Paleoproterozoic (1.90–1.86 Ga) arc volcanism in the Flin Flon Belt,Trans-Hudson Orogen,Canada

Geochemical and isotopic (Nd, Sr) data are reported on Paleoproterozoic (1904–1864 Ma), maficintermediate (<63% SiO₂), arc metavolcanic rocks from the Flin Flon greenstone belt, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Major element criteria permit subdivision of the rocks into tholeiitic (TH), calc-alkaline (CA), alkaline, and boninitic (BO) magma series. Subaqueously erupted, TH and related CA basalt-basaltic andesite, and rare high-Ca boninites dominated between 1904 Ma and 1890 Ma. The TH rocks are similar to modern island are tholeiites, having low high-field-strength element (HFSE) and rare earth element (REE) abundances, and chondrite-normalized light REE depletion to slight enrichment. The boninites have even lower HFSE and REE abundances (1–2X chondrites). Along with their extreme ratios of refractory incompatible elements (e.g., high Al/Ti, Ti/Zr, low Ti/V, Zr/Y), these features indicate that the arc mantle source was strongly depleted, probably residual after MORB or back-arc basin basalt extraction. Elevated Th/Yb, Ba/La, La/Nb values, and the spread in Nd isotopic compositions (initial _Nd=–0.4 to +4.8) suggest recycling of small amounts (0–8%) of Archean and possibly older Proterozoic crust via sediment subduction and, locally, intracrustal contamination. Calcalkaline andesite-rhyolite and rare shoshonite and trachyandesite, erupted between 1890 Ma and 1864 Ma, are more strongly light REE enriched and have comparatively higher HFSE abundances, and higher Zr/Y and Nb/Y values. The rocks have strong arc trace element signatures (e.g., high Th/Nb, La/Nb), and initial _Nd values (+2.3 to +4.6) indicate that depleted mantle contributions to the magmas continued to be dominant. The geochemistry and geology of these younger volcanic rocks suggest a mature island arc setting in which the arc lithosphere was thicker than in the previous period, and a more fertile sub-arc mantle source was tapped. The pre-1890 Ma volcanism occurred in one or more separate arcs, probably characterized by rapid subduction of oceanic lithosphere, relatively thin, tholeiitic arc crust, and extensive backarc basin formation. In contrast, post-1890 Ma volcanism is dominantly calc-alkaline to (rarely) alkaline, and is interpreted to reflect crustal thickening due to longterm growth of arc edifice(s) and tectonic thickening associated with intraoceanic arc-arc (>1870 Ma) collision and subsequent intra-arc deformation.     

The tectonics and stages of the geological history of the Yenisei–Khatanga Basin and the conjugate Taimyr Orogen

A new interpretation of the seismic profile series for the Taimyr Orogen and the Yenisei–Khatanga Basin is given in terms of their tectonics and geological history. The tectonics and tectonostratigraphy of the Yenisei–Khatanga and the Khatanga–Lena basins are considered. In the Late Vendian and Early Paleozoic, a passive continental margin and postrift shelf basin existed in Taimyr and the Yenisei–Khatanga Basin. From the Early Carboniferous to the Mid-Permian, the North and Central Taimyr zones were involved in orogeny. The Late Paleozoic foredeep was formed in the contemporary South Taimyr Zone. In the Middle to Late Triassic, a new orogeny took place in the large territory of Taimyr and the Noril’sk district of the Siberian Platform. A synorogenic foredeep has been recognized for the first time close to the Yenisei–Khatanga Basin. In the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, this basin was subsided under transpressional conditions. Thereby, anticlinal swells were formed from the Callovian to the Aptian. Their growth continued in the Cenozoic. The Taimyr Orogen underwent tectonic reactivation and apparently right-lateral transpression from Carboniferous to Cenozoic.     

P–T composition and evolution of paleofluids in the Paleoproterozoic Mag Hill IOCG system,Contact Lake belt,Northwest Territories,Canada

The Echo Bay stratovolcano complex and Contact Lake Belt of the Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Northwest Territories, host a series of coalescing Paleoproterozoic hydrothermal systems that affected an area of several hundred square kilometers. They were caused by intrusion of synvolcanic diorite–monzodioritic plutons into andesitic host rocks, producing several characteristic hydrothermal assemblages. They include early and proximal albite, magnetite–actinolite–apatite, and potassic (K-feldspar) alteration, followed by more distal hematite, phyllic (quartz–sericite–pyrite), and propylitic (chlorite–epidote–carbonate±sericite±albite±quartz) alteration, and finally by late-stage polymetallic epithermal veins. These alteration types are characteristic of iron oxide copper–gold deposits, however, with distal and lower-temperature assemblages similar to porphyry Cu systems. Magnetite–actinolite–apatite alteration formed from high temperature (up to 560 °C) fluids with average salinity of 12.8 wt% NaCl equivalent. The prograde propylitic and phyllic alteration stages are associated with fluids with temperatures varying from 80 to 430 °C and a wide salinity range (0.5–45.6 wt% NaCl equivalent). Similarly, wide fluid temperature (104–450 °C) and salinity (4.2–46.1 wt% NaCl equivalent) ranges are recorded for the phyllic alteration. This was followed by Cu–Ag–U–Zn–Co–Pb sulfarsenide mineralization in late-stage epithermal veins formed at shallow depths and temperatures from 270 °C to as low as 105 °C. The polymetallic veins precipitated from high salinity (mean 30 wt% NaCl equivalent) dense fluids (1.14 g/cm³) with a vapor pressure of 3.8 bars, typical of epithermal conditions. Fluid inclusion evidence indicates that mixed fluids with evolving physicochemical properties were responsible for the formation of the alteration assemblages and mineralization at Mag Hill. An early high temperature, moderate salinity, and magmatic fluid was subsequently modified variably by boiling, mixing with cooler low-salinity meteoric water, and simple cooling. The evidence is consistent with emplacement of the source plutons and stocks into an epithermal environment within ~1 km of surface. This generated near-surface high-temperature alteration in a dynamic hydrothermal system that collapsed (telescoped) resulting in widespread evidence of boiling and epithermal mineralization superimposed on earlier stages of alteration.     

Diachronic metamorphic and structural evolution of the Connecticut Valley–Gaspé trough,Northern Appalachians

The Connecticut Valley–Gaspé (CVG) trough represents a major, orogen-scale Silurian–Devonian basin of the Northern Appalachians. From Gaspé Peninsula to southern New England, the CVG trough has experienced a contrasting metamorphic and structural evolution during the Acadian orogeny. Along its strike, the CVG trough is characterized by increasing strain and polyphase structures, and by variations in the intensity of regional metamorphism and contrasting abundance of c. 390–370 Ma granitic intrusions. In southern Quebec and northern Vermont, a series of NW–SE transects across the CVG trough have been studied in order to better understand these along-strike variations. Detailed structural analyses, combined with phase equilibria modelling, Raman spectrometry, and muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating highlight a progressive and incremental deformation involving south–north variation in the timing of metamorphism. Deformation evolves from a D₁ crustal thickening event which originates in Vermont and progresses to southern Québec where it peaked at 0.6 GPa/380°C at c. 375 Ma. This was followed by a D₂ event associated with continuous burial in Vermont from 378 to 355 Ma, which produced peak metamorphic conditions of 0.85 GPa/380°C and exhumation in Quebec from 368 to 360 Ma. The D₃ compressional exhumation event also evolved from south to north from 345 to 335 Ma. D₁ to D₃ deformation events form part of a continuum with an along-strike propagation rate of ~50 km/Ma During D₁, the burial depth varied by more than 15 km between southern Quebec and Vermont, and this can be attributed to the occurrence of a major crustal indenter, the Bronson Hill Arc massif, in the New England segment of the Acadian collision zone.     

Timing and thermochemical constraints on multi-element mineralisation at the Nori/RA Cu–Mo–U prospect, Great Bear magmatic zone, Northwest Territories, Canada

The timing of Cu–Mo–U mineralisation at the Nori/RA prospect in the Paleoproterozoic Great Bear magmatic zone has been investigated using Re–Os molybdenite and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar biotite geochronology. The Re–Os molybdenite ages presented are the first robust sulphide mineralisation ages derived from the Great Bear magmatic zone. Cu–Mo–U mineralisation is hosted in early to syn-deformational hydrothermal veins consisting of quartz and K-feldspar or more commonly tourmaline-biotite-quartz-K-feldspar, with associated wall-rock alteration assemblages being predominantly biotite. Sulphide and oxide minerals consist of chalcopyrite, molybdenite and uraninite with lesser pyrite and magnetite. Elevated light rare earth elements and tungsten concentrations associated with the Cu–Mo–U mineralisation have also been reported at the prospect by previous workers. Molybdenite and uraninite occur intimately in dravitic tourmaline growth zones and at grain margins, attesting to their syngenetic nature (with respect to hydrothermal veining). Two molybdenite separates yield Re–Os model ages of 1,874.4 ± 8.7 (2σ) and 1,872.4 ± 8.8 Ma (2σ) with a weighted average model age of 1,873.4 ± 6.1 Ma (2σ). Laser step heating of biotite from the marginal alteration of the wall-rock adjacent to the veins yields a ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar maximum cooling age of 1,875 ± 8 Ma (MSWD = 3.8; 2σ), indistinguishable from the Re–Os molybdenite model age and a previously dated ‘syn-tectonic’ aplitic dyke in the region. Dravitic tourmaline hosts abundant primary liquid–vapour–solid-bearing fluid inclusions. Analytical results indicate liquid–vapour homogenisation at >260°C constraining the minimum temperature of mineralisation. The solids, which are possibly trapped, did not homogenise with the liquid–vapour by 400°C. Salinities in the inclusions are variable. Raman spectra identify that at least some of the solids are calcite and anhydrite. Raman spectra also confirm the vapour phases contain some CO₂; whereas clathrates or CH₄ was not observed or detected. Quartz grains only host secondary fluid inclusions, which fluoresce under ultraviolet light, indicating trapped hydrocarbons. We speculate that these resulted from Phanerozoic fluid circulation through the Proterozoic basement. The collective interpretation of the age, hydrothermal character and associated metals, high temperature and variable salinity suggests that the Nori/RA Cu–Mo–U mineralisation can be linked with the earliest stages of plutonism in the Great Bear magmatic zone. From a regional perspective, the mineralisation may pre-date the extensive multi-element mineralisation now recognised as part of the iron oxide copper–gold (IOCG) spectrum of deposits. As IOCG provinces generally contain a variety of mineralisation styles, we interpret this as the earliest phase of the extensive mineralising system.     

Evidence for a 200 km thick diamond-bearing root beneath the Central Mackenzie Valley,Northwest Territories,Canada? Diamond indicator mineral geochemistry from the Horn Plateau and Trout Lake regions

The Central Mackenzie Valley (CMV) area of Northwest Territories is underlain by Precambrian basement belonging to the North American Craton. The potential of this area to host kimberlitic diamond deposits is relatively high judging from the seismologically-defined lithospheric thickness, age of basement rocks (2.2–1.7 Ga) and presence of kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs) in Quaternary sediments. This study presents data for a large collection of KIMs recovered from stream sediments and till samples from two study areas in the CMV, the Horn Plateau and Trout Lake. In the processed samples, peridotitic garnets dominate the KIM grain count for both regions (> 25% each) while eclogitic garnet is almost absent in both regions (< 1% each). KIM chemistry for the Horn Plateau indicates significant diamond potential, with a strong similarity to KIM systematics from the Central and Western Slave Craton. The most significant issue to resolve in assessing the local diamond potential is the degree to which KIM chemistry reflects local and/or distal kimberlite bodies. Radiogenic isotope analysis of detrital kimberlite-related CMV ilmenite and rutile grains requires at least two broad age groups for eroded source kimberlites. Statistical analysis of the data suggests that it is probable that some of these KIMs were derived from primary and/or secondary sources within the CMV area, while others may have been transported to the area from the east-northeast by Pleistocene glacial and/or glaciofluvial systems. At this stage, KIM chemistry does not allow the exact location of the kimberlitic source(s) to be constrained.

     

Continental growth and reworking on the edge of the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents; 1.86–0.9 Ga accretionary orogeny in southwest Fennoscandia

Geological history from the late Palaeoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic is dominated by the formation of the supercontinent Columbia, and its break-up and re-amalgamation into the next supercontinent, Rodinia. On a global scale, major orogenic events have been tied to the formation of either of these supercontinents, and records of extension are commonly linked to break-up events. Presented here is a synopsis of the geological evolution of southwest Fennoscandia during the ca. 1.9–0.9 Ga period. This region records a protracted history of continental growth and reworking in a long-lived accretionary orogen. Three major periods of continental growth are defined by the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt (1.86–1.66 Ga), Gothian (1.66–1.52 Ga), and Telemarkian (1.52–1.48 Ga) domains. The 1.47–1.38 Ga Hallandian–Danopolonian period featured reorganization of the subduction zone and over-riding plates, with limited evidence for continental collision. During the subsequent 1.38–1.15 Ga interval, the region is interpreted as being located inboard of a convergent margin that is not preserved today and hosted magmatism and sedimentation related to inboard extensional events. The 1.15–0.9 Ga period is host to Sveconorwegian orogenesis that marks the end of this long-lived accretionary orogen and features significant crustal deformation, metamorphism, and magmatism. Collision of an indenter, typically Amazonia, is commonly inferred for the cause of widespread Sveconorwegian orogenesis, but this remains inconclusive. An alternative is that orogenesis merely represents subduction, terrane accretion, crustal thickening, and burial and exhumation of continental crust, along an accretionary margin. During the Mesoproterozoic, southwest Fennoscandia was part of a much larger accretionary orogen that grew on the edge of the Columbia supercontinent and included Laurentia and Amazonia amongst other cratons. The chain of convergent margins along the western Pacific is the best analogue for this setting of Proterozoic crustal growth and tectonism.     

The Paleo‐Proterozoic High Heat Production Richardson Granite,Great Bear Magmatic Zone,Northwest Territories,Canada: Source of U for Port Radium?

Airborne radiometric survey and field studies outlined a large, elongate, high‐level plutonic suite within the Richardson pluton south of the Contact Lake Belt in the Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada. In terms of content of radioactive elements, the Richardson pluton is composed of two distinct granite types, low heat production (LHP) and high heat production (HHP). Uranium content in the LHP and HHP granites ranges from 3.0 to 4.9 ppm and 6.5 to 24.6 ppm, respectively, showing similarity of the LHP granite to average granites. Geochemical studies indicate that there is a genetic relationship between these two types of granite; the LHP granite was the early product of magma crystallization, whereas the HHP granite is the result of extensive crystal fractionation of biotite, plagioclase and apatite. The presence of magmatic fluorite in granite suggests that high fluorine content lowered the liquidus temperature of magma causing lower temperature fractionation during ascent to high crustal levels, which increased U and Th concentrations in the resultant HHP granite. Weak U mineralization occurs locally as discontinuous quartz ± hematite ± pitchblende veins and veinlets within the HHP granite. Stronger U mineralization (U ± Ag ± Ni ± Co ± Cu) occurred in the past‐producing Contact Lake and Port Radium deposits. It appears that such mineralization may have had a spatial and temporal genetic‐paragenetic relationship with the HHP granite.     

The Geology,Mineral Associations,and Composition of Native Gold in the Mineral Deposits of the Taimyr–Severnaya Zemlya Orogen

Doklady Earth Sciences - The variety of sizes and morphology of grains and chemical composition of native Au, and the diversity of mineral productive associations in the new ore occurrences of the...     

Systematic changes in metamorphic styles along the Dabie–Hongseong and Himalayan collision belts,and their tectonic implications

Different continental collision belts show contrasting metamorphic trend along their length, including the distribution of extreme metamorphism; i.e., ultrahigh-pressure (>100 km depth) and ultrahigh-temperature (900–1150 °C) metamorphisms. However, no previous study has succeeded in explaining these trends. The present study investigates the main factors that control the metamorphic trends along collision belts, with reference to the Dabie–Hongseong collision belt between the North and South China blocks and the Himalayan collision belt between the Indian and Asian blocks. In the Dabie–Hongseong collision belt, collision began in the east before 245 Ma and propagated westward until ca. 220 Ma. In the eastern part of the belt, the amount of oceanic slab that subducted before collision was insufficient to pull down the continental crust to the depths of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism; however, ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the western part of the belt. Slab break-off also migrated from east to west, with a westward increase in the depth of break-off (from ca. 10 kbar in the west to ca. 35 kbar in the east). These lateral trends along the belt resulted in a westward change from ultrahigh-temperature (915–1160 °C, 9.0–10.6 kbar) to high-pressure (835–860 °C, 17.0–20.9 kbar) and finally ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism (680–880 °C, 30–40 kbar). In the Himalayan collision belt, collision started from the west at 50 Ma and propagated eastward. The amount of oceanic slab subducted prior to collision was sufficient to pull down the continental crust to the depths of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the west, but not in the east. Slab break-off started in the west at ca. 46 Ma and propagated eastward, with an eastward decrease in the depth of slab break-off from 27–29 to 17–18 kbar. Consequently, the metamorphic trend along the belt changes eastward from ultrahigh-pressure (690–750 °C, 27–29 kbar) to high-pressure and finally high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism (890 °C, 17–18 kbar). The differences in metamorphic trend between the Dabie–Hongseong and Himalayan collision belts reflect the amount of oceanic crust subducted prior to collision and the depth and timing of slab break-off along each belt.     

Geology and geochronology of the Betara region in south-southeastern Brazil: Evidence for possible Statherian (1.80–1.75 Ga) and Calymmian (1.50–1.45 Ga) extension events

The results of geological mapping, chemical analysis and radiometric dating of metabasic rocks of Betara Formation, and mapping and dating of those present in the Betara basement nucleus together with mylonitic granodiorite and syenogranite are reported here. U–Pb analysis of bulk zircon fractions from the metabasic rocks of the basement nucleus yielded a Statherian age of 1790 ± 22 Ma, while the metabasic rocks from the upper part of the Betara Formation yielded a Calymmian age between 1500 and 1450 Ma. This age is a minimum for the deposition of the Betara Formation. The older metabasic rocks are associated with post-tectonic, possibly anorogenic syenogranite, while the younger ones are gabbro or very porphyritic ankaramite whose REE patterns are consistent with crystallization from an N-MORB parent magma. The observations and data point to the probable events associated with extensional processes of the end of Paleoproterozoic and early Mesoproterozoic. Similar registers of Statherian (1.80–1.75 Ga) and Calymmian (1.50–1.45 Ga) extensional events are recorded in other parts of the South American and African continents. The Neoproterozoic witnessed the formation and junction of the tectonic slices which formed the Apiaí domain during the assemblage of western Gondwana.     

Chemical sedimentary protoliths in the > 3.75 Ga Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt (Québec,Canada)

Analyses of chemical sedimentary precipitates such as banded iron formation (BIF) provide a direct means to explore the nature and composition of the early hydrosphere. The recently discovered > 3750 Myr old Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt (NSB) in the Northeast Superior Province (Québec, Canada) hosts a suite of iron oxide-rich (± pyroxene and amphibole) units that are interpreted to be the metamorphosed equivalents of Fe oxide-facies BIF, and a collection of BIF-like Ca–Fe–Mg silicate rocks. The NSB rocks provide a rare glimpse of trace metal availability in Eoarchean (ca. 3800 Ma) seawater. As they may be contemporaneous with the relatively well-studied Isua Supracrustal Belt of southern West Greenland, their comparison provides an opportunity to enhance our basic understanding of the Eoarchean oceans at a global scale. Work since the initial discovery of the NSB in 2001 has established the basic lithological, geochemical and petrographic characteristics of these BIF and BIF-like rocks. Here we review the current state of knowledge of NSB rocks of probable chemical sedimentary origin, including aspects of their geology, likely origin and age. We conclude by examining the implications of results thus far for our understanding of early seawater compositions, and for the emergence of life in the context of early metallo-enzyme evolution.     

The Verkhoyansk–Chukchi area of the recent orogeny: zoning and the main formation stages

The Verkhoyansk–Chukchi orogenic area formed on the vast land mass that had appeared as a result of collision in the Early Cretaceous and that had consolidated the Mesozoic protoorogenic structures in northeastern Asia. This heterostructural land mass was the basis on which spatially and structurally coupled orogens developed in the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The protoorogenic stages in the evolution of the Verkhoyansk–Chukchi area were followed by several large orogenic stages: Albian–Cenomanian, Eocene, and Pliocene–Quaternary. The Okhotsk–Chukchi volcanic-block and the Yana–Kolyma fold-block orogenic systems formed at stage 1. The Taui–Anadyr continental-margin rift system formed at stage 2. This shaped the structure of the Verkhoyansk–Chukchi area. The internal structure of the orogenic systems formed through the Pliocene–Quaternary (neotectonic) stage, which was dominated by uplifting throughout the Verkhoyansk–Chukchi area. The neotectonic structure was mostly inherited from the previous orogenic stages.     

Zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf isotopic constraints on the petrogenesis of Early Triassic granites in the Wulonggou area of the Eastern Kunlun Orogen,Northwest China

Widespread granitic intrusions in the northeast part of the Wulonggou area were previously thought to be emplaced into the Palaeoproterozoic Jinshuikou Group during the Neoproterozoic. This contribution presents detailed LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb geochronology, major and trace element geochemistry, and zircon Hf isotope systematic on the Wulonggou Granodiorite and Xiaoyakou Granite from the Wulonggou area. Three granodiorite samples yielded U–Pb zircon ages of 247 ± 2, 248 ± 1, and 249 ± 1 Ma, and one granite sample yielded U–Pb zircon age of 246 ± 3 Ma. The granodiorite samples are metaluminous with an alumina saturation index of 0.90–0.96, as well as intermediate- to high-alkali contents of 5.49–6.14 wt.%, and low Zr+Nb+Ce+Y contents, and low Fe₂O_3T/MgO ratios, which suggest an I-type classical island arc magmatic source. The granite samples are peraluminous with an alumina saturation index of 1.02–1.03, Sr content of 305.00–374.00 ppm, Sr/Y ratios of between 17.68 and 28.77, (La/Yb)_N values of 16.98–25.07, low HREEs (Yb = 1.10–2.00 ppm), and low Y (13.00–21.10 ppm), which suggest adakite-like rocks. All granodiorite samples have zircons ε_Hf(t) values ranging from ?2.9 to +3.9, and granite samples have zircon ε_Hf(t) values ranging from ?7.8 to +3.2. These Hf isotopic data suggest that the Early Triassic granites were derived from the partial melting of a mafic Mesoproterozoic lower crust, although the degree of ancient crustal assimilation may be higher for the Xiaoyakou Granite. It is suggested here that the ca. 246–248 Ma magma was generated during the northward subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys oceanic plate.     

A planet in transition: The onset of plate tectonics on Earth between 3 and 2 Ga?

Many geological and geochemical changes are recorded on Earth between 3 and 2 Ga.Among the more important of these are the following:(1)increasing proportion of basalts with"arc-like"mantle sources;(2)an increasing abundance of basalts derived from enriched(EM)and depleted(DM)mantle sources;(3)onset of a Great Thermal Divergence in the mantle;(4)a decrease in degree of melting of the mantle;(5)beginning of large lateral plate motions;(6)appearance of eclogite inclusions in diamonds;(7)appearance and rapid increase in frequency of collisional orogens;(8)rapid increase in the production rate of continental crust as recorded by zircon age peaks;(9)appearance of ophiolites in the geologic record,and(10)appearance of global LIP(large igneous province)events some of which correlate with global zircon age peaks.All of these changes may be tied directly or indirectly to cooling of Earth's mantle and corresponding changes in convective style and the strength of the lithosphere,and they may record the gradual onset and propagation of plate tectonics around the planet.To further understand the changes that occurred between 3 and 2 Ga,it is necessary to compare rocks,rock associations,tectonics and geochemistry during and between zircon age peaks.Geochemistry of peak and inter-peak basalts and TTGs needs to be evaluated in terms of geodynamic models that predict the existence of an episodic thermal regime between stagnant-lid and plate tectonic regimes in early planetary evolution.     

Interpretation of a ca. 1600–1580 Ma metamorphic core complex in the northern Gawler Craton,Australia

The Mount Woods Domain in the Gawler Craton, South Australia records a complex tectonic evolution spanning the Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic. The regional structural architecture is interpreted to represent a partially preserved metamorphic core complex that developed during the ~1600–1580 Ma Hiltaba Event, making this one of the oldest known core complexes on Earth. The lower plate is preserved in the central Mount Woods Domain, which comprises the Mount Woods Metamorphics. These rocks yield a detrital zircon maximum depositional age of ~1860 Ma and were polydeformed and metamorphosed to upper amphibolite to granulite facies during the ~1740–1690 Ma Kimban Orogeny. The upper plate comprises a younger succession (the Skylark Metasediments) deposited at ~1750 Ma. Within the upper plate, sedimentary and volcanic successions of the Gawler Range Volcanics were deposited into half graben that evolved during brittle normal faulting. The Skylark Shear Zone represents the basal detachment fault separating the upper and lower plate of the core complex. The geometry of normal faults in the upper plate is consistent with NE-SW extension.Both the upper and lower plates are intruded by ~1795–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite granitic and mafic plutons. The core complex was extensively modified during the ~1570–1540 Ma Kararan Orogeny. Exhumation of the western and eastern Mount Woods Domain is indicated by new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite cooling ages that show that rock packages in the central Mount Woods Domain cooled past ~300 °C ± 50 °C at ~1560 Ma, which was ~20 million years before equivalent cooling in the western and eastern Mount Woods Domain. Exhumation was associated with activity along major syn-Kararan Orogeny faults.     

Devil in the detail; The 1150–1000 Ma magmatic and structural evolution of the Ngaanyatjarra Rift,west Musgrave Province,Central Australia

Mafic and felsic rocks units of the Musgrave Province originally attributed to the c. 1075 Ma Giles Event of the greater Warakurna Large Igneous Province (LIP) are shown to be part of a complex sequence of magmatic and tectonic events punctuated over a span of at least 50 m.y. New geochronology and mapping resolve a sequence of at least 10 magmatic pulses with hiati of up to 10 m.y. consistent with a long-lived intracontinental rift setting. This rift, here named the Ngaanyatjarra Rift, features giant layered mafic-ultramafic Giles intrusions cut by a 10 km wide mafic-felsic magmatic shear zone. The latter is temporally related to the Warakurna LIP, however it is not clear that the Giles intrusions actually form part of the Warakurna LIP. Macroscopic folding and the formation of the large synmagmatic transpressional shear zone attest to synmagmatic basin inversion in the early stages of the rift. The extensive mafic to felsic volcanic rocks of the Tollu Group (traditionally grouped with the Giles Event) were emplaced 25–50 m.y. later than the c. 1075 Ma Warakurna LIP.     

The Neoproterozoic–Phanerozoic section of the Anabar–Lena province: structural framework,geological model,and petroleum potential

Much work at A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics (Novosibirsk) has been done to synthesize geological and geophysical data from the Siberian Arctic and Arctic shelf. Namely, seismic-geological modeling and petroleum potential assessment have been performed for the Neoproterozoic–Phanerozoic section of the Anabar–Lena province in the northern Sakha Republic (Yakutia). The results include seismic-geological division, a set of structural maps, and structural, paleotectonic, and facies analysis. The study shows that Riphean, Vendian, Cambrian, and Permian sequences are of interest in terms of petroleum potential; oil and gas may accumulate in traps of different types.     

The Holocene climatic optimum and pollen records of sapropel 1 in the eastern Mediterranean, 9000–6000 BP

The most recent sapropel in the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea has been deposited between 9 and 6 ka bp. Climate conditions, as revealed by the pollen records of this sapropel in marine cores, were most favorable for temperate deciduous trees, which is in agreement with the inferences from records of peripheral land pollen sites. The abundance of deciduous oak pollen is much higher than that of Artemisia (sage-brush), indicating that annual precipitation in the mid-elevation borderlands was at least 550 mm without summer drought, but more probably in the range 800–1300 mm. The pollen of Pistacia, which formed a savanna at low elevations, is also at its highest abundance and signals the absence of frost in winter, while being capable of withstanding summer drought. The early Holocene therefore appears as the post-glacial climatic optimum with the highest moisture and mildest winters. In southwest Asia, this is also the time of the Neolithic population explosion with incipient domestication of cereals, possibly following natural selection of the ‘tough rachis’ mutation in wheat and barley by the extreme aridity of the preceding Younger Dryas.     

Geospatial technology and structural analysis for geological mapping and tectonic evolution of Feiran–Solaf metamorphic complex,South Sinai,Egypt

The Sinai Peninsula constitutes an important district of the Egyptian lands where it forms a triangular portion in northeastern Egypt. The southern Sinai metamorphic complexes are the northern uppermost part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield revealing the upper and middle crust from the East African Orogeny, in which they tectonically evolved. The Feiran–Solaf metamorphic complex (FSMC) of Sinai, Egypt is one of the highest grades metamorphic complexes of a series of basement domes that trends NW and crops out throughout the Arabian–Nubian Shield. The main aim of the present study is to apply the geospatial technology and to represent the capability of the geospatial technology to estimate the combined influence of lithology and structure studies, and to construct the lithological and structural maps of FSMC. Furthermore, detailed structural analysis is carried out to reveal the different ductile and brittle deformational events and proposed the tectonic evolutionary model for the study area. Mainly geospatial technology and structural analysis software have been used to go well with the aim of the present study. Developing specific image processing of satellite images and structural analysis were succeeded to discriminate the various lithological rock units, and the geological structural features of the FSMC, using geographic information system tools to construct the different thematic maps, were extracted. The present detailed investigations of the enhanced satellite images, structural analysis, and field verification reveal that the FSMC reached its present tectonic setting through more than four deformational phases concluding that the Pan-African Najd Fault System continued in Sinai and was reactivated during Red Sea tectonics as indicated by the dextral shear zone (Rihba) bordering the northern side of the FSMC.