The Lizard - Origin and Emplacement

I came across THIS ARTICLE just this morning and have not had a chance to study it in any depth. As I will not be writing in the blog  for several weeks, and the article will be of interest to many of you, here is a short summary written by Google Gemini:-  

This article details the formation, subduction, and obduction of the Mid-Devonian Lizard ophiolite within the Variscan orogenic belt of Cornwall, SW England.

Key Findings and Geological History:

Ophiolite Structure and Origin: The Lizard ophiolite represents a nearly intact thrust slice of oceanic crust (dated via U-Pb zircon to ~386.8 Ma, Givetian) and upper mantle. It originally formed above a south-dipping subduction zone within the Rheic Ocean.

Metamorphic Sole: Situated at the base of the ophiolite is an amphibolite-to-greenschist facies metamorphic sole (~395 Ma, late Emsian). This sole is intruded by the Kennack Igneous Complex, a suite of granitoids reflecting the partial melting of diverse protoliths during subduction and subsequent obduction.

Underlying Thrust Sheets: Mechanically underlying the ophiolite is a complex mélange unit alongside the heavily folded and faulted Middle Devonian to Carboniferous sedimentary rocks of the Dodman, Veryan, and Carrick thrust sheets.

Tectonic Progression: Tectonic shortening propagated from the south-southeast (SSE) to the north-northwest (NNW). This structural push progressively emplaced distal Gramscatho Group rocks onto the passive continental margin of Avalonia (Laurussia).

Post-Collisional Activity: Following initial crustal shortening, the region experienced Late Carboniferous to Early Permian extensional reactivation and subsequent crustal melting, culminatng in the widespread intrusion of the Cornubian granites between 295 and 275 Ma.

The paper highlights that the overall tectono-stratigraphy, metamorphic sole development, and underlying thrust architectures of the Lizard ophiolite share distinct geological parallels with the iconic Semail ophiolite in Oman.