Behavior of trace elements in quartz from plutons of different geochemical signature: A case study from the Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic

Abstract

In this study, the trace-element content in igneous quartz from granitoids of different geochemical types was investigated using the laser ablation ICP-MS technique. The Variscan granitoids in the Bohemian Massif provide an excellent opportunity to study the chemical composition of magmatic quartz from the following granite types: (1) geochemically primitive I-type tonalites and granodiorites, (2) peraluminous S-type two-mica granites, (3) moderately fractionated A-type volcano–plutonic complexes of the Teplice caldera, and (4) highly fractionated S- and A-type rare-metal granites. This diversity of granitoids permitted the study of the chemical composition of magmatic quartz as the result of (i) different magma protoliths and (ii) variable degrees of differentiation. There were only small differences in the quartz trace-element contents, ranging from weakly to moderately differentiated plutons of all geochemical types: Al (mostly in the range between 20 and 250ppm), Ti (mostly 20–110ppm), B (<13ppm), Be (<0.7ppm), Ge (<1ppm), Li (<30ppm), and Rb (<2ppm). Only the S-type granites from western Erzgebirge contain Al-enriched quartz (mostly 200–400ppm Al) since the beginning of its evolution. However, quartz from the highly fractionated granites (group 4) differs significantly: this quartz is generally poor in Ti (<20ppm Ti) and enriched in Al (up to 600ppm in A-type, and up to 1000ppm in S-type granites), Be (up to 3.2ppm), Ge (up to 5.7ppm), Li (up to 132ppm, particularly in the S-type granites), and Rb (up to 15ppm). The contents of the analyzed lithophile elements in the quartz from the highly fractionated granites are similar to the contents reported to be present in evolved complex pegmatites. Although the input of Ti into quartz is controlled mainly by the temperature and pressure of quartz crystallization, the entry of Al into quartz increases as a function of the water and fluorine content of the residual melt. The contents of Ge and Li increase significantly with the fractionation of parental melt. The concentrations of these elements in quartz from highly fractionated granites are controlled by the order of crystallization of the major minerals: comb quartz crystallizing before Li-mica is strongly Li-enriched, whereas groundmass and snowball quartz crystallizing after mica is relatively enriched in Ge.