| SYNCHRONOUS SHEARING AND MAGMATISM AT 1430 MA AND SUBSEQUENT MAGMATISM AT 1410 MA IN THE COLORADO PROVINCE | ||
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STEIN, Holly J., AIRIE Program, Department of Earth Rscs, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1482, hstein@cnr.colostate.edu and SIMS, Paul K., US Geol Survey, MS 905, PO Box 25046, Denver, CO 80225-0046, We employ Re-Os dating of molybdenite in field context to discern the timing of Mesoproterozoic magmatism and its relation to intracratonic NE-trending shear zones in the Colorado Province. The data in this study demonstrate that the Re-Os chronometer is robust, enduring subsequent Cretaceous-Tertiary magmatism. Molybdenite samples hosted in granites, pegmatites, felsic dikes, and shear zones were analyzed from the Climax and Empire areas. An isochron age of 1430.3 ± 2.3 Ma agrees with the weighted average 1433.5 ± 2.9 Ma model age for the six molybdenites. The isochronous behavior of the different molybdenite occurrences supports syndeformational magmatism. At Empire, a subsequent episode of magmatism is recorded by molybdenite deposition at 1341 ± 5 Ma. To the south in the Transition Zone (TZ), which divides two major terranes (Yavapai and Mazatzal), the weighted mean model age for two molybdenites is 1409.8 ± 3.4 Ma. This documents a younger episode of Mesoproterozoic magmatism in the TZ. These two magmatic events (~1430 and ~1410 Ma) determined by Re-Os molybdenite dating are supported by two age populations (~1435-1430 and ~1410 Ma) for felsic xenoliths in the Colorado Plateau determined by U-Pb zircon dating. | ||
| Rocky Mountain (53rd) and South-Central (35th) Sections, GSA, Joint Annual Meeting (April 29–May 2, 2001) | ||
| Session No. 6 Mesoproterozoic Tectonics of the Southwestern United States Sheraton Old Town Hotel: Alvarado AB 1:25 PM-5:00 PM, Monday, April 30, 2001 | ||