Pre-Alpine history of the pennine zone in the Tauern Window,Austria: U-Pb and Rb-Sr geochronology

Zircon ages from major lithologies of the Zentralgneis suggest that much of the Variscan magmatism in the Tauern Window is older than previously suggested. In the southeast Tauern Window a tonalite has been dated at 314±7 m.y. and a granodioritic biotite augen gneiss at 313±10 m.y. Two granodiorites from the Granatspitzkern yielded zircon data consistent with a similar age. These zircon data require re-interpretation of some previously published Rb-Sr whole rock ages and raise the possibility that Alpine metamorphism caused more widespread disturbance of Rb-Sr whole rocks than commonly supposed. Rb-Sr data on fabric-forming white micas from two banded gneisses give ages close to 220 m.y., indicating the foliation in these rocks is pre-Alpine and has not been greatly affected by Alpine recrystallisation.     

Paleozoic migmatites affected by high-grade tertiary metamorphism in the central Alps (Valle Bodengo,Italy)

The Lepontine Gneiss Complex of southern Switzerland and northern Italy is characterized by high-grade metamorphism and intensive deformation of Alpine age with migmatites prevalent in the area with the highest metamorphic grade. Petrological and structural observations are generally inconclusive but indicate in some places an Alpine age for the migmatite formation. To determine the time of migmatite formation a geochronologic study was undertaken in one of the best exposed areas, the Valle Bodengo, Italy. Rb-Sr whole-rock errorchrons of intrusive migmatite phases and of two rather homogeneous granitoid gneiss bodies yield apparent ages between 280 and 350 m.y. They suggest a Hercynian or older igneous history for these rocks. The U-Pb ages of the euhedral zircons are highly discordant, but they do point to the presence of zircon components more than 450 m.y. old. The concordia-intercept ages are incompatible with the Rb-Sr data and the low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of about 0.706. These low initial ratios suggest that either the bulk of the granitoid material is not much older than Hercynian, or older crustal material was isotopically homogenized on a regional scale with rocks that had low Rb/Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (e.g. the lower crust or upper mantle) during a Hercynian metamorphism. Rb-Sr small-scale whole-rock isochrons and tie lines of adjacent, lithologically different rock phases give Alpine ages, the best isochron yielding 22 m.y. This coincides with concordant U-Pb ages of monazites of 23 to 24 m.y. Rb-Sr mineral isoohrons (muscovite, biotite, feldspars, apatite) give ages of 18–21 m.y. Our interpretation is that this age pattern resulted due to rapid cooling after the climax of the last phase of the Alpine metamorphism and we conclude that high-grade metamorphic conditions existed during the upper Oligocene or early Miocene. Other investigators have suggested that the Alpine metamorphism had a climax 35–40 m.y. ago and that the younger mineral ages are a result of simple continuous cooling due to uplift. Based on this study and other recent geochronological studies in the Lepotine Gneiss Complex we suggest that there had to be a thermal maximum at about 20–25 m.y. The example of Valle Bodengo demonstrates that the areal coincidence of the zone of highest-grade metamorphism with the occurrence of migmatites does not necessarily mean that metamorphism and migmatite formation were coeval and related to each other.     

Evolution of feldspars at the amphibolite-granulite-facies transition in augen gneisses (SW Norway): geochemistry and Sr isotopes

The Sveconorwegian Augen Orthogneisses of Rogaland — Vest-Agder (SW Norway) were emplaced as amphibole- and biotite-bearing granodiorites at 1040 Ma (concordant Rb/Sr and zircon U/Pb ages). They underwent prograde metamorphism which increased from lower amphibolite-facies in the eastern zone to granulite-facies in the western zone, close to the Rogaland anorthosite complex. K-feldspar megacrysts initially crystallised as phenocrysts and were chemically equilibrated during metamorphism, as shown by the flat Ba concentration profiles and the increase of the anorthite content from An_1.1 in the amphibolitefacies to An_2.6 in the granulite-facies. This increase of the An content suggests an increase in metamorphic temperature. The REE content of the megacrysts is related to the associated accessory minerals which depend upon the metamorphic grade: sphene + allanite + apatite + zircon and rarely thorite in amphibolite-facies, and apatite + zircon + monazite ± thorite in lower amphibolite-and granulite-facies. Amphibole and biotite inclusions in megacrysts were also equilibrated during metamorphism. Groundmass K-feldspar and plagioclase experienced late-metamorphic changes during uplift. An internal Rb/Sr mineral isochron (plagioclase, apatite, K-feldspar) defines an age of 870 Ma, which represents the closure of the Rb/Sr isotopic system in minerals of the augen gneisses. This age also represents a K-feldspar cooling age in regionally distributed augen gneiss samples. The K-feldspar cooling age appears to be similar to or slightly older than the biotite cooling age.     

Comparative geochronology in the reversely zoned plutons of the Bottle Lake Complex,Maine: U-Pb on zircons and Rb-Sr on whole rocks

The Bottle Lake Complex is a composite granitic batholith emplaced into Cambrian to Lower Devonian metasedimentary rocks. Both plutons (Whitney Cove and Passadumkeag River) are very coarse grained hornblende and biotite-bearing granites showing petrographic and geochemical reverse zonation. Two linear whole rock Rb/Sr isochrons on xenolith-free Whitney Cove and Passadumkeag River samples indicate ages of 379±5 m.y. and 381±4 m.y., respectively, in close agreement with published K-Ar ages for biotite from Whitney Cove of 377 m.y. and 379 m.y., and for hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar determinations from Passadumkeag River which indicate an age of 378±4 m.y. The initial Sr isotopic ratio for Whitney Cove is 0.70553 and for Passadumkeag River is 0.70414. A whole-rock isochron on a suite of xenoliths from the Passadumkeag River granite indicates a whole rock Rb-Sr age of 496±14 m.y., with an initial Sr isotopic ratio of 0.70262.Two types of zircon exhibiting wide petrographic diversity are evident in variable proportions throughout the batholith. One of these types is preferentially found in a mafic xenolith and it is widely dispersed in the host granites forming discrete grains and probably as inclusions in the other type of zircon. U-Pb analyses of zircons give concordia intercept ages of 399±8 m.y. for Whitney Cove, 388±6 m.y. for Passadumkeag River, 415 m.y. for a mafic xenolith in Passadumkeag River, and 396±32 for combined Whitney Cove and Passadumkeag River granite. The zircons show a spread of up to 20 m.y. in the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages. Omitting the finest zircon fraction in the Passadumkeag River results in a concordia intercept age of 381±3 m.y., in better agreement with the whole-rock Rb-Sr and mineral K-Ar ages. For the Whitney Cove pluton, exclusion of the finest fraction does not bring the zircon age into agreement with the Rb-Sr data.Age estimates by the whole rock Rb-Sr, mineral K-Ar and Ar-Ar methods suggest that the crystallization age of the plutons is about 380 m.y., slightly younger than the U-Pb zircon intercept ages. A possible reason for this discrepancy is that the zircons contain inherited lead. Thus, zircon U-Pb ages might represent a mixture of newly developed zircon and older inherited zircon, whereas the Rb-Sr whole rock age (380 m.y.) reflects the time of crystallization, and the argon ages result from rapid cooling after emplacement.     

Zircon dating of North Bohemian granulites, Czech Republic: further evidence for the Lower Carboniferous high-pressure event in the Bohemian Massif

U-Pb zircon and rutile multigrain ages and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb zircon evaporation ages are reported from high-pressure felsic and metapelitic granulites from northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. The granulites, in contrast to those from other occurrences in the Bohemian Massif, do not show evidence of successive HT/MPLP overprints. Multigrain size fractions of nearly spherical, multifaceted, metamorphic zircons from three samples are slightly discordant and yield a U-Pb Concordia intercept age of 348 ± 10 Ma, whereas single zircon evaporation of two samples resulted in ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 339 ± 1.5 and 339 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. A rutile fraction from one sample has a U-Pb Concordia intercept age of 346 ± 14 Ma. All ages are identical, within error, and a mean age of 342 ± 5 Ma was adopted to reflect the peak of HP metamorphism. Because rutile has a lower closing temperature for the U-Pb isotopic system than zircon, the results and the P-T data imply rapid uplift and cooling after peak metamorphism. The above age is identical to ages for high-grade metamorphism reported from the southern Bohemian Massif and the Granulite Massif in Saxony. It can be speculated that all these granulites were part of the same lower crustal unit in early Carboniferous, being separated later due to crustal stacking and subsequent late Variscan orogenic collapse.     

Zircon U---Pb and biotite Rb---Sr dating of the wami river granulites, Eastern Granulites, Tanzania: Evidence for approximately 715 Ma old granulite-facies metamorphism and final Pan-African cooling approximately 475 Ma ago

A UPb investigation of suites of zircons from five granulites in the Wami River area, Tanzania, yields a 17-points discordia with upper and lower intercepts at 714_?49⁺³⁶ Ma and 538_?35⁺⁴⁹ Ma, respectively. These systematics are interpreted to indicate an age of approximately 715 Ma (Pan African) for the M1 granulite-facies metamorphism, whereas the lower intercept is related to a stage in the uplift and cooling following the M2 amphibolite-facies retrogradation (elsewhere dated at approximately 650 Ma). Three of the granulites contain minor amounts of an inherited, > 1600 Ma old zircon component, probably derived from the igneous precursors of the granulites. A suite of zircons from the adjacent biotite gneisses may signal a provenance age of approximately 2600 Ma (Tanzania craton?), but the U-Pb systematics do not clearly reflect the amphibolitefacies metamorphism (correlated with the M2 partial retrogradation of the granulites) that transformed the sedimentary sequences into gneisses (any petrographic record of a possible older metamorphic influence being absent). Biotite/whole-rock pairs from the same samples yield Rb-Sr ages between about 470 and 485 Ma for the granulites and about 458 Ma for the gneiss. They are interpreted as ‘cooling ages’ and set an age between about 485 and 460 Ma to the final cooling of the crust through the closure temperature of biotite to Rb-Sr. The subsequent granulite-facies and amphibolite-facies events and their chronology are fitted in the continent—continent collision model for the evolution of the Mozambique belt advocated by the first author.     

Geochronology of a polymetamorphic and anatectic gneiss region: The moldanubicum of the area Lam-Deggendorf,eastern Bavaria,Germany

Rb-Sr isotopic analyses of whole-rocks and biotite and U-Th-Pb analyses of zircon and monazite reveal regional metamorphic events for the Ordovician (Caledonian metamorphism) and the Carboniferous (Variscan=Hercynian orogeny), both accompanied by anatexis. The extent of the Caledonian and Variscan anatexis, however, cannot be evaluated, so far, because the field petrographic criteria are not sufficient to distinguish clearly between early and late Paleozoic anatexites. Evidence for a Precambrian metamorphism has not been found. Rb-Sr whole-rock isochrons obtained on leucosomes and melanosomes of partially molten paragneisses are interpreted as a minimum age of the second, early Variscan anatexis. The alternative explanation of the isochrons as a result of local Sr isotopic redistribution without a melt involved is considered less likely. Concordant and nearly concordant zircon ages (318–335 m.y.) of a coarse-grained granite and of diatexites are regarded as evidence for an intensive early Variscan granitization and palingenesis. Concordant zircon ages of diorite dykes, crosscutting the anatexites, establish a lower time limit of 309–312 m.y. for the Variscan anatexis. Rb-Sr ages of biotite (310-290 m.y.) indicate the end of the Variscan metamorphism. Estimates of the time of sedimentation or diagenesis based on Rb-Sr whole-rock analyses for some metasediment series in the north of the area yield maximum ages of 550 m.y., provided that Rb and Sr migration did not exceed substantially the extent of the outcrops (30–500 m) between the time of diagenesis and the Ordovician metamorphism. Otherwise, an upper limit of 2000–2300 m.y., which is the primary age of detrital zircon populations, can be established. Zircon populations of paragneisses and their anatectic derivatives were separated into size and shape fractions. From morphologic studies and U-Pb isotopic analyses, they were found to be composites of young concordant (318–325 m.y.) and old, highly discordant zircon components, with more than fifty per cent of young crystals in some anatexites. The apparent ages of the composites are 320–750 m.y. The U concentrations of the newly formed crystals can be higher, equal, or lower than those of the inherited zircon component. Some peculiarities in the concordia plot of the zircon data of paragneisses and migmatites (curved pattern; inversion of the generally observed systematics with respect to U concentration, grain size, degree of discordance) are interpreted as the result of polyepisodic disturbances of the inherited crystals in connection with new zircon growth. In the concordia diagram, the data points of the individual zircon grains containing inherited components appear to plot in band or wedgelike areas, and not on lines as the patterns of size fractions of the same zircon populations could pretend. Consequently, ages obtained by extrapolation of the regression curves to the concordia are not necessarily meaningful and require verification by other methods.     

Mineral isotope evidence for the contemporaneous process of Mesozoic granite emplacement and gneiss metamorphism in the Dabie orogen

Kinetics of isotopic equilibrium in the mineral radiometric systems of igneous and metamorphic rocks is an important issue in geochronology. It turns out that temperature is the most important factor in dictating isotopic equilibrium or disequilibrium with respect to diffusion mechanism. Contemporaneous occurrence of Mesozoic granites and gneisses in the Dabie orogen of China allows us to evaluate the thermal effect of magma emplacement and associated metamorphism on mineral radiometric systems. Zircon U-Pb, mineral Rb-Sr and O isotope analyses were carried out for a Cretaceous granite and its host gneiss (foliated granite) from North Dabie. Zircon U-Pb dating gave consistently concordant ages of 127 ± 3 Ma and 128 ± 2 Ma for the granite and the gneiss, respectively. A direct correspondence in equilibrium state is observed between the O and Rb-Sr isotope systems of both granitic and gneissic minerals. Mineral O isotope temperatures correlate with O diffusion closure temperatures under conditions of slow cooling, indicating attainment and preservation of O isotope equilibrium in these minerals. The mineral Rb-Sr isochron of granite, constructed by biotite, feldspar, apatite and whole-rock with the O isotope equilibrium, yields a meaningful age of 118 ± 3 Ma, which is in accordance with the mineral Rb-Sr isochron age of 122 ± 1 Ma for the host gneiss. The consistency in both U-Pb and Rb-Sr ages between the granite and the gneiss suggests a contemporaneous process of crystallizing the zircons and resetting the Rb-Sr radiometric systems during magma emplacement and granite foliation. Whereas the zircon U-Pb ages for both granite and gneiss are interpreted as the timing of magma crystallization, the young Rb-Sr isochron ages record the timing of Sr diffusion closure during the slow cooling. Protolith of the gneiss crystallized shortly before intrusion of the granite, so that it was able to be foliated by voluminous emplacement of coeval mafic to felsic magmas derived by anatexis of orogenic lithospheric keel. Therefore, extensional collapse of collision-thickened crust at Early Cretaceous is suggested to trigger the post-collisional magmatism, which in turn serves as an essential driving force for the contemporaneous high-T deformation/metamorphism.     

Rb-Sr whole-rock and 40Ar/39Ar mineral ages of the Togus and Hallowell quartz monzonite and Three Mile Pond granodiorite plutons,South-Central Maine: Their bearing on post-Acadian cooling history

Generally synmetamorphic granitic stocks intrude high-grade, Silurian-lowermost Devonian metasedimentary rocks near Augusta, Maine. Rb-Sr whole-rock isochrons (8 points each) define mutually overlapping crystallization ages of 394±8 m.y. (Togus quartz monzonite), 387±11 m.y. (Hallowell quartz monzonite), and 381±14 m.y. (Three Mile Pond biotite granodiorite), thereby providing a narrow chronologic bracket for Acadian tectonothermal activity in the area. Igneous hornblende, muscovite, and biotite display internally concordant ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age spectra with plateau dates of 350 m.y. (hornblende) and 300-265 m.y. (muscovite and biotite), with an overall southwestward younging trend. The mineral dates are similar to those recorded in adjacent portions of the regional metamorphic terrain and suggest a prolonged postmagmatic cooling which closely followed the diachronous northeast-southwest post-Acadian cooling of the country rocks. No evidence for a distinct Permian thermal overprint of older isotopic systems has been observed.     

Geochronology of Archaean gneisses and tonalites from north of the Frederikshåbs isblink,S.W. Greenland

The main rock types in the area north of the Frederikshåbs isblink are streaky gneisses, massive tonalites and ‘supracrustals’. The gneisses are thought to be the parent rocks of the tonalite and can be seen to merge into tonalite across a narrow zone of nebulite. Rb-Sr whole rock points from samples of gneiss and tonalite fall on a common isochron with an age of 2662 ± 116 m.y. (2σ) and initial ratio of 0.7032 ± 0.0008 (2σ) (half-life of ⁸⁷Rb = 50 b.y.). The uncertainties in the isochron could mask small age and initial ratio differences between the gneiss and tonalite. However, our present interpretation is that the isochron reflects a homogenization of Sr isotopes within and between the two rock types. The presence of two out of four K-feldspar points on the whole rock isochron is interpreted as evidence that the K-feldspar became closed to Sr isotope migration at the same time as the whole rocks. Subsequent local isotopic disturbance has resulted in a minor loss of radiogenic strontium from two of the samples. The interpretation of the K-feldspar as a product of the epidoteamphibolite facies metamorphism allows the conclusion that the whole rock-K-feldspar isochron is recording a Sr isotopic homogenization during this event and is not related to the formation of the gneiss or the tonalite. Rb-Sr closure ages of ca. 2515 m.y. for muscovite and ca. 1950 m.y. for biotite could be recording separate isotopic disturbances or the cessation of strontium isotope migration as the minerals cooled through their characteristic blocking temperatures. Zircons from both the gneiss and the tonalite have igneous morphological features. Their U-Pb systems are complex, however, and suggest a multistage history of isotopic disturbance. Whereas the zircon U-Pb and whole rock Rb-Sr results suggest a maximum age of approximately 3000 m.y. for the parent rocks of the gneiss and tonalite they do not entirely exclude the possibility that the rocks represent older crust in which the isotopic systems have been almost completely reset ca. 2700 m.y. ago.     

Rb-Sr and K-Ar geochronologic and isotopic studies,Llano Uplift,central Texas

Two major episodes are evident in the metamorphic and igneous Precambrian basement of the Llano Uplift, central Texas. Dynamothermal metamorphism was accompanied by minor basaltic and tonalitic syntectonic plutonism. This was followed by a second period of thermal overprinting accompanying emplacement of high-K₂O, high-level major granite plutons. Extensive isotopic age work by Zartman, published in the mid-1960s, suggests that development of the basement complex, spanning an interval of 150 m.y. or more, began with deposition of Valley Spring Gneiss (the lowest unit) and terminated about 1,050 m.y. ago with final postmetamorphic cooling (indicated by retention ages of Ar and Sr in biotite). We have supplemented these data with more than 50 new K-Ar and Rb-Sr analyses.Two foliated plutons in the southeast are 1,167±12m.y. (2) old, with distinctly different initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. Field relationships and isotopic data indicate that these plutons are the earliest yet known in the Uplift. Metamorphosed basalt dikes and gabbro bodies were emplaced immediately preceding and following the syntectonic plutons. Eleven of these rocks had extremely uniform initial ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr=0.7029±0.0005. A Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron of the unfoliated Enchanted Rock pluton indicates an age of 1,048±34 m.y. with initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr= 0.7048±0.0007. One of the northern unfoliated granites, the Lone Grove pluton, gives a whole-rock isochron age of 1,056±12 m.y., with initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7061±0.0003. All of the intrusive rocks have initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios consistent with a source in the mantle or lower crust, but not in ancient remobilized continental crust. Six K-Ar hornblende ages from metabasalts are 1,078±19 m.y. (1), in general agreement with K-Ar and Rb-Sr mineral ages elsewhere in the eastern Llano Uplift. A metasedimentary Valley Spring Gneiss sample from the western Uplift has a whole rock-muscovite Rb-Sr age of 1,129±9 m.y. Field and isotopic data are now sufficiently numerous to permit a moderately detailed reconstruction of the Precambrian history of the area.     

Isotopic dating of pre-Alpidic rocks from the island of Ios (Cyclades,Greece)

The lower tectonic unit of Ios provides evidence of an at least four stage metamorphic and intrusive history which well might be generalized for large parts of the internal Pelagonian.Metamorphic country rocks of unknown age were intruded about 500 Ma ago, as concluded from a Rb-Sr whole rock (WR) isochron on relic tonalites to granodiorites which largely escaped the polyphase postmagmatic overprints.A Hercynian amphibolite facies metamorphism, during which the igneous rocks were partly recrystallized to orthogneisses, is dated by a lower intercept age of 300–305 Ma of U-Pb determinations on zircons and by three almost concordant Rb-Sr muscovite-WR ages of 295 to 288 Ma.K-Ar analyses on these muscovites and on biotites, and Rb-Sr tie lines WR-biotite and WR with other relic magmatic minerals yielded various apparent ages between 260 and 60 Ma. They are interpreted as mixed ages between a Hercynian cooling age and the two stage Alpidic overprints.White micas formed during the Eocene high P/T and/or Oligocene/Miocene Barrovian-type overprints yielded K-Ar dates ranging from 82 to 26 Ma, as well as a single Rb-Sr date of 13 Ma. These Alpidic dates resemble the more detailed age patterns of other Cycladic islands. But they are not sufficient for an independent dating of the Tertiary evolution on Ios island.     

康定杂岩Rb-Sr、Sm-Nd同位素系统及其意义

通过对康定—冕宁地区出露的英云闪长岩、黑云角闪斜长片麻岩、角闪变粒岩全岩及其中所分离出的角闪石、黑云母、斜长石、钾长石的Rb-Sr、Sm-Nd同位素的系统测定,结合岩石的锆石U-Pb年龄结果,确定这些变质杂岩由于经历了复杂的形成过程与变质历史,Rb-Sr、Sm-Nd同位素体系难以确定其结晶年龄。由单矿物与全岩Rb-Sr、Sm-Nd体系拟合的~700 M a的等时线年龄反映了角闪岩相-高角闪岩相的变质作用年龄。Sm-Nd同位素体系由于在变质作用过程中的部分开放性,很容易给出无意义的较老的混合年龄。康定杂岩结晶后并没有经历麻粒岩相变质作用,区域上所含的麻粒岩透镜体可能是新元古代(773~721 M a)期间由Rod in ia超大陆裂解产生的新生洋壳向扬子克拉通陆块俯冲消减过程的变质产物。俯冲到一定深度后,由于板片被拉断,软流圈上涌导致变质洋壳板片岩石、先前底侵变质的镁铁质岩石及扬子陆块长英质基底岩石发生部分熔融,以镁铁质岩石熔融产生的熔浆为主(>70%),与长英质基底岩石熔融产生的熔浆混合形成w(Na2O)/w(K2O)>1的TTG组合。     

Radiometric constraints on hydrothermal circulation in cooling granite plutons

Improved precision of radiometric dating of ore deposits can provide information about the thermal history of hydrothermal circulation in cooling plutons. In Jales a Hercynian porphyritic two-mica granite and pre-Ordovician mica schists are cut and intensely altered by the Campo gold-quartz vein. The unaltered granite must be younger than 320 ± 6 Ma, and gives mica Rb-Sr ages of 308.5 ± 2.4 (1) Ma (muscovite) and 294.5 ± 1.1 Ma (biotite). Alteration muscovites from the granite give a weighted mean Rb-Sr age of 308.1 ± 1.5 Ma, and a mean ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar age of 300.7 ± 2.8 Ma. Alteration muscovites from the mica schists give similar ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages, averaging 303.0 ± 2.8 Ma. The results suggest that circulation of the Campo mineralising fluids took place no more than 2–4 Ma after the granite cooled through the muscovite Rb-Sr closure temperature, about 500 °C, and that subsequent cooling to biotite closure at about 300 °C took place at less than 14°C/Ma. The mean cooling rate following emplacement was 15 to 25 °C/Ma. The most detailed comparable published data, for the Cornubian ore field, imply much faster cooling rates.     

Two billion years old relicts in the Hercynian belt of Western Europe

Summary Icart orthogneisses (Guernsey, Channel Islands) present, in spite of their petrographic homogeneity, Rb-Sr whole rock data strongly scattered between two reference isochrons at 2.55 and 1.91 b.y. We present a U-Pb zircon age of 2018±15m.y. (upper intersection on Concordia) which is probably close to the emplacement age of the whole massif. This age is so far the oldest obtained from a rock of igneous origin in the Hercynian belt of Western Europe.     

Geochronological constraints on the timing of granitoid magmatism, metamorphism and post-metamorphic cooling in the Hercynian crustal cross-section of Calabria

Exposed cross‐sections of the continental crust are a unique geological situation for crustal evolution studies, providing the possibility of deciphering the time relationships between magmatic and metamorphic events at all levels of the crust. In the cross‐section of southern and northern Calabria, U–Pb, Rb–Sr and K–Ar mineral ages of granulite facies metapelitic migmatites, peraluminous granites and amphibolite facies upper crustal gneisses provide constraints on the late‐Hercynian peak metamorphism and granitoid magmatism as well as on the post‐metamorphic cooling. Monazite from upper crustal amphibolite facies paragneisses from southern Calabria yields similar U–Pb ages (295–293±4 Ma) to those of granulite facies metamorphism in the lower crust and of intrusions of calcalkaline and metaluminous granitoids in the middle crust (300±10 Ma). Monazite and xenotime from peraluminous granites in the middle to upper crust of the same crustal section provide slightly older intrusion ages of 303–302±0.6 Ma. Zircon from a mafic to intermediate sill in the lower crust yields a lower concordia intercept age of 290±2 Ma, which may be interpreted as the minimum age for metamorphism or intrusion. U–Pb monazite ages from granulite facies migmatites and peraluminous granites of the lower and middle crust from northern Calabria (Sila) also point to a near‐synchronism of peak metamorphism and intrusion at 304–300±0.4 Ma. At the end of the granulite facies metamorphism, the lower crustal rocks were uplifted into mid‐crustal levels (10–15 km) followed by nearly isobaric slow cooling (c. 3 °C Ma^?1) as indicated by muscovite and biotite K–Ar and Rb–Sr data between 210±4 and 123±1 Ma. The thermal history is therefore similar to that of the lower crust of southern Calabria. In combination with previous petrological studies addressing metamorphic textures and P–T conditions of rocks from all crustal levels, the new geochronological results are used to suggest that the thermal evolution and heat distribution in the Calabrian crust were mainly controlled by advective heat input through magmatic intrusions into all crustal levels during the late‐Hercynian orogeny.     

Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd Geochronology of the Eppawala Metamorphic Rocks and Carbonatite,Wanni Complex,Sri Lanka

Petrological studies on the surrounding metamorphic rocks of the Eppawala carbonatite body, Wanni complex, Sri Lanka, revealed that these rocks had been metamorphosed under amphibolite to granulite facies conditions. Garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss shows lower range of metamorphic temperature (730–770°C) than the migmatite gneiss (750–780°C) and the pressure varies from 6.6–7.8 kbar to 5.6–6.4 kbar respectively. The metamorphic age of the garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss and migmatite gneiss dated 607±23 Ma and 626±16 Ma, respectively for mineral — whole rock isochron in Sm-Nd system. These ages are compatible with the ages of regional high-grade metamorphism occurred 610–550 Ma in the three crustal units in Sri Lanka.Rb-Sr system for biotite, apatite and whole-rock fractions suggests 493±5 Ma for the Eppawala carbonatite body. This age indicates the cooling age of the biotite. The presence of non-crystalline carbonatite matrix and large hexagonal apatite crystals suggests a slow cooling history. Further, low closure temperature of biotite in Rb-Sr system suggests that the intrusion age of carbonatite body should be more than 493 Ma, but non-metamorphosed nature provides evidence that the intrusion age of the carbonatite body should be less than the period of regional metamorphism 610–550 Ma. Therefore, Eppawala carbonatite body has a strong possibility to be a late to post magmatic intrusion. The other late to post magmatic intrusions in the Wanni complex and Highland complex are dated between 580–550 Ma. Therefore, the most probable intrusion age of the Eppawala carbonatite body is suggested to be around 550 Ma.     

Dating the geologic history of Oman’s Semail ophiolite: insights from U-Pb geochronology

Eclogites from the deepest structural levels beneath the Semail ophiolite, Oman, record the subduction and later exhumation of the Arabian continental margin. Published ages for this high pressure event reveal large discrepancies between the crystallisation ages of certain eclogite-facies minerals and apparent cooling ages of micas. We present precise U-Pb zircon (78.95 ± 0.13 Ma) and rutile (79.6 ± 1.1 Ma) ages for the eclogites, as well as new U-Pb zircon ages for trondhjemites from the Semail ophiolite (95.3 ± 0.2 Ma) and amphibolites from the metamorphic sole (94.48 ± 0.23 Ma). The new eclogite ages reinforce published U-Pb zircon and Rb-Sr mineral-whole rock isochron ages, yet are inconsistent with published interpretations of older ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar phengite and Sm-Nd garnet dates. We show that the available U-Pb and Rb-Sr ages, which are in tight agreement, fit better with the available geological evidence, and suggest that peak metamorphism of the continental margin occurred during the later stages of ophiolite emplacement.     

K-Ar and Rb-Sr Dating of blue amphiboles,micas, and associated minerals from the Western Alps

The results of 63 new radiometric K-Ar and Rb-Sr measurements on metamorphic minerals from the internal units of the Western Alps show Hercynian, Permian, as well as three Alpine age groups. The first of the Alpine ages cover the period between 78 and 100 m.y. and refer to high pressure parageneses. The second group comprises K-Ar 39 to 50 m.y. ages; these values are affected by some inherited argon, as indicated by Rb-Sr measurements which point to 35–36±4–5 m.y., i.e. similar to the culmination of the Lepontine crystallization. The final group includes 15 to 30 m.y. ages. It is not yet clear which geologic processes have led to this isotope re-equilibration. Large amounts of inherited argon have been found in Alpine metamorphic minerals of the basement rocks.     

Alpine and pre-Alpine magmatism in the root-zone of the western Central Alps

 The highest grade of metamorphism and associated structural elements in orogenic belts may be inherited from earlier orogenic events. We illustrate this point using magmatic and metamorphic rocks from the southern steep belt of the Lepontine Gneiss Dome (Central Alps). The U-Pb zircon ages from an anatectic granite at Verampio and migmatites at Corcapolo and Lavertezzo yield 280–290 Ma, i.e., Hercynian ages. These ages indicate that the highest grade of metamorphism in several crystalline nappes of the Lepontine Gneiss Dome is pre-Alpine. Alpine metamorphism reached sufficiently high grade to reset the Rb-Sr and K-Ar systematics of mica and amphibole, but generally did not result in crustal melting, except in the steep belt to the north of the Insubric Line, where numerous 29 to 26 Ma old pegmatites and aplites had intruded syn- and post-kinematically into gneisses of the ductile Simplon Shear Zone. The emplacement age of these pegmatites gives a minimum estimate for the age of the Alpine metamorphic peak in the Monte Rosa nappe. The U-Pb titanite ages of 33 to 31 Ma from felsic porphyritic veins represent a minimum-age estimate for Alpine metamorphism in the Sesia Zone. A porphyric vein emplaced at 448±5 Ma (U-Pb monazite) demonstrates that there existed a consolidated Caledonian basement in the Sesia Zone. Received: 23 May 1995/Accepted: 12 October 1995