Abstract
We report 207 Pb/ 206 Pb single-zircon evaporation ages for early Pan-African rocks from southern Israel and the northeastern Sinai Peninsula, the northernmost extension of the Arabian-Nubian shield. The oldest rocks are metamorphic schists of presumed island-arc derivation; detrital zircons date the source terrain at ca. 800-820 Ma. A major phase of tonalite-trondhjemite plutonism occurred at ca. 760-780 Ma; more evolved granitic rocks were emplaced at about 745 Ma. A metagabbro-metadiorite complex reflects the youngest igneous phase at ca. 640 Ma. We find no evidence for pre-Pan-African crust, and our data document important crust-forming events that correlate with similar episodes elsewhere in the Shield. The widespread presence of early Pan-African juvenile rocks (i.e., ca. 760-850 Ma) in many parts of the Arabian-Nubian shield makes this period the most important in the magmatic history of the shield and supports earlier suggestions for unusually high crust-production rates.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 545-548 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Geology |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 1990 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geology