GSA Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, USA - 2017

Paper No. 267-16
Presentation Time: 9:00 AM-6:30 PM

ATLAS OF ZIRCONS FROM COLOMBIA: "GEMS" FROM THE ANDEAN, INTER-ANDEAN, CARIBBEAN, PACIFIC AND CRATONIC REALMS OF NORTHWESTERN SOUTH AMERICA


RESTREPO-MORENO, Sergio A., Departamento de Geociencias y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Minas, Carrera 80 No 65-223, Nucleo Robledo, Medelln, 000000, Colombia, BERNET, Matthias, Institut de Science de la Terre, Université Joseph Fourier, OSUG C - BP 53 - 1381 Rue de la Piscine, Grenoble Cedex, 38041, FOSTER, David, Department of Geology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, GEHRELS, George E., Department of Geosciences, Univ of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, MIN, Kyoungwon, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, CORFU, Fernando, Department of Geosciences and CEED, University of Oslo, PO Box 1047, Blindern, Oslo, 0316, Norway, PARDO-TRUJILLO, Andrés, Instituto de Investigaciones en Estratigrafía, Universidad de Caldas, Calle 65 Nº 26 - 10, Edificio Orlando Sierra, Bloque B, 2do piso, Manizales, 00000, Colombia, ZULUAGA CASTRILLON, Carlos Augusto, Geología, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carrera 45 N° 26-85, 224 Manuel Ancizar Building, Bogota, Colombia and PEÑA-URUEÑA, Mary Luz, Grupo Tecnologías Nucleares, Servicio Geológico Colombiano, Diagonal 53 No. 34 - 53, Bogotá D.C., Colombia, sarestrepom@unal.edu.co

Over the past decade zircon crystals have found expedite and productive ways into the geological discipline in Colombia. The virtually ubiquitous nature of this accessory phase, a characteristic derived from its chemical and physical refractory nature, makes zircon a common mineral in a broad range of lithologies and geological environments; and hence a valuable repository of information regarding important rock-forming events. Some of this information can be directly extracted from zircon´s morphological features (internal and external). In addition, some of the chemical components in zircon make it a powerful tool for a variety of purposes including radiometric dating (U/Pb), thermochronology (helium and fission track analyses), isotopic determinations (Hf, O), etc. This complex set of morphological and geochemical tools are valuable in addressing geologic problems in an ample realm. Researchers from Colombia and elsewhere have been using zircon grains for myriad applications to tackle many of the interesting geological questions posed by the natural laboratory offered by the Northern Andes of Colombia. Such applications range from tephrochronology and magmatism, to radiometric dating of an ample range of lithologic units, to morphotectonic evolution, to provenance analyses and basin evolution.

We present a preview of the Atlas of Zircons from Colombia, encompassing a variety of samples from the Northern Andes including cordilleran massifs and sedimentary basins, i.e., zones of sediment production and zones of sediment accumulation. The atlas incorporates amazing graphic material related to zircons, as seen under high-resolution optic microscopes and SEM-CL/BS images, as well as short contributions in the form of articles written by experts in the field of “zirconology” alluding to many of the topics at hand, e.g., sample preparation, analytical techniques and instrumentation, magmatism/volcanism, metamorphism, provenance and basin evolution, U/Pb ages and Hf dataset compilations, paleogeography, etc. The Atlas is conceived in a geographic fashion that separates mountainous/cordilleran, sedimentary basins (past and modern), and cratonic provinces of Colombia.