Distinctly different parental magmas for calc-alkaline plutons and tholeiitic lavas in the central and eastern Aleutian arc

Abstract

Cenozoic calc-alkaline plutons that comprise the middle crust of the central and eastern Aleutians have distinct isotopic and elemental compositions compared to Holocene tholeiitic lavas in the same region, including those from the same islands. Therefore the Holocene lavas are not representative of the net magmatic transfer from the mantle into the arc crust. Compared to the lavas, the Eocene to Miocene (9–39 Ma) intermediate to felsic plutonic rocks show higher SiO2 at a given Fe/Mg ratio, and have higher εNd–εHf values and lower Pb–Sr isotope ratios. However, the plutonic rocks strongly resemble calc-alkaline Holocene volcanics with more “depleted” isotope ratios in the western Aleutians, whose composition has been attributed to significant contributions from partial melting of subducted basaltic oceanic crust. These data could reflect a temporal variation of central and eastern Aleutian magma source compositions, from predominantly calc-alkaline compositions with more “depleted” isotope ratios in the Paleogene, to tholeiitic compositions with more “enriched” isotopes more recently. Alternatively, the differences between central Aleutian plutonic and volcanic rocks may reflect different transport and emplacement processes for the magmas that form plutons versus lavas. Calc-alkaline parental magmas, with higher SiO2 and high viscosity, are likely to form plutons after extensive mid-crustal degassing of initially high water contents. This conclusion has overarching importance because the plutonic rocks are chemically similar to bulk continental crust. Formation of similar plutonic rocks worldwide may play a key role in the genesis and evolution of continental crust.