As such, it is a remarkable natural laboratory where conditions and processes at the surface of the archean earth can be studied in detail. Sample localities of the sandspruit, theespruit, and komati formations are indicated by red dots. Pdf archaean greenstone belts and associated granitic rocks. His work in mapping and detailing the characteristics of the barberton greenstone belt has been used as a guide for other greenstone belts around the world. The differences in majorelement concentrations in the globules and the. The mountains around barberton are amongst the oldest in the world, dating back 3. It characterizes one of the most wellpreserved and oldest pieces of continental crust today by containing rocks in the barberton granite greenstone terrain 3. The evidence in this case comes from signs of high pressure, low temperature metamorphism 3. The 3532 ga barberton greenstone belt is located in northeastern south africa and swaziland. Geological map of the barberton greenstone belt bgb of south africa and swaziland and its surrounding plutons in. These felsic units have been interpreted as part of several mafic. Geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt, south africa.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Geological map of the southern barberton greenstone belt after grosch et al. Apr 15, 2015 the barberton greenstone belt in south africa is one of the bestpreserved successions of midarchean 3. The bgb is a small, cuspshaped succession of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, surrounded on all sides by granitoid plutons which. We describe fossil hydrothermal pipes that formed at 200c on the sea floor 2 km below sea. The property represents the bestpreserved succession of volcanic and sedimentary rock dating back 3. Contact barberton tourism welcome to some of the finest scenery in africa. Pdf a synthesis of new and existing data reveals that at least seven major shear zones.
These volcanic rocks, which scientists call the barberton greenstone belt, have given direct evidence of the conditions of life on the surface of the very early earth. Simplified geologic map of the barberton greenstone. The barberton greenstone belt a number of projects are being undertaken in the barberton mountain land with a view to understanding the nature and evolution of this classic archaean granite greenstone terrane. Some of the oldest exposed rocks on earth greater than 3. The bulk of the finely laminated cherty ferriginous sediments characterizing fig tree rocks throughout much of the mountain land represent altered finegrained dacitic volcaniclastic deposits. The area embraces one of the most complexly deformed and highly meta morphosed regions in the early precambrian barberton greenstone belt.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better albert einstein. This is a simplified geologic map of the barberton greenstone belt, south africa, showing three of the major groups and their interactions as well as the. Pre 16 geology of the barberton greenstone belt processes of. Archean spherule layers in the barberton greenstone belt. Download geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt south africa in pdf and epub formats for free. Archean spherule layers in the barberton greenstone belt 35 figure 1. Greenstone3 is under active development, and is recommended for download. Barberton greenstone belt contains 1600 cubic km source rock. This type of granite is visually responsible for the formation of the arcuate greenstone tongues, like tne jamestown schist belt, which form such a striking feature of greenstone belts.
Geology and metallogeny of the barberton greenstone belt. Geological map of the western part of the barberton greenstone belt and immediately surrounding granitic terrane, showing the distribution of spherule layers s1 and s3 of the northern areas modified. Evidence from the barberton greenstone belt, south africa. Tectonic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt wikipedia. Geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt south. Click download or read online button to get geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt south africa book now. Carbonaceous cherts in the barberton greenstone belt and. The barberton greenstone belt, also known as the makhonjwa mountains, is situated on the. The oldest greenstone belt remnants constitute the volcanosedimentary sebakwian group dated at c. Sep 04, 2016 sawed and polished rock slabs of typical barberton greenstone belt rock types on display at the group accommodation for closeup study and photographing. Greenstone belt and its relationship to synsedimentary tectonics in the moodies group. The barberton greenstone belt bgb is located in the kapvaal craton of southeastern africa.
It forms part of the archean kaapvaal craton, the central nucleus of the continent that formed and stabilized between c. The barberton greenstone belt in south africa is one of the bestpreserved successions of midarchean. The barberton greenstone belt, south africa, has been dated to about 3. There are two types of these early, simple, biological structures. The moodies group, the uppermost unit in the barberton greenstone belt bgb in south africa, is a 3.
Situated in northeastern south africa, the barberton makhonjwa mountains comprises 40% of the barberton greenstone belt, one of the worlds oldest geological structures. Petrogenetic evolution of metabasalts and metakomatiites of. Barberton makhonjwa mountains unesco world heritage centre. The asteraceae has the most representatives and its largest genera are senecio, helichrysum and berklleya. The barberton greenstone belt serpentines approximately 620 serpentinetoleranttaxa species level and below of 298 genera and seventy four plant families grow on serpentine in the barberton greenstone belt. Barberton greenstone belt pdf recent field and geochemical studies indicate a need to test the stratigraphy of the ca. The present configuration of the greenstone belts is explained. Archaean greenstone belts and associated granitic rocks comprise some of the most diverse rock types on the earths surface and were formed during the early stages of the development of the planet. Pdf geology and tectonostratigraphy of the onverwacht suite. Ga ophiolitic onverwacht group of the barberton greenstone belt have traditionally been mapped as recurring volcanic units within a continuous stratigraphic succession. Geochemistry of mafic and ultramafic rocks in the type section of the romberg formation, barberton greenstone belt, south africa authors t. Stratigraphy of the westcentral part of the barberton greenstone belt south africa.
The barberton greenstone belt in south africa is one of the bestpreserved successions of midarchean 3. They are located in northeastern south africa, against the northwestern border of swaziland. The small and beautiful makhonjwa mountain rangeclose to barberton, where gold and asbestos. Archaean greenstone belt tectonism and basin development. The barberton greenstone belt, part of the barberton granitoid greenstone terrane bggt, has been, and still is, the focus of intense research and debate, particularly with regard to its role in deciphering the tectonic setting, whether involving intraplate plumerelated volcanism or subduction accretion processes e. Geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt south africa book also available for read online, mobi, docx and mobile and kindle reading. Ferguson and currie 1972 interpreted these structures as due to liquid immiscibility. Rocks of the 35703080 ma barberton greenstone belt record a geological history of at least 490 million years m. Pre 16 geology of the barberton greenstone belt processes. Christoph heubeck presented the geology of the central bgb along the transect of the r40, a scenic paved road across the range from barberton to the josefsdalbulembu border post. Ga barberton greenstone belt as it is presently adopted. Structural divisions and development of the westcentral part of the barberton greenstone belt. Palaeomagnetism of archaean rocks of the onverwacht group. Pdf archaean greenstone belts and associated granitic.
The multiple sulfur isotopic composition of pyrite of moodies intervals was newly obtained to examine the influence of these depositional settings on the sulfur isotope record. Enjoy magnificent mountain views, a glorious climate, amazing biodiversity and the unique barberton greenstone belt geology that tells the earliest history of earth itself a fossilized record of the wild frontier of time. Petrogenetic evolution of metabasalts and metakomatiites. Small tectonic wedges of 35703511 ma schistose tonalite are the oldest rocks yet recognized, but little is known about their tectonothermal history. Petrology and sedimentology of cherts and related silicified sedimentary rocks in the swaziland supergroup. The barberton greenstone belt, also known as the makhonjwa mountains, is situated on the eastern edge of kaapvaal craton in south africa. Other reports of gold in south africa, principally in alluvial geological settings, had been made prior to the exploits of mauch and his contemporaries, but none of these resulted in any serious mining activities.
The barberton greenstone belt is one of the oldest and best exposed archaean greenstone belts on earth. Jul 05, 2004 four layers, s1s4, containing sandsized spherical particles formed as a result of large meteorite impacts, occur in 3. The barberton greenstone belt, south africa, includes a 1215 km thick succession of volcanic and sedimentary rocks that represents one of the oldest known, relatively fresh stratigraphic sequences on earth. Petrogenesis of volcaniclastic komatiites in the barberton. Simplified geologic map of the barberton greenstone belt. We also provide maintenance releases for its forerunner, greenstone2, which is widely used around the world. Pdf tectonic history of the barberton greenstone belt. Record of midarchaean subduction from metamorphism in the. Tectonic history of the barberton greenstone belt, south africa.
Immiscibility in tholeiitic magma was also proposed by gelinas et al. Cool greenstone drips, hot rising domes, and the role of partial convective overturn in barberton greenstone belt evolution. A steeply inclined mountainous terrain are a result of varied geological. Download geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt south africa or read online books in pdf, epub, tuebl, and mobi format. The barberton makhonjwa mountains are referred to geologically as the barberton greenstone belt bgb. This work uses the ion microprobe shrimp, to attempt such a test. Tectonic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt. May 04, 2014 the barberton makhonjwa geotrail in mpumalanga, south africa is a 37km scenic, self drive route between barberton and swaziland that takes you more than 3 billion years into the past. Geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt, south africa volume 329 of geological society of america special paper volume 329 of geological society of america special papers issue 329 of special papersgeological society of america series volume 329 of special papers. The abitibi greenstone belt agb is approximately 2,800 million years old and spans the ontarioquebec border, with close to one third on the belt in ontario and the remaining twothirds in quebec.
Greenstone3 is backwards compatible with greenstone2 collections. Barberton geology the barberton greenstone belt oldest. Barberton makhonjwa mountains unesco world heritage. The belt is divided into three main lithostratigraphic units fig. Shear zonerelated, au quartz vein deposits in the barberton. Co 2 partial pressures of ca 1 bar were modelled by kasting 1993 for the 3. Barberton belt geological region, africa britannica.
Please note that given the exceptional circumstances related to the coronavirus covid19 pandemic, regular mail sent to the world heritage centre in paris cannot be processed on a normal basis for the moment. You will be redirected to the full text document in the repository in a few seconds, if not click here. Geological map of the western part of the barberton greenstone belt and immediately surrounding granitic terrane, showing the distribution of spherule layers s1 and s3 of the northern areas modified from kamo and davis, 1994. Ir levels in s3 and s4 locally equal or exceed chondritic values but in other sections are at or only slightly above background. Geologic evolution of the barberton greenstone belt, south. An evaluation of the metamorphic history of selected areas of the barberton greenstone belt and greenstone remnants in the adjacent granitic terrane including the schapenburg schist belt and greenstone remnants surrounding the boesmanskop syenite pluton in the komati river valley. Tectonic history of the barberton greenstone belt, south.
It is known for its gold mineralisation and for its komatiites, an unusual type of ultramafic volcanic rock named after the komati river that flows through the belt. Komatiitic, basaltic, and dacitic volcanic and volcaniclastic sequences are capped by zones of silica enrichment, followed by bedded carbonaceous cherts. Christoph heubeck, gary byerly and don lowe due to its excellent exposure, low grade metamorphic overprint and considerable extent the barberton greenstone belt, straddling the south africa swaziland border, offers profound insights on archean. These felsic units have been interpreted as part of several mafic to felsic volcanic cycles making up this succession. Three ages of granite greenstone terrain can be recognized within the zimbabwe archean craton. The principal episodes of the geotectonic history of the barberton greenstone belt span some 400 ma from the initial submarine eruption of the onverwacht laves at about 3500 ma to the compression and inversion of the depository as a foldandthrust belt between 3230 and 3215 ma, followed by latetectonic hydrothermal au mineralization at about 3100 ma.
This is a simplified geologic map of the barberton greenstone belt, south africa, showing three of the major groups and their interactions as well as the kaap valley craton. A brief account of the history and mining associated with the early discovery of gold in the area is outlined and a fairly comprehen. South africa barberton makhonjwa mountains nomination. Barberton greenstone makhonjwa mountains south africa with. Murchison greenstone belt, and in the pietersburg greenstone schist belt at eersteling and marabastad.
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