ALBERT

Description: Progress, significant results, and future plans regarding the following project objectives are presented: (a) Develop techniques for optimizing structural analysis of basement trends in arid regions with extremely subdued topography and/or thin aeolian cover. b) Apply results of (a) to map the southern extension of the Hamisana Shear Zone and the western extension of Nakasib Suture. c) Apply results of (b) to constrain the roles of terrane accretion and strike-slip re-organization for late Precambrian crustal evolution in NE Africa.

Description: The panel concluded that NASA can contribute to developing a refined understanding of the compositional, structural, and thermal differences between continental and oceanic lithosphere through a vigorous program in solid Earth science with the following objectives: determine the most fundamental geophysical property of the planet; determine the global gravity field to an accuracy of a few milliGals at wavelengths of 100 km or less; determine the global lithospheric magnetic field to a few nanoTeslas at a wavelength of 100 km; determine how the lithosphere has evolved to its present state via acquiring geologic remote sensing data over all the continents.

Description: Recent tectonic models have resulted in conflicting descriptions of how the late Precambrian sutures of the Arabian-Nubian shield extend into northeast Africa. The Hamisana shear zone in northeastern Sudan is critical to this discussion because it truncates and disrupts two sutures, the Allaqi-Heiani and the Onib-Sol Hamed. Analysis of field structural data, Thematic Mapper imagery, and Rb-Sr and U-Pb geochronology suggests that the Allaqi-Heiani suture is the western extension of the Onib-Sol Hamed suture and that both make up the exposed parts of a far-traveled, polydeformed ophiolitic nappe complex. Subsequent deformation localized in the Hamisana shear zone disrupted this nappe and displaced the suture between 660 and 550 Ma during regional deformation associated with the Najd fault system. These results indicate that at least one suture extends westward into the interior of northern Africa.

Description: New and compiled geochemical, isotopic and geochronological data allow us to propose a new explanation for Paleogene oceanicmagmatic rocks alongtheIran–Iraqborder.These rocks are represented byathick pile(〉1000 m) ofpillow lavas and pelagic sediments and underlying plutonic rocks. These are sometimes argued to represent a Paleogene ophiolite but there are no associated mantle rocks. Integrated zircon U–Pb ages, bulk rock major and trace element and radiogenic isotope data indicate that these rocks are more likely related to forearc rifting due to extreme extension during Late Paleogene time whichalsotriggeredhigh-fluxmagmatismintheUrumieh–DokhtarMagmaticBeltandexhumationofcorecomplexesinIran. These observations are most consistent with formation of the Paleogene oceanic igneous rocks in a 〉220 km long forearc rift zone.

Description: Highlights • There are Late Cretaceous granitoids and Paleocene A-type granites in NW Iran. • Different mechanisms are suggested for genesis of granitoids and A-type granites. • Subduction initiation and extension generated granitoids during the Late Cretaceous. Abstract The continental crust of NW Iran is intruded by Late Cretaceous I-type granites and gabbro-diorites as well as Paleocene A-type granites. SIMS and LA-ICPMS U-Pb analyses of zircons yield ages of 100–92 Ma (Late Cretaceous) for I-type granites and gabbro-diorites and 61–63 Ma (Paleocene) for A-type granites. Late Cretaceous gabbro-diorites (including mafic microgranular enclaves; MMEs) from NW Iran show variably evolved signatures. They show depletion in Nb and Ta on N-MORB-normalized trace-element spider-diagrams and have high Th/Yb ratios, suggesting their precursor magmas were generated in a subduction-related environment. Gabbro-diorites have variable zircon εHf(t) values of +1.2 to +8, δ18O of 6.4 to 7.4‰ and bulk rock εNd(t) of −1.4 to ~ +4.9. The geochemical and isotopic data attest to melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) to generate near-primitive gabbros with radiogenic Nd isotopes (εNd(t) = ~ +4.9) and high Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios, similar to mantle melts (Nb/Ta ~ 17 and Zr/Hf ~ 38). These mafic melts underwent further fractionation and mixing with crustal melts to generate Late Cretaceous evolved gabbro-diorites. Geochemical data for I-type granites indicate both Nb-Ta negative and positive anomalies along with enrichment in light REEs. These rocks are peraluminous and have variable bulk-rock εNd(t) (−1.4 to +1.3), zircon εHf(t) (+2.8 to +10.4) and δ18O (4.7–7.3‰) values, but radiogenic bulk rock Pb isotopes. The geochemical and isotopic signatures of these granites suggest interaction of mantle-derived mafic magmas (similar to near-primitive Oshnavieh gabbros) with middle-upper crust through assimilation-fractional crystallization (AFC) to produce Late Cretaceous I-type granites. Paleocene A-type granites have distinctive geochemical features compared to I-type granitoids, including enrichment in Nb-Ta, high bulk rock εNd(t) (+3.3 to +3.9) and zircon εHf(t) (+5.1 − +9.9) values. Alkaline granites are ferroan; they have low MgO, CaO, Sr, Ba and Eu concentrations and high total Fe2O3, K2O, Na2O, Al2O3, Ga, Zr, Nb-Ta, Th and rare earth element (REE) abundances and Ga/Al ratios. These rocks might be related to fractionation of a melt derived from a sub-continental lithospheric mantle, but which interacted with asthenosphere-derived melts. We suggest that subduction initiation and the resultant slab roll-back caused extreme extension in the overlying Iranian plate, induced convection in the mantle wedge and led to the decompression melting of SCLM. Rising mantle-derived magmas assimilated middle-upper crustal rocks. Fractionating mantle-derived magmas and contamination with crustal components produced evolved gabbro-diorites and I-type granites. In contrast, asthenospheric upwelling during the Paleocene provided heat for melting and interaction with SCLM to generate the precursor melts to the A-type granites.

Description: Highlights • Arc-related Cadomian magmatic rocks (600-500 Ma) are abundant in Iran. • Cadomian rocks from SE Iran show zircon U-Pb ages of 537-535 Ma. • Magmatic rocks are bimodal with both calc-alkaline and OIB-like geochemical signatures. Abstract A major arc-related magmatic episode is recorded in the Ediacaran-Early Cambrian (Cadomian) crust of Iran and Anatolia due to the southward subduction of Prototethyan oceanic lithosphere beneath N Gondwana. This magmatism was generated at a convergent margin, fragments of which can be traced for thousands of kilometres, from west Avalonia to the Lhasa terrane. Cadomian crustal tracts in Iran and Tauride-Anatolia are represented by abundant arc-like plutonic and volcanic rocks and a series of retro-arc, rifted basins dominated by thick sequences of terrigenous rocks as well as both calc-alkaline and alkaline magmatic rocks. This paper presents new zircon U-Pb as well as geochemical-isotopic data from plutonic (granite to gabbro) and volcanic (basalt to rhyolite) magmatic rocks of a Cadomian retro-arc rifted basin from Zarand in SE Iran. Geochemical data indicate two different geochemical signatures; high K calc-alkaline-shoshonitic, characterized by strong depletions in Nb, Ta, P, Ti, and alkaline rocks (and A1-type intrusions), with strong OIB-like trace element patterns. Cadomian OIB-like rocks- as well as A1-type intrusions- are rare in the basements of Iran and Anatolia and are only documented as minor gabbroic intrusions and/or (meta-) volcanic rocks from Saghand (central Iran), NE Iran and from exotic blocks from Ediacaran salt domes. Moreover, A2-type granites are also present in the Cadomian crust of Iran. Zarand volcanic rocks are interlayered with Rizu-Dezu terrigenous sedimentary rocks, whereas plutonic rocks intruded these metasediments. New zircon U-Pb ages show that high K calc-alkaline-shoshonitic rocks formed ~ 537-536 Ma, whereas A1-type granites crystallized at ~535 Ma. Most zircons from A1-type granites show positive εHf(t) values from +1.1 to +5.1, mostly higher than high K calc-alkaline-shoshonitic rocks with εHf (t) between −6.6 and +8.1. Bulk rock Nd-Sr isotopic data (e.g., ɛNd(t)= +0.3 to +4.0) for OIB-like rocks confirm that these rocks originated from an enriched OIB-like mantle source, whereas high K calc-alkaline-shoshonitic rocks (with εNd(t) = −7.7 to −6.2) show strong interaction with, and/or re-melting of a continental crust. Our results are consistent with an interpretation that the Zarand volcanic-plutonic rocks as well as associated thick sequences of sedimentary strata rocks formed in a retro-arc rifted basin behind the Cadomian magmatic arc. This basin seems to have developed during the Ediacaran at ~570-560 Ma with deposition of Ediacaran Morad to Lower Cambrian Rizu-Dezo sedimentary rocks. The retro-arc extensional basin seems to have become magmatically active at 540-535 Ma, as shown by the occurrence of both high K calc-alkaline- shoshonitic and OIB-like magmatic rocks. This basin was flanked by a cratonic hinterland towards Gondwana and a magmatic arc to the N. The cratonic hinterland fed detritus with detrital zircons older than 0.6 Ga into the basin, whereas the magmatic arc shed detritus with 500-600 Ma old zircons. Our compiled and new data from Ediacaran-Early Paleozoic magmatic rocks also show that Cadomian high magmatic fluxes occurred differently in parts of Iran-Anatolia, with overlaps in some areas.

Description: Highlights • Subduction initiation (SI) is a mechanism for forming Neotethyan ophiolites. • Ophiolites of Iran show SI exerts extensional stress on the overlying plate. • SI-related extension can affect broad regions of the overriding plate. Abstract Subduction initiation (SI) requires the sinking of one plate beneath another and this exerts extensional stress on the overlying plate. How broad a region is affected by SI-related extension is unclear because most of the clearest SI examples– such as Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc– are deep under the ocean. A major SI event is recorded in the Late Cretaceous forearc ophiolites of Iran, related to the subduction of Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere beneath Eurasia. This caused extreme extension of the Iranian plate, up to ~1000 km away from the proto-trench and generated a series of back-arc oceanic basins, sedimentary basins, and core complexes and exhumed high-P rocks. The Late Cretaceous Iran example shows that SI can cause strong extension over a much wider region of the overriding plate than heretofore imagined and offers an accessible natural laboratory for studying SI processes. This understanding also provides an attractive new explanation for the origin of the South Caspian Sea.

Description: Continental-arc igneous rock compositions change in response to the transition from subduction to collision and these changes can reveal how the crust, lithosphere and magma sources evolved. Neotethys-related Late Cretaceous to Pleistocene subduction- and collision-related magmatic rocks from the ~350 km long southeast Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Belt (UDMB) of Iran provide an excellent natural laboratory to better understand these changes. These igneous rocks are well-exposed and moderately eroded to reveal a nearly complete record since subduction initiation at ~95 Ma. We analyzed new samples for major and trace elements (83 samples), Srsingle bondNd isotopic compositions (47 samples), and Usingle bondPb zircon ages (26 samples) and compiled geochemical and geochronological data on the southeast segment of the UDMB. The geochronological data reveal two magmatic pulses at ~80–70 Ma and ~50–0 Ma. Important changes in magmatic compositions reflect initial collision with Arabia at ~32 Ma, changing from normal calc-alkaline to increasingly adakitic immediately after collision began. Five stages can be identified: 1) normal continental-arc magmatism during the Late Cretaceous; 2) arc quiescence in Paleocene and Early Eocene time; 3) Middle-Late Eocene extensional arc magmatism related to slab rollback; 4) early collision and crustal thickening during the Early Oligocene; and 5) slab breakoff, asthenospheric upwelling, and associated adakitic magmatism from Middle Miocene onward. Temporal changes in UDMB magmas reflect the response of the overriding plate to changes in the geometry of the subducting Neotethyan lithosphere and to collision between Arabia and Iran. Crustal thickening and arc narrowing during Miocene to Pleistocene post-collisional magmatism caused adakitic magmatism and associated Cu mineralization. Zircon Osingle bondHf and apatite O isotopes as well as bulk-rock Nd isotopes of Cu-bearing adakitic rocks are similar to other barren rocks, but nearly all fertile rocks have higher Hf/Y, Eu/Eu⁎(n) in zircon and higher Sr/Y, V/Y, Eu/Eu⁎(n) in apatite than barren rocks.