Subcontinental Lithosphere Research Articles

High-Field Strength Element Geochemistry of Mafic Intrusive Rocks from the Bhagirathi and Yamuna Valleys, Garhwal Himalaya, India

Incompatible high-field strength element geochemistry divides mafic intrusive rocks of Garhwal Himalaya, exposed in the Bhagirathi and Yamuna valleys, into two distinct types, viz. older Garhwal Mafic Intrusive Rocks (GMIR1) and younger Garhwal Mafic Intrusive Rocks (GMIR2). GMIR1 is mainly associated with the Central Crystallines, whereas, GMIR2 belongs to the Garhwal Group. They outcrop close to the Main Central Thrust (MCT) Zone and extend in a NW-SE direction, following the strike direction. Both types are metamorphosed to amphibolite facies and classified as sub-alkaline, high-Fe tholeiitic basalts. They are enriched in large-ion lithophile and high-field strength elements relative to a primitive mantle source. GMIR2 has higher concentrations of incompatible high-field strength elements than the GMIR1. Further, on multi-element spidergrams, GMIR1 samples do not show any elemental anomaly but GMIR2 samples show distinct negative Nb and Sr anomalies. GMIR1 multi-element and rare-earth element trends are similar to N-MORB, whereas, GMIR2 follows trends observed in the within plate basalts (continental flood basalts type). Discrimination diagrams, based on incompatible trace elements, corroborate the N-MORB nature of GMIR1 and CFB (WPB) nature of GMIR2. Geochemical modeling indicates that these mafic intrusive rocks were derived by close-system fractional crystallization of depleted (for GMIR1) to variably enriched parental basalts (for GMIR2). Probably these two contrasting mafic rock types have been juxtaposed during the Himalayan orogeny. Proterozoic mafic rocks of similar geochemical characteristics have been reported from different parts of the northern Indian lithosphere. Observed composition suggests its genetic association with the sub-continental lithosphere rather than effect of crustal contamination.

Trace-element of Tuoyun clinopyroxene: Implication for the deep processes of lithospheric mantle beneath the southwest Tianshan, West China

Based on the LAM-ICPMS analytic results on the trace elements of clinopyroxenes in peridotitic xenoliths occurring in early-Cretaceous basalts from western Xinjiang, the properties and the deep processes, including partial melting and mantle metasomatism, of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Tuoyun Basin are analyzed. In the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (southwest Tianshan), the Mesozoic subcontinental lithosphere which has experienced the effect of partial melting (<10%) and intricate mantle metasomatism is characterized by Phanerozoic ‘ocean-type’ mantle. The superposed influence of SiO2-unsaturated silicate melt and carbonate melt probably results in the metasomatic medium which resembles the hydrous silicated carbonate melt in some aspects. By comparing Tuoyun mantle with Cenozoic main mantle beneath eastern China, the properties are similar, while the former shows finer grain and higher diopside content of the peridotites and more conspicuous modal metasomatism.

Lithospheric thickness beneath the southern Kenya Rift: implications from basalt geochemistry

Geochemical data are reported for samples from the flanks and floor of the southern Kenya Rift Valley in the Lake Magadi area, and from two central volcanoes located within the rift valley. Rift lavas include samples of Singaraini and Ol Tepesi basalts on the eastern flank, Kirikiti basalts from the western flank, and plateau trachytes from the rift valley floor. Central volcano samples are from Ol Esayeiti and Lenderut located on the eastern flank. The rift basalts are mildly ne-normative, moderately evolved (Mg#=0.39–0.62) alkali basalts and show an overall range in differentiation. Incompatible trace element abundances are moderately elevated (Nb=17–51; Zr=93–274; La=17–55 ppm) and show strongly coherent variations and constant inter-element ratios (e.g. Zr/Nb=4.2–5.5; Nb/Ta=17.5±0.4; (La/Sm)n=7.3±1.1); isotope ratios are restricted in range (87Sr/86Sr=0.70393–0.70436; 143Nd/144Nd=0.51272–0.51280; 206Pb/204Pb=19.87–19.92; 207Pb/204Pb=15.68–15.70; 208Pb/204Pb=39.56–39.71). Central volcano lavas are more alkaline in character and include basanite (Ol Esayeiti; Mg# >60) and hawaiite to benmoreite (Lenderut; Mg#=0.48–0.38). Incompatible element ratio are similar to those of the rift basalts, although the chondrite normalised REE patterns are steeper (La/Sm)n=17.4±1.2). 87Sr/86Sr (0.70358, 0.70391), 143Nd/144Nd (0.51280, 0.51267), 206Pb/204Pb (19.96,20.17), 207Pb/204Pb (15.66,15.76) and 208Pb/204Pb (39.80,40.00) ratios of Ol Esayeiti basanites are similar to the rift basalts, whereas the Lenderut lavas have unusually low143Nd/144Nd (0.512388–0.512453) ratios for their 87Sr/86Sr (0.70370–0.70481) ratios, and distinctly less radiogenic and variable Pb isotope compositions (206Pb/204Pb=17.93–19.01; 207Pb/204Pb=15.43–15.58; 208Pb/204Pb=37.91–39.14). An integrated model is developed in which the geochemical signature of the lavas is attributed to variable degrees of melting to depths within the garnet stability field, and in the presence of residual amphibole. The stability fields of these phases in P–T space indicates that the lavas must have formed within the sub-continental lithosphere rather than within the underlying ambient asthenosphere or a rising mantle plume. The subcontinental lithospheric mantle must therefore extend to a depth of at least 75 km beneath the Lake Magadi area, which contrasts with recent gravity models for the area, which infer that lithospheric mantle is absent beneath this section of the southern Kenya Rift.

Constraints on the Trace Element Composition of the Archean Mantle Root beneath Somerset Island, Arctic Canada

Peridotites that sample Archean mantle roots are frequently in- INTRODUCTION compatible trace element enriched despite their refractory major The mantle underlying many Archean cratons has anelement compositions. To constrain the trace element budget of the omalously high seismic velocities to depths of 350–400 km lithosphere beneath the Canadian craton, trace element and rare ( Jordan, 1988; Grand, 1994), indicating the presence of earth element (REE) abundances were determined for a suite of cold refractory roots, depleted in the fusible major elegarnet peridotites and garnet pyroxenites from the Nikos kimberlite ments compared with fertile mantle (Boyd & Mertzman, pipe on Somerset Island, Canadian Arctic, their constituent garnet 1987; McDonough, 1990). These deep residual peridotite and clinopyroxene, and the host kimberlite. These refractory mantle roots probably contribute to the stability of Archean xenoliths are depleted in fusible major elements, but enriched in continental lithosphere because of their lower density and incompatible trace elements, such as large ion lithophile elements higher viscosity compared with that of the surrounding (LILE), Th, U and light rare earth elements (LREE). Mass asthenospheric mantle (Boyd & McCallister, 1976; Jorbalance calculations based on modal abundances of clinopyroxene dan, 1979; Pollack, 1986). Mantle xenoliths that are and garnet and their respective REE contents yield discrepancies hosted by kimberlites and alkaline basalts are our only between calculated and analyzed REE contents for the Nikos bulk window into the subcontinental lithosphere. They provide rocks that amount to LREE deficiencies of 70‐99%, suggesting essential evidence on the chemical composition and evoluthe presence of small amounts of interstitial kimberlite liquid tion of the upper mantle to depths of >200 km. Studies (0·4‐2 wt %) to account for the excess LREE abundances. These of these mantle xenoliths enable us to characterize the results indicate that the peridotites had in fact depleted or flat abundance and distribution of major, minor and trace LREE patterns before contamination by their host kimberlite. LREE elements in peridotites and between their constituent and Sr enrichment in clinopyroxene and low Zr and Sr abundances minerals. Most subcratonic peridotite samples have in garnet in low-temperature peridotites (800‐1100°C) compared undergone a complex history of melt extraction that has with high-temperature peridotites (1200‐1400°C) suggest that the changed their chemical composition and resulted in shallow lithosphere is geochemically distinct from the deep lithosphere depletion of the residual mantle in fusible major elements beneath the northern margin of the Canadian craton. The Somerset such as Fe, Al and Ca (e.g. Nixon, 1987; Herzberg, 1993; mantle root appears to be characterized by a depth zonation that Boyd et al., 1997). In contrast to their depletion in may date from the time of its stabilization in the Archean. incompatible major elements, however, many peridotite

Eocene volcanism in the Buck Creek basin, central British Columbia (Canada): transition from arc to extensional volcanism

The Eocene Buck Creek volcanic complex (central British Columbia, Canada) is a part of the Challis–Kamloops volcanic province that extends from Yukon across British Columbia to the northern United States, running approximately parallel to the margin of the North American continent. The complex is associated with the formation of a fault-bounded basin controlled by strike–slip faults. The volcanic rocks were emplaced during two short-lived (<1–2My) periods. The first 52Ma old period produced high-K calc-alkaline mafic and intermediate lavas and related subvolcanic intrusions of the Goosly Lake Formation. Their age coincides with the age of two silver deposits, which are related to the intrusions. The second period which took place 50±1Ma ago, produced high-K calc-alkaline mafic and intermediate lavas (Buck Creek Formation), and overlying intraplate tholeiitic to high-K calc-alkaline basalts (Swans Lake unit). The rocks of the three units have similar Sr and Nd isotopic ratios and mantle-normalized trace element patterns characterized by a depletion of Nb, Ta and Ti suggesting a similar mantle source, garnet-bearing subcontinental lithosphere, for the lavas of all three units. The average contents of SiO2 and strongly incompatible trace elements in the lavas decrease from the Goosly Lake rocks towards the top of the complex (Swans Lake unit). The compositional changes could be, in part, related to an increase of the degree of partial melting towards the top. Volcanic rocks of similar composition and age are widespread in this part of the Eocene Challis–Kamloops belt in central British Columbia. The magmatic activities are related to subduction of the Farallon/Kula plate under the North American continent in a regime characterized by strike–slip faulting and oblique plate movement along the continental margin of western Canada. It is inferred that oblique plate convergence decoupled into a component of convergence normal to the plate margin, and a component of strike–slip faulting approximately parallel to the margin within the overriding North American plate. These events triggered a melting in the mantle wedge overlying the subduction zone and generated the parent magmas for the rocks of this part of the Challis–Kamloops belt.

Correlated Os–Pb–Nd–Sr isotopes in the Austral–Cook chain basalts: the nature of mantle components in plume sources

Osmium (Os), strontium (Sr), neodymium (Nd) and lead (Pb) isotopes have been measured on a suite of aphyric basalts from 12 islands of the Austral–Cook island archipelago, an area which exhibits a range in Pb isotope compositions that encompasses almost the entire range displayed by ocean island basalts (OIB). Although the samples have Os concentrations (1.69–34.80 ppt) at the lower end of the range measured for OIB, they display a range of initial 187Os/188Os ratios (between 0.1279 and 0.1594) similar to that defined by olivine–phyric, Os-rich OIB. Positive Os–Nd, Os–Pb and negative Os–Sr isotope correlations are documented, indicating that the isotopic arrays represent various proportions of mixing between a HIMU-type end-member represented by Mangaia and Tubuai islands and characterized by radiogenic Os and Pb isotopic compositions, and an end-member represented by Rarotonga island which is characterized by unradiogenic Os and intermediate Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. The HIMU signature of the mantle component involved in Tubuai–Mangaia mantle sources requires long-term enrichments of U and Th relative to Pb and Re relative to Os, without associated increase in Rb/Sr, that are consistent with recycled oceanic crust. The end-member represented by Rarotonga basalts shows Os, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic signatures similar to those presumed for the ‘bulk silicate earth’ (BSE), which cannot be obtained by mixing the four mantle components (DMM, HIMU and EM1 and 2) generally used to circumscribe the Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data of OIB. The primitive-like isotopic characters of this end-member might be ascribed to the presence of undepleted material from a lower segment of the mantle in the source of the Austral–Cook island basalts (and more specifically Rarotonga basalts); however, such a hypothesis is challenged by both the absence of a primordial 3He signature and the non-primitive Ce/Pb and Nb/U values for the Austral–Cook island basalts. Alternatively, assuming that the primitive-like isotopic composition of the Rarotonga samples reflects mixing proportions between the HIMU component and a mantle component characterized by unradiogenic Os, Nd and Pb and radiogenic Sr isotopic composition relative to BSE, the involvement of recycled, old subcontinental lithosphere in the genesis of this component should then be considered.

Plume-Lithosphere Interaction and the Origin of Continental Rift-related Alkaline Volcanism--the Chyulu Hills Volcanic Province, Southern Kenya

Geochemical data are presented for primitive alkaline lavas from INTRODUCTION the Chyulu Hills Volcanic Province of southern Kenya, situated The geochemistry of mafic, alkaline volcanic rocks erupsome 100 km east of the Kenya Rift Valley. In addition to their ted in continental areas can potentially yield valuable primitive compositions, a striking and ubiquitous feature is a strong information about the nature of large parts of the Earth’s but variable depletion in K relative to other highly incompatible interior that are otherwise inaccessible. In combination elements when normalized to primitive mantle values. Semi-quanwith geophysical evidence and clues from mantle-derived titative models are developed that best explain the petrogenesis of xenoliths, such geochemical data hold the key to underthese lavas in terms of partial melting of a source that contained standing the composition and evolution of the Earth’s residual amphibole (but not phlogopite). The presence of amphibole mantle. The purpose of this contribution is to investigate implies a source in the subcontinental lithosphere rather than the aspects of the geochemistry and mineralogy of the mantle asthenosphere. It is suggested that the amphibole is of metasomatic source region of the relatively primitive, rift-related, origin and was precipitated in the lithospheric mantle by infiltrating alkaline lavas of the Quaternary Chyulu Hills Volcanic fluids and/or melts derived from rising mantle plume material. A Province (CHVP) of southern Kenya (Fig. 1). raised geotherm as a consequence of the continued ascent of the The voluminous alkaline magmatism commonly asplume material led to dehydration melting of the metasomatized sociated with continental rifting, of which the East African mantle and generation of the Chyulu Hills lavas. It is proposed Rift System (Fig. 1) is a type example, has been the that the Chyulu Hills Volcanic Province represents an analogue for subject of geochemical investigations for decades (e.g. the earliest stages of continental rift initiation, during which Williams, 1970; Baker et al., 1971; Baker, 1987). One interaction between a plume and initially refractory lithosphere may problem frequently addressed by recent studies is the lead to the generation of lithospheric melts. identification of the source regions of primitive, mafic, rift-related magmas. A primary concern is centred around whether they are derived from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) or from sublithospheric sources in the asthenosphere or in mantle plumes. Some workers have argued that the large volumes of lava

Rheological evolution during extension at nonvolcanic rifted margins: Onset of serpentinization and development of detachments leading to continental breakup

Within the continent‐ocean transition several nonvolcanic rifted margins exhibit a zone of partially serpentinized peridotites which continue under the thinned and faulted continental crust and are thought to represent subcontinental lithosphere serpentinized by contact with water. As water in sufficient volumes can only come from the surface, we suggest that a major condition for the onset of serpentinization is the embrittlement of the entire crust during progressive extension and hence the development of active crustal penetrating faults acting as fluid conduits. We investigate this possibility by modeling the rheological evolution of the lithosphere during extension and hence determining at what stretching factors the lower crust enters the brittle regime for a variety of different strain rates and lower crustal rheologies. Using an initial thermal structure appropriate for nonvolcanic margins, we find that the entire crust becomes brittle at stretching factors of between ∼3 and 5, depending on the strain rate. This compares well with the thickness of the crust observed just landward of the onset of partially serpentinized peridotites west of Iberia. The predicted thickness of the serpentinized peridotites (depth of the thermal limit of serpentinite stability beneath the crust‐mantle boundary) also compares reasonably well with their observed thickness. As serpentinites are characterized by low friction coefficients, we suggest that the onset of mantle serpentinization controls the development of decollements at the crust‐mantle boundary such as the S and H reflectors west of Iberia (leading to crustal separation). The development of thick serpentinites probably contributes to the weakening of the upper lithosphere and hence the localization of final breakup.

The density structure of subcontinental lithosphere through time

This study uses information on composition, thermal state and petrological thickness to calculate the densities of different types of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). Data from mantle-derived peridotite xenoliths and garnet–xenocryst suites document a secular evolution in the composition of SCLM: the mean composition of newly formed SCLM has become progressively less depleted, in terms of Al, Ca, mg# and Fe/Al, from Archean, through Proterozoic to Phanerozoic time. Thermobarometric analyses of xenolith and xenocryst suites worldwide show that the mean lithospheric palaeogeotherms rise from low values (corresponding to surface heat flows of 35–40 mW/m2) beneath Archean terranes, to higher values (>50 mW/m2) beneath regions with Phanerozoic crust. The typical thickness of the lithosphere (defined as a chemical boundary layer), ranges from about 250 to 180 km, 180–150 km and 140–60 km for Archean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic terranes respectively. The depth of this lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary corresponds to a temperature of 1250–1300°C. Using the estimated compositions, average mineral compositions and experimental data on the densities of mineral end-members (tables 1 and 2), we calculate mean densities at 20°C for Primitive Mantle (3.39 Mg m−3) and for SCLM of Archean (3.31±.016 Mg m−3), Proterozoic (3.35±0.02 Mg m−3) and Phanerozoic (3.36±0.02 Mg m−3) age. Curves of density and cumulative density versus depth, which take into account variations in geotherm with tectonothermal age, have been constructed for each age type of lithospheric section to assess the buoyancy of these columns relative to the asthenosphere, modelled as a Primitive Mantle composition. The density curves show that Archean SCLM is significantly buoyant relative to the asthenosphere at depths greater than about 60 km. Proterozoic sections deeper than about 100 km thick also are significantly buoyant. The buoyancy of Archean and Proterozoic SCLM sections, combined with their refractory composition, leads to high viscosities and explains the longevity and stability of old SCLM. Replacement of Archean lithosphere, as beneath the present-day eastern Sino–Korean craton, probably involves mechanical dispersal by rifting, accompanied by the rise of hot, fertile asthenospheric material. Fertile Phanerozoic lithosphere is buoyant when the geotherm is sufficiently high, as in many Cenozoic volcanic provinces. However, as the geothermal gradient relaxes toward a stable conductive profile, Phanerozoic SCLM sections thinner than about 100 km become denser than the asthenosphere, and hence gravitationally unstable. This could help to induce delamination of the SCLM and upwelling of asthenospheric material, beginning a new cycle. The tectonic consequences of such lithosphere replacement would include uplift and magmatism, and basin formation during subsequent thermal relaxation.

When the Wilson Cycle breaks down: how orogens can produce strong lithosphere and inhibit their future reworking

Abstract Although poly-cyclicity is common, many orogens show a remarkable lack of reworking. In this paper, a review of some factors that may either enhance or inhibit reworking of orogens is presented. As a general rule, orogens are unlikely to rift and rework if their lithospheric strength is higher than adjacent lithosphere. The strength of the lithosphere is strongly dependent on the geothermal gradient and the rheology of the rocks; both these factors can depend on the preceding orogenic evolution, even several hundred Ma after orogenesis. Strong orogenic lithosphere is expected if the crust is composed of material with a low radiogenic heat production capacity, such as island arcs, or if the underlying sub-continental lithosphere is still thickened, as in the Urals. Extensive dehydration metamorphism, a concentration of radiogenic heat production in the upper crust and erosional thinning of the orogenic crust can also strengthen the lithosphere and inhibit reworking. However, proximity of Archean cratons and anomalously high mantle heat flow appear to strongly enhance susceptibility to reworking.

The Eycott Volcanic Group, an Ordovician continental margin andesite suite in the English Lake District

SUMMARY The Eycott Volcanic Group, at the northern margin of the Lower Palaeozoic inlier in the Lake District, is the smaller of two substantial middle Ordovician (Caradoc) subduction-related volcanic successions that stratigraphically separate marine sedimentary successions of the Skiddaw Group and Windermere Supergroup. Tabular lavas and subordinate sills, in a sequence up to 2400 m thick, mainly comprise porphyritic basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite and dacite, and are locally interbedded with thin units of volcaniclastic sandstone and pyroclastic rocks; these are overlain by 800 m of acid andesitic pyroclastic rocks. The distribution and form of the lava/sill fades association are consistent with emplacement as a lava plateau sequence, remarkably similar to the Birker Fell Formation, the lower part of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group in the central Lake District. The Eycott Volcanic Group rocks are geochemically coherent with characteristics transitional between medium-K, continental-margin tholeiitic, and calc-alkaline andesite suites. Rocks within the suite can be linked by fractionation of an assemblage of plagioclase, pyroxene, Fe–Ti oxide and apatite. A prominent compositional gap between about 58 and 65% SiO 2 is attributed to the rapid precipitation and segregation of Fe–Ti oxide. Incompatible element concentrations in the mafic members suggest that magmas were derived possibly from a subcontinental lithosphere source, similar to that of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. The geochemical differences between these two suites arose through the incorporation of different amounts of the subduction component and different fractionation histories.

A synthesis of electromagnetic studies in the Lithoprobe Alberta Basement Transect: constraints on Paleoproterozoic indentation tectonics

Electromagnetic surveys of the crust and upper mantle underlying the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin have revealed two conductivity anomalies that are arguably related to Paleoproterozoic tectonic processes, recording a signature diagnostic of euxinic (foreland?) basin succession and perhaps defining a deep-marine transtensional basin. As well, a regionally pervasive electrical anisotropy throughout the crust crosses Proterozoic tectonic boundaries and is aligned in many areas with the regional tectonic fabric (as expressed by aeromagnetic data) created during the final stages of Proterozoic tectonic assembly of western Laurentia. There is also an order of magnitude increase in the upper mantle conductivity underlying Churchill Province Archean crust relative to that underlying the neighbouring Proterozoic crust. The interpretations of the electromagnetic observations are analogous with the Tertiary to modern-day tectonic development of southeast Asia. The foreland basin succession would reflect the closing of the South China Sea and the deep-marine basin may be analogous to the Andaman Sea and North Sumatra basin. Electrical anisotropy may be indicative of the successive lateral accretion of oceanic crust beneath the continental shelf followed by shortening. The enhanced mantle conductivity mechanism is unknown, although it may be associated with metasomatic modification of the subcontinental lithosphere subsequent to collisional thickening and followed by delamination or convective removal of some lithosphere. While the Indo-Eurasian–Laurentia tectonic analogy is incomplete, it is sufficiently compelling in explaining the electromagnetic and other data that it is a useful basis for understanding the Proterozoic assembly of Laurentia.

Radiating 1.0 Ga Mafic Dyke Swarms of Eastern Brazil and Western Africa: Evidence of Post-Assembly Extension in the Rodinia Supercontinent?

Several mafic dyke swarms of similar composition and age (tholeiite- ca.1.0 Ga) occur on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in eastern South America and western Africa. When assembled to their pre-drift position in the Mesozoic, the Brazilian coastal dyke province of Bahia, and the African dykes in Cameroun (Ebolowa suite) and Congo (Comba and Sembe-Ouesso provinces) define a giant radiating pattern (1200 km × 800 km) similar to other dyke swarms elsewhere associated with large-scale continental rifting. Magma flow indicators of the Brazilian dykes and branching propagation styles of their African counterparts indicate that the dyke conduits were fed with magmas diverging from a source beneath the long axis of the Meso-Neoproterozoic West-Congolian Basin in Africa. There, MORB-like metabasalts have been described in the La Bikossi Group of the Mayombian Supergroup. Whether the rifting event and intrusion of dyke swarms were triggered or not by a mantle plume beneath part of the Rodinia subcontinental lithosphere remain to be confirmed.

Rare gas systematics on the southernmost Mid‐Atlantic Ridge: Constraints on the lower mantle and the Dupal source

Concentrations and isotopic compositions of He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe have been measured for mid‐ocean ridge basalt glasses from the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge Discovery section, centered at 47°30′S, thus extending the database for the 50°–53°S Shona section [Moreira et al, 1995]. The 44°–53°S part of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge includes the Discovery and Shona bathymetrie and geochemical ridge anomalies [Douglass et al, 1999], which also appear clearly in the rare gas isotopic record. In addition to air, present at the surface or possibly mantle recycled, three source components are identified, upper mantle, primitive plume, and a Dupal‐related component. He and Ne isotopes indicate a very primitive source for both the Discovery and Shona plumes, which must originate in deep, poorly degassed mantle. Ne and Ar, corrected from air based on Ne systematics, reveal very consistent along‐strike He, Ne, and Ar isotopic patterns, also consistent with Xe data. These systematics provide evidence that plume argon has low 40Ar/36Ar and plume Xe low isotopic ratios relative to degassed mantle. A segment of the Discovery ridge anomaly shows a Dupal‐type, low 206Pb/204Pb component named LOMU (low μ, where μ = 238U/204Pb) by Douglass et al. [1999], and has radiogenic 4He/3He and 21Ne/22Ne, relatively elevated 20Ne/22Ne, mildly radiogenic 40Ar/36Ar, and low Xe isotopic ratios, possibly representing the Dupal rare gas signature. Interpretations of this component as either recycled oceanic crust, or delaminated subcontinental lithosphere are consistent with the rare gas systematics. In the former case, a maximum subduction age of 500 Ma can be calculated. In the latter case, the sublithospheric mantle should have a 40K/36Ar ratio 2–5 times lower than the convective mantle and a 238U/3He ratio 2–3 times higher.

Stratigraphy, geochemistry and tectonic significance of the Oligocene magmatic rocks of western Oaxaca, southern Mexico

In western Oaxaca, Tertiary magmatic activity is represented by extensive plutons along the continental margin and volcanic sequences in the inland region. K–Ar age determinations reported previously and in the present work indicate that these rocks correspond to a relatively broad arc in this region that was active mainly during the Oligocene (∼35 to ∼25 Ma). In the northern sector of western Oaxaca (Huajuapan–Monte Verde–Yanhuitlán), the volcanic suite comprises principally basaltic andesite to andesitic lavas, overlying minor silicic to intermediate volcaniclastic rocks (epiclastic deposits, ash fall tuffs, ignimbrites) that were deposited in a lacustrine-fluvial environment. The southern sector of the volcanic zone includes the Tlaxiaco–Laguna de Guadalupe region and consists of intermediate to silicic pyroclastic and epiclastic deposits, with silicic ash fall tuffs and ignimbrites. In both sectors, numerous andesitic to dacitic hypabyssal intrusions (stocks and dikes) are emplaced at different levels of the sequence. The granitoids of the coastal plutonic belt are generally more differentiated than the volcanic rocks that predominate in the northern sector and vary in composition from granite to granodiorite. The studied rocks show large-ion lithophile element (LILE) enrichment (K, Rb, Ba, Th) relative to high-field-strength (HFS) elements (Nb, Ti, Zr) that is characteristic of subduction-related magmatic rocks. On chondrite-normalized rare earth element diagrams, these samples display light rare earth element enrichment (LREE) and a flat pattern for the heavy rare earth elements (HREE). In spite of the contrasting degree of differentiation between the coastal plutons and inland volcanic rocks, there is a relatively small variation in the isotopic composition of these two suites. Initial 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios obtained and reported previously for Tertiary plutonic rocks of western Oaxaca range from 0.7042 to 0.7054 and εNd values, from −3.0 to +2.4, and for the volcanic rocks, from 0.7042 to 0.7046 and 0 to +2.6. The range of these isotope ratios and those reported for the basement rocks in this region suggest a relatively low degree of old crustal involvement for most of the studied rocks. The Pb isotopic compositions of the Tertiary magmatic rocks also show a narrow range [( 206Pb/ 204Pb)=18.67–18.75; ( 207Pb/ 204Pb)=15.59–15.62; ( 208Pb/ 204Pb)=38.44–38.59], suggesting a similar source region for the volcanic and plutonic rocks. Trace elements and isotopic compositions suggest a mantle source in the subcontinental lithosphere that has been enriched by a subduction component. General tectonic features in this region indicate a more active rate of transtensional deformation for the inland volcanic region than along the coastal margin during the main events of Oligocene magmatism. The lower degree of differentiation of the inland volcanic sequences, particularly the upper unit of the northern sector, compared to the plutons of the coastal margin, suggests that the differentiation of the Tertiary magmas in southern Mexico was controlled to a great extent by the characteristics of the different strain domains.

SW Grenville Province, Canada: the case against post–1.4 Ga accretionary tectonics

Seven accretionary sutures, formed between 1.16 and 1.03 Ga, have been identified by different authors in the Ontario–Quebec–Adirondack (OQA) segment of the Mesoproterozoic Grenville orogen in Canada. With one exception, the inferred accretionary terrane boundaries lie within, or at the margins of the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB), located between the Central Gneiss Belt and the Adirondack Highlands (Central Granulite Terrane). However, geological, geochronological, and petrological data suggest that the Grenville orogen on both sides of the proposed terrane boundaries (sutures) preserves a common 1.4–1.03 Ga tectonomagmatic history, inconsistent with its origin as a post-1.4 Ga collage of exotic tectonic blocks. Features which straddle the proposed 1.16–1.03 Ga ‘sutures’, from the Central Gneiss Belt, via the Adirondack Highlands, to the Mauricie area, include: (1) Mesoproterozoic continental crust (1.5–1.4 Ga) forming the host and/or basement to younger magmatic and supracrustal suites. (2) A 1.35–1.3 Ga continental arc, remnants of which occur from the CMB boundary zone (CMBBZ) in Ontario to the Appalachians in the United States, built on the 1.5–1.4 Ga continental crust. (3) Intrusions of 1.17–1.13 Ga age in the Central Gneiss Belt (mafic suite), and the Adirondack Highlands and their Quebec extension (AMCG suite, i.e. anorthosite massifs and related granitoids). (4) Relics of 1.18–1.14 Ga sedimentary basins in the northwestern CMB and the Mauricie area. We propose that an alternative model can adequately account for the observed geology of this part of the Grenville orogen wherein, the rocks of the OQA segment were part of an Andean-type margin between 1.4 and 1.2 Ga. At 1.35–1.3 Ga, a continental magmatic arc was built upon the southeastern margin of Laurentia represented by the 1.5–1.4 Ga Mesoproterozoic continental crust. The arc split at 1.3 Ga forming an ensialic back arc basin, relics of which now occur in the northwestern part of the CMB, and the back arc basin was flanked to the southeast by an active 1.28–1.25 Ga arc. Collision between the Laurentian margin and another continent (Amazonia?) occurred at 1.2 Ga, resulting in closure of the back arc basin and initiation of thrusting along the CMBBZ. Post-collisional lithospheric shortening led to convective removal of thickened subcontinental lithosphere, upper mantle melting, and extension of the overlying crust, resulting in widespread magmatic activity at 1.17–1.13 Ga, including emplacement of the AMCG massifs. Crustal extension generated sedimentary basins now represented by the St Boniface sediments in the Mauricie area (1.18 to between 1.15 and 1.09 Ga), and the penecontemporaneous Flinton Group in the northwestern CMB. Renewed, post-collisional, granulite facies shortening commenced at 1.12 Ga, manifested as nappes in the Central Gneiss Belt, and thrusting in the Mauricie area. Continued post-collisional shortening at 1.08–1.05 Ga was more localised, resulting in reactivation of thrusting in the CMBBZ, and initiation of the kinematically compatible Tawachiche shear zone along the eastern border of the Quebec extension of the Adirondack Highlands. The characteristics of the OQA segment of the Grenville orogen can all be accounted for in the context of: (1) a 1.4–1.2 Ga, southeast facing Andean-type margin to a Laurentian upper plate, associated with northwest dipping subduction; (2) continental collision at 1.2 Ga; and (3) subsequent, continued, post-collisional shortening, without invoking accretion of exotic terranes between 1.4 and 1.0 Ga.

Geodynamic cycles of subcontinental lithosphere in the Central Alps and the Arami enigma

Major masses of metamorphosed ultramafic rocks in the Central Alps, Western Alps and Liguria are former subcontinental lithospheric mantle. It occurs in two, tectonically distinct ophiolitic zones which paleogeographically correspond to the Jurassic, South Penninic, Piemontese ocean belt and to the more external, Cretaceous, North Penninic, Valais ocean belt, respectively. In both belts, the geodynamic cycle of pieces of subcontinental lithospheric mantle started with its exhumation during continental rifting and resulted in the exposure of denuded mantle in the Tethyan ocean basins. With the onset of oceanic closure, these mantle rocks were subducted and, after continental collision, integrated in the Alpine mountain chain and again exhumed. Combined evidence from two key areas of the Central Alps is presented. At Val Malenco, a stable continental crust-mantle transition (1.0–0.9 GPa; 800–600°C) welded by a 270 Ma gabbro intrusion existed into the Triassic. During Jurassic rifting, Malenco mantle with attached pieces of lower crust was rapidly exhumed and exposed in the Piemontese ocean basin near its Adriatic margin. There, an ‘Alpine type ophiolite suite’ developed, containing serpentinized ex-subcontinental mantle, rodingitized Permian gabbro, ophicarbonate rocks and MOR basalts. During Cretaceous convergence, the rifted margin of Val Malenco was only moderately subducted (∼450°C, 0.6 GPa) as it remained in a supra-subduction wedge. In the Western Alps and Liguria, rifted margins of the Piemontese belt were subducted to eclogite conditions (∼3 GPa, 650°C), but never beyond the stability of Antigorite. In the North-Penninic Adula-Cima Lunga nappe of the Central Alps, however, a suite analogous to Val Malenco was subducted to much higher metamorphic conditions (∼3 GPa, 830°C) during Eocene collision. Successive regional metamorphic prograde stages are proven by overgrowth textures in mafic rocks up to kyanite eclogite and in ultramafic rocks up to garnet peridotite. The inferred ultradeep garnet lherzolite of Alpe Arami forms part of the prograde Alpine suite of Adula-Cima Lunga. Ilmenite rods in olivine, as at Arami, invoked as ‘proof’ for an ultradeep origin, have been detected in over 10 localities. They have been shown to form from planar, Ti-bearing, (OH)-defects at conditions below 3 GPa. No direct evidence for an ultradeep origin for Alpe Arami has been presented so far.

Re-Os isotopic system and formation age of subcontinental lithosphere mantle

The determination of the formation age of subcontinental Lithosphere Mantle (SCLM) is a widely concerned issue in mantle geochemistry. It is difficult to obtain the formation age of SCLM using lithophile isotopic systems such as Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, U-Th-Pb, etc., but as siderophile elements, the Re-Os isotopic system provides a powerful tool for that work. Here a comprehensive review on the recent development in Re-Os dating for SCLM has been given.

Tectonic entrapment and its role in the evolution of continental lithosphere: An example from the Precambrian of western Canada

New geophysical data acquired over the buried crystalline basement of western Canada provide constraints on the history of tectonic assembly of the western Canadian Shield in the interval 1.75–1.85 Ga. Specifically, these data provide new perspectives on the evolution of an Archean continental fragment (Heame province) that was trapped in a tectonic “vise” between coeval orogenic belts that dipped beneath the Hearne province. The Trans‐Hudson orogen developed along the southeastern margin of the Hearne province as a series of ocean floor, oceanic arc, and arc marginal basins were telescoped and thrust obliquely beneath the Hearne. Along the northwest edge of the Hearne, collapse and subduction of a narrow marginal basin, now marked by the subsurface extension of the Snowbird Tectonic Zone, led to formation of magmatic arc and collision of older Proterozoic terranes. The Hearne province itself is characterized by regional granulite‐grade metamorphism and evidence of extensive and pervasive partial melting of the crust. The internal character of the Hearne province seen on crustal seismic reflection profiles is that of a crustal‐scale structural fan with reflection fabrics that verge toward the bounding orogens. The deformation of the Hearne is predominantly of Paleoproterozoic age and constitutes a thorough reworking of this formerly Archean crustal domain over a distance of more than 600 km across strike. Entrapment and thermal weakening of the Hearne resulted from mechanical coupling of inferred buoyant subduction‐collision zones and removal of or modification of Archean lithospheric mantle that may have originally formed the keel to the Hearne. Long‐period magnetotelluric profiles show that anomalously conductive mantle lithosphere underlies the present day Hearne province, which is attributed to metasomatic modification of the subcontinental lithosphere following collisional thickening and delamination/convective removal of thickened lithosphere in the Proterozoic. Tectonic entrapment, as illustrated by the Proterozoic structural and thermal evolution of the Hearne province crust and subcontinental mantle, may be an example of the lithospheric consequences of opposing collisional polarity during assembly of continents.

Geochemical evidence for meimechite magma generation in the subcontinental lithosphere of Polar Siberia

New data have been obtained on the distribution of the petrogenetic and rare-earth elements in the meimechite-series of rocks in Polar Siberia. It is shown that the meimechites, alkali picrites, and khatangites are comagmatic. The compositions of the primitive melts for the meimechite series have been estimated. It is suggested that the primary meimechite magmas were produced during the melting of lithosphere harzburgites that were enriched in incompatible elements due to infiltration of diapir melts with a low degree of partial melting.