Timing of Dike and Sill Emplacement in the Inner Aureole of the Alta Stock, Utah Determined by Zircon and Monazite Petrochronology

Abstract

Detailed geochronology from two compositionally distinct generations of dikes and sills intruded into the Alta metamorphic aureole, north-central Utah, complement previous geochronologic studies from the Alta stock, providing information on the timing of magmatism and the nature of emplacement. Uranium/thorium-lead dates and chemistry were measured in zircon and monazite from these intrusions and associated reaction selvages in hornfels by split-stream laser ablation techniques. Concordant zircon U-Pb dates (n = 532) define a dispersed population of dates that range from ∼38 to 32 Ma. Monazite Th-Pb dates (n = 888) from granodioritic compositions range from ∼40 to 32 Ma. Evaluation of ²⁰⁸Pb/²³²Th and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb-corrected dates with respect to common Pb, U and Th/U values allows rigorous evaluation of the effects of excess ²⁰⁶Pb in these young monazites, yielding concordant ²⁰⁸Pb/²³²Th and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb-corrected dates in monazites from the granodiorite, consistent with zircon dates from the same thin sections. Leucogranite sills and dikes, which cross-cut the older granodiorite, have younger monazite dates from ∼33 to 28 Ma. Elevated heavy rare earth element concentrations and trends of larger negative Eu anomalies in the youngest monazites suggest crystallization from an evolved melt. Integration of these new geochronology results and field relationships with prior results from the Alta stock indicate the granodiorite represents the oldest material emplaced in the Alta system. Leucogranite aplite/pegmatite dikes and sills in the inner Alta aureole were emplaced during the final stage of Alta stock construction by injection of evolved water-rich magmas.