Abstract This review concerns intrusive magmatism related to the Cadomian orogeny in the northeastern part of the Armorican Massif of France. The Cadomian orogeny is interpreted to represent tectono-thermal activity in a continental margin above a subduction zone. The North Armorican Shear Zone (NASZ) separates two major Cadomian terranes, the North Armorican Composite Terrane (NACT) and the Central Armorican Terrane (CAT). The amalgamation of three terranes within the NACT (the St Brieuc Terrane (SBT), the St Malo Terrane (SMT) and the Mancellian Terrane (MT)) around 540 Ma by sinistral transpression is a key element in the Cadomian orogeny. Cadomian plutonic complexes intrude the c. 2000 Ma Icartian Gneisses and form the local basement to, and are emplaced into the Brioverian succession. Cadomian magmatism spans approximately 275 Ma, from c. 700 Ma to c. 425 Ma. Early Cadomian foliated plutonic complexes occur within the Guernsey-La Hague structural block of the SBT; they represent volcanic arc granites derived in a subduction zone environment. Late Cadomian post-tectonic plutonic complexes within the Guernsey—La Hague structural block were emplaced c. 500 Ma, exhibit a variety of ‘mixed magma’ features and have a normal to mature continental arc geochemistry. To the southeast, the Jersey structural block within the SBT represents a higher structural level as well as a greater distance away from the probable trench site. Here, the late Cadomian posttectonic plutonic complexes were emplaced during Cambrian and Ordovician-Silurian times and represent mature continental arc activity, probably associated with the decay of the Cadomian subduction zone system after transpressional terrane accretion. The St Malo Terrane, to the southeast, represents an inverted intra- or behind-arc basin. The migmatite belts within this terrane developed by crustal anatexis. Emplacement of homogeneous diatexites and leucogranites synkinematically with sinistral strike-slip movement along shear belts generated by the transpressive terrane accretion allows this event to be dated at c. 540 Ma. The Mancellian Terrane, further to the southeast, comprises low-grade Brioverian metasediments into which has been emplaced the Mancellian Batholith, a late Cadomian post-tectonic series of predominantly granite complexes. These complexes have the geochemical features of volcanic arc granites. Overall, Cadomian magmatism represents c. 275 Ma of plutonic activity broadly related to subduction beneath a continental margin. The early part of the Cadomian orogenic cycle includes volcanic-arc plutonic suites and basaltic volcanic rocks with associated feeder dykes. The peak of the Cadomian orogeny involves intra- or behind-arc basin inversion with concomitant mid-crustal anatexis and sinistrally transpressive terrane accretion c. 540 Ma. The late evolution begins with andesite-rhyolite volcanism and calcalkaline plutonism occurs over a period of c. 100 Ma during the decay of the Cadomian subduction zone system.
Anatectic granites from the Fosdick migmatite–granite complex yield U–Pb zircon crystallization ages that range from 115 to 100 Ma, with a dominant grouping at 107–100 Ma, which corresponds to the timing of dome formation during the regional oblique extension that facilitated exhumation of the complex. The occurrence of leucosome-bearing normal-sense shear zones in migmatitic gneisses indicates that suprasolidus conditions in the crust continued into the early stages of doming and exhumation of the complex. The structure allows access to variably oriented granites in networks of dykes at deeper structural levels and subhorizontal sheeted granites at shallower structural levels within the complex. This feature allows an evaluation of the mechanisms that modify the composition of granite melts in their source and of granite magmas during their ascent and emplacement using whole-rock major, trace element and Sr and Nd isotope compositions, zircon Hf and O isotope compositions, and phase equilibria modelling of potential source rocks. Geochemical variability within the granites is attributed to source heterogeneity and blending of melts, which themselves are consistent with derivation from regional metasedimentary and metaplutonic source materials. The granites typically contain coarse blocky K-feldspar and/or plagioclase grains within interstitial quartz, and have low Rb/Sr ratios and large positive Eu anomalies. These features are inconsistent with the composition of primary crustal melts derived from metasedimentary and metaplutonic source materials, but consistent with early fractional crystallization of feldspar and subsequent drainage of the fractionated melt. Processes such as peritectic mineral entrainment and accessory mineral dissolution, entrainment and crystallization did not have any significant influence on the major and trace element composition of the granites. The granites in the networks of dykes are interpreted to represent choking of magma transport channels through the middle crust as the rate of magma flow declined during doming and exhumation, whereas the sheeted granites record collapse of subhorizontal, partially crystallized layers of magma by filter pressing and melt exfiltration during vertical shortening associated with doming and exhumation. These processes separated feldspar-rich residues from evolved melt. Based on the results of this study, caution is urged in estimating melt proportion from the volume of granite retained in migmatitic gneiss domes, as the granites may not represent liquid compositions.
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