Probing the composition of unexposed basement, South Portuguese Zone, southern Iberia: implications for the connections between the Appalachian and Variscan orogens

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Braid ◽  
J. Brendan Murphy ◽  
Cecilio Quesada ◽  
Luke Bickerton ◽  
James K. Mortensen
Keyword(s):  
Lower Crust ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
Magmatic Zircon ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Variscan Orogen ◽  
Southern Iberia ◽  
Meguma Terrane ◽  
The Relationship

Geochemistry and Sm–Nd and U–Pb (magmatic zircon) isotope data from a postcollisional batholith that crosscuts the allochthonous South Portuguese Zone (SPZ) of southern Iberia suggest that the basement is compositionally more juvenile than the exposed upper crust. The SPZ is an allochthonous terrane of the late Paleozoic Variscan orogen. The oldest exposed units in the SPZ are Late Devonian continental clastics, and as a result, the origins of the SPZ are unknown. Multifaceted inherited zircon cores from a granitoid batholith (Sierra Norte Batholith, SNB) reveal Neoproterozoic (ca. 561–647 Ma) and Mesoproterozoic ages (ca. 1075 – ca. 1116 Ma). Granitoid samples are characterized by εNd values ranging from +1.4 to –9.6 and model ages ca. 0.76–1.8 Ga. Conversely, the exposed Late Devonian clastics of the SPZ are characterized by more negative εNd values (–7.5 to –10.4). Taken together, U–Pb and Sm–Nd data indicate the lower crust that melted to yield the SNB was (i) Neoproterozoic (ca. 560–650 Ma) to Mesoproterozoic (ca. 1.0–1.2 Ga) in age, (ii) was not compositionally similar to the overlying Devono-Carboniferous continental detritus but was instead more juvenile, with model ages between ca. 0.9–1.2 Ga. This unusual relationship is similar to the relationship between the relatively juvenile basement and ancient upper crust documented in the exposed portion of the Meguma terrane in the northern Appalachians, which paleogeographic reconstructions show was immediately outboard of southern Iberia in the Late Devonian.

Interaction among upper crustal, lower crustal, and mantle materials in the Port Mouton pluton, Meguma Lithotectonic Zone, southwest Nova Scotia

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Barrie Clarke ◽  
Raymond Fallon ◽  
Larry M Heaman
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Late Devonian ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Middle Stage ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Granitoid Rocks ◽  
Mafic Magmas ◽  
Lithotectonic Zone

The Port Mouton pluton is unique among the Late Devonian peraluminous granitoid bodies in the Meguma Lithotectonic Zone of southwestern Nova Scotia in its lithological heterogeneity, extensive physical and chemical interaction with the country rocks, clear evidence for mingling and mixing with mafic magmas, and highly abundant pegmatites. New U–Pb age determinations on monazite establish an intrusion age of 373 ± 1 Ma, similar to the ages of other Meguma Lithotectonic Zone granitoid plutons and mafic intrusions. Field relations, petrology, and geochemistry define three stages of intrusion of the Port Mouton pluton: (i) early stage, discontinuously exposed around the outer margin of the pluton, dominated by coarse-grained tonalite-granodiorite, and with Rb/Sr < 0.55, Eu/Eu* > 0.40, and GdN/LuN < 2; (ii) middle stage, occupying the interior of the pluton, dominated by medium-grained granodiorite-monzogranite, and with Rb/Sr > 0.55, Eu/Eu* < 0.40, and GdN/LuN > 2; and (iii) late stage, consisting of abundant minor sheets throughout the pluton, dominated by fine-grained tonalite, granodiorite, and leucogranite that are similar to rocks of the early and middle stages. The Port Mouton pluton shows a wider range of 87Sr/86Sri (0.7036-0.7154), and a wider range and generally higher εNdi (–3.72 to +2.12), than other granitoid rocks in the Meguma Lithotectonic Zone, potentially reflecting a complex, partially equilibrated, interaction among mantle, lower crust, and upper crust. Field, petrological, and chemical evidence for the involvement of mantle-derived magmas and melting of upper crust permit modelling of the Port Mouton pluton granitoid compositions by three simultaneous mixing equations. These mixing model results suggest that the early stage granitoid rocks can form from simple three-component mixing relationships when the bulk distribution coefficients between residuum and melt for Sr and Nd range from 1.05 to 1.18, or two-component mixing combined with fractionation of material like the known felsic lower crust. The middle stage granitoid rocks only yield solutions involving two-component mixing and fractionation of material unlike the known felsic lower crust. We conclude that the Late Devonian mafic magmas played a major role in the formation of granitoid magmas in the Meguma Lithotectonic Zone by supplying heat and material to cause partial fusion of the Avalon lower crust.

Results of a seismic reflection survey across the fault zone between the Thompson nickel belt and the Churchill Tectonic Province, northern Manitoba

1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Green
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Travel Times ◽  
Reflection Point ◽  
Point Data ◽  
Amplitude Reflection

Approximately 11 km of four-fold common reflection point data have been recorded across a region that spans the contact fault zone between the Thompson nickel belt and the Churchill Tectonic Province. From these data it is shown that the upper crust in this region and, to a lesser extent, the lower crust are characterized by numerous scattered events that originate from relatively small-scale features. Within the Thompson nickel belt two extensive and particularly high-amplitude reflection zones, at two-way travel times of t = 5.0–5.5 s and t = 6.0–6.5 s, are recorded with apparent northwesterly dips of 0–20 °C. These reflection zones, which have a laminated character, are truncated close to the faulted contact with the Churchill Province. Both the contact fault zone and the Churchill Province in this region have crustal sections that are relatively devoid of significant reflectors. The evidence presented here confirms that the crustal section of the Thompson nickel belt is fundamentally different from that of the Churchill Tectonic Province.

scholarly journals The effects of geographic range size and abundance on extinction during a time of “sluggish”’ evolution

Paleobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Casey ◽  
Erin E. Saupe ◽  
Bruce S. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
The North ◽  
Geographic Range Size ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Habitat Tracking

Abstract Geographic range size and abundance are important determinants of extinction risk in fossil and extant taxa. However, the relationship between these variables and extinction risk has not been tested extensively during evolutionarily “quiescent” times of low extinction and speciation in the fossil record. Here we examine the influence of geographic range size and abundance on extinction risk during the late Paleozoic (Mississippian–Permian), a time of “sluggish” evolution when global rates of origination and extinction were roughly half those of other Paleozoic intervals. Analyses used spatiotemporal occurrences for 164 brachiopod species from the North American midcontinent. We found abundance to be a better predictor of extinction risk than measures of geographic range size. Moreover, species exhibited reductions in abundance before their extinction but did not display contractions in geographic range size. The weak relationship between geographic range size and extinction in this time and place may reflect the relative preponderance of larger-ranged taxa combined with the physiographic conditions of the region that allowed for easy habitat tracking that dampened both extinction and speciation. These conditions led to a prolonged period (19–25 Myr) during which standard macroevolutionary rules did not apply.

Dynamics of the extension in the Fonualei Rift in the northern Lau Basin at 16 °S

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Jegen ◽  
Anke Dannowski ◽  
Heidrun Kopp ◽  
Udo Barckhausen ◽  
Ingo Heyde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Gradient ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Lau Basin ◽  
Australian Plate ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Refraction Seismic ◽  
Roll Back

&lt;p&gt;The Lau Basin is a young back-arc basin steadily forming at the Indo-Australian-Pacific plate boundary, where the Pacific plate is subducting underneath the Australian plate along the Tonga-Kermadec island arc. Roughly 25 Ma ago, roll-back of the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone commenced, which lead to break up of the overriding plate and thus the formation of the western Lau Ridge and the eastern Tonga Ridge separated by the emerging Lau Basin.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As an analogue to the asymmetric roll back of the Pacific plate, the divergence rates decline southwards hence dictating an asymmetric, V-shaped basin opening. Further, the decentralisation of the extensional motion over 11 distinct spreading centres and zones of active rifting has led to the formation of a composite crust formed of a microplate mosaic. A simplified three plate model of the Lau Basin comprises the Tonga plate, the Australian plate and the Niuafo'ou microplate. The northeastern boundary of the Niuafo'ou microplate is given by two overlapping spreading centres (OLSC), the southern tip of the eastern axis of the Mangatolu Triple Junction (MTJ-S) and the northern tip of the Fonualei Rift spreading centre (FRSC) on the eastern side. Slow to ultraslow divergence rates were identified along the FRSC (8-32 mm/a) and slow divergence at the MTJ (27-32 mm/a), both decreasing southwards. However, the manner of divergence has not yet been identified. Additional regional geophysical data are necessary to overcome this gap of knowledge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Research vessel RV Sonne (cruise SO267) set out to conduct seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection data along a 185 km long transect crossing the Lau Basin at ~16 &amp;#176;S from the Tonga arc in the east, the overlapping spreading centres, FRSC1 and MTJ-S2, and extending as far as a volcanic ridge in the west. The refraction seismic profile consisted of 30 ocean bottom seismometers. Additionally, 2D MCS reflection seismic data as well as magnetic and gravimetric data were acquired.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results of our P-wave traveltime tomography show a crust that varies between 4.5-6 km in thickness. Underneath the OLSC the upper crust is 2-2.5 km thick and the lower crust 2-2.5 km thick. The velocity gradients of the upper and lower crust differ significantly from tomographic models of magmatically dominated oceanic ridges. Compared to such magmatically dominated ridges, our final P-wave velocity model displays a decreased velocity gradient in the upper crust and an increased velocity gradient in the lower crust more comparable to tectonically dominated rifts with a sparse magmatic budget.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The dominance of crustal stretching in the regional rifting process leads to a tectonical stretching, thus thinning of the crust under the OLSC and therefore increasing the lower crust&amp;#8217;s velocity gradient. Due to the limited magmatic budget of the area, neither the magnetic anomaly nor the gravity data indicate a magmatically dominated spreading centre. We conclude that extension in the Lau Basin at the OLSC at 16 &amp;#176;S is dominated by extensional processes with little magmatism, which is supported by the distribution of seismic events concentrated at the northern tip of the FRSC.&lt;/p&gt;

A Tentative Study of Relationship between Mantle Plumes, Supercontinents and Orogenic Gold Deposits

2013 ◽  
Vol 734-737 ◽  
pp. 265-268
Author(s):  
Jun Hao Cui ◽  
Tao Ren
Keyword(s):  
Mantle Plume ◽  
Gold Mineralization ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Orogenic Gold ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Orogenic Gold Deposits ◽  
Orogenic Gold Deposit ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
The Relationship

On the basis of predecessors study, this paper found that outbreak frequency of mantle plume is increase, while scale is reduce. The mantle plume provides ore-forming minerals to orogenic gold deposits, as well as affords force to supercontinent formation and decomposition, for the more controls the global tectonic. Supercontinent is the movement of upper crust that could be cause by combine factors of cold and heat mantle plume. Supercontinent supply suitable tectonic environment for orogenic gold deposits. Further, we discuss the relationship between mantle plume, supercontinent and orogenic gold deposit on space and time. With the evolution of the earth, especially the energy loss, the frequency of orogenic gold mineralization is increasing, while the scale is reducing.

Thermodynamic constraints on assimilation of silicic crust by primitive magmas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jussi S Heinonen ◽  
Frank J Spera ◽  
Wendy A Bohrson
Keyword(s):  
Phase Equilibria ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Primitive Mantle ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Basaltic Composition ◽  
Primitive Magma ◽  
Partial Melts ◽  
Thermodynamic Limits ◽  
Melt Composition ◽  
Lower Crustal

&lt;p&gt;Some studies on basaltic and more primitive rocks suggest that their parental magmas have assimilated more than 50 wt.% (relative to the initial uncontaminated magma) of crustal silicate wallrock. But what are the thermodynamic limits for assimilation by primitive magmas? This question has been considered for over a century, first by N.L. Bowen and many others since then. Here we pursue this question quantitatively using a freely available thermodynamic tool for phase equilibria modeling of open magmatic systems &amp;#8212; the Magma Chamber Simulator (MCS; https://mcs.geol.ucsb.edu).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the models, komatiitic, picritic, and basaltic magmas of various ages and from different tectonic settings assimilate progressive partial melts of average lower, middle, and upper crust. In order to pursue the maximum limits of assimilation constrained by phase equilibria and energetics, the mass of wallrock in the simulations was set at twice that of the initially pristine primitive magmas. In addition, the initial temperature of wallrock was set close to its solidus at a given pressure. Such conditions would approximate a rift setting with tabular chambers and high magma input causing concomitant crustal heating and steep geotherms.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our results indicate that it is difficult for any primitive magma to assimilate more than 20&amp;#8722;30 wt.% of upper crust before evolving to intermediate/felsic compositions. However, if assimilant is lower crust, typical komatiitic magmas can assimilate more than their own weight (range of 59&amp;#8722;102 wt.%) and retain a basaltic composition. Even picritic magmas, more relevant to modern intraplate settings, have a thermodynamic potential to assimilate 28&amp;#8722;49 wt.% of lower crust before evolving into intermediate/felsic compositions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These findings have important implications for petrogenesis of magmas. The parental melt composition and the assimilant heavily influence both how much assimilation is energetically possible in primitive magmas and the final magma composition. The fact that primitive mantle melts have potential to partially melt and assimilate significant fractions of (lower) crust may have fundamental importance for how trans-Moho magmatic systems evolve and how crustal growth is accomplished. Examples include generation of siliceous high-magnesium basalts in the Precambrian and anorogenic anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite complexes with geochemical evidence of considerable geochemical overprint from (lower) crustal sources.&lt;/p&gt;

How seismicity relates to lithospheric heterogeneity in the Alps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar ◽  
Cameron Spooner ◽  
Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth ◽  
Mauro Cacace
Keyword(s):  
Lower Crust ◽  
Convergence Rates ◽  
Upper Rhine Graben ◽  
Topographic Effects ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Radiogenic Heat ◽  
First Order ◽  
Tectonic Inheritance ◽  
The Alps

&lt;p&gt;The Alps mountains and its forelands consist of a heterogeneous lithosphere, comprised of a multitude of tectonic blocks from different tectonic provinces with different thermo-physical properties. Patterns of seismicity distribution are also observed to vary significantly throughout the region. However, the relationship between seismicity and lithospheric heterogeneity has been often overlooked in previous studies. We present an overview of recent results that have attempted to address these questions through the use of integrated 3D modelling techniques, thereby including: (i) a gravity and seismic data constrained, 3D, density structural model of the lithosphere; (ii) a 3D thermal model constrained against available wellbore temperature data; and, &amp;#160;(iii) a 3D rheological model of the long-term lithospheric strength and effective viscosities. Our models support the existence of a first-order correlation between the distribution of seismicity (laterally and with depth) and the strength of the lithosphere, with the former being clustered mainly within weaker domains. Beneath the Alps, observed upper-crustal level (i.e., unimodal) seismicity correlates with a weaker lithosphere where plate strength is controlled by the thick crustal root. Whereas in the southern foreland, weaker zones are found preferentially around the stronger Adriatic indenter while in the northern foreland they are located in the crust beneath the the Upper Rhine Graben (URG). We found that this correlation is primarily controlled by resolved thermal gradients and is a function of the tectonic inheritance setting (e.g., UGR), crustal architecture (e.g., thickness of sediments, upper and lower crust) and LAB depth. Sediment thickness and topographic effects controls the shallow thermal filed (0 &amp;#8211; 10 km) whereas the deeper thermal field is controlled by the thickness of felsic upper crust (higher radiogenic heat contribution), the mafic lower crust (less radiogenic heat contribution) and basal thermal boundary condition from LAB depth. Seismicity is bounded by specific isotherms, 450 &lt;sup&gt;o&lt;/sup&gt;C in the crust and &lt; 600 &lt;sup&gt;o&lt;/sup&gt;C in the mantle, except in regions where slabs are imaged by seismic tomography models. This is in contrast to the recent proposition that convergence velocity is a first-order factor controlling seismicity in an orogen rather than its architecture. Fast convergence rates (e.g., Himalayas) have been related to the subduction of the cold crust to deeper crustal depths thereby leading to a deepening of the brittle &amp;#160;domain and to a bimodal (i.e., upper and lower crust) seismicity character. In contrast, slow convergence (e.g., Alps) is thought to lead to a hotter ductile lower crust thus limiting brittle deformation within the upper crust. We therefore end our contribution by opening a discussion on the relative role of convergence rates and lithospheric heterogeneities, inherited and/or developed during orogenesis, in controlling the seismicity. In doing so we carry out a comparison between observed seismicity and lithospheric architecture in the other mountain ranges of the western Alpine-Himalayan collision zone where &amp;#160;convergence velocities are of a similar order of magnitudes as Alps, i.e., the Betics, the Pyrenees and the Apennines but where seismicity is observed to occur both at upper and lower crustal levels.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Evaluation of crustal inhomogeneity parameters in the southern Longmenshan fault zone and adjacent regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1175-1188
Author(s):  
Xiao-Ping Fan ◽  
Yi-Cheng He ◽  
Cong-Jie Yang ◽  
Jun-Fei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Upper Crust ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Waveform Data ◽  
Longmenshan Fault Zone ◽  
Deformation Features ◽  
Longmenshan Fault

AbstractBroadband teleseismic waveform data from 13 earthquakes recorded by 70 digital seismic stations were selected to evaluate the inhomogeneity parameters of the crustal medium in the southern Longmenshan fault zone and its adjacent regions using the teleseismic fluctuation wavefield method. Results show that a strong inhomogeneity exists beneath the study region, which can be divided into three blocks according to its structure and tectonic deformation features. These are known as the Sichuan-Qinghai Block, the Sichuan-Yunnan Block, and the Mid-Sichuan Block. The velocity fluctuation ratios of the three blocks are approximately 5.1%, 3.6%, and 5.1% in the upper crust and 5.1%, 3.8%, and 4.9% in the lower crust. The inhomogeneity correlation lengths of the three blocks are about 10.1 km, 14.0 km, and 10.7 km in the upper crust and 11.8 km, 17.0 km, and 11.8 km in the lower crust. The differences in the crustal medium inhomogeneity beneath the Sichuan-Yunnan Block, the Sichuan-Qinghai Block, and the Mid-Sichuan Block may be related to intensive tectonic movement and material flow in the crust and upper mantle.

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