Metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high-grade rocks from the central Mozambique Belt of Tanzania: crustal recycling of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material during the Pan-African orogeny

New data on the metamorphic petrology and zircon geochronology of high‐grade rocks in the central Mozambique Belt (MB) of Tanzania show that this part of the orogen consists of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was structurally reworked during the Pan‐African event. The metamorphic rocks are characterized by a clockwise P–T path, followed by strong decompression, and the time of peak granulite facies metamorphism is similar to other granulite terranes in Tanzania. The predominant rock types are mafic to intermediate granulites, migmatites, granitoid orthogneisses and kyanite/sillimanite‐bearing metapelites. The meta‐granitoid rocks are of calc‐alkaline composition, range in age from late Archean to Neoproterozoic, and their protoliths were probably derived from magmatic arcs during collisional processes. Mafic to intermediate granulites consist of the mineral assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–quartz–biotite–amphibole ± K‐feldspar ± orthopyroxene ± oxides. Metapelites are composed of garnet‐biotite‐plagioclase ± K‐feldspar ± kyanite/sillimanite ± oxides. Estimated values for peak granulite facies metamorphism are 12–13 kbar and 750–800 °C. Pressures of 5–8 kbar and temperatures of 550–700 °C characterize subsequent retrogression to amphibolite facies conditions. Evidence for a clockwise P–T path is provided by late growth of sillimanite after kyanite in metapelites. Zircon ages indicate that most of the central part of the MB in Tanzania consists of reworked ancient crust as shown by Archean (c. 2970–2500 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (c. 2124–1837 Ma) protolith ages. Metamorphic zircon from metapelites and granitoid orthogneisses yielded ages of c. 640 Ma which are considered to date peak regional granulite facies metamorphism during the Pan‐African orogenic event. However, the available zircon ages for the entire MB in East Africa and Madagascar also document that peak metamorphic conditions were reached at different times in different places. Large parts of the MB in central Tanzania consist of Archean and Palaeoproterozoic material that was reworked during the Pan‐African event and that may have been part of the Tanzania Craton and Usagaran domain farther to the west.     

Discovery of an albite gneiss from the Ile de Groix (Armorican Massif, France): geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology of its Ordovician protolith

For the first time, an albite orthogneiss has been recognised and dated within the HP–LT blueschist facies metabasites and metapelites of the Ile de Groix. It is characterised by a peraluminous composition, high LILE, Th and U contents, MORB-like HREE abundances and moderate Nb and Y values. A U–Pb age of 480.8?±?4.8?Ma was obtained by LA-ICP-MS dating of zircon and titanite. It is interpreted as the age of the magmatic emplacement during the Early Ordovician. Morphologically different zircon grains yield late Neoproterozoic ages of 546.6–647.4?Ma. Zircon and titanite U–Pb ages indicate that the felsic magmatism from the Ile de Groix is contemporaneous with the acid, pre-orogenic magmatism widely recognised in the internal zones of the Variscan belt, related to the Cambro-Ordovician continental rifting. The magmatic protolith probably inherited a specific chemical composition from a combination of orogenic, back-arc and anorogenic signatures because of partial melting of the Cadomian basement during magma emplacement. Besides, the late Devonian U–Pb age of 366?±?33?Ma obtained for titanite from a blueschist facies metapelite corresponds to the age of the HP–LT peak metamorphism.     

Detrital zircon geochronology and geochemistry of metasediments from the Vorontsovka terrane: implications for microcontinent tectonics

ABSTRACT

The Vorontsovka terrane (VT) is an important component of the East Sarmatian Orogen (ESO) which divides the Precambrian cores of the Sarmatian and Volgo-Uralia segments of the East European Craton (EEC). The tectonic framework of the VT remains controversial due to poor constraints from geochemical and geochronological studies. In this article we present detrital zircon U–Pb ages and geochemical features of the Precambrian meta-sedimentary rocks from the VT, which occur interlayered with calc-silicate rocks and metabasites. Most of the zircons from metasediments possess oscillatory zoning and high Th/U ratios (>0.2), indicating magmatic provenance. Their ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages cluster around 2093 ± 7, 2126 ± 7, 2158 ± 12, 2189 ± 16, and 2210 ± 31 Ma, correlating with the ages of magmatic zircon cores from the surrounding igneous suites, and reflecting a single tectono-magmatic cycle (~2200–2100 Ma) in the source area. Age of the youngest detrital zircon grain from the metasedimentary rocks and the cores of zircon grains from igneous suites show ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages at 2094 and 2106 Ma, respectively. Together with the largest age clusters of 2126 ± 7 and 2158 ± 12 Ma of the magmatic cores of the detrital zircons, the timing of sedimentation is inferred as ~ 2100–2170 Ma.

The metapelites display strong rare earth element fractionation with variable Eu anomalies ((La/Yb)_N = 7.0–14.5, Eu/Eu* = 0.49–1.23). In contrast, the calc-silicate rocks and metabasites lack Eu anomalies ((La/Yb)_N = 5.2–11.5, Eu/Eu* = 0.87–1.00). The large-ion lithophile (LILE) and high field strength element (HFSE) concentrations of most samples are comparable with those of the upper continental crust (UCC). The rocks possess negative anomalies of Th, Nb, Sr, and Zr relative to UCC. Their high Index of Compositional Variability (0.85–1.32, up to 1.8 in metabasites) and relatively low Chemical Index of Alteration (46.1–70.4) indicate that the metapelitic sediments were immature to weakly immature and probably underwent minor chemical weathering. The protoliths of the metabasites are interpreted as interlayered volcano-sedimentary and pyroclastic material. Relict clastic textures of the VT rocks, their geochemical features, and the grain morphology of detrital zircons suggest that the sediments were derived from intermediate and felsic provenances, which were most likely deposited in an environment with active volcanism. We envisage an active continental margin setting in the southwestern part of the Volgo-Uralia segment of the EEC related to the assembly of the Palaeoproterozoic Columbia supercontinent. Combined with recent data from surrounding terranes of the ESO, our results suggest that the VT represents an accretionary prism along a continental arc within the Sarmatia and Volgo-Uralia oceanic realm in the Palaeoproterozoic.     

An extended episode of early Mesoproterozoic metamorphic fluid flow in the Reynolds Range,central Australia*

ABSTRACT The products of metamorphic fluid flow are preserved in zones within the marbles and metamorphosed semipelites of the Upper Calcsilicate Unit in the granulite portion of the Late Palaeoproterozoic Reynolds Range Group, northern Arunta Block, central Australia. The zones of retrogression, characterized by minerals such as wollastonite, grossular and clinohumite, local resetting of oxygen isotopic compositions and local major element metasomatism, were channelways for water-rich fluids derived from granulite facies metapelites. U–Th–Pb isotopic ages measured by the SHRIMP ion microprobe on zircon and monazite from a granulite facies semipelite, an early semiconcordant aluminous quartz-rich fluid-flow segregation and a late discordant quartz-rich segregation record some of the extended thermal history of the area. Zircon cores from the semipelite show its likely protolith to be an igneous rock 1812 ± 11 Ma old, itself derived from a source containing zircon as old as 2.2 Ga. Low-Th/U overgrowths on the zircon grew during granulite facies metamorphism at 1594 ± 6 Ma. Monazite cooled to its blocking temperature at 1576 ± 8 Ma. Zircon cores from the semiconcordant segregation are dominantly >2.3 Ga old, indicating that the source of the fluids was not the particular metamorphosed semipelite studied. Two generations of low-Th/U overgrowths on the zircon give indistinguishable ages for the older and younger of 1589 ± 8 and 1582 ± 8 Ma, respectively. The monazite age is the same, 1576 ± 12 Ma. Zircon from the late discordant segregation gave 1568 ± 4 Ma. Fluid flow occurred for at least 18 ± 3 (σ) Ma and ended 26 ± 3 (σ) Ma after the peak of metamorphism, suggesting a very slow cooling rate of ～3°C Ma^–1. The last regional high-grade metamorphism in the Reynolds Range occurred at ～1.6 Ga, not ～1.78 Ga as previously thought. The high-grade event at ～1.78 Ga is a separate event that affected only the basement to the Reynolds Range Group.     

Palaeoproterozoic high-T, low-P metamorphism and dehydration melting in metapelites from the Mopunga Range, Arunta Inlier, central Australia

A sequence of psammitic and pelitic metasedimentary rocks from the Mopunga Range region of the Arunta Inlier, central Australia, preserves evidence for unusually low pressure (c. 3 kbar), regional‐scale, upper amphibolite and granulite facies metamorphism and partial melting. Upper amphibolite facies metapelites of the Cackleberry Metamorphics are characterised by cordierite‐andalusite‐K‐feldspar assemblages and cordierite‐bearing leucosomes with biotite‐andalusite selvages, reflecting P–T conditions of c. 3 kbar and c. 650–680 °C. Late development of a sillimanite fabric is interpreted to reflect either an anticlockwise P–T evolution, or a later independent higher‐P thermal event. Coexistence of andalusite with sillimanite in these rocks appears to reflect the sluggish kinematics of the Al₂SiO₅ polymorphic inversion. In the Deep Bore Metamorphics, 20 km to the east, dehydration melting reactions in granulite facies metapelites have produced migmatites with quartz‐absent sillimanite‐spinel‐cordierite melanosomes, whilst in semipelitic migmatites, discontinuous leucosomes enclose cordierite‐spinel intergrowths. Metapsammitic rocks are not migmatised, and contain garnet–orthopyroxene–cordierite–biotite–quartz assemblages. Reaction textures in the Deep Bore Metamorphics are consistent with a near‐isobaric heating‐cooling path, with peak metamorphism occurring at 2.6–4.0 kbar and c. 750–800 °C. SHRIMP U–Pb dating of metamorphic zircon rims in a cordierite‐orthopyroxene migmatite from the Deep Bore Metamorphics yielded an age of 1730 ± 7 Ma, whilst detrital zircon cores define a homogeneous population at 1805 ± 7 Ma. The 1730 Ma age is interpreted to reflect the timing of high‐T, low‐P metamorphism, synchronous with the regional Late Strangways Event, whereas the 1805 Ma age provides a maximum age of deposition for the sedimentary precursor. The Mopunga Range region forms part of a more extensive low‐pressure metamorphic terrane in which lateral temperature gradients are likely to have been induced by localised advection of heat by granitic and mafic intrusions. The near‐isobaric Palaeoproterozoic P–T–t evolution of the Mopunga Range region is consistent with a relatively transient thermal event, due to advective processes that occurred synchronous with the regional Late Strangways tectonothermal event.     

U–Pb ages and trace elements in metamorphic zircon and titanite from UHP eclogite in the Dabie orogen: constraints on P–T–t path

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses of U–Pb isotopes and trace elements in zircon and titanite were carried out on epoxy mounts and thin sections for ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) eclogite in association with paragneiss in the Dabie orogen. The results provide a direct link between metamorphic ages and temperatures during continental subduction‐zone metamorphism. Zircon U–Pb dating gives two groups of concordant ages at 242 ± 2 to 239 ± 5 Ma and 226 ± 2 to 224 ± 6 Ma, respectively. The Triassic zircon U–Pb ages are characterized by flat heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns typical of metamorphic growth. Ti‐in‐zircon thermometry for the two generations of metamorphic zircon yields temperatures of 697 ± 27 to 721 ± 8 °C and 742 ± 19 to 778 ± 34 °C, respectively. We interpret that the first episode of zircon growth took place during subduction prior to the onset of UHP metamorphism, whereas the second episode in the stage of exhumation from UHP to HP eclogite facies regime. Thus, the continental subduction‐zone metamorphism of sedimentary protolith is temporally associated with two episodes of fluid activity, respectively, predating and postdating the UHP metamorphic phase. The significantly high Ti‐in‐zircon temperatures for the younger zircon at lower pressures indicate the initial ‘hot’ exhumation after the peak UHP metamorphism. There are two types of titanite. One exhibits light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment, steep MREE–HREE patterns and no Eu anomalies, and yields Zr‐in‐titanite temperatures of 551 to 605 °C at 0.5 GPa, and the other shows LREE depletion and flat MREE–HREE patterns, and gives Zr‐in‐titanite temperatures of 782–788 °C at 2.0 GPa. The former is amenable for U–Pb dating, yielding a discordia lower intercept age of 252 ± 3 Ma. Thus, the first type of titanite is interpreted to have grown in the absence of garnet and plagioclase and thus in the early stage of subduction. In contrast, the second one occurs as rims surrounding rutile cores and thus grew in the presence of garnet during the ‘hot’ exhumation. Therefore, there is multistage growth of zircon and titanite during the continental subduction‐zone metamorphism. The combined studies of chronometry and thermobarometry provide tight constraints on the P–T–t path of eclogites during the continental collision. It appears that the mid‐T/UHP eclogite facies zone would not only form by subduction of the continental crust in a P–T path slightly below the wet granite solidus, but also experience decompression heating during the initial exhumation.     

Ion microprobe baddeleyite and zircon ages for Late Archaean mafic dykes of the Pilbara Craton,Western Australia

Ion microprobe U–Th–Pb analyses of baddeleyite and zircon yield precise ages for several mafic intrusions in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. Baddeleyite was dated from four dolerite dykes of the north‐northeast‐trending Black Range swarm intruded into granitoid‐greenstone basement in the northern part of the craton. The mean ²⁰⁷Pb*/²⁰⁶Pb* age of 2772 ± 2 Ma, interpreted as an unambiguous age of emplacement for the dykes, is within error of previous ion microprobe U–Pb zircon ages for the Mt Roe flood basalts and confirms that the dykes acted as feeders to the volcanic rocks. The Sylvania Inlier, in the southeastern Pilbara Craton, also contains north‐northeast‐trending dykes that were correlated previously with the Black Range swarm. Based on concordant and discordant zircon analyses from samples of two dykes, the best estimate of the age of the Sylvania dykes is 2747 ± 4 Ma. The Sylvania dykes thus appear to be significantly younger than, and hence unrelated to, the Black Range swarm, but may have acted as feeders to younger volcanic units in the Fortescue Group such as the Kylena Formation.     

Early Cretaceous exhumation of high‐pressure metamorphic rocks of the Sistan Suture Zone,eastern Iran

The Sistan Suture Zone (SSZ) of eastern Iran is part of the Neo‐Tethyan orogenic system and formed by convergence of the Central Iranian and Afghan microcontinents. Ar Ar ages of ca. 125 Ma have been obtained from white micas and amphibole from variably overprinted high‐pressure metabasites within the Ratuk Complex of the SSZ. The metabasites, which occur as fault‐bounded lenses within a subduction mélange, document peak‐metamorphic conditions in eclogite or blueschist facies followed by near‐isothermal decompression resulting in an epidote–amphibolite‐facies overprint. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step heating experiments were performed on a phengite + paragonite mixture from an eclogite, phengites from two amphibolites, and paragonite from a blueschist; ‘best‐fit’ ages from these micas are, respectively, 122.8 ± 2.2, 124 ± 13, 116 ± 19 and 139 ± 19 Ma (2σ error). Barroisite from an amphibolite yielded an age of 124 ± 10 Ma. The ages are interpreted as cooling ages that record the post‐epidote–amphibolite stage in the exhumation of the rocks. Our results imply that both the high‐pressure metamorphism and the epidote–amphibolite‐facies overprint occurred prior to 125 Ma. Subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the eastern margin of the Sistan Ocean had therefore begun by Barremian (Early Cretaceous) times. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Timing relationships between pegmatite emplacement,metamorphism and deformation during the intra‐plate Alice Springs Orogeny,central Australia

In the Harts Range (central Australia), the upper amphibolite facies to lower granulite facies, c. 480–460 Ma Harts Range Metamorphic Complex (HRMC), and the upper amphibolite facies, c. 340–320 Ma Entia Gneiss Complex are cut by numerous, generally peraluminous pegmatites and their deformed equivalents. The pegmatites have previously been interpreted as locally derived partial melts. However, SHRIMP U–Pb monazite and zircon dating of 29 pegmatites or their deformed equivalents, predominantly from the HRMC, reveal that they were emplaced episodically throughout almost the entire duration of the polyphase, c. 450–300 Ma intra‐plate Alice Springs Orogeny. Episodes of pegmatite intrusion correlate with the age of major Alice Springs‐age structures and with deposition of syn‐orogenic sedimentary rocks in the adjacent Centralian Superbasin. Similar Alice Springs ages have not been obtained from anatectic country rocks in the HRMC, suggesting that the pegmatites were not locally derived. Instead, they are interpreted as highly fractionated granites, and imply that much larger parental Alice Springs‐age granites exist at depth. The mechanism to allow repeated felsic magmatism in an intraplate setting, where all exposed rock types had a previous high‐temperature history, is enigmatic. However, we suggest that episodic underthrusting and dehydration of unmetamorphosed Centralian Superbasin sedimentary rocks allowed crustal fertility to maintained over a c. 140 Ma interval during the intra‐plate Alice Springs Orogeny.     

New age constraints on metamorphism,metasomatism and gold mineralisation at Plutonic Gold Mine,Marymia Inlier,Western Australia

The Plutonic Well Greenstone Belt (PWGB) is located in the Marymia Inlier between the Yilgarn and Pilbara cratons in Western Australia, and hosts a series of major Au deposits. The main episode of Au mineralisation in the PWGB was previously interpreted to have either accompanied, or shortly followed, peak metamorphism in the late Archean at ca 2650 Ma with a later, minor, event associated with the Capricorn Orogeny. Here we present new Pb isotope model ages for sulfides and Rb–Sr ages for mica, as well as a new ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb age for titanite for samples from the Plutonic Gold Mine (Plutonic) at the southern end of the PWGB. The majority of the sulfides record Proterozoic Pb isotope model ages (2300–2100 Ma), constraining a significant Au mineralising event at Plutonic that occurred >300 Myr later than previously thought. A Rb–Sr age of 2296 ± 99 Ma from muscovite in an Au-bearing sample records resetting or closure of the Rb–Sr system in muscovite at about the same time. A younger Rb–Sr age of 1779 ± 46 Ma from biotite from the same sample may record further cooling, or resetting during a late-stage episode of metasomatism in the PWGB. This could have been associated with the 1820–1770 Ma Capricorn Orogeny, or a late-stage hydrothermal event potentially constrained by a new ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb age of 1725 ± 26 Ma for titanite in a chlorite–carbonate vein. This titanite age correlates with a pre-existing age for a metasomatic event dated at 1719 ± 14 Ma by U–Pb ages of zircon overgrowths in a sample from the Marymia Deposit. Based on the Pb-isotope data presented here, Au mineralising events in the PWGB are inferred to have occurred at ca 2630, 2300–2100 Ma, during the Glenburgh and Capricorn orogenies, and 1730–1660 Ma. The 2300–2100 Ma event, which appears to have been significant based on the amount of sulfide of this age, correlates with the inferred age for rifting of the Marymia Inlier from the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. The texturally-later visible Au may have been deposited during the Glenburgh and Capricorn orogenies.     

Zircon U–Pb and Hf evidence for coupled subduction of oceanic and continental crust during the Carboniferous in the Huwan shear zone,western Dabie orogen,central China

Both oceanic and continental HP rocks are juxtaposed in the Huwan shear zone in the western Dabie orogen, and thus provide a window for testing the buoyancy‐driven exhumation of dense oceanic HP rocks. The HP metamorphic age of the continental rocks in this zone has not been well constrained, and hence it is not known if they are of the same age as the exhumation of the HP oceanic rocks. In situ laser ablation (multiple collector) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐(MC‐)ICP‐MS), U–Pb, trace element and Hf isotope analyses were made on zircon in a granitic gneiss and two eclogites from the Huwan shear zone. U–Pb age and trace element analysis of residual magmatic zircon in an eclogite constrain its protolith formation at 411 ± 4 Ma. The zircon in this sample displays ε_Hf (t) values of +6.1 to +14.4. The positive ε_Hf (t) values up to +14.4 suggest that the protolith was derived from a relatively depleted mantle source, most likely Palaeotethyan oceanic crust. A granitic gneiss and the other eclogite yield protolith U–Pb ages of 738 ± 6 and 700 ± 14 Ma, respectively, which are both the Neoproterozoic basement rocks of the Yangtze Block. The zircon in the granitic gneiss has low ε_Hf (t) values of ?14.2 to ?10.5 and old T_DM2 ages of 2528–2298 Ma, suggesting reworking of Palaeoproterozoic crust during the Neoproterozoic. The zircon in the eclogite has ε_Hf (t) values of ?1.0 to +7.4 and T_DM1 ages of 1294–966 Ma, implying prompt reworking of juvenile crust during its protolith formation. Metamorphic zircon in both eclogite samples displays low Th/U ratios, trace element concentrations, relatively flat heavy rare earth element patterns, weak negative Eu anomalies and low ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios. All these features suggest that the metamorphic zircon formed in the presence of garnet but in the absence of feldspar, and thus under eclogite facies conditions. The metamorphic zircon yields U–Pb ages of 310 ± 3 and 306 ± 7 Ma. Therefore, both the oceanic‐ and continental‐type eclogites share the same episode of Carboniferous eclogite facies metamorphism. This suggests that high‐pressure continental‐type metamorphic rocks might have played a key role in the exhumation and preservation of oceanic‐type eclogites through buoyancy‐driven uplift.     

Shared metamorphic histories of various Palaeoproterozoic granulites from Datong–Huai’an area,North China Craton (NCC): constraints from zircon U–Pb ages and petrology

ABSTRACT

Different tectonic interpretations have been proposed for the various spatially associated Palaeoproterozoic granulite-facies lithologies (metasedimentary rocks, metabasites, and felsic granulites) from north-central part of the North China Craton, which hinges primarily on controversies about metamorphic histories of these granulites, especially on the timing of peak metamorphism. Published data exhibit two controversial peak metamorphic ages of 1950–1900 Ma and 1850–1800 Ma. We report here LA-ICPMS U–Pb zircon ages of seven representative granulite-facies samples of different lithologies to constrain the timing of metamorphism, and then discuss their geological significance. Most zircon grains from these rocks display weak core-and-rim structures and yield two comparable group metamorphic ages of 1970–1900 Ma and 1880–1790 Ma, although their formation ages vary from Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic. The older population metamorphic ages are interpreted to approximate timing of high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism, and the younger population ages as the approximate timing of intermediate- to low-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism. Combined with recent petrological studies, we propose these granulites have shared metamorphic histories at least since ~1970–1900 Ma, and they are probably formed in one single metamorphic cycle in response to crustal-scale subduction–collision–exhumation processes involved in Palaeoproterozoic mobile belt.     

Late Jurassic terrane collision in the northwestern margin of Gondwana (Cajamarca Complex,eastern flank of the Central Cordillera,Colombia)

Medium-grade metabasites and metapelites from the Cajamarca Complex (Central Cordillera of Colombia) are in fault contact with the Jurassic Ibague batholith and show a penetrative foliation, locally mylonitic, suggesting intense dynamic–thermal metamorphism. The amphibolites are composed of calcic amphibole + epidote + plagioclase + quartz plus rutile + titanite + apatite + carbonate as accessory phases. Chlorite and albite appear as retrograde replacements. The metapelites are mainly composed of phengite + quartz + garnet + chlorite, plus epidote + albite + apatite + titanite + haematite as accessory phases. Bulk geochemistry of the amphibolites indicates basaltic protoliths with a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) signature, although enrichment in the mobile large-ion lithophile elements compared to MORB suggests pre- and/or syn-metamorphic alteration by fluids. Peak pressure–temperature determinations for both types of rocks are similar, ranging 550–580°C and 8 kbar (approximately 26 km depth and an apparent geothermal gradient of 22°C/km). ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating of amphibole from two amphibolite samples and one phengitic mica from a pelitic schist yielded plateau ages of 146.5 ± 1.1 Ma and 157.8 ± 0.6 Ma, and 157.5 ± 0.4 Ma, respectively. These Late Jurassic ages contrast with previously published (Permian)Triassic ages of metamorphism in the Cajamarca Complex. Taken together, our data indicate tectonic-driven burial of oceanic supracrustal sequences down to mid-crustal depths during Late Jurassic times and are best explained as the result of terrane collision-related metamorphism and deformation in a fore-arc/volcanic-arc environment of the active western margin of Gondwana rather than as a result of Jurassic thermal–metamorphic resetting of a (Permian)Triassic metamorphic sequence during intrusion of the Jurassic Ibague batholith. Our results represent the first report of Jurassic terrane collision tectonics involving supracrustal oceanic rocks in the northwestern margin of Gondwana in Colombia.     

Geochronology of the Limu W–Sn–Nb–Ta‐Bearing Granite Pluton in South China

Limu W–Sn–Nb–Ta mining district is located in the Nanling Range W–Sn poly‐metallic mineralization belt in south China. The district includes a number of Sn–Nb–Ta and W–Sn ore occurrences; all of them are spatially associated with granite stocks of a largely‐unexposed pluton, the Limu granitic pluton. A granite sample collected from the Sn–Nb–Ta‐bearing Jinzhuyuan granite stock yields a zircon SHRIMP U–Pb age of 218.3 ± 2.4 Ma, a muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age of 212.4 ± 1.4 Ma, and a muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isochron age of 213.2 ± 2.2 Ma. Another granite sample collected from the W–Sn‐bearing Sangehuangniu granite stock yields a zircon SHRIMP U–Pb age of 214 ± 5 Ma. The geochronological data provide new constraints on the age of the Limu granite pluton and the timing of the associated W–Sn–Nb–Ta mineralization—at least it sets a reasonable upper age limit for the mineralization of the W–Sn–Nb–Ta ores. The reported ages suggest an active Late Triassic granitic magmatism in Limu area which is part of a regional magmatic event near the end of the Indosinian orogeny in south China.     

Synchronous peak Barrovian metamorphism driven by syn-orogenic magmatism and fluid flow in southern Connecticut, USA

Recent work in Barrovian metamorphic terranes has found that rocks experience peak metamorphic temperatures across several grades at similar times. This result is inconsistent with most geodynamic models of crustal over‐thickening and conductive heating, wherein rocks which reach different metamorphic grades generally reach peak temperatures at different times. Instead, the presence of additional sources of heat and/or focusing mechanisms for heat transport, such as magmatic intrusions and/or advection by metamorphic fluids, may have contributed to the contemporaneous development of several different metamorphic zones. Here, we test the hypothesis of temporally focussed heating for the Wepawaug Schist, a Barrovian terrane in Connecticut, USA, using Sm–Nd ages of prograde garnet growth and U–Pb zircon crystallization ages of associated igneous rocks. Peak temperature in the biotite–garnet zone was dated (via Sm–Nd on garnet) at 378.9 ± 1.6 Ma (2σ), whereas peak temperature in the highest grade staurolite–kyanite zone was dated (via Sm–Nd on garnet rims) at 379.9 ± 6.8 Ma (2σ). These garnet ages suggest that peak metamorphism was pene‐contemporaneous (within error) across these metamorphic grades. Ion microprobe U–Pb ages for zircon from igneous rocks hosted by the metapelites also indicate a period of syn‐metamorphic peak igneous activity at 380.6 ± 4.7 Ma (2σ), indistinguishable from the peak ages recorded by garnet. A 388.6 ± 2.1 Ma (2σ) garnet core age from the staurolite–kyanite zone indicates an earlier episode of growth (coincident with ages from texturally early zircon and a previously published monazite age) along the prograde regional metamorphic T–t path. The timing of peak metamorphism and igneous activity, as well as the occurrence of extensive syn‐metamorphic quartz vein systems and pegmatites, best supports the hypothesis that advective heating driven by magmas and fluids focussed major mineral growth into two distinct episodes: the first at c. 389 Ma, and the second, corresponding to the regionally synchronous peak metamorphism, at c. 380 Ma.     

U–Pb zircon and monazite age constraints on granulite-facies metamorphism and deformation in the Strangways Metamorphic Complex (central Australia)

The age of Proterozoic granulite facies metamorphism and deformation in the Strangways Metamorphic Complex (SMC) of central Australia is determined on zircon grown in syn-metamorphic and syn-deformational orthopyroxene-bearing, enderbitic, veins. SHRIMP zircon studies suggest that M ₁–M ₂ and the correlated periods of intense deformation (D ₁–D ₂) are part of a single tectonothermal event between 1,717±2 and 1,732±7 Ma. It is considered unlikely that the two metamorphic phases (M ₁, M ₂) suggested by earlier work represent separate events occurring within 10–25 Ma of each other. Previous higher estimates for the age of M ₁ granulite metamorphism in the SMC (Early Strangways event at ca. 1,770 Ma) based on U–Pb zircon dating of granitic, intrusive rocks, are not believed to relate to the metamorphism, but to represent pre-metamorphic intrusion ages. Conventional multi-grain U–Pb monazite analyses on high-grade metasediments from three widely spaced localities in the western SMC yield ²⁰⁷Pb/ ²³⁵U ages between 1,728±11 and 1,712±2 Ma. The age range of the monazites corresponds to the SHRIMP zircon ages in the granulitic veins and is interpreted to record monazite growth (prograde in the metasedimentary rocks). The data imply a maximum time-span of 30 Ma for high-grade metamorphism and deformation in the SMC. There is, thus, no evidence for an extremely long period of continuous high-temperature conditions from 1,770 to ca. 1,720 Ma as previously proposed. The results firmly establish that the SMC has a very different high-grade metamorphic history than the neighbouring Harts Range, where upper amphibolite facies metamorphism in the Palaeozoic caused widespread growth or recrystallization of monazite.     

New LA-ICPMS U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Highland Complex: insights into late Cryogenian to early Cambrian (ca. 665–535 Ma) linkage between Sri Lanka and India

ABSTRACT

Here we report new LA-ICPMS U–Pb zircon geochronology of ultrahigh temperature (UHT) metasedimentary rocks and associated crystallized melt patches, from the central Highland Complex (HC), Sri Lanka. The detrital zircon ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age spectra range between 2834 ± 12 and 722 ± 14 Ma, evidencing new and younger depositional ages of sedimentary protoliths than those known so far in the HC. The overgrowth domains of zircons in these UHT granulites yield weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age clusters from 665.5 ± 5.9 to 534 ± 10 Ma, identified as new metamorphic ages of the metasediments in the HC. The zircon ages of crystallized in situ melt patches associated with UHT granulites yield tight clusters of weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages from 558 ± 1.6 to 534 ± 2.4 Ma. Thus, using our results coupled with recently published geochronological data, we suggest a new geochronological framework for the evolutionary history of the metasedimentary package of the HC. The Neoarchean to Neoproterozoic ages of detrital zircons indicate that the metasedimentary package of the HC has derived from ancient multiple age provenances and deposited during the Neoproterozoic Era. Hence, previously reported upper intercept ages of ca. 2000–1800 Ma from metaigneous rocks should be considered as geochronological evidence for existence of a Palaeoproterozoic igneous basement which possibly served as a platform for the deposition of younger supracrustal rocks, rather than timing of magmatic intrusions into the already deposited ancient sediments, as has been conventionally interpreted. The intense reworking of entire Palaeoproterozoic basement rocks in the Gondwana Supercontinent assembly may have caused sediments of multiple ages and provenances to incorporate within supra-crustal sequences of the HC. Further, our data supports a convincing geochronological correlation between the HC of Sri Lanka and the Trivandrum Block of Southern India, disclosing the Gondwanian linkage between the HC of Sri Lanka and Southern Granulite Terrain of India.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of the host rocks of the Cannington Ag–Pb–Zn deposit,southeastern Mt Isa Block,Australia

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages are reported from a paragneiss, a pegmatite, a metasomatised metasediment and an amphibolite taken from the upper amphibolite facies host sequence of the Cannington Ag–Pb–Zn deposit at the southeastern margin of the Proterozoic Mt Isa Block. Also reported are ages from a middle amphibolite‐facies metasediment from the Soldiers Cap Group approximately 90 km north of Cannington. The predominantly metasedimentary host rocks of the Cannington deposit were eroded from a terrane containing latest Archaean to earliest Palaeoproterozoic (ca 2600–2300 Ma) and Palaeoproterozoic (ca 1750–1700 Ma) zircon. The ca 1750–1700 Ma group of zircons are consistent with sedimentary provenance from rocks of Cover Sequence 2 age that are now exposed to the north and west of the Cannington deposit. The metasedimentary samples also include a group of zircon grains at ca 1675 Ma, which we interpret as the maximum depositional age of the sedimentary protolith. This is comparable to the maximum depositional age of the metasediment from the Maronan area (ca 1665 Ma) and to previously published data from the Soldiers Cap Group. Metamorphic zircon rims and new zircon grains grew at 1600–1580 Ma during upper amphibolite‐facies metamorphism in metasedimentary and mafic magmatic rocks. Zircon inheritance patterns suggest that sheet‐like pegmatitic intrusions were most likely derived from partial melting of the surrounding metasediments during this period of metamorphism. Some zircon grains from the amphibolite have a morphology consistent with partially recrystallised igneous grains and have apparent ages close to the metamorphic age, although it is not clear whether these represent metamorphic resetting or crystallisation of the magmatic protolith. Pb‐loss during syn‐ to post‐metamorphic metasomatism resulted in partial resetting of zircons from the metasomatised metasediment.     

U‐Pb Geochronological and Thermochronological Time–Temperature Constraints of 40Ar/39Ar Hornblende Reference Material HB3gr

Hornblende from the Lone Grove Pluton, Llano Uplift, Texas, has served as an irradiation reference material in ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies for decades. In order to evaluate the apparent age bias that currently exists between the U‐Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar systems, zircon and titanite were dated by isotope dilution‐thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID‐TIMS) from the same rock from which the hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar reference material HB3gr is derived. Zircon U‐Pb data indicate initial crystallisation at 1090.10 ± 0.16 Ma (2s), a date that is 1.7% older than the accepted K‐Ar date (1072 ± 14 Ma, 2s) for HB3gr; an offset that exceeds the typical 0.5–1% bias between the two systems, though remaining within uncertainty due to the large uncertainties in the ⁴⁰K decay constant. Zircon data are presented using both EARTHTIME tracers ET535 and ET2535 and are statistically indistinguishable. Single grain titanite analyses range between 1082 ± 0.75 and 1086 ± 0.81 Ma (2s) and are interpreted to record the subsequent cooling following crystallisation at rates between 30 and 50 °C Ma^?1. This is supported by the observation that hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates corrected for decay constant bias are resolvably younger than the zircon U‐Pb date and in good agreement with titanite U‐Pb dates, permitting the conclusion that both titanite U‐Pb and hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar systems provide a record of cooling.     

Polyphase zircon in ultrahigh-temperature granulites (Rogaland, SW Norway): constraints for Pb diffusion in zircon

SHRIMP U–Pb ages have been obtained for zircon in granitic gneisses from the aureole of the Rogaland anorthosite–norite intrusive complex, both from the ultrahigh temperature (UHT; >900 °C pigeonite‐in) zone and from outside the hypersthene‐in isograd. Magmatic and metamorphic segments of composite zircon were characterised on the basis of electron backscattered electron and cathodoluminescence images plus trace element analysis. A sample from outside the UHT zone has magmatic cores with an age of 1034 ± 7 Ma (2σ, n = 8) and 1052 ± 5 Ma (1σ, n = 1) overgrown by M1 metamorphic rims giving ages between 1020 ± 7 and 1007 ± 5 Ma. In contrast, samples from the UHT zone exhibit four major age groups: (1) magmatic cores yielding ages over 1500 Ma (2) magmatic cores giving ages of 1034 ± 13 Ma (2σ, n = 4) and 1056 ± 10 Ma (1σ, n = 1) (3) metamorphic overgrowths ranging in age between 1017 ± 6 Ma and 992 ± 7 Ma (1σ) corresponding to the regional M1 Sveconorwegian granulite facies metamorphism, and (4) overgrowths corresponding to M2 UHT contact metamorphism giving values of 922 ± 14 Ma (2σ, n = 6). Recrystallized areas in zircon from both areas define a further age group at 974 ± 13 Ma (2σ, n = 4). This study presents the first evidence from Rogaland for new growth of zircon resulting from UHT contact metamorphism. More importantly, it shows the survival of magmatic and regional metamorphic zircon relics in rocks that experienced a thermal overprint of c. 950 °C for at least 1 Myr. Magmatic and different metamorphic zones in the same zircon are sharply bounded and preserve original crystallization age information, a result inconsistent with some experimental data on Pb diffusion in zircon which predict measurable Pb diffusion under such conditions. The implication is that resetting of zircon ages by diffusion during M2 was negligible in these dry granulite facies rocks. Imaging and Th/U–Y systematics indicate that the main processes affecting zircon were dissolution‐reprecipitation in a closed system and solid‐state recrystallization during and soon after M1.