Tectonic setting of the Kolar Schist Belt, Karnataka, India

Abstract

The tectonic setting of the Kolar Schist Belt and why the belt may represent a late Archean suture was discussed. The isotopic and chronological evidence that suggest diverse origins of the various packages of supracrustal rocks within the schist belt and the two gneiss terrains adjoining the belt were summarized. The eastern and western amphibolites were derived from sources at similar depths in the mantle (probably at similar ages, ca. 2.7 Ga), but these sources had distinct trace element compositions and histories. A distinctive feature of these differences was shown by the differences between the east and west amphibolites on a Ce vs. Nd diagram. In the gneisses the age and isotopic evidence suggest that the two terranes had distinct histories until after 2520 Ma and by 2420 Ma (Ar-40/Ar-39 age of muscovite in the sheared margin of the schist belt). Based on these data, the schist belt probably represents the site of accretion of diverse fragments (terrains) to the margin of the craton in the latest Archean, possibly as an Archean analog to the Phanerozoic North American Cordillera