Lower precambrian metapelites of the Yenisei Range: REE systematics,provenances, paleogeodynamics

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Quantitative analysis of mass transfer during polymetamorphism in pelites of the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge

The study provides geological, structural, mineralogical, petrological, and geochronological evidence for polymetamorphic evolution of gneisses from the Garevka complex of the Yenisei Ridge. The results of the study provide significant insight into the geochemical behavior of major and trace elements in zoned garnet crystals and mineral inclusions formed during prograde and retrograde metamorphism of pelitic rocks. It was shown that the concentrations of Y and HREE in garnet decrease with increasing P and T and increase with decreasing pressure and temperature. The combined study of multicomponent chemical zoning patterns of coexisting minerals and metamorphic mineral reactions in metapelites was conducted. The results show that the main reason for a drastic increase in CaO content in garnets during collisional metamorphism is a mass exchange between garnet and plagioclase. The deviation from this trend, as indicated by the concurrent increase inthe grossular content of garnet and anorthite content of plagioclase, arises from the breakdown of epidote. The calculated metamorphic reactions, mass balance analysis, and changes in mineral chemistry during metamorphism reinforce the evidence for the isochemical character of processes with respect to most components of the system. The minimum volume of the system in which chemical exchange between reacting phases is balanced for all major and trace elements did not exceed ~ 1 mm³. The total HREE balance requires a greater reaction volume (up to ~ 8 mm ) involved in the redistribution of these elements, which provide evidence for their relatively higher mobility during metamorphism relative to other rare earth elements. The specific distribution and quite substantial mass transport of HREE are controlled by heterovalent isomorphic substitution between these elements and CaO in garnet.     

The Upper Riphean of the Yenisei Range

The Yenisei Range and the adjacent territories in the east are subdivided into (1) the Mid-Angara intracratonic depression; (2) the Yenisei pericratonic trough; and 3) a marginal oceanic block, the Isakovka-Predivinsk area. The lower part of the Riphean succession is subdivided into two principally different sedimentary complexes — the Lower Sukhoi Pit Subgroup and the Upper Sukhoi Pit Subgroup (the Pogoryui-Alad'in interval of the succession). The fundamental nature of the events that separate these two complexes and the characteristic, rhythmically bedded structure of the Upper Sukhoi Pit Subgroup allow the latter to be ranked a separate straton, the Bol'shoi Pit Group. Its lower boundary is associated with the Grenvillian events commencing with the emplacement of the Teya granite-gneiss domes and other intrusive complexes dated at 1100–1000 Ma. In the sedimentation record these events are manifested as a sudden change from the slate complex, for which we keep the name Sukhoi Pit Group, to the rhythmically bedded succession of the Bol'shoi Pit Group. The latter is interpreted as a product of uproofing of an elevated hinterland to the west. Insofar as the amplitude of this elevated area decreases progressively toward the Mid-Angara trough, the Bol'shoi Pit erosional unconformity and the associated interval of nondeposition are absent from the area. In the west of the Yenisei Range, in contrast, there is a major stratigraphic gap in the sequence, which is associated with the aforementioned events. The hypothesis on intensive events separating the deposition of the Bol'shoi Pit Group of the Kerpylian Horizon and the Tungusik Group of the Lakhandinian Horizon is not supported by the new data. The change from carbonate facies into siliciclastics in the west was misinterpreted as an erosional unconformity, with basal deposits corresponding to the lower boundary of the Tungusik Group. The occurrence of the Upper Tungusik deposits overlying much older rocks is a result of the pre-Bol'shoi Pit erosion and the gradual expansion of the Tungusik transgression. Thus, there are no grounds to argue for significant pre-Lakhandinian events in the region. Hence, the Kerpylian and Lakhandinian in the Yenisei Range, as well as in other parts of the Siberian Craton, constitute two parts of a larger supraregional straton, which corresponds to the lower half of the Upper Riphean and is designated here the Mayanian. The fundamentally different nature of the events associated with the next, Baikalian stage of the development allows its tripartite subdivision in the region. Deposition of the Lower Baikalian (the Oslyanka Group) was preceded by the crustal extension at the junction between the continental and oceanic blocks and, possibly, the formation of one of the Yenisei Range ophiolite complexes, followed by the emplacement of the Tatarka-Ayakhta batholiths at around 850 Ma. Fragments of both complexes are found as clasts in the basal conglomerates of the Middle Baikalian Chingasan Horizon. The specific character of the pre-Baikalian events determines their apparently poor expression in the sedimentation (weaker metamorphism of the Oslyanka deposits compared with the Tungusik Group). Even the activity leading to the formation of the Tatarka-Ayakhta granites cannot be regarded as a full-scale orogenic process. Collisional events separating the Lower and Middle Baikalian are manifested as the erosional unconformity at the base of the Chingasan Group and the emplacement of the Glushikha granites (760–730 Ma). The Middle Baikalian age of the Chingasan deposits is constrained by the data from paleontology, historical geology, and geochronology. Furthermore, the presence of glacial deposits renders this straton as a global stratigraphic marker. Further expansion of transgression in the Upper Baikalian is linked to another important event, but additional paleontological and geochronological information is needed to date the Upper Baikalian (Chapa Group) more accurately. The Baikalian events synchronously manifested themselves in all structural-facies zones of the Yenisei Range and are coeval to structural complexes from adjacent areas of the Siberian Craton. The tripartite Baikalian, therefore, has a potential for being included into the General Scale of the upper Upper Riphean.     

Neoproterozoic metamorphic evolution in the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge: Evidence from monazite and xenotime geochronology

Chemical mapping and in situ dating of U-Th-rich minerals in zoned garnets from gneisses of the Garevka metamorphic complex were used to constrain multiple metamorphic events in the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge. The data provide supporting evidence for three distinct metamorphic stages. The first episode occurred as a result of the Grenville orogeny during the Late Mesozoic and Early Neoproterozoic (1050–850 Ma) and was marked by low-pressure zoned metamorphism and a metamorphic field gradient with dT/dH = 20?30°C/km typical of orogenic belts. At the second stage, the rocks experienced Late Riphean (801–793 Ma) syn-collisional medium-pressure metamorphism with a low metamorphic field gradient (dT/dH ≤ 10°C/km). The final stage evolved as a synexhumation dynamic metamorphism (785–776 Ma) with dT/dH ≤ 12°C/km and reflected rapid exhumation of rocks in shear zones. The sequence of collisional events within the western margin of the Siberian craton affected by the Valhalla orogen suggests that Siberia and cratons of the North Atlantic region were in close proximity to one another at about 800 Ma, which is supported by recent paleomagnetic reconstructions.     

P-T-t constraints on the metamorphic evolution of the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge: Geodynamic and petrological implications

Two metamorphic complexes of the Yenisei Ridge with contrasting composition are analyzed to unravel their tectonothermal evolution and geodynamic processes during the Riphean geologic history of the area. The structural, mineralogical, petrological, geochemical and geochronological data are used to distinguish two stages of the evolution with different ages, thermodynamic regimes, and metamorphic field gradients. Reaction textures, chemical zoning in minerals, shapes of the P-T paths, and isotope dates provide convincing evidence for a poly metamorphic history of the region. The first stage is marked by the formation of the ~ 970 Ma low-pressure zoned And-Sil rocks (P = 3.9-5.1 kbar, T = 510–640 °C) of the Teya aureole and a high metamorphic field gradient with dT/dH = 25–35 °C/km typical of many orogenic belts. At the second stage, these rocks experienced Late Riphean (853–849 Ma) collisional medium-pressure metamorphism of the kyanite-sillimanite type (P = 5.7-7.2 kbar, T = 660–700 °C) and a low metamorphic field gradient with dT/dH < 12 °C/km. This metamorphic event was almost coeval with the Late Riphean (862 Ma) contact metamorphism in the vicinity of the granitic plutons, which was accompanied by a high metamorphic field gradient with dT/dH > 100 °C/km. At the first stage, the deepest blocks of the Garevka complex in the vicinity of the Yenisei regional shear zone underwent high-pressure amphibolite-facies metamorphism within a narrow range of P = 7.1-8.7 kbar and T = 580–630 °C, suggesting the burial of rocks to mid-crustal depths at a metamorphic field gradient with dT/dH ~ 20–25 °C/km. At the second stage, these rocks experienced the Late Riphean (900–850 Ma) syn-exhumation dynamometamorphism under epidote-amphibolte facies conditions (P = 3.9-4.9 kbar, T = 460–550 °C) and a low gradient with dT/dH < 10 °C/km accompanied by the formation of blastomylonitic complexes in shear zones. All these deformation and metamorphic events identified on the western margin of the Siberian craton are correlated with the final episodes of the Late Grenville orogeny and provide supporting evidence for a close spatial connection between Siberia and Laurentia during early Neoproterozoic time, which is in good agreement with recent paleomagnetic reconstuctions.     

Lower proterozoic metapelites in the northern Yenisei Range: Nature and age of the protolith and the behavior of material during collisional metamorphism

The variable P-T metamorphic conditions studied in the Fe-Al metapelites of the Karpinskii Range Formation are regarded as typical of collision-related metamorphism in the trans-Angara part of the Yenisei Range. Recently obtained geochronologic (SHRIMP-II U-Pb zircon dating) and geochemical data on the distribution of major and trace elements are used to reproduce the composition of the protolith, the facies conditions under which it was formed, the tectonic setting, and the age of the eroded rocks. The metapelites are determined to be redeposited and metamorphosed material of Precambrian kaolinite-type weathering crusts of predominantly kaolinite-illite-montmorillonite-quartz composition. The protolith of the rocks was formed via the erosion of Lower Proterozoic granite-gneiss complexes of the Siberian craton (dated mainly within the range of 1962–2043 Ma) and the subsequent accumulation of this material in a continent-marginal shallow-water basin in a humid climate and tectonically calm environment. These results are consistent with data of lithologic-facies analysis and geodynamic reconstructions of the Precambrian evolution of geological complexes in the Yenisei Range. Mass-transfer analysis with the use of the evaluated rock compositions and calculated chemical reactions indicates that the differences in the REE patterns of metapelites from distinct zones can be explained mostly by the chemical heterogeneity of the protolithic material and, to a lesser extent, by metamorphic reactions at a pressure increase.     

Three metamorphic events in the precambrian P-T-t history of the Transangarian Yenisey ridge recorded in garnet grains in metapelites

A study of gneisses and schists from the Yenisey regional shear zone (Garevka complex) at the western margin of the Siberian Craton has provided important constraints on the tectonothermal events and geodynamic processes in the Yenisey Ridge during the Riphean. In situ U-Th-Pb geochronology of monazite and xenotime from different garnet growth zones and the calculation of P-T path derived from chemical zoning pattern in garnet were used to distinguish three metamorphic events with different ages, thermodynamic regimes and metamorphic field gradients. The first stage occurred as a result of the Grenville orogeny during late Meso-early Neoproterozoic (1050–850 Ma) and was marked by low-pressure zoned metamorphism at ～4.8–5.0 kbar and 565–580°C and a metamorphic field gradient with dT/dH = 20–30°C/km typical of orogenic belts. At the second stage, the rocks experienced Late Riphean (801–793 Ma) collision-related medium-pressure metamorphism at ～7.7–7.9 kbar and 630°C with dT/dH ≤ 10°C/km. The final stage evolved as a syn-exhumation retrograde metamorphism (785–776 Ma) at ～4.8–5.4 kbar and 500°C with dT/dH ≤ 12°C/km and recorded a relatively fast uplift of the rocks to upper crustal levels in shear zones. The range of exhumation rates at the post-collisional stage (500–700 m/Ma) correlates with the duration of exhumation and the results of thermophysical numerical modeling of metamorphic rocks within orogenic belts. The final stages of collisional orogeny are marked by the development of rift-related bimodal dyke swarms associated with Neoproterozoic extension (797 ± 11 and 7.91 ± 6 Ma; U-Pb SHRIMP II zircon data) along the western margin of the Siberian craton and the beginning of the breakup of Rodinia. Post-Grenville metamorphic episodes of regional evolution are correlated with the synchronous succession and similar style of the later tectono-metamorphic events within the Valhalla orogen along the Arctic margin of Rodinia and support the spatial proximity of Siberia and North Atlantic cratons at about 800 Ma, as indicated by the latest paleomagnetic reconstructions.     

Geochemistry,protolith origin,and age of Lower Proterozoic Fe- and Al-rich metapelites in the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Age and Source Areas of Detrital Zircons from the Rocks of the Yenisei Tectonic Zone: to the Problem of Identification of Archean Metamorphic Complexes in the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge

The petrogeochemical and geochronological correlations were carried out between boudined fragments of tonalitic rocks previously dated at Neoarchean, quartzite sandstones, and host amphibolites in the Yenisei Regional Shear Zone of the Yenisei Ridge in order to solve the problem of age of the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge basement. Detrital zircons in metasandstones can be derived from the Neoarchean–Paleoproterozoic crystalline rocks of the Angara–Kan block. Interpretation of available data does not confirm the inferred presence of the Early Precambrian basement of the Siberian Craton beneath the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge.     

Fe- and Al-Rich metapelites of the Teiskaya Group, Yenisei Range: Geochemistry, protoliths, and the behavior of their material during metamorphism

The Fe- and Al-rich metapelite of the Teiskaya Group in the trans-Angara part of the Yenisei Range are characterized by variable P-T parameters of their metamorphism. Geochemical data on these rocks were used to reproduce the nature and composition of their protolith. The metapelites were determined to be redeposited and metamorphosed Precambrian weathering crusts of the kaolinite type, which were produced by the erosion of Archean rocks of predominantly acid (granitoid) composition in shallow-water continental-margin basins in a humid climate. These results are consistent with the results of the lithological-facies analysis and geodynamic reconstruction of the Precambrian geological evolution of complexes in the Yenisei range. Differences were revealed between the REE patterns in metapelites in various metamorphic zones caused by both the compositional heterogeneity of the protoliths and the prograde (in terms of pressure) mineral reactions of collision metamorphism with the predominant effects of various processes during different evolutionary stages.     

The Teya polymetamorphic complex in the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge: An example of metamorphic superimposed zoning of low- and medium-pressure facies series

Two successive phases of metamorphism can be recognized based on mineralogical and petrological observations coupled with geothermobarometric estimates for chemical zoning in Fe- and Al-rich metapelites from the Teya crystalline rocks of the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge. The first phase is marked by the formation of low-pressure regional metamorphic complexes of the andalusite-sillimanite type (P = 3.9–5.1 kbar; T = 510–640°C), which were most likely related to the Middle Riphean Grenville events. In the second phase, metapelitic rocks underwent Late Riphean medium-pressure collisional metamorphism of the kyanite-sillimanite type (P = 5.7–7.2 kbar, T = 660–700°C), which resulted locally in an increase in pressure in the vicinity of thrusts. These results suggest that medium-pressure kyanite-bearing metapelitic rocks were formed as a result of collision-related metamorphism caused by thrusting of the Siberian cratonal blocks onto the Yenisei Ridge in the vicinity of the Tatarka deep fault.     

Nature and Age of Detrital Zircons from Rocks of the Shear Zone: The Problem of Occurrence of the Archean Basement in the Transangarian Yenisei Ridge

Petrogeochemical and geochronological study of boudined quartzite sandstones and tonalites, as well as host amphibolites, in the shear zone showed that potential sources of detrital zircons were Neoarchean–Paleoproterozoic rocks of the Angara–Kan block and products of their metamorphism. Interpretation of the available data does not confirm the inferred presence of the Early Precambrian basement of the Siberian Craton in the Transangara region.     

High-pressure-low-temperature metamorphism of granitic orthogneiss in the Brooks Range, northern Alaska

Abstract Granitic orthogneiss is widespread throughout the metamorphic core of the Brooks Range in both the ductilely deformed blueschist/greenschist facies Schist Belt and the lower grade Central Belt (= Skajit allochthon) to the north. Orthogneiss occurs as large metaplutonic massifs and in small bodies enclosed within metasedimentary rocks. Crystallization ages for the granitic protoliths range from Proterozoic through Devonian (U-Pb zircon); the K-Ar system was reset during Cretaceous metamorphism. Mineral assemblages of the orthogneisses reflect nearly complete re-equilibration during Jurassic-Cretaceous collisional orogenesis in northern Alaska. The most common metamorphic paragenesis in orthogneiss is: Qtz + Kfs + Ab + Phe + Bt ± Ep, Ttn, Rt, Ap, Chl, Cal. Constituent minerals from 16 Brooks Range orthogneiss samples were analysed with the electron microprobe. Phengite from the Schist Belt samples is highly enriched in Al-celadonite, with Si values up to 3.50 per formula unit (on an 11-oxygen basis). Central Belt samples contain phengite with lower Si content (±3.38 p.f.u.). In nearly all samples, Si content of phengite varies considerably, reflecting partial re-equilibration to lower pressure and/or higher temperature conditions. Metamorphic conditions were estimated using the Phe-Bt-Kfs-Qtz barometer and the two-feldspar solvus thermometer. The results indicate that the Schist belt underwent high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphism (generally 9-12 kbar at 375-430° C), consistent with the widespread development of glaucophane + epidote/clinozoisite and lawsonite pseudomorphs in other rock types. The Central Belt also experienced a relatively high P-T metamorphism, with most samples yielding pressure estimates in the range 5-8 kbar (at 325-415° C). These results confirm the existence of two metamorphic belts in the core of the Brooks Range that differ in metamorphic conditions by up to 5 kbar. The range in Si content in phengite from Schist Belt samples is consistent with isothermal decompression of up to 5 kbar.