Urs Klötzli

The early Palaeozoic magmatic event in the Northwest Himalaya, India: source, tectonic setting and age of emplacement

In the High Himalayan Crystalline Series of Northwest India, numerous peraluminous granites intruded the metasediments of the late Proterozoic to early late Cambrian Haimanta Group. Nd and Sr isotope systematics confirm that they were derived from heterogeneous crustal sources. New geochronological data from two plutons range in age from late Precambrian to early Ordovician: single zircon U-Pb dating yielded an age of 553 ± 2 (2σ) Ma for the Kaplas granite, whereas mineral Sm-Nd isotope systematics define a crystallization age of 496 ± 14 (2σ) Ma for the tholeiitic mafic rocks in the Mandi pluton, where evidence of magma mingling documents a close association between mafic and granitic melts. The end of this period of magmatic activity coincides with the depositional gap below the Ordovician transgression, caused by surface uplift and erosion, that is an important feature in the stratigraphy of the Northwest Himalaya. In Spiti, the transgression of the Ordovician basal conglomerates on a normal fault indicates pre-Ordovician extensional faulting. Therefore, the early Palaeozoic magmatic activities in the Northwest Himalaya could be correlated with a late exten- sional stage of the long-lasting Pan-African orogenic cycle which ended with the formation of the Gondwana supercontinent.

Proterozoic crustal evolution in the NW Himalaya (India) as recorded by circa 1.80 Ga mafic and 1.84 Ga granitic magmatism

Abstract Single zircon dating of the Rampur metabasalts of the Larji–Kullu–Rampur window in the Lesser Himalayas yielded an evaporation age of 1800±13 Ma. The zircon age is considerably younger than the previously published whole rock Sm–Nd age of 2510±90 Ma, suggesting that the Sm–Nd age may be geologically meaningless and that the Sm–Nd whole rock array may have resulted from mixing. In the NW Himalaya, there is also evidence for extensive silicic melt generation in the Paleoproterozoic. Zircons from a metarhyodacite in the Larji–Kullu–Rampur window yielded an evaporation age of 1840±16 Ma, which we interpret as the minimum age of magmatism. The Main Central Thrust granitic mylonites are interpreted as the basement of the Neoproterozoic Haimanta Group metasediments. Together with the granitic rocks from the Lesser Himalaya, they were derived from pre-existing continental crust prior to 1.84 Ga. The Nd depleted mantle model ages are in the range of 2.6–2.4 Ga, suggesting a contribution of Archean crust. A recycled Archean component is also documented by a 2.9 Ga domain in one of the zircons.

Zircon U/Pb and Pb/Pb geochronology of the Rastenberg granodiorite, South Bohemian Massif, Austria

SummaryA combined zircon typology, zircon Pb-Pb evaporation, and conventional U-Pb study of the late- to post-tectonic Rastenberg granodiorite yields the following results: Typological investigations show two distinguishable zircon populations. Type l: subtype S24 ofPupin, colourless to slightly pink, clear to turbid, often with cores, few to abundant inclusions, long prismatic; type 2: subtype S4 ofPupin, colourless to reddish or slightly pink, clear to slightly turbid, no visible cores, abundant inclusions, tabular habit, short prismatic.At least 4 different zircon-forming events can be distinguished: Inherited cores with ages around 623±22Ma and single ages > 1206Ma from type 1 zircons imply the reworking of rocks derived from Cadomian and Proterozoic to Archean crust. Ages around 353±9Ma from type 1 zircons are interpreted as timing a first magma formation or the onset of a long-lasting magma-generating event during the Variscan plutonism in the South Bohemian pluton. The actual intrusion of the granodioritic magma into the middle crust took place around 338±2Ma (type 2 and rims of type 1 zircons).Only type 1 zircons are found as inclusions in large K-feldspar phenocrysts providing evidence that these phenocrysts have grown before the 338Ma event and may be as old as 353 Ma.[⇃]ZusammenfassungZirkon-typologische Untersuchungen, Einzelzirkon Pb-Pb-Evaporations- und konventionelle U-Pb-Altersbestimmungen an Gesteinen des spät- bis postkinematischen Rastenberger Granodiorits geben folgende Resultate: Typologisch lassen sich zwei Zirkonpopulationen unterscheiden: Typ 1: S24 Subtyp vonPupin, farblos bis leicht rosa, klar bis getrübt, häufig mit Kernen, wenige bis viele Einschlüsse, lang prismatisch; Typ 2: S4 Subtyp vonPupin, farblos bis rötlich oder leicht rosa, klar bis leicht getrübt, keine sichtbaren Kerne, viele Einschlüsse, flachtafeliger Habitus, kurzprismatisch.Mindestens 4 unterschiedliche Altersgruppen lassen sich unterscheiden: Ererbte Kerne von Typ 1 Zirkonen mit Altern um 623±22Ma und einzelnen Altern > 1206Ma sprechen für die Aufarbeitung von Gesteinen, die von cadomischen und proterozoischen bis archaischen Gesteinen im Krustenbereich des Südböhmischen Plutons abstammen könnten. Alter um 353±9Ma von Typ 1 Zirkonen werden einer ersten magmatischen Phase oder dem Beginn der Krustenaufschmelzung im Zuge der Bildung der variszischen Plutonite zugeordnet. Die eigentliche Intrusion des Granodiorits um 338±2Ma wird mit Typ 2 und mit Randpartien von Typ 1 Zirkonen erfaßt.In den großen K-Feldspat-Phänokristallen finden sich nur Zirkone vom Typ 1. Dies deutet darauf hin, daß die Phänokristalle vor dem 338Ma Ereignis gebildet wurden, eventuell also bis 353Ma alt sein können.

Th/U zonation in zircon derived from evaporation analysis: a model and its implications

Abstract Zircon evaporation analyses often exhibit the existence of spatial extraneous variations in 208 Pb / 206 Pb compared to 207 Pb / 206 Pb as revealed by increasing evaporation temperature and duration of analysis. As 208 Pb solely stems from the decay of 232 Th , variations are interpreted to directly reflect changing Th/U ratios within different zircon domains which are probed at different evaporation temperatures and evaporation duration. Such strongly varying Th/U is interpreted as reflecting the magmatic growth zonation in the zircon crystal. Constant Th/U over several evaporation steps is interpreted as being characteristic for homogeneous zircon domains which probably originate from zircon recrystallisation or growth during a metamorphic event. Stepwise evaporation of zircon crystals and the monitoring of Th/U ratios thus provide some means to decipher the internal structure of the analysed zircon and therefore allows some conclusions about magmatic vs. recrystallised or newly grown metamorphic origin to be drawn.

U–Pb and Sm–Nd geochronology of the Kızıldağ (Hatay, Turkey) ophiolite: implications for the timing and duration of suprasubduction zone type oceanic crust formation in the southern Neotethys

The Kizildag (Hatay) ophiolite in Turkey represents remnants of the southern Neotethyan ocean and is characterized by a complete ocean lithospheric section. It formed in a fore-arc setting above a N-dipping intraoceanic subduction zone, and represents the undeformed, more northerly part of the same thrust sheet that also forms the Baer–Bassit ophiolite to the south. The ophiolite was emplaced southwards from the southerly Neotethyan ocean in Maastrichtian time. U–Pb and Sm–Nd dates are used to constrain the crystallization age and duration of magmatic activity of the Kizildag ophiolite. U–Pb dating yielded ages of 91.7 ± 1.9 Ma for a plagiogranite and 91.6 ± 3.8 Ma for a cumulate gabbro. The cumulate gabbro also yielded a Sm–Nd isochron age of 95.3 ± 6.9 Ma. The measured ages suggest that the oceanic crust of the Kizildag ophiolite formed in a maximum time period of 6 Ma, and that the plagiogranite may have formed later than the gabbroic section. The U–Pb zircon ages from the Kizildag ophiolite and the cooling age of a metamorphic sole beneath the Baer–Bassit ophiolite are indistinguishable within the analytical uncertainties. This indicates the presence of young and hot oceanic lithosphere at the time of intraoceanic subduction/thrusting in the southern Neotethys. The U–Pb zircon ages from the Kizildag, the Troodos and the Semail ophiolites overlap within analytical uncertainties, suggesting that these ophiolites are contemporaneous and genetically and tectonically related within the same Late Cretaceous southern Neotethyan ocean.

Early Cambrian oceanic plagiogranite in the Silvretta Nappe, eastern Alps: geochemical, zircon U-Pb and Rb-Sr data from garnet-hornblende-plagioclase gneisses

Garnet-hornblende-plagioclase gneisses rich in incompatible elements occur in the crystalline basement of the Austro-Alpine Silvretta nappe and are associated with clinopyroxene norites and harzburgite cumulates. It is proposed here that the gneisses were formerly oceanic plagiogranites. An εNd(530) value of +5.6 for the gneisses as well as initial87Sr/86Sr values of 0.7036–0.7037 for the gabbroic rocks and 0.7026–0.7027 for the ultramafic rocks suggest a mantle source for this rock association. The geochemical characteristics of the garnet-hornblende-plagioclase gneisses indicate that their precursors were derived by fractional crystallization from a basaltic parent magma, by the same process which produced the adjacent clinopyroxene norites and ultramafic cumulates as well. The combined U-Pb upper intercept ages of zircons from two gneiss samples yield an igneous crystallization age of 532 ± 30 Ma, similar to previously dated (mostly calcalkaline) orthogneisses in the same area. High-quality transparent zircons showed the least degree of discordance, but contain extremely low U and Pb levels. The rock suite, including this plagiogranite, was emplaced within oceanic crust which formed in the latest Precambrian-early Palaeozoic off the northern continental margin of Gondwana.

U–Pb and Sm–Nd geochronology of the ophiolites from the SE Turkey: implications for the Neotethyan evolution

The ophiolites in southeast Turkey crop out along two distinct belts. The ophiolites in the north are attached to Tauride active margin and represented by Göksun, Berit, İspendere, Kömürhan and Guleman ophiolites. Whereas the ophiolites in the south are observed as tectonically overlying the Arabian continental margin and characterized mainly by Kızıldağ (Hatay) and Koçali ophiolites. In this paper, new U–Pb and Sm–Nd isotopic ages are presented. The zircons extracted from the gabbroic cumulates of the Kömürhan ophiolite yielded a concordia age of 87.2 ± 3.1 Ma. The zircons in the gabbroic cumulates of the İspendere ophiolite yielded a Concordia age of 84.5 ± 3.9 Ma. Moreover, the Sm–Nd age of the gabbroic cumulates of the İspendere ophiolite yielded 85.1 ± 7.1 Ma (εNd =  + 7.8). The gabbroic rocks of the Kızıldağ (Hatay) ophiolite yielded 110 ± 11 Ma (εNd =  + 7.3) Sm–Nd isochron age. The new and already published U–Pb and Sm–Nd ages from the Kızıldağ ophiolite suggest that the time span between the melt generation in a subduction zone setting and SSZ-type oceanic crust crystallization was ≥3 my. All the ages from the Southeast Anatolian ophiolites suggest that the ophiolites between the Bitlis–Pütürge continent and the Arabian platform formed around 99–102 Ma whereas the ophiolites between the Bitlis–Pütürge continent and the Tauride platform formed around 84–90 Ma, suggesting that the peri-Arabic belt ophiolites are 10 My older than the ophiolite attached to the Malatya–Keban platform in the north. Detailed comparison suggests that there are number of differences between the ophiolites to the north and south of the Bitlis–Pütürge continental unit based on the geological, geochronological, petrological, internal stratigraphy of the ophiolites as well as their relationships with the continental fragments during the late Cretaceous. Therefore, the ophiolites were rooted from two different oceanic basins, one to the north and other to the south of the Bitlis–Pütürge continent.

Age, origin and geodynamic significance of a polymetamorphic felsic intrusion in the Ötztal Crystalline Basement, Tirol, Austria

SummaryA multi-method approach was applied to derive the age and origin of an orthogneiss body located in the central Kaunertal, western Ötztal Crystalline Basement (ÖCB). The Tieftal orthogneiss body is an internally differentiated, polymetamorphosed epizonal intrusion, embedded in amphibolites. It comprises leucocratic hedenbergite-hornblende-, hornblende- and biotite-hornblende-gneisses, but also some melanocratic rock types. The leucocratic Tieftal gneisses are granitic, have a near eutectic melt composition and share some features of A-type granites, such as high Na2O+K2O(8.07 to 8.58wt%), Zr (379 to 554ppm) and Y (58 to 79ppm) contents. The REE-patterns are rather flat ((La/Yb)N=2.4 to 3.7), with distinct negative Eu anomalies. Single zircon evaporation dating of two samples and Sm-Nd dating of relict magmatic titanite resulted in ages of 487±7, 484±3 and 487±5Ma, respectively. The weighted mean of 485±3Ma is interpreted as the primary crystallization age of the Tieftal orthogneiss body. Rb-Sr whole rock dating results in a well defined regression line, corresponding to an age of 411±9Ma. This age clearly documents at least a partial resetting of the whole rock Rb-Sr system, which is most probably due to subsequent metamorphic overprint. The leucocratic Tieftal gneisses are isotopically rather primitive with an εNdCHUR485 Ma value of +1.7 and a calculated magmatic initial87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7047. These data suggest a major mantle contribution. Most probably, they originated through fractionation of the magmatic precursors of the accompanying tholeiitic metabasites. The more primitive isotopic composition of ÖCB metabasites and some late Archean/early Proterozoic and Cambrian inheritance in Tieftal gneiss zircons suggest some involvement of old crustal rocks, too. The amount of crustal contamination can be calculated to be in the range of 10 to 40%. The Tieftal gneisses and the accompanying metabasites are interpreted as remnants of igneous rocks related to an early Ordovician rifting and incipient formation of new oceanic crust, an event which can be traced throughout the central and western European Variscan and Alpine terranes.ZusammenfassungEin Vielzahl von Methoden wurde angewandt, um das Alter und die Genese eines Orthogneiskörpers im mittleren Kaunertal, westliches Ötztalkristallin, abzuleiten. Der Tieftal-Orthogneiskörper ist eine in Amphiboliten eingeschaltete, intern differenzierte, polymetamorph überprägte, epizonale Intrusion. Er umfaßt sowohl leukokrate Hedenbergit-Hornblende-, Hornblende- und Biotit-Hornblende-Gneise als auch untergeordnet melanokrate Gesteine. Die leukokraten Tieftal-Gneise besitzen einen granitischen, beinahe einer eutektischen Schmelze entsprechenden Chemismus; einige Parameter wie hohe Na2O+K2O(8.07 bis 8.58Gew%), Zr(379 bis 554ppm) und Y(58 bis 79ppm) Gehalte weisen auf eine A-Typ Affinität hin. Die SEE-Spektren sind nur gering fraktioniert ((La/Yb)N=2.3 bis 3.7) und weisen eine markante negative Eu-Anomalie auf. Einzelzirkon-Evaporationsdatierungen an 2 Proben und eine Sm-Nd Datierung von reliktischem magmatischem Titanit ergeben Alter von 487±7, 484±3 und 487±5Ma. Der gewichtete Mittelwert von 485±3Ma wird als das primäre magmatische Kristallisationsalter des Tieftal-Orthogneiskörpers interpretiert. Eine Rb-Sr Gesamtgesteinsdatierung ergibt eine gut definierte Regressionsgerade mit einem Alter von 411±9Ma. Dieses Alter beweist eine postmagmatische Störung des Rb-Sr Gesamtgesteinssystems, die durch die metamorphen überprägungen verursacht wurde. Die leukokraten Tieftal-Gneise besitzen eine relative primitive isotopische Zusammensetzung mit einem εNdCHUR485 Ma a Wert von +1.7 und einem zurückgerechneten magmatischen87Sr/86Sr Initialverhältnis von 0.7047. Diese Daten machen eine große Beteiligung von Mantelmaterial wahrscheinlich. Am ehesten entstanden die leukokraten Tieftal-Gneise durch magmatische Fraktionierungsprozesse aus den Ausgangsgesteinen der begleitenden tholeiitischen Metabasite. Die noch primitivere isotopische Zusammensetzung der Metabasite im Ötztalkristallin und spätarchaische/frühproterozoische sowie kambrische Komponenten in den Zirkonen der leukokraten Tieftal-Gneise weisen aber auch auf die Beteiligung alten krustalen Materials hin. Der Anteil der krustalen Komponente liegt im Bereich von 10 bis 40%. Der Tieftal-Orthogneiskörper und die begleitenden Metabasite werden als Relikte magmatischer Gesteine, die während eines frühordovizischen Riftings und der beginnenden Bildung neuer ozeanischer Kruste entstanden sind, gedeutet. Zeugen dieses Vorganges sind in allen variszisch und alpidisch geprägten Gebieten Westund Mitteleuropas zu finden.

U-Pb zircon age of the youngest magmatic activity in the High Tatra granites (Central Western Carpathians)

Detailed cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of zircon crystals, coupled with Laser Ablation Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) U-Pb zircon dating was used to develop new insights into the evolution of granitoids from the High Tatra Mountains. The zircon U-Pb results show two distinct age groups (350±5 Ma and 337±6 Ma) recorded from cores and rims domains, respectively. Obtained results point that the last magmatic activity in the Tatra granitoid intrusion occurred at ca. 330 Ma. The previously suggested age of 314 Ma reflects rather the hydrothermal activity and Pb-loss, coupled with post-magmatic shearing.

Two possible source regions for central Greenland last glacial dust

Dust in Greenland ice cores is used to reconstruct the activity of dust-emitting regions and atmospheric circulation. However, the source of dust material to Greenland over the last glacial period is the subject of considerable uncertainty. Here we use new clay mineral and <10 µm Sr–Nd isotopic data from a range of Northern Hemisphere loess deposits in possible source regions alongside existing isotopic data to show that these methods cannot discriminate between two competing hypothetical origins for Greenland dust: an East Asian and/or central European source. In contrast, Hf isotopes (<10 µm fraction) of loess samples show considerable differences between the potential source regions. We attribute this to a first-order clay mineralogy dependence of Hf isotopic signatures in the finest silt/clay fractions, due to absence of zircons. As zircons would also be absent in Greenland dust, this provides a new way to discriminate between hypotheses for Greenland dust sources.