A detective duo of apatite and zircon geochronology for East Avalonia, Johnston Complex, Wales

Published online: March 30, 2023. OnlinePublThe Johnston Complex represents a rare inlier of the Neoproterozoic basement of southern Britain and offers a window into the tectonomagmatic regime of East Avalonia during the assembly of Gondwana. This work presents in-situ zircon (U-Pb, Lu-Hf), apatite (U-Pb), and trace element chemistry for both minerals from the Complex. Zircon and apatite yield a coeval crystallisation age of 570 ± 3 Ma, and a minor antecrystic zircon core component is identified at 615 ± 11 Ma. Zircon Lu-Hf data imply a broadly chondritic source, comparable to Nd data from East Avalonia, and TDM 2 model ages of ca. 1.5 Ga indicate source extraction during the Mesoproterozoic. Zircon trace element chemistry is consistent with an ensialic calcalkaline continental arc setting and demonstrates that magmatism was ongoing prior to terrane dispersal at 570 Ma. Apatite trace element chemistry implies a sedimentary component within the melt consistent with voluminous S-type granite production during the formation of Gondwana. The similarity of ɛHf and geochemistry between both zircon age populations suggest derivation from a uniform source that did not undergo significant modification between 615 – 570 Ma. Time-constrained apatite-zircon chemistry addresses complexities in dating S-type granitoids (zircon inheritance) and permits inferences on post-magmatic thermal histories.Anthony J.I. Clarke, Christopher L. Kirkland, Stijn Glori

Adakite-like granitoids of Songkultau: A relic of juvenile Cambrian arc in Kyrgyz Tien Shan

The early Paleozoic Terskey Suture zone, located in the southern part of the Northern Tien Shan domain in Kyrgyzstan, comprises tectonic slivers of dismembered ophiolites and associated primitive volcanics and deep-marine sediments. In the Lake Songkul area, early-middle Cambrian pillow basalts are crosscut by the Songkultau intrusion of coarse-grained gneissose quartz diorites and tonalites with geochemical characteristics typical for high-SiO2 adakites (SiO2 ​> ​56 ​wt.%, Al2O3 ​> ​15 ​wt.%, Na2O ​> ​3.5 ​wt.% and high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios). The Songkultau granitoids have positive initial εNd (+3.8 to +6.4) and εHf (+12.3 to +13.5) values indicating derivation from sources with MORB-like isotopic signature. Volcanic formations, surrounding the Songkultau intrusion, have geochemical affinities varying from ocean floor to island arc series. This rock assemblage is interpreted as a relic of an early-middle Cambrian primitive arc where the adakite-like granitoids were derived from partial melting of young and hot subducted oceanic crust. An age of 505 ​Ma, obtained for the Songkultau intrusion, shows that hot subduction under the Northern Tien Shan continued until middle Cambrian. The primitive arc complexes were obducted onto the Northern Tien Shan domain, where the Andean type continental magmatic arc developed in Cambrian and Ordovician. Formation of the Andean type arc was accompanied by uplift, erosion and deposition of coarse clastic sediments. A depositional age of ca. 470 Ma, obtained for the gravellites in the Lake Songkul area, is in agreement with the timing of deposition for lower Ordovician conglomerates elsewhere in the Northern Tien Shan, and corresponds to the main phase of the Andean type magmatism. The Songkultau adakites in association with surrounding ocean floor and island arc formations constitute a relic of a primitive Cambrian arc and represent a juvenile domain of substantial size identified so far within the predominantly crustal-derived terranes of Tien Shan. On a regional scale this primitive arc can be compared with juvenile Cambrian arcs of Kazakhstan, Gorny Altai and Mongolia.©2020 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

The Orienteering Problem under Uncertainty Stochastic Programming and Robust Optimization compared

The Orienteering Problem (OP) is a generalization of the well-known traveling salesman problem and has many interesting applications in logistics, tourism and defense. To reflect real-life situations, we focus on an uncertain variant of the OP. Two main approaches that deal with optimization under uncertainty are stochastic programming and robust optimization. We will explore the potentialities and bottlenecks of these two approaches applied to the uncertain OP. We will compare the known robust approach for the uncertain OP (the robust orienteering problem) to the new stochastic programming counterpart (the two-stage orienteering problem). The application of both approaches will be explored in terms of their suitability in practice

Low-Temperature Thermochronology of the Chatkal-Kurama Terrane (Uzbekistan-Tajikistan): Insights Into the Meso-Cenozoic Thermal History of the Western Tian Shan

The Chatkal-Kurama terrane represents a key region in understanding the tectonic evolution of the western Tian Shan. In this contribution, we present new thermochronological data (zircon [U-Th-Sm]/He, apatite fission track, and apatite [U-Th-Sm]/He) and the associated thermal history models for 30 igneous samples from the Chatkal-Kurama terrane within Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (west of the Talas-Fergana Fault) and integrate our data with published data from the central Tian Shan (east of the Talas-Fergana Fault). The Chatkal-Kurama terrane experienced a phase of rapid cooling during the Triassic-Jurassic at ca. 225–190 Ma, which we interpret as a far-field response to the closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean or the accretion of the Qiangtang terrane on to the Eurasian margin. In the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, the Chatkal-Kurama terrane experienced a period of tectonic stability and denudation, before transitioning into a period of marine incursions of the Paratethys Sea. In contrast, fast cooling is recorded for the Kyrgyz central Tian Shan to the east of the Talas-Fergana Fault. The differing thermal histories at either side of the Talas-Fergana Fault suggest that the fault induced a topographic divide during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, with high relief in the east (Kyrgyz Tian Shan) and low relief to the west (Uzbek-Tajik Tian Shan). Finally, the Chatkal-Kurama terrane experienced renewed tectonic activity since ca. 30 Ma, related with the distant India-Eurasia collision and Pamir indentation. The Cenozoic reactivation induced crustal tilting of the Chatkal-Kurama terrane, progressively exposing deeper rocks to the southwest

In-situ Lu-Hf geochronology of calcite

Published: 8 June 2022The ability to constrain the age of calcite formation is of great utility to the Earth science community, due to the ubiquity of calcite across a wide spectrum of geological systems. Here, we present the first in situ laser ablation inductively coupled tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) Lu–Hf ages for calcite, demonstrating geologically meaningful ages for iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) and skarn mineralisation, carbonatite intrusion, and low-grade metamorphism. The analysed samples range in age between ca. 0.9 and ca. 2 Ga with uncertainties between 1.7 % and 0.6 % obtained from calcite with Lu concentrations as low as ca. 0.5 ppm. The Lu–Hf system in calcite appears to be able to preserve primary precipitation ages over a significant amount of geological time, although further research is required to constrain the closure temperature. The in situ approach allows calcite to be rapidly dated while maintaining its petrogenetic context with mineralisation and other associated mineral processes. Therefore, LA-ICP-MS/MS Lu–Hf dating of calcite can be used to resolve the timing of complex mineral paragenetic sequences that are a feature of many ancient rock systems.Alexander Simpson, Stijn Glorie, Martin Hand, Carl Spandler, Sarah Gilbert, and Brad Cav

Laser ablation (in situ) Lu-Hf dating of magmatic fluorite and hydrothermal fluorite-bearing veins

Available online 26 May 2023Fluorite (CaF2) is a common hydrothermal mineral, which precipitates from fluorine-rich fluids with an exceptional capacity to transport metals and Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Hence, the ability to date fluorite has important implications for understanding the timing of metal transport in hydrothermal systems. Here we present, for the first time, fluorite Lu-Hf dates from fluorite-carbonate veins from the Olympic Cu-Au Province in South Australia. The fluorite dates were obtained in situ using the recently developed LA-ICP-MS/MS Lu-Hf dating method. A fluorite-calcite age of 1588 ± 19 Ma was obtained for the Torrens Dam prospect, consistent with the timing of the formation of the nearby Olympic Dam iron-oxide copper gold Breccia Complex. Veins in the overlying Neoproterozoic successions were dated at 502 ± 14 Ma, indicating a temporal link between Cu-sulphide remobilisation and the Delamerian Orogeny. Additionally, we present a multi-session reproducible date for magmatic fluorite from a monzogranite in the Pilbara Craton (Lu-Hf age of 2866 ± 19 Ma). This age is consistent with a garnet Lu-Hf age from the same sample (2850 ± 12 Ma) and holds potential to be developed into secondary reference material for future fluorite Lu-Hf dating.Stijn Glorie, Jacob Mulder, Martin Hand, Adrian Fabris, Alexander Simpson, Sarah Gilber

Tracking the Cretaceous transcontinental Ceduna River through Australia: the hafnium isotope record of detrital zircons from offshore southern Australia

The middle–upper Cretaceous Ceduna River system traversed continental Australia from the NE coast to the centre of the southern coast. At its mouth, it formed a vast delta system that is similar in scale to the Niger delta of West Africa. The delta system is composed of two main lobes that represent different phases of delta construction. A recent hypothesis has challenged the traditional idea that both lobes of the delta were derived from a transcontinental river system by suggesting that the upper lobe (Santonian–Maastrichtian) is instead derived from a restricted catchment within southern Australia. Hf isotopic data presented here fingerprint the original source of the upper delta lobe zircons to NE Australia, with data comparing well with similar U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic data from the Lachlan Orogen, the New England Orogen, the eastern Musgraves Province and the northern Flinders Ranges. These data do not preclude a model where the lobe is derived from recycled Eromanga Basin sediments during a phase of late Cretaceous inland Australian uplift, but when coupled with reconnaissance low-temperature thermochronometry from the region of the Ceduna River course indicating widespread Triassic–Jurassic exhumation, and comparisons with detrital zircon data from the Winton Formation upstream of any proposed uplift, we suggest that both lobes of the Ceduna Delta are likely to be derived from a transcontinental Ceduna River.Jarred Lloyd, Alan S. Collins, Justin L. Payne, Stijn Glorie, Simon Holford, Anthony J. Rei

An apatite U-Pb thermal history map for the northern Gawler Craton, South Australia

Abstract not availableJames W. Hall, Stijn Glorie, Anthony J. Reid, Samuel C. Boone, Alan S. Collins, Andrew Gleado

Low-temperature thermal history of the McArthur Basin: Influence of the Cambrian Kalkarindji Large Igneous Province on hydrocarbon maturation

First published: 04 July 2022The McArthur Basin of the North Australian Craton is one of the very few places on Earth where extensive hydrocarbons are preserved that were generated from Mesoproterozoic source rocks, prior to the development of extensive multicellular life. It is, however, unclear precisely when hydrocarbons from these source rocks matured, and if this occurred as a singular event or multiple phases. In this study, we present new apatite fission track data from a combination of outcrop and sub-surface samples from the McArthur Basin to investigate the post-depositional thermal history of the basin, and to explore the timing of hydrocarbon maturation. Apatite fission track data and thermal modelling suggest that the McArthur Basin experienced a basin-wide reheating event contemporaneous with the eruption of the Cambrian Kalkarindji Large Igneous Province in the North and West Australian cratons, during which thick (>500 m) basaltic flows blanketed the basin surface. Reheating at ca. 510 Ma coinciding with Kalkarindji volcanism is consistent with a proposed timing of elevated hydrocarbon maturation, particularly in the Beetaloo Sub-basin, and provides a mechanism for petroleum generation throughout the basin. Subsequent regional cooling was slow and gradual, most likely facilitated by gentle erosion (ca. 0.01–0.006 km/Ma) of overlying Georgina Basin sediments in the Devonian–Carboniferous with little structural reactivation. This model provides a framework in which hydrocarbons, sourced from Mesoproterozoic carbon-rich rocks, may have experienced thermal maturation much later in the Cambrian. Preservation of these hydrocarbons was aided by a lack of widespread structural exhumation following this event.Angus L. Nixon, Stijn Glorie, Derrick Hasterok, Alan S. Collins, Nicholas Fernie, Geoffrey Frase