A Precambrian History of Cratonic North American Crust Beneath The
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A PRECAMBRIAN HISTORY OF CRATONIC 1 NORTH AMERICAN CRUST BENEATH THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN, IDAHO 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 by 9 Emerald Kirke Shirley 10 11 12 13 A thesis 14 submitted in partial fulfillment 15 of the requirements for the degree of 16 Master of Sciences in Geology 17 Boise State University 18 19 December 2013 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 © 2013 38 Emerald Kirke Shirley 39 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 40 BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COLLEGE 41 42 43 DEFENSE COMMITTEE AND FINAL READING APPROVALS 44 45 46 of the thesis submitted by 47 48 49 Emerald Kirke Shirley 50 51 52 Thesis Title: A Precambrian history of cratonic North American crust beneath the 53 Snake River Plain, Idaho 54 55 Date of Final Oral Examination: 09 October 2013 56 57 The following individuals read and discussed the thesis submitted by student Emerald 58 Kirke Shirley, and they evaluated her presentation and response to questions during the 59 final oral examination. They found that the student passed the final oral examination. 60 61 Mark Schmitz, Ph.D. Chair, Supervisory Committee 62 63 Karen Viskupik, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee 64 65 Craig White, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee 66 67 The final reading approval of the thesis was granted by Mark Schmitz, Ph.D., Chair of 68 the Supervisory Committee. The thesis was approved for the Graduate College by John 69 R. Pelton, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate College. 70 71 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Mark Schmitz for providing me with the opportunity to develop this thesis. His guidance and support greatly added to the quality of this thesis. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Karen Viskupic and Dr. Craig White for their valuable suggestions, assistance, and encouragement throughout my master’s program. Dr. James Crowley, Debra Pierce, and Dr. Paul Olin were instrumental in the collection of data. Without their instruction and patience, this thesis would not have been completed. I would also like to thank the Washington State University Radiogenic Isotope and Geochronology Laboratory for assistance in data collection. The Department of Geosciences at Boise State is an incredibly friendly environment. A thank-you is owed to the students, staff, and professors who make it a space that encourages learning and exploration, as well as a place to find good conversation and fun people. I thank the members of the Geosciences department for making it easy and enjoyable for me to come to work each day. The National Science Foundation GK-12 program and the Department of Geosciences at Boise State University provided funding for this research. And finally, I thank my parents, siblings, and fiancé, for their unwavering support throughout my master’s program. iv ABSTRACT 92 93 Granulite xenoliths erupted in Neogene basalts, and a rare outcrop of Precambrian 94 basement along the northern margin of the Snake River Plain (SRP), can be used as 95 windows into the origin and stabilization of the lower crust of southern Idaho. Previous 96 work to determine the nature of the lower crust beneath the Snake River Plain was 97 conducted on a suite of xenoliths exposed in Southern Idaho at Square Mountain (SM), 98 Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (CRMO), and the Spencer-Kilgore 99 (SK) area (Leeman, 1979; Leeman et al., 1985; Matty, 1984; Wolf et al., 2005), as well 100 as on a basement outcrop at House Mountain, near Mountain Home, ID (Alexander, 101 2006). This study uses U/Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry to determine 102 the history of formation and stabilization of the lower crust of the SRP within the context 103 of other surrounding Precambrian basement terranes of North America. 104 Results of this investigation reveal that two distinct terranes comprise the lower 105 crust of Southern Idaho. The Kilgore-Craters terrane formed and stabilized >2.7 Ga and 106 the Square Mountain terrane at >2.5 Ga. Hf isotope ratios and U-Pb geochronology of 107 inherited cores of zircons reveal that the Snake River Plain formed in part from older, 108 reworked crust. Archean geologic events and Hf signatures of the Snake River Plain 109 match those of the Wyoming Province, indicating the Snake River Plain is a westward 110 extension of the Wyoming Province. The Kilgore-Craters terrane is equivalent to the 111 v northern Beartooth-Bighorn magmatic zone and the Montana Metasedimentary province 112 area, and the Square-Mountain/Grouse Creek terrane is a westward extension of the 113 Southern Accreted Terranes of the Wyoming Province. 114 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... xi LIST OF EQUATIONS .............................................................................................. xv CHAPTER ONE: FORMATION AND STABILIZATION OF THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN, IDAHO .......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Geologic Background ..................................................................................... 7 Sample Materials ............................................................................................ 8 Spencer-Kilgore .................................................................................. 9 Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve ..................... 11 Square Mountain ................................................................................. 13 House Mountain .................................................................................. 14 Analytical Methods ......................................................................................... 15 U/Pb Geochronology .......................................................................... 15 Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry ................... 18 Identifying Age Populations and Calculating Ages ............................ 19 Results ............................................................................................................. 22 Spencer-Kilgore .................................................................................. 22 vii Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve ..................... 31 Square Mountain ................................................................................. 42 House Mountain .................................................................................. 48 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 52 The Use of Trace Element Geochemistry ........................................... 52 Use of Ti-in-Zircon ............................................................................. 56 Formation of the Kilgore-Craters Terrane .......................................... 57 Neoarchean Metamorphism of the Kilgore-Craters Terrane .............. 64 Boundaries of the Kilgore-Craters Terrane ......................................... 67 Formation of the Square Mountain Terrane ........................................ 68 Boundaries of the Square Mountain Terrane ...................................... 71 Paleogene Reactivation ....................................................................... 72 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER TWO: THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN AND THE WYOMING CRATON ............................................................................................................... 76 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 76 Geologic Background ..................................................................................... 78 Wyoming Province ............................................................................. 78 Sample Materials ............................................................................................ 82 Analytical Methods ......................................................................................... 82 Zircon 176fHf/177Hf Ratio Analysis ...................................................... 82 Zircon U/Pb Geochronology ............................................................... 86 Results ............................................................................................................. 88 viii Hf Isotope Analysis ............................................................................. 88 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 97 Recycled Crust in the Lower Crust of the Snake River Plain ............. 97 The Eastern Snake River Plain and the Wyoming Craton .................. 98 Open System Zircon Growth During the Paleogene ........................... 100 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 103 APPENDIX ..............................................................................................................