Akia terrane

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The Akia terrane is a tectonostratigraphic terrane located in the North Atlantic Craton in southern West Greenland. [1] The Akia terrane is bounded to the Southeast by the Eo- to Neo-archaean tectonostratigraphic terranes of the Nuuk region, [2] and to the North by the recently recognised Alanngua Complex, which separates the Akia terrane from the Neoarchaean Tuno terrane. [3] The crust in the Akia terrane formed in two major pulses. The first at ~3.2 Ga, predominantly comprises dioritic gneisses, whereas the second, at ~3.0 Ga comprises a more diverse mix of TTG and dioritic gneisses with enclaves of supracrustal rocks and mafic-ultramafic intrusions. [3] [4] [5] [6] Supracrustal rocks are largely tholeiitic and calc-alkaline amphibolites formed at ~3.07 Ga. [7] The mafic-ultramafic intrusions include peridotite cumulates [8] and a belt of noritic intrusions formed at the same time as the TTG gneisses, the Maniitsoq Norite Belt. [9] Various tectonic settings have been proposed for the 3.0 Ga crust forming event, including subduction related magmatism, [4] stagnant lid tectonic processes, [10] and crust and mantle melting in an ultra-hot orogeny. [9]

The terrane underwent high grade granulite facies metamorphism at ~3.0 Ga, immediately after or simultaneous with the second major crust forming event. [9] [10] Further high temperature metamorphism followed at ~2.7 Ga and ~2.5 Ga. [3] [11] The earlier event is marked by widespread formation of pegmatite granite dykes [6] and may be associated with the juxtaposition of the Akia and Tuno terranes. [3] [11]

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References

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