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Earth History GEOL 2110. The Cryptozoic (Precambrian) SuperEon Part 3: The Meso - and Neoproterozoic Eras. Major Concepts. After the formation of the Paleoproterzoic continent of Laurentia , new marginal terranes continued to be added to the “south” in the Mesoproterzoic .
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Earth History GEOL 2110 The Cryptozoic (Precambrian) SuperEon Part 3: The Meso- and Neoproterozoic Eras
Major Concepts • After the formation of the Paleoproterzoic continent of Laurentia, new marginal terranes continued to be added to the “south” in the Mesoproterzoic. • The most significant of these terranes was the Grenville which was a mobile belt formed by the collision of Amazonia and Laurentia between 1.2 and 0.9 Ga • A major starting plume event at 1.1 Ga impacted the lithosphere under what would become Lake Superior. This brought on the development of the Midcontinent Rift – an aborted attempt at continental rifting. • Toward the end of the Proterozoic Eon (~1.0 Ga), one of the largest supercontinents in earth history formed, Rodinia, which had Laurentia at its core.
PALEOPROTEROZOIC ACCRETED TERRANES Creation and Growth of LAURENTIA
_______________ THE MIDCONTINENT RIFT _______________ An attempt at continental rifting 1.1 billion years ago
The Evolution of the Midcontinent Rift 1,109-1,086 Ma 1,090-900 Ma 1,000-900 Ma
Fissure Eruption
Massive Basalt Amygdaloidal Basalt
Amygdules – Gas bubble fillings Chlorite & Zeolite Zeolite Epidote & Feldspar Thompsonite
LAKE SUPERIOR AGATES Gemstone of Minnesota
Formation of Lake Superior Agates
BASALT FLOW SURFACES AA AA Pahoehoe HAWAII Pahoehoe NORTH SHORE
High Falls on the Baptism River Palisade Head Rhyolite RHYOLITE The other volcanic rock type Palisade Head
INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS Gabbro Magmas trapped in the Crust Duluth Complex Layered Gabbro Beaver Bay Complex Granite
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS of the Midcontinent Rift Cutface Creek Sandstone Freda Sandstone
LATE-STAGE FAULTING The Douglas Fault at Amnicon Falls State Park Basalt Fault Sandstone
Why isn’t Duluth a Sea-side Resort? Blame it on Grenville & Rodinia
Assembly of Rodinia 1200 – 750 Ma Li et al., 2008
Deconstruction ofRodinia by a Superplume 750 Ma Li et al., 2008
Next Lecture Early Evolution of Life Chapter 9 Midterm I returned –PROMISE!