Leucitites from Gaussberg, Antarctica

Abstract

Leucitities of probable late Pleistocene age from the extinct volcano of Gaussberg on the coast of East Antarctica consist of microphenocrysts of olivine, diopside, and leucite in a largely glassy groundmass. Their extreme K contents and K/Na ratios, as well as high Rb, Ba, and possibly Ti, are compatible with an origin by small degrees of partial melting of phlogopite-rich mantle below the level of amphibole stability, whereas their enrichment in P, Sr, Zr, Nb, La, Ce, Pb, and Th indicates the presence of minor phases such as apatite in the source material. Although the Mg/(Mg+Fe) values (∼0.70) and relatively high Ni and Cr contents suggest that the Gaussberg lavas represent near-primary melts, some degree of fractionation involving an aluminous phase (probably garnet) may be necessary to produce liquids with atomic K>Al. Alternatively, an as yet poorly understood process such as wall-rock reaction, liquid immiscibility, or mantle metasomatism may have been a critical factor in the genesis of these unusual rocks. Gaussberg is situated on a passive continental margin and does not appear to be related to any other known area of Cainozoic volcanic activity.