Abundant 2480 Ma Detrital Zircons in ∼1740 Ma Vishnu Schist in Northwestern Arizona: Derivation From the Matachewan Large Igneous Province?

Abstract

Detrital zircon grains in the ∼1740–1750 Ma Vishnu Schist and similar rock units in northwestern Arizona consist of up to 30% grains dated by U-Pb isotopic analysis at 2470–2490 Ma. These zircon grains are distributed over ∼40,000 km2 and define an age peak at 2480.0 ± 27.3 Ma (2SE). These grains have yielded unusually consistent 207Pb/206Pb dates, with generally smaller analytical uncertainty and greater concordance to ideal U-Pb evolution than grains of other ages. A weighted mean age of 2480 ± 0.9 Ma (2SE) for this zircon population reflects consistent analytical results and high analytical precision but not the accuracy of the age. The source of these zircons has not been identified. To better characterize the unidentified source, we analyzed 45 of these grains for trace and rare-earth elements by laser-ablation mass spectrometry and scanned 16 grains with an electron microprobe to identify mineral inclusions. Mass spectrometer determinations of Sc/Yb and Nb/Sc support derivation from an oceanic-island igneous source. Electron microprobe scans revealed quartz in 5 of 16 grains, indicating a felsic source. The low variability in 207Pb/206Pb dates and a generally linear relationship between U and Th support zircon derivation from a single igneous unit or closely related set of units without xenocrystic zircons. A literature search for other zircon populations with similar age and U/Th ratios identified ∼2480 Ma zircons in a Mesoproterozoic(?) metapsammite and conglomerate in southwestern Montana. This sandstone was deposited near the margin of the Wyoming craton and contains almost entirely 2400–3600 Ma zircons, unlike zircon grains in Vishnu Schist which include a large population of 1730–1900 Ma zircons. From this relationship we infer that the 2480 Ma zircons in both areas were derived from a source in the Wyoming craton. We conclude that the 2480 Ma Vishnu zircons were derived from a felsic batholith that formed above and from hotspot magma related to the ∼2450–2480 Ma Matachewan Large Igneous Province, that this batholith formed by mixing between a mantle-derived hotspot magma and assimilated Archean continental crust, and that the source rock was emplaced during initial rifting between the Wyoming craton and the Superior province.