Preliminary Monazite U-Th-Total Pb Absolute Age Constraints on Crustal Thickening and Siluro-Devonian Dextral Transpression: Central Appalachian Piedmont, SE Pennsylvania

High grade metamorphic rocks in the Central Appalachian piedmont of SE Pa. occur in at least three distinct lithotectonic belts that are bounded by steeply dipping, NE-striking transcurrent or transpressional shear zones. From NW to SE these belts consist of rocks of Laurentian-, uncertain-, and arc-affinity. The central belt is characterized by basement gneiss-cored nappes and associated shallowly to moderately SE dipping S2 foliation. This belt followed a clockwise metamorphic P-T path; maximum temperatures (T ~ 640 °C at P ~ 0.7 GPa) are associated with syn- to post-S2 garnet growth. An increase in pressure of ~ 0.1 GPa is inferred from post- kinematic high-Ca garnet rims. This paper reports preliminary EPMA results on monazite from two samples, WG- 216 and U-154, from the Glenarm Wissahickon, the metasedimentary cover sequence in the central belt. A few monazite grains from WG-216 exhibit small low-Th cores which give latest Cambrian ages (492 +/- 10 Ma, n = 10; n = # of analyses, all precision is reported as 2 s.e.). All grains in WG-216 contain cores with irregular, patchy zoning that yield late Ordovician ages (454 +/- 6 Ma, n = 31). High-Th, low-Y rims, which yield early Devonian ages (410 +/- 11 Ma, n = 12), are present on monazite inclusions in the outer portions of garnet and staurolite, but are absent in monazite inclusions within microlithons characterized by S1 foliation. High-Th, low-Y rims grow along 001 cleavage in S2 foliation-forming micas, so S2 can be no younger than monazite rims. Similar EPMA monazite results were obtained from U-154, also from the Glenarm Wissahickon. At least one Ordovician core is present (455 +/- 4 Ma, n = 8); pre-S2 matrix monazite and one inclusion in staurolite yield late Silurian ages (422 +/- 4 Ma, n = 29); and one inclusion within outermost garnet yields a Devonian age (415 +/- 8 Ma, n = 8). These results constrain the timing of S2 formation and peak metamorphism in the central belt to the early Devonian. The SE-belt is characterized by NW-dipping foliation that predates moderate pressure Devonian-aged metamorphism (T ~ 600 °C at P ~ 0.8 GPa). The right-lateral transpressive Rosemont shear zone separates the central- and SE-belts. Monazite results reported here and previous work in the SE-belt suggest that crustal thickening associated with latest Silurian through early Devonian oblique convergence buried rocks on both sides of the shear zone resulting in the moderate pressure metamorphism and opposing vergence observed at the present level of exposure.