Petrological and tectono-magmatic significance of ophiolitic basalts from the Elba Island within the Alpine Corsica-Northern Apennine system

Abstract

Two distinct ophiolitic units, which represent remnants of the Jurassic Ligurian-Piedmont Ocean, crop out in the Elba Island. They are the Monte Strega unit in central-eastern Elba and the Punta Polveraia-Fetovaia unit in western Elba. Ophiolitic rocks from the Monte Strega unit are commonly affected by ocean floor metamorphism, whereas those from the Punta Polveraia-Fetovaia unit are affected to various extent by thermal metamorphism associated with the Late Miocene Monte Capanne monzogranitic intrusion. Both ophiolitic units include pillow lavas and dykes with compositions ranging from basalt to basaltic andesite, Fe-basalt, and Fe-basaltic andesite. Basaltic rocks from these distinct ophiolitic units show no chemical differences, apart those due to fractional crystallization processes. They display a clear tholeiitic nature with low Nb/Y ratios and relatively high TiO2, P2O5, Zr, and Y contents. They generally display flat N-MORB normalized high field strength element patterns, which are similar to those of N-MORB. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns show light REE / middle REE (LREE/MREE) depletion and marked heavy (H-) REE fractionation with respect to MREE. This HREE/MREE depletion indicates a garnet signature of their mantle sources. Accordingly, they can be classified as garnet-influenced MORB (G-MORB), based on Th, Nb, Ce, Dy, and Yb systematics. We suggest that the Elba Island ophiolitic basalts were generated at a magma starved, slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge. REE, Th, and Nb partial melting modelling shows that the compositions of the relatively primitive Elba Island ophiolitic basalts are compatible with partial melting of a depleted MORB mantle (DMM) source bearing garnet-pyroxenite relics. Hygromagmatophile element ratios suggest that basalts from both ophiolitic units were originated from chemically very similar mantle sources. A comparison with basalts and metabasalts from Alpine Corsica and northern Apennine ophiolitic units shows that the composition of the inferred mantle source for the Elba Island basalts is similar to that of some Lower Schistes Lustres metabasalts of Alpine Corsica ophiolites, and some basalts from the Internal Ligurian units of northern Apennine. In contrast, it slightly differs from those of other ophiolitic units of Alpine Corsica and northern Apennine. The chemical differences observed between basalts and metabasalts from different Ligurian-Piedmont ophiolitic units were likely associated with different partial melting degrees of either DMM source or garnet-pyroxenite relics and/or different mixing proportions of melts derived from them, as well as to different compositions of garnet-pyroxenite relics.