Age and Deformation of the Longtown Metagranite, South Carolina Piedmont: A Possible Constraint on the Origin of the Carolina Terrane

The heterogeneously deformed Longtown metagranite intrudes mylonites and felsic metatuff in the Carolina terrane in northeast South Carolina. Structural and U‐Pb zircon geochronologic data suggest that the felsic metatuff was emplaced at 550.5 ± 5.9 Ma, prior to the development of ductile deformatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of geology 1998-11, Vol.106 (6), p.713-726
Main Authors: Barker, Chris A., Secor, Jr, Donald T., Pray, John R., Wright, James E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Geochronology
Geological time
Geology
Gneiss
Lineations
Orogens
Rocks
Shear zones
Slates
Tectonics
Weighted averages
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Summary:The heterogeneously deformed Longtown metagranite intrudes mylonites and felsic metatuff in the Carolina terrane in northeast South Carolina. Structural and U‐Pb zircon geochronologic data suggest that the felsic metatuff was emplaced at 550.5 ± 5.9 Ma, prior to the development of ductile deformation fabric in the Carolina terrane. Structural data indicate that the Longtown metagranite is late synkinematic relative to the ductile deformation fabric, and U‐Pb zircon geochronologic data suggest that the Longtown metagranite was emplaced at 551.2 ± 2.6 Ma. The geochronologic data from this study, together with previously published data of other workers, suggests that the entire Carolina terrane experienced pervasive ductile deformation ca. 557‐535 Ma. Substantial differences between the geologic history of the Carolina terrane and the geologic history of the southeastern Laurentian margin are interpreted to indicate that the Carolina terrane is exotic relative to Laurentia, that it originated outside of the Paleozoic Iapetus Ocean, and that it may not have been accreted to Laurentia until the late Paleozoic.
ISSN:0022-1376
1537-5269
DOI:10.1086/516055