Sm-Nd garnet and U-Pb monazite dating of high-grade metamorphism and crustal melting in the West Uusimaa area, southern Finland

The 100 km wide late Svecofennian granite-migmatite zone in southern Finland contains the Sulkava, the Turku and the West Uusimaa low-pressure, high-temperature granulite areas. In the West Uusimaa area the peak metamorphic conditions are estimated at T = 750-800°C and P = 4-5 kbars. Detailed isotopic dating of different parts of migmatites (mesosomes and leucosomes) as well garnet-orthopyroxene gneisses was undertaken by conventional analysis of U-Pb on monazite and Sm-Nd on garnet. U-Pb monazite ages show that the West Uusimaa area underwent a granulite facies metamorphism at peak conditions between 1832±2 Ma and 1816±2 Ma. The area was then cooled down to 700-600°C at 1.81-1.79 Ga according to Sm-Nd garnet-whole rock data. These results together with previous data show that all the three granulite areas in southern Finland share a coeval thermal event probably stemming from common or similar heat sources.</p

A geochronological review of magmatism along the external margin of Columbia and in the Grenville-age orogens forming the core of Rodinia

A total of 4344 magmatic U-Pb ages in the range 2300 to 800 Ma have been compiled from the Great Proterozoic Accretionary Orogen along the margin of the Columbia / Nuna supercontinent and from the subsequent Grenvillian collisional orogens forming the core of Rodinia. The age data are derived from Laurentia (North America and Greenland, n = 1212), Baltica (NE Europe, n = 1922), Amazonia (central South America, n = 625), Kalahari (southern Africa and Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica, n = 386), and western Australia (n = 199). Laurentia, Baltica, and Amazonia (and possibly other cratons) most likely formed a ca. 10 000-km-long external active continental margin of Columbia from its assembly at ca. 1800 Ma until its dispersal at ca. 1260 Ma, after which all cratons studied were involved in the Rodinia-forming Grenvillian orogeny. However, the magmatic record is not smooth and even but highly irregular, with marked peaks and troughs, both for individual cratons and the combined data set. Magmatic peaks typically range in duration from a few tens of million years up to around hundred million years, with intervening troughs of comparable length. Some magmatic peaks are observed on multiple cratons, either by coincidence or because of paleogeographic proximity and common tectonic setting, while others are not. The best overall correlation, 0.617, is observed between Baltica and Amazonia, consistent with (but not definitive proof of) their being close neighbours in a SAMBA-like configuration at least in Columbia, and perhaps having shared the same peri-Columbian subduction system for a considerable time. Correlation factors between Laurentia and Baltica, or Laurentia and Amazonia, are below 0.14. Comparison between the Grenville Province in northeastern Laurentia and the Sveconorwegian Province in southwestern Fennoscandia (Baltica) shows some striking similarities, especially in the Mesoproterozoic, but also exhibits differences in the timing of events, especially during the final Grenville-Sveconorwegian collision, when the Sveconorwegian evolution seems to lag behind by some tens of million years. Between the other cratons, the evolution before and during the final Grenvillian collision is also largely diachronous. After 900 Ma, magmatic activity had ceased in all areas investigated, attesting to the position of most of them within the stable interior of Rodinia.publishedVersio

Evolution of migmatitic granulite complexes: Implications from Lapland Granulite Belt, Part II: Isotopic dating

The migmatitic metapelites of the Lapland granulite belt (LGB) in the NE part of the Fennoscandian Shield represent an arc-related greywacke basin metamorphosed in the granulite facies. Detrital zircons from migmatitic metapelites are derived from 1.94 − 2.9 Ga old acid source rocks (U-Pb SIMS ages). The clustering of detrital zircon ages between 1.97 and 2.2 Ga is problematic, because abundant felsic crust of this age is absent in the shield. The metasediments are characterized by Sm-Nd model ages of ca. 2.3 Ga. A younger, 1905 − 1880 Ma population of homogeneous zircons was formed during regional metamorphism. The peak high-grade metamorphism took place at ~1900 Ma and the latest chronological record from subsequent decompression and cooling phase is from ca. 1870 Ma. The norite-enderbite series of the LGB represents arc-magmas, which were intruded into the metasediments at ~1920 − 1905 Ma ago according to zircon U-Pb ages and were probably an important heat source for metamorphism. Older, zoned zircon grains in a quartz norite vein, initial εNd values of 0 to +1 and the continuous spectrum of LILE enrichment in the enderbite-series probably reflect assimilation of metasediments by magmas. Monazite U-Pb ages of migmatitic metasediments in the range 1906 − 1910 ± 3 Ma overlap the late stage of enderbite intrusion and growth of early metamorphic zircons. Garnet-whole rock Sm-Nd ages from leucosomes in the range 1880 − 1886 ± 7 Ma are concurrent with the growth of the youngest metamorphic zircons and probably indicate the crystallization of leucosomes or the influence of a fluid liberated from them. Isotopic and petrologic data reveal that the evolution of Lapland Granulite belt from the erosion of source rocks to the generation of a sedimentary basin, its burial, metamorphism and exhumation took place within ca. 60 Ma

Lead and neodymium isotopic results from metabasalts of the Haveri Formation, southern Finland: Evidence for Palaeoproterozoic enriched mantle

Tholeiitic metabasalts and coexisting sulphides have been analysed for their Pb and Nd isotopic compositions from the Proterozoic Haveri Formation, which forms the basal unit of the Tampere Schist Belt in southern Finland. Ten whole rock samples analysed for Pb isotopes form a sublinear array which yields rather uncertain age estimates in the 1900-2000 Ma range and lies on the 207Pb/204Pb vs. 206Pb/204Pb diagram well below the average global lead evolution curve. The initial lead isotopic composition inferred from the whole rock data and measured on chalcopyrite is the least radiogenic obtained from the Svecofennian domain, and precludes involvement of old upper crustal material in basalt genesis. This together with the geochemical composition and initial εNd (1900) of +0.5±0.6 suggest that the Haveri mafic metavolcanic rocks were not derived from convective MORB-type mantle. The source was rather a mantle, which had been enriched in LREE for a considerable time period. Some chalcopyrite trace leads plot close to the whole rock array while others lie above it. This is interpreted as indicating two distinct mineralisation processes. The primary and major process involved lead which was cogenetic with the basalts, while the second mineralising fluid introduced radiogenic (high 207Pb) upper crustal lead scavenged from the adjacent sedimentary rocks. The least radiogenic leads at Haveri and in the Outokumpu ophiolite complex some 300 km NE are similar and the two occurrences can be coeval. The preservation of original mantle material at Haveri may be interpreted as suggesting that continental crust had formed in the Tampere area 1900-2000 Ma ago

Sm-Nd data for mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the Svecofennian (1.88 Ga) Kotalahti Nickel Belt, Finland - Implications for crustal contamination at the Archaean/Proterozoic boundary

Sm-Nd data were determined for eight mafic-ultramafic intrusions from the Svecofennian (1.88 Ga) Kotalahti Nickel Belt, Finland. The intrusions represent both mineralized and barren types and are located at varying distances from the Archaean/Proterozoic boundary. The samples for the 23 Sm-Nd isotope analyses were taken mostly from the ultramafic differentiates. Results show a range in initial εNd values at 1880 Ma from -2.4 to +2.0. No relationship can be found between the degree of Ni mineralization and initial εNd values, while a correlation with the geological domain and country rocks is evident. The Majasaari and Törmälä intrusions, which have positive εNd values, were emplaced within the Svecofennian domain in proximity to 1.92 Ga tonalitic gneisses, which have previously yielded initial εNd values of ca. +3. In contrast, the Luusniemi intrusion, which has an εNd value of -2.4 is situated close to exposed Archaean crust. Excluding two analyses from the Rytky intrusion, all data from the Koirus N, Koirus S, Kotalahti, Rytky and Kylmälahti intrusions, within error limits, fall in the range -0.7 ± 0.3. The results support the concept of contamination by Archaean material in proximity to the currently exposed craton margin. The composition of the proposed parental magma for the intrusions is close to EMORB, with initial εNd values near +4

Tectono-metamorphic evolution and timing of the melting processes in the Svecofennian Tonalite-Trondhjemite Migmatite Belt: An example from Luopioinen, Tampere area, southern Finland

The Svecofennian Orogen is in southern Finland characterized by two major migmatite belts. These are the so-called Granite Migmatite Belt, in which Kfs-rich leucosomes predominate, and the Tonalite-Trondhjemite Migmatite Belt, which is characterized by Kfs-poor leucosomes and borders the former belt in the north. The present paper deals with selected migmatitic rocks from the latter belt. It is aimed to study the temporal and structural relationships of the different leucosome generations, and to establish the pressure-temperature-time paths of this belt. The Tonalite-Trondhjemite Migmatite Belt consists mainly of migmatitic rocks with various types of synorogenic granitoids and minor mafic and ultramafic crocks. The mesosome of the migmatites consist of garnet-sillimanite-biotite-plagioclase-cordierite-quartz assemblages with rare K-feldspar and late andalusite. The oldest leucosomes are dominated by plagioclase and quartz, and the content of K-feldspar increases in later leucosomes. Microtextural analysis in conjunction with THERMOCALC calculations and geothermometry shows that these rocks were metamorphosed at peak conditions of 700-750°C at 4-5 kbar and aH2O = 0.4-0.7. The formation of cordierite coronas around garnet and the late crystallization of andalusite suggest that the final stage of the P-T history was characterized by decompression and cooling within the andalusite stability field, estimated at 500-650°C and 3-4 kbar. Detailed isotopic dating of mesosome and leucosomes of the migmatites was undertaken by conventional U-Pb analyses on monazite and zircon, Sm-Nd analyses on garnet, and ion probe dating on zircon. The monazites are nearly concordant with an average age of 1878.5±1.5 Ma, and garnet-whole rock analyses show that the concordant leucosomes and the mesosome are coeval within error margins having ages of 1893±40 and 1871±14 Ma, respectively. However, garnet in the discordant vein leucosome provides an age of 1843±11 Ma, which is marginally younger than the age of the adjacent mesosome and the concordant leucosome (1877+18 and 1880±23 Ma, respectively) and the age of monazite. Zircons from the studied migmatites display complex zoning structures using SEM-based CL-imaging. Most grains have distinct cores, clearly remnants of original grains. The cores display various types of zoning but oscillatory zoning dominates. The cores are overgrown by one or two thin outer rims that are of two types: i) unzoned outer rim, considered as overgrowth of new zircon during a metamorphic event, and ii) weakly oscillatory zoned rim, considered as typical of magmatic recrystallization. Ion probe dating of cores yielded slightly discordant 207Pb/206Pb ages of between 2866-2002 Ma, which are interpreted as protolith age. Rims yielded two major age groups: the unzoned rims gave ages of 1872-1886 Ma, whereas the rims with oscillatory zoning yielded ages of 1951—1959 Ma. The youngest age group is consistent with the conventional Sm-Nd dating on garnet and U-Pb dating on monazite and we suggest that the migmatites were metamorphosed at granulite facies conditions at ca. 1880 Ma. The 1951-1959 Ma age group yielded by magmatic zircon rims remains difficult to interpret, but may reflect a magmatic event prior to the metamorphic one. This magmatic event might be related to the rifting of a Svecofennian protocontinent

The Petäjäskoski Formation, a new lithostratigraphic unit in the Paleoproterozoic Peräpohja Belt, northern Finland

This paper gives the first description of a newly-recognized, basin-wide metasedimentary unit in the Paleoproterozoic (~2.4–1.9 Ga) Peräpohja Belt, northern Finland. The unit, which is named the Petäjäskoski Formation (PFm) after the single location where the rocks are known to be exposed, is situated stratigraphically in the middle part of the Kivalo Group between the quartzites of the >2.22 Ga Palokivalo Formation and the mafic volcanic rocks of the ~2.1 Ga Jouttiaapa Formation. The bulk of the PFm comprises phlogopitic-sericitic and albitic schists with abundant hematite as a diagnostic feature. Quartzite and dolomite interbeds are common. Based on drillcore and geophysical data, the succession is several hundreds of meters thick. The unit has prograde, chiefly lower greenschist facies mineral assemblages and, though being commonly intensely deformed, shows well-preserved sedimentary structures that imply deposition in shallow-water to subaerial environments. Based on the original lithological features, the Petäjäskoski Formation can be defined as a claystone-siltstone-sandstone-dolostone association. On the geochemical and stratigraphic basis, the albite schists likely represent albitized equivalents of the micaceous claystones and siltstones. They are intercalated with stratabound collapse breccias, up to tens of meters in thickness, with clasts composed mainly of bordering albite schist. A mafic sill intruding the Petäjäskoski Formation yielded a U-Pb zircon age of 2140 ± 11 Ma. The older, c. 2220 Ma, differentiated sills are not known to reach the stratigraphic level of the Petäjäskoski Formation and hence, the depositional age of the PFm sediments can be bracketed between c. 2220 and 2140 Ma. Detrital zircon grains dated from a quartzitic sample from the PFm show an Archean (c. 2650–3470 Ma) provenance. The moderate to high MgO (~6–13 wt.%), K2O (~3–8 wt.%) and FeOtot (8–15 wt.%) contents, low CaO and Na2O contents, and abundant phlogopite and hematite make the mica schists unique among the metasedimentary rocks of the Finnish Karelian supracrustal belts. These features together with the abundance of dravititic tourmaline, the presence of pseudomorphic nodules potentially after gypsum and anhydrite, deposition under shallow-water conditions, and albitization and brecciation of the sedimentary strata suggest an evaporitic depositional environment

Evolution of migmatitic granulite complexes: Implications from Lapland Granulite Belt, Part I: Metamorphic geology

The Palaeoproterozoic Lapland granulite belt was juxtaposed between Archaean and Proterozoic terrains in the NE part of the Fennoscandian Shield concurrently with the accretion of Svecofennian arc complexes at ~1.9 Ga. The belt consists mainly of aluminous migmatitic metagreywackes. Abundant noritic to enderbitic magmas were intruded concordantly into the metasediments and were probably an important heat source for metamorphism, which took place during the crystallization of the magmas. This is supported by structural and contact relations of metasediments and igneous rocks, and by the lack progressive metamorphic reaction textures in the igneous rock series. The peak of metamorphism took place above the dehydration melting temperature of the biotite-sillimanite-plagioclase-quartz assemblage at 750 − 850 °C and 5 − 8.5 kbar which lead to formation of a restitic palaeosome and peraluminous granitic melt in metapelites. Subsequently, the rocks were decompressed and cooled below the wet melting temperature of pelitic rocks (650 °C) under the stability field of andalusite coexisting with potassium feldspar (2 − 3 kbar). Cooling was accompanied by the crystallization of the neosomes, often carrying aluminium-rich phases. Postmetamorphic duplexing of the LGB is clearly seen in the distribution of calculated PT conditions

Relationships between sanukitoids and crust-derived melts and their implications for the diversity of Neoarchaean granitoids: A case study from Surmansuo and nearby areas, Eastern Finland

We present new isotopic data (U-Pb and Sm-Nd) from the Neoarchean granitoids of the Lentua complex, which is a part of the Western Karelia subprovince of the Fennoscandian Shield. Compositionally, the samples are granitoids belonging to the sanukitoid suite and K-rich granitoids. Certain samples interpreted as partial melts of pre-existing crust in this study display more mafic compositions than previously described from the surrounding areas. This indicates, at least locally, a source poorer in SiO2 than the TTG (Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite) suite granitoids, which are the likely sources for the majority of the anatectic granitoids within the Lentua complex. Based on new geochronological data (LA-MC-ICPMS U-Pb on zircon), the sanukitoids and anatectic granitoids are at least partly coeval (2.69 Ga) in the area, but interaction between the two felsic magmas was limited. The dated sanukitoid sample is distinctly younger (2687±8 Ma) than the average age of the sanukitoids of the Western Karelia subprovince (2718±3 Ma) indicating, together with one previously published sanukitoid age, the existence of a younger sanukitoid phase. This study gives new important constraints to understanding the formation of the Western Karelia subprovince by expanding the observed compositional heterogeneity and the temporal overlap of the different Neoarchean granitoid suites

SIMS zircon ages and Nd isotope systematics of the 2.2 Ga mafic intrusions in northern and eastern Finland

Using the SIMS, ID-TIMS and Sm-Nd isotopic methods and the electron microprobe, we have studied several differentiated mafic intrusions of the c. 2.2 Ga gabbro-wehrlite association (GWA) from four Paleoproterozoic schist belts and the Archean Kuhmo Greenstone Belt. Back-scattered electron images and electron microprobe analyses revealed that zircon crystals vary from well-preserved to turbid and highly altered with individual grains often displaying irregular, hydrated, CaO-bearing domains. In the most pristine domains, suitable for establishing the crystallization ages, SIMS 207Pb/206Pb ages fall in the range of 2210–2220 Ma, which is consistent with the most concordant ID-TIMS U-Pb ages. One of the studied intrusions that had previously yielded a conventional U-Pb date of less than 2.0 Ga, could be shown by spot analysis to belong to the 2.2 Ga family. In contrast to the well-preserved zircon domains, altered domains exhibit a variable and often strong U-Pb discordance up to 70 % and have distinctly lower 207Pb/206Pb ages. Some zircon grains record isotopic resetting at the time of the Svecofennian orogeny (ca. 1.8–1.9 Ga), while the most discordant ones project in the concordia diagram to late Paleozoic lower intercept ages indicating a relative recent Pb loss. The mineral chemistry of zircon suggests that the leakage of radiogenic Pb can be ascribed to an open-system behavior related to hydrothermal alteration via action of CaCl2-bearing fluids. Common albitization of plagioclase in the GWA intrusions has caused this mineral to behave as an open system with regard to the Sm-Nd isotopic systematics. Despite this uncertainty, our Nd isotopic data indicate that the magma that produced the GWA intrusions in various parts of northern and eastern Finland was isotopically homogeneous and had an initial εNd(2220 Ma) value of c. +0.6 precluding significant upper crustal contamination upon emplacement and subsequent fractional crystallization