Emplacement Of Dyke Swarms Research Articles

Paleoproterozoic metaluminous syenites synchronous with the c. 2.21 Ga mafic dyke swarms from the Eastern Dharwar Craton, India: implications for alkaline magmatism associated with the breakup of supercraton Superia

Abstract The Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) hosts numerous Late Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic syenites whose genesis remains unclear. Here we present a petrological and geochemical study on the syenites from Peddavaduguru, Danduvaripalle and Vannedoddi, towards the western margin of the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Cuddapah Basin in the EDC. These syenite bodies constitute a part of the Paleoproterozoic (2210 ± 110 Ma) Dancherla alkaline complex and are contemporaneous with a mafic dyke swarm emplacement in the EDC. The Danduvaripalle and Vannedoddi syenites display geochemical affinities to adakites. The Peddavaduguru syenite shows a negative Eu anomaly and relatively gentle chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) pattern, suggesting an origin by a different process. The ɛ Nd values range between 0.5 and 0.8 for the Peddavaduguru syenite, − 5.2 and − 4.2 for the Danduvaripalle syenite, and − 6.0 and − 1.0 for the Vannedoddi syenite. In tectonic discrimination diagrams, the Peddavaduguru syenite shows affinities to within-plate granitoids similar to syenites from the Deccan large igneous province whereas the others show geochemical similarities to arc-related alkaline rocks and volcanic arc granitoids. The adakitic syenites show deficiency of MgO, Ni, Cr and Sc, highly fractionated REE patterns and negative Nb–Ta–Ti anomalies along with low Nb/U and high Th/U ratios. These geochemical traits are compatible with their origin by the partial melting of a mafic crustal source that subsequently underwent fractionation of amphibole and garnet responsible to impart an adakitic character. We suggest that the crustal source of these syenites underwent partial melting by heat from the rising plume during the Paleoproterozoic extension of the Superia supercraton. The non-adakitic Peddavaduguru syenite, on the other hand, is suggested to have originated from direct fractionation of mafic magma.

Seismic reflection data reveal the 3D structure of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, offshore NW Australia

Abstract. Dyke swarms are common on Earth and other planetary bodies, comprising arrays of dykes that can extend laterally for tens to thousands of kilometres. The vast extent of such dyke swarms, and their presumed rapid emplacement, means they can significantly influence a variety of planetary processes, including continental break-up, crustal extension, resource accumulation, and volcanism. Determining the mechanisms driving dyke swarm emplacement is thus critical to a range of Earth Science disciplines. However, unravelling dyke swarm emplacement mechanics relies on constraining their 3D structure, which is difficult given we typically cannot access their subsurface geometry at a sufficiently high enough resolution. Here we use high-quality seismic reflection data to identify and examine the 3D geometry of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, and associated structures (i.e. dyke-induced normal faults and pit craters). Dykes are expressed in our seismic reflection data as ∼335–68 m wide, vertical zones of disruption (VZD), in which stratal reflections are dimmed and/or deflected from sub-horizontal. Borehole data reveal one ∼130 m wide VZD corresponds to an ∼18 m thick, mafic dyke, highlighting that the true geometry of the inferred dykes may not be fully captured by their seismic expression. The Late Jurassic dyke swarm is located on the Gascoyne Margin, offshore NW Australia, and contains numerous dykes that extend laterally for > 170 km, potentially up to > 500 km, with spacings typically < 10 km. Although limitations in data quality and resolution restrict mapping of the dykes at depth, our data show that they likely have heights of at least 3.5 km. The mapped dykes are distributed radially across a ∼39∘ wide arc centred on the Cuvier Margin; we infer that this focal area marks the source of the dyke swarm. We demonstrate that seismic reflection data provide unique opportunities to map and quantify dyke swarms in 3D. Because of this, we can now (i) recognise dyke swarms across continental margins worldwide and incorporate them into models of basin evolution and fluid flow, (ii) test previous models and hypotheses concerning the 3D structure of dyke swarms, (iii) reveal how dyke-induced normal faults and pit craters relate to dyking, and (iv) unravel how dyking translates into surface deformation.

Extensional Tectonics, Rifting, Formation of Sedimentary Basins, Cretaceous Volcanism, Emplacement of Dyke Swarms and Development of Hydrocarbon Pools: Case Studies from Peninsular India and Indian Ocean Region

Extensional Tectonics, Rifting, Formation of Sedimentary Basins, Cretaceous Volcanism, Emplacement of Dyke Swarms and Development of Hydrocarbon Pools: Case Studies from Peninsular India and Indian Ocean Region

Emplacement of Dyke Swarms, Cretaceous Volcanism and Development of Petroliferous Basins in and around Peninsular India

Emplacement of Dyke Swarms, Cretaceous Volcanism and Development of Petroliferous Basins in and around Peninsular India

Magma flow and palaeo-stress deduced from magnetic fabric analysis of the Álftafjörður dyke swarm: implications for shallow crustal magma transport in Icelandic volcanic systems

Abstract Neogene regional mafic dykes extending north of the Álftafjörður central volcano in east Iceland are studied to test models of dyke swarm emplacement at spreading ridges. This is accomplished by using anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility to define fossilized magma flow regimes. The imbrication of the foliation plane, defined by the minor susceptibility axis, is used as an indicator of the flow direction. Contemporaneous shear resolved on the dyke walls may modify a pure flow-induced fabric and such shear regimes are therefore retracted. The magma flow and palaeo-stress resolved on the dykes are determined in 13 of 24 dykes. The magma flow is interpreted as subhorizontal and northwards directed away from the central volcano for nine dykes, and found to be vertical in three cases. The preferentially subhorizontal magma flow in the Álftafjörður swarm suggests that dyke propagation in this type of Icelandic volcanic system originates in shallow crustal magma chambers. The regional tectonic palaeo-stress field is deduced to cause oblique spreading across the Álftafjörður dyke swarm and govern a subhorizontal dextral shear component on the dyke planes during propagation. This interpretation is not in conflict with the left-stepping en echelon trend distribution of individual dykes relative to the trend of the swarm.

Elastic models of magma reservoir mechanics: a key tool for investigating planetary volcanism

Abstract Understanding how shallow reservoirs store and redirect magma is critical for deciphering the relationship between surface and subsurface volcanic activity on the terrestrial planets. Complementing field, laboratory and remote sensing analyses, elastic models provide key insights into the mechanics of magma reservoir inflation and rupture, and hence into commonly observed volcanic phenomena including edifice growth, circumferential intrusion, radial dyke swarm emplacement and caldera formation. Based on finite element model results, the interplay between volcanic elements – such as magma reservoir geometry, host rock environment (with an emphasis on understanding how host rock pore pressure assumptions affect model predictions), mechanical layering, and edifice loading with and without flexure – dictates the overpressure required for rupture, the location and orientation of initial fracturing and intrusion, and the associated surface uplift. Model results are either insensitive to, or can readily incorporate, material and parameter variations characterizing different planetary environments, and they also compare favourably with predictions derived from rheologically complex, time-dependent formulations for a surprisingly diverse array of volcanic scenarios. These characteristics indicate that elastic models are a powerful and useful tool for exploring many fundamental questions in planetary volcanology.

Precise U–Pb dating of Paleoproterozoic mafic dyke swarms of the Dharwar craton, India: Implications for the existence of the Neoarchean supercraton Sclavia

We report seven high precision U–Pb age determinations for mafic dykes from a number of major Precambrian swarms located in the Dharwar craton, south India. These new age results define two previously unrecognized widespread Paleoproterozoic dyking events at 2221–2209 and 2181–2177 Ma, and confirm a third at 2369–2365 Ma. Three parallel E–W trending mafic dykes from the petrographically and geochemically variable Bangalore dyke swarm, the most prominent swarm in the Dharwar craton, yield indistinguishable U–Pb baddeleyite ages of 2365.4 ± 1.0, 2365.9 ± 1.5 and 2368.6 ± 1.3 Ma, indicating rapid emplacement in less than five million years. A compilation of Paleoproterozoic U–Pb ages for mafic magmatic events worldwide indicates that the 2369–2365 Ma Bangalore dyke swarm represents a previously unrecognized pulse of mafic magmatism on Earth. A protracted episode of Pan-Dharwar mafic dyke swarm emplacement at ∼2.2 Ga is the most geographically widespread Paleoproterozoic mafic magmatic event currently recognized in the Dharwar craton. U–Pb baddeleyite dating of two dykes located south of the Cuddapah basin yield ages of 2220.5 ± 4.9 Ma (N–S trending Kandlamadugu dyke) and 2209.3 ± 2.8 Ma (NW–SE trending Somala dyke), indicating emplacement of two distinct subswarms in the region. Two dykes from the northern Dharwar craton (the E–W Bandepalem and NW–SE Dandeli dykes) separated by ∼550 km yield indistinguishable U–Pb ages of 2176.5 ± 3.7 (baddeleyite and zircon) and 2180.8 ± 0.9 Ma (baddeleyite), respectively. Collectively, these age data hint at the presence of a giant 2.18 Ga radiating mafic dyke swarm that spans >100,000 km 2 of the Dharwar craton, which has a focal point west of the present day Deccan Flood basalt province. The identification of Pan-Dharwar mafic dyke swarm emplacement at ∼2.2 Ga allows for new global correlations with contemporaneous mafic magmatic events previously recognized in many other Archean cratons worldwide (e.g., within Antarctica, Australia, Finland, Greenland, and North America). Increasing evidence suggests that this global mafic magmatism at ∼2.2 Ga was linked with intracontinental rifting, enhanced mantle plume activity, and the breakup of one or more Archean continents. We highlight the similarity in timing of Paleoproterozoic (2.23–2.17 Ga) mafic dyke swarm emplacement recorded in the Dharwar and Slave cratons and use the correlation of high precision U–Pb ages, geometry and regional patterns of mafic dyke swarm emplacement, and matching Archean geology in these cratons as reconstruction pins to constrain the configuration of the ∼2.2 Ga supercraton Sclavia.

The form, distribution and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of Jurassic dykes in H.U. Sverdrupfjella, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Implications for dyke swarm emplacement

The Mesozoic dyke swarms of Western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, form a minor intrusive component of the Karoo large igneous province. Five-hundred and sixty one dykes were recorded intruding Neoproterozoic gneisses and Middle Jurassic syenite plutons. 40Ar/ 39Ar geochronology data reveal two temporally distinct components: the 178–175 Ma, alkaline, Straumsvola dyke swarm that predominantly intrudes a nepheline syenite pluton; and the 206–204 Ma, tholeiitic, Jutulrøra dyke swarm found throughout the study area. The Straumsvola swarm exhibits highly variably dyke trends that display a restricted opening direction, interpreted to be the result of high magma pressure equal to the maximum principal stress. The Jutulrøra swarm displays a fan of dyke trends, with dyke thickness and spacing increasing away from the inferred point of fan convergence. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal vertical magma transport within both dyke swarms in the Straumsvola area, with the southern/outer exposures of the Jutulrøra swarm exhibiting lateral magma transport. Although associated with a long-lived, local igneous centre comparison of palaeostress estimates for the Straumsvola dyke swarm and contemporaneous dykes in Ahlmannryggen and Vestfjella, indicates the presence of a regional scale radial stress system in western Dronning Maud Land between 178–175 Ma, supporting a mantle plume origin for the Karoo large igneous province.

Dyke swarm emplacement in the Ethiopian Large Igneous Province: not only a matter of stress

In the Tana–Belaya area, western Ethiopia, field data and satellite imagery reveal the existence of two dyke swarms, the NE–SW Serpent-God dyke swarm, and the NW–SE Dinder dyke swarm. Both swarms are thought to have the same age, 30 Ma, and are likely to have contributed to feeding the traps. After a description of the swarms, this paper examines their relationships with the basement structures. The two dyke swarms follow major lithospheric weakness zones. The Serpent-God dyke swarm follows the Pan-African Tulu Dimtu ductile shear zone, and the Dinder dyke swarm follows a large NW–SE-trending Precambrian fracture zone already reactivated during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic as the northern boundary of the Blue Nile Rift. Because the dyke swarms are adjacent but their orientation differs, the stress trajectory patterns during their emplacement were spatially variable at local scale. Therefore, rather than plate-boundary processes, the origin of stress is thought to be primarily related to the Ethiopian plume. Postulating (in the absence of more data relating to the magma chambers that fed the traps) that dyke orientation is the result of an axisymmetric stress field, the location of the stress source can be placed close to Lake Tana, which is the centre of the Ethiopian broad negative regional Bouguer anomaly. The dykes in the Tana–Belaya area provide the first clues to the orientation of the stress field that prevailed in the early history of the Ethiopian mantle plume, and to some of the factors that guided the distribution of the trap feeders.

Precise 40Ar/ 39Ar Age Determinations of the Kotakonda Kimberlite and Chelima Lamproite, India: Implication to the Timing of Mafic Dyke Swarm Emplacement in the Eastern Dharwar Craton

Abstract 40Ar/ 39Ar age spectra of groundmass phlogopite separates from the Kotakonda kimberlite (Eastern Dharwar craton) and the Chelima lamproite (Cuddapah basin) are dominated by major plateaus at 1401.4±4.6Ma and 1417.8±8.2 Ma respectively. These ages are consistent (within their error limits) with the conventional K-Ar dates on phlogopite separates from the same samples earlier reported by us. This study supports our contention that the emplacement of Kotakonda kimberlite and Chelima lamproite was contemporaneous and these pipes are older than the Anantapur kimberlites (-1090 Ma) of the Eastern Dharwar craton. The agreement of ages obtained by employing more than one technique is a testimony of confidence in our results and, therefore, firmly establishes an episode of Proterozoic mafic potassic magmatic activity in the Eastern Dharwar craton and adjacent Cuddapah basin at ca. 1400 Ma. The concordance of plateaus and correlation of isochron plots for both these bodies suggests that at least these parts of the Eastern Dharwar craton and Cuddapah basin have not been subjected to any subsequent tectono-thermal activity. Our results contrast with the recent suggestion that a ~ 1000 Ma thermal event in and around the Cuddapah basin led to argon loss and was responsible for the variable K-Ar ages of dyke swarms in the Eastern Dharwar craton.

Giant radiating dyke swarms on Earth and Venus

Concentrations of dykes of basic composition emplaced in the same igneous episode or along similar trends are known as mafic dyke swarms and they occur in a wide variety of environments and over a wide range of scales on Earth. Recent radar mapping of Venus has revealed families of linear features interpreted to be the surface expression of near-surface dyke swarms. The lack of significant erosion on Venus provides a view of the surface manifestation of dyke swarm emplacement, one which complements the terrestrial perspective of erosion to deeper levels. The goal of this review is to synthesize the information available on both planets in order to use the complementary and synergistic record of mafic dyke swarm emplacement to build toward a better understanding of this important phenomenon in planetary history. We focus on the formation and evolution of giant dyke swarms which cover tens to hundreds of thousands of square kilometres on both Earth and Venus. Mafic dyke swarms on Earth occur in a wide range of modes and are observed in environments ranging from volcanic edifices (e.g., Hawaii), to central complexes (e.g., Spanish Peaks Complex, USA; Ramon Swarm, Israel), spreading centres and ophiolite complexes, compressional plate boundaries in back-arc settings (Columbia River Basalts, USA) and in continent-continent collisions. One of the most impressive modes of occurrence is that linked to the formation and evolution of mantle plumes. Terrestrial examples include a giant radiating swarm covering 100° of azimuth (the Mackenzie swarm, Canada), a 360° giant radiating swarm (the Central Atlantic reconstructed swarm), deformed giant radiating swarms (the Matachewan swarm, Canada), rift-arm associated swarms (e.g., Grenville swarm, Canada; Yakutsk swarm, Siberia), and one consisting of widely separated dykes (e.g., the Abitibi swarm, Canada). We summarize the geometric, chemical and isotopic characteristics of terrestrial dyke swarms, including their size and geometry, ages, presence and absence of subswarms, and the relation between swarms of different ages. We also summarize the characteristics of individual dykes, examining dyke length and continuity, en echelon offsets, dyke bifurcation, dyke height, width and depth, dyke intrusion and cooling history, and evidence for flow directions. On Venus at least 163 large radiating lineament systems (radius generally > 100 km) composed of graben, fissure and fracture elements have been identified. On the basis of their structure, plan view geometry and volcanic associations, the radial elements of more than 70% of these are interpreted to have formed primarily through subsurface dyke swarm emplacement, with the remainder forming through uplift or some combination of these two mechanisms. These systems are essentially uneroded and provide a view of the surface characteristics of giant radial swarms prior to the erosion which commonly occurs on Earth. The individual graben, fissures and fractures of which the systems are composed are typically less than several kilometres in width and cluster near the centre, with fissures grading smoothly into fractures at greater distances to define the overall radial pattern. While the largest systems, like those on Earth, are thousands of kilometres in radius, the population average is about 325 km, and they generally do not extend to equal lengths in all directions. In their distal regions, however, the elements in 72% of the systems continue along a purely radial trend, while distal elements in the remaining 28% curve gradually into unidirectional, sub-parallel geometries, generally interpreted to be related to regional stress patterns. The radial systems have a strong association with volcanism; all but seven display some form of volcanic signature. A review of models of the emplacement of lateral dykes from magma chambers under constant (buffered) driving pressure conditions and declining (unbuffered) driving pressure conditions indicates that the two pressure scenarios lead to distinctly different styles of dyke emplacement. Emplacement of lateral dykes in the constant driving pressure (buffered) case, however, can produce dykes which have sizes and widths which are very large and independent of chamber size. On Earth, the characteristics of giant mafic dyke swarms such as the Mackenzie dyke swarm in Canada strongly suggest that they were emplaced in buffered conditions. On Earth, giant radiating dyke swarms are usually preserved as fan-shaped fragments which have been dismembered and distorted by subsequent plate tectonic rifting events. The abundant intact giant radiating swarms on Venus provide criteria by which fragmented terrestrial swarms can be reconstructed.