New 1:20,000 scale geological maps, synthesis and history of investigation of the Isua supracrustal belt and adjacent orthogneisses, southern West Greenland: A glimpse of Eoarchaean crust formation and orogeny

Precambrian Research

Volumn 172, Issue 3-4, 2009, Pages 189-211

  Nutman, Allen P ^a,b   Friend, Clark R L ^a  

^a INSTITUTE OF MINERAL RESOURCES   (China)

^b AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Eoarchaean; Geological mapping; Gneiss complexes; Greenland; Isua supracrustal belt; Terrane assembly; U Pb zircon dating

Indexed keywords

AMPHIBOLITE; ARCHEAN; BASALT; BELT; CRUST; GEOLOGICAL MAPPING; HISTORY; METAMORPHISM; OROGENY; ORTHOGNEISS; SEDIMENTARY ROCK; TECTONIC EVOLUTION;

ARCTIC; GREENLAND; ISUA GREENSTONE BELT;

EID: 67650253832     PISSN: 03019268     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.precamres.2009.03.017     Document Type: Article

References (107)

1. Allaart J.H. The pre-3760 m.y. old supracrustal rocks of the Isua area, central West Greenland, and the associated occurrence of quartz-banded ironstone. In: Windley B.F. (Ed). The Early History of the Earth (1976), Wiley, London 177-189
2. Anhausser C.R. The evolution of the early Precambrian crust of southern Africa. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Ser A273 (1973) 359-388
3. Anhausser C.R., Mason R., Viljoen M.J., and Viljoen R.P. A reappraisal of some aspects of Precambrian shield geology. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 80 (1969) 2175-2200
4. Appel P.W.U. On the early Archaean Isua Fe-formation West Greenland. Precambrian Research 11 (1980) 73-87
5. Appel P.W.U., Fedo C.M., Moorbath S., and Myers J.S. Recognisable primary volcanic and sedimentary features in a low-strain domain of the highly deformed, oldest-known (ca. 3.7-3.8 Gyr) greenstone belt, Isua Greenland. Terra Nova 10 (1998) 57-62
6. Appel P.W.U., Moorbath S., and Taylor P.N. Least radiogenic terrestrial lead from Isua West Greenland. Nature 272 (1978) 524-526
7. Appel P.W.U., Rollinson H.R., and Touret J.L.R. Remnants of an Early Archean (>3.75 Ga) sea-floor, hydrothermal system in the Isua Greenstone Belt. Precambrian Research 112 (2001) 27-49
8. Appel P.W.U., Moorbath S., and Myers J.S. Isuasphaera isua (Pflug) revisited. Precambrian Research 126 (2003) 309-312
9. Armstrong R.A., Compston W., de Wit M.J., and Williams I.S. The stratigraphy of the 3.5-3. 2 Ga Barberton Greenstone Belt revisited: a single zircon ion microprobe study. Earth and Planetary Sciences 101 (1990) 90-106
10. Baadsgaard H., Nutman A.P., Bridgwater D., McGregor V.R., Rosing M., and Allaart J.H. The zircon geochronology of the Akilia association and the Isua supracrustal belt West Greenland. Earth Planetary Science Letters 68 (1984) 221-228
11. Baadsgaard H., Nutman A.P., and Bridgwater D. Geochronology and isotopic variation of the early Archaean Amîtsoq gneisses of the Isukasia area, southern West Greenland. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 50 (1986) 2173-2183
12. Baadsgaard H., Nutman A.P., Rosing M., Bridgwater D., and Longstaffe F.J. Alteration and metamorphism of Amîtsoq gneisses from the Isukasia area West Greenland: recommendation for isotope studies of the early crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 (1986) 2165-2172
13. Bennett V.C., Nutman A.P., and McCulloch M.T. Nd isotopic evidence for transient, highly depleted mantle reservoirs in the early history of the Earth. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 119 (1993) 299-317
14. 143Nd isotopic evidence for Hadean mantle dynamics. Science 318 (2007) 1907-1910
15. Black L.P., Gale N.H., Moorbath S., Pankhurst R.J., and McGregor V.R. Isotopic dating of very early Precambrian amphibolite facies gneisses from the Godthåb district West Greenland. Earth Planetary Science Letters 12 (1971) 245-259
16. Bolhar R., Kamber B.S., Moorbath S., Fedo C.M., and Whitehouse M.J. Characterisation of early Archaean chemical sediments by trace element signatures. Earth Planetary Science Letters 222 (2004) 43-60
17. Bohlar R., Kamber B.S., Moorbath S., Whitehouse M.J., and Collerson K.D. Chemical characterization of earth's most ancient clastic metasediments from the Isua. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69 (2005) 1553-1573
18. Bowring S.A., and Williams I.S. Priscoan (4.00-4.03) orthogneisses from northwestern Canada. Contributions Mineralogy Petrology 134 (1999) 3-16
19. Bowring S.A., Williams I.S., and Compston W. 3.96 Ga gneisses from the Slave province, Northwest Territories Canada. Geology 17 (1989) 760-764
20. 142Nd evidence from Isua metasediments for early differentiation of Earth's mantle. Nature 423 (2003) 428-432
21. Cates N.L., and Mojzsis S.J. Chemical and isotopic evidence for widespread Eoarchaean metasedimentary enclaves in southern West Greenland. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70 (2006) 4227-4257
22. Cloud P. Paleoecological significance of banded iron formation. Economic Geology 68 (1973) 1135-1143
23. Compston W., and Pidgeon R.T. Jack Hills, evidence of more very old detrital zircons in Western Australia. Nature 321 (1986) 534-766
24. Compston W., Kinny P.D., Williams I.S., and Foster J.J. The age and lead loss behaviour of zircons from the Isua supracrustal belt as determined by ion microprobe. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 80 (1986) 71-81
25. Crowley J.L. U-Pb geochronology of 3810-3630 Ma granitoid rocks south of the Isua greenstone belt, southern West Greenland. Precambrian Research 126 (2003) 235-257
26. Crowley J.L., Myers J.S., and Dunning G.R. Timing and nature of multiple 3700-3600 Ma tectonic events in intrusive rocks north of the Isua greenstone belt, southern West Greenland. Geological Society of America Bulletin 114 (2002) 1311-1325
27. Dauphas N., van Zuilen M., Wadhwa M., Davis A.M., Marty B., and Janney P.E. Clues from Fe isotope variations on the origin of early Archaean BIFs from Greenland. Science 306 (2004) 2077-2080
28. Dilek Y., and Polat A. Suprasubduction zone ophiolites and Archean tectonics. Geology 36 (2008) 431-432
29. Dymek R.F., and Klein C. Chemistry, petrology and origin of banded iron-formation lithologies from the 3800 Ma Isua supracrustal belt, west Greenland. Precambrian Research 39 (1988) 247-302
30. Dymek R.F., Brothers S.C., and Schiffries C.M. Petrogenesis of ultramafic metamorphic rocks from the 3800 Ma Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland. Journal of Petrology 29 (1988) 1353-1397
31. Dymek R.F., Brothers S.C., and Schiffries C.M. Titanian chondrodite- and titanian clinohumite-bearing metadunite from the 3800 Ma Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland: chemistry, petrology and origin. American Mineralogist 73 (1988) 547-558
32. Fedo C.M. Setting and origin of problematic rocks from the >3.7 Ga Isua greenstone belt, southern West Greenland: Earth's oldest coarse clastic sediments. Precambrian Research 101 (2000) 69-78
33. Frei R., and Polat A. Source heterogeneity for the major components of ∼3.7 Ga banded iron formations (Isua Greenstone Belt, Western Greenland): Tracing the nature of interacting water masses in BIF formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 253 (2007) 266-281
34. Frei R., and Rosing M.T. The least radiogenic terrestrial leads: implications for the early Archaean crustal evolution and hydrothermal-metasomatic processes in the Isua supracrustal belt (West Greenland). Chemical Geology 181 (2001) 47-66
35. Frei R., and Rosing M.T. Search for traces of the late heavy bombardment on Earth-results from high precision chromium isotopes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 236 (2005) 28-40
36. Friend C.R.L., and Nutman A.P. Complex 3670-3500 Ma orogenic episodes superimposed on juvenile crust accreted between 3850-3690 Ma, Itsaq Gneiss Complex, southern West Greenland. Journal Geology 113 (2005) 375-398
37. Friend C.R.L., Nutman A.P., and McGregor V.R. Late Archaean terrane accretion in the Godthåb region, southern West Greenland. Nature 335 (1988) 535-538
38. Friend C.R.L., Bennett V.C., and Nutman A.P. Abyssal peridotites >3800 Ma from southern West Greenland: field relationships, petrography, geochronology, whole-rock and mineral chemistry of dunite and harzburgite inclusions in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex. Contributions Mineralogy and Petrology 143 (2002) 71-92
39. Friend C.R.L., Bennett V.C., Nutman A.P., and Norman M.D. Seawater-like trace element signatures (REE+Y) of Eoarchaean chemical sedimentary rocks from southern West Greenland, and their corruption during high-grade metamorphism. Contributions Mineralogy and Petrology (2007) 10.1007/s00410-007-0239z
40. Furnes H., de Wit M., Staudigel H., Rosing M., and Muehlenbachs K. Vestige of Earth's oldest ophiolite. Science 215 (2007) 1704-1707
41. Grimes, S.W., Dunning, G.R., 2002. A 3714 Ma pluton intruding the Isua greenstone belt, southwest Greenland; the world's oldest volcano-sedimentary section (or, at least part of it) gets older. Geological Society of America 2002 Annual Meeting. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 34, p. 365.
42. Gruau G., Rosing M., Bridgwater D., and Gill R.C.O. Resetting of Sm-Nd systematics during metamorphism of >3.7 Ga rocks: implications for isotopic models of early Earth differentiation. Chemical Geology 133 (1996) 225-240
43. Hamilton W.B. Comment on "A vestige of Earth's oldest ophiolite". Science 318 (2007) 746
44. Hamilton P.J., O'Nions R.K., Evensen N.H., Bridgwater D., and Allaart J.H. Sm-Nd isotopic investigations of Isua supracrustals and implications for mantle evolution. Nature 272 (1978) 41-43
45. Hanmer S., and Greene D.C. A modern structural regime in the Paleoarchean (∼3.64 Ga); Isua Greenstone Belt, southern West Greenland. Tectonophysics 346 (2002) 201-222
46. Hanmer S., Hamilton M.A., and Crowley J.L. Geochronological constraints on Paleoarchean thrust-nappe and Neoarchaean accretionary tectonics in southern West Greenland. Tectonophysics 350 (2002) 255-271
47. 142Nd systematics for very early (4.5 Gyr) differentiation of the Earth's mantle. Nature 360 (1992) 728-732
48. Heijlen W., Appel P.W.U., Frezzotti M.-L., Horsewell A., and Touret J.L.R. Metamorphic fluid flow in the northeastern part of the 3.8-3.7 Ga Isua Greenstone Belt (SW Greenland): a re-evaluation of fluid inclusion evidence for early Archean seafloor-hydrothermal systems. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70 (2006) 3075-3095
49. Jacobsen S.B., and Dymek R.F. Nd and Sr isotope systematics of clastic metasediments from Isua, West Greenland: Identification of pre-3.8 Ga differentiated crustal components. Journal of Geophysical Research 93 (1988) 338-354
50. James P.R. Deformation of the Isua block, West Greenland: a remnant of the earliest stable continental crust. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13 (1976) 816-823
51. Jenner F.E., Bennett V.C., Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., Norman M.D., and Yaxley G. Evidence for subduction at 3.8 Ga: geochemistry of arc-like metabasalts from the southern edge of the Isua Supracrustal Belt. Chemical Geology (2008) 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.09.016
52. Kamber B.S., Whitehouse M.J., Bolhar R., and Moorbath S. Volcanic resurfacing and the early terrestrial crust: zircon U-Pb and REE constraints from the Isua Greenstone Belt, southern West Greenland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 240 (2005) 276-290
53. Komiya T., Maruyama S., Masuda T., Appel P.W.U., and Nohda S. The 3.8-3.7 Ga plate tectonics on the Earth; Field evidence from the Isua accretionary complex West Greenland. Journal Geology 107 (1999) 515-554
54. Keto, L., Kurki, J., 1967. Report on the exploration activity at Isua 1967. Kryolitselskabet Øresund A/S Prospektering report lodged as report 20024 at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
55. Kurki, J., Keto, L., 1966. Report on geological investigations at Isua 1966. Kryolitselskabet Øresund A/S Prospektering report, lodged as report 20219 at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
56. Maruyama S., Masuda T., Nohda S., Appel P., Otofuji Y., Miki M., Shibata T., and Hagiya H. The 3.9-3.8 Ga plate tectonics on the Earth: evidence from Isua, Greenland. Paper Presented at the Evolving Earth Symposium (1992), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Okazaki, Japan
57. McDonough W.F., and Sun S.S. The composition of the Earth. Chemical Geology 120 (1995) 223-253
58. McGregor V.R. Field evidence of very old Precambrian rocks in the Godthåb area, West Greenland. Rapport Grønlands geologiske Undersøgelse 15 (1968) 31-35
59. McGregor V.R. The early Precambrian gneisses of the Godthåb district, West Greenland. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society London A273 (1973) 343-358
60. Michard-Vitrac A., Lancelot J., Allegre C.J., and Moorbath S. U-Pb ages on single zircons from early Precambrian rocks of West Greenland and the Minnesota River Valley. Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters 35 (1977) 449-453
61. Mojzsis S.J., Arrhenius G., McKeegan K.D., Harrison T.M., Nutman A.P., and Friend C.R.L. Evidence for life on Earth before 3800 million years ago. Nature 270 (1996) 43-45
62. Mojzsis S.J., Coath C.D., Greenwood J.P., McKeegan K.D., and Harrison T.M. Mass-independent isotope effects in Archaean (2.5 to 3.8 Ga) sedimentary sulfides determined by ion microprobe analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67 (2003) 1635-1658
63. Moorbath S., O'Nions R.K., Pankhurst R.J., Gale N.H., and McGregor V.R. Further rubidium-strontium age determinations on the very early Precambrian rocks of the Godthåb district: West Greenland. Nature 240 (1972) 78-82
64. Moorbath S., O'Nions R.K., and Pankhurst R.J. Early Archaean age for the Isua iron formation, West Greenland. Nature 245 (1973) 138-139
65. Moorbath S., Whitehouse M.J., and Kamber B.S. Extreme Nd-isotope heterogeneity in the early Archaean-fact or fiction? Case histories from northern Canada and West Greenland. Chemical Geology 135 (1997) 213-231
66. Myers J.S. Protoliths of the 3.8-3.7 Ga Isua greenstone belt, West Greenland. Precambrian Research 105 (2001) 129-141
67. Nutman A.P. The geology of the Isukasia region, southern West Greenland. Grønlands geologiske Undersøgelse Bulletin 154 (1986) 80
68. Nutman A.P. Antiquity of the oceans and continents. Elements 2 (2006) 223-227
69. Nutman A.P., and Bridgwater D. Early Archaean Amîtsoq tonalites and granites from the Isukasia area, southern West Greenland: development of the oldest-known sial. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 94 (1986) 137-148
70. Nutman A.P., and Collerson K.D. Very early Archean crustal-accretion complexes preserved in the North Atlantic Craton. Geology 19 (1991) 791-794
71. Nutman A.P., and Friend C.R.L. Technical comment on: a vestige of Earth's oldest ophiolite. Science 318 (2007) 747e
72. Nutman A.P., and Friend C.R.L. Adjacent terranes with c. 2715 and 2650 Ma high-pressure metamorphic assemblages in the Nuuk region of the North Atlantic Craton, southern West Greenland: Complexities of Neoarchaean collisional orogeny. Precambrian Research 155 (2007) 159-203
73. Nutman A.P., Allaart J.H., Bridgwater D., Dimroth E., and Rosing M.T. Stratigraphic and geochemical evidence for the depositional environment of the early Archaean Isua supracrustal belt, southern West Greenland. Precambrian Research 25 (1984) 365-396
74. Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., Kinny P.D., and McGregor V.R. Anatomy of an Early Archaean gneiss complex: 3900 to 3600 Ma crustal evolution in southern West Greenland. Geology 21 (1993) 415-418
75. Nutman A.P., McGregor V.R., Friend C.R.L., Bennett V.C., and Kinny P.D. The Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland; the world's most extensive record of early crustal evolution (3900-3600 Ma). Precambrian Research 78 (1996) 1-39
76. Nutman A.P., Bennett V.C., Friend C.R.L., and Rosing M.T. ∼3710 and ≥3790 Ma volcanic sequences in the Isua (Greenland) supracrustal belt; structural and Nd isotope implications. Chemical Geology 141 (1997) 271-287
77. Nutman A.P., Mojzsis S.J., and Friend C.R.L. Recognition of 3850 Ma water-lain sediments in West Greenland and their significance for the Early Archaean Earth. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 61 (1997) 2475-2484
78. Nutman A.P., Bennett V.C., Friend C.R.L., and Norman M.D. Meta-igneous (non-gneissic) tonalites and quartz-diorites from an extensive ca. 3800 Ma terrain south of the Isua supracrustal belt, southern West Greenland: constraints on early crust formation. Contributions Mineralogy Petrology 137 (1999) 364-388
79. Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., Bennett V.C., and McGregor V.R. The early Archaean Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland: the importance of field observations in interpreting dates and isotopic data constraining early terrestrial evolution. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 64 (2000) 3035-3060
80. Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., Bennett V.C., and McGregor V.R. Dating of the Ameralik dyke swarms of the Nuuk district, southern West Greenland: mafic intrusion events starting from c. 3510 Ma. Journal of the Geological Society of London 161 (2001) 421-430
81. Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., and Bennett V.C. Evidence for 3650-3600 Ma assembly of the northern end of the Itsaq Gneiss Complex, Greenland: implication for early Archean tectonics. Tectonics 21 (2002) article 5
82. Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., Horie H., and Hidaka H. Construction of pre-3600 Ma crust at convergent plate boundaries, exemplified by the Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland. In: van Kranendonk M.J., Smithies R.H., and Bennett V.C. (Eds). Earth's Oldest Rocks (2007), Elsevier 187-218
83. Nutman, A.P., Bennett, V.C., Friend, C.R.L., Jenner, F., Wan, Y., Liu, D-Y. 2009a. Episodic Eoarchaean crustal accretion (3.87 to 3.66 Ga) in West Greenland (Itsaq Gneiss Complex) and in northeastern China. In: Cawood, P.A. & Kröner, A. (Eds.). Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time. Special Publication of the Geological Society, 318, 127-154.
84. Nutman A.P., Friend C.R.L., and Paxton S. Detrital zircon sedimentary provenance ages for the Eoarchaean Isua supracrustal belt, southern West Greenland: Juxtaposition of an imbricated ca. 3700 Ma juvenile arc assemblage against an older complex with 3920-3800 Ma components. Precambrian Research 172 (2009) 212-233
85. O'Nions R.K., and Pankhurst R.J. Rare earth element distribution in Archaean gneisses and anorthosites, Godthåb area, West Greenland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 22 (1974) 328-338
86. Paris I.A. The 3.5 Ga Barberton Greenstone succession, South Africa: implications for modelling the evolution of the Archaean crust. Geological Journal 22 (1987) 5-24
87. Percival J.A., and Helmstaedt H. Insights on Archean continent-ocean assembly, western Superior Province, from new structural, geochemical, and geochronological observations: introduction and summary. Precambrian Research 132 (2004) 209-212
88. Percival J.A., McNicoll V., Brown J.L., and Whalen J.B. Convergent margin tectonics, central Wabigoon subprovince, Superior Province Canada. Precambrian Research 132 (2004) 213-244
89. Percival J.A., and Pysklywec R.N. Are Archean lithospheric keels inverted?. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 254 (2007) 393-403
90. Perry E.C., and Ahmed S.N. Carbon isotope composition of graphite and carbonate minerals from 3.8-AE metamorphosed sediments, Isukasia, Greenland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 36 (1977) 280-284
91. Pflug H.D., and Jaeschke-Boyer H. Combined structural and chemical analysis of 3.800-Myr-old microfossils. Nature 280 (1979) 483-486
92. Polat A., and Hofmann A.W. Alteration and geochemical patterns in the 3.7-3.8 Ga Isua greenstone belt, West Greenland. Precambrian Research 126 (2003) 197-218
93. Polat A., Hofmann A.W., and Rosing M.T. Boninite-like volcanic rocks in the 3.7-3.8 Ga Isua greenstone belt, West Greenland: geochemical evidence for intra-oceanic subduction zone processes in the early Earth. Chemical Geology 184 (2002) 231-254
94. Ramsay J.G. Structural investigations in the Barberton Mountain Land, eastern Transvaal. Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa 66 (1963) 353-401
95. Rollinson H. Metamorphic history suggested by garnet-growth chronologies in the Isua Greenstone Belt, West Greenland. Precambrian Research 126 (2003) 181-196
96. Rose N.M., Rosing M., and Bridgwater D. The origin of metacarbonate rocks in the Archaean Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland. American Journal of Science 296 (1996) 1004-1044
97. 13C-depleted carbon microparticles in >3700 Ma sea-floor sedimentary rocks from West Greenland. Science 283 (1999) 674-676
98. Rosing M.T., Rose N.M., Bridgwater D., and Thomsen H.S. Earliest part of the Earth's stratigraphic record: a reappraisal of the >3.7 Ga Isua (Greenland) supracrustal sequence. Geology 24 (1996) 43-46
99. Schoenburg R., Kamber B.S., Collerson K.D., and Moorbath S. Tungsten isotope evidence from 3.8-Gyr metamorphosed sediments for early meteorite bombardment of the Earth. Nature 418 (2002) 403-405
100. Shervais, J.W., 2001. Birth, death and resurrection: The life cycle of suprasubduction zone ophiolites. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, paper number 2000GC000080.
101. 9 yr old Isua sediments, West Greenland: implications for the Archaean carbon and oxygen cycles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43 (1979) 189-199
102. Touret J.L.R. Remnants of early Archaean hydrothermal methane and brines in pillow-breccia from the Isua Greenstone Belt, West Greenland. Precambrian Research 126 (2003) 219-233
103. van Zuilen M.A., Lepland A., and Arrhenius G. Reassessing the evidence for earliest traces of life. Nature 418 (2002) 627-630
104. Vervoort J.D., Patchett P.J., Gehrels G.E., and Nutman A.P. Constraints on early Earth differentiation from hafnium and neodymium isotopes. Nature 379 (1996) 624-627
105. White, R.V., Crowley, J.L., Parrish, R, David, K., 2000. Gate-crashing the billionth birthday party: intrusion of dyke swarms in the Isua region. American Geophysical Union EOS Transactions 81, V51D-05.
106. Whitehouse M.J., and Kamber B.S. On the overabundance of light rare earth elements in terrestrial zircons and its implications for Earth's earliest magmatic differentiation. Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters 204 (2002) 333-346
107. Wilde S.A., Valley J.W., Peck W.H., and Graham C.M. Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago. Nature 409 (2001) 175-178