Late Neoproterozoic to Carboniferous genesis of A-type magmas in Avalonia of northern Nova Scotia: repeated partial melting of anhydrous lower crust in contrasting tectonic environments

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brendan Murphy ◽  
J. Gregory Shellnutt ◽  
William J. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Partial Melting ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic ◽  
Tectonic Environments

In-situ reaction-replacement origin of hornblendites in the Early Cretaceous Laiyuan complex, North China Craton, and implications for its tectono-magmatic evolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Chang ◽  
Andreas Audétat ◽  
Jian-Wei Li
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
North China ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Magmatic Evolution ◽  
Mafic Magmas ◽  
Felsic Rocks

Abstract Two suites of amphibole-rich mafic‒ultramafic rocks associated with the voluminous intermediate to felsic rocks in the Early Cretaceous Laiyuan intrusive-volcanic complex (North China Craton) are studied here by detailed petrography, mineral- and melt inclusion chemistry, and thermobarometry to demonstrate an in-situ reaction-replacement origin of the hornblendites. Moreover, a large set of compiled and newly obtained geochronological and whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd isotopic data are used to constrain the tectono-magmatic evolution of the Laiyuan complex. Early mafic‒ultramafic rocks occur mainly as amphibole-rich mafic‒ultramafic intrusions situated at the edge of the Laiyuan complex. These intrusions comprise complex lithologies of olivine-, pyroxene- and phlogopite-bearing hornblendites and various types of gabbroic rocks, which largely formed by in-situ crystallization of hydrous mafic magmas that experienced gravitational settling of early-crystallized olivine and clinopyroxene at low pressures of 0.10‒0.20 GPa (∼4‒8 km crustal depth); the hornblendites formed in cumulate zones by cooling-driven crystallization of 55‒75 vol% hornblende, 10‒20 vol% orthopyroxene and 3‒10 vol% phlogopite at the expense of olivine and clinopyroxene. A later suite of mafic rocks occurs as mafic lamprophyre dikes throughout the Laiyuan complex. These dikes occasionally contain some pure hornblendite xenoliths, which formed by reaction-replacement of clinopyroxene at high pressures of up to 0.97‒1.25 GPa (∼37‒47 km crustal depth). Mass balance calculations suggest that the olivine-, pyroxene- and phlogopite-bearing hornblendites in the early mafic‒ultramafic intrusions formed almost without melt extraction, whereas the pure hornblendites brought up by lamprophyre dikes required extraction of ≥ 20‒30 wt% residual andesitic to dacitic melts. The latter suggests that fractionation of amphibole in the middle to lower crust through the formation of reaction-replacement hornblendites is a viable way to produce adakite-like magmas. New age constraints suggest that the early mafic-ultramafic intrusions formed during ∼132‒138 Ma, which overlaps with the timespan of ∼126‒145 Ma recorded by the much more voluminous intermediate to felsic rocks of the Laiyuan complex. By contrast, the late mafic and intermediate lamprophyre dikes were emplaced during ∼110‒125 Ma. Therefore, the voluminous early magmatism in the Laiyuan complex was likely triggered by the retreat of the flat-subducting Paleo-Pacific slab, whereas the minor later, mafic to intermediate magmas may have formed in response to further slab sinking-induced mantle thermal perturbations. Whole-rock geochemical data suggest that the early mafic magmas formed by partial melting of subduction-related metasomatized lithospheric mantle, and that the early intermediate to felsic magmas with adakite-like signatures formed from mafic magmas through strong amphibole fractionation without plagioclase in the lower crust. The late mafic magmas seem to be derived from a slightly different metasomatized lithospheric mantle by lower degrees of partial melting.

The late Neoproterozoic Frog Lake hornblende gabbro pluton, Avalon Terrane of Nova Scotia: evidence for the origins of appinites

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Pe-Piper ◽  
David J.W. Piper ◽  
Basilios Tsikouras
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Country Rock ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Mafic Magma ◽  
Single Type ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Element Abundances ◽  
Hornblende Gabbro ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic ◽  
Low K

The late Neoproterozoic Frog Lake pluton, in the Avalon terrane of the Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia, consists predominantly of hornblende gabbro. It shows petrographic similarities to water-rich mafic intrusions known as appinites that are present in some collisional orogens. This study aims to further understanding of the origin of appinitic intrusions. In the field, the main hornblende gabbro was intruded between screens of metasedimentary country rock that is of upper greenschist metamorphic grade. The contacts appear to have been pathways for magma of gabbroic, tonalitic–granodioritic, and granitic composition that carried enclaves of gabbroic lithologies. Some of these magmas had a high volatile content, resulting in abundance of hydrous mineral phases, pegmatites, and diffuse felsic segregations. These varied rocks in the contact zones experienced progressive shear resulting in syn-magmatic deformation. Low-Ti hornblende gabbros have trace-element abundances similar to subduction-related low-K mafic rocks, including some enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements and marked relative depletion in Nb and Y. High-Ti hornblende gabbros and pyroxene–mica gabbro show more alkaline characteristics, with higher amounts of Nb, Y, P2O5, and high-field-strength elements. Tonalite and granite veins are geochemically similar to volcanic-arc granite. Comparison with appinites in the literature suggests that the Frog Lake pluton represents a deeper structural level than most appinites. The Frog Lake appinites were part of the feeder system to back-arc volcanic rocks of the Jeffers Group. Comparison with other appinites also leads to the conclusion that there is not a single type of “appinitic magma”: different appinitic plutons range in composition from low-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic. The essential characteristic is a water-rich mafic magma. Appinites occur in settings undergoing crustal-scale strike-slip shear, where the faults allow rapid rise of mafic magma to shallow crustal levels.

Granulites, partial melting and the rheology of the lower crust

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. BROWN ◽  
K. SCHULMANN ◽  
R. W. WHITE
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Lower Crust

Latest Cretaceous “A2-type” granites in the Sakarya Zone, NE Turkey: Partial melting of mafic lower crust in response to roll-back of Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere

Lithos ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 302-303 ◽  
pp. 312-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orhan Karsli ◽  
Faruk Aydin ◽  
Ibrahim Uysal ◽  
Abdurrahman Dokuz ◽  
Mustafa Kumral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Sakarya Zone ◽  
Roll Back ◽  
Mafic Lower Crust

High-pressure experimental studies on the origin of anorthosite

1969 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor H. Green
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Partial Melting ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Quartz Diorite ◽  
Main Phase ◽  
Large Field ◽  
High Alumina ◽  
High Alumina Basalt ◽  
Rock Types

Experimental crystallization of anhydrous synthetic quartz diorite (≈andesite), gabbroic anorthosite, and high-alumina basalt has been conducted in their respective partial melting fields at high pressure. The quartz diorite composition shows a large field of crystallization of plagioclase from 0–13.5 kb, together with subordinate amounts of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene and minor opaque minerals. In the gabbroic anorthosite, plagioclase is the main phase crystallizing from 0–22.5 kb, but at higher pressure it is replaced by aluminous clinopyroxene. Aluminous clinopyroxene is the main phase crystallizing from the high-alumina basalt from 9–18 kb and is joined by plagioclase at lower temperatures. At higher pressure it is joined by garnet. The albite content of the liquidus and near-liquidus plagioclase increases markedly with increasing pressure in each of the three compositions.The results for the high-alumina basalt and gabbroic anorthosite compositions preclude any major trends towards alumina enrichment and derivation of anorthositic plutons at crustal or upper mantle depths under anhydrous conditions. However, the results for the quartz diorite suggest that anorthositic complexes may form as a crystalline residuum from the partial melting of a lower crust of overall andesitic composition or from fractional crystallization of an andesitic magma. In either case a large separation of plagioclase crystals occurs (andesine – acid labradorite composition at lower crustal pressures), together with subordinate pyroxenes and ore minerals. Under appropriate temperature conditions separation of crystals and liquid by a filter-pressing mechanism during deformation may result in the genesis of igneous complexes containing rock types ranging in composition from gabbro through gabbroic anorthosite to anorthosite, together with associated acid rocks. The acid rocks need not necessarily remain spatially associated with the refractory gabbroic anorthosite and anorthosite. Where these processes have operated in the crust, anorthositic rocks may be left as the main component of the lower crust, while the low melting acidic fraction has intruded to higher levels.

scholarly journals Formation of Distinct Granitic Magma Batches by Partial Melting of Hybrid Lower Crust in the Izu Arc Collision Zone, Central Japan

2007 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1761-1791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Saito ◽  
Makoto Arima ◽  
Takashi Nakajima ◽  
Keiji Misawa ◽  
Jun-Ichi Kimura
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Granitic Magma ◽  
Central Japan ◽  
Collision Zone
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