See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Exhumation of Continental Ultrahigh-Pressure Terranes
Abstract:
Other portions of Caribbean subduction complexes and metamorphic basement were metamorphosed and exhumed earlier, ranging from 144 Ma in the Sinua HP mélange (Nicaragua), 116 Ma in the HP mélange (Chortís block, Guatemala), 88-55 Ma in the HP mélange (Maya block, Guatemala), 123-103 in western Cuba, and 85-60 in central and eastern Cuba, 104-64 Ma in the Río San Juan HP complex (Dominican Republic), 67 Ma in Jamaican blueschist, 90-79 Ma in the Villa de Cura group (Venezuela), and 90-80 Ma in Margarita Island (Venezuela). The spread in peak metamorphic and exhumation ages along the Caribbean margin implies a very long-lived subduction zone in some portions and multiple subduction events in other portions. The Eocene-Oligocene exhumation of these HP terranes is probably related to a short-lived change in the relative motion of the Caribbean from strike-slip to north-south collision. This may have caused subduction roll back and triggered the final ascent of these terranes on both the northern and southern margin of the Caribbean.
See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Exhumation of Continental Ultrahigh-Pressure Terranes