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Record of modern-style plate tectonics in the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Hudson orogen

Nature Geoscience volume 10, pages 305–311 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

The Trans-Hudson orogen of North America is a circa 1,800 million year old, middle Palaeoproterozoic continental collisional belt. The orogen may represent an ancient analogue to the Himalayan orogen, which began forming 50 million years ago and remains active today. Both mountain belts exhibit similar length scales of deformation and timescales of magmatism and metamorphism. A notable divergence in this correlation has been the absence of high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphic rocks in the Trans-Hudson compared with the Himalaya. It has been debated whether this absence reflects a secular tectonic change, with the requisite cool thermal gradients precluded by warmer ambient mantle temperatures during the Palaeoproterozoic, or a lack of preservation. Here we identify eclogite rocks within the Trans-Hudson orogen. These rocks, which typically form at high pressures and cool temperatures during subduction, fill the gap in the comparative geologic record between the Trans-Hudson and Himalayan orogens. Through the application of phase equilibria modelling and in situ U–Pb monazite dating we show that the pressure–temperature conditions and relative timing of eclogite-facies metamorphism are comparable in both orogenies. The results imply that modern-day plate tectonic processes featuring deep continental subduction occurred at least 1,830 million years ago. This study highlights that the global metamorphic rock record (particularly in older terrains) is skewed by overprinting and erosion.

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Figure 1: Tectonic maps of the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Hudson orogen and the Cenozoic Himalayan orogen showing their similar scale and orogenic architecture11.
Figure 2: Trans-Hudson eclogite geologic context.
Figure 3: P–T phase diagrams.
Figure 4: M85A monazite geochronology results.
Figure 5: P–T results for the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Hudson eclogite (red data) and relative correspondence with the Cenozoic Tso Morari eclogite (blue data).
Figure 6: Results of this study with respect to a global compilation20 of metamorphic P–T–t data.

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Acknowledgements

The following GSC staff are thanked for technical support: P. Hunt, S. Jackson, T. Pestaj, D. Regis, K. Venance and Z. Yang. N. Rayner is particularly thanked for assistance with the geochronology and early manuscript comments. Thanks to C. Warren for critiques that significantly improved the clarity of this study. This is Earth Sciences Sector contribution no. 20160107.

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  1. Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E8, Canada

    O. M. Weller & M. R. St-Onge

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK

    O. M. Weller

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O.M.W. collected data, performed the calculations and wrote the paper; M.R.S.-O. conceived the idea, collected data and conducted the fieldwork. Both authors analysed the data.

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Correspondence to O. M. Weller.

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Weller, O., St-Onge, M. Record of modern-style plate tectonics in the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Hudson orogen. Nature Geosci 10, 305–311 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2904

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