The New York-Alabama lineament: Geophysical evidence for a major crustal break in the basement beneath the Appalachian basin

King, Elizabeth R.; Zietz, Isidore

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<312:tnylge>2.0.co;2

Cited by 83 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…This realization has re-awakened interest in the northeast-trending magnetic anomaly ( Fig. 1) referred to as the New York-Alabama lineament (King and Zeitz 1978). The long-standing interpretation of this feature as an ancient suture is strengthened by the observation that it passes through a narrow tract between the drill holes in Kentucky and Tennessee that bear the isotopic signature of the Eastern GraniteRhyolite Province and the Grenvillian inliers of the southern and central Appalachians with Amazonian isotopic signatures.…”

Section: Pb Isotope Arrays and Basement Mappingmentioning

confidence: 94%

Tectonic Evolution of the Adirondack Mountains and Grenville Orogen Inliers within the USA

McLelland

Selleck

Bickford³

2013

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Recent investigations in geochronology and tectonics provide important new insights into the evolution of the Grenville Orogen in North America. Here, we summarize results of this research in the USA and focus upon ca. 1.4–0.98 Ga occurrences extending from the Adirondack Mountains to the southern Appalachians and Texas. Recent geochronology (mainly by U/Pb SHRIMP) establishes that these widely separated regions experienced similar tectonomagmatic events, i.e., the Elzevirian (ca. 1.25–1.22 Ga), Shawinigan (ca. 1.2–1.14 Ga), and Grenvillian (ca. 1.09–0.98 Ga) orogenies and associated plate interactions. Notwithstanding these commonalities, Nd model ages and Pb isotopic mapping has revealed important differences that are best explained by the existence of contrasting compositions of deep crustal reservoirs beneath the Adirondacks and the southern Appalachians. The isotopic compositions for the Adirondacks lie on the same Pb–Pb array as those for the Grenville Province, the Granite-Rhyolite Province and the Grenvillian inliers of Texas suggesting that they all developed on Laurentian crust. On the other hand, data from the southern Appalachians are similar to those of the Sunsas Terrane in Brazil and suggest that Amazonian crust with these Pb–Pb characteristics was thrust onto eastern Laurentia during its Grenvillian collision with Amazonia and subsequently transferred to the latter during the late Neoproterozoic breakup of the supercontinent, Rodinia, and the formation of the Iapetus Ocean. The ca. 1.3–1.0 Ga Grenville Orogen is also exposed in the Llano Uplift of Texas and in small inliers in west Texas and northeast Mexico. The Llano Uplift contains evidence for a major collision with a southern continent at ca. 1.15–1.12 Ga (Kalahari Craton?), magmatic arcs, and back-arc and foreland basins, all of which are reviewed. The Grenvillian Orogeny is considered to be the culminating tectonic event that terminated approximately 500 m.y. of continental margin growth along southeastern Laurentia by accretion, continental margin arc magmatism, and metamorphism. Accordingly, we briefly review the tectonic and magmatic histories of these Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic pre-Grenvillian orogens, i.e., Penokean, Yavapai, and Mazatzal as well as the Granite-Rhyolite Province and discuss their ~5000 km transcontinental span.SOMMAIREDes recherches récentes en géochronologie et en tectonique révèlent d’importants faits nouveaux sur l’évolution de l’orogénie de Grenville en Amérique du Nord. Nous présentons ici un sommaire des résultats de cet effort de recherche aux USA en mettant l’accent sur les indices datés entre env. 1,4 et 0,98 Ga, à partir des monts Adirondack jusqu’au sud des Appalaches et au Texas. Des données géochronologiques récentes (par microsonde SHRIMP principalement) indiquent que les roches de ces régions très éloignées les unes des autres ont subies l’effet d’épisodes tectonomagmatiques similaires, par exemple, aux orogenèses de l’Elzévirien (env. 1.25–1.22 Ga), de Shawinigan (env. 1.2–1.14 Ga), et du Grenvillien (env. 1.09–0.98 Ga), ainsi que des interactions des plaques associées. Malgré ces points communs, la chronologie Nd et la cartographie isotopique Pb a révélé des différences importantes qui s’expliquent plus aisément par des compositions contrastées des réservoirs profonds de croûte sous les Adirondacks et le sud des Appalaches. Les compositions isotopiques des Adirondacks sont de la même gamme Pb-Pb que ceux de la Province de Grenville, de la Province Granite-rhyolite et des boutonnières grenvilliennes du Texas, suggérant qu'ils se sont tous développées sur la croûte des Laurentides. Par ailleurs, les données des Appalaches du sud sont semblables à celles du terrane de Sunsas au Brésil, ce qui incite à penser que la croûte amazonienne, avec de telles caractéristiques Pb-Pb, a été poussée sur la portion est de Laurentia lors de sa collision grenvillienne avec l’Amazonie puis laissée à cette dernière au cours de la rupture du supercontinent Rodinia vers la fin du Néoprotérozoïque, avec la formation de l'océan Iapetus. L’orogène de Grenville (1,3 à 1,0 Ga env.) est également exposé dans le soulèvement de Llano au Texas et dans de petites boutonnières dans l'ouest du Texas et le nord du Mexique. Le soulèvement de Llano montre des indices d'une collision majeure avec un continent au sud, entre env. 1,15 et 1,12 Ga (craton de Kalahari?), des zones d’arcs magmatiques, d'arrière-arc et de bassin d'avant-pays, chacun étant présenté ci-dessous. L'orogenèse de Grenville est considéré comme l'événement tectonique culminant qui marqué la fin d’une période d’environ 500 ma d’accroissement de la marge continentale le long de la bordure sud-est de la Laurentie, par accrétion, magmatisme d’arc de marge continentale, et métamorphisme. C’est pourquoi, nous passons brièvement en revue l'histoire tectonique et magmatique de ces orogènes pré-grenvilliennes paléoprotérozoïques et mésoprotérozoïques, pénokéenne, de Yavapai, et de Mazatzal ainsi que la Province de Granite-rhyolite, et discutons de son étendue sur env. 5 000 km.

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Section: Pb Isotope Arrays and Basement Mappingmentioning

confidence: 94%

Tectonic Evolution of the Adirondack Mountains and Grenville Orogen Inliers within the USA

McLelland

Selleck

Bickford³

2013

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“…A 60-mi-wide area east of the Central West Virginia arch on the magnetic maps of King and Zietz (1978) and Kulander and Dean (1978) is characterized by conspicuous northeast-trending linear anomalies that closely resemble those anomalies associated with the Rome trough and adjoining horst blocks. I interpret this area as a blockfaulted terrane.…”

Section: Basement Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…King and Zietz (1978) have identified this magnetic anomaly as part of the New York-Alabama lineament, and Kulander andDean (1978, 1986) have identified the tectonic feature that produced the anomaly as the Central West Virginia arch ( fig. 1, pi.…”

Section: Basement Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…I suggest that the majority of the post-Middle Ordovician increase in structural relief has resulted from the reactivation of basement faults during middle and late Paleozoic compressional events. Individual faults that constitute the hinge zone can be identified on multifold seismic records (Beardsley and Cable, 1983; Shumaker, 1986; Morris, 1989), and the hinge zone as a whole can be identified on the aeromagnetic map shown by King and Zietz (1978).…”

Section: Basement Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Throughout most of its extent in West Virginia, the Rome trough is bounded on the east by a conspicuous northeast-trending positive magnetic anomaly (King and Zietz, 1978;Kulander and Dean, 1978). King and Zietz (1978) have identified this magnetic anomaly as part of the New York-Alabama lineament, and Kulander andDean (1978, 1986) have identified the tectonic feature that produced the anomaly as the Central West Virginia arch ( fig.…”

Section: Basement Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Stratigraphic framework of Cambrian and Ordovician rocks in the central Appalachian basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia

Ryder¹

1992

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Crustal velocity structure associated with the eastern Tennessee seismic zone: Vp and Vs images based upon local earthquake tomography

et al. 2014

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We present three-dimensional P and S wave velocity models for the active eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ) using arrival time data from more than 1000 local earthquakes. A nonlinear tomography method is used that involves sequential inversion for model and hypocenter parameters. We image several velocity anomalies that persist through most of the inversion volume. Some anomalies support the presence of known features such as an ancient rift zone in northern Tennessee. Other anomalies reveal the presence of basement features that can be correlated with regional gravity and magnetic anomalies. We image a narrow, NE-SW trending, steeply dipping zone of low velocities that extends to a depth of at least 24 km and is associated with the vertical projection of the prominent New York-Alabama magnetic lineament. The low-velocity zone may have an apparent dip to the SE at depths exceeding 15 km. The low-velocity zone is interpreted as a major basement fault juxtaposing Granite-Rhyolite basement to the NW from Grenville southern Appalachian basement to the SE. Relocated hypocenters align in near-vertical segments suggesting reactivation of a distributed zone of deformation associated with a major strike-slip fault. We suggest that the ETSZ represents reactivation of an ancient shear zone established during formation of the super continent Rodinia.

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The New York-Alabama lineament: Geophysical evidence for a major crustal break in the basement beneath the Appalachian basin

Cited by 83 publications

References 0 publications

Tectonic Evolution of the Adirondack Mountains and Grenville Orogen Inliers within the USA

Tectonic Evolution of the Adirondack Mountains and Grenville Orogen Inliers within the USA

Stratigraphic framework of Cambrian and Ordovician rocks in the central Appalachian basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia

Crustal velocity structure associated with the eastern Tennessee seismic zone: Vp and Vs images based upon local earthquake tomography

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