Laser ablation ICP mass spectrometry for zircon U-Pb geochronology of metamorphosed granite from the Salem Block: Implication for Neoarchean crustal evolution in southern India

We report here petrological characteristics of metamorphosed granite and metagabbro from the Kanja Malai hills, the southern margin of the Salem Block in southern India. Field observations suggest that both these rock types experienced high-grade metamorphism, and exhibit strong foliation. Many of cores of zircons extracted from the granite show an internal structure suggesting magmatic crystallization. In contrast, rims of the zircons commonly display metamorphic overgrowth. We also present geochronological data utilizing laser ablation ICP mass spectrometry technique on the zircons that show the weighted means of ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2647 ± 11 Ma (error: 1σ) for the timing of magmatism, and 2442 ± 20 Ma (error: 1σ) for the subsequent high-grade metamorphism. Together with a previous geochronological study on charnockites from the Salem Block, our results also provide an important constraint on the Neoarchean magmatism (2.65-2.53 Ga) in southern India, correlating the magmatism with a major global crust formation event during the Neoarchean.