observations and geologic significance of marine snow in a shallow water partially enclosed marine embayment because of their fragile nature marine snow sized aggregates aggregates 0 5 mm in longest dimension have been generally overlooked in shallow water environments we report in situ observations and measurements in cape lookout bight north carolina that indicate that marine snow is probably always present and usually abundant underwater photographs show that over a period of hours marine snow varies in size from 8 to 71 10 5 ml and in abundance from 291 to 489 l 1 but that such variations in size and abundance are not obviously related to tide total suspended sediment concentration or current speeds in the 10 to 20 cm s 1 range photographs and concurrent transmissometer records suggest that variations in size shape and abundance of marine snow may be sufficiently great that particulates do not remain optically constant and thus affect beam transmission irrespective of total suspended sediment concentration levels marine snow is significant geologically in that it has high settling rates 50 to 200 m per day and may be the package in which much of the vertical mass flux occurs if so it offers an explanation for the high accumulation rates observed in coastal and estuarine fluid mud deposits

evidence from aeromagnetics on the configuration of matachewan dykes and the tectonic evolution of the kapuskasing structural zone ontario canada by digital image processing of federal provincial aeromagnetic survey data for the south central superior province we have obtained an improved picture of the distribution of dykes in the huge matachewan mafic dyke swarm 2454 ma we deduce from it a picture of post emplacement deformation in the vicinity of the uplifted granulite gneisses of the kapuskasing structural zone ksz matachewan dykes are emplaced in three subswarms the two easterly subswarms are clearly truncated by the ksz s eastern boundary faults the western subswarm shows an open z bend as it crosses the ksz but it does not reveal any major fault offset on the plausible assumption supported by paleomagnetic data that the subswarms were originally intruded radially the horizontal strain suffered by the ksz since emplacement of the dykes is mainly a northeast southwest trending band of dextral transcurrent deformation which in the northeast is discontinuous and concentrated in a fault horizontal offset 60 80 km and in the south

integrated paleomagnetic and upb geochronologic studies of mafic intrusions in the southern canadian shield implications for the early proterozoic polar wander path abstract integrated paleomagnetic and u pb geochronologic studies are critical to establishing well dated apparent polar wander paths in the precambrian by collecting samples for both paleomagnetism and u pb geochronology at the same sampling sites and conducting rigorous paleomagnetic field tests to ensure that magnetizations are primary it is now possible to establish the age of paleomagnetic poles with uncertainties of no more than a few million years we have conducted such integrated studies on mafic intrusions of the southern superior province and adjacent portions of the southern province of the canadian shield these studies yield paleomagnetic tiepoints with high precision ages for use in polar wander path construction in the 2220 to 2110 ma period they indicate a direction of polar wander contrary to that of the most widely used paths for the superior province and for the canadian shield as a whole thus current interpretations of the movement of the superior province and the relative location and movement of the superior province and other structural elements of the canadian shield during this period are no longer valid

simple two dimensional model of propagation of magma filled cracks abstract the direction of propagation of magma filled cracks was theoretically examined for a two dimensional model the analytical result indicates that magma filled cracks which have magmatic pressures larger than a critical value propagate in parallel with the maximum principal direction of far field stress this may give one of theoretical grounds to the dike method by which the regional stress field is estimated

lead 210 sediment geochronology in a changing coastal environment abstract sediment accumulation rate studies utilizing excess 210 pb and 137 cs were conducted as part of recent investigations of biogeochemical cycling at a single site in cape lookout bight a rapidly changing coastal basin on the outer banks of north carolina u s a cores three meters in length reveal a depositional history for the bight interior characterized by a gradual transition in texture from coarse grained to fine grained material over the period 1946 1979 this transition is controlled by progressive enclosure of the bight by an active northerly migrating recurved spit the textural gradation is periodically interrupted by layers of well sorted sand associated with major storm events lead 210 data indicate that the upper meter of the sediment has accumulated at a rate of 3 35 to 4 71 g cm 2 yr 1 or approximately 8 4 to 11 8 cm yr 1 at o 0 84 below 120 cm depth dilution of clay and silt by low activity sand necessitates correction of the 210 pb profile in order to establish a geochronology grain size 210 pb distribution measurements at three depths reveal that the specific activity dpm g 1 of clay is 3 2 times that of silt and 24 7 times that of sand corrections of bulk sediment excess 210 pb activities based on these measurements lead to dates for textural changes which are consistent with charted changes in basin morphology and major storm events sixteen 137 cs measurements between 33 241 cm depth reveal a peak activity at 105 115 cm and indicate a minimum sedimentation rate of approximately 2 7 g cm 2 yr 1

uplift structure of the southern kapuskasing zone from 2 45 ga dike swarm displacement the ca 2 ga kapuskasing zone a 500 km long belt of uplifted crust cuts across the regional structural trend of the archean superior province in canada and disrupts the continuity of 2 45 ga matachewan dikes that form a major swarm in its vicinity as expressed by positive gravity and magnetic anomalies it appears to end about 100 km east of lake superior until now the nature of this termination has remained obscure regional variations in paleomagnetic polarity and in the intensity of feldspar clouding caused by magnetite exsolution are two physical properties of the dike swarm that depend upon postemplacement erosion level they show that the kapuskasing zone as a narrow fault bounded crustal uplift continues after sinistral offset for a further 60 km to the southwest before terminating in a major cross fault dual magnetic polarity and variable levels of feldspar clouding are features found in many other proterozoic dike swarms worldwide and therefore in principle may be used to document other examples of craton response to tectonism

measurement of size and settling velocity of suspended aggregates on the northern california continental shelf abstract a high resolution video camera attached to a miniature sediment trap was used to make time lapse images of suspended aggregates settling through the water column the video trap system was placed 2 m above the seabed in the strataform study area off eureka california and was programmed to take a 7 second time sequence of settling particles every 6 h over a 4 month period the camera field of view within the trap is 15 mm and the minimum particle resolution is approximately 130 m data analysis was carried out with a video frame grabber and digital imaging software to determine the particle size shape and settling velocity results of the first deployment of this system september 1995 show that particle sizes elliptical nominal diameter determined from the video images ranged from 130 to 740 m with a modal size of 300 m the average form factor ratio of short to long semi axis of the aggregates was 0 71 measured settling velocities varied from 0 09 to 8 13 mm s in terms of weight percent or mass the median size of the aggregate distribution is 600 m analysis of settled particles collected from the sediment trap shows disaggregated or component grains ranging from 1 0 to 63 m with a modal size of 26 m and a median size of 11 m additionally an analysis was carried out to separate the relative importance of particle shape and excess density on settling velocity and these results were compared to observations using the equations for settling velocity of spheres and prolate spheroids and substituting published relationships for size versus excess density into these equations the settling velocity for combinations of shape and excess density has been calculated results show that differences between sphere and prolate spheroid with major axis both parallel and perpendicular to flow approximations caused less than a 13 difference in computed settling velocity in contrast the various size excess density relationships used to compute settling velocity caused order of magnitude deviations from measured values in all cases however the approximations of settling velocity for aggregates provide a significantly better fit to data than approximations based on disaggregated sediment size distribution

the kapuskasing uplift a geological and geophysical synthesis over the past decade the kapuskasing uplift has been the subject of intense geological and geophysical investigation as lithoprobe s window on the deep crustal structure of the archean superior province enigmatic since its recognition as a positive gravity anomaly in 1950 the structure has been variably interpreted as a suture rift transcurrent shear zone or intracratonic thrust diverse studies including geochronology geothermobarometry and various geophysical probes provide a comprehensive three dimensional image of archean 2 75 2 50 ga crustal evolution and proterozoic 2 5 1 1 ga cooling and uplift the data favour an interpretation of the structure as an intracratonic uplift related to hudsonian collision eastward across the southern kapuskasing uplift erosion levels increase from 10 km in the michipicoten greenstone belt through the wawa gneiss domain 10 20 km into granulites 20 30 km of the kapuskasing structural zone juxtaposed against the low grade swayze greenstone belt al

sedimentation in the albemarle pamlico lagoonal system synthesis and hypotheses abstract relative to its size and in terms of its sedimentary processes the albemarle pamlico lagoonal system is one of the least studied coastal lagoons in the united states a synthesis of the current knowledge about sedimentation in the albemarle pamlico system is presented based on archived data published over the last 30 years and new unpublished data collected over the past two years the literature reflects considerable past research effort on sediment grain size and mineralogy but very little on sediment dynamics or flux of suspended particulate material the physiographic complexity of the system which includes barrier islands a deep central basin four river systems and extensive fringing embayments does not appear to be reflected in the form of sedimentologic complexity in general the surficial cover of sediments ranges from medium sands in the inlets and on the shoals of the outer banks to fine silts and organic rich clays in the central basin and embayed river mouths and channels the transition zones from sands to muds are typically sharp and are usually related to bathymetry it is concluded that 1 parts of the albemarle pamlico lagoonal system may have high sedimentation rates relative to rates of sediment input and that rapid vertical flux by large aggregates offers an explanation for the fluid mud deposits that would otherwise be absent 2 fine grained sediments that escape the estuarine sediment trap are confined to pamlico sound by the outer banks barrier islands and are simply recycled until finally coming to rest in the deep basin 3 short term advective processes are secondary to longer term processes such as sea level rise and barrier island migration in the net advection of albemarle pamlico sediments and 4 at the present rate of terrigenous sediment input and relative sea level rise the albemarle pamlico lagoonal system will never reach a sediment filled state

paleomagnetism of dykes from the groundhog river block northern ontario implications for the uplift history of the kapuskasing structural zone the groundhog river block gb forms the central segment of the kapuskasing structural zone a fault bounded belt of proterozoic crustal uplift in the southern superior province dykes adjacent to t

the tectonic relationship of two early proterozoic dyke swarms to the kapuskasing structural zone a paleomagnetic and petrographic study a tea coloured cloudiness in groundmass feldspars characterizes dykes of two early proterozoic swarms 2 45 ga matachewan 2 04 ga kapuskasing that intrude amphibolite to granulite host rocks with

restoring proterozoic deformation within the superior craton abstract geometrical patterns of paleoproterozoic dyke swarms in the superior craton north america and paleomagnetic studies of those dykes both indicate relative motion across the kapuskasing structural zone ksz that divides the craton into eastern and western sectors previous work has optimized the amount of vertical axis rotation necessary to bring the dyke trends and paleomagnetic remanence declinations into alignment yet such calculations are not kinematically viable in a plate tectonic framework here we subdivide the superior craton into two internally rigid subplates and calculate euler parameters that optimally group the paleomagnetic remanence data from six dyke swarms with ages between 2470 and 2070 ma our dataset includes 59 sites from the matachewan dykes for which directional results are reported for the first time our preferred restoration of the eastern superior subprovince relative to the western subprovince is around an euler pole at 51 n 85 w with a rotation angle of 14 ccw although we do not include data from the ksz in our rigid subplate calculations we can align its dyke strikes by applying a 23 ccw distributed shear that preserves line length of all dykes pinned to the western margin our model predicts approximately 90 km of dextral transpressional displacement at ca 1900 ma about half of which is accommodated by distributed strain within the ksz and the other half by oblique lateral thrusting with ne vergence across the ivanhoe lake shear zone we produce a combined apparent polar wander path for the early paleoproterozoic superior craton that incorporates data from both western and eastern subplates and that can be rotated to either of the subplates reference frames for the purposes of archean paleoproterozoic supercraton reconstructions

role of large particles in the transport of elements and organic compounds through the oceanic water column abstract during the past decade data from a variety of sources have been obtained which show conclusively that the relatively rare large particles sinking through the water column are responsible for the majority of the downward vertical mass flux in the sea this finding has important implications for understanding the transfer distribution and fate of elements and organic compounds in marine waters the large 100 m detrital particles responsible for vertical flux are primarily biogenic and range in size and composition from small discrete fecal pellets and plankton hard parts to large amorphous aggregates or snow which contain both organic and inorganic constituents depending on size shape and density these particles sink at rates ranging from 1000 m day 1 several methods have been developed for sampling these particles of which in situ sediment trapping has probably furnished the most comprehensive qualitative and quantitative information on the role large particles play in material transport flux studies have highlighted the importance of marine heterotrophs in packaging fine suspended particulate matter into large rapidly sinking particles which accelerate the movement of incorporated materials to depth large particle production via biological packaging is not restricted to the euphotic zone but can occur at all depths and information is now accruing on rates of production of large particles in the water column chemical analyses of sedimenting particles collected in sediment traps and those sampled by other means have allowed quantifying vertical fluxes and residence times of elements radionuclides and organic compounds natural and anthropogenic in various oceanic regimes pertinent studies dealing with the above aspects are reviewed and several areas for future research are suggested

paleomagnetism and u pb geochronology of diabase dyke swarms of minto block superior province quebec canada in the first collaborative study of paleomagnetism and precise u pb geochronology in the minto block of the superior province mafic dyke swarms with three widely divergent paleomagnetic signatures and isotopic ages have been identified the 2505 2 ma ptarmigan dykes trend north to northeast and have a virtual geomagnetic pole at 42 s 220 e similar to that of 2473 2446 ma matachewan dykes of the southern superior province the ca 2230 ma maguire dykes trend west to northwest and yield a paleopole at 9 s 267 e similar to those for 2216 8 4 ma senneterre dykes and 2217 2210 ma nipissing sills of the southern superior and southern provinces respectively the 2209 1 ma klotz dykes trend west northwest but do not carry a consistent magnetization direction finally 1998 2 ma minto dykes of west northwest to northwest trend identical in age to the 1998 ma 2 ma purtuniq ophiolite of the cape smith belt have a paleopole at 38 n 174 e the similarity of paleopoles for the ca 2 23 2 21 ga maguire

the tectonic significance of some basic dyke swarms in the canadian superior province with special reference to the geochemistry and paleomagnetism of the mistassini swarm quebec canada the mistassini dykes extend northwest from the mistassini embayment and comprise both tholeiitic and komatiitic suites they are probably 2000 ma old and yield two major paleomagnetic components one of these with a pole at 131 w 13 s is thought to be an overprint related to the elsonian disturbance 1400 1500 ma ago a very steeply down and reversed component may be primary and has a pole at 080 w 50 n these spacial chemical and age relationships between the mistassini molson marathon and payne river dyke swarms and the aphebian supracrustal fold belts on the perimeter of the superior province suggest a genetic relationship between the dyke swarms and the fold belts the supracrustal belts are evidence of the opening and closing of oceans and the dyke swarms are evidence of early stage failed arms related to these openings more rarely for example the payne river dykes early stage dyke swarms are developed and preserved parallel to the edges of newly developed spreading plate boundaries

the penokean orogeny in the lake superior region abstract the penokean orogeny began at about 1880 ma when an oceanic arc now the pembine wausau terrane collided with the southern margin of the archean superior craton marking the end of a period of south directed subduction the docking of the buoyant craton to the arc resulted in a subduction jump to the south and development of back arc extension both in the initial arc and adjacent craton margin to the north a belt of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits formed in the extending back arc rift within the arc synchronous extension and subsidence of the superior craton resulted in a broad shallow sea characterized by volcanic grabens menominee group in northern michigan the classic lake superior banded iron formations including those in the marquette gogebic mesabi and gunflint iron ranges formed in that sea the newly established subduction zone caused continued arc volcanism until about 1850 ma when a fragment of archean crust now the basement of the marshfield terrane arrived at the subduction zone the convergence of archean blocks of the superior and marshfield cratons resulted in the major contractional phase of the penokean orogeny rocks of the pembine wausau arc were thrust northward onto the superior craton causing subsidence of a foreland basin in which sedimentation began at about 1850 ma in the south baraga group rocks and 1835 ma in the north rove and virginia formations a thick succession of arc derived turbidites constitutes most of the foreland basin fill along with lesser volcanic rocks in the southern fold and thrust belt tectonic thickening resulted in high grade metamorphism of the sediments by 1830 ma at this same time a suite of post tectonic plutons intruded the deformed sedimentary sequence and accreted arc terranes marking the end of the penokean orogeny the penokean orogen was strongly overprinted by younger tectonic and thermal events some of which were previously ascribed to the penokean principal among these was a period of vertical faulting in the archean basement and overlying paleoproterozoic strata this deformation is now known to have post dated the terminal penokean plutons by at least several tens of millions of years evidence of the penokean orogen is now largely confined to the lake superior region comparisons with more recent orogens formed by similar plate tectonic processes implies that significant parts of a once more extensive penokean orogen have been removed or overprinted by younger tectonic events

early proterozoic geomagnetic field in western laurentia implications for paleolatitudes local rotations and stratigraphy abstract the east west trending post orogenic subvertical cleaver dykes from the great bear magmatic arc are dated by the u pb baddeleyite method to be 1740 5 4 ma they have a mean direction of magnetization of d i 136 5 and 57 4 k 64 95 4 5 based on samples from 17 diabase dykes a mean location 65 7 n 118 03 w and a corresponding paleopole at 19 4 n 83 3 w a95 6 1 studies of baked contacts country rocks distant from dykes and later intrusions that cut them show that the dykes became magnetized soon after intrusion the paleopole is not significantly different from that obtained from the 1759 1 ma post orogenic jan lake granite from the hudsonian orogen in southeast saskatchewan these paleopoles fall among a cluster previously determined from post orogenic overprints in a wide variety of rocks and geological settings across laurentia their mean is 20 8 n 94 5 w a95 5 2 collectively they record a widespread remagnetization episode following the hudsonian orogeny during which the polarity of the field remained constant this single polarity interval the cleaver superchron has a mean age of approximately 1747 ma and its duration is at least 13 million years but is probably much longer with further refinement it could become a global statigraphical marker there are 18 paleopoles from red beds and igneous rocks which record the paleofield in western laurentia mainly over an extended interval we estimate to be at least 100 million years between about 1960 and 1830 ma during the hudsonian orogeny over this interval western laurentia remained at a low and essentially constant latitude reversals of the geomagnetic field occurred opposed magnetizations being of approximately equal frequency there are numerous magnetochrons which could in future assist in regional stratigraphic correlations on the basis of six studies we estimate that the reference paleopole for this interval is at 1 1 s 71 7 w a95 12 1 n 6 paleopoles from the other 12 studies are spread over a 100 arc indicating large variable rotations about local vertical axes which probably resulted from transcurrent faulting caused by indentation of the bordering archean slave and superior cratons during the hudsonian orogeny these reference paleopoles show that during the hudsonian orogeny western laurentia was in paleolatitudes of 15 30 during post hudsonian time ca 1750 ma paleolatitudes were about 20 higher paleowind directions inferred by others indicate that laurentia during these intervals was in the northern hemisphere

crustal uplift in the southern superior province canada revealed by paleomagnetism abstract a change in the polarity of magnetization with depth in the 2 45 ga matachewan dyke swarm is used to document vertical crustal movements that occurred at 1 9 2 3 ga along the kapuskasing structural zone a 500 km long fault zone that transects the archean superior province of canada at shallow crustal levels dykes have a primary magnetization dominantly of one polarity but at greater depths 20 km down a polarity change occurs associated with the growth of exsolved magnetite in feldspar due to slow crustal cooling after cessation of matachewan igneous activity regions of the dyke swarm with one dominant polarity are separated from those with opposite polarity by major faults using this polarity distribution and associated variations in the intensity of feldspar clouding and hydrous alteration maps of the southern superior province are produced that display regional crustal tilting on which are superimposed more local fault bounded blocks associated with the kapuskasing zone some of these blocks have been recognized for the first time as a result of this study the paleomagnetic work has also shown that the matachewan swarm is regionally distorted both within and north of the kapuskasing zone and originally had a more radial disposition this widespread distortion suggests that the lower crust was still relatively ductile at the time of deformation perhaps due to high heat flow associated with the waning stages of the matachewan mantle plume beneath

paleomagnetism of 2 44 ga mafic dykes in russian karelia eastern fennoscandian shield implications for continental reconstructions abstract results of a paleomagnetic study of paleoproterozoic dykes and archean host rocks in the eastern fennoscandian shield are reported here most of the dykes are related to ca 2440 ma layered intrusions and have isotopic ages between 2349 and 2476 ma the dykes form an extensive nw se and e w trending swarm the majority are unaltered gabbronorites which carry stable remanent magnetizations with multicomponent nature the high temperature remanence component d which is thought to represent the primary 2 44 ga magnetization of the dykes has a paleomagnetic pole at 20 s 278 8 e a95 6 0 n 11 sites another d like component d with shallower inclination vgp 9 6 n 256 2 e eight samples at one site from baked archean host rock may also represent the primary remanence of the dykes the commonest remanence component a records an extensive svecofennian partial overprint and is interpreted to be ca 1 84 ga old it yields a paleomagnetic pole at 52 6 n 226 8 e a95 2 7 n 23 the fourth component b has a paleopole at 53 9 n 169 6 e a95 6 3 n 16 and is inferred to be ca 1 75 ga on the basis of isotopic dating although ages of 2 1 1 3 and 0 3 ga are also possible baked contact tests for the 2 44 ga dykes are negative as shown by the occurrence of component d in archean host rocks beyond one dyke width it is proposed that the negative baked contact test indicates regional reheating and remagnetization of the archean basement at ca 2 44 ga ago due to the spatially vast occurrence of coeval 2 44 ga mafic dykes layered intrusions volcanics and granites in the area based on this hypothesis it is suggested that component d in the dykes may be primary and acquired at ca 2 44 ga ago the similarity of pole d with poles from coeval dykes and layered intrusions elsewhere in the karelian province and kola peninsula suggest that within the archean domain of the fennoscandian shield no large scale block movements have taken place since 2 44 ga at 2 44 ga the fennoscandian shield was located at the latitude of ca 30 s which is different to that at 1 84 and 1 75 ga when fennoscandia was located at the latitudes of ca 30 n a continental reconstruction based on pole d and the pole from the 2 45 ga matachewan dykes of the superior craton in laurentia places the kola peninsula adjacent to southern greenland reconstructions based on recent geological interpretations and a reconstruction yielding pole d are also discussed

trans hudson orogen of north america and himalaya karakoram tibetan orogen of asia structural and thermal characteristics of the lower and upper plates 1 the trans hudson orogen tho of north america and the himalaya karakoram tibetan orogen hkto of asia preserve a paleoproterozoic and cenozoic record respectively of continent continent collision that is notably similar in scale duration and character in tho the tectonothermal evolution of the lower plate involves 1 early thin skinned thrusting and barrovian metamorphism 2 out of sequence thrusting and high t metamorphism and 3 fluid localized reequilibration anatexis and leucogranite formation the crustal evolution of the indian lower plate in hkto involves 1 early subduction of continental crust to ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogite depths 2 regional barrovian metamorphism and 3 widespread high t metamorphism anatexis and leucogranite formation the shallow depths of the high t metamorphism in hkto are consistent with early to mid miocene ductile flow of an indian lower plate midcrustal channel from beneath the southern tibetan plateau to the greater himalaya melt weakening of the lower plate in tho is not observed at a similar scale probably due to the paucity of pelitic lithologies tectonothermal events in the upper plate of both orogens include precollisional accretion of crustal blocks emplacement of andean type plutonic suites and high t metamorphism syncollisional to postcollisional events include emplacement of garnet biotite muscovite leucogranites anatectic granites and sporadic metamorphism up to 90 myr following the onset of collision in tho comparing the type and duration of tectonothermal events for tho and hkto supports the notion of tectonic uniformitarianism for at least the later half of dated earth history and highlights the complementary nature of the rock record in an older exhumed orogen compared to one undergoing present day orogenesis

synopsis of paleomagnetic studies in the kapuskasing structural zone this paper summarizes results from paleomagnetic studies sponsored by lithoprobe on the kapuskasing structural zone ksz data from archean rocks outside the ksz indicate that the wawa subprovince has not been significantly rotated or translated 5 relative to the abitibi subprovince results from the granulites and amphibolites indicate that the ksz underwent several kilometres of uplift at ca 2 51 ga and then 10 5 west northwest tilt with several kilometres of further uplift between 2 04 and 1 88 ga from thrust faulting on the ivanhoe lake fault zone localized chemical remagnetization occurred at 1 1 ga along the west side of the shawmere anorthosite paleomagnetic data from the 2 45 ga matachewan diabase dike swarm indicate that it was emplaced within one reversed to normal polarity interval of less than 5 ma their polarity pattern indicates major north trending faults with several kilometres of dip slip displacement their remanence confirms that the superior province was deformed around th

regional variation in paleomagnetic polarity of the matachewan dyke swarm related to the kapuskasing structural zone ontario the 2 45 ga matachewan dykes from the abitibi subprovince of the canadian shield yield a mean paleomagnetic pole of 42 n 58 e 95 3 n sites 36 which is a composite of new and previously published data domains of paleomagnetic polarity are defined an area of dykes predominantly of reversed magnetization in the abitibi subprovince contrasts with an area of exclusively normal dykes to the north the polarity domains are separated by faults related to the 1 95 ga uplift and exposure of the lower crust in the kapuskasing structural zone and therefore reflect hudsonian age tectonics in the archean superior province

paleomagnetism and u pb geochronology of the 2 17 ga biscotasing dyke swarm ontario canada evidence for vertical axis crustal rotation across the kapuskasing zone u pb dates on baddeleyite yield ages of 2167 8 2 2 and 2171 6 1 2 ma on two northeast trending dykes west of the kapuskasing zone in ontario canada these ages identify the dykes as belonging to the biscotasing dyke swarm east of the kapuskasing zone which was previously dated at 2166 7 1 4 ma by u pb on baddeleyite and zircon the new dates show that the biscotasing swarm was emplaced over an area of at least 300 000 km2 much larger than hitherto suspected and in a geologically short period of time of about 5 million years a comparison of paleomagnetic data from biscotasing and 2 45 ga matachewan dykes on either side of the kapuskasing zone suggests that the western half of the superior province has rotated about 10 20 counterclockwise relative to the eastern half across the kapuskasing zone this movement may have been accompanied by rifting farther north which ultimately led to the paleoproterozoic embayment underlying hudson bay that gives the superior province its characteristic butter

constraints on the nature of the kapuskasing structural zone from the study of proterozoic dyke swarms petrochemical paleomagnetic and structural studies on early proterozoic dyke swarms show that the rocks of the kapuskasing structural zone ksz central superior province were upthrust about 10 15 km along the ivanhoe lake fault after intrusion of 2 04 ga kapuskasing dykes this uplift was part of a more widespread deformation in flanking terranes that involved sinistral motion along north north northwest trending faults dextral displacement along east northeast northeast trending faults and a distortion of the 2 45 ga matachewan swarm to the west and northwest of the ivanhoe lake fault the most spectacular demonstration that the ksz is largely a product of proterozoic deformation is that matachewan dykes change their magnetic polarity on crossing the zone a consequence of remanence acquisition at deep crustal levels being delayed until after a reversal of the earth s magnetic field and prior to uplift of the dykes matachewan and kapuskasing dykes within the amphibolite to granulite grade rocks o

broad scale proterozoic deformation of the central superior province revealed by paleomagnetism of the 2 45 ga matachewan dyke swarm an extensive paleomagnetic study of the 2 45 ga matachewan dyke swarm of the north american superior province suggests that the interior of an archean shield can undergo broad scale distortion as a result of later proterozoic orogenic activity around the craton margins data collected from over 300 sites of which 137 are reported here for the first time reveal that the dykes contain a dual polarity primary remanence that varies across the swarm in both inclination and declination these regional variations are statistically significant at the 95 confidence level and cannot be attributed to remagnetization or to magnetic anisotropy inclination variation is probably due to real or apparent polar wander during the emplacement of the swarm and may in part explain the declination variation as well however for dykes within and northwest of the kapuskasing structural zone ksz a positive correlation is found between regionally averaged values of declination and dyke trend here the dykes appear to hav

fossil whale preservation implies high diatom accumulation rate in the miocene pliocene pisco formation of peru diatomaceous deposits in the miocene pliocene pisco for mation contain abundant whales preserved in pristine condition bones articulated or at least closely associated in some cases in cluding preserved baleen the well preserved whales indicate rapid burial the 346 whales within 1 5 km 2 of surveyed surface were not buried as an event but were distributed uninterrupted through an 80 m thick sedimentary section the diatomaceous sediment lacks repeating primary laminations but instead is mostly massive with irregular laminations and speckles there is no evidence for bioturbation by invertebrates in the whale bearing sediment cur rent depositional models do not account for the volume of diato maceous sediments or the taphonomic features of the whales these taphonomic and sedimentary features suggest that rapid burial due to high diatom accumulation in part by lateral advection into pro tected shallow embayments is responsible for the superb preser vation of these whales leading to a higher upper limit on phyto plankton accumulation rates than previously documented

structural correlation within the kapuskasing uplift comparison of progressive deformation and metamorphic history within and between the tectonic domains of the kapuskasing uplift indicates significant variation in age and style of deformation across this large segment of the central superior province multiple stages of tonalite and granitoid intrusion melt generation polyphase diachronous deformation and likely rapid deep burial of supracrustal rocks collectively produced the complex character of this example of archean mid to deep crust at least four archean deformation phases are recognized although not all are of regional extent dated structural chronology suggests that the locus of the earliest recorded deformations migrated to deeper crustal levels with time pre 2680 ma deformation local d d within high level tonalites is correlated with deformation in the michipicoten supracrustal belt the apparent earliest deformational fabrics at deeper crustal levels in the granulite terrane of the kapuskasing structural zone occurred between 2660 and 2640 ma archean third and fourth phase deformation phases 2667 to 2629 ma are present at mid crustal and deeper levels and deform post 2667 ma metaconglomerate these resulted in large scale folding and subhorizontal ductile shear zones which seem to represent an important transitional zone that separated a passive upper crust from continued ductile strain at deeper levels subsequent uplift of the high grade rocks was accomplished in multiple stages initiated prior to 2 45 ga and likely culminated around 1 9 ga although continued movement occurred as late as 1 14 ga the ivanhoe lake fault zone along which much of the uplift must have occurred exhibits some evidence of ductile deep thrust related fabrics but most of the observed structures are brittle to brittle ductile and steeply inclined a broad zone of pervasive cataclasis and brittle ductile shear zones is a characteristic feature of the fault zone throughout its length and both dextral and sinistral offset are locally present clear ground evidence for major transcurrent or thrust displacements however has not been recognized

rb sr biotite and whole rock data from the kapuskasing uplift and their bearing on the cooling and exhumation history rb sr isotopic ratios were measured on biotite and whole rocks from a suite of 21 granitoid rocks from the southern kapuskasing uplift results of 18 of the whole rock analyses fall on an isochron with an age of 2 677 0 057 ga and sri 0 70080 biotite model ages range from 2 50 to 1 93 ga in a general spatial relationship of decreasing age with depth in the structural section as calibrated with the igneous hornblende barometer for tonalitic rocks and garnet pyroxene barometers for granulites near the michipicoten belt in the west biotite ages of 2 ga reflect disturbances also recorded by paleomagnetic and whole rock rb sr systems to the east in a 70 km long northwest southeast transect toward the ivanhoe lake fault zone ages decrease from 2 50 to 1 95 ga in a southern transect ages are in the range 2 30 2 38 ga to within 15 km of the fault reflecting consistent erosion levels corresponding to 0 53 mpa but decrease to 1 93 ga to the east in concert with paleopressures in the 0 7 1 0 gpa ra

sedimentology and high frequency sequence stratigraphy of a forearc extensional basin the miocene caleta herradura formation mejillones peninsula northern chile abstract facies and sequence stratigraphic interpretation for the 380 m thick caleta herradura formation miocene are presented based on detailed and comprehensive outcrop data from the caleta herradura half graben mejillones peninsula northern chile the caleta herradura formation contains an array of lithofacies comprising sandstones sandy mudstones diatomites and breccio conglomerates that are interpreted as the products of inner shelf to non marine depositional settings complete exposure allows for recognition of a number of distinct and laterally persistent key stratal surfaces that permitted the identification of twenty five high frequency meter to tens of meters scale sequences based on their internal organization two main motifs of such unconformity bounded depositional packages can be distinguished deepening and deepening to shallowing upwards transgressive and highstand systems tracts were resolved based on such facies stacking patterns the origin of sequences is difficult to decipher and remains somewhat uncertain however several lines of direct and indirect evidence constrain interpretations for both the sequence architecture and bounding unconformities and help to discriminate between the various mechanisms that may have driven their development in essence these demonstrate that neither tectonically driven sea level oscillations nor climatically induced changes in sediment supply can adequately explain the distinctive features of unconformities and the facies architecture of sediments they delimit instead these high frequency changes in relative sea level are best explained as a consequence of glacio eustatic oscillations the contemporaneous deep ocean proxy records appear to support a causal link between the observed stratigraphic cyclicity and glacio eustatic changes in sea level due to modulation of short term milankovitch scale events by longer period astronomical variations however the type of astronomical forcing remains elusive hindered by lack of adequate age controls and a poor understanding of pacing mechanisms of high frequency climate changes during the middle to late miocene

the matachewan dyke swarm canada an early proterozoic magnetic field reversal abstract consistent age relationships between oppositely magnetized dykes of the 2 45 ga matachewan dyke swarm suggest that only a single magnetic field reversal occurred during the period of igneous activity the magnetic field throughout most of this time was characterized by a ssw declination and shallow negative inclination but reversed toward the waning stages of magmatism the new paleomagnetic data provide the oldest known magnetic reversal for which the relative reversal sense is known

inssev an instrument to measure the size and settling velocity of flocs in situ abstract an instrument has been developed to observe the settling of individual flocs in turbid water in order to measure size and settling velocity spectra of estuarine cohesive suspended sediments inssev in situ settling velocity instrument is bed mounted and comprises a computer controlled decelerator chamber that collects a sample of water from which some of the suspended matter is allowed to enter the top of a settling column the settling flocs are viewed using a miniature video system subsequent analysis of video tapes can provide direct measurements of size and settling velocity of individual flocs down to 20 m from this information floc density can be estimated the main feature of the instrument is its ability to video flocs in situ irrespective of the concentration in the estuary with as little disturbance to their hydrodynamic environment as possible preliminary field testing in the tamar estuary has given useful results in flow velocities up to 0 4 m s 1 and in concentrations up to 200 mg 1 1 the video recordings show large numbers of low density flocs with multiple structures linked by fine organic fibres

proterozoic magnetic overprinting of archaean rocks in the canadian superior province we have measured the various components of natural remanent magnetization nrm exhibited by mafic extrusive and intrusive rocks from the abitibi subprovince of the canadian precambrian shield in addition to providing what seems to be a primary archaean pole for the region the results testify to three episodes of magnetic overprinting at approximately 2 600 2 100 and 1 800 myr respectively the two earlier episodes coincide with the intrusion of matachewan and abitibi diabase dyke swarms here and elsewhere in the superior province magnetic overprinting in these cases extends far beyond areas of surficial dyke exposure the third episode postdates magmatic activity in the abitibi region but coincides in age with the 1 900 1 700 myr hudsonian orogeny in the churchill and bear provinces and the penokean orogeny in the southern province although magnetic overprints presumed to be of this age were known previously from abitibi dykes1 and nipissing sills2 4 our data are the first evidence of a 1 800 myr magnetic overprinting on a regional scale in the superior province

paleomagnetic evidence for proterozoic tectonism in the kapuskasing structural zone ontario the kapuskasing structural zone ksz in the superior province of north central ontario is thought to be an oblique cross section through middle archean crust samples from 30 sites in granulite gneisses and anorthosites of the ksz have been analyzed using alternating field and thermal demagnetization methods three remanent magnetization components were found with mean directions of d 23 i 50 k 52 95 11 n 5 sites for the a component d 73 i 68 k 50 95 5 n 18 for the b component and d 332 i 59 k 53 95 17 n 3 for the c component v constanzo alvarez and d j dunlop found similar a and b components in less metamorphosed rocks from the same units to the immediate west they attributed the a component to uplift at 2 55 ga with subsequent 15 to 30 wnw tilt and the b component to thermochemical overprinting at 1 1 ga as the ksz was reactivated during keweenawan rifting and volcanism we also attribute the a component to uplift during the 2 55 ga kenoran orogeny with concomitant 10 5 wnw downward tilting before intrusion of the 2 45 ga matachewan dikes to give its present paleopole of 33 e 67 dp 6 dm 9 n 13 using data from both studies we attribute acquisition of the b component to uplift at about 1 88 ga as suggested by recent thermal modeling and tectonic syntheses to give a paleopole of 124 w 30 n dp 7 dm 8 n 20 the c component is found in only three sites and may be either an hybrid of a 1 1 ga keweenawan crm with the b component or a fault block tilted b component near the ivanhoe lake cataclastic zone

quantitative estimates of emplacement level of postmetamorphic mafic dykes and subsequent erosion magnitude in the southern kapuskasing uplift the early proterozoic matachewan 2 454 ga and kapuskasing 2 04 ga dyke swarms of the central superior province have similar petrographic features including zoned igneous plagioclase and clinopyroxene and interstitial amphibole and quartz dyke crystallization conditions can be estimated using equilibria involving amphibole by assuming that igneous mineral rims reached equilibrium with the interstitial phases twq software using 33 amphibole bearing equilibria yields temperatures ranging from 552 to 811 c with an average of 680 c the average of two calibrated pressure sensitive equilibria 2 diopside 2 quartz tschermakite tremolite 2 anorthite and diopside 5 quartz pargasite tremolite anorthite albite ranges from 0 32 to 0 70 gpa for matachewan dykes and from 0 30 to 0 57 gpa for kapuskasing dykes because dyke pressures are lower than metamorphic pressures in the amphibolite and granulite facies archean country rocks the values represent feasible emplacement pressures the regi

thin thrust sheet formation of the kapuskasing structural zone revealed by lithoprobe seismic reflection data regional and high resolution seismic reflection data across the kapuskasing structural zone in ontario canada image at least three significant thrust faults that are low angle merge into a flat detachment on the west and together were responsible for the uplift of amphibolite and granulite facies rocks their geometry resembles a ramp and flat style of deformation that results in a thin upper plate above the 10 12 km about 4 0 s detachment northwest southeast horizontal shortening is estimated to be at least 55 km this large amount of shortening implies that much of the superior province was detached during the formation of the kapuskasing structural zone

estuarine flocs their size settling velocity and density the size and settling velocity of flocs of suspended sediments from the chesapeake bay were measured in laboratory experiments and in the field the curves between floc diameter and settling velocity showed a non stoke s relationship that was best described by the following settling velocity cm s 1 73 floc diameter cm 0 78 furthermore the relationship between floc diameter and settling velocity indicated that the floe density decreased as the floes increased in size in addition to changing density a cylinder shape was found to be the best shape factor

paleomagnetism of the paleoproterozoic hematitic breccia and paleosol at ville marie quebec further evidence for the low paleolatitude of huronian glaciation abstract the paleomagnetism of a saprolitic paleosol developed on archean granite and of an overlying hematitic breccia in the basal lorrain formation of the cobalt group huronian supergroup 2 4 2 3 ga near ville marie quebec has been investigated to further constrain the paleolatitude of the lorrain formation and the subjacent glaciogenic gowganda formation only the breccia whose hematite may be a product of weathering prior to or shortly after deposition yielded useable results with stepwise thermal demagnetization a stable component a maximum unblocking temperature t ub of 675 c carried by hematite is directed shallowly to the east northeast d 59 5 i 2 4 95 6 7 n 47 dip corrected and a less stable component b maximum t ub of 580 c carried by magnetite is directed steeply down to the northeast d 52 1 i 70 3 95 2 8 n 75 dip corrected component a is ascribed to a chemical remanent magnetization crm acquired when the hematitic breccia was deposited or soon thereafter component b is interpreted as a thermochemical overprint related to the penokean orogeny at 1 9 1 8 ga dip corrected specimen mean directions give the pole positions at latitude 57 1 n longitude 338 3 e dp 4 1 dm 4 8 for component b and latitude 21 1 s longitude 213 1 e dp 3 3 dm 6 7 for component a the more easterly directions for components a and b relative to comparable early and overprint components previously determined for the lorrain and gowganda formations at elliot lake and desbarats 260 360 km southwest of ville marie imply relative rotation of 30 or more about a vertical axis within the southern province since the penokean orogeny the results suggest that the hematitic breccia and the ville marie paleosol formed at a paleolatitude of 1 2 3 4 in accord with our earlier inference of equatorial paleolatitudes for the lorrain and gowganda formations and huronian glaciation paleomagnetic data from several continents suggest that ferruginous weathering horizons formed over a wide range of paleolatitudes in the proterozoic

proterozoic transcurrent movements along the kapuskasing lineament superior province canada and their relationship to surrounding structures abstract analysis of large scale geological and geophysical lineaments provide evidence for a new model to explain the kapuskasing structural zone ksz and james bay james bay is interpreted to have formed due to rifting related to lateral strike slip along the ksz the sutton arc is interpreted to be an extension from hudson bay arc which has been displaced by rifting of james bay magnetic anomalies which terminate at the ksz on the west have correlated magnetic anomalies on the east which are displaced left laterally it is proposed that these displacements and the rifting of james bay and the strike slip along the ksz were caused as a result of 160 km of left lateral motion between east and west superior terranes with an accompanying 5 of anticlockwise rotation of the west superior terrane additional support for this model comes from structural evidence drawn from previous reports from the last twenty six years

relative age of otto stock and matachewan dykes from paleomagnetism and implications for the precambrian polar wander path north trending diabase dykes within and near the otto syenite stock of the kirkland lake area of the superior province carry a stable paleomagnetic remanence identical to that of 2454 2 ma matachewan dykes far from the stock a positive baked contact test for the remanence of a dyke within the stock demonstrates that the remanence is primary thus 1 these dykes belong to the matachewan swarm 2 the otto stock has not magnetically overprinted matachewan dykes in its contact aureole as previously reported and 3 the stock must be older than 2454 ma the magnetic remanence associated with the otto stock previously thought to be primary must now be considered of uncertain age nevertheless the positive baked contact test for the remanence of the matachewan dyke within the stock demonstrates that the remanence associated with the stock predates intrusion of the matachewan swarm the conventional polar wander path for precambrian north america decreases in age from the matachewan paleopole to the otto

high precision u pb geochronology in the minnesota river valley subprovince and its bearing on the neoarchean to paleoproterozoic evolution of the southern superior province high precision u pb ages have been obtained for high grade gneisses late kinematic to postkinematic granitic plutons and a crosscutting mafic dike of the archean minnesota river valley tectonic subprovince at the southern ramparts of the superior craton of north america the antiquity of the minnesota river valley terranes is confirmed by a high precision u pb zircon age of 3422 2 ma for a tonalitic phase of the morton gneiss voluminous late kinematic monzogranites of the benson ortonville granite and morton sacred heart granite blocks yield identical crystallization ages of 2603 1 ma illustrating the synchrony and rapidity of deep crustal melting and plutonism throughout the minnesota river valley terranes postkinematic 2591 2 ma syenogranites and aplitic dikes in both blocks effectively constrain the final penetrative deformation of the minnesota river valley subprovince monazite growth from 2609 to 2595 ma in granulitic paragneisses of the benson and montevideo blocks is interpreted to record prograde to peak granulite facies metamorphic conditions associated with crustal thickening and magmatism neoarchean metamorphism and plutonism are interpreted to record the timing of collisional accretion and terminal suturing of the mesoarchean continental minnesota river valley terranes to the southern margin of the superior province along the western great lakes tectonic zone subsequent paleoproterozoic rifting of this margin is recorded by voluminous basaltic dike intrusion expressed in the minnesota river valley by major wnw trending tholeiitic diabase dikes dated at 2067 1 ma only slightly younger than the structurally and geochemically similar 2077 4 ma fort frances kenora kabetogama dike swarm of northern minnesota and adjoining canada

onaping fault system age constraints on deformation of the kapuskasing structural zone and units underlying the sudbury structure the deformation of the matachewan dyke swarm of the superior province which includes a 60 km right lateral offset and moderate uplift localized along the kapuskasing structural zone represents an

an assessment of a time of transition laser sizer in measuring suspended particles in the ocean abstract an assessment of the performance of the laser sizer cis 1 by galai for the size range of 0 5 150 m was conducted in a cruise across the continental shelf north of taiwan two types of measurements for the laser sizer were compared with the sizes analyzed by microscopic examination the measurements of cis 1 were performed with 1 a liquid flow pump system and 2 a small volume cuvette system the results of this study showed that although the liquid flow system analyzed a larger volume of water sample its measurements compared badly with that of microscopic examination but occasionally accurate results did appear when the particles were less fragile the measurements with the cuvette system generally agreed well with that of microscopy the mean value of the average deviation between the measurements of microscopy and the cuvette system was 33 it was also found that the narrower the particle size spectrum the more accurate the cis 1 s measurements were

sedimentary processes of fine grained material and the effect of seawall construction in the daeho macrotidal flat nearshore area northern west coast of korea abstract sedimentary processes on the lower tidal flat of the reclaimed seosan bay daeho tidal flat at the west coast of korea have undergone significant changes since 1984 when seawalls over 8 km long were constructed at the bay mouth comparison of pre and post construction tidal flow models indicates that in general tidal currents have increased considerably in front of the daeho tidal flat with tidal flow directions having changed from shore normal to shore parallel the 12 h measurements of currents and suspended sediment concentrations at four anchored hydrographic stations show nearshore suspended sediments drifting southward throughout the year bypassing the daeho tidal flat cyclic seasonal variations occur prominently in the grain texture of the tidal flat sediments and associated sedimentation rates in summer fine grained sediments deposit at a rate of 2 6 mm month particularly in sheltered places during the winter monsoon erosional processes are greatly enhanced by the interplay of tidal currents and waves up to 30 mm month this sedimentary seasonality is reflected in the variations in the concentration of nearshore suspended matter the concentration of suspended matter is much higher in winter 60 80 mg l because of vigorous resuspension activities compared with the summer concentration 10 30 mg l the direct effect of seawall construction coupled with strong natural seasonality can be seen from the continuous monitoring of sedimentation rates on the tidal flat the 2 year 1993 1995 measurements indicate that the entire daeho tidal flat was eroded during that period at the abnormally high average rate of 10 cm year the causal blocking of bayward sediment and water movements by any artificial structure might lead to similar erosional conditions to many other bays facing the yellow sea on the both chinese and korean coastlines subjected to energetic winter wave attack

paleomagnetism u pb geochronology and geochemistry of marathon dykes superior province and comparison with the fort frances swarm we report the first detailed study of the paleomagnetism u pb geochronology and major element geochemistry of paleoproterozoic north trending marathon dykes north of lake superior the paleomagnetic and geochemical results demonstrate that marathon dykes can be divided into two subsets one of normal magnetic polarity the other of reverse polarity normal and reverse marathon paleomagnetic poles at 43 n 196 e dm 9 dp 7 number of dykes n 16 and 51 n 175 e dm 9 dp 6 n 12 respectively are statistically distinct and may indicate different ages of normal and reverse dyke emplacement a u pb baddeleyite age of ma has been obtained at a normally magnetized marathon paleomagnetic site the reversely magnetized marathon dykes are undated but have a paleopole rather close to that of the reversely magnetized ma fort frances dykes and major element geochemical signatures as portrayed on jensen plots that are identical to those of the fort frances swarm therefore reverse marathon an

seismic reflection profiles across deep continental crust exposed in the kapuskasing uplift structure seismic imaging of precambrian cratons holds the promise of deep structural mapping and interpretation of fundamental crustal construction processes deep structures may be identified by tracing reflections to the surface1 particularly in exposed crustal cross sections2 elevated along deeply penetrating faults but many such cross sections have structural orientations too steep for successful reflection imaging like the ivrea zone3 or occur in plate boundary settings not representative of continental interiors by contrast the archaean greenstone terrain exposed in the kapus kasing uplift of canada4 5 has gently dipping structures and an intracratonic setting within the superior province thus providing an opportunity to examine the third dimension of continental crust down to 25 30 km palaeodepth6 here we present new seismic reflection data which although generally supportive of structural models based on surface geology4 gravity modeling5 and seismic refraction studies7 8 also indicate that the kapuskasing structure is a relatively thin thrust sheet containing seismically reflective sequences of high grade rock which may be analogues of seismi cally reflective in situ lower crust

paleomagnetism structure and longitudinal correlation of middle precambrian dykes from northwestern ontario and minnesota a primary magnetization about 2 1 ga old is well preserved in the kenora kabetogama dyke swarm in minnesota and ontario its direction the mean for 12 dykes incorporating results from 30 paleomagnetic sites is 115 9 55 6 yielding a paleomagnetic pole position of latitude 42 7 s longitude 4 2 e dm 7 3 dp 5 2 the primary nature of the magnetization can be demonstrated using geochemistry to correlate individual dykes over distances that can exceed 300 km whereas the remanence direction varies between dykes it remains constant along a dyke sufficient proof that it was formed during initial cooling of the intrusion a weak longitudinal increase in hydrous alteration mgo content and degree of magnetic overprinting is observed as the swarm is followed to the south and may reflect increasing proximity to a precambrian continental margin that underwent rifting sedimentation and deformation during the time interval 2 2 1 6 ga bp although the cause of the longitudinal changes in terms of ma

paleomagnetism of the hearst dike swarm and implications for the tectonic history of the kapuskasing structural zone northern ontario prominent north to northwest trending dikes herein termed the hearst swarm west of the kapuskasing structural zone ksz in northern ontario yield a paleomagnetic pole position of 48 6 n 69 0 e dm 6 9 dp 3 6 60 samples from 12 dikes using paleomagnetic petrographic and structural criteria the hearst swarm is correlated with the 2 6 ga matachewan swarm east of the ksz a positive correlation is observed between the trend and paleomagnetic declination of hearst matachewan dikes and may result from an 15 post 2 6 ga rotation of terranes across the ksz paleomagnetic and structural data from the hearst dikes are consistent with the regional westward tilting of the crust near the southern ksz as first proposed in 1983 by percival and card

secular variation of the late archean early proterozoic geodynamo 1 we report new paleomagnetic data from 2 5 ga dikes of the superior province and derive estimates of paleosecular variation when combined with data from coeval dikes of the karelia craton russia and older 2 7 ga volcanics of the pilbara craton these estimates suggest a latitudinal variation of secular variation similar to that of the last 5 million years but with potentially smaller quadrupole family contributions the observations are consistent with some numerical models of the field that suggest a more dipolar field when the earth had a much smaller solid inner core

northeast trending early proterozoic dykes of southern superior province multiple episodes of emplacement recognized from integrated paleomagnetism and u pb geochronology integrated paleomagnetic and u pb geochronologic studies have been conducted to establish the paleomagnetic directions and ages of early proterozoic tholeiitic dykes of northeast trend in the southern superior province previously referred to collectively as preissac dykes it is demonstrated that they are readily separated on the basis of paleomagnetism into subsets referred to as the biscotasing and senneterre swarms in addition a pair of unnamed dykes may be associated with the north and northwest trending matachewan swarm farther west biscotasing dykes have a down west magnetization of single polarity with a corresponding paleopole at 27 8 n 136 7 w dm 12 3 and dp 9 4 senneterre dykes carry an up north or occasionally down south direction with corresponding paleopole at 15 3 s 75 7 w dm 7 0 dp 4 4 the senneterre direction is indistinguishable from the primary n1 remanence direction that dominates the magnetization of nipissing sills of the southern province paleomagnetic fiel

transpressive tectonism in the eastern penokean orogen canada consequences for proterozoic crustal kinematics and continental fragmentation abstract results of a structural analysis of archean basement huronian cover and various igneous rocks in the sudbury area ontario and regional tectonometamorphic correlations suggest that structures in the eastern penokean orogen formed dominantly by dextral transpression bulk horizontal shortening started with the ca 2 4 to 2 2 ga blezardian orogeny and was accompanied by peak metamorphism and local granitoid magmatism during the 1 89 to 1 83 ga penokean orogeny horizontal dextral shear parallel to the curved axis of the eastern penokean orogen gained in importance and is most likely related to docking of proterozoic magmatic arc terranes to the superior province margin this tectonic activity led to distributed heterogeneous deformation of archean basement rocks and exhumation of deep crustal rocks in the sudbury area and the kapuskasing structural zone but may have failed to accrete paleoproterozoic terranes in the lake huron area the lack of evidence for horizontal extension following blezardian and penokean contraction suggests that crustal fragmentation of the archean supercontinent started at 2 45 ga finally the great lakes tectonic zone and the murray fault master dislocations in the penokean orogen may have acted as crustal weakness zones which influenced the orientation and development of 1 1 ga midcontinent rift segments

the paleomagnetic significance of new u pb age data from the molson dyke swarm cauchon lake area manitoba u pb geochronology paleomagnetism and petrography indicate that the molson dyke swarm along the western margin of the superior craton is a composite of at least two ages of intrusion the more extensive younger dyke set the molson swarm sensu stricto generally has a 030 trend is mainly pyroxenitic to noritic with subordinate diabase and has been related to rifting in a back arc environment during closure of the manikewan ocean at about 1920 1800 ma which culminated in the trans hudson orogen a u pb zircon age from one of these dykes located at cauchon lake indicates emplacement at 1877 7 150 4 similar to two previous u pb age determinations on molson dykes another dyke from cauchon lake yields a baddeleyite zircon u pb date of 2091 2 ma and appears to be part of an older mainly diabasic suite of east northeast trending dykes that may represent a continental rifting episode that preceded the opening of the manikewan ocean the new u pb age data require a revision to the interpretation of

deep crustal structure and tectonic history of the northern kapuskasing uplift of ontario an integrated petrological geophysical study the northeast trending kapuskasing uplift transects the east west belts of the central superior province over a distance of some 500 km granulite to upper amphibolite facies rocks of the uplift form three distinct geological geophysical entities from south to north the chapleau groundhog river and fraserdale moosonee blocks uplift of the granulites along a moderately northwest dipping crustal scale thrust fault is attributed to an early proterozoic compressional event major northeast striking faults that bound the kapuskasing zone on the west were examined by modelling of geophysical anomalies to determine dip and by geobarometry of garnet orthopyroxene plagioclase quartz assemblages to determine vertical displacement granulites in the kapuskasing zone have 7 to 9 kbar signatures whereas those in the quetico belt to the west indicate metamorphic pressure of 4 6 kbar individual calibrations of the barometer yield consistent pressure differences of 2 3 kbar suggesting 7 10 km of west side down movement on the faults modelling of gravity and aeromagnetic gradients indicates westerly dips of 60 65 with west side down offset of up to 14 km these major normal faults probably formed as collapse structures in response to crustal thickening which occurred during the preceding compressional uplift stage differences in the configuration of individual blocks of the kapuskasing zone can be related to variable fault slip and intersection angles between normal and reverse faults thus the groundhog river and southern fraserdale moosonee blocks are perched thrust tips analogous to the sangre de cristo range of the laramide uplift province whereas the southern chapleau block is a tilted slab with similar configuration to the laramide wind river range pop up geometry deduced for the northern fraserdale moosonee block resembles the structure of the laramide uinta mountains a normal fault crosses the surface trace of the basal thrust fault between the groundhog river and fraserdale moosonee blocks and causes a 65 km gap without granulites this article contains supplementary material