Timing of sedimentation, metamorphism, and plutonism in the Helgeland Nappe Complex, north-central Norwegian Caledonides

The Helgeland Nappe Complex consists of a sequence of imbricated east-dipping nappes that record a history of Neoproterozoic- Ordovician, sedimentary, metamorphic, and magmatic events. A combination of U-Pb dating of zircon and titanite by laser-ablation- inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry plus chemostratigraphic data on marbles places tight constraints on the sedimentary, tectonic, and thermal events of the complex. Strontium and carbon isotope data have identifi ed Neoproterozoic marbles in the Lower Nappe, the Horta nappe, and Scandian-aged infolds in the Vikna region. The environment of deposition of these rocks was a continental shelf, presumably of Laurentia. Detrital zircon ages from the Lower Nappe are nearly identical to those of Dalradian sedimentary rocks in Scotland. Cambrian rifting caused development of one or more ophiolitefl oored basins, into which thick sequences of Early Ordovician clastic and carbonate sediments were deposited. On the basis of ages of the youngest zircons, deposition ended after ca. 481 Ma. These basin units are now seen as the Skei Group, Sauren-Torghatten Nappe, and Middle Nappe, as well as the stratigraphically highest part of the Horta nappe and possibly of the Upper Nappe. The provenance of these sediments was partly from the Lower Nappe, on the basis of detrital zircon age populations in metasandstones and cobbles from proximal conglomerates. However, the source of Cambrian-Ordovician zircons in all of the Early Ordovician basins is enigmatic. Crustal anatexis of the Lower and Upper Nappes occurred ca. 480 Ma, followed by imbrication of the entire nappe sequence. By ca. 478 Ma, the Horta nappe was overturned and was at the structural base of the nappe sequence, where it underwent migmatization and was the source of S-type magmas. Diverse magmatic activity followed ca. 465 Ma, 450-445 Ma, and 439-424 Ma. Several plutons in the youngest age range contain inherited 460-450 Ma zircons. These zircons are interpreted to refl ect a deep crustal zone in which mafi c magmas caused melting, mixing, and hybridization from 460 to 450 Ma. Magmatic reheating of this zone, possibly associated with crustal thickening, resulted in voluminous, predominantly tonalitic magmatism from 439 to 424 Ma

The geology, volcanic activity, and age of Bouvetøya, South Atlantic

International Symposium on the Activity of Oceanic Volcanoes. Ponta Delgada, 4-9 August 1980.The volcanic cone of Bouvetøya is built up of two formations. The older formation, of predominantly pyrodastic rocks which are typically hydrothermally altered, is overlain by a formation of mainly lava flows. The rocks present on the island constitute a transitional volcanic series. K/Ar dating indicates that surface rocks were formed as early as 1.4 Ma B.P. The rocks of Nyrøysa are 0.4-0.5 Ma, showing that this platform, which formed between 1955 and 1958, represents a landslide type deposit rather than a recent eruption as has previously been suggested by several workers. Various kinds of evidence suggest that the volcanic activity, or a cycle of activity, of Bvuvet0ya is now in a declining phase.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The geology and age of Peter I Øy, Antarctica

The island Peter I 0y is located in the BeUinghausen Sea 400 km off the coast of West Antarctica. It is situated at the transition between oceanic and contintental crust close to a former transform fault, the Tharp fracture zone. The island is completely volcanic, consisting of predominantly alkali basalt and hawaiite and some more evolved rocks. Sampling done by the Aurora expedition in 1987 has made dating and detailed petrological studies possible. The island appears to be much younger

Magma hybridization in the middle crust: Possible consequences for deep-crustal magma mixing

The 465 Ma Svarthopen pluton in north-central Norway was emplaced under middle-crustal conditions (∼700 MPa) into metasedimentary rocks of the Helgeland Nappe Complex. The pluton is characterized by zones of mingling and mixing of gabbro/diorite with peraluminous, garnet-bearing biotite granite. Variation in bulk-rock Sr and Nd isotope ratios are consistent with simple mixing; however, nonuniform enrichment of Zr and the rare earth elements (REEs) suggests that individual magma batches underwent postmixing fractionation. Hybrid intermediate rocks are characterized by Carich garnet. Such garnet is absent in possible mafic end members, and garnet in felsic end members is Ca poor. Evidently, the ferroan, peraluminous hybrid rocks promoted garnet stability, and we interpret these garnets to be igneous in origin. Garnets in the hybrids have low Zr contents, positive light REE slopes, and flat to negative heavy REE slopes with lower REE abundances than in typical igneous garnet. These trace-element data combined with textural evidence suggest that garnet formed near the solidus, after fractionation of zircon, allanite, and possibly xenotime. The Svarthopen pluton is not unique: similar intermediate rocks with Ca-rich garnets crop out adjacent to three other plutons in the region. Formation of garnet-bearing hybrid rocks in the Svarthopen pluton provides an analog for mixing of peraluminous and ferroan end-member magmas in the deep crust, where such mixing should be widespread, particularly in continental arcs and zones of continental collision. Postmixing fractionation of hybrid magmas could greatly increase the diversity of major- and trace-element abundances yet retain an isotopic signature of mixing. Moreover, formation of garnet-rich hybrids could result in lower-crustal rocks dense enough to delaminate from the arc crust

Reassembling the Paleogene?Eocene North Atlantic igneous province: New paleomagnetic constraints from the Isle of Mull, Scotland

International audienceThe paleomagnetic data sets from the British Tertiary Igneous Province (BTIP) have recently been criticized as being unreliable and discordant with data from elsewhere in the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) [Riisager et al. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 201 (2002) 261?276; Riisager et al. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 214 (2003) 409?425]. We offer new paleomagnetic data for the extensive lava flow sequence on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, and can confirm the paleomagnetic pole positions emanating from important earlier studies. Our new north paleomagnetic pole position for Eurasia at 59 ± 0.2 Ma has latitude 73.3°N, longitude 166.2°E (dp/dm = 5.2/7.0). A re-evaluation and an inter-comparison of the paleomagnetic database emanating from the NAIP were carried out to test for sub-province consistency. We find a general agreement between the Eurasian part of NAIP (BTIP and Faeroes) and East Greenland data. However a compilation of West Greenland data displays a large and unexplained dispersion. We speculate on if this is related to different sense of block rotation of the Tertiary West Greenland constituents. Combining all data from the NAIP constituents, give a pole position at 75.0°N, 169.9°E (N = 25, K = 84.3, A95 = 3.2) in Eurasian reference frame

Geology of a magma transfer zone: the Hortav沠Igneous Complex, north-central Norway

The Hortavær intrusive complex consists of a wide range of plutonic rocks, from gabbro (calcic) to alkali feldspar syenite (alkalic). Emplacement at 456 ± 8 Ma (U-Pb, titanite) was primarily as a series of dikes that range from tens of cm to many meter

Upper paleocene ultramafic igneous rocks offshore mid-Norway: Re-interpretation of the vestbrona formation as a sill complex

Continental breakup between northwest Europe and Greenland (approximately 56 Ma) was associated with widespread magmatism. Silica undersaturated alkaline porphyritic igneous rocks of a similar age have previously been dredged near the mid-Norwegian coast. These igneous rocks of the Vestbrona Formation have previously been interpreted as either igneous plugs or volcanic flows. New 3D seismic data indicate that relatively small sill complexes are abundant in the same region. In total, 36 sills with a size of 0.1‒9 km2 have been mapped. In addition, 10 seismic horizons were interpreted and tied to nearby wells to obtain a robust stratigraphic framework. The sills mainly intrude Cretaceous and Paleocene sequences; however, one sill is also identified in the pre-Cretaceous sequences. The sills locally form erosional remnants on the seabed due to massive uplifting and erosion of the continental margin. Vintage igneous and sedimentary dredge samples have been reanalyzed, including petrography, geochemistry (X-ray fluorescence [XRF], X-ray diffraction [XRD]), biostratigraphy, and Ar-Ar geochronology. The new Ar-Ar data suggest that the sills are 1–2 Ma older than breakup (approximately 57–58 Ma). Furthermore, the biostratigraphy and petrography of two sediment samples suggest that the samples were collected from near in situ subcrops and not of an ice rafted origin. The sediment samples are of Danian age and are strongly metamorphosed, most likely by contact metamorphism resulting from heating during sill emplacement. The newly identified sills have implications for the petroleum prospectivity of the study area including source rock maturation within thermal aureoles and the long-term alteration of fluid migration pathways. Redistribution subject to SEG license or copyright; see Terms of Use at http://library.seg.org

Ordovician magmatism, deformation, and exhumation in the Caledonides of central Norway: An orphan of the Taconic orogeny?

Magmatism, contractional deformation, and extension associated with the exhumation of high-pressure rocks in the Scandinavian Caledonides are commonly attributed to the Silurian-Devonian Scandian orogeny, in which eastward thrusting of allochthonous terranes over Baltica was followed by extensional collapse and exhumation. New fieldwork and U-Pb geochronology coupled with recent pressure-temperature estimates within the highest thrust sequence of the Caledonian orogen indicate that an earlier phase of west-directed contractional deformation was punctuated by migmatite-producing events and voluminous magmatism ca. 477-466 Ma and ca. 447 Ma, followed by exhumation in the Late Ordovician. Al-in-hornblende and GASP thermobarometry indicate that emplacement of a suite of 448-445 Ma plutons caused partial migmatization at pressures of 700-800 MPa. Subsequent isothermal exhumation to pressures of 400 MPa occured while the host rocks were still partially molten. Rates of exhumation may have ranged from 2 to 11 mm·yr-1 or greater. These data provide evidence for a previously unrecognized phase of exhumation in the Caledonides and for aerially extensive west-vergent deformation. Deformation and magmatism associated with these events may be related to Taconic-age orogenesis near Laurentia, where the highest nappe sequences of the Scandinavian Caledonides probably resided during early Paleozoic time