Late Cretaceous-Palaeocene continental rifting in the High arctic: U-Pb geochronology of the Kap Washington Group volcanic sequence, North Greenland

Journal of the Geological Society

Volumn 168, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 1093-1106

  Thorarinsson, Sigurjon B ^a   Holm, Paul M ^a   Tappe, Sebastian ^b   Heaman, Larry M ^b   Tegner, Christian ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN   (Denmark)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA   (Canada)

^c AARHUS UNIVERSITY   (Denmark)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARCTIC OCEAN; CONTINENTAL RIFT; CONTINENTAL RIFTING; EURASIA; GREENLAND; HIGH ARCTIC; IGNIMBRITES; ISOTOPE DILUTIONS; NORTH COAST; RHYOLITIC; THERMAL IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY; U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY; U-PB ZIRCON AGES; WASHINGTON;

GEOCHRONOLOGY; GEOLOGIC MODELS; ISOTOPES; LEAD; MASS SPECTROMETRY; SILICATE MINERALS; VOLCANOES;

TECTONICS;

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; CRETACEOUS; DILUTION; GEOCHRONOLOGY; IONIZATION; PALEOCENE; RHYOLITE; RIFTING; TRACHYTE; URANIUM-LEAD DATING; VOLCANISM;

ARCTIC; GREENLAND;

EID: 80052411793     PISSN: 00167649     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1144/0016-76492011-018     Document Type: Article

References (97)

1. Ashton, K.E., Heaman, L.M., Lewry, J.F., Hartlaub, R.P. & Shi, R. 1999. Age and origin of the Jan Lake Complex: a glimpse at the buried Archean craton of the Trans-Hudson orogen. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 36, 185-208.
2. Bacon, C.R. & Lowenstern, J.B. 2005. Late Pleistocene granodiorite source for recycled zircon and phenocrysts in rhyodacite lava at Crater Lake, Oregon. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 233, 277-293.
3. Bailey, J.C. & Brooks, C.K. 1988. Petrochemistry and tectonic setting of Lower Cretaceous tholeiites from Franz Josef Land, U.S.S.R. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark, 37, 31-49.
4. Bailey, J.C. & Rasmussen, M.H. 1997. Petrochemistry of Jurassic and Cretaceous tholeiites from Kong Karls Land, Svalbard, and their relation to Mesozoic magmatism in the Arctic. Polar Research, 16, 37-62. Batten et al. 1981 (details to be added).
5. Batten, D.J., Brown, P.E., Dawes, P.R., Higgins, A.K., Koch, B.E., Parsons, I. & Soper, N.J. 1981. Peralkaline volcanicity on the Eurasia Basin margin. Nature, 294, 150-152.
6. Bellieni, G., Visentin, E.J., Piccirillo, E.M. & Zanettin, B. 1987. Volcanic cycles and magmatic evolution in northern Turkana (Kenya). Tectonophysics, 143, 161-168.
7. Bengaard, H.J. & Henriksen, N. 1986. Geological map of Greenland 1:500 000. Peary Land. Sheet 8. Geological Survey of Greenland, Copenhagen.
8. Benisek, A. & Finger, F. 1993. Factors controlling the development of prism faces in granite zircons: a microprobe study. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 114, 441-451.
9. Bolhar, R., Weaver, S.D., Palin, M.J., Cole, J.W. & Paterson, L.A. 2008. Systematics of zircon crystallisation in the Cretaceous Separation Point Suite, New Zealand, using U/Pb isotopes, REE and Ti geothermometry. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 156, 133-160.
10. Brown, P.E. & Parsons, I. 1981. The Kap Washington Group volcanics. Rapport Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse, 106, 65-68.
11. Brown, P.E., Parsons, I. & Becker, S.M. 1987. Peralkaline volcanicity in the Arctic Basin-the Kap Washington volcanics, petrology and palaeotectonics. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 144, 707-715.
12. Brozena, J.M., Childers, V.A., Lawver, L.A., Gahagan, L.M., Forsberg, R., Faleide, J.I. & Eldholm, O. 2003. New aerogeophysical study of the Eurasia Basin and Lomonosov Ridge: implications for basin development. Geology, 31, 825-828.
13. Bryan, S.E. & Ernst, R.E. 2008. Revised definition of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). Earth-Science Reviews, 86, 175-202.
14. Chalmers, J.A. & Laursen, K.H. 1995. Labrador Sea: the extent of continental and oceanic crust and the timing of the onset of seafloor spreading. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 12, 205-217.
15. Cherniak, D.J. & Watson, E.B. 2003. Diffusion in zircon. In: Hanchar, J.M. & Hoskin, P.W.O. (eds) Zircon. Mineralogical Society of America and Geochemical Society, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 53, 113-143.
16. Corfu, F., Hanchar, J.M., Hoskin, P.W.O. & Kinny, P. 2003. Atlas of zircon textures. In: Hanchar, J.M. & Hoskin, P.W.O. (eds) Zircon. Mineralogical Society of America and Geochemical Society, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 53, 468-500.
17. Cousens, B.L., Spera, F.J. & Dobson, P.F. 1993. Post-eruptive alteration of silicic ignimbrites and lavas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands: strontium, neodymium, lead and oxygen isotopic evidence. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 57, 631-640.
18. Damaske, D. & Oakley, G.N. 2006. Volcanogenic sandstones as aeromagnetic markers on Judge Daly Promontory and in Robeson Channel, northern Nares Strait. Polarforchung, 74, 9-19.
19. Davis, D.W., Williams, I.S. & Krogh, T.E. 2003. Historical development of zircon geochronology. In: Hanchar, J.M. & Hoskin, P.W.O. (eds) Zircon. Mineralogical Society of America and Geochemical Society, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 53, 145-181.
20. Dawes, P.R. 1971. The North Greenland Fold Belt and environs. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark, 20, 197-329.
21. Dawes, P.R. 2009. Precambrian-Palaeozoic geology of Smith Sound, Canada and Greenland: key constraint to palaeogeographic reconstructions of northern Laurentia and the North Atlantic region. Terra Nova, 21, 1-13.
22. Dawes, P.R. & Soper, N.J. 1970. Significance of K/Ar age determinations from northern Peary Land. Rapport Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse, 35, 60-62.
23. Donoghue, E., Troll, V.R., Harris, C., O'Halloran, A., Walter, T.R. & Torrado, F.J.P. 2008. Low-temperature hydrothermal alteration of intracaldera tuffs, Miocene Tejeda caldera, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 176, 551-564.
24. Døssing, A., Stemmerik, L., Dahl-Jensen, T. & Schlindwein, V. 2010. Segmentation of the eastern North Greenland oblique-shear margin-regional plate tectonic implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 292, 239-253.
25. Eby, G.N. 1992. Chemical subdivision of the A-type granitoids: petrogenetic and tectonic implications. Geology, 20, 641-644.
26. Embry, A.F. & Osadetz, K.G. 1988. Stratigraphy and tectonic significance of Cretaceous volcanism in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 25, 1209-1219.
27. Estrada, S. 2000. Basaltic dykes in the Kap Washington and Frigg Fjord areas (North Greenland). Polarforschung, 68, 19-23.
28. Estrada, S. & Henjes-Kunst, F. 2004. Volcanism in the Canadian High Arctic related to the opening of the Arctic Ocean. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft, 154, 579-603.
29. Estrada, S., Höfndorf, A. & Henjes-Kunst, F. 2001. Cretaceous/Tertiary volcanism in North Greenland: the Kap Washington Group. Polarforschung, 69, 17-23.
30. Estrada, S., Piepjohn, K., Henjes-Kunst, F. & von Gosen, W. 2006. Geology, magmatism and structural evolution of the Yelverton Bay area, northern Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. Polarforschung, 73, 59-75.
31. Estrada, S., Henjes-Kunst, F., Melcher, F. & Tessensohn, F. 2010. Paleocene lkaline volcanism in the Nares Strait region: evidence from volcanic pebbles. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 99, 863-890.
32. Feden, R.H., Vogt, P.R. & Fleming, H.S. 1979. Magnetic and bathymetric evidence for the 'Yermark hot spot' northwest of Svalbard in the Arctic Basin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 44, 18-38.
33. Forsyth, D.A., Argyle, M., Okutlitch, A. & Trettin, H.P. 1994. New seismic, magnetic, and gravity constraints on the crustal structure of the Lincoln Sea continent-ocean transition. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 31, 905-918.
34. Frost, B.R., Barnes, C.G., Collins, W.J., Arculus, R.J., Ellis, D.J. & Frost, C.D. 2001. A geochemical classification for granitic rocks. Journal of Petrology, 42, 2033-2048.
35. Gagnevin, D., Daly, J.S. & Kronz, A. 2010. Zircon texture and chemical composition as a guide to magmatic processes and mixing in a granitic environment and coeval volcanic system. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 159, 579-596.
36. Girdler, R.W. 1983. Processes of planetary rifting as seen in the rifting and break up of Africa. Tectonophysics, 94, 241-252.
37. Gradstein, F.M., Ogg, J.G., Smith, A.G., Bleeker, W. & Lourens, L.J. 2004. A new geological time scale, with special reference to Precambrian and Neogene. Episodes, 27, 83-100.
38. Grantz, A., Clark, D.L., et al. 1998. Phanerozoic stratigraphy of Northwind Ridge, magnetic anomalies in the Canada basin, and the geometry and timing of rifting in the Amerasia basin, Arctic Ocean. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110, 801-820.
39. Grogan, P., Nyberg, K., Fotland, B., Myklebust, R., Dahlgren, S. & Riis, F. 2000. Cretaceous magmatism south and east of Svalbard: evidence from seismic reflection and magnetic data. Polarforschung, 68, 25-34.
40. Hakansson, E. & Pedersen, S.A.S. 2001. The Wandel Hav strike-slip mobile belt-a Mesozoic plate boundary in North Greenland. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark, 48, 149-158.
41. Hakansson, E. & Stemmerik, L. 1989. Wandel Sea basin-a new synthesis of the late Paleozoic to Tertiary accumulation in North Greenland. Geology, 17, 683-686.
42. Hakansson, E., Heinberg, C. & Stemmerik, L. 1981. The Wandel Sea Basin from Holm Land to Lockwood Ø, eastern North Greenland. Rapport Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse, 106, 47-63.
43. Hanchar, J.M. & Miller, C.F. 1993. Zircon zonation patterns as revealed by cathodoluminescence and backscattered electron images: implications for interpretation of complex crustal histories. Chemical Geology, 110, 1-13.
44. Heaman, L.M. 2009. The application of U-Pb geochronology to mafic, ultramafic and alkaline rocks: an evaluation of three mineral standards. Chemical Geology, 261, 43-52.
45. Heaman, L.M., Bowins, R. & Crocket, J. 1990. The chemical composition of igneous zircon suites: implications for geochemical tracer studies. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54, 1597-1607.
46. Heaman, L.M., Erdmer, P. & Owen, J.V. 2002. U-Pb geochronologic constraints on the crustal evolution of the Long Range Inlier, Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 39, 845-865.
47. Higgins, A.K., Mayr, U. & Soper, N.J. 1982. Fold belts and metamorphic zones of northern Ellesmere Island and North Greenland. Meddelelser om Grønland, Geoscience, 8, 159-166.
48. Hildreth, W. 1981. Gradients in silicic magma chambers: implications for lithospheric magmatism. Journal of Geophysical Research, 86, 10153-10192.
49. Irvine, T.N. & Baragar, W.R.A. 1971. A guide to the geochemical classification of the common volcanic rocks. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 8, 523-548.
50. Jackson, H.R., Dahl-Jensen, T. & LORITA working group. 2010. Sedimentary and crustal structure from the Ellesmere Island and Greenland continental shelves onto the Lomonosov Ridge, Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Journal International, 182, 11-35.
51. Jakobsson, M., Macnab, R., et al. 2008. An improved bathymetric portrayal of the Arctic Ocean: implications for ocean modelling and geological, geophysical and oceanographic analyses. Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L07602, doi:10.1029/2008GL033520.
52. Jokat, W. 2003. Seismic investigations along the western sector of Alpha Ridge, central Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Journal International, 152, 185-201.
53. Kontak, D.J., Jensen, S.M., Dostal, J., Archibald, D.A. & Kyser, T.K. 2001. Cretaceous mafic dyke swarm, Peary Land, northernmost Greenland: geochronology and petrology. Canadian Mineralogist, 39, 997-1020.
54. Kovacs, L.C. 1982. Motion along Nares Strait recorded in the Lincoln Sea: aeromagnetic evidence. Meddelelser om Grønland, Geoscience, 8, 275-290.
55. Langinen, A.E., Lebedeva-Ivanova, N.N., Gee, D.G. & Zamansky, Yu.Yu. 2009. Correlations between the Lomonosov Ridge, Marvin Spur and adjacent basins of the Arctic Ocean based on seismic data. Tectonophysics, 472, 309-322.
56. Larsen, O. 1982. The age of the Kap Washington Group volcanics, North Greenland. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark, 31, 49-55.
57. Ludwig, K.R. 1998. On the treatment of concordant uranium-lead ages. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 62, 665-676.
58. Ludwig, K.R. 2003. Isoplot/Ex 3.00. A geochronological toolkit for Microsoft Excel. Berkeley Geochronology Center, Special Publications, 4.
59. Maher, M.D., Jr 2001. Manifestations of the Cretaceous High Arctic Large Igneous Province in Svalbard. Journal of Geology, 109, 91-104.
60. Martin, E. & Sigmarsson, O. 2007. Crustal thermal state and origin of silicic magma in Iceland: the case of Torfajökull, Ljósufjöll and Snæfellsjökull volcanoes. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 153, 593-605.
61. McClelland, W.C. & Mattinson, J.M. 1996. Resolving high precision U-Pb ages from Tertiary plutons with complex zircon systematics. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60, 3955-3965.
62. McDougall, I. & Brown, F.H. 2009. Timing of volcanism and evolution of the northern Kenya Rift. Geological Magazine, 146, 34-47.
63. Michael, P.J., Langmuir, C.H., et al. 2003. Magmatic and amagmatic seafloor generation at the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge, Arctic Ocean. Nature, 423, 956-961.
64. Miller, J.S. & Wooden, J.L. 2004. Residence, resorption and recycling of zircons in Devils Kitchen rhyolite, Coso volcanic field, California. Journal of Petrology, 45, 2155-2170.
65. Miller, J.S., Matzel, J.E.P., Miller, C.F., Burgess, S.D. & Miller, R.B. 2007. Zircon growth and recycling during the assembly of large, composite arc plutons. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 167, 282-299.
66. Ntaflos, T. & Richter, W. 2003. Geochemical constraints on the origin of the continental flood basalt magmatism in Franz Josef Land, Arctic Russia. European Journal of Mineralogy, 15, 649-663.
67. Nutman, A.P., Dawes, P.R., Kalsbeek, F. & Hamilton, M.A. 2008. Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean gneiss complexes in the northern Greenland: Palaeoproterozoic terrane assembly in the High Arctic. Precambrian Research, 161, 419-451.
68. Parrish, R.R. & Noble, S.R. 2003. Zircon U-Th-Pb geochronology by isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). In: Hanchar, J.M. & Hoskin, P.W.O. (eds) Zircon. Mineralogical Society of America and Geochemical Society, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 53, 183-213.
69. Pearce, J.A., Harris, N.B.W. & Tindle, A.G. 1984. Trace element discrimination diagrams for the tectonic interpretation of granitic rocks. Journal of Petrology, 25, 956-983.
70. Pupin, J.P. 1980. Zircon and granite petrology. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 73, 207-220.
71. Roest, W.R. & Srivastava, S.P. 1989. Sea-floor spreading in the Labrador Sea: a new reconstruction. Geology, 17, 1000-1003.
72. Rowley, D.B. & Lottes, A.L. 1988. Plate-kinematic reconstructions of the North Atlantic and Arctic: Late Jurassic to Present. Tectonophysics, 155, 73-120.
73. Saalmann, K., Tessensohn, F., Piepjohn, K., von Gosen, W. & Mayr, U. 2005. Structure of Palaeogene sediments in east Ellesmere Island: constraints on Eurekan tectonic evolution and implications for the Nares Strait problem. Tectonophysics, 406, 81-113.
74. Scott, R.B. 1971. Alkali exchange during devitrification and hydration of glasses in ignimbrite cooling units. Journal of Geology, 79, 100-110.
75. Soper, N.J., Dawes, P.R. & Higgins, A.K. 1982. Cretaceous-Tertiary magmatic and tectonic events in North Greenland and the history of adjacent basins. Meddelelser om Grønland, Geoscience, 8, 205-220.
76. Sorokin, M.Yu., Zamansky, Yu.Ya., Langinen, A.Ye., Jackson, H.R. & Macnab, R. 1999. Crustal structure of the Makarov Basin, Arctic Ocean determined by seismic refraction. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 168, 187-199.
77. Srivastava, S.P. 1985. Evolution of the Eurasia Basin and its implications to the motion of Greenland along Nares Strait. Tectonophysics, 114, 29-53.
78. Srivastava, S.P. & Roest, W.R. 1999. Extent of oceanic crust in the Labrador Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 16, 65-84.
79. Stacey, J.C. & Kramers, J.D. 1975. Approximation of terrestrial lead isotope evolution by a two-stage model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 26, 207-221.
80. Steiger, R.H. & Jäger, E. 1977. Subcomission on geochronology: convention on the use of decay constants in geo- and cosmochronology. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 36, 359-362.
81. Storey, M., Duncan, R.A., Pedersen, A.K., Larsen, L.M. & Larsen, H.C. 1998. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the West Greenland Tertiary volcanic province. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 160, 569-586.
82. Sweeney, J.F., Weber, J.R. & Blasco, S.M. 1982. Continental ridges in the Arctic Ocean: LOREX constraints. Tectonophysics, 89, 217-237.
83. Tappe, S., Foley, S.F., Stracke, A., Romer, R.L., Kjarsgaard, B.A., Heaman, L.M. & Joyce, N. 2007. Craton reactivation on the Labrador Sea margins: 40Ar/39Ar age and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotope constraints from alkaline and carbonatite intrusives. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 256, 433-454.
84. Tappe, S., Steenfelt, A., Heaman, L.M. & Simonetti, A. 2009. The newly discovered Jurassic Tikiusaaq carbonatite-aillikite occurrence, West Greenland, and some remarks on carbonatite-kimberlite relationships. Lithos, 112S, 385-399.
85. Tarduno, J.A., Brinkman, D.B., Renne, P.R., Cottrell, R.D., Scher, H. & Castillo, P. 1998. Evidence for extreme climatic warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic vertebrates. Science, 282, 2241-2244.
86. Taylor, P.T., Kovacs, L.C, Vogt, P.R. & Johnson, G.L. 1981. Detailed aeromagnetic investigation of the Arctic Basin, 2. Journal of Geophysical Research, 86, 6323-6333.
87. Tegner, C., Duncan, R.A., Bernstein, S., Brooks, C.K., Bird, D.K. & Storey, M. 1998. 40Ar-39Ar geochronology of Tertiary mafic intrusions along the East Greenland rifted margin: relation to flood basalts and the Iceland hotspot track. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 156, 75-88.
88. Tegner, C., Storey, M., Holm, P.M., Thorarinsson, S.B., Zhao, H., Lo, C.-H. & Knudsen, M.F. 2011. Magmatism and Eurekan deformation in the High-Arctic Large Igneous Province: 40Ar-39Ar age of Kap Washington Group volcanics, North Greenland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 303, 203-214.
89. Tessensohn, F. & Piepjohn, K. 2000. Eocene compressive deformation in Arctic Canada, North Greenland and Svalbard and its plate tectonic causes. Polarforschung, 68, 121-124.
90. Thorarinsson, S.B. 2010. Silicic volcanism during Late Cretaceous-Palaeocene continental rifting in the High Arctic. Petrology and geochronology of the Kap Washington Group volcanics, North Greenland. PhD thesis, University of Copenhagen.
91. Thorarinsson, S.B., Holm, P.M., Duprat, H. & Tegner, C. 2011. Silicic magmatism associated with Late Cretaceous rifting in the Arctic Basin- petrogenesis of the Kap Kane sequence, The Kap Washington Group volcanics, North Greenland. Lithos, doi: 10.1016/j.lithos.2011.01.013.
92. Trettin, H.P. & Parrish, R. 1987. Late Cretaceous bimodal magmatism, northern Ellesmere Island: isotopic age and origin. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 24, 257-265.
93. Villeneuve, M. & Williamson, M.-C. 2004. 40Ar-39Ar dating of mafic magmatism from the Sverdrup Basin Magmatic Province. In: Scott, R.A. & Thurston, D.K. (eds) Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Arctic Margins. US Department of the Interior, Anchorage, AK, 206-215.
94. Vogt, P.R., Taylor, P.T., Kovacs, L. & Johnson, G.L. 1979. Detailed aeromagnetic investigation of the Arctic Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research, 84, 1071-1089.
95. von Gosen, W. & Piepjohn, K. 1999. Evolution of the Kap Cannon thrust zone (north Greenland). Tectonics, 18, 1004-1026.
96. Watson, E.B. 1997. Zircon saturation in felsic liquids: experimental results and applications to trace element geochemistry. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 70, 407-419.
97. Watson, E.B., Cherniak, D.J., Hanchar, J.M., Harrison, T.M. & Wark, D.A. 1979. The incorporation of Pb into zircon. Chemical Geology, 141, 19-31.