Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207

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Tectonophysics

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Reconstruction of ocean plate stratigraphy in the Gwna Group, NW

Wales: Implications for the subduction–accretion process of a latest
Proterozoic trench-forearc
Hisashi Asanuma a,⁎, Yoshihiro Okada a, Wataru Fujisaki a, Kazue Suzuki a, Tomohiko Sato b, Yusuke Sawaki a,
Shuhei Sakata c, Shinji Yamamoto d, Takafumi Hirata c, Shigenori Maruyama b, Brian F. Windley e
a
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
b
Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
c
Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
d
Department of Earth and Astronomy, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
e
Department of Geology, The University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Gwna Group in Anglesey island and Lleyn peninsula, Wales consists of a latest Proterozoic volcano-
Received 2 December 2014 sedimentary trench mélange, which has a complicated accretionary structure, and is poorly constrained by
Received in revised form 15 April 2015 isotopic ages. The mélange contains oceanic-trench rocks including pillow basalts, cherts, mudstones and
Accepted 27 April 2015
sandstones, which have not previously been interpreted as ocean plate stratigraphy (OPS). We reconstructed im-
Available online 9 May 2015
bricated OPS at 5 localities in the coastal Lleyn peninsula. In order to constrain the depositional U–Pb age of the
Keywords:
upper clastic sediments, detrital zircons, separated from 9 clastic sediments, were analyzed with a Nu AttoM
Lleyn peninsula single-collector inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. The ages indicate that there are two Gwna
Gwna Group Groups (maximum depositional ages of: 1 at 608–601 Ma, and 2 at 564–539 Ma) that were deposited between
Ocean plate stratigraphy the late Neoproterozoic and the Middle Cambrian contemporaneously with dated calc-alkaline arc magmatism
LA-ICP-MS and regional metamorphism in the Anglesey–Lleyn complex. The age spectra of the detrital zircons show a
Zircon U–Pb age prominent peak at ca. 650–600 Ma, and several Proterozoic and Archean ages. To account for the older ages,
we integrated our new isotopic data with published radiometric and fossil ages, and conclude that the clastic
sediments at the top of the OPS were deposited in a trench on the western active margin of Avalonia when it
was close to the Amazonian craton, and that the Gwna Group OPS began to be incorporated into an accretionary
wedge in an active subduction zone in the latest Proterozoic.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction ophiolite, and that nearby meta-volcanic greenstones have mid-ocean

Precambrian and Early Paleozoic rocks in Anglesey island and the
Lleyn peninsula have long attracted geoscientists, because they are
important for the reconstruction of the geotectonic history of the
United Kingdom. The rocks belong to the Mona Complex (Greenly,
1919) that contains a Blueschist unit, the Monian Supergroup and the
Coedana granite (Fig. 1). The Monian Supergroup that comprises low-
grade meta-sedimentary and meta-igneous rocks, is divisible into 3
Groups; the Gwna, New Harbour and South Stack (e.g. Barber and
Max, 1979; Shackleton, 1954; Treagus et al., 2013). Greenly (1919)
first recognized and coined the term “mélange”, which contains exotic
blocks of e.g. quartzite, stromatolitic limestone, pillow basalt and red
chert in a pelitic matrix (Wood, 2012). Thorpe (1972a, b, 1993) consid-
ered that serpentinized ultramafic rocks on Anglesey were part of an
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 3 5734 2618; fax: +81 3 5734 3538.
E-mail address: asanuma.h.aa@m.titech.ac.jp (H. Asanuma).
ridge basalt (MORB) chemistry. He also suggested that the succession
from MORB-like greenstone to arkosic sandstone is a consequence
of subduction of an oceanic slab capped by sediments. In contrast,
Maltman (1975, 1977, 1979) argued that the ultramafic rocks
belonged to an intrusive igneous complex. In their re-evaluation of the
Monian Supergroup, Barber and Max (1979) proposed that several
olistostrome-like mélanges in the Gwna Group formed by mud-
diapirism with modern analogs in the fore-arcs of Indonesia (see also
Barber, 2013). However, we have found little positive evidence that
diapirism played a critical role in the making of the Gwna mélanges.
Gibbons and Gyopari (1986) pointed out that the blueschists on Angle-
sey island (first described by Blake, 1888) were derived from basaltic
greenschists, and Gibbons (1983, 1987) interpreted the structure of
the Mona Complex in terms of the strike-slip juxtaposition of suspect
terranes. Kawai et al. (2006, 2007) used mineral isograds in blueschist
assemblages that were folded into an isoclinal anticline to demonstrate
the role of exhumation and wedge extrusion in the evolution of the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.04.016
0040-1951/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
196 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207

Long 4°40'W 30' 20' 10' 4°00'W

Carmel Head Thrust

N
Lat Anglesey Island 560-550 Ma (Ar-Ar age)
53°20'N Tyddyn (Dallmeyer & Gibbons, 1987)
Holy Island Gyrfer

10 km
it
522±6 Ma (U-Pb age) ra
i St
501±10 Ma (U-Pb age) na
Me
(Collins & Buchan, 2004)
Phanerozic sedimentary cover
667±7 Ma (U-Pb age)
(Strachan et al., 2007)
10' Arfon Group
613±4 Ma (U-Pb age)
(Tucker and Pharaoh, 1991)
Llanddwyn Blueschist unit
Island
Llanberis
614±2 Ma (U-Pb age)
605±2 Ma (U-Pb age) Monian Supergroup
572±1 Ma (U-Pb age) Gwna Group
(Tucker and Pharaoh, 1991;
Compston et al., 2002) New Harbour Group
53°00'
South Stack Group
Lleyn Peninsula
615±2 Ma (U-Pb age)
(Horák et al., 1996) Coedana Complex
Coedana granite and hornfels
Coedana gneisses
Porth Iago Central Shear Zone
52°50'
Porth Oer Mynydd Carreg
Porth Felen
Porth Orion

Fig. 1. Simplified geological map of Anglesey island and Lleyn peninsula showing the main tectonic units (modified after British Geological Survey, 1980; Kawai et al., 2007). Age
constraints of the units are shown in colored boxes, whose color is the same as the color in the legend; these include the youngest zircon U–Pb age of the South Stack Group, the
metamorphic age of the Coedana gneiss, the exhumation age of the Blueschist unit, and the igneous ages of volcano-plutonic rocks. The positions of Figs. 3 Porth Orion, 4 Porth Oer, 5
Mynydd Carreg, and 6 Porth Iago are shown.

Anglesey collage. Maruyama et al. (2010) demonstrated that Anglesey
and the Lleyn peninsula contain three types of OPS that were accreted
from the trench to the accretionary complex (Fig. 1). However, the
limited number of isotopic age data makes interpretation and sub-
division of the Gwna Group speculative. Therefore, more isotopic age
constraints are required to advance knowledge of the Gwna Group.
Because fossils are not available, we have used detrital zircons to erect
a chronology for the Lleyn peninsula.
The concept and methodology of investigating an accretionary
complex are introduced in this section. An accretionary complex is an
integral component of Pacific-type orogens (Maruyama, 1997) and
OPS is the primary building block of an accretionary orogen (e.g.
Isozaki, 1996, 1997; Isozaki et al., 1990; Kusky et al., 2013; Matsuda
and Isozaki, 1991). An OPS profile broadly represents progressive
ocean-floor deposition as a plate moves from a pelagic marine environ-
ment near a mid-oceanic ridge to a trench near a subduction zone. OPS
has the following model upwards stratigraphy: massive or pillow-
bearing MORB-bedded chert typically red or green-hemipelagic
mudstone at times black and carbonaceous-clastic sediments such as
sandstone, turbidite, and conglomerate. An accretionary complex
commonly comprises only the OPS sediments and the top of the
MORB basalts, because at a trench the ultramafic rocks, gabbros, sheeted
basaltic dykes and the lower part of the MORB are usually subducted
(Kimura and Ludden, 1995). From the birthplace of the oceanic crust
to the trench, pelagic sediments accumulate slowly on the ocean
floor; Phanerozoic red chert or red claystone (mudstone lacking
lamination) sediments accumulate at an extremely slow rate of ca.
1 m/1 million years (Matsuda and Isozaki, 1991). Alkaline ocean island
basalts (OIB) are commonly intercalated within deep-sea sediments,
typically cherts, midway between a ridge and a trench, having been
emplaced when the oceanic plate passes over a hotspot. Hemipelagic
sediments, usually mudstones, are deposited on top of the uppermost
deep-sea cherts as the plate reaches the lip of the trench, and finally
within the trench the hemipelagic are overlain by clastic sediments,
which have often been transported by axial-flow sediments along the
trench.
The isotopic age of OPS rocks provides key information for recon-
struction of the paleo-geography, and for the history and travel time
of an oceanic plate (Osozawa, 1994). The isotopic age of the uppermost
basalts defines the time of birth of the oceanic plate, while the youngest
age of the clastic sediments constrains the arrival time in the trench.
Lastly, the age frequency of detrital zircons in the trench clastics is useful
for tracing their paleo-provenance.
In this paper, we aim: (1) to reconstruct the OPS in the Lleyn
peninsula (2) to constrain the depositional age of clastic sediments in
the trench (3) to present a new model for the paleo-provenance of
the western British Isles in the latest Proterozoic.
2. Geology
2.1. Geological background of the Monian Supergroup
The Monian Supergroup that is widespread on Anglesey island and
the Lleyn peninsula (Fig. 1) includes the 3 main groups; the structural
upper Gwna, the middle New Harbour and the bottom South Stack.
The Gwna Group includes greenstone, chert, claystone, dolostone,
mudstone and sandstone, and is characterized by chaotic and/or
olistostrome-like mélanges with frequent faults and thrusts. Meta-
basites in the Gwna Group on Anglesey have MORB-like geochemistry
(Thorpe, 1993; Thorpe et al., 1984). The highly deformed New Harbour
 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207
Group and the passive margin-South Stack Group are in NW Anglesey.
The former mainly consists of schists and arc-related meta-basalts
(Thorpe, 1993), and the latter of thick quartzites interbedded with
thin mafic sediments (now chlorite schists). The time of sedimentation
of the South Stack Group is constrained by the youngest detrital zircon
U–Pb age (ca. 501 Ma) and the presence of Skolithos burrows (Barber
and Max, 1979; Collins and Buchan, 2004; Greenly, 1919). On the
other hand, the depositional ages of the Gwna and New Harbour
Group are constrained only by overlying Arenig sediments (Beckly,
1987). The Blueschist unit that extends NNE to SSW from the eastern
side of Anglesey island to the southwestern end of the Lleyn peninsula
is mainly composed of mica schist, quartz phengite schist (Dallmeyer
and Gibbons, 1987), epidote–glaucophane schist (Horák and Gibbons,
1986), and minor metabasite lenses. Barroisite/crossite-rich concen-
trates from the blueschists on Anglesey island yield an 40Ar/39Ar meta-
morphic age of 560–550 Ma (Dallmeyer and Gibbons, 1987). Kawai
et al. (2006, 2007) interpreted the Blueschist unit along the center of
Anglesey as an original sub-horizontal sheet belonging to an exhuma-
tion wedge; this unit continues to the western side of the Lleyn
peninsula in schists with glaucophanitic amphibole (Gibbons, 1981),
which are underlain by low-grade metamorphic rocks belonging to
the Gwna Group. Above the Blueschist unit, Ordovician rocks overlie
the Carmel Head Thrust, a sub-horizontal north-dipping Caledonian
thrust situated in the north of Anglesey (Fig. 1). The Coedana sillimanite
gneiss, intruded by the latest Proterozoic Coedana granite, is the oldest
rock in Anglesey with a metamorphic age of ca. 666 ± 7 Ma (Strachan
et al., 2007). Since the first model of Greenly (1919), the stratigraphy
and structure of Anglesey island and Lleyn peninsula have undergone
several interpretations (e.g. Barber and Max, 1979; Gibbons et al.,
1994; Kawai et al., 2006, 2007; McIlroy and Horák, 2006; Phillips,
1991; Shackleton, 1954, 1969; Treagus et al., 2013).
There are continuous exposures of the Gwna Group and Blueschist
unit along the western coast of the Lleyn peninsula (Fig. 1), where the
Gwna Group is composed of basaltic greenstone, red chert–claystone
and sandstone–mudstone, together with Na-amphibole-schists. Near
(a) (b)
(e) (f)
Fig. 2. Field photos of lithologies and structures in the Lleyn peninsula. (a) Representative pillow basalt with inter-pillow red chert at Porth Felen. (b) Red chert between underlying basalt
and overlying dolostone at Porth Felen. (c) Representative pillow basalt at Porth Orion. (d) Dolostone blocks in a matrix of red claystone at Porth Orion. (e) Basaltic blocks in a matrix of red
claystone at Porth Oer. (f) Bedded red chert at Mynydd Carreg. (g) Mudstone sample (LLY377) at Mynydd Carreg. (h) Carbonated part of a fault at Porth Iago.
197
the southern end of the peninsula the structural top of the Gwna
Group including MORB-carbonate-bedded chert is underlain by the
Blueschist unit, which itself is underlain by basal reverse faults and
overlain by top normal faults; these bounding faults indicate that the
wedge of blueschists was extruded northwestwards (Kawai et al.,
2007).
2.2. Details of key areas in the Lleyn peninsula
Figs. 3–6 show the results of our detailed re-mapping and re-
evaluation of the geology in 5 areas in western Lleyn (Fig. 1). The results
are described below from west to east: (1) Porth Felen, (2) Porth Orion,
(3) Porth Oer, (4) Mynydd Carreg and (5) Porth Iago. In the following
sections, we have tentatively separated the faults into 2 types. The
first fault type (T1) is defined by the fact that fault planes are nearly
parallel to the bedding planes of the sedimentary rocks. The second
fault type (T2) is at a high (N 10°) angle to the sedimentary bedding
planes.
2.2.1. Porth Felen
Details of this area at Porth Felen are given by Kawai et al. (2007)
and Sato et al., (2015); below is a summary with our sample
localities.
This area mainly consists of pillowed basalt (Fig. 2a), red and
green claystone, dolostone, sandstone, mudstone and chert; their
lithostratigraphic and structural relationships with local conformable
contacts are well exposed, and the rocks are often transected by faults.
Basal pillow basalts commonly contain red chert (jasper) in the inter-
pillow spaces, and are covered by red bedded cherts. A dolostone rests
on the chert (Fig. 2b) and is capped by red claystone. To the immediate
south of Porth Felen, clastic sediments including a black shale layer
(~ 8 m-thick), gray chert (~ 2 m-thick), mudstone (~ 8 m-thick) and
sandstone (~ 3 m-thick) are situated between a dolostone and red
claystone. The Gwna Group at Porth Felen has been deformed by
high-angle secondary T2 faults, and locally by thrust duplex structures.
(c) (d)
(g) (h) Carbonated part
LLY377
198 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207

Similar stratigraphic successions including basalt, chert, dolostone,
mudstone, sandstone and red claystone are repeated by these thrusts
(Sato et al., 2015). A sandstone (LLZ173) and a red claystone (LLY600)
were collected from the southern part of this area to constrain the max-
imum depositional age.
2.2.2. Porth Orion
The Gwna Group in this area is largely composed of pillow basalt, red
claystone, dolostone, and minor turbiditic sediment (Figs. 2c and 3).
Most red claystone and sandstone layers strike E–W and dip to the
north, but the facing direction of pillow basalts suggests older rocks to
the SE. Many high-angle T2 faults with a NE–SW strike cross-cut bed-
ding planes of bedded red claystone and pillow basalts. The center of
this area is mainly composed of sub-vertical red bedded claystone. A
ca. 10 m-thick red bedded claystone includes ca. 2–5 cm-thick siliceous
layers and thin (1–4 mm) green claystone and sandstone layers, and it
conformably overlies a basalt (No. 4 in Fig. 3). The northern and south-
ern parts of the area consist of pillow basalt, red bedded claystone and
dolostone (Fig. 3), and the claystone contains 2–5 m-thick lenses of
dolomite and minor red chert (Fig. 2d). Particularly in the northern
area, the basalts are severely altered and sheared, but they still retain
their conformable contacts with overlying massive dolostone (no. 3 in
Fig. 3). Many T2 faults and strong deformation make it difficult to
observe many original lithological contacts. We reconstructed four
stratigraphic successions in this area, and collected two red claystones
(LLY273 and LLY277) from the northeast.
area strike NE to E and have high angle dips, but some strike N–S. Due to
severe deformation, foliation and alteration, it is often difficult to
identify rock types and to reconstruct stratigraphy in middle and north-
ern parts of this area. Basalts to the south retain sheet flow structure,
and are locally intruded by doleritic dyke. In several synclines in the
middle of the area less-sheared basalts in basic schists dip upwards to
the south, and post-depositional alteration has changed some red
claystones to purple. In the north of the area greenstones and psammitic
schists that are highly sheared along NE–SW faults include layers
of pelitic schist, and minor siliceous sandstone, gray mudstone and
dolostone. The psammitic schists strike parallel to 50–70°E-trending
T2 faults and dip 60–80° NW, and they include layers of 0.2–1 cm-
thick mudstone. Dolostones in this area only occur along faults, indicat-
ing that dolomitization was synchronous with the fault movements
Porth Orion 56
6
10
3
LLY273
LLY277
5

2.2.3. Porth Oer

Most of the Porth Oer area is dominated by red claystones and 50
27
basalts with minor turbidites and dolostones (Fig. 4). Many high-angle N 80 55E

T2 faults, one of which is the Aberdaron Fault that extends across the
whole Lleyn peninsula, cross-cut pillow basalts and red claystones in 4
this area. The high-angle T2 faults are divisible into three types accord-
100m
ing to their strikes; NW–SE, E–W and NE–SW. The NE–SW- and NW–SE-
trending faults are cut by the E–W faults, and the rocks between the
Red claystone
NW–SE faults consist of basalts, red claystones and dolostones. The 70
lithological contacts of these rocks are commonly obscured by the Dolostone
effects of the T2 faults. The basalts to the south are severely altered Basalt
and deformed, but some retain pillows and sheet flow structures and
Pillow structure 40
face up to the south. Lenses of basalt in a red claystone matrix occur in 20
the south of the area (Fig. 2e, no. 7 in Fig. 3), where we reconstructed T1 fault
a stratigraphic succession. A red claystone (LLY38) was collected from T2 fault
a matrix claystone for U–Pb dating of its detrital zircons. 36
Strike and dip

2.2.4. Mynydd Carreg (red chert Quarry) Sample locality 80

80E
Mynydd Carreg hill is 7 km north of Aberdaron and 1 km east of the
coast (Fig. 1). It is famous for its red bedded cherts that are up to 4 m- 45

thick (Fig. 2f). The red chert is accompanied by gray chert, black shale, 40 80
70 60E
60 40E
dolomitic marble, dolostone and bedded mudstone (Fig. 5a). High- 60E
angle T2 faults divide this area into smaller 5 units. In the west (no. 8
35
in Fig. 5a) highly weathered mudstone rests on black shale alternating
with 1–2 cm-thick mudstone, and is overlain by red massive chert
with conformable contacts. Thin-section observations demonstrate
that the fine-grained black shale is composed of quartz, feldspar and
mica, and is rich in organic carbon. In the middle of the area the massive
red chert is overlain by gray chert and dolomitic marble (no. 9 in Fig. 5a)
or dolostone and bedded mudstone (no. 10 in Fig. 5a) in ascending 25 50
order. We reconstructed 3 stratigraphic successions in this area, and 25

collected two mudstones to constrain the maximum ages (UKY20 and

LLY377; Fig. 2g). 80

2.2.5. Porth Iago

The lithofacies on the northern side of the Ystum Fault are different
from those to the south in the Porth Orion and Porth Oer areas. There are
fresh basaltic greenstones in the south, and psammitic schists alternat-
ing with basic schists in the middle and north (Fig. 6). Most faults in this
Fig. 3. Geological map of the Porth Orion area. The localities where we reconstructed
stratigraphic successions are shown in blue numbers. A T1 fault is defined by the fact
that the fault plane is almost parallel to the bedding planes of sedimentary host rocks.
T2 faults are at a high (N10°) angle to the bedding planes of the sedimentary rocks.
 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207 199

(Fig. 2h). We reconstructed 2 stratigraphic successions, and collected
two psammitic schists for age constraints (LLY154b and IR731).
3. Sample preparation and analytical methods
We separated detrital zircons from 9 clastic sediments using the
mineral separation system at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The
zircons were mounted in acrylic disks, and polished until the mid-
sections of the grains were exposed. These zircons have euhedral,
elliptical and rounded shapes.
Cathodoluminescence (CL) images were obtained with a Hitachi S-
3400N scanning electron microscope (Hitachi High Tech. Corp., Japan)
with a Chroma CL2 sensor (Gatan, Inc., USA) at the Tokyo Institute of
Technology. Most zircons are blue and show internal structures under
the CL (Fig. 7). We selected zircons with oscillatory zoning for the U–
Pb isotope analyses. The positions of in-situ analyses of zircon grains
were selected based on the CL images, and determined using a CCD
camera during the analysis process.
In-situ U–Pb analyses were carried out with a Nu AttoM single-
collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS; Nu
instruments, Wrexham, UK), coupled to a NWR-193 laser-ablation
system (ESI, Portland, US) that utilizes a 193 nm ArF excimer laser at
Kyoto University (Iizuka and Hirata, 2004). The diameter of a laser abla-
tion spot was 15–20 μm. In this study, the sample-standard bracketing
technique was adopted in order to improve the reproducibility of the
measurements. Analytical uncertainties include counting statistics and
the reproducibility of the standard analyses (Plešovice and Nancy
91500) added in quadrature. To evaluate the contribution of non-
radiogenic Pb originating from secondary inclusions or surface
contamination, we monitored the 204Pb throughout the analyses. To ob-
tain reliable signal intensity data for 204Pb, background intensity of Hg
(204Hg) signals must be minimized. In this study, a charcoal filter was
applied to the Ar carrier gas to reduce the Hg background (Hirata
et al., 2005). Commercially available charcoal granules designed for
the Hg filtration were used in this study (Shirasagi No. 4, Activated
Carbon, Japan Enviro Chemicals Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan). The resulting
U–Pb isotopic data for 448 grains from the samples are summarized in
Supplementary Table 1.
4. Results
We plotted our calculated U–Pb age data on Concordia curves using
the ISOPLOT program of Ludwig (1991). The youngest single zircon age
on a Concordia curve can give the maximum depositional age of the
clastic sediments. The results of the analyzed detrital zircons are listed
in Supplementary Table 1, and their U–Pb Concordia diagrams and age
spectra calculated from concordant zircons are presented in Figs. 8
and 9. Analytical errors of all U–Pb ages are represented at the 2σ
level, and concordance of the U–Pb ages can be checked on the
Concordia diagram using the errors. Almost all zircons plot on the
Concordia curve within analytical error, but some zircons plot off the
Concordia curve (Supplementary Tables 1; Fig. 8). Hereafter, following
conventional procedures, we refer to 206Pb–238U ages for zircons youn-
ger than 1000 Ma and 207Pb–206U ages for those older than 1000 Ma. In
this study the maximum depositional ages were constrained by the
youngest 206Pb–238U age in concordant zircons.
The 130 concordant zircons separated from 2 samples (LLY600
and LLZ173) at Porth Felen show a monotonous peak at ca. 600 Ma

Porth Oer 60E

N 80
45W
60 80
35 75E 80E
100m 45W

Red claystone

Dolostone 70

Basalt
Pillow structure
T1 fault
20W
T2 fault 80
60W
36
Strike and dip 60
Sample locality

65 50E
80 50E
45
40

20
80

80 65W
80
20
LLY38

45 7
Ab ault
F
er
da
ron

Fig. 4. Geological map of the Porth Oer area. The localities where we reconstructed a stratigraphic succession are marked with a blue number.
200 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207

(Fig. 9), except for a few Mesoproterozoic to Archean zircons. Also,
the youngest 206Pb–238U ages in the sandstones are 571 ± 13 Ma
(LLY600) and 564 ± 14 Ma (LLZ173), respectively (Fig. 8a, b).
The 73 zircons extracted from LLZ273 and LLZ277 in Porth Orion
plot on the Concordia diagram within analytical error, and show ages
ranging from 539 ± 19 Ma to 2040 ± 75 Ma; the maximum of their
frequency distribution is at ca. 600 Ma (Fig. 9). The youngest
206
Pb–238U ages in the concordant zircons are 539 ± 19 Ma (LLZ277)
and 560 ± 11 Ma (LLZ273), respectively (Fig. 8c, d).
The 40 zircons extracted from sample (LLY38) at Porth Oer
have ages ranging from 550 ± 11 Ma to 1736 ± 83 Ma (Fig. 8e); the
maximum in their frequency distribution is at ca. 600 (Fig. 9). The
youngest age in LLY38 is 550 ± 11 Ma (Fig. 8e).
31 concordant zircons from 2 mudstones (UKY20 and LLY377) from
Mynydd Carreg range in age from 608 ± 4 Ma to 2735 ± 106 Ma
(Fig. 8f, g). The ratio of Mesoproterozoic to Archean zircons is relatively
high compared with the clastic rocks at Porth Orion, Porth Felen
and Porth Oer (Fig. 9). The youngest ages in UKY20 and LLY377 are
612 ± 14 Ma and 608 ± 4 Ma, respectively (Fig. 8f, g).
2 psammitic schists (IR731 and LLZ154b) at Porth Iago yield 119
zircons that plot on the Concordia curve, and they have isotopic ages
ranging from 601 ± 6 Ma to 2944 ± 83 Ma (Fig. 9). These age spectra
are quite different from those from the other clastic rocks at Porth
Orion, Porth Felen and Porth Oer, and show three peaks at ca. 650,
1500 and 2100 Ma. The youngest ages are 606 ± 11 Ma (IR731) and
601 ± 6 Ma (LLZ154b), respectively (Fig. 8h, i).
5. Discussion
5.1. Reconstruction of the ocean plate stratigraphy in individual areas
The OPS accumulated on an oceanic plate, and its ideal succession
comprises basalt, pelagic (chert)/hemipelagic (mudstone) sediments
and trench-fill clastic sediments in ascending order. We reconstructed
original lithostratigraphies at locations where we could confirm original
conformable contacts, like those of Maruyama et al. (2010) and Sato
et al. (2015). Fig. 10 shows a compilation of the OPS reconstructed in
each area. Many faults separate the OPS on a small-scale in all areas,
therefore we only show a representative OPS in individual areas (no.
3–12 in Fig. 3–6). The OPS in the Porth Felen area is well described by
Sato et al. (2015), therefore simplified OPSs are shown as columns 1
and 2 in Fig. 10.
We reconstructed four OPSs at Porth Orion, two of which include
basalts at the base. In the northwest a ca. 2 m-thick massive dolostone
rests on thick pillow-bearing basalt (Column 3 in Fig. 10), and the top
of the dolostone is cut by a fault. A ca. 8 m-thick red bedded claystone
that contains inclusions of shale apparently rests on a basalt in the mid-
dle of the area (column 4 in Fig. 10). In the NE of this area, reconstructed

Mynydd Carreg (a)

N
36W
75

50E
33 5m

B 9

25W
60
80E
20
10
57E 30E
80E
34 20
30
8
50E 25W C
66E 70
10
30
UKY20
LLY377
25E
70E
Red chert T1 fault
A 26
25 Gray chert T2 fault
36
Mudstone Strike and dip
Black shale
Sample locality
Dolomitic marble

Dolostone

(b)
C
F F
B F
F
A

Fig. 5. (a) Geological map of an inland exposure of the Gwna Group at Mynydd Carreg. The positions of reconstructed stratigraphic successions are represented by blue numbers.
(b) Schematic cross-section along the A–B–C line in Fig. 6a.
 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207 201

Porth Iago 4
78 48 85 45 74 50 shale that alternates with a 1–5 cm-thick mudstone, 2 m-thick
20 10
80 70 60 mudstones and a ca. 2.5 m-thick red massive chert, in ascending order
N 80 45
(Column 8 in Fig. 10). In the center of this area, a ca. 0.5 m-thick gray
40E
7430 28E chert rests on a red chert, and is overlain by a dolomitic marble and a
30
100m 10
20
45 mudstone (column 9 in Fig. 10). In the east of the area, a ca. 0.4 m-
70 80
12
thick massive dolostone rests on red chert (column 10 in Fig. 10). The
20
85 52E
top of the mudstone overlying the dolostone is cut by a fault.
IR731 80 30E
72 At the center of Porth Iago many high-angle E–W faults and strong
16
66 deformation make it difficult to reconstruct OPS. The thickest sequence
80 45E 20E
consists of a ca. 150 m-thick psammitic schist alternating with basic
80
schist. In the north of the area clastic sediments are severely sheared,
Alternation of
but we reconstructed the stratigraphic succession; the total thicknesses
82
72E psammitic and basic schist of the psammitic and basic schists are tentatively estimated to be ca.
Basalt 30 m and 50 m, respectively (columns 11 and 12 in Fig. 10).
85 68 66
78
70E
88W
82 Carbonate Some authors have suggested the presence of a Neoproterozoic
60
80
82
80 Doleritic dyke subduction-related orogen on the Avalonian margin (Gibbons and
80E
Horák, 1996; Kawai et al., 2007), but an accretionary complex and
70 Strong foliation
70 OPS had not been fully recognized in the Gwna Group. Basalts and
85
80 80
85 T1 fault the protolith of basic schists in the Gwna Group at Porth Felen, Porth
87
80E
T2 fault Orion and Porth Iago have geochemical characteristics similar to
36 those of ocean-island or mid-oceanic ridge basalts (Saitoh et al.,
88 Strike and dip
83E 2015). Conformable contacts between the basalts and sedimentary
Sample locality
rocks such as dolostone, red chert and red claystone indicate that
70
75E
these sediments formed on the oceanic plate. Therefore it is likely that
85 11
LLY154b 84
80
EW
80 80
80 88
62 24
84 a) euhedral zircon with oscillatory zoning
80

625±29 Ma
78
80E
40
80W
65
80 84
80W
70
88

25µm

70
70
b) elliptical zircon with no zoning
10
593±25 Ma
25E
80 45E
60 50

60

20
Ys 80
tum
Fa
ult

25µm
Fig. 6. Geological map of the Porth Iago area. The localities where we reconstructed strat-
igraphic successions are indicated by blue numbers. c) unzoned zircon

OPSs consist only of a 7 m-thick red bedded claystone which includes

thin chert, shale and sandstone layers (column 5 in Fig. 10). In the far
north of this area, red bedded claystone is capped by thin alternations
of chert and red claystone (Column 6 in Fig. 10); the total thickness of
this column is ca. 22 m.
Basalts at Porth Oer contain pillows, but they lack a conformable
contact with sedimentary rocks. In addition, it is difficult to reconstruct
the OPS in the middle and northern parts of this area due to the many 50µm
minor faults and severe deformation and alteration. An OPS in the
southwest of this area is shown in column 7 in Fig. 10, where a ca.
30 m-thick red claystone contains lenses of basalt. Fig. 7. Cathodoluminescence images of detrital zircons from sandstones (a–c, from
Three sections of OPS were reconstructed at Mynydd Carreg. In the LLY173), and 206Pb–238U ages determined with LA-ICP-MS. Red circles represent analytical
western part of this area, the OPS comprises a ca. 1.2 m-thick black spots.
202 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207

the Gwna Group includes OPSs at some places; for example, at Porth McIlroy and Horák, 2006; Phillips, 1991), and its minimum depositional
Felen, Porth Orion and Porth Iago (Fig. 10). At Porth Oer and Mynydd age is constrained by unconformably overlying Arenig sediment
Carreg, conformable contacts between basalts and sediments were not (Beckly, 1987). These indicate that the deposition of the Gwna Group
observed (Figs. 4 and 5), and there is no evidence to support the idea is limited to the time ranging from the latest Neoproterozoic to the
that reconstructed stratigraphies at these areas constitute OPS. Howev- Arenig. The depositional ages overlaps igneous ages of the Arfon
er, the constituent rocks in these areas are similar to those at Porth Group (711–519 Ma; Tucker and Pharaoh, 1991; Noble et al., 1993;
Felen, implying that the stratigraphies at Porth Oer and Mynydd Carreg Horák et al., 1996; Landing et al., 1998; Compston et al., 2002;
are also dismembered fragments of OPS. In summary, the Gwna Group Schofield et al., 2010) and the peak metamorphic age of the Blueschist
includes not only mélanges, but also OPS in places, and the repeated na- unit (560–550 Ma; Dallmeyer and Gibbons, 1987). Accordingly, the
ture of the OPS indicates that parts of Gwna Group were imbricated by formation age of the Gwna Group is consistent with the period when
bedding-parallel thrusts in an accretionary complex, similar to those in the Iapetus oceanic plate was subducting under the Avalonian margin.
the accretionary complex of Japan (Okamoto et al., 2000).
The reconstructed OPSs in each area and the youngest zircon 5.2. Classification of the Gwna Group
206
Pb–238U ages in individual clastic rocks are summarized on the
simplified geological map of Fig. 10. The maximum depositional ages We propose a new classification of the Gwna Group into 2 types
of clastic rocks at Porth Felen, Porth Orion, Porth Oer, Mynydd Carreg, based on their lithologies and zircon chronologies. The stratigraphic
and Porth Iago are 564 ± 14 Ma, 539 ± 19 Ma, 550 ± 11 Ma, 608 ± successions at Mynydd Carreg and Porth Iago are defined as Type 1
4 Ma and 601 ± 6 Ma, respectively. The Gwna Group is structurally Gwna. They are devoid of red bedded claystone, and their maximum
the uppermost unit in the Monian Supergroup (Gibbons et al., 1994; depositional ages are around ca. 600 Ma (Fig. 10). In addition, they

(a) (b) (c)

LLY600@Porth Felen LLY173@Porth Felen LLZ277@Porth Orion
0.24 3200
Y.A. = 571±13 Ma (N=40) 0.10
Y.A. = 564±14 Ma (N=110) 0.20 Y.A. = 539±19 Ma (N=50)
2800

0.20
Pb/206Pb
Pb/206Pb

Pb/206Pb
0.16
2400
0.08
0.16
2400
0.12
207

207
207

950
0.12
0.06 750 1600
1600 550 0.08
0.08

800 800

0.04 0.04 0.04

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
238
238
U/206Pb U/206Pb 238
U/206Pb
(d) (e) (f)
LLZ273@Porth Orion LLY38@Porth Oer UKY20@Mynydd Carreg
Y.A. = 560±11 Ma (N=27) 0.12 2000 Y.A. = 550±11 Ma (N=44) 0.20 Y.A. = 612±14 Ma (N=16)
2800
0.10
Pb/206Pb

Pb/206Pb
Pb/206Pb

0.10 0.16
1500

0.08
0.08 0.12 2000
207

207
207

1000 1200

0.06
0.06 0.08
500 1200
800

0.04 0.04 0.04

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
238
U/206Pb 238
U/206Pb 238
U/206Pb
(g) (h) (i)
LLY377@Mynydd Carreg IR731@Porth Iago LLZ154b@Porth Iago
0.24 3200
Y.A. = 608±4 Ma (N=20) Y.A. = 606±11 Ma (N=62) Y.A. = 601±6 Ma (N=79)
0.24 3200
0.20
2800
0.20
Pb/206Pb

Pb/206Pb
Pb/206Pb

0.20
0.16
0.16
0.16 2400
2400
207

207
207

0.12 2000 0.12

0.12
1600
0.08 1600 0.08
1200 0.08
800 800
0.04 0.04 0.04
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
238
U/206Pb 238
U/206Pb 238
U/206Pb

Fig. 8. (A) Tera–Wasserburg Concordia diagrams of in-situ U–Pb dates of zircons with LA-ICP-MS for (a) LLY600, (b) LLZ173, (c) LLZ277, (d) LLZ273, (e) LLY38, (f) UKY20, (g) LLY377,
(h) IR731 and (i) LLZ154b. These figures were made using the ISOPLOT (Ludwig, 1991). Error ellipses on individual spots are at 2σ level. Y.A.: the youngest 206Pb–238U age in concordant
zircons.
 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207 203

contain significant amounts of Proterozoic and Archean detrital zircons
compared with the other areas (Fig. 9). Type 2 Gwna includes
stratigraphic successions at Porth Felen, Porth Orion and Porth Oer.
The deposition of red claystone is a characteristic of Type 2 Gwna,
whose maximum depositional ages range from 564 ± 14 Ma to
539 ± 19 Ma (Fig. 10). Thick red claystones in Type 2 Gwna suggest
relatively oxic condition in a deep sea at ca. 550 Ma, in contrast to the
global deep sea anoxic conditions recorded in contemporaneous succes-
sions (Canfield et al., 2008).
The youngest zircon U–Pb age in a trench sediment can be used
to constrain its depositional age, as shown by Clift et al. (2013) who
analyzed U–Pb ages of detrital zircons in sediments from the forearc
and trench of the Nankai Trough near Japan. The age difference
between the youngest zircons and the sedimentation was less than
20 million years, when N 100 zircon grains were analyzed. In our
study, 150 and 243 zircon grains were dated from clastic rocks in
Types 1 and 2 Gwna, respectively. The youngest 206Pb–238U age in
Type 1 Gwna is 601 ± 6 Ma, significantly older than that reported
from the South Stack Group (501 ± 10 Ma; Collins and Buchan, 2004).
Because the age gap is statistically large, we consider that the sediments
of Type 1 Gwna were deposited before those in the South Stack Group.
This idea is opposite to the traditional concept of McIlroy and Horák
(2006), but it is well established that the structurally upper sequence
is older than the lower sequence in an accretionary wedge or

80 LLY600 and LLZ173 @Porth Felen

60 Y.A. = 564±14 Ma (N=130)
40
20
0
60 LLZ273 and LLZ277 @Porth Orion
50 Y.A. = 539±19 Ma (N=73)
40
30
20
10
0
30 LLY38 @Porth Oer
20 Y.A. = 550±11 Ma (N=40)

10

0
UKY20 and LLY377 @Mynydd Carreg
5 Y.A. = 608±4 Ma (N=31)

0
20 LLY154b and IR 731 @Porth Iago

Relative probability
15 Y.A. = 601±6 Ma (N=119)
10
5
Number

0
HH @Holy Island
Y.A. = 501±10 Ma (N=49)
(Collins and Buchan, 2004)

SS @Holy Island
Y.A. = 522±6 Ma (N=34)
(Collins and Buchan, 2004)

ML001 @Ganllywyd
W.A. = 540±3.2 Ma (N=105)
(Pothier et al., 2014)

DIS1024 @Harlech
D.A. = 537+9/-7 Ma (N=142)
(Waldron et al., 2011)

ML010 @Alexandra Quarry

W.A. = 549±4 Ma (N=75)
(Pothier et al., 2014)

COE1 @Tyddyn Gyrfer

Y.A. = 852±27 Ma (N=16)
(Strachan et al., 2007)

Amazonia
Baltica
NW Africa
NE Africa
Siberia
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Age (Ma)

Fig. 9. Age spectra of detrital zircon grains from clastic rocks in the Lleyn peninsula, showing secular changes in provenance that shed terrigenous clastics to the Welsh trench. These figures
were constructed using U–Pb data that plot on the Concordia line. Following conventional usage, 206Pb–238U ages are quoted for ages younger than 1000 Ma, whereas 207Pb–206U ages are
quoted for ages older than 1000 Ma. For comparison, available results of detrital zircon data from the Mona Complex, Welsh Basin, Baltica and Amazonian, Siberian, West African and
East African cratons are also shown (Collins and Buchan, 2004; Pothier et al., in press; Strachan et al., 2007; Ustaömer et al., 2011; Waldron et al., 2011). Note there are large peaks around
600–650 Ma in all the samples. Clastic rocks in Type 1 Gwna at Porth Iago and Mynydd Carreg include a large population of zircons older than 1000 Ma. W.A.: the weighted average
of 206Pb–238U zircon ages (see Pothier et al., in press). D.A.: the depositional age constrained by the upper intercept of the discordia line (see Waldron et al., 2011).
204 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207

subduction–accretion complex (Isozaki, 1996; Kusky et al., 2013;
Leggett, 1987; Leggett et al., 1979). Our clastic sediments were collected
from reconstructed OPS, whose maximum depositional age is nearly
coeval with the time when an oceanic plate was arriving in the
Avalonian trench. The OPS in the Type 1 Gwna were incorporated into
an accretionary wedge on the Avalonian margin before the deposition
of the South Stack Group. On the other hand, the youngest 206Pb–238U
age in the Type 2 Gwna is 539 ± 19 Ma, but this age is statistically insuf-
ficient to suggest that the sediments of Type 2 Gwna are older than
those in South Stack Group. Nevertheless, the sediments of Type
2 Gwna accumulated on an accreting oceanic plate, whereas the
quartzite-dominated South Stack Group formed in a passive continental
margin (Phillips, 1991). Therefore, we consider that the depositional
setting of sedimentary rocks in the Gwna Group was different from
that in the South Stack during the Cambrian. So it is likely that the
ocean-trench Type 2 Gwna sediments were accreted to the accretionary
wedge before or during the deposition of the South Stack Group
(see Fig. 10).
5.3. Geotectonic history of the British Isles in the latest Proterozoic
Accretionary complexes formed during closure of the Iapetus Ocean
have been recognized in the Southern Uplands and Ballantrae in SW
Scotland and Leinster in SE Ireland (Leggett, 1987; Leggett et al., 1979;
Max et al., 1990; McKerrow et al., 1977; Sawaki et al., 2010; Stone,
2014); the ages of their constituent sediments range from Middle
Cambrian to Silurian. The stratigraphic successions in the Gwna
Group, as well as in SE Ireland, are older than those in Scotland and
record an earlier stage in the history of the Iapetus Ocean.
The paleogeographic position of the British Isles in the latest
Neoproterozoic is still uncertain due to the limited paleo-magnetic
evidence and the paucity of chronological data on key rocks. An age
spectrum of detrital zircons from a clastic sediment can provide key
information about its provenance. A comparison of the age population
of zircons in the Lleyn clastic rocks with available detrital zircon data
from the Mona Complex, Welsh Basin, Baltica and Amazonian, Siberian,
West African and East African cratons constrains the hinterland
of Avalonia (Fig. 9; Collins and Buchan, 2004; Strachan et al., 2007;
Waldron et al., 2011, 2014; Pothier et al., in press). Key features of the
age populations of the detrital zircon are (1) prominent peaks at ca.
650–600 Ma in all clastic rocks, (2) a large peak around ca. 2100 Ma in
the Type 1 Gwna at Porth Iago, and (3) relatively few Mesoproterozoic
and Archean zircons. The latest Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian
peaks were reported from Cambrian sediments in the South Stack
Group and Welsh Basin (Fig. 9). Depositional ages of the sediments at
Ganllwyd, Harlech and Alexandra Quarry in the Welsh Basin were

Porth Felen Porth Orion Porth Oer Mynydd Carreg Porth Iago
50m No.12

40m

No.7

No.11
30m
No.1

No.6
No.2
20m

LLZ173 LLY38 LLY154b IR731

564 550 601 606
±14Ma ±11Ma ±6Ma ±11Ma
LLY273
LLY600 560
10m
571 No.4 ±11Ma
±13Ma No.5 No.8
LLY377 No.10
LLY277 608 No.9
No.3 539 ±4Ma
±19Ma UKY20
0m
612
±14Ma

-10m

Sandstone
Psammitic schist
Dolomitic marble
Afon S

Aberd

Dolostone
Ystum
aint F

Mudstone
aron F
ault

Black shale
Fault
ault

Red claystone
N

Gray chert
Red chert
Basalt
Basic schist
Lleyn Peninsula

Fig. 10. Schematic map showing the localities and youngest 206Pb–238U ages of concordant zircons from individual clastic rocks. Reconstructed stratigraphic successions in 5 areas are
shown above (see text for details). The OPSs at Porth Felen are simplified from Sato et al. (2015).
 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207 205

well constrained as Early to Middle Cambrian by fossil ages (see Pothier
et al., in press). In addition, U–Pb ages in detrital zircons from the Welsh
Basin concentrate at ca. 540 Ma, and their age frequencies are similar to
those in the Type 2 Gwna (Fig. 9).
The Amazonian, Siberian, West African, Baltica, and East African
cratons are possible candidates for the provenance of sediments in the
British Isles during the latest Proterozoic (Nance and Linnemann,
2008). Except for Baltica, Neoproterozoic rocks are present in all the
craton (Ustaömer et al., 2011). However, because Neoproterozoic zircon
populations can be derived from arc rocks as in the Arfon Group in west-
ern Wales (Fig. 1), we consider that the Neoproterozoic zircons are not
useful to distinguish the provenance of cratons close to the British Isles.
Because the Siberian and NE/NW African cratons lack Mesoproterozoic
(ca. 1000–1600 Ma) zircon sources (Fig. 9; Ustaömer et al., 2011),
they are excluded as possible candidates. Also, the large peak around
ca. 2100 Ma cannot be explained by the Baltica craton. Therefore, we
conclude that Amazonia was the most likely craton adjacent to Avalonia
for deposition of clastic rocks of the Gwna Group, which is consistent
with suggestions by previous works (Collins and Buchan, 2004;
Strachan et al., 2007; Waldron et al., 2011). In addition, the distribution
of fossil zones indicates proximity of Avalonia to South America before
the Ordovician (Cocks and Fortey, 2009; Cocks and Torsvik, 2006;
McKerrow et al., 1992). Therefore, Avalonia (British Isles) was most
likely situated near the Amazonia craton in the latest Proterozoic.
From the age distribution of detrital zircons in Cadomia, Fernández-
Suárez et al. (2002) likewise suggested this close position of Avalonia.
The population of pre-Mesoproterozoic zircons decreased in volume
in Early to Middle Cambrian sediments in the Welsh Basin and in Type
2 Gwna. This probably reflects the change in drainage and source
provenance, and might have resulted from the exhumation of felsic
plutons in Wales (Fig. 1).
Recognition of OPS in the Gwna Group supports the formation of
the accretionary complexes in the Lleyn peninsula by a Pacific-type
orogeny. Here, we synthesize the orogenic development of Anglesey is-
land and Lleyn peninsula in terms of three major orogenic components:
accretion–subduction complexes, synchronous calc-alkaline magmatic
intrusions, and high-pressure metamorphic belts.
5.3.1. Stage I (710–680 Ma): Initiation of Pacific-type orogeny (Fig. 11a)
The oldest relevant felsic plutonic rocks are in the Stanner Hanter
Complex where granophyric granite has a crystallization age of 711 ±
2 Ma (Schofield et al., 2010). In addition, a granodiorite in the Malvern
Hills has a crystallization age of 677 ± 2 Ma and a characteristic calc-
alkaline chemistry (Thorpe, 1972b; Thorpe et al., 1984; Tucker and
Pharaoh, 1991). This evidence suggests that Pacific-type orogeny had
already begun at ca. 710–680 Ma.
5.3.2. Stage II (620–600 Ma): Formation of the oldest accretion–subduction
complex, Types 1 Gwna Group (Fig. 11b)
The OPS, reconstructed at Mynydd Carreg and Porth Iago, started to
accrete to an accretion–subduction complex on the Avalonian margin
around ca. 600 Ma. While the accretionary complex including Type 1
Gwna was forming in this period, ocean-plate subduction was generat-
ing a major continental margin calc-alkaline magmatic belt in the upper
plate of Avalonia to the east (present coordinates; see Kawai et al,
2007). Parts of this calc-alkaline belt are recognized in the Coedana
granite (613 ± 4 Ma), the Arfon group of Snowdonia (614 ± 2 Ma),
and the Sarn diorite in Lleyn (615 ± 2 Ma) in the forearc, and in the
Chadecote diorite (603 ± 2 Ma), the Orton tuff (612 ± 21 Ma) and
the Glinton tuff (616 ± 6 Ma) probably in the back-arc farther east
(Noble et al., 1993; Tucker and Pharaoh, 1991; Gibbons and Horák,
1996; Horák et al., 1996; Compston et al., 2002). Accordingly, the Type
1 Gwna Group and the plutonic rocks were generated in a Cordilleran
margin of a Pacific-type orogen.
5.3.3. Stage III (575–500 Ma): Accretion of the Type 2 Gwna Group and
exhumation of the Blueschist unit (Fig. 11c)
The depositional age of the Type 2 Gwna is younger than that of
Type 1 Gwna. The Blueschist unit was exhumed by wedge extrusion
as indicated by its top (extensional) and bottom (thrust) boundary

(a)
Stanner Hanter Complex
granophyric granitic rockk (711
(711±2
±2 Ma)
NW Malvern Hill granodiorite
orite (677±2 Ma) SE
S
Iapetus ocean Accretionary
complex

Avalonia and Amazonia

(b)
Sarn diorite (615±2 Ma) Glinton tuff (616±6 Ma)
Arfon group (614±2 Ma) Orton tuff (612±21 Ma)
Coedana granite (613±4 Ma)) Chadecote diorite (603± 2Ma)
Gwna Group
(Type 1)

(c) Longmyndian bentonite (567±3 Ma)

Warren House rhyolitic tuff (566±2 Ma)
Uriconian rhyolite (566±2 Ma)
Ercall granophyre (560±1 Ma)
Arfon Group tuff (572±1Ma) Charnwood tuff (559±2 Ma)
Longmyndian tuff (556±4 Ma)
Gwna Group Caerfay Bay ash (519±1 Ma)
(Type 2)

Blueschist belt
(560-550Ma)

Fig. 11. Simplified cross-sections along a NW–SE profile from Anglesey island through Wales to Central England to illustrate the geotectonic evolution of the active margin of Gondwana
including the Avalonia and Amazonia cratons from ca. 710 to 500 Ma. (a) Minor magmatism in the Stanner Hanter Complex and the Malvern Hills indicates that initiation of subduction
had already started by 710–680 Ma. The Amazonia craton situated behind Avalonia. (b) Main arc magmatism and initiation of formation of accretionary complexes in Anglesey island and
the Lleyn peninsula (Type 1 Gwna) on the western active margin of Avalonia between ca. 620–600 Ma. (c) Continued arc magmatism, formation of the Type 2 Gwna accretionary complex
and exhumation of blueschist facies metamorphic belt around 550 Ma.
206 H. Asanuma et al. / Tectonophysics 662 (2015) 195–207
faults, which facilitated the process of extrusion from a high-pressure
depth (Kawai et al., 2006, 2007); its protolith was possibly ocean floor
basalt (Thorpe, 1972a). The time of formation of the protolith oceanic
crust was re-interpreted by Kawai et al. (op. cit.) to be ca. 590–580 Ma
based on the 40Ar/39Ar mineral age of actinolite, whereas the peak
metamorphic age was 560–550 Ma based on the 40Ar/39Ar mineral
age of phengite (Dallmeyer and Gibbons, 1987). There are contempora-
neous felsic igneous rocks in England and Wales including the Arfon
Group tuff (572 ± 1 Ma) in the forearc, the Caerfay Bay ash (519 ±
1 Ma), the Longmyndian tuff (556 ± 4 Ma), the Charnwood tuff
(559 ± 2 Ma), the Ercall granophyre (560 ± 1 Ma), the Uriconian
rhyolite (566 ± 2 Ma), the Warren House rhyolitic tuff (566 ± 2 Ma)
and the Longmyndian bentonite (567 ± 3 Ma) in the back-arc
(Compston et al., 2002; Landing et al., 1998; Tucker and Pharaoh,
1991). After deposition of Ordovician rocks in the southeast of the
Lleyn peninsula, high-angle faults transected the Gwna Group complet-
ing its development. This well-documented accretionary Pacific-type
orogeny in Anglesey island and Lleyn peninsula is a key component
of and constraint on the tectonic evolution of Britain in the late
Neoproterozoic and Middle Cambrian.
6. Conclusions
Our new detrital zircon dating of the pre-Ordovician Gwna Group
has provided constraints on the time of deposition and reconstruction
of the OPS in the Lleyn peninsula. The results indicate that the extensive
and structurally complicated Gwna Group is composed of imbricated
OPSs that developed in an accretionary orogen. Sedimentation of
the OPS began in the pelagic realm near a mid-oceanic ridge and
ended with deposition in a trench. Incorporation into an accretionary
wedge involved formation of thrust duplexes by at least the latest
Neoproterozoic. Moreover, the new detailed geochronology enables
the Gwna Group to be re-defined in terms of two parts (Types 1 and 2
Gwna); the older Type 1 Gwna was accreted first, and the Type 2
Gwna second.
The provenance history is constrained by the age spectra of detrital
zircons. To account for all the detrital zircons extracted from clastic sed-
iments in the Gwna Group, we propose that the Amazonia craton was
situated close to and in the hinterland of Avalonia. The Gwna Group
formed in a progressively evolving subduction–accretion complex in a
Pacific-type orogen in the latest Proterozoic. The OPS in the Gwna
Group were successively accreted in a trench by the oceanic plate
subduction at the same time as calc-alkaline volcanic and sub-plutonic
rocks were forming in an active continental margin of the Avalonia
upper plate. The Blueschist unit was tectonically exhumed by wedge
extrusion into the Gwna Group in a northwestward direction (present
coordinates). Late vertical faults modified the sub-horizontal structure
of the orogen.
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.04.016.
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Takaomi Yokoyama and Mr. Hikaru Sawada for techni-
cal advice and assistance during data acquisition with the ICP-MS at
Kyoto University. We appreciate the many constructive comments by
Alan Collins and an anonymous reviewer. This work was supported by
a grant on “Growth of the Second Continent and Mantle Dynamics: In-
sights from a History of Continental Growth and Tectonic Erosion (No.
23224012)” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology, Japan.
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