Potassic Magmas Research Articles

Magmatismos shoshonítico e cálcio-alcalino de alto potássio pós-orogênico (615 Ma) na porção leste do Domínio Macururé, Sistema Orogênico Sergipano: Stocks Propriá, Amparo do São Francisco e Fazenda Alvorada

Os Stocks Propriá, Amparo do São Francisco e Fazenda Alvorada são intrusivos na parte leste do Domínio Macururé e truncam a foliação regional. Esses corpos apresentam feições geológicas e petrográficas semelhantes e são composicionalmente constituídos por quartzo monzonitos e granitos porfiríticos. Nesses plutons, a biotita é o mineral máfico predominante e hornblenda ocorre em alguns enclaves associados. Os cristais de plagioclásio exibem forte zoneamento, indicando instabilidades durante a cristalização magmática. Os minerais acessórios nessas rochas são apatita, zircão, titanita, minerais opacos. Nos Stocks Propriá e Amparo do São Francisco enclaves máficos microgranulares são abundantes. A idade de cristalização do Stock Propriá é de 615 ± 6 Ma (U-PbShrimp). Os dados geoquímicos indicam que esses stocks correspondem a magmas potássicos, gerados em ambiente orogênico e alojados na crosta em período pós-colisional.

40Ar-39Ar dating and petrology of monzonite ejecta in tephra from Quaternary Gölcük volcano (Isparta, SW Turkey): tear-related contrasting metasomatic symptoms in extensional mantle-derived magmas

Eruption of (74-26 ka old) pyroclastic (pumice fall) flow deposits of the Quaternary Gölcük volcano, Isparta, SW Turkey, carried a cargo of Western Anatolian’s youngest monzonitic-syenitic ejecta, 40Ar-39Ar hornblende ages range 313+64−268+43 ka, and indicate that a shallow level felsic plutonic complex existed underneath the crater. These ejecta represent some of the youngest plutonic rocks known. The cooling time of this complex was coeval with the earlier main pyroclastic flow deposits (440 - 148 ka) of the multi-cycle eruptive center which also had a long-lived magma chamber. The monzosyenite ejecta contain plagioclase, K-feldspar, clinopyroxene, amphibole, mica, and accessory apatite, titanite and magnetite. In terms of Nb-Y-3Ga and Nb-Y-Ce, the ejecta, with strong shoshonitic affinity, plot in the field of A1 subtype granites, and represent A1-type magma generation in a back-arc extensional setting. Low Sr and high Nd isotopic ratios of monzosyenites exhibit isotopic similarity to enriched mantle-derived Gölcük-Isparta shoshonitic-ultrapotassic magmas. REE patterns show no significant Eu anomaly, but a strong enrichment of the LREE over the HREE. In multi-element diagrams, however, all samples have negative anomalies of Nb_Ta, Zr_Hf, P and Ti and strong enrichments of Ba, Sr, U, and Th. Moreover, variable (Hf/Sm)N and low (Ta/La)N ratios reflect subduction-related metasomatism in their mantle source. Gölcük monzosyenites and shoshonitic-ultrapotassic rocks overlap with mantle-derived A1-type alkali syenites in trace element abundances. This observation suggests that not only subduction–related fluids/melts, but also intraplate sublithospheric metasomatic agents played a crucial role on their mantle source. It is contended that, due to the percolation of both sublithospheric alkali silicate- and subduction-released-melts/fluids, the metasomatized mantle-derived parental magmas may illustrate a chemical paradox, carrying geochemical imprints of genetically distinct types of mantle sources. Such a metasomatic component in continental lithosphere defined in the genesis of Gölcük monzonitic/syenitic magmas can be explained by tearing of the African oceanic slab during Miocene, where slab-derived and intraplate melts/fluids concurrently modified the lithospheric mantle. Metasomatism of wall-rock peridotites occurred prior to the generation of Gölcük magmas during Miocene slab-tearing. Plio-Quaternary Gölcük potassic magmas were possibly derived from partial melting of carbonated mantle metasomes under an extensional tectonic regime.

New geochemical constraints on the origins of MARID and PIC rocks: Implications for mantle metasomatism and mantle-derived potassic magmatism

MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) and PIC (Phlogopite-Ilmenite-Clinopyroxene) rocks are unusual mantle samples entrained by kimberlites and other alkaline volcanic rocks. The formation of MARID rocks remains hotly debated. Although the incompatible element (for example, large ion lithophile element) enrichment in these rocks suggests that they formed by mantle metasomatism, the layered textures of some MARID samples (and MARID veins in composite xenoliths) are more indicative of formation by magmatic processes. MARID lithologies have also been implicated as an important source component in the genesis of intraplate ultramafic potassic magmas (e.g., lamproites, orangeites, ultramafic lamprophyres), due to similarities in their geochemical and isotopic signatures. To determine the origins of MARID and PIC xenoliths and to understand how they relate to alkaline magmatism, this study presents new mineral major and trace element data and bulk-rock reconstructions for 26 MARID and PIC samples from the Kimberley-Barkly West area in South Africa. Similarities between compositions of PIC minerals and corresponding phases in metasomatised mantle peridotites are indicative of PIC formation by pervasive metasomatic alteration of peridotites. MARID genesis remains a complicated issue, with no definitive evidence precluding either the magmatic or metasomatic model. MARID minerals exhibit broad ranges in Mg# (e.g., clinopyroxene Mg# from 82 to 91), which may be indicative of fractionation processes occurring in the MARID-forming fluid/melt. Finally, two quantitative modelling approaches were used to determine the compositions of theoretical melts in equilibrium with MARID rocks. Both models indicate that MARID-derived melts have trace element patterns resembling mantle-derived potassic magma compositions (e.g., lamproites, orangeites, ultramafic lamprophyres), supporting inferences that these magmas may originate from MARID-rich mantle sources.

Triggers for the generation of post–collisional porphyry Cu systems in the Kerman magmatic copper belt, Iran: New constraints from elemental and isotopic (Sr–Nd–Hf–O) data

Cenozoic tectono–magmatic activities and metallogenic processes in the Kerman magmatic copper belt (KMCB) led to the formation of two contrasting porphyry copper systems in a post–collisional setting: (1) early to late Oligocene (i.e., 33.9–23.03 Ma) Jebal Barez–type intrusive rocks comprising small porphyry copper deposits (PCDs) of normal calc–alkaline and locally tholeiitic affinity, and (2) early Miocene to early Pliocene (i.e., 17–3.6 Ma) Kuh Panj–type granitoids hosting moderate to giant PCDs, such as the world–class Sarcheshmeh deposit with potassic and adakite–like calc–alkaline features. Here I present new Sr–Nd–Hf–O isotopic data from the both economic and sub–economic porphyries. The Kuh Panj ore–bearing granitoids exhibit low ISr (<0.706), high εNd(t) (>−4.6), positive zircon εHf(t) (>+6.1), low δ18O (<6.76‰), and TDMC (Hf model ages) values of 425 to 705 Ma (mean TDMC = 571 Ma). These isotopic data imply that the KMCB economic porphyry systems originated mainly from dehydration melting of a composite juvenile underplated thick lower crust derived from a depleted mantle source.In contrast, the sub–economic porphyries at Jebal Barez show comparatively older Hf model ages (mean TDMC = 1274 Ma), low εNd(t) (<−4.1), and higher ISr (>0.706) values suggesting a source dominated by lower crust. A wide range of εHf(t) values (+2.8 to −10.6) and high zircon δ18O values (>7.31‰) for the Jebal Barez granitoids, are higher than pristine mantle values indicating involvement of the supracrustal recycling materials during zircon growth. These isotopic data, coupled with geochemical characteristics of the Kuh Panj granitoids, such as high SiO2 (>69.5%), K2O (>2.8%) contents, low MgO contents (<1.4), high Sr/Y (>60.9), and La/Yb (>20) ratios, relatively low Mg# (<42.6), and compatible element contents (e.g., Cr ≤ 21.6 ppm) reported in this study, indicate a magma mixing model for the generation of high–K adakite–like porphyries within the garnet amphibolite stability field in the sub–continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). In new magma mixing model, ore–forming high Sr/Y magmas first involved partial melting of highly metasomatized SCLM that was triggered by post–collisional lithospheric thinning and asthenospheric mantle counterflow, which produced potassic magmas. Underplating of these mantle–derived magmas beneath the lower part of the thickened juvenile lower crust (~45–55 km) would have led to dehydration melting of the lower crust with excess water (>10 wt%).

Patagonia-Antarctica Early Paleozoic conjugate margins: Cambrian synsedimentary silicic magmatism, U-Pb dating of K-bentonites, and related volcanogenic rocks

This study describes the stratigraphic features, petrology and geochemistry and geochronology constraints of K-bentonites, ignimbrites and related volcanogenic rocks interbedded in the marine sedimentary sequence of the El Jagüelito Formation from northern Patagonia basement, southwestern Gondwana margin (41°33′S-65°15′W, South America). Six SHRIMP and ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages from pyroclastic and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks indicate two stages of synsedimentary volcanism at c. 530 and c. 515 Ma which constraint the whole volcano-sedimentary pile to Early-Middle Cambrian. Distal volcanic ash fall deposits of K-bentonites and proximal pyroclastic flows of ignimbrites were erupted from three subaerial to subaqueous eruptive centers and are associated with volcanogenic facies and sub-volcanic intrusive equivalents. The volcanic rocks were deposited synchronously with on-going dynamic siliciclastic sedimentation into an actively subsiding basin.Dacitic K-bentonites and high-silica rhyolitic ignimbrites belong to the same high-K calc-alkaline/shoshonitic magma series and have a similar peraluminous signature. Their HFSE patterns with relative depletion in Nb, Sr, P, and Ti and the LREE-enriched patterns with a negative Eu anomaly indicate characteristics of subduction-related magmas associated with active continental arc magmatism. The geochemical discrimination diagrams together with geological features suggest an extensional tectonic setting for K-rich magmas within the overall convergent-margin system. Silicic, more potassic magmas with the inherited subduction-related character of the El Jagüelito Formation erupted on a back-arc basin. Their volcanic rocks are products of a mixture of fractionated mafic magmas and partial crustal melts. The integration of the Cambrian synsedimentary explosive volcanism of the El Jagüelito Formation with coeval magmatism of northern Patagonia led the interpretation to the continental scale of the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana by Early Paleozoic. The El Jagüelito Formation has provided consistent lithological, stratigraphic, geochemical and geochronological arguments to assess continental comparisons and a paleogeographic reconstruction between the eastern North Patagonian Massif and East Antarctica that fit in well the hypothesis that the northern Patagonia basement once occupied a position adjacent to East Antarctica. A series of geodynamic stages is proposed that allow for providing a Cambrian framework for understanding the magmatic arc-back arc system modified by episodic pulses of extension associated with slab-roll back which terminated in detachment of northern Patagonia from the East Antarctica continental margin by Late Cambrian. The several lines of geological evidence discussed in this paper point to a parautochthonous origin of the eastern North Patagonian Massif as an outboard assemblage that represents the conjugate margin of the Pensacola-Queen Maud-Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains of Antarctica.

Potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite, KNa2(MgFe2+Fe3+)5Si8O22(OH)2: mineral description and crystal chemistry

AbstractThe complete mineral description of potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite, a recently approved (IMA2016-083) new species of the amphibole supergroup is provided using electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, single-crystal structure refinement, Mössbauer and Raman spectroscopy, as well as measurement of optical and physical properties. The holotype material was found in syenitic and granitic dyke rocks in association with quartz, potassium feldspar and aegirine–augite from the Buhovo–Seslavtsi pluton, Bulgaria. Potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite is monoclinic C2/m, with unit-cell parameters: a = 9.9804(11), b = 18.0127(19), c = 5.2971(6) Å, β = 104.341(2)° and V = 922.61 Å3. In transmitted plane-polarised light (λ = 590 cm–1), potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite is pleochroic: X = yellow pale-green, Y = green and Z = dark-violet brown. It is biaxial (–), α = 1.645(2), β = 1.655(2), γ = 1.660(2) and 2Vmeas. = 60° and 2Vcalc. = 70°. The empirical unit formula obtained from EMPA and structure refinement is A(K0.86Na0.0.08)0.94B(Na1.74Ca0.25 Mn2+0.01)2.00C(Mg2.67Fe2+1.42Fe3+0.76Ti0.12Mn2+0.03)5.00TSi8O22W(OH1.58F0.22O0.20)2.00. The Fe3+/Fetot ratio (0.35) is consistent with both the Mössbauer spectra and the single-crystal structure refinement. The 10 strongest X-ray powder reflections [d values (in A°), I, (hkl)] are: 8.519, 80.5, (110); 3.402, 67.3, (131); 3.295, 41.0, (240); 3.173, 65.0, (310); 2.752, 35.6, ($\bar{3}$31); 2.715, 100.0 (151); 2.591, 44.1, (061); 2.542, 73.2, ($\bar{2}$02); 2.348, 38.5, ($\bar{3}$51); 2.174, 42.0, (261). Potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite is the product of strongly peralkaline and potassic (perpotassic) magma compositions. Trace-element analysis shows that this amphibole did not exert significant control on trace-element distribution in the crystallising peralkaline magma.

The Adamawa-Yadé domain, a piece of Archaean crust in the Neoproterozoic Central African Orogenic belt (Bafia area, Cameroon)

New field observations, ages and geochemical data are presented for the Adamawa-Yadé domain, forming part of Central African Orogenic Belt in Cameroon. This belt delineates the northern margin of the Congo craton and is part of the Braziliano/Pan-African orogenic system, which was formed during amalgamation of the West Gondwana continent at the end of the Neoproterozoic.U–Pb dating indicates that the protoliths of some orthogneisses from the Adamawa-Yadé domain were emplaced during three distinct periods. Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) suites in the Makénéné area intruded at ca. 3.0–2.5Ga, and were affected by partial melting at ca. 2.08–2.07Ga, during the Eburnean orogeny, and by a magmatic event with a metamorphic overprint at 0.64–0.61Ga, during the Pan-African orogeny. A dioritic orthogneiss from the Maham area, north of Makénéné, was emplaced at 2.07Ga and also reworked at 0.62–0.61Ga. The youngest granitic orthogneisses, sampled in the vicinity of Bafia, Bep and Ngaa-Bapé, yield intrusion ages of 0.64–0.63Ga. Some of these Neoproterozoic plutonic rocks show shoshonitic affinity and reveal εNd(630Ma) values ranging from −1.2 to −6.9 (1.7>TDM>1.1Ga), and 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios of 0.706 and 0.704, providing evidence for crustal reworking during the Pan-African collision. The isotopic geochemical characteristics provide evidence that potassic magmas result from the interaction between the Archaean TTG continental crust and magmas derived from a mantle enriched in silica and incompatible elements during subduction underneath a continental margin. The Bafia group appears as a complex geological entity comprised of an Archaean/Palaeoproterozoic basement and its Neoproterozoic sedimentary cover, both deformed and recrystallized at ca. 0.61Ga.The crustal evolution of the Adamawa-Yadé domain is very similar to that inferred for the northern margin of the Congo craton (the Ntem complex and Nyong series). This and the sedimentary record suggest that the Adamawa-Yadé domain represents an Archaean/Palaeoproterozoic microcontinent, which was detached from the northern margin of the Congo craton in the early Neoproterozoic, but became re-accreted together with the Mayo Kebbi (magmatic) arc during the Pan-African orogeny.

CO2-crystal wettability in potassic magmas: implications for eruptive dynamics in light of experimental evidence for heterogeneous nucleation

CO2-crystal wettability in potassic magmas: implications for eruptive dynamics in light of experimental evidence for heterogeneous nucleation

Geochemical and radiogenic isotope probes of Ischia volcano, Southern Italy: Constraints on magma chamber dynamics and residence time

The active volcano of Ischia, an island off-shore the city of Naples, Southern Italy, has a discontinuous volcanic activity characterized by caldera-forming paroxysmal eruptions, lava flows, and lava domes, and thus offers the opportunity to study the complexity of magma storage, differentiation, and extraction mechanisms in a long-lived magma reservoir. The overall geochemical composition of erupted magmas varies from shoshonite to latite and trachyte/trachyphonolite. Their Sr and Nd, isotope composition variation is typical of subduction-related magmas, akin to other potassic magmas of the Neapolitan District, and there is a complete overlap of radiogenic isotope composition among shoshonite, latite, and trachyte/trachyphonolite. The lack of systematic radiogenic isotope covariation during differentiation suggests that the radiogenic isotope variability could be a signature of each magma pulse that subsequently evolved in a closed-system environment. Erupted magmas record a recurrent evolutionary process consisting of two-step fractional crystallization along similar liquid lines of descent for each magma pulse, suggesting near steady-state magma chamber conditions with balanced alternating periods of replenishment, differentiation, and eruption. The dominant role of fractionating feldspars determines a significant depletion of Sr ( 200) in the residual trachyte magma. Several more-evolved trachytes have anomalous radiogenic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i (>0.707) coupled with high 87 Rb/ 86 Sr (>50), all other geochemical and isotopic characteristics being similar to normal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i trachytes at the same degree of evolution. This radiogenic Sr isotope signature is not consistent with assimilation of crustal material and demands for a time-related in-growth of 87 Sr during storage within the magma chamber. Rb-Sr isochrons on separated mineral-groundmass pairs provide robust constraints on a prolonged pre-eruptive history ranging from a few tens to hundreds of thousands of years at relatively low temperature (~750 °C). Remarkably, also normal trachytes with high 87 Rb/ 86 Sr (>200) yield a magma residence time from some 4 to 27 kyr, implying that the long-lived history of Ischia magmas is not limited to the anomalous 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i trachytes. This long-lived history could be a characteristic feature of the magma chamber reservoir of this active volcano, which other volcanic products (i.e., shoshonite and latite) cannot disclose due to their lower Rb/Sr (i.e., low 87 Sr in-growth rate) and higher magma storage temperature (>900 °C) (i.e., rapid Sr isotope homogenization via diffusion). The magma chamber dynamics of the active volcano of Ischia, probed on the basis of geochemical and radiogenic isotope tools, is consistent with recent models of complex magma chamber reservoirs made up of multiple discrete melt pockets, isolated by largely crystalline mush portions, maintained in a steady-state thermal flux regime with no mass exchange, and with reactivation shortly before eruption.

Melting and dynamic metasomatism of mixed harzburgite + glimmerite mantle source: Implications for the genesis of orogenic potassic magmas

Tectonically young, orogenic settings are commonly the sites of post-collisional silica-rich ultrapotassic magmas with extreme K2O-contents of up to 9wt% and K2O/Na2O>2. Many experimental studies investigating the generation of these melts have concentrated on melting of homogenous phlogopite bearing peridotites, whereas geochemical signatures indicate the involvement of at least two types of source rocks: ultra-depleted and K and trace elements-enriched ones. We report the results of melting experiments at 1–2GPa of mixed glimmerite and harzburgite, in which these rock types make up two halves each capsule. Melting begins in the glimmerite, and its metasomatic effects on the harzburgite are apparent at 1100°C even before melt pools are visible. The first melts are Na-rich, seen in zoning of olivines and as growth of clinopyroxene in the harzburgite, but change at higher degrees of melting to produce a typical lamproite-like melt with K2O>10wt%. A major advantage of this study is the preservation of distinct melts in different parts of the capsule, which reflect a process of dynamic metasomatism: within the harzburgite matrix, the infiltrating melt derived from melting of the glimmerite changes consistently with the distance of travel through the harzburgite, enabling quantification of the metasomatic effects as an increase in SiO2 and K2O. This results principally from assimilation of orthopyroxene, which increases the Ol/Opx ratio of the residual harzburgite. The effects of quench olivine growth are recognizable and can be quantified due to a step-change in composition at the glimmerite/harzburgite border: the large total surface area of olivine and small melt fraction mean that the amount of quench olivine is high within the harzburgite, but negligible in the almost completely molten glimmerite. Melts of the glimmerite contain up to 8–10wt% K2O and 53wt% SiO2, which increase to 55–56wt% after interaction with the harzburgite. Mediterranean lamproites resemble melts of glimmerite, whereas melts that have interacted with harzburgite are more similar to less potassic, but more SiO2-rich shoshonites of the Mediterranean region.

Plates or plumes in the origin of kimberlites: U/Pb perovskite and Sr-Nd-Hf-Os-C-O isotope constraints from the Superior craton (Canada)

Neoproterozoic kimberlite, ultramafic lamprophyre, and carbonatite magmatic activity was widespread across the Canadian-Greenland Shield. Models to explain the preponderance of this deeply-derived CO2-rich magmatism between 680–540Ma range from impingement of multiple mantle plumes to rifting activity linked to the breakout of the Laurentian plate from the Rodinia supercontinent configuration. We add to the debate about the origin of kimberlite magmas and evaluate possible mantle sources of the 655Ma ‘diamond-rich’ Renard (new SIMS U/Pb perovskite ages) and 629Ma ‘barren’ Wemindji kimberlites on the eastern Superior craton in Quebec, Canada.Our Sr-Nd-Hf and carbon isotope data (87Sr/86Sri=0.70241–0.70442; εNdi=+0.2 to +4.8; εHfi=+0.3 to +6.5; δ13C=−5.6 to −3.9‰) suggest a common and moderately depleted convecting upper mantle source region for both the Renard and Wemindji kimberlites, which occur 400 km apart in the interior of the Superior craton. In contrast, the low Os isotope ratios (187Os/188Osi=0.11078–0.12620; γOsi=−13.7 to −1.6) and unfractionated chondritic relative HSE abundances (Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, Re) indicate significant involvement of ancient refractory cratonic mantle material in kimberlite magma formation. Our model calculations suggest that for both the diamond-rich Renard and the barren Wemindji kimberlite magmas up to 30% of the Os was derived from refractory cratonic peridotites. This material might have been assimilated by originally more CO2-rich carbonated silicate melts derived from the asthenosphere. We also show that the geochemical and Sr-Nd-Hf-Os isotopic compositions of the Renard and Wemindji kimberlites do not require significant input from melts derived from olivine-poor cratonic mantle lithologies such as MARID-type veins and pyroxenites/eclogites. This contrasts with the petrogenesis of deeply-derived volatile-rich potassic magmas found along the peripheries of cratons (e.g., ultramafic lamprophyres, kamafugites, and olivine lamproites), a setting where abundant non-peridotitic components have been added to the lithospheric mantle over the course of continent evolution.Provided that CO2-rich melts, such as proto-kimberlites, occur near the solidus of volatile-fluxed peridotites, no excess mantle heat is required in their formation. This important but often overlooked constraint, together with the observation that there exist no spatial or temporal relationships between the Superior craton kimberlites and Large Igneous Provinces during the Late Neoproterozoic, suggests that kimberlite magmatic activity was tectonically controlled. In our preferred model, ubiquitous CO2-rich proto-kimberlite melts form during volatile-controlled redox melting processes at ambient mantle temperatures in a thermal boundary layer directly beneath thick cratonic lithosphere. The success rate of ‘evolving’ hybrid kimberlite magmas reaching Earth’s surface increases when tensile stresses propagate into the >200km thick keels of continental lithosphere. These conditions are frequently met during fast and changing plate motions associated with the assembly and breakup of supercontinents.

The Cenozoic volcanism in the Kivu rift: Assessment of the tectonic setting, geochemistry, and geochronology of the volcanic activity in the South-Kivu and Virunga regions

The Kivu rift is part of the western branch of the East African Rift system. From Lake Tanganyika to Lake Albert, the Kivu rift is set in a succession of Precambrian zones of weakness trending NW-SE, NNE-SSW and NE-SW. At the NW to NNE turn of the rift direction in the Lake Kivu area, the inherited faults are crosscut by newly born N-S fractures which developed during the late Cenozoic rifting and controlled the volcanic activity. From Lake Kivu to Lake Edward, the N-S faults show a right-lateral en echelon pattern. Development of tension gashes in the Virunga area indicates a clockwise rotation of the constraint linked to dextral oblique motion of crustal blocks. The extensional direction was W-E in the Mio-Pliocene and ENE-WSW in the Pleistocene to present time.The volcanic rocks are assigned to three groups: (1) tholeiites and sodic alkali basalts in the South-Kivu, (2) sodic basalts and nephelinites in the northern Lake Kivu and western Virunga, and (3) potassic basanites and potassic nephelinites in the Virunga area. South-Kivu magmas were generated by melting of spinel + garnet lherzolite from two sources: an enriched lithospheric source and a less enriched mixed lithospheric and asthenospheric source. The latter source was implied in the genesis of the tholeiitic lavas at the beginning of the South-Kivu tectono-volcanic activity, in relationships with asthenosphere upwelling. The ensuing outpouring of alkaline basaltic lavas from the lithospheric source attests for the abortion of the asthenospheric contribution and a change of the rifting process. The sodic nephelinites of the northern Lake Kivu originated from low partial melting of garnet peridotite of the sub-continental mantle due to pressure release during swell initiation. The Virunga potassic magmas resulted from the melting of garnet peridotite with an increasing degree of melting from nephelinite to basanite. They originated from a lithospheric source enriched in both K and Rb, suggesting the presence of phlogopite and the local existence of a metasomatized mantle. A carbonatite contribution is evidenced in the Nyiragongo lavas.New K-Ar ages date around 21 Ma the earliest volcanic activity made of nephelinites. A sodic alkaline volcanism took place between 13 and 9 Ma at the western side of the Virunga during the doming stage of the rift and before the formation of the rift valley. In the South-Kivu area, the first lavas were tholeiitic and dated at 11 Ma. The rift valley subsidence began around 8–7 Ma. The tholeiitic lavas were progressively replaced by alkali basaltic lavas until to 2.6 Ma. Renewal of the basaltic volcanism happened at ca. 1.7 Ma on a western step of the rift. In the Virunga area, the potassic volcanism appeared ca. 2.6 Ma along a NE-SW fault zone and then migrated both to the east and west, in jumping to oblique tension gashes.The uncommon magmatic evolution and the high diversity of volcanic rocks of the Kivu rift are explained by varying transtensional constraints during the rift history.

Early Cretaceous potassic volcanic rocks in the Jiangnan Orogenic Belt, East China: Crustal melting in response to subduction of the Pacific–Izanagi ridge?

Eastern China is characterized by widespread Mesozoic magmatism that was closely related to subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate, but the genetic relationship between magmatism and subduction is not always clear. The Jiangnan Orogenic Belt (JOB) is a Neoproterozoic collisional belt between the Yangtze and Cathaysian blocks. Early Cretaceous felsic magmas from the Tianmushan basin in the eastern JOB form a >3000m thick volcanic sequence erupted within an extremely short period of time (132–130Ma). These rocks are potassic (K2O=3.86–6.05%) and peraluminous (A/CNK=1.0–1.23), and are compositionally similar to experimental melts derived from predominantly clay-poor and K-rich metasediments or granodiorites at crustal conditions. They are LILE- and LREE-enriched ((La/Yb)CN=9.0–14.6) and display variable Eu anomalies and Nb–Ta depletion. The weakly variable and negative whole-rock εNd(t) (−5.4 to −2.5) and heterogeneous zircon εHf(t) values (−6.7 to +3.5) of these rocks are similar to those of basement rocks beneath the JOB, suggesting a genetic relationship with basement. No magmas with clear subduction-related composition occurred at this time in the area and the compositions of the potassic rocks more closely resemble high-temperature melts of extensively thinned crust in continental rift environments. Our data favors a model that the Early Cretaceous potassic magmas formed as subduction of the Pacific–Izanagi ridge resulted in upwelling asthenosphere, providing the high temperatures required to extensively melt the lower-middle crust in the eastern JOB.

Petrogenesis of coeval sodic and potassic alkaline magmas at Spanish Peaks, Colorado: Magmatism related to the opening of the Rio Grande rift

Approximately coeval, relatively primitive (∼5–10% MgO with exception of a trachyandesite) alkaline mafic dikes and sills at or near Spanish Peaks, CO are divided into relatively sodic and potassic varieties on the basis of K2O/Na2O. Many of these dikes are true lamprophyres. In spite of variable alkali element ratios, the alkaline rocks share a number of geochemical similarities: high LIL element contents, high Ba and similar Sr, Nd and Hf isotope ratios near that of Bulk Earth. One important difference is that the potassic rocks are characterized by lower Al2O3 contents, typically less than 12wt.%, than the sodic dikes/sills which typically have more than 13wt.% Al2O3, and this difference is independent of MgO content. We attribute the distinct Al2O3 contents to varying pressure during melting: a mica-bearing, Al-poor vein assemblage for the potassic magmas melted at higher pressure than an aluminous amphibole-bearing vein assemblage for the sodic magmas. Remarkable isotopic and trace element similarities with approximately contemporaneous, nearby Rio Grande rift-related basalts in the San Luis Valley, indicate that the magmatism at Spanish Peaks was rift-related, and that lithosphere sources were shared between some rift magmas and those at Spanish Peaks. High Zn/Fe ratios in the Spanish Peaks mafic rocks point to a clinopyroxene- and garnet-rich source such as lithosphere veined by pyroxenite or eclogite. Lithospheric melting was possibly triggered by foundering of cool, dense lithosphere beneath the Rio Grande rift during the initiation of rifting with the potassic parent magmas generated by higher pressure melting of the foundered lithosphere than the sodic parent magmas. This process, caused by gravitational instability of the lithosphere (Elkins-Tanton, 2007) may be common beneath active continental rifts.

Mineralogy and petrology of leucite ankaratrites with affinities to kamafugites and carbonatites from the Kayıköy area, Isparta, SW Anatolia, Turkey: Implications for the influences of carbonatite metasomatism into the parental mantle sources of silica-undersaturated potassic magmas

In the Kayıköy area of Isparta-Gölcük district, Inner Isparta Angle, SW Anatolia, Turkey, a small volume of newly discovered K-rich mafic potassic magma was emplaced in the form of dome in the vicinity of graben structures under Pliocene (3.68±0.5Ma) extensional tectonics. Kayıköy leucite ankaratrites are made up of abundant diopside, barian phlogopite and leucite, and lesser olivine, that rarely contains Cr-spinel, nepheline and haüyne, with abundant magnetite. They have low SiO2 (44.00–46.04 wt.%) and Al2O3 (12.10–12.64 wt.%) with high K2O (4.00–4.42 wt.%), CaO (13.50–14.40 wt.%) and MgO (8.52–9.36 wt.%), with high Cr (397–547 ppm) and moderate Ni (57–74 ppm) contents. They represent the less evolved silica-undersaturated mafic potassic magmas within the Isparta-Gölcük volcanic province, and may be considered another parental source to the wide spectrum of the K-rich rocks. They are highly enriched in most of the incompatible elements (e.g., Ba, 2761 to >10,000 ppm; Sr, 3700–4074 ppm; Th, 33.60–36.99 ppm; Zr, 274–321 ppm) with high LREEs, low HREEs and elevated LREEs/HREEs ratios [(La/Yb)N, 73–80] and are comparable with kamafugite and carbonatites. Trace element patterns have negative P, Ti and Nb-Ta anomalies in common with the Italian kamafugite province and lack of a Eu anomaly, in contrast to the negative Eu anomaly of the Italian province. Their Sr87/86–Nd143/144 (0.703877–0.512765) isotopic compositions, together with those of other potassic volcanics from the Inner Isparta Angle, coincide with the West Quinling (China) kamafugites with highly depleted mantle signatures, and young East African carbonatites. Olivine–Cr-spinel pairs, high Mg# (0.69–0.73) numbers and Cr values, and high incompatible and LREE contents in Kayıköy leucite ankaratritic magma are consistent with near-primary magmas equilibrated with enriched and heterogeneous (peridotitic/pyroxenitic) mantle sources. On the basis of (i) their geochemical signatures [low Ti/Eu, elevated CaO/Al2O3 and (La/Yb)N ratios], (ii) consistency of parental magma compositions with experimental melt compositions for carbonated peridotites, and (iii) geochemical and isotopic affinities to kamafugites and carbonatites, it is inferred that the carbonatitic melts infiltrated the mantle sources of Kayıköy leucite ankaratritic magma, and induced the depletion of its SiO2 contents. Carbonate-bearing phonolitic parental melts formed by mixing of both silicate and carbonate-asthenospheric melts from convecting mantle, react with wall-rock peridotite to form diopside+phlogopite+olivine+apatite metasomatic veins as wehrlitic metasomes. Partial melting of such newly generated wehrlitic metasomes in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle resulted in the parental melts of Kayıköy leucite ankaratrites. Results also imply that the nature and composition of asthenosphere-derived silicate melts (basanitic, phonolitic or tephriphonolitic in composition) and percentage of mixed carbonatitic melts lead to the formation of discrete mantle metasomes within the Inner Isparta Angle lithospheric mantle. These metasomes are conducive to the generation of coeval potassic magmas with contrasting geochemical signatures (e.g., lamproitic, lamprophyric, kamafugitic) in a single tectonic setting.

Mineralization, geochronology, and Pb isotope studies of the shoshonitic lava-hosted Nariniya Pb deposit, central Tibet: linking ore formation to post-collisional potassic magmatism

A newly discovered, shoshonitic lava-hosted Pb deposit at Nariniya in central Tibet provides an excellent example to help improve our understanding of the linkage between post-collisional potassic magmatism and ore formation in Tibet. The Pb ores exist as veins or veinlets in NWW-striking fracture zones within the potassic lava (trachyte). The veins contain quartz, galena, pyrite, and sericite (muscovite) as well as minor chalcopyrite, sphalerite, calcite, and dolomite with sericitization, pyritization, and minor silicification. The 40Ar–39Ar plateau age of the hydrothermal muscovite is 37.95 ± 0.30 Ma, which represents the Pb mineralization age. This obtained age is indistinguishable, within analytical error, from the zircon U–Pb age of 37.88 ± 0.22 Ma for potassic lava. Therefore, the ore formation can be genetically linked to potassic magmatism. Galena has similar Pb isotopic composition to magmatic feldspar from the host lava, suggesting the derivation of Pb from the magmatic system. Previous studies have suggested that S- and ore-forming fluids are of magmatic origin. Published data show that the Nariniya volcanic rocks are acidic, shoshonitic, akakitic, peraluminous, and enriched in Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes. Thus, they are geochemically different from other potassic volcanic rocks (no adakitic affinity) in the North Qiangtang terrane, but similar to the 46–38 Ma high-K calc-alkaline peraluminous adakitic rocks in this terrane and the late Eocene Cu-generating potassic porphyries from the Sanjiang region of eastern Tibet. As such, the Nariniya potassic magma likely originated from melting of subducted continental crust, with or without interaction with the overlying enriched mantle. Such post-collisional potassic rocks in Tibet are thought to be potential targets for prospecting of both Pb–Zn and porphyry Cu ores. Note that other ore styles (in addition to the Nariniya ore style) may exist in the potassic volcanic districts of Tibet.

High-K Mafic Plinian Eruptions of Volcán de Colima, Mexico

The last Plinian-type eruption of Volcan de Colima, Mexico, occurred in 1913; this resulted in the removal of the top 100 m of the edifice and the deposition of a tephra layer that blanketed the slopes of the Colima Volcanic Complex (CVC). Road-cuts on the flanks of the nearby Nevado de Colima edifice expose pre-1913 air-fall tephra, pyroclastic flow and ash-rich surge deposits resulting from numerous highly explosive events throughout the Holocene. The majority of the pumice and scoria fallout deposits are medium-K subalkaline basaltic andesite and andesite in composition, defining a clear major element differentiation trend. In contrast, three newly discovered scoria fallout deposits are high-K subalkaline, transitional to alkaline, basaltic andesite in composition and are characterized by the presence of phlogopite; these deposits have high MgO (up to 7·9 wt %), K2O (up to 2·6 wt %) and P2O5 (up to 0·67 wt %) contents. They are also strongly enriched in fluid- and melt-mobile large ion lithophile elements (LILE; Rb, Ba, K, Sr and Th) and light REE (LREE; La, Ce, Pr and Nd) relative to the majority of the Colima tephra fallout deposits. Strontium and Nd isotope systematics reveal that the high-K mafic scoria have more radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr = 0·70365–0·70408) and less radiogenic Nd (143Nd/144Nd = 0·51279–0·51294) compared with the majority of the subalkaline tephras (87Sr/86Sr = 0·70338–0·70371 and 143Nd/144Nd = 0·51290–0·51295). Two-component mixing models, using whole-rock geochemical data, indicate the importance of magma mixing in the petrogenesis of the Colima magmas, with addition of up to 50% by volume of an alkaline mafic magma component in the most potassic magmas. This is supported by mineral chemistry and textural data, which reveal multiple episodes of decompression and magma mingling within a shallow crustal magma storage region. The presence of these potassic tephra fall deposits among the otherwise prevailing medium-K subalkaline stratigraphy indicates that pulses of K-rich alkaline mafic magmas periodically enter the CVC plumbing system on timescales of a few thousand years and may trigger Plinian explosive eruptions.

Geochemistry of Quaternary basaltic lavas from the Nuomin volcanic field, Inner Mongolia: Implications for the origin of potassic volcanic rocks in Northeastern China

The Nuomin volcanic field (NM for short) in northern Greater Xing'An Mountains is dominated by Quaternary monogenetic eruptions, forming lava flows covering an area of about 600km2. The lavas range from tephrite and basanite to trachybasalts, with high K2O contents between 2.6wt.% and 4.3wt.%, and K2O/Na2O between 0.78 and 1.08. These NM lavas are generally magnesian (Mg# between 0.59 and 0.78) and may contain useful information on the origin of potassic magmas in NE China. The NM lavas are characterized by relatively high (La/Yb)N (21.6–41.9) and enrichments in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs), but low in high field strength element (HSFE) concentrations. The NM lavas have negative εΝd(−0.8–−3.0), 87Sr/86Sr between 0.704661 and 0.704880, 206Pb/204Pb between 17.0 and 17.2, 207Pb/204Pb between 15.41 and 15.43, and 208Pb/204Pb between 37.0 and 37.3. Their trace element spider diagram and chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) diagram are similar to those of Wudalianchi lavas, but are different from the Halaha–Chaoer river lavas in central Greater Xing'An Mountains. Their REE characteristics indicate that the NM lavas originate from garnet stability field. Based on petrological and geochemical data, we propose that the delamination of K-rich lithosphere mantle trigger the Quaternary potassic volcanism in Northeastern China.

Origin of Late Triassic high-K calc-alkaline granitoids and their potassic microgranular enclaves from the western Tibet Plateau, northwest China: Implications for Paleo-Tethys evolution

The western Tibet Plateau comprises a series of crustal terranes that were successively accreted to the southern margin of Eurasia associated with the evolution of Paleo- and Neo-Tethys. This paper presents the first detailed SHRIMP zircon U–Pb chronology, major and trace element, and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope geochemistry of three Mesozoic plutons (South Kudi, Arkarz and Mazha) and their microgranular enclaves in the western Kunlun and Tianshuihai terranes. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating shows that the three plutons were emplaced in the Late Triassic (215–209Ma) and show a southward-younging trend. The South Kudi pluton (215Ma) is composed of high-K calc-alkaline granodiorite and monzogranite, with initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7093–0.7099, εNd (T) of −4.9 to −5.4, and εHf (T) (in-situ zircon) of 0.3. Elemental and isotopic data suggest that the granitoids were generated by partial melting of the Precambrian metasedimentary–igneous basement in the normal lower-crust (<40km) of the western Kunlun terrane triggered by underplating of basaltic magma. The Arkarz pluton (213Ma) consists of high-K calc-alkaline monzogranite, syenogranite and alkali-feldspar granite and contains abundant microgranular enclaves. The host granites have initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7071–0.7085, εNd (T) of –3.7 to −4.8, and εHf (T) of −0.7, and were also generated by partial melting of the Precambrian metasedimentary–igneous basement in the normal lower-crust (<40km) of the western Kunlun terrane triggered by underplating of enclave-forming potassic magma. Fractional crystallization of these pure crustal melts may explain the more felsic end-member granite. The enclaves are mainly basic (SiO2 48.0–54.9wt.%) with high K2O (1.4–3.8wt.%). They have initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7071–0.7080 and εNd (T) of −2.6 to −4.5. We interpret the enclave magmas as having been derived by partial melting of the metasomatized mantle wedge in the spinel–garnet transition zone (~60–80km). The Mazha pluton (209Ma) is composed of high-K calc-alkaline tonalite and granodiorite, with initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7087–0.7097, εNd (T) of −6.3 to −6.5, and εHf (T) of −2.8. Elemental and isotopic data suggest that the granitoids were generated by mixing of mantle-derived basaltic magma with felsic melt derived by partial melting of lower crust of the Tianshuihai terrane. Our new data suggest that during the Late Triassic (215–209Ma) the Tianshuihai terrane and the southern part of the western Kunlun terrane were a continental arc in response to the northward subduction of the Paleo-Tethys between the Tianshuihai and Karakorum terranes; the collision of the Karakorum terrane with the Tianshuihai terrane is not earlier than the age of 209Ma, and most likely occurred during the Early Jurassic.

Experimental constraints on the origins of primitive potassic lavas from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Primitive magmas in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) span a wide geochemical range that includes calc-alkaline basalt and basaltic andesite, potassic shoshonites, and intraplate alkaline basalts, indicating that the subarc mantle wedge is chemically heterogeneous. The aim of this study is to experimentally constrain the origins of potassic lavas that have erupted along the volcanic front in the TMVB. We used a piston-cylinder apparatus to determine the P–T–H2O near-liquidus phase relations for two primitive potassic lavas: a hornblende trachybasalt (shoshonite) from Cerro La Pilita in the central TMVB and a high-K calc-alkaline basalt from Ayutla in the western TMVB. Experiments were conducted at mantle pressures (0.8–2.5 GPa) and temperatures (1,100–1,400 °C) with 1.5–6 wt% H2O. Results show that both samples were last equilibrated with an olivine + clinopyroxene assemblage at upper mantle pressures. Integrating our results with trace element characteristics, we conclude that the potassic magmas formed by a complex, multistage process in which melts from the hottest part of the mantle wedge either reequilibrated with clinopyroxene-rich veins in the shallow upper mantle or caused melting of such veins by advective heating. We combine our results with previous experiments on TMVB lavas to provide an along-arc perspective of melt equilibration depths in the mantle wedge. The results suggest that although melts may initially form deep in the wedge, they commonly reequilibrate with heterogeneous mantle at shallower depths. Primitive, medium-K basaltic andesites in the TMVB form by reequilibration with harzburgite, which we infer to be a common lithology in the upper mantle, whereas some potassic magmas like the ones studied here form through reequilibration with or melting of veins of olivine + clinopyroxene ± phlogopite. Though somewhat rare at the volcanic front relative to the more abundant medium-K volcanic rocks, the potassic magmas are an important lava type for revealing mantle chemical heterogeneities.