Tectonic evolution of the Sierra Maestra Mountains, SE Cuba, during Tertiary times: From arc-continent collision to transform motion

Abstract A structural study was carried out along the southern Sierra Maestra mountain range, SE Cuba. This was aimed to monitor the effects of Paleogene island arc formation and collision due to convergence of the Caribbean and North American plates and subsequent Neogene disruption of the arc by initiation of the North Caribbean Transform Fault. In the Sierra Maestra two different and unrelated volcanic arcs are exposed, one of Cretaceous age (pre-Maastrichtian) and the other of Paleogene age, the latter forming the main expression of the mountain range. The volcanic arcs are overlain by Middle–Upper Eocene siliciclastic, carbonate and terrigenous rocks. Six distinct phases of deformation…

Erratum to “First description of a metamorphic sole related to ophiolite obduction in the northern Caribbean: Geochemistry and petrology of the Güira de Jauco amphibolite complex (eastern Cuba) and tectonic implications” [Lithos 179 (2013) 193–210]

Recycling and transport of continental material through the mantle wedge above subduction zones: A Caribbean example

Abstract Estimates of global growth rates of continental crust critically depend upon knowledge of the rate at which crustal material is delivered back into the mantle at subduction zones and is then returned to the crust as a component of mantle-derived magma. Quantification of crustal recycling by subduction-related magmatism relies on indirect chemical and isotopic tracers and is hindered by the large range of potential melt sources (e.g., subducted oceanic crust and overlying chemical and clastic sediment, sub-arc lithospheric mantle, arc crust), whose composition may not be accurately known. There is also uncertainty about how crustal material is transferred from subducted lithosphere …

Subduction initiation triggered the Caribbean large igneous province

AbstractSubduction provides the primary driving force for plate tectonics. However, the mechanisms leading to the formation of new subduction zones remain debated. An example is the Lesser Antilles Arc in the Atlantic. Previous initiation mechanisms have implied the transmission of subduction from the Pacific Ocean or the impact of a plume head. Here, we use geodynamic models to simulate the evolution of the Caribbean region during the Cretaceous, where the eastern Pacific subduction triggered the formation of a new subduction zone in the Atlantic. The simulations show how the collision of the old Caribbean plateau with the Central America margin lead to the formation of a new Atlantic subd…

First description of a metamorphic sole related to ophiolite obduction in the northern Caribbean: Geochemistry and petrology of the Güira de Jauco Amphibolite complex (eastern Cuba) and tectonic implications

Abstract The Guira de Jauco Amphibolite Complex underlies the Mayari–Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt (eastern Cuba) and is composed of highly foliated amphibolite, locally with blocks of sheared serpentinitie that enclose concordant layers of amphibolite. These amphibolites are interpreted as remnants of a sub-ophiolitic metamorphic sole likely formed during late Cretaceous times before the initiation of the collision between the Caribbean and the North American plates. The complex includes common amphibolites (Hbl + Pl ± Ep ± Ttn ± Rt ± Qtz ± Ap), garnet amphibolites (Hbl + Grt + Pl + Ep ± Ttn ± Qtz ± Ap) and clinopyroxene amphibolites (Hbl + Pl + Cpx ± Ep ± Ttn ± Qtz ± Ap). Geochemical data indic…

Evolution of Cambrian and Early Ordovician arcs in the Kyrgyz North Tianshan: Insights from U-Pb zircon ages and geochemical data

Abstract Geochronological, geochemical, and structural studies of magmatic and metamorphic complexes within the Kyrgyz North Tianshan (NTS) revealed an extensive area of early Palaeozoic magmatism with an age range of 540–475 Ma. During the first episode at 540–510 Ma, magmatism likely occurred in an intraplate setting within the NTS microcontinent and in an oceanic arc setting within the Kyrgyz-Terskey zone in the south. During the second episode at 500–475 Ma, the entire NTS represented an arc system. These two phases of magmatism were separated by an episode of accretionary tectonics of uncertain nature, which led to obduction of ophiolites from the Kyrgyz-Terskey zone onto the microcont…

Mesoproterozoic (Grenville-age) granitoids and supracrustal rocks in Kaokoland, northwestern Namibia

Abstract We identified and describe rocks of a late Mesoproterozoic Grenville-age igneous province and associated supracrustal sequence in northwestern Kaokoland, Namibia. These rocks are ca. 1176–1534 Ma in age and mostly consist of pinkish granitic and trondhjemitic plutons that are unfoliated within the Palaeoproterozoic Epupa Metamorphic Complex but become progressively deformed farther west together with late Neoproterozoic rocks of the Pan-African Kaoko orogen. Furthermore, a supracrustal assemblage of clastic sedimentary rocks and felsic volcanic rocks, known as Okapuka Formation, unconformably overlies the Epupa gneisses and also became deformed in the west during the Kaoko orogeny.…

The geology of Cuba: A brief overview and synthesis

Cuba is the largest island in the Greater Antilles, and its geology records three important episodes: (1) the Jurassic breakup of North and South America (Pangea) and associated passive margin and oceanic sedimentary and magmatic evolution; (2) the sedimentary, magmatic, and metamorphic evolution of an intra-oceanic Cretaceous-Paleogene ophiolite-arc complex; and (3) the Paleogene 'soft collision' and transfer of the NW Caribbean plate (and Cuba) to the North American plate. Thick sequences of Jurassic-Cretaceous strata (conglomerates, sandstones, limestones, dolo­stones, shales) and interlayered basaltic rocks characterize passive margin sequences preserved in the Guaniguanico terrane (wes…

Zircon reconnaissance dating of Proterozoic gneisses along the Kunene River of northwestern Namibia

Abstract The northern margin of the Epupa Metamorphic Complex (EMC) along the Kunene River in NW Namibia is one of the geologically least known terranes in Africa because of its remoteness and difficult accessibility. We report field relationships and reconnaissance zircon ages for granitoid gneisses from a 120 km foot-traverse along the Kunene River between the Ruacana Falls in the east and Marienfluss in the west. Most rocks are late Palaeoproterozoic in age and correlate well with similar rocks of the EMC farther south in Kaokoland (1757–1835 Ma, one sample 1861 Ma) and with granitoid rocks in the Kamanjab Inlier, some 400 km SE of the Kunene River (1801–1836 Ma). All these rocks constit…

Timing of subduction and exhumation in a subduction channel: Evidence from slab melts from La Corea Mélange (eastern Cuba)

article i nfo High pressure igneous rocks (tonalites), generated by partial melting of subducted basaltic rocks accreted to the mantle wedge, are present in the La Corea serpentinite-matrix melange (eastern Cuba) as centimeter- to meter-sized blocks and as concordant to crosscutting veins within high-pressure parent amphibolite blocks. The slab melts have adakitic signatures, in agreement with formation after partial melting of metabasite. Thermobarometric calculations indicate 620-680 °C and 13-15 kbar during crystallization of tonalites and down to 250-300 °C, 6 kbar during retrogression, indicating counter-clockwise P-T paths (hot subduction- cool exhumation). Free water required for mel…

Ancient xenocrystic zircon in young volcanic rocks of the southern Lesser Antilles island arc

Abstract The Lesser Antilles arc is one of the best global examples in which to examine the effects of the involvement of subducted sediment and crustal assimilation in the generation of arc crust. Most of the zircon recovered in our study of igneous and volcaniclastic rocks from Grenada and Carriacou (part of the Grenadines chain) is younger than 2 Ma. Within some late Paleogene to Neogene (~ 34–0.2 Ma) lavas and volcaniclastic sediments however, there are Paleozoic to Paleoarchean (~ 250–3469 Ma) xenocrysts, and Late Jurassic to Precambrian zircon (~ 158–2667 Ma) are found in beach and river sands. The trace element characteristics of zircon clearly differentiate between different types o…

The imprint of subduction fluids on subducted MORB-derived melts (Sierra del Convento Mélange, Cuba)

International audience; Major and trace element signatures and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data for muscovite (Ms)-bearing amphibolite blocks and associated muscovite-bearing trondhjemite and quartz-muscovite rocks from the Sierra del Convento melange (eastern Cuba) indicate that Proto-Caribbean oceanic crust underwent wet partial melting processes during Mesozoic subduction and after accretion to the upper plate. Trace element normalized patterns of Ms-bearing amphibolites are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) and evidence variable trace element transfer from the Proto-Caribbean subducting slab to the mantle wedge. Ms-bearing trondhjemites show LREE…

Ediacaran, Early Ordovician and early Silurian arcs in the South Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan

Abstract The oldest magmatic rocks from the South Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan (STS) are important for better understanding of the Neoproterozoic and early Palaeozoic evolution of the southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Bulk rock major and trace element and Sm-Nd isotopic composition and zircon U-Pb ages of granitoids from melange blocks reveal two previously unknown episodes of arc magmatism in the STS orogen of Kyrgyzstan, namely, the Ediacaran (ca. 624 Ma) and Early Ordovician (ca. 472 Ma) episodes. Moderately positive ɛNd(t) value of + 5.8 of the Ediacaran granodiorite indicates a mainly juvenile source for this rock. Negative ɛNd(t) value of −9.1 for the Early Ordovician granodi…

Middle to Late Ordovician arc system in the Kyrgyz Middle Tianshan: From arc-continent collision to subsequent evolution of a Palaeozoic continental margin

New geological, geochronological and isotopic data reveal a previously unknown arc system that evolved south of the Kyrgyz Middle Tianshan (MTS) microcontinent during the Middle and Late Ordovician, 467-444 Ma ago. The two fragments of this magmatic arc are located within the Bozbutau Mountains and the northern Atbashi Range, and a marginal part of the arc, with mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks, extends north to the Semizsai metamorphic unit of the southern Chatkal Range. A continental basement of the arc, indicated by predominantly felsic volcanic rocks in Bozbutau and Atbashi, is supported by whole-rock Nd- and Hf-in-zircon isotopic data. epsilon(Nd(t)) of + 0.9 to -2.6 and epsilon(Hf…

In Situ U‐Th‐Pb Dating and Sr‐Nd Isotope Analysis of Bastnäsite by LA‐(MC)‐ICP‐MS

Mesoproterozoic (Grenville-age) terranes in the Kyrgyz North Tianshan: Zircon ages and Nd–Hf isotopic constraints on the origin and evolution of basement blocks in the southern Central Asian Orogen

Abstract The North Tianshan orogenic belt in Kyrgyzstan consists predominantly of Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic assemblages and tectonically interlayered older Precambrian crystalline complexes and formed during early Paleozoic accretionary and collisional events. One of the oldest continental fragments of late Mesoproterozoic (Grenvillian) age occurs within the southern part of the Kyrgyz North Tianshan. Using SHRIMP zircon ages, we document two magmatic events at ~ 1.1 and ~ 1.3 Ga. The younger event is characterized by voluminous granitoid magmatism between 1150 and 1050 Ma and is associated with deformation and metamorphism. The older event is documented by ~ 1.3 Ga felsic volcanism…

SHRIMP zircon dating and Nd isotopic systematics of Palaeoproterozoic migmatitic orthogneisses in the Epupa Metamorphic Complex of northwestern Namibia

Abstract The Epupa Metamorphic Complex constitutes the southwestern margin of the Congo Craton and is exposed in a hilly to mountainous terrain of northwestern Namibia, bordering the Kunene River and extending into southern Angola. It consists predominantly of granitoid gneisses which are migmatized over large areas. This migmatization locally led to anatexis and produced crustal-melt granites such as the Otjitanda Granite. We have undertaken reconnaissance geochemical studies and single zircon U–Pb SHRIMP and Pb–Pb evaporation dating of rocks of the Epupa Complex. The granitoid gneisses, migmatites and anatectic melts are similar in composition and constitute a suite of metaluminous to per…

Detrital and igneous zircon ages for supracrustal rocks of the Kyrgyz Tianshan and palaeogeographic implications

Abstract We report detrital zircon ages for Precambrian and early Palaeozoic metasediments from the Tianshan orogen in Kyrgyzstan, an important component of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and compare these with published ages from the Chinese Tianshan and the Tarim craton. These data provide information on possible source terrains and suggest that Precambrian basement is widespread in the Tianshan and may, at least in part, represent continental fragments rifted off the Tarim craton during the early history of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Distinct differences in the Precambrian zircon age distribution between the North and Middle Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan support earlier ideas that these …

Cold plumes trigger contamination of oceanic mantle wedges with continental crust-derived sediments: Evidence from chromitite zircon grains of eastern Cuban ophiolites

The origin of zircon grains, and other exotic minerals of typical crustal origin, in mantle-hosted ophiolitic chromitites are hotly debated.We report a population of zircon grains with ages ranging from Cretaceous (99 Ma) to Neoarchean (2750 Ma), separated from massive chromitite bodies hosted in the mantle section of the supra-subduction (SSZ)-type Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt in eastern Cuba. Most analyzed zircon grains (n = 20, 287 +/- 3 Ma to 2750 +/- 60 Ma) are older than the early Cretaceous age of the ophiolite body, show negative εHf(t) (+/-26 to +/-0.6) and occasional inclusions of quartz, K-feldspar, biotite, and apatite that indicate derivation from a granitic continental crust…

Partial Melting and Counterclockwise P T Path of Subducted Oceanic Crust (Sierra del Convento Melange, Cuba)

Age, Nd–Hf isotopes, and geochemistry of the Vijayan Complex of eastern and southern Sri Lanka: A Grenville-age magmatic arc of unknown derivation

Abstract The ca. 1.0–1.1 Ga Vijayan Complex (VC) of eastern and southeastern Sri Lanka is one of three high-grade metamorphic terranes making up the basement of the island and is in tectonic contact with the adjacent, older Highland Complex. It consists predominantly of granitoid gneisses ranging in composition from diorite to leucogranite, with a distinct calc-alkaline geochemical signature, and is interpreted as a magmatic arc. Strong ductile deformation has obliterated almost all original intrusive relationships. High-grade metamorphism during the Pan-African event at ca. 610–520 Ma has produced widespread granulite-facies assemblages that are now largely retrogressed and were affected b…

Zircon ages, geochemistry and Nd isotopic systematics for the Palaeoproterozoic 2.3–1.8 Ga Kuilyu Complex, East Kyrgyzstan – The oldest continental basement fragment in the Tianshan orogenic belt

Abstract Precambrian microcontinents represent key tectonic units in the accretionary collages of the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and their geological history is reasonably well established since the Mesoproterozoic but remains weakly constrained for older epochs due to a scarcity of exposed Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean rocks. Early Precambrian rocks were previously reported from several metamorphic complexes in the Kyrgyz Tianshan orogenic belt, mainly based on multigrain conventional zircon dating, but the present study only confirmed such rocks at one site, namely in the Kuilyu Complex of eastern Kyrgyzstan. New single grain SHRIMP II zircon ages, geochemical data, and …

Evolution of the middle Paleozoic magmatism in the Chinese Altai: Constraints on the crustal differentiation at shallow depth in the accretionary orogen

Abstract The Chinese Altai underwent intensive mafic and felsic magmatism in the middle Paleozoic, which was the most important magmatic event in the region. It is still unclear for the role of the event in formation of the crust that is thick (∼56 km) and has structure of three-layer stratification. In this study, the data for the middle Paleozoic mafic rocks and granites are comprehensively compiled and integrated with new geochronological, petrological, geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data for gabbroic rocks from Keketuohai area and tonalite and biotite granites from Habahe area. The middle Paleozoic mafic rocks exhibit two evolutionary trends, which can be defined as high-Al and low-A…

Palaeomagnetism of the central Cuban Cretaceous Arc sequences and geodynamic implications

Abstract A detailed palaeomagnetic study of Cretaceous age volcanic and sedimentary arc rocks from central Cuba has been carried out. Samples from 32 sites (12 localities) were subjected to detailed demagnetisation experiments. Nineteen sites from the Los Paso, Matagua, Provincial and Cabaiguan Formations yielded high unblocking temperature, dual polarity directions of magnetisation which pass the fold tests with confidence levels of 95% or more and are considered to be primary in origin. The palaeomagnetic inclinations are equivalent to palaeolatitudes of 9°N for the Aptian, 18°N for the Albian. A synfolding remanence identified in 5 sites from the younger Hilario Formation indicates a lat…

Zircon and muscovite ages, geochemistry, and Nd-Hf isotopes for the Aktyuz metamorphic terrane: Evidence for an Early Ordovician collisional belt in the northern Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan

International audience; The Aktyuz metamorphic terrane in the Kyrgyz northern Tianshan consists of granitoid gneisses and migmatites with subordinate paragneisses, greenschists, presumed meta-ophiolites, and garnet amphibolite dykes that contain HP eclogite relicts. The gneisses and migmatites were previously considered to be Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic in age on the basis of α-Pb and U-Pb multigrain zircon dating. Zircons from a post-tectonic granite were previously dated at 692 ± 15 Ma, constraining the time of main deformation and metamorphism in the Aktyuz terrane to the Precambrian. The chemical characteristics of most granitoid samples are consistent with melting of chemically evol…

Timing and Evolution of Cretaceous Island Arc Magmatism in Central Cuba: Implications for the History of Arc Systems in the Northwestern Caribbean

AbstractSHRIMP and conventional zircon dating place temporal constraints on the evolution of the Cretaceous Volcanic Arc system in central Cuba. The arc has a consistent stratigraphy across strike, with the oldest and deepest rocks in the south (in tectonic contact with the ∼5–10-km-wide Mabujina Amphibolite Complex [MAC]) and younger rocks in the north. The MAC is thought to represent the deepest exposed section of the Cretaceous Volcanic Arc and its oceanic basement in Cuba. We undertook a single zircon geochronological study of five gneisses and two amphibolites from the MAC and seven rocks from the Manicaragua Batholith, which intrudes both the MAC and the Cretaceous Volcanic Arc. A SHR…

Composition and provenance analysis of beach sands in an almost isolated sedimentary system – A field study of the Galápagos Archipelago

The Galapagos Archipelago is the surface expression of an active hotspot or long-lived mantle plume. The Archipelago consists of a group of 13 main islands which are located in the eastern central Pacific Ocean about 1,000 km west of the northern edge of the South American continent, east of the East Pacific Rise and south of the Galapagos spreading center. Because of the large distance to the nearest continental land mass, Galapagos can be seen as an almost isolated sedimentary system. A provenance study conducted on samples collected from seventeen beaches on eleven islands, demonstrates that mineral grains and particles were derived from weathering of predominantly basaltic rocks and wer…

Timing of deformational events in the Río San Juan complex: implications for the tectonic controls on the exhumation of high-P rocks in the northern Caribbean subduction-accretionary prism

An integrated structural, petrological and geochronological study was undertaken to constrain the tectonic history and controls on the exhumation of the high-P rocks of the Río San Juan complex in the northern Caribbean subduction–accretionary wedge. In the main structural units of the complex, microtextural analyses were performed to identify the fabrics formed at peak ofmetamorphismin eclogite-facies conditions and during the main retrogressive event toward the low-P amphibolite or blueschist/greenschist-facies conditions. U–Pb SHRIMP dating on zircon rims (71.3 ± 0.7 Ma) coupled with 40Ar–39Ar analyses on phengite (~70– 69 Ma) in felsic sills placed temporal constraints on the exhumation…

Zircon ages for a felsic volcanic rock and arc-related early Palaeozoic sediments on the margin of the Baydrag microcontinent, central Asian orogenic belt, Mongolia

Abstract Magmatic zircons from the basal part of an arc terrane in the accretionary complex NE of the Baydrag microcontinental block in central Mongolia were dated at 544 ± 7 Ma and reflect arc magmatism at the Ediacaran/Cambrian boundary. Detrital zircon ages for clastic metasediments of the adjacent Dzag zone suggest a depositional age

Detrital-zircon geochronology and provenance of the El Oro Metamorphic Complex, Ecuador: Geodynamic implications for the evolution of the western Gondwana margin

Abstract The El Oro Metamorphic Complex (EOMC) in SW Ecuador has been the subject of debate for several decades. While previous studies have focused on the metamorphic and deformation history of the complex to determine its geodynamic evolution, the pre-metamorphic history and its association to units in the north-central Andes remains poorly understood. Here we present a U-Pb detrital zircon provenance study to provide insights into the depositional history and the geodynamic setting of the EOMC. Our results imply that the southern portion of the EOMC (the Tahuin division) is composed of an older Palaeozoic (pre-Famatinian) sequence in the south (El Tigre unit; c. 525-510 Ma), and younger …

The Colombian geochronological database (CGD)

Geochronological databases are powerful tools for characterizing the crustal evolution and the age spectra of a region and allow comparison with other areas at a regional scale. In this contributio...

Detrital and xenocrystic zircon ages from Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic arc terranes of Mongolia: Significance for the origin of crustal fragments in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Abstract The Central Asian Orogenic Belt contains many Precambrian crustal fragments whose origin is unknown, and previous speculations suggested these to be derived from either Siberia, Tarim or northern Gondwana. We present an age pattern for detrital and xenocrystic zircons from Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic arc and microcontinental terranes in Mongolia and compare this with patterns for Precambrian rocks in southern Siberia, the North China craton, the Tarim craton and northeastern Gondwana in order to define the most likely source region for the Mongolian zircons. Our data were obtained by SHRIMP II, LA-ICP-MS and single zircon evaporation and predominantly represent arc-related low-gra…

Geochemistry and early Palaeogene SHRIMP zircon ages for island arc granitoids of the Sierra Maestra, southeastern Cuba

The Palaeogene volcanic arc successions of the Sierra Maestra, southeastern Cuba, were intruded by calc-alkaline, low- to medium-K tonalites and trondhjemites during the final stages of subduction and subsequent collision of the Caribbean oceanic plate with the North American continental plate. U‐Pb SHRIMP zircon dating of five granitoids yielded 206 Pb/ 238 U emplacement ages between 60.5F2.2 and 48.3F0.5 Ma. The granitoids are the result of subduction-related magmatism and have geochemical characteristics similar to those of magmas from intra-oceanic island-arcs such as the Izu Bonin‐Mariana arc and the New Britain island arc, Lesser Antilles. Major and trace element patterns suggest evol…

Recycling in the subduction factory: Archaean to Permian zircons in the oceanic Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc (Hispaniola)

Abstract Little mineralogical evidence is left of the recycling of continental and oceanic crust into the mantle at subduction zones. Zircon, because of its exceptional robustness, is probably the only surviving phase and the best mineral tracer of this global-scale process. This article combines new in-situ U-Pb dating and O and Hf isotope analyses on Cretaceous (co-magmatic) and pre-Cretaceous (inherited) zircons separated from Albian-Aptian arc-related igneous rocks from the Dominican Republic. The O and Hf systematics of Cretaceous zircons reflect derivation from predominantly juvenile sources and variable mixing with evolved melts, as expected for an oceanic island-arc. Inherited zirco…

A highly dynamic hot hydrothermal system in the subduction environment: Geochemistry and geochronology of jadeitite and associated rocks of the Sierra del Convento mélange (eastern Cuba)

A U-Pb zircon date of ~113 Ma revealed that a variety of jadeitites and related omphacitite, chloritite and albite-rich rocks from the subduction-related Sierra del Convento block-in-serpentinite-matrix mélange (eastern Cuba) formed nearly synchronously with MORB metabasite-derived anatectic trondhjemitic liquids at high-temperature and pressure in a hot subduction environment. Field, petrologic and geochemical data indicate hydrothermal/metasomatic processes triggered by juvenile fluids likely evolved from the crystallizing hydrous trondhjemitic melts. These fluids, variably mixed with sediment-derived fluids and channelized along fractures in the supra-slab mantle, precipitated relatively…

A geotraverse across two paleo-subduction zones in Tien Shan, Tajikistan

Abstract We present first LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages as well as geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data for 14 magmatic rocks collected along ca. 400 km profile across the Chatkal-Kurama terrane in the Mogol-Tau and Kurama ranges and the Gissar Segment of the Tien Shan orogen in Tajikistan. These new data from supra-subduction and post-collisional magmatic rocks of two Late Paleozoic active margins constrain a tectonic model for terrane motions across two paleo-subduction zones: (1) The 425 Ma old Muzbulak granite of the Mogol-Tau range formed in a supra-subduction setting at the northern margin of the Turkestan Ocean. The north-dipping plate was subducted from the Early Silurian to the earli…

The Colombian geochronological database (CGD)

Geochronological databases are powerful tools for characterizing the crustal evolution and the age spectra of a region and allow comparison with other areas at a regional scale. In this contribution, we present the Colombian Geochronological Database (CGD), which contains a curated compilation of ca. 67,406 individual published U-Th-Pb, K-Ar, Ar-Ar, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf, Fission-track, U-Th-He, and Re-Os mineral and whole rock ages that are reported in the published literature. Each date includes geographic coordinates, geological setting, petrologic and chemical information extracted from the respective publications. The structure of the database provides a powerful interface for constructi…