AGE OF YOUNGER TONALITIC MAGMATISM AND GRANULITIC METAMORPHISM IN THE SOUTH INDIAN TRANSITION ZONE (KRISHNAGIRI AREA) - COMPARISON WITH OLDER PENINSULAR GNEISSES FROM THE GORUR-HASSAN AREA

A major episode of continental crust formation, associated with granulite facies metamorphism, occurred at 2.55-2.51 Ga and was related to accretional processes of juvenile crust. Dating of tonalitic-trondhjemitic, granitic gneisses and charnockites from the Krishnagiri area of South India indicates that magmatic protoliths are 2550-2530+/-5Ma, as shown by both U-Pb and Pb-207/Pb-206 single zircon methods. Monazite ages indicate high temperatures of cooling corresponding to conditions close to granulite facies metamorphism at 2510+/-10 Ma. These data provide precise time constraints and Sr-Nd isotopes confirm the existence of late tonalitic-granodioritic juvenile gneisses at 2550 Ma. Pb single zircon ages from the older Peninsular gneisses (Gorur-Hassan area) are in agreement with some previous Sr ages and range between 3200+/-20 and 3328+/-10 Ma. These gneisses were derived from a 3.3-3.5-Ga mantle source as indicated from Nd isotopes. They did not participate significantly in the genesis of the 2.55-Ga juvenile magmas. All these data, together with previous work, suggest that the 2.51-Ga granulite facies metamorphism occurred near the contact of the ancient Peninsular gneisses and the 2.55-2.52-Ga 'juvenile' tonalitic-trondhjemitic terranes during synaccretional processes (subduction, mantle plume?). Rb-Sr biotite ages between 2060 and 2340 Ma indicate late cooling probably related to the dextral major east-west shearing which displaced the 2.5-Ga juvenile terranes toward the west.