Early Cambrian oceanic plagiogranite in the Silvretta Nappe,eastern Alps: geochemical,zircon U-Pb and Rb-Sr data from garnet-hornblende-plagioclase gneisses

 Garnet–hornblende–plagioclase gneisses rich in incompatible elements occur in the crystalline basement of the Austro-Alpine Silvretta nappe and are associated with clinopyroxene norites and harzburgite cumulates. It is proposed here that the gneisses were formerly oceanic plagiogranites. An ε_{Nd( 530 )} value of +5.6 for the gneisses as well as initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of 0.7036–0.7037 for the gabbroic rocks and 0.7026–0.7027 for the ultramafic rocks suggest a mantle source for this rock association. The geochemical characteristics of the garnet–hornblende–plagioclase gneisses indicate that their precursors were derived by fractional crystallization from a basaltic parent magma, by the same process which produced the adjacent clinopyroxene norites and ultramafic cumulates as well. The combined U–Pb upper intercept ages of zircons from two gneiss samples yield an igneous crystallization age of 532±30 Ma, similar to previously dated (mostly calc-alkaline) orthogneisses in the same area. High-quality transparent zircons showed the least degree of discordance, but contain extremely low U and Pb levels. The rock suite, including this plagiogranite, was emplaced within oceanic crust which formed in the latest Precambrian–early Palaeozoic off the northern continental margin of Gondwana. Received: 26 April 1996 / Accepted: 2 August 1996