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I I 72-4508 GUNNER, John Duncan, 1945- AGE AND ORIGIN OF THE NIMROD GROUP AND OF THE GRANITE HARBOUR INTRUSIVES, BEARDMORE GLACIER REGION, ANTARCTICA. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1971 Geology University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED AGE AND ORIGIN OP THE NIMROD GROUP AND OF THE GRANITE HARBOUR INTRUSIVES, BEARDMORE GLACIER REGION, ANTARCTICA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By John Duncan Gunner, 3.A., M.A ****** The Ohio State University 1971 Approved by Adviser Department of Geology PLEASE NOTE: Some Pages have indistinct p rin t. Filmed as received. UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS igure 1: View across the Beardmore Glacier from the Summit of Mount Kyffin. The Rocks in the Foreground are Argillites and Arenites of the 'Goldie Formation, and the Sharp Peak is formed of Hope Granite. The Rounded Mountain on the Left Horizon is The Cloudmaker. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am greatly indebted to Dr. Gunter Faure for his enthusiastic ad vice and encouragement throughout this study. I am grateful also to the members of the Institute of Polar Studies expeditions to the Beardmore Glacier region during the 1967-1968 and 1969-1970 field seasons, and especially to David Johnston and to Drs. I. C. Rust and D. H. Elliot for willing assistance and stimulating dis cussions in the field. Logistic field support was provided by Squadron VXE-6 of the U. S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, without whose help this study would not have been possible. The mineral separations and many of the X-ray analyses were carried out by Mary-Margaret Coates, John Gahn and David McClain, to each of whom I express my thanks for much monotonous labor, painstakingly per formed. Several computer programs and much advice and assistance were provided by Dr. R. Eastin, and free computer time was supplied by The Ohio State University Numerical Computation Laboratory. The administrative assistance of the staff of the Institute of Polar Studies, and especially of J. F. Splettstoesser, Associate Direct or, is gratefully acknowledged. The dissertation was critically reviewed by Drs. E. G. Ehlers, D. H. Elliot and R. J. Fleck, discussions with whom were much appreciated. The text was typed by Mrs. Jeanne Peebles and part of the tables by Mrs. Helen Jones. The diagrams were drafted by R. Randolph, R. Wilkinson and D. A. Porter. Financial assistance for the study was provided by National Science Foundation grants GA-898X, GA-1159 and GA-12315. Part of the research was conducted while the author was supported by an Ohio State University Dissertation Year Fellowship. VITA June 22, 1945 Born - Arbroath, Scotland. 1964 Winchester Scholar, New College, Oxford University. Summer, 1965 Member, Brathay Exploration Group Expedition to Langjszflcull Glacier, Iceland. Slimmer, 1966 Field Assistant, British East Greenland Geological Expedition, Skaergaard Intrusion Party. 1967 B.A.(Hons;), New College, Oxford University. Summer, 1967 Geologist, Expedition to Scoresby Sund, East Greenland. October, 1967 - December, 1967 Geologist, The Ohio State University Expedition to the Beardmore Glacier region, 1967-68. January, 1968 March, 1969 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. October, 1968 - December, 1968 Geologist, The Ohio State University Expedition to Meserve Glacier, Southern Victoria Land. April, 1969 - September, 1970 Graduate Research Associate, Institute of Polar Studies, The Ohio State University. October, 1970 - September, 1971 Ohio State University Dissertation Year Fellow. 1971 M.A., New College, Oxford University. v PUBLICATIONS Geology of the Beardmore Glacier area, Transantarctic Mountains. Antarct. Jour. United States, 3(4), 102-106 (with P.J. Barrett, D.H. Elliot and J.F. Lindsay). 1968. Petrography of Metamorphic Rocks from the Miller Range, Antarctica. Ohio State Univ. Inst, of Polar Studies, Report 32, 44p. 1969. Reconnaissance Geologic Map of the Mount Rabot Quadrangle, Trans antarctic Mountains, Antarctica. U.S. Geol. Surv., Antarctic Maps, No. 1. 1970. Rubidium-Strontium Geochronology of the Nimrod Group, Central Trans antarctic Mountains. Ohio State Univ. Inst, of Polar Studies and Dept, of Geology, Laboratory for Isotope Geology and Geochemistry, Report 5, 23-43 (with G. Faure). 1970. (Presented at the SCAR/IUGS Symposium on Antarctic Geology and Solid Earth Geophysics, Oslo, August, 1970). Anatectic Origin of Late Orogenic Granitic Intrusions, Central Trans antarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Amer. Geophys. Union, Trans actions, 52(4), 373 (abstract). 1971. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1 Physiography .................................... 1 Geology • • • 4 Statement of the Problem ................. ...... 6 Nimrod Group ............................ 6 Granite Harbour Intrusives ................. 7 II. FIELD WORK IN THE BEARDMORE GLACIER R E G I O N ............ 11 Previous Work .............................. H Field Work for This S t u d y ...... 12 III. REGIONAL GEOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHY ..................... 13 Outline ............... 13 The Basement Complex ............................ 13 Nimrod Group ............................... 13 Beardmore Group .................... 15 Byrd Group .............. 19 Granite Harbour Intrusives ................. 20 IV. GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE NIMROD GROUP ................. 28 Previous W o r k .................. 28 Results ............ 29 Summary ............................ 40 V. AGE AND ORIGIN OF THE HOPE AND IDA GRANITES........... 42 Introduction............. 42 vii Chapter Page Previous Work ............ 42 Object.lves .................. 45 Methods ........................... 45 Rb-Sr Analyses ..................... 48 Hope and Ida Granites....................... 48 Nimrod Group and Goldie Formation ........... 51 Major Element Chemical Analyses .................. 57 Results ............. 57 Discussion ............. 64 Summary ............ 69 Conclusions .......... 71 VI. MAGMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOPE AND IDA GRANITES ..................................... 74 Introduction ................ 74 Methods ................ 74 Analytical Techniques ...... 75 Analyses of Whole-Rocks .............. 75 Analyses of K-feldspars ....... 75 Petrographic Analyses.. ..................... 84 Results ...................................... 90 Theoretical Aspects of Magmatic Differentiation ...... 91 Discussion of Results ........ 99 VII. CONCLUSIONS........................................... 127 Nimrod Group ............ 127 Hope and Ida Granites ................. 128 viii Chapter Page Hypothetical History of Development of the Hope and Ida Granites ............... 128 APPENDIX A. DESCRIPTION OF ROCK SAMPLES .......................... 135 Nimrod Group ............................... 135 Samples for Geochronology .................. 135 Composite Samples, Section D ............. 141 Goldie Formation............................. 146 Section A .......................... 148 Section C ............ 149 Section G ........... 150 Section H ......... 151 Hope and Ida Granites ..... 152 B. PRINCIPLES OF Rb-Sr ANALYSIS ......................... 154 Introduction................................... 154 The Isochron Technique ................. 155 Regression Analysis ....................... 157 C. LABORATORY TECHNIQUES: (1) MASS SPECTROMETRY AND X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ............................... 159 Introduction .................................... 159 Initial Sample Preparation.............. 159 Whole-Rock Samples .................. 159 Mineral Separates .................... 160 Rubidium, Strontium Analyses .......... 161 Introduction........................ 161 ix APPENDIX Page Mass Spectrometric Analyses ............... 161 X-ray Fluorescence Analyses ........ 170 X-ray Diffraction Analyses ................. 209 D. LABORATORY TECHNIQUES: (2) FLAME PHOTOMETRY AND ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROPHOTOMETRY .................. 212 Sodium, Potassium Analyses ................... 212 Preparation of Samples and Standards ....... 212 Flame Photometric Analytical Procedures ..... 214 Barium, Calcium Analyses ........................ 217 Preparation of Samples and Standards ....... 217 AAS Analytical Procedures ................. 219 AAS Data Reduction .......................... 221 Precision and Accuracy of AAS Analyses ...... 225 REFERENCES ..................................................... 227 x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Stratigraphy of the Beardmore Glacier region .......... 5 2. Tectonic history of the Basement Complex .............. 9 3. Rb-Sr analyses: Nimrod Group ................ 30 4. K-Ar dates on micas from Hope Granite ................. 44 5. Rb-Sr analyses, whole-rock samples Hope and Ida Granites ............. 49 6. Rb-Sr analyses, composite samples, Nimrod Group and Goldie Formation................................... 52 7. Chemical analyses and norms: (1) Whole-rock samples, Hope and Ida Granites .............. 58 8. Chemical analyses and norms: (2) Composite samples, Nimrod Group and Goldie Formation............ 63 9. Melting relationships in the SiO -AB-OR-H O system: samples C-l, D-l and H-l ............... 68 10. Electron microprobe results: variations in K concen trations in scans across K-feldspar crystals .......... 77 11. Sample 709: analyses of matrix and phenocryst K-feld spar separates .......... 79 12. Orthoclase contents of 12 K-feldspar