Cadomian Orogen: Mountain Building Lasting 250 Million Years

The Cadomian Orogen: Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian crustal growth and orogenic zoning along the periphery of the West African Craton–Constraints from U-Pb zircon ages and Hf isotopes

Authors:

1. Ulf Linnemann (a)
2. Axel Gerdes (b)
Mandy Hofmann(a)
Linda Marko (b)

Affiliations:

a. Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, GeoPlasmaLab, Königsbücker Landstraße 159, D-01109 Dresden, Germany

b. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Mineralogie, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Altenhöferallee 1, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Abstract:

The Cadomian Orogen in the NE Bohemian and the northern Armorican Massifs shows a distinct orogenic zoning from recent NW to SE consisting of (i) an outboard sitting continental crustal unit comprising Neoproterozoic rocks associated with c. 2.0 Ga old Icartian Basement, (ii) a magmatic arc and a back-arc basin, (iii) a foreland or retro-arc basin, and (iv) the passive margin of the back-arc basin. New U-Pb zircon ages of detrital zircon of Neoproterozoic to Fortunian siliciclastics from the Schwarzburg Antiform in the Saxo-Thuringian Zone (NE Bohemian Massif) identify the West African Craton as the hinterland for the Cadomian Orogen as demonstrated by zircon populations dated at 1.8-2.2, 2.5-2.7, 3.0-3.1, and 3.4-3.5 Ga. The dominant zircon population (c. 50-70% in each sample) is derived from a Cadomian magmatic arc in a time slice of c. 570-750 Ma. The magmatic activity of the Cadomian arc stopped at c. 570 Ma. Closure of the back-arc basin by arc-continent collision occurred between c. 570 and 542 Ma under the formation of a foreland (retro-arc) basin. A short-living remnant basin existed between c.542 and 540 Ma. Granitoid plutonism at 539 to 540 Ma documents the final pulse of the Cadomian Orogeny. Hf isotope compositions, calculated ɛHfi values and TDM model ages for detrital and magmatic zircon show that during the c. 180 Ma long Cadomian magmatic arc activity juvenile arc magmas were contaminated by recycling of Eburnian and Archaean crust. Mixing with an evolved continental crust is always present. The inferred geotectonic setting is a continental magmatic arc during the Neoproterozoic developed on a stretched Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic (Eburnian) crust. In the West African crustal evolution it can be demonstrated that during Eburnian orogenic processes (c. 1.8-2.2 Ga) in most cases a 2.5 to 3.4 Ga old basement became reworked. Archaean 2.5-2.9 Ga magmas remelted a 3.0 to 3.4. Ga crust. Zircon grains with an age of 3.0-3.1 and 3.4 Ga are derived from juvenile magmas. Two zircon grains dated at 2779 ± 22 and 3542 ± 28 Ma imply reworking of pre-existing Eoarchean to Hadean crust and show TDM model ages of 3.98 and 4.29 Ga, respectively