Detrital zircon signatures in Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary units in southern New Brunswick – more pieces of the puzzle (original) (raw)
Related papers
Precambrian Research, 2003
Detrital ages have been determined for zircon grains from quartzite clasts in Neoproterozoic conglomerate units in the Avalonian Mira and Caledonia terranes and from quartzite units in both Avalon terrane (Gamble Brook Formation) and the adjacent Brookville–Bras d’Or terrane (Green Head Group). These data are compared to published detrital zircon data from other sedimentary units in the Avalon and Brookville–Bras d’Or terranes, and from paragneissic units in the latter terrane. The aim of this study was to determine the source of the clasts and the general provenance of metasedimentary rocks in these terranes, data that could help to interpret whether the terranes were assembled by the Neoproterozoic or later during the Paleozoic.Studied quartzite units in the Avalon terrane show no ages younger than about 1000 Ma, in contrast to stratigraphically younger conglomerate units, which contain a high proportion of detrital ages around 600 Ma, the peak of igneous activity in Avalon terrane. Quartzite from the Brookville terrane and quartzite clasts from the Mira and Caledonia (Avalon) terranes have no ages younger than about 1200 Ma. Detrital zircon ages from these units are concentrated in the range 2000–1200 Ma, and most samples also show some Late Archean ages. Paragneissic units in Brookville–Bras d’Or terrane show age peaks at ca. 700–650 Ma that slightly pre-date the main pulse of Avalon magmatism, and contain Mesoproterozoic zircon grains younger than those in the quartzite samples.The broad range of Mesoproterozoic to Late Archean ages and general similarity of the age distributions suggest that Brookville–Bras d’Or terrane and Avalon terrane sensu stricto developed near the same or similar large continental landmasses, possibly over an extended period of time. On the other hand, the differences between the terranes, together with lithological and metamorphic contrasts, suggest that quartzite and paragneiss in the Brookville–Bras d’Or terrane are not directly related to each other or to sandstone/quartzite units in the Avalon terrane sensu stricto. Some components of their detrital age signatures point toward Amazonia as the associated landmass, but if so, Trans-Amazonian (2300–2070 Ma) rocks constituted only a very minor proportion of the source area. Baltica may be a more suitable source to explain the data. Quartzite clasts in the Mira and Caledonia terranes (Avalon terrane sensu stricto) show somewhat unique features, such as a concentration of ages around 2000 Ma and the presence of detrital metamorphic zircon at around 680 Ma. This metamorphic zircon may have been derived from a unit such as the Hammondville metamorphic suite in New Brunswick, which has been interpreted to represent the remains of a subduction complex in the Avalon terrane.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2012
Avalonia in the northern Appalachian orogen is generally assumed to have originated near the margin of Gondwana, although its position along that extensive margin and the timing of its separation remain disputed. U–Pb ages determined by laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry are reported here for detrital zircon from Avalonian clastic sedimentary units, three in southern New Brunswick, and one in southeastern Cape Breton Island, with depositional ages ranging from ca. 630 to ca. 505 Ma. Considered in combination with previously published detrital data sets from two other samples from southern New Brunswick deposited in a similar age range, the samples show a wide spectrum of ages from Ediacaran to Neoarchean (as old as 3.2 Ga). The dominant zircon populations in all six samples are Ediacaran–Cryogenian with ages between 770 and 540 Ma and can be matched with known magmatic events in Avalonia. Pre-Avalonian cycle detrital zircon dates in the samples are relat...
Atlantic Geology, 2009
Detrital zircon ages were determined for conglomerate and sandstone samples from six fault-bounded belts in New Brunswick and coastal Maine. Formations sampled included the Martinon (Brookville belt), Flagg Cove (Grand Manan Island belt), Matthews Lake (New River belt), Ellsworth (Ellsworth belt), Calais (St. Croix belt), and Baskahegan Lake (Miramichi belt). Their maximum age of deposition is based on the youngest detrital zircon population and minimum age of deposition based on stratigraphic, paleontological, and cross-cutting intrusive relationships. The determined range of depositional ages are: Martinon between 602 ± 8 (youngest zircons) and 546 ± 2 Ma (age of cross-cutting intrusion); Flagg Cove between 574 ± 7 (youngest zircons) and 535 ± 3 Ma (age of cross-cutting intrusion); Matthews Lake between 539 ± 5 (youngest zircons) and 514 ± 2 Ma (age of overlying volcanic rocks); Ellsworth between 507 ± 6 (youngest zircons) and 504 ± 3 Ma (age of overlying volcanic rocks); Calais b...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2002
A geochronological investigation of metasedimentary rocks from southern Baffin Island using the Geological Survey of Canada SHRIMP II (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe) has characterized the ages of detrital zircon populations to determine their provenance, bracket timing of deposition, and distinguish potentially distinct sequences of rocks. Four lithologically and structurally distinct metasedimentary packages have been identified; each appears to have been derived from a different source region. In the structurally lowest package, all analysed zircons are Archean, and > 90% have ages between 2.83 and 2.63 Ga; these rocks are interpreted as the northernmost exposures of the Paleoproterozoic Povungnituk Group of the Cape Smith Belt, northern Quebec, with detritus derived from the Superior craton. Occupying the intermediate structural levels, the most abundant supracrustal rocks on southern Baffin Island are siliciclastic and carbonate units of the Lake Harbour Group, and the Tasiuyak paragneiss. Five samples show a dominantly Paleoproterozoic signature (2.2-1.9 Ga), with only rare Archean zircons; the provenance of this detritus is uncertain. In the distinct package of feldspathic quartzite and pelite that stratigraphically overlies the Lake Harbour Group, all of the analysed detrital grains are Archean,~80% are > 2.83 Ga, with a small proportion of the grains in excess of 3.0 Ga; all of this material is thought to be derived from the Archean craton exposed on the Hall Peninsula east of the study area. Finally, at the highest structural level, a sample associated with the Hall Peninsula orthogneisses contains zircons with prominent modes at 2.92, 2.82, and 2.77 Ga, consistent with derivation from the surrounding orthogneisses.
Atlantic Geology, 2019
Zircon grains from a granitic pegmatite clast from conglomerate at the base of the Ross Island Formation on Grand Manan Island indicate an igneous crystallization age of 664.1 ± 4.6 Ma. The clast also contains abundant older inherited grains back to the Archean. Muscovite in the same clast and an additional similar clast yielded cooling ages of 607.0 ± 3.7 Ma and 619.6 ± 4.1 Ma, respectively, providing a maximum depositional age for the host conglomerate of the Ross Island Formation. The similarity in age to pegmatite in the Seven Hundred Acre Island Formation in Penobscot Bay, Maine, supports earlier correlations between the two areas based on similarities in Neoproterozoic quartzite and carbonate units.
Atlantic Geology
New U–Pb zircon ages from volcanic, plutonic, and sedimentary units in the Avalonian Caledonia terrane of southern New Brunswick provide better timing constraints in this geologically complex area. Previous ca. 620 Ma ages from the Broad River Group are now corroborated by additional dates from felsic tuff in the Gordon Falls Formation and rhyolite in the former Fairfield (now East Branch Black River) Formation of 620 ± 5 Ma and 622 ± 1.9 Ma, respectively. Combined with ages ranging from ca. 625 Ma to 615 Ma from crosscutting plutons, the data suggest that the minimum age of the Broad River Group is about 615 Ma. A quartzfeldspar porphyry dyke in mafic volcanic rocks of the previously undated Long Beach Formation yielded an igneous crystallization age of 685 ± 10 Ma, the oldest unit yet dated in the Caledonia terrane but similar in age to porphyry in the Stirling belt in the Avalonian Mira terrane of Nova Scotia. The age of the Coldbrook Group was constrained previously by U–Pb (zir...
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2017
Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary successions of the northwestern Canadian Shield provide records of tectonic events, but the definition of depositional ages has proved elusive. Although previously poorly understood, the Montresor belt of western Nunavut yields new insight into the 2.2–1.8 Ga time window. On the basis of U–Pb analyses of detrital zircon in sedimentary rocks and igneous zircon in sills, we conclude that arenite of the lower Montresor group was deposited between 2.194 and 2.045 Ga, and arkose of the upper Montresor group after 1.924 Ga, adding constraints on the Rae cover sequence. The lower Montresor arenite yielded an older group (3.05–2.58 Ga) and a younger, more tightly constrained group (2.194 ± 0.014 Ga). Four of six zircon grains analyzed from a gabbro sill within the lower Montresor have discordant 207Pb/206Pb ages (2.71, 2.66, 2.53, and 2.39 Ga) and are considered to be inherited, whereas two grains provide an age of 2045 ± 13 Ma, interpreted to date crystalli...
Geological Society of America eBooks, 2022
The Avalon terrane of southeastern New England is a composite terrane in which various crustal blocks may have different origins and/or tectonic histories. The northern part (west and north of Boston, Massachusetts) correlates well with Avalonian terranes in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, Canada, based on rock types and ages, U-Pb detrital zircon signatures of metasedimentary rocks, and Sm-Nd isotope geochemistry data. In the south, fewer data exist, in part because of poorer rock exposure, and the origins and histories of the rocks are less well constrained. We conducted U-Pb laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysis on zircon from seven metasedimentary rock samples from multiple previously interpreted subterranes in order to constrain their origins. Two samples of Neoproterozoic Plainfield Formation quartzite from the previously interpreted Hope Valley subterrane in the southwestern part of the southeastern New England Avalon terrane and two from the Neoproterozoic Blackstone Group quartzite from the adjacent Esmond-Dedham subterrane to the east have Tonian youngest detrital zircon age populations. One sample of Cambrian North Attleboro Formation quartzite of the Esmond-Dedham subterrane yielded an Ediacaran youngest detrital zircon age population. Detrital zircon populations of all five samples include abundant Mesoproterozoic zircon and smaller Paleoproterozoic and Archean populations, and are similar to those of the northern part of the southeastern New England Avalon terrane and the Avalonian terranes in Canada. These are interpreted