Late Archaean clastic sedimentary rocks (Shamvaian Group) of the Zimbabwe craton: first observations from the Bindura-Shamva greenstone belt

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1689-1708 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Hofmann ◽  
PH GM Dirks ◽  
H A Jelsma

The ~2.65 Ga old Shamvaian Group sedimentary rocks occur as a folded succession in the central part of the Bindura–Shamva greenstone belt of Zimbabwe. The strata comprise distinct, shear zone-bounded tectonostratigraphic units which may be stratigraphically arranged as follows. The lower part of the succession is represented by a transgressive, fining-upward sequence of alluvial fan conglomerate, overlain by fluvial braid-plain pebbly sandstone and marine shoreface sandstone. Detritus was derived from a mid-Archaean granitoid-gneiss terrain situated to the east. Sediment supply and subsidence rate must have been high. Shallow shelf sedimentation was followed by deep-water (sub-wave base) deposition by turbidity currents, giving rise to a thick succession of fine to coarse clastic material. The turbidite deposits were locally overlain by shallow-marine sandstone and fluvial to alluvial fan conglomerate. An upward increase in the abundance of intermediate and felsic volcanic clasts suggests an increase in the proximity of a volcanic terrain, such as a volcanic arc. Deposition was followed by layer-parallel shearing during thrust belt-style tectonism. Major shear zones developed preferentially along the contact between shallow- and deep-marine facies associations. Basin initiation may have been related to extensional tectonics, possibly on rifted continental crust, whereas later stages of basin history were characterized by compression, suggesting a foreland or fore-arc basin setting. Sedimentary facies, stratigraphy, and facies distribution are remarkably similar to some late Archaean sedimentary sequences of the Superior Province in Canada.

1973 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 817-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin C. Turner ◽  
Roger G. Walker

In the Archean greenstone belt at Sioux Lookout, N.W. Ontario, a lowermost belt of volcanic rocks is unconformably overlain by sediments of the Abram Group. Our mapping has subdivided the Abram Group into three formations. The lowest (Ament Bay Formation) consists of interbedded conglomerates and sandstones. The sandstones contain large-scale cross-stratification, and the conglomerates and sandstones both lack graded bedding. The depositional environment was a subaerial alluvial fan—this is the first description of such a feature based upon modern sedimentological work in Archean rocks. The Daredevil Formation conformably overlies the Ament Bay Formation, and is composed of felsic and basic tuffs, and some interbedded turbidites. The uppermost (Little Vermilion) Formation is composed entirely of turbidites.The petrography of the sand, and large clasts, in the Ament Bay Formation indicates derivation from a dominantly granodioritic terrain. Some granodiorite boulders contain greenstone xenoliths, implying intrusion of the granodiorite after formation of the lowermost belt of volcanic rocks.In a final section of the paper, we define two Archean facies associations—a Resedimented association containing turbidites, pebbly mudstones, resedimented conglomerates, and basinal black argillites; and a Continental association, containing alluvial fan deposits, and possible coastal deposits from South Africa and Australia. The facies sequence in the Sioux Lookout belt is Continental followed by Resedimented facies, the reverse of the normal geosynclinal flysch (resedimented) → molasse (continental) sequence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chawisa Phujareanchaiwon ◽  
Piyaphong Chenrai ◽  
Kasira Laitrakull

Gamma ray logs are most useful in identifying subsurface lithology and interpreting depositional environments. This study highlights the use of outcrop gamma-ray logs along with outcrop observations and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis to provide the stratigraphic framework of the organic-rich rocks of Huai Hin Lat Formation in central Thailand. The study reveals five sedimentary facies including (1) structureless sandstone, (2) structured sandstone, (3) interbedded sandstone and siltstone, (4) interbedded mudstone and siltstone and (5) calcareous mudstone. These facies can be grouped into two facies associations; mudstone-dominated and sandstone-dominated facies associations. The depositional environment was interpreted as lacustrine basin-fill subdivided into deep lacustrine environment and sublacustrine fan associated with the turbidity currents. The total gamma-log characteristics are closely related to the lithologies controlled primarily by clay mineral compositions. Whist, the use of spectral gamma-ray can reveal more details on depositional environments and conditions. In this study, U concentrations is proven to be useful in highlighting organic-rich rocks in low K and Th concentration successions due to its ability to be fixed in clay minerals and organic materials under an anoxic condition. Thus, the U spectral gamma ray is suggested to combine with conventional gamma ray log for depositional environment and recognition of organic-rich rocks.


Author(s):  
Nadja Drabon ◽  
Donald R. Lowe

One of the major challenges in early Earth geology is the interpretation of the nature of the crust and tectonic processes due to the limited exposures of Archean rocks. This question is predominantly addressed by numerical modeling, structural geology, geochemical analyses, and petrological approaches. Here we report on the reconstruction of one of the oldest, well-preserved volcano-sedimentary sequences on Earth, the 3.28−3.22 Ga Fig Tree Group in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, based on geochronology, provenance, and stratigraphy to provide new constraints on the nature of tectonic processes in the Archean. The Fig Tree basin was asymmetric and the onset of deposition varied across the greenstone belt. The Fig Tree Group is now preserved in east-west oriented bands of fault-bounded structural belts with those preserved in the southern parts of the greenstone belt showing an onset of deposition at 3.28 Ga, those in the center at 3.26 Ga, and those in the north at 3.24 Ga. Stratigraphically, the rocks display a general up-section trend from deeper to shallower-water deposition and/or from finer- to coarser-grained sedimentary rocks. Associated with this up-section stratigraphic trend, the sedimentary rocks show a change in provenance from more regionally similar to more locally variable, and an increase in felsic volcanic activity, especially toward the closure of Fig Tree deposition. The data is consistent with formation of the Fig Tree Group in a compressional tectonic setting by deposition in a foreland basin that experienced progressive accretion of crustal terranes onto a northward prograding fold-and-thrust belt.


Author(s):  
Keith Benn

ABSTRACTThe Kenogamissi complex represents a large exposure of folded Late Archaean crystalline crust exposed within the Abitibi Subprovince, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of an heterogeneous amphibolite-grade orthogneiss unit, and several generations of batholiths and plutons of tonalite, granodiorite and granite composition. Together, the various units represent granitic magmatism during the period from 2740 Ma to 2660 Ma. Structural mapping and petrographic studies were focused on the orthogneiss unit (2723 Ma), on the newly defined Roblin tonalitegranodiorite batholith (ca. 2713 Ma) and on the highly strained metavolcanic rocks within the deformation aureole that surrounds the Kenogamissi complex. Structural analysis indicates that the Kenogamissi complex was emplaced into the greenstones as a dome that caused severe flattening and recumbent F2 refolding of earlier F1 folds in the deformation aureole. Doming is interpreted to be caused by the emplacement and inflation of tonalite-granodiorite batholiths, such as the Roblin Batholith, into the actively folding Swayze greenstone belt. Continued regional folding resulted in F3 refolding of F1 and F2 in the deformation aureole. Continued regional folding also deformed and folded the Kenogamissi complex and resulted in further uplift and emplacement of the complex into the greenstone belt. The early-formed magmatic foliation and compositional layering in the Roblin Batholith were folded by F3 while the batholith was still a crystal mush, and an F3 axial-surface magmatic foliation was locally formed. Folding of the partially molten Roblin Batholith also resulted in the remobilisation of fractionated liquids into shear zones which formed on the limbs of the F3 magmatic folds. Similar structures are present in the orthogneiss unit and are interpreted to represent remobilisation of melts which intruded the orthogneiss at the time of emplacement of the Roblin Batholith. The formation of the dykes on sheared fold limbs may be attributed to increased dilatancy during localised shearing of the crystal mush. Deformation-assisted remobilisation and extraction of fractionated liquids, and the possible transport of the fractionated liquids to higher levels in the crystallising Roblin Batholith, may have played a role in its magmatic differentiation.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Zili Zhang ◽  
Xiaomin Zhu ◽  
Ruifeng Zhang ◽  
Sheng Fu ◽  
Jing Zhang

In addition to core, logging, and other previous research results, this paper determines the fault development and tectonic evolution process of the Baxian sag with the Paleogene rift stage based on 3D seismic data. The Paleogene tectonic evolution of the sag can be divided into three episodes and six evolution stages, and three types of faults are identified: intensely active normal, active normal, and weakly active normal. One first-order sequence, three second-order sequences, and fourteen third-order sequences of the Paleogene Baxian sag were created, and fifteen sequence boundaries were recognised. According to the rifting background and sedimentary facies development characteristics of each episode, five combination types of the depositional system associations were identified, including alluvial fan-fluvial and braided-delta-lacustrine in an early rifting episode, delta-lacustrine and nearshore subaqueous fan-lacustrine in the middle rifting episode, and fluvial-flood plain in the late rifting episode. Six response models of filling and the evolution process in Paleogene Baxian sag were concluded. The multi-episodes tectonic cycles of faulted lake basins resulted in complex paleogeomorphology and variable provenance supply, forming abundant sequence structure patterns and different filling and evolution processes of faulted lake basins. The stable rifting stage is favourable to form and preserve high-quality source rock, and develop various sedimentary facies and sandbody types, which is a potential area for exploration of a lithologic stratigraphic oil and gas reservoir.


1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Corfu ◽  
S. L. Jackson ◽  
R. H. Sutcliffe

The paper presents U–Pb ages for zircons of the calc-alkalic to alkalic igneous suite and associated alluvial–fluvial sedimentary rocks of the Timiskaming Group in the late Archean Abitibi greenstone belt, Superior Province. The Timiskaming Group rests unconformably on pre-2700 Ma komatiitic to calc-alkalic volcanic sequences and is the expression of the latest stages of magmatism and tectonism that shaped the greenstone belt. An age of 2685 ± 3 Ma for the Bidgood quartz porphyry, an age of about 2685–2682 Ma for a quartz–feldspar porphyry clast in a conglomerate, and ages ranging from 2686 to 2680 Ma for detrital zircons in sandstones appear to reflect an early stage in the development of the Timiskaming Group. The youngest detrital zircons in each of three sandstones at Timmins, Kirkland Lake, and south of Larder Lake define maximum ages of sedimentation at about 2679 Ma; the latter sandstone is cut by a porphyry dyke dated by titanite at [Formula: see text], identical to the 2677 ± 2 Ma age for a volcanic agglomerate of the Bear Lake Formation north of Larder Lake. Similar ages have previously been reported for syenitic to granitic plutons of the region. The dominant period of Timiskaming sedimentation and magmatism was thus 2680–2677 Ma. Xenocrystic zircons found in a porphyry and a lamprophyre dyke have ages of 2750–2720 Ma, which correspond to the ages of the oldest units in the belt, predating the volumetrically dominant ca. 2700 Ma greenstone sequences. The presence of these xenocrysts and the onlapping of the Timiskaming Group on all earlier lithotectonic units of the southern Abitibi belt support the concept that the 2700 Ma ensimatic sequences were thrust onto older assemblages during a phase of compression that culminated with the generation of tonalite and granodiorite at about 2695–2688 Ma. Published geochemical data for the Timiskaming igneous suite, notably the enrichments in large-ion lithophile elements and light rare-earth elements and the relative depletion of Nb, Ta, and Ti compare with the characteristics of suites at modern convergent settings such as the Eolian and the Banda arcs and are consistent with generation of the melts from deep metasomatized mantle in the final stages of, or after cessation of, subduction. Late- and post-Timiskaming compression caused north-directed thrusting and folding. Turbiditic sedimentary units of the Larder Lake area which locally structurally overly the alluvial–fluvial sequence and were earlier thought to be part of the Timiskaming Group, appear to be older "flyschoid" sequences, possibly correlative with sedimentary rocks deposited in the Porcupine syncline at Timmins between 2700 and 2690 Ma.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Okubo ◽  
Ricardo Lykawka ◽  
Lucas Veríssimo Warren ◽  
Julia Favoreto ◽  
Dimas Dias-Brito

<p>Carbonate rocks from the Macaé Group (Albian) represent an example of carbonate sedimentation related to the drift phase in Campos Basin. This study presents depositional features, integrating them with diagenetic and stratigraphic aspects of the Macaé Group carbonates including the upper part of the Quissamã Formation and the lower part of the Outeiro Formation. Macroscopic analyses in cores and microscopic ones in thin sections allowed the recognition of eleven sedimentary facies - nine of them corresponding to the Quissamã Formation and two of them representing the Outeiro Formation. These facies were grouped into five facies associations. Oolitic grainstones and oncolitic grainstones are interpreted to be deposited in shallow depth probably in shoals above the fair weather wave base. The interbanks between shoals were formed in less agitated waters and characterized by deposition of peloidal bioclastic packstones and wackestones representative of sedimentation in calm waters. Bioclastic packstones and oolitic packstones/wackestones represent allochthonous deposits related to the beginning of the regional drowning that occur in upper Quissamã Formation. Pithonellids wackestones and bioclastic wackestones with glauconite are related to deep water deposits, characteristics of the Outeiro Formation. Post-depositional features revealed the action of diagenetic processes as, micritization, cimentation, dissolution, compaction, dolomitization and recrystallization occurred during the eo- and mesodiagenesis phases. Vertical facies analysis suggests shallowing upward cycles stacked in a sequence progressively deeper towards the top (from the Quissamã Formation to the Outeiro Formation).</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A. Marenssi ◽  
Carlos O. Limarino ◽  
Laura J. Schencman ◽  
Patricia L. Ciccioli

ABSTRACT Two episodes of lacustrine sedimentation, separated by an erosional surface and fluvial sedimentation, took place in the southern part of the broken foreland Vinchina basin (NW Argentina) between 11 and 5 Ma. The lacustrine deposits, 768 and 740 meters thick, are recorded in the upper part of the Vinchina Formation (“Vinchina lake”) and the lower part of the Toro Formation (“Toro Negro lake”) respectively. According to sedimentological features, four sedimentary facies associations (FAs) are recognized in the lacustrine deposits: 1) thinly laminated mudstones facies association (FA 1), 2) coarsening- and thickening-upward muddy to sandy cycles (FA 2), 3) medium- to coarse-grained sandstones (FA 3), and 4) mudstones, sandstones, and oolitic limestones (FA 4). Altogether, these facies correspond to ephemeral, shallow, lacustrine systems including saline mudflats. The total thickness of each lacustrine interval, the thickness of the individual cycles and their lithology, and the overall aggradational facies arrangement suggest that both lakes developed during underfilled stages of the basin. The coarsening-upward cycles can be regarded as lacustrine parasequences representing cyclic episodes of expansion and contraction of the lake, but unlike marine parasequences these cycles do not correlate to water depth. The development of lacustrine conditions and continuous base-level rise, together with the coeval southward-directed paleoflow indicators, suggest axial drainages and that the basin was externally closed (endorheic) at that time. The large thicknesses of each lacustrine interval also points to high accommodation in the southern part of the Vinchina basin during these times. Lake filling cycles are one order of magnitude thicker than lake depth, so we postulate that subsidence (tectonic) and rise of the spill point (geomorphology) increased accommodation but not water depth. Thus, unlike marine parasequences, the analyzed coarsening-upward cycles do not correlate to water depth, but rather they are controlled by more complex basinal accommodation processes. We hypothesize that the coeval uplift of the Umango and Espinal basement block to the south, coupled with the initial doming of the Sierra de Los Colorados to the east, may have generated the damming of the southward-directed drainage and a zone of maximum accommodation, then controlling the location of the two lakes and the preservation of their thick sedimentary records. Therefore, localized accommodation was enhanced by a combination of tectonic subsidence and topographic growth. The two lacustrine intervals and the intervening fluvial deposits record changing contributions from axial to transverse drainages and different cycles of closed and open conditions in the basin. A low-frequency, closed to open and back to closed (axial to transverse and return to axial drainage) basin evolution, is envisaged by the development of the two lakes (closed stages) and the erosional surface followed by the interval of fluvial sedimentation that separates them (open stage). In addition, several high-frequency lake fluctuations (expansion–contraction) are represented by the coarsening-upward cycles within each lacustrine interval. The thick lacustrine intervals and their intermediate incision surfaces record cyclic filling and re-excavation stages and localized episodes of increased subsidence in the Vinchina basin, which seem to be a common feature of tectonically active broken foreland basins.


JOIDES drilling results provide new evidence concerning facies patterns on evolving passive margins that strengthens and extends hypotheses constructed from studies of morphology, seismic reflexion data and shallow samples on modern margins, and from field geologic studies of uplifted ancient margins. On the slopes and rise, gravity-controlled mechanisms - turbidity currents, debris flows, slides and the like - play the dominant role in sediment transport over the long term, but when clastic supplies are reduced, as for example during rapid transgressions, then oceanic sedimentation and the effects of thermohaline circulation become important. Sedimentary facies models used as the basis of unravelling tectonic complexities of some deformed margins, for example in the Mesozoic Tethys, may be too simplistic in the light of available data from modern continental margins.


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