Isotopic and igneous record of the Avalonian-Cadomian arc in NW Iberia

Resumo

The upper allochthonous units of NW Iberian Massif contain an extensive Cambrian magmatism (c. 500 Ma), that generated large massifs of granitic rocks and gabbros with calc-alkaline and tholeiitic compositions, respectively. Petrological and geochemical features of these massifs are characteristic of volcanic arcs. The plutons intruded siliciclastic series deposited in the periphery of the West Africa Craton. U-Pb/Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircon in the siliciclastic series, indicate arc activity between c. 750 Ma and c. 500 Ma. It was characterized by a large variety of isotopic sources, including from very old continental input, even Archean, to the addition of a significant amount of juvenile mafic material. These isotopic sources experienced an extensive mixing that explains the composition and isotopic features of the represented Cambrian plutons. The Cambrian igneous rocks of the upper units of NW Iberia can be related to the latest activity of the Avalonian-Cadomian arc. From Middle Cambrian times, arc activity in the periphery of Gondwana was replaced by pronounced extension associated with continental rifting, which finally led to separation of the microcontinent Avalonia. Subsequent drifting of Avalonia to the North caused progressive opening of one of the main Paleozoic ocean, the Rheic Ocean.