Dike Emplacement Research Articles

Distribution, morphology, and morphometry of circular mounds in the elongated basin of northern Terra Sirenum, Mars

An elongated, flat-floored basin, located in the northern part of Terra Sirenum on Mars, holds numerous enigmatic mounds (100 m wide) on the surface of its floor. We investigated their geological context, spatial distribution, morphological characteristics, and morphometric parameters by analyzing a variety of current remote sensing data sets of Mars. Over 700 mounds are identified; mapping of the mounds shows the spatial density of about 21 per 100 km2 and appearances of several clusters, coalescence, and/or alignment. Most of the mounds have smoother surface textures in contrast to the rugged surrounding terrain. Some of the mounds display depressions on their summits, meter-sized boulders on their flanks, and distinct lobate features. We also perform high-resolution topographic analysis on 50 isolated mounds, which reveals that their heights range from 6 to 43 m with a mean of 18 m and average flank slopes of most mounds are below 10°. These characteristics are consistent with the deposition and extension of mud slurries with mud breccia and gases extruded from subsurface, almost equivalent to terrestrial mud volcanism. If so, both abundance of groundwater and abrupt increase in pore fluid pressure are necessary for triggering mud eruption. Absolute crater retention ages suggest that the floor of the basin located among middle Noachian-aged highland terrains has been resurfaced during the Late Hesperian Epoch. Because of cross-cutting relationships with the basin and the mounds superposed on the basin floor, the faults and fissures (part of Memnonia Fossae) are thought to have formed during and/or after the period of mound formation. Compressional stress fields which likely formed Memnonia Fossae and Mangala Valles, expected from the dike emplacement model of Wilson and Head (JGR 107:1-1–1-24, 2002), may have facilitated undercompaction or overpressurization of subsurface fluids, focused pore fluids beneath the basin, and opened conduits along faults for upwelling voluminous sediments and fluids.

Geology and paleomagnetism of Jeannette Island (De Long Archipelago, Eastern Arctic)

New characteristics and generalized geostructural, isotope-geochronological, and paleomagnetic data are presented for the first time for the territory of Jeannette Island in the De Long Archipelago. Until recently, this small rock outcrop in the East Siberian Sea, discovered in the late 19th century, has been in effect a blank spot on the geological map. Field work made in 2013 and subsequent laboratory analysis of the obtained sample collection show that the island has a volcanogenic-sedimentary section including many thin (up to several meters) dolerite dikes. These dikes are the main target of the study. Newly obtained 40Ar/39Ar isotope-geochronological data indicate that the earliest dike intrusion stage corresponds to the Ediacaran (553.6 ± 10.3 Ma). Several subsequent tectonothermal events can be inferred until and through the Early Carboniferous, which affected the stability of the isotope system in the dolerites. In addition, paleomagnetic data confirm at least one more stage of dike emplacement, in the Early Ordovician, as the coordinates of the virtual geomagnetic poles for the dikes are nearly identical to those of the Ordovician paleomagnetic pole determined for carbonate rocks of Kotelny Island. The study describes the main petromagnetic characteristics and magnetic mineralogy of the studied dolerites, validating the primary thermoremanent nature of the identified characteristic component. The results agree with available information on the paleomagnetism, tectonics, and paleogeography of the New Siberian Islands.

Laser Ablation ICP-MS U-Pb and 40Ar-39Ar age constraints on Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic magmatic and tectono-metamorphic evolution of the link between Hope Bay and Elu greenstone belts, northeast Slave craton, NWT, Canada

The Elu Link connecting the Neoarchean Hope Bay and Elu granite-greenstone belts in the Bathurst block of the northeast Slave craton consists of volcano-sedimentary and gabbro–granite rocks. Laser ablation ICP-MS zircon and titanite U-Pb dating was combined with mineral 40Ar-39Ar age data to date the Elu Link rocks and D1–D3 tectono-metamorphic events, as well as characterize the response to the Thelon Orogeny in the area. The volcanic rocks are correlated with the ca. 2716Ma Flake Lake suite in the adjacent Hope Bay belt, whereas the sedimentary units have a minimum depositional age of 2684±11Ma nearly coinciding with the onset of D1 deformation. Most gabbro–granite bodies were emplaced between 2651±14Ma and 2577±13Ma coeval with the D2 deformation whose accompanying metamorphism culminated at 2632±7Ma. Older ages (up to 3042±22Ma) retained by either the gabbro–granite or their hosts are indicative of crustal contamination. A few gabbro–granites were also emplaced during the 2577±13Ma to 2494±21Ma D3 deformation event. However, the 2494±21Ma intrusions are unusual and mark the Archean–Paleoproterozoic transition. The D3 deformation was followed by erosional exhumation and localized thermal pulses associated with the emplacement of diabase dikes at 2228±8Ma, 2128±11Ma, and 802±75Ma. The Thelon Orogeny imprint, inferred from the 2054±11Ma to 1919±5Ma biotite ages, corresponds to nearly isobaric, low-temperature (<350°C) metamorphic re-equilibration.

Valles Marineris tectonic and volcanic history inferred from dikes in eastern Coprates Chasma

AbstractMagmatic dikes have been proposed to have weakened and fractured the crust, allowing the formation of Valles Marineris. Hence, dikes were studied in the region of eastern Coprates Chasma in an area that includes a major transition between Hesperian‐aged volcanic deposits in the western walls and pristine Noachian crust in the eastern walls. Over a hundred dikes were identified. Dike widths are 13 m on average. Estimation of magma eruption rates are comparable with previous estimates for Hesperian lava flows on Mars (105 to 106 m3 s−1). Dikes dips range from 55° to 90°; orientations record two distinct main tectonic stress fields (90° and 70°) different from the Chasmata. Dikes striking 90° are only observed at elevations below 1500 m. Dikes striking 70° are observed at elevation below 0 m and are therefore considered older. However, linear features are also observed on the late Noachian/early Hesperian surrounding plateaus and could be related to the 70° dike group. In the western part of our study area, dikes (~10% of the total amount of dikes mapped) strike 110, subparallel to Valles Marineris, and suggest a relationship between dike emplacement and graben formation. The presence of preexisting faults in the two directions (90° and 70°) could explain the shape of eastern Valles Marineris and chaotic terrains, which have a different general orientation than the Valles Marineris main rift. Our results suggest a complex relationship between dike emplacement and the formation of Valles Marineris.

Re–Os isotope geochronology of the Shangbao pyrite–flourite deposit in southeastern Hunan, South China: Evidence for multiple mineralization events and the role of crust–mantle interaction in polymetallic deposits

In South China, both crustal reworking and crust–mantle interaction were important geological processes during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. However, the relationships between these two processes and metal mineralization are still unknown. Here we report rhenium and osmium isotopic data for pyrite grains from a pyrite deposit associated with a granite intrusion in the Shangbao area, southeastern Hunan Province (South China). Two pyrite samples, both containing many euhedral pyrite grains, were collected from the same locality, but the samples yield distinct ages. Six euhedral pyrite grains from one sample yield an isochronal age of 279 ± 12 Ma, with an initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.39 ± 0.71, and Re and Os concentrations of 0.12–63.5 ppb and 2.14–185 ppt, respectively. This Early Permian age is in good agreement with the age of the strata that host the pyrite deposit. Five euhedral pyrite grains from the other sample yield an isochronal age of 75.2 ± 4.3 Ma, with an initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.141 ± 0.030 and Re and Os concentrations of 0.15–0.43 ppb and 1.0–39.9 ppt, respectively. If one pyrite grain with the highest 187Re/188Os and 187Os/188Os ratios is excluded, other four pyrite grains give an isochronal age of 85 ± 13 Ma. The Late Cretaceous age (75–85 Ma) is consistent with the zircon U–Pb age of the Shangbao granites (80.1 ± 0.3 Ma) to within uncertainties. Considering also the relatively lower radiogenic initial 187Os/188Os ratio of this sample, we suggest that the later stage pyrite ore was probably formed through crystallization from the magmatic hydrothermal fluids. Combined with other geological and associated magmatic data, we propose a skarn-related fluid–ore interaction process to explain the second stage of metallogenesis in the Shangbao pyrite deposit. The Early Permian pyrite ore was deposited in a brine basin with evaporites during the Early Permian. Later magmatic hydrothermal fluids originating from the Shangbao granites, which included mantle components, interacted with the strata and the Early Permian pyrite ore during the Late Cretaceous and precipitated a later stage pyrite ore. During the Late Mesozoic, the roll-back of subducted Paleo-Pacific plate caused lithospheric extension in South China, triggering the upwelling and partial melting of the asthenosphere. The resulting underplating of mantle-derived magmas provided a vast amount of heat and materials for the formation of the granites and polymetallic deposits in South China. Given that the multiple mineralization events were spatially and temporally associated with the Paleozoic–Mesozoic magmatism, the Re–Os isotopic dating of euhedral pyrite grains has been shown to be a viable method for unveiling the evolutionary history of ore-deposits. Skarn development caused by granite and mafic dike emplacement resulting from crust–mantle interaction explains the occurrence of two mineralization episodes at the same locality.

Igneous sills as a record of horizontal shortening: The San Rafael subvolcanic field, Utah

Igneous sills can facilitate significant lateral magma transport in the crust; therefore, it is important to constrain controls on their formation and propagation. Close spatial association between sills and dikes in layered (sedimentary) host rocks has led to a number of sill emplacement mechanisms that involve stress rotation related to layering; from horizontal extension and dike emplacement, to horizontal compression and sill emplacement. Here, we used field observations in the San Rafael subvolcanic field (Utah, USA), on the Colorado Plateau, supported by mechanical modeling, to show that layering is not the dominant control in all cases of sill formation. We found no compelling evidence of large sills fed by dikes; all observed cases showed that either dikes cut sills, or vice versa. Local sill contacts activate and follow host layer interfaces, but regionally, sills cut the stratigraphy at a low angle. The sills cut and are cut by reverse faults (1−3 m displacement) and related fractures that accommodate horizontal shortening. Minor sill networks resemble extension vein meshes and indicate that horizontal and inclined geometries were formed during coaxial horizontal shortening and vertical thickening. Although sills elsewhere may be related to mechanical layering during tectonic quiescence, our mechanical models show that the observed San Rafael subvolcanic field geometries are favored in the upper crust during mild horizontal shortening. We propose that sill geometry provides an indication of regional stress states during emplacement, and not all sill geometry is a response to bedding. Constraining sill geometry may therefore present a useful tool in plate-tectonic studies.

Eruption of magmatic foams on the Moon: Formation in the waning stages of dike emplacement events as an explanation of “irregular mare patches”

Volcanic eruptions on the Moon take place in conditions of low gravity and negligible atmospheric pressure, very different from those on Earth. These differences lead to characteristic lunar versions of hawaiian and strombolian explosive activity, and to the production of unusual eruption products neither predicted nor observed on Earth in the terminal stages of eruptions. These include the unusual mounds and rough (hummocky, blocky) floors of some small-shield summit pit crater floors, elongate depressions and mare flows (similar to those named “irregular mare patches”, IMPs, by Braden et al., 2014). We examine the ascent and eruption of magma in the waning stages of the eruptive process in small-shield summit pit crater floors and show that many IMP characteristics can be plausibly explained by basaltic magma behavior as the rise rate of the ascending magma slows to zero, volatiles exsolve in the dike and lava lake to form a very vesicular foam, and the dike begins to close. Stresses in the very vesicular and porous lava lake crust produce fractures through which the foam extrudes at a rate determined by its non-Newtonian rheology. Waning-stage extrusion of viscous magmatic foams to the surface produces convex mounds whose physical properties inhibit typical impact crater formation and regolith development, creating an artificially young crater retention age. This mechanism for the production and extrusion of very vesicular magmatic foams is also applicable to waning-stage dike closure associated with pit craters atop dikes, and fissure eruptions in the lunar maria, providing an explanation for many irregular mare patches. This mechanism implies that IMPs and associated mare structures (small shields, pit craters and fissure flows) formed synchronously billions of years ago, in contrast to very young ages (less than ~100millionyears) proposed for IMPs by some workers.

Dike emplacement, footwall rotation, and the transition from magmatic to tectonic extension in the Whipple Mountains metamorphic core complex, southeastern California

AbstractThe Chambers Well dike swarm and associated plutonic/volcanic rocks in the western footwall of the Whipple Detachment Fault (WDF) provide key insight into the evolution of this metamorphic core complex. New structural and geochronologic data suggest that the western 12–15 km of exposed footwall is steeply tilted to the SW, providing a cross‐sectional view of the upper crust, from the Miocene erosion surface to the top of the coeval mylonitization. Ages and compositions of dikes are indistinguishable from adjacent thick volcanic successions. Several kilometers of early Miocene extension (~20.5 to 19.0 Ma) were accommodated by magmatic accretion but transitioned to rapid extensional faulting and tilting at 19.0–18.5 Ma. The subhorizontal WDF in this area initiated as a northeast dipping high‐angle (50–60°) normal fault that breached the surface locally, not in a breakaway tens of kilometers to the west. Large‐scale tilting and differential uplift of the western footwall was in part coeval with mylonitization and dike emplacement and was accomplished by block rotation in the hanging wall of additional normal faults, isostatic uplift, and flow of lower crust from beneath less extended regions to the west. The WDF is likely a composite surface with a western segment that had ceased moving by ~18.5 Ma, cut by successively younger and steeper fault(s) to the east. Perhaps, the most important difference between seismogenic high‐angle normal faults and low‐angle “detachment faults” characteristic of metamorphic core complexes is one of magnitude and rate of total accumulated slip, not of initial failure conditions.

Evidence for Moho‐lower crustal transition depth diking and rifting of the Sierra Nevada microplate

AbstractLithospheric rifting most often initiates in continental extensional settings where “breaking of a plate” may or may not progress to sea floor spreading. Generally, the strength of the lithosphere is greater than the tectonic forces required for rupture (i.e., the “tectonic force paradox”), and it has been proposed that rifting requires basaltic magmatism (e.g., dike emplacement) to reduce the strength and cause failure, except for the case of a thin lithosphere (&lt;30 km thick). Here we isolate two very similar and unprecedented observations of Moho‐lower crustal transition dike or fluid injection earthquake swarms under southern Sierra Valley (SV: 2011–2012) and North Lake Tahoe (LT: 2003–2004), California. These planar distributions of seismicity can be interpreted to define the end points, and cover ~25% of the length, of an implied ~56 km long structure, each striking N45°W and dipping ~50°NE. A single event at ~30 km depth that locates on the implied dipping feature between the two swarms is further evidence for a single Moho‐transition depth structure. We propose that basaltic or fluid emplacement at or near Moho depths weakens the upper mantle lid, facilitating lithospheric rupture of the Sierra Microplate. Similar to the LT sequence, the SV event is also associated with increased upper crustal seismicity. An 27 October 2011, Mw 4.7 earthquake occurred directly above the deep SV sequence at the base of the upper crustal seismogenic zone (~15 km depth).

Kinematics of the bottom of the Eurasia Basin near the Spitsbergen domain

Prior to extension of the lithosphere in the Eurasia Basin, the Yermak Plateau was an element of the Eurasian Arctic margin. Extension of the Barents Sea shelf culminated gradually in rifting of the continental crust with separation of this block from the continent during Chrons C25r‒C26n (57.656‒59.237 Ma ago) and emplacement of numerous basic dikes, which could be responsible for the formation of high-amplitude magnetic anomalies on the Yermak Plateau. The investigation included reconstruction of axes in the breakup zones along peripheral continental fragments of Spitsbergen with determination of the Euler poles and angles of rotation, which describe the kinematics of this process. It is revealed that the difference between depths of conjugate isobaths can be as large as many tens of meters, which reflects the nonuniformly scaled slide of peripheral areas of the continental crust along the plane of the crustal-penetrating fault and, correspondingly, their different subsidence during rifting.

Enhancement of volcanism and geothermal heat flux by ice‐age cycling: A stress modeling study of Greenland

AbstractIce‐age cycling of the Greenland ice sheet likely contributed to locally elevated subglacial geothermal heat fluxes (GHFs), based on recent thermal modeling. Borehole and geophysical data indicate higher GHF in some areas than suggested by current knowledge of underlying geology, particularly at the head of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream. Changes in lithospheric loading during ice‐sheet growth and decay cycles produce large and geologically rapid changes in the effective stress state beneath and near the ice sheet. Oscillations in melt fraction from cyclic loading through multiple ice‐age cycles will enhance upward magma migration through the nonlinear increase of melt migration velocity with melt fraction. We simulate periodic ice‐sheet loading scenarios along an east‐west transect across central Greenland on an Elastic Lithosphere, Relaxed Asthenosphere Earth model. Under likely parameter ranges, deviatoric stresses in the elastic lithosphere across widespread regions are sufficiently high to meaningfully enhance dike emplacement and also allow vug‐wave propagation in some scenarios. Stress patterns migrate laterally in response to ice‐sheet dynamics, favoring multistage magma ascent. If melt occurs at depth, our modeling suggests that ice‐age cycling could help it migrate upward to shallow depth or erupt, contributing to the high observed GHF. Furthermore, shallow magma emplacement might feed hydrothermal systems exploiting enhanced faulting or fracturing from ice‐age cycling, adding to elevated GHF. The preglacial passage of the Iceland‐Jan Mayen hot spot could have sourced such magmas. Direct observations of these lithospheric processes needed to further constrain our models are limited, highlighting the value of more targeted geophysical studies informing future modeling.

Stratigraphy, structure and lode gold system at the Central Manitoba mine trend, Rice Lake greenstone belt, Archean Superior Province, Manitoba, Canada

The Central Manitoba mine trend is one of the most important lode gold districts in the Rice Lake greenstone–granitoid belt of the western Uchi subprovince within western Superior Province, Manitoba, Canada. Neoarchean host rocks consist of a south-facing metavolcano-sedimentary succession (2.75–2.73Ga) intruded by voluminous gabbroic sills and tonalitic–granodioritic plutons (2.73–2.72Ga), as well as late aplite dikes (2.73–2.72Ga) and quartz-feldspar porphyry dikes (2.73–2.71Ga). Five generations (G1–G5) of deformation structures have been recognized through detailed geological mapping. The entire succession was folded during G1 and G2 prior to rare late aplite dike emplacement. All fault-fill veins and extension veins cut all lithologic units, and are structurally governed by late (G3 and G4) conjugate shear zones. Main gold mineralization occurs within fault-fill veins hosted by west-trending steeply-dipping (G4) dextral brittle–ductile and ductile shear zones, which occur along or across contacts of metabasalt, metagreywacke and metagabbro or entirely within metagabbro. Microstructural and paragenetic analyses on main gold-bearing veins have revealed that gold is intimately associated with quartz, pyrrhotite and tellurobismuthite. Main gold introduction is interpreted to have taken place contemporaneously with pyrrhotite and tellurobismuthite deposition early during G4 shearing. These results in structural and mineralogical aspects at the Central Manitoba mine trend provide new constraints on structural evolution and gold mineralization of the southeastern Rice Lake belt, and can be used to improve exploration models for gold deposits in Archean terranes.

Abrupt spatial and geochemical changes in lamprophyre magmatism related to Gondwana fragmentation prior, during and after opening of the Tasman Sea

High-precision 40Ar/39Ar dating of lamprophyre dike swarms in the Western Province of New Zealand reveals that these dikes were emplaced into continental crust prior to, during and after opening of the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Dike ages form distinct clusters concentrated in different areas. The oldest magmatism, 102–100Ma, is concentrated in the South Westland region that represents the furthest inboard portion of New Zealand in a Gondwana setting. A later pulse of magmatism from ~92Ma to ~84Ma, concentrated in North Westland, ended when the first oceanic crust formed at the inception of opening of the Tasman Sea. Magmatic quiescence followed until ~72–68Ma, when another swarm of dikes was emplaced. The composition of the dikes reveals a dramatic change in primary melt sources while continental extension and lithospheric thinning were ongoing. The 102–100Ma South Westland dikes represent the last mafic calc-alkaline magmatism associated with a long-lived history of the area as Gondwana's active margin. The 92–84Ma North and 72–68Ma Central Westland dike swarms on the other hand have strongly alkaline compositions interpreted as melts from an intraplate source. These dikes represent the oldest Western Province representatives of alkaline magmatism in the greater New Zealand region that peaked in activity during the Cenozoic and has remained active up to the present day. Cretaceous alkaline dikes were emplaced parallel to predicted normal faults associated with dextral shear along the Alpine Fault. Furthermore, they temporally correspond to polyphase Cretaceous metamorphism of the once distal Alpine Schist. Dike emplacement and distal metamorphism could have been linked by a precursor to the Alpine Fault. Dike emplacement in the Western Province coupled to metamorphism of the Alpine Schist at 72–68Ma indicates a period of possible reactivation of this proto Alpine Fault before it served as a zone of weakness during the opening of the oceanic Emerald Basin (at ~45Ma) and eventually the formation of the present-day plate boundary (~25Ma–recent).

Generation, ascent and eruption of magma on the Moon: New insights into source depths, magma supply, intrusions and effusive/explosive eruptions (Part 2: Predicted emplacement processes and observations)

Generation, ascent and eruption of magma on the Moon: New insights into source depths, magma supply, intrusions and effusive/explosive eruptions (Part 2: Predicted emplacement processes and observations)

Spectral analysis of dike‐induced earthquakes in Afar, Ethiopia

AbstractShallow dike intrusions may be accompanied by fault slip above the dikes, a superposition which complicates seismic and geodetic data analyses. The diverse volcano‐tectonic and low‐frequency local earthquakes accompanying the 2005–2010 large‐volume dike intrusions in the Dabbahu‐Manda Hararo rift (Afar), some with fault displacements of up to 3 m at the surface, provide an opportunity to examine the relations among the earthquakes, dike intrusions, and surface ruptures. We apply the frequency index (FI) method to characterize the spectra of swarm earthquakes from six of the dikes. These earthquakes often have broad spectra with multiple peaks, making the usual peak frequency classification method unreliable. Our results show a general bimodal character with high FI earthquakes associated with deeper dikes (top &gt; 3 km subsurface) and low FI earthquakes associated with shallow dikes, indicating that shallow dikes result in earthquakes with more low‐frequency content and larger‐amplitude surface waves. Low FI earthquakes are more common during dike emplacement, suggesting that interactions between the dike and faults may lead to lower FI. Taken together, likely source processes for low FI earthquakes are shallow hypocenters (&lt;3 km) possibly with surface rupture, slow rupture velocities, and interactions with dike fluids. Strong site effects also heavily influence the earthquake spectral content. Additionally, our results suggest a continuum of spectral responses, implying either that impulsive volcano‐tectonic earthquakes and the unusual, emergent earthquakes have similar source processes or that simple spectral analyses, such as FI, cannot distinguish different source processes.

The unusual 28 December 2014 dike‐fed paroxysm at Mount Etna: Timing and mechanism from a multidisciplinary perspective

AbstractBetween 2011 and 2013, there were 43 lava fountain episodes from Mount Etna's New South‐East summit crater (NSEC). In 2014, this intense activity was supplanted by sporadic Strombolian explosions and the opening of an eruptive fissure between July and August. The only lava fountaining episode of the year occurred on 28 December; this was characterized by the emplacement of a shallow dike that, at the surface, fed two distinct lava flows from an ENE‐WSW trending eruptive fissure. Here we provide a detailed picture of the onset of the dike emplacement, as well as the mechanism driving its migration, using a multidisciplinary data set based on seismic, geodetic, geochemical, and volcanological observations. The dike emplacement was preceded by a pressurization of the magmatic plumbing system recorded from August 2014 on. This pressurization has been modeled as a vertically elongated magmatic source located beneath the summit craters at ~4.5 km below sea level. From September to October, magma rising was also detected by seismic and geochemical data that highlighted pressurization of the shallower portion of the plumbing system. We suggest that the 28 December 2014 dike emplacement resulted from a modification of the preexisting NSEC shallow plumbing system, largely due to drainage of the main shallow conduit during the July–August 2014 eruptive fissure activity. Such a structural modification might have created the conditions for magma emplacement as a dike‐like structure.

Conditions of crystallization, composition, and sources of rare-metal magmas forming ongonites in the Kalba—Narym zone, Eastern Kazakhstan

This paper presents a study of ongonites from the Chechek and Akhmirovo dike belts located within the Kalba—Narym batholith in Eastern Kazakhstan. The obtained conclusions are based on the investigations of melt and fluid inclusion in quartz phenocrysts, supplemented by mineralogical and geochemical data. It was established that the dike rocks were formed by crystallization of volatile-rich rare-metal melts in the presence of an aqueous fluid phase with subordinate amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. The ongonites crystallized from three geochemically different melts. Porphyritic phenocrysts in the ongonites of the Chechek and Akhmirovo dike belts crystallized at close temperatures 560–605°C and pressure of 3.6–5.3 kbar. Ongonite magmas that formed the Chechek and Akhmirovo dike belts had a high ore potential. However, degassing dynamics was not favorable for the development of metasomatism and formation of hydrothermal mineralization at the level of dike emplacement. The area of the rare-metal magmatism represented by ongonite dikes and rare-metal granite pegmatites has been distinguished in the northern part of the Kalba—Narym zone. The formation of rare-metal magmas was related to the differentiation in large granitoid chambers under the effect of juvenile fluids derived from the Tarim mantle plume.

Arrested diatreme development: Standing Rocks East, Hopi Buttes, Navajo Nation, USA

Maar–diatreme volcanoes, defined by their relatively large pyroclastic debris-filled subsurface structures and craters that cut into the pre-eruptive land surface, are typically found in small-volume mafic to ultramafic monogenetic volcanic fields. Diatremes are associated with strong explosions throughout most of their development, focused along feeder dikes and generally attributed to magma–water interaction, or high magmatic volatiles. Detailed mapping of the magnificently exposed Standing Rocks East (SRE) diatreme shows evidence of additional eruptive complexity, and offers new insights into how the plumbing and vent structures of small-volume volcanoes evolve during an eruption.SRE is part of a larger, basanitic volcanic complex that includes several diatremes formed along a series of irregular, offset NW–SE trending dikes exposed 300m below the pre-eruptive land surface. Its similarly oriented elliptical-shaped diatreme structure comprises predominantly country rock lithic-rich breccia of coarse inhomogeneously mixed wall-rock blocks sourced from above and below the current surface, plus sparse juvenile material. Domains of pyroclastic deposits crosscut the country rock breccia deposits, and the best exposed is the NW massif rising 35m above the current erosional surface. It represents a cross-section of an evolving crater floor, and comprises matrix-rich lapilli tuff and spatter deposits cut by irregularly distributed dikes, some with very complex textures. The most significant deposit, in terms of volume, is an unbedded lapilli tuff that is poorly sorted and has a well-mixed population of wall-rock and juvenile clast varieties, thus resembling deposits typical of diatremes. It is overlain by and locally intercalated with spatter deposits, and this irregular contact demarcates the base of what was during eruption an uneven, evolving crater floor. The generally massive, variably welded spatter deposits constitute mostly lapilli-sized juvenile clasts with fluidal, folded-over shapes and ropy surfaces, subordinate thermally altered wall-rock and variegated domains of lapilli tuff.SRE shows a progressive transition from fissure to diatreme, and overall evolution from more explosive to weakly explosive eruption styles recorded at the conduit-crater transition. Diatreme development was initiated by deep-quarrying explosive eruptions along a fissure to form the country rock-rich breccia. Only parts of the fissure remained active as magma feeding the highly explosive eruptions along the fissure localized into discrete point sources forming the matrix-rich lapilli tuff deposits. These superimposed deposits record the passage of multiple debris-jets and subvertical fallback from shallow cratering arising from explosions triggered by magma–water interaction at numerous, discrete sites. However, instead of continuing to build a well-formed diatreme, the system switched to weak spattering with intermittent explosive activity and near-surface dike emplacement into the unconsolidated anisotropic, pyroclastic debris of the crater floor. Dominant spatter from strombolian-style bursts accumulated on the topographically varied, evolving unstable syn-eruptive crater floor, and led to local failure and remobilization. This study demonstrates how the combination of fissure behavior and sensitivity of the shallow plumbing system to local conditions during an eruption can lead to a decrease in eruptive footprint within the diatreme structure, and an overall decrease in explosivity resulting in the arrested development of an immature diatreme.

Fault and graben growth along active magmatic divergent plate boundaries in Iceland and Ethiopia

Recent studies highlight the importance of annual-scale dike-induced rifting episodes in developing normal faults and graben along the active axis of magmatic divergent plate boundaries (MDPB). However, the longer-term (102–105 years) role of diking on the cumulative surface deformation and evolution of MDPB is not yet well understood. To better understand the longer-term normal faults and graben along the axis of MDPB, we analyze fissure swarms in Iceland and Ethiopia. We first focus on the simplest case of immature fissure swarms, with single dike-fed eruptive fissures; these consist of a <1 km wide graben bordered by normal faults with displacement up to a few meters, consistent with theoretical models and geodetic data. A similar structural pattern is found, with asymmetric and multiple graben, within wider mature fissure swarms, formed by several dike-fed eruptive fissures. We then consider the lateral termination of normal faults along these grabens to detect their upward or downward propagation. Most faults terminate as open fractures on flat surface, suggesting downward fault propagation; this is consistent with recent experiments showing dike-induced normal faults propagating downward from the surface. However, some normal faults also terminate as open fractures on monoclines, which resemble fault propagation folds; this suggests upward propagation of reactivated buried faults, promoted by diking. These results suggest that fault growth and graben development, as well as the longer-term evolution of the axis of MDPB, may be explained only through dike emplacement and that any amagmatic faulting is not necessary.

Porphyry Au-Cu mineralization controlled by reactivation of an arc-transverse volcanosedimentary subbasin

Located in the accreted remnants of the Ordovician Macquarie Arc (Australia), Cadia East is the largest alkalic porphyry Au-Cu deposit currently known. The deposit is centered on a 2-km-long, northwest-trending volcanosedimentary subbasin, which was identified by mapping variations in the distribution and thickness of faulted sedimentary marker horizons. The normal faults that define the subbasin predate porphyry mineralization and are oriented parallel to a major arc-transverse lineament. Porphyry Au-Cu mineralization was controlled by reactivation of the subbasin during postorogenic extension as the Macquarie Arc was accreted to the Gondwana margin in the early Silurian. Dilation of the northwest-trending subbasin faults facilitated emplacement of alkalic porphyry dikes and associated sheeted quartz-sulfide veins that define the Cadia East orebody. During the middle Silurian, north-trending fault-bound marine basins buried Cadia East, significantly enhancing preservation of the ore system. These north-trending faults were optimally oriented for reactivation during Devonian east-directed compression, leaving the mineralized Cadia East volcanosedimentary subbasin largely intact. We identify the significance of reactivated premineralization structures within an arc-transverse lineament in controlling porphyry Au-Cu mineralization in a postsubduction setting. At Cadia East, the manifestation of such premineralization structures can be observed at regional, district, and deposit scales, and highlights the influence of preexisting crustal architecture on the structural character, geometry, and preservation potential of porphyry deposits throughout the arc life cycle.