Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland

The peak conditions and timing of metamorphism have been determined for the early Paleozoic Greenland Group in south Westland, New Zealand. The Greenland Group, which is the most extensive pre-Cenozoic unit west of the Alpine Fault in Westland, is dominated by greenschist facies greywacke and argill...

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Main Authors: Palmer, M., Scott, J., Muhling, J., Kennedy, Allen
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5450
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author Palmer, M.
Scott, J.
Muhling, J.
Kennedy, Allen
author_facet Palmer, M.
Scott, J.
Muhling, J.
Kennedy, Allen
author_sort Palmer, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The peak conditions and timing of metamorphism have been determined for the early Paleozoic Greenland Group in south Westland, New Zealand. The Greenland Group, which is the most extensive pre-Cenozoic unit west of the Alpine Fault in Westland, is dominated by greenschist facies greywacke and argillite. However, in the Jackson River valley this unit comprises amphibolite facies pelitic and psammitic gneisses. Psammitic horizons are dominated by biotite, plagioclase and quartz. Pelitic horizons have similar mineralogy but also contain sillimanite and K-feldspar, as well as boudinaged K-feldspar-bearing leucosomes. Conventional geothermometry and thermodynamic modelling indicate that peak metamorphism occurred between 660 and 700 °C and 3.5 and 6.0 kbar. The timing of this moderately high-T/low-P event is constrained to be mid-Paleozoic by U-Th-Pb dating of overgrowths on detrital zircon (334 ± 18 Ma) and confirmed to be Carboniferous by a single population of monazite grains (343 ± 3 Ma). Greenland Group metamorphism in the Jackson River valley may represent Carboniferous high crustal heat flow in the Gondwana margin hinterland while crustal thickening was occurring closer to the subduction zone.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-54502017-09-13T14:39:54Z Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland Palmer, M. Scott, J. Muhling, J. Kennedy, Allen The peak conditions and timing of metamorphism have been determined for the early Paleozoic Greenland Group in south Westland, New Zealand. The Greenland Group, which is the most extensive pre-Cenozoic unit west of the Alpine Fault in Westland, is dominated by greenschist facies greywacke and argillite. However, in the Jackson River valley this unit comprises amphibolite facies pelitic and psammitic gneisses. Psammitic horizons are dominated by biotite, plagioclase and quartz. Pelitic horizons have similar mineralogy but also contain sillimanite and K-feldspar, as well as boudinaged K-feldspar-bearing leucosomes. Conventional geothermometry and thermodynamic modelling indicate that peak metamorphism occurred between 660 and 700 °C and 3.5 and 6.0 kbar. The timing of this moderately high-T/low-P event is constrained to be mid-Paleozoic by U-Th-Pb dating of overgrowths on detrital zircon (334 ± 18 Ma) and confirmed to be Carboniferous by a single population of monazite grains (343 ± 3 Ma). Greenland Group metamorphism in the Jackson River valley may represent Carboniferous high crustal heat flow in the Gondwana margin hinterland while crustal thickening was occurring closer to the subduction zone. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5450 10.1080/00288306.2014.982661 Taylor & Francis Group restricted
spellingShingle Palmer, M.
Scott, J.
Muhling, J.
Kennedy, Allen
Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland
title Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland
title_full Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland
title_fullStr Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland
title_full_unstemmed Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland
title_short Carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the Greenland Group in the Jackson River valley, south Westland
title_sort carboniferous metamorphism and partial melting of the greenland group in the jackson river valley, south westland
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5450