The Southern Uplands of Scotland: A Lower Palaeozoic accretionary prism

J. K. Leggett, W. S. McKerrow and M. H. Eales
Journal of the Geological Society, 136, 755-770, 1 November 1979, https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.136.6.0755

Abstract

The Southern Uplands contain 10 or more distinct deep-water stratigraphic sequences consisting of basalt and chert and/or graptolitic shale, below thick greywackes. These sequences are separated by major reverse strike faults. Adjacent sequences differ in sedimentary characteristics and age, indicating that they were originally deposited far apart. Within each fault-bounded tract the individual sequences are disrupted and repeated by further, less important, strike faults and by folding. In the N (away from the site of the Iapetus Ocean) the sequences are older than in the S, but the majority of the beds within each sequence young to the N. This structure is compared with modern accretionary prisms, which develop on active continental margins where the oceanic plate has a thick sedimentary cover.

References

    1. Bamford D.,
    2. Nunn K.,
    3. Prodehl C.,
    4. Jacob B.
    (1977) LISPB-III. Upper crustal structure of Northern Britain. J. geol. Soc. London 133:481–88.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Bamford D.,
    2. Nunn K.,
    3. Prodehl C.,
    4. Jacob B.
    (1978) LISPB-IV. Crustal structure of Northern Britain. Geophys. J. R. astron. Soc 54:43–60.
    OpenUrl
    1. Bergström S. M.
    (1971) Conodont biostratigraphy of the Middle and Upper Ordovician of Europe and eastern North America. in Mem. Geol. Soc. Am, eds Sweet W. C., Bergström S. M. 127:83–162, Symposium on Conodont Biostratigraphy.
    OpenUrl
    1. Blake M. C. Jr..,
    2. Jones D. L.
    (1974) Origin of Franciscan melanges in Northern California. Spec. Pub. Soc. econ. Paleontol. Mineral 19:345–57, Modern and ancient geosynclinal sedimentation.
    OpenUrl
    1. Bluck B. J.
    (1978) Geology of a continental margin 1: The Ballantrae Complex. in Crustal Evolution in Northwestern Britain and Adjacent regions, eds Bowes D. R., Leake B. E. 151–62, Geol. J. Spec. Issue No. 10.
    1. Clarkson C. M.,
    2. Craig G. Y.,
    3. Walton E. K.
    (1975) The Silurian rocks bordering Kirkcudbright Bay, South Scotland. Trans. R. Soc. Edinburgh 69:313–25.
    OpenUrl
    1. Cocks L. R. M.,
    2. Toghill P.
    (1973) The biostratigraphy of the Silurian rocks of the Girvan district, Scotland. J. geol. Soc. London 129:209–43.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Craig G. Y.,
    2. Walton E. K.
    (1959) Sequence and structure in the Silurian rocks of Kirkcudbrightshire. Geol. Mag 96:209–20.
    OpenUrlAbstract
    1. Dewey J. F.
    (1969a) Structure and sequence in the paratectonic Caledonides. in Mem. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol, ed Kay M. 12:309–35, North Atlantic: geology and continental drift.
    OpenUrl
    1. Dewey J. F.
    (1969b) Evolution of the Appalachian/Caledonian orogen. Nature, London 222:124–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Dewey J. F.
    (1971) A model for the Lower Palaeozoic evolution of the southern margin of the early Caledonides of Scotland and Ireland. Scott. J. Geol 7:219–40.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Dewey J. F.
    (1974) in The Geology of Continental Margins, Continental margins and ophiolite obduction: Appalachian Caledonian System, eds Burk C. A., Drake C. L. (Springer-Verlag, New York), pp 933–50.
    1. Dickinson W. R.
    (1973) Widths of modern arc-trench gaps proportional to past duration of igneous activity in associated magmatic arcs. J. Geophys. Res 78:3376–89.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Eckford R. J. A.,
    2. Ritchie M.
    (1931) The lavas of Tweeddale and their position in the Caradocian sequence. Summ. Prog. geol. Surv. G. B Part 3:46–57.
    OpenUrl
    1. Fisher R. L.,
    2. Engel C. G.
    (1969) Ultramafic and basaltic rocks dredged from the nearshore flank of the Tonga Trench. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 80:1373–78.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Fyfe T. B.,
    2. Weir J. A.
    (1976) The Ettrick Valley Thrust and the upper limit of the Moffat Shales in Craigmichan Scaurs (Dumfries and Galloway Region: Annandale and Eskdale District). Scott. J. Geol 12:93–102.
    OpenUrl
    1. Gordon A. J.
    (1962) The Lower Palaeozoic rocks around Glenluce, Wigtonshire. Thesis, Ph.D, Univ. Edinburgh (unpubl.).
    1. Greig D. C.
    (1971) British Regional Geology: The South of Scotland (H.M.S.O. Edinburgh).
    1. Grow J. A.
    (1973) Crustal and upper mantle structure of the central Aleutian arc. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 84:2169–92.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Hamilton W.
    (1977) in Island Arcs, Deep Sea Trenches and Back-arc Basins, Subduction in the Indonesian region, eds Talwani M., Pitman W. C. III. (Am. Geophys. Union, Washington D.C.) pp 15–31.
    1. Harkness R.
    (1851) On The Silurian rocks of Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. Q. J. geol. Soc. London 7:46–58.
    OpenUrl
    1. Ingham J. K.
    (1978) in Geol. J. Spec. Issue No 10, Geology of a continental margin 2: middle and late Ordovician transgression, Girvan, eds Bowes D. R., Leake B. E. Crustaf Evolution in Northwestern Britain and Adjacent Regions, pp 163–76.
    1. Jacob A. W. B.
    (1969) Crustal Phase Velocities Observed at the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array. Geophys. J. R. astron. Soc 18:189–97.
    OpenUrl
    1. Karig D. E.
    (1977) in Island Arcs, Deep Sea Trenches and Back-Arc Basins, Growth patterns on the upper trench slope, eds Talwani M., Pitman W. C. III. (Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D.C.) pp 175–85.
    1. Karig D. E.,
    2. Sharman G. F. III.
    (1975) Subduction and accretion in trenches. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 86:377–89.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Kelling G.
    (1961) The stratigraphy and structure of the Ordovician rocks of the Rhinns of Galloway. Q. J. geol. Soc. London 117:37–75.
    OpenUrl
    1. Kulm L. D.,
    2. Scheidegger K. F.,
    3. Prince R. A.,
    4. Dymond J.,
    5. Moore T. C.,
    6. Hussong D. M.
    (1973) Tholeiitic basalt ridge in the Peru Trench. Geology 1:11–15.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Lambert R. St. J.
    (1971) in The Phanerozoic Time-scale: A Supplement, The pre-Pleistocene Phanerozoic Time-Scale – A review, eds Harland W. B., Francis E. H. (Spec. Pub. Geol. Soc, London), 5, pp 9–31.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lamont A.,
    2. Lindström M.
    (1957) Arenigian and Llandeilian cherts identified in the Southern Uplands of Scotland by means of conodonts etc. Trans. geol. Soc. Edinburgh 17:60–70.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lapworth C.
    (1878) The Moffat Series. Q. J. geol. Soc. London 34:240–346.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lapworth C.
    (1889) On the Ballantrae Rocks of the South of Scotland, and their place in the Upland Sequence. Geol. Mag 6:20–24, 59–69.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Leggett J. K.
    (1978) Eustacy and pelagic regimes in the Iapetus Ocean during the Ordovician and Silurian. Earth planet. Sci. Lett 41:163–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Leggett J. K.
    (1979) Palaeogeographic setting of the Wrae Limestone: an Ordovician submarine slide deposit in Tweeddale. Scoff. J. Geol, in press.
    1. Lumsden G. I.,
    2. Tulloch W.,
    3. Howells M. F.,
    4. Davies A.
    (1967) The geology of the neighbourhood of Langholm. Mern. geol. Surv. Scotland, 255, Sheet 11.
    1. Mackay R. A.
    (1958) The Future of non-ferrous mining in Great Britain and Ireland, The Leadhills-Wenlockhead Mining District (Instn. Ming Metall, London), pp 49–64.
    1. McKerrow W. S.,
    2. Cocks L. R. M.
    (1976) Nature, London, Progressive faunal migration across the Iapetus Ocean, 263, pp 304–6.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. McKerrow W. S.,
    2. Ziegler A. M.
    (1972) Silurian palaeogeographic development of the Proto-Atlantic Ocean. 24th. Int. geol Congr 6:4–10, Montreal.
    OpenUrl
    1. McKerrow W. S.,
    2. Leggett J. K.,
    3. Eales M. H.
    (1977) Imbricate thrust model of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Nature, London 267:237–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Mitchell A. H. G.,
    2. McKerrow W. S.
    (1975) Analogous evolution of the Burma orogen and the Scottish Caledonides. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 86:305–15.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Moore G. F.,
    2. Karig D. E.
    (1976) Development of sedimentary basins on the lower trench slope. Geology 4:693–97.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Moore J. C.
    (1973) Complex deformation of Cretaceous trench deposits, southwestern Alaska. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 84:2005–20.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Moore J. C.
    (1975) Selective subduction. Geology 3:530–2.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Moore J. C.,
    2. Karig D. E.
    (1976) Sedimentology, structural geology, and tectonics of the Shikoku subduction zone, southwestern Japan. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 87:1259–68.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Peach B. N.,
    2. Horne J.
    (1899) The Silurian rocks of Britain, l, Scotland. Mern. geol. Surv. Scotland, 749.
    1. Phillips W. E. A.,
    2. Stillman C. J.,
    3. Murphy T.
    (1976) A Caledonian plate tectonic model. J. geol. Soc. London 132:579–609.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Piper D. J. W.
    (1972) Trench sedimentation in the Lower Palaeozoic of the Southern Uplands. Scott. J. Geol 8:289–91.
    OpenUrl
    1. Powell D. W.
    (1971) A model for the Lower Palaeozoic evolution of the – southern margin of the early Caledonides of Scotland and Ireland. Scott. J. Geol 7:369–72.
    OpenUrl
    1. Prince R. A.,
    2. Kulm L. D.
    (1975) Crustal rupture and the initiation of imbricate thrusting in the Peru—Chile Trench. Bull. geol. Soc. Am 86:1639–53.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Ritchie M.,
    2. Eckford R. J. A.
    (1935) The Haggis Rock of the Southern Uplands. Trans. geol. Soc. Edinburgh 13:371–77.
    OpenUrl
    1. Rust B. R.
    (1965a) The stratigraphy and structure of the Whithorn area of Wigtownshire, Scotland. Scott. J. Geol 1:101–33.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Rust B. R.
    (1965b) The sedimentology and diagenesis of Silurian turbidites in south-east Wigtownshire, Scotland. Scott. J. Geol 1:231–46.
    OpenUrl
    1. Seely D. R.
    (1977) in Island arcs, Deep Sea Trenches and Back-Arc Basins, The significance of landward vergence and oblique structural trends on trench inner slopes, eds Talwani M., Pitman W. C. III. (Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D. C), pp 187–98.
    1. Seely D. R.,
    2. Vail P. R.,
    3. Walton G. G.
    (1974) in The Geology of Continental Margins, Trench Slope Model, eds Burk C. A., Drake C. L. (Springer-Verlag, New York), pp 249–60.
    1. Toghill P.
    (1968) The graptolite assemblages and zones of the Birkhill Shales (Lower Silurian) at Dobb's Linn. Palaeontology 11:654–68.
    OpenUrl
    1. Toghill P.
    (1970a) Highest Ordovician (Hartfell Shales) graptolite faunas from the Moffat area, south Scotland. Bull. Br. Mus. naf. Hist., Geol 19:1–26.
    OpenUrl
    1. Toghill P.
    (1970b) The south-east limit of the Moffat Shales in the upper Ettrick valley region, Selkirkshire. Scott. J. Geol 6:233–42.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Toghill P.,
    2. Strachan I.
    (1970) The graptolite fauna of Grieston Quarry, near Innerleithen, Peeblesshire. Palaeontology 13:511–21.
    OpenUrl
    1. Walton E. K.
    (1955) Silurian greywackes in Peeblesshire. Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh B65:321–57.
    OpenUrl
    1. Walton E. K.
    (1956) Two Ordovician conglomerates in South Ayrshire. Trans. geol. Soc. Glasgow 22:133–56.
    OpenUrl
    1. Walton E. K.
    (1961) Some aspects of the succession and structure in the Lower Palaeozoic rocks of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Geol. Rdsch 50:63–77.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Walton E. K.
    (1963) in The British Caledonides, &dcl001; and structure in the Southern Uplands, eds Johnson M. R. W., Stewart F. H. (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh), pp 71–97.
    1. Walton E. K.
    (1965) in The Geology of Scotland, Lower Palaeozoic rocks: stratigraphy, palaeogeography and structure, ed Craig G. Y. (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh), pp 161–227.
    1. Warren P. T.
    (1963) The petrography, sedimentation and provenance of the Wenlock Rocks near Hawick, Roxburghshire. Trans. geol. Soc. Edinburgh 19:225–55.
    OpenUrl
    1. Warren P. T.
    (1964) The stratigraphy and structure of the Silurian rocks south-east of Hawick, Roxburghshire. Q.J. geol. Soc. London 120:192–222.
    OpenUrl
    1. Weir J. A.
    (1968) Structural history of the Silurian rocks of the coast west of Gatehouse, Kirkcudbrightshire. Scott. J. Geol 4:31–52.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Weir J. A.
    (1977) The Ettrick Valley Thrust and the upper limit of the Moffat Shales in Craigmichan Scaurs: A reply. Scott. J. Geol 13:75–77.
    OpenUrl
    1. Welsh W.
    (1964) The Ordovician rocks of North-West Wigtownshire. Thesis, Ph.D., Univ. Edinburgh (unpubl.).
    1. Westbrook G. K.,
    2. Bott M. H. P.,
    3. Peacock J. H.
    (1973) Lesser Antilles subduction zone in the vicinity of Barbados. Nature, Phys. Sci 244:118–20.
    OpenUrl
    1. Williams A.
    (1962) The Barr and Lower Ardmillan Series (Caradoc) of the Girvan district, south-west Ayrshire. Mem. geol. Soc. London 3:267.
    OpenUrl
    1. Ziegler A. M.,
    2. McKerrow W. S.
    (1975) Silurian marine red beds. Am. J. Sci 275:31–56.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of the Geological Society: 136 (6)
Journal of the Geological Society
Volume 136, Issue 6
November 1979
Alerts
Citation tools
Permissions
View PDF
Email to