Large igneous provinces (LIPs), giant dyke swarms, and mantle plumes: significance for breakup events within Canada and adjacent regions from 2.5 Ga to the PresentThis article is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue on the the theme Lithoprobe—parameters, processes, and the evolution of a continent.Lithoprobe Contribution 1482. Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 20100072.

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Abstract

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are high volume, short duration pulses of intraplate magmatism consisting mainly of flood basalts and their associated plumbing system, but also may include silicic components and carbonatites. Many LIPs have an associated radiating diabase dyke swarm, which typically converges on a cratonic margin, identifies a mantle plume centre, and is linked to breakup or attempted breakup to form that cratonic margin. We hypothesize that every major breakup margin in Canada can be associated with a LIP, and we attempt to identify this LIP. To this end, we focus mainly on high-precision age determinations and the distribution of diabase dyke swarms, which are uniquely valued for preserving the record of magmatic events. The analysis extends from the Phanerozoic to the Neoarchean, but our most complete information is for the Superior craton. There, events at 2.50–2.45, 2.22–2.17, and 2.12–2.08 Ga (LIP and plume) are linked with rifting and breakup or attempted breakup of the south-southeastern, northeastern, and southern margins, respectively. Events at 2.00–1.97 Ga are probably linked with the northern margin (Ungava promontory), while the Circum-Superior event at ca. 1.88 Ga is linked to the north to northwestern margins during a time of Manikewan Ocean closure. Similar linkages for other cratons of North America improve understanding of the breakup history to help identify which blocks were nearest neighbours to Canadian crustal blocks in Precambrian supercontinents. Such interpretations provide a framework for interpreting other geological features of these margins to further test models for the timing and location of breakup.

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