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The Kamouraska Formation is a quartz-arenitic unit of latest Cambrian - earliest Ordovician age in the Quebec Appalachians that was deposited by hyperconcentrated to concentrated density flows in a meandering submarine canyon on the continental slope bordering the Iapetus Ocean, as outlined in a companion paper. Detailed petrographic study of the quartz arenites of the Kamouraska Formation combined with scanning electron microscopy of grain surface textures suggests that the quartz sands are of eolian origin having been derived from an inland desert or, less likely, a barrier beach dune system. Transport of the mature quartz-arenitic sand onto the shelf and deposition into the deep sea was not accompanied by substantial mixing with material from other sources thus preserving the inherited eolian characteristics. A modern analogue for the eolian interpretation of the deep-sea quartz-arenite beds is as follows: thick, Late Pleistocene eolian sand beds on a modern abyssal plain in the East Atlantic referred to as eolian-sand turbidites that were deposited in the deep sea during glacial sea level lowstands when eolian sand transport to canyon heads was enabled by an exposed and shortened shelf. Similarly, an established sea level lowstand at the Cambro-Ordovician boundary would have facilitated the introduction of eolian sand of the Kamouraska Foundation into canyon heads on the upper slope from where turbidity currents and related density flows were triggered. Correlation of the Kamouraska Formation with the quartz arenites of the Cairnside Formation of Quebec (Keeseville Formation in northern New York State, Nepean Formation in southern Ontario) links the deep-sea deposits with remnants of an inland dune system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Archean Blake River Group (BRG) of Ontario and Quebec is dominated by submarine mafic to intermediate lavas, with more restricted felsic volcanic rocks. Given the good quality of outcrop, and high level of preservation of some BRG rocks, the mafic to intermediate lavas were used in the 1970s and 1980s to better understand the evolution of massive and pillowed submarine flows, and their associated fragmental facies (pillow breccias, hyaloclastite). Potentially, the BRG could also represent a useful volcanic succession for the study of explosive submarine eruption products in the ancient record. Before this is possible, however, a regional inventory of the mafic to intermediate volcaniclastic units is needed to clarify their characteristics and origins. In this paper, we compare and contrast volcaniclastic rocks from three areas within the same formation of the northern BRG in Quebec: the Monsabrais area, the Lac Duparquet area, and the D'Alembert tuff area. Close examination reveals pronounced differences in terms of lateral continuity, thickness, grading, bedding, clast shapes, textures, etc. in the volcaniclastic rocks. These differences are interpreted to reflect vastly different emplacement processes, ranging from hyaloclastite generation as a result of self-fragmentation and lava contact with water (dominant in the Monsabrais and Lac Duparquet areas) to aqueous density currents likely fed directly by explosive submarine eruptions (dominant in the D'Alembert tuff). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Archean Blake River Group, mafic to intermediate fragmental units have controversially been proposed to have formed during the collapse of a giant submarine caldera. This paper describes and interprets these rocks, summarizing their physical characteristics, inferred origins, age relationships, and geochemical signatures. The widespread Stadacona member, south of Rouyn-Noranda, consists of several hundred metres of bedded volcaniclastic rocks interpreted to have been mostly deposited from aqueous density currents fed directly by explosive eruptions. The magmas involved in these eruptions were plagioclase-phyric, tholeiitic to transitional basalts. The similarly widespread D'Alembert tuff, in the northern part of the Blake River Group, shares many physical characteristics with the Stadacona member and is thought to have a similar origin. However, the D'Alembert tuff is approximately six million years younger than the Stadacona member. It is composed mostly of transitional to calc-alkaline andesites and basaltic andesites with very distinct trace element profiles. Volcaniclastic rocks from other areas, such as Tannahill Township in Ontario and the Monsabrais area in Quebec, are interpreted to represent mostly in situ to remobilized hyaloclastite, with no explosive eruptions involved in their genesis. Our observations and interpretations are not compatible with models in which the volcaniclastic units are emplaced during a catastrophic event in relation with the collapse of a giant caldera. Instead, the fragmental rocks were produced by various mechanisms at many distinct times during the evolution of the Blake River Group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located some 90 km north of the town of Sept-Îles, Quebec, the Sainte-Marguerite-3 (SM-3) hydroelectric project was one of the most ambitious in eastern North America in recent years. The project included the construction of a 171 m high dam that created a 140 km long reservoir, some 120 m deep near the dam toe. Although the reservoir is located in a weakly seismic area of the Canadian Shield, reservoir-induced earthquakes occurred. A first event (mN 1.3) was recorded in September 1999, ~17 months after the reservoir started filling. Between October 2000 and March 2001, four additional events were detected by the Canadian National Seismograph Network, the largest being mN 1.7. During a field survey that took place between July and October 2001, 276 events of magnitude mN ≤ 1.2 were detected within 30 km of a three-component seismograph. Single-station locations, confirmed by agreement between P phase and S phase azimuths, were determined for 182 events. Most earthquakes fall in four areas with estimated focal depths mostly shallower than 2 km. Since the field survey completion, more events have taken place, but the largest one is mN 2.2 as of March 2006. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the reservoir-triggered events, together with a summary of seismic hazard evaluation of the dam site, the seismic parameters selected for dynamic analysis, and the selection of the design earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the petrogenesis of the 504 ± 3 Ma Mont Chagnon massif, the southern extension of the Orford ophiolite in the Quebec Appalachians. The evolution of this massif is summarized in three stages marked by different magmatic series. In the Late Cambrian, the onset of southeastern subduction of the Iapetus basin generated an immature oceanic island arc made up of light rare-earth-element-depleted tholeiites, now preserved in the massif as a portion of the intrusive crustal unit, the dyke complex, and part of the lower volcanic unit. A phase of arc splitting, and concomitant partial erosion of the crustal section, was shortly followed by the eruption of rhyolite genetically related to felsic and low-Ti dykes, and trondhjemite. The geochemistry of these magmas bear some similarities with boninitic series. We believe these liquids derived from the partial melting of the Iapetus amphibolitized oceanic crust, with that of its Laurentian-derived sediments and nearby peridotite, either found as a trapped sliver above the subducting slab or as the slab itself. The final stage, preserved in the massif as a part of the intrusive section, the upper volcanic rocks, and the late-stage dykes, represents the back-arc opening. An ocean-island component is involved in the back-arc related petrogenetic processes, producing magmas with compositions intermediate between arc tholeiites and enriched back-arc basin basalts. This is the first report that the Iapetus basin was locally closing as early as Late Cambrian in the southern Quebec area.Cet article traite de la pétrogenèse du massif du mont Chagnon, daté à 504 ± 3 Ma, qui est l'extension méridionale de l'ophiolite d'Orford dans les Appalaches du Québec. L'évolution de ce massif est résumée en trois étapes déterminées par des suites magmatiques différentes. Au Cambrien tardif, le début de la subduction vers le sud-est d'Iapetus a crée un arc insulaire océanique immature composé de tholéiites appauvries en terres rares légères, maintenant préservées dans le massif en tant qu'une portion de l'unité crustale intrusive, le complexe de dykes et une partie de l'unité volcanique inférieure. Une phase de division de l'arc, et l'érosion partielle concomitante de la section de la croûte, a été suivie de près par l'éruption de rhyolite, génétiquement reliée aux dykes felsiques et à ceux faibles en Ti, de même qu'à la trondhjémite. La géochimie de ces magmas comporte des similitudes avec les séries boninitiques. Nous croyons que ces liquides proviennent de la fusion partielle de la croûte amphibolitisée d'Iapetus, de ses sédiments dérivés du craton Laurentia et de la péridotite avoisinante, qui se trouvent soit coincés en tant qu'écaille au-dessus de la lithosphère en subduction ou soit en tant que lithosphère subductée elle-même. L'étape finale, préservée dans le massif en tant qu'une partie de la section intrusive, les roches volcaniques supérieures et les dykes tardifs, représente l'ouverture de l'arrière-arc. Une composante d'île océanique est impliquée dans les processus pétrogénétiques reliés à l'arrière-arc, produisant des magmas dont les compositions sont intermédiaires entre les tholéiites d'arc et les basaltes enrichis de bassins d'arrière-arc. Ceci est le premier rapport qu'Iapetus se refermait localement aussi tôt que le Cambrien tardif dans le sud du Québec.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]