See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/238424090

A foreland basin on the southern margin of Iapetus

Article in Journal of the Geological Society · April 1991

DOI: 10.1144/gsjgs.148.2.0207

CITATIONS READS

87 226

1 author:

B. Kneller
University of Aberdeen
199 PUBLICATIONS 8,950 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by B. Kneller on 31 October 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Downloaded from http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Aberdeen on October 6, 2014

Journal of the Geological Society

A foreland basin on the southern margin of Iapetus

B. C. KNELLER

Journal of the Geological Society 1991, v.148; p207-210.

doi: 10.1144/gsjgs.148.2.0207

Email alerting click here to receive free e-mail alerts when new articles cite this
service article
Permission click here to seek permission to re-use all or part of this article
request
Subscribe click here to subscribe to Journal of the Geological Society or the
Lyell Collection

Notes

© The Geological Society of London 2014

 Downloaded from http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Aberdeen on October 6, 2014
Journal of the Geological Society, London, Vol. 148, 1991, pp. 207-210, 4 figs. Printed in Northern Ireland

SHORT PAPER Middle Llandovery (Skelgill Member)are represented by

graptolitic black mudstone up to 40m thick, with a highly
A foreland basin on the southern condensed basal nodular limestone, whiie the Upper Llan-
margin of Iapetus dovery (Browgill Member) consists of c. 50 m of mainly
barrengreen siltstones with graptoliticintervals(Rickards
B .C .K N E L L E R 1978). The Wenlock and lowest Ludlow (centrifugus to
Department of Earth Sciences, The University, nilssoni Zones), upto 1000 mthick, aredominated by
Liverpool L69 3BX, UK laminated hemipelagic carbonaceoussiltstones,butterri-
genous sandturbidites(Birk Rggs and Austwick Forma-
tions, Arthurton et al. 1988) increaseinfrequency from
'LbeWmdermereGroupbasinwas situated on the northwestern the rigidus Zone beforeshutting off in the late lundgreni
margin of EasternAvalonia, dose to the suture with Laurentia. Zone. From mid-nilssoni Zone onwards the hemipelagite
Sedimentaccumulationrateswithinthebasin,estimatedusing a is progressively swamped by sand, silt and mud turbidites,
graptolitetime-scale,show a historyofacceleratingsubsidence in a sequence up to 7 km thick (Coniston and Bannisdale
through themid- to late Siurian, withratesexceeding m l m per Formations). The uppermost 1100 m of preserved sedi-
year in theLudlow. 'Lbe characteristicsubsidencecurve, high ment is characterized by adiachronous return to shallow-
sedimentation rate, and lack of syndepositional extensional faulting water sedimentation (Underbarrow Formation, Shaw
or basic magmatism indicate a forelandbasin.Thebasinwas 1971), culminating in the storm-influenced Kirkby Moor
generatedbysubduction ofAvaloniancontinental crust beneath and Scout Hill Formations (late Ludfordian to Pridoli).
Laureutiafrom the mid-Wenlockonwards,whichresultedin a
slowing of continentalconvergence. Further slowing occurred Subsidencescalingparameters. Generation of a quantita-
towards the end of the SilMan. tive subsidence curve requires scaling parameters for both
depth and time. Decompactedsediment thicknesses indi-
The continental terrane of Eastern Avalonia rifted away cate subsidence onlywhere basins are filled to aconstant
from Gondwana at some time during the early Ordovician, or known water depth;the water depth constraint is
migrated
northwards
intervening
as Iapetus oceanic clearly of greaterimportancewheresedimentation rates
lithosphere was consumed (Soper & Woodcock 1990), and are low, as in the lower part of the succession. Up to the
was finally accreted to Laurentia at some time between the Rawtheyan,a datum is provided by storm wave base.
Ashgill (Hutton & Murphy 1987; Pickering et al. 1988) and From the Hirnantian to the Pridoli,water depths were
the early Devonian (Soper et al. 1987). TheWindermere consistently below wave-base, and following the basal Sil-
Group of northwest England, which crops out south of the urian glacio-eustatic sea-level rise,backgroundsedimenta-
Iapetus suture in Britain (Fig. 1; McKerrow & Soper 1989), tion was dominated by fine-grained laminated anoxic sedi-
consists of a marine sedimentary sequence more than 8 km ments lacking benthicfaunas. By analogy with Mesozoic
thick,spanning thelateCaradocto Pridoli, which was marine black shales, this anoxia probably resulted from an
deposited on the northwestern margin of Eastern Avalonia. expansion of the mid-water oxygen minimum zone, conse-
It is thus critically positioned in both time and space to quent upon enhanced surface-water productivity on exten-
record convergence of the two continental masses. The style sively flooded shelves (Jenkyns 1986 and references there-
and history of the basin can therefore be used to assess both in). From the persculptus to atavus Zones, basin-floor
the timing (Soper & Woodcock 1990) and manner of closure relief of only a few tens of metresgoverned the spatial
of this sector of Iapetus. Critical to such an assessment is distribution of shelly and graptolitic facies (Rickards
elucidation of the principal basin-generatingmechanism, 1978). Throughout the Windermere Group, but notably in
which has been variously interpretedas crustalloading the Llandovery and Wenlock, the anoxic hemipelagite is
(Leggett et al. 1983; Soper et al. 1987), transpression punctuated by intervals of more oxic and commonly
followed by extension in a post-collisional sinistral strike-slip bioturbated sediment, with sparse to abundant shelly
zone (Pickering et al. 1988), transtension ('successor basin' faunas dominated by benthic trilobites (e.g. Marr & Nichol-
of Hutton & Murphy 1987), or crustal extension (Webb et son 1888; Lawrence et al. 1986). These alternations of
al. 1987). Discriminationbetween these alternativesrelies oxic and anoxic facies (Hutt 1974; Rickards 1978) corre-
on differences in the predicted sedimentary, magmatic and late in detail with similar events in coeval British basinal
structural histories of different styles of basin, and in their successions (Rickards 1978; Warren et al. 1984), but more
subsidence patterns. significantly theiroveralldistributioncorrelates with eus-
tatic sea-level changes deduced from mixed shelly/
Sedimentaryhistory. TheWindermereGroup (Fig. 2) graptolitic successions world-wide (Laufeld et al. 1975;
overlies a mid-Ordovician subaerial volcanic arc with mo- Johnson et al. 1985).
derate (non-orogenic)unconformity (Branney & Soper The facies control exerted by comparatively srnall-
1988). The unconformity represents thermally-controlled amplitude topographic and eustatic depth changes provides
post-volcanic subsidence, and marine planation. The earli- strong evidence for a limited range of depositional depths
est marinesediments(Cautley Subgroup,OnniantoHir- throughout the Llandovery and Wenlock, below storm wave
nantian) areupto 350 mthick, arepunctuated by non- base (say >200 m, Johnson & Baldwin 1986) but close to the
sequences, and recordtransition
a from shore-face top of the oxygen minimum zone. At a time of generally
through storm-dominated mixed carbonate/clastic shelf to enhanced anoxia (Jenkyns 1986) the latter is likely to have
deep shelf. Twominorepisodes of acid vulcanism are been shallower than the upper limit of laminated muds in
represented by an earlyCautleyanignimbrite, and thin modern ocean basins at 250-500m (open slope and closed
but widespread late Rawtheyan epiclastic rocks (Lawrence basin respectively, Ingle 1981). This limited depth range
et al. 1986; Arthurton et al. 1988). The entire Lower and implied fordeposition of the Llandovery and Wenlock
207
 Downloaded from http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Aberdeen on October 6, 2014
208 B . C. K N E L L E R

substitute for an absolute time-scale it clearly suffers from

calibration problems since the zones are both arbitrary and
variable in duration.The calibration of Churkin et al.
(1977), recalculated using recent high-precision U-Pb dates
(Tucker 1989), suggests a mean of 1.5 Ma per zone between
the D. murchkoni (Llanvirn) and M. cyphus (Llandovery)
Zones, with range
a from 0.3-3.2Ma (excluding the
exceptionally long clinguni Zone). However,a date of
439 Ma for the cyphus Zone (Tucker 1989) and a likely age
c. 412Ma for the base of the Devonian (McKerrow et al.
I
1985) suggest an average duration nearer to 1 Ma per zone
during the Silurian as a whole. For the purpose of estimating
the subsidence rate, equal time values have been assigned to
each zone. As discussed below, the errors inherent in this
;;inmere assumption are unlikely to affect the conclusions.

Wenlock of Sediment
accumulationrate
and
subsidence
history.
Southern Uplands Cumulative decompactedsediment thickness curves for
Pre-Ashgill of three sites within the basin are plotted against the graptolite
NW England time-scale in Fig. 3. The form of the curves demonstrates
accelerating subsidence through the late Wenlock and
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ a n d s Ludlow.
Ordwician d
In the case of extensional basins, the change from rapid
Southern Uphnds fault-controlled subsidence to slower and decaying thermal
subsidence producesasubsidencecurve which is concave
Fig. 1. Geological location mapof part of Iapetus suture zone in towards the time axis during the period of highest
Britain, showing distributionof Windermere Group (with areasof sedimentation rates (Fig. 4). Basins generated within
stratigraphic sections A,B, C,used in Fig. 3.) R is Ribblesdale strike-slip zones may be expected to show rapid but
inlier. short-lived subsidence,alternating with compression and
uplift. Foreland basins ideally have subsidencehistories
places reasonable limits on the errors involved in estimating which track the progressive deflection of the upper surface
subsidence from sediment thickness. of a broken elastic lithosphere under an applied end load,
The graptolite zonal scheme (after Rickards 1970; Hutt approximated by a line load. Thus, for relatively constant
1974) provides a relative time-scale of high resolution. As a convergence rates, the subsidence curve (time-depth plot)
mimics the profile of the deflected lithosphere (distance-
depth plot), and is convex towards the time axis.
Comparison of Figs 3 and 4 illustrates a strong prima facie
argument for the Windermere Group as a foreland basin.
Anenormous progressive increase in the duration of
graptolite zones through the Silurian would be required to
alter the general shape of the subsidencecurve.This
diminishes the importance of uncertainties inherent in the
graptolite time-scale.

Llandovery Wenlock Ludla,

R A T S

-2

-4
km
- 6

* C

Ma
440 430 420

Fig. 3. Decompacted sediment thickness curves for sitesA, B & C

(Fig. 1). Sediment thicknesses and lithologies from Rickards(1967,
1970), Hutt (1974), Inghamer al. (1978), Lawrence er al. (1986) and
Q. 2. Windermere Group lithostratigraphy, with graptolite zonal author’s data. Maximum post-Pridoli overburdenof 4 km assumed.
scheme after Rickards (1967, 1970). Thicknesses and stratigraphic R, Rhuddanian; A, Aeronian;T, Telychian; S, Sheinwoodian; H,
nomenclature based on section B. P, Pridoli. Homerian; G, Gorstian; L, Ludfordian; P, Pridoli.
 *
Downloaded from http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Aberdeen on October 6, 2014
PAPER SHORT 209

TIME change in style of sedimentation within the Southern Up-

lands (Kemp 1987). This providesevidence of a unified
trans-Iapetus foreland basin by the mid-Wenlock, of which
the SouthernUplandsthrust front constituted the north-
western margin. The continuity of outcrop of the basin-fill
is interrupted by the post-Acadian Solway basin, and by
Acadian uplift of the Ordovician volcanic basement which
bounds the Windermere Grouptothe northwest. These
have removed from view the late Silurian fold and thrust
belt which overstepped the Iapetus suture.
Although the change in sedimentation style close to
thesuture occurred in mid-riccartonensis times, the ac-
celeration of subsidence in the Windermere Group
(further southeast) was delayed until the lundgreni Zone.
Fii. 4. Cartoon of idealized subsidence curvesfor end-member Thisdiachroneity may reflect the southeastward migration
basin types. No relative scale implied. of the basin as Eastern Avalonia continued to underthrust
Laurentia.
The average accumulation rate of the basin throughout Limits canbe placed upon possible convergence rates
its history (assuming a duration of approximately 1Ma per by assuming extreme values for basin width and duration
graptolitezone) was c.0.25 mm a-’, and that during the of basin development. The lithosphere is modelled as an
Ludlow was many timeshigher,almostcertainly greater end-loaded semi-infinite elastic plate floating on a fluid
than 1mma-‘. Such high long-term ratesare associated half-space, assuming the solutions provided in Turcotte &
with foreland basins (Schwab 1986), and while subsidence Schubert (1982), with Young’s modulus = 70 GPa,
rates of foreland basins are comparable with those during Poisson’s ratio = 2.5, and mean sediment density =
initial fault-controlled subsidence of extensional basins, they 2650kg m-3. Adopting an extreme range of flexural rigi-
are an orderof magnitude greater than those of the thermal dities of lO”-lOZ5 N m(corresponding to effective elastic
subsidence phase in many rifts (Allen et al. 1986). Extension thicknesses of 12-117 km), this yields widths of 77-440 km
sufficient to produce the observedsubsidenceduring the for a sediment-filled basin. Load-inducedsubsidence con-
Ludlow would require values possibly as great as 3 tinued at least through thelate Wenlock and Ludlow,a
(assuming homogeneous lithospheric
extension, with a time-span of perhaps 7-10 Ma. Since none of the Winder-
32.5 km thick crust and a plate with zero strength), yet there mere Group was incorporated intothe thrust system of
is little evidence of contemporaneous fault control during the northwestern basin margin, the time takenforthe
the Ludlow. Syndepositionalfaulting is evidentonly to a basin to advanceadistanceequivalent to its own width
very limited degreeduringthe Ashgill and Llandovery was greater than 7-10 Ma. Combining these figures yields
(Rickards 1978), and inlateralconfinement of Wenlock estimates forthe maximum possible orthogonal conver-
turbidite systems in Ribblesdale,towards the presumed gence rate in the range 8-63 mm a-’. Even the upper end
southeasternfeather-edge of the basin (Arthurton etal. of this range is considerably slower than the 100-
1988). Similarly, metamorphicgrades atthe base of the 120 mm a-’ estimated for the northwarddrift of Eastern
sequence and within the Ordovicianbasementprovide no Avalonia during thelate Ordovician and early Silurian
indication of regionally elevated 6 T / 6 P (N. J. Fortey, pers. (Soper & Woodcock 1990), implying a marked reduction
comm.). Coeval basic lavas or dykes are entirely absent, the in convergence rate as continental underthrusting began in
only volcanic horizons present being minor residual the mid-Silurian. This is consistent with a postulated mid-
calc-alkaline arc volcanic rocks within the Ashgill, and Wenlock slowing of subduction rate in the Southern Upl-
bentonites of extra-basinalorigin,intercalated with the ands (Kemp 1987).
hemipelagite. Since the Windermere Group remainedundeformed
until the Emsian (c. 395 Ma,Soper et al. 1987), basin
Tectonic model: timing and rates. The models of Leggett development may have continued for a further 15 Ma or
et al. (1983) andSoper & Woodcock (1990) invoke Silu- so; the LowerDevonian molasse which this would have
rian to earlyDevonianunderthrusting of Avalonian con- produced is missing, but metamorphicindicators (Oliver
tinental crust beneaththe accretionary terrane of the 1988; N. J. Fortey,pers.comm.) andthe presence of a
Scottish SouthernUplandsonthesoutheastern margin of weak slaty cleavage suggest burial depthsforthe Pridoli
Laurentia.Linksacross theIapetussuture in Irelandare sediments of a few kilometresduring the Lower Devo-
established by a common turbidite provenance probably as nian. However,continuedsubsidence at the rates operat-
early as the early Wenlock riccartonensis Zone (Hutton & ing during the Ludlow would haveproduced very large
Murphy 1987; Soper & Woodcock 1990). The earliest in- stratigraphic thicknesses inconsistent with the estimated
fluxof sandturbidites within theWindermere Group oc- overburden.
Combined with evidence of shallowing,
curs in the Ribblesdaleinlier at least as earlyas rigidus northward facies progradationand slowing sedimentation
Zone,and possibly early
as as riccartonensis Zone rates in the Pridoli (Shaw 1971, section B), this suggests a
(Arthurton et al. 1988). These haveprovenancecharac- further reduction in convergence rate near the end of the
teristics in common with coeval turbidites within the Silurian.
Southern Uplands 125 km to the northwest (W. D.
McCaffrey, pers. comm.), which were deformed in the Theauthorgratefullyacknowledgestheassistanceandencourage-
mid-Silurian (Barnes et al. 1989). The timing of this prov- ment of N. J . Soper, N. H. WoodcockandW. S. McKerrow,
enance link coincides with a mid-riccartonensis Zone additional discussion and provision of unpublisheddataby W. D.
 Downloaded from http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Aberdeen on October 6, 2014
210 KNELLER B. C.

McCaffreyand N. Fortey,andahelpfulreview by C.Ebinger. Geology of the Late Ordovician and Silurian Rocks (Windermere Group)
The research was undertaken during mapping of part of 1 :50 OOO inthe area around Kentmere and Crook. BritishGeologicalSurvey
Sheet 38 (Ambleside) under NERC contract F60/G2/27. Report, 18, No. 5.
LEGGETT, J. K., MCKERROW, W. S. & SOPER,N. J. 1983. A model for the
crustal evolution of southern Scotland. Tectonics, 2, 187-210.
References MCKERROW, W. S. & SOPER,N. J. 1989. The Iapetus suture in theBritish
Isles. Geological Magazine, 126, 1-8.
ALLEN,P. A., HOMEWOOD, P. & WILLIAMS,
G. D. 1986. Foreland basins: an -, LAMBERT, R. ST. J. & COCKS, L. R.M. 1985. The Ordovician, Silurian
introduction. In: ALLENP. A. & HOMEWOOD P. (eds) Foreland Basins. and Devonian Periods. I n : SNELLING, N. J. (ed.) The Chronology of the
InternationalAssociation of SedimentologistsSpecialPublication, 8, Geological Record. Memoir of theGeologicalSociety,London, 10,
3-12. 73-80.
ARTHURTON, R. S., JOHNSON, E. H. & MUNDY, D. J. C. 1988. Geology of the MARR,J. E. & NICHOLSON, H.A. 1988. TheStockdaleShales. Quarterly
country around Settle. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 60 Journal of the Geological Society of London, 44, 654-732.
(England and Wales). OLIVER, G. J.H. 1988. Arenig to Wenlockregionalmetamorphisminthe
BARNES,R. P,, LINTERN, B. C . & STONE,P. 1989. Timingandregional Paratectonic Caledonidesof the British Isles: a review. In: HARRIS, A . L.
implications of deformation in theSouthernUplands of Scotland. & FE-, D. J. (eds) The Caledonian-Appalachian Orogen. Geological
Journal of the Geological Society, London, 146, 905-908. Society. London, Special Publication, 38, 347-363.
BRANNEY, M. J. & SOPER,N. J. 1988. Ordovicianvolcano-tectonin in the FICKERING, K. T., BASSETT,M. G. & SIVETER,D. J. 1988. Late
English Lake District. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 145, Ordovician-Early Silurian destruction of the Iapetus Ocean: Newfound-
367-376. land,BritishIslesandScandinavia-adiscussion. Transactions of the
CHURKIN, M,, CARTER, C. & JOHNSON, B. R. 1977. Subdivision of Ordovician Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 79, 361-382.
andSiluriantimescaleusingaccumulationrates of graptoliticshale. RICKARDS, R. B.1967. The Wenlock and Ludlow succession in the Howgill
Geology, 5, 452-456. Fells (north-west Yorkshire and Westmorland). Quarterly Journal of the
H u n , J. E. 1974. The Llandovery graptolites of the English Lake District. Geological Society of London, 123, 215-251.
Palaeontographical Society Monograph, part 1. - 1970. The Llandovery(Silurian) graptolites of the Howgill F&,
HUTTON,D. H. W. & MURPHY, F.C. 1987. The Silurianrocks of the northern England. Palaeontographical Society Monograph.
Southern Uplands of Scotland as a successor basin to the end-Ordovician -1978. Silurian. In: MOSELEY, F. (ed.) The Geology of the Lake District.
closure of Iapetus. Journal of the GeologicalSociety,London, 144, Occasional Publication of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 130-145.
765-772. SCHWA F.BL., 1986. Sedimentary ‘signatures’ of foreland basin assemblages:
INGHAM, J. K., MCNAMARA, K. J. & RICKARDS, R.B. 1978. TheUpper real or counterfeit? I n : ALLEN, P. A. & HOMEWOOD, P. (eds)Foreland
OrdovicianandSilurianRocks. I n : MOSELEY, F. (ed.) The Geology of Basins. InternationalAssociation of SedimentologistsSpecialPublica-
the Lake District. Yorkshire Geological Society Occasional Publication, tion, 8, 395-410.
3, 121-145. SHAW, R.W. L. 1971. The fauna1 stratigraphy of the Kirkby Moor Flags of
INGLE,J. C. 1981. Origin of NeogenediatomitesaroundtheNorth Pacific the
type
area
nearKendal,Westmorland. Geological Journal, 7,
rim. I n : GARRISON,R.E. & DOUGLAS,R. G. (eds) The Monterey 359-380.
Formation and related siliceous rocks of California. Special Publication of SOPER,N. J. & WOODCOCK, N. H. 1990. Siluriancollisionandsediment
the PacificSectionof theSociety of EconomicPalaeontologistsand dispersal
patterns in southern
Britain. Geological Magazine, 127,
Mineralogists, 159-179. 527-542.
JENKYNS, H . C . 1986. Pelagicenvironments. I n : READING,H. G. (ed.) -, WEBB, B. C . & WOODCOCK, N. H. 1987. Late Caledonian (Acadian)
Sedimentary Environments and Facies. Blackwell, Oxford, 343-397. transpressioninnorth-westEngland:timing,geometryandgeotectonic
JOHNSON,H. D. & BALDWIN. C. T. 1986. Shallowsiliciclasticseas. In: significance. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 42,
READING, H. G. (ed.) Sedimentary Environments and Facies. Blackwell, 297-305.
Oxford, 229-282. TUCKER,R. D. 1989. Time-scale calibration employing high-precision U-Pb
JOHNSON, M. E.,RONG, J-Y. & YANG,X-C. 1985. Intercontinental zirconages of interstratifiedtephras in theOrdovicianstratotype of
correlation by sea-level events in the early Silurianof North America and Britain. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, St.
China(YangtzePlatform). Geological Society of America Bulletin, %, Louis, A134.
1384-1387. TURCOTTE, D. L. & SCHUBERT, G. 1982. Geodynamics:Applications of
KEMP,A. E. S. 1987. Evolution of Siluriandepositionalsystems in the Continuum Physics to Geological Problems. John Wiley, New York.
Southern Uplands of Scotland. I n : LEGGET,J. K. & ZUFFA,G. G. (eds) WARREN, P. T., PRICE,D., N m , M. J. C. & SMITH, E. G. 1984. Geology of
Marine Clastic Sedimentology. Graham & Trotman, London, 124-155. the country around Rhyl and Denbigh. Memoir of the British Geological
LAUFELD, S., BERGSTROM, J. & WARREN, P. T. 1975. The boundary between Survey, Sheets 95 & 97 (England & Wales).
the Silurian Cyrtograptus and Colonus Shalein Skane, Southern Sweden. WEBB, B. C., MILLWARD, D., JOHNSON, E. W.& COOPER, A. H. 1987. The
Geologiska Foreningens i Stockholm Forhandlingar, 97,207-222. Ordovician(?)batholith of the
English
Lake
District. Geological
LAWRENCE, D. J. D., WEBB,B. C.. YOUNG, B. & WHITE,D. E. 1986. The Magazine, W, 482-483.

Received 8 October 1990; revised typescript accepted 23 October 1990.

Note added in proof

Since submission of this paper, a standard lithostratigraphic nomenclature for the Windermere Group has been agreed; Cautley Subgroup is
changed to Dent Subgroup, Skelgill and Browgill Members are changed to Formations, Coniston Formation is changed to Subgroup.

View publication stats