Accelerating exhumation in the Eocene North American Cordilleran hinterland: Implications from detrital zircon (U-Th)/(He-Pb) double dating

2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 198-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Canada ◽  
Elizabeth J. Cassel ◽  
Daniel F. Stockli ◽  
M. Elliot Smith ◽  
Brian R. Jicha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
Extensional Faulting ◽  
Lag Times ◽  
Metamorphic Core

AbstractBasins in orogenic hinterlands are directly coupled to crustal thickening and extension through landscape processes and preserve records of deformation that are unavailable in footwall rocks. Following prolonged late Mesozoic–early Cenozoic crustal thickening and plateau construction, the hinterland of the Sevier orogen of western North America underwent late Cenozoic extension and formation of metamorphic core complexes. While the North American Cordillera is one of Earth’s best-studied orogens, estimates for the spatial and temporal patterns of initial extensional faulting differ greatly and thus limit understanding of potential drivers for deformation. We employed (U-Th)/(He-Pb) double dating of detrital zircon and (U-Th)/He thermochronology of detrital apatite from precisely dated Paleogene terrestrial strata to quantify the timing and magnitude of exhumation and explore the linkages between tectonic unroofing and basin evolution in northeastern Nevada. We determined sediment provenance and lag time evolution (i.e., the time between cooling and deposition, which is a measure of upper-crustal exhumation) during an 8 m.y. time span of deposition within the Eocene Elko Basin. Fluvial strata deposited between 49 and 45 Ma yielded Precambrian (U-Th)/He zircon cooling ages (ZHe) with 105–740 m.y. lag times dominated by unreset detrital ages, suggesting limited exhumation and Proterozoic through early Eocene sediment burial (<4–6 km) across the region. Minimum nonvolcanic detrital ZHe lag times decreased to <100 m.y. in 45–43 Ma strata and to <10 m.y. in 43–41 Ma strata, illustrating progressive and rapid hinterland unroofing in Eocene time. Detrital apatite (U-Th)/He ages present in ca. 44 and 39 Ma strata record Eocene cooling ages with 1–20 m.y. lag times. These data reflect acceleration of basement exhumation rates by >1 km/m.y., indicative of rapid, large-magnitude extensional faulting and metamorphic core complex formation. Contemporaneous with this acceleration of hinterland exhumation, syntectonic freshwater lakes developed in the hanging wall of the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex at ca. 43 Ma. Volcanism driven by Farallon slab removal migrated southward across northeastern Nevada, resulting in voluminous rhyolitic eruptions at 41.5 and 40.1 Ma, and marking the abrupt end of fluvial and lacustrine deposition across much of the Elko Basin. Thermal and rheologic weakening of the lithosphere and/or partial slab removal likely initiated extensional deformation, rapidly unroofing deeper crustal levels. We attribute the observed acceleration in exhumation, expansion of sedimentary basins, and migrating volcanism across the middle Eocene to record the thermal and isostatic effects of Farallon slab rollback and subsequent removal of the lowermost mantle lithosphere.

scholarly journals Jurassic–Cenozoic tectonics of the Pequop Mountains, NE Nevada, in the North American Cordillera hinterland

Geosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew V. Zuza ◽  
Christopher D. Henry ◽  
Seth Dee ◽  
Charles H. Thorman ◽  
Matthew T. Heizler
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Normal Faulting ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
The West ◽  
North American Cordillera ◽  
The North ◽  
Metamorphic Core

The Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range–Wood Hills–Pequop Mountains (REWP) metamorphic core complex, northeast Nevada, exposes a record of Mesozoic contraction and Cenozoic extension in the hinterland of the North American Cordillera. The timing, magnitude, and style of crustal thickening and succeeding crustal thinning have long been debated. The Pequop Mountains, comprising Neoproterozoic through Triassic strata, are the least deformed part of this composite metamorphic core complex, compared to the migmatitic and mylonitized ranges to the west, and provide the clearest field relationships for the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic evolution. New field, structural, geochronologic, and thermochronological observations based on 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping of the northern Pequop Mountains provide insights into the multi-stage tectonic history of the REWP. Polyphase cooling and reheating of the middle-upper crust was tracked over the range of <100 °C to 450 °C via novel 40Ar/39Ar multi-diffusion domain modeling of muscovite and K-feldspar and apatite fission-track dating. Important new observations and interpretations include: (1) crosscutting field relationships show that most of the contractional deformation in this region occurred just prior to, or during, the Middle-Late Jurassic Elko orogeny (ca. 170–157 Ma), with negligible Cretaceous shortening; (2) temperature-depth data rule out deep burial of Paleozoic stratigraphy, thus refuting models that incorporate large cryptic overthrust sheets; (3) Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene intrusions and associated thermal pulses metamorphosed the lower Paleozoic–Proterozoic rocks, and various thermochronometers record conductive cooling near original stratigraphic depths; (4) east-draining paleovalleys with ~1–1.5 km relief incised the region before ca. 41 Ma and were filled by 41–39.5 Ma volcanic rocks; and (5) low-angle normal faulting initiated after the Eocene, possibly as early as the late Oligocene, although basin-generating extension from high-angle normal faulting began in the middle Miocene. Observed Jurassic shortening is coeval with structures in the Luning-Fencemaker thrust belt to the west, and other strain documented across central-east Nevada and Utah, suggesting ~100 km Middle-Late Jurassic shortening across the Sierra Nevada retroarc. This phase of deformation correlates with terrane accretion in the Sierran forearc, increased North American–Farallon convergence rates, and enhanced Jurassic Sierran arc magmatism. Although spatially variable, the Cordilleran hinterland and the high plateau that developed across it (i.e., the hypothesized Nevadaplano) involved a dynamic pulsed evolution with significant phases of both Middle-Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous contractional deformation. Collapse long postdated all of this contraction. This complex geologic history set the stage for the Carlin-type gold deposit at Long Canyon, located along the eastern flank of the Pequop Mountains, and may provide important clues for future exploration.

The Sudetes as a Palaeozoic orogen in central Europe

1997 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 691-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. ŻELAŹNIEWICZ
Keyword(s):  
Early Carboniferous ◽  
Fault Zones ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Extensional Faulting ◽  
Granitoid Intrusions ◽  
Rifted Margin ◽  
Metamorphic Core

Two metasedimentary complexes are exposed in the Sudetes Mountains of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. Succession I comprises pelites and greywackes of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian age, deformed and metamorphosed prior to intrusion by S-type porphyritic granites at 515–480 Ma. Succession II comprises a sandstone–mudstone–chert sequence and turbidite sequence of Ordovician–early Carboniferous age accompanied by bimodal volcanogenic rocks. Both successions were intruded by late- to post-orogenic granitoid intrusions at 340–300 Ma. The sedimentary rocks of succession II show increasing maturity until mid–late Devonian times. Inversion of the basins, commencing in late Devonian–early Carboniferous times, was reflected in the emplacement of turbidites and olistostromes, concurrent with the uplift of a metamorphic core complex of succession I rocks. The original stratigraphic order of the successions was maintained, thus crustal imbrication was not significant. Instead, extensional faulting became important, followed by transpression on almost orthogonal fault zones, resulting in the presently observed juxtaposition of crustal blocks. The Palaeozoic sequences developed in mainly ensialic basins on Cadomian and older basement, parts of which became strongly reworked (2.6 to 0.54 Ga zircon inheritance ages) and incorporated into the Palaeozoic structures. The orogen developed either on the rifted margin of peri-Gondwana or on a rifted-away fragment of pre-Baltica. The Sudetic section of the Variscan Orogen is of broadly Alpine style, with significant basement involvement, but apparently without evidence for long-lived subduction of wide oceans or the accretion of numerous exotic terranes.

P–T–t path for the lower plate of the Eocene Tatla Lake metamorphic core complex, southwestern Intermontane Belt, British Columbia

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 972-983 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Friedman
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Lower Plate ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
T Path ◽  
C 50 ◽  
Metamorphic Core

The Tatla Lake metamorphic complex (TLMC) is a metamorphic core complex located along the western edge of the Intermontane Belt in southwestern interior British Columbia. Low- to moderate-angle normal faults separate lower plate greenschist- and amphibolite-grade, highly strained, commonly mylonitic rocks from unstrained to weakly deformed strata of the upper plate. The lower plate is divided into a core of granoblastic gneiss and migmatitic tonalite and an overlying, 1–2.5+ km thick mylonitic package called the ductilely sheared assemblage (DSA). Amphibolite-grade metamorphism of the gneissic core (Mc) largely accompanied the development and folding of gneissic layering (ca. 107–79 Ma). Eocene (ca. 55–47 Ma) fabric and mineral assemblages in the DSA (Ms) obscure any earlier history. Three metamorphic zones are observed within southern DSA metapelites with increasing structural depth: chlorite–biotite, garnet–staurolite, and garnet–staurolite–kyanite–sillimanite. The middle zone is about 300 m thick; the latter zone is now about 4 km below low-grade upper plate rocks, indicating late- or post-Ds metamorphic omission. DSA P–T conditions are calculated with the garnet–biotite thermometer and garnet–Al2SiO5–quartz–plagioclase (GASP) and total Al in hornblende barometers. Southern DSA metapelites record Eocene Ms conditions of 480–619 °C (± 50 °C), generally increasing with depth. One sample gave a calculated P–T of 0.72 ± 0.15 GPa and 500 ± 50 °C. P–T data from this area suggest that up to 10 km of structural section may be missing. Zoned garnet (pre-Ds) core to rim GASP pressures of 0.70–0.36 ± 0.15 GPa, for an outcrop-sized pelitic xenolith within a Late Cretaceous tonalitic body (U–Pb: 71 Ma) in the northwestern DSA, record its ascent during pluton emplacement and subsequent Eocene tectonic uplift. A total Al in hornblende crystallization pressure of 0.54 ± 0.1 GPa was calculated for the surrounding body. Biotite and hornblende K–Ar dates of 53.4–45.6 Ma for DSA and gneissic core rocks record cooling of the lower plate through the 530–280 °C (± 40 °C) interval. Mc metamorphism in the gneissic core is thought to have developed in response to crustal thickening and compression, beneath a regional mid-Cretaceous thrust belt. Characteristics of Eocene Ms metamorphism in the DSA, such as truncated and thinned metamorphic zones, are consistent with development during extensional tectonic exhumation of the lower plate.

scholarly journals Determining the source of placer gold in the Anaconda metamorphic core complex supradetachment basin using detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology, western Montana, USA

Geosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caden J. Howlett ◽  
Andrew K. Laskowski
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Gold Deposition ◽  
Isotopic Data ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
Gold Placer ◽  
Placer Deposits ◽  
Metamorphic Core

Despite the widespread occurrence and economic significance of gold placer deposits, modern provenance studies of placer sediments remain largely qualitative. This study applies detrital zircon (DZ) geochronology to determine the source of zircon in placer deposits. We then evaluate the provenance of the zircon to assess whether the gold might have been derived from the same sources, thereby providing a case study of the use of DZ geochronology applied to placers. We present a new set of DZ U-Pb ages (n = 1058) and Lu-Hf (n = 61) isotopic data from four placer deposit samples collected from the Pioneer District of western Montana (USA). Each of the four samples yielded similar age spectra, with a range of U-Pb ages between 3000 and 25 Ma. We interpret that ≥250 Ma zircons were recycled from the Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup, Paleozoic–Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, and the Upper Creta­ceous–Paleocene Beaverhead Group. Our 237 DZ U-Pb ages ≤250 Ma reveal two prominent age-probability peaks centered at ca. 69 Ma and ca. 26 Ma, which we interpret to record first-cycle derivation from the Royal stock and nearby Dillon Volcanics, respectively. We evaluate these data using an inverse Monte Carlo DZ unmixing model that calculates relative contributions from plausible source units, determining a 12% contribution from the Royal stock and a 43% contribution from the Beaverhead Group. A current absence of the Beaverhead Group in the hypothesized source region suggests complete erosion of the unit into the placer-bearing basin. Detrital zircon geochronology, Hf isotopic data, and the unmixing mod­eling results offer the first zircon-based support for previous interpretations that the Late Cretaceous Royal stock precipitated gold along its contact with overlying Proterozoic–Mesozoic sedimentary strata. Subsequent exhuma­tion and erosion of the lode source led to gold deposition in the Anaconda metamorphic core complex supradetachment basin during the late Oligo­cene–late Miocene. The worldwide occurrence of gold placer deposits with unknown source areas provides abundant opportunity to apply these tech­niques elsewhere.

scholarly journals Exhumation of the Coyote Mountains Metamorphic Core Complex (Arizona): Implications for Orogenic Collapse of the Southern North American Cordillera

Tectonics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaël Gottardi ◽  
Ryan McAleer ◽  
Gabriele Casale ◽  
Megan Borel ◽  
Alexander Iriondo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
Orogenic Collapse ◽  
North American Cordillera ◽  
Metamorphic Core

scholarly journals Post-peak Evolution of the Muskoka Domain, Western Grenville Province: Ductile Detachment Zone in a Crustal-scale Metamorphic Core Complex

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby Rivers ◽  
Walfried Schwerdtner
Keyword(s):  
Granulite Facies ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Gneiss Complex ◽  
Crustal Thinning ◽  
Detachment Zone ◽  
Metamorphic Core

The Ottawa River Gneiss Complex (ORGC) in the western Grenville Province of Ontario and Quebec is interpreted as the exhumed mid-crustal core of a large metamorphic core complex. This paper concerns the post-peak evolution of the Muskoka domain, the highest structural level in the southern ORGC that is largely composed of amphibolite-facies straight gneiss derived from retrogressed granulite-facies precursors. It is argued that retrogression and high strain occurred during orogenic collapse and that the Muskoka domain acted as the ductile detachment zone between two stronger crustal units, the underlying granulite-facies core known as the Algonquin domain and the overlying lower grade cover comprising the Composite Arc Belt. Formation of the metamorphic core complex followed Ottawan crustal thickening, peak metamorphism and possible channel flow, and took place in a regime of crustal thinning and gravitational collapse in which the cool brittle–ductile upper crust underwent megaboudinage and the underlying hot ductile mid crust flowed into the intervening megaboudin neck regions. Post-peak crustal thinning in the Muskoka domain began under suprasolidus conditions, was facilitated by widespread retrogression, and was heterogeneous, perhaps attaining ~90% locally. It was associated with a range of ductile, high-temperature extensional structures including multi-order boudinage and associated extensional bending folds, and a regional system of extension-dominated transtensional cross-folds. These ductile structures were followed by brittle–ductile fault propagation folding at higher crustal level after the gneiss complex was substantially exhumed and cooled. Collectively the data record ~60 m.y. of post-peak extension on the margin of an exceptionally large metamorphic core complex in which the ductile detachment zone has a true thickness of ~7 km. The large scale of the core complex is consistent with the deep level of erosion, and the long duration of extensional collapse is compatible with double thickness crust at the metamorphic peak, the presence of abundant leucosome in the mid crust and widespread fluid-fluxed retrogression, collectively pointing to the important role of core complexes in crustal cooling after the peak of the Grenvillian Orogeny.RÉSUMÉLe complexe gneissique de la rivière des Outaouais (ORGC) dans la portion ouest de la Province de Grenville au Québec et en Ontario est interprété comme le cœur d’un grand complexe métamorphique à coeur de noyau. Le présent article porte sur l’évolution post-pic du domaine de Muskoka, soit le niveau structural le plus élevé de l’ORGC composé en grande partie d’orthogneiss au faciès amphibolite dérivés de précurseurs au faciès granulite. Nous soutenons que la rétromorphose et les grandes déformations se sont produites durant l’effondrement orogénique et que le domaine de Muskoka en a été une zone de détachement ductile entre deux unités crustales plus résistantes, le cœur au faciès granulite sous-jacent étant le domaine Algonquin, et la chapeau sus-jacent à plus faible grade de métamorphisme comprenant le Ceinture d’Arc Composite. La formation du complexe métamorphique à coeur de noyau est survenue après l’épaississement crustale ottavien, le pic métamorphique et le possible flux en chenal, et s’est produit en régime d’amincissement crustal et d’effondrement gravitationnel au cours duquel la croûte supérieure refroidie a subit un mégaboudinage et où la croûte moyenne chaude et ductile sous-jacente a flué dans les régions entre les mégaboudins. L’amincissement crustale post-pic dans le domaine de Muskoka, qui a débuté en conditions suprasolidus, a été facilité par une rétromorphose généralisée, hétérogène, atteignant à peu près 90 % par endroits. Celle-ci a été associée avec une gamme de structures d’extension ductiles de haute température, incluant du boudinage de plusieurs ordres de grandeur et de plis de flexure d’extension, ainsi qu’un système régional de plis croisés d’origine transtensionnelle. À ces structures ductiles a succédé une phase de plissement de propagation de failles cassantes à ductiles à un plus haut niveau crustal, après que le complexe gneissique ait été exhumé et se soit refroidi. Prises ensemble, les données indiquent une extension post-pic sur la marge d’un complexe métamorphique à coeur de noyau exceptionnellement grand aux environs de 60 m.y. et dans laquelle la zone de détachement montre une épaisseur véritable d’environ 7 km. La grandeur de l’échelle du complexe métamorphique à coeur de noyau concorde avec le fort niveau d’érosion, et la grande durée de l’effondrement d’extension est compatible avec une croûte de double épaisseur au pic de métamorphisme, la présence de leucosomes abondants dans la croûte moyenne et d’une rétromorphose à flux fluidique généralisée, l’ensemble indiquant l’importance du rôle des complexes métamorphiques à coeur de noyau dans le refroidissement de la croûte après le pic de l’orogenèse grenvillienne.

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