Opening and closure of Cadomian peri-Gondwanan oceans: age and evolution of the Merida Ophiolite (SW Iberia)

In the SW Iberian Massif, the Ossa-Morena Complex contains a stack of units of different origin and tectonothermal evolution. Individual terranes of the complex record a Cadomian history, traditionally interpreted in relation to the dynamics of a peri-Gondwanan volcanic arc. The interpretation of the Cadomian terranes is a key issue in the reconstruction of the Ediacaran margin of Gondwana in NW Africa. In the Merida Massif, a mafic - ultramafic unit stacked between two units of continental or arc affinity is interpreted as a Cadomian ophiolite, the Merida Ophiolite. Within it, mafic lithologies dated at c. 596 Ma (U-Pb in zircon) have calc-alkaline or tholeiitic affinity, indicating generation in a supra-subduction zone setting. The ophiolite shows a main event of Cadomian metamorphism (c. 590 Ma, U-Pb garnet dating) with a prograde P-T path and peak conditions at c. 700 degrees C and 8 kbar. The mafic rocks show Nd isotopic compositions clearly different from those characteristics of the mafic rocks formed in the axial zone of the volcanic arc. Hence, the Merida Ophiolite probably represents oceanic lithosphere of a back-arc basin, opened between the volcanic arc and the outer margin of Gondwana. Closure of the back-arc occurred during collision of the volcanic arc with the margin of Gondwana (starting at c. 590 Ma), which caused rapid accretion of the back-arc oceanic lithosphere beneath the arc and prograde metamorphism typical of subduction inception. The Merida Ophiolite was finally obducted above the continental margin of Gondwana, presently preserved in gneissic unit piled beneath the ophiolite. Cadomian evolution of this peri-Gondwanan arc section continued with new tectonothermal events dated in the range 560-540 Ma that alternated with episodes of intense magmatic activity and preceded the collapse of the magmatic arc and its erosive levelling, followed by the generation of a new episode of intense magmatic activity in the arc and the unconformable deposition of the Ediacaran-Cambrian Malcocinado Formation.

Automated summary

The Ossa-Morena Complex in the SW Iberian Massif contains a stack of units with different origins, including a Cadomian ophiolite, the Merida Ophiolite. The Cadomian terranes in this complex are important for reconstructing the Ediacaran margin of Gondwana in NW Africa. The Merida Ophiolite represents oceanic lithosphere of a back-arc basin and played a role in the collision between the volcanic arc and the Gondwana margin.