Aphebian mafic–ultramafic magmatism in the Labrador Trough (New Quebec): its age and the nature of its mantle source

Abstract

The magmatic events occurring within the two main cycles in the south-central part of the Labrador Trough (New Quebec) have been dated. In cycle 1, a granophyre dike related to the Cramolet Lake gabbro sill, which intrudes the Seward subgroup, has a U–Pb zircon age of 2169 ± 2 Ma. In cycle 2, the tholeiitic basalts of the Willbob (Hellancourt) Formation and the related mafic–ultramafic sills are dated at ca. 1900 Ma by the Pb–Pb method. These data confirm the existence of at least two main magmatic cycles separated by about 270 Ma. The magma source was depleted upper mantle, and the magma did not experience any significant crustal contamination, as indicated by the μ1 ratio (7.9) and [Formula: see text] (+4) for the tholeiitic basalts. The μ1 value for the intrusive rocks (8.03) and the average [Formula: see text] value for the gabbroic rocks of cycle 2 (+2.8) and for the granophyre of cycle 1 (+1.05) could be the result of slight crustal contamination or of mantle heterogeneity. Whatever the cause of these values, the data indicate the prolonged presence of a depleted mantle source.