Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region

The Kalak Nappe Complex (KNC) has been regarded as Baltica passive margin metasediments telescoped eastwards onto the Baltic (Fennoscandian) Shield during the Caledonian Orogeny. Recent studies have questioned this interpretation, instead pointing to a Neoproterozoic exotic origin. In an effort to r...

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Main Authors: Kirkland, Chris, Daly, J., Whitehouse, M.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier BV 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22855
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author Kirkland, Chris
Daly, J.
Whitehouse, M.
author_facet Kirkland, Chris
Daly, J.
Whitehouse, M.
author_sort Kirkland, Chris
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Kalak Nappe Complex (KNC) has been regarded as Baltica passive margin metasediments telescoped eastwards onto the Baltic (Fennoscandian) Shield during the Caledonian Orogeny. Recent studies have questioned this interpretation, instead pointing to a Neoproterozoic exotic origin. In an effort to resolve this controversy we present a Sm-Nd and U-Th-Pb study of gnessic units, traditionally considered as the depositional basement, along with cover rock sediments and intrusives. Late Palaeoproterozoic gneisses now beneath the KNC were deposited after 1948 ± 33 Ma, before intrusion of the Tjukkfjellet Granite at 1796 ± 3 Ma, and were affected by later melting events at 1765 ± 9 and 1727 ± 9 Ma. These gneisses are interpreted as part of the Baltic Shield and underlie the KNC across a tectonic contact. An unconformity between psammites of the KNC and other paragneisses previously considered as its Precambrian basement is reinterpreted as a modified sedimentary contact between Neoproterozoic metasediments. These metasediments have statistically very similar detrital zircon populations with grains as young as 1034 ± 22, 1025 ± 32 and 1014 ± 14 Ma. The results indicate that the KNC sediments were deposited during the Neoproterozoic in basins along the Laurentian margin of eastern Rodinia and were not connected to Baltica via a depositional basement. Dating of the 851 ± 5 Ma Eidvågvatnet and 853 ± 4 Ma Nordneset granites shows that intrusive material associated with the Porsanger Orogeny (c. 850 Ma) affected a considerable region of the upper KNC terrane. Later Neoproterozoic events at 711 ± 6, 687 ± 12 and 617 ± 6 Ma are also recognised the latest of which may be an expression of rifting. Since early Neoproterozoic magmatism (c. 840-690 Ma) is unknown in Baltica, these results support an exotic origin for the KNC terranes. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-228552017-09-13T13:56:22Z Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region Kirkland, Chris Daly, J. Whitehouse, M. The Kalak Nappe Complex (KNC) has been regarded as Baltica passive margin metasediments telescoped eastwards onto the Baltic (Fennoscandian) Shield during the Caledonian Orogeny. Recent studies have questioned this interpretation, instead pointing to a Neoproterozoic exotic origin. In an effort to resolve this controversy we present a Sm-Nd and U-Th-Pb study of gnessic units, traditionally considered as the depositional basement, along with cover rock sediments and intrusives. Late Palaeoproterozoic gneisses now beneath the KNC were deposited after 1948 ± 33 Ma, before intrusion of the Tjukkfjellet Granite at 1796 ± 3 Ma, and were affected by later melting events at 1765 ± 9 and 1727 ± 9 Ma. These gneisses are interpreted as part of the Baltic Shield and underlie the KNC across a tectonic contact. An unconformity between psammites of the KNC and other paragneisses previously considered as its Precambrian basement is reinterpreted as a modified sedimentary contact between Neoproterozoic metasediments. These metasediments have statistically very similar detrital zircon populations with grains as young as 1034 ± 22, 1025 ± 32 and 1014 ± 14 Ma. The results indicate that the KNC sediments were deposited during the Neoproterozoic in basins along the Laurentian margin of eastern Rodinia and were not connected to Baltica via a depositional basement. Dating of the 851 ± 5 Ma Eidvågvatnet and 853 ± 4 Ma Nordneset granites shows that intrusive material associated with the Porsanger Orogeny (c. 850 Ma) affected a considerable region of the upper KNC terrane. Later Neoproterozoic events at 711 ± 6, 687 ± 12 and 617 ± 6 Ma are also recognised the latest of which may be an expression of rifting. Since early Neoproterozoic magmatism (c. 840-690 Ma) is unknown in Baltica, these results support an exotic origin for the KNC terranes. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22855 10.1016/j.precamres.2007.07.006 Elsevier BV restricted
spellingShingle Kirkland, Chris
Daly, J.
Whitehouse, M.
Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region
title Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region
title_full Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region
title_fullStr Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region
title_full_unstemmed Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region
title_short Basement-cover relationships of the Kalak Nappe Complex, Arctic Norwegian Caledonides and constraints on Neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the North Atlantic region
title_sort basement-cover relationships of the kalak nappe complex, arctic norwegian caledonides and constraints on neoproterozoic terrane assembly in the north atlantic region
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22855