Superposed Fault Systems of the Southernmost Appalachian Talladega Belt

150 Pages·2015·9.05 MB·English

by  Clinton Ivan Barineau

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2009
Superposed Fault Systems of the
Southernmost Appalachian Talladega Belt:
Implications for Paleozoic Orogenesis in the
Southern Appalachians
Clinton Ivan Barineau
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

SUPERPOSED FAULT SYSTEMS OF THE SOUTHERNMOST APPALACHIAN
TALLADEGA BELT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOZOIC OROGENESIS IN THE
SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

By

CLINTON IVAN BARINEAU

A Dissertation submitted to the
Department of Geological Sciences
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester, 2009
The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Clinton I. Barineau
defended on June 25th, 2009.

__________________________________
James F. Tull
Professor Directing Dissertation

__________________________________
George W. Bates
Outside Committee Member

__________________________________
A. Leroy Odom
Committee Member

__________________________________
Stephen A. Kish
Committee Member

Approved:

_____________________________________
A. Leroy Odom, Chair, Geological Sciences

____________________________________
Joseph Travis, Dean, Arts and Sciences

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee
members.
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To Diedre, Lauren, and Zach, for their love and never ending encouragement.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to a huge group of people, without whom I
could have never completed this document and my graduate work. First, I am indebted
to my advisor, Jim Tull, who spent countless hours patiently guiding me through my
academic efforts over the past 15 years. I count him as much a friend as I do an
advisor. Jim has been an excellent source of career advice and I am indebted to him
for his efforts in helping me procure a faculty position. His enthusiasm towards field
geology, in general, and the southern Appalachians, specifically, has inspired me over
the years and I am lucky to have learned my trade from someone with his knowledge
and expertise. If my career as a geologist is half as successful as his, I shall count
myself fortunate.
I have interacted with a number of faculty members at FSU during the course of
my undergraduate and graduate studies, all who have provided me with valuable
assistance and insights into my academic pursuits. Thanks to Roy Odom for his
knowledge of southern Appalachian geology and willingness to share his thoughts and
opinions with me. I am also grateful for his time and assistance at the National High
Magnetic Field Laboratory during preparation of mineral samples for isotopic analysis.
Neil Lundberg has always been willing to share his expertise on the Taiwan collisional
orogen, especially the sedimentological record, and his feedback on these aspects of
my dissertation has proved invaluable. Steve Kish has proven a wealth of information
on the metamorphic history of the region and I am indebted to him for his thoughts and
opinions on metamorphism and metamorphic ages in the southern Appalachian
orogenic belt. Jennifer Georgen supplied a wealth of knowledge on tectonic processes
and geophysics, and her feedback on subduction initiation processes was greatly
appreciated in preparing this manuscript. Bill Parker was always willing to share his
knowledge on sedimentation processes and I have benefited much over the years from
his tutelage. Tapas Bhattacharyya’s knowledge of Himalayan tectonics was extremely
valuable and his willingness to act as a sounding board for my ideas is greatly
appreciated. I am especially indebted to George Bates, Department of Biological
Sciences, who agreed on short notice to act as my outside committee member and who
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has provided me with countless hours of challenge on the racquetball court (usually
trouncing me soundly) during my intermittent breaks from writing. Lastly, I would like to
thank the collective faculty in the Department of Geological Sciences for providing me
with a superb education. Over the past 15 years you have inspired me to endeavor to
become both a quality researcher and teacher.
I have immensely enjoyed my interactions with a number of FSU staff members,
graduate students, and alumni over the years, and I have greatly benefited from their
knowledge and friendship. Tami Karl and Mary Gilmore have always bent over
backwards to help me with the bureaucratic maze that makes up a university. My
discussions with Li Li, Stephen Palmes, Chul Lim, Lance Johnson, Jiun-Yee Yen, Martin
Balinsky, Deb Hilton, Haitham Baggazi, Pallov Pal, Stephen Whiting, and many other
students in the structure lab have taught me much during my graduate career. I am
grateful to Reshmi Das for her help with mineral separation techniques and isotopic
geochemistry and Ted Zateslo for his tireless efforts to solve computer and other
technical problems. I am especially grateful to three FSU Geology alumni: Chris Holm-
Denoma, who shared an office with me and spurred much of my thinking on the Taconic
orogeny; Mark Groszos, my colleague at Valdosta State University who shared his
knowledge of the southern Appalachians during our daily commute between
Tallahassee and Valdosta; and David Allison at the University of South Alabama, who
has been an endless source of information regarding the geology of the Ashland-
Wedowee belt, database management, and the construction of digital maps.
I would also like to extend my thanks to the Department of Geological Sciences,
which provided partial funding of my graduate studies through teaching and research
assistantships for a number of years. Additionally, a significant percentage of my field
work was funded through grants from the U.S. Geological Survey Educational National
Mapping Cooperative, the National Science Foundation, Sigma Xi, the Robert C. Lang
III Memorial Scholarship, and FSU Department of Geological Sciences Banks Award.
Additionally, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to teach at a number of
institutions during my graduate studies, including Florida State University, Tallahassee
Community College, Valdosta State University, Thomas University, and Columbus State
University, all of which have provided me with invaluable experience as an educator.
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Finally, I am most grateful to my family, all whom have been unceasingly
supportive (both emotionally and financially) through my entire academic career. To my
parents I owe a debt of gratitude for instilling in me a curiosity of the world around me
and for teaching me to persevere in pursuit of my dreams. However, I owe the biggest
thanks of all to my wife, Diedre, who has sacrificed much for me to complete my
graduate work, given me tireless encouragement and support through the years, and
enriched my life beyond all expectations. Without you and our children, this would hold
little meaning for me.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures.......................................................................................................... x
Abstract................................................................................................................... xii

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 1

1.1 Purpose and scope................................................................................. 1
1.2 Methodology........................................................................................... 3

2. GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTHERNMOST APPALACHIANS ............................... 5

2.1 General Overview................................................................................... 5
Foreland Fold and Thrust Belt ........................................................... 6
Talladega Belt (western Blue Ridge) ................................................. 9
Alternative Interpretations of the Talladega belt................................. 14
Ashland-Wedowee belt (western Blue Ridge).................................... 18
Ashland-Wedowee belt plutonic rocks............................................... 20
2.2 Tectonic models for the southern Appalachians..................................... 27
Iapetan Rifting and peri-Laurentian Microcontinents.......................... 27
Taconic orogenesis............................................................................ 31
Acadian orogenesis........................................................................... 31
Alleghanian orogenesis...................................................................... 32

3. HOLLINS LINE FAULT SYSTEM AND HILLABEE THRUST............................. 34

3.1 Hollins Line: General Overview.............................................................. 34
3.2 Roof, Floor, and Splay Thrusts............................................................... 35
3.3 Hillabee Thrust Overview........................................................................ 39
3.4 Nature of the Hillabee Thrust.................................................................. 40
3.5 Alternative Interpretations of the Hollins Line Fault System ................... 43
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3.6 Alternative Interpretations of the Hillabee Thrust.................................... 48
3.7 Alternative Interpretations, Shear Strain, and Metamorphism................ 53

4. TACONIC OROGENY OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS........................ 56

4.1 Arc-continent collisions........................................................................... 56
4.2 Northern Appalachian Geology............................................................... 58
4.3 Southern Appalachian Geology.............................................................. 60
Talladega belt (Western Blue Ridge)................................................. 60
Ashland-Wedowee belt (Eastern Blue Ridge).................................... 61
Arc-Continent Collisional Orogenesis – Talladega/Ashland-Wedowee
Belts................................................................................................... 64
Arc-Continent Collisional Orogenesis – GA/NC/SC/TN Blue Ridge... 66
4.4 Accretionary Orogens............................................................................. 70
4.5 Lithotectonic Elements of the Southern Appalachians............................ 73
Dahlonega Gold Belt.......................................................................... 74
Cowrock Terrane............................................................................... 74
Cartoogechaye Terrane..................................................................... 75
Western Tugaloo Terrane (eastern Blue Ridge)................................ 76
Eastern Tugaloo Terrane (western Inner Piedmont).......................... 76
Cat Square Terrane (eastern Inner Piedmont)................................... 77
4.6 The Southern Appalachian Taconic Orogeny......................................... 77
Latest Cambrian(?) to earliest Ordovician (>500 to ~485)................. 78
Earliest Ordovician to middle Late Ordovician (<485 to ~455 Ma)..... 78
Late Ordovician and Younger Events (<455 Ma)............................... 80

5. SUBDUCTION INITIATON ALONG THE EARLY PALEOZOIC LAURENTIAN
MARGIN.................................................................................................................. 83

5.1 Models of Subduction Initiation............................................................... 83
5.2 Development of the Alabama Promontory Subduction Zone.................. 87
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5.3 Evolution of the Alabama Promontory Subduction Zone........................ 93

6. CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................. 99

APPENDIX.............................................................................................................. 103

REFERENCES........................................................................................................ 109

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH...................................................................................... 136

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