Abstract
New Sm–Nd isotopic measurements made on granulite-facies metamorphic rocks from East Antarctica provide firm evidence that crust of ∼3,500-Myr age exists in the Fyfe Hills. Zircon U–Pb data provide further documentation for a granulite-facies event 2,500 Myr ago, during which Rb, U, Sm and Nd were highly mobile. The U–Pb and Rb–Sr isotopic systems were seriously disrupted and in most samples give meaningless model ages. In contrast, Sm–Nd model ages were offset only slightly. A large time interval of 1,000 Myr between the times of crust formation and granulite-facies metamorphism has not previously been reported for Archaean rocks, and suggests that 2,500 Myr ago the Fyfe Hills may have been located in an Andean- or Himalayan-type continental margin where crust already 1,000-Myr old was involved in an orogenic event.
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DePaolo, D., Manton, W., Grew, E. et al. Sm–Nd, Rb–Sr and U–Th–Pb systematics of granulite facies rocks from Fyfe Hills, Enderby Land, Antarctica. Nature 298, 614–618 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298614a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/298614a0
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