Global record of 1600-700 Ma Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs): Implications for the reconstruction of the proposed Nuna (Columbia) and Rodinia supercontinents

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are commonly associated with breakup of continents, and therefore, are a critical source of information to constrain paleocontinental reconstructions. We review the record of LIPs emplaced during the 1600-700 Ma interval. Regional-scale magmatic events at 1460, 1380, and 1280 Ma can be associated with the breakup of the proposed late-Paleoproterozoic supercontinent, Nuna (Columbia), events at 1300-900 Ma overlap with the assembly of Rodinia, and events at 825, 800, 780, 755, and possibly 720 Ma, are associated with the breakup of Rodinia. Furthermore, the extensional events at 1000 and 900 Ma are associated with breakups suggesting simultaneous assembly and breakup of different parts of the supercontinent. The possibility of spatially separated (independent) LIPs having the same age complicates the use of LIPs to constrain specific aspects of reconstructions. This study identifies such spatially separated but coeval LIPs at 1460, 1380, 1270, and 1115-1070 Ma (and possibly at 825, 780, and 755 Ma). Regionally grouped LIPs, possibly representing superplume events, are recognized at 825-755 Ma, and at 1280-1235 Ma. The use of the LIP record to assist the reconstruction of Rodinia will improve as numerous remaining poorly characterized magmatic units are dated using precise methods. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.