A mineral equilibria study of the hydrothermal alteration in mafic greenschist facies rocks at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

The influx of a H₂O–CO₂‐dominated fluid into actinolite‐bearing metabasic rocks during greenschist facies metamorphism in the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia resulted in a zoned alteration halo around inferred fluid conduits that contain gold mineralisation. The alteration halo is divided into two outer zones, the chlorite zone and the carbonate zone, and an inner pyrite zone adjacent to the inferred fluid conduits. Reaction between the fluid and the protolith resulted in the breakdown of actinolite and the development of chlorite, dolomite, calcite and siderite. In addition, rocks in the pyrite zone developed muscovite‐bearing assemblages as a consequence of the introduction of potassium by the fluid. Mineral equilibria calculations undertaken using the computer software thermocalc in the model system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–CO₂ show that mineral assemblages in the outer zones of the alteration halo are consistent with equilibrium of the protoliths with a fluid of composition X_CO2 = CO₂/(CO₂ + H₂O) = 0.1–0.25 for temperatures of 315–320 °C. The inner zone of the alteration halo reflect equilibrium with a fluid of composition X_CO2≈ 0.25. Fluid‐rock buffering calculations show that the alteration halo is consistent with interaction with a single fluid composition and that the zoned structure of the halo reflects the volume of this fluid with which the rocks reacted. This fluid is likely to have also been the one responsible for the gold mineralisation at Kalgoorlie.     

Contrasting metamorphic evolution of metasedimentary rocks from the Çine and Selimiye nappes in the Anatolide belt, western Turkey

Abstract P–T conditions, mineral isograds, the relation of the latter to foliation planes and kinematic indicators are used to elucidate the tectonic nature and evolution of a shear zone in an orogen exhumed from mid‐crustal depths in western Turkey. Furthermore, we discuss whether simple monometamorphic fabrics of rock units from different nappes result from one single orogeny or are related to different orogenies. Metasedimentary rocks from the Çine and Selimiye nappes at the southern rim of the Anatolide belt of western Turkey record different metamorphic evolutions. The Eocene Selimiye shear zone separates both nappes. Metasedimentary rocks from the Çine nappe underneath the Selimiye shear zone record maximum P–T conditions of about 7 kbar and >550 °C. Metasedimentary rocks from the overlying Selimiye nappe have maximum P–T conditions of 4 kbar and c. 525 °C near the base of the nappe. Kinematic indicators in both nappes are related to movement on the Selimiye shear zone and consistently show a top‐S shear sense. Metamorphic grade in the Selimiye nappe decreases structurally upwards as indicated by mineral isograds defining the garnet‐chlorite zone at the base, the chloritoid‐biotite zone and the biotite‐chlorite zone at the top of the nappe. The mineral isograds in the Selimiye nappe run parallel to the regional S_R foliation, parallel the Selimiye shear zone and indicate that the Selimiye shear zone formed during this prograde greenschist to lower amphibolite facies metamorphic event but remained active after the peak of metamorphism. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mica ages and the tectonometamorphic relationship with the Eocene Cyclades–Menderes thrust, which occurs above the Selimiye nappe in the study area, suggests an Eocene age of metamorphism in the Selimiye nappe. Metasedimentary rocks of the Çine nappe 20–30 km north of the Selimiye shear zone record maximum P–T conditions of 8–11 kbar and 600–650 °C. An age of about 550 Ma is indicated for amphibolite facies metamorphism and associated top‐N shear in the orthogneiss of the Çine nappe. Our study shows that simple monophase tectonometamorphic fabrics do not always indicate a simple orogenic development of a nappe stack. Preservation in some areas and complete overprinting of those fabrics in other areas apparently occur very heterogeneously.     

Oscillatory zoning in garnet from the Willsboro Wollastonite Skarn, Adirondack Mts, New York: a record of shallow hydrothermal processes preserved in a granulite facies terrane

Oscillatory zoning in low δ¹⁸O skarn garnet from the Willsboro wollastonite deposit, NE Adirondack Mts, NY, USA, preserves a record of the temporal evolution of mixing hydrothermal fluids from different sources. Garnet with oscillatory zoning are large (1–3 cm diameter) euhedral crystals that grew in formerly fluid filled cavities. They contain millimetre‐scale oscillatory zoning of varying grossular–andradite composition (X_Adr = 0.13–0.36). The δ¹⁸O values of the garnet zones vary from 0.80 to 6.26‰ VSMOW and correlate with X_Adr. The shape, pattern and number of garnet zones varies from crystal to crystal, as does the magnitude of the correlated chemistry changes, suggesting fluid system variability, temporal and/or spatial, over the time of garnet growth. The zones of correlated Fe content and δ¹⁸O indicate that a high Fe³⁺/Al, high δ¹⁸O fluid mixed with a lower Fe³⁺/Al and δ¹⁸O fluid. The high δ¹⁸O, Fe enriched fluids were likely magmatic fluids expelled from crystallizing anorthosite. The low δ¹⁸O fluids were meteoric in origin. These are the first skarn garnet with oscillatory zoning reported from granulite facies rocks. Geochronologic, stable isotope, petrologic and field evidence indicates that the Adirondacks are a polymetamorphic terrane, where localized contact metamorphism around shallowly intruded anorthosite was followed by a regional granulite facies overprint. The growth of these garnet in equilibrium with meteoric and magmatic fluids indicates an origin in the shallow contact aureole of the anorthosite prior to regional metamorphism. The zoning was preserved due to the slow diffusion of oxygen and cations in the large garnet and protection from deformation and recrystallization in zones of low strain in thick, rigid, garnetite layers. The garnet provide new information about the hydrothermal system adjacent to the shallowly intruded massif anorthosite that predates regional metamorphism in this geologically complex, polymetamorphic terrane.     

Paleozoic terranes of eastern Australia and the drift history of Gondwana

Critical assessment of Paleozoic paleomagnetic results from Australia shows that paleopoles from locations on the main craton and in the various terranes of the Tasman Fold Belt of eastern Australia follow the same path since 400 Ma for the Lachlan and Thomson superterranes, but not until 250 Ma or younger for the New England superterrane. Most of the paleopoles from the Tasman Fold Belt are derived from the Lolworth-Ravenswood terrane of the Thomson superterrane and the Molong-Monaro terrane of the Lachlan superterrane. Consideration of the paleomagnetic data and geological constraints suggests that these terranes were amalgamated with cratonic Australia by the late Early Devonian. The Lolworth-Ravenswood terrane is interpreted to have undergone a 90° clockwise rotation between 425 and 380 Ma. Although the Tamworth terrane of the western New England superterrane is thought to have amalgamated with the Lachlan superterrane by the Late Carboniferous, geological syntheses suggest that movements between these regions may have persisted until the Middle Triassic. This view is supported by the available paleomagnetic data. With these constraints, an apparent polar wander path for Gondwana during the Paleozoic has been constructed after review of the Gondwana paleomagnetic data. The drift history of Gondwana with respect to Laurentia and Baltica during the Paleozoic is shown in a series of paleogeographic maps.     

Papua New Guinea Highlands: palaeomagnetic constraints on terrane tectonics

Oblique convergence since the Early Cenozoic between the northward-moving Australian plate, westward-moving Pacific plate and almost stationary Eurasian plate has created a world-ranking tectonic zone in the eastern Indonesia–New Guinea–Southwest Pacific region (Tonga–Sulawesi megashear) that is notorious for its complex mix of tectonic styles and terrane juxtapositions. Unlike an ancient analog—the Mesozoic–Cenozoic Cordillera of North America—palaeomagnetic constraints on terrane motions in the zone are few. To improve the framework of quantitative control on such motions and therefore our understanding of the development of the zone, results of a palaeomagnetic study in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea (PNG), in the southern part of the New Guinea Orogen, are reported. The study yields new insights into terrane tectonics along the Australian craton's active northern margin and confirms the complexity of block rotations to be expected at the local scale in tectonically intricate zones. The study is based on more than 500 samples (21 localities) collected from an interior and an exterior zone of New Guinea's central cordillera. The two zones are separated by the Tahin and Stolle–Lagaip–Kaugel Fault zones and collectively represent the para-autochthonous northern margin of the Australian craton. Samples from the interior zone, which in the study area comprises a cratonic spur of uncertain—probably displaced—origin, come from Triassic to Miocene sediments and subordinate volcanics of the Kubor Anticline, Jimi Terrane, and Yaveufa Syncline (16 localities) in the central and eastern Highlands. Samples from the exterior zone, which represent a basement-involved, Pliocene foreland fold-and-thrust belt, come from Middle Eocene to Middle Miocene carbonates and clastics (five localities) in the southern Highlands of the Papuan Fold Belt. Results permit us to constrain the tectonic evolution of the two zones palaeomagnetically. Using mainly thermal demagnetization techniques, three main magnetic components have been identified in the collection: (1) a recent field overprint of both normal and reverse polarity; (2) a pervasive overprint of mainly normal polarity that originated during extensive Middle to Late Miocene intrusive activity in the central cordillera; and (3) a primary component which has been identified in only 7 of the 21 localities (5 of 11 stratigraphic units represented in the collection). All components show patterns of rotation that are consistent within the zones, but differ between them. In the interior zone (central and eastern Highlands), large-scale counterclockwise rotations of between 30°+ and 100°+ have been established throughout the Kubor Anticline and Jimi Terrane, with some clockwise rotation present in the southern part of the Yaveufa Syncline. In contrast, in the Mendi area of the exterior zone (southern Highlands), clockwise rotations of between 30°+ and 50°+ can be recognized. These contrasting rotation patterns across the Tahin and Stolle–Lagaip–Kaugel Fault zones indicate decoupling of the two tectonic zones, probably along basement-involved faults. The clockwise rotations in the southern Highlands of the Papuan Fold Belt are to be expected from its structural grain, and are probably governed by regional basement faults and transverse lineaments. In contrast, the pattern of counterclockwise rotations in the Kubor Anticline–Jimi Terrane cratonic spur of the central and eastern Highlands was unexpected. The pattern is interpreted to result from non-rigid rotation of continental terranes as they were transported westward across the northeastern margin of the Australian craton. This margin became reorganised after the Middle Miocene, when the steadily northward-advancing Australian craton impinged into the westward-moving Pacific plate/buffer-plate system. Transpressional reorganisation under the influence of the sinistral Tonga–Sulawesi megashear became enhanced with Mio-Pliocene docking, and subsequent southward overthrusting, of the Finisterre Terrane onto the northeastern margin of the Australian craton.     

The early Caledonian (Finnmarkian) event reassessed in Finnmark: Ar/Ar cleavage age data from NW Varangerhalvøya, N. Norway

The relative significance of early (Finnmarkian) and late (Scandian) Caledonian deformation in N. Norway is uncertain. Early studies suggested pervasive Finnmarkian deformation whilst later results indicated a restricted Finnmarkian domain. The present work suggests it was more widespread than accepted and that inter Finnmarkian–Scandian deformation occurred. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of 2–6 and 6–11 μm pelitic fractions from the lower to mid-greenschist facies Tanahorn Nappe (five samples; base Middle Allochthon) and the epizone Løkvikfjellet and Barents Sea Groups (three samples; North Varanger Region) in the north Scandinavian Caledonides show slightly discordant spectra. Most spectra from the Tanahorn Nappe preserve possible evidence of an early Caledonian event in the high temperature steps, with recoil/excess Ar effects in the low temperature steps; no pre-Caledonian relict component has been recorded. The results indicate Finnmarkian deformation continued to 460 Ma, with Scandian reactivation at 425–415 Ma. From the North Varanger Region, a strongly crenulated sample yielded plateau ages (444–442 Ma); means of combined young steps from weakly to uncrenulated samples gave 470–450 Ma, suggesting penetrative strike-slip deformation occurred in the late Finnmarkian to inter-Finnmarkian–Scandian period. No Scandian ages were recorded in the North Varanger Region. Reassessment of published data from the Laksefjord Nappe and Gaissa Thrust Belt suggests they were affected by Finnmarkian deformation.     

Eastern Laurentia in Rodinia: constraints from whole-rock Pb and U/Pb geochronology

Whole-rock Pb isotopic signatures and U/Pb geochronology refute a Rodinian correlation of northeastern Laurentia and proto-Andean Amazonia. According to this previously proposed model, the Labrador–Scotland–Greenland Promontory (LSGP) of northeastern Laurentia collided with the proto-Andean margin of Amazonia, at the Arica Embayment, during the Grenville/Sunsás Orogeny (ca. 1.0 Ga). Links between the two margins were based upon the correlation of the LSGP with Arequipa-Antofalla Basement (AAB), a Proterozoic block along the proto-Andean margin of Amazonia adjacent to the Arica Embayment. Specifically, similarities in 1.8–1.0 Ga basement rocks in both regions suggested that the AAB was originally a piece of the LSGP. Furthermore, similarities in unique, post-collisional, but pre-rift, glacial sedimentary sequences also supported a link between the AAB and LSGP.Tests of these apparent similarities fail to support correlation of the AAB and the LSGP and, thus, eliminate a direct link between northeastern Laurentia and southwestern Amazonia in Rodinia. However, Pb isotopic compositions and U/Pb geochronology provide the basis for two new correlations, namely, (1) the ca. 1.3–1.0 Ga basement in the central and southern Appalachians may be an allochthonous block that was transferred to Laurentia from Amazonia at ca. 1.0 Ga, and (2) an allochthonous AAB may be a piece of the Kalahari Craton that was transferred to Amazonia at ca. 1.0 Ga. Based on these new correlations and a previously proposed Grenvillian connection between southern Laurentia (Llano) and Kalahari, we propose that Amazonia may have collided with a contiguous southeastern Laurentia/Kalahari margin at ca. 1.0 Ga.     

From geometry to dynamics of microstructure: using boundary lengths to quantify boundary misorientations and anisotropy

The microstructure of a quartzite experimentally deformed and partially recrystallised at 900 °C, 1.2 GPa confining pressure and strain rate 10⁻⁶/s was investigated using orientation contrast and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Boundaries between misoriented domains (grains or subgrains) were determined by image analysis of orientation contrast images. In each domain, EBSD measurements gave the complete quartz lattice orientation and enabled calculation of misorientation angles across every domain boundary. Results are analysed in terms of the boundary density, which for any range of misorientations is the boundary length for that range divided by image area. This allows a more direct comparison of misorientation statistics between different parts of a sample than does a treatment in terms of boundary number.The strain in the quartzite sample is heterogeneous. A 100×150 μm low-strain partially recrystallised subarea C was compared with a high-strain completely recrystallised subarea E. The density of high-angle (>10°) boundaries in E is roughly double that in C, reflecting the greater degree of recrystallisation. Low-angle boundaries in C and E are produced by subgrain rotation. In the low-angle range 0–10° boundary densities in both C and E show an exponential decrease with increasing misorientation. The densities scale with exp(−θ/λ) where λ is approximately 2° in C and 1° in E; in other words, E has a comparative dearth of boundaries in the 8–10° range. We explain this dearth in terms of mobile high-angle boundaries sweeping through and consuming low-angle boundaries as the latter increase misorientation through time. In E, the density of high-angle boundaries is larger than in C, so this sweeping would have been more efficient and could explain the relative paucity of 8–10° boundaries.The boundary density can be generalised to a directional property that gives the degree of anisotropy of the boundary network and its preferred orientation. Despite the imposed strain, the analysed samples show that boundaries are not, on average, strongly aligned. This is a function of the strong sinuosity of high-angle boundaries, caused by grain boundary migration. Low-angle boundaries might be expected, on average, to be aligned in relation to imposed strain but this is not found.Boundary densities and their generalisation in terms of directional properties provide objective measures of microstructure. In this study the patterns they show are interpreted in terms of combined subgrain rotation and migration recrystallisation, but it may be that other microstructural processes give distinctive patterns when analysed in this fashion.