Evidence of heterogeneous crustal sources: the Harney Peak Granite, South Dakota, U.S.A.

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The Early Proterozoic (1715 Ma) Harney Peak Granite (Black Hills, SD, U.S.A.) is a complex of hundreds of dykes and sills. Earlier studies of Nd, O and Pb isotope variations demonstrated that the complex was not derived from a single source, or even different sources of a single age. Instead, the granites can be divided into a group with sources probably dominated by Early Proterozoic sediments and a group with sources probably dominated by Archean sediments. New results on the Nd isotopic variations of many additional samples indicate that there is considerable overlap between Nd isotopic compositions within the complex. Values of εNd (1715 Ma) of the Harney Peak Granite suite (n = 20) range from −2·0, indicating an Early Proterozoic (2300-2200 Ma) crustal source, to −13·4, indicating a Middle to Late Archean (3200-3100 Ma) protolith. These results suggest that the Early Proterozoic source may have included rocks such as the c. 2200-1900 Ma metasedimentary rocks that occur in the southern Black Hills. The Archean sources might have included rocks such as those exposed on the periphery of the Black Hills. The range in Nd model ages negates the usefulness of the concept of the ‘average’ age of the crust in this part of the craton. Because such heterogeneity is present in the magmatic compositions of the Harney Peak Granite, it can be inferred that at least as much heterogeneity was present in the sources. In this granite system, melts were evidently derived from isolated, heterogeneous zones and did not have the opportunity to coalesce into large magma bodies. In systems where coalescence does occur, the evidence for such highly heterogeneous sources may be lost. These results emphasise that inferences drawn from a few samples of plutonic rocks in which magma mixing and homogenisation occurred can lead to erroneous conclusions about the age and nature of protoliths and, consequently, the development of continental crust.