Timing of high-pressure metamorphism in the Yukon – Tanana terrane, Canadian Cordillera: constraints from U – Pb zircon dating of eclogite from the Teslin tectonic zone

Abstract

Zircon from eclogite near Last Peak in the Teslin tectonic zone yielded a U–Pb isotopic age of 269 + 2 Ma (2σ), the first precise age for such a rock in the Yukon –Tanana terrane of the Canadian Cordillera. Both the morphology and geochemistry of the eclogitic zircons indicate a metamorphic origin, and the U – Pb age therefore constrains the timing of peak high-pressure metamorphism in this rock. The U – Pb age demonstrates for the first time that an Early Permian high-pressure metamorphic event occurred in rocks now making up the Teslin tectonic zone, and possibly elsewhere in the Yukon – Tanana terrane. This U – Pb age provides a new geochronologic "pin" in the evolution of the Yukon – Tanana terrane prior to its Mesozoic accretion to the North American continental margin and, combined with recent 40 Ar/ 39 Ar muscovite data, indicates that high-pressure metamorphism at this time was a relatively short-lived event.