Petrography descriptions and U-Pb zircon datasets from the Archean Pavas Block, Precambrian of Uruguay.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Masquelin H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8203724 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Nanospheres of lead (Pb) have recently been identified in zircon (ZrSiO4) with the potential to compromise the veracity of U-Pb age determinations. The key assumption that the determined age is robust against the effects of Pb mobility, as long as Pb is not lost from the zircon during subsequent geological events, is now in question. To determine the effect of nanosphere formation on age determination, and whether analysis of nanospheres can yield additional information about the timing of both zircon growth and nanosphere formation, zircons from the Napier Complex in Enderby Land, East Antarctica, were investigated by high-spatial resolution NanoSIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) mapping. Conventional SIMS analyses with >µm resolution potentially mixes Pb from multiple nanospheres with the zircon host, yielding variable average values and therefore unreliable ages. NanoSIMS analyses were obtained of 207Pb/206Pb in nanospheres a few nanometres in diameter that were resolved from 207Pb/206Pb measurements in the zircon host. We demonstrate that analysis for 207Pb/206Pb in multiple individual Pb nanospheres, along with separate analysis of 207Pb/206Pb in the zircon host, can not only accurately yield the age of zircon crystallization, but also the time of nanosphere formation resulting from Pb mobilization during metamorphism. Model ages for both events can be derived that are correlated due to the limited range of possible solutions that can be satisfied by the measured 207Pb/206Pb ratios of nanospheres and zircon host. For the Napier Complex zircons, this yields a model age of ca 3110 Ma for zircon formation and a late Archean model age of 2610 Ma for the metamorphism that produced the nanospheres. The Nanosphere Model Age (NMA) method constrains both the crystallization age and age of the metamorphism to ~±135 Ma, a significant improvement on errors derived from counting statistics.
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Project description:Zircon U-Pb geochronology was carried out on plutonic rocks from Phnom Daek, Phnom Koy Rmeas, Svay Chras, Kon Mom, Koh Nheak, Andong Meas, Oyadav South, Svay Leu, and Phnom Soporkaley. The zircon U-Pb ages from the plutonic rocks determined in this study can be roughly divided into two groups. One is the Late Permian to Triassic ages of 278-202 Ma for the Phnom Daek, Phnom Koy Rmeas, Oyadav South, Svay Leu, and Phnom Soporkaley, and the other is the early Cretaceous ages of 118-98 Ma for the Svay Chras, Kon Mom, Koh Nheak, and Andong Meas samples. The plutonic rocks from Phnom Daek, Phnom Koy Rmeas, Svay Leu, Oyadav South, and Phnom Soporkaley were likely formed by magmatic activity in the Loei Fold Belt. These plutonic rocks were likely formed in an extensional setting and/or a region where the continental crust was thin. The plutonic rocks of Svay Chras, Kon Mom, Koh Nheak, and Andong Meas were likely formed by magmatic activity in the Dalat-Kratie Fold Belt, related to the NW-directed subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean plate. These plutonic rocks are thought to correspond to the Dinhquan suite in southern Vietnam. The Kon Mom and Koh Nheak plutonic rocks fall within the alkaline series, which suggests that the magma genesis was deep and far from the western Paleo-Pacific Ocean plate. Magmatic activity in the Dalat-Kratie Fold Belt migrated oceanward as a whole during the Cretaceous.
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Project description:In this article we present a compilation of U-Pb zircon ages of the whole Xolapa terrane in coastal southern Mexico (dataset 1) as a curved line, obtained from plotting individual zircon grains versus its corresponding age. We identified five low-slope segments of the curved line, each one assigned to a high zircon-production (or preservation) event (HZE). Crystallization temperatures (CT) from Ti-in-zircon geothermometer data on Xolapa rocks were estimated separately from individual zircon grains (dataset 2), in order to compare CT ranges corresponding to each HZE identified. Datasets 1 and 2 are discussed for tectonic implications in the research article "The opening and closure of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Xolapa basin, southern Mexico" Peña-Alonso et al., 2017.
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Project description:Here, we document a detailed characterisation of two zircon gemstones, GZ7 and GZ8. Both stones had the same mass at 19.2 carats (3.84 g) each; both came from placer deposits in the Ratnapura district, Sri Lanka. The U-Pb data are in both cases concordant within the uncertainties of decay constants and yield weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages (95% confidence uncertainty) of 530.26 Ma ± 0.05 Ma (GZ7) and 543.92 Ma ± 0.06 Ma (GZ8). Neither GZ7 nor GZ8 have been subjected to any gem enhancement by heating. Structure-related parameters correspond well with the calculated alpha doses of 1.48 × 1018 g-1 (GZ7) and 2.53 × 1018 g-1 (GZ8), respectively, and the (U-Th)/He ages of 438 Ma ± 3 Ma (2s) for GZ7 and 426 Ma ± 9 Ma (2s) for GZ8 are typical of unheated zircon from Sri Lanka. The mean U mass fractions are 680 μg g-1 (GZ7) and 1305 μg g-1 (GZ8). The two zircon samples are proposed as reference materials for SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry) U-Pb geochronology. In addition, GZ7 (Ti mass fractions 25.08 μg g-1 ± 0.18 μg g-1; 95% confidence uncertainty) may prove useful as reference material for Ti-in-zircon temperature estimates.
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Project description:Discordant U-Pb data of zircon are commonly attributed to Pb loss from domains with variable degree of radiation damage that resulted from α-decay of U and Th, which often complicates the correct age interpretation of the sample. Here we present U-Pb zircon data from 23 samples of ca. 1.7-1.9 Ga granitoid rocks in and around the Siljan impact structure in central Sweden. Our results show that zircon from rocks within the structure that form an uplifted central plateau lost significantly less radiogenic Pb compared to zircon grains in rocks outside the plateau. We hypothesize that zircon in rocks within the central plateau remained crystalline through continuous annealing of crystal structure damages induced from decay of U and Th until uplifted to the surface by the impact event ca. 380 Ma ago. In contrast, zircon grains distal to the impact have accumulated radiation damage at shallow and cool conditions since at least 1.26 Ga, making them vulnerable to fluid-induced Pb-loss. Our data are consistent with studies on alpha recoil and fission tracks, showing that annealing in zircon occurs at temperatures as low as 200-250 °C. Zircon grains from these samples are texturally simple, i.e., neither xenocrysts nor metamorphic overgrowths have been observed. Therefore, the lower intercepts obtained from regression of variably discordant zircon data are more likely recording the age of fluid-assisted Pb-loss from radiation-damaged zircon at shallow levels rather than linked to regional magmatic or tectonic events.
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Project description:Isotopic discordance is a common feature in zircon that can lead to an erroneous age determination, and it is attributed to the mobilization and escape of radiogenic Pb during its post-crystallization geological evolution. The degree of isotopic discordance measured at analytical scales of ~10 ?m often differs among adjacent analysis locations, indicating heterogeneous distributions of Pb at shorter length scales. We use atom probe microscopy to establish the nature of these sites and the mechanisms by which they form. We show that the nanoscale distribution of Pb in a ~2.1 billion year old discordant zircon that was metamorphosed c. 150 million years ago is defined by two distinct Pb reservoirs. Despite overall Pb loss during peak metamorphic conditions, the atom probe data indicate that a component of radiogenic Pb was trapped in 10-nm dislocation loops that formed during the annealing of radiation damage associated with the metamorphic event. A second Pb component, found outside the dislocation loops, represents homogeneous accumulation of radiogenic Pb in the zircon matrix after metamorphism. The (207)Pb/(206)Pb ratios measured from eight dislocation loops are equivalent within uncertainty and yield an age consistent with the original crystallization age of the zircon, as determined by laser ablation spot analysis. Our results provide a specific mechanism for the trapping and retention of radiogenic Pb during metamorphism and confirm that isotopic discordance in this zircon is characterized by discrete nanoscale reservoirs of Pb that record different isotopic compositions and yield age data consistent with distinct geological events. These data may provide a framework for interpreting discordance in zircon as the heterogeneous distribution of discrete radiogenic Pb populations, each yielding geologically meaningful ages.
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Project description:Plutons are formed by protracted crystallization of magma bodies several kilometers deep within the crust. The temporal frequency (i.e. episodicity or 'tempo') of pluton formation is often poorly constrained as timescales of pluton formation are largely variable and may be difficult to resolve by traditional dating methods. The Hida Mountain Range of central Japan hosts the youngest exposed plutons on Earth and provides a unique opportunity to assess the temporal and spatial characteristics of pluton emplacement at high temporal resolution. Here we apply U-Pb geochronology to zircon from the Quaternary Kurobegawa Granite and Takidani Granodiorite in the Hida Mountain Range, and from modern river sediments whose fluvial catchments include these plutons in order to reconstruct their formation. The U-Pb data demonstrate that the Kurobegawa pluton experienced two magmatic pulses at ~2.3?Ma and ~0.9?Ma; whereas, to the south, the Takidani pluton experienced only one magmatic pulse at ~1.6?Ma. These data imply that each of these magmatic systems were both spatially and temporally distinct. The apparent ~0.7?Myr age gap between each of the three magmatic pulses potentially constrains the recharge duration of a single pluton within a larger arc plutonic complex.
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