The early Caledonian (Finnmarkian) event reassessed in Finnmark: Ar/Ar cleavage age data from NW Varangerhalvøya, N. Norway

The relative significance of early (Finnmarkian) and late (Scandian) Caledonian deformation in N. Norway is uncertain. Early studies suggested pervasive Finnmarkian deformation whilst later results indicated a restricted Finnmarkian domain. The present work suggests it was more widespread than accepted and that inter Finnmarkian–Scandian deformation occurred. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of 2–6 and 6–11 μm pelitic fractions from the lower to mid-greenschist facies Tanahorn Nappe (five samples; base Middle Allochthon) and the epizone Løkvikfjellet and Barents Sea Groups (three samples; North Varanger Region) in the north Scandinavian Caledonides show slightly discordant spectra. Most spectra from the Tanahorn Nappe preserve possible evidence of an early Caledonian event in the high temperature steps, with recoil/excess Ar effects in the low temperature steps; no pre-Caledonian relict component has been recorded. The results indicate Finnmarkian deformation continued to 460 Ma, with Scandian reactivation at 425–415 Ma. From the North Varanger Region, a strongly crenulated sample yielded plateau ages (444–442 Ma); means of combined young steps from weakly to uncrenulated samples gave 470–450 Ma, suggesting penetrative strike-slip deformation occurred in the late Finnmarkian to inter-Finnmarkian–Scandian period. No Scandian ages were recorded in the North Varanger Region. Reassessment of published data from the Laksefjord Nappe and Gaissa Thrust Belt suggests they were affected by Finnmarkian deformation.     

Basement–cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region

The Kalak Nappe Complex (KNC) has been regarded as Baltica passive margin metasediments telescoped eastwards onto the Baltic (Fennoscandian) Shield during the Caledonian Orogeny. Recent studies have questioned this interpretation, instead pointing to a Neoproterozoic exotic origin. In an effort to resolve this controversy we present a Sm–Nd and U–Th–Pb study of gnessic units, traditionally considered as the depositional basement, along with cover rock sediments and intrusives. Late Palaeoproterozoic gneisses now beneath the KNC were deposited after 1948 ± 33 Ma, before intrusion of the Tjukkfjellet Granite at 1796 ± 3 Ma, and were affected by later melting events at 1765 ± 9 and 1727 ± 9 Ma. These gneisses are interpreted as part of the Baltic Shield and underlie the KNC across a tectonic contact. An unconformity between psammites of the KNC and other paragneisses previously considered as its Precambrian basement is reinterpreted as a modified sedimentary contact between Neoproterozoic metasediments. These metasediments have statistically very similar detrital zircon populations with grains as young as 1034 ± 22, 1025 ± 32 and 1014 ± 14 Ma. The results indicate that the KNC sediments were deposited during the Neoproterozoic in basins along the Laurentian margin of eastern Rodinia and were not connected to Baltica via a depositional basement. Dating of the 851 ± 5 Ma Eidvågvatnet and 853 ± 4 Ma Nordneset granites shows that intrusive material associated with the Porsanger Orogeny (c. 850 Ma) affected a considerable region of the upper KNC terrane. Later Neoproterozoic events at 711 ± 6, 687 ± 12 and 617 ± 6 Ma are also recognised the latest of which may be an expression of rifting. Since early Neoproterozoic magmatism (c. 840–690 Ma) is unknown in Baltica, these results support an exotic origin for the KNC terranes.     

The structure and timing of lateral escape during the Scandian Orogeny: A combined strain and geochronological investigation in Finnmark, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides

Determining the timing, duration and mechanism of tectonic events within an orogenic cycle, such as ocean subduction, continent–continent collision or gravitational collapse, is challenging, especially in ancient orogenic belts. Variations in the tectonic transport direction, however, can be used as a guide to these stages of orogeny. While thrust sheets within the Caledonian allochthon in north Norway were emplaced broadly eastwards perpendicular to the trend of the orogen, many features indicate material transport in other orientations. One dominant feature of the Magerøy Nappe, sitting above and infolded with the Kalak Nappe Complex, is the development of a strong N–S lineation orthogonal to the main transport direction. Strain measurements, in part determined by a new method, are used, in the context of the regional structural data to identify the critical stage in orogeny when compressional forces are balanced by orogen-parallel lateral escape. Quantitative 3-D strain estimation in the Magerøy Nappe indicates prolate deformation with c. 50% horizontal shortening parallel to the thrusting direction (E–W) and c. 200% extension along the orogenic strike (N–S) with c. 30% vertical shortening. Temporal constraint on this fabric is provided by Ar–Ar isotopic analysis of undeformed white mica in cross-cutting granitic pegmatites. These data show that prolate deformation occurred before the white mica cooling age of 416 ± 4 Ma, while the previously determined depositional age of the Hellefjord Schist indicates that it occurred after 438 ± 4 Ma. A granitic pegmatite that intruded the Hellefjord Schist after an initial deformation phase but during or prior to a later deformation, has been dated at 431 ± 2 Ma by U–Pb zircon. A previous lower age constraint on this deformation of 428 ± 5 Ma is given by metamorphic zircon overgrowths on fractured grains. These results constrain the continental collision between Baltica and Laurentia in Finnmark to the interval c. 431–428 Ma. Placed in a regional context, these results indicate that lateral escape was orthogonal to the thrusting direction and occurred during the continent–continent collision stage in the Scandian Orogeny before gravitationally driven collapse.     

Zircon age depth-profiling sheds light on the early Caledonian evolution of the Seve Nappe Complex in west-central Jämtland

The Scandinavian Caledonides comprise nappe stacks of far-travelled allochthons that record closure of the Iapetus Ocean and subsequent continental collision of Baltica and Laurentia. The Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) of the Scandinavian Caledonides includes relics of the outermost Baltoscandian passive margin that were subducted to mantle depths. The earliest of the deep subduction events has been dated to ca. 500–480 Ma. Evidence of this event has been reported from the northern exposures of the SNC. Farther south in the central and southern segments of the SNC, (ultra)high-pressure rocks have yielded younger ages in the range of ca. 470–440 Ma.This study provides the first record of the early Caledonian event in the southern SNC. The evidence has been obtained by depth profiling of zircon grains that were extracted from the Tväråklumparna microdiamond-bearing gneiss. These zircon grains preserve eclogite facies overgrowths that crystallized at 482.6 ± 3.8 Ma. A second, chemically-distinct zircon overgrowth records granulite facies metamorphism at 439.3 ± 3.6 Ma, which corroborates previous geochronological evidence for granulite facies metamorphism at this time. Based on these results, we propose that the entire outer margin of Baltica was subducted in the late Cambrian to early Ordovician, but the record of this event may be almost entirely eradicated in the vast majority of lithologies by pervasive late Ordovician to early Silurian metamorphism.     

Subduction-flip during Iapetus Ocean closure and Baltica–Laurentia collision, Scandinavian Caledonides

Evidence is presented here from the northern Scandinavian Caledonides for development of an extensional basin of Ashgill to Mid Llandovery age along the Baltoscandian margin immediately prior to Baltica–Laurentia collision. U/Pb multigrain and ion microprobe zircon dating of plagiogranites in the Halti Igneous Complex complement previous baddeleyite and zircon dating of a dolerite dyke, and zircon dating of anatectic granite; they demonstrate that this dunite, troctolite, gabbro, sheeted‐dyke complex ranges in age from c. 445 to 435 Ma. The dolerite dykes intruded and melted arkoses of inferred Neoproterozoic age. This evidence, taken together with previous documentation of ophiolites (Solund–Stavfjord), ophiolite‐like associations (Sulitjelma Igneous Complex) and several other mafic suites (e.g. Råna, Artfjället) of Ashgill to Llandovery age further south in the northern Scandinavian Caledonides, implies that Scandian collisional orogeny along this nearly 2000‐km‐long mountain belt was immediately preceeded by development of short‐lived marginal basins. The latter developed during the final closure of the Iapetus Ocean and are inferred to be of back‐arc origin, some (perhaps all) related to E‐dipping subduction. Collision of the continents at c. 435 Ma is inferred to have induced a flip in subduction polarity, leading to underthrusting of Laurentia by Baltica.     

Structures associated with superimposed inhomogenous shearing of basic dykes from Finnmark, Norway

Metadolerites within the Olderfjord Nappe of the Kalak Nappe Complex of North Norway show a wide range of structural relationships. During D₂ simple shear rotated the dykes from an initially orthogonal relationship towards parallelism with the sedimentary layering and boudinaged those dykes that rotated to within 25° of the sedimentary layering. During D₃ dykes which had been rotated to within 5° of the layering were folded; those lying between 5° and 25° were boudinaged whilst those at angles between 25° and 75° had folds developed against their margins. At higher angles of discordance little evidence of D₂ or D₃ deformation has been observed.In other thrust sheets within the Kalak Nappe Complex metabasites have generally been sheared into parallelism with the compositional banding. By comparison with the Olderfjord Nappe the average D₂ shear strain within the Kalak Nappe Complex ranges between 5 and 10. The anomalous preservation of high angle discordant relationships in the Olderfjord Nappe reflects the preservation of a large scale low-strain block (mega-boudin) within the nappe; samples taken from the mega-boudin are more suitable for geochemical analysis for tectonic setting discrimination.     

Tectonics of the Scandian orogeny and the Western Gneiss Region in southern Norway

Two crust-forming events dominate the Precambrian history of the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) at about 1800–1600 Ma and 1550–1400 Ma. The influence of the Sveconorwegian orogeny (1200–900 Ma) is restricted to the region south of Moldefjord-Romsdalen. A series of anorthosites and related intrusives are present, possibly derived from the now-lost western margin of the Baltic craton that may have been emplaced in the WGR as an allochthonous unit before the Ordovician.The Caledonian development is split into two orogenic phases, the Finnmarkian (Cambrian — Early Ordovician) and the Scandian (Late Ordovician/Early Silurian — Devonian). The lower tectonic units west of the Trondheim Trough may be Finnmarkian nappes ; they were part of the lower plate during the Scandian continental collision. The Blåhö nappe is correlated with dismembered eclogite bodies along the coast. A regional change of nappe transport direction from 090 to 135 marks the initiation of an orogen-parallel sinistral shear component around 425 Ma. The change caused the development of a complex sinistral strike-slip system in the Trondheim region consisting of the Möre-Tröndelag Fault Zone and the Gränse contact. The latter cut the crust underneath the already emplaced Trondheim Nappe Complex, thus triggering the intrusion of the Fongen-Hyllingen igneous complex, and initiating subsidence of the Trondheim Trough, and was subsequently turned from a strike-slip zone into an extensional fault. Minor southward transport of the Trondheim Nappe Complex rejuvenated some thrusts between the Lower and the Middle Allochthon. A seismic reflector underneath the WGR is interpreted to be a blind thrust which subcrops into the Faltungsgraben. During Middle Devonian orogenic collapse, detachment faulting brought higher units, now eroded elsewhere, down to the present outcrop level, such as the Bergen and Dalsfjord nappe and the Old Red basins.     

Pressure-Temperature-Time Constraints for the Seve Nappe of the Singis-Tjuoltajaure area Central Norrbotten Caledonides,Sweden : Implications for Early Caledonian Marginal Baltica

Abstract

This study provides some of the first integrated P-T-t constraints for the evolution of the Finnmarkian tectonothermal event within the northern Scandinavian Caledonides. Samples from units within the Seve Nappe of the Singis-Tjuoltajaure region contain assemblages which allow the application of well calibrateted thermoharometers. New results include : I ) Eclogite grade rocks of the Aurek Assemblage yield temperatures and pressures in excess of 12 kb and 730° С. 2) Temperatures and pressures obtained for seven samples from the Savotjåkka Assemblage range from 571766” С and 8.9-13.6 kb. These pressures correspond to burial depths of approximately 30-45 km during the Finn-markian (190 Ma) for the outer margin of Baltica. when combined with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data, uplift rates of .2-.4 mm/yr during the early Finnmarkian arc obtained, and 3) Within the Vidja Assemblage a pressure and temperature of 7.3 ± 1.7 kb and 616 ± 60° is obtained. These conditions are consistent with the interpretation of a late Finnmarkian (450 Ma) Intra-Seve juxtaposition of the Vidja and Aurek Assemblages after approximately 20-30 km of slow uplift from peak pressures recorded during the early Finnmarkian.

This study provides new constraints which need to be considered in future tectonic models. These constraints include : I ) The Savopakte Assemblage records high pressures and high temperatures during the Finnmarkian and 2) Finnmarkian uplift rates of .2-.4 mm/yr were likely for marginal Baltica after peak metamorphism. Rates of this magnitude may be accounted for solely by slow erosion and do not require (but do not preclude) more complex tectonic interpretations. A tectonic model provided by the Late Cenozoic thrust belts of the Apennine system of the mediterranean region, may lead to new insights into the Early Paleozoic evolution of the Scandinavian Caledonides.     

Middle Ordovician subduction of continental crust in the Scandinavian Caledonides: an example from Tjeliken,Seve Nappe Complex,Sweden

The Seve Nappe Complex of the Scandinavian Caledonides is thought to be derived from the distal passive margin of Baltica which collided with Laurentia in the Scandian Phase of the Caledonian Orogeny at 430–400 Ma. Parts of the Seve Nappe Complex were affected by pre-Scandian high- and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism, in a tectonic framework that is still unclear, partly due to uncertainties about the exact timing. Previous age determinations yielded between ~ 505 and ~ 446 Ma, with a general trend of older ages in the North (Norrbotten) than in the South (Jämtland). New age determinations were performed on eclogite and garnet–phengite gneiss at Tjeliken in northern Jämtland. Thermodynamic modelling yielded peak metamorphic conditions of 25–27 kbar/680–760 °C for the garnet–phengite gneiss, similar to published peak metamorphic conditions of the eclogite (25–26 kbar/650–700 °C). Metamorphic rims of zircons from the garnet–phengite gneiss were dated using secondary ion mass spectrometry and yielded a concordia age of 458.9 ± 2.5 Ma. Lu–Hf garnet-whole rock dating yielded 458 ± 1.0 Ma for the eclogite. Garnet in the eclogite shows prograde major-element zoning and concentration of Lu in the cores, indicating that this age is related to garnet growth during pressure increase, i.e. subduction. The identical ages from both rock types, coinciding with published Sm–Nd ages from the eclogite, confirm subduction of the Seve Nappe Complex in Northern Jämtland during the Middle Ordovician in a fast subduction–exhumation cycle.     

Palaeomagnetism of the Loch Doon Granite Complex, Southern Uplands of Scotland: The Late Caledonian palaeomagnetic record and an Early Devonian episode of True Polar Wander

The Southern Uplands terrane is an Ordovician–Silurian back-arc/foreland basin emplaced at the northern margin of the Iapetus Ocean and intruded by granite complexes including Loch Doon (408.3 ± 1.5 Ma) during Early Devonian times. Protracted cooling of this 130 km³ intrusion recorded magnetic remanence comprising a predominant (‘A’) magnetisation linked to initial cooling with dual polarity and mean direction D / I = 237 / 64° (α₉₅ = 4°, palaeopole at 316°E, 21°N). Subsidiary magnetisations include Mesozoic remanence correlating with extensional tectonism in the adjoining Irish Sea Basin (‘B’, D / I = 234/− 59°) and minority populations (‘C’, D / I = 106/− 2° and ‘D’, D / I = 199/1°) recording emplacement of younger ( 395 Ma) granites in adjoining terranes and the Variscan orogenic event. The ‘A’ directions have an arcuate distribution identifying anticlockwise rotation during cooling. A comparable rotation is identified in the Orthotectonic Caledonides to the north and the Paratectonic Caledonides to the south following closure of Iapetus. Continental motion from midsoutherly latitudes ( 40°S) at 408 Ma to equatorial palaeolatitudes by  395 Ma is identified and implies minimum rates of continental movement between 430 and 390 Ma of 30–70 cm/year, more than double maximum rates induced by plate forces and interpreted as a signature of true polar wander. Silurian–Devonian palaeomagnetic data from the British–Scandinavian Caledonides define a 430–385 Ma closed loop comparable to the distributed contemporaneous palaeomagnetic poles from Gondwana. They reconcile pre-430 Ma and post-380 Ma APW from this supercontinent and show that Laurentia–Baltica–Avalonia lay to the west of South America with a relict Rheic Ocean opening to the north which closed to produce Variscan orogeny by a combination of pivotal closure and right lateral transpression.     

Fluid-assisted zircon and monazite growth within a shear zone: a case study from Finnmark,Arctic Norway

The U–Pb ages, REE content, and oxygen isotopic composition of zircon rims developed within a major shear zone in the Kalak Nappe Complex (KNC), Arctic Norway have been determined along with the age of monazite crystals. Different generations of granitic veins have been distinguished based on both field criteria and monazite ages of 446 ± 3 and 424 ± 3 Ma. Within each of these veins, inherited zircon cores are mantled by homogeneous low CL-response zircon rims which yield a range of concordant U–Pb dates of ca. 470–360 Ma. Significant numbers of zircon rims coincide with the timing of monazite crystallization. The zircon rims have moderate light REE enrichment compared to cores, distinctive (Sm/La) _n values of less than 12, and La between 0.3 and 10 ppm. This indicates free elemental exchange between newly formed zircon rims and the surrounding matrix. The rims have calculated accumulated alpha-radiation dosages corresponding with a crystalline structure and δ¹⁸O values of 1‰. This implies rim crystallization directly from a zirconium-saturated hydrothermal fluid which was modified by some silicate melt. Growth of the zircon rims was prolonged and locally variable due to preferential fluid flow. A third type of zircon can be recognized, forming both rims and cores, with high alpha-radiation doses, and significant enrichment in La, Pr, and Eu. These are interpreted as low-temperature hydrothermally altered metamict zircons. The high volatile input and partial melting in the shear zone favoured prolonged zircon rim growth due to its ability to easily nucleate on inherited seeds. On the other hand, monazite, susceptible to dissolution and re-growth, crystallized in brief episodes, as has been predicted from theoretical phase diagrams. From a regional perspective, these results elucidate cryptic Ar–Ar cooling ages, providing the first record of a Late Ordovician heating and cooling phase within the KNC prior to the climactic Scandian collision.     

An anticlockwise P–T–t path at high‐pressure,high‐temperature conditions for a migmatitic gneiss from the island of Fjørtoft,Western Gneiss Region,Norway, indicates two burial events during the Caledonian orogeny

The Blåhø Nappe on the island of Fjørtoft, which represents an isolated portion of the Seve Nappe Complex in the Western Gneiss Region, Norway, has been suggested to have experienced two deep burial cycles during the Caledonian orogeny. However, evidence on this multiple burial process by the derivation of a pressure–temperature–time (P–T–t) path has never been given in the literature. In this study, the ‘diamondiferous’ kyanite–garnet gneiss from the Blåhø Nappe on Fjørtoft was revisited to determine if such a process was correct. Two types of garnet, porphyroblastic garnet‐1 and fine‐grained garnet‐2, were recognized in the gneiss. The core of garnet‐1 is poor in Ca and documents P–T conditions of 1.2–1.3 GPa at c. 880°C based on pseudosection modelling. The inner rims of garnet‐1 and the core of garnet‐2 are both richer in Ca, recording P–T conditions of 1.35–1.45 GPa and 770–820°C. Application of conventional geothermobarometry on the outer rim of garnet‐1 and the rim of garnet‐2 yielded retrograde P–T conditions of 0.75–0.90 GPa and 610–685°C. These estimates define an anticlockwise P–T path at pressures below 1.5 GPa. Accessory monazite was dated with the electron microscope. Relicts of detrital monazite in the gneiss point to Sveconorwegian and possibly also Cryogenian provenance for the detritus of the sedimentary protolith. Metamorphic monazite in the gneiss records a wide age range from 460 to 380 Ma, with a peak c. 435 Ma and a shoulder at 395 Ma. These data suggest that the original (Ediacaran?) Baltica margin sediment (gneiss protolith) was transported to the base of an overlying plate during the early Caledonian (pre‐Scandian) orogeny. A long residence time of the metasedimentary rock at this base caused its heating to 880°C and homogenization of the early garnet chemistry. The late Caledonian (Scandian) collision between Baltica and Laurentia led to further burial, during which the studied gneiss was close to the former surface of the downgoing continental plate and, thus, cooled. The reconstructed P–T–t path confirms the multiple burial history of the Blåhø Nappe but contradicts previous ideas of deep burial of the Fjørtoft gneiss to more than 100 km.     

Internal structures and U–Pb ages of zircons from a tuff layer in the Meishucunian formation, Yunnan Province, South China

The Precambrian/Cambrian (PC/C) boundary is one of the most important intervals for the evolution of life, represented by prominent biological evolution from the first appearance of soft-bodied animals from the late Neoproterozoic to the sudden diversification of animals with mineralized skeletons in the Cambrian. In South China several areas contain many fossils and are well exposed, suitable for the investigation of PC/C boundary. However, geochronological relationships are still poorly known because of lack of combined detailed investigations of internal structures of zircons and in-situ U–Pb dating.We focus on the internal structure of zircons from a tuff layer within Bed 5 in the Meishucun section on which we undertook cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and in-situ U–Pb dating with LA-ICP-MS and nano-SIMS. Over 600 zircons from the tuff layer were classified into three types based on their CL images: oscillatory rims, inherited cores and dull structures. U–Pb dating of the internal structure of the zircons by LA-ICP-MS clearly shows a distinct unimodal age population dependent on the structure: 531 ± 17 Ma for the oscillatory rims and 515 Ma for the dull structures. The clear oscillatory zonation, the prismatic morphology, and their occurrence indicate that the oscillatory rims were formed from felsic magmatism, and that the U–Pb nano-SIMS age of 536.5 ± 2.5 Ma records the depositional age of the tuff. Our results indicate that the PC/C boundary is situated below Bed 5, and therefore the bottom of Zone 1 (Marker A) is more appropriate for the PC/C boundary than is the top of Zone 1 (Marker B). The age of a positive anomaly (P2) in the early Cambrian is estimated to be ca. 536 Ma.     

Behaviour of geochronometers and timing of metamorphic reactions during deformation at lower crustal conditions: phase equilibrium modelling and U–Pb dating of zircon,monazite, rutile and titanite from the Kalak Nappe Complex,northern Norway

This study investigates the behaviour of the geochronometers zircon, monazite, rutile and titanite in polyphase lower crustal rocks of the Kalak Nappe Complex, northern Norway. A pressure–temperature–time–deformation path is constructed by combining microstructural observations with P–T conditions derived from phase equilibrium modelling and U–Pb dating. The following tectonometamorphic evolution is deduced: A subvertical S1 fabric formed at ~730–775 °C and ~6.3–9.8 kbar, above the wet solidus in the sillimanite and kyanite stability fields. The event is dated at 702 ± 5 Ma by high‐U zircon in a leucosome. Monazite grains that grew in the S1 fabric show surprisingly little variation in chemical composition compared to a large spread in (concordant) U–Pb dates from c. 800 to 600 Ma. This age spread could either represent protracted growth of monazite during high‐grade metamorphism, or represent partially reset ages due to high‐T diffusion. Both cases imply that elevated temperatures of >600 °C persisted for over c. 200 Ma, indicating relatively static conditions at lower crustal levels for most of the Neoproterozoic. The S1 fabric was overprinted by a subhorizontal S2 fabric, which formed at ~600–660 °C and ~10–12 kbar. Rutile that originally grew during the S1‐forming event lost its Zr‐in‐rutile and U–Pb signatures during the S2‐forming event. It records Zr‐in‐rutile temperatures of 550–660 °C and Caledonian ages of 440–420 Ma. Titanite grew at the expense of rutile at slightly lower temperatures of ~550 °C during ongoing S2 deformation; U–Pb ages of c. 440–430 Ma date its crystallization, giving a minimum estimate for the age of Caledonian metamorphism and the duration of Caledonian shearing. This study shows that (i) monazite can have a large spread in U–Pb dates despite a homogeneous composition; (ii) rutile may lose its Zr‐in‐rutile and U–Pb signature during an amphibolite facies overprint; and (iii) titanite may record crystallization ages during retrograde shearing. Therefore, in order to correctly interpret U–Pb ages from different geochronometers in a polyphase deformation and reaction history, they are ideally combined with microstructural observations and phase equilibrium modelling to derive a complete P–T–t–d path.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Transcaucasian Massif (Republic of Georgia) and implications for island arc evolution of the late Precambrian Arabian–Nubian Shield

The Transcaucasian Massif (TCM) in the Republic of Georgia includes Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian ophiolites and magmatic arc assemblages that are reminiscent of the coeval island arc terranes in the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) and provides essential evidence for Pan-African crustal evolution in Western Gondwana. The metabasite–plagiogneiss–migmatite association in the Oldest Basement Unit (OBU) of TCM represents a Neoproterozoic oceanic lithosphere intruded by gabbro–diorite–quartz diorite plutons of the Gray Granite Basement Complex (GGBC) that constitute the plutonic foundation of an island arc terrane. The Tectonic Mélange Zone (TMZ) within the Middle-Late Carboniferous Microcline Granite Basement Complex includes thrust sheets composed of various lithologies derived from this arc-ophiolite assemblage. The serpentinized peridotites in the OBU and the TMZ have geochemical features and primary spinel composition (0.35) typical of mid-ocean ridge (MOR)-type, cpx-bearing spinel harzburgites. The metabasic rocks from these two tectonic units are characterized by low-K, moderate-to high-Ti, olivine-hypersthene-normative, tholeiitic basalts representing N-MORB to transitional to E-MORB series. The analyzed peridotites and volcanic rocks display a typical melt-residua genetic relationship of MOR-type oceanic lithosphere. The whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic data from these metabasic rocks define a regression line corresponding to a maximum age limit of 804 ± 100 Ma and εNd_int = 7.37 ± 0.55. Mafic to intermediate plutonic rocks of GGBC show tholeiitic to calc-alkaline evolutionary trends with LILE and LREE enrichment patterns, Y and HREE depletion, and moderately negative anomalies of Ta, Nb, and Ti, characteristic of suprasubduction zone originated magmas. U–Pb zircon dates, Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron, and Sm–Nd mineral isochron ages of these plutonic rocks range between  750 Ma and 540 Ma, constraining the timing of island arc construction as the Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian. The Nd and Sr isotopic ratios and the model and emplacement ages of massive quartz diorites in GGBC suggest that pre-Pan African continental crust was involved in the evolution of the island arc terrane. This in turn indicates that the ANS may not be made entirely of juvenile continental crust of Neoproterozoic age. Following its separation from ANS in the Early Paleozoic, TCM underwent a period of extensive crustal growth during 330–280 Ma through the emplacement of microcline granite plutons as part of a magmatic arc system above a Paleo-Tethyan subduction zone dipping beneath the southern margin of Eurasia. TCM and other peri-Gondwanan terranes exposed in a series of basement culminations within the Alpine orogenic belt provide essential information on the Pan-African history of Gondwana and the rift-drift stages of the tectonic evolution of Paleo-Tethys as a back-arc basin between Gondwana and Eurasia.     

Early Ordovician U–Pb metamorphic ages of the eclogite-bearing Seve Nappes, Northern Scandinavian Caledonides

Eclogite-grade metamorphism of the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC) in Norrbotten, Sweden, records the attempted subduction of the Baltic continental margin during the early Palaeozoic evolution of the Iapetus Ocean. Metamorphic titanite sampled from several calcsilicate gneisses of the SNC in Norrbotten occurs as part of a prograde, eclogite facies metamorphic mineral assemblage and yields concordant to nearly concordant U/Pb ages of 500–475  Ma. Later structural disruption of these rocks occurred during the Siluro-Devonian Scandian phase of the Caledonide orogeny, but the U/Pb systematics show no evidence of a second generation (metamorphic or recrystallized) of titanite, or of post-Early Ordovician disturbance through Pb loss. Hence the U/Pb ages are believed to record the time of prograde mineral growth during eclogite facies metamorphism of the SNC.
These results support earlier Sm/Nd and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar studies indicating an Early Ordovician metamorphic age for the eclogitic Norrbotten SNC, and confirm the Early Ordovician destruction of at least this segment of the Palaeozoic passive margin of Baltica. These results indicate that the SNC in the northern Scandinavian Caledonides was subducted and metamorphosed to high grade some 50–70  Myr prior to the high-grade metamorphism of the SNC in the central Scandinavian Caledonides. This result requires significantly different early Palaeozoic tectonic histories for rocks mapped as SNC in the northern Caledonides and those in the central Caledonides, despite a seemingly similar tectonostratigraphic position and broadly similar high-grade metamorphism.     

Geochronological problems related to polymetamorphism in the Limpopo Complex, South Africa

The integration of new and published geochronologic data with structural, magmatic/anatectic and pressure–temperature (P–T) process information allow the recognition of high-grade polymetamorphic granulites and associated high-grade shear zones in the Central Zone (CZ) of the Limpopo high-grade terrain in South Africa. Together, these two important features reflect a major high-grade D₃/M₃ event at ~ 2.02 Ga that overprinted the > 2.63 Ga high-grade Neoarchaean D₂/M₂ event, characterized by SW-plunging sheath folds. These major D₂/M₂ folds developed before ~ 2.63 Ga based on U–Pb zircon age data for precursors to leucocratic anatectic gneisses that cut the high-grade gneissic fabric. The D₃/M₃ shear event is accurately dated by U–Pb monazite (2017.1 ± 2.8 Ma) and PbSL garnet (2023 ± 11 Ma) age data obtained from syntectonic anatectic material, and from sheared metapelitic gneisses that were completely reworked during the high-grade shear event. The shear event was preceded by isobaric heating (P = ~ 6 kbar and T = ~ 670–780 °C), which resulted in the widespread formation of polymetamorphic granulites. Many efforts to date high-grade gneisses from the CZ using PbSL garnet dating resulted in a large spread of ages (~ 2.0–2.6 Ga) that reflect the polymetamorphic nature of these complexly deformed high-grade rocks.     

Constraining peak P–T conditions in UHP eclogites: calculated phase equilibria in kyanite‐ and phengite‐bearing eclogite of the Tromsø Nappe,Norway

Kyanite‐ and phengite‐bearing eclogites have better potential to constrain the peak metamorphic P–T conditions from phase equilibria between garnet + omphacite + kyanite + phengite + quartz/coesite than common, mostly bimineralic (garnet + omphacite) eclogites, as exemplified by this study. Textural relationships, conventional geothermobarometry and thermodynamic modelling have been used to constrain the metamorphic evolution of the Tromsdalstind eclogite from the Tromsø Nappe, one of the biggest exposures of eclogite in the Scandinavian Caledonides. The phase relationships demonstrate that the rock progressively dehydrated, resulting in breakdown of amphibole and zoisite at increasing pressure. The peak‐pressure mineral assemblage was garnet + omphacite + kyanite + phengite + coesite, inferred from polycrystalline quartz included in radially fractured omphacite. This omphacite, with up to 37 mol.% of jadeite and 3% of the Ca‐Eskola component, contains oriented rods of silica composition. Garnet shows higher grossular (X_Grs = 0.25–0.29), but lower pyrope‐content (X_Prp = 0. 37–0.39) in the core than the rim, while phengite contains up to 3.5 Si pfu. The compositional isopleths for garnet core, phengite and omphacite constrain the P–T conditions to 3.2–3.5 GPa and 720–800 °C, in good agreement with the results obtained from conventional geothermobarometry (3.2–3.5 GPa & 730–780 °C). Peak‐pressure assemblage is variably overprinted by symplectites of diopside + plagioclase after omphacite, biotite and plagioclase after phengite, and sapphirine + spinel + corundum + plagioclase after kyanite. Exhumation from ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) conditions to 1.3–1.5 GPa at 740–770 °C is constrained by the garnet rim (X_Ca^Grt = 0.18–0.21) and symplectite clinopyroxene (X_Na^Cpx = 0.13–0.21), and to 0.5–0.7 GPa at 700–800 °C by sapphirine (X_Mg = 0.86–0.87) and spinel (X_Mg = 0.60–0.62) compositional isopleths. UHP metamorphism in the Tromsø Nappe is more widespread than previously known. Available data suggest that UHP eclogites were uplifted to lower crustal levels rapidly, within a short time interval (452–449 Ma) prior to the Scandian collision between Laurentia and Baltica. The Tromsø Nappe as the highest tectonic unit of the North Norwegian Caledonides is considered to be of Laurentian origin and UHP metamorphism could have resulted from subduction along the Laurentian continental margin. An alternative is that the Tromsø Nappe belonged to a continental margin of Baltica, which had already been subducted before the terminal Scandian collision, and was emplaced as an out‐of‐sequence thrust during the Scandian lateral transport of nappes.     

UHP metamorphism recorded by kyanite-bearing eclogite in the Seve Nappe Complex of northern Jämtland,Swedish Caledonides

The first evidence for ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism in the Seve Nappe Complex of the Scandinavian Caledonides is recorded by kyanite-bearing eclogite, found in a basic dyke within a garnet peridotite body exposed close to the lake Friningen in northern Jämtland (central Sweden). UHP metamorphic conditions of ~ 3 GPa and 800 °C, within the stability field of coesite, are constrained from geothermobarometry and calculated phase equilibria for the peak-pressure assemblage garnet + omphacite + kyanite + phengite. A prograde metamorphic evolution from a lower P–T (1.5–1.7 GPa and 700–750 °C) stage during subduction is inferred from inclusions of pargasitic amphibole, zoisite and kyanite in garnet cores. The post-UHP evolution is constrained from breakdown textures, such as exsolutions of kyanite and silica from the Ca-Eskola clinopyroxene. Near isothermal decompression of eclogite to lower crustal levels (~ 0.8–1.0 GPa ) led to formation of sapphirine, spinel, orthopyroxene and diopside at granulite facies conditions. Published age data suggest a Late Ordovician (460–445 Ma) age of the UHP metamorphism, interpreted to be related to subduction of Baltoscandian continental margin underneath an outboard terrane, possibly outermost Laurentia, during the final stages of closure of the Iapetus Ocean. The UHP rocks were emplaced from the hinterland collision zone during Scandian thrusting of the nappes onto the Baltoscandian foreland basin and platform. The record of P–T conditions and geochonological data from UHP rocks occurring within the allochthonous units of the Scandinavian Caledonides indicate that Ordovician UHP events may have affected much wider parts of the orogen than previously thought, involving deep subduction of the continental crust prior to final Scandian collision between Baltica and Laurentia.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology of high-grade rocks and charnockites from the eastern Amery Ice Shelf and southwestern Prydz Bay, East Antarctica: Constraints on Late Mesoproterozoic to Cambrian tectonothermal events related to supercontinent assembly

The eastern Amery Ice Shelf (EAIS) and southwestern Prydz Bay are situated near the junction between the Late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian high-grade complex of the Prydz Belt and the Early Neoproterozoic Rayner Complex. The area contains an important geological section for understanding the tectonic evolution of East Antarctica. SHRIMP U–Pb analyses on zircons of felsic orthogneisses and mafic granulites from the area indicate that their protoliths were emplaced during four episodes of ca. 1380 Ma, ca. 1210–1170 Ma, ca. 1130–1120 Ma and ca. 1060–1020 Ma. Subsequently, these rocks experienced two episodes of high-grade metamorphism at > 970 Ma and ca. 930–900 Ma, and furthermore, most of them (except for some from the Munro Kerr Mountains and Reinbolt Hills) were subjected to high-grade metamorphic recrystallization at ca. 535 Ma. Two suites of charnockite, i.e. the Reinbolt and Jennings charnockites, intrude the Late Mesoproterozoic/Early Neoproterozoic and Late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian high-grade complexes at > 955 Ma and 500 Ma, respectively. These, together with associated granites of similar ages, reflect late- to post-orogenic magmatism occurring during the two major orogenic events. The similarity in age patterns suggests that the EAIS–Prydz Bay region may have suffered from the same high-grade tectonothermal evolution with the Rayner Complex and the Eastern Ghats of India. Three segments might constitute a previously unified Late Mesoproterozoic/Early Neoproterozoic orogen that resulted from the long-term magmatic accretion from ca. 1380 to 1020 Ma and eventual collision before ca. 900 Ma between India and the western portion of East Antarctica. The Prydz Belt may have developed on the eastern margin of the Indo-Antarctica continental block, and the Late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian suture assembling Indo-Antarctica and Australo-Antarctica continental blocks should be located southeastwards of the EAIS–Prydz Bay region.