- journal_title：Geology
- Contributor：Allen P. Nutman ; Clark R. L. Friend ; Peter D. Kinny ; Victor R. McGregor
- Publisher：Geological Society of America
- Date：1993-
- Format：text/html
- Language：en
- Identifier：10.1130/0091-7613(1993)021<0415:AOAEAG>2.3.CO;2
- journal_abbrev：Geology
- issn：0091-7613
- volume：21
- issue：5
- firstpage：415
The Early Archean complex of southern West Greenland consists of polyphase, tonalitic-trondhjemitic-granodioritic (TTG) and granitic Amîtsoq gneisses with inclusions of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, gabbros, and ultramafic rocks. In this complex, rocks of similar appearance and composition were found to be of different ages by U-Pb zircon dating; the Amîtsoq gneisses comprise 3870,3820-3810, 3760, 3730, 3700, and 3625 Ma TTG and 3660-3650 and 3625 Ma granites, and their inclusions belong to several supracrustal sequences with a similar spread of ages. These results show that the complex grew by episodic addition of new TTG and welding together of rocks of different ages. A possible plate-tectonics scenario is as follows: Melting of subducted mafic (oceanic) crust formed ≥3700 Ma microcontinents consisting of TTG suites with predominantly mafic inclusions. At 3650 Ma, collision between microcontinents caused crustal thickening, high-grade metamorphism, and emplacement of leucogranites. At 3625 Ma,subduction at the edge of the >3625 Ma continental mass created a new crustal addition comprising both TTG and granite, while granites were emplaced into the >3625 Ma continental mass.