Peri-Amazonian, Avalonian-type and Ganderian-type terranes in the South Carpathians, Romania: The Danubian domain basement

The Danubian domain basement of the South Carpathians, Romania, comprises two Neoproterozoic continental crustal fragments, the Dragsan and Lainici-Paius terranes, which were sutured by the closure of an intervening oceanic domain, the Tisovita terrane. Magmatic and detrital zircons extracted from an orthogneiss, four granitoid plutons, two metasedimentary units, and a Liassic sandstone were dated by zircon U/Pb LA-ICP-MS. The Fagetel augen gneiss from the Drawn terrane basement yielded an age of 803.2 +/- 4.4 Ma, the oldest well-constrained crystallization age reported from the Romanian Carpathians basement The Tismana, Susita, Novaci and Oltet granitoid plutons, which intrude the Lainici-Paius terrane basement, yielded ages of 600.5 +/- 4.4, 591.0 +/- 3.5, 592.7 +/- 4.9, and 588 +/- 2.9 Ma. respectively. The Tismana granitoid age of 600 Ma and the youngest detrital zircon ages of 637-622 Ma from a metaquartzite within the Lainici-Paius terrane, constrain the deposition of the metaquartzite protolith to ca. 620-600 Ma. The 803 Ma age represents an old Pan-African age, whereas the younger Neoproterozoic ages suggest Pan-African/Cadomian thermotectonic events. Detrital and inherited zircon ages within the Dragsan and Lainici-Paius terranes attest to a peri-Amazonian, Avalonian-type provenance for the Dragsan terrane and possibly a Ganderian-type provenance for the Lainici-Paius terrane. The Lainici-Paius terrane rifted off Gondwana before the Dragsan terrane. Both terranes were attached to Moesia during the Early Paleozoic. (C) 2010 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.