Abstract
Rocks of the late Neoproterozoic Askaoun pluton (558 ± 2 Ma) located in the Ouzellarh-Sirwa promontory (Anti-Atlas) include magmatic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) ranging from rounded to ovoid in shape, dark and fine grained and generally 5 to 10 cm in size, some reaching a size of 50 cm. They are composed of microdiorite, quartz microdiorite and micromonzodiorite, whereas the felsic host rocks comprise mainly quartz-diorite and amphibole-biotite granodiorite based on mineralogical compositions. The mineral assemblage is similar to those described in their hosting granitoids but with different proportions. In this study composition of minerals is used to describe the nature of the magma and estimate the pressure, temperature and oxygen fugacity at which Askaoun pluton is emplaced. Based on chemistry of biotite Askaoun pluton formed from calc-alkaline magma. Compositions of plagioclase (An5 - An29); hornblende (Mg ≠= 0.59 - 0.65) and biotite (Mg ≠= 0.49 - 0.55) of MMEs are slightly distinct or similar to those of host rocks (An7-40; hbl Mg ≠= 0.64 - 0.69; Bi Mg ≠= 0.49 - 0.50) which suggest partial to complete equilibration during mafic-felsic magma interaction. The coexisting hornblende and plagioclase (hornblende-plagioclase thermometry), Al content in hornblende (aluminum-in-hornblende barometry) and the assemblage titanite-magnetite-quartz were used to constrain the P, T and fO2 during the crystallization of the parent magmas. The Askaoun pluton was emplaced at temperature ca. 504°C - 633°C and at pressure ca. 0.9 - 4.66 ± 0.6 Kbars (average depth = 6.5 km) from a highly oxidized magma (log fO2 = ?24.8 to ?19.2).
Highlights
The Ouzellarh-Sirwa Promontory (OSP) is located to the north of the Anti-Atlas belt (Morocco)
Rocks of the late Neoproterozoic Askaoun pluton (558 ± 2 Ma) located in the Ouzellarh-Sirwa promontory (Anti-Atlas) include magmatic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) ranging from rounded to ovoid in shape, dark and fine grained and generally 5 to 10 cm in size, some reaching a size of 50 cm
It is bounded to the south by the North High Atlas Fault (NHAF), and to the north by the Anti-Atlas Major Fault (AAMF); separating the Cenozoic Ouarzazate basin to the North-Est and the Souss basin to the South-West, which extends towards the Atlantic ocean (Figure 1)
Summary
The Ouzellarh-Sirwa Promontory (OSP) is located to the north of the Anti-Atlas belt (Morocco). In the north of the AAMF, the OSP is covered to the South-East by the large Cenozoic Sirwa volcano culminating at more than 3300 m [1,2]. It is the locus of the largest Panafrican granitoids outcrops in the Anti-Atlas, indicating that it was a preferential locus for magmatic intrusions and extrusions. ([6], in reviews) have done a study of isotopic geochemistry and geochronology of the granitoids and MMEs from the Tifnoute valley This Askaoun pluton is one of the Ediacaran rocks in the Anti-Atlas belt. The plutonic rocks of the Tifnoute valley are a typical post-collisional mainly juvenile source in a metacratonic setting in the Anti-Atlas belt
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