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Significance of Early Archaean Mafic-Ultramafic Xenolith Patterns

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Archaean Geochemistry

Abstract

The distribution patterns of mafic-ultramafic xenoliths within Archaean orthogneiss terrains allow subdivision, and thereby recognition of the internal geometry, of batholiths. Principal regional to mesoscopic-scale characteristics of xenolith swarms are outlined from the Pilbara Block (Western Australia) and southern India. Transitions along strike and across strike between stratigraphically low greenstone sequences and xenolith chains establish their contemporaneity. A complete scale gradation exists between greenstone synclines and out-crop-scale xenoliths, defining early greenstone belts as “mega-xenoliths”. Xenolith distribution patterns in arcuate dome-syncline gneiss-greenstone terrains define subsidiary gneiss domes within the batholiths. The arcuate terrains represent least-deformed cratonic “islands” within otherwise penetratively foliated gneiss-greenstone crust. The oval gneiss structures evolved by magmatic diapirism followed by late-stage solid-state uprise. Tectonized boundary zones of batholiths contain foliated gneiss-greenstone intercalations derived by deformation of xenolith-bearing intrusive contacts, a process involving inter-thrusting and refolding of plutonic and supracrustal lithologies. The exposure of high grade metamorphic sectors has been related to uplift of deep seated batholithic sectors along reactivated boundaries. The transition from granite-greenstone terrains into gneiss-granulite suites involves a decrease in the abundance of supracrustal enclaves and an increased strain rate. Late Archaean greenstone sequences may locally overlap older gneiss terrains and their entrained xenolith systems unconformably. The contiguity of xenolith patterns suggests their derivation as relics of regional mafic-ultramafic volcanic layers and places limits on horizontal movements between individual crustal units. Combined isotopic-palaeomagnetic studies of Archaean xenoliths may be able to provide limits on theories of early crustal development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Petrology and Geochemistry, Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, P.O. Box 378, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    A. Y. Glikson

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  1. A. Y. Glikson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Mainz, Saarstraße 21, 6500, Mainz, Germany

    A. Kröner

  2. Department of Earth and Space Sciences, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 11794, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    G. N. Hanson

  3. Department of Geology, University of Toronto, M5S 1A1, Toronto, Ontorio, Canada

    A. M. Goodwin

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© 1984 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Glikson, A.Y. (1984). Significance of Early Archaean Mafic-Ultramafic Xenolith Patterns. In: Kröner, A., Hanson, G.N., Goodwin, A.M. (eds) Archaean Geochemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70001-9_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70001-9_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-70003-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-70001-9

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