Striding-Athabasca mylonite zone: implications for the Archean and Early Proterozoic tectonics of the western Canadian Shield

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hanmer ◽  
Michael Williams ◽  
Chris Kopf
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Canadian Shield ◽  
Magmatic Evolution ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Plate Margin ◽  
Mylonite Zone ◽  
Northern Saskatchewan ◽  
Archean Crust ◽  
Rifted Margin

Study of the northern Saskatchewan–District of Mackenzie segment of the Snowbird tectonic zone suggests that fragments of relatively stiff mid-Archean crust, possibly arc related, have controlled the localization, shape, and complex kinematics of the multistage Striding–Athabasca mylonite zone during the Archean, as well as the geometry of the Early Proterozoic rifted margin of the western Churchill continent. By the late Archean, the Striding–Athabasca mylonite zone was located in the interior of the western Churchill continent, well removed from the contemporaneous plate margins. Except for the Alberta segment, the Snowbird tectonic zone was not the site of an Early Proterozoic plate margin. We suggest that the geometry of the Archean–Early Proterozoic boundary in the western Canadian Shield represents a jagged continental margin, composed of a pair of reentrants defined by rifted and transform segments. These segments were inherited from Early Proterozoic breakup and controlled by the Archean structure of the interior of the western Churchill continent. The geometry of this margin appears to have strongly influenced the Early Proterozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of the western Canadian Shield.

The Wathaman batholith: largest known Precambrian pluton

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 1082-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Fumerton ◽  
M. R. Stauffer ◽  
J. F. Lewry
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zones ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Pacific Rim ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Northern Saskatchewan ◽  
Internal Deformation

The Early Proterozoic Wathaman batholith, in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, is a 900 km long, megacrystic granite–granodiorite intrusion that straddles the junction between ensialic miogeoclinal and probably ensimatic eugeoclinal–island-arc terranes of the "Trans-Hudson Orogen," of the western Churchill Province. Although the largest Precambrian batholith known, it is, apart from marginal complexities, remarkably homogeneous throughout and, unlike comparably sized and situated Phanerozoic batholiths, shows no evidence of multiple intrusion, nor does it have comagmatic early mafic phases. However, it may be considered as just one phase of a larger batholithic belt that also includes numerous smaller plutons. Taken as a whole the composite batholithic belt is similar in many aspects to Mesozoic Pacific rim batholithic belts, and like them probably was emplaced during plate collision.The batholith is affected by pervasive internal deformation, is bounded on the northwest by major blastomylonite zones, and is transected internally by splaying shear zones. It is a mid- to late-synkinematic Hudsonian intrusion, emplaced within a markedly compressional, crustal regime. On the basis of petrological, geochemical, and isotopic criteria the batholith is an "I-type" intrusion, but the origin of the magma and the emplacement mechanisms are still unresolved problems.

scholarly journals Geochemical features, sources and geodynamic settings of accumulation of the cambrian sedimentary rocks of the Mel’gin trough (Bureya continental massif)

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 503-519
Author(s):  
R. O. Ovchinnikov ◽  
A. A. Sorokin ◽  
V. P. Kovach ◽  
A. B. Kotov
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Active Continental Margin ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Relative Probability ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Geodynamic Settings ◽  
Probability Plots

The first data about geochemical features of the Cambrian sedimentary rocks of the Mel’gin trough of the Bureya continental Massif, as well as ages of detrital zircons of them are obtained. It is established, that among the detrital zircons from the sandstones of the Chergilen and Allin formations of the Mel’gin trough zircons with Late Riphean (peaks on relative probability plots – 0.78, 0.82, 0.94, 1.04 Ga) and Early Riphean (peaks on relative probability plots – 1.38, 1.45, 1.64 Ga) ages predominate. The single grains have a Middle Riphean, Early Proterozoic and Late Archean ages. We can suppose, that the sources of Late Riphean detrital zircons from sandstones of the Chergilen and Allin formations are igneous rocks of gabbro-granitoids (940–933 Ma) and granite- leucogranites (804–789 Ma) association, identified in the Bureya continental Massif. We can`t assume, what kind of rocks were the source for Middle Riphean and older detrital zircons from the Cambrian sedimentary rocks of the Bureya continental Massif, because in this massif still do not identified complexes older Late Riphean age. The most probable geodynamic conditions of accumulation of the Cambrian deposits of the Mel’gin trough is the conditions of active continental margin, which is corresponding to of Early Cambrian granitoids magmatism.

Rb–Sr study of metavolcanic rocks from the La Ronge and Flin Flon domains, northern Saskatchewan

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Watters ◽  
R. L. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Source Region ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Volcanic Arcs ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Linear Evolution ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks ◽  
Northern Saskatchewan ◽  
Archean Crust ◽  
Flin Flon ◽  
Lynn Lake

Two whole-rock suites of metavolcanic rocks from separate volcanic belts of the Churchill Province in northern Saskatchewan have been dated by Rb–Sr. Samples from the Amisk Group of the Flin Flon – Snow Lake domain provide an isochron date of 1784 ± 44 Ma; suites from the Waddy Lake and Devil Lake areas of the La Ronge (–Lynn Lake) domain yield isochron dates of 1814 ± 26 and 1854 ± 100 Ma, respectively. All are regarded as minima for, but close approximations to, emplacement ages. The maximum crustal age of any suite cannot greatly exceed 1850 Ma.Previous Rb–Sr and U–Pb isotopic dates together with these new determinations confirm the contemporaneous existence of two volcanic arcs, active during the late Aphebian (1875–1784 Ma) in the Churchill Province.Low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7017–0.7022) are consistent with a petrochemically inferred subduction-related origin for the volcanic rocks with no closed-system reworking of Archean crust, and a linear evolution of 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the magmatic-arc mantle source region from 4.55 Ga to the present.

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Early Proterozoic Wisconsin magmatic terranes of the Penokean Orogen

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2145-2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Sims ◽  
W. R. Van Schmus ◽  
K. J. Schulz ◽  
Z. E. Peterman
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Alkali Feldspar ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
The South ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Felsic Volcanic

The Early Proterozoic Penokean Orogen developed along the southern margin of the Archean Superior craton. The orogen consists of a northern deformed continental margin prism overlying an Archean basement and a southern assemblage of oceanic arcs, the Wisconsin magmatic terranes. The south-dipping Niagara fault (suture) zone separates the south-facing continental margin from the accreted arc terranes. The suture zone contains a dismembered ophiolite.The Wisconsin magmatic terranes consist of two terranes that are distinguished on the basis of lithology and structure. The northern Pembine–Wausau terrane contains a major succession of tholeiitic and calc-alkaline volcanic rocks deposited in the interval 1860–1889 Ma and a more restricted succession of calc-alkaline volcanic rocks deposited about 1835 – 1845 Ma. Granitoid rocks ranging in age from about 1870 to 1760 Ma intrude the volcanic rocks. The older succession was generated as island arcs and (or) closed back-arc basins above the south-dipping subduction zone (Niagara fault zone), whereas the younger one developed as island arcs above a north-dipping subduction zone, the Eau Pleine shear zone. The northward subduction followed deformation related to arc–continent collision at the Niagara suture at about 1860 Ma. The southern Marshfield terrane contains remnants of mafic to felsic volcanic rocks about 1860 Ma that were deposited on Archean gneiss basement, foliated tonalite to granite bodies ranging in age from about 1890 to 1870 Ma, and younger undated granite plutons. Following amalgamation of the two arc terranes along the Eau Pleine suture at about 1840 Ma, intraplate magmatism (1835 Ma) produced rhyolite and anorogenic alkali-feldspar granite that straddled the internal suture.

scholarly journals Crustal velocity structure of the Superior and Grenville provinces of the southeastern Canadian Shield

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1167-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Winardhi ◽  
R. F. Mereu
Keyword(s):  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Velocity Structure ◽  
Canadian Shield ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
Sudbury Structure

The 1992 Lithoprobe Abitibi–Grenville Seismic Refraction Experiment was conducted using four profiles across the Grenville and Superior provinces of the southeastern Canadian Shield. Delay-time analysis and tomographic inversion of the data set demonstrate significant lateral and vertical variations in crustal velocities from one terrane to another, with the largest velocity values occurring underneath the Central Gneiss and the Central Metasedimentary belts south of the Grenville Front. The Grenville Front Tectonic Zone is imaged as a southeast-dipping region of anomalous velocity gradients extending to the Moho. The velocity-anomaly maps suggest an Archean crust may extend, horizontally, 140 km beneath the northern Grenville Province. Near-surface velocity anomalies correlate well with the known geology. The most prominent of these is the Sudbury Structure, which is well mapped as a low-velocity basinal structure. The tomography images also suggest underthrusting of the Pontiac and Quetico subprovinces beneath the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Wide-angle PmP signals, indicate that the Moho varies from a sharp discontinuity south of the Grenville Front to a rather diffuse and flat boundary under the Abitibi Greenstone Belt north of the Grenville Front. A significant crustal thinning near the Grenville Front may indicate post-Grenvillian rebound and (or) the extensional structure of the Ottawa–Bonnechere graben. Crustal thickening resulting from continental collision may explain the tomographic images showing the Moho is 4–5 km deeper south of the Grenville Front.

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