U/Pb and Pb/Pb zircon ages for arc-related intrusions of the Bolu Massif (W Pontides, NW Turkey): evidence for Late Precambrian (Cadomian) age

We present new U/Pb and Pb/Pb radiometric age data from two tectono-stratigraphic units of the regionally extensive Bolu Massif, in the W Pontides (İstanbul Fragment), N Turkey. A structurally lower unit (Sünnice Group) is cut by small meta-granitic intrusions, whereas the structurally higher unit comprises meta-volcanic rocks (Çaşurtepe Fm) cut by meta-granitic plutons (Tüllükiriş and Kapıkaya plutons). U/Pb single-crystal dating of zircons from the Kapıkaya Pluton yielded a concordant cluster, with a mean ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb age of 565.3 ± 1.9 Ma. Zircons from the Tüllükiriş Pluton (affected by Pb loss) gave a ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 576 ± 6 Ma age (Late Precambrian). Small meta-granitic intrusions cutting the Sünnice Group yielded a less precise ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 262 ± 19 Ma (Early Permian). The older ages from the Bolu Massif confirm the existence of latest Precambrian arc magmatism related to subduction of a Cadomian ocean. We infer that the Bolu Massif represents a fragment of a Cadomian active margin. Cadomian orogenic units were dispersed as exotic terranes throughout the Variscan and Tethyan orogens, and the Bolu Massif probably reached its present position prior to latest Palaeozoic time. Our dating results also confirm that NW Turkey was affected by Hercynian magmatism related to subduction of Palaeotethys, as inferred for other areas of the Pontides.     

Petrogenesis and tectonic setting of Cadomian felsic igneous rocks, Sandıklı area of the western Taurides, Turkey

In the Sandıklı (Afyon) region, western Taurides, the Late Proterozoic rocks of the Sandıklı basement complex are composed of low-grade meta-sedimentary rocks (Güvercinoluk Formation) intruded by felsic rocks (Kestel Cayı Porphyroid Suite, KCPS). The KCPS is a deformed and highly sheared, dome-shaped rhyolitic body with a granitic core. Quartz porphyry dikes intrude both the slightly metamorphic igneous and the sedimentary rocks of the basement complex. Both the quartz porphyries and rhyolites were converted into mylonites with relict igneous textures. Geochemical data show that these felsic igneous rocks are subalkaline and mainly granitic in composition with SiO₂ >72 wt% and Al₂O₃ >11.5 wt%. The chondrite-normalized incompatible trace element patterns are characterized by distinct negative Rb, Nb, Sr, P, Ti, and Eu with enrichment in Th, U, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Zr. The REE patterns of the felsic rocks indicate a strong enrichment in LREE but display slightly flat HREE patterns. According to geochemical characteristics and petrogenetic modeling, extrusive and intrusive rocks of the KCPS were probably derived from an upper continental crustal source (partial melting of granites/felsic rocks) by 18–20% fractional melting plus 18–20% Rayleigh fractional crystallization, which seems to be the most effective igneous process during the crystallization of the KCPS. Single zircon age data from the granitoids and fossils from the disconformably overlying sedimentary successions indicate that the metamorphism and the igneous event in the Taurides are related to the Cadomian orogeny. Based on the geological, geochemical and petrogenetic correlation of the post-collisional granitoids it is further suggested that the Tauride belt in western central Turkey was in a similar tectonic setting to the Gondwanan terranes in North Africa (Younger Granitoids) and southern Europe (Spain, France, Bohemia, Brno Massifs) during the Late Cadomian period.     

Detrital zircon ages from a Lower Ordovician quartzite of the İstanbul exotic terrane (NW Turkey): evidence for Amazonian affinity

NW Turkey is a mosaic of several continental and oceanic units, that were amalgamated by collisional and strike–slip tectonics. One of the continental units is the İstanbul terrane, the Palaeozoic strata of which comprise an Early Ordovician to Early Carboniferous transgressive sedimentary sequence. The basement to the Palaeozoic succession is exposed in the Bolu Massif and is represented by a thick meta-volcanic unit intruded by Late Neoproterozoic (ca. 575 Ma) felsic magma. This meta-igneous basement is considered to be a sliver of the Cadomian magmatic arc. Unconformably overlying Early Ordovician strata start with red fluvial clastics (ca. 3,000 m), overlain by shallow marine quartzites (<250 m). Detrital zircons were separated from an Ordovician quartzite sample located 5 m above the contact with the underlying red fluvial clastics. We have dated a total of 99 zircon grains by U–Pb method using laser ablation-sector field-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-SF-ICP-MS). The ages (97% are >90% concordant) range from 530 to 2550 Ma. The dominance (44 grains) of Neoproterozoic zircon ages (around 540, 570, 600–640 and 700–800 Ma) rules out any link of the İstanbul terrane with Baltica. The large amount (40 grains) of Grenvillian and Meso- to Palaeo-proterozoic ages (around 1.0–1.2, 1.3–1.6, 1.7–1.8, and 1.9–2.1 Ga) in the zircon population further rules out a link to Cadomian and Minoan terranes, but is indicative for Amazonian source areas. The new age data suggest the İstanbul terrane to be a peri-Gondwanan terrane that was located at the northwestern margin of Gondwana close to Amazonia. This terrane should have travelled a large distance in the Phanerozoic times.     

Rb - Sr Whole Rock-Mineral Isochron Ages of Plutonic Rocks from the Wanni Complex, Sri Lanka

Granitoid plutons in different East Gondwana fragments give evidence for vigorous felsic magmatism during the Pan-African period (800 to 500 Ma). The Sri Lankan basement, which is mainly composed of Proterozoic high-grade metamorphic rocks, was intruded by a few late- to post-tectonic syenitic and granitic plutons. Reliable geochronological data for these plutons are few, and some of the available data are inconsistent with the ages of the surrounding metamorphic country rocks.This report presents five Rb-Sr whole-rock-mineral isochron (WRMI) ages and initial Sr isotope ratios of three granitoid plutons from the Wanni Complex, Sri Lanka, namely the Ambagaspitiya, Tonigala and Kotadeniya Granites. Two samples from the Ambagaspitiya Granite yielded ages of 520±5 and 502±15 Ma, with initial Sr ratios of 0.7103±0.0003 and 0.7125±0.0009 respectively, whereas ages of 467±27 and 497±11 Ma and initial Sr ratios of 0.7070±0.0004 and 0.7085±0.0008 were determined for two Tonigala Granite plutons. A single sample from the Kotadeniya Granite gave an age of 533±19 Ma and an initial Sr ratio of 0.7202±0.0018.These ages are consistent with the geological relations between the granitoids and their country rocks, which underwent granulite facies metamorphism between 650 and 550 Ma, and also with available U-Pb zircon ages (550 Ma). The present study gives improved chronological correlation of the felsic magmatism in East Gondwana fragments in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Antarctica and Western Australia. Each of the Sri Lankan plutons exhibits different initial Sr isotope ratios, indicating that their magmas were derived from distinct source materials.     

Late Cadomian crustal tilting and Cambrian transtension in the Teplá–Barrandian unit (Bohemian Massif, Central European Variscides)

The Cadomian basement of the Teplá–Barrandian unit is characterized by a classic Barrovian-type metamorphism, the degree of which increases considerably towards the west reaching amphibolite facies conditions in the Domaz?lice crystalline complex (DCC). The number and volume of plutons also increases towards the west. The emplacement ages of the Te?s?ovice granite and the Mrac?nice trondhjemite have been determined at 521.7±2?Ma and 523+4/–5?Ma, respectively, applying conventional U–Pb analyses of zircons. Pervasive high-temperature prolate fabrics and north-/northwest-dipping, dextral oblique-slip shear zones within the Mrac?nice trondhjemite suggest a synkinematic melt emplacement within a Lower Cambrian transtensional setting. Transtension is probably related to early-stage rifting that introduced the separation of the Teplá–Barrandian unit (as part of Armorica) from Gondwana. Structural and petrological data of the country rocks show that the Barrovian-type metamorphism and two deformation stages (D₁ with unknown kinematics and D₂ top-to-the-north shearing) are older than the melt emplacement, and thus can be attributed to the Cadomian orogeny. The intrusion depth of both plutons is nearly the same (ca. 7?km), although the degree of Barrovian-type metamorphism differs significantly within the country rocks. This suggests late Cadomian eastward tilting of the metamorphic isograd planes. The weak post-plutonic, lower-greenschist to subgreenschist facies folding and thrusting result from Variscan northwest/southeast compression.     

Petrochemistry of the south Marmara granitoids, northwest Anatolia, Turkey

Post-collision magmatic rocks are common in the southern portion of the Marmara region (Kap?da?, Karabiga, Gönen, Yenice, Çan areas) and also on the small islands (Marmara, Av?a, Pa?aliman?) in the Sea of Marmara. They are represented mainly by granitic plutons, stocks and sills within Triassic basement rocks. The granitoids have ages between Late Cretaceous and Miocene, but mainly belong to two groups: Eocene in the north and Miocene in the south. The Miocene granitoids have associated volcanic rocks; the Eocene granitoids do not display such associations. They are both granodioritic and granitic in composition, and are metaluminous, calc-alkaline, medium to high-K rocks. Their trace elements patterns are similar to both volcanic-arc and calc-alkaline post-collision intrusions, and the granitoids plot into the volcanic arc granite (VAG) and collision related granite areas (COLG) of discrimination diagrams. The have high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.704–0.707) and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.5124–0.5128). During their evolution, the magma was affected by crustal assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC). Nd and Sr isotopic compositions support an origin of derivation by combined continental crustal AFC from a basaltic parent magma. A slab breakoff model is consistent with the evolution of South Marmara Sea granitoids.     

Composition,Age, and Origin of Cretaceous Granitic Magmatism on the Eastern Chukchi Peninsula

New geochronological and isotopic geochemical data are given, which make it possible to recognize two types of granitic rocks on the eastern Chukchi Peninsula. Early Cretaceous Tkachen and Dolina granitic plutons with zircon ages (U–Pb SIMS) of 119–122 and 131–136 Ma are related to the first type. They cut through Devonian–Lower Carboniferous basement rocks and are overlain by the Aptian–Albian Etelkuyum Formation. Basal units of the latter contain fragments of granitic rocks. Late Cretaceous Provideniya and Rumilet granitic plutons, which contain zircons with ages of 94 and 85 Ma (U–Pb SIMS), respectively, belong to the second type. They cut through volcanic–sedimentary rocks of the Etelkuyum and Leurvaam formations pertaining to the Okhotsk–Chukotka Volcanic Belt. In petrographic and geochemical features, the Early Cretaceous granitic rocks of the Tkachen Pluton are commensurable with I-type granites, while Late Cretaceous granite of the Rumilet Pluton is comparable to A₂-type granite. The Sr–Nd isotopic data provide evidence that from the Early Cretaceous Tkachen and Dolina plutons to the Late Cretaceous Provideniya and Rumilet plutons, the degree of crustal assimilation of suprasubduction mantle-derived melts increases up to partial melting of heterogeneous continental crust enriched in rubidium. An unconformity and various degrees of secondary alteration of volcanic–sedimentary rocks have been established in the Okhotsk–Chukotka Volcanic Belt, and this was apparently caused by transition of the tectonic setting from suprasubduction to a transform margin with local extension.     

K‐Ar age determination,whole‐rock and oxygen isotope geochemistry of the post‐collisional Bizmişen and Çaltı plutons,SW Erzincan,eastern Central Anatolia,Turkey

Post‐collisional granitoid plutons intrude obducted Neo‐Tethyan ophiolitic rocks in central and eastern Central Anatolia. The Bizmişen and Çaltı plutons and the ophiolitic rocks that they intrude are overlain by fossiliferous and flyschoidal sedimentary rocks of the early Miocene Kemah Formation. These sedimentary rocks were deposited in basins that developed at the same time as tectonic unroofing of the plutons along E–W and NW–SE trending faults in Oligo‐Miocene time. Mineral separates from the Bizmişen and Çaltı plutons yield K‐Ar ages ranging from 42 to 46 Ma, and from 40 to 49 Ma, respectively. Major, trace, and rare‐earth element geochemistry as well as mineralogical and textural evidence reveals that the Bizmişen pluton crystallized first, followed at shallower depth by the Çaltı pluton from a medium‐K calcalkaline, I‐type hybrid magma which was generated by magma mixing of coeval mafic and felsic magmas. Delta ¹⁸O values of both plutons fall in the field of I‐type granitoids, although those of the Çaltı pluton are consistently higher than those of the Bizmişen pluton. This is in agreement with field observations, petrographic and whole‐rock geochemical data, which indicate that the Bizmişen pluton represents relatively uncontaminated mantle material, whereas the Çaltı pluton has a significant crustal component. Structural data indicating the middle Eocene emplacement age and intrusion into already obducted ophiolitic rocks, suggest a post‐collisional extensional origin. However, the pure geochemical discrimination diagrams indicate an arc origin which can be inherited either from the source material or from an upper mantle material modified by an early subduction process during the evolution of the Neo‐Tethyan ocean. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early island-arc granitoids of the Shchuchinskaya zone of the Polar Urals: U–Pb (SIMS) zircon isotope data

Granitoids of the Rechnoy and Yalya-Pe paleovolcanoes, which were ascribed to the Silurian Khoimpe complex during a geological mapping, and granitoids of the Nganotsky-1 and Nganotsky-2 plutons that were ascribed to the Early Devonian Yunyaga complex were studied in the Shchuchinskaya zone of the Polar Urals. It was established that according to the mineral and chemical compositions the rocks of the plutons studied correspond to island-arc granitoids of I-type. Zircons from granitoids of the Rechnoy and Yalya-Pe paleovolcanoes and the Nganotsky-1 pluton yielded concordant U–Pb (SIMS) isotope ages of 456 ± 6, 454 ± 4, and 463 ± 3 Ma, respectively, which indicates the existence of an island arc within the Shchuchinskaya zone starting from the Middle–Late Ordovician. Based on the obtained zircon ages of granitoids, the country volcanics were ascribed to the Syaday Formation; the upper stratigraphic boundary of their formation was specified as the Middle–Upper Ordovician.     

Pre-Alpine evolution of a segment of the North-Gondwanan margin: Geochronological and geochemical evidence from the central Serbo-Macedonian Massif

The Serbo-Macedonian Massif (SMM) represents a composite crystalline belt within the Eastern European Alpine orogen, outcropping from the Pannonian basin in the north, to the Aegean Sea in the south. The central parts of the massif (i.e. southeastern Serbia, southwestern Bulgaria, eastern Macedonia) consist of the medium- to high-grade Lower Complex, and the low-grade Vlasina Unit. New results of U–Pb LA-ICP-MS analyses, coupled with geochemical analyses of Hf isotopes on magmatic and detrital zircons, and main and trace element concentrations in whole-rock samples suggest that the central SMM and the basement of the adjacent units (i.e. Eastern Veles series and Struma Unit) originated in the central parts of the northern margin of Gondwana. These data provided a basis for a revised tectonic model of the evolution of the SMM from the late Ediacaran to the Early Triassic.The earliest magmatism in the Lower Complex, Vlasina Unit and the basement of Struma Unit is related to the activity along the late Cadomian magmatic arc (562–522 Ma). Subsequent stage of early Palaeozoic igneous activity is associated with the reactivation of subduction below the Lower Complex and the Eastern Veles series during the Early Ordovician (490–478 Ma), emplacement of mafic dykes in the Lower Complex due to aborted rifting in the Middle Ordovician (472–456 Ma), and felsic within-plate magmatism in the early Silurian (439 ± 2 Ma). The third magmatic stage is represented by Carboniferous late to post-collisional granites (328–304 Ma). These granites intrude the gneisses of the Lower Complex, in which the youngest deformed igneous rocks are of early Silurian age, thus constraining the high-strain deformation and peak metamorphism to the Variscan orogeny. The Permian–Triassic (255–253 Ma) stage of late- to post-collisional and within-plate felsic magmatism is related to the opening of the Mesozoic Tethys.     

Discovery of an albite gneiss from the Ile de Groix (Armorican Massif, France): geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology of its Ordovician protolith

For the first time, an albite orthogneiss has been recognised and dated within the HP–LT blueschist facies metabasites and metapelites of the Ile de Groix. It is characterised by a peraluminous composition, high LILE, Th and U contents, MORB-like HREE abundances and moderate Nb and Y values. A U–Pb age of 480.8?±?4.8?Ma was obtained by LA-ICP-MS dating of zircon and titanite. It is interpreted as the age of the magmatic emplacement during the Early Ordovician. Morphologically different zircon grains yield late Neoproterozoic ages of 546.6–647.4?Ma. Zircon and titanite U–Pb ages indicate that the felsic magmatism from the Ile de Groix is contemporaneous with the acid, pre-orogenic magmatism widely recognised in the internal zones of the Variscan belt, related to the Cambro-Ordovician continental rifting. The magmatic protolith probably inherited a specific chemical composition from a combination of orogenic, back-arc and anorogenic signatures because of partial melting of the Cadomian basement during magma emplacement. Besides, the late Devonian U–Pb age of 366?±?33?Ma obtained for titanite from a blueschist facies metapelite corresponds to the age of the HP–LT peak metamorphism.     

Peri-Gondwanan Ordovician crustal fragments in the high-grade basement of the Eastern Rhodope Massif,Bulgaria: evidence from U-Pb LA-ICP-MS zircon geochronology and geochemistry

Field, geochemical, and geochronologic data of high-grade basement metamafic and evolved rocks are used to identify the nature and timing of pre-Alpine crustal growth of the Rhodope Massif. These rocks occur intrusive into clastic-carbonate metasedimentary succession. Petrography and mineral chemistry show compositions consistent with Alpine amphibolite-facies metamorphism that obliterated the original igneous textures of the protoliths. Bulk-rock geochemistry identifies low-Ti tholeiitic to calc-alkaline gabbroic-basaltic and plagiogranite precursors, with MORB-IAT supra-subduction zone signature and trace elements comparable to modern back-arc basalts. The U-Pb zircon dating revealed a mean age of 455 Ma for the magmatic crystallization of the protoliths that contain inherited Cambrian (528–534 Ma) zircons. Carboniferous, Jurassic, and Eocene metamorphic events overprinted the Ordovician protoliths. The radiometric results of the metamorphic rocks demonstrate that Ordovician oceanic crust was involved in the build-up of the Rhodope high-grade basement. Dating of Eocene-Oligocene volcanic rocks overlying or cross-cutting the metamorphic rocks supplied Neoproterozoic, Ordovician and Permo-Carboniferous xenocrystic zircons that were sampled en route to the surface from the basement. The volcanic rocks thus confirm sub-regionally present Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic igneous and metamorphic basement. We interpret the origin of the Middle-Late Ordovician oceanic magmatism in a back-arc rift-spreading center propagating along peri-Gondwanan Cadomian basement terrane related to the Rheic Ocean widening. The results highlight the presence of elements of Cadomian northern Gondwana margin in the high-grade basement and record of Rheic Ocean evolution. The eastern Rhodope Massif high-grade basement compared to adjacent terranes with Neoproterozoic and Cambro-Ordovician evolution shares analogous tectono-magmatic record providing a linkage among basement terranes incorporated in the Alpine belt of the north Aegean region.     

The Tandilia System of Argentina as a southern extension of the R��o de la Plata craton: an overview

The southernmost outcrops of the Río de la Plata cratonic region are exposed in the Tandilia System in eastern Argentina. The geological evolution comprises mainly an igneous-metamorphic Paleoproterozoic basement named Buenos Aires Complex, which is covered by Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic sedimentary units which display subhorizontal bedding. The basement of calc-alkaline signature consists mainly of granitic-tonalitic gneisses, migmatites, amphibolites, some ultramafic rocks, and granitoid plutons. Subordinate rock-types include schists, marbles, and dykes of acid and mafic composition. Tandilia was recognized as an important shear belt district with mylonite rocks derived mainly from granitoids. The tectonic scenario seems related to juvenile accretion event (2.25?C2.12?Ga) along an active continental margin, followed by continental collision (2.1?C2.08?Ga) after U?CPb zircon data. The collisional tectonic setting caused thrusting and transcurrent faulting favouring the anatexis of the crustal rocks. The tholeiitic dykes constrain the time of crustal extension associated with the last stages of the belt evolution. The basement was preserved from younger orogenies such as those of the Brasiliano cycle. After a long paleoweathering process, the Sierras Bayas Group (c. 185?m thick) represents a record of the first Neoproterozoic sedimentary unit (siliciclastic, dolostones, shales, limestones), superposed by Cerro Negro Formation (c. 150?C400?m thick, siliciclastics) assigned to Upper Neoproterozoic age. The final sedimentary transgression during Early Paleozoic was the Balcarce Formation (c. 90?C450?m thick) deposited over all the mentioned Precambrian units. Based on all the geological background, a tectonic evolution is offered.     

The geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic characteristics of Eocene to Miocene NW Anatolian granitoids: Implications for magma evolution in a post-collisional setting

Early Eocene to Early Miocene magmatic activity in northwestern Anatolia led to the emplacement of a number of granitoid plutons with convergent margin geochemical signatures. Granitoid plutons in the area are mainly distributed within and north of the suture zone formed after the collision of the Anatolide-Tauride platform with the Pontide belt. We present geochemical characteristics of three intrusive bodies in the region in order to identify their source characteristics and geodynamic significance. Among these, the Çataldağ and Ilıca-Şamlı plutons are located to the north and the Orhaneli pluton is located to the south of the IAESZ (Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture Zone). The plutons are calc-alkaline, metaluminous, and I-type with compositions from granite to monzonite. They display clear enrichments in LILE and LREE and depletions in HFSE relative to N-MORB compositions and have high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios.The results of theoretical Fractional Crystallization (FC) model show that the samples are affected by fractionation of K-feldspar, plagioclase, biotite and amphibole. Assimilation and Fractional Crystallization (AFC) modeling indicates that the r value, the proportion of variable contamination to fraction, is high, indicating significant crustal contamination in the genesis of granitoid magmas. Combined evaluation of isotopic and trace element data indicates that the granitoids are the products of mantle-derived mafic magmas variably differentiated by simultaneous crustal contamination and fractional crystallization in lower to middle crustal magma chambers in a post-collisional setting.     

Evolution of geochemistry and depositional settings of Early Palaeozoic siliciclastics of the Barrandian (Teplá-Barrandian Unit,Bohemian Massif,Czech Republic)

Cambrian and Ordovician-Middle Devonian sequences of two successive Early Palaeozoic basins of the Barrandian unconformably overlie Cadomian basement in the Bohemian Massif NW interior (Teplá-Barrandian unit) which is the easternmost peri-Gondwanan remnant within the Variscides. Correlation of stratigraphy and geochemistry of the Early Palaeozoic siliciclastic rocks elucidated sediment provenances. Sandstones of the Middle Cambrian Píbram-Jince Basin were derived from a Cadomian Neoproterozoic island arc. The source area of the Ordovician shallow-marine siliciclastics of the successor Prague Basin is a dissected Cadomian orogen. Late Cambrian acid volcanics of the Barrandian and Cambrian (meta)granitoids emplaced in the W part of the Teplá-Barrandian Cadomian basement are also discernible in these sediments. Old sedimentary component increased during the Ordovician. Early Llandovery siliciclastic rocks show characteristics of an abruptly weakened supply of terrigenous material and an elevated proportion of synsedimentary basic volcanics as a result of Silurian transgression. Emsian siliciclastics (intercalated in the Late Silurian to Early Devonian limestone suite) presumably comprise an addition of coeval basic/ultrabasic volcaniclastics. Middle Devonian flysch-like siliciclastics indicate reappearance of Cadomian source near the Barrandian during early Variscan convergences of Armorican microplates that preceeded accretion of the Teplá-Barrandian unit within the Bohemian Massif terrane mosaic.Dr. Patoka deceased in July 2004.     

Mechanics of thick-skinned Variscan overprinting of Cadomian basement (Iberian Variscides)

Remnants of the Cadomian basement can be found in the Iberian Variscides (IBVA) in several key sectors of its autochthonous units (composed of Neoproterozoic to Lower Palaeozoic metasedimentary sequences) and within the Continental Allochthonous Terrane (CAT). Comprehensive characterization of these critical exposures shows that the prevailing features are related to major geological events dated within the age range of 620–540 Ma. Indeed, near the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary, the IBVA Internal Zones experienced pervasive basement thinning and cover thickening, reflecting diffusive displacement of intracratonic rifting that continued until Lower Devonian times. In the thick-skinned Internal Zones, Helvetic/Penninic style nappes were generated, whereas flower upright axial structures developed along transpressive, intraplate shear zones. These features contrast with those preserved in the thin-skinned IBVA External Zones, dominated by décollements above (un-)deformed Palaeozoic and Cadomian basement. The inferred attenuation of rheological contrast between Cadomian basement and Palaeozoic cover can be explained by inherited fabrics due to thermal softening operated during the Cambrian–Lower Devonian extensional regime. Deeper décollements (and subsequent strain partitioning) are also expected to develop at the upper-lower crust (and at the Moho?) transition, as imaged by the available seismic profiling and MT surveys. The whole data implies a significant discontinuity between Cadomian and Variscan Cycles that should have constrained subsequent lithospheric evolution.     

Single zircon ages for felsic to intermediate rocks from the Pietersburg and Giyani greenstone belts and bordering granitoid orthogneisses, northern Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

Previous models for the temporal evolution of greenstone belts and surrounding granitoid gneisses in the northern Kaapvaal Craton can be revised on the basis of new single zircon ages, obtained by conventional U---Pb dating and Pb---Pb evaporation. In the Pietersburg greenstone belt, zircons from a metaquartz porphyry of the Ysterberg Formation yielded an age of 2949.7±0.2 Ma, while a granite intruding the greenstones, and deformed together with them, has an age of 2853 + 19/−18 Ma. These data show felsic volcanism in this belt to have been coeval with felsic volcanism in the Murchison belt farther east, and the date of 2853 Ma provides an older age limit for deformation in the region. In contrast, a meta-andesite of the Giyani greenstone belt has a zircon age of 3203.3±0.2 Ma, while a younger and cross-cutting feldspar porphyry has an emplacement age of 2874.1±0.2 Ma. The meta-andesite is intercalated with various mafic and ultramafic rocks and, therefore, the age of 3.2 Ga appears plausible for the bulk of the Giyani greenstones.Granitoid gneisses surrounding the Pietersburg and Giyani belts vary in composition from tonalite to granite and texturally from well-layered to homogeneous but strongly foliated. These rocks yielded zircon ages between 2811 and 3283 Ma. The pre-3.2 Ga gneisses are polydeformed and may have constituted a basement to the Giyani greenstone sequence, while the younger gneisses are intrusive into the older gneiss assemblage and/or into the greenstones. The Giyani and Pietersburg belts probably define two separate crustal entities that were originally close together but were later displaced by strike-slip movement.     

The Cadomian Orogeny in Saxo-Thuringia, Germany: geochemical and Nd–Sr–Pb isotopic characterization of marginal basins with constraints to geotectonic setting and provenance

The Cadomian basement and the Cambro-Ordovician overstep sequence in Saxo-Thuringia is characterized by clastic sedimentation from the Late Neoproterozoic to the Ordovician. Magmatism in the Avalonian–Cadomian Arc preserved in Saxo-Thuringia occurred between ca. 570 and 540 Ma. Peri-Gondwanan basin remnants with Cadomian to Early Palaeozoic rocks are exposed as very low-grade metamorphosed rocks in six areas (Schwarzburg Anticline, Berga Anticline, Doberlug Syncline, North Saxon Anticline, Lausitz Anticline, and Elbe Zone). A hiatus in sedimentation between 540 and 530 Ma (Cadomian unconformity) is related to the Cadomian Orogeny. A second gap in sedimentation occurred during the Upper Cambrian (500 to 490 Ma) and is documented by a disconformity between Lower to Middle Cambrian rocks and overlying Tremadocian sediments. Major and trace-element signatures of the Cadomian sediments reflect an active margin (“continental arc”), those of the Ordovician sediments a passive margin. The Cambrian sediments have inherited the arc signature through the input of relatively unaltered Cadomian detritus. Initial Nd and Pb isotope data from the six Saxo-Thuringian areas demonstrate that there is no change in source area with time for each location, but that there are minor contrasts among the locations. (1) Cadomian sediments from the Lausitz Anticline, the Doberlug Syncline and the Elbe Zone have lower ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb than all other areas. (2) The core of the Schwarzburg Anticline, which is overprinted by greenschist facies conditions and detached, is isotopically heterogeneous. One part of its metasedimentary units has less radiogenic Nd than sediments from other low-grade units of similar age in the same area. (3) Cadomian sediments from the Schwarzburg Anticline show an input of younger felsic crust. (4) The Rothstein Group shows distinct input of young volcanic material. Also, (5) Cadomian sediments from the Lausitz Anticline, the Elbe Zone and parts of the North Saxon Anticline are characterized by input from an old mafic crust. Nd isotope data of the remaining areas yield average crustal residence ages of the sediment source of 1.5–1.9 Ga, which suggests derivation from an old craton as found for other parts of the Iberian–Armorican Terrane Collage. Similarly, the Pb isotope data of all areas indicate sediment provenance from an old craton.The rapid change of lithologies from greywacke to quartzite from the Late Neoproterozoic (Cadomian basement) to the Ordovician does not reflect changes in sediment provenance, but is essentially due to increased reworking of older sediments and old weathering crusts that formed during various hiatus of sedimentation. This change in sediment maturity takes its chemical expression in lower overall trace-element contents in the quartzite (dilution effect by quartz) and relative enrichment of some trace-elements (Zr, MREE, HREE due to detrital zircon and garnet). The Rb–Sr systematics of the quartzites and one Ordovician tuffite was disturbed (most likely during the Variscan Orogeny), which suggests a lithology-controlled mobility of alkali and calc-alkali elements. By comparison with available data, it seems unlikely that only Nd T_DM model ages are useful to distinguish between West African and Amazonian provenance. Nd T_DM model ages of 1.5 to 1.9 Ga in combination with paleobiogeographic aspects, age data from detrital zircon, and palaeogeographic constraints, especially through tillites of the Saharan glaciation in the Hirnantian, strongly indicate a provenance of Saxo-Thuringia from the West African Craton.     

Organization of pre-Variscan basement areas at the north-Gondwanan margin

Pre-Variscan basement elements of Central Europe appear in polymetamorphic domains juxtaposed through Variscan and/or Alpine tectonic events. Consequently, nomenclatures and zonations applied to Variscan and Alpine structures, respectively, cannot be valid for pre-Variscan structures. Comparing pre-Variscan relics hidden in the Variscan basement areas of Central Europe, the Alps included, large parallels between the evolution of basement areas of future Avalonia and its former peri-Gondwanan eastern prolongations (e.g. Cadomia, Intra-Alpine Terrane) become evident. Their plate-tectonic evolution from the Late Proterozoic to the Late Ordovician is interpreted as a continuous Gondwana-directed evolution. Cadomian basement, late Cadomian granitoids, late Proterozoic detrital sediments and active margin settings characterize the pre-Cambrian evolution of most of the Gondwana-derived microcontinental pieces. Also the Rheic ocean, separating Avalonia from Gondwana, should have had, at its early stages, a lateral continuation in the former eastern prolongation of peri-Gondwanan microcontinents (e.g. Cadomia, Intra-Alpine Terrane). Subduction of oceanic ridge (Proto-Tethys) triggered the break-off of Avalonia, whereas in the eastern prolongation, the presence of the ridge may have triggered the amalgamation of volcanic arcs and continental ribbons with Gondwana (Ordovician orogenic event). Renewed Gondwana-directed subduction led to the opening of Palaeo-Tethys.     

Detrital zircons U–Pb SHRIMP ages and provenance of La Modesta Formation,Patagonia Argentina

This paper summarizes the geology of the Paleozoic La Modesta Formation in Patagonia, Argentina, and presents new SHRIMP U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from muscovite-chlorite schist and tourmalinite. Also complementary geochemical and lead isotopic data are presented, indicating that the protoliths were formed from upper crustal rocks by the contribution of a large input from recycled (or felsic) sources. The maximum age of sedimentation of La Modesta Formation is about 446 ± 6 Ma. The basin closure (or eventually a paleocurrent shift) occurs at Lower Devonian before the exhumation of the Middle-Devonian granitoids of the Rio Deseado Complex (Deseado Massif). Many of the detrital zircons are igneous and record Ordovician ages, with a prominent Lower Ordovician-age peak at approximately 473 Ma. Most favourable candidates to provide the younger zircons in the basin would Ordovician granites of the Rio Deseado Complex (Deseado Massif) and Punta Sierra Plutonic Complex (Somun Cura Massif). Older zircons have peaks of different importance (including Brasiliano and Grenvillian ages) between 530 and 700, 750–1500, 1750–2000 and 2550–2700 Ma. La Modesta Formation is also a potential area of materials (detrital zircon) to the basin where the rocks of the Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex and equivalent formations of the Andean region were generated.