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Late Miocene magmatic activity in the Attic-Cycladic Belt of the Aegean (Lavrion, SE Attica, Greece): implications for the geodynamic evolution and timing of ore deposition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2009

ANTHI LIATI ,
NIKOS SKARPELIS  and
GEORGIA PE-PIPER
ANTHI LIATI*
Affiliation:
Institute of Isotope Geology and Mineral Resources, ETH Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 25, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
NIKOS SKARPELIS
Affiliation:
Department of Geology & Geoenvironment, University of Athens, Panepistimiopoli, 15784 Zografou, Athens, Greece
GEORGIA PE-PIPER
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada
*
*Author for correspondence: anthi.liati@empa.ch
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Abstract

Numerous post-metamorphic Miocene granitoids occur in the area of Lavrion, SE Attica, at the western end of the Attic-Cycladic Belt of the Aegean. U–Pb ion microprobe-dating (SHRIMP) of zircon from a granitoid sill in the hanging-wall of a regional detachment fault reveals two distinct ages: (1) 11.93 ± 0.41 Ma, obtained from inherited zircon cores with metamorphic characteristics (homogeneous cathodoluminescence, low Th/U ratios) and granulite-type (round/resorbed) morphology. This age is interpreted as the time of a likely granulite-facies metamorphism of the precursor rock. (2) 8.34 ± 0.20 Ma, obtained by oscillatory zoned zircon domains with cathodoluminescence and Th/U characteristics typical for magmatic origin. This age is interpreted as the crystallization time of the granitoid sills. Although a granulite-facies metamorphic event has not been recognized so far for rocks of the Attic-Cycladic Belt, it seems to be the most plausible hypothesis to explain both the zircon systematics and age results. This hypothesis is consistent with an extensional regime predominating in the Aegean from Late Miocene times onwards. A possible granulite-facies metamorphism can be related to magmatic underplating at the initial stages of extension, setting an upper age of c. 12 Ma for the operation of the detachment fault. The 8.34 ± 0.20 Ma zircon crystallization age is, statistically, marginally different to a previous K–Ar feldspar date of hornblende-bearing dykes (9.4 ± 0.3 Ma) and identical to a 8.27 ± 0.11 Ma K–Ar biotite date of the main granitoid stock in the area, thus being generally consistent with prior age constraints from the region. Operation of the detachment fault in the Lavrion area is therefore bracketed between c. 11.9 Ma and at least 8.3 Ma. This time range is in line with the time of operation of detachment faults suggested previously for the Cycladic islands. Carbonate-hosted replacement-type massive sulphide Pb–Zn–Ag ores are spatially associated with the detachment fault and related extensional structures in the Basal Unit. Therefore, these Pb–Zn–Ag ores probably also formed within the above time span of c. 11.9 to at least 8.3 Ma. U–Pb ion microprobe (SHRIMP) dating of zircon from an orthogneiss within the metaclastic subunit of the Basal Unit in Lavrion yielded a protolith age of 240 ±4 Ma, consistent with ages of Triassic volcanism elsewhere in Greece.

Keywords

SHRIMP-datinggranitoid sillssulphide oreAttic-Cycladic BeltLavrion granulite-facies
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 146 , Issue 5 , September 2009 , pp. 732 - 742
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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Footnotes

†

Present address: EMPA, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

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