Volcanoplutonic association of the early-stage evolution of the Imandra-Varzuga rift zone, Kola Peninsula, Russia: Geological, petrogeochemical, and isotope-geochronological data

Abstract

The western flank of the Paleoproterozoic Imandra-Varzuga rift zone consists of three volcanogenic-sedimentary series and layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions of different age (2.50–2.45 Ga). The earliest Monchegorsk and Monche Tundra layered massifs were formed about 2.50 Ga during the prerift stage of the evolution of the Imandra-Varzuga zone. The early rift stage (∼2.45 Ga) produced layered intrusions of the Imandra complex and volcanic rocks of the Strelna Group, consisting of the Kuksha and Seidorechka formations. In terms of chemical composition, the volcanic rocks of the Seidorechka Formation belong to a single basalt-rhyolite series, mostly of normal alkalinity and both tholeiitic and calc-alkaline affinity. The rocks of the Imandra Complex are characterized by moderate LREE enrichment, relatively flat HREE patterns, and a positive Eu anomaly. Similar REE distribution patterns were observed in the volcanic rocks of the Seidorechka Formation, which show a gradual increase in REE content with increasing SiO2. The upper part of the Seidorechka Formation in the southern Khibiny region is composed of metarhyodacites. They terminate the sequence of the Strelna Group and have a U-Pb zircon age of 2448 ± 8 Ma. This age presumably reflects the upper age boundary of the rocks of the Seidorechka Formation and the end of the early stage of the evolution of the Imandra-Varzuga zone. Xenogenic zircon from the same sample yielded a U-Pb zircon age of 2715 ± 42 Ma. A U-Pb age of 2202 ± 17 Ma was obtained for titanite and rutile and interpreted as the metamorphic age of the Seidorechka Formation. The metavolcanic rocks of the Seidorechka Formation have negative ɛNd (T) varying from −2.84 to −2.32, and ISr values of 0.7041–0.7038, which are higher than those of the depleted mantle and suggest their derivation from an enriched mantle reservoir (EM1). The spatial association of the volcanic rocks of the Seidorechka Formation and the rocks of the Imandra Complex, similarity in the behavior of most major elements, similar REE distribution patterns, and close formation ages and isotope signatures give grounds to combine them in a single volcanoplutonic association.