Timing of magmatism and metamorphism in the Gruinard Bay area of the Lewisian Gneiss Complex: comparisons with the Assynt Terrane and implications for terrane accretion

• Published in: Contributions to mineralogy and petrology Vol. 146; no. 5; pp. 620 - 636
• Main Authors: Love, G. J., Kinny, P. D., Friend, C. R. L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer Nature B.V 01-01-2004
• Subjects: Accretion; Comparative analysis; Magma; Metamorphic rocks; Metamorphism; Mineralogy; Petrology; Zoning
• ISSN: 0010-7999; 1432-0967
• DOI: 10.1007/s00410-003-0519-1

U-Pb zircon data from selected gneiss samples provide estimates of the timing of igneous protolith emplacement and granulite facies metamorphism in the Gruinard Bay, Badcall Bay and Lochinver areas of the mainland Lewisian Gneiss Complex of north-west Scotland. Zircons from the gneisses contain complex zoning patterns making them amenable to SHRIMP ion microprobe analysis, with inherited zircon distinguishable from magmatic growth and metamorphic recrystallisation. From Gruinard Bay, a tonalitic granulite yielded a protolith age of 2,825 plus or minus 8 Ma for oscillatory-zoned zircon cores, with recrystallised low-U rims preserving an age of 2,733 plus or minus 12 Ma. An inherited 2,905 plus or minus 15 Ma age component was recognised in a sample of trondhjemitic gneiss, the protolith of which is estimated to have been emplaced at 2,858 plus or minus 11 Ma. Low-U rims yielding an age of 2,729 plus or minus 20 Ma are also present, which together with the rim age from the granulite are considered to date granulite facies metamorphism in the Gruinard region. For comparison with the Gruinard Bay gneisses, a trondhjemitic partial melt and trondhjemite sheet were analysed from the granulite facies rocks at Badcall Bay in the Assynt terrane. Age data do not show definitive relationships with zoning patterns in the zircons, and show a spread along concordia typical of previous ion microprobe age data from the Scourie gneisses. Both samples do, however, show a significant isotopic disturbance at 2,480 Ma, the most recent estimate for the Badcallian metamorphism. Protolith ages for components of the Assynt terrane range between ca. 2,900 and 3,030 Ma, and appear to be older than the 2,860-2,825 Ma gneiss protoliths from the Gruinard Bay area. The timing of granulite facies metamorphism also appears to be different between the two areas, suggesting that the two granulite regions of the mainland may not be related as previously thought. Instead, they are interpreted in terms of a terrane accretion model whereby the two areas evolved as separate blocks prior to their juxtaposition during the Palaeoproterozoic. The boundary between the two terranes is thought to lie to the south of Lochinver, corresponding with the Strathan Line, because of the observed 2,480 Ma age signature to the north and 2,730 Ma signature to the south. By defining a new mainland terrane, the Gruinard Terrane, the number of mainland blocks, which includes the Assynt (central), Rhiconich (northern) and Southern terranes, has been expanded. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]