ABSTRACT The Neoproterozoic to Cambrian rifting history of Laurentia resulted in hyperextension along large segments of its Paleozoic margins, which created a complex paleogeography that included isolated continental fragments and exhumed continental lithospheric mantle. This peri-Laurentian paleogeography had a profound effect on the duration and nature of the Paleozoic collisional history and associated magmatism of Laurentia. During the initial collisions, peri-Laurentia was situated in a lower-plate setting, and there was commonly a significant time lag between the entrance of the leading edge of peri-Laurentia crust in the trench and the arrival of the trailing, coherent Laurentian landmass. The final Cambrian assembly of Gondwana was followed by a global plate reorganization that resulted in Cambrian (515–505 Ma) subduction initiation outboard of Laurentia, West Gondwana, and Baltica. Accretion of infant and mature intra-oceanic arc terranes along the Appalachian-Caledonian margin of the Iapetus Ocean started at the end of the Cambrian during the Taconic-Grampian orogenic cycle and continued until the ca. 430–426 Ma onset of the Scandian-Salinic collision between Laurentia and Baltica, Ganderia, and East Avalonia, which created the Laurussian continent and closed nearly all vestiges of the Iapetus Ocean. Closure of the Iapetus Ocean in the Appalachians was followed by the Devonian Acadian and Neoacadian orogenic cycles, which were due to dextral oblique accretion of West Avalonia, Meguma, and the Suwannee terranes following the Pridolian to Lochkovian closure of the Acadian seaway and subsequent outboard subduction of the Rheic Ocean beneath Laurentia. Continued underthrusting of Baltica and Avalonia beneath Laurentia during the Devonian indicates that convergence continued between Laurentia and Baltica and Avalonia, which, at least in part, may have been related to the motions of Laurentia relative to its converging elements. Cambrian to Ordovician subduction zones formed earlier in the oceanic realm between Laurentia and Baltica and started to enter the Arctic realm of Laurentia by the Late Ordovician, which resulted in sinistral oblique interaction of the Franklinian margin with encroaching terranes of peri-Laurentian, intra-oceanic, and Baltican provenance. Any intervening seaways were closed during the Middle to Late Devonian Ellesmerian orogeny. Exotic terranes such as Pearya and Arctic Alaska became stranded in the Arctic realm of Laurentia, while other terranes such as Alexander and Eastern Klamath were translated further into the Panthalassa Ocean. The Middle/Late Devonian to Mississippian Antler orogeny along the Cordilleran margin of Laurentia records the first interaction with an outboard arc terrane built upon a composite block preserved in the Northern Sierra and Eastern Klamath terranes. The Carboniferous–Permian Alleghanian-Ouachita orogenic cycle was due to closure of the vestiges of the Rheic Ocean and assembly of Pangea. The narrow, continental transform margin of the Ouachita embayment of southern Laurentia had escaped accretion by outboard terranes until the Mississippian, when it collided with an outboard arc terrane.

ABSTRACT Granitoid batholiths dominated by felsic to intermediate compositions are commonly associated with mafic plutons and enclaves; however, the genetic relationship between the apparently coeval but compositionally dissimilar magmas is unclear. Here, we reviewed the age and lithogeochemical and Nd-Sr isotopic compositions of some classic plutonic rocks emplaced in the Northern Highlands, Grampian and Connemara terranes of the Caledonide orogen of Scotland and Ireland. The Northern Highlands terrane consists mostly of Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Moine Supergroup and is located north of the Great Glen fault. The Grampian terrane also consists of Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks (Dalradian Supergroup) and is located south of the Great Glen fault in both Scotland and Ireland. Amphibolite-facies metasedimentary rocks in the Connemara terrane are correlated with the Dalradian Supergroup, and the terrane is bounded by splays of the Highland Boundary and Southern Uplands faults. These three terranes were intruded by Silurian–Devonian mafic and felsic to intermediate plutonic rocks that display field evidence for mingling and mixing and have a similar range (between ca. 437 and 370 Ma) in emplacement ages. This range implies they were intruded during and after the late Caledonian Scandian orogenic event that resulted from the mid- to late Silurian collision of amalgamated Avalonia and Baltica with Laurentia and the final closure of the Iapetus Ocean. Our review supports the contention that the Great Glen fault represents a major compositional boundary in the Silurian lithosphere. Felsic to intermediate plutons that occur north of the Great Glen fault are more enriched in light rare earth elements and Ba-Sr-K compared to those to the south. Isotopic compositions of these late Caledonian plutonic rocks on both sides of the Great Glen fault indicate that metasomatism and enrichment of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Northern Highlands terrane occurred just prior to emplacement of late Caledonian plutons. Within the same terrane, mafic and felsic to intermediate rocks display similar trace-element and rare earth element concentrations compatible with models implying that fractionation of a mafic magma played an important role in generating the felsic to intermediate magmas. The onset of slab failure magmatism may have been diachronous along the length of the collision zone. If so, slab failure may have propagated laterally, possibly initiating where promontories collided.

ABSTRACT The Seve Nappe Complex in the Scandinavian Caledonides records a range of peak metamorphic conditions and timings. To better understand pressure-temperature-deformation-time differences throughout the complex and possible tectonic scenarios, metamorphosed mafic rocks within the Tarfala Valley of the Kebnekaise Massif (Sweden) were investigated using integrated petrologic and geochronologic techniques. Thermodynamic modeling of two samples using domainal and whole-rock compositions integrated with mineral chemistry, mineral textures, and titanite and zircon U-Pb geochronology constrained a portion of the pressure-temperature ( P-T ) path. Peak metamorphic conditions of 590–660 °C and 9.7–10.5 kbar were followed by near-isothermal decompression or a subsolidus clockwise P-T path. Amphibolite units in the valley record retrograde conditions at 450–550 °C at less than 7.5 kbar, although mineral modes and textures are most consistent with pressures <4 kbar. The majority of titanite growth occurred due to the introduction of hydrous fluids during cooling and following exhumation to midcrustal levels. U-Pb ages of retrograde titanite define a spread from ca. 480 to 449 Ma, and the oldest age is interpreted to constrain the timing of retrogression following exhumation. This interpretation is supported by a U-Pb zircon crystallization age of 481 ± 7 Ma for a metamorphosed intermediate to felsic synkinematic dike hosted in one of the amphibolite units. These results indicate that the Kebnekaise region records Early Ordovician deformation and metamorphism that was of lower grade compared to other Seve Nappe Complex locations to the south. The tectonic history of these rocks includes metamorphism and exhumation during the Cambrian–Ordovician pre-Scandian event, followed by thrusting of the Seve Nappe Complex and neighboring rocks onto Baltica during the Silurian Scandian orogeny.

ABSTRACT The Scandinavian Caledonides formed during the continental collision between Baltica and Laurentia. During the collision, a complex nappe stack was thrust over the Baltican continental margin. The orogen can be subdivided into segments based on architectural differences within the Scandian nappes. The southern and central segments of the orogen link up in the Gudbrandsdalen area in south-central Norway. Alpine-type metaperidotite-bearing metasedimentary complexes occur in the southern and central segments and can be traced continuously along the strike of the orogen from one into the other segment. Traditionally, these units have been assigned to different tectono-stratigraphic levels, one below the Middle Allochthon and one above the Middle Allochthon. Here, we trace the Alpine-type metaperidotite-bearing units from Bergen to Esandsjøen and show that these units exhibit a common geologic and metamorphic history, consistent with the metaperidotite-bearing units representing a single tectonic unit. We suggest that the metaperidotite-bearing units can be used as a “marker level” to revise the tectono-stratigraphy of the Gudbrandsdalen and adjacent areas. The tectono-stratigraphic revisions imply that the Scandian nappe stack consists of seven tectono-stratigraphic levels that can be traced throughout the southern and central segments of the Scandinavian Caledonides. Moreover, the revision of the tectono-stratigraphy and new U-Pb geochronology data also suggest a revision of the timing of the succession of tectonic events leading up to the Scandian continental collision. The available evidence indicates that Baltica-derived tectonic units collided with the Iapetan/Laurentian subduction complexes as early as ca. 450 Ma. The initial collision was followed by in-sequence nappe formation of Baltican-derived units, which occurred contemporaneously with the opening of a marginal basin in the upper plate. After the arrival of thick, buoyant, unthinned Baltican crust at the trench, the main zone of convergence stepped outboard, the marginal basins closed, and those basins were thrust out-of-sequence over the previously assembled nappe stack.

ABSTRACT The Scandinavian Caledonides have a complex latest Proterozoic–Early Devonian history, but they were finally assembled during the Silurian–Devonian (Scandian orogeny) collision between Baltica and Laurentia. Their dominant structural components are the Lower (Baltican margin), Middle (Baltican and farther outboard), Upper (Iapetan arcs), and Uppermost (Laurentian margin) Allochthons. This study examined the Blåhø Nappe, a complex unit of metamorphosed, intensely deformed igneous and sedimentary rocks assigned to the Middle Allochthon. Metamorphic grades are regionally amphibolite facies, but granulite- and eclogite-facies rocks are locally found. Although most metamorphic ages span a range from Middle Ordovician to Devonian, Blåhø eclogite and other high-pressure rock ages are exclusively Scandian. We analyzed 95 samples of Blåhø Nappe metamorphosed igneous rocks, which were mostly mafic rocks, composed of a minor arc-derived set and a major set transitional between arc and depleted to enriched mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB), a range characteristic of back-arc basins. Historically, the Blåhø Nappe has been assigned to the Seve Nappe Complex, the upper part of the Middle Allochthon as mapped in western Sweden and easternmost Norway. In contrast to the Blåhø Nappe, eclogites and other high-pressure rocks in the Seve Nappe Complex have yielded exclusively pre–Scandian orogeny Cambrian and Ordovician ages. Additionally, post–mid-Proterozoic igneous rocks of the Seve Nappe Complex are overwhelmingly dike swarms that were emplaced during the latest Proterozoic breakup of Rodinia, which have rift and MORB-type chemical signatures rather than arc and back-arc signatures, as has the Blåhø Nappe. We hypothesize that the Blåhø Nappe precursors formed on the upper plate, above a west-directed, late Cambrian to Ordovician subduction zone off the Baltican margin. Subduction of the Baltican margin, and possibly rifted fragments on the lower plate, produced the older Seve Nappe Complex eclogites and thrust the Blåhø and Seve Nappe Complex materials onto Baltica. This left the Blåhø Nappe and Seve Nappe Complex precursors on the lower plate during Scandian subduction and collision with Laurentia, allowing exclusively Scandian eclogite formation in the Blåhø Nappe. The Blåhø Nappe and Seve Nappe Complex thus seem to have distinct origins and should not be correlated with one another.