Western Fiordland orthogneiss: Early Cretaceous arc magmatism and granulite facies metamorphism,New Zealand

U-Pb isotopic analyses of zircons from a distinctive suite of previously undated granulite facies metaplutonic rocks, here termed the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO), in Fiordland, southwest New Zealand, indicate synkinematic magmatic emplacement between 120 and 130 Ma ago. These rocks were previously interpreted as possibly being of Precambrian age. Initial Pb and Sr ratios are consistent with arc/subduction related magmagenesis with little or no involvement of ancient continental crust. Subsequent high pressure (>12 kb) metamorphism of the WFO may reflect a major collision event involving crustal thickening by overthrusting of a >15 km thick sequence. Metamorphism ceased 116 Ma ago based on²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of zircon from a retrogressed granulite. U-Pb isotopic analysis of apatite, along with previously published Rb/Sr mineral ages, indicate that final uplift and cooling to <300–400° C was largely completed by 90 Ma. The average uplift rate during this period is inferred to have been in excess of 1 mm/yr.Unmetamorphosed gabbronorites of the Darran Complex in eastern Fiordland, inferred by some investigators to be the granulite protolith, yield concordant U/Pb zircon ages of 137±1 Ma. U-Pb ages of apatite, and previously published K/Ar mineral ages indicate that these rocks experienced a rapid and simple cooling history lasting only a few million years. The high-grade WFO and unmetamorphosed Darran Complex are now separated by a profound structural break. However, the ages and similarities in initial Pb and Sr isotopic ratios suggest that both suites are products of the same Early Cretaceous cycle of subduction-related magmatism. The timing of Early Cretaceous magmatism and metamorphism, collision and resultant crustal thickening, and subsequent great uplift and erosion in Fiordland has important implications for terrane accretion and the evolution of relative plate motions along the New Zealand segment of the Gondwana margin.     

New age constraints on the cooling and unroofing history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith (Kargil area), N. W. India

Thermotectonic history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith in the Kargil area, N. W. India, is inferred from new age data obtained here in conjunction with previously published ages. Fission-track (FT) ages on apatite fall around 20±2 Ma recording cooling through temperatures of ∼100°C and indicating an unroofing of 4 km of the Ladakh Range since the Early Miocene. Coexisting apatite and zircon FT ages from two samples in Kargil show the rocks to have cooled at an average rate of 5–6°C/Ma in the past 40 Ma. Zircon FT ages together with mica K−Ar cooling ages from the Ladakh Batholith cluster around 40–50 Ma, probably indicating an Eocene phase of uplift and erosion that affected the bulk of the batholith after the continental collision of India with the Ladakh arc at 55 Ma. Components of the granitoids in Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene sediments of the Indus Molasse in Ladakh supports this idea. Three hornblende K−Ar ages of 90 Ma, 55 Ma, and 35 Ma are also reported; these distinctly different ages probably reflect cooling through 500–550°C of three phases of I-type plutonism in Ladakh also evidenced by other available radiometric data: 102 Ma (mid-Cretaceous), 60 Ma (Palaeocene), and 40 Ma (Late Eocene); the last phase being localised sheet injections. The geodynamic implications of the age data for the India-Asia collision are discussed.     

Differential unroofing within the central metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville Orogen: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology

An ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar thermochronological investigation of upper greenschist to granulite facies gneiss, amphibolite and marble was conducted in the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB), Ontario, to constrain its cooling history. Incremental ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar release spectra indicate that substantial differential unroofing occurred in the CMB between 1000 and 600 Ma. A consistent pattern of significantly older hornblende and phlogopite ⁴⁰Ar/³Ar cooling ages on the southeast sides of major northeast striking shear zones is interpreted to reflect late displacement due to extensional deformation. Variations in hornblende ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age plateaus exceeding 200 Ma occur over distances less than 50 km with major age discontinuities occurring across the Robertson Lake shear zone and the Sharbot Lake mylonite zone which separate the Sharbot Lake terrane from the Elzevir and Frontenac terranes. Extensional displacements of up to 14 km are inferred between the Frontenac and Elzevir terranes of the CMB. No evidence for significant post argon-closure vertical displacement is indicated in the vicinity of the Perth Road mylonite within the Frontenac terrane. Variations of nearly 100 Ma in phlogopite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages occur in undeformed marble on either side of the Bancroft Shear Zone. Phlogopites from sheared and mylonitized marble within the shear zone yield ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar diffusional loss profiles, but have older geologically meaningless ages thought to reflect incorporation of excess argon. By 900 Ma, southeast directed extension was occurring throughout the CMB, possibly initiated along previous zones of compressional shearing. An easterly migration of active zones of extension is inferred, possibly related to an earlier, overall easterly migration of active zones of regional thrusting and easterly migration of an ancient subduction zone. The duration of extensional shearing is not well constrained, but must have ceased before 600 Ma as required by the deposition of overlying undeformed Cambrian and/or Ordovician sedimentary rocks.Contribution No. 481 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, University of Michigan     

Sm−Nd dating of multiple garnet growth events in an arc-continent collision zone,northwestern U.S. Cordillera

Integrated petrologic and Sm–Nd isotopic studies in garnet amphibolites along the Salmon River suture zone, western Idaho, delineate two periods of amphibolite grade metamorphism separated by at least 16 million years. In one amphibolite,P–T studies indicate a single stage of metamorphism with final equilibration at 600°C and 8–9 kbar. The Sm–Nd isotopic compositions of plagioclase, apatite, hornblende, and garnet define a precise, 8-point isochron of 128±3 Ma (MSWD=1.2) interpreted as mineral growth at the metamorphic peak. A⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age for this hornblende indicates cooling through 525°C at 119±2 Ma. In a nearby amphibolite, garnets with a two-stage growth history consist of inclusion-rich cores surrounded by discontinuous, inclusion-free overgrowths. Temporal constraints for core and overgrowth development were derived from Sm–Nd garnet — whole rock pairs in which the garnet fractions consist of varying proportions of inclusion-free to inclusion-bearing fragments. Three garnet fractions with apparent ages of 144, 141, and 136 Ma are thought to represent mixtures between late Jurassic (pre-144 Ma) inherited radiogenic components preserved within garnet cores and early Cretaceous (128 Ma) garnet overgrowths. These observations confirm the resilience of garnet to diffusive exchange of trace elements during polymetamorphism at amphibolite facies conditions. Our geochronologic results show that metamorphism of arc-derived rocks in western Idaho was episodic and significantly older than in arc rocks along the eastern margin of the Wrangellian Superterrane in British Columbia and Alaska. The pre-144 Ma event may be an expression of the late Jurassic amalgamation of marginal oceanic arc-related terranes (e.g., Olds Ferry, Baker, Wallowa) during the initial phases of their collision with North American rocks. Peak metamorphism at 128 Ma reflects tectonic burial along the leading edge of the Wallowa arc terrane during its final penetration and suturing to cratonic North America.     

Time calibration of a PT-path from the Western Tauern Window,Eastern Alps: the problem of closure temperatures

New Hornblende K-Ar and ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar and mica Rb-Sr and K-Ar ages are used to place specific timemarks on a well-constrained pressure-temperature path for the late Alpine metamorphism in the Western Tauern Window. After identification of excess ⁴⁰Ar, the closure behavior of Ar in hornblende is compared with that of Sr and Ar in phengite and biotite. Samples were collected in three locations, whose maximum temperatures were 570° C (Zemmgrund), 550° C (Pfitscher Joch), and 500–540° C (Landshuter Hütte).The average undisturbed age sequence found is: Phengite Rb-Sr (20 Ma)>hornblende K-Ar (18 Ma)>phengite K-Ar (15 Ma)>biotite Rb-Sr, K-Ar (13.3 Ma)>apatite FT (7 Ma). Except for the phengite Rb-Sr age, the significance of which is debatable, all ages are cooling ages. No compositional effects are seen for closure in biotite. Additionally, Rb-Sr phengite ages from shearzones possibly indicate continuous shearing from 20 to 15 Ma, with reservations regarding the validity of the initial Sr correction and possible variations of the closure temperatures. The obviously lower closure temperature (T _c) for Ar in these hornblendes than for Sr in the unsheared phengites indicates that the T _c sequence in the Western Tauern Window is different from those observed in other terrains. In spite of this discrepancy, valuable geological conclusions can be drawn if the application of closure temperatures is limited to this restricted area with similar T, P and : (1) All ages of samples located on equal metamorphic isotherms decrease from east to west by about 1 Ma which is the result of a westward tilting of the Tauern Window during uplift. (2) In a PT-path, the undisturbed cooling ages yield constantly decreasing uplift rates from 3.6 mm/a to 0.1 mm/a. (3) Use of recently published diffusion data for Ar in hornblende (T _c=520° C) and biotite (T _c=320° C) suggests an extrapolated phengite closure temperature for Sr at 550° C. This suggests that the prograde thermal metamorphism at this tectonic level of the Tauern Window lasted until some 20 Ma ago.     

The erosion history of the Central Alps: evidence from zircon fission track data of the foreland basin sediments

Fission track dating on detrital zircons of Alpine debris in the Swiss molasse basin provides information about the erosion history of the Central Alps and the thermal evolution of source terrains. During Oligocene times, only sedimentary cover nappes, and Austroalpine basement units were eroded. Incision into Austroalpine basement units is indicated by increasing importance of Cretaceous cooling ages in granite pebbles upsection. Erosion of Penninic basement units started between 25 and 20 Ma. Early Oligocene zircon FT ages show that Penninic basement units were exposed at ∼20 Ma. Deeper Penninic units of the Lepontine Dome became exposed first at ∼14 Ma, contemporaneously with the opening of the Tauern window in the Eastern Alps. A middle Miocene cooling rate of 40 °C Myr⁻¹ is deduced for the Lower Penninic units of the Lepontine Dome.     

A K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar study on white micas from the Brixen Quartzphyllite,Southern Alps

The Brixen Quartzphyllite, basement of the Southern Alps (Italy), consists of metasediments which had suffered progressive deformation and low grade metamorphism (p _max4 kbar, T _max375±25° C) during the Palaeozoic. It has been excavated by pre-Permian erosion, buried again beneath a pile of Permo-mesozoic to Cainozoic sediments (estimated T _max150° C), and is now exposed anew due to late Alpine uplift and erosion. The behavior of the K-Ar system of white micas is investigated, taking advantage of the narrow constraints on their thermal history imposed by the geological/stratigraphic reference systems.The six structurally and petrographically differing samples come from a single outcrop, whose position is roughly two kilometers beneath the Permian land-surface. White mica concentrates from five grain size fractions (<2 , 2–6 , 6–20 , 20–60 , 60–75 ) of each sample have been analyzed by the conventional K-Ar method, four selected concentrates additionally by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar stepwise heating technique; furthermore, Ar content and isotopic composition of vein quartz were determined.The conventional ages of the natural grain size fractions (20–60 , 60–75) are in the range 316±8 Ma, which corresponds to the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau age of 319.0±5.5 Ma within the error limits. The finer grain size fractions yield significantly lower ages, down to 233 Ma for fractions <2 . Likewise low apparent ages (down to 83 Ma) are obtained for the low temperature ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar degassing steps.There is no correlation between microstructural generation of white mica prevailing in the sample and apparent age. This favours an interpretation of the 316±8 Ma values as cooling age; progressive deformation and metamorphism must be respectively older and their timing cannot be resolved by these methods. The data preclude any significant influence of a detrital mica component as well as of excess argon.The lower ages found for the fine grain-size fractions (respectively the low-T degassing steps) correspond to a near-surface period (p-T-minimum); the values are geologically meaningless. The effect is interpreted to result from partial Ar loss due to reheating during Mesozoic-Cainozoic reburial. A model based on diffusion parameters derived from the outgassing experiments and Dodson's (1979) equation yields a closure temperature of 284±40 °C for a cooling rate of 18° C/Ma. Furthermore, this model suggests that the observed argon loss of up to 5% may in fact have been induced by reheating to 150 °C for 50 Ma.     

Cooling age record of domal uplift in the core of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC), southwest Zanskar, India

The cooling and tectonic history of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) in southwest Zanskar (along the Kishtwar-Padam traverse) is constrained by K-Ar biotite and fission-track (FT) apatite and zircon ages. A total of nine biotite samples yields ages in the range of 14–24 Ma, indicating the post-metamorphic cooling of these rocks through ∼ 300°C in the Miocene. Overall, the ages become younger away from the Zanskar Shear Zone (ZSZ), which marks the basement-cover detachment fault between the HHC and the Tethyan sedimentary zone, towards the core of the HHC. The same pattern is also observed for the FT apatite ages, which record the cooling of the rocks through ∼ 120°C. The apatite ages range from 11 Ma in the vicinity of the ZSZ to 4 Ma at the granitic core of the HHC. This pattern of discordant cooling ages across the HHC in southwest Zanskar reveals an inversion of isotherms due to fast uplift-denudation (hence cooling) of the HHC core, which is, in turn, related to domal uplift within the HHC. The Chisoti granite gneiss is the exposed domal structure along the studied traverse. Cooling history of two granite gneisses at the core of the HHC is also quantified with the help of the biotite, zircon and apatite ages; the time-temperatures thus obtained indicate a rapid pulse of cooling at ∼ 6 Ma, related to accelerated uplift-denudation of the HHC core at this time. Long-term denudation rates of 0.5–0.7 mm/yr are estimated for the high-grade rocks of the Higher Himalaya in southwest Zanskar over the past 4.0–5.5 m.yr.     

Rb−Sr,K−Ar and fission track ages for granites from Penang Island,West Malaysia: an interpretation model for Rb−Sr whole-rock and for actual and experimental mica data

Penang Island represents the northwestern extension of the western magmatic belt of Peninsular Malaysia. Thirty-one samples of highly evolved biotite-and biotite-muscovite granites were used in an integrated study to unravel the complex magmatic, tectonic and cooling histories of these rocks. Highly distorted Rb–Sr whole-rock age patterns are evident. These are attributed to the partial post-magmatic Sr homogenization within the granite batholith which led to the rotation of isochrons towards younger ages and higher ^(87/86)Sr intercepts. The recognition of this mechanism allowed the establishment of a new Rb–Sr interpretation model. The intrusion ages of the granites can be extrapolated based on the evolutionary trend of the initial ^(87/86)Sr. Including the data of Bignell and Snelling, three episodes of granite emplacement at 307±8 Ma, 251±7 Ma and 211±2 Ma are suggested for Penang and the NW Main Range. The late-Triassic intrusive induced a hydrothermal conductive convection system which affected all the granites. It is considered to be responsible for the Rb–Sr whole-rock age distortion, the Rb–Sr and K–Ar biotite age resetting and the textural and mineralogical changes in the granites. The duration of the hydrothermal convections, deduced from the Rb–Sr whole rock ages, is about 6 Ma and 20 Ma in the northern and southern parts of Penang respectively. Fast regional cooling to 350±50°C within a time span of 1–3 Ma is recognized for the late-Triassic Feringgi intrusive from the mica ages, followed by a generally slow cooling rate of about 1°C/Ma. Fission track ages, in addition, indicate blockwise uplift along the N-S and NW-SE tending faults, thus resulting in the exposure of deeper crustal levels in southern and eastern Penang. A change in the tensional regime since Oligocene/Miocene, accompanied by a southwest tilting of the island, is indicated by the fission track apatite ages. Variable sometimes younger K–Ar, respectively Rb–Sr biotite ages mainly depend on the degree of hydrothermal overprint at different crustal levels. An increase of the reaction surface by grain size reduction influences Rb–Sr and K–Ar mica ages in similar ways, as has been demonstrated by experimental data.     

40Ar/39Ar age constraints on deformation and mineralization, Rosebery Zn-Pb-Cu and Mount Lyell Cu deposits, Tasmania, Australia

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of alteration muscovite from the Rosebery Zn-Pb-Cu and Mount Lyell Cu deposits, Tasmania, Australia, has determined a succession of deformation events which occurred from 400-378 Ma, and comprises the Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny. The dates from Rosebery range from 400-390 Ma, are a minimum age for mineralization, indicate the time of deformation, and provide a maximum age limit for granitoid emplacement in the vicinity of the deposit. The ages from the Mount Lyell field range from 400-378 Ma, are a minimum for mineralization, and date cleavage development. The North Lyell Cu mineralization, which was probably broadly coeval with deformation, may have formed at 400 Ma. All pre-Devonian alteration micas in the Rosebery and Mount Lyell areas have been recrystallized or reset. The Tabberabberan deformation in western Tasmania was broadly contemporaneous with widespread crustal shortening in southeastern Australia, as established from the dating of alteration minerals associated with deformation-related precious and base metal deposits.     

Nd and Sr isotopic systematics of central Australian granulites: chronology of crustal development and constraints on the evolution of lower continental crust

Nd and Sr isotopic data are reported for a granulite terrain in the Proterozoic Arunta Block of Central Australia. Sm-Nd data from a wide range of rock types define a crust formation age of 2,070±125 Ma and provide further evidence for voluminous crustal growth in the Proterozoic. An _Nd value of +1.5±0.8 indicates a depleted mantle source for this crustal segment and there is no evidence for a large component of significantly older sialic crust. Field relationships, geochemistry and Rb-Sr data for mafic and felsic granulites indicate that intracrustal differentiation and polyphase deformation were followed by granulite facies metamorphism (Rb depletion) at 1,800 Ma. Rb-Sr data for strongly retrogressed granulites define an age of 1,700 Ma which is interpreted as the time of retrograde biotite growth. Partial melting at the presently exposed crustal level and anatexis at deeper crustal levels were broadly coeval with the retrograde metamorphism. Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic systematics of minerals indicate that the terrain cooled slowly, did not experience significant uplift until 1,000 Ma and remained at temperatures above 320° C until the late Palaeozoic. The mineral data are consistent with geological relationships and petrological evidence for a prolonged period of isobaric cooling followed by uplift late in the metamorphic evolution of the terrain. The granulite protoliths appear to have formed in a rift which closed within 280 Ma of initial separation. Deformation and granulite facies metamorphism at 1,800 Ma are interpreted to be a consequence of collision between the continental blocks which defined the rift. Regional retrogression and granitoid magmatism at 1,700 Ma are attributed to underthrusting of the granulites by lower grade rocks in the final stages of collision. Subsequent events in the cooling and uplift history appear to have been controlled by the presence of long-lived major faults in the crust and a prolonged history of episodic compression in the continental lithosphere. The results of this study suggest that granulite terrains, in general, cannot be equated with lower continental crust but instead represent assemblages of (mainly) supracrustal rocks which in some instances have been involved in major collision events.Abbreviations Opx orthopyroxene - Cpx clinopyroxene - Plag plagioclase - Hb hornblende - Ox opaque oxide - Bi biotite - Ap apatite - Zir zircon - Gt garnet - 2°CA secondary clinoamphibole - Qtz quartz - Ol olivine - Sp spinel - Se serpentine - Ep epidote - Kf alkali feldspar - Mz monazite - Sph sphene - Sill sillimanite - Rut rutile - Cd cordierite - Sphal sphalerite - Ms muscovite - Act actinolite - Cc calcite - Scap scapolite - Cor corundum - Xen xenotime - Sapph sapphirine - Ged gedrite - All allanite - Clh clinohumite - Dol dolomite - Mt magnetite - Ghn gahnite - Gal galena     

Polyphase movement on the Lavanttal Fault Zone (Eastern Alps): reconciling the evidence from different geochronological indicators

The Lavanttal Fault Zone (LFZ) is generally considered to be related to Miocene orogen-parallel escape tectonics in the Eastern Alps. By applying thermochronological methods with retention temperatures ranging from ~450 to ~40°C we have investigated the thermochronological evolution of the LFZ and the adjacent Koralm Complex (Eastern Alps). ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating on white mica and zircon fission track (ZFT) thermochronology were carried out on host rocks (HRs) and fault-related rocks (cataclasites and fault gouges) directly adjacent to the unfaulted protolith. These data are interpreted together with recently published apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)/He ages. Sample material was taken from three drill cores transecting the LFZ. Ar release spectra in cataclastic shear zones partly show strongly rejuvenated incremental ages, indicating lattice distortion during cataclastic shearing or hydrothermal alteration. Integrated plateau ages from fault rocks (~76 Ma) are in parts slightly younger than plateau ages from HRs (>80 Ma). Incremental ages from fault rock samples are in part highly reduced (~43 Ma). ZFT ages within fault gouges (~65 Ma) are slightly reduced compared to the ages from HRs, and fission tracks show reduced lengths. Combining these results with AFT and apatite (U-Th)/He ages from fault rocks of the same fault zone allows the recognition of distinct faulting events along the LFZ from Miocene to Pliocene times. Contemporaneous with this faulting, the Koralm Complex experienced accelerated cooling in Late Miocene times. Late-Cretaceous to Palaeogene movement on the LFZ cannot be clearly proven. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar muscovite and ZFT ages were probably partly thermally affected along the LFZ during Miocene times.     

Using white mica 40Ar/39Ar data as a tracer for fluid flow and permeability under high‐P conditions: Tauern Window,Eastern Alps

New single‐grain‐fusion muscovite and paragonite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from eclogite and blueschist units exposed in the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps yield a range of apparent ages from 90 to 23 Ma. These apparent ages are generally older than expected for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages, given constraints from other geochronological systems such as Rb–Sr and U–Pb. Numerical Ar‐in‐muscovite diffusion models for Tauern Window nappe P–T paths in an open system suggest that ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages should lie between 29 and 24 Ma, and that they should constrain cooling and decompression following the post‐high pressure Barrovian overprint. The measured ranges of apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates suggest that the assumption of open system behaviour is not valid for this region. The local and/or regional generation of fluid during exhumation promoted pervasive recrystallization of high pressure lithologies throughout the Tauern Window to greenschist and amphibolite facies assemblages. The old apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar white mica dates in all lithologies are therefore interpreted as being due to inefficient removal of grain boundary Ar by the grain boundary fluids during the Barrovian overprint, due to high Ar concentrations or limited connectivity or both. This caused spatially (mm‐scale) and temporally variable fluxes of Ar out of, and probably into, white mica in both metasedimentary and metabasic lithologies.     

Shoshonitic and alkaline lamprophyres with elevated Au and PGE concentrations from the Kreuzeck Mountains,Eastern Alps,Austria

Summary Amphibole and mica lamprophyres and related dykes of Tertiary age from the Kreuzeck Mountains, Central Alps, Austria, have been investigated petrographically and geochemically. They intrude a sequence of early Palaeozoic metapelites, greenstones and amphibolites to the north of the Cretaceous Periadriatic Lineament, a major suture zone of 700 km E-W extent. The dykes are spatially associated with Sb, W, Hg, and Cu-Ag-Au deposits.Most lamprophyres are characterized by primitive chemistry (mg-numbers > 60 and Cr > 200 ppm) and have high contents of LIL elements (K, Rb, Sr and Ba). Geochemically, five different subgroups of calcalkaline/shoshonitic to alkaline affinity can be distinguished. These are: Group 1, amphibole-bearing shoshonitic lamprophyres (0.5–1.0 wt% Ti0₂, Zr < 150 ppm, Nb < 13 ppm, Ba/Rb < 10); Group 2, mica-bearing shoshonitic lamprophyres (1–1.5 wt% TiO₂, Zr 180 ppm, Nb < 17 ppm, Ba/Rb > 20); Group 3, alkaline lamprophyres (1.5–2.1 wt% TiO₂, Zr > 250 ppm, Nb > 30 ppm, Ba/Rb 10–25); Group 4, low-MgO alkaline lamprophyres ( 2.5 wt% TiO₂, mg-number < 57, Nb 20 ppm, Ba/Rb 20); Group 5, calc-alkaline basaltic dykes ( 2.2 wt% TiO₂, mg-number <55, Nb < 10 ppm, Ba/Rb < 10). Group 2,3 and 4 dykes have NE-SW orientations and are of Oligocene age (K-Ar age 27–32 Ma); Group 1 and 5 dykes are of Lower Oligocene age (K-Ar age 36 Ma) but have mostly E-W orientations.The Kreuzeck lamprophyres were generated in post-collisional magmatic events, which were probably linked to extensional tectonics following oblique continent-continent collision between the African and Eurasian Plates during the Eocene. Group 1, 2 and 5 dyke rocks have typical calc-alkaline geochemical signatures indicating that they represent partial melting products of subduction-modified lithosphere. Group 3 and 4 alkaline lamprophyres have geochemical features transitional between calc-alkaline and within-plate alkaline igneous rocks (e.g. Ba/Nb 30–70) indicating that their mantle source-region includes both subduction-modified lithospheric and OIB-type asthenospheric components.There is no apparent relationship between mineralization in the Kreuzeck region, thought to be of Ordovician-Devonian age, and much later lamprophyre intrusion. Alteration of the dykes by late-magmatic fluids has resulted in the formation of secondary minerals, and has occasionally led to increased Au and PGE values in the 10–35 ppb range particularly in close proximity to Cu-Ag-Au deposits.

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Shoshonitische und alkalische Lamprophyre mit erhöhten Au- und PGE-Gehalten aus der Kreuzeckgruppe, Ostalpen, Österreich

Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die Petrographie und Geochemie tertiärer Lamprophyre und genetisch verwandter Ganggesteine aus der zentralalpinen Kreuzeckgruppe, nördlich des Periadriatischen Lineamentes, in Kärnten, Österreich. Die Ganggesteine durchschlagen die altpaläozoischen Metapelite, Grünsteine und Amphibolite des Altkristallins diskordant und stehen in räumlichem Zusammenhang mit Sb, W, Hg und Cu-Ag-Au Lagerstätten, die bereits seit dem Mittelalter abgebaut wurden.Die meisten Lamprophyre zeigen primitiven Charakter (Mg-Zahlen >60 und Cr > 200 ppm) und besitzen hohe Gehalte an LILE (K, Rb, Sr und Ba). Geochemisch lassen sich fünf verschiedeneGruppen mit kalkalkalisch/shoshonitischem bis alkalischem Charakter unterscheiden: Gruppe 1, Amphibol-führende shoshonitische Lamprophyre (0.5–1.0 Gew% TiO₂, Zr < 150 ppm, Nb < 13 ppm, Ba/Rb < 10);Gruppe 2, Glimmer-führende shoshonitische Lamprophyre (1–1.5 Gew% TiO₂, Zr 180 ppm, Nb < 17 ppm, Ba/Rb > 20); Gruppe 3, alkalische Lamprophyre (1.5–2.1 Gew% TiO₂, Zr > 250 ppm, Nb > 30ppm, Ba/Rb 10–25); Gruppe 4, alkalische Lamprophyre mit geringen MgO-Anteil ( 2.5 Gew% TiO₂, Mg-Zahl < 57, Nb 20 ppm, Ba/Rb 20); Gruppe 5, kalkalkalisch basaltische Ganggesteine ( 2.2 Gew% TiO₂, Mg-Zahl < 55, Nb < 10 ppm, Ba/Rb < 10). Die Lamprophyre der Gruppen 2, 3 und 4 zeigen nordöstliches Streichen und oligozänes Intrusionsalter (K-Ar Alter 27–32 Ma), während die Ganggesteine der Gruppen 1 und 5 überwiegend östliches Streichen und UnterOligozänes Intrusionsalter (K-Ar Alter 36 Ma) aufweisen.Die Intrusionen erfolgten während einer tektonischen Dilatationsphaseim Oligozän nach der Kontinent-Kontinent Kollision zwischen derAfrikanischen und der Eurasischen Platte im unteren Eozän. Ganggesteine der Gruppen 1, 2 und 5 besitzen typisch kalkalkalischen Charakter und stellen vermutlich Produktevon aufgeschmolzener, subduzierter Lithosphäre dar. Die Geochemie der alkalischen Lamprophyre derGruppen 3 und 4 (e.g. Ba/Nb 30–70) deutet auf ihre genetische Zwischenstellung zwischen subduction-related und within-plate regime.Zwischen den tertiären Gangintrusionen und den vermutlich paläozoischen Vererzungen der Kreuzeckgruppe besteht kein genetischer Zusammenhang. Die Alteration der Ganggesteine durch postmagmatische Lösungen hat jedoch zur Bildung von sekundären Mineralen und teilweise zu überdurchschnittlich erhöhten Au und PGE Gehalten von bis zu 35 ppb geführt.

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With 6 Figures     

Constraints on the origin of Damaran granites by Rb/Sr and δ18O data

The mean (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and mean (⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr) ratios of the intrusive granites from the North and South of the Orogen's Central Zone plot on straight lines. These are interpreted as areal isochrons indicating the time of last Sr isotope homogenization 526 and 571 Ma ago in the respective source rocks.Initial (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and mean (⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr) ratios of approximately coeval granites of the main magmatic pulses in the North (470 Ma) and in the South (520 Ma) line up along isochrons suggesting that in both cases 60 Ma passed after the homogenization in the protolith before large scale intrusions took place.The data require that the intrusions have preserved the Rb/Sr ratios of their source rocks permitting only very little assimilation or fractionation.The source rocks in the North and South had rather unradiogenic Sr 526 and 571 Ma ago, respectively. At R_i0.7066 all presently known Damaran metasediments and metavolcanics as well as the basement must be excluded as the protoliths. A hypothetical source with a large proportion of low (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) volcanic material is required. In the center, on the other hand, the Sr isotope ratios are more radiogenic and derivation from common Damaran metasediments is a distinct possibility.The total rock ¹⁸O values show an unusual spread from 7.1 to 15.2, the majority being very heavy. This excludes granulites and requires sediments or heavily altered volcanics as source rocks. A plot of ¹⁸O vs. initial Sr isotope ratios of the granites from the center which could have been derived from Damaran metasediments has a very clear negative slope. No trend is visible for the southern granites. Of the northern granites the older group shows a negative, the younger group a positive correlation. This is interpreted as indicating mainly altered volcanics (perhaps spilites) for the older and a mixture of volcanogenic and metasedimentary rocks as the source for the younger group. The high ¹⁸O values show that the granites are crustal remelts.     

Mapping of the post-collisional cooling history of the Eastern Alps

We present a database of geochronological data documenting the post-collisional cooling history of the Eastern Alps. This data is presented as (a) georeferenced isochrone maps based on Rb/Sr, K/Ar (biotite) and fission track (apatite, zircon) dating portraying cooling from upper greenschist/amphibolite facies metamorphism (500–600 °C) to 110 °C, and (b) as temperature maps documenting key times (25, 20, 15, 10 Ma) in the cooling history of the Eastern Alps. These cooling maps facilitate detecting of cooling patterns and cooling rates which give insight into the underlying processes governing rock exhumation and cooling on a regional scale.The compilation of available cooling-age data shows that the bulk of the Austroalpine units already cooled below 230 °C before the Paleocene. The onset of cooling of the Tauern Window (TW) was in the Oligocene-Early Miocene and was confined to the Penninic units, while in the Middle- to Late Miocene the surrounding Austroalpine units cooled together with the TW towards near surface conditions.High cooling rates (50 °C/Ma) within the TW are recorded for the temperature interval of 375–230 °C and occurred from Early Miocene in the east to Middle Miocene in the west. Fast cooling post-dates rapid, isothermal exhumation of the TW but was coeval with the climax of lateral extrusion tectonics. The cooling maps also portray the diachronous character of cooling within the TW (earlier in the east by ca. 5 Ma), which is recognized within all isotope systems considered in this study.Cooling in the western TW was controlled by activity along the Brenner normal fault as shown by gradually decreasing ages towards the Brenner Line. Cooling ages also decrease towards the E–W striking structural axis of the TW, indicating a thermal dome geometry. Both cooling trends and the timing of the highest cooling rates reveal a strong interplay between E–W extension and N–S orientated shortening during exhumation of the TW.     

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.     

The tholeiite to alkalic basalt transition at Haleakala Volcano,Maui, Hawaii

Previous studies of alkalic lavas erupted during the waning growth stages (<0.9 Ma to present) of Haleakala volcano identified systematic temporal changes in isotopic and incompatible element abundance ratios. These geochemical trends reflect a mantle mixing process with a systematic change in the proportions of mixing components. We studied lavas from a 250-m-thick stratigraphic sequence in Honomanu Gulch that includes the oldest (1.1 Ma) subaerial basalts exposed at Haleakaka. The lower 200 m of section is intercalated tholeiitic and alkalic basalt with similar isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb) and incompatible element abundance ratios (e.g., Nb/La, La/Ce, La/Sr, Hf/Sm, Ti/Eu). These lava compositions are consistent with derivation of alkalic and tholeiitic basalt by partial melting of a compositionally homogeneous, clinopyroxene-rich, garnet lherzolite source. The intercalated tholeiitic and alkalic Honomanu lavas may reflect a process which tapped melts generated in different portions of a rising plume, and we infer that the tholeiitic lavas reflect a melting range of 10% to 15%, while the intercalated alkalic lavas reflect a range of 6.5% to 8% melting. However, within the uppermost 50 m of section. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr decreases from 0.70371 to 0.70328 as eruption age decreased from 0.97 Ma to 0.78 Ma. We infer that as lava compositions changed from intercalated tholeiitic and alkalic lavas to only alkalic lavas at 0.93 Ma, the mixing proportions of source components changed with a MORB-related mantle component becoming increasingly important as eruption age decreased.     

Comparison of 40Ar-39Ar and Rb-Sr Data on Phengites from the UHP Brossasco-Isasca Unit (Dora Maira Massif, Italy): Implications for Dating White Mica

Different lithologies (impure marble, eclogite and graniticorthogneiss) sampled from a restricted area of the coesite-bearingBrossasco–Isasca Unit (Dora Maira Massif) have been investigatedto examine the behaviour of ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar and Rb–Srsystems in phengites developed under ultrahigh-pressure (UHP)metamorphism. Mineralogical and petrological data indicate thatzoned phengites record distinct segments of the P–T path:prograde, peak to early retrograde in the marble, peak to earlyretrograde in the eclogite, and late retrograde in the orthogneiss.Besides major element zoning, ion microprobe analysis of phengitein the marble also reveals a pronounced zoning of trace elements(including Rb and Sr). ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar apparent ages (35–62Ma, marble; 89–170 Ma, eclogite; 35–52 Ma, orthogneiss),determined through Ar laserprobe data on phengites (step-heatingand in situ techniques), show wide intra-sample and inter-samplevariations closely linked to within-sample microchemical variations:apparent ages decrease with decreasing celadonite contents.These data confirm previous reports on excess Ar and, more significantly,highlight that phengite acted as a closed system in the differentlithologies and that chemical exchange, not volume diffusion,was the main factor controlling the rate of Ar transport. Conversely,a Rb–Sr internal isochron from the same eclogite yieldsan age of 36 Ma, overlapping with the time of the UHP metamorphicpeak determined through U–Pb data and thereby corroboratingthe previous conclusion that UHP metamorphism and early retrogressionoccurred in close succession. Different phengite fractions ofthe marble yield calcite–phengite isochron ages of 36to 60 Ma. Although this time interval matches Ar ages from thesame sample, Rb–Sr data from phengite are not entirelyconsistent with the whole dataset. According to trace elementvariations in phengite, only Rb–Sr data from two wet-groundphengite separates, yielding ages of 36 and 41 Ma, are internallyconsistent. The oldest age obtained from a millimetre-sizedgrain fraction enriched in prograde–peak phengites mayrepresent a minimum age estimate for the prograde phengite relics.Results highlight the potential of the in situ ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Arlaser technique in resolving discrete P–T stages experiencedby eclogite-facies rocks (provided that excess Ar is demonstrablya negligible factor), and confirm the potential of Rb–Srinternal mineral isochrons in providing precise crystallizationages for eclogite-facies mineral assemblages. KEY WORDS: ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating; Rb–Sr dating; phengite; SIMS; UHP metamorphism     

Zircon inheritance in an igneous rock suite from the southern Adamello batholith (Italian Alps)

Zircons from a suite of basic to acidic calcalkaline igneous rocks from the southern Adamello batholith (S AB), Southern Alps, N Italy, display complex U–Pb isotopic patterns which are mainly due to the presence of variable amounts of isotopically heterogeneous, inherited radiogenic Pb, and to minor postmagmatic loss of Pb. Inherited Pb is mainly composed of 1) a 1100 Ma Pb component located in zircons devoid of visible cores and 2) a 450 Ma component associated with conspicuous bubble-rich turbid cores. In concordia representation the data points conform to lower intercept ages of 40 Ma. A linear fit of three samples devoid of visible cores from the granodiorite defines an intrusion age of 39.3 Ma. U–Pb systematics of zircon (in particular U content) and crystal morphology are clearly related. Zircons of type G1, which form relatively late in the zircon crystallization sequence, consistently show the highest U contents in each zircon population. These late zircons, however, are not devoid of inherited radiogenic lead. In a population from a granodiorite, cores are randomly distributed throughout the morphological spectrum. The presence of old inherited zircon components in all investigated samples furnishes proof for involvement of crustal material in the genesis of the S AB rocks. Samples characterized by crustal _Nd and _Sr values usually show enhanced zircon inheritance. Inheritance varies with differentiation and reaches a maximum for intermediate to acidic members; these compositions show the highest Zr saturation temperatures calculated for the rock spectrum studied. Textural relations between zircon and major phases indicate that the magmas of the leucocratic rocks were saturated with Zr at an early stage of crystallization. On the other hand, Zr solubilities and textural relations consistently show, that melts of basic to intermediate rocks were not saturated with Zr. Extension of the Zr solubility model to mineral/melt mixtures of tonalitic bulk composition demonstrates that Zr solubility in the residual melt is drastically reduced by crystallization of plagioclase and amphibole. Survival of xenocrystic zircons in the mafic to intermediate rocks of the S AB can best be explained in terms of dissolution kinetics. Since temperature and H₂O content of these Zr-undersaturated melts were favourable for relatively rapid zircon dissolution, inherited zircons (in particular trace-element rich unstable cores) cannot have been exposed to such conditions over extended time periods. Therefore, the tonalitic or more basic magmas of the S AB cannot have been derived from crustal sources by slow processes such as burial metamorphism.