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Evidence for late Mesoproterozoic tectonism in northern Yukon and the identification of a Grenville‐age tectonothermal belt in western Laurentia
Author(s) -
Milidragovic Dejan,
Thorkelson Derek J.,
Davis William J.,
Marshall Daniel D.,
Gibson H. Daniel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2011.01015.x
Subject(s) - laurentia , rodinia , geology , supercontinent , metamorphism , proterozoic , baltica , zircon , paleontology , precambrian , orogeny , earth science , large igneous province , geochemistry , magmatism , tectonics , ordovician , craton
Terra Nova, 23, 307–313, 2011 Abstract New U‐Pb zircon dates from gneissic xenoliths in an Early Cambrian lamprophyre point to late Mesoproterozoic metamorphism and magmatism in the crust beneath northern Yukon. The data indicate a previously unrecognized thermal event in Yukon and extend the recognition of widely spaced 1.3–1.0 Ga igneous, metamorphic and tectonic events along the western margin of Laurentia. Together, these events demonstrate that the north‐western margin of Laurentia was thermally active during a period of traditionally inferred tectonic quiescence. The tectonic setting, intensity and general nature of this late Mesoproterozoic tectonothermal activity are poorly constrained, but their recognition is key to expanding our understanding of the Proterozoic geology of North America. The recognition of this event places new constraints on the palaeotectonic reconstructions of the supercontinent Rodinia.