Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sm-Nd Isotopic and Geochemical Study of the Archean Tonalite-Amphibolite association from the eastern Indian Craton

  • Published:
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We report the results of a Sm-Nd isotopic, major element and rare earth element (REE) study of the Older Metamorphic Group (OMG) tonalite-amphibolite association of the eastern Indian Craton. The Older Metamorphic Tonalite Gneisses (OMTG) have been previously dated to be 3.8 Ga using Sm-Nd isotope systematies, and 3.2–3.4 Ga by Rb-Sr and Pb-Pb dating. The results of this study indicate that the protoliths of the OMG amphibolites are 3.3 Ga isochron age=3.30±0.06 Ga, ɛNd= +0.9 ± 0.7), and therefore, the OMTG, which intrude into the associated amphibolites, cannot be any older than 3.3 Ga. The amphibolites display light REE enrichment ((Ce/Yb)N=2.2–6.7; La=30–100 x chondrite) and nearly flat heavy REE patterns ((Tb/Lu)N=1.2–1.9); the basaltic parents of the amphibolites were probably generated by the partial melting of a spinel lherzolite mantle. Strong linear relationships between the amphibolites and tonalites in 147Sm/144Nd-143Nd/144Nd space (isochron age =3.29±0.04 Ga, ɛNd= +0.8 ± 0.8) imply that they are genetically related. The tonalites display fractionated REE patterns (La=100–300 x chondrite) with moderate heavy REE depletions ((Tb/Lu)N=1.9–3.4). The isotopic, major element and REE data are consistent with the derivation of the OMTG from partial melting of OMG amphibolites or equivalent rocks at amphibolegarnet stabilization depths. An initial ɛNd(t) value of +0.9±0.7 for the amphibolites indicates the presence of a slightly depleted mantle source at 3.3 Ga with 147Sm/144Nd. between 0.20 and 0.22. It is suggested that the growth of continental crust in the eastern Indian craton occurred in response to magmatic underplating in a plume setting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arkani-Hamed J, Jolly WT (1989) Generation of Archean tonalites. Geology 17:307–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong RL (1981) Radiogenic isotopes: the case for crustal recycling on a near-steady state no-continental growth Earth. Phil Trans R Soc London A301:443–472

    Google Scholar 

  • Arth JG, Hanson GN (1972) Quartz diorites derived by partial melting of eclogite or amphibolite at mantle depths. Contrib Mineral Petrol 37:161–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Arth JG, Hanson GN (1975) Geochemistry and origin of early Precambrian crust of northeastern Minnesota. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 39:325–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Arth JG, Barker F, Petermann ZE, Friedman I (1978) Geochemistry of the gabbro-diorite-tonalite-trondhjemite suite of southwest Finland and its implications for the origin of tonalite and trondhjemite magmas. J Petrol 19:289–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashwal LD, Jacobsen SB, Myers JS, Kalsbeek F, Goldstein SJ (1989) Sm-Nd age of the Fiskenaesset Anorthosite Complex, West Greenland. Earth Planet Sci Lett 91:261–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Baadsgaard H, Nutman AP, Bridgwater D, Rosing M, McGregor VR, Allart JH (1984) The zircon geochronology of the Akilia association and Isua supracrustal belt. Earth Planet Sci Lett 68:221–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Baksi AK, Archibald DA, Sarkar SN, Saha AK (1987) 40Ar-39Ar incremental heating study of mineral separates from the early Archean east Indian craton: implications for the thermal history of a section of the Singhbhum Granite batholithic complex. Can J Earth Sci 24:1985–1993

    Google Scholar 

  • Barker F, Arth JG (1976) Generation of trondhjemitic-tonalitic liquids and Archean bimodal trondhjemite-basalt suite. Geology 4:596–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu AR, Ray SL, Saha AK, Sarkar SN (1981) Eastern Indian 3800-million-year-old crust and early mantle differentiation. Science 212:1502–1506

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu AR, Goodwin AM, Tatsumoto M (1984) Sm-Nd study of Archean alkalic rocks from the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield. Earth Planet Sci Lett 70:40–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu AR, Sharma M, DeCelles PG (1990) Nd, Sr-isotopic and trace element geochemistry of Amazonian Foreland Basin fluvial sands, Bolivia and Peru: implications for ensialic Andean orogeny. Earth Planet Sci Lett 100:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowring SA, Williams IS, Compston W (1989a) 3.96 Ga gneisses from the Slave Province, Northwest Territories, Canada. Geology 17:971–975

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowring SA, King JE, Housh TB, Isachsen CE, Podosek FA (1989b) Neodymium and lead isotope evidence for enriched early Archean crust in North American. Nature 340:222–225

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson RW, Silver PG (1988) Incompatible element enriched and depleted reservoirs in the earth: the possible importance of the lower mantle. Eos Trans Am Geophys Union 69:494

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson RW, Hunter DR, Barker F (1983) Sm-Nd age and isotopic systematics of the bimodal suite, Ancient Gneiss Complex. Swaziland. Nature 305:701–704

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase CG, Patchett PJ (1988) Stored mafic/ultramafic crust and early Archean mantle depletion. Earth Planet Sci Lett 91:66–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Collerson KD, Campbell LM, Weaver BL, Palacz ZA (1991) Evidence for extreme mantle fractionation in early Archean ultramafic rocks from northern Labrador. Nature 349:209–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Compston W, Froude DO, Ireland TR, Kinny PD, Williams IS, Williams IR, Myers IS (1985) The age of (a tiny part of) the Australian continent. Nature 317:559–560

    Google Scholar 

  • Condie KC (1986) Origin and early growth rate of the continents. Precambrian Res 32:261–278

    Google Scholar 

  • DePaolo DJ (1983) The mean life of continents: estimates of continent recycling rates from Nd and Hf isotopic data and implications for manle structure. Geophys Res Lett 10:705–708

    Google Scholar 

  • DePaolo DJ (1988) Nd isotope geochemistry: an introduction. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • DePaolo DJ, Wasserburg GJ (1979) Sm-Nd age of the Stillwater complex and the mantle-evolution curve for neodymium. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 43:999–1008

    Google Scholar 

  • Drummond MS, Defant MJ (1990) A model for trondhjemitetonalite-dacite genesis and crustal growth via slab melting: Archean to modern comparisons. J Geophys Res 95:21503–21521

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupre B, Chauvel C, Arndt NT (1984) Pb and Nd isotopic study of two Archean komatiitic flows from Alexo, Ontario. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48:1965–1972

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher IR, Rosman KJR, Williams IR, Hickman AH, Baxter JL (1984) Sm-Nd geochronology of greenstone belts in the Yilgarn block, Western Australia. Precambrien Res 26:333–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Froude DO, Ireland TR, Kinny PD, Williams IS, Compston W, Williams IR, Myers JS (1983) Ion microprobe identification of 4,100–4.200 Myr-old terrestrial zircons. Nature 304:616–618

    Google Scholar 

  • Galer SJG, Goldstein SL (1991) Early mantle differentiation and its thermal consequences. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 55:227–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein SL, Galer SJG (1993) 142Nd/144Nd isotopic tracers of the first billion years of earth history. Terra Abstracts, EUG VII, Strasbourg

  • Gruau G, Nutman A, Jahn B-M (1985) Sm-Nd isotopic systematies of the Akilia association, Greenland. Terra Cognita 5:204–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton PJ, O'Nions RK, Bridgwater D, Nutman A (1983) Sm-Nd studies of Archean metasediments and metavolcanics from West Greenland and their implications for the earth's early history. Earth Planet Sci Lett 62:263–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper CL, Jacobsen SB (1992) Evidence from coupled 146, 147Sm-142, 143Nd systematics for very early (4.5-Gyr) differentiation of the Earth's mantle.Nature 360:728–732

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson GN (1980) Rare earth elements in petrogenetic studies of igneous systems. Ann Rev Earth Planet Sci 8:371–406

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegner E, Kröner A, Hofmann AW (1984) Age and isotope geochemistry of Archean Pongola and Usushwana suites in Swaziland, southern Africa: a case for crustal contamination of mantle-derived magmas. Earth Planet Sci Lett 70:267–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang X, Ziwei B, DePaolo DJ (1986) Sm-Nd isotope study of early Archean rocks, Qianan, Hebei Province, China. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 50:625–631

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen SB (1988) Isotopic and chemical constraints on mantlecrust evolution. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 52:1341–1350

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen SB, Dymek RF (1984) Sm-Nd isotopic evidence for an ancient depleted component in the Isua metasediments. Geol Soc Am Abstr Prog 16:550

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen SB, Dymek RF (1988) Nd and Sr isotope systematics of clastic metasediments from Isua, West Greenland: identification of pre-3.8 Ga differentiated crustal components. J Geophys Res 93:338–354

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen SB, Harper CL (1992) 142Nd/144Nd in the Earth's Oldest Rocks and Implications for the Geodynamic History of the Crust-Mantle System. Eos Trans Am Geophys Union 73:622

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen SB, Wasserburg GJ (1984) Sm-Nd isotopic evolution of chondrites and achondrites, II. Earth Planet Sci Lett 67:137–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Jahn B-M, Vidal Ph, Kröner A (1984) Multi-chronometric ages and origin of Archean tonalite gneisses in Finnish Lapland: a case for long crustal residence time. Contrib Mineral Petrol 86:398–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Jahn B-M, Auvray B, Cornichet J, Bai YL, Shen QH, Liu DY (1987) 3.5 Ga old amphibolites from eastern Hebei Province, China: field occurrence, petrography, Sm-Nd isochron age and REE geochemistry. Precambrian Res 34:311–346

    Google Scholar 

  • Kröner A, Layer PW (1992) Crust formation and plate motion in the early archean. Science 256:1405–1411

    Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig KR (1989) Isoplot for MS-DOS: a plotting and regression program for radiogenic-isotope data, for IBM-PC compatible computers version 1.00. US Geol Surv Open File Report OF 88–557:39

  • Martin H (1987) Petrogenesis of Archean trondhjemites, tonalites, and granodiorites from eastern Finland: major and trace element chemistry. J Petrol 28:921–953

    Google Scholar 

  • McCulloch MT (1993) The role of subducted slabs in an evolving earth. Earth Planet Sci Lett 115:89–100

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie D, O'Nions RK (1991) Partial melt distributions from the inversion of rare-earth element concentrations. J Petrol 32:1021–1091

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath S (1977) Ages, isotopes and the evolution of Precambrian continental crust. Chem Geol 20:151–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath S, Taylor PN (1981) Isotopic evidence for continental growth in the Precambrian. In: Kröner A (ed) Precambrian plate tectonics. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 491–525

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath S, O'Nions RK, Pankhurst RJ (1973) Early Archean age for the Isua Iron formation. Nature 245:138–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath S, Taylor PN, Jones NW (1986) Dating the oldest terrestrial rocks-fact and fiction. Chem Geol 57:63–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukhopadhyay D (ed) (1988) Precambrian of the eastern Indian Shield. Geol Soc India, Bangalore

    Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi SM, Rogers JJW (1987) Precambrian geology of India. Clarendon, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce JA, Norry MJ (1979) Petrogenetic implications of Ti, Zr, Y and Nb variations in the volcanic rocks. Contrib Mineral Petrol 69:33–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapp RP, Watson EB, Miller CF (1991) Partial melting of amphibolite/eclogite and the origin of Archean trondhjemites and tonalites. Precambrien Res 51:1–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray SL (1982) Petrological and structural evolution of the Older Metamorphic Group and the associated granitic rocks in Singhbhum-Keonjhar areas, eastern India. PhD dissertation, University of Calcutta

  • Rudnick RL, Taylor SR (1986) Geochemical constraints on the Archean tonalitic-trondhjemitic rocks and implications for lower crustal composition. In: Dawson JB, Carswell DA, Hall J and Wedepohl KH (eds) Nature of the lower continental crust. Geol Soc London Spec Pub 24: 179–191

  • Saha AK, Ray SL (1984) The structural and geochemical evolution of the Singhbhum Granite Batholithic Complex, India. Tectonophysics 105:163–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar SN, Saha AK, Boelrijk N, Hebeda EH (1979) New data on the geochronology of the Older Metamorphic Group and the Singhbhum granite of the Singhbhum-Keonjhar-Mayurbhanj region, eastern India. Indian J Earth Sci 6:32–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirey SB, Hanson GN (1986) Mantle heterogeneity and crustal recycling in Archean granite-greenstone belts: evidence from Nd isotopes and trace elements in the Rainy Lake area, Superior Province, Ontario, Canada. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 50:2631–2651

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith AD, Ludden JN (1989) Nd evolution of the Precambrian mantle. Earth Planet Sci Lett 93:14–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor SR, McLennan SM (1985) The continental crust: its composition and evolution. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Laan SR, Wyllie PJ (1992) Constraints on Archean trondhjemite genesis from hydrous crystallization experiments on Nuk Gneiss at 10–17 kbar. J Geol 100:57–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker D (1983) Lunar and terrestrial crust formation. J Geophys Res 88:B17-B25

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Mukul Sharma

    Present address: Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 170 25, 91125, Pasadena, CA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, 14627, Rochester, NY, USA

    Mukul Sharma & Asish R. Basu

  2. Department of Geology, Presidency College, Calcutta, India

    Sagar L. Ray

Authors
  1. Mukul Sharma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Asish R. Basu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sagar L. Ray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sharma, M., Basu, A.R. & Ray, S.L. Sm-Nd Isotopic and Geochemical Study of the Archean Tonalite-Amphibolite association from the eastern Indian Craton. Contrib Mineral Petrol 117, 45–55 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307728

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307728

Keywords

Search

Navigation