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Dennis,, A.J., Shervais, J.W., Mauldin, J., Maher, H.D. Jr.,, and Wright, J.E

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Dennis,, A.J., Shervais, J.W., Mauldin, J., Maher, H.D. Jr.,, and Wright, J.E Petrology and geochemistry of Neoproterozoic volcanic arc terranes beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Savannah River Site, South Carolina Allen J. Dennis² Department of Biology and Geology, University of South Carolina, Aiken, South Carolina 29801-6309, USA John W. Shervais Department of Geology, Utah State University, 4505 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-4505, USA Joshua Mauldin Department of Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA Harmon D. Maher, Jr. Department of Geology and Geography, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0199, USA James E. Wright Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA ABSTRACT tuffs, all metamorphosed under greenschist- the basis of their compositions and ages, we facies conditions), (2) the Deep Rock tentatively correlate these rocks with the The Piedmont of South Carolina and Metaigneous Complex (ma®c to felsic vol- Hyco Formation in southern Virginia and Georgia is a complex mosaic of exotic ter- canic and plutonic rocks metamorphosed central North Carolina. The Hyco Forma- ranes of uncertain provenance. Farther under lower amphibolite±facies conditions), tion constitutes the infrastructure of the south and east, these terranes form the (3) the Pen Branch Metaigneous Complex Carolina terrane in Virginia and North basement beneath several kilometers of (amphibolites, garnet amphibolites, garnet- Carolina, where it was affected by the ca. Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary biotite schists, and gneiss), and (4) the Tri- 600 Ma ``Virgilina'' orogeny. The rocks of rocks, commonly referred to as the Atlantic assic Dunbarton Basin Group, a sedimen- the Deep Rock and Pen Branch Metaig- Coastal Plain. The distribution and geolog- tary unit that ®lls a northeast-trending neous Complexes may have formed the arc ic history of this hidden crystalline base- graben beneath younger sedimentary rocks infrastructure of the Carolina Slate belt in ment can be inferred only on the basis of of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. South Carolina, detached by later tectonic limited exposures at the margins of the All of the metaplutonic and metavolcanic events, or may have formed the Late Pro- Coastal Plain onlap, aeromagnetic linea- rocks have calc-alkaline fractionation terozoic arc infrastructure at another lo- ments that de®ne basement trends in the trends, consistent with formation in sub- cation in the arc that has been moved into subsurface, and core data from wells that duction-related arc terranes at convergent its current location by transcurrent mo- penetrate basement. margins. Zircon U-Pb crystallization ages tions. Limited age and isotopic data suggest During the past 40 years, basement cores of ca. 626 Ma to 619 Ma, however, show that none of these rocks correlate with the aggregating more than 6 miles (10,000 m) that the Deep Rock and Pen Branch com- Suwannee terrane of North Florida and have been recovered from 57 deep wells at plexes do not correlate with the younger southern Georgia. the Department of Energy's Savannah Riv- Carolina terrane (570±535 Ma) or Suwan- er Site. These cores provide the only known nee terrane (ca. 550 Ma). The Deep Rock Keywords: Neoproterozoic, peri-Gondwana, samples of basement terranes that lie south- and Pen Branch Metaigneous Complexes arc volcanism, Carolina terrane, geochem- east of the Fall Line in central South Car- may be a continuation of Proterozoic base- istry, petrology. olina. Cores from the 57 deep wells, along ment that forms the older infrastructure of with structural trends de®ned by aeromag- the Carolina arc. The contact between the INTRODUCTION netic lineaments, allow us to de®ne four dis- Crackerneck Metavolcanic Complex (5 tinct units within the basement beneath the Persimmon Fork Formation?) and the Deep The hinterland of the southern Appala- Coastal Plain: (1) the Crackerneck Meta- Rock and Pen Branch Metaigneous Com- chians, which lies southeast of Grenville base- volcanic Complex (greenstones and felsic plexes thus may be equivalent to the an- ment and an attached cover sequence exposed gular unconformity between the Uwharrie in the Blue Ridge province, comprises a com- ²E-mail: [email protected]. Formation and the Virgilina sequence. On plex mosaic of exotic or ``suspect'' tectono- GSA Bulletin; May/June 2004; v. 116; no. 5/6; p. 572±593; 14 ®gures; 4 tables; Data Repository item 2004074. For permission to copy, contact [email protected] 572 q 2004 Geological Society of America NEOPROTEROZOIC VOLCANIC ARC TERRANES, SAVANNAH RIVER SITE, SOUTH CAROLINA their petrologic evolution, and explore their subsequent tectonic evolution. GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE Crystalline basement at the Savannah River Site is entirely covered by onlap of the Atlan- tic Coastal Plain. This basement is separated from well-characterized rocks of the Carolina Slate belt (Carolina terrane) by three major fault zones (Secor et al., 1986a, 1986b; Maher et al., 1991, 1994; Horton et al., 1991): the Modoc zone, the Augusta/Belair fault sys- tems, and an inferred fault zone indicated by a strong aeromagnetic lineament that de®nes the southern edge of the Belair belt (Ascauga fault zone; Fig. 2). South of this aeromagnetic Figure 1. Regional map of the southern Appalachians, showing the distribution of major lineament, high-grade sillimanite-bearing tectonic subdivisions of the Laurentian margin (Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Carolina terrane) gneisses of the Belvedere belt are intruded by and the extent of post-Jurassic sedimentary onlap onto the continental margin (Atlantic the Carboniferous Graniteville pluton (e.g., Coastal Plain). Previous areas studied by the authors in the Appalachian Piedmont of Samson et al., 1995a); both are exposed in South Carolina are shown as polygons: (1) western Carolina terrane/Charlotte belts, Cen- erosional windows through the coastal-plain tral Piedmont suture (Dennis and Shervais, 1991, 1996; Dennis and Wright, 1995, 1997; sediments (Fig. 2). The limits of the Granite- Dennis, 1995; Dennis et al. 1995); (2) eclogite/high-P granulites of the Charlotte belt± ville pluton may be estimated from its asso- Carolina Slate belt boundary and Carolina Slate belt in central South Carolina (Shervais ciated gravity anomaly; gravity anomalies also et al., 2003; Dennis et al., 2000b); and (3) the Slate belt±Kiokee belt±Belair belt (Maher de®ne the extent of the Devonian Spring®eld et al., 1981, 1991, 1994; Maher, 1987a, 1987b; Dennis et al. 1987; Shervais et al., 1996). pluton (Speer, 1982) and smaller, unnamed Location of current study shown as circle (4) Savannah River Site. AFÐAugusta fault, granitic stocks related to the larger bodies BZÐBrevard zone, CPSÐcentral Piedmont suture, GHÐGold Hill fault, GSFÐGreat (Fig. 2). The Graniteville pluton is penetrated Smoky Fault, H-FFSÐHayesville-Fries fault system, MZÐModoc Zone. and sampled by a single borehole, the C-2 well. stratigraphic terranes that range in age from years, basement cores totaling more than 6 Magnetic and gravity potential ®eld data late Neoproterozoic through middle Paleozoic. miles (.10,000 m) long have been recovered from the Savannah River Site, coupled with These terranes were accreted to Laurentia dur- from 57 deep wells at the Department of En- core logs from over 30 locations, show that ing the middle to late Paleozoic and now form ergy's Savannah River Site. Southeast of the the subsurface geology can be divided into all of the exposed crystalline rocks east of the eastern Piedmont in central South Carolina four main units (from north to south): (1) Blue Ridge (e.g., Williams and Hatcher, 1982, and Georgia, these cores provide most of the Crackerneck Metavolcanic Complex: low- 1983; Secor et al., 1983; Maher et al., 1981, known samples of crystalline basement and, grade (greenschist-facies) metavolcanic rocks 1991; Horton et al., 1989, 1991; Samson et along with structural trends de®ned by aero- (tuffs, lapilli tuffs, lavas), named for a small al., 1990; Hibbard et al., 2002). Farther to the magnetic lineaments, allow us to de®ne four creek that drains the surface above this unit; southeast, terranes accreted to and overthrust distinct units within the basement beneath the (2) Deep Rock Metaigneous Complex: upper onto crystalline basement of the Laurentian Coastal Plain. Three of these units represent greenschist± to lower amphibolite±facies me- margin are hidden beneath several kilometers crystalline basement; they comprise ma®c to tavolcanic rocks, metaplutonic rocks, and of Mesozoic and Tertiary sedimentary rocks, felsic metavolcanic rocks and dioritic to gra- crosscutting dikes, strongly deformed or my- commonly referred to as the Atlantic Coastal nitic metaplutonic rocks, all metamorphosed lonitized in places, named for its type expo- Plain (Colquhoun, 1995; Fallaw and Price, at greenschist- to amphibolite-facies condi- sures in the Deep Rock Borehole (DRB) series 1995). Deciphering the origin and provenance tions. The fourth unit represents the clastic of wells; (3) Pen Branch Metaigneous Com- of this buried crystalline basement is central sedimentary ®ll of a northeast-trending Trias- plex: upper amphibolite to granulite-facies to our understanding of terrane accretion dur- sic graben, the Dunbarton Basin. metagranitoids and metavolcanic rocks, ing the Paleozoic and has implications for col- This paper examines metaigneous rocks named for a small creek that drains the surface lisional orogenesis in the hinterland of the sampled by these deep core holes and com- above this unit and for its type exposures in southern Appalachians. pares them to rocks exposed in surface out- the ``Pen Branch fault'' (PBF) series of wells; The U.S. Department of Energy Savannah crops throughout the Piedmont of the Caroli- and (4) Dunbarton Basin: a deep Triassic rift River Site is located near the northwest mar- nas, Georgia, and Virginia; a parallel basin with fault-controlled margins that was gin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain in central investigation of much of this core material buried by coastal-plain sediments (Marine, South Carolina (Fig. 1), where up to 2 km of was carried out by Roden et al.
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