Detrital zircon signature of the Moine Supergroup, Scotland: Contrasts and comparisons with other Neoproterozoic successions within the circum-North Atlantic region

Laurentia-Baltica-Amazonia relations during Rodinia assembly

“…2) and in correlative successions along northern Laurentia and possibly extending as far as Siberia (Cawood et al, 2016;Likhanov et al, 2015;Malone et al, 2014 (Cutts et al, 2009;Friend et al, 2003;Kirkland et al, 2006;Kirkland et al, 2007;Kirkland et al, 2008;Watt et al, 2000). The units were Balashov et al (1996) reported U-Pb zircon evaporation ages of 1160 ± 40 Ma for mafic and felsic igneous rocks of the Eimfjellet Group, which separates metasedimentary rocks of the underlying Isbjörnhamma and overlying Deilegga groups.…”

Structure and stratigraphy of the Morar Group in Knoydart, NW Highlands: implications for the history of the Moine Nappe and stratigraphic links between the Moine and Torridonian successions

“…Deposition of the Morar Group occurred after c.1000-980 Ma, as indicated by the youngest recorded detrital zircons Kirkland et al 2008). The minimum age for deposition is indirectly constrained by the c. 870 Ma emplacement age of the West Highland Granite Gneiss and related metagabbros in the Sgurr Beag nappe (Friend et al 1997;Millar 1999) these meta-igneous bodies intrude into the Glenfinnan and Loch Eil group rocks, generally regarded as younger than the Morar Group (Holdsworth et al 1994).…”

“…The detrital zircon population in the basal Rubha Guail Formation is indeed dominated by Archean zircons (Kinnaird et al 2007), similar to that of the Stoer Group (Rainbird et al 2001;Kinnaird et al 2007), reflecting proximal provenance from the nearby Lewisian gneiss. However, detrital zircons populations in the Loch na Dal and Kinloch formations are dominated by late-Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic ages, with little or no Archaean detritus (Kinnaird et al 2007), showing similarities to detrital zircon populations in the Torridon and Moine successions (Rainbird et al 2001;Friend et al 2003;Cawood et al 2004;Kirkland et al 2008). This late-Palaeoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic detritus is clearly distal rather than proximal, reflecting a very different source region than that of the Stoer Group; this is substantiated by the record of distal (exotic) porphyry and rhyolite clasts from higher parts of the Sleat Group (Stewart 2002).…”

Sedimentology of the early Neoproterozoic Morar Group in northern Scotland: implications for basin models and tectonic setting

“…Ramsay et al 1957;Holdsworth 1989;Friend et al 2003). The Morar Group contains detrital zircons that yield U-Pb ages of between 1.7 and 1.0 Ga (Friend et al 2008;Kirkland et al 2008) and these have been interpreted to be derived from a variety of units within eastern Laurentia (Friend et al 2003;Cawood et al 2007;Kirkland et al 2008), with significant detrital input from the Grenville orogen (Krabbendam et al 2008). The youngest reliable concordant zircon grains reported from different samples are 1032 ± 24 Ma (Friend et al 2003); 1022 ± 24 Ma (Kirkland et al 2008) and 985 ± 6 Ma (Peters, 2001).…”

“…The Morar Group contains detrital zircons that yield U-Pb ages of between 1.7 and 1.0 Ga (Friend et al 2008;Kirkland et al 2008) and these have been interpreted to be derived from a variety of units within eastern Laurentia (Friend et al 2003;Cawood et al 2007;Kirkland et al 2008), with significant detrital input from the Grenville orogen (Krabbendam et al 2008). The youngest reliable concordant zircon grains reported from different samples are 1032 ± 24 Ma (Friend et al 2003); 1022 ± 24 Ma (Kirkland et al 2008) and 985 ± 6 Ma (Peters, 2001). The structural and metamorphic complexity of the Moine rocks results from polyphase deformation during the Knoydartian (c. 820-725 Ma) and both phases of the Caledonian -the Grampian (470-460 Ma) and Scandian (435-425 Ma) orogenic events (Strachan et al 2002Cutts et al 2010).…”