Microgranular enclaves as evidence of rapid cooling in granitoid rocks: the case of the Los Pedroches granodiorite, Iberian Massif, Spain

Abstract

Microgranular enclaves from the Los Pedroches granodiorite (LPG) (Los Pedroches Batholith, Iberian Massif, Spain) have Sr-Nd isotopic and mineral chemical compositions close to those of their host. This similarity is not related to restite unmixing, as indicated by the igneous textures of the enclaves. A number of other geological and geochemical lines of evidence, including the high REE and HFSE contents of the microgranular enclaves relative to the host granitoid, strongly suggest that this similarity cannot be explained by magma mixing. Alternatively, a crystallization process by rapid cooling within the host granitoid magma could explain the geochemical and textural characteristics of the microgranular enclaves, including shape, grain size, mineralogy, texture, chemistry and Sr-Nd isotopic composition. Such a crystallization occurred at the walls of the magma conduits through which the granitic magmas were emplaced in the upper crust. This process should be considered as an alternative hypothesis to magma mixing for the generation of some microgranular enclaves, especially where no direct evidence exists for the presence of basic magmas coeval with granitoids, and where there is a lack of isotopic contrast between hosts and enclaves. As the process is favoured by feeder-dyke related emplacement, we suggest that abundance of microgranular enclaves can be related to the mechanism of emplacement of granitoid bodies.