Resumo: Neste trabalho foram desenvolvidos estudos termocronológicos e hidroquímicos próximos às cidades de Limeira e Americana, centro do estado de São Paulo. A aplicação da análise dos isótopos de urânio nas águas subterrâneas do aqüífero Itararé permitiu o reconhecimento do aumento de 234U a partir das áreas topograficamente mais elevadas para áreas topograficamente mais baixas, ou seja, a razão de atividade 234U/238U aumentou a partir das áreas de recarga. O uso do método de análises de traços de fissão em apatita registrou através das histórias térmicas, um apagamento total dos traços de fissão com início de retenção dos traços a partir de 118 Ma para a amostra TF-856 e 97 Ma para a amostra TF-858. Estas idades registram o primeiro período de soerguimento da área com início de geração das paleoáreas de recarga. Posteriormente, entre o Cretáceo Superior e o Paleoceno, um período de aquecimento foi evidenciado e mais tarde, a partir do Eoceno até os dias atuais a área passa por uma nova fase de soerguimento. Este trabalho introduz a utilização do método de análise por traços de fissão no reconhecimento de altos estruturais para a caracterização de paleoáreas de recarga. / Abstract: For this research were done thermochronological and hydrochemical studies close to Limeira and Americana cities, central region of São Paulo State. Using the U-isotopes analysis in groundwater from Itararé aquifer was identified a larger quantity of U234 from higher to lower topographic areas, which means that the 234U/238U activity rate got higher from recharge areas. The application of apatites fission-track analysis registered, through thermal histories, the total resetting of the fission-tracks from 118 Ma for the sample TF-856 and 97 Ma for the sample TF-858. These ages register the first uplift time of this area which caused the origin of the paleo-recharge areas. Between Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene a heating period was registered and afterwards, from Eocene to the present time, is evidenced that the area gets a new uplift phase. This work suggests the use of fission-tracks analysis for the recognition of structural height and its consequence to the paleo-recharge areas. / Orientador: Peter Christian Hackspacker / Coorientador: Daniel Marcos Bonotto / Banca: Edson Gomes de Oliveira / Banca: Julio Cesar Hadler Neto / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-13T17:08:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AntonioSAC.pdf: 751035 bytes, checksum: 1294e0bc4f14d547a8e585ebc00bb3a8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-11-27 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The region of the Senador Pompeu Shear Zone (SPSZ), in the North Tectonic Domain of the Borborema Province (BP), has its recent history associated with to South Atlantic Ocean formation event at the Jurassic. A lot of geologics models have discussed about crustal axis elevation in local scale and large scale (Borborema Province), relative to importants regionals tectonics directions of it. The identification and the relationship among this surfaces, stepped in many topographyc levels by tectonics mecanisms, is dificult because of the erosion process on it. Over there, sedimentary deposits is complex and it has not biostratigraphyc record in continental deposits. The analysis metodology on apatita fission-track, in the region of the SPSZ, purpose the more knowledge about morphotectonics mecanisms of the area and the impruvement of its morphotectonics models. For this, it was moleled the age and thermal history of the 11 apatites samples collected on both sides of this shear zone, taking relationships among other results of the thermochronology studies in the BP. Based on the thermal studies in this search, the region of the BP developed on two distint cooling events, separated for one period of relative stabilited. The first episode occur between 130 and 90 M.y., has been began when the samples cross the 120?C isoterm for last time and fineshed at 70?C. The second moment of the cooling process was began about 30 M.y., when the temperature was 90?C, from this to the equlibrium with present surface temperature at 30?C. Some evidences indicated a relacionship between thermal episodes and uplift events of the regional relief. The fundaments of the interpretation was based mainly on comparatives studies among results of the thermochronology analysis and geologics studies about BP. N?brega et al.(2005), e.g., on studies about the Portalegre Shear Zone, got similar results on SPSZ, with some details relative to local tectonic activity. Morais Neto et al. (2000) interpreted two importants cooling events in the BP based on their regional studies, that can be associated to regional uplift events. When Assine (1992) studied the stratigraphyc sequences of the Araripe Basin, in the south of Cear? state, conclude that the abrupt return to continentals condictions from the last sedimentar sequency (albiano-cenomaniane) indicate a regional uplift of the NE region of the Brazil at the 100 M.y., in the Albiano Intermediate/Superior. This ages are compatible to termal model of the SPSZ. This two periods of the thermal history of the BP are completely registered in the apatites samples just one age groups of the fission-track, that it is the most ancient age groups. This one suggest it has happened in response to heating before 75 M.y and it has erased the last report of the first moment relief evolution of the BP. The NNE-SSW and E-W structure reativation can have created ideal condictions for heating and local elevations of the geothermal gradients. The equilibrium between the apatites temperatures of this groups and the regionais temperatures took place about 50 M.y., when the samples of the two ages groups had a simillar evolution to present surfaces temperatures / A regi?o da Zona de Cisalhamento Senador Pompeu (ZCSP), no Dom?nio Tect?nico Setentrional da Prov?ncia Borborema (PB), t?m sua hist?ria mais recente relacionada principalmente ao evento de forma??o do Oceano Atl?ntico Sul no fim do Jur?ssico. Diversos modelos geol?gicos t?m discutido a exist?ncia de eixos de arqueamento crustal, tanto em escala local como na escala do n?cleo nordestino, relacionados ?s principais dire??es tect?nicas regionais. A identifica??o e a correla??o entre estas superf?cies, tectonicamente reorganizadas em diversos n?veis topogr?ficos, ? dificultada em raz?o do adiantado processo de desmonte a que foram submetidas. Al?m disto, a distribui??o dos registros sedimentares ? complexa e h? uma car?ncia de registros bio-estratigr?ficos em dep?sitos continentais. A metodologia de an?lise por tra?os de fiss?o em apatita, na regi?o da ZCSP, buscou um melhor entendimento dos mecanismos e o aperfei?oamento dos modelos de evolu??o morfo-tect?nica elaborados para a ?rea em foco. Com este fim, foram modeladas a idade e a hist?ria t?rmica de 11 amostras de apatita, coletadas em ambos os lados desta zona de cisalhamento, estabelecendo-se a correla??o com os resultados obtidos por outros estudos termocronol?gicos realizados na PB. De acordo com o modelo termal obtido nesta pesquisa, a regi?o da PB se desenvolveu em dois epis?dios distintos de resfriamento, intercalados por um per?odo de relativa estabilidade. O primeiro epis?dio ocorreu entre 130 e 90 Ma, tendo sido iniciado quando as amostras cruzaram pela ?ltima vez a isoterma de 120?C e encerrado em 70?C. O segundo momento do processo de resfriamento foi iniciado aproximadamente em 30 Ma, quando a temperatura era de 90?C, tendo se estendido at? o equil?brio com as temperaturas atuais da superf?cie em 30?C. Algumas evid?ncias indicaram uma rela??o entre os epis?dios termais e eventos de soerguimento do relevo regional. Os fundamentos desta interpreta??o foram tra?ados principalmente atrav?s de estudos comparativos entre resultados de an?lises termocronol?gicas e de estudos geol?gicos na PB. N?brega et al. (2005), e.g., em estudos realizados na Zona de Cisalhamento Portalegre, chegaram a resultados similares aos alcan?ados na ZCSP, com algumas particularidades relacionadas ? atividade tect?nica local. Morais Neto et al. (2000) tamb?m interpretou em seus estudos regionais a ocorr?ncia de dois importantes eventos de resfriamento na PB, que podem estar relacionados a eventos de soerguimento regional. Assine (1992), ao estudar as seq??ncias estratigr?ficas da Bacia Araripe no sul do Cear?, concluiu que o abrupto retorno ?s condi??es continentais reinantes durante a sedimenta??o da ?ltima seq??ncia (albiana-cenomaniana) evidencia um soerguimento da regi?o NE do Brasil h? aproximadamente 100 Ma, no Albiano M?dio/Superior. Estas idades s?o compat?veis com o modelo termal da ZCSP. Estes dois per?odos da hist?ria t?rmica da PB est?o integralmente registrados nas amostras de apatita de apenas um dos grupos de idades de tra?os de fiss?o, compreendendo as idades mais antigas. Este fato foi atribu?do a um aquecimento anterior a 75 Ma, que pode ter obliterado o registro nestas amostras do primeiro momento da evolu??o do relevo da PB. A reativa??o de estruturas NNE-SSW e E-W pode ter criado as condi??es ideais para este aquecimento e eleva??o dos gradientes geot?rmicos locais. O equil?brio entre as temperaturas das apatitas deste grupo com as condi??es geot?rmicas regionais ocorreu por volta de 50 Ma, situa??o em que as amostras dos dois grupos de idade seguiram uma evolu??o similar at? as temperaturas atuais de superf?cie

A região de estudo localiza-se na porção da Bacia do Camaquã, sendo classicamente conhecida com “Janela Bom Jardim”. Esta área já foi intensamente estudada, principalmente em decorrência dos depósitos minerais amplamente distribuídos. Apesar disso ainda não existe um consenso com relação à evolução tectônica da região, desde processos formadores da bacia até eventos pósdeposicionais, como também com relação ao seu posicionamento estratigráfico dentro da sequência deposicional da Bacia do Camaquã. Dessa forma, este trabalho vem contribuir e acrescentar aos modelos anteriores com dados geocronológicos e termocronológicos, aplicados diretamente às rochas sedimentares da região, bem como, novos dados de estrutural. Para tanto, submetemos seis amostras de rochas sedimentares da região de Minas do Camaquã à análise pelo método U-Pb com LA-ICP-MS e SHRIMP, aplicado a zircões detríticos, no intuito de mapear possíveis áreas fonte dos sedimentos como também, propor uma idade máxima de deposição para a sequência. Estas mesmas amostras foram utilizadas para separação de apatitas para análise termocronológicas (traços de fissão em apatitas), com o objetivo de caracterizar eventos de soerguimento e denudação relacionados à tectônica que afetou a área. O estudo de proveniência possibilitou identificar uma grande contribuição de zircões de idade Brasiliana, principalmente do final do Neoproterozóico e secundariamente populações de zircões de idade Paleoproterozóica, principalmente relacionadas ao Ciclo Transamazônico. A população principal foi correlacionada às intrusões graníticas do Terreno Taquarembó, e possivelmente contribuições do Batólito Pelotas, como também, das sequências vulcano-sedimentares mais antigas da própria Bacia do Camaquã. As idades Paleoproterozóicas foram atribuídas á rochas do Complexo Granulítico Santa Maria Chico e Complexo Encantadas, como também, zircões retrabalhados das rochas metassedimentares do Complexo Metamórfico Porongos. Ainda foi possível estimarmos a idade máxima de deposição da sequência em 554 Ma a partir do grão de zircão mais jovem datado posicionando estas rochas dentro do intervalo deposicional do Grupo Santa Bárbara. A análise por traços de fissão em apatitas permitiu identificar quatro populações de idades principais. Estas populações foram atribuídas à influência de dois eventos orogênicos na margem sul – ocidental do Gondwana: Famatiniana e Gondwanides. O primeiro evento é bem documentado pelas populações de 407-362 Ma e o segundo pelas populações de 302 Ma e 242-211 Ma. A quarta população (133 Ma) foi registrada em uma única amostra indicando um evento térmico ocasionado por intrusões vulcânicas associadas ao vulcanismo Paraná-Etendeka (Cretáceo inferior). Por fim, dados estruturais permitiram identificar uma evolução tectônica complexa, marcada por processos relacionados formação da bacia até reativações pósdeposicionais. Os eventos D1 e D2 foram associados a esforços gerados durante os estágios finais do Ciclo Brasiliano, com campos de tensão S10E-N10W e SE-NW, respectivamente. Um evento D3 com campo de tensão W-L registra reativações causadas pela Orogenia Famatiniana. O evento D4 marcado por uma compressão NNE-SSW e uma extensão NE-SW são relacionados aos processos tectônicos Triássicos (Orogenia Gondwanides). Um último evento D5 extensional (L-W) foi correlacionado aos processos de separação do Gondwana. / The study area is located in the southern portion of the Camaquã Basin, being classically known as "Bom Jardim Window". This area has been intensely studied, mainly due to the ore deposits widely distributed. Yet there is still no consensus regarding the tectonic evolution of the region, since basin inception processes until postdepositional events, but also regarding its stratigraphic position within the depositional sequence Basin Camaquã. Thus, this work contributes to previous models with geochronological and thermochronological data, applied directly to the sedimentary rocks of the region, as well as new structural data. Therefore, we submitted six samples of sedimentary rocks from the Camaquã Mines region to U-Pb method with LA-ICP-MS e SHRIMP applied to detrital zircons in order to map possible source areas of the sediments, as well as, proposing a maximum depositional age for the sequence. These same samples were used for apatite separation for thermochronological analysis (apatite fission tracks), with the aim of characterizing uplift and denudation events related to tectonics process that affected the area. Provenance study enabled us to identify a large contribution of Brasiliano zircon ages, especially from Late-Neoproterozoic and secondarily, zircons populations of Paleoproterozoic age, mainly related to Trans-Amazonian Cycle. The main population was correlated with granitic intrusions from Taquarembó Terrene and possibly contributions from Pelotas Batholith, as well as, from older volcano-sedimentary sequences of the Camaquã Basin. Paleoproterozoic ages were assigned to rocks of Santa Maria Chico Granulitic Complex and Encantadas Complex, as well as, reworked zircons from metasedimentary rocks of Porongos Metamorphic Complex. Still it was possible to estimate the maximum deposition age of the sequence on 554 Ma from the youngest zircon grain dated. Previous isotopic data allow positioning these rocks within the depositional range of Santa Bárbara Group. Apatite fission track analysis identified four main ages populations. These populations were attributed to the influence of two orogenic events on the Southwestern margin of Gondwana: Famatinian and Gondwanides. The first event is well documented by the 407-362 Ma age populations and the second by the 302 Ma and 242-211 Ma. The fourth population (133 Ma) was recorded in only one sample indicating a thermal event caused by volcanic intrusions associated with volcanism Paraná-Etendeka (Lower Cretaceous). Finally, structural data allowed identifying a complex tectonic evolution, characterized by basin inception processes until post-depositional reactivations. The events D1 and D2 were associated with stresses generated during the final stages of the Brazilian Cycle with stress fields of S10E-SE-NW and SE-NW, respectively. A third event (D3) with W-L stress field records the reactivation Famatinian Orogeny. The D4 event marked by a NNE-SSW compression and a NE-SW extension related to Triassic tectonic processes (Gondwanides Orogeny). One last extensional (W-L) event (D5) was correlated to the processes of separation of Gondwana.

Estudos termocronológicos por traços de fissão em apatita são utilizados para estabelecer os principais eventos de denudação, erosão e subsidência na margem continental emersa do sul do Brasil e Uruguai. Os dados obtidos permitem verificar que as idades aparentes de traços de fissão variam de 383,4 ± 40,9 a 9,7 ± 1,2 Ma, entre o Devoniano Superior e o Mioceno, com comprimento dos traços de fissão entre 14,02 a 8,87 μm. A correlação entre idade e distribuição do comprimento dos traços de fissão confinados evidencia que as amostras sofreram diferentes reduções no comprimento dos traços de fissão. Isto indica que as rochas foram submetidas a diferentes posições crustais, paleotemperaturas e tempo de residência na Zona de Apagamento Parcial. As histórias térmicas obtidas mostram que processos de resfriamento lentos e contínuos foram registrados nas regiões desde o final do Pensilvaniano (Neopaleozóico). Os padrões de denudação são complexos, mas foi possível caracterizar no Uruguai e Rio Grande do Sul reflexos do evento orgênico Gondwanides (ou São Rafaélico) atuantes nas margens do Gondwana SW. Nas regiões do norte do Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e Paraná foi possível documentar com detalhe o recuo da escarpa da margem continental associada a fragmentação e dispersão mesocenozóica do Gondwana, com a definição de eventos de denudação em torno de: (i) 150-140 Ma, atribuído aos eventos pré-rifte a rifte; (ii) 90-80 Ma, associado ao magmatismo alcalino do Cretáceo Superior; (iii) eventos de 70-60 Ma e 45-35 Ma associados a rearranjos isostático da placa Sul-Americana na região estudada. Evento mais jovem com idades entre 20-10 Ma é reconhecido na margem continental do leste do RS e Uruguai, diretamente conectado à formação do Cone do Rio Grande. / Apatite fission track (FT) thermochronological analyses are used to establish the main events of denudation, erosion and subsidence of the emerse continental margin of South Brazil and Uruguay. The obtained data provide apparent ages ranging from 383.4 ± 40.9 Ma to 9.7 ± 1.2 Ma, between Upper Devonian and Miocene, and mean track length from 14.02 μm to 8.87 μm. Thermal history reconstruction based on apatite fission track thermochronology suggest the occurrence of long term and continuous cooling as well rapid uplift in investigated regions, recorded from Neopaleozoic to the Miocene. The oldest denudation event is well recorded in the Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul as result of orogenic processes at margin of SW Gondwana, the so-called Gondwanides or San Rafael cycle. In the northern portion of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná was possible to document the escarpment retreat across the rifted continental margin connected to the Mesocenozoic fragmentation and dispersion of Gondwana, defined by the main denudation event as follow: (i) 150-140 Ma, developed during the pre-rift and rift stages; (ii) 90-80 Ma, associated to Upper Cretaceous alkaline ; (iii) 70-60 Ma and 45-35 Ma events due to isostatic rearrangement of South American plate in the study area. The youngest denudation event, aged at 20-10 Ma, is very well defined in the emerse continental margin of east Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay, and coeval to the Rio Grande Cone formation, a large sedimentary package of 4000 m thick.

Estudos termocronológicos por traços de fissão em apatita são utilizados para estabelecer os principais eventos de denudação, erosão e subsidência na margem continental emersa do sul do Brasil e Uruguai. Os dados obtidos permitem verificar que as idades aparentes de traços de fissão variam de 383,4 ± 40,9 a 9,7 ± 1,2 Ma, entre o Devoniano Superior e o Mioceno, com comprimento dos traços de fissão entre 14,02 a 8,87 μm. A correlação entre idade e distribuição do comprimento dos traços de fissão confinados evidencia que as amostras sofreram diferentes reduções no comprimento dos traços de fissão. Isto indica que as rochas foram submetidas a diferentes posições crustais, paleotemperaturas e tempo de residência na Zona de Apagamento Parcial. As histórias térmicas obtidas mostram que processos de resfriamento lentos e contínuos foram registrados nas regiões desde o final do Pensilvaniano (Neopaleozóico). Os padrões de denudação são complexos, mas foi possível caracterizar no Uruguai e Rio Grande do Sul reflexos do evento orgênico Gondwanides (ou São Rafaélico) atuantes nas margens do Gondwana SW. Nas regiões do norte do Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e Paraná foi possível documentar com detalhe o recuo da escarpa da margem continental associada a fragmentação e dispersão mesocenozóica do Gondwana, com a definição de eventos de denudação em torno de: (i) 150-140 Ma, atribuído aos eventos pré-rifte a rifte; (ii) 90-80 Ma, associado ao magmatismo alcalino do Cretáceo Superior; (iii) eventos de 70-60 Ma e 45-35 Ma associados a rearranjos isostático da placa Sul-Americana na região estudada. Evento mais jovem com idades entre 20-10 Ma é reconhecido na margem continental do leste do RS e Uruguai, diretamente conectado à formação do Cone do Rio Grande. / Apatite fission track (FT) thermochronological analyses are used to establish the main events of denudation, erosion and subsidence of the emerse continental margin of South Brazil and Uruguay. The obtained data provide apparent ages ranging from 383.4 ± 40.9 Ma to 9.7 ± 1.2 Ma, between Upper Devonian and Miocene, and mean track length from 14.02 μm to 8.87 μm. Thermal history reconstruction based on apatite fission track thermochronology suggest the occurrence of long term and continuous cooling as well rapid uplift in investigated regions, recorded from Neopaleozoic to the Miocene. The oldest denudation event is well recorded in the Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul as result of orogenic processes at margin of SW Gondwana, the so-called Gondwanides or San Rafael cycle. In the northern portion of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná was possible to document the escarpment retreat across the rifted continental margin connected to the Mesocenozoic fragmentation and dispersion of Gondwana, defined by the main denudation event as follow: (i) 150-140 Ma, developed during the pre-rift and rift stages; (ii) 90-80 Ma, associated to Upper Cretaceous alkaline ; (iii) 70-60 Ma and 45-35 Ma events due to isostatic rearrangement of South American plate in the study area. The youngest denudation event, aged at 20-10 Ma, is very well defined in the emerse continental margin of east Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay, and coeval to the Rio Grande Cone formation, a large sedimentary package of 4000 m thick.

Master of Science / Department of Geology / Mary Hubbard / The southern Sawatch Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of south-central Colorado is composed of Precambrian crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks that have undergone at least three major mountain building events during the Phanerozoic, the Ancestral Rockies Orogeny, the Laramide Orogeny, and Rio Grande rifting. In order to determine how the ancient basement structures might have influenced later episodes of deformation, a small area of basement terrain was mapped along the western margin of the Poncha Pass transfer zone between the San Luis and Upper Arkansas basins in the northern Rio Grande rift. The two dominant rock types in the map area, (hornblendic) amphibolite gneiss and (felsic) quartzofeldspathic gneiss, may represent interlayered metabasalt/metadiorite and metarhyolite/metagranite, with lenses of exotic lithologies throughout. Metamorphic foliations were found to be oriented predominantly N35ºW 47ºNE and to have had an influence on younger brittle structures related to the rifting episode. Lineations and fractures in the gneissic fabric also are parallel to brittle deformation structures. Apatite Fission-Track (AFT) analysis provided a means of determining when this crust was exhumed and cooled by the removal of overburden in response to erosion and/or tectonics. The resultant AFT age distribution revealed that exhumation occurred at the higher elevations during the Laramide orogeny (~299-46 Ma), and at lower elevations during Rio Grande rifting (~29-19 Ma). Although it is commonly thought that these mountains were exhumed during the rifting episode, the results of this study indicate that older events played a significant role in the exhumation.

Craton cores far from plate boundaries have traditionally been viewed as stable features that experience minimal vertical motion over 100-1000Ma time scales. Here we show that the Fennoscandian Shield in southeastern Sweden experienced several episodes of burial and exhumation from similar to 1800Ma to the present. Apatite, titanite, and zircon (U-Th)/He ages from surface samples and drill cores constrain the long-term, low-temperature history of the Laxemar region. Single grain titanite and zircon (U-Th)/He ages are negatively correlated (104-838Ma for zircon and 160-945Ma for titanite) with effective uranium (eU=U+0.235xTh), a measurement proportional to radiation damage. Apatite ages are 102-258Ma and are positively correlated with eU. These correlations are interpreted with damage-diffusivity models, and the modeled zircon He age-eU correlations constrain multiple episodes of heating and cooling from 1800Ma to the present, which we interpret in the context of foreland basin systems related to the Neoproterozoic Sveconorwegian and Paleozoic Caledonian orogens. Inverse time-temperature models constrain an average burial temperature of similar to 217 degrees C during the Sveconorwegian, achieved between 944Ma and 851Ma, and similar to 154 degrees C during the Caledonian, achieved between 366Ma and 224Ma. Subsequent cooling to near-surface temperatures in both cases could be related to long-term exhumation caused by either postorogenic collapse or mantle dynamics related to the final assembly of Rodinia and Pangaea. Our titanite He age-eU correlations cannot currently be interpreted in the same fashion; however, this study represents one of the first examples of a damage-diffusivity relationship in this system, which deserves further research attention.

The Ottawa Embayment is a intracratonic rift basin that preserves a unique and eventful history through deep time. Its evolution records opening of the Iapetus Ocean with the break-up of Rodinia, followed by the formation of a continental passive margin, trapping siliciclastic sediments eroded from the adjacent Grenville Province. Samples were collected from a transect across the crystalline rift flank and through the embayment. We investigate the influence of crystallinitiy and non-ideal crystal chapes on He diffusion and resulting zircon (U-Th)/He age with the use of zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry, raman spectroscopy and x-ray micro-computed tomography. We then integrate our thermochronology data with regional geology to utilize multi-sample numerical modelling to improve our understanding of the thermal history of the Ottawa Embayment and the evolution of intracratonic rift basins. The works collected within define a comprehensive temperature-time history for the basin and rift flank from the Late-Mesoproterozoic to present day.

In the Paleoproterozoic Trans-Hudson Orogen, a well exposed section of mid-crust on Hall Peninsula, southeastern Baffin Island, offers an opportunity to improve our understanding of mid-crustal tectonothermal processes in hot, collisional orogens. Additionally, more robust age constraints on the tectonic history of Hall Peninsula are important for plate tectonic reconstructions of the North Atlantic region. Recent mapping shows that the section comprises Archean crystalline basement overlain by Paleoproterozoic supracrustal rocks, which host felsic plutons on the western peninsula. There is a westward increase in peak metamorphic grade, from amphibolite- to granulite-facies, and three regional deformation events are recognized (D1, 2, 3). Equilibrium phase diagram modeling constrained by garnet compositions in pelite indicates peak conditions of ~720–740°C on the eastern peninsula and ~850°C further west, with pressures of ~6.25–7.35 kbar. Modeling and petrographical evidence suggest subsequent cooling, decompression, growth of retrograde biotite and, on the eastern peninsula, retrograde muscovite. In situ U-Pb monazite dating (~450 analyses) and U-Pb zircon depth profiling (~90 analyses) resolve the timing of regional metamorphism and crustal shortening between ca. 1860–1820 Ma, coincident with the accretion of crustal blocks and arc terranes during the amalgamation of the orogenic upper (Churchill) plate. Regionally-occurring ca. 1800–1750 Ma monazite domains and zircon rims are interpreted to result from fluid-assisted dissolution-reprecipitation. They likely record the terminal collision with the lower-plate Superior craton and post-orogenic thermal activity, possibly related to the emplacement of pegmatitic syenogranite dykes. The new data strengthen formerly tentative correlations with southern Baffin Island, West Greenland and northern Labrador. 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology on muscovite, biotite and phlogopite suggests that Hall Peninsula underwent slow cooling at rates of ~1–2.5ºC/Myr after peak metamorphism, remaining hotter than ~400°C until ca. 1670–1660 Ma. Analogous thermochronological ages from elsewhere in the Trans-Hudson Orogen imply orogen-wide slow cooling. Despite significant crustal thickening and elevated paleotemperatures, the Hall Peninsula crustal section does not record evidence of orogenic collapse, implying that it may not be a hallmark of all hot, thickened orogens.

The High Arctic has been a complex region of collisional and extensional tectonism through the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Svalbard, the sub-aerial exposure of the northwestern Barents Shelf, is an excellent natural laboratory investigating for High Arctic tectonism. Using apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He low-temperature thermochronometry combined with geological constraints, we resolve Cretaceous through Paleogene time-temperature histories for four regions of the Southwestern Province. Our results indicate a temperature gradient from south to north of ~185°C to >200°C, respectively, as a consequence of sedimentary burial and elevated geothermal gradient ( 45°C/km) from High Arctic Large Igneous Province activity. Late Cretaceous cooling affected all regions during regional exhumation related to initial rifting in the Eurasian Basin. During Eurekan tectonism: 1) our models indicate a heating event (55-47 Ma) characterized by overthrusting and a lack of erosion of the West Spitsbergen Fold-and-Thrust Belt, with Central Basin sediments derived from northern Greenland, followed by 2) a subsequent cooling event (47-34 Ma) corresponding to a shift in tectonic regime from compression to dextral strike-slip kinematics; exhumation of the WSFTB coincided with strikeslip tectonics.