Postcollisional cooling of the Penokean orogen in east-central Minnesota

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 913-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel K. Holm ◽  
Timothy B. Holst ◽  
Daniel R. Lux

New 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic data from the internal zone of the Penokean orogen in east-central Minnesota indicate rapid cooling from mid-crustal temperatures. Early Proterozoic metamorphosed cover rocks yield concordant hornblende and biotite plateau ages of ~ 1755 Ma. Underlying Archean basement gneiss yields concordant muscovite and biotite plateau ages of ~ 1705 Ma. These are some of the oldest cooling ages recorded in rocks buried during the 1830–1860 Ma Penokean collisional orogeny. Cooling was coeval with regional rhyolitic volcanism and granite emplacement, suggesting a period of tectonic activity in this region during mid to late 1700 Ma. Based on similarities with Phanerozoic extensional regimes, we suggest, preliminarily, that these data might be explained by a previously unrecognized major extensional episode in the Lake Superior region.

Author(s):  
M. Aftalion ◽  
O. van Breemen ◽  
D. R. Bowes

ABSTRACTThe existence of a basement of granulite beneath the Midland Valley is supported by investigations of inclusions in volcanic rocks and the geophysical studies of the LISPB experiment. To establish age constraints for this basement, a compilation is presented of available Rb–Sr whole-rock, common lead, U–Pb zircon and Sm–Nd radiometrie data for crystalline rocks in Scotland from the earliest recognised crust (c. 2900 Ma) to 380 Ma (“end” of Caledonian orogeny) including xenoliths in volcanic vents and boulders in conglomerates.For rocks within the Midland Valley, isotopic data provide four lines of evidence. (1) An upper intercept U–Pb age of c. 1700 Ma for detrital zircons from a lower Palaeozoic greywacke from Dalmellington corresponds to a late stage of the Laxfordian orogenic episode (early Proterozoic) with possibly some overprinting during the Grenvillian episode (mid Proterozoic). (2) The common lead composition of the Distinkhorn granite suggests the participation of early Proterozoic basement during granite emplacement. (3) For xenoliths from the Carboniferous Partan Craig vent, one gives a Sm–Nd CHUR model age of 1180 ± 55 Ma, a second yielded a Sm–Nd garnet—potassium feldspar age of 356 ± 6 Ma and an upper intercept U–Pb age from zircons from the third is c. 2200 (± 240) Ma; for xenoliths from other vents, an Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron of 1101 ± 63 Ma and an Sm–Nd model age of c. 1100 Ma arerecorded. (4) A linear array corresponding to an apparent age of 770 ± 180 Ma on a Pb–Pb isochron diagram for Tertiary igneous rocks of Arran points to an underlying basement of late Precambrian orthogneiss.The existence of basement made of products of the Grenvillian episode, or predominantly so, similar to the basement N of the Highland Boundary fault, is not inconsistent with the available evidence. However, zircons and other rock components appear to have an ultimate Lewisian provenance. At least in parts, there is also a strong late Proterozoic imprint. Further studies are required for an unequivocal solution.


2012 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 289-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Schuth ◽  
Victor I. Gornyy ◽  
Jasper Berndt ◽  
Sergei S. Shevchenko ◽  
Alexandr F. Karpuzov ◽  
...  

1994 ◽  
Vol 58 (392) ◽  
pp. 387-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter L. McSwiggen ◽  
G. B. Morey ◽  
Jane M. Cleland

AbstractThe recent discovery of hyalophane [(K,Ba)Al1−2Si3−2O8] on the North range segment of the Early Proterozoic Cuyuna Iron Range of east-central Minnesota has shed new light on the depositional environment of these rocks. This Ba-feldspar occurs in a 10 m thick interval within the main iron-formation and typically contains between 8 and 26 mol.% celsian (BaAl2Si2O8). Its occurrence in several textural settings suggests that barium was being deposited at various stages in the paragenetic history of the iron-formation. Some of the hyalophane grains occur as the cores of micronodules, which are structurally similar to oolites or oncolites, but mineralogically are very complex. The hyalophane also occurs as rims on core grains of diverse mineral composition and as discrete phases in late crosscutting veins.Hyalophane, like other Ba-silicates, has a very restricted paragenesis. They are associated typically either with sedimentary manganese and ferromanganese deposits, or with Cu-Pb-Zn-Ba deposits. The presence of hyalophane in the Early Proterozoic manganiferous iron ores of east-central Minnesota casts doubt on the historic interpretation of these deposits as typical Superior-type sedimentary iron-formations and instead supports the view that these deposits, at least in part, consist of chemical sediments from a hydrothermal fumarolic system. The suggested involvement of a hydrothermal system is also supported by the occurrence of aegirine within the hyalophane-rich layer, and the occurrence of tourmalinites and Sr-rich baryte veins elsewhere in the Cuyuna North range.


1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. C. Ueng ◽  
T. P. Fox ◽  
D. K. Larue ◽  
J. T. Wilband

During the early Proterozoic, the 2 km thick differentiated gabbroic Kiernan sills were emplaced into a thick accumulation of pillow basalt and associated deep-water strata, the Hemlock Formation, in the southern Lake Superior region. On the basis of major elements and trace elements (including rare-earth-element data), the Kiernan sills and the hosting volcanic rocks of the Hemlock Formation were determined to be comagmatic in origin, and both evolved from assimilation – crystal fractionation processes. The major assimilated components in these igneous rocks are identified as terrigenous sedimentary rocks. Assimilation affected the abundance of Nb, Ta, light rare-earth elements, and most likely P, Rb, Th, and K in the magma. The effect of chemical contamination from wall-rock assimilation accumulates with increasing differentiation.With wall-rock contamination carefully evaluated, a series of tectonic discriminating methods utilizing immobile trace elements indicates that the source magma was a high-Ti tholeiitic basalt similar to present-day mid-ocean-ridge basalts (MORB). It is suggested from this study that most of the enriched large-ion lithophile elements and LREE of the magma were not inherited from the mantle but from assimilation of supracrustal rocks. Chemical signatures of these rocks are distinctively different from those of arc-related volcanics. A rifting tectonic regime analogous to the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean and extrusion of North Atlantic Tertiary volcanics best fits the criteria revealed by this study.


1980 ◽  
Vol 91 (8_Part_II) ◽  
pp. 1836-1874 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. Larue ◽  
L. L. Sloss

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