PETROGRAPHY AND RADIOACTIVITY OF FOUR PALEOZOIC MAGMA SERIES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Abstract

The Ordovician (?), Silurian, and Devonian strata of New Hampshire are intruded by igneous rocks belonging to four magma series, the oldest of which is late Ordovician (?), the youngest of which is Mississippian (?). Each magma series consists of rocks ranging from gabbro, diorite, or quartz diorite to granite. Although individual specimens from a rock type within a single magma series commonly show considerable range in radioactivity, the average values show a progressive increase in radioactivity toward the granitic end of the series, which is three to four times as radioactive as the gabbro-diorite end of the series. The reason for this increase toward the granitic end of the series is not always clear, but in the White Mountain magma series this appears to be due to an increase in the amount of allanite and probably zircon. This magma series is twice as radioactive as the other magma series and considerably more radioactive than similar rocks elsewhere in North America. It is suggested that the parental basaltic magma from which the White Mountain magma series was differentiated was more radioactive than the primary magmas from which the older magma series were derived.