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Basin analysis and tectonic reconstructions of the Cenozoic history of the Death Valley region, California, USA, are hindered by a lack of volcanic (tuff) age control in many stratigraphic successions exposed in the Grapevine and Funeral Mountains of California, USA. Although maximum depositional ages (MDAs) interpreted from detrital zircon U-Pb data may be a promising alternative to volcanic ages, arguments remain regarding the calculation of MDAs including, but not limited to, the number of “young” grains to consider (i.e., the spectrum of dates used to calculate the MDA); which grains, if any, should be ignored; which approaches yield results that are statistically rigorous; and ultimately, which approaches result in ages that are geologically reasonable. We compare commonly used metrics of detrital zircon MDA for five sandstone samples from the Cenozoic strata exposed on Bat Mountain in the southern Funeral Mountains of California—i.e., the youngest single grain (YSG), the weighted mean of the youngest grain cluster of two or more grains at 1σ uncertainty (YC1σ(2+)) and of three or more grains at 2σ uncertainty (YC2σ(3+)), the youngest graphical peak (YPP), and the maximum likelihood age (MLA). Every sandstone sample yielded abundant Cenozoic zircon U-Pb dates that formed unimodal, near- normal age distributions that were clearly distinguishable from the next- oldest grains in each sample and showed an apparent up- section decrease in peak age. Benchmarked against published K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar ages and five new zircon U-Pb ages of ash- fall tuffs, our analysis parallels prior studies and demonstrates that many MDA metrics—YSG, YC1σ(2+), YC2σ(3+), and YPP— drift toward unreasonably young or old values. In contrast, the maximum likelihood estimation approach and the resulting MLA metric consistently produce geologically appropriate estimates of MDA without arbitrary omission of any young (or old) zircon dates. Using the MLAs of sandstones and zircon U-Pb ages of interbedded ash- fall tuffs, we develop a new age model for the Oligocene– Miocene Amargosa Valley Formation (deposited ca. 28.5– 18.5 Ma) and the Miocene Bat Mountain Formation (deposited ca. 15.5– 13.5 Ma) and revise correlations to Cenozoic strata across the eastern Death Valley region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotopic analyses of ancient mantle-derived magmatic rocks are used to trace the geochemical evolution of the Earth's mantle, but it is often difficult to determine their primary, initial isotope ratios due to the detrimental effects of metamorphism and secondary alteration. We present in situ analyses by LA-MC-ICPMS for the Pb isotopic compositions of igneous plagioclase ([An.sub.75-89]) megacrysts and the Hf isotopic compositions of BSE-imaged domains of zircon grains from two mantle-derived anorthosite complexes from south West Greenland, Fiskenaesset and Nunataarsuk, which represent two of the best-preserved Archean anorthosites in the world. In situ LA-ICPMS U-Pb geochronology of the zircon grains suggests that the minimum crystallization age of the Fiskenaesset complex is 2,936 ± 13 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 1.5) and the Nunataarsuk complex is 2,914 ± 6.9 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 2.0). Initial Hf isotopic compositions of zircon grains from both anorthosite complexes fall between depleted mantle and a less radiogenic crustal source with a total range up to 5 [ζ.sub.Hf] units. In terms of Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase, both anorthosite complexes share a depleted mantle end member yet their Pb isotopic compositions diverge in opposite directions from this point: Fiskenaesset toward a high-μ, more radiogenic Pb, crustal composition and Nunataarsuk toward low-μ, less radiogenic Pb, crustal composition. By using Hf isotopes in zircon in conjunction with Pb isotopes in plagioclase, we are able to constrain both the timing of mantle extraction of the crustal end member and its composition. At Fiskenaesset, the depleted mantle melt interacted with an Eoarchean (~3,700 Ma) mafic crust with a maximum [sup.176]Lu/[sup.177]Hf ~0.028. At Nunataarsuk, the depleted mantle melt interacted with a Hadean (~4,200 Ma) mafic crust with a maximum [sup.176]Lu/[sup.177]Hf ~0.0315. Evidence from both anorthosite complexes provides support for the long-term survival of ancient mafic crusts that, although unidentified at the surface to date, could still be present within the Fiskenasset and Nunataarsuk regions. Keywords Archean * Anorthosites * LA-MC-ICPMS * Pb-Pb isotopes * Lu-Hf isotopes, Introduction Long-lived radiogenic isotope systems (e.g. Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf, Pb-Pb) are powerful tracers of geochemical processes. They have been used extensively to track complementary processes such as the geochemical depletion of [...]

Abstract: The 2.68 Ga Phantom Lake metamorphic suite of the Sierra Madre is a volcanogenic, volcaniclastic, and siliciclastic sequence that may have been deposited on or near the margin of [...]

The Proterozoic tectonic evolution of the southwestern USA remains incompletely understood due to limited constraints on the timing and conditions of the tectono-metamorphic phases and depositional age of metasedimentary successions. We integrated multi-scale compositional mapping, petrologic modeling, and in situ geochronology to constrain pressure-temperature-time paths from samples of Paleoproterozoic basement gneisses and overlying quartzites in southwestern Colorado, USA. Basement gneiss from the western Needle Mountains records metamorphic conditions of 600 °C at 0.75 GPa at 1764 ± 9 Ma and ~575 °C at 1741 ± 10 Ma. Gneiss sampled from drill core near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, records conditions of 700 °C at 1748 ± 9 Ma, 800 °C at 1.1 GPa at 1650 ± 40 Ma, 540 °C at 1570 ± 36 Ma, and 440 °C at 1424 ± 12 Ma. The Uncompahgre Formation was deposited at ca. 1705 Ma, as constrained by detrital monazite (1707 ± 8 Ma) and xenotime (1692 ± 40, 1725 ± 50 Ma), metamorphic xenotime (1650 ± 10 Ma), and published 40Ar/39Ar and detrital zircon data. Compositions of ca. 1705 Ma detrital monazite and xenotime are consistent with derivation from a garnet-bearing source in the Yavapai orogenic hinterland. The Vallecito Conglomerate and Uncompahgre Formation record macroscopic folding and greenschist-facies metamorphism at 1650 ± 10 Ma and temperatures of 270 °C to >570 °C at 1470-1400 Ma. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon geochronology yielded dates of 1775 ± 18 Ma from the Twilight Gneiss and 1696 ± 7 Ma from the Bakers Bridge Granite, supporting previous isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) dates. The Eolus Granite yielded a date of 1463 ± 6 Ma, which is older than previous 1.44-1.43 Ga ID-TIMS dates. The newly dated granite of Cataract Gulch is 1421 ± 12 Ma. In situ analysis of detrital and metamorphic monazite and xenotime, igneous zircon, and quantitative thermobarometry, integrated with previously published constraints, indicate multiple tectonic episodes after the emplacement of 1800-1760 Ma arc-related rocks. The region experienced greenschist-to amphibolite-facies metamorphism (M1) from 1760 Ma to 1740 Ma, which was followed by the intrusion of granites at 1730-1695 Ma and deposition of the Uncompahgre Formation at ca. 1705 Ma, contemporaneous with the Yavapai orogeny. Metamorphism at 1680-1600 Ma was characterized by greenschist-facies conditions near Ouray, Colorado, and granulite-facies conditions near Pagosa Springs (M2) during the Mazatzal orogeny. From 1470 Ma to 1400 Ma, greenschist- to amphibolite-facies metamorphism (M3) and largely granitic plutonism occurred during the protracted Picuris orogeny. These results demonstrate the power of monazite and xenotime analyses to constrain depositional ages, provenance, and pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) paths to resolve the compound orogenic history that is characteristic of most mountain belts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New zircon U-Pb, trace element, and Lu-Hf laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) data are presented for five Early to Middle Devonian granitic and felsic volcanic rocks from the Cashes Ledge igneous suite, central Gulf of Maine, USA. These samples were previously analyzed by U-Pb LA-ICP-MS and whole-rock geochemical methods and the new data generally corroborate the earlier results. Coarse-grained alkali-feldspar granite from northwest of the Fundy magnetic anomaly, the interpreted fault boundary in the offshore between Gondwanan microcontinents Ganderia to the northwest and Avalonia to the southeast, yielded a crystallization age of 414 ± 2 Ma. Southeast of the inferred fault, crystallization ages are 385 ± 3 Ma and 386 ± 3 Ma for two crystal tuff samples near the fault, 403 ± 3 Ma for an alkali-feldspar granite ~50 km southeast of the fault, and 399 ± 5 Ma for syenogranite ~25 km southeast of the fault, which also yielded inherited grains at ~1.3 Ga and between 613 ± 15 Ma and 558 ± 9 Ma. Lu-Hf LA-ICP-MS data for zircon retaining igneous crystallization ages have εHf(t) between 2.9 and 13.1 and model ages based on felsic sources between 0.52 and 1.04 Ga, reflecting a mix of late Mesoproterozoic (Avalonian?) basement and primitive melt, possibly in an extensional setting. Zircon Nb/ Hf ratios generally greater than 0.001 indicate a predominately within-plate/anorogenic/rifr setting, consistent with their whole-rock chemistry. U/Yb-Nb/Yb and U/Yb-Hf tectonic setting discrimination diagrams show ocean island to continental arc signatures, with a stronger continental arc signature for the syenogranite. Most zircon grains have Eu/Eu* values less than 0.1, indicating a crustal thickness of ~30 km or less at the time of their crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]