Tholeiitic Lavas Research Articles

Fe–Mg Partitioning between Olivine and High-magnesian Melts and the Nature of Hawaiian Parental Liquids

We conducted 1 atm experiments on a synthetic Hawaiian picrite at fO_2 values ranging from the quartz–fayalite–magnetite (QFM) buffer to air and temperatures ranging from 1302 to 1600°C. Along the QFM buffer, olivine is the liquidus phase at ~1540°C and small amounts of spinel (< 0·2 wt %) are present in experiments conducted at and below 1350°C. The olivine becomes progressively more ferrous with decreasing temperature [Fo_(92·3) to Fo_(87·3), where Fo = 100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe), atomic]; compositions of coexisting liquids reflect the mode and composition of the olivine with concentrations of SiO_2, TiO_2, Al_(2)O_3, and CaO increasing monotonically with decreasing temperature, those of NiO and MgO decreasing, and FeO^* (all Fe as FeO) remaining roughly constant. An empirical relationship based on our data, T(°C) = 19·2 × (MgO in liquid, wt %) + 1048, provides a semi-quantitative geothermometer applicable to a range of Hawaiian magma compositions. The olivine–liquid exchange coefficient, K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) = (FeO/MgO)^(ol)/(FeO/MgO)^(liq), is 0·345 ± 0·009 (1σ ) for our 11 experiments. A literature database of 446 1 atm experiments conducted within 0·25 log units of the QFM buffer (QFM ± 0·25) yields a median K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) of 0·34; K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) values from single experiments range from 0·41 to 0·13 and are correlated with SiO_2 and alkalis in the liquid, as well as the forsterite (Fo) content of the olivine. For 78 experiments with broadly tholeiitic liquid compositions (46–52 wt % SiO_2 and ≤ 3 wt % Na_(2)O + K_(2)O) coexisting with Fo_(92–80) olivines, and run near QFM (QFM ± 0·25), K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) is approximately independent of composition with a median value of 0·340 ± 0·012 (error is the mean absolute deviation of the 78 olivine–glass pairs from the database that meet these compositional criteria), a value close to the mean value of 0·343 ± 0·008 from our QFM experiments. Thus, over the composition range encompassed by Hawaiian tholeiitic lavas and their parental melts, K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) ~ 0·34 and, given the redox conditions and a Fo content for the most magnesian olivine phenocrysts, a parental melt composition can be reconstructed. The calculated compositions of the parental melts are sensitive to the input parameters, decreasing by ~1 wt % MgO for every log unit increase in the selected fO_2, every 0·5 decrease in the Fo-number of the target olivine, and every 0·015 decrease in K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg). For plausible ranges in redox conditions and Fo-number of the most MgO-rich olivine phenocrysts, the parental liquids for Hawaiian tholeiites are highly magnesian, in the range of 19–21 wt % MgO for Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Early Cenozoic saucer-shaped sills of the Faroe Islands: an example of intrusive styles in basaltic lava piles

Abstract: The Early Cenozoic igneous activity of the North Atlantic Igneous Province that generated widespread sill complexes in sedimentary basins at the NW European margins also generated various intrusive systems in the contemporaneous basaltic lava pile of the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Island Basalt Group comprises seven formations with a total thickness of about 6.5 km, of which four major formations are built up of tholeiitic lava flows, each being several hundred metres thick, and three thinner formations are mostly built up of volcaniclastic lithologies, each being a few metres to a few tens of metres thick. The largest sills are exposed as partly saucer-shaped bodies in the three uppermost formations, where inner gently dipping basal sill sections gradually give way to more steeply inclined discordant outer rims that commonly cut several hundred metres into overlying lava flows. Numerous subvertical and moderately inclined dykes ranging in thickness from c . 0.5 to c . 4.0 m intersect the areas affected by sill intrusion, but only inclined dykes or sheets have been positively identified as sill feeders. Locally controlled rotations of least principal stress axes σ 3 during initial sill intrusion or propagation may have been an important contributing factor in determining the overall geometry of the investigated intrusions.

The Mount Wright Arc: A Cambrian subduction system developed on the continental margin of East Gondwana, Koonenberry Belt, eastern Australia

The Mount Wright Arc, in the Koonenberry Belt in eastern Australia, is associated with two early to middle Cambrian lithostratigraphic groups developed onto the Late Neoproterozoic volcanic passive margin of East Gondwana. The Gnalta Group includes a calc-alkaline basalt-andesite-dacite suite (Mount Wright Volcanics), interpreted to represent the volcanic component of the arc. Volcaniclastic Gnalta Group rocks now buried in the Bancannia Trough represent the continental back-arc, developed immediately behind the arc in a manner analogous to the modern Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand. East of the Gnalta Group is the Ponto Group, a deep marine sedimentary package that includes tholeiitic lavas (Bittles Tank Volcanics) and felsic tuffs, interpreted as part of a fore-arc sequence. The configuration of these units suggests the Mount Wright Arc developed on continental crust in response to west-dipping subduction along the East Gondwana margin, in contrast with some models for Cambrian convergence on other sections of the Delamerian Orogen, which invoke east-dipping subduction and arc accretion by arc-continent collision. This convergent margin was deformed by the middle Cambrian Delamerian Orogeny, which involved initial co-axial shortening followed by sinistral transpression, and oroclinal folding around the edge of the Curnamona Province.

Low‐productivity Hawaiian volcanism between Kaua‘i and O‘ahu

The longest distance between subaerial shield volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands is between the islands of Kaua‘i and O‘ahu, where a field of submarine volcanic cones formed astride the axis of the Hawaiian chain during a period of low magma productivity. The submarine volcanoes lie ∼25–30 km west of Ka‘ena Ridge that extends ∼80 km from western O‘ahu. These volcanoes were sampled by three Jason2 dives. The cones are flat topped, &lt;400 m high and 0.4–2 km in diameter at water depths between ∼2700 and 4300 m, and consist predominantly of pillowed flows. Ar‐Ar and K‐Ar ages of 11 tholeiitic lavas are between 4.9 and 3.6 Ma. These ages overlap with shield volcanism on Kaua‘i (5.1–4.0 Ma) and Wai‘anae shield basalts (3.9–3.1 Ma) on O‘ahu. Young alkalic lavas (circa 0.37 Ma) sampled southwest of Ka‘ena Ridge are a form of offshore secondary volcanism. Half of the volcanic cones contain high‐SiO2 basalts (51.0–53.5 wt % SiO2). The trends of isotopic compositions of West Ka‘ena tholeiitic lavas diverge from the main Ko‘olau‐Kea shield binary mixing trend in isotope diagrams and extend to lower 208Pb/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb than any Hawaiian tholeiitic lava. West Ka‘ena tholeiitic lavas have geochemical and isotopic characteristics similar to volcanoes of the Loa trend. Hence, our results show that the Loa‐type volcanism has persisted for at least 4.9 Myr, beginning prior to the development of the dual, subparallel chain of volcanoes. Several West Ka‘ena samples are similar to higher SiO2, Loa trend lavas of Ko‘olau Makapu‘u stage, Lāna‘i, and Kaho‘olawe; these lavas may have been derived from a pyroxenite source in the mantle. The high Ni contents of olivines in West Ka‘ena lavas also indicate contribution from pyroxenite‐derived melting. Average compositions of Hawaiian shield volcanoes show a clear relation between 206Pb/204Pb and SiO2 within Loa trend volcanoes, which supports a prominent but variable influence of pyroxenite in the Hawaiian plume source. In addition, both Pb isotopes and volcano volume show a steady increase with time starting from a minimum west of Ka‘ena Ridge. The entrained mafic component in the Hawaiian plume is probably not controlling the increasing magma productivity in the Hawaiian Islands.

U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of the Dashibao Basalts in the Songpan-Ganzi Terrane, SW China, with implications for the age of Emeishan volcanism

Permian marine basalts (the Dashibao Formation) in the Songpan-Ganzi Terrane to the west of the Yangtze Block, SW China, yield a SHRIMP zircon U-Pb weighted mean age of 263 ± 2 Ma. The Dashibao basalts are characterized by high TiO2 contents (1.73-4.65 wt. %) and Ti/Y ratios with a mean of 577, and OIB-like rare earth element (REE) and incompatible element patterns. Geochemical variation within the basalt succession allows division into two groups; Group 1 with an alkaline composition is distinguished by higher TiO2 and P2O5 contents, along with higher Ti/Y and Sm/Yb ratios than the underlying Group 2 that consists predominantly of tholeiitic lavas. Both groups possess weakly to moderately positive eNd(t) values (0.82 to 5.28), but the Group 2 tholeiitic basalts show relatively depleted signatures (most eNd(t) >2.5) when compared to their Group 1 counterparts (eNd(t)

Age and geochemistry of volcanic rocks from the Hikurangi and Manihiki oceanic Plateaus

Here we present the first radiometric age data and a comprehensive geochemical data set (including major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope ratios) for samples from the Hikurangi Plateau basement and seamounts on and adjacent to the plateau obtained during the R/V Sonne 168 cruise, in addition to age and geochemical data from DSDP Site 317 on the Manihiki Plateau. The 40Ar/ 39Ar age and geochemical data show that the Hikurangi basement lavas (118–96 Ma) have surprisingly similar major and trace element and isotopic characteristics to the Ontong Java Plateau lavas (ca. 120 and 90 Ma), primarily the Kwaimbaita-type composition, whereas the Manihiki DSDP Site 317 lavas (117 Ma) have similar compositions to the Singgalo lavas on the Ontong Java Plateau. Alkalic, incompatible-element-enriched seamount lavas (99–87 Ma and 67 Ma) on the Hikurangi Plateau and adjacent to it (Kiore Seamount), however, were derived from a distinct high time-integrated U/Pb (HIMU)-type mantle source. The seamount lavas are similar in composition to similar-aged alkalic volcanism on New Zealand, indicating a second wide-spread event from a distinct source beginning ca. 20 Ma after the plateau-forming event. Tholeiitic lavas from two Osbourn seamounts on the abyssal plain adjacent to the northeast Hikurangi Plateau margin have extremely depleted incompatible element compositions, but incompatible element characteristics similar to the Hikurangi and Ontong Java Plateau lavas and enriched isotopic compositions intermediate between normal mid-ocean-ridge basalt (N-MORB) and the plateau basement. These younger (∼52 Ma) seamounts may have formed through remelting of mafic cumulate rocks associated with the plateau formation. The similarity in age and geochemistry of the Hikurangi, Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus suggest derivation from a common mantle source. We propose that the Greater Ontong Java Event, during which ∼1% of the Earth’s surface was covered with volcanism, resulted from a thermo-chemical superplume/dome that stalled at the transition zone, similar to but larger than the structure imaged presently beneath the South Pacific superswell. The later alkalic volcanism on the Hikurangi Plateau and the Zealandia micro-continent may have been part of a second large-scale volcanic event that may have also triggered the final breakup stage of Gondwana, which resulted in the separation of Zealandia fragments from West Antarctica.

The eruptive history of Morne Jacob volcano (Martinique Island, French West Indies): Geochronology, geomorphology and geochemistry of the earliest volcanism in the recent Lesser Antilles arc

Martinique is the Lesser Antilles Island where the most complete volcanic history of the arc can be found from the Oligocene to the present time. In this study, we focused on the construction of Morne Jacob shield volcano in Martinique, which is the largest volcano of the Lesser Antilles. We have dated twenty representative samples from the Morne Jacob, by K–Ar based on the Cassignol–Gillot technique, used geochemical data and obtained morphological constraints that have helped us to reconstruct better the volcanic history of this shield volcano. Our results and the lack of reliable ages on other Plio-Pleistocene islands show that the Morne Jacob is the oldest volcano of the aerial recent arc that has been dated so far. It has a longer history than previously inferred, with different stages ranging between 5.2 and 1.5 Ma. A large basaltic to andesitic shield volcano was first built between 5.2 and 4.0 Ma (J1) with tholeiitic lavas characterized by an increase of SiO 2 content through time. After 800 kyr of repose, calc–alkaline andesites erupted over the first shield from 3.2 to 2.2 Ma (J2a). The accumulation of lavas over a hyaloclastitic basement provoked spreading and northeast creeping of the northern flank of the volcano. The mass movement induced regressive erosion, particularly at the centre of the edifice. Then, between 2.1 and 1.5 Ma (J2b), calc–alkaline lavas, which show a decrease of the SiO 2 content through time, erupted at the central vent and from peripheral fissures, over the previous shield and down to the Caribbean coast. Eruptive volumes were reconstructed, permitting estimates of minimum output rates for the volcano's history. Minimum volume erupted during the first stage is 112 ± 20 km 3 and 33 ± 25 km 3 during the whole second stage, yielding rates of about 0.107 km 3/kyr and 0.019 km 3/kyr, respectively. Considering the entire history of Morne Jacob shield volcano, between 5.14 ± 0.07 and 1.54 ± 0.03 Ma, we obtain a total volume of 145 ± 32 km 3 above the sea level, and a time-averaged construction rate of 0.040 ± 0.008 km 3/kyr. With comparison between the reconstructed paleotopographies and the DEM of present topography, we have calculated an eroded volume of 18 km 3 over the outcropping 210 km 2 that have occurred during the last 1.5 Myr. Finally, our set of twenty K–Ar ages, obtained on groundmass separates, allow us to revise the eruptive chronology of Morne Jacob volcano and to date the earliest subaerial volcanic activity so far identified for the recent Lesser Antilles arc.

Age and significance of voluminous mafic–ultramafic magmatic events in the Murchison Domain, Yilgarn Craton

Mafic–ultramafic rocks in structurally dismembered layered intrusions comprise approximately 40% by volume of greenstones in the Murchison Domain of the Youanmi Terrane, Yilgarn Craton. Mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Murchison Domain may be divided into five components: (i) the ∼2810 Ma Meeline Suite, which includes the large Windimurra Igneous Complex; (ii) the 2800 ± 6 Ma Boodanoo Suite, which includes the Narndee Igneous Complex; (iii) the 2792 ± 5 Ma Little Gap Suite; (iv) the ∼2750 Ma Gnanagooragoo Igneous Complex; and (v) the 2735–2710 Ma Yalgowra Suite of layered gabbroic sills. The intrusions are typically layered, tabular bodies of gabbroic rock with ultramafic basal units which, in places, are more than 6 km thick and up to 2500 km2 in areal extent. However, these are minimum dimensions as the intrusions have been dismembered by younger deformation. In the Windimurra and Narndee Igneous Complexes, discordant features and geochemical fractionation trends indicate multiple pulses of magma. These pulses produced several megacyclic units, each ∼200 m thick. The suites are anhydrous except for the Boodanoo Suite, which contains a large volume of hornblende gabbro. They also host significant vanadium mineralisation, and at least minor Ni–Cu–PGE mineralisation. Collectively, the areal distribution, thickness and volume of mafic–ultramafic magma in these complexes is similar to that in the 2.06 Ga Bushveld Igneous Complex, and represents a major addition of mantle-derived magma to Murchison Domain crust over a 100 Ma period. All suites are demonstrably contemporaneous with packages of high-Mg tholeiitic lavas and/or felsic volcanic rocks in greenstone belts. The distribution, ages and compositions of the earlier mafic–ultramafic rocks are most consistent with genesis in a mantle plume setting.

Geochemistry of the Chagai–Raskoh arc, Pakistan: Complex arc dynamics spanning the Cretaceous to the Quaternary

The Chagai–Raskoh arc is located in western Pakistan and extends into Iran and Afghanistan. The arc forms an elongate body trending EW and is roughly 500 km long by 150 km wide. Activity along the arc began in the Late Cretaceous and continued through into the Quaternary. The oldest volcanic rocks in the arc belong to the Sinjrani and Kuchakki Formations. These rocks are primarily basalts and andesites which form both pillow sequences and massive flows. Geochemically these units are very similar. They are tholeiitic lavas with typical island arc characteristics and an N-MORB source. For example when normalized to N-MORB they are large ion lithophile element (LILE) enriched, high field strength element (HFSE) depleted, and have negative Nb and Ti anomalies. Also within the Sinjrani Formation are a sequence of Senonian basalt–dacite lavas that were generated from an N-MORB type mantle source, and although they are initially tholeiitic the more evolved lavas are calc-alkaline. Trace element data indicates these lavas have a very minor continental affiliation. The generation of these lavas may mark the increasing proximity of the Afghan continental block. The youngest units in this study belong to the Quaternary Koh-e-Sultan and the Miocene Koh-e-Dalil. These units have a calc-alkaline fractionation trend and contain more silicic lavas, including dacites, than the older lavas. Chemically these units are very similar; they both contain continental arc signatures and were generated from low degrees of partial melting of an enriched source. Current theories to explain the multiple phases of volcanism in the Chagai–Raskoh arc propose that these lavas are the result of intra-oceanic convergence in the Neo-Tethys. Our data supports this model in that the initial phases of volcanism are entirely formed in an oceanic arc. However the increasing proximity of the Afghan Block, ca. 65 Ma, is evidenced by increasing continental signatures in the lavas, followed by much younger continental arc volcanism. We suggest the north–south distribution of oceanic versus continental signatures indicates that the location of the Afghan Block–Makran accretionary complex boundary is beneath the Chagai–Raskoh arc.

Kahoolawe Island, Hawaii: The role of an ‘inaccessible’ shield volcano in the petrology of the Hawaiian islands and plume

Kahoolawe volcano (∼10×17 km) forms one of the eight major Hawaiian islands. Access for geologic sampling has long been restricted due to military and preservation policies. However, limited visits to Kahoolawe in the 1980s yielded >200 samples, many of which have since been used to study the volcano within the framework of Hawaiian shield and mantle source geochemistry, petrology, mineralogy, and igneous processes. Kahoolawe is a tholeiitic shield with tholeiitic caldera-filling lavas, and at least seven postshield vents that erupted tholeiitic and (sparse) alkalic lavas. On smaller scales are a gabbro intrusion and ultramafic and gabbroic xenoliths in some postshield lavas. There is no evidence for rejuvenated volcanism. In its structural setting, Kahoolawe lies along the “Loa” trend of Hawaiian shields. Major element compositions of shield and caldera-filling lavas are similar and cluster at ∼6–7 wt% MgO, range from ∼5.5 to 16 wt% MgO, and include ∼9 wt% MgO examples that can be modeled as parental to the evolved lavas. For example, least squares mass balancing demonstrates that from ∼15% to 30% crystallization of olivine (±orthopyroxene), clinopyroxene, and plagioclase accounts for the ∼5.5–6 wt% MgO range of tholeiitic lavas. Greater differentiation occurred in the gabbro (diabasic) intrusive body as a segregation vein with ∼2.9 wt% MgO, and extreme differentiation produced local, small-volume rhyolitic melts that segregated into lava vesicles. Postshield lavas are mainly tholeiitic, have ∼5–7 wt% MgO, and overlap shield compositions. Some are alkalic, as low as ∼3.9 wt% MgO (hawaiite), and can be modeled as liquids after a ∼9 wt% MgO alkalic magma crystallized ∼30% olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and magnetite. Important aspects of Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb isotopic ratios in Kahoolawe shield and caldera-filling lavas are slightly higher 87Sr/ 86Sr than in Koolau shield lavas (Oahu island; Makapuu-stage; e.g., Koolau mantle ‘endmember’) when compared at a given 143Nd/ 144Nd (e.g., ∼0.7042 at 0.5128), 206Pb/ 204Pb largely at the low end of the range for Hawaiian shields (e.g., ∼18), and ε Hf generally comparable to the values of other Hawaiian shields and ocean islands (e.g., ε Hf 8 at ε Nd 4). The isotopic ratios overall suggest small-scale source heterogeneity, considering the island size, and that Kahoolawe shield and caldera lavas were derived from a Hawaiian plume source containing recycled oceanic crust of gabbro and sediments. Based on certain geochemical indicators, however, such as Ce/Sr and La/Nb vs. 87Sr/ 86Sr, the source contained slightly less gabbro component than other shield sources (e.g., Koolau). Isotopic data for Kahoolawe postshield lavas are scarce, but those available generally overlap the shield data. However, ratios among certain alteration-resistant incompatible trace elements (e.g., Zr/Nb) discriminate some postshield alkalic from shield lavas. But because the different ratios for those postshield lavas can be explained by smaller partial-melting percentages of the shield source and by differentiation, neither isotopes nor trace elements identify postshield magmas as originating in a source unlike that for the shield lavas.

Reply to comment by C. Pin and J. Rodríguez on “Rheic Ocean ophiolitic remnants in southern Iberia questioned by SHRIMP U‐Pb zircon ages on the Beja‐Acebuches amphibolites”

Reply to comment by C. Pin and J. Rodríguez on “Rheic Ocean ophiolitic remnants in southern Iberia questioned by SHRIMP U‐Pb zircon ages on the Beja‐Acebuches amphibolites”

Petrology of the Paleocene Picrites and Flood Basalts on Disko and Nuussuaq, West Greenland

The c. 62^60 Ma rift-related Paleocene volcanic succession in West Greenland comprises voluminous picrites (the Vaigat Formation) overlain by flood basalts (the Maliga“ t Formation). A detailed stratigraphy for the c. 3 km combined succession on Disko and Nuussuaq has been established that provides evidence of the evolution of the volcanic systems, processes and sources through time. Picrites constitute about one-third of the total erupted volume. The primary magmas for the whole succession were highly magnesian; the weighted average of 16� 6 wt % MgO for the uncontaminated Vaigat Formation is a lower limit for the primary magmas. During the emplacement of the Vaigat Formation, the magmas fractionated olivine in the feeder channels before eruption but generally did not stop in magma chambers. Only minor magma batches stopped in high-level magma chambers, where many became crustally contaminated. At the transition to the Maliga“ t Formation magma chambers developed, presumably in the lower crust. From then on, the main eruption products were basalts with compositions buffered by refilling^fractionation^tapping processes. Large-scale cyclicity can be seen, with more and less fractionated steady-state compositions. The upper part of the Maliga“ t Formation is contaminated throughout, except for the three youngest flows. Repeated pulses of new picritic magmas can be seen in both formations. The asthenospheric mantle source was heterogeneous and the dominant component was depleted, mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like mantle with Nb/ La51. An additional, less depleted mantle component akin to the Iceland source is evident in the upper Vaigat Formation but disappeared again at the transition to the Maliga“ t Formation. A third mantle component similar to the source for the E-type lavas on Baffin Island may be present in the earliest rocks. Melting took place in the garnet peridotite facies because the melting column was curtailed by the 100 km thick lithosphere. The picrites show coupled isotopic and elemental variations even within single units, indicating that the accumulated primary melts were not homogenized when they left the melting column. An incompatible-element-rich lithospheric mantle component is seen in the ManaŒ tdlat Member of alkaline picrites and basalts. Single scattered tholeiitic lavas somewhat enriched in the same trace elements are considered to be slightly contaminated with this component.The volume of alkaline and enriched rocks is very small. The crustal contaminants are the sediments in the Nuussuaq Basin. The contamination processes included bulk assimilation, inmixing of partial melts of the sediments, assimilation^fractional crystallization processes, and exchange reactions. When carbon-rich shales were assimilated severe reduction led to formation of graphite or metallic iron. All rocks more evolved than basalt arose by contamination processes. The units of contaminated rocks constitute 5^9% of the Vaigat Formation and around 30% of the Maliga“ t Formation.

FeO*‐Al2O3‐TiO2‐Rich Rocks of the Tertiary Bana Igneous Complex, West Cameroon

AbstractFeO*‐Al2O3‐TiO2‐rich rocks are found associated with transitional tholeiitic lava flows in the Tertiary Bana plutono‐volcanic complex in the continental sector of the Cameroon Line. These peculiar rocks consist principally of iron‐titanium oxides, aluminosilicates and phosphates, and occur as layers 1–3 m thick occupying the upper part of lava flows on the southwest (site 1) and northwest (site 2) sites of the complex. Mineral constituents of the rocks include magnetite, ilmenite, hematite, rutile, corundum, andalusite, sillimanite, cordierite, quartz, plagioclase, alkali feldspar, apatite, Fe‐Mn phosphate, Al phosphate, micas and fine mixtures of sericite and silica. Texturally and compositionally, the rocks can be subdivided into globular type, banded type, and Al‐rich fine‐gained massive type. The first two types consist of dark globule or band enriched in Fe‐Ti oxides and apatite and lighter colored groundmass or bands enriched in aluminosilicates and quartz, respectively. The occurrence of andalusite and sillimanite and the compositional relations of magnetite and ilmenite in the FeO*‐Al2O3‐TiO2‐rich rocks suggest temperatures of crystallization in a range of 690–830°C at low pressures. The Bana FeO*‐Al2O3‐TiO2‐rich rocks are characterized by low concentrations of SiO2 (25–54.2 wt%), Na2O + K2O (0–1%), CaO (0–2%) and MgO (0–0.5%), and high concentrations of FeO* (total iron as FeO, 20–42%), Al2O3 (20–42%), TiO2 (3–9.2%), and P2O5 (0.26–1.30%). TiO2 is positively correlated with Al2O3 and inversely correlated with FeO*. The bulk rock compositions cannot be derived from the associated basaltic magma by crystal fractionation or by partial melting of the mantle or lower crustal materials. In ternary diagrams of (Al2O3)−(CaO + Na2O + K2O)−(FeO*+ MnO + MgO) and (SiO2)−(FeO*)−(Al2O3), the compositional field of the rocks is close to that of laterite and is distinct from the common volcanic rocks, suggesting that the rocks are derived from lateritic materials by recrystallization when the materials are heated by the basaltic magmas. A hydrothermal origin is discounted because the rocks contain high‐temperature mineral assemblages and lack sulfide minerals. It is proposed that the FeO*‐Al2O3‐TiO2‐rich rocks of the Bana complex were formed by pyrometamorphism of laterite by the heat of basaltic magmas.

Partitioning of Ni between olivine and siliceous eclogite partial melt: experimental constraints on the mantle source of Hawaiian basalts

Olivine is abundant in Earth’s upper mantle and ubiquitous in basaltic lavas, but rarely occurs in eclogite. Partial melts of eclogite are, therefore, not in equilibrium with olivine, and will react with peridotite as they migrate through the upper mantle. If such melts erupt at Earth’s surface, their compositions will be highly modified and they may be olivine-saturated. We investigated experimentally the reaction between olivine and siliceous eclogite partial melt, and determined element partitioning between olivine and the melt produced by this reaction. Our results demonstrate that mixing of reacted eclogite partial melt with primitive basalt is capable of producing the positive correlation between melt SiO2 content and olivine Ni content observed in some Hawaiian lavas. Experiments were carried out by equilibrating eclogite partial melt or basalt with San Carlos olivine at 1 bar and 1,201–1,350°C. Our results show that eclogite partial melts equilibrated with mantle olivine retain their high SiO2, low FeO and MgO characteristics. Further, olivine-melt partition coefficients for Ni measured in these experiments are significantly larger than for basalt. Mixing of these melts with primitive Hawaiian tholeiitic lavas results in crystallization of high-Ni olivines similar to those in Makapuu-stage Koolau lavas, even though the mixed magmas have only moderate Ni contents. This results from a hyperbolic increase of the Ni partition coefficient with increasing polymerization of the mixed melt. Note that while eclogite partial melt in contact with peridotite will equilibrate with pyroxene as well as olivine, this will have the effect of buffering the activity of SiO2 in the reacted melt at a higher level. Therefore, an eclogite partial melt equilibrated with harzburgite will have higher SiO2 than one equilibrated with dunite, enhancing the effects observed in our experiments. Our results demonstrate that an olivine-free “hybrid” pyroxenite source is not required to explain the presence of high-Ni olivines in Hawaiian lavas and, therefore, indicate that the proportion of eclogite in the Hawaiian plume is less than has been estimated in recent studies.

Caribbean island-arc rifting and back-arc basin development in the Late Cretaceous: Geochemical, isotopic and geochronological evidence from Central Hispaniola

We present new regional petrologic, geochemical, Sr–Nd isotopic, and U–Pb geochronological data on the Turonian–Campanian mafic igneous rocks of Central Hispaniola that provide important clues on the development of the Caribbean island-arc. Central Hispaniola is made up of three main tectonic blocks—Jicomé, Jarabacoa and Bonao—that include four broad geochemical groups of Late Cretaceous mafic igneous rocks: group I, tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalts and andesites; group II, low-Ti high-Mg andesites and basalts; group III, tholeiitic basalts and gabbros/dolerites; and group IV, tholeiitic to transitional and alkalic basalts. These igneous rocks show significant differences in time and space, from arc-like to non-arc-like characteristics, suggesting that they were derived from different mantle sources. We interpret these groups as the record of Caribbean arc-rifting and back-arc basin development in the Late Cretaceous. The> 90 Ma group I volcanic rocks and associated cumulate complexes preserved in the Jicomé and Jarabacoa blocks represent the Albian to Cenomanian Caribbean island-arc material. The arc rift stage magmatism in these blocks took place during the deposition of the Restauración Formation from the Turonian–Coniacian transition (~ 90 Ma) to Santonian/Lower Campanian, particularly in its lower part with extrusion at 90–88 Ma of group II low-Ti, high-Mg andesites/basalts. During this time or slightly afterwards adakitic rhyolites erupted in the Jarabacoa block. Group III tholeiitic lavas represent the initiation of Coniacian–Lower Campanian back-arc spreading. In the Bonao block, this stage is represented by back-arc basin-like basalts, gabbros and dolerite/diorite dykes intruded into the Loma Caribe peridotite, as well as the Peralvillo Sur Formation basalts, capped by tuffs, shales and Campanian cherts. This dismembered ophiolitic stratigraphy indicates that the Bonao block is a fragment of an ensimatic back-arc basin. In the Jicomé and Jarabacoa blocks, the mainly Campanian group IV basalts of the Peña Blanca, Siete Cabezas and Pelona–Pico Duarte Formation, represent the subsequent stage of back-arc spreading and off-axis non-arc-like magmatism, caused by migration of the arc toward the northeast. These basalts have geochemical affinities with the mantle domain influenced by the Caribbean plume, suggesting that mantle was flowing toward the NE, beneath the extended Caribbean island-arc, in response to rollback of the subducting proto-Caribbean slab.

Zuni–Bandera volcanism, Rio Grande, USA — Melt formation in garnet- and spinel-facies mantle straddling the asthenosphere–lithosphere boundary

The Zuni–Bandera Volcanic Field (ZBVF) is a late-Neogene volcanic field on the boundary of the stable Colorado Plateau and the active Rio Grande Rift. Alkalic and tholeiitic magmas have erupted through Proterozoic continental crust with the tholeiitic magmas having undergone shallow-level fractional crystallization of olivine ± clinopyroxene ± spinel. The alkaline–tholeiitic lava flows lack elemental and isotopic correlations usually indicative of concomitant crust assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) and appear to have inherited their geochemistry from sub-Moho depths. Consideration of isotopic data, and modelling of REE and U–Th data constrains the mantle-melting history. The tholeiite basalts are primarily spinel-facies mantle melts (95–100% for spinel-facies), whereas the alkali basalts have a much higher proportion of garnet-facies mantle melts (15–25% for all samples except QBO 607 assumed to be 100% garnet-facies). The increased contribution from garnet-facies mantle in the alkali basalts is supported by U–Th isotopic data, where a shift towards 230Th excess is observed. Since the lithospheric thickness increases from 45–55 km beneath the Rio Grande Rift, to 120–150 km beneath the Colorado Plateau, the ZBVF volcanic rocks are most likely a mixture of asthenosphere-derived (garnet-facies) alkali basalts and lithosphere-derived (spinel-facies) tholeiitic basalts. This is further supported by Sr–Nd isotopic data with alkali basalts having isotopic compositions similar to depleted-mantle values ( 87Sr/ 86Sr = 0.702986 to 0.70378, 143Nd/ 144Nd = 0.512712 to 0.512978), while the tholeiite basalts have higher 87Sr/ 86Sr (0.704725 to 0.706003) and lower 143Nd/ 144Nd (0.512379 to 0.512913) typical of basaltic magmas derived from ancient, LREE-enriched lithospheric mantle. Overall, melting is observed to be polybaric in nature, with mixing of melts over an extended depth range with the development of melting columns that span (a) the garnet-to spinel-facies phase boundaries in the mantle, and, (b) the asthenosphere–lithosphere boundary.

Relative contributions of crust and mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basic lavas, northwestern China

The Tianshan Carboniferous–Permian rift-related volcanism in northwestern China represents a newly recognized large igneous province extending over at least 1.5 × 10 6 km 2. The volcanic successions comprise thick piles of basaltic lavas and subordinate intermediate and silicic lavas and pyroclastics, and are interpreted to result from a mantle plume head with component of ε Nd( t) ≈ +5, 87Sr/ 86Sr( t) ≈ 0.704 and La/Nb ≈ 0.9. On the basis of petrogeochemical data, the Carboniferous basic lavas can be generally incorporated into low-Ti/Y (LT, Ti/Y < 500) magma type that can be further divided into three subtypes: LT1, LT2 and LT3. The chemical evolution of the LT1, LT2 (in central Tianshan) and LT3 (in western Tianshan and Jungar) lavas is controlled by an olivine (ol) + clinopyroxene (cpx) fractionation, but gabbroic fractionation accounts for the chemical variation of the LT3 lavas from eastern Tianshan. Elemental and isotopic data suggest that the chemical variation of Tianshan Carboniferous basic lavas cannot be explained by crystallization from a common parental magma. The Sr–Nd isotopic variation of the crustally contaminated LT3 lavas is related to the nature of lithosphere through which the plume-derived melts have erupted. The involvement of an older (Precambrian) lithosphere led the LT3 lavas in western Tianshan to have lower to negative ε Nd( t) (−1.2 to +6.1) and variable 87Sr/ 86Sr( t) (0.7036–0.7061), whereas the LT3 lavas from eastern Tianshan and Jungar are characterized by high ε Nd( t) (+4.2 to +9.7) and low 87Sr/ 86Sr( t) (0.7035–0.7044), that are related to the contamination of upper crust containing early Paleozoic and Devonian arc-basin volcanic rocks and/or to a pre-Carboniferous subduction enrichment of the lithospheric mantle source region. The observed geochemical variations in the Tianshan data are consistent with an AFC process. The Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related volcanic rocks display a spatial petrogeochemical variation in which predominantly uncontaminated LT1 and less-contaminated LT2 tholeiitic lavas erupted in central Tianshan rift and predominantly the strongly contaminated LT3 tholeiites erupted in the circumjacent regions of the central Tianshan rift. The LT1 and LT2 lavas were generated by a higher degree (10–30%) of partial melting in the garnet stability field of the mantle plume compared to the LT3 lavas. The lower degree (<10%) of partial melting in the spinel–garnet transition zone of the mantle plume, as is characteristic of the LT3 lavas, may be the result of a relatively lower geotherm.

Low-pressure differentiation of tholeiitic lavas as recorded in segregation veins from Reykjanes (Iceland), Lanzarote (Canary Islands) and Masaya (Nicaragua)

Segregation veins are common in lava sheets and result from internal differentiation during lava emplacement and degassing. They consist of evolved liquid, most likely replaced by gas-filter pressing from a ∼50% crystallised host lava. Pairs of samples, host lavas and associated segregation veins from the Reykjanes Peninsula (Iceland), Lanzarote (Canary Islands) and the Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) show extreme mineralogical and compositional variations (MgO in host lava, segregation veins and interstitial glass ranges from 8–10 wt%, 3–6 wt%, and to less than 0.01 wt%, respectively). These samples allow the assessment of the internal lava flow differentiation mechanism, since both the parental and derived liquid are known in addition to the last magma drops in the form of late interstitial glasses. The mineralogical variation, mass-balance calculated from major- and trace element composition, and transitional metal partition between crystals and melts are all consistent with fractional crystallisation as the dominant differentiation mechanism. The interstitial glasses are highly silicic (SiO2 = 70–80 wt%) and represent a final product of high-degree (75–97%) fractional crystallisation of olivine tholeiite at a pressure close to one atmosphere. The tholeiitic liquid-line-of-decent and the composition of the residual melts are governed by the K2O/Na2O of the initial basaltic magma. The granitic minimum is reached if the initial liquid has a high K2O/Na2O whereas trondhjemitic composition is the final product of magma with low initial K2O/Na2O.

Keene Basalt, northwest Officer Basin, Western Australia: tectonostratigraphic setting and implications for possible submarine mineralisation

GSWA Lancer 1, drilled in the northwest Officer Basin, intersected 49 m of tholeiitic basalt lava flows between depths of 527 and 576 m. These lavas have been named the Keene Basalt and were erupted during deposition of the shallow-marine Kanpa Formation, a mixed carbonate – siliciclastic succession in the Neoproterozoic Buldya Group. No direct dating of the Keene Basalt has been undertaken. Maximum depositional age constraints for the enclosing Kanpa Formation are provided by youngest concordant detrital zircon ages of 779±6 Ma for sandstone 19 m below the basalt, and 725±11 Ma for sandstone at the top of the Kanpa Formation in another drillhole. Correlation of the Kanpa Formation with the Burra Group of the Adelaide Rift Complex on palaeontological and chemostratigraphic grounds suggests an age older than 700 Ma. Limited geochemical data indicate that the Keene Basalt is of continental origin and shows a close similarity to mafic dykes near Mingary in South Australia. Petrographic and XRD analyses show that the Keene Basalt has been hydrothermally altered by interaction with seawater, and locally contains disseminated sulfides. Massive and disseminated sulfide mineralisation, similar to that of submarine systems, may exist in this tectonostratigraphic setting in the northwest Officer Basin.

Petrology and thermal structure of the Hawaiian plume from Mauna Kea volcano

There is uncertainty about whether the abundant tholeiitic lavas on Hawaii are the product of melt from peridotite or pyroxenite/eclogite rocks. Using a parameterization of melting experiments on peridotite with glass analyses from the Hawaii Scientific Deep Project 2 on Mauna Kea volcano, I show here that a small population of the core samples had fractionated from a peridotite-source primary magma. Most lavas, however, differentiated from magmas that were too deficient in CaO and enriched in NiO (ref. 2) to have formed from a peridotite source. For these, experiments indicate that they were produced by the melting of garnet pyroxenite, a lithology that had formed in a second stage by reaction of peridotite with partial melts of subducted oceanic crust. Samples in the Hawaiian core are therefore consistent with previous suggestions that pyroxenite occurs in a host peridotite, and both contribute to melt production. Primary magma compositions vary down the drill core, and these reveal evidence for temperature variations within the underlying mantle plume. Mauna Kea magmatism is represented in other Hawaiian volcanoes, and provides a key for a general understanding of melt production in lithologically heterogeneous mantle.