Geology and U–Pb geochronology of the Kipawa Syenite Complex — a thrust related alkaline pluton — and adjacent rocks in the Grenville Province of western Quebec

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
O van Breemen ◽  
K L Currie

The Kipawa Syenite Complex, a thin, folded sheet of amphibole syenite, quartz syenite and minor nepheline syenite, lies along a west-vergent thrust separating a lower slice comprising the Kikwissi granodiorite and biotite tonalite dated at 2717 +15–11 Ma, and unconformably overlying metasedimentary rocks from an overlying slice containing the Red Pine Chute orthogneiss, an alkali granite gneiss, and the Mattawa Quartzite. The syenite complex, dated at 1033 ± 3 Ma, lies within the lower slice but has metasomatically altered the overlying slice. Texturally guided U–Pb spot analyses on partially metasomatised zircons from the alkali granite gneiss yield a cluster of 207Pb/206Pb ages at 1389 ± 8 Ma, interpreted as the time of igneous crystallization and four ages overlapping the time of syenite emplacement, interpreted as in situ, metasomatic growth. The highest structural slice comprises garnet amphibolite separated from lower slices by the Allochthon Boundary Thrust. Metamorphic grade increases upward from greenschist grade in the biotite tonalite to amphibolite grade (690 °C, 9 kbar (1 kbar = 100 MPa)) at the lower boundary of the alkali granite. Emplacement of the Kipawa Syenite Complex took place after assembly of the thrust stack had begun and after emplacement of the allochthon or hot slab responsible for the inverted metamorphic gradient. Origin of the syenite is tentatively ascribed to anatexis of material metasomatized by flow of alkaline solutions along a major shear surface. Crystallization of new zircon in the margins of the syenite shows that metasomatism continued from ca. 1035 to 990 Ma, redistributing alkalies, fluorine, rare-earth elements and zirconium.

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1627-1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Turek ◽  
R. N. Robinson

Precambrian basement in the Windsor–Chatham–Sarnia area is covered by Paleozoic rocks that are up to 1300 m thick. The basement surface is characterized by a northeast–southwest arch system with a relief of about 350 m. Extensive oil and gas drilling has penetrated and sampled this basement, and an examination of core and chip samples from 133 holes and an assessment of the magnetic anomaly map of the area have been used to produce a lithologic map of the Precambrian basement. The predominant rocks are granite gneisses and syenite gneisses but also significant are gabbros, granodiorite gneisses, and metasedimentary rocks. The average foliation dips 50° and is inferred to have a northeasterly trend. The Precambrian basement has been regarded as part of the Grenville Province. An apparent Rb–Sr whole rock isochron, for predominantly meta-igneous rocks, yields an age of 1560 ± 140 Ma. This we interpret as pre-Grenvillian, surviving the later imprint of the Grenvillian Orogeny. Points excluded from the isochron register ages of 1830, 915, and 670 Ma, and can be interpreted as geologically meaningful.


1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 1773-1782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuch-Ning Shieh ◽  
Henry P. Schwarcz

The average 18O/16O ratios of the major rock types of the surface crystalline rocks in different parts of the Canadian Precambrian Shield have been determined, using 47 composite samples prepared from 2221 individual rock specimens. The sampling areas include Baffin Island, northern and southwestern Quebec, Battle Harbour – Cartwright, northern District of Keewatin, Fort Enterprise, Snowbird Lake, Kasmere Lake, and Saskatchewan, covering approximately 1 400 000 km2. The granitic rocks from the Superior, Slave, and Churchill Provinces vary only slightly from region to region (δ18O = 6.9–8.4‰) and are significantly lower in 18O than similar rock types from the younger Grenville Province (δ = 9.2–10.0‰). The sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks have δ18O = 9.0–11.7‰ and hence are considerably lower than their Phanerozoic equivalents, possibly reflecting the presence of a high percentage of little-altered igneous rock detritus in the original sediments. The basic rocks in most regions fall within a δ18O range of 6.8–7.6‰, except in northern and southwestern Quebec where the δ-values are abnormally high (8.5–8.9‰). The overall average 18O/16O ratio of the surface crystalline rocks of the Canadian Shield is estimated to be 8.0‰, which represents an enrichment with respect to probable mantle derived starting materials by about 2‰.


2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 291-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Martignole ◽  
A J Calvert ◽  
R Friedman ◽  
P Reynolds

Results of deep seismic reflection survey along a 375 km long transect of the Grenville Province in western Quebec are combined with a review of geological observations and published isotopic ages. The seismic profile offers a remarkably clear image of the crust-mantle boundary and a good definition of the various crustal blocks. Crust about 44 km thick beneath the Grenville Front zone thins abruptly to ca. 36 km southeastward, perhaps the result of extension on southeast-dipping surfaces extending to the Moho. Other zones of relatively thin crust, although less pronounced, occur where Proterozoic crust overlies Archean crust, and beneath the Morin anorthosite complex. The thickest crust is found at the extreme southeast of the transect, east of the Morin anorthosite. From northwest to southeast, three main crustal subdivisions are (1) deformed Archean rocks with southeast-dipping reflectors in the Grenville Front zone, (2) an Archean parautochthon with northwest-dipping reflectors extending to the lower crust, and (3) an overlying three-layer crust interpreted as accreted Proterozoic terranes. The boundary between (2) and (3) is a major, southeast-dipping, crustal-scale ramp (Baskatong ramp) interpreted to have accommodated strain during and after accretion. U-Pb and Pb-Pb ages on detrital zircons show that metasedimentary rocks of the allochthons (Mont-Laurier, Réservoir Cabonga, and Lac Dumoine terranes) range from Archean to as young as 1.21 Ga. A single zone with 1.4 Ga old Sm-Nd model ages appears to lack Archean components and may be considered as a fragment of juvenile Mesoproterozoic crust pinched in a shear zone (Renzy shear zone) that could be raised to the status of terrane (Renzy terrane). In the allochthons, U-Pb ages of metamorphic zircon and monazite cluster around 1.17 Ga (Mont-Laurier and Réservoir Cabonga terrane) and 1.07 Ga (Renzy and Lac Dumoine terrane) and are interpreted to record late and post-accretion crustal reworking, a common feature of the Grenville orogen. A final high-grade metamorphic event (ca. 1.0 Ga) documented only in the parautochthon and the Grenville Front zone records large-scale, piggyback-style thrusting of allochthonous slabs onto the parautochthon. The age of transcurrent displacement following peak metamorphism affecting both the allochthons and the parautochthon decreases northwestward from 1.07 to 1.00 Ga. Dating thus shows that Grenvillian deformation in western Quebec occurred in pulses over an interval of 180 million years, with a tendency to propagate from the inner part of the orogen toward the Grenville Front. Reworked migmatites from the parautochthon cooled from the ca. 1.0 Ga peak of metamorphism through about 450°C (Ar closure in hornblende) at ca. 0.96 Ga with calculated cooling rates of about 6°C per million years, and unroofing rates of 0.33 km per million years. The cooling-unroofing history of the allochthons is not so straightforward, probably due to tectonic disturbances related to allochthon emplacement. Cooling through 450°C occurred between 1.04 and 1.01 Ga, at least 50 million years earlier than cooling in the parautochthon; this contrast agrees with the northwestward propagation of the orogen.


It is suggested that the Helikian (1650-1000 million years (Ma) ago) evolution of the Grenville Province in the Canadian Shield was marked by three events: emplacement of anorthosites around 1450-1500 Ma ago, rifting associated with opening of a proto-Atlantic ocean between 1200 and 1300 Ma ago, and continental collision responsible for the Grenvillian ‘orogeny’ about 1100-1000 Ma ago. Emplacement of rocks of the anorthosite suite (anorthosites and adamellites or mangerites) into continental crust was accompanied by formation of aureoles in the granulite facies. The Grenville Group was deposited in the southern part of the Province between 1300 and 1200 Ma ago and comprises marbles, clastic metasedimentary rocks and volcanics. It occupies a roughly triangular area limited on the northwest by the Bancroft—Renfrew lineament and on the southeast by the Chibougamau—Gatineau lineament. It is thought to have been accumulated in an aulacogen that would have developed along a fracture zone separating two basement blocks. The Grenvillian thermotectonic event may represent a Tibetan continental collision in the sense of Burke & Dewey. The suture zone would now be hidden under the Appalachians. Collision would cause reactivation of continental crust and renewed movement on pre-existing lineaments. The east—central part of the Grenville Province appears to have been more intensively reactivated than the western part.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.34) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin ◽  
Musa Garba Abdullahi ◽  
Mohd Hariri Arifin ◽  
Roslan Umar ◽  
Muhammad Hafiz Md Saad ◽  
...  

This article investigated the general compositions of the areas (the road) including the geology, mineralogy, and geochemistry to explore the reason for the road failure. The zone is underlain basement (storm cellar) and sedimentary rocks of different textures, mineralogy, and geochemistry. The results implies that the areas that is most stable along the road portions is underlain by the granite-gneiss, granites, amphibole schist and quartz, schist and small sandstone while portions with the failures are underlain by mica schist, phyllite, and coarse-grained granite. It is apparently sure from this study that poor quality metasedimentary rocks constitute the formation of the failed portions. However, the high numbers of the sediment and sandstone present in the area that can easily be weathered due to the climate variation have increased the failure. In conclusion, the result will help the engineers during reconstruction of these parts need to be excavating deeply and replace with granite-gneiss, granites, amphibole schist and quartz for better result.  


Geosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1240-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.P. Regan ◽  
G.J. Walsh ◽  
M.L. Williams ◽  
J.R. Chiarenzelli ◽  
M. Toft ◽  
...  

Abstract Extensional deformation in the lower to middle continental crust is increasingly recognized and shown to have significant impact on crustal architecture, magma emplacement, fluid flow, and ore deposits. Application of the concept of extensional strain to ancient orogenic systems, like the Grenville province of eastern North America, has helped decipher the structural evolution of these regions. The Marcy massif is a ∼3000 km2 Mesoproterozoic anorthosite batholith in the Adirondack Mountains (New York, USA) of the southern Grenville province. Bedrock geology mapping at 1:24,000 scale paired with characterization of bedrock exposed by recent landslides provides a glimpse into the structural architecture of the massif and its margin. New data demonstrate granulite- to amphibolite-facies deformational fabrics parallel the margin of the batholith, and that the Marcy massif is draped by a southeast-directed detachment zone. Within the massif, strain is localized into mutually offsetting conjugate shear zones with antithetic kinematic indicators. These relationships indicate that strain was coaxial within the Marcy massif, and that subsimple shear components of strain were partitioned along its margin. In situ U–Th–total Pb monazite analysis shows that deformation around and over the Marcy massif occurred from 1070 to 1060 Ma during granulite-facies metamorphism, and monazite from all samples record evidence for fluid-mediated dissolution reprecipitation from 1050 to 980 Ma. We interpret that rocks cooled isobarically after accretionary orogenesis and emplacement of the anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite plutonic suite at ca. 1160–1140 Ma. Gravitational collapse during the Ottawan phase of the Grenville orogeny initiated along a southeast-directed detachment zone (Marcy massif detachment zone), which accommodated intrusion of the Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, and facilitated substantial fluid flow that catalyzed the formation of major ore deposits in the Adirondack Highlands.


1975 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1175-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Van Schmus ◽  
K. D. Card ◽  
K. L. Harrower

The geology of the buried Precambrian basement under Manitoulin Island in northern Lake Huron, Ontario, has been re-evaluated on the basis of aeromagnetic data, well cuttings, core samples, and rubidium–strontium and uranium–lead geochronologic data on some of the subsurface samples. We conclude that the northern half of the island is underlain in part by Huronian metasedimentary rocks, but that these are absent from the southern part of the island, which is underlain by granitic, gneissic, and metavolcanic rocks. Granitic and gneissic rocks are also present under the northern half of the island.Geochronologic data show that rocks underlying major positive aeromagnetic anomalies are quartz-monzonitic composite plutons which are about 1500 ± 20 m.y. old. Surrounding metasedimentary. gneissic, and granitic rocks are at least 1700 m.y. old. No evidence was found for extrapolation of the pre-Huroman Archean basement beneath Manitoulin Island; if it is present it has been affected by younger metamorphic overprinting.The south west ward extension of the boundary zone between the Grenville Province and rocks to the west can he traced along the east end of Manitoulin Island on the basis of aeromagnetic data.


1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardolph Wasteneys ◽  
James McLelland ◽  
Sydney Lumbers

New high-precision, single-grain dating of leucogranites from the Adirondack Lowlands, dated previously by multigrain zircon methods at ca. 1416 Ma (Wellesley Island) and ca. 1285-1230 Ma (Hyde School Gneiss), has yielded U-Pb zircon ages of ca. 1172 Ma, identical to that of Rockport granite of the Frontenac terrane. In addition, sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon dating of the intrusive Antwerp-Rossie suite in the Adirondack Lowlands indicates a maximum emplacement age of ca. 1207+26-11 Ma which fixes a minimum age for deposition of regional metasedimentary rocks that it crosscuts. These results remove apparent chronological discrepancies across the St. Lawrence River, thus expanding the significance of the Rockport granite and Hyde School Gneiss and requiring modification of plate-tectonic models for the Central Metasedimentary Belt and Adirondack Mountains in the interval ca. 1350-1125 Ma.


1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Indares ◽  
J. Martignole

The tectono-metamorphic history of polycyclic "grey gneisses" located in the central Grenville Province of western Quebec has been constrained along a transect perpendicular to the length of the Grenville Orogen. Two terranes, the Réservoir Dozois terrane (RDT) and the Réservoir Baskatong terrane (RBT), were recognized from their structural, lithological, and geochronological characteristics. This subdivision has been confirmed by application of geothermobarometric techniques to appropriate mineral assemblages.The RDT is the southern extension of the parautochthonous belt of the Grenville Province, which in this area is composed of Archean rocks of upper-amphibolite grade. During the Grenvillian Orogeny, northwest-directed thrusting resulted in the tectonic burial of this terrane as a single tectonic unit, in contrast with the northern part of the parautochthonous belt, where several slices were imbricated against the Grenville Front. Maximum P–T conditions in the RDT (850 MPa, 720 °C) were likely Grenvillian and were followed by pervasive retrogression down to the hornblende–epidote subfacies. Locally, the RDT is overlain by remnants of thrust slices composed of monocyclic metasedimentary rocks that were deformed and metamorphosed in the granulite facies during the Grenvillian Orogeny.To the southeast, the RBT is an allochthonous or exotic terrane probably of Proterozoic age. It also experienced tectonic burial by thrusting (1030 MPa, 710 °C) during the Grenvillian Orogeny, whose thermal climax (790 °C) coincided with charnockite emplacement during decompression to 850 MPa.These two terranes are separated by a narrow strip of sheared rocks, the Renzy shear belt (RSB), which comprises mafic and ultramafic rocks subjected to high P and T (975 MPa, 745 °C). In view of the significant discrepancy between the metamorphic histories of the two terranes separated by the RSB, major tectonic transport has to be envisaged along this zone.


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