Abstract Following the collision of Gondwana and Laurussia to form Pangaea, a large system of regional-scale strike-slip faults developed which resulted in the formation of transtensional syncollisional basins. One such basin, the Antigonish Basin, contains late Devonian fluvial, marine and lacustrine sedimentary rocks, including sandstone, conglomerate and shale. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb detrital zircon data from three samples from the lower and middle of the McIsaacs Point section have a strong Silurian–Devonian ( c. 440–380 Ma) population whereas the top of the section lacks these age populations and is instead dominated by Neoproterozoic ( c. 630–550 Ma) grains. Detritus was derived from a mix of local Avalonian and more distal Meguma terrane sources. Detrital zircon and field data show that sediments were deposited in a braided to meandering fluvial system transitional to a proximal braided stream environment followed by evolution to a more distal braided stream environment. As the basin evolved, the source of detritus shifted from a dominantly Meguma terrane source to a more local Avalonian source. This temporal evolution in provenance and depositional environment attests to the complex depositional processes associated with syntectonic basin evolution during the formation of Pangaea.

Abstract The Paleozoic Variscan orogen in Europe has a markedly circuitous trace for which several different origins have been postulated, including deformation around promontories on the colliding continental margins, extrusion within the collision zone, folding of a ribbon continent and collision with a substantial dextral component. Adopting the latter assumption, unfolding of the large, steeply plunging folds (‘oroclines’) of Iberia and the Moroccan Meseta requires more than 4000 km of dextral lateral translation of Laurussia with respect to Gondwana. Constraints on the age of the folding require that this lateral translation occurred in mid-late Carboniferous time. Significant dextral translation of Laurussia with respect to Gondwana late in the Variscan collision is supported by palaeomagnetic data for the two supercontinents, although the exact timing of this relative motion is not well constrained due to large uncertainties in the palaeomagnetic pole positions. Our palinspastic reconstruction of the major Variscan folds of Iberia places the rocks of the South Portuguese Zone of western Iberia adjacent to the Rhenish Massif; for instance, as part of Avalonia. By the same token, the Sehoul Block in the Moroccan Meseta probably originated at the western end of Cadomia, although nothing in our analysis precludes it also being derived from Avalonia.

ABSTRACT The Paleozoic plate boundary zone between Laurussia and Gondwana in western Pangea hosts major magmatic and hydrothermal Sn-W-Ta, Au, and U mineralization. Individual mineral deposits represent the results of the superposition of a series of exogenic and endogenic processes. Exogenic processes controlled (1) the enrichment of the ore elements in sedimentary protoliths via residual enrichment during intense chemical weathering and via climatically or tectonically controlled redox traps, (2) the spatial distribution of fertile protoliths, and, thus, eventually (3) the spatial distribution of mineralization. Endogenic processes resulting in metamorphism and crustal melting controlled the mobilization of Sn-W, Au, and U from these enriched protoliths and, thus, account for the age distribution of Sn-W and Au mineralization and U-fertile granites. It is the sequence of exogenic and endogenic processes that eventually results in the formation of mineralization in particular tectonic zones. Whereas the endogenic processes were controlled by orogenic processes during the assembly of western Pangea itself, the exogenic processes were linked to the formation of suitable source rocks for later mineralization. The contrasting distribution of magmatic and hydrothermal Sn-W-Ta, Au, and U mineralization on the Laurussia and Gondwana sides of the plate boundary zone reflects the contrasting distribution of fertile protoliths and the contrasting tectonic situation on these margins. The Laurussian margin was an active margin during most of the Paleozoic, and the distribution of different mineralization types reflects the distribution of terranes of contrasting provenance. The Gondwanan margin was a passive margin during most of the Paleozoic, and the similar distribution of a wide range of different metals (Sn, W, Ta, Au, and U) reflects the fact that the protoliths for the various metals were diachronously accumulated on the same shelf, before the metals were mobilized during Acadian, Variscan, and Alleghanian orogenic processes.

ABSTRACT Early Ordovician to late Permian orogenies at different plate-boundary zones of western Pangea affected continental crust derived from the plates of North America (Laurentia), Europe (East European Craton including Baltica plus Arctida), and Gondwana. The diachronic orogenic processes comprised stages of intraoceanic subduction, formation and accretion of island arcs, and collision of several continents. Using established plate-tectonic models proposed for different regions and time spans, we provide for the first time a generic model that explains the tectonics of the entire Gondwana-Laurussia plate-boundary zone in a consistent way. We combined the plate kinematic model of the Pannotia-Pangea supercontinent cycle with geologic constraints from the different Paleozoic orogens. In terms of oceanic lithosphere, the Iapetus Ocean is subdivided into an older segment (I) and a younger (II) segment. Early Cambrian subduction of the Iapetus I and the Tornquist oceans at active plate boundaries of the East European Craton triggered the breakup of Pannotia, formation of Iapetus II, and the separation of Gondwana from Laurentia. Prolonged subduction of Iapetus I (ca. 530 –430 Ma) culminated in the Scandian collision of the Greenland-Scandinavian Caledonides of Laurussia. Due to plate-tectonic reorganization at ca. 500 Ma, seafloor spreading of Iapetus II ceased, and the Rheic Ocean opened. This complex opening scenario included the transformation of passive continental margins into active ones and culminated in the Ordovician Taconic and Famatinian accretionary orogenies at the peri-Laurentian margin and at the South American edge of Gondwana, respectively. Rifting along the Avalonian-Cadomian belt of peri-Gondwana resulted in the separation of West Avalonian arc terranes and the East Avalonian continent. The vast African/Arabian shelf was affected by intracontinental extension and remained on the passive peri-Gondwana margin of the Rheic Ocean. The final assembly of western Pangea was characterized by the prolonged and diachronous closure of the Rheic Ocean (ca. 400–270 Ma). Continental collision started within the Variscan-Acadian segment of the Gondwana-Laurussia plate-boundary zone. Subsequent zipper-style suturing affected the Gondwanan Mauritanides and the conjugate Laurentian margin from north to south. In the Appalachians, previously accreted island-arc terranes were affected by Alleghanian thrusting. The fold-and-thrust belts of southern Laurentia, i.e., the Ouachita-Marathon-Sonora orogenic system, evolved from the transformation of a vast continental shelf area into a collision zone. From a geodynamic point of view, an intrinsic feature of the model is that initial breakup of Pannotia, as well as the assembly of western Pangea, was facilitated by subduction and seafloor spreading at the leading and the trailing edges of the North American plate and Gondwana, respectively. Slab pull as the plate-driving force is sufficient to explain the entire Pannotia–western Pangea supercontinent cycle for the proposed scenario.

ABSTRACT The supercontinent of Pangea formed through the diachronous collision of Laurussia and Gondwana during the late Paleozoic. While magmatism associated with its formation is well documented in the Variscan orogeny of Europe and Alleghanian orogeny of the United States, little is known about the Sonora orogeny of northern Mexico. This paper reports geochronology (U-Pb zircon), whole-rock geochemistry, and Lu-Hf zircon isotope data on basement cores from the western Gulf of Mexico, which were used to develop a tectonomagmatic model for pre- to post-Pangea amalgamation. Our results suggest the existence of three distinct phases of magmatism, produced during different stages of continental assembly and disassembly. The first phase consists of Early Permian (294–274 Ma; n = 3) granitoids with geochemical signatures indicative of a continental arc tectonic setting. This phase formed on the margins of Gondwana during the closure of the Rheic Ocean, prior to the final amalgamation of Pangea. It likely represents a lateral analogue of late Carboniferous–Early Permian granitoids that intrude the Acatlán and Oaxacan Complexes. The second phase of magmatism includes Late Permian–Early Triassic (263–243 Ma; n = 13) granitoids with suprasubduction geochemical affinities. However, Lu-Hf isotope data indicate that these granitoids formed from crustal anatexis, with ε Hf values and two-step Hf depleted mantle model ages (T DM[Hf] ) comparable to the Oaxaquia continental crust into which they intrude. This phase of magmatism is likely related to coeval granitoids in the Oaxaca area and Chiapas Massif. We interpret it to reflect late- to postcollisional magmatism along the margin of Gondwana following the assembly of Pangea. Finally, the third phase of magmatism includes Early–Middle Jurassic (189–164 Ma; n = 2) mafic porphyries, which could be related to the synchronous suprasubduction magmatism associated with the Nazas arc. Overall, our results are consistent with Pangea assembly through diachronous collision of Laurussia and Gondwana during subduction of the Rheic Ocean. They suggest that postorogenic magmatism in the western termination of the Rheic suture occurred under the influence of a Panthalassan subduction zone, before opening of the Gulf of Mexico.

Abstract The Tornquist Fan, reflecting the northern part of the Trans-European Suture Zone, comprises a series of fault zones and major single faults, striking mainly subparallel to the SW margin of the Fennoscandian Shield. The deep-seated faults of Wiek, Nord Jasmund and Schaabe, which cross the northern part of Rügen Island and areas of the adjacent Baltic Sea from NW to SE, originated in the late Paleozoic. They are accompanied by younger faults, especially in the Pomeranian Bay, that were formed by Mesozoic tectonic processes. Based on reprocessed offshore seismic lines east of Rügen, a polyphase evolution for the Wiek Fault System is proposed. It implies changes in the stress field since the Caledonian Orogeny. Crustal extension in the Middle Devonian led to the formation of basins along the SW margin of Laurussia. Subsequent compressional movements, induced by the distant Variscan Orogeny, resulted in segmentation and block faulting of the Rügen Basin prior to the late Carboniferous. These Paleozoic faults were reactivated by Mesozoic extensional stress regimes. In addition, new en echelon faults were generated, contemporaneously with the formation of the Western Pomeranian Fault System. Since the Late Cretaceous (Africa–Iberia–Europe convergence), selected major normal faults have been reactivated as reverse faults.