Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology.
Metamorphosed mafic rocks from west-central Vermont crop out in tectonic slices of the Stowe Formation within the Rowe–Hawley Belt of New England. The rocks include greenstone and amphibolite, which are interpreted to have been basaltic flows and gabbroic intrusions, respectively. Even though the ro...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e11-013 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/e11-013 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e11-013 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/e11-013 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/e11-013 2024-09-15T18:13:37+00:00 Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. Coish, Raymond Kim, Jonathan Morris, Nathan Johnson, David Murphy, Brendan 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e11-013 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/e11-013 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e11-013 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 49, issue 1, page 43-58 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 journal-article 2012 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/e11-013 2024-08-22T04:08:45Z Metamorphosed mafic rocks from west-central Vermont crop out in tectonic slices of the Stowe Formation within the Rowe–Hawley Belt of New England. The rocks include greenstone and amphibolite, which are interpreted to have been basaltic flows and gabbroic intrusions, respectively. Even though the rocks have been metamorphosed to greenschist or amphibolite facies, their igneous origins can be deciphered through careful use of geochemistry. Three geochemical types have been identified. Type 1 and 2 samples have geochemical characteristics similar to those found in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), except that they have slightly elevated light rare-earth element (LREE) concentrations and are higher in Nb/Y ratios. Their Nb/Y ratios are similar to basalts found in Iceland and parts of the Afar region of the East African Rift. Types 1 and 2 are similar to metabasalts of the Caldwell and Maquereau formations in southern Quebec. The less-common type 3 samples have highly enriched LREE and are high in Nb/Y and Zr/Y ratios, similar to some alkali basalts from Afar and Iceland. Detailed analysis of the geochemistry suggests that greenstones and amphibolite from the Stowe Formation formed as basaltic eruptions during very late stages in rifting of the Rodinian continent that eventually led to formation of the Iapetus Ocean. This interpretation is consistent with tectonic models of the Vermont and Quebec Appalachians. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 49 1 43 58 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Metamorphosed mafic rocks from west-central Vermont crop out in tectonic slices of the Stowe Formation within the Rowe–Hawley Belt of New England. The rocks include greenstone and amphibolite, which are interpreted to have been basaltic flows and gabbroic intrusions, respectively. Even though the rocks have been metamorphosed to greenschist or amphibolite facies, their igneous origins can be deciphered through careful use of geochemistry. Three geochemical types have been identified. Type 1 and 2 samples have geochemical characteristics similar to those found in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), except that they have slightly elevated light rare-earth element (LREE) concentrations and are higher in Nb/Y ratios. Their Nb/Y ratios are similar to basalts found in Iceland and parts of the Afar region of the East African Rift. Types 1 and 2 are similar to metabasalts of the Caldwell and Maquereau formations in southern Quebec. The less-common type 3 samples have highly enriched LREE and are high in Nb/Y and Zr/Y ratios, similar to some alkali basalts from Afar and Iceland. Detailed analysis of the geochemistry suggests that greenstones and amphibolite from the Stowe Formation formed as basaltic eruptions during very late stages in rifting of the Rodinian continent that eventually led to formation of the Iapetus Ocean. This interpretation is consistent with tectonic models of the Vermont and Quebec Appalachians. |
author2 |
Murphy, Brendan |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Coish, Raymond Kim, Jonathan Morris, Nathan Johnson, David |
spellingShingle |
Coish, Raymond Kim, Jonathan Morris, Nathan Johnson, David Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. |
author_facet |
Coish, Raymond Kim, Jonathan Morris, Nathan Johnson, David |
author_sort |
Coish, Raymond |
title |
Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. |
title_short |
Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. |
title_full |
Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. |
title_fullStr |
Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late stage rifting of the Laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central Vermont Appalachians 1 This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology. |
title_sort |
late stage rifting of the laurentian continent: evidence from the geochemistry of greenstone and amphibolite in the central vermont appalachians 1 this article is one of a series of papers published in cjes special issue: in honour of ward neale on the theme of appalachian and grenvillian geology. |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e11-013 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/e11-013 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e11-013 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 49, issue 1, page 43-58 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/e11-013 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
container_volume |
49 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
43 |
op_container_end_page |
58 |
_version_ |
1810451385557188608 |