Chilled Margins Research Articles

Early Mesozoic tectonic transition of the eastern South China Block: constraints from Late Triassic Dashuang complex in eastern Zhejiang Province

ABSTRACTThe Mesozoic tectonic transition from the Palaeo-Tethys tectonic regime to the Palaeo-Pacific tectonic regime in the eastern South China Block has long been debated. Geochemical and zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopic studies were conducted on the Dashuang complex in the eastern Zhejiang Province. The Dashuang complex consists mainly of quartz syenite in the northwestern part and quartz monzonite in the southeastern part. New laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb data show that the quartz syenite, the quartz monzonite, and its chilled margin (fine-grained granite) crystallized at 235 ± 4 Ma, 232 ± 3 Ma, and 230 ± 1 Ma, respectively. The Dashuang complex intrudes into the Chencai Group gneiss that postdated ~646 Ma and underwent anatexis at 443 ± 14 Ma. The quartz monzonite shows A-type granite affinity, characterized by high K2O + Na2O and Zr + Nb + Ce + Y, high FeOT/(MgO + FeOT) and Ga/Al ratios, an enrichment in light rare earth elements, and depletions in Ba, Sr, and Eu. The quartz monzonite has zircon εHf(t) values of −14.2 to –11.9 and two-stage model ages of 1788–1922 Ma. Zircon εHf(t) values of the chilled margin (fine-grained granite) and wall rock (gneiss) are scattered (−18.2 to –6.3 and −19.5 to 10.2). The corresponding two-stage model ages are 1482–2133 Ma and 1184–2471 Ma, respectively. The Dashuang complex was derived mainly from partial melting of Neoproterozoic clastic rocks in the Cathaysia Block. Geochemical data indicate that the quartz monzonite formed in a post-collision extensional environment. These results, considered with previous data, indicate that the transition from the Palaeo-Tethys to the Palaeo-Pacific tectonic regimes of the eastern South China Block occurred during the Late Triassic (225–215 Ma).

BLADE-SHAPED DIKES AND NICKEL SULFIDE DEPOSITS: A MODEL FOR THE EMPLACEMENT OF ORE-BEARING SMALL INTRUSIONS

Most of the world's major deposits of nickel and copper were formed as accumulations of magmatic sulfide liquid within small mafic-ultramafic intrusions. Ore-hosting intrusions exhibit a variety of forms but typically show greater horizontal than vertical extents, occurring as tube-shaped chonoliths, narrow elongate sills, boatshaped bodies, or sword blade-shaped dikes with originally horizontal principal axes. Sulfide accumulation at the downward termination of blade-shaped dikes is noted in a number of deposits worldwide. Based on evidence from continental dike swarms, Icelandic fissure eruptions, and active shield volcanoes, we suggest that these blade-shaped bodies formed by magma migration within vertical fractures that propagated laterally rather than vertically. Some examples, notably the bladed dikes of the South Raglan trend, have contact relationships indicating processes of active erosion, assimilation, and replacement of country rock. Where such dikes are injected into mixed volcanic-sedimentary sequences, thermal modeling of interaction with nonrefractory country rock predicts repeated formation and collapse of transient chilled margins against narrow zones of partially molten wall rock. Where the wall rock is sulfide-rich sediment, this generates a slurry of sulfide liquid, country-rock xenoliths, and chilled margin fragments that flows down the wall to accumulate at the bottom edge of the dike. This type of mixture is commonly seen as sulfide-matrix ore breccias in intrusion-hosted deposits. Widening of the conduit along zones of easily eroded country rock may result in a transition from a dike-like to a tubular chonolith geometry. Multiple magma pulses within the same magma conduit may give rise to complex superimpositions of ore zones, further complicated by formation of sulfide-silicate melting-infiltration fronts. Hence we argue that the bladed-dike geometry is an end-member type that commonly serves as a precursor form to a range of eventual geometric forms; recognition of this basic geometry provides general insights into the origins of other important deposits.

Occurrence of the Iron–rich Melt in the Heijianshan Iron Deposit, Eastern Tianshan, NW China: Insights into the Origin of Volcanic Rock–hosted Iron Deposits

AbstractLong‐standing controversy persists over the presence and role of iron–rich melts in the formation of volcanic rock‐hosted iron deposits. Conjugate iron–rich and silica–rich melt inclusions observed in thin‐sections are considered as direct evidence for the presence of iron‐rich melt, yet unequivocal outcrop‐scale evidence of iron‐rich melts are still lacking in volcanic rock‐hosted iron deposits. Submarine volcanic rock‐hosted iron deposits, which are mainly distributed in the western and eastern Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, are important resources of iron ores in China, but it remains unclear whether iron‐rich melts have played a role in the mineralization of such iron ores. In this study, we observed abundant iron‐rich agglomerates in the brecciated andesite lava of the Heijianshan submarine volcanic rock–hosted iron deposit, Eastern Tianshan, China. The iron‐rich agglomerates occur as irregular and angular masses filling fractures of the host brecciated andesite lava. They show concentric potassic alteration with silicification or epidotization rims, indicative of their formation after the wall rocks. The iron‐rich agglomerates have porphyritic and hyalopilitic textures, and locally display chilled margins in the contact zone with the host rocks. These features cannot be explained by hydrothermal replacement of wall rocks (brecciated andesite lava) which is free of vesicle and amygdale, rather they indicate direct crystallization of the iron‐rich agglomerates from iron‐rich melts. We propose that the iron‐rich agglomerates were formed by open‐space filling of volatile‐rich iron‐rich melt in fractures of the brecciated andesite lava. The iron‐rich agglomerates are compositionally similar to the wall‐rock brecciated andesite lava, but have much larger variation. Based on mineral assemblages, the iron‐rich agglomerates are subdivided into five types, i.e., albite‐magnetite type, albite‐K‐feldspar‐magnetite type, K‐feldspar–magnetite type, epidote‐magnetite type and quartz‐magnetite type, representing that products formed at different stages during the evolution of a magmatic‐hydrothermal system. The albite‐magnetite type represents the earliest crystallization product from a residual iron‐rich melt; the albite‐K‐feldspar‐magnetite and K‐feldspar‐magnetite types show features of magmatic‐hydrothermal transition, whereas the epidote‐magnetite and quartz‐magnetite types represent products of hydrothermal alteration. The occurrence of iron‐rich agglomerates provides macroscopic evidence for the presence of iron‐rich melts in the mineralization of the Heijianshan iron deposit. It also indicates that iron mineralization of submarine volcanic rock‐hosted iron deposits is genetically related to hydrothermal fluids derived from iron‐rich melts.

Microanalysis and genesis of Cu-Ag minerals in metadiabase dykes at the Jabal Zalm area, Saudi Arabia

Secondary Cu and Cu-Ag sulphides are reported from altered metadiabases in the vicinity of a Neoproterozoic ophiolitic mélange at the Zalm area in Saudi Arabia. The metadiabases occur in the form of NE-trending dykes forming resistant ridges with occasional chilled margins against a serpentinite host. Microscopic investigations revealed the occurrence of a peculiar assemblage of secondary Cu-bearing minerals down to the nanoscale. In most cases, secondary Cu and Cu-Ag sulphides formed at the expense of disseminated chalcopyrite (presumably argentian)± galena as the hypogene ore minerals. The most common textures are exclusively secondary and they are represented by “atoll” structure and rim replacement textures. The identification of ore minerals is based on combined ore microscopy and microchemistry of minerals. An assemblage of anilite-geerite-chalcocite intergrowth is recorded as the Cu sulphides, whereas mckinstryite (Ag1.18-1.19Cu0.80-0.81Fe0.01S) and stromeyerite (AgCu0.99Fe0.01S) are the extremely minute Cu-Ag sulphides that never exceed 5 μm in width. Ore fabrics and back-scattered electron (BSE) images clearly indicate that all phases of sulphides are secondary with some limited cationic substitution. Non-sulphides secondary Cu minerals are much more abundant and they are confined to rock fractures with visible hydrated Cu silicate (chrysocolla rimming hydrated Cu sulphate, as chalcanthite) that is either weakly crystalline or amorphous as indicated by the XRD data.Based on the chemical composition, ore textures and comparison with some world examples, it is believed that the Zalm Cu-Ag sulphides formed under oxidizing condition (pH = 5.8–7.2). As the temperature decreases, residual (stoichiometric) Ag2S is mobile in meteoric water. Precipitation of residual Ag continued down to 93.3 °C to form stromeyerite (i.e. late hydrothermal). During late stages of supergene alteration at the studied Zalm occurrence, loss of CO2 leads to the formation of Cu-bearing carbonates, sulphates and finally silicates at a very characteristic low S2 fugacity at shallow depths or at surface (i.e. supergene).

The Chelyabinsk meteorite: New insights from a comprehensive electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy study with evidence for graphite in olivine of ordinary chondrites

AbstractWe present results of petrographic, mineralogical, and chemical investigations of three Chelyabinsk meteorite fragments. Three distinct lithologies were identified: light S3 LL5, dark S4–S5 LL5 material, and opaque fine‐grained former impact melt. Olivine–spinel thermometry revealed an equilibration temperature of 703 ± 23 °C for the light lithology. All plagioclase seems to be secondary, showing neither shock‐induced fractures nor sulfide‐metal veinlets. Feldspathic glass can be observed showing features of extensive melting and, in the dark lithology, as maskelynite, lacking melt features and retaining grain boundaries of former plagioclase. Olivine of the dark lithology shows planar deformation features. Impact melt is dominated by Mg‐rich olivine and resembles whole‐rock melt. Melt veins (<2 mm) are connected to narrower veinlets. Melt vein textures are similar to pegmatite textures showing chilled margins, a zone of inward‐grown elongated crystals and central vugs, suggesting crystallization from supercooled melt. Sulfide‐metal droplets indicate liquid immiscibility of both silicate and sulfide as well as sulfide and metal melts. Impact melting may have been an important factor for differentiation of primitive planetary bodies. Graphite associated with micrometer‐sized melt inclusions in primary olivine was detected by Raman mapping. Carbon isotopic studies of graphite could be applied to test a possible presolar origin.

Marginal facies and compositional equivalents of Bushveld parental sills from the Molopo Farms Complex layered intrusion, Botswana: Petrogenetic and mineralization implications

The composition of magmas considered to be parental to layered ultramafic to mafic intrusions are commonly studied using rocks occurring along their marginal portion, in contact with the surrounding country rock. With a size, approximately 1/3rd of the ∼2.05 Ga Bushveld Complex layered intrusion, mafic to ultramafic rocks of the Molopo Farms Complex in Botswana are suggested to have formed from the same magma that formed the Bushveld rocks. Of the different drill cores available, the base of MF38 intersects the country rock. Two other drill cores, MF9 and MF11, were also logged for comparison. Drill core MF38 preserves remobilized country rock at the base, followed up by mafic (norite) to ultramafic (peridotite-pyroxenite) rocks. The norite is quench textured with elongate, skeletal, compositionally zoned orthopyroxene crystals, and contain phlogopite. Significantly, the orthopyroxene mineral chemical composition is similar to that reported for chill margin from the Bushveld Complex. Together with the remobilized country rock beneath, norite at the base of drill core MF38 is interpreted to represent a marginal facies unit. The whole-rock geochemical characteristics of the marginal facies norite are similar to those of chill margin and B1 compositions from the Bushveld Complex, arguing for it to represent the earliest known parental magma composition to the Molopo Farms Complex. A medium-grained phlogopite-bearing pyroxenite occurring higher up the stratigraphy in drill core MF38 is considered compositional equivalent to B1UM from the Bushveld Complex. Further, the whole-rock geochemical characteristics of gabbronorites from drill core MF9 are comparable to B3, considered parental to differentiated end members of the Bushveld Complex. No compositional equivalent to B2 from the Bushveld Complex was observed in the Molopo Farms Complex rocks. Considering the fact that the Molopo Farms Complex is less thick than the Bushveld Complex, and that it preserves mafic and ultramafic rocks showing similarity to the earliest magma (B1, B1UM and chill margins) as well as the most differentiated of the Bushveld magma (B3), it is argued that the Molopo Farms Complex evolved faster. Thus it likely did not form rocks of the Bushveld Complex, which hosts the chromite-bearing layers, known for PGE mineralization. Instead, it is argued that the Molopo Farms Complex is a better target for Cu-Ni sulphide mineralization. A possible sulphide genesis model is presented in relation to the prominent occurrence of magmatic pyrrhotite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite assemblage in the studied rocks, trace amounts of PGM associated with sulphides in the marginal facies norite, and the alteration features associated with sulphides.

Diffusion-driven magnesium and iron isotope fractionation at a gabbro-granite boundary

Significant magnesium and iron isotope fractionations were observed in an adjacent gabbro and granite profile from the Dabie Orogen, China. Chilled margin and granitic veins at the gabbro side and gabbro xenoliths in the granite indicate the two intrusions were emplaced simultaneously. The δ26Mg decreases from −0.28 ± 0.04‰ to −0.63 ± 0.08‰ and δ56Fe increases from −0.07 ± 0.03‰ to +0.25 ± 0.03‰ along a ∼16 cm traverse from the contact to the granite. Concentrations of major elements such as Al, Na, Ti and most trace elements also systematically change with distance to the contact. All the observations suggest that weathering, magma mixing, fluid exsolution, fractional crystallization and thermal diffusion are not the major processes responsible for the observed elemental and isotopic variations. Rather, the negatively correlated Mg and Fe isotopic compositions as well as co-variations of Mg and Fe isotopes with Mg# reflect Mg-Fe inter-diffusion driven isotope fractionation, with Mg diffusing from the chilled gabbro into the granitic melt and Fe oppositely. The diffusion modeling yields a characteristic diffusive transport distance of ∼6 cm. Consequently, the diffusion duration, during which the granite may have maintained a molten state, can be constrained to ∼2 My. The cooling rate of the granite is calculated to be 52–107 °C/My. Our study suggests diffusion profiles can be a powerful geospeedometry. The observed isotope fractionations also indicate that Mg-Fe inter-diffusion can produce large stable isotope fractionations at least on a decimeter scale, with implications for Mg and Fe isotope study of mantle xenoliths, mafic dikes, and inter-bedded lavas.

Geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic constraints on the petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the Proterozoic mafic magmatism of the Gwalior Basin, central India: the influence of Large Igneous Provinces on Proterozoic crustal evolution

Abstract Palaeoproterozoic mafic magma intruded the Gwalior Group of sediments in the form of gabbroic sills. Huge sills extending more than 120 m in depths are exposed in quarries. They are coarse to medium grained, massive and have chilled margins. They predominantly consist of plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene with accessory quartz, iron oxides and apatite. Ophitic to sub-ophitic, porphyritic and intergrowth textures are common. These are tholeiitic, sub-alkaline magma types which have been generated by varying degrees of partial melting and have experienced fractionation of dominantly pyroxene + olivine ± plagioclase. They are enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs), and exhibit negative Nb and P anomalies and positive Pb anomalies. A mineral–whole-rock Sm–Nd isochron corresponds to an age of 2104 ± 23 Ma with an initial 143 Nd/ 144 Nd = 0.509938 ± 0.000023 and ϵNd t = −0.9 ( t = 2000). Model ages (2.6–1.7 Ga) indicate that their mantle sources had a protracted evolution. Mantle source melting may have been triggered by mantle plume in an extensional intra-continental rift tectonic setting, facilitating emplacement of a Large Igneous Province (LIP) in the northern Indian Shield. Thus, Gwalior mafic magmatism represented by the studied sills is the manifestation of one such LIP in the northern Indian Shield. These magmatic activities are contemporaneous with the widespread mafic magmatic activities concomitant with the development of supra-crustal basins on Archaean cratons worldwide and the Indian Shield in particular, where upwelling plumes triggered large-scale crustal extension, breaking-up of supercontinents and emplacement of LIPs.

Mafic replenishment of multiple felsic reservoirs at the Mono domes and Mono Lake islands, California

The Mono Basin has been the site of frequent volcanic activity over the past 60,000 years, including the emplacement of the Mono domes and Mono Lake islands. The Mono Basin lavas are the youngest and most poorly understood products of the Long Valley Volcanic Field. We have undertaken a study of Mono Basin volcanism encompassing whole-rock major and trace element, Sr, Nd, Pb, and O isotopic, and electron microprobe glass, plagioclase, and amphibole analyses. Variations in major and trace elements suggest that fractional crystallization of feldspar (Sr, K2O), apatite (P2O5), titanomagnetite (V), zircon (Zr), and allanite (La, Ce) has influenced the evolution of the Mono Basin lavas. Field observations, petrography, and chemistry together demonstrate that injection of more mafic magma is a common process throughout the Mono Basin. Mafic enclaves of the Mono domes are stretched and rounded, with chilled margins between enclave and host rhyolite. Thin sections reveal millimeter-scale inclusions of rhyolite in the enclaves and vice versa along the host-enclave border. Paoha Island dacite has glass with 67–72 wt% SiO2 and contains microscopic clots of more mafic glasses, with SiO2 contents as low as 64 wt%. Isotopically, the June Lake and Black Point basalts and the Mono dome enclaves represent the least evolved material in the Long Valley Volcanic Field, with 87Sr/86Sri 0.5126. The silicic Mono Lake lavas and Mono dome rhyolites display a significant crustal component, with 87Sr/86Sri >0.7058 and 143Nd/144Nd 19 and δ18O >+6.5‰. The Mono Lake lavas generally are younger and less evolved than the Mono domes, with enrichment in trace elements including Ba and Sr accompanied by lower 143Nd/144Nd and higher 206Pb/204Pb. This implies that the Mono domes and the Mono Lake lavas are derived from different magma batches, if not from separate magma chambers. There is no systematic relationship between the degree of chemical evolution and the lava ages, indicating that several magma batches have been involved in the development of the Mono domes complex. Pronounced differences in trace element composition (Nb, Y) and isotopic values between the Negit Island and Paoha Island lavas indicate that they, too, are produced by the evolution of at least two different batches of intermediate-composition magma.

Magmatic microgranular enclaves of the northeast of Mato Grosso, Brazil, SE Amazonian Craton: Insights into the magmatism of the Uatumã Supergroup on the basis of field and petrological data

Felsic and mafic microgranular enclaves occurs hosted in Paleoproterozoic felsic volcanic and plutonic rocks of the Iriri Group and Rio Dourado Intrusive Suite that crop out in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso as part of the Uatumã Supergroup in the SE Amazonian Craton. The volcanic rocks consist of dacites, rhyolites and ignimbrites of the Iriri Group among which dacites yielded a crystallization age of 1895 ± 7 Ma. The granitoids are composed of syenogranites, and monzogranites along with subordinate granodiorites. The granite pluton of syenogranite composition belongs to the Rio Dourado Intrusive Suite and was previously dated at 1876 ± 39 Ma. Mafic enclaves show petrographic features that suggest magma mingling processes and may be classified as olivine-clinopyroxene gabbro, clinopyroxene-hornblende gabbro, biotite-clinopyroxene diorite, biotite-hornblende diorite, and biotite-quartz diorite. Geochemical patterns of dioritic enclaves fit with those of the mafic rocks of the Santa Inês Intrusive Suite and suggest that they are comagmatic. The felsic enclaves consist of quartz monzonites, monzogranites and quartz-rich granitoids, with geochemical patterns and ages compatible with those of the Iriri Group. U-Pb dating of a granodioritic enclave hosted by a syenogranite of the Rio Dourado Intrusive Suite yielded three distinct ages: a Paleoproterozoic magmatic age around 1.87 Ga; a Paleoproterozoic inherited age of 2001 ± 7 Ma; and Neoarchean inherited ages ranging from 2512 to 2767 Ma. The felsic enclaves may have been derived from crustal melts, and contain restitic zircon grains, or chilled margins with zircon removed from the wall rocks. The recognition of diverse geochemical patterns of felsic and mafic enclaves suggests that the study area can represent the top of a shallow complex magma chamber that experienced a number of different replenishment events from diverse sources. The mafic enclaves and their coeval enclosing volcanic rocks suggest that the Uatumã Supergroup felsic magmatism and the Santa Inês mafic magmatism could be contemporaneous. In confirming that, this assumption would allow us to recognize a bimodal character of the Uatumã magmatism in the study area as well as the important role that mantle melts played on its genesis.

Mimicking shear zones: An example from Wadi Filk, Jordan

Ductile shear zones can develop in at least two ways: (1) a nucleus can grow laterally by free propagation into undeformed host rock, like most faults or joints; (2) the zone may nucleate and grow on or in a planar discontinuity and mimick its orientation. Most small-scale ductile shear zones are mimicking zones, but large-scale ductile shear zones could be free-propagating. The Wadi Filk mylonite zone in Jordan is a two km long, ten meter wide mylonite zone flanked by ultramylonite zones, developed in undeformed Neoproterozoic porphyritic monzogranite. Since mineral and major element composition of mylonite and monzogranite are identical, the structure seems to have formed by free propagation. Only detailed observations of the microstructure and trace element chemistry of the mylonite indicate that it is mimicking a precursor rhyolitic dyke. The Wadi Filk mylonite zone shows that even km-scale ductile shear zones can be mimicking dykes. Fine-grained chilled margins of dykes can act as a nucleus of ultramylonite formation.

Platinum-group mineralization at the margin of the Skaergaard intrusion, East Greenland

Two occurrences of platinum-group elements (PGEs) along the northern margin of the Skaergaard intrusion include a sulfide-bearing gabbro with slightly less than 1 ppm PGE + Au and a clinopyroxene-actinolite-plagioclase-biotite-ilmenite schist with 16 vol% sulfide and 1.8 ppm PGE + Au. Both have assemblages of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite typical for orthomagmatic sulfides. Matching platinum-group mineral assemblages with sperrylite (PtAs2), kotulskite (Pd(Bi,Te)1–2), froodite (PdBi2), michenerite (PdBiTe), and electrum (Au,Ag) suggest a common origin. Petrological and geochemical similarities suggest that the occurrences are related to the Skaergaard intrusion. The Marginal Border Series locally displays Ni depletion consistent with sulfide fractionation, and the PGE fractionation trends of the occurrences are systematically enriched by 10–50 times over the chilled margin. The PGE can be explained by sulfide-silicate immiscibility in the Skaergaard magma with R factors of 110–220. Nickel depletion in olivine suggests that the process occurred within the host cumulate, and the low R factors require little sulfide mobility. The sulfide assemblages are different to the chalcopyrite-bornite-digenite assemblage found in the Skaergaard Layered Series and Platinova Reef. These differences can be explained by the early formation of sulfide melt, while magmatic differentiation or sulfur loss caused the unusual sulfide assemblage within the Layered Series. The PGEs indicate that the sulfides formed from the Skaergaard magma. The sulfides and PGEs could not have formed from the nearby Watkins Fjord wehrlite intrusion, which is nearly barren in sulfide. We suggest that silicate-sulfide immiscibility led to PGE concentration where the Skaergaard magma became contaminated with material from the Archean basement.

Anatomy of a frozen axial melt lens from a fast-spreading paleo-ridge (Wadi Gideah, Oman ophiolite)

At fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges, axial melt lenses (AMLs) sandwiched between the sheeted dyke section and the uppermost gabbros are assumed to be the major magma source of crust formation. Here, we present our results from a field study based on a single outcrop of a frozen AML in the Samail ophiolite in the Sultanate of Oman which presents a whole suite of different lithologies and complex cutting relationships: varitextured gabbro with relics of primitive poikilitic clinopyroxene is intruded by massive quartz diorites and tonalites bearing relics of assimilated sheeted dykes, which in turn are cut by trondhjemite dykes. The whole is cut by basaltic dykes with chilled margins. The geochemical evolutionary trend of the varitextured gabbros, including some of the quartz diorites and tonalites, can be best modelled by fractional crystallisation of an experimental MORB parental melt composition containing 0.4 to 0.8wt.% H2O. Patchy varitextured gabbros containing domains of primitive poikilitic clinopyroxene and evolved granular networks represent the record of in situ crystallisation. Some quartz diorites, often with xenoliths of sheeted dykes and exceptionally high Al2O3 contents, show a bulk trace element pattern more in accord with melts generated by experimental partial melting of dyke material. Highly evolved, crosscutting trondhjemite dykes show characteristic trace element patterns implying a formation by partial melting of sheeted dykes under lower water activity which is indicated by relatively low Al2O3 contents. The late basaltic dykes with chilled margins crosscutting all other lithologies show a relatively depleted geochemical character with pronounced negative Nb-Ta anomalies implying a genetic relationship to the second phase of magmatic Oman paleo-ridge activity (V2). The field relationships in combination with the petrological/geochemical trends reveal multiple sequences of MORB-type magma cooling (resulting in fractional crystallisation) and re-heating (producing partial melting) during the formation of this special horizon; these are best explained by alternating cycles of vertical AML migration. Since the investigated outcrop shows many characteristic lithological and petrographic features that are well-known from the uppermost gabbros drilled at Site 1256 by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) in the equatorial Eastern Pacific, our results based on 3-D observation in the field help to elucidate the geological observations obtained from the 1-D drill core.

Computation of Parent Magma Compositions of a Layered Gabbro Suite around Kuliana, Orissa, Eastern India: Implications for Magmatic Evolution and Paleotectonic Setting

A layered gabbro suite was emplaced around Kuliana (lat 22°3ʹN and long 86°38ʹE), Orissa, eastern India, within deformed metasedimentary rocks of the north Singhbhum mobile belt. This magmatic suite does not have any exposures of feeder dikes, chilled margins, or other evidence for an intrusive character. Because the cumulate layers do not provide information about the parent magma of this suite, the equilibrium distribution method has been utilized in this study to estimate trace element concentrations of melts in equilibrium with the cumulate solid products. The mineralogical and chemical evolution of the layered suite has been carried out on the basis of both calculated parent magmas and chemical data of cumulate layers. The magmatic differentiation of the layered suite was guided by fractional crystallization and punctuated by an event of magma chamber replenishment. The calculated parent melts exhibit enriched light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements, marked depletion of Ti and Y, and successive total rare earth element depletion through progressive differentiation. Plotting several immobile trace element diagrams—Nb/Yb versus Th/Yb, La/Nb versus Th/Nb, Nb/La versus Ba/La, and Zr versus Zr/Y—reveals their chemical affinity to enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt–like magmas. The La versus La/Sm plot of mantle sources affected by partial melting shows a relatively low degree (8%–30%) of melting and indicates a deeper (garnet facies) mantle as the possible source region of the parent magmas of the Kuliana layered mafic suite.

Nature of three Proterozoic (1680 Ma, 1230 Ma and 775 Ma) mafic dyke swarms in North China: Implications for tectonic evolution and paleogeographic reconstruction

Three Proterozoic mafic dyke swarms are identified in the periphery of the Yan-Liao rift in eastern Hebei Province, and all these dykes intruded the Archean basement with clear chilled margins. Precise U–Pb SIMS analysis yields 207Pb/206Pb average ages of 1677±12Ma (baddeleyite), 1236±7Ma (baddeleyite), and 775±5Ma (zircon) for the representatives, which all exhibit ages of crystallization. These dykes are referred to as Tujiagou (∼1680Ma; NW trending, >20m wide for each), Maojiagou (∼1230Ma; 0°–10° trending, around 40m wide), and Dingjiagou (∼775Ma; 30°–70° trending, 12–20m wide) dyke swarms, respectively.All these dykes are diabase, showing ophitic texture and mineral assemblages that are mainly composed of plagioclase and clinopyroxene, and underwent various degrees of epidotization, chloritization, and uralitization. They are tholeiitic (for the 1680Ma and 775Ma dykes) and alkaline (for the 1230Ma dykes) in composition, with different degrees of fractionation and indistinctive crustal contamination. The Tujiagou dykes (1680Ma) have low Mg# (44–49) and show negative Sr− anomalies and minor negative Eu− anomalies (Eu/Eu∗=0.91–0.96), which indicate clinopyroxene- and plagioclase-dominated fractionation. They exhibit (La/Yb)N of 5.3–7.7 and are depleted in some HFSEs, such as Zr and Hf. The Maojiagou dykes (1230Ma) present relatively high Mg# values with the fractionation of clinopyroxene. The dykes exhibit light REE enrichment ((La/Yb)N=6.48–12.8) and slight or no depletion in HFSEs. Both the 1680Ma and 1230Ma dykes exhibit similar εNd(t) values (−1.9 to 1.3), indicating similarly depleted mantle sources. The Dingjiagou dykes (775Ma) show negative Eu− anomalies (0.88–1.07) and negative Ce− anomalies with medium light REE enrichment ((La/Yb)N=2.3–4.12). They are depleted in HFSEs such as Nb, Ta, Zr, etc. and have enriched εNd(t) values (−7.2 to −5.1). The Mg# values are 47–60. The 775Ma dykes could be from the metasomatized sub-continental lithospheric mantle and have experienced plagioclase-dominated fractionation.The 1680Ma Tujiagou dykes are coeval and chemically similar to and could be equivalents of the Laiwu dykes in Luxi. The 1230Ma Maojiagou dykes are similar to some other 1230–1210Ma mafic dykes/intrusions in this craton. The 775Ma Dingjiagou dykes are newly reported. These dyke swarms developed in an area adjacent to the Yan-Liao rift, and could represent a stepwise rifting in the northern parts of the craton. In a global scale, these dyke swarms could be potential geological records that were dismembered during the breakup of supercontinents and are markers to paleogeographic reconstruction. Specifically, the 1230Ma dykes, which are comparable with the synchronous Sudbury dykes in Laurentia, could be parts of a large igneous province. The North China Craton separated from the Laurentia only until approximately 775Ma. However, this hypothesis must be confirmed further, particularly in paleomagnetic studies.

Petrology and geochemistry of the Juzzak Sill, western Chagai arc (Pakistan): implications for petrogenesis and emplacement

The Juzzak Sill occurs in the western part of the east-west trending, subduction-related magmatic belt known as the Chagai arc. The sill is concordantly emplaced in the Paleocene Juzzak Formation and locally cross-cuts the Early to Middle Eocene Robat Limestone and Eocene Saindak Formation. The sill is a porphyritic pyroxene diorite that grades into a porphyritic andesite (60.12–61.57 wt% SiO2) along the chilled margins. It comprises phenocrysts of hypersthene and plagioclase (An32–45) in a medium- to fine-grained groundmass of these minerals, opaque oxide, and apatite. The rocks are high-K (2.37–2.86 wt% K2O) calc-alkaline with low Mg# (42–55), Cr (51–80 ppm), and Ni (22–30 ppm) contents. Mantle-normalized trace element patterns, exhibited by marked negative Nb anomalies and positive spikes for Sr, Rb, and Zr and are akin to island arc signatures. The relatively higher ratios of Zr/Y (3.57–6.58), Ti/V (46.05–54.36), Ta/Yb (0.14–0.15), and Th/Yb (2.56–2.65) and high 87Sr/86Sr ratio (0.70524) suggest the role of continental crust materials, thus implying continental margin-type arc affinity. The source diagnostic ratios including K/Ba, P/Zr, and La/Ce of Juzzak Sill andesite and Eocene andesite from the Chagai arc are more or less similar, but the former has a much higher K/Y and Ba/Y ratios, which suggests assimilations of the host sediments during intrusion.

Late Neoproterozoic layered mafic intrusion of arc-affinity in the Arabian-Nubian Shield: A case study from the Shahira layered mafic intrusion, southern Sinai, Egypt

The Shahira Layered Mafic Intrusion (SLMI), which belongs to the late Neoproterozoic plutonic rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, is the largest layered mafic intrusion in southern Sinai. Field relations indicate that it is younger than the surrounding metamorphic rocks and older han the post-orogenic granites. Based on variation in mineral paragenesis and chemical composition, the SLMI is distinguished into pyroxene-hornblende gabbro, hornblende gabbro and diorite lithologies. The outer zone of the mafic intrusion is characterized by fine-grained rocks (chilled margin gabbroic facies), with typical subophitic and/or microgranular textures. ifferent rock units from the mafic intrusion show gradational boundaries in between. They show some indications of low grade metamorphism, where primary minerals are transformed into secondary ones. Geochemically, the Shahira layered mafic intrusion is characterized by enrichment in LILE relative to HFSE ( e.g. Nb, P, Zr, Ti, Y), and LREE relative to HREE [(La/Lu)n= 4.75–8.58], with subalkaline characters. It has geochemical characteristics of pre-collisional arc-type environment. The geochemical signature of the investigated gabbros indicates partial melting of mantle wedge in a volcanic-arc setting, being followed by fractional crystallization and crustal contamination. Fractional crystallization processes played a vital role during emplacement of the Shahira intrusion and evolution of its mafic and intermediate rock units. The initial magma was evolved through crystallization of ornblende which was caused by slight increasing of H2O in the magma after crystallization of iquidus olivine, pyroxene and Ca-rich plagioclase. The gabbroic rocks crystallized at pressures between 4.5 and 6.9kbar (~15–20km depth). Whereas, the diorites yielded the lowest crystallization pressure between 1.0 to 4.4Kbar (<10km depth). Temperature was estimated by several eothermometers, which yielded crystallization temperatures ranging from 835o to 958oC for the gabbros, and from 665o to 862oC for the diorites. Field, petrological, geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of the SLMI are akin to the Egyptian layered mafic-ultramafic ntrusions of volcanic-arc setting, not ophiolitic rocks.

A chilled margin of komatiite and Mg-rich basaltic andesite in the western Bushveld Complex, South Africa

A chill sequence at the base of the Lower Zone of the western Bushveld Complex at Union Section, South Africa, contains aphanitic Mg-rich basaltic andesite and spinifex-textured komatiite. The basaltic andesite has an average composition of 15.2 % MgO, 52.8 % SiO2, 1205 ppm Cr, and 361 ppm Ni, whereas the komatiite has 18.7 % MgO, 1515 ppm Cr, and 410 ppm Ni. Both rock types have very low concentrations of immobile incompatible elements (0.14–0.72 ppm Nb, 7–31 ppm Zr, 0.34–0.69 ppm Th, 0.23–0.27 wt% TiO2), but high PGE contents (19–23 ppb Pt, 15–16 ppb Pd) and Pt/Pd ratios (Pt/Pd 1.4). Strontium and S isotopes show enriched signatures relative to most other Lower Zone rocks. The rocks could represent a ~20 % partial melt of subcontinental lithospheric mantle. This would match the PGE content of the rocks. However, this model is inconsistent with the high SiO2, Fe, and Na2O contents and, in particular, the low K2O, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, Th, LREE, Rb, and Ba contents of the rocks. Alternatively, the chills could represent a komatiitic magma derived from the asthenosphere that underwent assimilation of the quartzitic floor accompanied by crystallization of olivine and chromite. This model is consistent with the lithophile elements and the elevated Sr and S isotopic signatures of the rocks. However, in order to account for the high Pt and Pd contents of the magma, the mantle must have been twice as rich in PGE as the current estimate for PUM, possibly due to a component of incompletely equilibrated late veneer.

Subaqueous cryptodome eruption, hydrothermal activity and related seafloor morphologies on the andesitic North Su volcano

North Su is a double-peaked active andesite submarine volcano located in the eastern Manus Basin of the Bismarck Sea that reaches a depth of 1154m. It hosts a vigorous and varied hydrothermal system with black and white smoker vents along with several areas of diffuse venting and deposits of native sulfur. Geologic mapping based on ROV observations from 2006 and 2011 combined with morphologic features identified from repeated bathymetric surveys in 2002 and 2011 documents the emplacement of a volcanic cryptodome between 2006 and 2011. We use our observations and rock analyses to interpret an eruption scenario where highly viscous, crystal-rich andesitic magma erupted slowly into the water-saturated, gravel-dominated slope of North Su. An intense fragmentation process produced abundant blocky clasts of a heterogeneous magma (olivine crystals within a rhyolitic groundmass) that only rarely breached through the clastic cover onto the seafloor. Phreatic and phreatomagmatic explosions beneath the seafloor cause mixing of juvenile and pre-existing lithic clasts and produce a volcaniclastic deposit. This volcaniclastic deposit consists of blocky, non-altered clasts next, variably (1–100%) altered clasts, hydrothermal precipitates and crystal fragments. The usually applied parameters to identify juvenile subaqueous lava fragments, i.e. fluidal shape or chilled margin, were not applicable to distinguish between pre-existing non-altered clasts and juvenile clasts. This deposit is updomed during further injection of magma and mechanical disruption. Gas-propelled turbulent clast-recycling causes clasts to develop variably rounded shapes. An abundance of blocky clasts and the lack of clasts typical for the contact of liquid lava with water is interpreted to be the result of a cooled, high-viscosity, crystal-rich magma that failed as a brittle solid upon stress. The high viscosity allows the lava to form blocky and short lobes. The pervasive volcaniclastic cover on North Su is partly cemented by hydrothermal precipitates. These hydrothermally-cemented breccias, crusts and single pillars show that hydrothermal circulation through a thick layer of volcaniclastic deposits can temporarily increase slope stability through precipitation and cementation.

Mafic replenishments into floored silicic magma chambers

Commingling between contemporaneous mafic and felsic magmas is now widely recognized in a broad range of intrusions and intrusive complexes. These interactions are important features for two main of reasons: (1) the rapidly chilled margins of mafic magma against silicic magma commonly preserve the compositions of mafic liquids, and (2) because the mafic magma solidifies rapidly, the resulting (final) configurations of mafic and felsic magmas can provide insights into physical processes and changing viscosity contrasts and rheologies of magmas and felsic crystal mush during crystallization of the mafic magma. Mingling of contrasted magmas was first recognized in the 1950s. Wider recognition of interactions between mafic and silicic liquids led to concepts of “net-veining” in the 1960s, “intramagmatic flows” (chilled basaltic layers separated by felsic cumulates) in the 1970s, and in the 1990s to “mafic-silicic layered intrusions” (MASLI), which could be as much as a few kilometers thick and more than 100 km2 in area. It was quickly appreciated that these MASLI preserved stratigraphic records of mafic replenishments into silicic magma chambers floored by felsic crystal mush. Volcanic studies had anticipated the occurrence of this last type of intrusion on the grounds that extensive ponding of basaltic magmas beneath silicic chambers was seen to be essential to keep large silicic systems like Yellowstone active for millions of years. This paper looks at the history of changing perceptions and interpretations of magma mingling and whether or not “sill complexes” are distinct from mafic-silicic layered intrusions. The stratigraphy of mafic-silicic layered intrusions records changing magmatic compositions, events, and processes in a temporal framework comparable to that provided by coeval volcanic rocks. As a result, careful study of MASLI has great potential for linking plutonic and volcanic processes and events.