～3,850 Ma tonalites in the Nuuk region,Greenland: geochemistry and their reworking within an Eoarchaean gneiss complex |
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| Authors: | Allen P Nutman Vickie C Bennett Clark R L Friend Kenji Horie Hiroshi Hidaka |
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| Institution: | (1) Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia;(2) Department of Earth and Marine Science, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia;(3) Beijing SHRIMP Centre, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 26 Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing, 100037, People’s Republic of China;(4) 45 Stanway Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK;(5) Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Sciences, University of Hiroshima, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan;(6) Department of Science and Engineering, The National Science Museum, 3-23-1, Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0073, Japan |
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| Abstract: | The Eoarchaean (>3,600 Ma) Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland is dominated by polyphase orthogneisses with a
complex Archaean tectonothermal history. Some of the orthogneisses have c. 3,850 Ma zircons, and they vary from rare single
phase metatonalites to more common complexly banded migmatites. This is due to heterogeneous strain, in situ anatexis and
granitic veining superimposed during younger tectonothermal events. In the single-phase tonalites with c. 3,850 Ma zircon,
oscillatory-zoned prismatic zircon is all 3,850 Ma old, but shows patchy ancient loss of radiogenic Pb. SHRIMP spot analyses
and laser ablation ICP-MS depth profiling show that thin (usually < 10 μm) younger (3,660–3,590 Ma and Neoarchaean) shells
of lower Th/U metamorphic zircon are present on these 3,850 Ma zircons. Several samples with this simple zircon population
occur on islands near Akilia. In contrast, migmatites usually contain more complex zircon populations, with often more than
one generation of igneous zircon present. Additional zircon dating of banded gneisses across the Complex shows that samples
with c. 3,850 Ma igneous zircon are not just a phenomenon restricted to Akilia and adjacent islands. For example, migmatites
from Itilleq (c. 65 km from Akilia) contain variable amounts of oscillatory-zoned 3,850 Ma and 3,650 Ma zircon, interpreted,
respectively, as the rock age and the time of crustal melting under Eoarchaean metamorphism. With only 110–140 ppm Zr in the
tonalites and likely magmatic temperatures of >850°C, zircon solubility–melt composition relationships show that they were
only one-third saturated in zircon. Any zircon entrained in the precursor magmas would thus have been highly soluble. Combined
with the cathodoluminesence imaging, this demonstrates that the c. 3,850 Ma oscillatory zoned zircon crystallised out of the
melt and hence gives a magmatic age. Thus the rare well-preserved tonalites and palaeosome in migmatites testify that c. 3,850 Ma
quartzo–feldspathic rocks are a widespread (but probably minor) component in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex. C. 3,850 Ma zircon
with negative Eu anomalies (showing growth in felsic systems) also occurs as detrital grains in rare c. 3,800 Ma metaquartzites
and as inherited grains in some 3,660 Ma granites (sensu stricto). These demonstrate that still more c. 3,850 Ma rocks were present, but were recycled into Eoarchaean sediments and crustally
derived granites. The major and trace element characteristics (e.g. LREE enrichment, HREE depletion, low MgO) of the best-preserved
c. 3,850 Ma rocks are typical of Archaean TTG suites, and thus argue for crust formation processes involving important contributions
from melting of hydrated mafic crust to the earliest Archaean. Five c. 3,850 Ma tonalites were selected as the best preserved
on the basis of field criteria and zircon petrology. Four of these samples have overlapping initial ɛNd (3,850 Ma) values from +2.9 to +3.6± 0.5, with the fourth having a slightly lower value of +0.6. These data provide additional
evidence for a markedly LREE-depleted early terrestrial mantle reservoir. The role of c. 3,850 Ma crust should be considered
in interpreting isotope signatures of the younger (3,800–3,600 Ma) rocks of the Itsaq Gneiss Complex.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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| Keywords: | Eoarchaean Tonalites Crustal evolution Zircons Greenland Nd isotopes Itsaq Gneiss Complex |
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