Multi-chronometric ages and origin of Archaean tonalitic gneisses in Finnish Lapland: A case for long crustal residence time
The Tojottamanselka gneisses of the Koitelainen region, northern Finland, have been dated by the Sm-Nd and the common Pb methods. The Sm-Nd data of seven samples from a small area (100 m × 100 m) define an isochron ofT=3.06±0.12 (2σ) Ga, with correspondingINd=0.50848±9 (2σ), oreNd(T)=−3.7±1.8. This age is in good agreement with the zircon U-Pb discordia age (3.1 Ga) reported by Kroner et al. (1981) and is interpreted as the time of magmatic emplacement. The distinctly negativeeNd(T) value is found for the first time for Archean tonalitic gneisses and implies derivation of these magmas by remelting of continental material with a long (200–500 Ma) crustal residence time. A few samples, on the…
Accretionary growth and crust formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the Arabian-Nubian shield
Kroner, A., Windley, B.F., Badarch, G., Tomurtogoo, O., Hegner, E., Jahn, B.M., Gruschka, S., Khain, E.V., Demoux, A., and Wingate, M.T.D., 2007, Accretionary growth and crust formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the Arabian-Nubian shield, in Hatcher, R.D., Jr., Carlson, M.P., McBride, J.H., and Martinez Catalan, J.R., eds., 4-D Framework of Continental Crust: Geological Society of America Memoir 200, p. 181–209, doi: 10.1130/2007.1200(11). For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. ©2007 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. *Kroner: kroener@mail.uni-mainz.de; Windley: brian.windley@btinternet.com; Tomurtogoo: igmr@magicnet.mn; Heg…
Zircon ages and Hf isotopic compositions of plutonic rocks from the Central Tianshan (Xinjiang, northwest China) and their significance for early to mid-Palaeozoic crustal evolution
We present new zircon ages and Hf-in-zircon isotopic data for plutonic rocks and review the crustal evolution of the Chinese Central Tianshan (Xinjiang, northwest China) in the early to mid-Palaeozoic. The Early Ordovician (ca. 475–473 Ma) granitoid rocks have zircon eHf(t) values either positive (+0.3 to +9.5) or negative (−6.0 to −12.9). This suggests significant addition of juvenile material to, and coeval crustal reworking of, the pre-existing continental crust that is fingerprinted by numerous Precambrian zircon xenocrysts. The Late Ordovician–Silurian (ca. 458–425 Ma) rocks can be assigned to two sub-episodes of magmatism: zircon from rocks of an earlier event (ca. 458–442 Ma) has neg…
Zircon dating of Neoproterozoic and Cambrian ophiolites in West Mongolia and implications for the timing of orogenic processes in the central part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt
Abstract We present new isotopic and trace element data to review the geochronological/geochemical/geological evolution of the central part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and find a fundamental geological problem in West Mongolia, which has traditionally been subdivided into northwestern early Paleozoic (formerly Caledonian) and southerly late Paleozoic (formerly Hercynian) belts by the Main Mongolian Lineament (MML). We resolve this problem with SHRIMP zircon dating of ophiolites and re-evaluation of much published literature. In Northwest Mongolia the Dariv–Khantaishir ophiolite marks the boundary between the Lake arc in the west and the Dzabkhan–Baydrag microcontinent in the …
Age and provenance constraints on seismically-determined crustal layers beneath the Paleozoic southern Central Asian Orogen, Inner Mongolia, China
Abstract We present 110 ages and 51 in-situ δ18O values for zircon xenocrysts from a post-99 Ma intraplate basaltic rock suite hosted in a subduction–accretion complex of the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt in order to constrain a seismic profile across the Paleozoic Southern Orogen of Inner Mongolia and the northern margin of the North China Craton. Two zircon populations are recognized, namely a Phanerozoic group of 70 zircons comprising granitoid-derived (ca. 431–99 Ma; n = 31; peak at 256 Ma), meta-granitoid-derived (ca. 449–113 Ma; n = 24; peak at 251 Ma) and gabbro-derived (436–242 Ma; n = 15; peaks at 264 and 244 Ma) grains. Each textural type is characterized by a distinct zirc…
Zircon ages of metamorphic and magmatic rocks within peridotite-bearing mélanges: Crucial time constraints on early Carboniferous extensional tectonics in the Chinese Tianshan
Abstract We dated and geochemically characterized peridotite-bearing melanges in the Chinese South Tianshan and within the Main Tianshan Shear Zone. The Yushugou-Tonghuashan melange in the Chinese South Tianshan exposes a tectonic juxtaposition of a diapirically emplaced metaperidotite (predominantly lherzolite) massif with a high-grade metamorphic terrane (ca. 10 km long; protolith age ≥ ca. 445–466 Ma). Metamorphic zircons of a mafic granulite (eNd(t) = 5.0) yielded a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 341 ± 8 Ma that we interpret as the time of granulite-facies metamorphism. The youngest zircon rims of an intermediate granulite (eNd(t) = − 4.3) have a mean age of 332 ± 13 Ma that records a …
Zircon ages and Hf isotopic compositions of plutonic rocks from the Central Tianshan (Xinjiang, northwest China) and their significance for early to mid-Palaeozoic crustal evolution
We present new zircon ages and Hf-in-zircon isotopic data for plutonic rocks and review the crustal evolution of the Chinese Central Tianshan (Xinjiang, northwest China) in the early to mid-Palaeozoic. The Early Ordovician (ca. 475–473 Ma) granitoid rocks have zircon εHf(t) values either positive (+0.3 to +9.5) or negative (−6.0 to −12.9). This suggests significant addition of juvenile material to, and coeval crustal reworking of, the pre-existing continental crust that is fingerprinted by numerous Precambrian zircon xenocrysts. The Late Ordovician–Silurian (ca. 458–425 Ma) rocks can be assigned to two sub-episodes of magmatism: zircon from rocks of an earlier event (ca. 458–442 Ma) has neg…