Insights into low- to moderate-temperature recrystallization of zircon: Unpolished crystal depth profile techniques and geochemical mapping

et al. 2018

Contrib Mineral Petrol

In-situ monazite Th-U-total Pb dating and zircon LA-ICP-MS depth-profiling was applied to metasedimentary rocks from the Vaimok Lens in the Seve Nappe Complex (SNC), Scandinavian Caledonides. Results of monazite Th-U-total Pb dating, coupled with major and trace element mapping of monazite, revealed 603 ± 16 Ma Neoproterozoic cores surrounded by rims that formed at 498 ± 10 Ma. Monazite rim formation was facilitated via dissolution-reprecipitation of Neoproterozoic monazite. The monazite rims record garnet growth as they are depleted in Y 2 O 3 with respect to the Neoproterozoic cores. Rims are also characterized by relatively high SrO with respect to the cores. Results of the zircon depth-profiling revealed igneous zircon cores with crystallization ages typical for SNC metasediments. Multiple zircon grains also exhibit rims formed by dissolution-reprecipitation that are defined by enrichment of light rare earth elements, U, Th, P, ± Y, and ± Sr. Rims also have subdued Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* ≈ 0.6-1.2) with respect to the cores. The age of zircon rim formation was calculated from three metasedimentary rocks: 480 ± 22 Ma; 475 ± 26 Ma; and 479 ± 38 Ma. These results show that both monazite and zircon experienced dissolution-reprecipitation under high-pressure conditions. Caledonian monazite formed coeval with garnet growth during subduction of the Vaimok Lens, whereas zircon rim formation coincided with monazite breakdown to apatite, allanite and clinozoisite during initial exhumation.

Section: Zircon La-icp-ms Depth-profilingmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Zircon La-icp-ms Depth-profilingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

High-spatial resolution dating of monazite and zircon reveals the timing of subduction–exhumation of the Vaimok Lens in the Seve Nappe Complex (Scandinavian Caledonides)

Barnes

Majka

et al. 2018

Contrib Mineral Petrol

“…Sample #70 is a tonalite-trondjhemite granite from the Neoarchean North Caribou Terrane of the western Superior Province, one of the oldest Archean cratons in North America (Percival et al, 2006). Most of the rocks in this region record 3.1-2.6 Ga magmatic activity and hydrothermal alteration (Kelly et al, 2017) and a nearby sample yields zircon and titanite U-Pb ages of 2858 ± 5 Ma and 2854 ± 7 Ma, respectively (Van Lankvelt et al, 2016). Ti-in-zircon thermometry indicates zircon crystallization temperatures of 752 ± 37°C (Van Lankvelt et al, 2016).…”

Section: Western Superior Province Ontariomentioning

confidence: 99%

Instability of the southern Canadian Shield during the late Proterozoic

McDannell

Zeitler

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

2018

Cratons are generally considered to comprise lithosphere that has remained tectonically quiescent for billions of years. Direct evidence for stability is mainly founded in the Phanerozoic sedimentary record and low-temperature thermochronology, but for extensive parts of Canada, earlier stability has been inferred due to the lack of an extensive rock record in both time and space. We used 40 Ar/ 39 Ar multi-diffusion domain (MDD) analysis of K-feldspar to constrain cratonic thermal histories across an intermediate (~150-350°C) temperature range in an attempt to link published high-temperature geochronology that resolves the timing of orogenesis and metamorphism with lower-temperature data suited for upper-crustal burial and unroofing histories. This work is focused on understanding the transition from Archean-Paleoproterozoic crustal growth to later intervals of stability, and how uninterrupted that record is throughout Earth's Proterozoic "Middle Age." Intermediate-temperature thermal histories of cratonic rocks at well-constrained localities within the southern Canadian Shield of North America challenge the stability worldview because our data indicate that these rocks were at elevated temperatures in the Proterozoic. Feldspars from granitic rocks collected at the surface cooled at rates of <0.5°C/Ma subsequent to orogenesis, seemingly characteristic of cratonic lithosphere, but modeled thermal histories suggest that at ca. 1.1-1.0 Ga these rocks were still near ~200°Csignaling either reheating, or prolonged residence at mid-crustal depths assuming a normal cratonic geothermal gradient. After 1.0 Ga, the regions we sampled then underwent further cooling such that they were at or near the surface (<< 60°C) in the early Paleozoic. Explaining mid-crustal residence at 1.0 Ga is challenging. A widespread, prolonged reheating history via burial is not supported by stratigraphic information, however assuming a purely monotonic cooling history requires at the very least 5 km of exhumation beginning at ca. 1.0 Ga. A possible McDannell et al.-Late Proterozoic Instability of the Canadian Shield 2 explanation may be found in evidence of magmatic underplating that thickened the crust, driving uplift and erosion. The timing of this underplating coincides with Mid-Continent extension, Grenville orogenesis, and assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar MDD data demonstrate that this technique can be successfully applied to older rocks and fill in a large observational gap. These data also raise questions about the evolution of cratons during the Proterozoic and the nature of cratonic stability across deep time.

“…From petrographic relationships and geochronological data, we can establish the timing of growth of the U‐bearing phases. In metapelites, zircon is typically a detrital phase, although small‐scale Zr mobility and the growth of metamorphic zircon have been documented at low‐grade metamorphic conditions where it can form outgrowths on detrital zircon grains (Dempster et al., 2004; Kelly et al., 2017; Rasmussen, 2005). Our sample A, however, lacks zircon exhibiting typical features of a detrital phase that record a complex history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bulk inclusion micro‐zircon U–Pb geochronology: A new tool to date low‐grade metamorphism

Hollinetz

Journal Metamorphic Geology

McFarlane

et al. 2021

Dating low‐grade metamorphism is challenging since such rocks commonly lack suitable target minerals for acquiring pressure–temperature–time–deformation (P–T–t–d) data. Herein a new geochronological method termed ‘bulk inclusion dating’ is applied to a chloritoid‐bearing schist from the Staufen‐Höllengebirge Nappe (SHN, Austroalpine Unit, Eastern Alps, Austria) for which Cretaceous metamorphism is imprecisely constrained. Thermodynamic modelling of the phase relations and mineral chemistry predicts the stability of the equilibrium assemblage in a P–T field between 450–490℃ and 0.5–0.7 GPa, which agrees with peak temperature constraints ~490℃ derived from Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material. Chemical zoning of, and the zonation of inclusions within, chloritoid confirm porphyroblast growth at these conditions. High‐resolution imaging reveals thousands of minute (length: 0.1–3 µm), euhedral micro‐zircon crystals included in chloritoid porphyroblasts and in the matrix. The morphological and microstructural characteristics of micro‐zircon as well as the crystal size distributions indicate that it nucleated and grew at greenschist facies conditions most likely from a Zr‐saturated fluid. In situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy bulk inclusion dating of metamorphic zircon in the chloritoid rim using a laser spot diameter of 120 μm yields a U–Pb age of 116.7 ± 9.1 Ma (MSWD: 1.5, n: 79). We interpret zircon precipitation and progressive coarsening coeval with chloritoid growth during prograde metamorphism and thus link the age to the late prograde part of the P–T evolution. The contribution of other U‐bearing phases (apatite, epidote, rutile) does not significantly disturb the U–Pb age. The data provide clear evidence for Early Cretaceous metamorphism in the SHN and indicates that metamorphism started at least 20 m.y. before the formation of eclogites in the Austroalpine Unit. The method introduced here allows integration between metamorphic conditions and age constraints in low‐grade metamorphic rocks and opens up new potential applications in petrochronology.