Laurentia: Turning Points in the Evolution of a Continent
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The North American continent has a rich record of the tectonic environments and processes that occur throughout much of Earth history. This Memoir focuses on seven “turning points” that had specific and lasting impacts on the evolution of Laurentia: (1) The Neoarchean, characterized by cratonization; (2) the Paleoproterozoic and the initial assembly of Laurentia; (3) the Mesoproterozoic southern margin of Laurentia; (4) the Midcontinent rift and the Grenville orogeny; (5) the Neoproterozoic breakup of Rodinia; (6) the mid-Paleozoic phases of the Appalachian-Caledonian orogen; and (7) the Jurassic–Paleogene assembly of the North American Cordillera. The chapters in this Memoir provide syntheses of current understanding of the geologic evolution of Laurentia and North America, as well as new hypotheses for testing.
Late Paleoproterozoic to early Mesoproterozoic deposition of quartz arenites across southern Laurentia Available to Purchase
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Published:January 23, 2023
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CitationL. Gordon Medaris Jr., Christopher G. Daniel, Michael F. Doe, James V. Jones III, Joshua J. Schwartz, 2023. "Late Paleoproterozoic to early Mesoproterozoic deposition of quartz arenites across southern Laurentia", Laurentia: Turning Points in the Evolution of a Continent, Steven J. Whitmeyer, Michael L. Williams, Dawn A. Kellett, Basil Tikoff
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ABSTRACT
Supermature siliciclastic sequences were deposited between 1.64 Ga and 1.59 Ga over a broad swath of southern Laurentia in the Archean, Penokean, Yavapai, and Mazatzal Provinces. These siliciclastic sequences are notable for their extreme mineralogical and chemical maturity, being devoid of detrital feldspar and ferromagnesian minerals, containing the clay mineral kaolinite (or its metamorphic equivalent, pyrophyllite), and having a chemical index of alteration >95. Such maturity is the result of a perfect confluence of tectonic and climatic conditions, including a stable continental crust with low topographic relief (the Archean, Penokean, and Yavapai Provinces ca. 1.70 Ga), a warm humid climate, an elevated level of atmospheric CO2, and relatively acidic pore fluids in the critical zone. The weathered detritus was transported and deposited by southward-flowing streams across the Archean, Penokean, and Yavapai Provinces, ultimately to be deposited on 1.66 Ga volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks in the Mazatzal continental arc along the southern margin of Laurentia.
- absolute age
- Archean
- arenite
- chemical composition
- clastic rocks
- Lake Superior region
- Laurentia
- lithostratigraphy
- maturity
- Mazatzal Orogeny
- Mesoproterozoic
- mineral composition
- nesosilicates
- North America
- orthosilicates
- paleoclimatology
- Paleoproterozoic
- Penokean Orogeny
- Precambrian
- Proterozoic
- quartz arenite
- sedimentary rocks
- silicates
- siliciclastics
- Southwestern U.S.
- tectonics
- U/Pb
- United States
- upper Precambrian
- Yavapai Province
- zircon
- zircon group
- detrital zircon