Radiogenic isotope characteristics of the Mesoproterozoic intrusive rocks of the Nipigon Embayment, northwestern Ontario

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1111-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete Hollings ◽  
Adam Richardson ◽  
Robert A Creaser ◽  
James M Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Radiogenic Isotopes ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Magma Chambers ◽  
Pb Isotope ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Linear Arrays ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Contamination History

The ca. 1110–1120 Ma diabase sills of the Nipigon Embayment represent the oldest phase of the Midcontinent Rift recognized to date. The sills can be subdivided into five geochemically distinct suites: Nipigon, McIntyre, Inspiration, Shillabeer, and Jackfish. Sm–Nd, Rb–Sr, and Pb–Pb isotope data for the sills can be used to evaluate the source regions and emplacement histories of these sills. The εNdT values for all the sill suites are consistently negative (–0.5 to –6.6) but show coherent variations both within and between suites. The negative εNdT values can be interpreted as the result of contamination of a plume-related mantle source by older crustal material. The initial strontium (Sri) values (0.7032–0.7068) for the sills indicate that at least two distinct contaminants are required: (1) a source with strongly negative εNdT and lower Sri, likely Archean metasediment or granite, and (2) one with elevated Sri, likely sedimentary rocks of the Proterozoic Sibley Group. The Pb data for the Nipigon and Inspiration sills form distinct linear arrays consistent with variable contamination of a source comparable to that of other igneous suites of the Midcontinent Rift. The radiogenic isotopes preserve a complex contamination history best interpreted as the result of <5% contamination by a variety of Archean and Proterozoic sources. The ultramafic Jackfish sill shows the least evidence of contamination and is interpreted to have been emplaced along a crustal-scale fault with little interaction with crustal material. In contrast, the other sill suites have undergone complex contamination histories requiring variable crustal residence times and assimilation of material both at depth in large magma chambers and during emplacement.

Geochemistry of the Mesoproterozoic intrusive rocks of the Nipigon Embayment, northwestern Ontario: evaluating the earliest phases of rift development

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1087-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hart ◽  
Adam Richardson ◽  
Carole Anne MacDonald ◽  
Pete Hollings
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Geochemical Characteristics ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Olivine Gabbro ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
History Of

The intrusive rocks of the Nipigon Embayment comprise a series of four mafic to ultramafic intrusions and a number of laterally extensive diabase sills that are among the oldest expression of the ~1.1 Ga Mesoproterozoic Mid-continent Rift. New geochemical data indicate that the sills can be subdivided into five distinct groups: three mafic sills (Nipigon, Inspiration, and McIntyre diabase sills), with the Nipigon sills forming the bulk of the outcrop, and two spatially restricted ultramafic to mafic sills (Jackfish and Shillabeer sills). The latter mafic sills are typically massive, medium-grained, intergranular textured gabbros ranging in thickness from a few metres to more than 250 m. Two of the ultramafic intrusions included in this study (Disraeli and Hele) consist of a core of pyroxene peridotite with olivine gabbro along the margins. The geochemical characteristics of the ultramafic intrusions and diabase sills are consistent with plume-derived melts that have undergone subsequent fractionation and been contaminated by continental crust, likely at depth, but a few samples from the Hele and Disraeli intrusions have the characteristics of primary, uncontaminated melts that have been rapidly transported through the lithosphere with little interaction with wall rocks. The field and geochemical characteristics of the intrusions and sills are consistent with the ultramafic intrusions having been emplaced before the diabase sills and indicate that the history of the Midcontinent Rift is more complex and protracted than previously recognized.

scholarly journals Geology of the Mesoproterozoic Pillar Lake Volcanics and Inspiration Sill, Armstrong, Ontario: Evidence of Early Midcontinent Rift Magmatism in the Northwestern Nipigon Embayment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete Hollings ◽  
Mark Smyk ◽  
Wouter Bleeker ◽  
Michael A. Hamilton ◽  
Robert Cundari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Large Igneous Province ◽  
Rift System ◽  
Flood Basalts ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Igneous Province ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Midcontinent Rift System ◽  
Northern Edge

The Midcontinent Rift System of North America is a ~1.1 Ga large igneous province comprising mainly flood basalts and intrusive rocks. We present new data for the Pillar Lake Volcanics and Inspiration Sill from the northern edge of the Midcontinent Rift in the northwestern Nipigon Embayment. The Pillar Lake Volcanics comprise a ~20-40 m-thick, flat-lying sequence of mafic pillowed and massive flows, pillowed flow breccia, and hyaloclastite breccia. They are characterized by SiO2 of 52-54 wt%, TiO2 of 1.2 to 1.3 wt% and K2O of 0.9 to 1.1 wt%. They are LREE-enriched, with La/Smn of 3.0 to 4.4 with fractionated HREE (Gd/Ybn = 1.4 to 1.7). The Inspiration diabase sill is < 50 m thick and is in direct contact with the underlying Pillar Lake Volcanics. Baddeleyite and zircon data from the Inspiration Sill yield a combined U-Pb upper intercept age of 1105.6 ± 1.6 Ma. The Inspiration Sill is characterized by uniform SiO2 of 52 to 53 wt%, TiO2 of 1.1 to 1.2 and K2O of 0.9 to 1.2 wt%. Inspiration Sill samples are LREE enriched with La/Smn of 3.2 to 3.3 and fractionated HREE of (Gd/Ybn = 1.6). The Pillar Lake Volcanics are at least 1120 Ma, and perhaps as old as 1130 Ma and represent an early, thin, and restricted mafic volcanic sequence, largely preserved below the younger Inspiration Sill. The Pillar Lake Volcanics and Inspiration Sill display a marked geochemical similarity, suggesting that they may represent magmatism associated with the earliest stages of Midcontinent rifting.

scholarly journals Final-Stage Magmatic Record of Paleo-Asian Oceanic Subduction? Insights from Late Permian to Early Triassic Intrusive Rocks in the Yanbian Area, Easternmost Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 799
Author(s):  
Chao Zhang ◽  
Franz Neubauer ◽  
Zheng-Hong Liu ◽  
Fang-Hua Cui ◽  
Qing-Bin Guan
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Late Permian ◽  
The North ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Subduction Setting ◽  
T Values

This paper reports new zircon LA–ICP–MS U–Pb and Hf isotope data, and whole-rock major and trace element data for Late Permian to Early Triassic intrusive rocks in the Yanbian area, NE China. These data provide new insights into the timing of the final subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean beneath the North China Craton. The zircon U–Pb age data indicate that a suite of Late Permian to Early Triassic intrusive rocks related to subduction is present within the Yanbian area. The Late Permian intrusive rocks consist of diorites while the Early Triassic granites and hornblende gabbros constitute a geochemically bimodal igneous rock association. Furthermore, the Early Triassic granites show the geochemical characteristics of shoshonitic rocks. All the rocks are characterized by enrichment in LILEs and LREEs, and depletion in HREEs and HFSEs, suggesting they formed in a subduction setting. Zircons from the Early Triassic gabbros have εHf(t) values and TDM2 ages of +7.6 to +10.7 and 735–1022 Ma, respectively, suggesting that they formed from a primary magma generated by the partial melting of lithospheric mantle material that had been previously modified by subduction-related fluids. The Late Permian diorites have εHf(t) values and TDM2 ages of +0.5 to +9.5 and 853 to 1669 Ma, respectively, while they have high contents of Al2O3, Fe2O3, and low contents of SiO2, Cr, and Ni, indicating Late Permian diorites should derive from the mantle and are influenced by some crustal material. Early Triassic granitic rocks have a wide range of εHf(t) values and TDM2 ages of −4.8 to +9.4 and 852 to 2136 Ma, respectively. Their zircons imply that the Early Triassic granites could be mainly derived from partial melting of the crust, with minor contribution of the crustal material of an ancient crust. The Early Triassic bimodal intrusive rocks in Yanbian area, combined with the regional geologic information; therefore, record a final post-subduction extensional environment due to the break-off of the previously subducted slab.

Early history of the Midcontinent Rift inferred from geochemistry and sedimentology of the Mesoproterozoic Osler Group, northwestern Ontario

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete Hollings ◽  
Philip Fralick ◽  
Brian Cousens
Keyword(s):  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Fluvial Systems ◽  
The North ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
History Of ◽  
Group A ◽  
South Axis ◽  
Island Basalt ◽  
East West

The Mesoproterozoic 1108–1105 Ma Osler Group, a 3 km thick succession of basaltic flows and sedimentary units on the north shore of Lake Superior, is among the oldest expressions of the Midcontinent Rift. Basal sediments of the Simpson Island Formation (new name) deposited by braided fluvial systems record westward transport of debris eroded from local Archean and Proterozoic rock units. Strata deposited by this fluvial system are intercalated with, and overlain by, ocean-island basalt (OIB)-like basalts, which become increasingly contaminated up section (εNd(1100Ma) = +0.3 to –5.3). The light rare-earth element (LREE) enriched (La/Smn = 1.5–3.9) and heavy REE (HREE) fractionated (Gd/Ybn = 1.5–3.7) subaerial flows are divisible into two units that correlate with other sections of the Osler Group to the east, but simple correlations with more distant sequences are difficult. The volcanic rock dominated portion of the succession is overlain by a thin (25 m thick) conglomerate–sandstone assemblage representing southeast progradation of an alluvial fan in a semi-arid climatic setting. Clast lithologies and geochemistry indicate no extra-rift detritus was delivered from the hinterland of the fan. Various lines of evidence in both volcanic and sedimentary rocks support a scenario where early, pre-1108 Ma, subsidence along a north–south axis from the western arm of the rift to the Nipigon Embayment was replaced by subsidence along the east–west rift axis between 1108 and 1105 Ma.

Rb–Sr geochronology of the Coldwell Complex, northwestern Ontario, Canada

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1796-1801 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Garth Platt ◽  
Roger H. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Parental Magma ◽  
Initial Ratio ◽  
North Shore ◽  
The North ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Alkaline Intrusion ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Igneous Activity

The Coldwell Complex of Northwestern Ontario is North America's largest structurally and petrologically complex alkaline intrusion. Situated on the north shore of Lake Superior, it consists of at least three intrusive centres and is cross-cut by a diverse suite of coeval–cogenetic dikes. The main intrusive rocks range from gabbros to ferroaugite syenites, nepheline syenites, and quartz syenites. The dikes are predominantly lamprophyric. A seventeen point whole rock Rb–Sr isochron (MSWD 2.22) gives an age of 1044.5 ± 6.2 Ma (2σ) and an initial ratio of 0.70354 ± 0.00016 (2σ). The age is late Neohelikian and is younger than the bulk of igneous activity (Keweenawan activity) prevalent in the Lake Superior Basin during the Neohelikian. The low initial ratio indicates an upper mantle origin for the parental magma of the complex.

Geochronology, geochemistry, and geological implications of late Carboniferous – early Permian mafic and felsic intrusive rocks from Urad Zhongqi, western Inner Mongolia

2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1057-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
YINGDE WANG ◽  
FENGYUE SUN ◽  
LIANG LI ◽  
RUIHUA LI ◽  
JIAN WANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Late Carboniferous ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Early Permian ◽  
Porphyritic Granite ◽  
Intrusive Rocks

AbstractThe mafic and felsic Haertaolegai intrusions crop out in Urad Zhongqi, western Inner Mongolia and are dominated by monzogranite, porphyritic granite, and gabbroic diorite intrusions. We investigate the tectonic setting, geochronology, and anorogenic characteristics of the western Inner Mongolia through field investigation, microscopic and geochemical analyses of samples from the Haertaolegai bimodal intrusions and laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) zircon U–Pb dating of gabbroic diorite and adakitic granites. Petrographic and geochemical studies of the bimodal intrusions indicate that the gabbroic diorites formed from a primary magma generated by the partial melting of lithospheric mantle material that had previously been modified by subduction-related fluids. The felsic rocks are high-K calc-alkaline and metaluminous, have characteristics of adakitic rocks and were generated during the partial melting of juvenile crustal material. Zircon U–Pb dating indicates that the felsic portion of this pluton was emplaced during late Carboniferous – early Permian time, with the mafic portion of the pluton emplaced during early Permian time. The zircons of adamellites have ɛHf(t) values and TDM2 ages of +1.0 to +2.7 and 1032–1128 Ma, respectively, suggesting that they formed from magmas generated by partial melting of juvenile Mesoproterozoic lower crust. These data, combined with the geology of the region, indicate that the late Carboniferous – early Permian bimodal intrusive rocks in western Inner Mongolia record a transitional period from collisional compression to post-collisional extension. These results indicate that the Paleo-Asian Ocean in western Inner Mongolia closed before 300 Ma.

Subduction erosion and crustal material recycling indicated by adakites in central Tibet

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zong-Yong Yang ◽  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Lu-Lu Hao ◽  
Derek A. Wyman ◽  
Lin Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Material ◽  
Convergent Margins ◽  
Nd Isotopes ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Material Recycling ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Subducted Oceanic Crust ◽  
Subduction Erosion ◽  
Central Tibet ◽  
Qiangtang Terrane

Subduction erosion is important for crustal material recycling and is widespread in modern active convergent margins. However, such a process is rarely identified in fossil convergent systems, which casts doubt on the importance of subduction erosion through the geological record. We report on ca. 155 Ma Kangqiong (pluton) intrusive rocks of a Mesozoic magmatic arc in the southern Qiangtang terrane, central Tibet. These rocks mainly consist of trondhjemites and tonalites and are similar to slab-derived adakites with mantle-like zircon oxygen isotope compositions (δ18O = 5.2‰–5.6‰), they display more evolved Sr-Nd isotopes and higher Th/La relative to mid-oceanic ridge basalts from the Bangong-Nujiang suture, and they contain abundant amphibole and biotite. These characteristics indicate magma generation via H2O-fluxed melting of eroded forearc crust debris with subducted oceanic crust at 1.5–2.5 GPa and 700–800 °C. In addition, the intrusions are exposed &lt;20 km north of the Bangong-Nujiang suture. Given the formation of adakites, narrow arc-suture distance, migration of the Jurassic frontal arc toward the continent interior, and other independent geological archives, we suggest that the hydrated forearc crust materials were removed from the overlying plate and carried into the mantle by subduction erosion. Our study provides the first direct magmatic evidence for a subduction erosion process in pre-Cenozoic convergent systems, which confirms an important role for such processes in subduction-zone material recycling.

Interpretation of lead isotope data from zinc–lead mineralization in the northern part of the western Canadian Cordillera

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1070-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Morrow ◽  
G. L. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Lead Isotope ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Canadian Cordillera ◽  
Pb Isotope ◽  
Linear Arrays ◽  
Group Of Seven ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Devonian Shale ◽  
Linear Trends

Lead isotope data, from a group of seven zinc–lead deposits in Devonian carbonate strata of northeastern British Columbia, have very radiogenic and variable compositions and form a series of parallel linear arrays on Pb/Pb diagrams. These arrays are entirely separate from the less radiogenic and much less variable lead compositions of the Devonian shale-hosted zinc–lead deposits in the laterally adjacent Paleozoic basinal sequence, which themselves define steeply dipping linear trends. Both of these types of arrays reflect multistage histories during the evolution of Pb compositions. One stage may have been a period of residence of Pb in uranium-rich Paleozoic shale, which caused the development of the radiogenic leads that were emplaced later in the carbonate-hosted zinc–lead deposits.Unlike the Devonian carbonate-hosted deposits the "Silver-rich vein" group of deposits is homogeneous in Pb isotope composition. This contrast in the isotopic homogeneity between deposits may reflect differences in the mechanisms by which these deposits formed.

Petrology and geochemistry of volcanic rocks of the Cerro Galan caldera, northwest Argentina

1989 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Francis ◽  
R. S. J. Sparks ◽  
C. J. Hawkesworth ◽  
R. S. Thorpe ◽  
D. M. Pyle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fractional Crystallization ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Magma Chambers ◽  
Northwest Argentina ◽  
Incompatible Elements ◽  
High K ◽  
Uniform Region ◽  
Compositional Zonation

AbstractAt least 2000 km3 of relatively uniform dacitic magma have been erupted from the Cerro Galan caldera complex, northwest Argentina. Between 7 and 4 Ma ago several composite volcanoes predominantly of dacitic lava were constructed, and several large high-K dacitic ignimbrites were erupted. 2.2 Ma ago the > 1000km3 Cerro Galan ignimbrite was erupted. The predominant mineral assemblage in the ignimbrites is plagioclase-biotite-quartz-magnetite-ilmenite; the Cerro Galan ignimbrite also contains sanidine. Fe-Ti oxide minerals in the Cerro Galan ignimbrite imply temperatures of 801–816 °C. Plagioclase phenocrysts in the ignimbrites typically have rather homogeneous cores surrounded by complex, often oscillatory zoned, rims. Core compositions show a marked bimodality, with one population consisting of calcic cores surrounded by normally zoned rims, and a second of sodic cores surrounded by reversely zoned rims. The older ignimbrites do not show systematic compositional zonation, but the Cerro Galan ignimbrite exhibits small variations in major elements (66–69% SiO2) and significant variations in Rb, Sr, Ba, Th and other trace elements, consistent with derivation from a weakly zoned magma chamber, in which limited fractional crystallization occurred. The ignimbrites have 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7108–0.7181; 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51215–0.51225, and δ18O = + 10 to + 12.5, consistent with a significant component of relatively non-radiogenic crust with high Rb/Sr and enriched in incompatible elements. Nd model ages for the source region are about 1.24 Ga. 87Sr/86Sr measurements of separated plagioclases indicate that Anrich cores have slightly lower 87Sr/86Sr than less calcic plagioclases, suggesting a small degree of isotopic heterogeniety in different components within the magmas. Pb isotope data for plagioclase show restricted ranges (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb = 18.87–18.92, 15.65–15.69 and 39.06–39.16 respectively), and suggest derivation from Proterozoic crustal material(> 1.5 Ga).Contemporaneous satellite scoria cones and lavas are high-K basalts, basaltic andesites and andesites with SiO2 = 51–57%; K2O = 2–3% and normative plagioclase compositions of An37–48, and may be derived from a mantle source containing both ‘subduction zone’ and ‘within plate’ components. 87Sr/86Sr ranges from 0.7055 to 0.7094 and 143Nd/144Nd from 0.51250 to 0.51290. Variation diagrams such as MgO: SiO2 show two trends, one indicating closed system fractional crystallization and the other crustal contamination. AFC modelling of the open system rocks indicates a parental mantle-derived mafic magma which is itself enriched in K, Rb, Ba, U, Ta/Sm, Ta/Th and Sr, and has 87Sr/86Sr = 0.705–0.706, while the contaminant need not be more radiogenic than the dacitic ignimbrites.The Cerro Galan dacitic magmas are interpreted in terms of a deep and uniform region of the central Andean continental crust repeatedly melted by emplacement of incompatible-element-enriched, mantle-derived mafic magmas, a proportion of which may also have mixed with the dacite magmas. A component of the crustal material had a Proterozoic age. The magmas derived by crustal melting were also enriched in incompatible elements either by crystal/liquid fractionation processes, or by metasomatism of their source regions just prior to magma generation. Much of the crystallization took place in the source region during the melting process or in mid-crustal magma chambers. The magmas may have re-equilibrated at shallow levels prior to eruption, but only limited compositional zonation developed in high-level magma chambers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document