The Pan-African high-K calc-alkaline peraluminous Elat granite from southern Israel: geology, geochemistry and petrogenesis

Abstract

Calc-alkaline leucocratic granites that were emplaced at the late post-collision stage of the Pan-African orogeny are abundant in the northern half of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Commonly, they are referred to as the Younger Granite II suite. In southern Israel such rocks are known as Elat granite. Studies of these rocks enable to recognize two types of granites: coarse-grained, massive Elat granite (EG), and fine- to medium-grained Shahmon gneissic granite (SGG). Both granite types are high-K and peraluminous ( ASI ranges from 1.03 to 1.16). They are similar in modal composition, mineral and whole-rock chemistry. Within the EG, a noticeable distinction in whole-rock chemistry and mineral composition is observed between rocks making up different plutons. In particular, the granite of Wadi Shelomo, as compared to the Rehavam pluton, is enriched in SiO 2, FeO∗, K 2O, Ba, Zr, Th, LREE and impoverished in MgO, Na 2O, Sr, and HREE. The Eu/Eu∗ values in the granite are low, up to 0.44. Mass-balance calculations suggest that chemical and mineralogical variations were caused by fractionation of ∼16 wt.% plagioclase from the parental Rehavam granite magma at temperature of 760–800 °C (muscovite-biotite geothermometer). The Rb-Sr isochrons yielded a date of 623 ± 24 Ma for the EG, although high value of age-error does not allow to constrain time of emplacement properly. The Rb-Sr date for SGG is 640 ± 9 Ma; however, it is likely that this date points to the time of metamorphism. A survey of the literature shows that peraluminous, high-K granites, similar to the EG, are abundant among the Younger Granite II plutons in the Sinai Peninsula and Eastern Desert, Egypt. They were emplaced at the end of the batholithic (late post-collision) stage. The most appropriate model for the generation of the peraluminous granitic magma is partial melting of metapelite and metagreywacke.