Summary
U-Pb zircon ages and geochemical data are presented for Pan-African granitoid rocks sampled in the area of Aswan, Egypt, close to the inferred boundary between the Saharan Metacraton and the Arabian Nubian Shield. The sample set includes tonalitic gneisses as well as undeformed, post-tectonic tonalites to granites (Aswan Tonalite, Monumental Granite, High-Dam Granite, Saluja-Sehel Granite). A tonalitic gneiss with a volcanic-arc type geochemical signature gave a zircon age of 622 ± 11 Ma, while the Aswan Tonalite and the Monumental Granite intruded at 606 ± 1 and 606 ± 2 Ma, respectively. The age of the High-Dam Granite was constrained at 595 ± 11 Ma. These data imply that the western parts of the Arabian Nubian Shield were accreted to the Saharan Metacraton prior to 606 Ma in the area of Aswan, most probably between 630 and 615 Ma.
The Aswan Tonalite, the Monumental Granite and the High-Dam Granite have high Zr, Y and LREE contents and can be classified as A-type granitoids. Furthermore they are rich in K, Ba, Sr, Ti and P, thus displaying affinities to shoshonitic magma series. The shoshonitic A-type plutonism at Aswan constitutes an exceptional feature within the Late Neoproterozoic granite terrain of the Arabian Nubian Shield. It may contain components from an enriched, subduction-modified mantle wedge, that had developed beneath the western margin of the Arabian Nubian Shield in response to the eastward subduction of the Mozambique ocean. It is suggested that slab break-off provided the tectonothermal conditions for a post-collisional melting of this subduction-modified mantle wedge.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
AA Abdel Monem PM Hurley (1980) ArticleTitleAge of Aswan monumental granite, Egypt, by U-Pb dating of zircon. Bulletin of the institute of applied geology King Abdel Aziz University Jeddah 3 141–144
AFM Abdel-Rahman (1995) ArticleTitleTectonic-magmatic stages of shield evolution: the Pan-African belt in northeastern Egypt Tectonophysics 242 223–240 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0040-1951(94)00171-5
AM Abdel-Rahman RF Martin (1990) ArticleTitleThe Mount Gharib A-type granite, Nubian Shield: petrogenesis and role of metasomatism at the source Contrib Mineral Petrol 104 173–183 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00306441
MG Abdelsalam JP Liégeois RJ Stern (2002) ArticleTitleThe Saharan metacraton J Afr Earth Sci 34 119–136 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0899-5362(02)00013-1
MG Abdelsalam EM Abdel-Rahman EM El-Faki B Al-Hur FM El-Bashier RJ Stern AK Thurmond (2003) ArticleTitleNeoproterozoic deformation in the northeastern part of the Saharan Metacraton, northern Sudan Precamb Res 123 203–221 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0301-9268(03)00068-8
AF Ahmed MM El-Mahallawi (1995) ArticleTitlePetrology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of some granitoid rocks from the northern and central eastern desert, Egypt Egypt J Geol 39 739–767
UB Anderson O Eklund S Fröjdö D Konopelko (2006) ArticleTitle1.8 Ga magmatism in the Fennoscandian shield; lateral variations in subcontinental mantle enrichment Lithos 86 110–136 Occurrence Handle10.1016/j.lithos.2005.04.001
B Bonin (1992) ArticleTitleThe role of crust in the development of A-type alkali-feldspar granites in within-plate bimodal alkaline magmatism Ind Geol Assoc Bull 25 11–27
M Bregar A Bauernhofer K Pelz U Kloetzli H Fritz P Neumayr (2002) ArticleTitleA late neoproterozoic magmatic core complex in the eastern desert of Egypt: emplacement of granitoids in a wrench-tectonic setting Precamb Res 118 59–82 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0301-9268(02)00062-1
BW Chappell AJR White (1974) ArticleTitleTwo contrasting granite types Pac Geol 8 173–174
BW Chappell CJ Byant D Wyborn AJR White IS Williams (1998) ArticleTitleHigh- and low-temperature I-type granites Resour Geol 48 225–235
JD Clemens D Vielzeuf (1987) ArticleTitleConstraints on melting and magma production in the crust Earth Planet Sc Lett 86 287–306 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0012-821X(87)90227-5
WJ Collins SD Beams BW Chappell AJR White (1982) ArticleTitleNature and origin of A-type granites with particular reference to south-eastern Australia Contrib Mineral Petrol 80 189–200 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00374895
MA Cosca A Shimron R Caby (1999) ArticleTitleLate Precambrian metamorphism and cooling in the Arabian-Nubian Shield: petrology and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of metamorphic rocks of the Elat area (southern Israel) Precamb Res 98 107–127 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0301-9268(99)00044-3
Dawoud M (1995) Petrography, geochemistry and tectonic environment of the granitic rocks of Gebel Abu El Hassan-Gebel Abu Samyuk, Northern Eastern Desert, Egypt. Thesis, 157 pp
DJ DePaolo (1981) ArticleTitleTrace element and isotopic effects of combined wallrock assimilation and fractional crystallization Earth Planet Sci Lett 53 189–202 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0012-821X(81)90153-9
TH Dixon MP Golombek (1988) ArticleTitleLate Precambrian crustal accretion rates in northeast Africa and Arabia Geology 16 991–994 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0091-7613(1988)016<0991:LPCARI>2.3.CO;2
S El-Gaby (1975) ArticleTitlePetrochemistry and geochemistry of some granites from Egypt N Jahrb Mineral Abh 124 147–189
S El-Gaby FK List R Tahrani (1990) The basement complex of the Eastern Desert and Sinai R Said (Eds) The geology of Egypt Balkema Rotterdam, Netherlands 175–184
MM El-Mahallawi (1989) ArticleTitlePetrology and geochemistry of some granitic rocks from the central eastern desert, Egypt Egypt J Geol 33 47–69
MM El-Mahallawi (1995) ArticleTitleRare earth elements geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Shaitian granitoid rocks, Wadi Shait area, Eastern Desert, Egypt Sci Bull El-Minia Univ 8 79–96
MM El-Mahallawi J Berczi (1989) ArticleTitleGeochemistry of rare earth elements and petrogenesis of some Egyptian granites Sci Bull El-Minia Univ 2 155–176
AA El-Metwally (1997) ArticleTitleOrigin and emplacement of a reversely zoned Pan-African granitoid pluton from the Sinai Massif, Egypt J Afr Earth Sci 24 29–38 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0899-5362(97)00024-9
El-Ramly MF, Akaad MK (1960) The basement complex in the central eastern desert of Egypt between latitudes 24°30′ and 25°40′ N. Geological survey of Egypt, Cairo, Paper 8, 35 pp
MM El-Sayed FH Mohamed H Furnes S Kanisawa (2002) ArticleTitleGeochemistry and petrogenesis of the neoproterozoic granitoids in the central eastern desert, Egypt Chem Erde 62 317–346 Occurrence Handle10.1078/0009-2819-00010
MM El-Sayed FH Mohamed H Furnes (2004) ArticleTitlePetrological and geochemical constraints on the evolution of late Pan-African Bakriya post-orogenic ring complex, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt N Jahrb Mineral Abh 180 1–32 Occurrence Handle10.1127/0077-7757/2004/0180-0001
MK El-Shafei TM Kusky (2003) ArticleTitleStructural and tectonic evolution of the Neoproterozoic Feiran-Solaf metamorphic belt, Sinai Peninsula: implications for the closure of the Mozambique Ocean Precamb Res 123 269–293 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0301-9268(03)00072-X
MM El-Tokhi GM Saleh (2001) ArticleTitleThe evolution of Pan African Aswan-type Rapakivi granite, geochemical evidences from the south eastern desert of Egypt Egypt J Geol 45 295–307
F Finger HM Helmy (1998) ArticleTitleComposition and total-Pb model ages of monazites from high-grade paragneisses in the Abu Swayel area, southern eastern desert, Egypt Mineral Petrol 62 269–289 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF01178032
JG Fitton D James WP Leeman (1991) ArticleTitleBasic magmatism associated with late Cenozoic extension in the western United States: compositional variations in space and time J Geophys Res 96 13693–13711 Occurrence Handle10.1029/91JB00372
H Fritz DR Dallmeyer E Wallbrecher J Loizenbauer G Hoinkes P Neumayr AA Khudeir (2002) ArticleTitleNeoproterozoic tectonothermal evolution of the Central Eastern Desert, Egypt: a slow velocity tectonic process of core complex exhumation J Afr Earth Sci 34 137–155 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0899-5362(02)00014-3
A Gerdes A Zeh (2006) ArticleTitleCombined U-Pb and Hf isotope LA-(MC-)ICP-MS analyses of detrital zircons: comparison with SHRIMP and new constraints for the provenance and age of an Armorican metasediment in central Germany Earth Planet Sci Lett 249 47–61 Occurrence Handle10.1016/j.epsl.2006.06.039
Gharib ME, Dawoud M (2005) Inheritance in zircon from Aswan granitoids: the role of contamination at the western boundary of the Nubian Shield. First International Conference on the Tethys, Cairo University, pp 11–28
Gharib ME, Obeid MA (2004) Geochemistry and evolution of the Neoproterozoic granitoid magmatism in the Wadi El-Sheikh-Gabal Saint Katherina area, Southwestern Sinai, Egypt. Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on the Geology of the Arab World, Cairo University, pp 53–73
Ghoneim MF, Hassan AM, Abu Anbar MM (1999) Post-orogenic and rift-related ring complexes in Egypt: geochemical and isotopic discrimination. International Conference on the Geology of the Arab World, Cairo University, pp 246–265
AR Gindy (1956) ArticleTitleThe igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Aswan area, with a new geological exposure-map (scale 1:10000) Bulletin de l’Institute d’Egypt 37 83–120
AR Gindy MM Tamish (1998) ArticleTitlePetrogenetic revision of the basement rocks in the environs of Aswan, southern Egypt Egypt J Geol 42 1–14
RO Greiling MM Abdeen AA Dardir H El Akhal ME El Ramly GM Kamal El Din AF Osman AA Rashwan AHN Rice MF Sadek (1994) ArticleTitleA structural synthesis of the Proterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield in Egypt Geol/Rundsch 83 484–501
Habib ME, El-Gaby S, Ghazaly M (1983) Tectonic history of El-Hudi Nappe, East of Aswan, Egypt. 5th International Conference on Basement Tectonics. Cairo University, Abstract volume, 27 pp
U Harms H Schandelmeier DPF Darbyshire (1990) ArticleTitlePan-African reworked early/middle Proterozoic crust in NE Africa west of the Nile: Sr and Nd isotope evidence J Geol Soc London 147 859–872 Occurrence Handle10.1144/gsjgs.147.5.0859
NBW Harris CJ Hawkesworth AC Ries (1984) ArticleTitleCrustal evolution in north-east and east Africa from model Nd ages Nature 309 773–776 Occurrence Handle10.1038/309773a0
AH Hashad TA Sayyah SB El Koly A Youssif (1972) ArticleTitleRb/Sr isotopic age determinations of some basement Egyptian granites J Geol 16 296–281
MA Hassan AH Hashad (1990) Precambrian of Egypt R Said (Eds) The geology of Egypt Balkema Rotterdam, Netherland 201–248
Hassan MA, Abu Anbar MM (1997) Geochemistry and mineral chemistry of some alkalic granites of Egypt. The Third Conference on Geochemistry, Alexandria, Egypt, pp 121–137
C Hawkesworth S Turner K Gallagher A Hunter T Bradshaw N Rogers (1995) ArticleTitleCalc-alkaline magmatism, lithospheric thinning and extension in the Basin and range J Geophys Res 100 10271–10286 Occurrence Handle10.1029/94JB02508
AA Hussein MM Ali MF El-Ramly (1982) ArticleTitleA proposed new classification of the granites of Egypt J Volcan Geothermal Res 14 187–198 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0377-0273(82)90048-8
NJ Jackson JN Walsh E Pegram (1984) ArticleTitleGeology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of late Precambrian granitoids in the central Hijaz region of the Arabian shield Contrib Mineral Petrol 87 205–219 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00373054
V Janousek A Gerdes S Vrana F Finger V Erban G Friedl CJR Braithwaite (2006) ArticleTitleLow-pressure granulites of the Lisov Massif, southern Bohemia: Visean metamorphism of late Devonian plutonic arc rocks J Petrol 47 705–744 Occurrence Handle10.1093/petrology/egi091
YH Jiang SY Jiang HF Ling BZ Dai (2006) ArticleTitleLow-degree melting of a metasomatized lithospheric mantle for the origin of Cenozoic Yulong monzogranite-porphyry, east Tibet: geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopic constraints Earth Planet Sci Lett 241 617–633 Occurrence Handle10.1016/j.epsl.2005.11.023
TE Krogh (1973) ArticleTitleA low contamination method for hydrothermal decomposition of zircon and extraction of U and Pb for isotopic age determinations Geochim Cosmochim Acta 37 485–494 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(73)90213-5
TE Krogh (1982) ArticleTitleImproved accuracy of U-Pb ages by the creation of more concordant systems using an air abrasion technique Geochim Cosmochim Acta 46 637–649 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(82)90165-X
A Kröner (1985) ArticleTitleOphiolites and the evolution of tectonic boundaries in the Late Proterozoic Arabian-Nubian shelf of NE Africa and Arabia Precamb Res 27 277–300 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0301-9268(85)90016-6
A Kröner M Eyal Y Eyal (1990) ArticleTitleEarly Pan-African evolution of the basement around Elat, Israel, and the Sinai Peninsula revealed by single-zircon evaporation dating, and implications for crustal accretion rates Geology 18 545–548 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018<0545:EPAEOT>2.3.CO;2
A Kröner J Krüger AAA Rashwan (1994) ArticleTitleAge and tectonic setting of granitoid gneisses in the eastern desert of Egypt and south-west Sinai Geol Rundsch 83 502–513 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF01083223
TM Kusky M Abdelsalam R Tucker R Stern (2003) ArticleTitleEvolution of the East African and related orogens, and the Assembly of Gondwana Precamb Res 123 81–85 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0301-9268(03)00062-7
Leggo PJ (1968) Some recent isotopic investigations. Annual Report of the Research Institute for African Geology, Leeds University, Vol 12, pp 45–46
Ludwig KR (1988) PBDAT for MS-DOS: a computer program for IBM-PC compatibles for processing raw Pb-U-Th isotope data: OF 88-0542, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
Ludwig KR (2000) Users manual for isoplot/ex rev.2.49: a geochronological toolkit for Microsoft excel. Berkeley Geochronology Center, Special Publication, v. 1a, pp 1–56
C Miller R Schuster U Klötzli W Frank F Purtscheller (2003) ArticleTitlePost-collisional potassic and ultrapotassic magmatism in SW Tibet: geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb-O isotopic constraints for mantle source characteristics and petrogenesis J Petrol 40 1399–1424 Occurrence Handle10.1093/petrology/40.9.1399
AM Moghazi (1999) ArticleTitleMagma source and evolution of Late Neoproterozoic granitoids in Gabal El-Urf area, eastern desert, Egypt: geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic constraints Geol Mag 136 285–300 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S0016756899002563
AM Moghazi (2002) ArticleTitlePetrology and geochemistry of Pan-African granitoids, Kab Amiri area, Egypt – implications for tectonomagmatic stages in the Nubian Shield evolution Mineral Petrol 75 41–67 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s007100200014
AM Moghazi T Andersen GA Oweiss AM El Bouseily (1998) ArticleTitleGeochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data bearing on the origin of Pan-African granitoids in the Kid area, southeast Sinai Egypt J Geol Soc 155 697–710 Occurrence Handle10.1144/gsjgs.155.4.0697
AM Noweir AM Abu El Ela BM Sewifi (1990) ArticleTitleNew contributions to the geology, geochemistry and tectonic setting of the Aswan granites, southern Egypt Qatar Univ Sci Bull 10 395–419
RR Parrish (1987) ArticleTitleAn improved micro-capsule for zircon dissolution in U-Pb geochronology Chem Geol 66 99–102
JA Pearce NBW Harris AG Tindle (1984) ArticleTitleTrace element discrimination diagrams for the tectonic interpretation of granitic rocks J Petrol 25 956–983
A Pecerillo SR Taylor (1976) ArticleTitleGeochemistry of Eocene calc-alkaline volcanic rocks from the Kastamonu area, northern Turkey Contrib Mineral Petrol 58 63–81 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00384745
AI Ragab MY Meneisy RM Taher (1978) ArticleTitleContributions of the petrogenesis and age of Aswan granitic rocks, Egypt N Jahrb Mineral Abh 133 71–87
H Schandelmeier D Kuster E Wipfler EM Abdel Rahman RJ Stern MG Abdelsalam M Sultan (1993) Evidence for a new late Proterozoic suture in northern Sudan U Thorweihe H Schandelmeier (Eds) Geoscientific research in Northeast Africa Balkema Rotterdam 83–85
JS Stacey JD Kramers (1975) ArticleTitleApproximation of terrestrial lead isotope evolution by a two-stage model Earth Planet Sci Lett 26 207–221 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0012-821X(75)90088-6
RJ Stern CE Hedge (1985) ArticleTitleGeochronologic and isotopic constraints on late Precambrian crustal evolution in the eastern desert of Egypt Am J Sci 285 97–127
RJ Stern A Kröner (1993) ArticleTitleLate Precambrian crustal evolution in NE Sudan: isotopic and geochronologic constraints J Geol 101 555–574 Occurrence Handle10.1086/648249
RJ Stern MG Abdelsalam (1998) ArticleTitleFormation of juvenile continental crust in the Arabian-Nubian Shield: evidence from granitic rocks of the Nakasib suture, NE Sudan Geol Rundsch 87 150–160 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s005310050196
RJ Stern D Gottfried CE Hedge (1984) ArticleTitleLate Precambrian rifting and crustal evolution in the northeastern desert of Egypt Geology 12 168–172 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0091-7613(1984)12<168:LPRACE>2.0.CO;2
DB Stoeser VE Camp (1985) ArticleTitlePan African microplate accretion of the Arabian Shield Geol Soc Am Bull 96 817–826 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0016-7606(1985)96<817:PMAOTA>2.0.CO;2
M Sultan KR Chamberlain SA Bowring RE Arvidson H Abuzied B El Kaliouby (1990) ArticleTitleGeochronological and isotopic evidence for involvement of pre-Pan-African crust in the Nubian Shield, Egypt Geology 18 761–764 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0091-7613(1990)018<0761:GAIEFI>2.3.CO;2
M Sultan ME Bickford B El Kaliouby RE Arvidson (1992) ArticleTitleCommon Pb systematics of Precambrian granitic rocks of the Nubian Shield (Egypt) and tectonic implications Geol Soc Am Bull 104 456–470 Occurrence Handle10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0456:CPSOPG>2.3.CO;2
M Sultan RD Tucker Z El Alfy R Attia AG Ragab (1994) ArticleTitleU-Pb (zircon) ages for the gneissic terrane west of the Nile, southern Egypt Geol Rundsch 83 514–522 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF01083224
M Vaisanen I Manttari LM Kriegsman P Holtta (2000) ArticleTitleTectonic setting of post-collisional magmatism in the Palaeoproterozoic Svecofennian Orogen, SW Finland Lithos 54 63–81 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0024-4937(00)00018-9
F Von Blankenburg JH Davis (1995) ArticleTitleSlab breakoff: a model for syncollisional magmatism and tectonics in the Alps Tectonics 14 120–131 Occurrence Handle10.1029/94TC02051
EB Watson TM Harrison (1983) ArticleTitleZircon saturation revisited: temperature and composition effects in a variety of crustal magma types Earth Planet Sci Lett 64 295–304 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0012-821X(83)90211-X
JB Whalen KL Currie BW Chappel (1987) ArticleTitleA-type granites: geochemical characteristics, discrimination and petrogenesis Contrib Mineral Petrol 95 407–419 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00402202
M Wilson A Tankut N Gulec (1997) ArticleTitleTertiary volcanism of the Galatia province, north-west central Anatolia, Turkey Lithos 42 105–121 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0024-4937(97)00039-X
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Correspondence: F. Finger, Department of Materials Engineering and Physics, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstraße 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Finger, F., Dörr, W., Gerdes, A. et al. U-Pb zircon ages and geochemical data for the Monumental Granite and other granitoid rocks from Aswan, Egypt: implications for the geological evolution of the western margin of the Arabian Nubian Shield. Miner Petrol 93, 153–183 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-007-0227-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-007-0227-z