Search results for "Crust"
showing 10 items of 599 documents
Crustal xenoliths from Cenozoic volcanic fields of West Germany: Implications for structure and composition of the continental crust
1991
Crustal xenoliths in three Cenozoic volcanic fields of West Germany, the Northern Hessian Depression (NHD), the Eifel and the Urach/Hegau, include medium to high-grade meta sedimentary and felsic to mafic meta-igneous rocks. Also present in all three suites are pyroxenites and hornblendites. For each volcanic field, a model crustal profile is proposed based on calculated or measured P-wave velocities of xenoliths and depth-Vp relationships (EGT Central Segment and Rhenish Massif traverses). The xenolith lithologies from the NHD and the Eifel show some similarities. The middle crust between the depths of about 10 and 25 km consists mainly of meta-sediments, felsic gneisses and granulites. Me…
Dating of late Proterozoic ophiolites in Egypt and the Sudan using the single grain zircon evaporation technique
1992
Abstract Zircons from gabbro and plagiogranite in late Proterozoic ophiolites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) in Egypt and the Sudan, as well as post-ophiolite granites have been dated using the stepwise evaporation method. Zircons from a plagiogranite in the Wadi Ghadir ophiolite, Eastern Desert of Egypt, yielded a mean 207Pb/206Pb age of 746±19 Ma, while a gabbro and diorite associated with the Abu Swayel ophiolite nappe ∼ 250 km southwest of Wadi Ghadir provided zircon 207Pb/206Pb ages of 729±17 and 736±11 Ma, respectively. Zircons from layered gabbro along the western margin of the Jabal Gerf ophiolite just north of 22°N were dated at 741±21 Ma, indistinguishable from the Wadi Ghadir…
Age and Origin of Paleogene Granitoids from Western Yunnan Province, China: Geochemistry, SHRIMP Zircon Ages, and Hf-in-Zircon Isotopic Compositions
2015
We report geochemical data, SHRIMP zircon ages and Hf-in-zircon isotopic compositions for Cenozoic granitoids from major fault systems in the Tethyan belt in western Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Four magmatic pulses occurred in the Paleogene, namely at ca. 57 Ma, ca. 50 Ma, 45–40 Ma, and 38–34 Ma. Early magmatism of this episode (57–50 Ma) produced S-type granites whose zircons yielded eHf(t) values of −5.0 to −0.3. In contrast, late magmatism of this episode reflects heterogeneous sources. Zircons from a granite porphyry along the Ailaoshan-Red River fault system have slightly positive eHf(t) values suggesting derivation from relatively young crust and/or a juvenile source. However…
Zircon ages defining deposition of the Palaeoproterozoic Soutpansberg Group and further evidence for Eoarchaean crust in South Africa
2014
Abstract The precise age of the volcano-sedimentary Soutpansberg Group, which was deposited upon the Palala shear belt separating the Kaapvaal Craton from the Central Zone of the Limpopo Belt, has long been debated. The Soutpansberg Group is subdivided into a lower and upper succession, which are separated from each other by a prominent regional unconformity. Zircon grains from silicic pyroclastic rocks of both successions were investigated in order to constrain the timing of deposition of the Soutpansberg Group rocks. The zircon grains of the investigated samples from both successions yield a wide range of ages, spanning from 1831 to 3937 Ma. Most of the zircon grains have rounded shapes, …
Generation of early Archaean grey gneisses through melting of older crust in the eastern Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa
2014
Abstract We report zircon ages, Hf-in-zircon isotopes as well as whole-rock geochemistry and Hf–Nd isotopic systematics for Palaeoarchaean grey gneisses of the Ancient Gneiss Complex of Swaziland, the oldest components of the Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa. The Hf-in-zircon isotopic compositions in these compositionally heterogeneous, multicomponent, migmatitic gneisses are highly variable, even in the oldest zircons dating back to 3.66 Ga, suggesting growth of zircon from melts representing a mix of juvenile and anatectic material derived from differentiated continental crust of Eoarchean to late Hadean age. In contrast, the initial Nd and Hf whole-rock isotopic compositions are frequent…
Mafic and ultramafic enclaves in Ustica Island lavas: Inferences on composition of lower crust and deep magmatic processes
2005
Abstract Ustica Island, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, is constituted of Quaternary alkaline volcanics. A variety of enclaves representative of deep to supra-crustal settings were recently found in a hawaiitic lava flow. Enclaves consist of: (i) Ultramafic meta-cumulates, i.e. clinopyroxenites and wherlites characterized by variably deformed porphyroclastic to granoblastic textures. (ii) Mafic cumulates, i.e. gabbros (± amphibole) and troctolites, the first often characterized by frequent amphibole breakdown coronas (olivine + Ti-augite + plagioclase + magnetite + ilmenite + rhonite) in response to an H 2 O decrease during the ascent, while the troctolites interpreted as meta-cumulates. (iii) Mic…
Continental extension: From core complexes to rigid block faulting
2005
Extension of overthickened continental crust is commonly characterized by an early core complex stage of extension followed by a later stage of crustal-scale rigid block faulting. These two stages are clearly recognized during the extensional destruction of the Alpine orogen in northeast Corsica, where rigid block faulting overprinting core complex formation eventually led to crustal separation and the formation of a new oceanic backarc basin (the Ligurian Sea). Here we investigate the geodynamic evolution of continental extension by using a novel, fully coupled thermomechanical numerical model of the continental crust. We consider that the dynamic evolution is governed by fault weakening, …
Metamorphic and structural evolution of the Maures-Tanneron massif (SE Variscan chain): evidence of doming along a transpressional margin
2009
AbstractThe Variscan metamorphic and structural evolution of the Maures-Tanneron massif is divided in two main post-collisional phases: (1) a MP-MT regional gradient is developed during nappe-piling process between 350 and 320 Ma, followed by (2) LP-HT regional gradient coeval with doming between 320 and 300 Ma. During this late phase, the tectonic context was dominated by E-W shortening, which produced crustal-scale upright folds and major strike-slip displacement along trans-crustal faults. Symmetric extensional fabrics are observed on the limbs of crustal-scale anticlines, and are ascribed to local accommodation of lower crust exhumation. Heat and magma transfer are allowed by these larg…
Laminar Micrite Crusts and Associated Foreslope Processes, Red Sea
1991
ABSTRACT Forereef slopes in the Red Sea of Sudan exhibit a uniform biozonation that is independent from the topography of the slopes. Below - 120 m, ledges protrude horizontally from sleep cliffs of barrier reefs and atolls as well as from patches of in situ lithified slope sediment on inclined fringing reef slopes. Free surfaces and cavities within these ledges are partly covered by laminar micrite crusts of 7-20 mm thickness. The ledges are formed by an organic framework of living azooxanthellate corals, bryozoans, serpulids and fossil red algae. They are affected by repeated episodes of boring, infilling, and cementation which obliterate much of the original fabric. Concomitant cementati…
Minor and trace elements in olivines as probes into early igneous and mantle melting processes
2013
Abstract The trace element composition of olivine is a rapidly growing research area that has several applications of great potential. Mantle olivines can be distinguished from volcanic olivines by lower concentrations of Ca (