Mafic and ultramafic amphibolites from the northwestern Pontiac Subprovince: chemical characterization and implications for tectonic setting

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1110-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Camiré ◽  
J. N. Ludden ◽  
M. R. La Flèche ◽  
J. -P. Burg
Keyword(s):  
Magma Mixing ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Mantle Metasomatism ◽  
Primitive Mantle ◽  
Mafic Dykes ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks ◽  
Source Mantle ◽  
Ree Patterns

In the northwestern Pontiac Subprovince, metavolcanic rocks are exposed within a metagraywacke sequence that is intruded by metamorphosed mafic dykes. The metavolcanics are Al-undepleted komatiites ([La/Sm]N = 0.3, [Tb/Yb]N = 0.9) and tholeiitic Fe-basalts ([La/Sm]N = 0.8 and [Tb/Yb]N = 0.8). The nearly flat chondrite-normalized distributions of high field strength elements (HFSE), Ti and P, the constant Zr/Y, Nb/Th, Ti/Zr, and Ti/P ratios, and the lack of depletion of HFSE relative to rare-earth elements (REE) in both ultramafic and mafic metavolcanics, imply that crustal assimilation and magma mixing with crustal melts were not significant during differentiation and argue against the presence of subduction-related magmatic components. Contemporaneous volcanism and sedimentation in the northwestern Pontiac Subprovince are unlikely. The metavolcanics do not show any evidence of crustal contamination and likely represent a structurally emplaced, disrupted assemblage, chemically similar to early volcanics of the adjacent southern Abitibi Subprovince.Metamorphosed mafic dykes intruding the metagraywackes are not genetically related to the metavolcanics. The dykes have high CaO, P2O5, K2O, Ba, Rb, and Sr, intermediate Cr and Ni contents, and strongly fractionated REE patterns ([La/Yb]N = 10.8). Normalized to the primitive mantle, they display pronounced negative Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, and Hf anomalies. These amphibolites are metamorphosed equivalents of Mg-rich calc-alkaline lamprophyre dykes, most likely derived from a hybridized mantle source. Mantle metasomatism was probably related to a subduction event prior to the peak of compressional Kenoran deformation in the Pontiac Subprovince.

scholarly journals Unravelling the relationship between mafic magmatism and Sb mineralization through dolerite geochemistry (Central Iberian Zone, Spain)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor Ricardo Campos Rodríguez ◽  
Eric Gloaguen ◽  
Anthony Pochon ◽  
Pablo Higueras ◽  
Saturnino Lorenzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Primitive Mantle ◽  
Variscan Belt ◽  
Mafic Magmatism ◽  
Mafic Dykes ◽  
Central Iberian Zone ◽  
Mafic Intrusions ◽  
Enriched Mantle ◽  
La Mancha

<p>This work presents the preliminary results of geochemistry of mafic intrusions (diabase dykes) and their relationship with antimony mineralization in the Central-Iberian Zone (Variscan Belt). Two different areas were studied, the Almadén (Al) and the San Antonio (SA) areas.</p><p>Both macroscopic and microscopic observations show that mafic dykes are mainly composed by clinopyroxene, plagioclase, Fe-Ti oxides and to a lesser extent of calcite and sulphides (pyrite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite). These samples are altered presenting chlorite and epidote as alteration minerals. Pyroxene is sometimes altered to amphibole.</p><p>Whole rock geochemistry analyses from 20 samples show a difference between SA and Al dolerites. The first fall into the classical basalt field whereas the second fall into the alkali basalt field according to the Zr/TiO2 vs Nb/Y diagram. The tectonic setting for the SA samples coincides with the volcanic arc setting whereas the samples from Al fall into the within plate magmatism. </p><p>Primitive mantle normalized diagrams display high negative anomalies in Rb, K, with small negative anomalies in Nb and Ta for both SA and Al. High positive anomalies for both areas in Cs, Pb (especially for SA) and Li accompanied by small positive anomalies in P and Ti can be observed. Dolerites from Al are more enriched in Ba, Th, U, Nb, Ba, La, Ce, Sr, P, Nd, Sn, Zr, Hf than SA. All samples are depleted in HREE and enriched in LREE. Anomalies in Rb, Nb, Ta and Li may be related with crustal contamination. Pb anomalies could be associated with assimilation of country rocks, especially marine sediments, this anomaly is also related to subduction processes. Positive P and Ti anomalies of some samples is due to the apatite and ilmenite enrichment respectively. Negative anomalies in K could be associated with presence of phlogopite in the source. Rare Earth Elements contents are compatible with the presence of garnet in the source and low degree of partial melting, this is consistent with the correlation between La/Sm vs Gd/Yb and La/Sm vs Rb. Trace element ratios such as Th/La (0,10 for SA) and (0,09 for Al) suggest an enriched mantle source.</p><p>Some of these mafic intrusions were collected near antimony mineralization whereas the other are located at distance but in the same swarm of mafic dykes. A spatial and genetic link between Sb mineralization and mafic magmatism has been proposed in other parts of the Variscan Belt, especially in the Armorican Massif.</p><p>The source of these Sb mineralization could be related to an enriched mantle with crustal contamination. The geochemical link between mafic magmatism and Sb mineralization and their source in the Central Iberian Zone is still a matter of study.</p><p>Acknowledgments</p><p>This work was funded by the ANR (ANR-19-MIN2-0002-01), the AEI (MICIU/AEI/REF.: PCI2019-103779) and author’s institutions in the framework of the ERA-MIN2 AUREOLE project, as well as by Project SBPLY/17/180501/000273, Consejería de Educación, Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.</p>

scholarly journals Geochemical Characteristics and Tectonic Setting of Amphibolites in Ifewara Area, Ife-Ilesha Schist Belt, Southwestern Nigeria

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Temidayo Bolarinwa ◽  
Adebimpe Atinuke Adepoju
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Rare Earth Elements ◽  
Major Element ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Geochemical Evolution ◽  
Schist Belt ◽  
Southwestern Nigeria ◽  
Eu Anomaly ◽  
Ree Patterns

Trace and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) data are used to constrain the geochemical evolution of the amphibolites from Ifewara in the Ife-Ilesha schist belt of southwestern Nigeria. The amphibolites can be grouped into banded and sheared amphibolites. Major element data show SiO2 (48.34%), Fe2O3 (11.03-17.88%), MgO (5.76-9.90%), CaO (7.76-18.6%) and TiO2 (0.44-1.77%) contents which are similar to amphibolites in other schist belts in Nigeria. The Al2O3 (2.85-15.55%) content is varied, with the higher values suggesting alkali basalt protolith. Trace and rare earth elements composition reveal Sr (160-1077ppm), Rb (0.5-22.9ppm), Ni (4.7-10.2ppm), Co (12.2-50.9 ppm) and Cr (2-7ppm). Chondrite-normalized REE patterns show that the banded amphibolites have HREE depletion and both negative and positive Eu anomalies while the sheared variety showed slight LREE enrichment with no apparent Eu anomaly. The study amphibolites plot in the Mid Oceanic Ridge Basalts (MORB) and within plate basalt fields on the Zr/Y vs Zr discriminatory diagrams. They are further classified as volcanic arc basalt and E-type MORB on the Th- Hf/3- Ta and the Zr-Nb-Y diagrams. The amphibolites precursor is considered a tholeiitic suite that suffered crustal contamination, during emplacement in a rifted crust.

The Silurian(?) Passamaquoddy Bay mafic dyke swarm, New Brunswick: petrogenesis and tectonic implications

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 1565-1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy A Van Wagoner ◽  
Matthew I Leybourne ◽  
Kelsie A Dadd ◽  
Miranda LA Huskins
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Incompatible Element ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Dyke Swarm ◽  
Mafic Dyke ◽  
Mafic Dykes ◽  
The North ◽  
Passamaquoddy Bay ◽  
Mafic Dyke Swarm

The volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Passamaquoddy Bay (PB) area of southeastern New Brunswick are part of the Silurian–Devonian Coastal Volcanic Belt (CVB), an extensive belt of bimodal volcanic rocks. The PB sequence is 4 km thick, has four cycles of mafic and felsic volcanism, and is intruded by mafic dykes at all levels. There are two ages of dykes, those related to the Late Silurian PB volcanism (PB dykes) and Mesozoic dykes (the Minister Island Dyke) related to the opening of the North Atlantic. The PB mafic dykes are subalkalic basalt to basaltic andesite, within-plate tholeiites. The dykes are moderately to highly evolved (Mg# = 66.6 to 26.6), with trends of major and trace elements typical of the fractionation of olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase, and ilmenite. The PB mafic dyke swarm comprises over 155 dykes which represent a greater range of compositions than the associated flows, suggesting that they give a more complete representation of the Late Silurian PB mafic magmas. They exhibit incompatible element characteristics best accounted for by crustal contamination. The dykes plot on a linear array away from mantle mixing lines between depleted and enriched mantle sources and toward the composition of the PB felsic units, suggesting that these felsic units are representative of partial melts and fractionates of the source contaminate. The variable TiO2 contents (1.2–4.3 wt.%) and incompatible element ratio trends plotted against a fractionation index suggest that mantle metasomatism, either fluid or melt derived, may also have influenced the mantle source of the dykes. The dykes dip steeply and have a relatively consistent strike to the north. Most dykes range in thickness from 0.5 to 2 m, but range up to 9 m. The single orientation of the dykes, along with their chemical characteristics and volume, and association with a bimodal intraplate volcanic sequence, are consistent with an extensional tectonic setting. Constraints of the regional geology suggest that this extension was associated with convergence, perhaps in a back-arc setting.

Stratigraphy and geochemistry of the igneous rocks in the Elu Link between Hope Bay and Elu greenstone belts, northeast Slave craton: tectonic setting and implications for gold mineralization

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Mvondo ◽  
D. Lentz ◽  
M. Bardoux
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Rare Earth Element ◽  
Earth Element ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Primitive Mantle ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Greenstone Belts ◽  
Hope Bay

Geological investigation of the rocks in the Elu Link has provided new information on the geodynamic origin of the Neoarchean (ca. 2716–2663 Ma) Hope Bay and Elu granite–greenstone belts. Stratigraphic and geochemical features of these rocks and those of the nearby Flake Lake area in the Hope Bay belt suggest that the two greenstone belts are contiguous, having similar mafic-dominated bimodal rocks comprising abundant basalts to andesites and less common dacites and rhyolites hosting gabbroic and trondhjemite–tonalite–granodiorite (TTG) intrusions. The corresponding parental magmas, whose evolution likely occurred via fractional crystallization and juvenile crustal contamination, formed from both deep and shallow mantle sources. The basalts, andesites, gabbros, and felsic volcanic rocks are variably tholeiitic to calc-alkaline. Chondrite- and primitive mantle-normalized profiles demonstrate (1) flat to slightly fractionated heavy rare-earth element (HREE) patterns with a weak negative Eu anomaly and (2) light rare-earth element (LREE) enriched and strongly fractionated HREE patterns with variable negative to positive Eu anomalies. In contrast, TTG rocks are calc-alkaline, with strong LREE enrichment, HREE depletion, and variable positive Eu anomalies. Altogether, the rocks exhibit Nb and Ti troughs, and variable Nb/Ta, La/Ta, and Zr/Hf ratios indicative of crustal contamination. Chalcophile elements and related ore deposits in the area are inferred to be formed from hydrothermal fluids mobilized during emplacement and after crystallization of their host rocks. An extensional, high-heat-flow back-arc tectonic environment is proposed to explain the stratigraphic and geochemical characteristics and the presence of large gold resources in these greenstone belts.

The youngest Neoproterozoic mafic dyke suite in the Arabian Shield: mildly alkaline dolerites from South Jordan – their geochemistry and petrogenesis

2001 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. JARRAR
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Spinel Lherzolite ◽  
Mafic Dyke ◽  
East African ◽  
Elemental Ratios ◽  
Mafic Dykes ◽  
Nubian Shield ◽  
Igneous Activity ◽  
Arabian Nubian Shield

The Arabian–Nubian Shield evolved through a sequence of tectonomagmatic cycles, which took place during Neoproterozoic time (1000–540 Ma). Dyke emplacement constitutes one of the conspicuous features of the Arabian–Nubian Shield, with mafic dykes being the most abundant. The investigated dykes represent the youngest Neoproterozoic mafic dykes and have been dated in Jordan at 545 ± 13 Ma. Geochemically the studied dykes are mildly alkaline, are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and high field strength cations (HFSC), show moderate enrichment of REE, and lack Nb anomaly. These features are consistent with a predominantly extensional continental tectonic setting. Crystallization temperatures of the suite fall between 1050 and 800 °C to as low as 650 °C as deduced from pyroxene thermometry. The investigated dykes were derived from a metasomatized lithospheric mantle by 5 % modal batch partial melting of phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite, according to geochemical modelling. The intra-suite geochemical features are explicable by 64 % fractional crystallization of olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase and titanomagnetite and possibly other accessories like apatite at a later stage. The cumulate produced from this fractionation of the investigated dyke suite contributed to the formation of the mafic lower crust of the Arabian–Nubian Shield. Elemental ratios and petrographic evidence indicate possible minor crustal contamination of the suite. The youngest mafic dykes show striking geochemical similarities to the same generation of dolerite dykes in the adjacent countries, to transitional young basalt suites of the Main East African Rift, and to Quaternary Jordanian basalts. The youngest mafic dyke suite, the rhyolites of the Aheimir suite, and St Katherina rhyolites of Sinai represent the last igneous activity in the Arabian–Nubian Shield before the onset of the Cambrian at about 545 Ma ago.

scholarly journals Potassic late orogenic Stephanian volcanism in the Southwest French Massif central (Decazeville, Figeac, Lacapelle-Marival basins): an example for mantle metasomatism along strike-slip faults?

2008 ◽  
Vol 179 (5) ◽  
pp. 491-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette Lapierre ◽  
Christophe Basile ◽  
Thomas Berly ◽  
Emmanuel Canard
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Melting Process ◽  
Horizontal Displacement ◽  
Mantle Metasomatism ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Primitive Mantle ◽  
French Massif Central ◽  
Southwestern Part ◽  
Massif Central ◽  
Ree Patterns

AbstractIn the southwestern part of the French Massif central (Decazeville basin, at the Sillon Houiller fault termination; Figeac and Lacapelle-Marival basins along the Argentat fault), Stephanian volcanism exhibits shoshonitic affinities. Their chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns are enriched in light REE, but almost flat for heavy REE, with marked negative Eu anomalies. Primitive mantle-normalized element spectra show negative Nb, Ta, P, Sm, Ti, and positive Th, U, Pb anomalies, respectively. εNd values are negative and homogeneous (−6 to −4). This volcanism shares the same geochemical patterns as the late-orogenic Stephanian-Permian magmatism from the southern part of the Variscan belt (Pyrénées, Alps, Sardinia). We explain these geochemical characteristics as resulting from the partial melting of a metasomatised mantle. We propose a new mechanism to explain this melting process: horizontal displacement along the main late-orogenic strike-slip faults might bring into contact a hydrated lower crust with the lithospheric mantle. Mantle metasomatism within the strike-slip fault zone may then induce partial melting.

Stratigraphy, structure and geochemistry of Archaean supracrustal rocks from Oqaatsut and Naajaat Qaqqaat, north-east Disko Bugt, West Greenland

1999 ◽  
pp. 65-78
Author(s):  
Henrik Rasmussen ◽  
Lars Frimodt Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Trace Element Geochemistry ◽  
Element Geochemistry ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
North West ◽  
North East ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks ◽  
Arc Setting ◽  
Area North ◽  
Back Arc

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Rasmussen, H., & Frimodt Pedersen, L. (1999). Stratigraphy, structure and geochemistry of Archaean supracrustal rocks from Oqaatsut and Naajaat Qaqqaat, north-east Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 181, 65-78. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v181.5114 _______________ Two Archaean supracrustal sequences in the area north-east of Disko Bugt, c. 1950 and c. 800 m in thickness, are dominated by pelitic and semipelitic mica schists, interlayered with basic metavolcanic rocks. A polymict conglomerate occurs locally at the base of one of the sequences. One of the supracrustal sequences has undergone four phases of deformation; the other three phases. In both sequences an early phase, now represented by isoclinal folds, was followed by north-west-directed thrusting. A penetrative deformation represented by upright to steeply inclined folds is only recognised in one of the sequences. Steep, brittle N–S and NW–SE striking faults transect all rock units including late stage dolerites and lamprophyres. Investigation of major- and trace-element geochemistry based on discrimination diagrams for tectonic setting suggests that both metasediments and metavolcanic rocks were deposited in an environment similar to a modern back-arc setting.

The petrological and geochemical study of granitoid rocks from Mashhad area, Iran: Evidence for the Late Triassic Collisional Belt Northeast of Iran

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banafsheh Vahdati ◽  
Seyed Ahmad Mazaheri
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Thrust Tectonics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Lree Enrichment ◽  
Granitoid Rocks

<p>Mashhad granitoid complex is part of the northern slope of the Binalood Structural Zone (BSZ), Northeast of Iran, which is composed of granitoids and metamorphic rocks. This research presents new petrological and geochemical whole-rock major and trace elements analyses in order to determine the origin of granitoid rocks from Mashhad area. Field and petrographic observations indicate that these granitoid rocks have a wide range of lithological compositions and they are categorized into intermediate to felsic intrusive rocks (SiO<sub>2</sub>: 57.62-74.39 Wt.%). Qartzdiorite, tonalite, granodiorite and monzogranite are common granitoids with intrusive pegmatite and aplitic dikes and veins intruding them. Based on geochemical analyses, the granitoid rocks are calc-alkaline in nature and they are mostly peraluminous. On geochemical variation diagrams (major and minor oxides versus silica) Na<sub>2</sub>O and K<sub>2</sub>O show a positive correlation with silica while Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, TiO<sub>2</sub>, CaO, Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, and MgO show a negative trend. Therefore fractional crystallization played a considerable role in the evolution of Mashhad granitoids. Based on the spider diagrams, there are enrichments in LILE and depletion in HFSE. Low degrees of melting or crustal contamination may be responsible for LILE enrichment. Elements such as Pb, Sm, Dy and Rb are enriched, while Ba, Sr, Nd, Zr, P, Ti and Yb (in monzogranites) are all depleted. LREE enrichment and HREE depletion are observed in all samples on the Chondrite-normalized REE diagram. Similar trends may be evidence for the granitoids to have the same origin. Besides, LREE enrichment relative to HREE in some samples can indicate the presence of garnet in their source rock. Negative anomalies of Eu and Yb are observed in monzogranites. Our results show that Mashhad granitoid rocks are orogenic related and tectonic discrimination diagrams mostly indicate its syn-to-post collisional tectonic setting. No negative Nb anomaly compared with MORB seems to be an indication of non-subduction zone related magma formation. According to the theory of thrust tectonics of the Binalood region, the oceanic lithosphere of the Palo-Tethys has subducted under the Turan microplate. Since the Mashhad granitoid outcrops are settled on the Iranian plate, this is far from common belief that these granitoid rocks are related to the subduction zones and the continental arcs. The western Mashhad granitoids show more mafic characteristics and are possibly crystallized from a magma with sedimentary and igneous origin. Thus, Western granitoid outcrops in Mashhad are probably hybrid type and other granitoid rocks, S and SE Mashhad are S-type. Evidences suggest that these continental collision granitoid rocks are associated with the late stages of the collision between the Iranian and the Turan microplates during the Paleo-Tethys Ocean closure which occurred in the Late Triassic.</p>

Geology and geochemistry of Huronian rhyolites and low-Ti continental tholeiites from the Thessalon region, central Ontario

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1360-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne T. Jolly
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Rare Earth Element ◽  
Earth Element ◽  
Magma Mixing ◽  
Mantle Metasomatism ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Heavy Rare Earth Element ◽  
Tonalitic Gneiss ◽  
Oceanic Basalts ◽  
Low K

Bimodal volcanism associated with early phases of Huronian rifting in central Ontario, dated about 2450 Ma, produced low-Ti tholeiitic basalts and two varieties of crustally derived calc-alkaline rhyolite. Early tholeiites are characteristically highly evolved, have Mg* values from 30 to 50, and display pronounced enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) and light rare-earth element (LREE) in comparison with modern oceanic basalts, fractionated heavy rare-earth element (HREE) patterns, and low Ti, Zr, P, Nb, Ba, and K abundances. Ti/Zr ratios rise progressively in early basalts and associated basaltic andesite fractionates from about 35 in early flows to 55 in central units. Late basalts also carry enriched LILE and LREE, but, in contrast to early types, have average Mg* values greater than 50 and lower rare-earth element (REE) abundances with flat HREE patterns. They also display negative Ba, Nb, and P anomalies on chondrite-normalized distribution diagrams, but lack low K, Zr, and Ti contents. Their Ti/Zr ratios of about 80 approach chondritic levels. Melting models suggest the differences are explained by lower degrees of fusion (as low as 10%) in a hydrated, LILE- and LREE-enriched peridotite during generation of the early basalts, leaving a residue containing appreciable garnet, amphibole, Ti oxides, zircon, and apatite.Erupted simultaneously with the basalts were two distinctive rhyolite types: (1) a low-LILE, high-LREE group (25% of analysed specimens), derived by −20% melting of granulitic siliceous tonalitic gneiss, presumably at deep crustal levels, and (2) a high-LILE, low-LREE group (75%), derived, probably at shallower levels, by ≤ 30% melting in granitic rocks with pegmatitic or leucogranitic compositions. Mutual magma mixing of basalts and rhyolites during early stages of volcanism produced abundant hybrid andesites, but the frequency of contamination is much lower in later units.Hypothetical subcontinental source compositions, calculated from the Raleigh equation, suggest that the Huronian mantle had already undergone a complex history. Low Ba, Nb, P, Ti, and depleted HREE abundances compared with abundances for modern oceanic basalts suggest that a basaltic melt had already been withdrawn from this source during Archean time. Subsequently, an episode of hydrous metasomatism enriched the source in LILE and LREE. The latter event resulted from (1) subcontinental mantle metasomatism by previous Archean subduction, (2) mantle metasomatism during the terminal Archean Kenoran Orogeny, or (3) a wave of hydrous metasomatism accompanying Huronian mantle convection immediately preceding volcanism.

Relative roles of source composition, fractional crystallization and crustal contamination in the petrogenesis of Andean volcanic rocks

1984 ◽  
Vol 310 (1514) ◽  
pp. 675-692 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Fractional Crystallization ◽  
Magma Mixing ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Alkaline Basalt ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Heterogeneous Mantle

There are well established differences in the chemical and isotopic characteristics of the calc-alkaline basalt—andesite-dacite-rhyolite association of the northern (n.v.z.), central (c.v.z.) and southern volcanic zones (s.v.z.) of the South American Andes. Volcanic rocks of the alkaline basalt-trachyte association occur within and to the east of these active volcanic zones. The chemical and isotopic characteristics of the n.v.z. basaltic andesites and andesites and the s.v.z. basalts, basaltic andesites and andesites are consistent with derivation by fractional crystallization of basaltic parent magmas formed by partial melting of the asthenospheric mantle wedge containing components from subducted oceanic lithosphere. Conversely, the alkaline lavas are derived from basaltic parent magmas formed from mantle of ‘within-plate’ character. Recent basaltic andesites from the Cerro Galan volcanic centre to the SE of the c.v.z. are derived from mantle containing both subduction zone and within-plate components, and have experienced assimilation and fractional crystallization (a.f.c.) during uprise through the continental crust. The c.v.z. basaltic andesites are derived from mantle containing subduction-zone components, probably accompanied by a.f.c. within the continental crust. Some c.v.z. lavas and pyroclastic rocks show petrological and geochemical evidence for magma mixing. The petrogenesis of the c.v.z. lavas is therefore a complex process in which magmas derived from heterogeneous mantle experience assimilation, fractional crystallization, and magma mixing during uprise through the continental crust.

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