Geochronological and tectonostratigraphic framework of Sierran-Klamath ophiolitic assemblages
- Creators
- Saleeby, Jason B.
- Others:
- Harwood, David S.
- Miller, M. Meghan
Abstract
Through the work of a number of investigators, a tremendous amount of geochronological data with excellent geological control exists on the numerous ophiolitic assemblages of the Sierran-Klamath orogen. Distinct ophiolitic assemblages of latest Precambrian, Ordovician-Silurian, Carboniferous-Permian, Late Triassic–Early Jurassic and late Middle–Late Jurassic (Callovian-Oxfordian) ages are recognized. The geochronological data, in conjunction with structural and petrologic data, facilitate a relatively detailed analysis of the petrotectonic and structural-stratigraphic development of the orogen from the perspective of ophiolite basement geology. Insights into the plate tectonic settings of ophiolite genesis and emplacement are offered by an abundance of information that now exists on active oceanic island arcs and related environments. Remnants of abyssal lithosphere, boundary transform melange, extensional fore-arc igneous sequences, and interarc basin lithosphere are all preserved within the Sierran-Klamath assemblages. In general, the older assemblages or the older elements of polygenetic assemblages have greater affinities to abyssal lithosphere, whereas the younger assemblages or elements reflect suprasubduction zone environments of genesis. The upper Paleozoic through Jurassic assemblages occur in regional belts, and their tectonic, as well as petrogenetic, histories may be related in detail with some confidence to the tectonic development of the Cordilleran margin.
Additional Information
© 1990 Geological Society of America. Manuscript received by the Society April 9, 1990. Support for work on U.S. Cordillera ophiolites from National Science Foundation Grants EAR-7708691, EAR-7925998, EAR-8206382, and EAR-8407788, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Lively discussions and field excursions with M. C. Blake, R. G. Coleman, P. F. Dobson, S. H. Edelman, B. R. Hacker, G. D. Harper, J. W. Hawkins, C. A. Hopson, D. L. Jones, J. M. Mattinson, E. M. Moores, A. Nicholas, R. A. Schweickert, W. D. Sharp, A. W. Snoke, J.E. Wright, and W. H. Wright III were of great assistance in my ophiolite research and in the construction of this synthesis. Helpful reviews of the initial manuscript were provided by R. G. Coleman, M. M. Miller, and E. M. Moores.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 49293
- DOI
- 10.1130/SPE255-p93
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140905-130204817
- NSF
- EAR-7708691
- NSF
- EAR-7925998
- NSF
- EAR-8206382
- NSF
- EAR-8407788
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- Created
-
2014-09-05Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
- Series Name
- Special papers (Geological Society of America)
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 255