Geochronologic and Hf-isotope framework of Proterozoic rocks from central New Mexico, USA: Formation of the Mazatzal crustal province in an extended continental margin arc

Precambrian Research
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Abstract

The growth of southern Laurentia has been attributed to the accretion of juvenile arc terranes during the successive 1.74-1.68 Ga Yavapai and 1.65-1.60 Ga Mazatzal orogenies. However, in light of the increasing importance of the ca. 1.49-1.40 Ga Mesoproterozoic Picuris orogeny, the tectonic setting in which the Mazatzal crustal province and its distinctive quartzite-rhyolite successions were generated needs additional examination. The Sandia-Manzano-Los Pinos uplift in central New Mexico is an ideal place to characterize the tectonic history of the Mazatzal crustal province. A comprehensive geochronologic and Hf-isotopic dataset for Proterozoic rocks of the Sandia-Manzano-Los Pinos uplift is presented. Plutonic and metavolcanic rocks in the Sandia-Manzano-Los Pinos uplift were emplaced in three pulses at 1668-1655 Ma, 1587 Ma, and 1459-1453 Ma. Hf-isotope data from the Paleoproterozoic plutonic rocks are juvenile, with both leucogranite and arc-related granodiorite yielding εHf(t) values ranging from +6 to +12, compared to the coeval depleted mantle value of +10 at ca. 1.65 Ga. Inherited zircon in Paleoproterozoic rocks suggest that crust older than 1.7 Ga was involved in their genesis. Hf-isotope data from Mesoproterozoic plutonic rocks in the Sandia-Manzano-Los Pinos uplift are consistent with derivation from 1.7-1.6 Ga lithosphere. Detrital zircon indicate that metasedimentary rocks of the lower Manzano Group were derived primarily from local sources that have U-Pb-Hf isotope compositions similar to the plutonic rocks which intrude and volcanic rocks that underlie the Manzano Group. The detrital zircon provenance of the Manzano Group broadens up-section from unimodal populations with age peaks at ca. 1.65 Ga to include 1.7-3.0 Ga detrital zircon derived from older Laurentian sources like the Yavapai and Mojave provinces. We offer a new model for the formation of the Mazatzal crustal province of New Mexico as a continental margin arc built on top of the previously assembled Yavapai province. The Manzano Group quartzite-rhyolite succession was formed by lithospheric extension above a north-dipping, southward retreating subduction zone. The Manzano Group was then subjected to ca. 1.65 Ga syn-magmatic tectonism and later intracratonic contractional tectonism, likely during the 1.46-1.40 Ga Picuris orogeny.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Geochronologic and Hf-isotope framework of Proterozoic rocks from central New Mexico, USA: Formation of the Mazatzal crustal province in an extended continental margin arc
Series title Precambrian Research
DOI 10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105820
Volume 347
Year Published 2020
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Alaska Science Center Geology Minerals
Description 105820, 19 p.
Country United States
State New Mexico
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