Devonian Basalts Research Articles

Mid-Paleozoic ridge subduction in the Central Beishan of the southern Altaids: evidence from geochemical, Sr–Nd and zircon U–Pb–Hf–O isotopic data of Gongpoquan volcanic rocks

The investigation of Mid-Paleozoic tectonics could constrain the relations of early and late Paleozoic subduction events in the southern Altaids and improve our understanding of the architecture of accretionary orogens. The Gongpoquan volcanic rocks are widespread in the Central Beishan and contain important information on the tectonics of the southern Altaids. Geochronological data constrain the eruptive time of the Gongpoquan volcanic rocks as early Silurian–early Devonian (434–411 Ma). The Gongpoquan andesites show similar geochemical characteristics to those of typical sanukitoids, including high MgO and compatible element concentrations, enrichments in large ion lithophile elements and light rare earth elements, and depleted isotopic compositions. The geochemical data show that the Gongpoquan andesites were generated through the partial melting of subducting sediments and subsequent melt–mantle peridotite interactions. The early Silurian basalts are Na-rich and exhibit high Nb/U and Nb/La ratios, an enrichment in high field strength elements and enriched isotopic compositions, making them akin to Nb-enriched basalts. Such Nb-enriched basalts should be derived from the melting of a mantle component similar to ocean island basalt in the mantle wedge. The early Devonian basalts are calc-alkaline, enriched in large ion lithophile elements and depleted in high field strength elements. They yield high Ba/Yb ratios and depleted isotopic compositions, indicating an origin via the partial melting of a depleted mantle wedge metasomatized by subduction-related fluids. Our data prove that the Paleo-Asian Ocean may still have been subducted during the Mid-Paleozoic. During this process, a spreading ridge was subducted beneath the Central Beishan, resulting in the opening of a slab window, which generated the observed 431–411 Ma sanukitoids and Nb-enriched basalts. Supplementary Material: Analytical methods, U–Pb geochronological data, zircon Lu–Hf-O isotopic compositions, whole-rock major and trace element data, detailed descriptions of the zircon U–Pb geochronology and Hf–O isotopic compositions for analysed samples, representative field photographs and photomicrographs of samples, and representative cathodoluminescence images of analysed zircon grains are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4461062

Late Ordovician volcanism of the northern part of Altai-Sayan area and its geodynamic nature

The results of geological-geochemical studies of some Late Ordovician associations in the frame of the Minusinsk Trough with available geological and U-Pb, Rb-Sr, and K-Ar age dates are presented. The Late Ordovician volcanic rocks form a continuous igneous series, the basalts of which are different from Devonian basalts of the Minusinsk Trough in the lower TiO2 content (≥1.7 wt %) and more fractionated REE pattern. These features should be considered the index characteristics of Late Ordovician rocks. Their compositions reflect processes of fractionation crystallization and mixing of trachibasaltic magmas with crustal melts. When taking into account the regional geological data, it is shown that magmatic activity at the Late Ordovician endogenic evolution stage in the northern part of the Altai-Sayan fold area was caused by the interaction of a mantle plume and the lithospheric mantle, which was metasomatically reworked and enriched in water during former subduction processes.

Late Ordovician Volcanism of the Northern Part of Altai–Sayan Area and Its Geodynamic Nature

The results of geological–geochemical studies of some Late Ordovician associations in the frame of the Minusinsk Trough with available geological and U–Pb, Rb–Sr, and K–Ar age dates are presented. The Late Ordovician volcanic rocks form a continuous igneous series, the basalts of which are different from Devonian basalts of the Minusinsk Trough in the lower TiO2 content (≥ 1.7 wt %) and more fractionated REE pattern. These features should be considered the index characteristics of Late Ordovician rocks. Their compositions reflect processes of fractionation crystallization and mixing of trachibasaltic magmas with crustal melts. When taking into account the regional geological data, it is shown that magmatic activity at the Late Ordovician endogenic evolution stage in the northern part of the Altai–Sayan fold area was caused by the interaction of a mantle plume and the lithospheric mantle, which was metasomatically reworked and enriched in water during former subduction processes.

Devonian volcanic rocks of the southern Chinese Altai, NW China: Petrogenesis and implication for a propagating slab-window magmatism induced by ridge subduction during accretionary orogenesis

Ridge–trench interaction is a common tectonic process of the present-day Pacific Rim accretionary orogenic belts, and this process may facilitate “slab-window” magmatism that can produce significant thermal anomalies and geochemically unusual magmatic events. However, ridge-trench interaction has rarely been well-documented in the ancient geologic record, leading to grossly underestimation of this process in tectonic syntheses of plate margins. The Chinese Altai was inferred to have undergone ridge subduction in the Devonian and a slab-window model is proposed to interpret its high-temperature metamorphism and geochemically unique magmatic rocks, which can serve as an excellent and unique place to refine the tectonic evolution associated with ridge subduction in an ancient accretionary orogeny. For this purpose, we carried out geochemical and geochronological studies on Devonian basaltic rocks in this region. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) zircon U-Pb dating results yield an age of 376.2 ± 2.4 Ma, suggesting an eruption at the time of Late Devonian. Geochemically, the samples in this study have variable SiO2 (43.3–58.3 wt%), low K2O (0.02–0.07 wt%) and total alkaline contents (2.16–5.41 wt%), as well as Fe2O3T/MgO ratios, showing typical tholeiitic affinity. On the other hand, the basaltic rocks display MORB-like REE patterns ((La/Yb)N = 0.90–2.57) and (Ga/Yb)N = 0.97–1.28), and have moderate positive εNd(t) values (+4.4 to +5.4), which collectively suggest a derivation from a mixing source comprising MORB-like mantle of a mature back-arc basin and subordinate arc mantle wedge. These basaltic rocks are characterized by Low La/Yb (1.26–3.69), Dy/Yb (1.51–1.77) and Sm/Yb (0.83–1.32) ratios, consistent with magmas derived from low degree (∼10%) partial melting of the spinel lherzolite source at a quite shallow mantle depth. Considering the distinctive petrogenesis of the basaltic rocks in this region, the Late Devonian basalts in the southern Chinese Altai is suggested to have witnessed the propagating process of slab-window magmatism that was induced by ridge subduction in a nascent rifting stage of a back-arc basin.

Low temperature magnetic properties of basalts containing near ~TM30 titanomagnetite

The paper is devoted to studying the mineral composition and magnetic properties, mainly at the cryogenic temperatures, of the Middle–Late Devonian basalts from North Timan. The magnetic minerals in these basalts are dominated by intermediate-composition titanomagnetites (TM25–TM30) which demonstrate unusual magnetic properties in a wide temperature range. At room temperature, a low coercive force coexists with relatively high Mrs/Ms ratios. At cryogenic temperatures, the dependences of magnetic susceptibility on the temperature and frequency of the applied field are characteristic of this titanomagnetite composition, whereas the remanent saturation magnetization acquired at 2 K is destroyed at significantly lower temperatures compared to the synthetic analogs. The obtained results again highlight the necessity of studying the low-temperature properties of titanomagnetite samples with a controlled composition and grain size.

Devonian magmatism in the Timan Range, Arctic Russia — subduction, post-orogenic extension, or rifting?

Devonian mafic magmatism of the northern East European Craton (EEC) has been variously linked to Uralian subduction, post-orogenic extension associated with Caledonian collision, and rifting. New elemental and isotopic analyses of Devonian basalts from the Timan Range and Kanin Peninsula, Russia, in the northern EEC constrain magma genesis, mantle source(s) and the tectonic process(es) associated with this Devonian volcanism to a rift-related context. Two compositional groups of low-K2O tholeiitic basalts are recognized. On the basis of Th concentrations, LREE concentrations, and (LREE/HREE)N, the data suggest two distinct magma batches. Incompatible trace elements ratios (e.g., Th/Yb, Nb/Th, Nb/La) together with Nd and Pb isotopes indicate involvement of an NMORB to EMORB ‘transitional’ mantle component mixed with variable amounts of a continental component. The magmas were derived from a source that developed high (U,Th)/Pb, U/Th and Sm/Nd over time. The geochemistry of Timan–Kanin basalts supports the hypothesis that the genesis of Devonian basaltic magmatism in the region resulted from local melting of transitional mantle and lower crust during rifting of a mainly non-volcanic continental rifted margin.

A Devonian >2000-km-long dolerite dyke swarm-belt and associated basalts along the Urals-Novozemelian fold-belt: part of an East-European (Baltica) LIP tracing the Tuzo Superswell

Two dolerite dyke swarms are recognized along and paralleling the Ural Mountains, Russia. The Uralian swarm is 1400-km long (2300-km long if traced from its inferred plume centre). Further north, the Pay-Khoy swarm can be traced through the Pay-Khoy–Novaya Zemlya fold belt for a distance of c. 250 km (800-km long if traced from its inferred plume centre). An Upper Devonian age for volcanism associated with the Pay-Khoy swarm is well constrained by isotopic data. A Devonian age for the Uralian swarm was until now supported mainly by broad geological field relationships between the dykes and host rocks, i.e. dykes locally cut Proterozoic, Ordovician to Devonian sedimentary rocks, but never Carboniferous sequences. Rare isotopic age determinations also support an Upper Devonian age for the weakly altered dykes. Herein, a new precise U–Pb baddeleyite age determination of 377.2 ± 0.9 Ma is reported from a large (>50-m wide) gabbro–dolerite dyke cutting the uppermost Proterozoic in the Middle Urals. This result confirms a predicted Upper Devonian age for the dyke and gives additional support to the Devonian age of the Uralian swarm. Given this precise U–Pb age, the Uralian swarm is correlated with the Pay-Khoy swarm, Devonian basalts which are widely distributed across the East European (Baltica) Craton, as well as alkaline magmatic rocks and kimberlites of more restricted distribution. Collectively, this Devonian magmatism can be combined into a Kola–Dnieper Large Igneous Province (LIP) with two proposed mantle plume centres: (1) a southern centre at the intersection of the Dnieper-Donets aulacogen and Uralian swarm and (2) a northern centre in the Barents Sea, at the convergence between the Pay-Khoy dyke swarm and an unnamed swarm extending from the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula, as well as converging rift/graben zones. Furthermore, this Kola–Dnieper LIP of the East European (Baltica) Craton, with its two plume centres, is approximately coeval with the Yakutsk–Vilyui LIP and its plume centre on the eastern side of the Siberian Craton. These two LIPs were in close proximity at that time and their three plumes may represent a superplume derived from an active part of a single deep mantle LLSVP (Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Province), the so-called Tuzo superswell.

Late Devonian palaeomagnetism of the North Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan: can secular variation vary on a short timescale?

We studied more than 80 lava flows from a ∼600-m-thick pile of Upper Devonian (Frasnian) basalts and andesites of the Aral Formation in the North Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia). With the aid of stepwise thermal demagnetization, a high-temperature, dual-polarity component was reliably isolated from most flows. The primary origin of the high-temperature component is demonstrated by positive reversal, conglomerate and fold tests. The most prominent and intriguing feature of this Late Devonian data set involves a clear distinction in angular dispersion between the lower and upper parts of the studied section. A rather low concentration parameter (k = 13) and several directional anomalies characterize the lower section; in contrast, a much better grouping (k = 46) and a lack of directional outliers is observed for the dual-polarity vectors from the upper flow sequence of the formation. We analysed different mechanisms to account for this directional pattern and found that it is possible in just two ways. One is to assume that secular variation (SV) in the upper sequence is strongly underrepresented, and it is a coincidence that the mean directions of both polarities are statistically antipodal, and the corresponding concentration parameters are statistically equal. The other explanation is to hypothesize that the magnitude of SV can vary several-fold at the same palaeolatitude and over time intervals estimated as 105–106 yr. This is in sharp contrast with other models of SV, where this magnitude has been assumed to be rather time-independent (for a given latitude). Our hypothesis accounts for the observed irregularities in palaeomagnetic data, but makes attempts to establish a correlation between SV and other parameters (geographic latitude, reversal frequency, age, etc.) more difficult. We are aware, however, that more data are needed to refute or confirm it.

Devonian volcanics in the New England Orogen: tectonic setting and polarity

The tectonic setting of the Devonian rocks in the New England Orogen has been the subject of considerable debate and controversy for many years. Our studies reveal that they have formed in intra-oceanic island arc and back arc basin (BAB) settings based on Th/Yb, Nb/Yb, Ba/La and Zr/Y ratios. Further, many of the samples that formed in a BAB have a mixture of MORB and arc-like characteristics, a few are almost entirely MORB-like. The arc-like features are believed to be due to the presence of a subduction component in the basaltic magma, the amount of which is controlled by the distance from the arc. Those samples with MORB-like compositions are thought to have originated at spreading centres. The compositions of Late Devonian basalts become more arc-like to the west suggesting a west facing polarity. Based on the tectonic setting and spatial relationship of Late Devonian sequences, we propose that two subduction zones existed during the Late Devonian, one dipping west beneath the Lachlan Orogen, the other dipping east beneath a rifted intra oceanic arc. Obduction of this intra oceanic arc over the continental margin of the Lachlan Orogen in the latest Devonian at approximately 375 Ma led to the development of a new west dipping subduction zone oceanward and commencement of continental, arc magmatism.

The western part of the West Siberian petroleum megabasin: geologic history and structure of the basement

On the basis of complex research into the western part of the West Siberian Plate, a new scheme of the structure-formation zones of its basement has been developed and a new geological map of its pre-Jurassic basement has been compiled. Ophiolites and other mafic-ultramafic complexes (fragments of the oceanic Earth's crust) were studied. The most complete Late Ordovician ophiolite complex comprising a melange of serpentinites, gabbroids, plagiogranites, and basalt with jasper interbeds lies in the Shaim area. Weakly altered spinel lherzolites were also examined there. The research has revealed not only Ordovician but also Devonian basalts as well as gabbroid complexes (392 Ma, Sm-Nd dating). The Paleozoic geodynamic history of the region was terminated with collision, which was accompanied by tectonic piling and the intrusion of granite plutons, metamorphism, and formation of new continental crust. These crucial events, which consolidated Paleozoic complexes throughout the vast area of the future West Siberian megabasin, date from the Early Permian. The composition, age, and nature of granitoid plutons in western West Siberia were studied, and isochrons and isotope characteristics were obtained, which give an insight into both the genesis and age of granite plutons and their subsequent transformations.

Geochemical discrimination of tectonic setting for Devonian basalts of the Yarrol Province of the New England Orogen, central coastal Queensland: An empirical approach*

Fault blocks and inliers of uppermost Silurian to Middle Devonian strata in the Yarrol Province of central coastal Queensland have been interpreted either as island-arc deposits or as a continental-margin sequence. They can be grouped into four assemblages with different age ranges, stratigraphic successions, geophysical signatures, basalt geochemistry, and coral faunas. Basalt compositions from the Middle Devonian Capella Creek Group at Mt Morgan are remarkably similar to analyses from the modern Kermadec Arc, and are most consistent with an intra-oceanic arc associated with a backarc basin. They cannot be matched with basalts from any modern continental arc, including those with a thin crust (Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes) or those built on recently accreted juvenile oceanic terranes (Eastern Volcanic Front of Kamchatka). Analyses from the other assemblages also suggest island-arc settings, although some backarc basin basalt compositions could be present. Arguments for a continental-margin setting based on structure, provenance, and palaeogeography are not conclusive, and none excludes an oceanic setting for the uppermost Silurian to Middle Devonian rocks. The Mt Morgan gold–copper orebody is associated with a felsic volcanic centre like those of the modern Izu–Bonin Arc, and may have formed within a submarine caldera. The data are most consistent with formation of the Capella Creek Group as an intra-oceanic arc related to an east-dipping subduction zone, with outboard assemblages to the east representing remnant arc or backarc basin sequences. Collision of these exotic terranes with the continent probably coincided with the Middle–Upper Devonian unconformity at Mt Morgan. An Upper Devonian overlap sequence indicates that all four assemblages had reached essentially their present relative positions early in Late Devonian time. Apart from a small number of samples with compositions typical of spreading backarc basins, Upper Devonian basalts and basaltic andesites of the Lochenbar and Mt Hoopbound Formations and the Three Moon Conglomerate are most like tholeiitic or transitional suites from evolved oceanic arcs such as the Lesser Antilles, Marianas, Vanuatu, and the Aleutians. However, they also match some samples from the Eastern Volcanic Front of Kamchatka. Their rare-earth and high field strength element patterns are also remarkably similar to Upper Devonian island arc tholeiites in the ophiolitic Marlborough terrane, supporting a subduction-related origin and a lack of involvement of continental crust in their genesis. Modern basalts from rifted backarc basins do not match the Yarrol Province rocks as well as those from evolved oceanic arcs, and commonly have consistently higher MgO contents at equivalent levels of rare-earth and high field strength elements. One of the most significant points for any tectonic model is that the Upper Devonian basalts become more arc-like from east to west, with all samples that can be matched most readily with backarc basin basalts located along the eastern edge of the outcrop belt. It is difficult to account for all geochemical variations in the Upper Devonian basalts of the Yarrol Province by any simplistic tectonic model using either a west-dipping or an east-dipping subduction zone. On a regional scale, the Upper Devonian rocks represent a transitional phase in the change from an intra-oceanic setting, epitomised by the Middle Devonian Capella Creek Group, to a continental margin setting in the northern New England Orogen in the Carboniferous, but the tectonic evolution must have been more complex than any of the models published to date. Certainly there are many similarities to the southern New England Orogen, where basalt geochemistry indicates rifting of an intra-oceanic arc in Middle to Late Devonian time.

Middle Paleozoic paleomagnetism of east Kazakhstan: post-Middle Devonian rotations in a large-scale orocline in the central Ural–Mongol belt

In order to test different hypotheses concerning the Paleozoic evolution of the Ural–Mongol belt (UMB) and the amalgamation of Eurasia, we studied Middle Devonian basalts from two localities (11 sites) and Lower Silurian volcanics, redbeds, and intra-formational conglomerates from three localities (20 sites) in the Chingiz Range of East Kazakhstan. The Devonian rocks prove to be heavily overprinted in the late Paleozoic, and a high-temperature, presumably primary, southerly, and down component is isolated at only four sites from a homoclinal section. Most Silurian redbeds are found to be remagnetized in the late Paleozoic; in contrast, a bipolar near-horizontal remanence, isolated from Silurian volcanics, is most probably primary as indicated by positive tilt and conglomerate tests. Analysis of paleomagnetic data from the Chingiz Range shows that southward-pointing directions in Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian rocks are of normal polarity and hence indicate large-scale rotations after the Middle Devonian. The Chingiz paleomagnetic directions can be compared with Paleozoic data from the North Tien Shan and with the horseshoe-shaped distribution of subduction-related volcanic complexes in Kazakhstan. Both paleomagnetic and geological data support the idea that today's strongly curved volcanic belts of Kazakhstan are an orocline, deformed mostly before mid-Permian time. Despite the determination of nearly a dozen new Paleozoic paleopoles in this study and other recent publications by our team, significant temporal and spatial gaps remain in our knowledge of the paleomagnetic directions during the middle and late Paleozoic. However, the paleomagnetic results from the Chingiz Range and the North Tien Shan indicate that these areas show generally coherent motions with Siberia and Baltica, respectively.

Evolution of an intra‐oceanic island arc during the Late Silurian to Late Devonian, New England Fold Belt

Geochemical studies of volcanic rocks in the Gamilaroi terrane and Calliope Volcanic Assemblage, New England Fold Belt, eastern Australia, indicate that the setting in which these rocks formed changed in both space and time. The Upper Silurian to Middle Devonian basalts of the Gamilaroi terrane show flat to slightly light rare‐earth element (LREE) depleted chondrite normalised patterns, depletion of high field strength elements (HFSE) relative to N‐MORB, low Ti/V and high Ti/Zr ratios, high Ni, Cr and large‐ion lithophile element (LILE) contents, features characteristic of intra‐oceanic island arc basaltic magmas. They are associated with low‐K, less mafic volcanics, showing moderate LREE enrichment, low Nb and Y contents and Rb/Zr ratios. The depletion of HFSE in the basalts indicates that the magmas were derived from a refractory source in a supra‐subduction zone setting. The presence of such a zone implies that the arc was associated with a backarc basin, the location of which was to the west where a wide backarc region existed from the Middle Silurian. This polarity of arc and backarc basin suggests that the subduction zone dipped to the west. In contrast to their older counterparts, Middle to Upper Devonian basalts of the Gamilaroi terrane have MORB‐like chondrite normalised patterns and higher Ti and lower LILE contents. Moreover, they have low Ti/Zr ratios and MORB‐like Ti/V ratios and HFSE contents, features typical of backarc basins. Dolerites of the Gamilaroi terrane also have predominantly backarc basin signatures. These features suggest that both the basalts and dolerites have been emplaced in an extensional environment produced during the rifting of the intra‐oceanic island arc lithosphere. A progressive increase in Ti/V ratios, and TiO2 and Fe2O3 contents at constant MgO, of stratigraphically equivalent basalts, towards the north‐northwest part of the belt, is consistent with either greater extension to the north or melting of a more fertile magma source. By contrast, basalts in the southeast part of the terrane have moderately high Ti/Zr and low Ti/V ratios and in some samples, exhibit depletion of HFSE, compositional features transitional between island arc and backarc basin basalts. The Lower to Middle Devonian mafic rocks in the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage show both LREE enriched and depleted chondrite normalised REE patterns. Further, the majority have high Ti/Zr ratios and low Zr contents as well as relatively high Th contents relative to MORB. These features are common to rocks of Middle Devonian age as well as those of Early Devonian age and are suggestive of eruption in an arc setting. Thus, the data from this study provide new evidence for the evolution of the New England Fold Belt from the Late Silurian to the Late Devonian and reveal a history more complicated than previously reported.

Late Silurian – Early Devonian rifting during dextral transpression in the southern Gaspé Peninsula (Quebec): petrogenesis of volcanic rocks

The Upper Silurian – Lower Devonian volcanic rocks in the southern Gaspé Peninsula of the Quebec Appalachians crop out at the northeast end of the Connecticut Valley – Gaspé Synclinorium. These shallow marine and subaerial sequences reach a thickness of up to at least 2000 m and comprise two groups: (1) the Late Silurian volcanic rocks, which are mainly transitional alkalic–tholeiitic basalts with steeply sloping REE patterns; (2) the Early Devonian volcanic rocks, which include a significant proportion of intermediate rocks in addition to tholeiitic basalts. Compared with the Silurian rocks, the Devonian basalts have lower abundances of strongly incompatible trace elements such as Ba, Th, Ta, Nb, and light REE and relatively flat heavy REE patterns. Basalts of both groups display negative Nb and Ta anomalies (relative to Th and La).Although the basalts of both sequences were derived from lithospheric mantle, the Silurian basalts were generated from garnet peridotite at ~ 80 km depth while the Devonian basalts appear to have resulted from a larger degree of melting of spinel peridotite at a shallower depth (~ 60 km). Devonian intermediate rocks are probably the result of mixing of the basaltic magma with upper crustal material through assimilation – fractional crystallization processes. The basalts are interpreted to have formed in a northwest-trending rift zone located in the Quebec Reentrant during dextral transpression along the Appalachian Orogen. Rotation during and after the volcanism reoriented the rift zone to a northeast trend. The high density layer at the base of the crust under the Magdalen Basin may be the former magma chamber for the Silurian–Devonian volcanism. The change from transitional to tholeiitic volcanism at the Silurian–Devonian boundary suggests that the stretching value (ratio of final to initial surface area) increased from < 2 to > 2 at that time. This boundary is also coincident with the Salinic disturbance that is inferred to have been produced by erosion of the thermally uplifted block associated with rifting.

Chemical variation in Hercynian basalts relative to plate tectonics

The geochemistry of Hercynian basalts is reviewed with special reference to SW England. Hercynian basalts have the following chemical features: (1) relative enrichment in incompatible elements, (2) fractionated rare earth element (REE) patterns ranging from mild to strongly light-REE enriched, and (3) generally low large-ion-lithophile (LIL)/high field strength (HFS) element ratios. High and variable alkali contents and K/Rb ratios are indicative of low-grade alteration. Basalts are predominantly tholeiites, although alkali basalts may be developed on some trough margins. Basalts from different sedimentary troughs within the main Hercynian tectonic zones are characterized by specific incompatible element abundances and ratios. These variations are interpreted in terms of variable fractional crystallization, partial melting and mantle heterogeneity. Hercynian volcanism was typically bimodal with basic and acid products characterizing the Rheno-Hercynian and Saxo-Thuringian zones. Activity in the Moldanubian zone was more variable with a high proportion of calc-alkali andesites. Two systematic chemical changes throughout the Devonian and Carboniferous have been recognized, with both light/heavy REE and LIL/HFS element ratios increasing with time. These features may relate to the introduction of LIL-enriched fluids derived by dehydration of subducted lithosphere that caused progressive metasomatism of the overlying mantle wedge. Chemical discrimination of tectonic setting demonstrates that most of the basalts typify the continental intra-plate environment, although early Devonian basalts produced in the initial stages of continent rifting have some of the chemical features of incompatible element enriched oceanic basalts. An ensialic back-arc basin model underlain by a shallow northward-dipping subduction zone provides a possible explanation for the spatial and temporal variation in the Hercynian volcanic rocks.