The Neoproterozoic-early Paleozoic metamorphic and magmatic evolution of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas: an overview

The Eastern Sierras Pampeanas were structured by three main events: the Ediacaran to early Cambrian (580?C510?Ma) Pampean, the late Cambrian?COrdovician (500?C440?Ma) Famatinian and the Devonian-Carboniferous (400?C350?Ma) Achalian orogenies. Geochronological and Sm?CNd isotopic evidence combined with petrological and structural features allow to speculate for a major rift event (Ediacaran) dividing into two Mesoproterozoic major crustal blocks (source of the Grenvillian age peaks in the metaclastic rocks).This event would be coeval with the development of arc magmatism along the eastern margin of the eastern block. Closure of this eastern margin led to a Cambrian active margin (Sierra Norte arc) along the western margin of the eastern block in which magmatism reworked the same crustal block. Consumption of a ridge segment (input of OIB signature mafic magmas) which controlled granulite-facies metamorphism led to a final collision (Pampean orogeny) with the western Mesoprotrozoic block. Sm?CNd results for the metamorphic basement suggest that the T _DM age interval of 1.8?C1.7?Ga, which is associated with the less radiogenic values of ??Nd₍₅₄₀₎ (?6 to ?8), can be considered as the mean average crustal composition for the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Increasing metamorphic grade in rocks with similar detrital sources and metamorphic ages like in the Sierras de Córdoba is associated with a younger T _DM age and a more positive ??Nd₍₅₄₀₎ value. Pampean pre-540?Ma granitoids form two clusters, one with T _DM ages between 2.0 and 1.75?Ga and another between 1.6 and 1.5?Ga. Pampean post-540?Ma granitoids exhibit more homogenous T _DM ages ranging from 2.0 to 1.75?Ga. Ordovician re-activation of active margin along the western part of the block that collided in the Cambrian led to arc magmatism (Famatinian orogeny) and related ensialic back-arc basin in which high-grade metamorphism is related to mid-crustal felsic plutonism and mafic magmatism with significant contamination of continental crust. T _DM values for the Ordovician Famatinian granitoids define a main interval of 1.8?C1.6, except for the Ordovician TTG suites of the Sierras de Córdoba, which show younger T _DM ages ranging from 1.3 to 1.0?Ga. In Devonian times (Achalian orogeny), a new subduction regime installed west of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Devonian magmatism in the Sierras exhibit process of mixing/assimilation of depleted mantle signature melts and continental crust. Achalian magmatism exhibits more radiogenic ??Nd₍₅₄₀₎ values that range between 0.5 and ?4 and T _DM ages younger than 1.3?Ga. In pre-Devonian times, crustal reworking is dominant, whereas processes during Devonian times involved different geochemical and isotopic signatures that reflect a major input of juvenile magmatism.     

Geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Central Argentina) based on geochemical, Sm–Nd, Pb–Pb and SHRIMP data

Whole-rock geochemical analyses using major and trace elements in combination with the Sm–Nd and Pb–Pb isotope systems, together with SHRIMP age dating on metasedimentary rocks from the Sierras de Chepes, the Sierras de Córdoba, the Sierra Norte and the San Luis Formation in the Sierra de San Luis, have been carried out to unravel the provenance and the geodynamic history of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas, Central Argentina. The geochemical and the Sm–Nd data point to a slightly stronger mafic and less-fractionated material in the provenance area of the Sierras de Córdoba when compared to the other units. The T_DM model ages from the Sierras de Chepes (~1.82 Ga) and the Sierra Norte (~1.79 Ga) are significantly older than the data from the Sierras de Córdoba (1.67 Ga). The Pb data are homogeneous for the different units. Only the ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios of some samples from the Sierras de Córdoba are higher. A late Pampean detrital zircon peak around 520 Ma from the Sierras de Chepes is in accordance with the new data from the San Luis Formation. This is similar to the literature data from the Famatina Belt located to the northwest of the Sierras de Chepes and also fits the detrital zircon peaks in the Mesón group. These maximum depositional ages were also reported from some locations in the Puncoviscana Formation but are absent in the Sierras de Córdoba. An improved model for the development of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas in the area between the Sierras de Córdoba and the Puncoviscana Formation is provided. This gives new insights into the late Pampean development of the Sierra de San Luis and the complex development of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. This new model explains the younger detrital ages in the Puncoviscana Formation compared with the older ages of the Sierras de Córdoba. Another model of the Sierra de San Luis explains the younger depositional ages of the Pringles Metamorphic Complex and the San Luis Formation when compared to the Nogolí Metamorphic Complex and the Conlara Metamorphic Complex. Additionally, the rather fast change of the high-grade metamorphic conditions in the Pringles Metamorphic Complex and the low-grade metamorphic conditions in the San Luis Formation is explained by extension, the ascent of (ultra) mafic material and later folding and erosion.     

The R��o de la Plata Craton: a review of units, boundaries, ages and isotopic signature

A review of the lithostratigraphic units in the Río de la Plata Craton and of new and previously published geochronological, isotopic and geophysical data is presented. Sm?CNd T_DM model ages between 2.6 and 2.2?Ga characterize the Piedra Alta Terrane of this craton. Crystallization ages between 2.2 and 2.1?Ga for the metamorphic protoliths and 2.1?C2.0?Ga for the post-orogenic granitoids indicate juvenile crust, followed by a short period of crustal recycling. Cratonization of this terrane occurred during the late Paleoproterozoic. Younger overprinting is not observed, suggesting it had a thick and strong lithosphere in the Neoproterozoic. A similar scenario is indicated for the Tandilia Belt of Argentina. Sm?CNd T_DM model ages for the Nico Pérez Terrane show two main events of crustal growth (3.0?C2.6?and 2.3?C1.6?Ga). The crystallization ages on zircon ranges between 3.1 and 0.57?Ga, which is evidence for long-lived crustal reworking. The age for cratonization is still uncertain. In the Taquarembó Block, which is considered the prolongation of the Nico Pérez Terrane in southern Brazil, a similar scenario can be observed. These differences together with contrasting geophysical signatures support the redefinition of the Río de la Plata Craton comprising only the Piedra Alta Terrane and the Tandilia Belt. The Sarandí del Yí Shear Zone is regarded as the eastern margin of this Craton.     

Preliminary Characterisation of New Reference Materials for Microanalysis: Chinese Geological Standard Glasses CGSG‐1, CGSG‐2, CGSG‐4 and CGSG‐5

Four silicate glasses were prepared by the fusion of about 1 kg powder each of a basalt, syenite, soil and andesite to provide reference materials of natural composition for microanalytical work. These glasses are referred to as ‘Chinese Geological Standard Glasses’ (CGSG) ‐1, ‐2, ‐4 and ‐5. Micro and bulk analyses indicated that the glasses are well homogenised with respect to major and trace elements. Some siderophile/chalcophile elements (e.g., Sn, Pt, Pb) may be heterogeneously distributed in CGSG‐5. This paper provides the first analytical data for the CGSG reference glasses using a variety of analytical techniques (wet chemistry, XRF, EPMA, ICP‐AES, ICP‐MS, LA‐ICP‐MS) performed in nine laboratories. Most data agree within uncertainty limits of the analytical techniques used. Discrepancies in the data for some siderophile/chalcophile elements exist, mainly because of possible heterogeneities of these elements in the glasses and/or analytical problems. From the analytical data, preliminary reference and information values for fifty‐five elements were calculated. The analytical uncertainties [2 relative standard error (RSE)] were estimated to be between about 1% and 20%.     

Erosion of continental margins in the Western Mediterranean due to sea-level stagnancy during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

High-resolution multi-channel seismic data from continental slopes with minor sediment input off southwest Mallorca Island, the Bay of Oran (Algeria) and the Alboran Ridge reveal evidence that the Messinian erosional surface is terraced at an almost constant depth interval between 320 and 380 m below present-day sea level. It is proposed that these several hundred- to 2,000-m-wide terraces were eroded contemporaneously and essentially at the same depth. Present-day differences in these depths result from subsidence or uplift in the individual realms. The terraces are thought to have evolved during one or multiple periods of sea-level stagnancy in the Western Mediterranean Basin. According to several published scenarios, a single or multiple periods of relative sea-level stillstand occurred during the Messinian desiccation event, generally known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Some authors suggest that the stagnancy started during the refilling phase of the Mediterranean basins. When the rising sea level reached the height of the Sicily Sill, the water spilled over this swell into the eastern basin. The stagnancy persisted until sea level in the eastern basin caught up with the western Mediterranean water level. Other authors assigned periods of sea-level stagnancy to drawdown phases, when inflowing waters from the Atlantic kept the western sea level constant at the depth of the Sicily Sill. Our findings corroborate all those Messinian sea-level reconstructions, forwarding that a single or multiple sea-level stagnancies at the depth of the Sicily Sill lasted long enough to significantly erode the upper slope. Our data also have implications for the ongoing debate of the palaeo-depth of the Sicily Sill. Since the Mallorcan plateau experienced the least vertical movement, the observed terrace depth of 380 m there is inferred to be close to the Messinian depth of this swell.     

High-Precision Trace Element Data for the USGS Reference Materials BCR-1, BCR-2, BHVO-1, BHVO-2, AGV-1, AGV-2, DTS-1, DTS-2, GSP-1 and GSP-2 by ID-TIMS and MIC-SSMS

Different batches of the new US Geological Survey (USGS) reference materials (RMs) BCR-2, BHVO-2, AGV-2, DTS-2 and GSP-2 and the original USGS RMs BCR-1, BHVO-1, AGV-1, DTS-1 and GSP-1 have been analysed by isotope dilution using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) and by multi-ion counting spark source mass spectrometry (MIC-SSMS). The concentrations of K, Rb, Sr, Ba and the rare earth elements were determined with overall analytical uncertainties of better than 1% (ID-TIMS) and 3% (MIC-SSMS). The analyses of different aliquots and batches of BCR-2, BHVO-2, AGV-2 and GSP-2, respectively, agree within 1%, i.e. approximately the analytical uncertainties of the data. This indicates an homogeneous distribution of the trace elements in these RMs. Differences in element concentrations of up to 17% in different aliquots of the depleted RM DTS-2 are outside the analytical uncertainty of our data. They may be attributed to a slightly heterogeneous distribution of trace elements in this dunite sample. Our trace element data for BCR-2, BHVO-2, AGV-2 and GSP-2 agree within about 3% with preliminary reference values published by the USGS. They also agree within 1-6% with those of the original RMs BCR-1, BHVO-1, AGV-1 and GSP-1. Large compositional differences are found between DTS-2 and DTS-1, where the concentrations of K, Rb, Sr and the light REE differ by factors of 2 to 24.     

On the ice age glaciation of the Tibetan highlands and its transformation into a 3-D model

We present an interdisciplinary study on data and modeling intercomparison, concerning the possible existence of a Tibetan ice sheet and its climatological implications during the ice age. In the ice sheet model the fields of ice flow and temperature are calculated, and a highly parameterized formulation of the yearly snow balance is used, defining the forcing at the surface of the ice sheet. The data set used, supplies the height of the equilibrium line of the glaciers (=ELA) and documents the maximum extension of the glaciated areas. With prescribed snow accumulation above the ELA and melting below, the model is integrated for 10 000 model years and the model glaciation is then compared with the data.The main results are: Provided the height of the glacial equilibrium line has been reconstructed correctly, a Tibetan ice sheet can be bult up within 10 000 model years, using moderate rates of precipitation (maximum snow fall: 100 mm/year). Comparison of data and model glaciation suggests an increase of precipitation from the NW to the E of Tibet and from the S to the NE, which reflects the presently observed pattern of the monsoon circulation.     

The spatial variability of Amazonian soils under natural forest and pasture

Spatial variability of physical and chemical properties in Amazonian soils is evaluated on sites of natural rain forest and pastures of different age in the Amazon region. The sampling scheme was regionalized using transects of fifty points 3 m apart each. Variables analysed were: soil bulk density; resistance to penetration; soil water content; available water; pH and extractable ions such as Ca, K, Al, P and Zn. Geostatistical analyses show that most variables are space independent for the 3 m spacing used. Variances indicate a much lower variability of the measured properties in the forest as compared to pastures.