An unusual occurrence of probable Pleistocene corestone within a Cretaceous dioritic enclave, Peninsular Ranges, California

Abstract

Abstract We here document an unusual occurrence of probable Pleistocene corestone within an ∼ 5 m by ∼ 5 m dioritic enclave contained within a Cretaceous tonalitic pluton, Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, SW California. The enclave lies within ∼ 3.5 km of the seismically active ∼ 1.5–2 Ma Elsinore fault zone, and may have been subjected to ∼ 70–90 ground shaking events since ∼ 22,000–18,000 years ago. The studied corestone is elliptical with major axis measuring ∼ 55 cm and minor axis ∼ 26 cm in length. It is surrounded by a discontinuous ∼ 7 cm thick rind that breaks apart under slightly greater finger pressure than does the surrounding saprolite. In order to assess changes in the physical and chemical properties of the corestone, rind, and saprolite we collected along an ∼ 66.5 cm long traverse 4 samples from the corestone, 1 from the rind, and 5 from the saprolite for bulk and grain density, porosity, and major and trace element analyses. Textural and clay mineral data, along with the redistribution of elemental mass, indicate that the weathering of biotite, and to much lesser degrees apatite and the An-rich cores of plagioclase, played critical roles in the production of saprolite especially in a narrow ∼ 20 cm wide zone adjacent to the rind of the corestone. Within this zone bulk densities reach their minimum values, while porosities and positive volume strains reach their maximums. In addition, the maximum loss of K, Fe, Mn, and Ca mass occurred just inside this region, and is paralleled by the highest CIA values and highest additions of Si and Rb mass. In contrast, the masses of Na and Sr are progressively increased and decreased, respectively along the entire sampling traverse while the loss of Mg, Ti, and P mass is episodic with the greatest losses occurring within the narrow zone adjacent to the rind and at the end of the traverse. The above observations indicate that the conversion of biotite to expandable mixed-layered clay minerals, aided by the alteration of the An-rich cores of plagioclase, produced sufficient stress on grain boundaries that a weakening or loss of intercrystalline cohesion occurred. However, unlike the well documented isovolumetric development of saprolite in other areas, at the study site saprolitization was accompanied by a volume expansion. We speculate that repeated ground shaking in response to earthquakes generated in the nearby Elsinore fault zone may be responsible for this difference. Important byproducts of ground shaking would include additional weakening or loss of intercrystalline cohesion, and the production and enhancement of new and older fluid pathways respectively. The fact that the most intensely altered material at the study site lies adjacent to the boundary between the rind and saprolite, suggests that this interface acted to guide fluid flow around the corestone and rind and into the adjacent saprolite where elemental mass was redistributed down various paths leading to the underlying water table. Most of the leached elemental mass was removed from the area of the sampling traverse, but small increases in Si, Rb, and Na mass suggest redistribution of these elements from elevated areas outside the area sampled during this study. The result of the above complex set of processes is a variably porous and chemically altered saprolitic enclave that is still undergoing modification as it adjusts to the vicissitudes of the paralithic environment and continuing ground shaking during earthquakes generated along the Elsinore fault.