The tectonic significance of some basic dyke swarms in the Canadian Superior Province with special reference to the geochemistry and paleomagnetism of the Mistassini swarm, Quebec, Canada

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Fahrig ◽  
K. W. Christie ◽  
E. H. Chown ◽  
D. Janes ◽  
N. Machado

The Mistassini dykes extend northwest from the Mistassini embayment and comprise both tholeiitic and komatiitic suites. They are probably > 2000 Ma old and yield two major paleomagnetic components. One of these, with a pole at 131°W, 13°S, is thought to be an overprint related to the Elsonian Disturbance 1400–1500 Ma ago. A very steeply down (and reversed) component may be primary and has a pole at 080°W, 50°N.These spacial, chemical, and age relationships between the Mistassini, Molson, Marathon, and Payne River dyke swarms and the Aphebian supracrustal fold belts on the perimeter of the Superior Province suggest a genetic relationship between the dyke swarms and the fold belts. The supracrustal belts are evidence of the opening and closing of oceans, and the dyke swarms are evidence of early-stage failed arms related to these openings. More rarely (for example, the Payne River dykes), early-stage dyke swarms are developed and preserved parallel to the edges of newly developed spreading plate boundaries. Presumably if a spreading episode stops, the dykes themselves may remain as the only evidence of that event. Probably all the world's great continental dyke swarms have the above-described tectonic setting, and the number and extent of dyke swarms during a geological epoch may be a measure of the number and vigour of spreading events.

Author(s):  
A.V. Grebennikov ◽  
◽  
A.I. Khanchuk ◽  

Transform margins represent lithospheric plate boundaries with horizontal sliding of oceanic plate, which in time and space replaced the subduction related convergent margins. This happened due to: spreading ridge–trench intersection (California; Queen Charlotte–Northern Cordilleran, West of the Antarctic Peninsula, and probably the Late Miocene–Pleistocene Southernmost South America) or ridge death along continental margin (Baja California); change in the direction of oceanic plate movement (Western Aleutian–Komandorsk; Southernmost tip of the Andes); and island arc-continent collision (New Guinea Island). Post-subduction magmatism is related to a slab window that resulted either from the spreading ridge collision (subduction) with a continental margin or slab tear formation, or slab break-off after subduction cessation due to other reasons. Igneous magmatic series formed in consequence of these events show diversity of tholeiitic (sub-alkaline), alkaline or calc-alkaline, high-alumina and adakitic rocks. The comprehensive geochemical dataset (more than 2400 analyses) on igneous rocks of the model transform and convergent geodynamic settings allowed to substantiate the most informative triple diagrams for the petrogenic oxides TiO2 × 10 – Fe2O3Tot – MgO and trace elements Nb – La– Yb. Mostly approved for the rock compositions with SiO2 < 63 wt. %, the new plots are capable of distinguishing igneous rocks formed above zones of subduction at an island arc and continental margin (related to convergent margins), from those formed in the tectonic setting of transform margins along continents or island arcs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (s1) ◽  
pp. 123-123
Author(s):  
A.V. Stepanova ◽  
E.B. Salnikova ◽  
A.V. Samsonov ◽  
Yu.O. Larionova ◽  
S.V. Egorova ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eline Le Breton

&lt;p&gt;The Western Mediterranean-Alpine belt is remarkable for its tectonic complexity, i.e. strong arcuation of plate boundaries, fast trench retreat, upper-plate extension and switch of subduction/collision polarity around the Adriatic plate (Adria). The kinematic evolution of the Western Mediterranean area is enigmatic due to the intermittently motion of small continental plates (Adria, Iberia and Sardinia-Corsica) that are caught between two major plates (Africa and Europe), converging since Cretaceous time. Reconstructing the past motion of these micro-plates is challenging due to the strong deformation of their boundaries but is key to understand the geodynamic evolution of the whole area.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Neogene tectonic evolution is well constrained using magnetic anomalies and transform zones in the Atlantic Ocean for the motion of Europe, Iberia and Africa, and by reconstructing the amount of convergence along fold-and-thrust belts (Apennines, Alps, Dinarides, Provence) and coeval divergence along extensional basins (Liguro-Provencal and Tyrrhenian basins, Sicily Channel Rift Zone) for the motion of Adria and Sardinia-Corsica. Those reconstructions show that Adria had a slight independent motion from Africa and rotated counter-clockwise of about 5&amp;#186; relative to Europe since 20 Ma. However, uncertainties increase and debates arise as one goes back in time. The main debates concern the past motion of Iberia and where its motion relative to Europe is being accommodated in Mesozoic time. Different kinematic scenarios have been proposed depending on the interpretation of paleomagnetic dataset of Iberia, magnetic anomalies in the North Atlantic, and geological-geophysical record of deformation in the Pyrenees and between Iberia and Sardinia-Corsica. Those scenarios have different implications for the tectonic evolution of the Apennines, especially for the Permian-Triassic paleo-tectonic setting of Sardinia, Calabria and Adria, and for the extent and timing of closure of the Liguro-Piemont Ocean. It is important to discuss those implications to better understand subduction processes in the Apennines and their driving forces.&lt;/p&gt;


1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1054-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L Buchan ◽  
James K Mortensen ◽  
Kenneth D Card ◽  
John A Percival

In the first collaborative study of paleomagnetism and precise U-Pb geochronology in the Minto block of the Superior Province, mafic dyke swarms with three widely divergent paleomagnetic signatures and isotopic ages have been identified. The 2505 ± 2 Ma Ptarmigan dykes trend north to northeast and have a virtual geomagnetic pole at 42°S, 220°E, similar to that of 2473-2446 Ma Matachewan dykes of the southern Superior Province. The ca. 2230 Ma Maguire dykes trend west to northwest and yield a paleopole at 9°S, 267°E, similar to those for 2216+8-4 Ma Senneterre dykes and 2217-2210 Ma Nipissing sills of the southern Superior and Southern provinces, respectively. The 2209 ± 1 Ma Klotz dykes trend west-northwest, but do not carry a consistent magnetization direction. Finally, 1998 ± 2 Ma Minto dykes of west-northwest to northwest trend, identical in age to the 1998 Ma ± 2 Ma Purtuniq ophiolite of the Cape Smith Belt, have a paleopole at 38°N, 174°E. The similarity of paleopoles for the ca. 2.23-2.21 Ga Maguire dykes of the Minto block, Senneterre dykes of the southern Superior, and Nipissing sills of the Southern Province demonstrates that these regions were in their present relative latitudes and orientations at that time. Likewise, the similarity of the Ptarmigan virtual geomagnetic pole and the Matachewan paleopole suggests little relative latitudinal movement or rotation of the two regions since ca. 2.5 Ga. The Maguire, Senneterre, and Klotz dykes form a roughly radiating pattern and may represent one quadrant of a giant radiating dyke swarm centred southeast of Ungava Bay, whose focus marks the location of a mantle plume responsible for ca. 2.22 Ga breakup along the eastern margin of the Superior Province. If so, the coeval Nipissing sills that intrude sedimentary rocks of the Huronian Supergroup of the Southern Province may have been fed laterally by Senneterre dykes from the Ungava plume centre.


2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W.D. Lodge ◽  
Harold L. Gibson ◽  
Greg M. Stott ◽  
James M. Franklin ◽  
George J. Hudak

The greenstone belts along the northern margin of the Wawa subprovince of the Superior Province (Vermilion, Shebandowan, Winston Lake, Manitouwadge) formed at ca. 2720 Ma and have been interpreted to be representative of a rifted-arc to back-arc tectonic setting. Despite a common inferred tectonic setting and broad similarities, these greenstone belts have a significantly different metallogeny as evidenced by different endowments in volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS), magmatic sulphide, and orogenic gold deposits. In this paper, we examine differences in geodynamic setting and crustal architecture as they pertain to the metallogeny of each greenstone belt by characterizing the regional-scale trace-element and isotopic (Nd and Pb) geochemistry of each belt. The trace-element geochemistry of the Vermilion greenstone belt (VGB) shows evidence for a transition from arc-like to back-arc mafic rocks in the Soudan belt to plume-driven rifted arcs in the ultramafic-bearing Newton belt. The Shebandowan greenstone belt (SGB) has a significant proportion of calc-alkalic, arc-like basalts, intermediate lithofacies, and high-Mg andesites, which are characteristic of low-angle, “hot” subduction. Extensional settings within the SGB are plume-driven and associated with komatiitic ultramafic and mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like basalts. The Winston Lake greenstone belt (WGB) is characterized by a transition from calc-alkalic, arc-like basalts to back-arc basalts upward in the strata and is capped by alkalic ocean-island basalt (OIB)-like basalts. This association is consistent with plume-driven rifting of a mature arc setting. Each of the VGB, SGB, and WGB show some isotopic evidence for the interaction with a juvenile or slightly older differentiated crust. The Manitouwadge greenstone belt (MGB) is characterized by isotopically juvenile, bimodal, tholeiitic to transitional volcanic lithofacies in a back-arc setting. The MGB is the most isotopically juvenile belt and is also the most productive in terms of VMS mineralization. The Zn-rich VMS mineralization within the WGB suggests a relatively lower-temperature hydrothermal system, possibly within a relatively shallow-water environment. The Zn-dominated and locally Au-enriched VMS mineralization, as well as mafic lithofacies and alteration assemblages, are characteristic of relatively shallower-water deposition in the VGB and SGB, and indicate that the ideal VMS-forming tectonic condition may have been compromised by a shallower-water depositional setting. However, the thickened arc crust and compressional tectonics of the SGB suprasubduction zone during hot subduction may have provided a crustal setting more favourable for the magmatic Ni–Cu sulphide and relative gold endowment of this belt.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. SD1-SD23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim P. Dooley ◽  
Michael R. Hudec ◽  
Dan Carruthers ◽  
Martin P. A. Jackson ◽  
G. Luo

Passive margins underlain by a salt detachment are typically interpreted as kinematically linked zones of updip extension and downdip contraction separated by a zone of translation above a smoothly dipping base of salt. However, salt flow is affected by the base-of-salt geometry across which it flows, and early-stage gravity gliding induced by basin tilt may be complicated by the presence of salt-thickness changes caused by the pre-existing base-salt relief. We investigate these effects using physical models. Dip-parallel steps generate strike-slip fault zones separating domains of differential downslope translation and structural styles, provided the overburden is thin enough. If the overburden is thicker, it resists breakup, but a change in the structural trend occurs across the step. Steps with mild obliquity to the dip direction produce transtensional and transpressional faults in the cover separating structural domains. Deformation complexity in the overburden increases where base-salt steps strike at a high angle to salt flow, and it is especially dependent on the ratio between the thick ([Formula: see text]) and thin ([Formula: see text]) salt across the step at the base of salt. Where the salt-thickness ratio ([Formula: see text]) is high, basal drag generates major flux mismatches, resulting in a contractional thickening of the salt and associated overburden shortening in thin salt above a base-salt high block. Shortening is transient and superseded by extension as the salt thickening allows the flow velocity to increase. When transitioning off a base-salt high block into a low block, the greater flux within the thick salt results in a monocline with extensional and contractional hinges. Structures are further deformed as they translate through these hinge zones. Our physical models demonstrate that extensional diapirs and compressional fold belts can be initiated anywhere on a slope as the salt accelerates and decelerates across base-salt relief. A fold belt from the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, is used to illustrate these processes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-382
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Abercrombie

Abstract Continental earthquakes have long been known to have anomalously high surface-wave magnitudes relative to their seismic moments. A recent global study of shallow earthquakes by Ekström and Dziewonski (1988) confirmed this and found other regional, systematic anomalies in the MS-M0 relationship. It is important to determine the source of these anomalies in order to understand the controls on earthquake-source radiation and to obtain accurate estimates of historical seismic strain rates. In this study the magnitudes of 82 earthquakes from eight different tectonic regions are recalculated using a simple surface-wave path correction to determine whether path effects are responsible for the observed anomalies. The magnitudes of continental earthquakes are reduced by an average of 0.2 magnitude units, an improvement in fit to the global average significant at the 98% level. Surface-wave path effects are clearly responsible for the high MS observed in continental areas. There is a small decrease in scatter in the other areas, but lateral refraction of the surface waves at plate boundaries prevents the simple correction from having a significant effect. There is no evidence in the observed anomalies, however, for any dependence of earthquake-source type on tectonic setting. It is clear that to obtain reliable, unbiased estimates of regional seismic strain rate and hazard, a local moment-magnitude relationship should be preferred to a global one.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document