Lead isotope and trace element composition of K-feldspars from peraluminous granitoids of the Late Devonian South Mountain Batholith (Nova Scotia, Canada): implications for petrogenesis and tectonic reconstruction

Abstract

The South Mountain Batholith (SMB) of southwestern Nova Scotia (Canada) is a Late Devonian (~375 Ma) composite intrusion, which crops over an area of about 7,300 km2. This peraluminous granitoid body consists of rocks ranging from granodiorite through monzogranite and leucomonzogranite to leucogranite that locally host greisen tin-base metal mineralization. K-feldspar displays large compositional variations of trace elements and Pb isotopic ratios, particularly in the highly fractionated rocks. Many variations are consistent with processes of fractional crystallization, but a distinct enrichment of Rb, Li and Cs accompanied by low K/Rb, Ba/Rb, Eu/Eu* and K/Cs ratios point to the role of fluids during the late stages of magmatic evolution. The correlation of Pb isotopic ratios with the enriched elements and their ratios implies that the isotopic variations are an integral part of the evolution of the SMB. Together with well-defined isochronal relationships of Pb systems in the feldspars, the correlation suggests that fractional crystallization accompanied in the late stages by fluid fractionation led to the formation of Li–F-rich leucogranites. Internally derived U-rich fluids fractionated U/Pb ratios, which in turn produced distinct variations of 206Pb/204Pb and 238U/204Pb ratios in K-feldspars. This implies that the Pb isotopic values of K-feldspar, which have traditionally been used for tectonic reconstructions, might have been modified in many granitic rocks. Thus, only early magmatic K-feldspars, which show no discernible effects of fluid fractionation yield the initial Pb isotopic compositions of the parental granitic magmas and their sources. The data also show that the geochemical characteristics of the leucogranites are the results of magmatic evolution rather than a distinctive source.