Vol. 32 No. 2 (2007)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4454/ofioliti.v32i2

Published: 2007-07-01

Articles

The Versoyen Unit (Western Alps) and its mafic rocks have been long considered the remnants of the oceanic crust that supposedly floored the Valaisan basin during the Cretaceous. Here we present U-Pb dating of zircons from a metaleucogabbro and a metagranite from the Versoyen Unit challenging this view. Magmatic zircon cores yield Permian ages of 267±1 and 272±2 Ma, respectively, which are interpreted as dating the crystallization of the magmas. Older inherited crystals and rare Cretaceous zircon rims (~110-100 Ma) are also present. The young rims are characterized by very high U and REE contents. We speculate that the Cretaceous ages are related to a thermal/fluid event possibly induced by the opening of the Valaisan basin. The proposed Permian age for the Versoyen magmatism, together with the lack of geochronological evidence for a Cretaceous oceanic crust in the Valaisan domain sensu stricto, may force to reconsider the oceanic nature of the Valaisan Basin. We propose a model in which the Versoyen Unit is unrelated to and pre-dates the extensional tectonics that led to the formation of the Valaisan Basin and the Cretaceous deposition of sediments on this Permian basement. The Permian ages for the Versoyen intrusives correlate with extensive Permian intra-plate magmatism related to lithospheric stretching prior to the break-up of Pangea. The Versoyen Unit becomes the most external Alpine terrane that displays traces of this Permian basic magmatism. Traces of Cretaceous magmatism are preserved in the more internal Chiavenna and Balma units, located in the Central and Western Alps, respectively. However, several lines of evidence suggest that such units may have been unrelated to the Valaisan Basin. Therefore, we propose a new palaeogeographic scenario for the western Tethys, where two independent basins, the Valaisan Basin and the Chiavenna/Balma Ocean, were located between the Briançonnais micro-Plate and the European Plate sensu stricto.

Marco Beltrando, Daniela Rubatto, Roberto Compagnoni, Gordon Lister

85-99
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AGE OF THE JURASSIC RADIOLARIAN CHERT FORMATION FROM THE ZLATAR MOUNTAIN (SW SERBIA)

Nevenka Djerić, Nataša Gerzina, Stefan M. Schmid

101-108
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GEOCHEMICAL SIGNATURE AND GEODYNAMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF AN Ag-Hg MINERALIZED DYKE SWARM IN THE NEOPROTEROZOIC INLIER OF IMITER - ANTI-ATLAS (MOROCCO)

Moha Ikenne, Aomar Ennaciri, Hassan Ouguir, Brian Cousens, Rachid Ziyadi, Mohamed Mouhagir, Aziz El-Gaouzi

109-118
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GEOCHEMISTRY OF SHEETED DIKES IN THE NAIN OPHIOLITE (CENTRAL IRAN)

Fatemeh Rahmani, Moussa Noghreyan, Mahmoud Khalili

119-129
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DISCOVERY OF THE OLDEST (UPPER LADINIAN TO MIDDLE CARNIAN) RADIOLARIAN ASSEMBLAGES FROM THE BORNOVA FLYSCH ZONE IN WESTERN TURKEY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE NEOTETHYAN IZMIR-ANKARA OCEAN

U. Kagan Tekin, M. Cemal Göncüoglu

131-150
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OPHIOLITIC CHROMITITES FROM THE KAHRAMANMARAŞ AREA, SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY: THEIR PLATINUM-GROUP ELEMENTS (PGE) GEOCHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY AND Os-ISOTOPE SIGNATURE

Ibrahim Uysal, Federica Zaccarini, Giorgio Garuti, Thomas Meisel, Mahmud Tarkian, Heinz Jürgen Bernhardt, Münür Burhan Sadiklar

151-161
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AGE AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF MIDDLE TO LATE CARNIAN BASALTS FROM THE ALAKIRÇAY NAPPE (ANTALYA NAPPES, SW TURKEY): IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOUTHERN BRANCH OF NEOTETHYS

Elif Varol, U. Kagan Tekin, Abidin Temel

163-176
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