Lower Palaeozoic and Precambrian igneous rocks from eastern England, and their bearing on late Ordovician closure of the Tornquist Sea: constraints from U-Pb and Nd isotopes

1993 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
pp. 835-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Noble ◽  
R. D. Tucker ◽  
T. C. Pharaoh
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Nd Isotopes ◽  
Nd Isotope ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
The North ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Continental Arc ◽  
Lower Palaeozoic

AbstractThe U-Pb isotope ages and Nd isotope characteristics of asuite of igneous rocks from the basement of eastern England show that Ordovician calc-alkaline igneous rocks are tectonically interleaved with late Precambrian volcanic rocks distinct from Precambrian rocks exposed in southern Britain. New U-Pb ages for the North Creake tuff (zircon, 449±13 Ma), Moorby Microgranite (zircon, 457 ± 20 Ma), and the Nuneaton lamprophyre (zircon and baddeleyite, 442 ± 3 Ma) confirm the presence ofan Ordovician magmatic arc. Tectonically interleaved Precambrian volcanic rocks within this arc are verified by new U-Pb zircon ages for tuffs at Glinton (612 ± 21 Ma) and Orton (616 ± 6 Ma). Initial εNd values for these basement rocks range from +4 to - 6, consistent with generation of both c. 615 Ma and c. 450 Ma groups of rocksin continental arc settings. The U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotope data support arguments for an Ordovician fold/thrust belt extending from England to Belgium, and that the Ordovician calc-alkaline rocks formed in response to subductionof Tornquist Sea oceanic crust beneath Avalonia.

scholarly journals Shrimp U-Pb age and Sr-Nd isotopes of the Morro do Baú mafic intrusion: implications for the evolution of the Arenópolis volcano-sedimentary sequence, Goiás Magmatic Arc

2003 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcio M. Pimentel ◽  
Maria Helena B. M. Hollanda ◽  
Richard Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Sedimentary Sequence ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Nd Isotopes ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Minimum Age ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Age Limit ◽  
Nd Isotopic Composition

The Arenópolis volcano-sedimentary sequence is located in the southern part of the Goiás Magmatic Arc and includes a ca. 900 Ma calc-alkaline arc sequence made of volcanic rocks ranging in composition from basalts to rhyolites, metamorphosed under greenschist to amphibolite facies. Small calc-alkaline gabbro to granite sub-volcanic bodies are also recognized. The Morro do Baú intrusion is the largest of these intrusions, and is made of gabbros and diorites. Zircon grains separated from one gabbro sample and analyzed by SHRIMP I yielded the mean 206Pb/238U age of 890 +/- 8 Ma, indicating that the intrusion is roughly coeval or only slightly younger than the Arenópolis volcanics. Contrary to the metavolcanics, which are juvenile, the Nd isotopic composition of the Morro do Baú gabbro indicates strong contamination with archean sialic material (T DM of 2.8 Ga and EpsilonNd(T) of -9.7), represented in the area by an allochthonous sliver of archean/paleoproterozoic gneisses (Ribeirão gneiss) which are the country-rocks for the gabbro/dioritic intrusion. The emplacement age of ca. 890 Ma represents a minimum age limit for the tectonic accretion of the gneiss sliver to the younger rocks of the Arenópolis sequence. The data suggest that this happened early in the evolution of the Goiás Magmatic Arc, between ca. 920 and 890 Ma.

Subduction-related magmatism of late Ordovician age in eastern England

1993 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
pp. 647-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. C. Pharaoh ◽  
T. S. Brewer ◽  
P. C. Webb
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Late Ordovician ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Hypabyssal Intrusions ◽  
Deep Boreholes ◽  
Intrusive Suite

AbstractDeep boreholes show that plutonic and volcanic igneous rocks comprise an important component of the Caledonian basement in eastern England. The isotopic compositions of these rocks reveal that many of them are of late Ordovician age (440–460 Ma), and their geochemical compositions suggest calc–alkaline affinities. The intermediate (diorite-tonalite) plutonic rocks are associated with a prominent northwest–southeast trending belt of aeromagnetic anomalies extending from Derby to St Ives, Hunts., which is interpreted to work the plutonic core of a calc-alkaline magmatic arc. It is inferred that this arc was generated by the subduction of oceanic lithosphere, possibly from the Tornquist Sea, in a south or southwest direction beneath the Midlands Microcraton in late Ordovician times. The age and geochemical composition of concealed Ordovician volcanic rocks in eastern England, and hypabyssal intrusions of the Midlands Minor Intrusive Suite in central England, is compatible with such a hypothesis.

Rb–Sr geochronology and metamorphic history of Proterozoic to early Archean rocks north of the Cape Smith Fold Belt, Quebec

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Doig
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Iron Formation ◽  
Fold Belt ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic History ◽  
The North ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wide Zone

The Churchill Province north of the Proterozoic Cape Smith volcanic fold belt of Quebec may be divided into two parts. The first is a broad antiform of migmatitic gneisses (Deception gneisses) extending north from the fold belt ~50 km to Sugluk Inlet. The second is a 20 km wide zone of high-grade metasedimentary rocks northwest of Sugluk Inlet. The Deception gneisses yield Rb–Sr isochron ages of 2600–2900 Ma and initial ratios of 0.701–0.703, showing that they are Archean basement to the Cape Smith Belt. The evidence that the basement rocks have been isoclinally refolded in the Proterozoic is clear at the contact with the fold belt. However, the gneisses also contain ubiquitous synclinal keels of metasiltstone with minor metapelite and marble that give isochron ages less than 2150 Ma. These ages, combined with low initial ratios of 0.7036, show that they are not part of the basement, as the average 87Sr/86Sr ratio for the basement rocks was about 0.718 at that time.The rocks west of Sugluk Inlet consist mainly of quartzo-feldspathic sediments, quartzites, para-amphibolites, marbles, and some pelite and iron formation. In contrast to the Proterozoic sediments in the Deception gneisses, these rocks yield dates of 3000–3200 Ma, with high initial ratios of 0.707–0.714. These initial ratios point to an age (or a provenance) much greater than that of the Archean Deception gneisses. The rocks of the Sugluk terrain are intruded by highly deformed sills of granitic rocks with ages of about 1830 Ma, demonstrating again the extent and severity of the Proterozoic overprint. The eastern margin of this possibly early Archean Sugluk block is a discontinuity in age, lithology, and geophysical character that could be a suture between two Archean cratons. It is not known if such a suturing event is of Archean age, or if it is related to the deformation of the Cape Smith Fold Belt.Models of evolution incorporating both the Cape Smith Belt and the Archean rocks to the north need to account for the internal structure of the fold belt, the continental affinity of many of the volcanic rocks, the continuity of basement around the eastern end of the belt, and the increase in metamorphism through the northern part of the belt into a broad area to the north. The Cape Smith volcanic rocks may have been extruded along a continental rift, parallel to a continental margin at Sugluk. Continental collison at Sugluk would have thrust the older and higher grade Sugluk rocks over the Deception gneisses, produced the broad Deception antiform, and displaced the Cape Smith rocks to the south in a series of north-dipping thrust slices.

scholarly journals ORÓGENO ARAÇUAÍ: SÍNTESE DO CONHECIMENTO 30 ANOS APÓS ALMEIDA 1977

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antônio Carlos Pedrosa-Soares ◽  
Carlos Maurício Noce ◽  
Fernando Flecha de Alkmim ◽  
Luiz Carlos da Silva ◽  
Marly Babinski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Continental Rift ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Iron Formation ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Araçuaí Orogen

The Araçuaí Fold Belt was defined as the southeastern limit of the São Francisco Craton in the classicalpaper published by Fernando Flávio Marques de Almeida in 1977. This keystone of the Brazilian geologicliterature catalyzed important discoveries, such as of Neoproterozoic ophiolites and a calc-alkaline magmaticarc, related to the Araçuaí Belt and paleotectonic correlations with its counterpart located in Africa (the WestCongo Belt), that provided solid basis to define the Araçuaí-West-Congo Orogen by the end of the 1990thdecade. After the opening of the Atlantic Ocean in Cretaceous times, two thirds of the Araçuaí-West-CongoOrogen remained in the Brazil side, including records of the continental rift and passive margin phases ofthe precursor basin, all ophiolite slivers and the whole orogenic magmatism formed from the pre-collisionalto post-collisional stages. Thus, the name Araçuaí Orogen has been applied to the Neoproterozoic-Cambrianorogenic region that extends from the southeastern edge of the São Francisco Craton to the Atlantic coastlineand is roughly limited between the 15º and 21º S parallels. After 30 years of systematic geological mappingtogether with geochemical and geochronological studies published by many authors, all evolutionary stagesof the Araçuaí Orogen can be reasonably interpreted. Despite the regional metamorfism and deformation, thefollowing descriptions generally refer to protoliths. All mentioned ages were obtained by U-Pb method onzircon. The Macaúbas Group records rift, passive margin and oceanic environments of the precursor basinof the Araçuaí Orogen. From the base to the top and from proximal to distal units, this group comprises thepre-glacial Duas Barras and Rio Peixe Bravo formations, and the glaciogenic Serra do Catuni, Nova Auroraand Lower Chapada Acauã formations, related to continental rift and transitional stages, and the diamictitefreeUpper Chapada Acauã and Ribeirão da Folha formations, representing passive margin and oceanicenvironments. Dates of detrital zircon grains from Duas Barras sandstones and Serra do Catuni diamictitessuggest a maximum sedimentation age around 900 Ma for the lower Macaúbas Group, in agreement withages yielded by the Pedro Lessa mafic dikes (906 ± 2 Ma) and anorogenic granites of Salto da Divisa (875 ±9 Ma). The thick diamictite-bearing marine successions with sand-rich turbidites, diamictitic iron formation,mafic volcanic rocks and pelites (Nova Aurora and Lower Chapada Acauã formations) were depositedfrom the rift to transitional stages. The Upper Chapada Acauã Formation consists of a sand-pelite shelfsuccession, deposited after ca. 864 Ma ago in the proximal passive margin. The Ribeirão da Folha Formationmainly consists of sand-pelite turbidites, pelagic pelites, sulfide-bearing cherts and banded iron formations,representing distal passive margin to oceanic sedimentation. Gabbro and dolerite with plagiogranite veinsdated at ca. 660 Ma, and ultramafic rocks form tectonic slices of oceanic lithosphere thrust onto packagesof the Ribeirão da Folha Formation. The pre-collisional, calc-alkaline, continental magmatic arc (G1 Suite,630-585 Ma) consists of tonalites and granodiorites, with minor diorite and gabbro. A volcano-sedimentarysuccession of this magmatic arc includes pyroclastic and volcaniclastic rocks of dacitic composition datedat ca. 585 Ma, ascribed to the Palmital do Sul and Tumiritinga formations (Rio Doce Group), depositedfrom intra-arc to fore-arc settings. Detrital zircon geochronology suggests that the São Tomé wackes (RioDoce Group) represent intra-arc to back-arc sedimentation after ca. 594 Ma ago. The Salinas Formation, aconglomerate-wacke-pelite association located to northwest of the magmatic arc, represents synorogenicsedimentation younger than ca. 588 Ma. A huge zone of syn-collisional S-type granites (G2 Suite, 582-560Ma) occurs to the east and north of the pre-collisional magmatic arc, northward of latitude 20º S. Partialmelting of G2 granites originated peraluminous leucogranites (G3 Suite) from the late- to post-collisionalstages. A set of late structures, and the post-collisional intrusions of the S-type G4 Suite (535-500 Ma) andI-type G5 Suite (520-490 Ma) are related to the gravitational collapse of the orogen. The location of themagmatic arc, roughly parallel to the zone with ophiolite slivers, from the 17º30’ S latitude southwardssuggests that oceanic crust only developed along the southern segment of the precursor basin of the Araçuaí-West-Congo Orogen. This basin was carved, like a large gulf partially floored by oceanic crust, into the SãoFrancisco-Congo Paleocontinent, but paleogeographic reconstructions show that the Bahia-Gabon cratonicbridge (located to the north of the Araçuaí Orogen) subsisted since at least 1 Ga until the Atlantic opening.This uncommon geotectonic scenario inspired the concept of confined orogen, quoted as a new type ofcollisional orogen in the international literature, and the appealing nutcracker tectonic model to explain theAraçuaí-West-Congo Orogen evolution. 

scholarly journals Rhyacian evolution of the eastern São Luís Craton: petrography, geochemistry and geochronology of the Rosário Suite

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruna Karine Correa Nogueira ◽  
Paulo Sergio de Sousa Gorayeb ◽  
Elton Luiz Dantas ◽  
Rafael Estumano Leal ◽  
Marco Antonio Galarza
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zones ◽  
Crustal Evolution ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Isotopic Data ◽  
Crust Formation ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Continental Arc ◽  
Amazonian Craton ◽  
Granitoid Rocks ◽  
Geochemical Studies

ABSTRACT: The São Luís Cráton comprises an area between northeast Pará state and northwest Maranhão that exposes Paleoproterozoic granitic suites and meta-volcanosedimentary sequences. In the east of this geotectonic unit, about 70 km south of São Luís, there is a portion of the São Luís Craton, represented by the intrusive Rosario Suite (RS). This work is focused on rocks of this suite, including petrographic, lithochemical and geochronological studies to understand the crustal evolution of these granitoid rocks. The rock spectrum varies from tonalitic to granodioritic, quartz dioritic and granitic compositions, and there are partial structural and mineralogical changes related to deformation along transcurrent shear zones. The geochemical studies show granitic metaluminous compositions of the calc-alkaline series with I-type affinity typical of magmatic arc. Rare earth elements show marked fractionation and slight Eu positive or negative anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.82 to 1.1). Zircon U-Pb data provided consistent ages of 2165 ± 7 Ma, 2170 ± 7 Ma, 2170 ± 7 Ma, 2161 ± 4 Ma and 2175 ± 8 Ma, dating emplacement of these granitoids as Paleoproterozoic (Rhyacian). Sm-Nd isotopic data provided model ages (TDM) of 2.21 to 2.31 Ga with positive values of εNd +1.9 to +3.2 (t = 2.17 Ga), indicating predominantly Rhyacian crustal sources for the parental magmas, similar to those ones found in other areas of the São Luís Craton. The data, integrated with published geological and geochronological information, indicate the occurrence of an important continental crust formation event in this area. The Paleoproterozoic evolution between 2.17 and 2.15 Ga is related to the Transamazonian orogeny. The granitoids of the Rosario Suite represent the main phase of continental arc magmatism that has continuity in other parts of the São Luís Craton and can be correlated with Rhyacian accretionary magmatism in the northwestern portion of the Amazonian Craton that amalgamated Archean terrains during the Transamazonian orogeny.

scholarly journals GEOCHEMISTRY AND PETROGENESIS OF SILLS IN LAVASANAT REGION, TEHRAN, IRAN

Geosaberes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Mehdi Bina ◽  
Mohammad Ali Arian ◽  
Mohsen Pourkermani ◽  
Mohammad Hasan Bazoobandi
Keyword(s):  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Study Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Continental Arc ◽  
Tectonic Position ◽  
Geological Map ◽  
Tehran Province ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Magma Series

The study area is located in Lavasanat region in the east of Tehran Province in the Central Alborz zone. The outcrops in this region are mainly associated with Karaj formation and belong to the upper Eocene to Oligocene periods. These outcrops consist of two intrusions: one in the north and the other in the northeast of Lavasanat. These outcrops are scattered over an area of approximately 337km2. In the study region, there are various intrusive igneous rocks, while numerous intrusive igneous rocks are scattered in the form of sills and dikes. These rocks include a range of rocks from diorite gabbro to diorite, monzonite, and syenite. The weathered colors of these rocks are black, brown and gray. The outcrops of these sills are mainly present in the middle-northern part of the quadrangle geological map of the east of Tehran. In different diagrams of the magma series, the study rocks are classified as alkaline, calc-alkaline, and shoshonite, which may indicate magma contamination. An analysis of the variations of the classical elements and trace elements, the spider plots, and interpretations of these plots confirms the relationship of these rocks with the subduction zone and continental arc. To find the tectonic position of the sills in the study area based on the geochemical diagrams, we selected samples from the within-plate (WIP) and arc zones.

Geology, geochronology, and fluid inclusion studies of the Xiaorequanzi volcanogenic massive sulphide Cu–Zn deposit in the East Tianshan Terrane, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1392-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi-Heng He ◽  
Xiao-Hua Deng ◽  
Leon Bagas ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Chao Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Inclusion ◽  
Fluid Inclusions ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Massive Sulphide ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
The North ◽  
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ◽  
Secondary Fluid ◽  
East Tianshan

The Xiaorequanzi Cu–Zn deposit is in the westernmost part of East Tianshan Terrane in northwestern China. The deposit is unique in the region being a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit located near a zone (or belt) containing giant late Paleozoic porphyry Cu deposits. Aiming to better understand the genesis of the mineral deposits in the terrane and their tectonic setting, we report our findings of detailed studies on fluid inclusion microthermometry, Re–Os dating of chalcopyrite from the massive ore, and U–Pb dating of zircons from the host volcanic rocks. There are two sulphide stages with early pyrite succeeded by chalcopyrite–sphalerite, which are hydrothermally overprinted and supergene enriched. The hydrothermal overprinting is characterised by quartz–sulphide veins crossed by carbonate-rich quartz veins. Quartz from the chalcopyrite–sphalerite stage is characterised by primary fluid inclusions containing H2O–NaCl(–CO2) and homogenise at 228–392 °C with a salinity of 2.2–13.3 wt.% NaCl equiv. Secondary fluid inclusions related to the hydrothermal overprinting homogenise at 170–205 °C with a salinity of 2.7–12.1 wt.% NaCl equiv. Fluid inclusions in the quartz–sulphide stage of the hydrothermal overprinting contain H2O–NaCl with homogenisation temperatures of 164–281 °C and salinities in ranging from 2.9 to 12.4 wt.% NaCl equiv. Fluid inclusion in the quartz–calcite stage contain H2O–NaCl with homogenisation temperatures of 122–204 °C with salinities of 1.4–12.4 wt.% NaCl equiv. These characteristics are like those of the secondary fluid inclusions in the VMS mineralisation. Combining these findings with H–O isotopic data from previous studies, we propose that the primary mineralising fluid is magmatic in origin. Tuff hosting the mineralisation yields a SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age of 352 ± 5 Ma, which is interpreted as the age of the tuff, and a porphyritic felsite dyke intruding the tuff yields a SHRIMP U–Pb zircon date of 345 ± 6 Ma, interpreted as the emplacement age of the dyke. Chalcopyrite from the main orebody at Xiaorequanzi yields a Re–Os isochron age of 336 ± 13 Ma with an initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.25 ± 0.55 (MSWD = 12). Given that the VMS deposit is a syngenetic deposit, we regard the upper ca. 349 Ma limit of the Re–Os date as the approximate age of the chalcopyrite. The three dates are the same within error, and the upper limit of the Re–Os date of ca. 349 is taken as the age of the volcanic, dyke, and mineralisation. The volcanic rocks around the Xiaorequanzi deposit have been previously classified as calc–alkaline to high-K calc–alkaline enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and depleted in high-field-strength elements, which are characteristics indicative of a forearc setting. It is suggested that VMS mineralisation formed in a forearc setting related to the north-directed subduction of the Palaeo-Kangguer or North Tianshan oceanic plates.

Chapter 4 Paleoproterozoic (2.0–1.8 Ga) syn-orogenic sedimentation, magmatism and mineralization in the Bothnia–Skellefteå lithotectonic unit, Svecokarelian orogen

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietari Skyttä ◽  
Pär Weihed ◽  
Karin Högdahl ◽  
Stefan Bergman ◽  
Michael B. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Lower Grade ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
The North ◽  
Magmatic Rocks ◽  
Structural Style ◽  
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ◽  
Felsic Volcanic

AbstractThe Bothnia–Skellefteå lithotectonic unit is dominated by turbiditic wacke and argillite (Bothnian basin), deposited at 1.96 (or older)–1.86 Ga, metamorphosed generally under high-grade conditions and intruded by successive plutonic suites at 1.95–1.93, 1.90–1.88, 1.87–1.85 and 1.81–1.76 Ga. In the northern part, low-grade and low-strain, 1.90–1.86 Ga predominantly magmatic rocks (the Skellefte–Arvidsjaur magmatic province) are enclosed by the basinal components. Subduction-related processes in intra-arc basin and magmatic arc settings, respectively, are inferred. Changes in the metamorphic grade and the relative timing of deformation and structural style across the magmatic province are linked to major shear zones trending roughly north–south and, close to the southern margin, WNW–ESE. Zones trending WNW–ESE and ENE–WSW dominate southwards. Slip along the north–south zones in an extensional setting initiated synchronously with magmatic activity at 1.90–1.88 Ga. Tectonic inversion steered by accretion to a craton to the east, involving crustal shortening, ductile strain and crustal melting, occurred at 1.88–1.85 Ga. Deformation along shear zones under lower-grade conditions continued at c. 1.8 Ga. Felsic volcanic rocks (1.90–1.88 Ga) host exhalative and replacement-type volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits (the metallogenic Skellefte district). Other deposits include orogenic Au, particularly along the ‘gold line’ SW of this district, porphyry Cu–Au–Mo, and magmatic Ni–Cu along the ‘nickel line’ SE of the ‘gold line’.

Correlation among lower to upper crustal components in an island arc: the Jurassic Bonanza arc, Vancouver Island, Canada

1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1371-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M DeBari ◽  
Robert G Anderson ◽  
James K Mortensen
Keyword(s):  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Plutonic Rocks ◽  
Differential Uplift ◽  
Age Range

The Westcoast Crystalline Complex (WCC), Island Intrusions, and Bonanza Group of Vancouver Island, Canada, form three different crustal levels of the Early to Middle Jurassic Bonanza island arc. Differential uplift has exposed the plutonic roots and the volcanic carapace of the arc for a strike length of ~500 km, and for another 250 km on the Queen Charlotte Islands. At deeper crustal levels within the arc, influx of mantle-derived magmas was accompanied by metamorphism and melting of Wrangellian basement rocks, yielding the heterogeneous WCC. Upward mobilization and hybridization of magmas to shallower levels in the crust resulted in the batholiths of the Island Intrusions and the lavas and pyroclastic rocks of the Bonanza Group. New U-Pb crystallization ages for plutonic rocks of the arc span an age range of 190.3 ± 1.0 to 168.6 ± 5.3 Ma. Ages of the WCC and western Island Intrusions are indistinguishable and overlap with published fossil and isotopic ages for the Bonanza Group. Younger Middle Jurassic ages for the eastern Island Intrusions overlap with those for plutonic rocks in the southern Coast Belt and Queen Charlotte Islands. All plutonic and volcanic rocks within the arc have overlapping geochemical signatures, supporting their comagmatic origin. All are light rare earth element-enriched with abundances 10-50× chondrites. The most mafic noncumulate gabbroic rocks have compositions typical of island arc basalts, with intermediate values of Al2O3 (16-17 wt.%) and high MgO (7-9 wt.%). More differentiated rocks follow a calc-alkaline trend with concomitant increase in Al2O3 (18-20 wt.%). Their geochemistry indicates varying degrees of mixing with melts of mafic Wrangellian basement.

IV.—Notes on the Petrography of Egypt

1908 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 500-509
Author(s):  
W. F. Hume
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Eastern Desert ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
African Continent ◽  
East African ◽  
Nubian Sandstone ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
North East ◽  
The North

1. The ancient core of the North-East African Continent consists of the Cataract and Sudan banded gneisses, which may represent a very ancient igneous magma. They are usually much veined by granitic dykes.2. In certain places in the Arabian Desert, Cataracts, etc., these underlie highly metamorphosed schists (the mica-schists of Sikait, the calcareous schists of Um Garaiart and Haimar and of the Amara Cataracts, also the dolomites of the latter region) which are sharply separated from the banded gneisses and are possibly the oldest sedimentary representatives in Egypt.3. The greater part of the mountainous regions of the Eastern Desert and Sinai are occupied by two types of rocks, a schistose constituent overlying or being surrounded by the acid member. (a) The first-named, the Dokhan volcanic rocks and schists, are partly volcanic in origin and partly sedimentary, the former being represented by lavas of various types, while the latter are clearly altered sedimentary strata (grits, conglomerates, etc.). No fossils have yet been found, but they have their nearest lithological analogues in the latest pre-Cambrian and Cambrian series. Here are included some of the most interesting rocks of Egypt, such as the Imperial Porphyry and the Breccia Verde Antico. (b) The igneous member intruded into these ancient sediments, etc., includes a great diversity of igneous rocks, varying from highly basic to acid types.Contact-phenomena of complex nature occur at the junctions of (a) and (b).4. Red granite and dyke rocks, whose parallelism and extent of distribution present one of the most conspicuous features of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, mark the final eruptive action before Carboniferous times.5. Three periods of volcanic activity have been subsequently noted—(a) In Western Sinai in late Carboniferous times.(b) An undated series of eruptions interbedded with the base of the Nubian Sandstone or intrusive into it with marked contact alterations.(c) The basic intrusions near Cairo and the Fayum, etc., which are intimately associated with the Oligocena Continental Period in Egypt.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document