Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark

Synchronous Oligocene–Miocene metamorphism of the Pamir and the north Himalaya driven by plate-scale dynamics

Gneiss domes in the Pamir (Central Asia) and the Himalaya provide key data on mid- to deep-crustal processes operating during the India-Asia collision. Laser ablation split-stream inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LASS-ICP-MS) data from monazite in these domes yield a time record from U/Th-Pb dates and a petrologic record from rare earth element (REE) abundances. Seven samples from the Pamir and six samples from the north Himalayan gneiss domes yield almost identical monazite dates of ca. 28–15 Ma. Most monazite has invariant heavy REE (HREE) abundances; two samples, however, have older monazite that records progressive HREE depletion and two samples have younger monazite that records progressive HREE enrichment. These variations in HREE are compatible with increasing garnet abundance—prograde metamorphism— until ca. 20 Ma, and decreasing garnet abundance thereafter. The change from HREE depletion to enrichment may record a transition from crustal thickening and heating to dome exhumation and cooling. This documentation of synchronous Barrovian metamorphism within domes of Indian crust along the margin of the orogen (Himalaya) and within domes of Asian crust within the core of the orogen (Pamir) is best explained by a plate-scale driving force rather than by local events. We propose that widespread, synchronous thickening was initiated by the resumption of Indian subduction following slab breakoff and then terminated by a second slab-tearing event—both plate-scale events inferred from tomography.

Petrochronology of Himalayan ultrahigh-pressure eclogite

The timing and nature of the India-Asia collision, Earth’s largest ongoing continent-continent collisional orogen, are unclear. Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism of Indian continental margin rocks is used as a proxy for initial collision because it indicates subduction of India. Records of this metamorphism are preserved only at Kaghan Valley (Pakistan) and Tso Morari (Ladakh, India), separated by ~500 km and having published ages of peak pressure of 46.2 ± 0.7 Ma and 53–51 Ma, respectively. The apparent ~6 m.y. age difference may refl ect multiple subduction events, a large promontory along the former Indian margin, or inadequate constraints on the time of peak pressure recrystallization at Tso Morari. We present 108 coupled, in situ U/Th-Pb and rare earth element (REE) analyses of zircons in two Tso Morari eclogites to obtain age and petrologic information. The ages range from ca. 53 Ma to 37 Ma, and peak at ca. 47–43 Ma. Flat heavy REE slopes and the absence of an Eu anomaly are compatible with eclogite-facies zircon (re)crystallization. This (re)crystallization probably occurred at ultrahigh pressure, because 64% of the analyses are from zircon included in ultrahigh-pressure garnet and omphacite. These results are consistent with those from Kaghan Valley, and suggest that a single, protracted ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic event occurred contemporaneously across much of the orogen, following initial contact of the Indian and Asian continents at ca. 51 Ma or later.

Titanite petrochronology of the Pamir gneiss domes: Implications for middle to deep crust exhumation and titanite closure to Pb and Zr diffusion

©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. The Pamir Plateau, a result of the India-Asia collision, contains extensive exposures of Cenozoic middle to lower crust in domes exhumed by north-south crustal extension. Titanite grains from 60 igneous and metamorphic rocks were investigated with U-Pb + trace element petrochronology (including Zr thermometry) to constrain the timing and temperatures of crustal thickening and exhumation. Titanite from the Pamir domes records thickening from ∼44 to 25 Ma. Retrograde titanite from the Yazgulem, Sarez, and Muskol-Shatput domes records a transition from thickening to exhumation at ∼20-16 Ma, whereas titanite from the Shakhadara dome records prolonged exhumation from ∼20 to 8 Ma. The synchronous onset of exhumation may have been initiated by breakoff of the Indian slab and possible convective removal of the Asian lower crust and/or mantle lithosphere. The prolonged exhumation of the Shakhdara and Muztaghata-Kongur Shan domes may have been driven by continued rollback of the Asian lithosphere concurrent with shortening and northwestward translation of the Pamir Plateau.

Nanogeochronology of discordant zircon measured by atom probe microscopy of Pb-enriched dislocation loops

Atom probe yields geologically meaningful ages from nanoscale Pb-enriched dislocation loops in discordant zircon. Isotopic discordance is a common feature in zircon that can lead to an erroneous age determination, and it is attributed to the mobilization and escape of radiogenic Pb during its post-crystallization geological evolution. The degree of isotopic discordance measured at analytical scales of ~10 μm often differs among adjacent analysis locations, indicating heterogeneous distributions of Pb at shorter length scales. We use atom probe microscopy to establish the nature of these sites and the mechanisms by which they form. We show that the nanoscale distribution of Pb in a ~2.1 billion year old discordant zircon that was metamorphosed c. 150 million years ago is defined by two distinct Pb reservoirs. Despite overall Pb loss during peak metamorphic conditions, the atom probe data indicate that a component of radiogenic Pb was trapped in 10-nm dislocation loops that formed during the annealing of radiation damage associated with the metamorphic event. A second Pb component, found outside the dislocation loops, represents homogeneous accumulation of radiogenic Pb in the zircon matrix after metamorphism. The 207Pb/206Pb ratios measured from eight dislocation loops are equivalent within uncertainty and yield an age consistent with the original crystallization age of the zircon, as determined by laser ablation spot analysis. Our results provide a specific mechanism for the trapping and retention of radiogenic Pb during metamorphism and confirm that isotopic discordance in this zircon is characterized by discrete nanoscale reservoirs of Pb that record different isotopic compositions and yield age data consistent with distinct geological events. These data may provide a framework for interpreting discordance in zircon as the heterogeneous distribution of discrete radiogenic Pb populations, each yielding geologically meaningful ages.

Enhanced sensitivity in laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

This contribution describes the analytical performance resulting from modifications to the source of a Nu Instruments ‘Nu Plasma’ high resolution Multi Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). Key advances in the ‘enhanced sensitivity’ (HR-ES) setup include changes to the geometry of the skimmer and sampler cones, re-design of the interface pumping system and modifications to the source lens. Comparison of both solution and laser-ablation data acquired on the same instrument before and after the modifications indicates that the sensitivity is improved by 80–125% in solution mode and 70–95% in laser-ablation mode. Analyses of standard solutions and reference zircon suggest no loss in accuracy. For laser ablation, the practical result is that for a given ablated volume, the HR-ES modification increases the precision with which individual isotopic measurements (e.g. U–Th/Pb, Hf) can be made. Conversely, for a required precision it reduces the amount of material needed by ∼2×, thereby significantly increasing the spatial resolution of in situ isotope MC-ICP-MS measurements.

Evidence for 65 km of dextral slip across Owens Valley, California, since 83 Ma

The Golden Bear dike in the Sierra Nevada and the Coso dikes in the Coso Range crop out on opposite sides of Owens Valley, California, and strike roughly perpendicular to it. Neither dike reappears along strike across the valley. New data demonstrate that the dike sets are ca. 83 Ma in age, share nearly identical mineralogy and petrography, and intrude similar wall rocks including distinctive 102 Ma leucogranite. Dike bulk-chemical and Sr and Nd isotope compositions are nearly indistinguishable. These data suggest that the dike sets were originally continuous and were offset dextrally by ∼65 km. This displacement estimate is consistent with other recent estimates of total slip across Owens Valley. If faulting began during the Pliocene, the average slip rate was significantly faster than the current rate. Alternatively, motion could have been episodic and have begun as early as the Late Cretaceous.

Focused radiogenic heating of middle crust caused ultrahigh temperatures in southern Madagascar

Internal heating can cause melting, metamorphism, and crustal weakening in convergent orogens. This study evaluates the role of radiogenic heat production (RHP) in a Neoproterozoic ultrahigh-temperature metamorphic (UHTM) terrane exposed in southern Madagascar. Monazite and zircon geochronology indicates that the Paleoproterozoic Androyen and Anosyen domains (i) collided with the oceanic Vohibory Arc at ~630 Ma, (ii) became incorporated into the Gondwanan collisional orogen by ~580 Ma, and (iii) were exhumed during crustal thinning at 525–510 Ma. Ti-in-quartz and Zr-in-rutile thermometry reveals that UHTM occurred over >20,000 km^2, mostly within the Anosyen domain. Assuming that U, Th, and K contents of samples from the field area are representative of the middle to lower crust during orogenesis, RHP was high enough—locally >5 μW/m^3—to cause regional UHTM in <60 Myr. We conclude that, due in large part to the stability and insolubility of monazite at high crustal temperatures, RHP was the principal heat source responsible for UHTM, obviating the need to evoke external heat sources. Focused RHP probably thermally weakened portions of the middle crust, gravitationally destabilizing the orogen and facilitating thinning via lateral extrusion of hot crustal sections.

Age and significance of felsic dikes from the UHP western gneiss region

Twenty-one plagioclase-bearing dikes were analyzed to place firmer limits on the end of (ultra)high-pressure (UHP) metamorphism across the Western Gneiss Region (WGR). Nineteen dikes were analyzed with laser ablation split-stream petrochronology to tie the U-Pb dates to zircon rare earth element (REE) chemistry, and a few key samples were analyzed by chemical abrasion thermal ionization mass spectrometry to provide high-precision constraints. All analyzed dikes yielded zircons with REE chemistry consistent with low-pressure crystallization. Approximately half of the dikes yield Precambrian dates; nondeformed dikes of this age support previous interpretations that much of the WGR underwent limited deformation during Caledonian subduction and exhumation. The oldest Caledonian dikes have dates that overlap with the circa 420–400 Ma eclogite dates from the region; this discrepancy indicates that either (1) cryptic structures separate early exhumed material from later exhumed material, (2) some of the dike dates are not low-pressure crystallization ages, or (3) post-406 Ma dates from eclogites are posteclogite-facies retrogression ages.

U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Tertiary Mississippi River Delta in central Louisiana: Insights into sediment provenance

The sources of the tremendous amount of Cenozoic siliciclastic sediment deposited in the Gulf of Mexico region remain debated because of a lack of definitive provenance-identifying characteristics. In an effort to build on prior provenance analysis, we present 101–160 single-grain detrital zircon U-Pb ages for each of 10 outcrop samples from Upper Paleocene to Upper Miocene sandstones from a ∼10,000 km 2 swath of central Louisiana corresponding to the ancient Mississippi River Delta, the largest Cenozoic depocenter in the northern Gulf of Mexico region. Sample depositional age control is derived from biostratigraphy and/or regional lithostratigraphic correlation. U-Pb ages in each of the samples range from Cenozoic to Archean, and correspond to the ages of various geologic terranes that underlie the modern Mississippi River drainage basin. However, the prominence of various age distributions changes systematically through the Cenozoic stratigraphy, and pronounced shifts in the abundance of certain age distributions between stratal packages appear to be correlated to shifts in heavy mineral assemblages recorded across the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain. Comparison of coastal plain detrital zircon age distributions to age distributions from North American sedimentary cover and the ages of major North American crystalline basement rocks, aided by a sediment mixing model, illuminates the provenance of each of the stratal packages, and suggests that (1) the Mississippi River catchment has resembled its present configuration, at least in the east-west dimension, for much, if not all, of the Cenozoic, and (2) depositional episodes on the Louisiana coastal plain characterized by high sediment supply also corresponded to high proportions of sediment sourcing from the Sevier-Laramide region of the interior western United States. Sediment supply to the Louisiana coastal plain by the paleo–Mississippi River has generally been high during the Cenozoic, except for an anomalous low during the Middle Eocene, when the abundance of sediment derived from the Rocky Mountain region decreased dramatically relative to sediment derived from the Appalachian region.

Thermochronology of extensional orogenic collapse in the deep crust of Zealandia

The exhumed Fiordland sector of Zealandia offers a deep-crustal view into the life cycle of a Cordilleran-type orogen from final magmatic construction to extensional orogenic collapse. We integrate U-Pb thermochronologic data from metamorphic zircon and titanite with structural observations from >2000 km 2 of central Fiordland to document the tempo and thermal evolution of the lower crust during the tectonic transition from arc construction and crustal thickening to crustal thinning and extensional collapse. Data reveal that garnet granulite facies metamorphism and partial melting in the lower crust partially overlapped with crustal thickening and batholith construction during emplacement of the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO) from 118 to 115 Ma. Metamorphic zircons in metasedimentary rocks yield 206 Pb/ 238 U (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry) dates of 116.3–112.0 Ma. Titanite laser ablation split stream inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry chronology from the same rocks yielded complex results, with relict Paleozoic 206 Pb/ 238 U dates preserved at the margins of the WFO. Within extensional shear zones that developed in the thermal aureole of the WFO, titanite dates range from 116.2 to 107.6 Ma and have zirconium-in-titanite temperatures of ∼900–750 °C. A minor population of metamorphic zircon rims and titanites in the Doubtful Sound region yield younger dates of 105.6–102.3 Ma with corresponding temperatures of 740–730 °C. Many samples record Cretaceous overdispersed dates with 5–10 m.y. ranges. Core-rim traverses and grain maps show complex chemical and temporal variations that cannot easily be attributed to thermally activated volume diffusion or simple core-rim crystallization. We interpret these Cretaceous titanites not as cooling ages, but rather as recording protracted growth and/or crystallization or recrystallization in response to fluid flow, deformation, and/or metamorphic reactions during the transition from garnet granulite to upper amphibolite facies metamorphism. We propose a thermotectonic model that integrates our results with structural observations. Our data reveal a clear tectonic break at 108–106 Ma that marks a change in processes deep within the arc. Prior to this break, arc construction processes dominated and involved (1) emplacement of mafic to intermediate magmas of the Malaspina and Misty plutons from 118 to 115 Ma, (2) contractional deformation at the roof of the Misty pluton in the Caswell Sound fold-thrust belt from 117 to 113 Ma, and (3) eclogite to garnet granulite facies metamorphism and partial melting over >8 m.y. from 116 to 108 Ma. These processes were accompanied by complex patterns of lower crustal flow involving both horizontal and vertical displacements. After this interval, extensional orogenic collapse initiated along upper amphibolite facies shear zones in the Doubtful Sound shear zone at 108–106 Ma. Zircon and titanite growth and/or crystallization or recrystallization at this time clearly link upper amphibolite facies metamorphism to mylonitic fabrics in shear zones. Our observations are significant in that they reveal the persistence of a hot and weak lower crust for ≥15 m.y. following arc magmatism in central Fiordland. We propose that the existence of a thermally weakened lower crust within the Median Batholith was a key factor in controlling the transition from crustal thickening to crustal thinning and extensional orogenic collapse of the Zealandia Cordillera.