Circa 1.9 Ga Rae‐Hearne collision from Lu–Hf garnet chronology in eclogites

Abstract

Canada's northern cratons record a complex poly‐metamorphic evolution in response to multiple orogenic events. The Snowbird Tectonic Zone (STZ), the principal suture between the Archean Rae and Hearne cratons, is a highly debated structure; it is argued to have accommodated modern‐style accretion in either the Neoarchean (2.6–2.5 Ga) or Palaeoproterozoic (ca. 1.9 Ga). To resolve this controversy, we use Lu–Hf garnet geochronology to date an eclogite collected from the East Athabasca mylonite triangle of the STZ. Garnet shows prograde trace‐element zoning, and we obtained an age of 1914.5 ± 3.4 Ma. The age is interpreted to date the timing of collision related to deep burial of crust along the STZ. This strongly supports Palaeoproterozoic terminal collision between the Rae and Hearne cratons, and that to constrain high‐pressure metamorphism during supercontinent assembly, dating eclogite itself is key.