Abstract
The Monteregian Hills and younger White Mountain alkaline intrusions were emplaced into the Cambro-Ordovician sediments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the folded and thrusted Lower Paleozoic sequence of the Appalachian orogen. Age relations indicate that there is a fine-scale structure to the igneous activity, with slightly undersaturated to critically saturated rocks emplaced between 141 and 128 Ma and strongly undersaturated rocks emplaced between 121 and 117 Ma. Sr and Pb isotopic data for the mantle-derived alkali picrite, alkali olivine basalt and basanite magmas, indicate derivation from a depleted mantle similar to that which produces present-day oceanic island basalts. For the most isotopically primitive samples, decay-corrected 87Sr 86Sr = 0.7030–0.7037 , 206Pb 204Pb = 19.05–19.72 , 207Pb 204Pb = 15.56–15.65 , and 208Pb 204Pb = 38.64–39.26 . On Pb-Sr isotope correlation diagrams the data define trends similar to those for MOR basalts, implying mantle heterogeneity which requires the presence of a component enriched in radiogenic Pb relative to Sr. The interaction of these isotopically primitive magmas with the crust can be defined in terms of a three component system: depleted mantle-Grenville age crust-Lower Paleozoic age crust. The granitic magmas were apparently derived from the Lower Paleozoic crust of the Appalachian orogen. For the mantle-derived magmas, Th/U ratios vary from 2.5 (estimated ratio for MORB source) to 5.1, with the mean value near that of the bulk earth. The variations in Th/U suggest mantle heterogeneity on a local scale, and the high Th/U of some samples suggests that the mantle was enriched in incompatible elements shortly before melting. The magmas derived by partial melting of the crust have Th/U of 3.3 to 8.7, and the higher ratios are associated with rocks crystallized from magmas that originated by melting of Lower Paleozoic sediments. The Sr and Pb isotopic data support the conclusion of Bell et al. (1982) that the subcontinental mantle under eastern Canada underwent a Precambrian depletion event. This depleted mantle apparently extends under the White Mountain province and is isotopically similar to the mantle which gives rise to oceanic island basalts. In contrast, Pb isotopic ratios for the New England Seamount chain (TARAS and HART, 1983), which apparently represents the oceanic extension of this magmatic activity, are significantly more radiogenic. It is possible that a mantle plume provided the heat energy, and perhaps metasomatic fluids, to trigger melting in the subcontinental mantle, whereas in the case of the oceanic extension the plume directly contributed to the observed magmatism, as reflected in the more radiogenic Pb ratios.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.