Palaeoproterozoic terrane accretion on the Celtic fringe of the Nuna (Columbia) supercontinent (lecture)

Professor Stephen Daly, University College Dublin

The Lewisian Complex, generally regarded as a distal outpost of the North Atlantic Craton, is made up predominantly of Neoarchaean terranes welded by Palaeoproterozoic mobile zones, potentially providing piercing points for reconstructions of the Nuna (Columbia) supercontinent. This talk will discuss new results from onshore and offshore outcrops in SW Scotland, NW Ireland and Rockall that shed light on terrane accretion on the southern margin of Nuna. These new data highlight the likelihood that the Nuna margin extended farther south than previously recognised. Its “southern” boundary may be marked by Palaeoproterozoic orthogneisses on Rockall Bank and the Annagh Gneiss Complex in western Ireland. On a broader scale, continental magmatism on the Celtic fringe of Nuna may correlate with the Transcandinavian Igneous Belt.

Stephen joined University College Dublin in 1981 and has been a Senior Lecturer since 1998 and Associate Professor of Petrology since 2006. He was Head of School from September 2011 to September 2015 and was appointed Head of Subject (Geology) in November 2015. He is Director of the National Centre for Isotope Geochemistry at UCD and served as an Advisory Editor of the Journal of the Geological Society, London until December 2016. He leads the UCD Geochronology, Petrology and Isotope Geochemistry research group.His research interests include the origin and tectonic history of the lower crust, geochemical aspects of geothermal energy and the application of isotope geochemical methods to sedimentary provenance, granite petrogenesis, ore genesis and mantle evolution. Geology aside he likes food, theatre, supporting Leinster and Irish rugby and staying out of the rain.

The lecture will be preceded by the society’s AGM and followed by the traditional Christmas social, with nibbles and drinks.