Metamorphic disturbances of magnetite chemistry and the Sm-Nd isotopic system of reworked Archean iron formations from NE Brazil
Iron formations are valuable archives of sedimentary conditions and post-depositional events. However, geochemical proxies commonly used to determine genetic characteristics can be variably modified during metamorphism and deformation, hampering their use as records of regional geological events. Th...
| Published in: | Geoscience Frontiers |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2020.11.018 https://doaj.org/article/0a0212a9b0bd4ea0afb688833e6cd36a |
| Summary: | Iron formations are valuable archives of sedimentary conditions and post-depositional events. However, geochemical proxies commonly used to determine genetic characteristics can be variably modified during metamorphism and deformation, hampering their use as records of regional geological events. This work focuses on strongly reworked magnetite-quartz-rich rocks from the São José do Campestre Massif, one of the oldest fragments of preserved crust in South America. The genetic classification of these magnetite-quartz-rich rocks is not straightforward because primary assemblages and textures were variably modified by granulite facies metamorphism during a regional Paleoproterozoic migmatization event. To address genetic ambiguities, we analyzed their magnetite and pyroxene chemistry, whole-rock geochemistry, and Sm-Nd isotopes. Magnetite chemistry indicates that pyroxene-poor iron formations (Type B) are low in trace elements such as Ti, Al, V, and Mn, suggesting a chemical similarity to iron formations elsewhere. In contrast, magnetites from pyroxene-enriched Type A iron formations are rich in trace elements and more akin to magnetite crystallized from higher temperature systems, such as skarn and IOCG. The 147Sm/144Nd of these rocks show substantial variation even at the outcrop scale, indicating a locally-controlled, highly heterogeneous mixture of Archean, Paleoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic sources. Therefore, our geochemical tools point out to heterogenous signatures of these magnetite-quartz rocks and proxies compatible with both low and high-temperature conditions and age of deposition spanning sources from the Archean to the Neoproterozoic. We interpret that the studied São José do Campestre magnetite-quartz rocks represent Archean iron formations with original magnetite chemistry and isotopic signatures variably modified by metamorphism and by at least one deformation-related hydrothermal event. These results contrast with similar examples from China and Greenland where iron formations either preserved ... |
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