Late Neoproterozoic post-collisional mafic magmatism in the Arabian–Nubian Shield: A case study from Wadi El-Mahash gabbroic intrusion in southeast Sinai, Egypt

Abstract

Late Neoproterozoic gabbroic intrusion of Wadi El-Mahash lays in the northwestern sector of the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) which is exposed in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It occurs as small undeformed mafic body intruding metamorphic rocks and truncated by alkali granites. Field relations, mineralogical characteristics and chemical data indicate that Wadi El-Mahash mafic intrusion is unmetamorphosed. The intrusion consists of medium- to coarse-grained gabbroic rocks. The medium-grained one (hornblende gabbro) formed nearly simultaneous with, or slightly later than, the coarse-grained rock (pyroxene-hornblende gabbro). Geochemically, the gabbroic samples are characterized by enrichment in LILE relative to HFSE and LREE relative to HREE [(La/Yb)n=4.52–6.35]. They show geochemical signature similar to other post-collisional gabbroic intrusions of south Sinai. The subduction-related geochemical characteristic of the gabbroic intrusion of Wadi El-Mahash can be explained by partial melting of a relatively enriched lithospheric mantle source following a previous subduction process in the ANS. The gabbroic rocks crystallized at pressures between 6.2 and 6.5kbar (∼15–20km depth) with crystallization temperature ranging from 750 to 970°C. Lithospheric delamination model is suggested for the mafic magma of Wadi El-Mahash since delamination of lithospheric mantle allowed asthenosphere to rise rapidly causing partial melting and generating gabbroic melts. The produced melts then infiltrated the base of the crust to induce the post-collisional magmatism in south Sinai.