japan. The high‐Pto high‐Ttransformation in the Omuta district also suggests that the geographic trend of the Jurassic accretionary complex was oblique to that of the mid‐Cretaceous high‐Tmetamorphic field.

U–Pb zircon geochronology of Cretaceous arc magmatism in eastern Chukotka, NE Russia, with implications for Pacific plate subduction and the opening of the Amerasia Basin

Abstract The tectonomagmatic evolution of eastern Chukotka, NE Russia, is important for refining the onset of Pacific plate subduction, understanding the development of the Amerasia Basin, and constraining Arctic tectonic reconstructions. Field mapping and strategic sample collection provide relative age constraints on subduction-related continental arc magmatism in eastern Chukotka. Ion microprobe U–Pb zircon ages provide absolute constraints and identify five magmatic episodes ( c. 134, 122, 105, 94 and 85 Ma) separated by three periods of uplift and erosion ( c. 122–105, 94–85 and post-85 Ma). Volcanic rocks in the region are less contaminated than their plutonic equivalents which record greater crustal assimilation. These data, combined with xenocrystic zircons, reflect the self-assimilation of a continental arc during its evolution. Proto-Pacific subduction initiated by c. 121 Ma and arc development occurred over c. 35–50 myr. Crustal growth was simultaneous with regional exhumation and crustal thinning across the Bering Strait region. Ocean–continent subduction in eastern Chukotka ended at c. 85 Ma. The timing of events in the region is roughly synchronous with the inferred opening of the Amerasia Basin. Simultaneous arc magmatism, extension and development of the Amerasia Basin within a back-arc basin setting best explain these coeval tectonic events.

100 kyr fluvial cut-and-fill terrace cycles since the Middle Pleistocene in the southern Central Andes, NW Argentina

Fluvial fill terraces in intermontane basins are valuable geomorphic archives that can record tectonically and/or climatically driven changes of the Earth-surface process system. However, often the preservation of fill terrace sequences is incomplete and/or they may form far away from their source areas, complicating the identification of causal links between forcing mechanisms and landscape response, especially over multi-millennial timescales. The intermontane Toro Basin in the southern Central Andes exhibits at least five generations of fluvial terraces that have been sculpted into several-hundred-meter-thick Quaternary valley-fill conglomerates. New surface-exposure dating using nine cosmogenic 10Be depth profiles reveals the successive abandonment of these terraces with a 100 kyr cyclicity between 75±7 and 487±34 ka. Depositional ages of the conglomerates, determined by four 26Al/10Be burial samples and U–Pb zircon ages of three intercalated volcanic ash beds, range from 18±141 to 936±170 ka, indicating that there were multiple cut-and-fill episodes. Although the initial onset of aggradation at ∼1 Ma and the overall net incision since ca. 500 ka can be linked to tectonic processes at the narrow basin outlet, the superimposed 100 kyr cycles of aggradation and incision are best explained by eccentricity-driven climate change. Within these cycles, the onset of river incision can be correlated with global cold periods and enhanced humid phases recorded in paleoclimate archives on the adjacent Bolivian Altiplano, whereas deposition occurred mainly during more arid phases on the Altiplano and global interglacial periods. We suggest that enhanced runoff during global cold phases – due to increased regional precipitation rates, reduced evapotranspiration, or both – resulted in an increased sediment-transport capacity in the Toro Basin, which outweighed any possible increases in upstream sediment supply and thus triggered incision. Compared with two nearby basins that record precessional (21-kyr) and long-eccentricity (400-kyr) forcing within sedimentary and geomorphic archives, the recorded cyclicity scales with the square of the drainage basin length.

Late Triassic adakite‐like volcanic rocks in Moguqi area in the central Great Xing'an Range, NE China: Implications for partial melting of delaminated thickened crust

Adakite‐like volcanic rocks in the Moguqi area of the central Great Xing'an Range of NE China consist of trachyandesites and trachydacites. These rocks yield LA–ICP–MS U–Pb zircon ages of 229.5–232.6 Ma. These adakite‐like rocks are high in Sr (459–1960 ppm) and MgO (1.2–4.3%), low in Y (11.4–23.70 ppm) and Yb (0.88–2.07 ppm), and have high Sr/Y ratios (37.17–146.31) and high Mg# values (0.43–0.58). These characteristics are similar to those of rocks derived from slab melting. However, the existence of Early Triassic stable continental sedimentary rocks of the Laolongtou Formation does not favour this mode of formation. The zircon εHf(t) values of the samples range from +8.09 to +13.29, indicating the primary magmas were generated by partial melting of juvenile crust. Analysis of geophysical data, combined with the previously published history of the Hegenshan–Heihe Suture in this region and the southward subduction of Mongol–Okhotsk oceanic plate, suggests that the Late Triassic adakite‐like volcanic rocks in the Xing'an Massif formed from the partial melting of delaminated thickened crust in an extensional setting. This occurred after orogenesis involving the Xing'an Massif and the Songnen Massif and was influenced by southward subduction of the Mongol–Okhotsk oceanic plate.

Petrochemical evolution of the White Mfolozi Granite pluton: Evidence for a late Palaeoarchaean A-type granite from the SE Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

One of the major limitations in understanding the geochemical evolution of the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa, is the scarcity of whole rock trace element data of the granitoid and other rocks compared to the vastness of this cratonic block. Here we present new XRF major oxide and ICP-MS trace element analyses of the White Mfolozi Granitoid (WMG) pluton, SE Kaapvaal Craton, which suggest that the ~3.25Ga (U–Pb zircon age) old WMG pluton is a peraluminous A-type granite and could be equivalent to the intrusive potassic granite phase of the Anhalt Granitoid suite, occurring to the North of the WMG pluton. The pluton was generated by batch partial melting of a pre-existing TTG source in two major phases under relatively anhydrous conditions, and the heat of partial melting could have been provided by a voluminous mantle-derived mafic magma, which intruded into mid-crustal levels (c. 17km), perhaps during a period of crustal extension. The estimated pressure and temperature of generation of the WMG parent magma with average molar [or/(or+ab)] ~0.48 could be ~500MPa and close to 1000°C, respectively, when compared with the results of experimental petrology. Interstitial occurrence of relatively iron-rich biotite [Mg/(Mg+Fe) ~0.41–0.45] suggests that the final temperature of crystallization of the pluton was close to 800°C. An important magmatic event following the main phase of partial melting was limited mixing between the intrusive mafic magma and co-existing newly generated granitic melt. This magma mixing resulted in distinct variations in SiO2 and a low initial Sr isotopic ratio (0.7013) of the WMG pluton. Although both the models of partial melting of quartzo-feldspathic sources and fractional crystallization of basaltic magmas with or without crustal assimilation have been proposed for the origin of A-type granites, the model of magmatic evolution of the WMG pluton presented here can also be an alternative model for the generation of A-type granites. In this model, post-partial melting magma mixing is perhaps critical in explaining the Daly gap in composition and extreme variations in chemical (e.g., SiO2) and isotopic compositions observed in many bimodal A-type granite suites. The emplacement of the oldest known A-type granitoid suite in the Kaapvaal Craton, the WMG pluton, marks a period of stabilization of the craton before erosion and deposition of the overlying volcano-sedimentary succession of the Pongola Supergroup.