Vol 51, No 5 (2017)

The distribution of cross-cutting and pseudoconcordant contacts of Paleoproterozoic metagabbro and their Archean host rocks were studied in the central part of the Belomorian province of the Fennoscandian Shield. It was shown that the metagabbro intrusions affected by ductile shearing during nappe stacking exhibit pseudoconcordant contact relationships. As a result of these deformations, Paleoproterozoic intrusions were sheared into boudins and tectonic slices, conformable with the nappe boundaries, while all traces of pre-Paleoproterozoic structures in the host rock complexes were obliterated. It was also shown that the original cross-cutting intrusive contacts can be still observed in intrusions unaffected by Paleoproterozoic nappe stacking. Therefore, analysis of preserved pre-Paleoproterozoic host rock structure may be helpful for reconstructing its Archean tectonic evolution. Based on the spatial distribution of localities with different contact relationships between Paleoproterozoic metagabbro and their host structure in the central part of the Belomorian province, several large domains of different tectonic styles were recognized. It was shown that these differences can be explained by heterogeneous reworking of the Archean basement during the Lapland–Kola collisional orogeny.

The paper considers the role of the lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere during the Late Cenozoic collision volcanism of the Lesser Caucasus. The results of petrogeochemical studies show that the products of volcanism of the West Volcanic Zone of Armenia and the calc-alkaline andesite–dacite–rhyodacite complex of the Neogene Kelbadzhar and Karabakh plateaus were formed from an enriched source in a suprasubduction setting. Late Pliocene–Quaternary moderately alkaline and alkaline volcanic rocks of the Lesser Caucasus differ in petrogeochemistry from suprasubduction volcanic rocks. In trace element contents and patterns, they are similar to rocks formed from an enriched mantle source. Comparative analysis of the geological and geophysical data suggests the model of lithospheric slab break-off of the thickened lithosphere as the triggering mechanism for Late Cenozoic magmatism of the Lesser Caucasus.

The age ranges of Upper Cretaceous lithotectonic complexes of Western Kamchatka—terrigenous Kikhchik, volcanic Irunei, and terrigenous Omgon—are analyzed to reveal their almost simultaneous deposition. The pre-Cenozoic settings of these complexes are reconstructed. Based on analysis of the composition and structural features of Late Cretaceous lithotectonic complexes and on correlation of events, the Late Cretaceous paleogeography is reconstructed. It is found that the formation of the contemporary structure of the studied region would have required significant displacement of the volcanic Irunei complex from west to east and the terrigenous Omgon complex from north to south. It is concluded that the Western Kamchatka continental block (minor lithospheric plate) was independent in the Late Cretaceous.