Abstract:
We present here new palaeomagnetic, isotopic age and geochemical data from Archean and Early Palaeoproterozoic rocks in the eastern Fennoscandian Shield. We have studied NE–SW trending gabbronorite dyke sets and their host Archean basement rocks in the Vodlozero block near the 2449 Ma Burakovka layered intrusion in southern Russian Karelia. Both dyke sets are genetically related to the Burakovka intrusion. The other, ca. 25 km long Avdeev dyke, locating a few kilometers south from the Burakovka intrusion, yields a stable single component remanence direction that is in agreement with the direction previously obtained from the Burakovka intrusion. Another NE–SW trending dyke, 0.8 m wide Shalskiy diabase dyke, about 30 km south of the Burakovka intrusion yields a similar remanence direction as the Avdeev dyke. The overall mean remanence direction has a palaeopole at Plat = −12.3°N, Plong = 243.5°E (A95 = 15.4°, 4 sites, 28 samples). The thin Shalskiy diabase dyke transects a similarly NE–SW trending 500 m wide coarse grained gabbronorite dyke which has now been dated by Sm–Nd method as 2608 ± 56 Ma. Geochemically all the dykes are quite similar showing slight calc-alkaline affinity and low TiO2 and high SiO2 with moderate MgO and low Cr and Ni. Furthermore, the dykes are geochemically identical to the 2.45 Ga dyke swarm in the northern Karelian Province.