ISSN 0016-7029, Geochemistry International, 2009, Vol. 47, No. 11, pp. 1107–1124. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2009.

Original Russian Text © A.V. Travin, D.S. Yudin, A.G. Vladimirov, S.V. Khromykh, N.I. Volkova, A.S. Mekhonoshin, T.B. Kolotilina, 2009, published in Geokhimiya, 2009, No. 11,
pp. 1181–1199.

Thermochronology of the Chernorud Granulite Zone,

Ol’khon Region, Western Baikal Area
A. V. Travina, D. S. Yudina, A. G. Vladimirova, S. V. Khromykha, N. I. Volkovaa,
A. S. Mekhonoshinb, and T. B. Kolotilinab
aInstitute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences,
pr. Akademika Koptyuga 3, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia;
e-mail: travin@igm.nsc.ru
b Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences,
ul. Favorskogo 1a, Irkutsk, 664033 Russia, P/B 4019;
e-mail: mekhonos@igc.irk.ru
Received March 12, 2008

Abstract—Structural–petrologic and isotopic–geochronologic data on magmatic, metamorphic, and metaso-

matic rocks from the Chernorud zone were used to reproduce the multistage history of their exhumation to
upper crustal levels. The process is subdivided into four discrete stages, which corresponded to metamorphism
to the granulite facies (500–490 Ma), metamorphism to the amphibolite facies (470–460 Ma), metamorphism
to at least the epidote-amphibolite facies (440–430 Ma), and postmetamorphic events (410–400 Ma). The ear-
liest two stages likely corresponded to the tectonic stacking of the backarc basin in response to the collision of
the Siberian continent with the Eravninskaya island arc or the Barguzin microcontinent, a process that ended
with the extensive generation of synmetamorphic granites. During the third and fourth stages, the granulites of
the Chernorud nappe were successively exposed during intense tectonic motions along large deformation zones
(Primorskii fault, collision lineament, and Orso Complex).
The comparison of the histories of active thermal events for Early Caledonian folded structures in the Central
Asian Foldbelt indicates that active thermal events of equal duration are reconstructed for the following five
widely spiced accretion–collision structures: the Chernorud granulite zone in the Ol’khon territory, the Slyudy-
anka crystalline complex in the southwestern Baikal area, the western Sangilen territory in southeastern Tuva,
Derbinskii terrane in the Eastern Sayan, and the Bayankhongor ophiolite zone in central Mongolia. The dates
obtained by various isotopic techniques are generally consistent with the four discrete stages identified in the
Chernorud nappe, whereas the dates corresponding to the island-arc evolutionary stage were obtained only for
the western Sangilen and Bayankhongor ophiolite zone.
DOI: 10.1134/S0016702909110068

INTRODUCTION morphic grade of the rocks, and the character of mag-

The region of Ol’khon Island is a fragment of an
accretion–collision belt in the western Baikal area,
which was formed during Caledonian events related to
the closure of the Paleoasian Ocean at the southern
margin (in modern coordinates) of the Siberian craton
[1–3] (Fig. 1). Because of the high metamorphic grade
and degree of compositional and textural transforma-
tions, the metasedimentary, metavolcanic, and intrusive
rocks have long been ascribed to the earliest Precam-
brian [4, 5]. The very first U/Pb isotopic dates for the
metamorphic and magmatic rocks from the Ol’khon
region [6, 7] indicated that the tectono–stratigraphic
complexes of the area belong to the early Caledonides,
but their tectonic interpretation remained, thereby,
uncertain. The structures of the Ol’khon area are now
considered to be a stack of tectonic nappes that are sep-
arated from the Proterozoic rocks of the Siberian craton
by the blastomylonites of the Primorskii fault. These
nappes principally differ in rock ensembles, the meta-
matism [8]. The region consists of three major structural
zones: Chernorud, Anga-Satyurty, and Anga (Fig. 2), with
the metamorphic grade decreasing from northwest to
southeast from the granulite to epidote-amphibolite facies.
Each of the zones consists of a different ensemble of meta-
morphic and magmatic complexes, but each of the zones
contains synmetamorphic granites–leucogranites, which
“seal” individual nappes with different metamorphic
grades [1–3, 8].
Recently obtained isotopic dates indicate that mag-
matic processes in the Ol’khon region occurred within
two age spans: (1) 500–490 Ma, when synmetamorphic
hypersthene plagiogranites and nepheline syenitoids were
formed in the Chernorud zone and gabbroids of elevated
alkalinity of the Birkha (Ozernyi) Complex were emplaced
in the Anga–Sayurty zone, and (2) 470–460 Ma, when
synmetamorphic granites were generated throughout the
whole region and alkaline rocks of the Tazheran Massif
were formed. The identified age spans are well correlated

1107
1108 TRAVIN et al.

108° 114°
1 2

3
56°

96° 102°

D Baikal L.

52°

C B

48°

200 km

96° 102° 106°

Fig. 1. Tectonic setting of the Ol’khon territory in the Early Caledonian accretion–collision structures of Central Asia. A is Ol’khon
territory. For comparison, the figure shows recently obtained data on (B) the Slyudyanka Complex in the southwestern Baikal area,
(C) Sangilen in southeastern Tuva, (D) Derbinskii terrane in the Eastern Sayan, and (E) Bayankhongor zone in central Mongolia.
(1) Siberian Platform with an Archean–Early Proterozoic basement, (2) terranes and microcontinents with Precambrian basements
(undifferentiated), and (3) marginal sea–island arc tectono-stratigraphic complexes of Phanerozoic age and products of their mobi-
lization.

N
5 km

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Baikal L.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Fig. 2. Major tectonic zones in the Ol’khon territory (after [3]).

(1) Siberian craton; (2) collision lineament separating the Siberian craton from the Ol’khon terrane; (3–6) Ol’khon terrane (Early
Paleozoic accretion–collision system): (3) Chernorud granulite zone, (4) Anga-Satyurty amphibolite zone, (5) Orso Complex (tec-
tonically uncertain unit separating rocks of the tholeiite and shoshonite series), and (6) Anga zone. Rectangular contours show the
reference areas whose schematic geological maps are shown in Figs. 3, 4.

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009

 THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE
with metamorphic episodes of the granulite and
amphibolite facies, respectively, that were constrained
by numerous U/Pb isotopic dates [6–11]. However, the
direct 40Ar/39Ar isotopic dating of amphiboles and
micas from the metamorphic rocks has revealed a dis-
cordance of the age values with the U/Pb dates [11–16],
with at least additional age spans identified at 440–430
and 410–400 Ma; the geodynamic nature of these epi-
sodes remains obscure so far.
This paper presents our attempt to solve this prob-
lem based on reproducing the thermal history of the
metamorphic and magmatic rocks, with the use of
structural–petrologic and isotopic–geochronologic
techniques available to us, for the Chernorud zone,
which corresponds to the deepest part of the folded edi-
fice and can, thus, be regarded as a key structure of the
Early Caledonian accretion–collision system in the
western Baikal area. This approach, which was first
applied in [17, 18], is based on interpreting isotopic
data in terms of the thermal history of rocks with the
use of kinetic parameters controlling the behavior of
isotopic systems in the mineral assemblages. This
approach makes it possible not only to date the meta-
morphic and magmatic rocks but also to obtain
dynamic characteristics of tectono-thermal processes
needed to develop accurate enough models for the ver-
tical motions of the slabs and nappes, including the
application (in the future) of 3D numerical simulations.
GEOLOGY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY
OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE
The Chernorud zone consists of pyroxene and two-
pyroxene gneisses, garnet–biotite (± sillimanite)
gneisses, marbles, and graphite quartzites. Its rocks
contain widespread hypersthene-bearing assemblages,
including those characteristic of the granulite facies:
two pyroxene–feldspar and hypersthene–garnet–ortho-
clase [9, 10, 19, 20]. Sillimanite–garnet–cordierite–
biotite kinzigites were found and escribed in the central
part of the zone [19]. The metamorphic parameters of
two-pyroxene gneisses from the Chernorud zone were
evaluated by the garnet–clinopyroxene thermometer
and garnet–orthopyroxene geobarometer at 770–820°ë,
7.7–8.6 kbar [8]. The crystallization temperature of the
garnet–biotite gneisses, whose protoliths were pelites
and/or graywackes, were somewhat lower: 710–780°ë
(garnet–biotite thermometer) [8]. The U/Pb zircon age
of the granulite metamorphism, which was determined
by E.V. Bibikova for a sample of two-pyroxene granu-
lite from the central part of the Chernorud zone (con-
cordant zircon fraction <0.65 μm), is 485 ± 5 Ma; the
age of other fractions is discordant and equal to 490 ±
10 Ma [6]. A stage at 499 ± 18 Ma was identified by
F.A. Letnikov et al. [21] as corresponding to the lower
intercept of a discordia based on the regression of the
then-available U–Pb isotopic data. The further U–Pb
isotopic studying rocks from the Chernorud zone con-
firmed by the evaluated age of the granulite metamor-
GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11
1109
phism: 505 ± 10 Ma for rocks from Khadarta Peninsula
in the northeastern part of the Chernorud zone and
494 ± 16 Ma for its continuation at Cape Khoboi in
Ol’khon Island [20, 22, 23].
These metamorphic age values are consistent with
dates for synmetamorphic granites that occur within the
Chernorud zone as small tabular bodies and relatively
thin (0.3–0.5 m) veins. The absence of any traces of
hornfelses in the host two-pyroxene crystalline schists
and chill facies in the hypersthene plagiogranites testify
that the latter crystallized under granulite-facies condi-
tions. The largest body of the hypersthene-bearing
granites is the Sapshilanskii Massif 2 km southwest of
the village of Ulan-Khargan (Fig. 3). The U/Pb zircon
SHRIMP II age of the plagiogranites is 496 ± 3 Ma [9,
20].
The Chernorud zone abounds in bodies of basite–
ultrabasite composition, whose tectonic setting, com-
position, and age are disputable as of yet [23–25]. The
fact that veins of the synmetamorphic hypersthene pla-
giogranites cut across gabbroid and pyroxenite bodies
and all of them were then deformed during the ductile
strike-slip faulting of the rocks can be interpreted as
testifying to a synmetamorphic nature of the basite–
ultrabasite bodies [10–12]. The gabbroids and pyroxen-
ites occur as lenses ranging from a few to a few hundred
meters and as tectonic nappes up to 1 km throughout
the whole Chernorud zone. The largest basite–ultraba-
site massifs are the Ulan-Khargana body in the central
part of the zone and the Chernorud body in its south-
eastern part.
The Ulan-Khargana Massif is made up of three oval
bodies approximately 200 × 800 m (Fig. 3). The two
southern bodies consist of medium-grained gabbroids
and pyroxenites, and the northwestern body is com-
posed of metasomatically altered gabbroids. It should
be noticed that metasomatic (perhaps, autometaso-
matic) processes extensively affected the bodies, up to
the complete transformations of the rocks in the cores
of the bodies and the development of coarse- and giant-
grained scapolite–amphibole rocks. The major- and trace-
element composition of all of the three bodies correlates to
island-arc tholeiitic basalts. The core of the northwestern
body hosts a syenite dike (50 × 100 m). The U/Pb
SHRIMP II zircon age of the syenites is 484.9 ± 1.5 Ma
[10]. With regard to the fact that the syenites cut across the
gabbroids, the age of the latter is assumed to be no
younger than the aforementioned value, and this confirms
their synmetamorphic nature.
The Chernorud gabbro–pyroxenite massif is a lens-
shaped body with a pinch in its central part; it consists
of a differentiated series from gabbro to pyroxenite
(Fig. 4). The core of the massif contains garnet pyrox-
enite with an assemblage of fassaite, anorthite, and gar-
net (40% of the pyrope and 20% of the almandine end
members). The major- and trace-element composition
of gabbroids and pyroxenites from the Chernorud Mas-
2009
1110 TRAVIN et al.

U-Pb - I
T-53-06

T-56-06

U-Pb - III
U-Pb - IV
X-404 N
U-Pb - II 1
2

1 ÍÏ

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

X-404 8 U-Pb - I 9

Fig. 3. Schematic tectonic map of the Ulan-Khargana area in the Chernorud zone (after [5]).
(1) Two-pyroxene gneisses; (2) quartzites; (3) marbles; (4) basite massifs; (5) granite veins and bodies; (6) fragments of metamor-
phic zones of the amphibolite facies; (7) Quaternary deposits; (8) sampling sites for 40Ar/39Ar dating; (9) sampling sites for U/Pb
dating: (I) two-pyroxene schists [6, 21], hypersthene-bearing granites of the Sapshilanskii Massif [9], granite vein conserved in the
Ulan-Khargana Massif [11–13], and a syenite body cutting across gabbro-pyroxenite of the Ulan-Khargana Massif [10]. Numerals:
(1) Ulan-Khargana gabbroid massif and (2) Sapshilanskii massif of hypersthene-bearing granites.

S
U-Pb

20-TR
356 a

02-99

0 50 m

1 2 3 4 5

‡ b
6 7 8 02-99 9 U-Pb 10

Fig. 4. Schematic map of the Chernorud area in the Chernorud zone.

(1) Pyroxenite; (2) gabbro; (3) garnet pyroxenite; (4) two-pyroxene crystalline schists; (5) marble; (6) blastomylonite; (7) granite
veins; (8) geological boundaries: (a) observed and (b) inferred; (9) sampling sites for 40Ar/39Ar dating; (10) the site where a sample
was taken for the U/Pb dating of the leucogranite vein conserved in the Chernorud Massif [11–13].

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009

 THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE
sif is close to that of the Ulan-Khargana Massif, and
this suggests that the massifs can be coeval [25].
The Chernorud zone abounds in relatively thin
(from 0.5 to a few dozen meters) veins of biotite and
garnet–biotite leucogranites. Sine these veins intersect
all of the aforementioned rocks, the leucogranites are
the youngest magmatic rocks in the area and are
thought to have been formed in relation to strike-slip
faulting under amphibolite-facies conditions late in the
evolutionary course of the accretion–collision Early
Caledonian system in the western Baikal area [10–12].
The U/Pb zircon SHRIMP II age of granite dikes “con-
served” in the Ulan-basite–ultrabasite and Chernorud
constrains their age to 470–465 Ma [11–13], which is
consistent with the amphibolite-facies metamorphic
age of synmetamorphic granites in the Anga-Satyurty
zone [11–13, 20–23].
STUDY AREAS
Our studies were carried out at two widely spaced
areas: Ulan-Khargana and Chernorud (Figs. 2–4),
which made it possible for us to reproduce the thermal
history of the Early Caledonian metamorphic and mag-
matic events, including the exposure of the Chernorud
zone (nappe) during the postcollision stage.
In the Ulan-Khargana area in the central part of the
Chernorud zone (Figs. 2–3), we examined, in detail, the
Sapshilanskii hypersthene granite massif and the Ulan-
Khargana gabbroid massif. The host rocks are exten-
sively tectonized granulite-facies rocks.
The granulite-facies metamorphic rocks of the
Ulan-Khargana area are characterized by broadly vary-
ing mineral assemblages of the rocks: two-pyroxene
gneisses (Opx + Cpx + Pl, Opx + Cpx + Pl + Bt + Pl +
Qtz + Zrn), amphibole–two pyroxene gneisses (sample
T-50a-06: Kfs + Opx (relict) + Cpx + Hbl43 + Pl40), gar-
net–orthopyroxene gneisses (sample T-52-06: Opx42–46 +
Kfs + Grt70 + Bt39–43 + Pl24–26 + Qtz + Zrn), garnet–biotite
gneisses (sample T-52v-06: Grt55–57 + Bt18–20 + Pl14 +
Kfs + Qtz + Zrn and sample T-56-06: Grt80 + Bt55–58 +
Pl37–38 + Kfs + Qtz + Ap), graphite-bearing quartzites,
and blastomylonites developing after granites (Qtz + Pl +
Kfs + Bt + Zrn + Ap). Here and below mineral symbols
are according to [26]. Samples T-53-06 and T-56-06
(taken at 52°54'35.7''N, 106°32'15.0''E and 52°54'31.8''N,
106°32'21.1''E, respectively) were selected for
40Ar/39Ar isotopic dating. Sample T-53-06 is two-
pyroxene gneiss with garnet and amphibole: Opx
(relict) + Kfs + Cpx + Grt57–59 + Pl59–60 + Hbl18–19; the
garnet contains 51% almandine, 36–37% pyrope, 10–
11% grossular, and 2% spessartine; the plagioclase is
labradorite; and the amphibole is magnesiohastingsite–
tschermakite. Sample T-56-06 is garnet–biotite gneiss
containing the mineral assemblage Grt80 + Bt55–58 +
Pl37–38 + Kfs + Qtz + Ap; the garnet contains 63% alman-
dine, 16% pyrope, 18% grossular, and 3% spessartine.
The high concentrations of the grossular end member
GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11
1111
suggest elevated pressures under which this rock was
formed. The plagioclase is andesine. The biotite con-
tains much Ti (4.9–5.4 wt % TiO2), as is typical of this
mineral in the granulite facies.
Metasomatite and gabbroids. The central part of the
northwestern body of the Ulan-Khargana Massif con-
tains coarse-grained scapolite–hornblende rocks
(exposed over an area of 100 × 300 m), which were
likely produced by overprinted autometasomatism.
Relict pyroxene granites in these rocks are salite–aug-
ite, and the plagioclase is andesine, which testifies that
the gabbroids underwent extensive fluid recycling. The
mineral assemblage of the rocks (green hornblende,
scapolite, and hercynite) indicates that the metamor-
phic grade of gabbroids in the Ulan-Khargana Massif
was no higher than the amphibolite facies [12]. Horn-
blende for our 40Ar/39Ar dating was extracted from
giant-grained scapolite–amphibole metasomatites from
the core of the Ulan-Khargana Massif (Fig. 3, sample
Kh-404, coordinates: 52°54'42.9''N, 106°33'43.7''E).
The Chernorud area is located in the southeastern
part of the Chernorud zone (Figs. 2, 4). In this part of
the area, the Chernorud pyroxenite–gabbro massif is
hosted by metamorphic rocks of the granulite facies. In
fact, the massif is an exposed part of a magmatic cham-
ber, which was formed in the upper mantle [25]. The
massif is dominated by medium-grained gabbro and
pyroxenites (Fig. 4). The primary mineral assemblage
of the gabbro consists of labradorite and clinopyroxene
(salite–augite, f = 18–20%), and that of the pyroxenites
is composed of clinopyroxene (salite–augite, f = 20–
22%). The central part of the Chernorud Massif con-
tains garnet pyroxenites. These rocks bear large (up to
4 cm) poikilitic garnet crystals. The clinopyroxene is
fassaite, the plagioclase is anorthite, and the garnet con-
tains up to 40% pyrope and up to 20% grossular, which
suggests high P–T crystallization conditions of the
rocks. The folded host rocks are analogous to those in
the aforementioned Ulan-Khargana area. The whole
rock ensemble is penetrated by numerous granite–
leucogranite veins of graphic texture. Judging by their
chemical and mineralogical (Bi ± Mu ± Gr) composi-
tion, these granite veins were emplaced during the ret-
rograde metamorphic stage corresponding to the
amphibolite facies [10–12]. The hornblende selected
for our 40Ar/39Ar study was produced by metamorphic
and/or metasomatic processes overprinted onto rocks
of the Chernorud Massif (Fig. 4, sample 02-99, coordi-
nates: 53°00'42.26''N, 106°42'25.14''E). We also exam-
ined the 40Ar/39Ar system of a leucogranite vein “con-
served” in the Chernorud Massif (sample 20-TR, coor-
dinates: 53°00'54.4'', 106°42'34.8''E), whose SHRIMP II
zircon crystallization age was evaluated at 459.6 ±
1.4 Ma [11–13]. The same sample was used to obtain
monomineralic fractions of biotite (sample 356a) and
potassic feldspar (sample 20-TR).
2009
1112 TRAVIN et al.
METHODS
Minerals (micas, amphiboles, and feldspar) for our
40Ar/39Ar isotopic–geochronologic studies were sepa-
rated from rocks using conventional techniques of mag-
netic and density separation. Samples of monominer-
alic fractions and biotite MCA-11 (OSO no. 129-88,
which was used as the mineral monitor) were wrapped
in Al foil, placed into a quartz ampoule, which was then
pumped out and welded. Biotite MCA-11 (prepared at
the Fedorovskii All-Russia Institute of Mineral
Resources in 1988 as a K/Ar standard for K/Ar dating)
was certified as an 40Ar/39Ar monitor with the use of the
muscovite Bern 4m and biotite LP-6 internationally
certified standards [27]. The integral age of biotite
MCA-11 was assumed to correspond to the calibration
results: 311.0 ± 1.5 Ma. The quartz ampoules with sam-
ples were irradiated in the Cd-coated channel of a reac-
tor (BBP-K type) at the Tomsk Polytechnic Institute.
The gradient of the neutron flux did not exceed 0.5% of
the sample size. The experiments on the stepwise heat-
ing were carried out in a quartz reactor with an external
heater. The blank for 40Ar (10 min at 1200°ë) was no
higher than 5 × 10–10 ncm3. Ar was purified using Ti and
ZrAl SAES getters. The isotopic composition of Ar was
measured on a Noble Gas 5400 (Micromass, United
Kingdom) mass spectrometer. The errors quoted below
in the text, table, and figures correspond to ±1σ.
In order to reproduce the thermal history, we con-
ducted the numerical simulation of the 40Ar/39Ar step-
wise-heating data by solving the inverse problem based
on the theory of multiple diffusion domains [28, 29].
The Ar behavior in feldspars was described by a set of
discrete diffusion domains of different size that do not
interact with one another. The diffusion coefficients
were calculated under the assumption of a tabular
geometry. The parameters characterizing individual
diffusion domains (activation energy, frequency factor,
and volumetric fraction) were selected based on the
kinetics of neutron-induced 39Ar in vacuum. Then vari-
ous variants of the thermal history were chosen using
the least-squares procedure, by fitting the model age
spectra for those obtained experimentally.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Amphibole separated from two-pyroxene gneiss
T-53 yielded a spectrum in which a low-temperature
“staircase” is followed by a clearly pronounced plateau
(table, Fig. 5), which is characterized by an age of 435.1 ±
3.9 Ma and a Ca/K ratio of 14–18. The low-temperature
portion shows a decrease in the Ca/K ratio (from 4 to 6),
which most likely suggests younger overprints of alter-
ations in the outermost portions of the mineral grains.
Biotite from the same sample (Fig. 5, table) yielded a
discordant age spectrum, at the Ca/K ratio broadly
varying from 0.5 to 17. This mineral fraction likely
contains a certain amount of aggregates with amphib-
ole. Thus, the biotite should correspond to steps with
GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL
the minimum Ca/K ratio. The middle part of the age
spectrum includes an intermediate plateau of two steps,
which is characterized by 53.5% 39Ar release, an age of
395.7 ± 3.8 Ma, and the lowest Ca/K ratio of 0.5–0.7.
The biotite separated from garnet–biotite gneiss T-56
(Fig. 5, table) yielded a spectrum with a clearly pro-
nounced plateau with 99% release of 39Ar and an age of
405.9 ± 3.4 Ma.
The 40Ar/39Ar age of amphibole from the two-pyrox-
ene gneiss is much younger than the U/Pb isotopic zir-
con age of the granulite mineral assemblage from the
host folded structures. Dates for two biotite separates
from two various samples coincide but are, in turn,
much younger than the amphibole age, which is in
agreement with the sequence of the relative stability of
the radiogenic systems of these minerals [30]. These
age values likely correspond to the closure age of the
K/Ar radiogenic systems of the amphibole and biotite.
The spectrum of amphibole from scapolite–horn-
blende metasomatite Kh-404 from the Ulan-Khargana
Massif (Fig. 5, table) shows a clearly pronounced pla-
teau corresponding to an age of 439.5 ± 6.8 Ma and to
87% of released 39Ar. The Ca/K spectrum exhibits an
increase in the Ca/K ratio from 6–20 to 90 and more,
which testifies that the composition of the amphibole is
notably heterogeneous.
The spectrum of secondary hornblende from gabbro
02-99 from the Chernorud Massif (Fig. 5, table) also
displays a pronounced plateau characterized by an age
of 445.3 ± 1.9 Ma, 96% of released 39Ar, and a homoge-
neous Ca/K ratio of 40–56.
The dates for secondary amphiboles from the Ulan-
Khargana and Chernorud massifs are mutually consis-
tent. The temperatures of the overprinted alterations
could have been much higher than the closure tempera-
tures of the K/Ar radiogenic system of the hornblendes,
and, hence, the dates most probably correspond to the
lowest age limit for the metamorphic and/or metaso-
matic transformations.
Biotite (Fig. 5, table) from leucogranite dike 356a
“conserved” in the Chernorud Massif yielded a discor-
dant spectrum, whose middle part has an intermediate
plateau corresponding to an age of 390.6 ± 3.2 Ma. This
value is consistent with the dates for biotite from meta-
morphic rocks from the Chernorud zone (samples T-53
and T-56).
The spectrum of the potassic feldspar (Fig. 6a, table)
includes an upward “staircase” corresponding to 40%
of released 39Ar that is followed by a clear-cut plateau
corresponding to an age of 402.9 ± 3.8 Ma. Inasmuch as
this vein was emplaced much earlier, the 40Ar/39Ar
biotite and feldspar age values likely correspond to the
closure ages of the K/Ar radiogenic systems.
Vol. 47 No. 11 2009
 .
The results of 40Ar/39Ar of mineral dating for the Chernorud zone
T°C t (min) 40Ar(STP) 40Ar/39Ar ±1σ 38Ar/39Ar ±1σ 37Ar/39Ar ±1σ 36Ar/39Ar ±1σ Ca/K Σ39Ar (%) Age, Ma±1σ ±1σ
Amphibole T-53, charge 44.9 mg, J = 0.003592 ± 0.000034*
700 10 3.76xe–9 102.94 2.45 0.0629 0.0427 1.6575 0.1260 0.0824 0.0239 5.967 0.9 448.6 37.0
900 10 15.37xe–9 81.50 0.37 0.0285 0.0085 1.1258 0.0346 0.0393 0.0046 4.053 5.6 404.0 8.0
975 10 13.71xe–9 73.63 0.40 0.0286 0.0120 1.4978 0.0344 0.0016 0.0054 5.392 10.3 420.9 9.2
1050 10 76.37xe–9 77.78 0.14 0.0240 0.0013 4.8286 0.0129 0.0083 0.0018 17.383 34.8 431.9 4.6
1075 10 159.8xe–9 77.46 0.08 0.0186 0.0009 5.1415 0.0063 0.0044 0.0010 18.510 86.4 436.2 4.0
1100 10 20.98xe–9 91.64 0.93 0.0277 0.0078 4.1260 0.0622 0.0451 0.0101 14.854 92.1 447.1 16.1
1150 10 27.82xe–9 88.32 0.53 0.0259 0.0070 4.5654 0.0341 0.0396 0.0060 16.435 100.0 438.5 10.0
Biotite T-53, charge 6.8 mg, J = 0.003585 ± 0.000034*

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL
500 10 1.00xe–9 138.55 45.61 0.2942 0.3102 4.7928 1.9878 0.4468 0.3416 17.254 0.5 41.6 576.0
700 10 5.54xe–9 69.56 1.33 0.0720 0.0176 0.4299 0.1113 0.0482 0.0183 1.547 5.6 326.3 29.9
850 10 39.09xe–9 73.82 0.26 0.0199 0.0012 0.1444 0.0091 0.0189 0.0009 0.520 39.9 394.8 3.9

Vol. 47
1000 10 22.62xe–9 75.78 0.41 0.0261 0.0060 0.1970 0.0342 0.0236 0.0027 0.709 59.2 397.7 5.7
1225 10 46.36xe–9 73.45 0.28 0.0168 0.0014 0.5419 0.0121 0.0016 0.0013 1.951 100.0 419.3 4.3
Biotite T-56, charge 26.9 mg, J = 0.003574 ± 0.000033*

No. 11
500 10 5.94xe–9 59.83 1.29 0.0672 0.0112 0.2529 0.2114 0.1389 0.0193 0.911 0.2 117.2 34.2
600 10 27.07xe–9 77.12 0.49 0.0266 0.0041 0.0917 0.0549 0.0637 0.0048 0.330 0.9 341.5 8.3
700 10 220.85xe–9 72.32 0.07 0.0191 0.0006 0.0236 0.0059 0.0085 0.0003 0.085 7.2 401.9 3.4

2009
750 10 202.86xe–9 71.84 0.11 0.0182 0.0010 0.0244 0.0101 0.0017 0.0003 0.088 13.0 409.7 3.5
800 10 204.29xe–9 71.65 0.13 0.0177 0.0007 0.0368 0.0064 0.0032 0.0006 0.133 18.8 406.4 3.6
850 10 100.96xe–9 71.86 0.12 0.0223 0.0009 0.0588 0.0106 0.0055 0.0006 0.212 21.7 404.0 3.5
900 10 90.57xe–9 71.69 0.09 0.0206 0.0009 0.0817 0.0151 0.0061 0.0009 0.294 24.2 402.2 3.6
950 10 83.97xe–9 72.30 0.16 0.0167 0.0011 0.0422 0.0143 0.0080 0.0011 0.152 26.6 402.6 3.8
1000 10 81.73xe–9 72.32 0.12 0.0191 0.0011 0.0440 0.0136 0.0073 0.0008 0.158 28.9 403.7 3.6
1050 10 65.28xe–9 73.61 0.16 0.0164 0.0020 0.0188 0.0188 0.0050 0.0020 0.068 30.8 413.8 4.6
1100 10 128.46xe–9 71.86 0.07 0.0168 0.0007 0.0209 0.0127 0.0023 0.0011 0.075 34.4 408.9 3.8
1150 10 548.97xe–9 72.08 0.03 0.0173 0.0002 0.0166 0.0014 0.0024 0.0000 0.060 50.0 409.9 3.4
1150 10 1761.0xe–9 72.08 0.03 0.0184 0.0002 0.0314 0.0027 0.0056 0.0002 0.113 100.0 405.1 3.4
THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE

Amphibole KH-404, charge 179.3 mg, J = 0.006041 ± 0.000095*

500 10 206.48xe–9 1236.4 47.30 0.9646 0.0395 0.3084 0.2197 3.9298 0.1551 1.110 6.7 675.7 88.1
600 10 47.90xe–9 899.47 28.00 0.9241 0.0459 2.9780 0.4396 2.7740 0.0916 10.721 8.8 709.4 71.7
700 10 25.30xe–9 2189.1 300.22 2.0450 0.3120 5.878 2.2252 7.1414 0.9889 21.162 9.3 702.5 309.9
800 10 25.01xe–9 3223.4 586.11 2.4775 0.4770 4.368 3.8901 10.1616 1.8566 15.725 9.6 1528.1 313.7
900 10 33.07xe–9 3626.5 880.26 2.6429 0.6416 5.910 3.2374 11.1309 2.7127 21.277 10.0 2004.7 391.0
1113
 Table. (Contd.)
1114

T°C t (min) 40Ar(STP) 40Ar/39Ar ±1σ 38Ar/39Ar ±1σ 37Ar/39Ar ±1σ 36Ar/39Ar ±1σ Ca/K Σ39Ar (%) Age, Ma ±1σ ±1σ
1000 10 17.65xe–9 51.13 0.19 0.0849 0.0051 1.837 0.0648 0.0219 0.0036 6.614 23.8 430.8 11.1
1100 10 80.50xe–9 47.54 0.06 0.1285 0.0008 3.578 0.0105 0.0052 0.0011 12.881 91.6 442.5 6.8
1150 10 7.90xe–9 56.79 0.57 0.1518 0.0114 24.333 0.2841 0.0362 0.0101 87.598 97.2 443.1 26.4
1200 10 5.78xe–9 82.59 1.27 0.2213 0.0108 540.677 8.2895 0.0413 0.0161 1946.4 100.0 639.1 38.3
Hornblende 02-99, charge 45.4 mg, J = 0.006344 ± 0.000110*
500 10 1.29xe–9 71.28 5.90 1.5592 0.1644 15.8418 1.3192 0.1868 0.0316 57.030 0.3 175.3 85.8
600 10 1.36xe–9 90.03 3.50 1.3859 0.0919 24.6525 0.9631 0.2992 0.0174 88.749 0.6 18.2 43.4
700 10 1.02xe–9 108.48 10.09 1.0062 0.1233 13.8331 1.3110 0.2726 0.0401 49.799 0.7 294.2 92.6
800 10 2.27xe–9 135.37 1.97 1.0979 0.0252 6.7080 0.1373 0.3292 0.0153 24.149 1.0 390.3 39.9
900 10 1.47xe–9 64.06 3.22 0.8639 0.0671 8.5548 0.4342 0.0999 0.0505 30.797 1.4 357.6 140.4
1000 10 7.48xe–9 51.77 0.35 1.0584 0.0077 12.6527 0.0902 0.0526 0.0067 45.550 3.8 373.3 18.6
1050 10 26.88xe–9 46.08 0.13 1.1004 0.0045 13.7814 0.0419 0.0114 0.0029 49.613 13.6 432.6 7.7
1100 10 187.91xe–9 44.51 0.04 1.0342 0.0010 11.0184 0.0097 0.0008 0.0007 39.666 84.6 446.7 1.9
1150 10 32.00xe–9 46.69 0.11 1.0707 0.0039 12.3337 0.0282 0.0104 0.0022 44.401 96.1 440.7 6.0
1200 10 11.99xe–9 51.80 0.43 1.0594 0.0108 15.6335 0.1305 0.0323 0.0083 56.281 100.0 428.5 22.3
Biotite 356a, charge 36.6 mg, J = 0.003379 ± 0.000030*
500 10 25.54xe–9 76.78 0.31 0.0704 0.0053 0.1351 0.0955 0.1905 0.0046 0.486 1.1 120.9 7.8
TRAVIN et al.

600 10 77.90xe–9 56.85 0.09 0.0373 0.0013 0.0534 0.0535 0.1114 0.0009 0.192 5.8 140.3 1.9
650 10 116.76xe–9 58.15 0.06 0.0278 0.0004 0.0640 0.0072 0.0568 0.0019 0.231 12.5 236.0 3.5
700 10 349.86xe–9 67.95 0.03 0.0245 0.0003 0.0143 0.0041 0.0293 0.0008 0.051 30.0 329.4 2.9
750 10 248.65xe–9 73.90 0.08 0.0216 0.0006 0.1032 0.0764 0.0021 0.0001 0.372 41.3 399.1 3.2
800 10 211.65xe–9 75.29 0.06 0.0202 0.0003 0.0052 0.0052 0.0150 0.0009 0.019 50.8 387.2 3.3
850 10 136.78xe–9 77.02 0.11 0.0204 0.0015 0.0120 0.0120 0.0229 0.0010 0.043 56.8 384.3 3.4
900 10 127.86xe–9 69.16 0.06 0.0222 0.0011 0.0181 0.0144 0.0278 0.0010 0.065 63.1 337.7 3.2

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL
950 10 109.70xe–9 70.37 0.08 0.0222 0.0011 0.0009 0.0009 0.0274 0.0009 0.003 68.3 344.5 3.1
1000 10 280.75xe–9 70.09 0.17 0.0233 0.0005 0.0189 0.0066 0.0266 0.0003 0.068 81.9 344.3 2.9
1050 10 207.39xe–9 69.34 0.09 0.0221 0.0005 0.0136 0.0049 0.0235 0.0006 0.049 92.0 345.2 3.0

Vol. 47
1100 10 158.17xe–9 66.83 0.06 0.0228 0.0010 0.0063 0.0063 0.0250 0.0011 0.023 100.0 330.2 3.1
Feldspar 20-TR, charge 75.7.9 mg, J = 0.004083 ± 0.000043*
450 10 10.49xe–9 99.91 0.40 0.0753 0.0053 0.1204 0.1219 0.1572 0.0069 0.433 0.1 356.1 12.8

No. 11
450 20 7.31xe–9 101.47 1.28 0.0847 0.0051 2.1130 0.8948 0.2856 0.0125 7.607 0.1 121.6 24.5
550 10 17.47xe–9 42.15 0.14 0.0305 0.0023 0.2930 0.2246 0.0424 0.0020 1.055 0.4 205.9 4.5

2009
 Table. (Contd.)
T°C t (min) 40Ar(STP) 40Ar/39Ar ±1σ 38Ar/39Ar ±1σ 37Ar/39Ar ±1σ 36Ar/39Ar ±1σ Ca/K Σ39Ar (%) Age, M ±1σ ±1σ
550 20 14.39xe–9 48.60 0.10 0.0284 0.0052 0.1464 0.1482 0.0664 0.0028 0.527 0.7 201.7 5.8
600 10 20.15xe–9 40.97 0.09 0.0281 0.0013 0.0847 0.0857 0.0320 0.0007 0.305 1.0 218.5 2.6
600 20 17.67xe–9 49.90 0.22 0.0256 0.0029 0.1224 0.1239 0.0566 0.0008 0.441 1.3 229.2 2.9
650 10 25.73xe–9 40.10 0.06 0.0224 0.0005 0.0992 0.1005 0.0207 0.0009 0.357 1.8 234.3 2.9
650 20 32.48xe–9 44.40 0.10 0.0234 0.0016 0.0421 0.0427 0.0340 0.0017 0.152 2.3 236.7 4.0
700 10 47.42xe–9 40.67 0.11 0.0172 0.0013 0.0085 0.0086 0.0089 0.0009 0.031 3.2 260.4 3.2
750 10 98.71xe–9 39.56 0.08 0.0151 0.0007 0.0088 0.0089 0.0075 0.0004 0.032 5.0 256.1 2.7
800 10 158.10xe–9 40.39 0.05 0.0155 0.0003 0.0219 0.0184 0.0045 0.0003 0.079 8.0 266.9 2.7
850 10 175.35xe–9 43.75 0.05 0.0162 0.0003 0.0347 0.0111 0.0043 0.0003 0.125 10.9 288.6 2.9

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL
900 10 193.82xe–9 49.94 0.07 0.0148 0.0001 0.0432 0.0224 0.0036 0.0004 0.155 13.8 328.3 3.3
950 10 190.50xe–9 58.30 0.11 0.0159 0.0004 0.0858 0.0364 0.0052 0.0005 0.309 16.3 376.1 3.7

Vol. 47
1000 10 209.54xe–9 63.78 0.08 0.0163 0.0003 0.0417 0.0192 0.0061 0.0003 0.150 18.7 407.0 3.9
1050 10 211.70xe–9 66.21 0.08 0.0156 0.0003 0.0146 0.0148 0.0066 0.0002 0.053 21.1 420.3 4.0
1100 10 201.60xe–9 69.12 0.11 0.0162 0.0004 0.0149 0.0151 0.0075 0.0005 0.054 23.3 435.7 4.2

No. 11
1150 10 214.11xe–9 72.00 0.17 0.0164 0.0005 0.0161 0.0163 0.0085 0.0003 0.058 25.5 450.6 4.3
1200 6 316.60xe–9 70.18 0.09 0.0159 0.0003 0.0518 0.0228 0.0059 0.0003 0.186 28.8 444.6 4.2
1200 6 387.79xe–9 65.60 0.06 0.0155 0.0002 0.0771 0.0130 0.0039 0.0003 0.278 33.2 421.5 4.0

2009
1200 6 465.66xe–9 63.95 0.12 0.0154 0.0001 0.0618 0.0079 0.0031 0.0002 0.223 38.7 413.2 4.0
1200 6 543.53xe–9 62.82 0.16 0.0153 0.0001 0.0514 0.0044 0.0025 0.0001 0.185 45.1 407.6 4.0
1200 6 494.58xe–9 62.54 0.06 0.0152 0.0003 0.0347 0.0133 0.0021 0.0002 0.125 51.0 406.5 3.9
1200 6 490.10xe–9 62.29 0.07 0.0153 0.0001 0.0292 0.0079 0.0022 0.0001 0.105 56.9 404.9 3.8
1200 6 358.03xe–9 62.40 0.06 0.0154 0.0002 0.0030 0.0030 0.0036 0.0001 0.011 61.1 403.3 3.8
1200 6 368.69xe–9 62.25 0.07 0.0155 0.0002 0.0893 0.0110 0.0030 0.0001 0.322 65.6 403.4 3.8
1200 6 285.31xe–9 62.51 0.06 0.0161 0.0001 0.0114 0.0110 0.0034 0.0001 0.041 69.0 404.3 3.8
1200 6 274.84xe–9 62.38 0.06 0.0162 0.0002 0.0641 0.0194 0.0038 0.0003 0.231 72.2 402.7 3.9
1220 6 294.97xe–9 62.32 0.06 0.0149 0.0004 0.0021 0.0022 0.0035 0.0003 0.008 75.8 402.9 3.8
THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE

1250 6 461.56xe–9 61.92 0.08 0.0154 0.0002 0.0088 0.0030 0.0026 0.0002 0.032 81.3 402.1 3.8
1250 6 358.68xe–9 62.57 0.07 0.0153 0.0003 0.0007 0.0007 0.0045 0.0003 0.003 85.6 402.6 3.9
1250 6 276.15xe–9 62.42 0.06 0.0161 0.0003 0.0107 0.0030 0.0044 0.0004 0.039 88.9 401.9 3.9
1250 6 214.97xe–9 62.46 0.05 0.0159 0.0004 0.0029 0.0030 0.0047 0.0005 0.011 91.4 401.6 3.9
1250 96 717.34xe–9 62.46 0.05 0.0159 0.0004 0.0029 0.0030 0.0047 0.0005 0.011 100.0 401.6 3.9
* J—parameter characterizing the neutron flux.
1115
1116 TRAVIN et al.

20
Sample KH-404,
Sample T-53, 160

Ca/K
12

Ca/K
80
4
500 0
Integral age = 484 ± 10 Ma
2000
400
1500
Plateau age = 435 ± 3.9 Ma Plateau age = 439.5 ± 6.8 Ma
Age, Ma

Age, Ma
1000
300
500
Integral age = 433.9 ± 4 Ma
200
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage of released 39Ar, % Percentage of released 39Ar, %
5 100
Sample T-53, biotite Sample 02-99, amphibole
Ca/K

Ca/K
3 60
1 20
600 600

500
400
400
Plateau age = 445.3 ± 1.9 Ma
Age, Ma

Age, Ma

200 395.7 ± 3.8 Ma

300
Integral age = 400.5 ± 4.6 Ma Integral age = 439.7 ± 2.1 Ma
200
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage of released 39Ar, % Percentage of released 39Ar, %
0.5 1.0 Sample 356a, biotite
Sample T-56, biotite
Ca/K

Ca/K

0.3 0.5
0.1
500 0
500
400
400
Plateau age = 405.9 ± 3.4 Ma
300
390.6 ± 3.2 Ma
Age, Ma
Age, Ma

300
200
Integral age = 405.1 ± 3.4 Ma Plateau age 33.4 ±2.7 Ma
100 200
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
39
Percentage of released Ar, % Percentage of released 39Ar, %

Fig. 5. 40Ar/39Ar dates for minerals from the Chernorud zone. The figures show age and Ca/K spectra.

THERMAL HISTORY
OF THE CHERNORUD ZONE
Our U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar dates for magmatic and
metamorphic minerals from the Chernorud granulite
zone vary within 500–390 Ma, with this age span
including at least four discrete stages. They can be char-
acterized based on the synthesis of structural–petro-
logic and isotopic–geochronologic data.
(1) The earliest events identified in the Chernorud zone
is metamorphism to the granulite facies. With regard for
the U/Pb zircon dates of the metamorphic and synmeta-
morphic rocks [6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 20–22], this stage corre-
sponds to a point at 496 ± 3 Ma and 795 ± 55°ë in the age–
temperature diagram for the thermal evolution (Fig. 7a).
The pressure was evaluated for rocks from the central part
of the Chernorud zone by the garnet–orthopyroxene
geobarometer at 8.1 ± 0.4 kbar, which corresponds to a

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009

 THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE 1117

(a) 900
500 Sample 20, feldspar (a) 1 2 3 4

400 700

Temperature, °C
Plateau age = 402.9 ±
300 3.8 Ma
500
Age, Ma

200
Integral age = 390.9 ± 3.7 Ma 300
100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage of released Ar, % 100 IV III II I
(b) 30 (b)
1200 1000 800 600 T, °C
–3

20
Log(D/r2)slab39

–5

Depth, km
–7 ε = 40.2 ± 0.3 kcal/mol
10
logD0/a2 = 2.87 ± 0.08
–9
IV III II I
6 8 10 12 14
0
10000/T, K 350 400 450 500
600 (c) Age, Ma

Fig. 7. Results of the 40Ar/39Ar dating of minerals from the

400 Chernorud zone. The figure shows the age spectra.
Temperature, °C

(1) U/Pb zircon dates [6, 9, 11–13, 20]; (2) 40Ar/39Ar

amphibole dates; (3) 40Ar/39Ar biotite dates; (4) 40Ar/39Ar
feldspar dates. Gray stripes show stages of thermally active
200 events recognized based on isotopic–geochronologic data:
(I) metamorphism to the granulite facies; (II) metamor-
phism to the amphibolite facies; (III) metamorphism to at
least the epidote-amphibolite facies; (IV) further uplift of
0 rocks of the Chernorud granulite zone, intense deformations
100 200 300 400 within major strike-slip fault zones.
Age, Ma

Fig. 6. Results of the 40Ar/39Ar dating and reproduced ther-
mal history of potassic feldspar (sample 20-TR) from a
leucogranite vein cutting across gabbroids of the Chernorud
Massif. (a) Experimental (open symbols) and a number of
model (solid symbols) age spectra and (b) temperature
dependence of the 39Ar diffusion coefficient log(D/r2) cal-
culated for a tabular geometry. The diagram shows evalu-
ated kinetic parameters for the low-temperature segment
(linear trend); (c) thermal history calculated from 40Ar/39Ar
data.
depth of 26.9 ± 2.5 km. These values allowed us to place
the first point (corresponding to the first evolutionary
stage) in the age–depth diagram (Fig. 7b).
(2) The synmetamorphic dikes of biotite granites
conserved in basite bodies in the Chernorud zone cor-
respond to the next stage: metamorphic to the amphib-
olite facies. The age of the dikes is constrained between
460 and 470 Ma. The temperature of the retrograde (?)
amphibolite-facies metamorphism overprinted onto the
granulites was evaluated at 700 ± 40°ë at a pressure of
5.6 ± 0.5 kbar, i.e., depth was 18.5 ± 1.7 km. This corre-
sponds to the second stage (another point) in the age–
temperature and age–depth diagrams (Figs. 7a, 7b).
(3) Metamorphic amphibole from granulites from
the Ulan-Khargana area and secondary hornblende
from the Ulan-Khargana and Chernorud pyroxenite–
gabbro massifs yielded consistent 40Ar/39Ar age values
of 445 and 435 Ma. These values are much younger
than the U/Pb zircon age values of the main metamor-
phic stages of the granulite and amphibolite facies. The
closure temperature of the K/Ar system of hornblende
is 550°ë [30]. The consistence of three dates led us to
conclude that that temperature of the cooling rocks
passed, at that time, through a value of 550 ± 50°ë
(Fig. 7a). This event can be related to metamorphism to

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009

1118 TRAVIN et al.
the epidote-amphibolite facies, which was followed by
the cooling and tectonic exhumation of rocks the of the
Chernorud zone from the depth at which they had been
conserved before that event. This version finds support
in the fact that tectono-thermal events were activated at
that time at the Primorskii fault [31], along the so-
called collision lineament [32], and also in some other
zones in the Ol’khon territory [16], as was determined
by the 40Ar/39Ar method with the use of micas from
blastomylonites and metamorphic rocks. This time was
also likely marked by the initial development of large
strike-slip fault zones; motions along them resulted in
the uplift of all nappes in the Ol’khon territory. Colli-
sion systems are usually characterized by an elevated
geothermal gradient of approximately 35°C/km [33].
Proceeding from these data, it is possible to evaluate the
corresponding depth: 15.7 ± 1.4 km (Fig. 7b).
(4) Biotite from granulites from the Ulan-Khargana
area and from a leucogranite vein conserved in the
Chernorud gabbro–pyroxenite massif yielded 40Ar/39Ar
ages of 406–390 Ma, i.e., dates 30 Ma younger than
those yielded by the amphiboles. Inasmuch as our sam-
ples have a much older U/Pb zircon ages, all 40Ar/39Ar
values correspond to the closure of the K/Ar radiogenic
system at a temperature of 330 ± 30 Ma [30], as is
shown in the thermal evolution diagram (Fig. 7a). The
oldest of the determined biotite ages is 406 ± 3 Ma, and
it is logical to assume that metamorphic and magmatic
rocks of the Chernorud zone occurred before that time
at depths where the K/Ar radiogenic system remained
open. At a geothermal gradient of 35°C/km, the calcu-
lated depth of the last metamorphic event in the Cher-
norud zone was 9.4 ± 0.9 km (Fig. 7b).
(5) We utilized 40Ar/39Ar data on the stepwise heat-
ing of feldspar from the leucogranite vein conserved in
the Chernorud Massif to reproduce the thermal history
of the territory. Figure 6a shows the experimental age
spectrum and a few model spectra close to it satisfying
the fitting criteria. The calculation of the model spectra
was based on a randomly generated thermal history
(only situations of continuous cooling were considered)
and kinetic parameters of Ar, which were determined
from data on 39Ar release in the process of stepwise
heating in vacuum. The kinetic parameters of Ar were
calculated by the linear trend in the low-temperature
region defined by experimental points in the Arrhenius
diagram (Fig. 6b). The family of curves whose model
spectra satisfied the fitting criteria (Fig. 6c) is charac-
terized by temperature values of 350 ± 50°ë at the ini-
tial moment of time (the age of the plateau is 403 ±
4 Ma), cooling at a rate of approximately 6°C/Ma for
30 Ma to 174 ± 15°ë, and a subsequent long-lasting sta-
bilization period. When the thermal history calculated
for the feldspar is compared with data on other minerals
in the age–temperature diagram, it can be seen that they
are consistent, because the closure of the K/Ar isotopic
system of biotite from metamorphic and magmatic
rocks in the Chernorud zone coincides with the initial
segments of the simulated thermal histories (Fig. 7a). It
GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL
is logical to assume that metamorphic and magmatic
rocks of the Chernorud zone were continuously
uplifted during the time span of 405–370 Ma. The cal-
culated uplift velocities at a geothermal gradient of
35°C/km should have been 0.2–0.3 mm/year. At the
same time, the further cooling of metamorphic and
magmatic rocks in the Chernorud zone during the last
two (amagmatic) stages could have been related to the
relaxation of the geothermal gradient to values typical
of the calm continental lithosphere.
DISCUSSION
The approach proposed in this publication can be
used to compare the histories of active thermal events
in Early Caledonian folded edifices in Central Asia in
order to elucidate their common or principally different
features.
Slyudyanka crystalline complex, southwestern
Baikal area. The Slyudyanka crystalline complex is
part of the folded structures surrounding the Siberian
Platform (Fig. 1). This complex hosts phlogopite and
lazurite deposits [34–37]. The great majority of K/Ar
dates on various minerals from crystalline schists,
gneisses, and granite pegmatites, as well as on phlogo-
pite from the Slyudyanka deposit (see, for example,
reviews in [34, 35]) range from 400 to 500 Ma. The dia-
gram of the dependence of the closure temperature of
isotopic systems on age (Fig. 8a) shows 40Ar/39Ar dates
for phlogopite from the Slyudyanka deposit [34] and
U/Pb dates for zircon from granitoid complexes in the
southwestern Baikal area [35–37]. It was determined
that the age of the deposits is constrained by the U/Pb
dates of premineral alaskite-pegmatite veins (477 ±
5 Ma) and postmineral REE-bearing pegmatites (447 ±
2 Ma). The values in the middle portion of the 40Ar/39Ar
spectrum of phlogopite 13/70 (average of four steps is
477 ± 4 Ma) [34] likely coincide with the age of the
alaskite granite-pegmatites. The U/Pb zircon age of
synmetamorphic hypersthene and two-pyroxene
tonalites and plagiogranites (and, hence, the age of the
granulite metamorphism) is close to this value or is
slightly younger [35, 36] than in the Chernorud zone
(Fig. 8a). The culmination parameters of the granulite
metamorphism, T = 800–830°C and P = 7–9 kbar [37],
correspond to a depth of 26 ± 3 km (Fig. 8b). Judging
by the age of phlogopite 13/70, the temperature of the
rocks decreased to 400°C [30], which corresponds, at a
thermal gradient of 35°C /km, to a depth of 11 km
(Fig. 8b). A fairly plausible model that can be assumed
in this situation is that rocks of the Slyudyanka crystal-
line complex were rapidly (for 10 Ma) uplifted from
depths of 24 ± 3 km to <10 km after their granulite-
facies metamorphism at 488 Ma. This corresponds to
an uplift velocity of 1.5 mm/year and suggests that the
uplift was of tectonic nature. U/Pb data on zircon from
REE-bearing pegmatites of the Slyudyanka deposit
[37] and 40Ar/39Ar age spectra of ore phlogopite from
samples 88/71 and 3/70 [34] testify to a metamorphic
Vol. 47 No. 11 2009
 THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE 1119

episode of the epidote amphibolite facies synchronous 900

with the third stage of tectono-thermal activation in the (‡) 1 2
Ol’khon territory (Fig. 8a). The age value for the low-
temperature part of the 40Ar/39Ar spectrum of ore phlo- 700

Temperature, °C
gopite 3/70 [34] marks a younger lower temperature
event at a time close to the age of the youngest stage in
the Chernorud zone.
500
It should also be mentioned that the Slyudyanka
crystalline complex has a thermal history that is differ-
ent from that of the Chernorud zone in the Ol’khon ter- 300
ritory in involving a stage of rapid uplift to shallow
depths and the overprinting of thermal pulses synchro- 30
nous with the emplacement of numerous granite bodies (b)
and small massifs.
Western Sangilen in southeastern Tuva. The most
20
exhaustive petrologic, structural-kinematic, and geo-

chronology studies that made it possible to calculate the
P–T–d–t (pressure–temperature–deformation–time)
paths of both individual lithons and strike-slip fault
zones separating them were carried out in the western
Sangilen in southeastern Tuva (Fig. 1). Judging by data
presented in [38, 39], the Sangilen fragment of the
Early Caledonian Foldbelt of Central Asia was pro-
duced by the oblique collision of the Tannuol marginal
sea–island arc system and Siberian continent during the
transition from contractional (570–490 Ma) to exten-
sional (490–430) geodynamic environments [38]. Fig-
ure 9a shows mineral isotopic dates for metamorphic
and magmatic rocks from the western Sangilen in an
age–temperature diagram. Rocks from the crystalline
basement of the western Sangilen provide evidence of
two major events: M1 and M2. M1 was regional Bar-
rowian-type metamorphism to the epidote-amphibolite
facies of elevated pressure (P = 7–8 kbar, T = 550–
650°ë); and M2 was contact/regional metamorphism
(HT/LP) at P = 2–3 kbar and temperature of up to
900°C. Metamorphism of this type likely occurred in
three stages of various age, which were related to the
emplacement of multiphase basite intrusions dated at
524–464 Ma (Fig. 9a). The metamorphic zoning around
these massifs is part of a large thermal structure M2.
According to 40Ar/39Ar dates on amphibole, for which
the closure temperature of its isotopic system corre-
sponds to the lowest temperature values of the regional
metamorphism, the age of the final stage M2 was
assumed to be 510 ± 5 Ma [39]. Correspondingly, rocks
of the crystalline basement of the western Sangilen
were at 510 Ma at a depth of 25 km (Fig. 9b). Micas
sampled outside thermal aureoles of metamorphism
M2 indicate that their K/Ar isotopic system closed at
480 Ma, which testifies that rocks of the western Sang-
ilen were uplifted to depths of at least 9–11 km
(Fig. 9b). This conclusion is consistent with informa-
tion that the rocks affected by the latest HT/LP stage of
M2 metamorphism at 465 Ma yield pressure values of
2–3 kbar, i.e., depths of approximately 9 km (Fig. 9b).
This led us to the following conclusions:
Depth, km
10
IV III II I
0
350 400 450 500
Age, Ma
Fig. 8. Reconstructed history of (a) cooling and (b) uplift
for rocks of the Slyudyanka crystalline complex.
(1) U/Pb zircon dates [35–37] and (2) 40Ar/39Ar phlogopite
dates [34]. Gray stripes show stages of thermally active
events recognized in rocks from the Chernorud zone (see
captions to Fig. 7).
(1) All four discrete stages identified in the Early
Caledonides in the Chernorud zone correspond to dates
obtained for Early Caledonides in the western Sangilen,
and this suggests that events in structures surrounding
the southwestern margin of the Siberian Platform were
synchronous.
(2) The lithons in question had thermal histories of
a different type: while the Chernorud zone was charac-
terized by continuous cooling due to its uplift, the west-
ern Sangilen underwent (after its regional metamor-
phism M2) rapid (for no longer than 30 Ma) uplift from
depths of 25 km to a level no deeper than 10 km. This
corresponds to a velocity of 0.53 mm/year and testifies
that the mechanism of this process was tectonic.
Thereby the rocks of the western Sangilen were
affected by pulses of overprinted heating to high tem-
peratures, which was synchronous with the emplace-
ment and crystallization of numerous basite and granite
massifs.
(3) Rocks from the Chernorud zone show no isotopic
traces of any precollisional events, a fact that can be
explained by the high intensity of the tectono-metamor-
phic reworking, whereas rocks from the western Sangilen

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009

1120
900
(‡)
Temperature, °C
700
500
300
(·)
20
Depth, km
10
0
350
Fig. 9. Reconstructed history of (a) cooling and (b) uplift for rocks of the western Sangilen.
(1) U/Pb zircon dates [reviews in 38–39], (2) 40Ar/39Ar amphibole dates, and (3) 40Ar/39Ar biotite dates, (4) 40Ar/39Ar muscovite
dates. Gray stripes show stages of thermally active events recognized in rocks from the Chernorud zone (see captions to Fig. 7).
provide evidence of a tectonic stage at 570–535 Ma,
which preceded the culmination of the collision events in
a subduction–accretion environment [38].
Derbinskii terrane, Eastern Sayan. Traces of the
Early Caledonian stage of accretion–collision events
were also detected in the Derbinskii terrane (Fig. 1),
which is made up of metaterrigenous, metacarbonate–
terrigenous, and metacarbonate rocks [40]. Rocks of
this terrane display evidence of multiple metamorphic
events and synchronous granite generation [41, 42].
The earliest metamorphism and the emplacement of
synkinematic dikes of quartz diorites in the northwest-
ern part of the Derbinskii terrane took place, according
to U/Pb zircon dates, at 498 ± 5 Ma, which coincides
with the age of granulite metamorphism in the Cher-
norud zone (Fig. 10). A close age was yielded by the
40Ar/39Ar method on amphibolite from the plagiog-
neisses. The corresponding points are shown in the
age–closure temperature diagram. Younger events at
483, 467, and 422 Ma are deduced from 40Ar/39Ar data
on biotite and amphibole from plagiogneisses and gran-
itoids from the northwestern and southeastern parts of
the Derbinskii terrane (Fig. 10). Moreover, the low-
temperature part of the spectra of hornblende from
quartz diorite veins in the northwestern part of the ter-
rane, whose age corresponds to the early metamorphic
stage, exhibits plateau of four steps corresponding to an
age of 412 ± 5 Ma, which is close to the age of the
TRAVIN et al.
1 2 3 4
IV III II I
IV III II I
400 450 500
Age, Ma
youngest low-temperature event identified in the Cher-
norud zone. Hence, rocks of the Derbinskii terrane
yield dates corresponding to all of the four discrete
events recognized in the Ol’khon territory.
Bayankghangor ophiolite zone in central Mongolia.
Central Mongolia is intersected by the extensive Bay-
ankhongor ophiolite zone (Fig. 1), which is bounded by
the Baidarig continental block in the south and by the
Dzag zone of metaturbidites (chlorite–mica schists) in
the north [43, 44]. U/Pb zircon dates for granite and
rhyolite dikes intruding the Bayankhongor zone and
K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar dates for metamorphic micas from
fault zones [45–49] make it possible to estimate the
obduction age of Bayankhongor ophiolites and the age
of later deformations. The Sm/Nd mineral age of the
ophiolites is 569 ± 21 Ma [50]. When the active thermal
events recognized based on isotopic dates for the Bay-
ankhongor zone are compared with mineral dates of
metamorphic and magmatic rocks in the Chernorud
zone in the diagram age–closure temperature of the iso-
topic system (Fig. 10), one can see that these events
occurred mostly at relatively low temperatures and cor-
relate with all stages recognized in the western Baikal
area and, for the precollision stage, with events in
southeastern Tuva.
The five widely spaced Early Caledonian accretion–
collision structures of different depth levels in the Cen-
tral Asian foldbelt provide evidence of the same stages
GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009
 THERMOCHRONOLOGY OF THE CHERNORUD GRANULITE ZONE 1121

900 of active thermal events, all of which fall within a time

1 span of less than 100 Ma. The Early Caledonides in
2 structures immediately bounding the Siberian Platform
700 3 show traces of the four reliably discernible events at
4 500–490, 470–460, 440–430, and 410–400 Ma. The
5 synchronicity of the metamorphic, magmatic, and tec-
500
tonic events poses a serious restriction onto geody-
namic models for the evolution of the Paleoasian ocean.
300 The most plausible explanation is likely that the accre-
tion–collision structures were part of a single extensive
IV III II I orogenic belt of Early Caledonian age, which was
100 formed at the site of a marginal sea–island arc system
900 that bounded the Siberian craton in the Vendian–Early
Paleozoic.
700
CONCLUSIONS
500 Our structural–petrologic and isotopic–geochemical
studies allowed us to reproduce the multistage uplift of
rocks in the Chernorud zone to higher crustal levels.
300 The total duration of the active geological processes
IV III II I
marked by the thermal pulses is 100–120 Ma. The geo-
Temperature, °C

logical events at that time were of discrete character

700 and occurred in four stages: (1) granulite-facies meta-
morphism at 500–490 Ma, (2) amphibolite-facies meta-
morphism at 470–460 Ma, (3) metamorphism to at least
500 the epidote-amphibolite facies at 440–430 Ma, and (4)
postmetamorphic events at 410–400 Ma.
300 The oldest stage (500–490 Ma) likely corresponded
IV III II I to the tectonic stacking of the backarc basin in response
to the collision of the Siberian continent with the Eur-
asian island arc or Barguzin microcontinent. The sec-
700 ond stage (470–460 Ma) is the time of large-scale gen-
eration of synmetamorphic granites (in the Ol’khon ter-
500 ritory).
The third stage (440–430 Ma) was related to meta-
morphism to the epidote-amphibolite facies, during
300 which granulites of the Chernorud nappe were uplifted
IV III II I
to depths of no more than 15 km. The uplift likely
occurred due to intense strike-slip faulting along large
700 deformation zones, which started to develop synchro-
nously with tectonic activity in the Primorskii fault
[31].
500
The fourth stage (410–400 Ma) was most probably
related to the further uplift of the Chernorud nappe to a
300 depth of no more than 10 km, a process that was syn-
IV III II I chronous with the intense ductile and brittle deforma-
350 400 450 500 550 tions localized within large strike-slip fault zones (the
Age, Ma Primorskii fault, collision lineament, and Orso Com-
plex [3]).
Fig. 10. Comparison of the histories of active thermal The five widely spaced Early Caledonian accretion–
events for Caledonian folded edifices in Central Asia. collision structures in the Central Asian foldbelt (the
(1) U/Pb zircon dates, (2) 40Ar/39Ar amphibole dates, Chernorud granulite zone in the Ol’khon territory, Sly-
(3) 40Ar/39Ar (K/Ar for the Bayankhangor zone) biotite udyanka crystalline complex, western Sangilen in
dates, (4) 40Ar/39Ar (K/Ar for the Bayankhangor zone) southeastern Tuva, Derbinskii terrane in the Eastern
muscovite and phlogopite dates, and (5) 40Ar/39Ar potassic
feldspar dates. Gray stripes show stages of thermally active Sayan, and Bayankhongor ophiolite zone in central
events recognized in rocks from the Chernorud zone (see Mongolia) provide evidence of thermal events of equal
captions to Fig. 7). duration. The dates obtained with the use of various

GEOCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL Vol. 47 No. 11 2009

1122 TRAVIN et al.
techniques are largely consistent with the four discrete
stages identified for the Chernorud nappe, and only the
western Sangilen and Bayankhongor ophiolite zone
yield dates corresponding to the island-arc evolutionary
stage.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by the Russian Founda-
tion for Basic Research (project nos. 06-05-65052, 07-
05-00980, 08-05-00204, 08-05-00733, 09-05-01093),
the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sci-
ences (Integration Project ONZ-7.10.2), the Ministry of
Education and Science of the Russian Federation
(project RNP.2.1.1.702), and the Development of the
Research Potential of the Higher School in 2006–2008
program.
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