late precambrian u pb ages for the brookville gneiss southern new brunswick tonalitic orthogneiss from the brookville gneiss in southern new brunswick has an igneous protolith age of 605 pm 3 ma based on u pb dating of zircon metamorphic titanite from the same sample gives a minimum age of 564 pm 6 ma for upper amphibolite facies metamorphism of the unit based on u pb analyses of single detrital zircons a maximum sedimentary protolith age of about 641 ma is suggested for associated paragneiss these ages indicate that the igneous protolith of the orthogneiss was at most 35 ma younger than the sedimentary rocks it intruded and that the brookville gneiss is younger than the green head group to which it was previously considered basement both orthogneiss and paragneiss in the brookville gneiss contain proterozoic and archean detrital zircon grains suggesting an old heterogeneous continental source we conclude that the brookville gneiss does not represent the basement to the avalon terrane

model for the precambrian evolution of the avalon terrane in southern new brunswick canada the tectonostratigraphic record of the avalon terrane in southern new brunswick is interpreted as that of a wilson cycle that followed the grenvillian and preceded the opening of lapetus development of a late precambrian continental shelf is attributed to the cadomian ocean whose initial subduction at 800 ma led to platform collapse regional metamorphism and minor mafic to ultramafic plutonism in response to back arc extension and crustal separation oblique subduction of the resulting back arc basin at 600 630 ma produced calcalkaline plutonism and cogenetic volcanism that ended in dextral transtension and the emplacement of a bimodal dike complex initial rifting of lapetus which isolated this record from cratonic north america is recorded in eocambrian redbeds and bimodal volcanics and produced a cambro ordovician overlap sequence bearing acado baltic fauna

petrology age and tectonic setting of the white rock formation meguma terrane nova scotia evidence for silurian continental rifting the white rock formation in the yarmouth area of the meguma terrane of southern nova scotia consists mainly of mafic tuffaceous rocks with less abundant mafic flows epiclastic and clastic sedimentary rocks and minor intermediate and felsic crystal tuff it is divided into seven map units that appear to young from west to east inconsistent with a previously assumed synclinal structure the white rock formation is flanked on both northwest and southeast by mainly the cambrian to lower ordovician halifax formation the western contact is interpreted to be a sheared disconformity whereas the eastern contact appears to be a major brittle fault and shear zone that juxtaposes different crustal levels the granitic brenton pluton forms a faulted lens within the eastern shear zone a felsic tuff from the upper part of the white rock formation yielded a u pb zircon age of 438 3 2 ma identical within error to published ages for the brenton pluton and felsic volcanic rocks near the base of the white rock formati

geophysical modeling of devonian plutons in the southern gulf of st lawrence implications for appalachian terrane boundaries in maritime canada a prominent positive magnetic anomaly spans the 100 km distance between prince edward island and cape breton island in the southern gulf of st lawrence the anomaly occurs in an area of complex structure where appalachian terrane boundaries are poorly resolved because of thick late paleozoic sedimentary cover analysis of the magnetic anomaly led to the interpretation that it is produced by four separate approximately circular source bodies aligned along the northwesterly trend of the anomaly seismic data physical property measurements and magnetic and gravity anomalies were used to further investigate the anomaly sources through forward modeling techniques the four source bodies have densities and magnetic susceptibilities compatible with dioritic to granitic compositions modeling also suggests that basement to the north of the plutons has higher density and susceptibility than basement to the south and hence the source bodies are interpreted as plutons emplaced along the boundary between ganderian composite terranes to the north and the ganderian brookville bras d or terrane to the south this interpretation suggests that the ganderia avalonia boundary is located farther south and shows the need for re evaluation of the location and role of the canso fault in offsetting terranes between cape breton island and southern new brunswick

tonian ediacaran tectonomagmatic evolution of west avalonia and its ediacaran early cambrian interactions with ganderia an example of complex terrane transfer due to arc arc collision

mineralogy of four sandy soils developed under heather oak spruce and grass in the same fluvioglacial deposit in denmark the degree of weathering was investigated in four sandy soils at hjelm hede in northwest jutland denmark previous studies showed that the degree of podzolisation was influenced by vegetation as follows quercus robur oak calluna uulgaris heather picea sitchensis spruce this study shows that the soil under grass is the least podzolized the data show that the particle size and mineralogy of the parent material from site to site are closely similar determination of the mineralogy and chemical composition of five particle size fractions from horizons of each of the four soils indicated an in situ fragmentation of mineral grains and losses of al ca na and k relative to si the apparent degrees of weathering under spruce heather and oak were similar and somewhat more intense than that under grass

u pb geochronological constraints on the evolution of the aspy terrane cape breton island implications for relationships between aspy and bras d or terranes and ganderia in the canadian appalachians new u pb zircon ages from nine samples of igneous and sedimentary rocks in the aspy terrane cape breton island show that neoproterozoic rocks form a major part of the terrane and confirm that the terrane was affected by a major silurian devonian tectonothermal event a rhyolitic crystal tuff a leucotonalite pluton and a felsic sheet yield ages of 618 8 0 6 ma 619 7 0 9 ma and 573 5 2 7 ma respectively a metasedimentary unit contains zircon ranging in age from ca 546 to ca 1520 ma a diorite has an age of 428 6 1 9 ma and another diorite unit and a quartz porphyry also have probable late silurian ages a third diorite yields an age of 373 0 0 5 ma part of a widespread bimodal igneous event represented by both volcanic and plutonic rocks throughout the aspy region geochronological results and field relationships indicate that the neoproterozoic rocks are similar to those in the bras d9or terrane and form the basement to the ordovician silurian rocks in the aspy terrane and that the aspy terrane is probably correlative with rocks in the hermitage flexure of southern newfoundland where silurian metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks lie unconformably on similar neoproterozoic rocks likely correlative rocks also occur in the kingston terrane of southern new brunswick the results of this study support the idea that the aspy kingston terrane is part of ganderia and that neoproterozoic rocks in the bras d9or terrane and correlative rocks in southwestern newfoundland and elsewhere represent exposed basement to ganderia in the canadian appalachians

nd isotopic evidence for juvenile crust in the carolina terrane southern appalachians nd isotopic analyses of whole rock samples from the older portion of the carolina terrane one of the largest terranes in the appalachian orogen demonstrate that part of this terrane is composed of juvenile mantle derived crust these data suggest that the terrane may not have originally been built upon old evolved basement material but rather may have been built upon oceanic crust a recent study by other workers demonstrates a more crustally evolved nd isotopic signature for younger components of the carolina terrane these data may indicate that the terrane interacted with evolved crust at a later time possibly by amalgamation with a more evolved crustal fragment before final accretion to laurentia rather than indicating a primary old basement a juvenile nature for the older portion of the terrane contrasts with models that suggest it is an evolved crustal fragment that formed in a continental margin setting a scenario proposed to explain the high proportion of felsic volcanic rocks within the terrane it is herein suggested that carolina is a chemically evolved but isotopically juvenile crustal fragment because it remained in an oceanic setting for an unusually long time in this regard the carolina terrane is similar to some of the large accreted terranes in the canadian cordillera such as wrangellia and alexander the presence of juvenile crust in the carolina terrane documents that at least part of the southern appalachian orogen is not composed solely of reactivated pre existing continental crust the importance of this part of the orogen in terms of the volume of juvenile phanerozoic crustal material in north america may be larger than previously thought however until additional major appalachian terranes have been isotopically characterized the volume of juvenile crust in the whole orogen remains unknown the isotopic make up of a terrane can be an important aspect of terrane analysis as different terranes may have significantly different isotopic compositions while even widespread pieces of a single terrane should have very similar isotopic characteristics the nd isotopic data for the carolina terrane form the beginning of an isotope database for terranes in the southern appalachians

sm nd isotopic systematics as tectonic tracers an example from west avalonia in the canadian appalachians abstract the tectonothermal evolution of west avalonia in mainland nova scotia appalachian orogen provides an excellent example of the application of sm nd isotopic analyses to tectonic studies regional syntheses indicate that west avalonia originated in the neoproterozoic as one of a number of terranes collectively known as peri gondwanan terranes along the gondwanan margin these terranes are characterized by late neoproterozoic voluminous arc related magmatism west avalonia became detached from gondwana in the early ordovician was accreted to laurentia by the silurian and was deformed by post accretionary strike slip tectonics in the late devonian and carboniferous associated with the amalgamation of pangea all stages of this evolution can be recognized in the sm nd isotopic signature in various neoproterozoic and paleozoic volcanic and sedimentary successions in mainland nova scotia crustally derived felsic volcanic rocks of late neoproterozoic ca 615 ma early cambrian and early silurian ages define an envelope that provides gross constraints on the sm nd isotopic composition of the underlying basement source e nd values range from 0 78 to 2 92 in the neoproterozoic rocks from 2 0 to 5 0 in the cambrian rocks and from 0 1 to 2 5 in the silurian rocks t dm model ages for each of these suites are remarkably similar they typically range from 0 9 to 1 2 ga suggesting that the sm nd isotopic composition of these suites was profoundly influenced by repeated melting of the same basement source this sm nd envelope provides a reference by which other suites may be compared and interpreted for example turbidites in a late neoproterozoic volcanic arc basin have sm nd compositions that lie within this envelope suggesting that they are derived from the coeval volcanic rocks that flank the basin the genetic significance of the model ages can be investigated by the analysis of felsic and metasedimentary rocks that pre date the main arc phase two felsic complexes have compositions that lie within the envelope and have similar model ages the presence of this signature in early avalonian rocks suggests that the model ages represent a genuine tectonothermal event at ca 1 0 to 1 2 ga that formed juvenile proto avalonian crust by implication the main arc phase in avalonia recycled this crust sm nd isotopic analyses of the metasedimentary sequences are incompatible with previous interpretations of deposition in a passive margin setting that pre dated avalonian arc activity instead the data indicate derivation from two distinct sources ancient gondwanan basement and juvenile avalonian arc suggesting deposition in a western pacific type back arc environment this re interpretation has important implications for neoproterozoic reconstructions the sm nd isotopic composition of west avalonian basement contrasts with that of other peri gondwanan terranes for example similarly aged felsic rocks in the cadomian terrane of nw france are characterized by more negative e nd values and older t dm model ages 1 0 1 9 ga these data together with detrital u pb data suggest that west avalonia was developed along the amazonian margin whereas cadomia was developed along the west african margin of gondwana sm nd isotopic analyses of early silurian clastic rocks in mainland nova scotia show fundamental differences with unconformably underlying neoproterozoic and early paleozoic avalonian successions these data have e nd values ranging from 5 7 to 6 1 with t dm model ages of about 1 4 to 1 7 ga indicating that the clastic rocks cannot have been derived from underlying successions a variety of geologic data and regional constraints suggests that they may have been derived from the caledonide orogen of western europe thereby providing a minimum age for the accretion of west avalonia to laurentia baltica sm nd isotopic analyses from late devonian early carboniferous continental clastic rocks deposited along the southern flank of avalonia in mainland nova scotia also show little influence from avalonian rocks and are compatible with derivation from the meguma terrane immediately to the south these data are consistent with regional synthesis which indicate uplift of the meguma terrane relative to west avalonia during dextral transpression

regional differences in pb isotopic compositions of feldspars in plutonic rocks of the northern appalachian mountains u s a and canada a geochemical method of terrane correlation feldspar pb isotopic compositions from paleozoic tonalitic to leucogranitic caledonian plutons from the northern appalachian mountains of the u s a and canada range from nonradiogenic to radiogenic relative to the evolution curve of stacey and kramers 1975 pb isotopic values in the feldspars are generally independent of modal and major and trace element contents of the plutons plutons with the least radiogenic pb isotopic signatures northern group have intruded allochthonous rocks closest to the north american craton and plutons with the most radiogenic pb southern group have intruded avalonian basement feldspars from plutons in the central group have intermediate pb isotopic compositions between the northern and southern groups and do not define an isotopically unique group the predominant source of the felsic magmas was the continental lithosphere as indicated by the general pb isotopic similarity of the plutonic feldspars with either grenville or chain lakes basement in the case of the northern group and with avalonian basement rocks in the case of the southern group the source region for plutons in the central group may have contained a mixture of grenvillian and avalonian components plutons in the northern appalachians are as a group more evolved in their pb isotopic compositions relative to caledonian plutons in the british isles

geochemical and isotopic characteristics of granitoids of the avalon zone southern new brunswick possible evidence for repeated delamination events nd o and pb isotope data from southern new brunswick suggest that 625 to 360 ma granitoid plutons contain a major juvenile component and small amounts of middle proterozoic or older crustal material plutons fall into four major age groups 600 630 540 560 422 430 and 367 396 ma the first and third groups can be related to subduction in other parts of the appalachian orogen but most of the second and fourth magmatic pulses have lithologic associations and chemistry not readily reconciled to subduction the timing and volume of magmatism presence of mafic end members and juvenile signatures in the plutons suggest that crustal delamination may have been involved little evidence exists for extensive middle proterozoic or older continental crust beneath the avalon zone which consists mainly of late proterozoic continental margin arc material intruded by younger granitoid plutons that include a major mantle component this differs from contiguous gander and meguma zones in which plutons contain a ma

the position and nature of the gander avalon boundary southern new brunswick based on geochemical and isotopic data from granitoid rocks in southern new brunswick the gander avalon boundary is obscured by boundary parallel faults and various cover sequences siluro devonian granites which intrude unequivocal gander or avalon rocks display exclusively negative 1 9 1 0 and positive 1 9 0 7 end t signatures respectively such contrasting nd isotopic signatures combined with other geochemical differences between plutons are potentially valuable tools for terrane analysis nine small devonian plutons intruding the boundary zone fall into contrasting geochemical groups with la lu n 4 the former are topaz bearing granites while the latter are volcanic arc type granites except for one pluton with an end t signature of 2 0 end t values range from 0 4 to 0 7 spanning the gap between type avalon and type gander plutons these results suggest the plutons sampled either i stratigraphically overlapping or tectonically interleaved gander and avalon basement rocks or ii a distinct basement source beneath the b

the kingston terrane southern new brunswick canada evidence for an early silurian volcanic arc the fault bounded kingston terrane of southern new brunswick consists of felsic and less abundant mafic volcaniclastic rocks and flows and minor interbedded sedimentary rocks of the kingston group intruded by mainly granitic plutons and abundant younger mafic sheets the granitic plutons form about half of the terrane and are characterized by fine grain size and typically granophyric and porphyritic textures indicative of high level emplacement mafic sheets were emplaced in the granitic plutons and parallel to primary layering in the kingston group which is typically steeply dipping and trends northeast to north northeast hence in contrast to some earlier interpretations the kingston terrane does not consist of a bimodal dike complex the kingston group granitic rocks and mafic sheets contain mineral assemblages consistent with metamorphism to upper greenschist lower amphibolite facies new u pb zircon ages of 442 6 ma from a dacitic tuff unit and 437 10 ma from a granitic pluton corroborate previous u pb dates that had suggested that the volcanic and granitic rocks in the kingston terrane are early silurian rather than precambrian as had been earlier assumed the felsic volcanic and granitic rocks are interpreted to be comagmatic on the basis of their field relationships and similar u pb ages and chemical character compositions of both the felsic rocks and less abundant mafic and intermediate and mafic rocks are consistent with calc alkalic affinity and emplacement in a continental margin volcanic arc herein termed the kingston arc a u pb date of 435 5 ma was also obtained from compositionally similar granite that forms a dike in an adjacent fault bounded amphibolite facies metasedimentary unit the similarity in age and composition of the granite dike suggests a link between these metasedimentary rocks and the kingston terrane possibly as part of an accretionary complex if so its location southeast of the kingston terrane indicates that subduction was to the present northwest mafic sheets in the kingston terrane are tholeiitic but have some arc like characteristics consistent with their origin in a former arc setting but the sheets were likely emplaced in a subsequent extensional setting the compositional similarity of the mafic sheets to late silurian mafic volcanic rocks and plutons of the coastal maine magmatic province suggests that they may be related a possible model for evolution of the kingston terrane is proposed wherein the kingston group and related granite formed in an early silurian arc on the margin of ganderia as represented by the new river terrane of late precambrian and early paleozoic age northwestward subduction culminated in collision between the kingston arc and a continental block now represented by the brookville terrane to the southeast subsequent transpressive mo tions in the late silurian may have been responsible for the crustal scale extensional environment in which the coastal maine magmatic province was formed including emplacement of mafic dikes into the deformed former kingston arc transpressive motions related to juxtaposition of the avalon and meguma terranes with the previously accreted more inboard terranes continued through the devonian and into the carboniferous

geological correlations between cape breton island and newfoundland northern appalachian orogen geological correlations between cape breton island and newfoundland are apparent both in surface geology and at deeper crustal levels based on similarities in sm nd isotopic signatures the mira terrane of southeastern cape breton island is part of the avalon terrane sensu stricto and is composed of neoproterozoic volcanic sedimentary plutonic belts and overlying cambrian rocks directly comparable to those in the western part of the newfoundland avalon terrane the bras d or terrane is also mainly of neoproterozoic age but shows lithological and isotopic contrasts with the mira terrane small areas of similar neoproterozoic rocks occur in southern newfoundland and to the north as inliers in the exploits terrane the bras d or terrane and similar rocks in newfoundland are interpreted to represent a peri gondwanan terrane where rocks of the gander terrane were later formed hence this area is part of the central mobile belt and distinct from avalon terrane sensu stricto the aspy terrane is a complex area

magmatic history of the avalon terrane of southern new brunswick canada based on u pb zircon geochronology u pb zircon dates from volcanic and plutonic units confirm that igneous activity throughout the caledonian highlands of southern new brunswick occurred in two main episodes ca 620 ma and ca 560 550 ma the ca 620 ma episode is represented by mainly metatuffaceous rocks of the broad river group and associated dioritic to granitic plutons that form most of the eastern highlands igneous rocks of similar age and type have been documented in avalonian areas throughout the northern appalachian orogen and are interpreted generally to have formed during subduction at a continental margin in contrast the ca 560 550 ma igneous episode may be unique to the caledonian highlands it is represented by tuffs and bimodal flows of the coldbrook group and co genetic gabbroic and granitic plutons that occur mainly in the western highlands this voluminous magmatism may have taken place in a volcanic arc and intra arc extensional setting perhaps like that represented by older but lithologically similar rocks of th

le batholite de de pas nouveau quebec infrastructure composite d arc magmatique proterozoique the de pas batholith in new quebec is a mass of granitoids elongated in a n s direction covering 7000 km2 in the southeastern part of the archean rae province it is located between the paleopro

sm nd isotopic geochemistry of precambrian to paleozoic granitoid suites and the deep crustal structure of the southeast margin of the newfoundland appalachians in the eastern central mobile belt of the newfoundland appalachians late precambrian basement inliers have end from 3 to 2 but cambro ordovician metasedimentary rocks have initial end below 7

the ellsworth terrane coastal maine geochronology geochemistry and nd pb isotopic composition implications for the rifting of ganderia the ellsworth terrane is one of a number of fault bounded blocks that occur along the eastern margin of ganderia the westernmost of the peri gondwanan domains in the northern appalachians that were accreted to laurentia in the paleozoic geologic relations detrital zircon ages and basalt geochemistry suggest that the ellsworth terrane is part of ganderia and not an exotic terrane in the penobscot bay area of coastal maine the ellsworth terrane is dominantly composed of bimodal basalt rhyolite volcanic sequences of the ellsworth schist and unconformably overlying castine volcanics we use new u pb zircon geochronology geochemistry and nd and pb isotopes for these volcanic sequences to constrain the petrogenetic history and paleotectonic setting of the ellsworth terrane and its relationship with ganderia u pb zircon geochronology for rhyolites indicates that both the ellsworth schist 508 6 0 8 ma and overlying castine volcanics 503 5 2 5 ma are middle cambrian in age two tholeiitic basalt types are recognized type tb 1 basalt present as pillowed and massive lava fl ows and as sills in both units has depleted la and ce la nd n 0 53 0 87 values fl at heavy rare earth element ree values and no positive th or negative ta anomalies on primitive mantle normalized diagrams in contrast type tb 2 basalt present only in the castine volcanics has slightly enriched lree la yb n 1 42 2 92 values and no th or ta anomalies both basalt types have strongly positive e nd 500 values tb 1 7 9 8 6 tb 2 5 6 7 0 and relatively enriched pb isotopic compositions 206

tectono stratigraphic terranes in cape breton island nova scotia implications for the configuration of the northern appalachian orogen cape breton island is divided into four terranes on the basis of contrasts in pre carboniferous geology the blair river complex in the north is an exposure of north american grenvillian basement analogous to the humber zone basement in newfoundland ordovician to devonian metavolcanic metasedimentary gneissic and granitic rocks of the aspy terrane are correlative with parts of the gander terrane of newfoundland and new brunswick the bras d9or terrane characterized by low pressure gneisses a carbonate clastic platform sequence and late precambrian early cambrian plutons may be correlative with units previously included in the gander terrane in southern newfoundland and the avalon terrane in southern new brunswick the mira terrane in southeastern cape breton island including late precambrian to early cambrian volcanic and sedimentary sequences and fossiliferous cambrian ordovician units is clearly part of the avalon terrane therefore with the exception of the dunnage terrane which is not represented in cape breton island the terranes of newfoundland continue through cape breton island they are offset to the northwest to the mainland part of the appalachian orogen in new brunswick

tectonic setting of avalonian volcanic and plutonic rocks in the caledonian highlands southern new brunswick canada the caledonian highlands of southern new brunswick consist of late proterozoic to cambrian rocks generally considered typical of the avalon terrane of the northern appalachian orogen mainly tuffaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the broad river group and cogenetic dioritic to granitic plutons with ages ca 620 ma form most of the eastern caledonian highlands they have petrological features indicative of origin in a continental margin subduction zone significantly younger ca 560 550 ma dacitic to rhyolitic lapilli tuffs and flows laminated tuffaceous siltstone basaltic and rhyolitic flows and clastic sedimentary rocks of the coldbrook group form most of the western highlands and occur locally throughout the highlands the mainly tuffaceous lower part of the group has been intruded by gabbroic and syenogranitic plutons that are interpreted to be cogenetic with basaltic and rhyolitic flows in the upper part of the group this voluminous subaerial magmatism may have formed during postorogenic ex

late proterozoic tectonic model for the avalon terrane in maritime canada the avalon terrane in maritime canada extends from cape breton island through northern nova scotia antigonish and cobequid highlands to southern new brunswick the terrane contains abundant late proterozoic volcanic rocks 570 680 m y old the geochemistry of the volcanic rocks of southern cape breton island and southern new brunswick indicates that they were erupted in a volcanic arc environment in both regions the mafic rocks display a remarkably similar compositional zonation which resembles the across arc variations observed in modern volcanic arcs the progressive compositional changes that include a transition from island arc tholeiites along the southeastern coasts to calc alkaline rocks inland to the northwest are probably due to a northwest dipping subduction zone with a trench located to the southeast in the antigonish and cobequid highlands continental tholeiites and calc alkaline volcanic rocks are interbedded and overlain by turbidites that have probably been deposited in a back arc or intra arc environment the superimposed positive gravity and magnetic anomalies that may be traced discontinuously from the grand banks through nova scotia collector anomaly and along the northern side of the gulf of maine to near boston probably represent late proterozoic ophiolitic remnants preserved by incomplete suturing along a late proterozoic plate boundary northeast trending segments are inferred to mark subduction zones and the e w portions could correspond to transform faults thus the present geographical distribution of the late proterozoic volcanic rocks is explained by a tectonic model involving a single subduction zone offset by two late proterozoic transform faults located approximately along the minas fault and the scatarie ridge

lithostratigraphy of the cambrian lower ordovician saint john group southern new brunswick the cambrian lower ordovician saint john group of the saint john area southern new brunswick has historically been subdivided into 11 formations the existing scheme is inappropriate however as many of the supposed formations particularly those of middle cambrian early ordovician age were distinguished on a biostratigraphic rather than lithostratigraphic basis we suggest the sequence can be more appropriately subdivided into seven formations each of which can be clearly and easily identified by the field geologist lower cambrian formations comprise from base to top the ratcliffe brook glen falls and hanford brook formations all of which are retained from the previous nomenclature middle cambrian strata comprise the forest hills formation to replace the fossil brook and porter road formations and upper cambrian strata the king square formation to replace the hastings cove and agnostus cove formations and silver falls formation to replace the black shale brook and narrows formations

discrimination of the milton belt and the carolina terrane in the southern appalachians a nd isotopic approach the hypothesis that the milton belt is a high grade infrastructural equivalent of the immediately adjacent suprastructure of the carolina terrane the carolina slate belt was tested by comparing the nd isotopic compositions of the two belts milton belt samples have epsilon nd 600 ma values ranging from approximately 6 5 to 1 and depleted mantle model t dm ages ranging from 930 to 1690 ma samples of the carolina slate belt collected from near the ductile shear zone that separates the milton and carolina slate belts have epsilon nd 600 ma values from 1 to 6 and t dm ages from 745 to 1040 ma the milton belt is therefore composed of isotopically more evolved crust than the northwestern portion of the carolina slate belt these results are not compatible with the simple infrastructure suprastructure relationship envisioned for the milton belt and the carolina terrane a more likely interpretation is that the belts are distinct crustal blocks that had unrelated hist

the dog bay liberty line and its significance for silurian tectonics of the northern appalachian orogen1this article is one of a series of papers published in this cjes special issue in honour of ward neale on the theme of appalachian and grenvillian geology 2geological survey of canada contribution 20100257 the dog bay line a silurian suture key to deciphering appalachian accretionary history was first recognized in newfoundland it marks where the ordovician tetagouch exploits ensimatic back arc basin teb which had opened within the leading peri gondwanan gander terrane finally closed here we extrapolate this suture into new england placing it between the liberty orrington miramichi inliers lom and the merrimack fredericton trough mft southeastward marine strata of the mft overlie the teb passive margin exposed in the ganderian st croix block and display southeast vergent structures transected by acadian cleavage they structurally underlie southeast vergent thrusts at the base of the lom northwestward the lom central maine matapedia trough cmmt and lower silurian igneous rocks record elements of the upper plate trench arc system respectively a subduction complex forearc basin and arc the cmmt forearc received detritus both from the northwesterly arc region and also from the

550 580 ma magmatism in cape breton island nova scotia canada the product of nw dipping subduction during the final stage of amalgamation of gondwana abstract cape breton island is host to widespread magmatic activity dated between 550 and 580 ma in the south its products include the capelin cove pluton and host coastal volcanic belt both are composed of bimodal tholeiitic calc alkaline suites that were emplaced on a thin sialic crust in a volcanic arc system their trace element and nd isotope variations are consistent with fractional crystallization accompanied by lower crustal contamination in a compositionally zoned magma chamber in contrast the indian brook and kerrs brook plutons and price point volcanic rocks in central cape breton island have higher contents of strongly incompatible trace elements and resemble modern arc related calc alkaline rocks emplaced on a moderately thick continental crust comparison with available data for other 550 580 ma igneous rocks across cape breton island indicates that they were produced above a nw dipping subduction zone this convergence was synchronous with the final stage of globalscale orogenic activity that culminated with the final amalgamation of gondwana available detrital zircon ages in late neoproterozoic 650 545 ma sediments in the antigonish highlands avalon composite terrane suggest derivation from the amazon craton it is proposed that the avalon composite terrane formed off northwestern south america during the late neoproterozoic

tectono magmatic evolution of sheeted plutonic bodies along the north giudicarie line northern italy tectonized slices of foliated quartz diorite quartz gabbro rocks are exposed along the north giudicarie line between dimaro and rumo western trentino region north east italy they show geochemical and mineralogical similarities with the north east corner of the adamello batholith presanella pluton and may be regarded as a northern apophysis lamella of adamello the intrusive bodies were emplaced within the adria crust at a relatively shallow depth approximately p text h text 2 text o equal to 3 kbar along a proto giudicarie line under transtensive conditions during late oligocene only near rumo has contact metamorphism on the austroalpine basement been observed whereas in other outcrops it has been tectonically removed by later movements along the giudicarie line in the samoclevolamella a magmatic flow texture which developed during the emplacement of a crystal mush at shallow depth is recorded by the preferred alignment of plagioclase and hornblende a solid state foliation outlined by quartz crystal aggregates green hornblende and biotite has been observed mostly in the rumolamella this indicates that a later ductile deformation which developed under decreasing temperatures overprinted the intrusive rocks this deformation probably reflects late oligocene strike slip movements along the tonale and giudicarie lines finally semi brittle to brittle deformation overprints the foliated igneouslamellae producing cataclasites and pseudotachylites sometimes these structures are subsequently cut by prehnite and epidote bearing veins during this event the intrusivelamellae were decoupled from their contact aureole and carried over the insubric flysch of the southern alps this last tectonic phase may be correlated to the upper miocene neo alpine transpressive event along the giudicarie line

petrogenesis of the ultrapotassic lincoln syenite maine late silurian early devonian melting of a source region modified by subduction driven metasomatism the late silurian early devonian 418 1 ma lincoln syenite exposed discontinuously over a distance of 75 kilometers in south central and mid coastal maine represents one of the most unusual igneous rocks in the appalachian orogen detailed field and petrographic study reveals that most of the exposed syenites have been variably affected by post magmatic recrystallization however a small proportion of the syenites in south central maine preserve original igneous minerals and textures and allow for an unobstructed study of the igneous petrogenesis the syenites are characterized by large dark colored alkali feldspar megacrysts set in a finer grained matrix dominated by alkali feldspar clinopyroxene orthopyroxene biotite oxides the rocks are intermediate in terms of sio2 content 55 59 wt yet are ultrapotassic 6 7 wt k2o and relatively primitive in terms of their mgo mg 67 cr 400 ppm and ni 150 ppm concentrations additionally the rocks exhibit large ion lithophile element enrichment relative to the high field strength elements along with elevated concentrations of light rare earth elements 200 300 chondritic abundances the syenites show limited radiogenic isotopic variability with relatively high initial 87sr 86sr values 0 707 to 0 710 relatively low initial end values 4 8 to 6 7 and initial pb isotopic compositions characteristic of igneous rocks in central maine for example 207pb 204pb 15 577 to 15 639 the geochemical characteristics of these rocks are most consistent with a model involving the partial melting of a mantle wedge previously metasomatized by subduction derived fluids crystallization of this magma was influenced by the presence of significant amounts of water that suppressed plagioclase feldspar crystallization facilitated the crystallization of mg rich biotite and ultimately resulted in the nucleation and growth of the alkali feldspar megacrysts correlation with the geochemically similar parks pond pluton in eastern maine extends the distribution of late silurian early devonian ultrapotassic magmatism in maine to an orogen parallel distance of over 150 km comparisons with rocks of similar composition in known tectonic environments suggest the lincoln syenite and by association the parks pond pluton formed as a result of lithospheric extension superimposed on a sub continental lithospheric mantle source region previously modified by subduction driven metasomatism the timing and structural position of this ultrapotassic magmatism is consistent with a geodynamic model involving slab break off or the convective removal of lithospheric mantle delamination in association with acadian convergence both processes facilitate a brief period of crustal extension and decompression melting of source rocks previously modified by subduction related processes

u pb age constraints on the stratigraphy and tectonic history of the avalon terrane new brunswick canada six new u pb ages for avalonian plutonic and volcanic rocks from the eastern caledonia highlands southern new brunswick indicate that magmatic activity occurred between 625 600 ma ago with another probably separate major episode at ca 550 ma this gap in igneous activity is consistent with differences in the metamorphic and deformational character of rocks from the two episodes the 625 600 ma activity was calc alkalic and probably occurred in an andean type magmatic arc it correlates with most volcanism and plutonism in the type avalon terrane of newfoundland the ca 550 ma activity formed bimodal volcanic rocks and high level plutons probably in an extensional setting u pb ages of xenocrystic zircons from avalonian igneous rocks indicate both archean and proterozoic components at depth in avalonian basement an observation consistent with pb isotopic signatures which suggest an old radiogenic crustal source the african craton for the magmatic products

regional 18o depletion of neoproterozoic igneous rocks from avalonia cape breton island and southern new brunswick canada neoproterozoic igneous rocks of the avalonian mira terrane cape breton island and caledonia terrane southern new brunswick have experienced regional 18 o depletion the majority of these rocks have 18 o wr values between 1 and 6 markedly different from igneous rocks of the inboard ganderian terranes which have normal high 18 o wr values of 7 to 12 the 18 o depletion of these avalonian terranes resulted from pervasive hydrothermal alteration all of the igneous rocks contain classic propylitic alteration assemblages of turbid feldspar chlorite epidote sericite and calcite and host multiple generations of veins containing the same phases the 18 o values of the rock forming minerals show strong disequilibrium with qtz fs ranging from 2 5 to 11 0 and kfs plg from 0 5 to 1 0 such values are indicative of post magmatic hydrothermal alteration the hydrothermal alteration occurred at ca 560 550 ma during initial transcurrent rifting of avalonia at the gondwanan margin the development of rift wrench basins with associated bimodal volcanism allowed large volumes of hydrothermal fluids to penetrate and circulate within mira and caledonia terrane crust before its submergence in the early cambrian ca 540 530 ma the hydrothermal fluids were predominantly meteoric although the presence of a significant seawater component cannot be ruled out the almost ubiquitous 18 o depletion exhibited by the neoproterozoic rocks in these avalonian terranes is absent in the associated ganderian terranes suggesting that avalonia remained separate from ganderia until at least the cambrian ordovician this 18 o depletion provides an additional geochemical tool for identification of avalonian crust in other areas of the appalachians and europe

age and origin of anorthosites charnockites and granulites in the central virginia blue ridge nd and sr isotopic evidence rb sr isotopic data for anorthosites charnockites ferrodioritic to quartz monzonitic plutons and high grade gneisses of the blue ridge of central virginia show evidence of post emplacement metamorphism but in some cases retain grenville ages the pedlar river charnockite suite yields an isochron age of 1021 36 ma initial 87sr 86sr ratio of 0 7047 6 which agrees with published u pb zircon ages five samples of that unit which contain paleozoic mylonitic fabrics define a regression line of 683 ma interpreted as a mixing line with no age significance samples of the roseland anorthosite complex show excessive scatter on a rb sr evolution diagram probably due to paleozoic 475 m y metamorphism data from the ferrodioritic to quartz monzonitic plutons of the area yield an age of 1009 26 ma inital ratio 0 7058 4 which is in the range of the u pb zircon ages of 1000 1100 ma the stage road layered gneiss yields an age of 1147 34 ma initial ratio of 0 7047 5 sm nd data for the pedlar river charnockite suite reflect a pre grenville age of 1489 118 ma nd 6 7 1 2 data for the roseland anorthosite complex and the ferrodioritic to quartz monzonitic plutons yield grenville isochron ages of 1045 44 ma nd 1 0 0 3 and 1027 101 ma nd 1 4 1 0 respectively two roseland anorthosite samples plot far above the isochron demonstrating the effects of post emplacement disturbance of sm nd systematics while mylonitized pedlar river charnockite suite samples show no evidence of sm nd redistribution the disparity of the sm nd age and other isotopic ages for the pedlar river charnockite suite probably reflects a sm nd source age suggesting the presence of an older crust within this portion of the ca 1 ga old basement

evidence for silurian sinistral accretion of avalon composite terrane in canada the kingston dyke complex forms a regionally developed belt of sheeted bimodal dykes within the avalon composite terrane of southern new brunswick canada dyke orientation relative to the belt suggests their injection accompanied sinistral movement and the belt has previously been attributed to transform activity within the late precambrian magmatic arc regime typical of the avalon composite terrane in the northern appalachians however rhyolite dykes of the sheeted complex yield a u pb age of 435 5 1 5 ma that is interpreted to date their emplacement the complex therefore provides evidence of early silurian sinistral displacement in the northern appalachians such movement is suggested by palaeomagnetic data and may record the accretion of the avalon composite terrane to cratonic north america

nd isotopic compositions of felsic igneous rocks in cape breton island nova scotia nd isotopic data from 18 felsic plutonic and volcanic units in cape breton island show variations consistent with other geological and geophysical evidence for at least three distinct terranes a ca 1 2 ga syenite considered to be part of grenvilleage basement exposed in the northwestern part of the island yields an initial end value of 0 4 and a depleted mantle model age tdm of 1 66 ga suggesting substantial involvement of older archean or early proterozoic crust in its petrogenesis a tdm of 1 38 ga indicated by nd isotopic data for a devonian granite spatially associated with the syenite is also consistent with the presence of older crust in that part of cape breton island in contrast silurian rhyolite and devonian granites from the aspy terrane have tdm ranging from 0 7 to 1 1 ga and initial end between 2 8 and 1 2 and overlap in isotopic characteristics with late precambrian and early ordovician plutons in the bras d or terrane that yield tdm of 0 9 1 1 ga and initial end of 1 4 to 1 8

neoproterozoic high pressure low temperature metamorphic rocks in the avalon terrane southern new brunswick canada high p low t metamorphic rocks of the hammondvale metamorphic suite hms are exposed in an area of 10 km2 on the nw margin of the caledonian avalon terrane in southern new brunswick canada the hms is in faulted contact on the se with c 560 550 ma volcanic and sedimentary rocks and co magmatic plutonic units of the caledonian terrane the hms consists of albite and garnet porphyroblastic mica schist with minor marble calc silicate rocks and quartzite pressure and temperature estimates from metamorphic assemblages in the mica schist and calc silicate rocks using twq indicate that peak pressure conditions were 12 4 kbar at 430 c peak temperature conditions were 580 c at 9 0 kbar 40ar 39ar muscovite ages from three samples range up to 618 615 ma a minimum age for high p low t metamorphism in this unit these ages indicate that the hms is related to the c 625 600 ma subduction generated volcanic and plutonic units exposed to the se in the caledonian terrane the ages are also similar to those obtained from detrital muscovite in a neoproterozoic cambrian sedimentary sequence in the caledonian terrane suggesting that the hms was exposed by latest neoproterozoic time and supplied detritus to the sedimentary units the hms is interpreted to represent a fragment of an accretionary complex similar to the sanbagawa belt in japan it confirms the presence of a major cryptic suture between the avalon terrane sensu stricto and the now adjacent brookville terrane

suspect terranes and accretionary history of the appalachian orogen the north american connection or the grenvillian continental crust that separated from eastern north america during the initiation of the appalachian orogenic cycle is poorly defined within the present orogen a variety of terranes occur outboard of the north american miogeocline all structurally uncoupled and therefore suspect stratigraphic analysis indicates that appalachian accretion progressed from the miogeocline outward the boundaries of the earliest accreted western terranes are marked by melange and ophiolite complexes later boundaries between eastern terranes are steep mylonitic zones and brittle faults accretionary events defined by stratigraphic analysis correspond to times of major deformation plutonism and metamorphism in the history of the orogen

altering avalonia oxygen isotopes and terrane distinction in the appalachian peri gondwanan realmlaboratory for stable isotope science lsis the university of western ontario contribution 236 distinct 18o depletion is characteristic of a large majority of the 620 550 ma felsic igneous rocks of avalonia in the northern appalachian orogen neoproterozoic rocks in the boston avalon terrane have the lowest 18owr values 3 1 followed by the mira terrane in cape breton island and the caledonia terrane in new brunswick 1 2 the avalon terrane in newfoundland 2 8 and the antigonish highlands in nova scotia 5 3 in contrast this depletion of 18o is observed in very few of the paleozoic felsic igneous rocks from these avalonian terranes and also in very few of the neoproterozoic and paleozoic felsic igneous rocks from the inboard ganderian terranes the low 18o character of the neoproterozoic igneous rocks is related to regional pervasive post magmatic alteration by predominantly meteoric hydrothermal fluids 18oh2o 6 to 4 at 200 450 c the alteration likely occurred during late neoproterozoic transtensional extension of avalonia large scale fluid infiltration and circu

nd isotopic characteristics of terranes within the avalon zone southern new brunswick nd isotopic data are presented for rock units in four terranes within the traditional avalon zone of southern new brunswick initial end values for igneous rocks within the caledonia terrane range from 1 6 to 4 6 whereas values for sedimentary rocks range from 8 4 to 3 6 a granite within the kingston terrane has end 438 ma 4 0 nd isotopic compositions for the kingston and caledonia terranes are similar to those of the mira terrane in cape breton island the antigonish highlands of nova scotia and plutonic rocks of eastern newfoundland each of these regions may be a dismembered part of a single terrane the avalon terrane sensu stricto initial end values for rocks from the brookville terrane range from 1 3 to 2 8 the coverdale anorthosite within the brookville terrane has a present day end value of 12 1 and a depleted mantle model age of 1 3 ga similar to mesoproterozoic anorthosites in laurentia clastic sedimentary rocks in the green head group have end 750 ma values of 2 0 and 10 9

juvenile middle proterozoic crust in the adirondack highlands grenville province northeastern north america nd isotope data indicate that minimal amounts of significantly older crust have contributed to the genesis of the oldest ca 1 3 13 5 ga plutons in the adirondack highlands these are magmatic arc tonalites with positive initial epsilon sub nd values and sm nd depleted mantle model ages t sub dm that are within 70 m y of the time of their crystallization granitoids of the anorthosite mangerite charnockite granite suite dated at 1 156 1 134 ma as well as the 1 100 1 050 ma plutons associated with the ottawan phase of the grenvillian orogenic cycle also have positive initial epsilon sub nd values and t sub dm ages similar to the tonalites derivation of both groups of granitoids by crustal melting of the magmatic arc is consistent with the available isotopic and geochemical data juvenile late middle proterozoic crust that formed during or just prior to the grenville cycle appears to dominate the southwestern grenville province as well as the grenville inliers to the south in contrast most of the contiguous grenville province in canada comprises largely reworked older crust