Zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope constraints on Archean crustal evolution in Southeastern Guyana Shield

The southeastern Guyana Shield, northeast Amazonian Craton, in the north of Brazil, is part of a widespread orogenic belt developed during the Transamazonian orogenic cycle (2.26-1.95 Ga) that includes a large Archean continental landmass strongly reworked during the Transamazonian orogeny, named Amapá Block. It consists mainly of a high-grade metamorphic granulitic-migmatitic-gneiss complex, of Meso-to Neoarchean age and Rhyacian granitoids and supracrustal sequences. For the first time, coupled U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope data were obtained on zircon by LA-ICP-MS from five tectono-stratigraphic units of the Archean basement and one Paleoproterozoic intrusive rock, in order to investigate the main episodes of crustal growth and reworking. Whole-rock Sm-Nd isotope data were compared to the zircon Lu-Hf data. Three main magmatic episodes were defined by U-Pb zircon dating, two in the Mesoarchean (~3.19 Ga and 2.85 Ga) and one in the Neoarchean (~2.69-2.65 Ga). Subchondritic ε_Hf(t) values obtained for almost all investigated units indicate that crustal reworking processes were predominant during the formation of rocks that today make up the Amapá Block. Hf-T_DM^C model ages, ranging from 2.99 Ga to 3.97 Ga, indicate that at least two important periods of mantle extraction and continental crust formation occurred during the Archean in southeastern Guyana Shield, an older one in the Eoarchean (~4.0 Ga) and a younger one in the Mesoarchean (~3.0-3.1 Ga). The latter is recognized as an important period of crustal accretion worldwide. The recognition of an Eoarchean episode to the southeastern most part of the Guyana Shield is unprecedented and was not recorded by whole-rock Sm-Nd data, which were restricted to the Meso-Paleoarchean (2.83 Ga to 3.51 Ga). This finding reveals that continental crust generation in the Amazonian Craton began at least 500 Ma earlier than previously suggested by the SmNd systematics.