
Richard E ErnstCarleton University (and Tomsk State University)
Richard E Ernst
PhD
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525
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Introduction
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April 2014 - present
June 2011 - present
Publications
Publications (525)
Precambrian supercontinents Nuna-Columbia (1.7 to 1.3 billion years ago) and Rodinia (1.1 to 0.7 billion years ago) have been proposed. However, the arrangements of crustal blocks within these supercontinents are poorly known. Huge, dominantly basaltic magmatic outpourings and intrusions, covering up to millions of square kilometres, termed Large I...
There is increasing evidence that many carbonatites are linked both spatially and temporally with large igneous provinces
(LIPs), i.e. high volume, short duration, intraplate-type, magmatic events consisting mainly of flood basalts and their plumbing
systems (of dykes, sills and layered intrusions). Examples of LIP-carbonatite associations include:...
Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are high volume, short duration pulses of intraplate magmatism consisting mainly of flood basalts and their associated plumbing system, but also may include silicic components and carbonatites. Many LIPs have an associated radiating diabase dyke swarm, which typically converges on a cratonic margin, identifies a mantl...
Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) are intraplate magmatic events, involving volumes of mainly mafic magma upwards of 100,000 km3, and often above 1 million km3. They are linked to continental break-up, global environmental catastrophes, regional uplift and a variety of ore deposit types. In this up-to-date, fascinating book, leading expert Richard Ern...
Large igneous provinces (LIPs) represent significant reservoirs of energy and metals that can either drive or contribute to a variety of metallogenic systems. The relationships between LIPs and these various systems can be divided into four distinct although partially overlapping classifications: (1) LIPs form the primary source of commodities with...
Plain Language Summary
Phanerozoic boundaries and the base of the Ediacaran in the international chronostratigraphic time scale are defined by Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs). However, the pre‐Ediacaran geological time scale is formally subdivided by approximate absolute ages not tied to any geological units. Our new high‐pre...
Parga Chasmata is a 10,000 km long rift system on Venus with abundant coronae (enigmatic circular tectono-magmatic features). In order to further investigate the rift-corona relationship, detailed 1:500,000 geological mapping was focused on Onenhste Corona and the surrounding region (16 •-24 • S, 145 •-131 • W). More than 46,000 extensional lineame...
The paper presents new geological, geochronological, geochemical and Nd-Sr isotopic data on the Meso-Neoproterozoic dolerites of the Siberian Craton. New U-Pb baddeleyite and apatite ages of a E-W-trending dyke and two sills from southeastern Siberia are 982 ± 11, 977 ± 7, 970 ± 31 and 972 ± 60 Ma, respectively, extending the area of distribution o...
In the eastern and central Anti-Atlas of Morocco, the Late Neoproterozoic Ouarzazate Group (OG) forms a ~ 2 km-thick section of volcano-sedimentary rocks deposited during intermittent magmatic activity, spanning a time period between 590 and 540 Ma. In the eastern Anti-Atlas, the stratigraphy of the OG, termed IMS (Imiter Mine succession), includes...
Detailed mapping of dyke systems and rift faults in the Onenhste Corona region. This area is part of the Parga Chasmata rift system on Venus, which hosts numerous coronae—circular or elliptical tectono-magmatic features.
DYKE SWARM HISTORY OF THE OANUAVA CORONA REGION, VENUS
This work presents detailed mapping of the graben-fissure-fracture systems of Central Eistla Regio at 1:500,000 scale. These extensional lineaments are now typically considered the surface expression of underlying dyke swarms. It focuses on an important corona-dominated example, Central Eistla Regio, in order to provide new insights into its corona...
The Mesetian Domain represents a part of the Moroccan Variscan belt. It’s separated by the Middle Atlas folded
belt into two structural domains: the Eastern and the Western Meseta. The latter comprise the basins of Jebilets,
Rehamna and Fourhal (Central Hercynian Massif of Morocco) which show important similarities of tectonosedimentary
evolution d...
Proterozoic terrains of the Anti-Atlas belt (Morocco) represent one of the key areas for studying the Precambrian geodynamics of the northwestern West African craton (WAC). Voluminous Paleoproterozoic granitoids, which outcrop in the basement of the Precambrian inliers of the southern Anti-Atlas, are conventionally regarded as vestiges of a magmati...
Within the Anabar shield in the northern part of the Siberia, Late Precambrian mafic igneous units are widespread, which form dyke swarms of different ages of different trends. This paper presents new data on the composition, structure and U-Pb dating of the E-W trending Kengede dyke swarm. Three new U-Pb ID-TIMS baddeleyite ages (1496±7, 1494±3 an...
Atla Regio, Venus, is interpreted as a young major mantle plume centre, and we address whether it is at plume head or plume tail stage. Our approach uses graben-fissure lineaments, interpreted as the surface expression of dykes. Mapping > 40,000 such lineaments reveals giant radiating dyke swarms associated with major volcanic centres of Maat (>150...
Plate tectonics is a uniquely characteristic feature of Earth, but its proposed time of initiation is still controversial, with published estimates ranging from ca. 4.2 to 0.7 Ga. Paleomagnetic data can provide a robust argument for one essential aspect of plate tectonics: large-scale relative lateral motions of distinct, rigid crustal blocks. Prev...
The transition between the supercontinents Columbia and Rodina coincided with a delay in eukaryote expansion during the Mesoproterozoic, however, the cause for this association is uncertain. Here, we use statistical geochemical analyses of igneous and fine-grained siliciclastic rocks to demonstrate that extensive crustal differentiation occurred du...
Dyke swarm history of the 850-km-diameter Quetzalpetlatl Corona and feeding of channelized flows from circumferential dykes of interior Boala Corona.
The 900 km long Itoki fluctus formed at least three large lava lakes which may have filled older corona.
Large-scale continental rifting and large igneous provinces (LIPs) have played important roles in the breakup and dispersal of supercontinents Pangea and Rodinia. Previous paleomagnetic and geological evidence suggests fragmentation of Columbia (or Nuna) supercontinent during 1.4-1.2Ga. However, no large-scale continental rift system has been ident...
Over the past 50 years, numerous petrological studies have been conducted on spinifex-textured komatiites of the 3.48 Ga lower Komati Formation, Onverwacht Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. A range of petrogenetic models have been proposed and the origin of these ultramafic volcanic rocks remains a topic of debate. Similarly, the geod...
In the Imiter mine area, the volcano-sedimentary series of the Ouarzazate Group consist mainly of rhyolitic to andesitic porphyritic lavas and their volcanoclastic equivalent. The Imiter Mine sequence (IMS), greater than 1600 m in thickness, is divided into four units. Unit 1 consists of a thick layer of massive conglomerates with well-rounded clas...
The Mariinsky Taiga Alkaline Province (MTAP) is located in the Kuznetsk Alatau terrane of southwestern Siberia, which is part of Altai-Sayan orogenic system, of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The MTAP consists of a wide distribution of Paleozoic alkaline-basite magmatism (volcanic, subvolcanic and intrusive), which has been recently characterized...
It reports a new in-situ SIMS U-Pb baddeleyite date of 1733 ± 23 Ma for a mafic sill intruded within the Gwalior sedimentary basin; a new mafic magmatic event in the Bundelkhand craton, in particular, and in the Indian Shield, in general during Paleoproterozoic. These sills are derived from a melt originated from a subduction-zone-modified lithosph...
The Paleoproterozoic basement of the Bas Draa inlier consists of: (i) low-grade supracrustal metamorphic rocks, mainly greenschist facies and, (ii) widespread batholiths including diorite, leucogranite, granodiorite, tonalite, and granite. The late Neoproterozoic granite of Taourgha that intrudes the Paleoproterozoic series is related to the post-c...
The Superia supercraton paleogeographic reconstruction (ca. 2.65–2.00 Ga) is predominantly based on the shared large igneous province (LIP) record of the Superior, Hearne, Wyoming and Karelia-Kola Archaean cratons. Paleogeographic reconstruction relies on U-Pb geochronology (i.e. magmatic barcodes), paleolatitudes from paleomagnetic studies, and ge...
Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of Precambrian mafic dyke swarms in northern Mauritania (West African craton): analysis and results from remote-sensing interpretation, geographical information systems (GIS), Google Earth ™ images, and regional geology.
Geological mapping of Coronae structures on Venus, the example of Onenhste and adjacent Coronae within the Taussig Quadrangle (V–39).
We propose a Precambrian megacraton (consisting of two or more ancient cratons), DHABASI in the Indian Shield, which includes the Dharwar, Bastar and Singhbhum cratons. This interpretation is mainly based on seven large igneous provinces (LIPs) that are identified in these three cratons over the age range of c. 3.35–1.77 Ga, a period of at least 1....
The paper presents new geological, geochronological, geochemical, and Nd isotopic data on the late Paleoproterozoic dolerites of the Siberian craton. U-Pb baddeleyite ages of the Doros dolerites (Aldan shield, south-eastern Siberia) and East Anabar dolerites (Anabar shield, northern Siberia) are 1757 ± 4 and 1774 ± 6 Ma, respectively. This new geoc...
Proxies such as mercury and Hg/TOC anomalies document signatures for temporal correlations between major pulses of the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME) event and a postulated Large Igneous Province (LIP) as the main cause of extinction. Herein, for the first time, we report a series of voluminous intraplate volcanic events of the Middle Ordov...
Comparisons of large igneous provinces (LIPs) and black shales from different cratons can provide important constraints on Precambrian paleogeographic reconstructions and a better understanding of the environmental effects of large-scale volcanic events. A comparison of intraplate mafic events mostly interpreted as LIPs or portions of LIPs (LIP fra...
Zircon megacrysts are commonly found in kimberlites and, together with olivine, low-Cr garnet, pyroxene, phlogopite, and ilmenite megacrysts, they constitute a mineral assemblage known as the “low-Cr suite”. The generally close similarity of ages and similar isotope geochemical characteristics of megacrysts and matrix minerals in the host kimberlit...
The location of the West African craton (WAC) has been poorly constrained in the Paleoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic supercontinent Nuna (also known as Columbia). Previous Nuna reconstruction models suggested that the WAC was connected to Amazonia in a way similar to their relative position in Gondwana. By an integrated paleomagnetic and geochronologi...
Abundant tholeiitic and anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite magmatism occurred throughout the Ukrainian Shield and Voronizh Crystalline Massif in the Paleoproterozoic, forming the Prutivka-Novogol large igneous province. Overall, mafic magmatism started at ca. 1800 Ma and continued until ca. 1750. Coeval mafic magmatism was widespread in many...
A precise U–Pb baddeleyite age (2251 ± 4 Ma) has been obtained for an ENE-trending dyke exposed near the Chhura region of the Bastar craton, and additional dykes of similar trend are also reported from other parts of the northern Bastar craton such as in the Dongergarh and Pakhanjore areas. We propose a new widespread ENE-trending ca. 2.25 Ga Chhur...
The geological time scale before 720 Ma uses rounded absolute ages rather than specific events recorded in rocks to subdivide time. This has led increasingly to mismatches between subdivisions and the features for which they were named. Here we review the formal processes that led to the current time scale, outline rock-based concepts that could be...
The initial stage of Rodinia supercontinent break-up occurred at about 750 Ma. It preceded formation of the Irkutsk and Franklin Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs)at 712 ± 2 Ma to 739 ± 8 Ma. These LIPs were emplaced within the formerly connected Laurentian and Siberian cratons. The Kingash massif is located in the Precambrian Kan terrane in direct con...
Detailed mapping of major-scale volcanic centres on Venus provides a complementary view to terrestrial large igneous provinces (LIPs). On Venus, the surface flood basalt relationships are preserved owing to the absence of erosion, but the plumbing system is only indirectly revealed. In contrast, erosion on Earth dissects flood basalt packages and c...
The Ukrainian Shield and Voronezh Crystalline Massif constitute the Sarmatian segment of Baltica. Here, only a few mafic-ultramafic dykes and layered intrusions have been dated, recording early Statherian (ca. 1800–1750 Ma) ages. We have determined new U-Pb baddeleyite ages for the Novogol sill (1789 ± 2 Ma) and the Gremyachye intrusion (1781 ± 7 M...
Abstract:
Recent U-Pb igneous ages obtained in the SW Domain of the Anti-Atlas are not consistent with the model proposed in the recently published paper by Errami et al. (2020). The formations of the Taghdoute and Lkest groups in the SW Domain, also known as the “limestones and quartzites” series, were previously considered to have a Cryogenian ag...
Western South Africa between Cape Town and the Namibian border hosts many dyke swarms that strike broadly to the NW and NNW, towards the reconstructed plume-centre of the c. 130 Ma Parana-Etendeka Large Igneous Province (LIP) but are undated. U-Pb ID-TIMS age determinations on baddeleyite from two NNW-striking dykes (~100 km long) parallel to the N...
The flood basalts of large igneous provinces (LIPs) are fed by a vast and often complicated plumbing system that can include giant dyke swarms, sill complexes, mid- to upper-crustal intrusive complexes, lower-crustal intrusions and a magmatic underplate at the base of the crust. In this study, we focus on the role of two poorly understood and littl...
LIP printing is a term adapted from forensic science to describe the use of geochemical proxies for tectonic and petrogenetic fingerprinting of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). Here, we investigate in detail the LIP printing of basic lavas, sills and dykes using two immobile element proxies: Th/Nb, a crustal input proxy, to monitor subduction-metaso...
Earth has gone through periods of cooling including global, near global, or regional glaciations, which are observed in the Archean, Paleoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, Ordovician, Permo‐Carboniferous, and Cenozoic times. We review the mechanisms by which large igneous provinces (LIPs) and silicic LIPs (SLIPs) can cause global cooling. Then we invest...
We examined Precambrian Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) of the Indian Shield for their economic potential. These include 3 proposed LIP events in the Archean and 12 LIP events during Proterozoic. Mafic-ultramafic units of LIPs are key targets for mineralization of Cu-Ni-Co-platinum group elements (PGEs), Fe-Ti-V and Cr; both as oxides and sulfides....
An emerging consensus suggests that large igneous provinces (LIPs) are a significant driver
of dramatic global environmental and biological changes, including several Phanerozoic
mass extinctions, leading to plausible links with geological time scale (GTS) boundaries. LIP-
induced environmental changes are now being identified in the Precambrian re...
Recent results on ca. 1,380 Ma LIPs and black shales indicate a temporal link between LIPs and black shales and suggest a potential way for using coeval LIPs and black shales as natural markers for boundaries in the Mesoproterozoic timescale. In this chapter, we provide a brief review of LIPs and black shales during “the Boring Billion” in differen...
Emplacement and weathering of large igneous provinces (LIPs) can have dramatic effects on global climate and biogeochemical systems. In the Phanerozoic, these events are often linked to expanding oceanic anoxia, widespread deposition of organic‐rich shales, and metazoan extinctions. In the Precambrian, LIP activity would have had similar potential...
Geological, geochemical and ground magnetic techniques are used to characterize the University alkaline-gabbroid pluton and crosscutting N-S trending alkaline dikes, located northeast of the Kuznetsk Alatau ridge, Siberia. Trace element concentrations and isotopic compositions of the igneous units were determined by XRF, ICP-MS and isotope analysis...
A geochronological, isotopic, and geochemical study of the Suordakh event of mafic magmatic intrusions on the southeast Siberian margin was undertaken. U-Pb baddeleyite dating of a mafic sill intruding lower Cambrian rocks, yielded a 458 ± 13 Ma emplacement age. The chemical composition and stratigraphic setting of this dated sill differed from tha...
Placer deposits in the Siberian platform are closely associated with well-known platiniferous intrusions (Kondyor, Inagli, Noril’sk, Chiney, and Guli) but there are also abundant platinum-group mineral (PGM) placers of large areal extent in the river basins of Siberia (Vilyui, Lena, Aldan, Anabar, and Olenek) for which the primary sources are unkno...
Fluvial erosion is usually assumed to be absent on Venus, precluded by a high surface temperature of ~450 °C and supported by extensive uneroded volcanic flows. However, recent global circulation models suggest the possibility of Earth-like climatic conditions on Venus for much of its earlier history, prior to catastrophic runaway greenhouse warmin...
Ediacaran Central Iapetus Magmatic Province (CIMP) related dolerite dyke swarms cut the Precambrian basement of the Ouzellarh promontory in
the High Atlas (Morocco): the NNE, NE to ENE-trending Douar Eç-çour mafic dyke swarms. They show co-mingling magmatic textures with the Askaoun
granodiorite of the Assarag suite dated at 579 ± 7 Ma (U-Pb on zir...
West African Craton (WAC) has essentially no pre-Ediacaran paleomagnetic constraints, yielding large uncertainties in its position in Proterozoic supercontinents, Rodinia and Nuna. Recent geochronological results distinguish at least five mafic dyke swarms in the Anti-Atlas Belts, Morocco, namely 2.04 Ga, 1.75 Ga, 1.65 Ga, 1.41-1.38 Ga, and 0.88-0....
Four first-order (Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic eon) and nine second-order (Paleoarchean, Mesoarchean, Neoarchean, Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic era) units continue to provide intuitive subdivision of geological time. Major transitions in Earth’s tectonic, biological and environme...
Tesserae on Venus are locally the stratigraphically oldest units preserved on the planet. These regions are characterized by pervasive tectonic deformation including normal faults, grabens, thrust faults, and folds. In multiple tesserae, sets of (often highly) curved, parallel linear features are also present. These features strongly resemble terra...
Mafic dykes and dyke swarms in continental settings provide information on the evolution of the subcontinental mantle and can be key elements in the reconstruction of paleo-geographic settings of now separated crustal terranes. This study focuses on the petrogenesis and geochronology of mafic dykes of the WNW (∼125°) trending Bhanupratappur swarm i...
The origin of intermediate rocks in large igneous provinces (LIPs) is unclear. We investigated this with an integrated petrological, mineralogical, geochronological, and geochemical study of the Chigu Tso tholeiitic intrusive suite (including dolerite, diorite, and tonalitic dykes and sills) in central Comei LIP, SE Tibet. The intermediate rocks (d...
Numerous late Paleoproterozoic to early Mesoproterozoic mafic magmatic rocks are exposed in the southwestern Yangtze Block, corresponding to early breakup of the Nuna supercontinent. Geochronological data reveal three episodes of mafic magmatism at ~1,740, 1,700, and 1,500 Ma. The two older generations have MORB‐like Nb/Ta ratios and superchondriti...
U–Pb geochronology of magmatic and detrital zircons (Zenaga and Bou Azzer-El Graara inliers, Anti-Atlas Belt, Morocco) and a reassessment of the published constraints suggest a revised stratigraphic framework for the lower Anti-Atlas Supergroup. Five, major unconformity-bounded lithostratigraphic packages are here distinguished: the two lower units...