Was Baltica part of Rodinia?

Late Ediacaran opening of the Iapetus Ocean is typically considered to reflect separation of Baltica and Laurentia during final breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent, with subsequent closure during the Caledonian Orogeny. However, evidence of the pre-opening juxtaposition of Baltica and Laurentia is limited to purportedly similar apparent polar wander paths and correlation of Rodinia-forming orogenic events. We show that a range of existing data do not unequivocally support correlation of these orogens, and that geologic and palaeomagnetic data instead favour separation of Baltica and Laurentia as early as 1.1–1.2 Ga. Furthermore, new detrital zircon U–Pb age and Ar–Ar thermochronological data from Norway point towards an active western Baltican margin throughout most of the Neoproterozoic and early Palaeozoic. These findings are inconsistent with the majority of palaeogeographic reconstructions that place Baltica near the core of the Rodinia supercontinent

Tectonic evolution and paleogeography of the Kırşehir Block and the Central Anatolian Ophiolites, Turkey

In Central and Western Anatolia two continent-derived massifs simultaneously underthrusted an oceanic lithosphere in the Cretaceous and ended up with very contrasting metamorphic grades: high pressure, low temperature in the Tavsanli zone and the low pressure, high temperature in the Kirsehir Block. To assess why, we reconstruct the Cretaceous paleogeography and plate configuration of Central Anatolia using structural, metamorphic, and geochronological constraints and Africa-Europe plate reconstructions. We review and provide new Ar-40/Ar-39 and U/Pb ages from Central Anatolian metamorphic and magmatic rocks and ophiolites and show new paleomagnetic data on the paleo-ridge orientation in a Central Anatolian Ophiolite. Intraoceanic subduction that formed within the Neotethys around 100-90 Ma along connected N-S and E-W striking segments was followed by overriding oceanic plate extension. Already during suprasubduction zone ocean spreading, continental subduction started. We show that the complex geology of central and southern Turkey can at first order be explained by a foreland-propagating thrusting of upper crustal nappes derived from a downgoing, dominantly continental lithosphere: the Kirsehir Block and Tavsanli zone accreted around 85 Ma, the Afyon zone around 65 Ma, and Taurides accretion continued until after the middle Eocene. We find no argument for Late Cretaceous subduction initiation within a conceptual "Inner Tauride Ocean" between the Kirsehir Block and the Afyon zone as widely inferred. We propose that the major contrast in metamorphic grade between the Kirsehir Block and the Tavsanli zone primarily results from a major contrast in subduction obliquity and the associated burial rates, higher temperature being reached upon higher subduction obliquity.European Research Council ; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO

Early Cenozoic denudation of central west Britain in response to transient and permanent uplift above a mantle plume

Upwelling mantle plumes beneath continental crust are predicted to produce difficult to quantify, modest uplift and denudation. The contribution of permanent and transient components to the uplift is also difficult to distinguish. A pulse of denudation in Britain in the Early Paleogene has been linked, although with some controversy, with the arrival of the proto-Iceland mantle plume. In this contribution we show that combining apatite and zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He and apatite fission track analyses from central west Britain with numerical modeling clearly identifies a pulse of early Cenozoic denudation. The data indicate that rock uplift and denudation were centered on the northern East Irish Sea Basin and 1.0–2.4 km of rocks were removed during the latest Cretaceous-early Paleogene. Uplift and erosion appears to have started a few million years before the earliest magmatism in the region. The regional denudation pattern mirrors the distribution of low-density magmatic rocks that has been imaged in the deep crust. However, the injection of the underplating melt is not enough to account for the total denudation. An additional regional uplift of at least 300 m is required, which is consistent with a transient thermal effect from the hot mantle plume. The rapid exhumation event ceased by ~40 Ma and the data do not require significant Neogene exhumation

Interpreting and reporting ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronologic data

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating method is among the most versatile of geochronometers, having the potential to date a broad variety of K-bearing materials spanning from the time of Earth’s formation into the historical realm. Measurements using modern noble-gas mass spectrometers are now producing ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates with analytical uncertainties of ∼0.1%, thereby providing precise time constraints for a wide range of geologic and extraterrestrial processes. Analyses of increasingly smaller subsamples have revealed age dispersion in many materials, including some minerals used as neutron fluence monitors. Accordingly, interpretive strategies are evolving to address observed dispersion in dates from a single sample. Moreover, inferring a geologically meaningful “age” from a measured “date” or set of dates is dependent on the geological problem being addressed and the salient assumptions associated with each set of data. We highlight requirements for collateral information that will better constrain the interpretation of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data sets, including those associated with single-crystal fusion analyses, incremental heating experiments, and in situ analyses of microsampled domains. To ensure the utility and viability of published results, we emphasize previous recommendations for reporting ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data and the related essential metadata, with the amendment that data conform to evolving standards of being findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) by both humans and computers. Our examples provide guidance for the presentation and interpretation of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates to maximize their interdisciplinary usage, reproducibility, and longevity

The Padre Miguel Ignimbrite Suite, central Honduras: Paleomagnetism, geochronology, and tectonic implications

The Padre Miguel Group in western Honduras is a silicic volcanic sequence that forms part of the Central American Miocene volcanic arc built on the Chortis continental fragment.We report new 40Ar/39Ar data of 16.1±0.2 Ma and 14.42±0.08 Ma for the Padre Miguel Group, and present paleomagnetic data for 36 cooling units (mainly ignimbrites) from localities north and northeast of the capital city of Tegucigalpa. These rocks are characterized by univectorial characteristic magnetization carried mainly by low-Ti titanomagnetites, or two component magnetizations with a minor secondary overprint. Dual polarity magnetizations suggest that it is a primary thermo-remanence and the obtained data scatter can be straightforwardly explained by paleosecular variation. The overall mean of 33 selected sites (14.39°N, 87.14°W) defines a paleomagnetic pole at lat=80.0°N, lon=142.9°E (K=24.5, A95=5.2°). The overall mean compared with the North America expected direction indicates statistically insignificant rotation and inclination anomaly (R=−4.1°±6.1° and an F=−8.6°±11.3°). Restoring 255 km of sinistral slip in the Polochic–Motagua fault system, as suggested by Cayman Trough reconstructions since 15 Ma, brings themid-Miocene arcs of southern Mexico (Oaxaca) and the Central America ignimbrite province into alignment; this is consistent with a derivation of the Chortis Block from southern Mexico. Our paleomagnetic and geochronological studies hence supportmodels that explain the offset of theMiocene ignimbrite belt of Central America by post-Middle Miocene displacement of the Chortis Block relative to North America

Middle Jurassic shear zones at Cap de Creus (eastern Pyrenees, Spain) : a record of pre-drift extension of the Piemonte–Ligurian Ocean?

The Cap de Creus peninsula in NE Spain consists of greenschist- to amphibolite-facies metasediments and granitoid bodies of the Variscan Axial Zone of the Pyrenees, overprinted in the north by anastomosed greenschist-facies shear zones. Current tectonic interpretations ascribe these shear zones to the waning stages of the Variscan orogeny. We present muscovite 40Ar/39Ar data from the shear zones, yielding Middle Jurassic ages between 159.33 ± 0.43 and 175.18 ± 1.10 Ma and one Tertiary age of 58.57 ± 0.55 Ma. We suggest that the present-day structure at Cap de Creus resulted from Variscan deformation and HT–LP metamorphism, followed during the Jurassic by crustal stretching and development of ductile normal faults reflecting pre-drift continental extension related to opening of the Piemonte–Ligurian basin east of Iberia. Tilting during Alpine convergence caused steepening in the northern part of the penisula, with the ductile normal faults rotated to their present orientations appearing as dextral reverse shear zones. The shear zone yielding a Tertiary age could reflect either an Alpine structure or reactivation of an earlier, presumably Jurassic shear zone. The Cap de Creus structure may thus represent a continental margin that has undergone ductile stretching equivalent to the now-buried west Iberian or Newfoundland margin