The age of the Ritscherflya Supergroup and Borgmassivet Intrusions, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Abstract

The Ahlmannryggen-Borgmassivet area of western Dronning Maud Land comprises a relatively undeformed, unmetamorphosed sequence of sedimentary-volcanogenic rocks, the Ritscherflya Supergroup, intruded by a suite of continental tholeiites, the Borgmassivet Intrusions. New Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd whole rock data from the Högfonna Formation at Grunehogna indicate a depositional age of ≈1080 Ma, the first reported direct dating of any member of the Ritscherflya Supergroup. These rocks are interpreted as a molasse-type deposit following the Kibaran orogeny at 1200–1100 Ma, and correlation is made with the Umkondo and Koras groups of southern Africa. The Ritscherflya Supergroup is intruded by the Grunehogna and Kullen sills; the ≈1000 Ma Grunehogna sill intruded unconsolidated sediments, causing partial melting of the sediments. Rb-Sr data from the Kullen sill yield an age of 1429 Ma, clearly inconsistent with these data. Combined Sr and Nd data are compatible with crustal contamination of this sill, producing a Rb-Sr pseudo-isochron with no geological age significance. By comparison with other outcrops of the Borgmassivet Intrusions at Robertskollen and Annandagstoppane, it is concluded that contamination and pseudo-isochrons may be responsible for the wide range in reported ages older than 1000 Ma. Thus the intrusive age of the Borgmassivet Intrusions is concluded to be ≈1000 Ma old. Nd model age data indicate that all rock types were ultimately derived from material separated from a depleted mantle source at ≈2200 Ma.