Vol. 49 No. 1 (2022)
GAC–MAC Field Guide Summary

Volcanism of the Late Silurian Eastport Formation of the Coastal Volcanic Belt, Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick: GAC–MAC Halifax 2022 Pre-Meeting Field Trip

Nancy Van Wagoner
Thompson Rivers University, Department of Physical Sciences Kamloops, British Columbia, V2C 0C8
Les Fyffe
New Brunswick Geological Surveys Branch (retired), Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5H1
David Lentz
Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3
Kelsie Dadd
School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006
Wayne McNeil
25 Alderney, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 0E4
Diane Baldwin
Minex Services, 17 Gitzel Street, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, X1A 2C1
Geoscience Canada V.49#1 Front Page (photo and teasers).

Publié-e 2022-03-26

Mots-clés

  • Bimodal volcanism,
  • Coastal Volcanic Belt,
  • Late Silurian,
  • New Brunswick

Comment citer

Van Wagoner, N., Fyffe, L., Lentz, D., Dadd, K., McNeil, W., & Baldwin, D. (2022). Volcanism of the Late Silurian Eastport Formation of the Coastal Volcanic Belt, Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick: GAC–MAC Halifax 2022 Pre-Meeting Field Trip. Geoscience Canada, 49(1), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2022.49.186

Résumé

Cette sortie sur le terrain est une excursion à travers les magnifiques affleurements pratiquement non altérés d'une séquence volcanique et sédimentaire bimodale silurienne à dominance felsique exposée dans la région de la baie de Passamaquoddy, au sud-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick (Formation d'Eastport). Ces roches forment le prolongement nord-ouest de la Ceinture volcanique côtière qui s'étend du sud-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick à la côte sud du Maine. La séquence est importante car elle fait partie d'une grande province ignée bimodale comprenant des preuves de super éruptions volcaniques qui ont commencé à se former à la fin de l'orogenèse salinique (environ 424 Ma) et se sont poursuivies pendant l'orogenèse acadienne (421–400 Ma). La caractéristique géochimique des roches peut être expliquée par le volcanisme lié à l'extension, mais les facteurs spécifiques de l'extension sont incertains. La séquence de la baie de Passamaquoddy a une épaisseur de 4 km et comprend quatre cycles de volcanisme basaltique-rhyolitique. Le volcanisme basaltique précède généralement le volcanisme rhyolitique dans les cycles 1–3. Le cycle 4 représente les stades décroissants du volcanisme et est dominé par des sédiments péritidaux et des roches volcaniques basaltiques. Une variété de mécanismes éruptifs et de mises en place est représentée, allant du volcanisme de type hawaïen et strombolien des coulées basaltiques et des dépôts de scories pyroclastiques, aux éruptions pyroclastiques rhyolitiques hautement explosives sous-pliniennes à pliniennes formant des courants de densité pyroclastiques et des ignimbrites rhéomorphes à haute teneur. Au cours de cette visite sur le terrain, nous examinerons les affleurements clés illustrant cette gamme de processus éruptifs et de mises en place, et leurs caractéristiques diagnostiques, ainsi que les preuves de l'interaction entre les magmas mafiques et felsiques et une variété de brèches pépéritiques formées à la suite de la mise en place de coulées sur des sédiments péritidaux humides. Les contraintes que le contexte de dépôt et le vaste volcanisme bimodal imposent aux modèles tectoniques seront également examinées.

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