4.2 Ga zircon xenocryst in an Acasta gneiss from northwestern Canada: Evidence for early continental crust

Abstract

Research Article| April 01, 2006 4.2 Ga zircon xenocryst in an Acasta gneiss from northwestern Canada: Evidence for early continental crust Tsuyoshi Iizuka; Tsuyoshi Iizuka 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kenji Horie; Kenji Horie 2Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Tsuyoshi Komiya; Tsuyoshi Komiya 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Shigenori Maruyama; Shigenori Maruyama 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Takafumi Hirata; Takafumi Hirata 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hiroshi Hidaka; Hiroshi Hidaka 4Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Brian F. Windley Brian F. Windley 5Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Tsuyoshi Iizuka 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Kenji Horie 2Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan Tsuyoshi Komiya 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Shigenori Maruyama 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Takafumi Hirata 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan Hiroshi Hidaka 4Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan Brian F. Windley 5Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 03 Aug 2005 Revision Received: 22 Nov 2005 Accepted: 24 Nov 2005 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2006) 34 (4): 245–248. https://doi.org/10.1130/G22124.1 Article history Received: 03 Aug 2005 Revision Received: 22 Nov 2005 Accepted: 24 Nov 2005 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Tsuyoshi Iizuka, Kenji Horie, Tsuyoshi Komiya, Shigenori Maruyama, Takafumi Hirata, Hiroshi Hidaka, Brian F. Windley; 4.2 Ga zircon xenocryst in an Acasta gneiss from northwestern Canada: Evidence for early continental crust. Geology 2006;; 34 (4): 245–248. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G22124.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Evidence for the existence of continental crust older than 4.06 Ga has so far been obtained only from zircons in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. In this paper we report the first occurrence of a very old zircon with a U-Pb age of 4.2 Ga in the Acasta Gneiss Complex of northwestern Canada, based on a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe study. The U-Pb data reveal that the 4.2 Ga zircon occurs as a xenocryst in a 3.9 Ga granitic rock. Trace element compositions of the xenocryst suggest that it crystallized from a granitic magma. Our results, suggesting the existence of granitic rocks outside the Yilgarn Craton at 4.2 Ga, imply that granitic continental crust was more widespread than previously thought, and that it was reworked into Early Archean continental crust. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.