The geochemistry of the potassium-rich Permian volcanic rocks of Devonshire, England

Abstract

This paper re-defines the Permian volcanics of Devonshire as belonging to the high-potassium shoshonitic suite of rocks commonly associated with a late or post-orogenic tectonic setting. Factor analysis is used to classify the rocks into four well defined groups based upon major and extensive trace element data. They are interpreted on an Andean-type plate collision model as being derived from a subduction zone at a depth of some 300 km beneath Hercynian Europe.