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Basement Tectonics 8 pp 265–281Cite as

Generation of granitoids at Archaean continental margins in southern Africa

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Part of the book series: Proceedings of the International Conferences on Basement Tectonics ((ICBT,volume 2))

Abstract

Archaean terranes, worldwide, typically comprise remnants of low metamorphic-grade, supracrustal rocks, dominated by mafic and ultramafic volcanics with lesser but variable volumes of sediments, preserved in a sea of granitoids. Age relations of the oldest granitoid gneisses and supracrustal remnants are commonly equivocal. Recent geochronological data from Swaziland provide support for the conclusion that certain layered, tonalitic/leucotonalitic gneisses pre-date extrusion of mafic and ultramafic lavas of the Barberton (formerly Swaziland) Sequence. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that subdivision of the granitoids into three so-called cycles is an oversimplification. Evidence is accumulating that sodic and potassic granitoid magmas were emplaced repeatedly over a period of at least 1000 Ma. The supracrustal remnants preserved in the granitoid sea reflect complex thrusting and reclined folding. Synsedimentary tectonism resulted in accumulation of clastic sediments in fault-bounded depositional basins. On a regional scale, this deformation resulted in progressive northward uplift of the crust to the south of the Barberton supracrustal remnant. The Barberton Sequence was, in part, obducted onto sialic crust lying to the northwest as a result of horizontal compression and lateral shortening (up to 50%). New tonalitic magmas were generated and older tonalitic/leucotonalitic crust deformed and metamorphosed. Preservation of clasts composed of potassic granite in the upper sedimentary member of the Barberton Sequence implies that potassic as well as sodic granitic magmas were generated at ≈ 3480 Ma. Synchronous with this later deformation was intrusion of tabular leucotonalitic batholiths south of Barberton, generated by partial melting of tectonically intersliced metavolcanic remnants and older sialic crust. Thick sialic crust resulted from a combination of tectonic interslicing and the emplacement of the tabular potassic Lochiel granite at ≈ 3000 Ma as a consequence of partial melting of old sialic crust. The Lochiel granite batholith is confined to the southeastern flank of Barberton supracrustal remnant. It is proposed that this granite was generated at a continental margin following closure of the ocean in which the Barberton Sequence was generated. Deformation of the Pongola Sequence and subsequent intrusion of post-Pongola granitoids were the final events of Archaean age in Swaziland and adjacent areas to the south.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, 3200, South Africa

    D. R. Hunter

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Sciences and Resources Institute, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Mervin J. Bartholomew

  2. Department of Geology, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA

    Donald W. Hyndman

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA

    David W. Mogk

  4. Department of Geological Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    Robert Mason

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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Hunter, D.R. (1992). Generation of granitoids at Archaean continental margins in southern Africa. In: Bartholomew, M.J., Hyndman, D.W., Mogk, D.W., Mason, R. (eds) Basement Tectonics 8. Proceedings of the International Conferences on Basement Tectonics, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1614-5_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1614-5_18

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