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New detrital zircon age data reveal the location of the Rheic suture in the Mid-German Crystalline Zone (Spessart and Odenwald Crystalline Complexes)

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Abstract

New detrital zircon age data of metasedimentary rocks from the Spessart and Odenwald basement (Mid-German Crystalline Zone, Variscides) revealed results, which are not compatible with current tectonic models. The previously proposed existence of a tectonic window, which includes lower plate Rhenohercynian rocks within the upper plate (Saxothuringian Zone) in the Spessart and Odenwald basement, does not agree with the results of this study. This leads to a new course of the Rheic suture and, therefore, a non-coherence of the two major fault zones in these complexes. The southern Spessart Crystalline Complex accommodates the Rheic suture, which is most likely explained by a southward displacement of a whole segment of the Mid-German Crystalline Zone. This displacement might extend over the Ruhla Crystalline Complex. A hitherto unknown age spectrum of a unit in the Böllsteiner Odenwald was found, which might indicate a sliver of unidentified material in the Variscan collision zone. An unknown magmatic age of 350 Ma is reported for igneous intrusions in the Saxothuringian Zone and can be used as an additional indicator to distinguish between Laurussia- and Gondwana-related rocks.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Wolfgang Dörr, Linda Marko, Wolfgang Schiller, Hannah Malten, the whole FIERCE team (Goethe Universität Frankfurt a.M.), and Eckardt Stein (Technische Universität Darmstadt) for their help and fruitful discussions. FIERCE is financially supported by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, INST 161/921-1 FUGG and INST 161/923-1 FUGG), which is gratefully acknowledged. This is FIERCE contribution No. 9.

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  1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität, Altenhöfer Allee 1, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Ferdinand Kirchner & Richard Albert

  2. Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Ferdinand Kirchner & Richard Albert

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  1. Ferdinand Kirchner
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  2. Richard Albert
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Correspondence to Ferdinand Kirchner.

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Kirchner, F., Albert, R. New detrital zircon age data reveal the location of the Rheic suture in the Mid-German Crystalline Zone (Spessart and Odenwald Crystalline Complexes). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 109, 2287–2305 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-020-01899-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-020-01899-5

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