R.J. Wormald

A-type granites revisited: Assessment of a residual-source model

A residual-source model for the origin of A-type granites is assessed by examining the likely mineral content and geochemistry of the residue remaining from generation of an I-type granite. Although this model may explain some characteristics of A-type granites, available data suggest that a residual source is unlikely to generate a partial melt with the appropriate major element characteristics. An alternative model for the origin of some A-type granites involves partial melting of crustal igneous rocks of tonalitic to granodioritic composition. Modeling the partial melting of these source rocks suggests that partial melts with water contents appropriate for A-type granites may be generated by ∼15% to 40% melting. This model can predict many other characteristics of A-type granites.

Hf isotopes in zircon reveal contrasting sources and crystallization histories for alkaline to peralkaline granites of Temora, southeastern Australia

Peralkaline granites exhibit the hallmark features of A-type igneous rocks, but strongly differentiated chemistry and intense hydrothermal alteration camouflage their ultimate origins. We present the first in situ Hf isotope data from zircons of peralkaline granites, aimed at clarifying the protoliths of these plutons and their genetic relationship to associated metaluminous/weakly peraluminous granites. This study used rocks of the Devonian Narraburra Complex in southeastern Australia, and found that correlations between Hf isotopes and trace element ratios reveal fundamentally different origins for the nonperalkaline and peralkaline granites. The latter have a depleted mantle-like ancestry, whereas a weakly peraluminous rock formed from melts of older arc crust that were modified by interaction with juvenile, probably alkaline magmas. Juxtaposition of crust- and mantle-derived magmas reflects the high heat flow and lithosphere-scale faults associated with continental extension, and explains the diversity of A-type granites.

Provenance of the Early Permian Nambucca block (eastern Australia) and implications for the role of trench retreat in accretionary orogens

The New England orogen of eastern Australia is characterized by tight orogenic curvatures (oroclines). Oroclinal bending commenced in the Early Permian during a period of extension that involved crustal melting, widespread emplacement of S-type granitoids, high-temperature metamorphism, exhumation of metamorphic complexes, extensional faulting, and development of rift basins. One of these basins is the Early Permian Nambucca block, which is situated in the “core” of the oroclinal structure, but its origin and time of deposition are poorly constrained. Here, we present new U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Nambucca block, which include age populations as young as 299 and 285 Ma, confirming the Early Permian deposition of the succession. Additional Devonian–Carboniferous and Precambrian ages indicate that detritus was mainly derived from the New England subduction complex and cratonic Gondwana. The range of ages suggests that the Nambucca Basin received detritus from both arc and continent and that deposition occurred in a back-arc setting. Given the coeval formation of the Nambucca Basin and the New England oroclines, we propose that this back-arc extensional basin was controlled by trench retreat, which resulted in “Mediterranean-style” orogenic curvatures along the plate boundary of eastern Gondwana. The recognition of a genetic link between oroclinal bending and back-arc extension may explain how accretionary orogens, such as the eastern Australian Tasmanides, were able to obtain an anomalous width without a substantial contribution of accreted exotic terranes. A similar mode of tectonism may have played an important role in other accretionary orogens.

Peralkaline granites near Temora, southern New South Wales: Tectonic and petrological implications

The Devonian Narraburra Granite in southern New South Wales is located on the western margin of the Bogan Gate Synclinorium in the Temora Rift and is associated with other post- or late orogenic sodic granites and tholeiitic and transitional basic intrusive rocks. This region represents the rifted boundary between the Wagga-Omeo and Kosciusko Terranes. The granite is peralkaline (Al2O3/Na2O + K2O = 0.95–0.96), contains aegirine and arfvedsonite, and is only the third occurrence of peralkaline granite recorded in the Lachlan Fold Belt of southeastern Australia. Chemically the Narraburra Granite is distinct with high SiO2, total alkalis, Zr, Nb, Ga, Y and rare earth element abundances, relatively low Al2O3, MgO and CaO, and a pronounced negative Eu anomaly. The geochemical features are similar to those exhibited by A-type granites of the Bega Batholith, but the negative Eu anomalies are more pronounced (Eu/Eu* = 0.08–0.16) and the overall shape of the rare earth patterns is different. The abundances of Ba, ...

Geology and geochronology of the Emu Creek Block (northern New South Wales, Australia) and implications for oroclinal bending in the New England Orogen

The southern part of the New England Orogen exhibits a series of remarkable orogenic bends (oroclines), which include the prominent Z-shaped Texas and Coffs Harbour oroclines. The oroclines are defined by the curvature of Devonian–Carboniferous forearc basin and accretionary complex rock units. However, for much of the interpreted length of the Texas Orocline, the forearc basin is mostly concealed by younger strata, and crops out only in the Emu Creek Block in the eastern limb of the orocline. The geology of the Emu Creek Block has hitherto been relatively poorly constrained and is addressed here by presenting new data, including a revised geological map, stratigraphic sections and new detrital zircon U–Pb ages. Rocks of the Emu Creek Block include shallow-marine and deltaic sedimentary successions, corresponding to the Emu Creek and Paddys Flat formations, respectively. New detrital zircon U–Pb data indicate that these formations were deposited during the late Carboniferous and that strata were derived from a magmatic source of Devonian to Carboniferous age. The sedimentary provenance and detrital zircon age distribution suggest that the sequence was deposited in a forearc basin setting. We propose that the Emu Creek and Paddys Flat formations are arc-distal, along-strike correlatives of the northern Tamworth Belt, which is part of the forearc basin in the western limb of the Texas Orocline. These results confirm the suggestion that Devonian–Carboniferous forearc basin rocks surround the Texas Orocline and have been subjected to oroclinal bending.

Geochemistry and Rb-Sr geochronology of the alkaline-peralkaline Narraburra Complex, central southern New South Wales; tectonic significance of Late Devonian granitic magmatism in the Lachlan Fold Belt

Three suites of alkaline granite can be recognised in the Narraburra Complex at the triple junction of the Tumut, Giralambone‐Goonumbla and Wagga Zones, central southern New South Wales. On the basis of K2O/Na2O ratios, biotite and hornblende‐biotite potassic I‐type granites have been assigned to the Gilmore Hill (K2O/Na2O 1.00) and Barmedman Suites (K2O/Na2O > 1.2). These are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous suites that crystallised from high‐temperature,reduced magmas with the least fractionated members of each suite having high Ba and low Rb abundances compared to other Lachlan Fold Belt granites. Fractionated members of these suites have high abundances of high‐field‐strength elements, similar to those observed in A‐type granites. Arfvedsonite and aegirine‐arfvedsonite granites have been assigned to the peralkaline Narraburra Suite. Granites from this suite have chemistry consistent with them being the intrusive equivalents of comendites and they are also similar in some respects to A‐type granites: they have, for example, particularly high abundances of Zr. The A‐type signature is, however, at least in part the result of strong fractionation. Total‐rock Rb–Sr isotopic analyses from both I‐type suites plot on the same isochron, giving an age of 365 ± 4 Ma (Srl = 0.70388 ± 53). A total‐rock isochron for the peralkaline Narraburra Suite gives a less well‐defined age of 358 ± 9 Ma (Srl = 0.7013 ± 80). The Late Devonian Rb–Sr ages may be emplacement ages or a result of resetting during fluid‐rock interaction. Although granites of the Narraburra Complex have geochemical affinities with alkaline granites formed late in orogenic cycles, they post‐date arc magmatism by at least 75 million years and they formed in a within‐plate setting. Magmatism was related to localised reactivation of major faults (Gilmore Fault and the Parkes Thrust) in the region, and to partial melting involving both enriched mantle and Ordovician shoshonitic crustal components. Emplacement of the Narraburra Complex was contemporaneous with magmatism in the Central Victorian Magmatic Province and A‐type magmatism in eastern New South Wales. Collectively, all these magmatic events were related to extension post‐dating amalgamation of the western and central/eastern subprovinces of the Lachlan Fold Belt.