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Contrasting geological background based on the geochemistry of the mafic metamorphic rocks in central Dronning Maud Land

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2023

Sotaro Baba Open the ORCID record for Sotaro Baba [Opens in a new window] ,
Masaaki Owada ,
Tomokazu Hokada ,
Tatsuro Adachi  and
Nobuhiko Nakano
Sotaro Baba*
Affiliation:
Department of Science Education, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
Masaaki Owada
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, 753-8512 Japan
Tomokazu Hokada
Affiliation:
National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan
Tatsuro Adachi
Affiliation:
Division of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Nobuhiko Nakano
Affiliation:
Division of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
*
Author for correspondence: Sotaro Baba, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper reports geochemical characteristics of mafic gneisses and granulites collected from four localities in central Dronning Maud Land to evaluate the tectonic setting of their precursor rocks. Precursor rocks for the mafic gneisses and granulites in central Dronning Maud Land were formed in different geological backgrounds and tectonic settings. The mafic gneisses and granulites in the Schirmacher Hills were derived from basaltic rocks in a back-arc setting. Published U–Pb zircon ages and the geochemical variation of the basement rocks indicate their emplacement between 800 and 650 Ma, close to peak metamorphism. While similar protoliths were recognized in the inland nunataks of Hochlinfjellet, in Filchnerfjella the mafic gneisses/granulites were derived from basaltic rocks formed in marginal continental arcs or island arcs. Highly disturbed trace-element patterns indicate that the metamorphic process influenced the geochemical composition during the prograde metamorphic stage. Our results imply that the outcrops in central Dronning Maud Land with different metamorphic ages contain mafic gneisses/granulites from precursor rocks formed under different tectonic settings.

Keywords

East AntarcticaDronning Maud Landgeochemistrytectonic setting
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 160 , Issue 5 , May 2023 , pp. 993 - 1009
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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