Mountain Building in the Uralides: Pangea to the Present

286 Pages·2002·36.601 MB·English

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Mountain Building in the Uralides
Pangea to the Present
Dennis Brown
Christopher Juhlin
Victor Puchkov
Editors
American Geophysical Union
Washington, DC
Published under the aegis of the AGU Books Board
John E. Costa, Chair; Gray E. Bebout, David Bercovici, Carl T. Friedrichs, James L. Horwitz, Lisa A.
Levin, W. Berry Lyons, Kenneth R. Minschwaner, Darrell Strobel, and William R. Young, members.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mountain building in the Uralides: Pangea to the present /Dennis Brown, Christopher
Juhlin, Victor Puchkov, editors.
p. cm — (Geophysical monograph ; 132)
ISBN 0-87590-991-4
1. Orogeny-Russia (Federation)—Ural Mountains. 2. Geology, Structural-Russia
(Federation)—Ural Mountains. I. Brown, Dennis, 1958- II. Juhlin, Christopher. III. Puchkov,
Victor Nikolaevich. IV. Series.
QE621.5.R8 M68 2002
551.8' 2' 094743-dc21 2002034153
ISSN 0065-8448
ISBN 0-87590-991-4
Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union
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Printed in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
Preface
Dennis Brown, Christopher Juhlin, and Victor Puchkov vii
Introduction
Dennis Brown, Christopher Juhlin, and Victor Puchkov 1
Section 1. Crustal Structure and Orogen Evolution
Paleozoic Evolution of the East European Continental Margin Involved in the Uralide Orogeny
V Puchkov 9
The Crustal Architecture of the Southern and Middle Urals From the URSEIS, ESRU, and Alapaev Reflection
Seismic Surveys
D. Brown, C. Juhlin, A. Tryggvason, D. Steer, P. Ayarza, A/I. Beckholmen, A. Rybalka, and M. Bliznetsov 33
Insights Into the Architecture and Evolution of the Southern and Middle Urals From Gravity and Magnetic Data
G. 5. Kimbell, C. Ayala, A. Gerdes, M. K. Kaban, V. A. Shapiro, and Y. P. Menshikov 49
Role of a Phase: Change Moho in Stabilization and Preservation of the Southern Uralide Orogen, Russia
Camelia C. Diaconescu and James H. Knapp 67
Tectonic Processes During Collisional Orogenesis From Comparison of the Southern Uralides With the Central
Variscides
J. Alvarez-Marron 83
Section 2. Arc-Continent Collision in the Uralides
Arc-Continent Collision in the Southern Urals: Petrogenetic Aspects of the Forearc-Arc Complex
P. Spadea, M. D'Antonio, A. Kosarev, Y. Gorozhanina, and D. Brown 101
Ophiolites and Zoned Mafic-Ultramafic Massifs of the Urals: A Comparative Analysis and Some Tectonic
Implications
G. N. Savelieva, A. Ya. Sharaskin, A. A. Saveliev, P. Spadea, A. N. Pertsev, and /. /. Babarina 135
Massive Sulfide Deposits in the South Urals: Geological Setting Within the Framework of the Uralide Orogen
R. J. Herrington, R. N. Armstrong, V. V. Zaykov, V. V. Maslennikov, 5. G. Tessalina, J.-J. Orgeval,
and R. N. A. Taylor 155
Surface Signals of an Arc-Continent Collision: The Detritus of the Upper Devonian Zilair Formation in the
Southern Urals, Russia
A. P. Willner, T. Ermolaeva, Y N. Gorozhanina, V. N. Puchkov, A/I. Arzhavitina, V. N. Pazukhin,
U. Kramm, and R. Walter 183
Section 3. Melt Generation, Emplacement and Geochronology
Granitoids of the Uralides: Implications for the Evolution of the Orogen
F Bea, G. B. Fershtater, and P. Montero 211
CONTENTS
Four Decades of Geochronological Work in the Southern and Middle Urals: A Review
J. H. Scarrow, R. Hetzel, V. M. Gorozhanin, M. Dinn, J. Glodny, A. Gerdes, C. Ayala, and P. Montero 233
Section 4. Late- to Post-Orogenic History and the Uplift of the Ural Mountains
The Syn- and Post-Orogenic Low Temperature Events in the Southern and Middle Urals:
Evidence From Fission-Track Analysis
D. Seward, D. Brown, R. Hetzel, M. Friberg, A. Gerdes, G. A. Petrov, and A. Perez-Estaun 257
Constraints on the Neogene-Quaternary Geodynamics of the Southern Urals: Comparative Study
of Neotectonic Data and Results of Strength and Strain Modeling Along the URSEIS Profile
V. O. Mikhailov, A. V. Tevelev, R. G. Berzin, E. A. Kiseleva, E. I. Smolyaninova,
A. K. Suleimanov, and E. P. Timoshkina 273
PREFACE
Extending for more than 2000 kilometers from the analyses of the island arc and oceanic system; (3) the timing
islands of Novaya Zemlya in the north to the Aral Sea in the and processes of subduction-related and late orogenic gran­
south, the Uralide orogen forms the geographical and geo­ itoid melt generation and emplacement in the internal part
logical divide between Europe and Asia. For more than a of the orogen using geochemical and geochronological con­
century the Uralides have been one of the key areas of geo­ straints; and (4) the still unanswered question of the age of
logical research in Russia, and have provided much of its Ural Mountain topography, which gains new clarity in fis­
mineral and petroleum wealth for the last 50 years. sion track studies and rheological modeling.
Nevertheless, the geology and tectonic evolution of the In the following introductory section we briefly present
Uralide orogen were relatively unknown in the internation­ an overview of the Uralides, outlining the tectonic and geo­
al literature until recently, when EUROPROBE and logical background upon which this volume builds. The
GEODE (European Science Foundation scientific pro­ geological and geographic nomenclatures applied to the
grammes) brought together Russian, European, and Uralides, and used throughout this volume, are also pre­
American earth scientists to work in the Uralides project sented.
and the Urals Mineral Province project, respectively. Much We would like to express our gratitude to the many peo­
of the recent research has focused around two deep seismic ple who have contributed manuscripts to this volume, and
surveys, Europrobe's Seismic Reflection Profiling in the to those who have provided manuscript reviews. Many of
Urals (ESRU) survey in the Middle Urals and the multi- the ideas expressed in the papers in this volume were dis­
component Urals Seismic Experiment and Integrated cussed and developed in EUROPROBE and GEODE
Studies (URSEIS) survey in the South Urals. These exper­ workshops. The numerous colleauges who praticipated in
iments were accompanied by a large number of geological, these discussions are also thanked.
geochemical, geochronological, and geophysical studies. It is hoped that this volume will be of interest to geosci-
This volume brings together many of the results of these entists, researchers, and students working on orogenic
projects, presenting data that will provide the basis for an processes worldwide and in the Uralides in particular.
enhanced understanding of the Uralide orogen. It is
designed to address the large-scale orogenic processes that
were active in the formation and preservation of the
Uralides. This is achieved by developing four broad themes;
(1) the Uralide crustal structure, with focus on the ESRU
and URSEIS seismic transects that provide information on Dennis Brown
formative tectonic processes; (2) the well-preserved arc- Christopher Juhlin
continent collision zone, with geochemical and structural Victor Puchkov
vii
Introduction
Dennis Brown
Institute Jaume Aimer a, Barcelona, Spain
Christopher Juhlin
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Victor Puchkov
Institute of Geology, Ufa, Russia
INTRODUCTION which abruptly interupts the long wavelength signature
of the Baltica, Siberia and Kazakhstan plates (Plate lc).
The Uralide orogen of Russia and the Variscide- For descriptive purposes the Uralides have traditionally
Appalachian orogenic system of Europe and North been divided into a number of longitudinal zones that
America are the main orogenic edifices built during the are largely based on the ages and paleogeography of
Paleozoic assembly of Pangaea (Figure 1). Unlike the the dominant rocks within them [e.g., Ivanov et al.,
Variscide-Appalachian orogenic system, which was lar­ 1975; Khain, 1985; Puchkov, 1997]. From west to east
gely rifted apart by the opening of the Atlantic ocean or these zones are; the Pre-Uralian zone, the West Uralian
extensively overprinted by post orogenic processes, the zone, the Central Uralian zone, the Magnitogorsk-Tagil
Uralides have been preserved within a tectonic plate zone, the East Uralian zone, and the Trans-Uralian zone
(Eurasia), providing an opportunity to study an intact (Figure 2). Additionally, the Uralides have been divided
Paleozoic orogen. Most of what is known about the geographically into the South, Middle, North, Cis-Polar
Uralide orogen is confined to the Ural Mountains, a and Polar Urals (Figure 2).
narrow range of low to moderate topography extending The Pre-Uralian, West Uralian and Central Uralian
for nearly 2500 kilometers from near the Aral Sea in the zones contain syntectonic Late Carboniferous to Early
south to the islands of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Triassic sediments of the foreland basin, Paleozoic plat­
Ocean (Plate la). To the south and east of the Ural form and slope rocks, and Archean and Proterozoic rocks
Mountains exposure is poor and much of the orogen is of the East European Craton (part of Baltica). These three
buried beneath Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments and zones were affected by Uralide deformation and make
has not been extensively studied (Plate lb). The full up the foreland thrust and fold belt [e.g., Kamaletdinov,
extent of the Uralides is best seen by its roughly north- 1974; Brown et al., 1996]. The Magnitogorsk-Tagil zone
south oriented, short wavelength magnetic signature, consists of Silurian to Devonian intra-oceanic island arc
volcanic rocks and overlying volcanoclastic sediments.
The Magnitogorsk-Tagil zone is sutured to the former
continental margin of Baltica along the Main Uralian
fault. The East Uralian zone is composed predominantly
Mountain Building in the Uralides: Pangea to the Present
of deformed and metamorphosed volcanic arc fragments
Geophysical Monograph 132
with minor amounts of Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks
Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union
10.1029/132GM01 thought to represent continental crust [e.g., Puchkov,
1
2 INTRODUCTION
Early Carboniferous (356 Ma)
Figure 1. Paleogeographic maps for, (a) the Early Carboniferous, and (b) the Early Permian showing the
development of the Uralides. (redrafted from C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP Project, www.scotese com \Scotese
2001]).
1997, 2000; Friberg, 2000]. The East Uralian zone was Uralian zones is only exposed in the Southern Urals,
extensively intruded by Carboniferous and Permian where it is a serpentinite melange. Rocks that unequi­
granitoids [Fershtater et al., 1997; Bea et al., 1997], vocally belong to either the Kazakhstan or Siberia plates
forming the "main granite axis" of the Uralides. The East do not outcrop in the Uralides.
Uralian zone is juxtaposed against the Magnitogorsk- The tectonic evolution of the Uralides began during
Tagil zone along the East Magnitogorsk - Serov-Mauk the Late Paleozoic as the continental margin of Baltica
fault system. The Trans-Uralian zone is composed of (part of Euroamerica in Figure 1) was subducted east­
Devonian and Carboniferous volcano-plutonic com­ ward (current coordinates) beneath the Magnitogorsk
plexes overlain by terrigenous red-beds and evaporites and Tagil island arcs during the Late Devonian and
[e.g., Puchkov, 1997, 2000]. Ophiolitic material and high Early Carboniferous (Figure la). This was followed by
pressure rocks have also been reported [e.g., Puchkov, the accretion of volcanic arcs, oceanic crust, and possible
2000]. The contact between the East Uralian and Trans- continental fragments along the margin of the growing
INTRODUCTION 3
O