Field trips > FT 3

FT 3: A geotraverse of the southern French Massif Central: from rifting of the Gondwana margin to Variscan orogeny

The field trip will follow a North-South cross-section from the fold-and-thrust belt at the southern flank of the Montagne Noire, in the South, to the HP-HT metamorphic units of the orogenic hinterland in the Rouergue region, in the North. We will explore geological markers of key processes of the pre- and syn-orogenic evolution of the Variscan belt of Europe:

(i) Cambro-Ordovician rifting and magmatism; (ii) Devonian-Early Carboniferous tectonics and metamorphism related to subduction and collision; (iii) Late/post collisional deformation, magmatism and ore deposits.

The field trip takes advantage of a renewed research interest for the Variscan French Massif Central and its mineral resources. In particular, field observations will put into perspective the recent advances made at (i) dating high pressure and high temperature metamorphism, (ii) reassessing the kinematics of syn- and late collisional deformation and (iii) reappraising the links among magmatism, tectonics and mineralisations.

Date: June, 27^th (PM)- July, 1^st

Prize:440 € (double room), 600 € (single room)

Field trip leaders: Dominique Chardon, Julien Berger, Guillaume Estrade