Archean diamonds from Wawa (Canada): samples from deep cratonic roots predating cratonization of the Superior Province

With an age of ca. 2.7 Ga, greenschist facies volcaniclastic rocks and lamprophyre dikes in the Wawa area (Superior Craton) host the only diamonds emplaced in the Archean available for study today. Nitrogen aggregation in Wawa diamonds ranges from Type IaA to IaB, suggesting mantle residence times of tens to hundreds of millions of years. The carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³C) of cube diamonds is similar to the accepted mantle value (− 5.0‰). Octahedral diamonds show a slight shift (by + 1.5‰) to isotopically less negative values suggesting a subduction-derived, isotopically heavy component in the diamond-forming fluids. Syngenetic inclusions in Wawa diamonds are exclusively peridotitic and, similar to many diamond occurrences worldwide, are dominated by the harzburgitic paragenesis. Compositionally they provide a perfect match to inclusions from diamonds with isotopically dated Paleo- to Mesoarchean crystallization ages. Several high-Cr harzburgitic garnet inclusions contain a small majorite component suggesting crystallization at depth of up to 300 km. Combining diamond and inclusion data indicates that Wawa diamonds formed and resided in a very thick package of chemically depleted lithospheric mantle that predates stabilization of the Superior Craton. If late granite blooms are interpreted as final stages of cratonization then a similar disconnect between Paleo- to Mesoarchean diamondiferous mantle lithosphere and Neoarchean cratonization is also apparent in other areas (e.g., the Lac de Gras area of the Slave Craton) and may suggest that early continental nuclei formed and retained their own diamondiferous roots.     

The greenschist metamorphism of Archaean synvolcanic stocks near Wawa, Ontario, Canada

Abstract Two Archaean synvolcanic stocks with contact aureoles occur in the Wawa greenstone belt near Wawa, Ontario, Canada. The Gutcher Lake and Jubilee stocks consist mainly of granitoid trondhjemite with feldspar laths mottled by white mica + calcite + epidote and rimmed by clear albite. Biotite is partly or wholly pseudomorphosed by chlorite + sphene; some epidote is partly altered to calcite + chlorite. The granitoid phase grades into a foliated phase of quartz + albite + white mica + calcite + chlorite near fracture zones traversing the stocks.
The alteration of the Gutcher Lake stock along its foliated margin involved addition of K₂O, H₂O + CO₂, MnO, plus Rb; loss of CaO plus Sr; and a shift in Fe⁺²/Fe_t from 0.66 to 0.81. The alteration of the Jubilee stock along the Darwin Shear involved addition of H₂O + CO₂; loss of Sr; and no significant shift in Fe⁺²/Fe_t. The greenschist alteration also modified the contact aureoles bordering both stocks.
One interpretation is that regional metamorphism in the Archaean overprinted a greenschist assemblage on both stocks. The alteration was intense near fracture zones and sporadic remote from fractures. Lower integrated water to rock ratios along the Darwin Shear compared to the margin of the Gutcher Lake stock may explain the comparatively lower perturbation of the element abundances and redox state of iron.     

An Archean volcanic—Exhalative system adjacent to a trondhjemite stock near Wawa,Ontario

A trondhjemite stock intrudes an Archean succession metamorphosed to the greenschist facies at Gutcher Lake near Wawa, Ontario, Canada. This regional metamorphism also modified the stock and its partly enveloping aureole of epidote—hornblende hornfels. Mafic metavolcanic rocks in the greenstone succession are derived from pillowed flow, amygdular flow, massive flow or sill, and minor hyaloclastites that include pillow breccia. Stratiform lenses of felsic metavolcanic rocks are derived from massive flow or tuff, crystal tuff, lapilli tuff and volcanic breccia. Chalcopyrite and native gold coexist in stringers and veins of quartz, pyrrhotite and pyrite in a layered assemblage with cherty iron-formation at the stratigraphic top of the stock. Ego Mines Ltd. reports 348 000t averaging 1.60% copper and 3.77 g t^?1 gold.The deposition of pillowed and amygdular lavas on the Archean sea-floor was interrupted by the venting of felsic magma that yielded viscous flows and pyroclastic tuffs. Heat emanating from the rising stock caused seawater to convect in the volcanic sequence. Hot modified seawater debouched onto an interflow trough above the stock, mixed with ambient seawater, and precipitated aprons of sulphidic mud and chert amongst clastic sediment. Down-slope slumping culminated in a stratified assemblage with pockets of debris-flow breccia. Compaction and de-watering of this package concentrated some of the dispersed sulphide material into fractures to form veins. The stock and the intruded succession was then metamorphosed to the greenschist facies.     

Archean regional transpression and paleomagnetism in northwestern Ontario, Canada

The Archean metamorphic rocks of the Superior province of the Canadian Shield occur in lithologically defined belts or subprovinces. The tectonically more stable interiors of belts possess consistent primary components of magnetic remanence. In the case of the Quetico belt, these stable directions are tightly grouped about 005°/55° with some minor dispersion and most were acquired during the cooling that followed syntectonic recrystallisation.

This study examines the directions of primary remanence components for rocks along the margins of the Quetico belt, within 4 km of the strongly deformed vertical, ENE-trending boundaries. The boundaries are known to have experienced dextral transpression involving penetrative single-phase deformation which out-lasted metamorphism. Within a few kilometres of the belt boundaries, the primary remanence components are re-distributed along a vertical ENE-trending, great-circle girdle which is nearly parallel to the plane of transpressive shear and regional schistosity. It is suggested that the effects of transpression have mechanically deflected the components of primary remanence toward this plane.     

Phlogopite in calc-alkaline lamprophyres of Northern England

Summary Phlogopite mica is the major unaltered phase in minette and kersantite dikes in the Cross Fell and Taythes inliers in northwestern England. The compositional zonation trend in the micas from Mg-rich, Cr-bearing cores to Fe, Ti, Ba-rich, low Cr margins, or rims, is similar to that reported for micas from minettes and kersantites worldwide. Complex mantling and zoning trends suggest that the phenocrystal mica assemblage is a hybrid one formed by the mixing of magmas of broadly similar composition which have undergone different amounts of fractional crystallization. The magmas are considered to have beeen produced in a continuously replenished fractionating magma chamber. The lamprophyres have a common source and were probably derived by the extensive fractionation of a basic mantle-derived magma.

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Phlogopit in kalk-alkalischen lamprophyren von Nord-England

Zusammenfassung Phlogopit ist die wichtigste, unveränderte Phase in Minetten und kersantitischen Gängen in den Cross Fell and Taythes Gebieten von Nordwest-England. Die Zonierung der Zusammensetzung in den Glimmern von Mg-reichen, Cr-führenden Kernen zu Fe, Ti, Ba-reichen Rändern mit niedrigen Cr-Gehalten ist ähnlich der, die von Glimmern in Minetten und Kersantiten weltweit ermittelt wurde. Komplexe Ummantelung und Zonierung weisen darauf hin, daß die Glimmer-Vergesellschaftung, die weithin idiomorph ist, durch die Mischung von Magmen weithin ähnlicher Zusammensetzung entstanden ist, welche in verschiedenem Ausmaß von Kristallisationsfraktionierung betroffen waren. Die Magmen dürften in einer kontinuierlich aufgefüllten, fraktionierten Magmenkammer entstanden sein. Die Lamprophyre haben einen gemeinsamen Ursprung und gehen wahrscheinlich auf die extensive Fraktionierung eines basischen Magmas von Mantel-Herkunft zurück.

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With 5 Figures     

Physical character of archean felsic volcanism in the vicinity of the Helen iron Mine,Wawa, Ontario,Canada

Archean felsic volcanic rocks form a 2000 m thick succession stratigraphically below the Helen Iron Formation in the vicinity of the Helen Mine, Wawa, Ontario. Based on relict textures and structures, lateral and vertical facies changes, and fragment type, size and distribution, the felsic volcanic rocks have been subdivided into (a) lava flows and domes (b) hyalotuffs, (c) bedded pyroclastic flows, (d) massive pyroclastic flows, and (e) block and ash flows.Lava flows and domes are flow-banded, massive, and/or brecciated and occur throughout the stratigraphic succession. Dome/flow complexes are believed to mark the end of explosive eruptive cycles. Deposits interpreted as hyalotuffs are finely bedded and composed dominantly of ash-size material and accretionary lapilli. These deposits are interlayered with bedded pyroclastic flow deposits and probably formed from phreatomagmatic eruptions in a shallow subaqueous environment. Such eruptions led to the formation of tuff cones or rings. If these structures emerged they may have restricted the access of seawater to the eruptive vent(s), thus causing a change in eruptive style from short, explosive pulses to the establishment of an eruption column. Collapse of this column would lead to the accumulation of pyroclastic material within and on the flanks of the cone/ring structure, and to flows which move down the structure and into the sea. Bedded pyroclastic deposits in the Wawa area are thought to have formed in this manner, and are now composed of a thicker, more massive basal unit which is overlain by one or more finely bedded ash units. Based on bed thickness, fragment and crystal size, type and abundance, these deposits are further subdivided into central, proximal and distal facies.Central facies units consist of poorly graded, thick (30–80 m) basal beds composed of 23–60% lithic and 1–8% juvenile fragments. These are overlain by 1–4 thinner ash beds (2–25 cm). Proximal facies basal beds range from 2–35 m in thickness and are composed of 15–35% lithic and 4–16% juvenile fragments. Typically, lithic components are normally graded, whereas juvenile fragments are inversely graded. These basal beds are overlain by ash beds (2–14 in number) which range from 12 cm to 6 m in thickness. Distal basal beds, where present, are thin (1–2 m), and composed of 2–8% lithic and 6–21% juvenile fragments. Overlying ash beds range up to 40 in number.The climax of pyroclastic activity is represented by a thick (1000 m) sequence of massive, poorly sorted, pyroclastic flow deposits which are composed of 5–15% lithic fragments and abundant pumice. These deposits are similar to subaerial ash flows and appear to mark the rapid eruption of large volumes of material. They are overlain by felsic lavas and/or domes. Periodic collapse of the growing domes produced abundant coarse volcanic breccia. The overall volcanic environment is suggestive of caldera formation and late stage dome extrusion.     

Retrograde fluids in the Archean Shawmere anorthosite, Kapuskasing Structural Zone, Ontario, Canada

The Archean Shawmere anorthosite lies within the granulite facies portion of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone (KSZ), Ontario, and is crosscut by numerous linear alteration veins containing calcite + quartz ± dolomite ± zoisite ± clinozoisite ± margarite ±paragonite ± chlorite. These veins roughly parallel the trend of the Ivanhoe Lake Cataclastic Zone. Equilibria involving clinozoisite + margarite + quartz ± calcite ± plagioclase show that the vein minerals were stable at T < 600 °C, XCO₂ < 0.4 at P ≈ 6 kbar. The stabilities of margarite and paragonite in equilibrium with quartz are also consistent with T < 600 °C and XCO₂ < 0.4 at 6 kbar. Additional assemblages consisting of calcite + clinochlore + quartz + talc + margarite indicate T < 500 °C with XCO₂ > 0.9. Thus, vein formation, while clearly retrograde, spanned a range of temperatures, and fluid compositions evolved from H₂O-rich to CO₂-rich. The calcite in the retrograde veins has δ¹⁸O values that range from 8.4 to 11.2‰ (average = +9.7 ± 0.9‰) and δ¹³C values that range from −3.9 to −1.6‰ (average = −3.1 ± 0.6‰). These values indicate that the fluids from which calcite precipitated underwent extensive exchange with the anorthosite and other crustal lithologies. The fluids may have been initially derived either from devolatilization of metamorphic rocks or crystallization of igneous rocks in the adjacent Abitibi subprovince. Vein quartz contains CO₂-rich fluid inclusions (final melting T = −57.0 to −58.7 °C) that range in size from 5 to 17 μm. Measured homogenization temperatures (T h) range from −44.0 to 14.5 °C, however for most inclusions (46 of S1), T h = −44.0 to −21.1 °C (ρCO₂ ≈ 1.13 to 1.05 g/cm³). At 400 to 600 °C, these densities correspond to pressures of 3.5 to 7 kbar, which is the best estimate of pressures of vein formation. It has been argued that some high density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions found in the KSZ were formed during peak metamorphism and thus document the presence of a CO₂-rich fluid during peak granulite facies metamorphism (Rudnick et al. 1984). The association of high density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions with clearly retrograde veins documents the formation of similar composition and density inclusions after the peak of metamorphism. Thus, the coincidence of entrapment pressures calculated from fluid inclusion density measurements with peak metamorphic pressures alone should not be considered strong evidence for peak metamorphic inclusion entrapment. All fluid inclusion results are consistent with an initially semi-isobaric retrograde P–T path. Received: 2 April 1996 / Accepted: 15 November 1996     

Genesis of the Woodstock drumlin field, southern Ontario, Canada

The Woodstock drumlin field was formed about 15,000 years ago during the Port Bruce Stadial of the Late Wisconsinan. It consists of three sections, each composed of texturally different till sheets (Tavistock A, B and C Tills) deposited during marginal oscillations of the Huron ice lobe advancing from the Lake Huron depression. A statistically significant relation between till texture and drumlin morphometry has been determined. Features composed of clayey-silt Tavistock A Till are smaller and more elongate than those built up of sandy-silt Tavistock C Till, which reflects a different susceptibility of the drumlin deposits to the moulding action of the glacier. Based on the field data it is suggested that the drumlinizing glacier was temperate all the way up to its margin and basal sliding occurred also at its outermost peripheries. In the drumlin region immediately behind end moraines the shear strength/shear stress ratio was around I and increased progressively in the upstream direction. In the proposed mechanism of drumlin formation the key factor is pore water dissipation (1) through the permeable substratum and (2) into dilatantly expanding granular deposits, both resulting in the necessary increase of the basal till strength.     

Sensitivity of GRACE-derived estimates of groundwater-level changes in southern Ontario,Canada

Amidst changing climates, understanding the world’s water resources is of increasing importance. In Ontario, Canada, low water conditions are currently assessed using only precipitation and watershed-based stream gauges by the Conservation Authorities in Ontario and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Regional groundwater-storage changes in Ontario are not currently measured using satellite data by research institutes. In this study, contributions from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data are compared to a hydrogeological database covering southern Ontario from 2003 to 2013, to determine the suitability of GRACE total water storage estimates for monitoring groundwater storage in this location. Terrestrial water storage data from GRACE were used to determine monthly groundwater storage (GWS) anomaly values. GWS values were also determined by multiplying groundwater-level elevations (from the Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network wells) by specific yield. Comparisons of GRACE-derived GWS to well-based GWS data determined that GRACE is sufficiently sensitive to obtain a meaningful signal in southern Ontario. Results show that GWS values produced by GRACE are useful for identifying regional changes in groundwater storage in areas with limited available hydrogeological characterization data. Results also indicate that GRACE may have an ability to forecast changes in groundwater storage, which will become useful when monitoring climate shifts in the near future.     

Petrogenesis of Archean lamprophyres in the southern Vermilion Granitic Complex,northeastern Minnesota,with implications for the nature of their mantle source

Petrogenetic modeling of major and trace element and isotopic data is used: 1. to define probable modes of petrogenesis of Archean spessartitic lamprophyric rocks in the southern portion of the Vermilion Granitic Complex (VGC) of northeastern Minnesota, and 2. to place constraints on the nature of the mantle source of these rocks. The lamprophyres range from olto qtz-normative and are associated with cumulate hornblendites and pyroxenites. The silica-rich lamprophyres are shown to be the result of low-pressure fractionation upon emplacement. On the other hand, the composition range of the ol-normative lamprophyres is explained by approximately 40% polybaric fractionation of elinopyroxene + olivine yielding ne-normative liquids. The fractionation explains low Cr, Ni and Sc concentrations compared to primary mantle-derived melts. Modeling of the lamprophyre MgO?FeO compositions using the olivine saturation surface (Hanson and Langmuir 1978) suggests that the 0.42 to 0.55 Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios of most of the lamprophyres can be explained by the high-pressure fractionation. The model parent melt composition is similar to sanukitoid-type rocks found in Japan and elsewhere in the Superior Province. The lamprophyres have ε _Nd ²⁷⁰⁰ values of +1.4 to +2.0, indicating derivation from a depleted mantle source. Growth curves on an ε _Nd vs. age diagram are consistent with the extraction of the lamprophyres from a depleted source (Sm/Nd>chondrite) just prior to 2700 Ma, the accepted age of the VGC. The lamprophyres have fractionated REE patterns (Ce/Yb_n=10–15) that indicate genesis by a) 1% to 3% fusion of a pristine garnet lherzolite or b) ～10% fusion of an enriched mantle source. However, consideration of the pressure of melting and elemental plots of Al and Ti indicate that garnet was not a residual phase during lamprophyre genesis. Thus, the enrichment of the LREE (80–100 x chondrite), Sr (580–1400 ppm), and Ba (590–1600 ppm) indicate derivation from an enriched mantle. These apparently contradictory chemical characteristics can be reconciled if the source region of the lamprophyres was depleted over a period of time but subsequently enriched just prior to genesis of the lamprophyre magmas. It is suggested that the source of the enriched component may have been fluids derived from dehydration of a subducting ocean crust.     

Geochronology and settlement disposition in the early Palaeo-Indian occupation of southern Ontario, Canada

Examination of a sample of 150 fluted-point localities from southern Ontario, Canada in relation to datable features of Late Wisconsinan ice retreat discloses maximum possible ages for early Palaeo-Indian occupation and reveals selection of specific physiographic situations. General relationship to maximum ice-advance positions suggests occupation during the Two Creeks Interstade after Port Huron ice retreat about 12,300 yr B.P. Specific relationship to ¹⁴C-dated proglacial Great Lake strands favors occupation during the North Bay Interstade after Greatlakean ice retreat about 11,500 yr B.P. Locality frequency on Lake Algonquin strands suggests contemporaneity with the main stage of this lake about 11,500 to 10,400 yr B.P., with a small number of lake-plain localities indicating minor post-Algonquin persistence. Radiocarbon dates for fluted-point sites elsewhere in the glaciated northeast place occupation coeval with the southwestern Folsom fluted-point tradition of about 10,850 to 10,200 yr B.P. Locality situation in regions dominated by proglacial sediments, on lake-edge features adjacent to strand-dissecting tributaries, within major river valleys, implies selectivity reflecting primary adaptation. Fluted-point associations with caribou and elk remains suggest that “focal” adaptation to cervids, comparable to southwestern Folsom bison exploitation, might underlie the homogeneous nature and distribution of early Palaeo-Indian localities throughout the northeast.     

Zircon Lu-Hf systematics and the evolution of the Archean crust in the southern Superior Province,Canada

A combined Lu-Hf and U-Th-Pb isotopic study was made of 25 zircons and 2 whole rocks from the late Archean crust (2,888-2,668 Ma) in the southern Superior Province, Canada. The relative abundances of U, Th, Lu and Hf in zircons from the low grade Michipicoten and Gamitagama greenstone belts show variable patterns which in part reflect the bulk compositional differences of their parent rocks. Zircons from the high grade lower crustal regions adjacent to these belts (Kapuskasing Structural Zone) are distinguished from the low grade zircons by their strong depletions of Lu and Hf. The low Hf contents imply that the growth of metamorphic zircon involves a significant fractionation of the Zr/Hf ratio.Initial Hf isotope ratios for Hf in zircons from the low grade rocks are correlated with silica enrichment of their host rocks. e _Hf varies from +9.2 to –1.3 and data from similar rock types exhibit correlations of e _Hf with time. Whole rock basalt analyses yield e _Hf values of +8.7 and +11.3 suggesting their derivation from a depleted mantle. The basalt data fall on an evolution trend which implies that differentiation from a chondritic mantle occurred at 3,100-2,900 Ma. Low e _Hf values (–1.3 to +1.4) for rhyolites and granites are consistent with a derivation involving remelting of old crust similar to a 2,888 Ma granite with e _HF of +0.5. Significantly higher values (+1.4 to +3.9) are found in zircons from 2,748-2,682 Ma dacites and tonalites suggesting that their parent rocks had higher Lu/Hf ratios. This may indicate that their parent rocks were mafic. However, there is some evidence that the possible lower crustal source reservoirs of these rocks may have undergone processes early in their histories which increased their Lu/ Hf ratios. This would give rise to the higher e _Hf values observed in their derivatives.     

Petrogenetic and tectonic significance of Permian calc-alkaline lamprophyres,East Kunlun orogenic belt,Northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

We present new geochronological, mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic data for recently recognized lamprophyre dikes in the East Kunlun orogenic belt of NW China. Based on euhedral amphibole phenocrysts and fine-grained, plagioclase-bearing groundmass with accessory magnetite, apatite, and titanite, these dikes are classified as spessartites. Plagioclase in these rocks is Ca-rich with An ranging from 45 to 82. Most of the amphibole phenocrysts are magnesiohastingsite or ferropargasite, with systematic ‘‘normal’ zoning in which Al₂O₃, CaO, and Mg# decrease from core to rim. The dikes have moderate Mg# (43–49) and high Al₂O₃ (17.5–18.0 wt.%), FeO_total (7.4–8.4 wt.%), and CaO (5.9–7.4 wt.%). Based on low total alkalis (Na₂O?+?K₂O?=?4.2%–5.0 wt.%), most samples plot in the low-K, calc-alkaline field. They are enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (e.g. K, Rb, Sr, and Ba) and light rare-earth elements, but are depleted in high-field-strength elements (e.g. Ta, Nb, P, and Ti), and have enriched Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions ((⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i = 0.70883–0.71045, ε_Nd(t) = –5.51–5.72, εHf(t)?=?–4.42–0.38). Zircon U–Pb geochronology indicates that the dikes were emplaced at 253 ± 2.5 Ma and are unrelated to their granite host, which has an age of 443 ± 1.7 Ma. The geochemical and isotopic data suggest derivation from an enriched lithospheric mantle source that had been metasomatized by subduction-related fluids. Low degrees of partial melting of a phlogopite-bearing, spinel peridotite, followed by fractional crystallization of olivine, amphibole, and Ti-bearing minerals, can account for the observed geochemical features of the dikes. Trace element geochemistry and regional geology suggest that the East Kunlun lamprophryes formed in a subduction-related setting.     

Oxygen isotope mapping of the Archean Sturgeon Lake caldera complex and VMS-related hydrothermal system, Northwestern Ontario, Canada

The hydrothermal and magmatic evolution of the Sturgeon Lake caldera complex is graphically documented by a regional-scale (525 km²) analysis of oxygen isotopes. Spatial variations in whole-rock oxygen isotope compositions provide a thermal map of the cumulative effects of multiple stages of hydrothermal metasomatism before, during, and after volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) mineralization. There is a progressive, upward increase in δ¹⁸O from less than 2‰ to greater than 15‰ through a 5-km-thick section above the Biedelman Bay subvolcanic intrusive complex. This isotopic trend makes it clear that at least the earlier phases of this intrusive complex were coeval with the overlying VMS-hosting cauldron succession and provided thermal energy to drive a convective hydrothermal circulation system. The sharp contrast in δ¹⁸O values between late stage phases of the Biedelman Bay intrusion and immediate hanging wall strata indicates that the main phase of VMS-related hydrothermal activity took place before late-stage resurgence in the cauldron-related magmatic activity. Mineralogical and isotopic evidence indicates the presence of both syn- and postmineralization hydrothermal activity defined by the presence of widespread semiconformable and more restricted discordant alteration zones that affect the pre- and syncauldron strata. The semiconformable alteration zones formed during early stages of hydrothermal circulation and are defined by widespread silicification and carbonatization in association with relatively high δ¹⁸O values. The discordant alteration assemblages, containing Al-silicate minerals with chloritoid and/or Fe-rich carbonate or chlorite, centered on synvolcanic faults represent restricted zones of both seawater inflow and hydrothermal fluid upflow. A rapid increase in δ¹⁸O values (∼7–9‰) over a short distance (<200 m) suggests marked cooling of hydrothermal fluid from ∼350°C to less than 130°C either just before or during discharge onto the seafloor. Late emplacement of diorite sills and a dacite dome disrupted the isotopic imprint of cauldron-stage hydrothermal activity. The abrupt lowering of δ¹⁸O values at the transition from explosive to passive volcanism (andesite flows and dacite domes) indicates postcauldron emergence. Subsequently, thrust faulting disrupted the older synvolcanic hydrothermal isotopic patterns.     

Two calc-alkaline volcanic trends in the Archean: Trace element evidence

Two differentiation trends of intermediate to felsic volcanics, both of calc-alkaline major-element chemistry, exist in the Archean greenstone belts of the world. New data from Hackett River, N.W.T. indicates that an Archean undepleted trend with trace-element contents similar to modern arc and/or continental calc-alkaline volcanics, exhibits a continuous variation from 55% to over 70% silica; a continuum of melting and crystallization processes similar to modern environments is inferred. A distinct Archean depleted trend, with large depletion in heavy rare earths and yttrium, and higher CaO and Al₂O₃ than the undepleted trend, has representatives from 62% to over 70% silica. The two trends can be separated by the use of Ce vs. Yb and La/Sm vs. Sm/Yb diagrams. The depleted-trend volcanics and related intrusive bodies appear to lack modern analogues; they represent equilibration with an eclogite residuum. The limited information available allows the possibility that the trend marks the ascent of little-modified melts from a descending oceanic slab. The interleaving of both trends at Hackett River and elsewhere indicates that two separate sequences of magmatic processes were contemporaneously and cospatially active during volcanism. The importance of garnet residua in Archean magmas suggests that geothermal gradients were not vastly higher than at present, in agreement with metamorphic evidence.     

The Imataca Complex near Cerro Bolivar,Venezuela — a calc-alkaline Archean protolith

The Imataca Complex in an area near Cerro Bolivar, Venezuela, consists of a conformable, predominantly acid, compositionally-intergradational, sequence of acid, intermediate and mafic granulites, granitic gneisses and amphibolites with minor iron-formation and other metasedimentary interlayers.Major- and trace-element compositions of granulites, granitic gneisses, and amphibolites, and compositional relations in pyroxenes and irontitanium oxides indicate an igneous protolith. Pyroxenes and oxides in the granulites appear to be relict igneous phases, and record Tf_O2 of original igneous crystallization, despite high-grade metamorphism. Mineral thermometers in granitic gneisses (biotite, FeTi oxides) and in metasedimentary biotite gneisses (cordieritegarnet, FeTi oxides) indicate metamorphic TP_T of 625–675°C, 4–6.5 kbar.Major- and trace-element variations in meta-igneous granulites, granitic gneisses, and amphibolites are calc-alkaline in character, and the sequence, particularly in its predominantly acid composition, most closely resembles continental (i.e., “Andean”) calc-alkaline series. Mafic granulites and amphibolites, however, are tholeiitic and relatively iron-rich.The compositional similarity between the Imataca series and other granulite series raises the possibility that acidic calc-alkaline continental volcanism may be more important in the Archean than recent emphasis on greenstones and island-arc oceanic types of volcanism would suggest.     

Sand intraclasts within a diamicton mélange,southern Niagara Peninsula,Ontario, Canada

Sand intraclasts found within diamicton units along the north shore of Lake Erie in the Mohawk Bay area of the Niagara Peninsula would appear to be part of a ‘block-in-matrix’ mélange. The intraclasts are undeformed and many exhibit primary bedding structures. Numerous intraclasts have been rotated and/or tilted and are, in general, subrounded in outline. Examination of the surrounding diamicton reveals that the diamicton clast fabrics exhibit a wide scatter and are not characteristic of any known till clast fabric. Around each intraclast exists an aureole of brecciated diamicton. Other evidence in the form of macro- and microshear structures, and banding within the diamicton indicate that the diamicton has been subject to high strain. Interpretation of the sand intraclasts seems to be intrinsically linked to the origin of the diamicton and together linked to the origin of the mélange. Various hypotheses are suggested separately for the sand intraclasts, diamicton and mélange. A subglacial deformable bed hypothesis is advanced as the most acceptable explanation for the complete sediment sequence in which diamicton and frozen sand intraclasts, the latter mobilised from the substrate, are moved as a mélange below an active fast-moving ice mass. Several implications from this study emerge with regard to glacial sedimentology and stratigraphic interpretations.     

Structural fabric of the Central Metasedimentary Belt of southern Ontario, Canada, from deep seismic profiling

The Central Metasedimentary Belt boundary tectonic zone (CMBbtz) is a 10–20-km-wide zone of intense structural deformation within the 1.3–1.0 Ga Grenville orogen of southeastern Canada. The crustal structure of the exposed CMBbtz has been well studied, but its sub-Phanerozoic location and geometry beneath the urban development and nuclear stations of the Toronto region are not well known. A new 75-km Lithoprobe reflection profile acquired close to Toronto provides a clear image of the CMBbtz as a panel of southeast-dipping reflections that extends with moderate dip (<25°) to mid-crustal depth (25 km). These dipping reflections truncate and (or) overprint a subhorizontal band of reflectivity at 21 km depth. The seismic line is oblique to the major structural trends; cross-dip analysis shows that the southeast-dipping reflections have a strike and dip of N13°E and 25°, whereas the “subhorizontal” reflections strike and dip at N65°E and 20°, respectively. Both of these bands of reflectivity can be correlated to magnetic anomalies in the CMBbtz or its immediate footwall. Magnetic anomalies with similar strike directions are well expressed within a distinct rhomboid-shaped region (106×109 km) in the subsurface of western Lake Ontario, herein named Mississauga domain. Taken together, the seismic and magnetic data are inconsistent with existing models, in which the CMBbtz is extrapolated beneath Lake Ontario along a linear magnetic anomaly. We propose a revised subsurface trace of the CMBbtz along the western edge of the Mississauga domain. Small earthquakes in western Lake Ontario appear to cluster along trends co-linear with ENE magnetic anomalies, suggesting a possible degree of basement tectonic control on local intraplate seismicity.     

Magnesian andesites, Nb-enriched basalt-andesites, and adakites from late-Archean 2.7 Ga Wawa greenstone belts, Superior Province, Canada: implications for late Archean subduction zone petrogenetic processes

Magnesian andesites (MA) occur with 'normal' tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalt-andesite suites in four greenstone belts of the 2.7 Ga Wawa subprovince, Canada. Collectively, the magnesian andesites span ranges of SiO₂=56-64 wt%, Mg-number=0.64-0.50, with Cr and Ni contents of 531-106 and 230-21 ppm, respectively. Relative to 'normal' andesites, the magnesian andesites form distinct trends on variation diagrams, with relatively high Th and LREE contents, uniform Yb over a range of MgO, more fractionated HREE, and lower Nb/Th_pm and Nb/La_pm ratios. Niobium-enriched basalts and andesites (NEBA; Nb=7-16 ppm), and an Al-enriched rhyolite (adakite) suite are associated in space and time with the magnesian andesites. Nb-enriched basalts and andesites are characterized by high TiO₂, P₂O₅, Th, and Zr contents, variably high Zr/Hf (36-44) ratios, and more fractionated HREE (Gd/Yb_cn=1.3-4.1) compared to the 'normal' tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalt-andesite suites. The adakite suite has the high Al (Al₂O₃=16-18 wt%), high La/Yb_cn (21-43), and low Yb (0.4-1.2 ppm) of Archean tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suites and Cenozoic adakites, indicative of liquids derived mainly from slab melting. The basalt-andesite suites are not characterized by normal tholeiitic or calc-alkaline fractionation trends of major or trace elements. Rather, compositional trends can be accounted for by some combination of fractional crystallization and variable degrees of metasomatism of the source of basalt and/or andesites by adakitic liquids. The occurrence of magnesian andesites, Nb-enriched basalts/andesites, and adakites has been described from certain Phanerozoic arcs featuring shallow subduction of young and/or hot oceanic lithosphere. Adakites likely represent slab melts, magnesian andesites the product of hybridization of adakite liquids with mantle peridotite, and Nb-enriched basalts/andesites melts of the residue from hybridization. Geological similarities between the late-Archean Wawa greenstone belts and certain Cenozoic transpressional orogens with the MA-NEBA-adakite association suggest that subduction of young, hot oceanic lithosphere may have played an important role in the production of this arc-related association in the late Archean.     

Sedimentary architecture and glacial hydrodynamic significance of the stratified Oak Ridges Moraine,southern Ontario,Canada

High-quality subsurface data provide new insights into the formation of Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM), an ~80 km³ sequence of stratified meltwater deposits resting >200 m above adjacent Lake Ontario. The ORM sedimentary succession comprises a three-part regional architecture: (i) ~north–south channel sand–gravel; (ii) channel-capping rhythmites; and (iii) east–west ridge sediments. The ORM depositional sequence overlies a regional unconformity with a cross-cutting channel network resulting from ~north–south meltwater floods that transitioned progressively (falling stage) from a ~NNE to ENE flow direction (parallels Lake Ontario depression). Seismic profiles delineate the channels and channel fill characteristics of bank-to-bank channel sedimentation of thick gradational gravel–sand–mud sequences. Channel-capping mud (~100–236 rhythmites) within multiple channels beneath the ORM landform mark a widespread interval of low-energy, seasonally controlled subglacial pond deposition. During this quiescent period ice-sheet thickness adjusted to flood-induced stretching/thinning and re-profiled slopes. New ice gradients led to east–west flow and deposition of the overlying third element, a sequence of high-energy confined esker–fan sediments along ORM ridge. Close, sequential timing (~329 varve years) of channel, basin and ridge-forming architectural elements supports naming this assemblage the ORM formation. Proposed ORM floods are analogous to Icelandic jökulhlaups based on the size, geometry and sedimentology. The observed rhythmite interval between flood events represents a short period (~236 years) of regional meltwater storage prior to east–west ORM flooding. The ORM channel and overlying esker-fan sediment ridge represent two closely timed meltwater drainage events rather than formation by coalescing ice streams. The scale and timing of the ORM flood events are linked to rapid sea-level rise, ~13.5 ka BP. This high-resolution ORM sedimentological record may provide insights into depositional and glaciogenic controls of other large, stratified moraines. The ORM data indicate deposition in response to hydrodynamic events (outbreak floods, re-profiled ice) rather than direct climate forcing.