Geology and geochemistry of an Archean mafic dike complex in the Chan Formation: basis for a revised plate-tectonic model of the Yellowknife greenstone belt

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 614-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Maclachlan ◽  
Herb Helmstaedt

An Archean mafic dike complex in the Chan Formation at the base of the mafic volcanic section of the Yellowknife greenstone belt consists of multiple metagabbro dikes and sills separated by screens of pillowed mafic volcanic rocks, which are cut by a younger postvolcanic metadiabase dike swarm. Field relationships and geochemical characteristics are compatible with a comagmatic origin for the metagabbro and metavolcanic rocks that were fed through and deposited on an older, rift-related, supracrustal sequence of the Dwyer Group. The synvolcanic metagabbro dikes have extended the strike length of the volcanic section by at least 100%. The mafic rocks of the Chan Formation are geochemically similar to mid-ocean ridge basalt, possibly with a minor subduction-zone component. Preliminary εNd values for metagabbroic rocks are consistent with the derivation of magmas predominantly from a normal, depleted-mantle source. The Chan Formation is interpreted to have formed in a marginal basin-like setting, adjacent to a previously rifted and attenuated protocontinental margin.

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1448-1458 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Laflèche ◽  
C. Dupuy ◽  
J. Dostal

The late Archean Blake River Group volcanic sequence forms the uppermost part of the southern Abitibi greenstone belt in Quebec. The group is mainly composed of mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB)-like tholeiites that show a progressive change of several incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Nb/Th, Nb/Ta, La/Yb, and Zr/Y) during differentiation. The compositional variations are inferred to be the result of fractional crystallization coupled with mixing–contamination of tholeiites by calc-alkaline magma which produced the mafic–intermediate lavas intercalated with the tholeiites in the uppermost part of the sequence. The MORB-like tholeiites were probably emplaced in a back-arc setting.


1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1451-1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian L. Cousens ◽  
Mary Lou Bevier

Pleistocene- to Holocene-age basaltic rocks of the Iskut–Unuk rivers volcanic field, at the southern terminus of the Stikine Volcanic Belt in the northern Canadian Cordillera, provide information on the geochemical composition of the underlying mantle and processes that have modified parental magmas. Basaltic rocks from four of the six eruptive centres are moderately evolved (MgO = 5.7–6.8%) alkaline basalts with chondrite-normalized La/Sm = 1.6–1.8, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70336–0.70361, εNd = +4.4 to +5.9, and 206Pb/204Pb = 19.07–19.22. The small range of isotopic compositions and incompatible element ratios imply a common "depleted" mantle source for the basalts, similar to the sources of enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts from northwest Pacific spreading centres or alkali olivine basalts from the western Yukon. Positive Ba and negative Nb anomalies that increase in size with increasing SiO2 and 87Sr/86Sr indicate that the basalts are contaminated by Mesozoic-age, arc-related, Stikine Terrane crust or lithospheric mantle through which the magmas passed. Lavas from a fifth volcanic centre, Cinder Mountain, have undergone greater amounts of fractional crystallization and are relatively enriched in incompatible elements, but are isotopically identical to least-contaminated Iskut–Unuk rivers basalts. Iskut–Unuk rivers lavas share many of the geochemical characteristics of volcanic rocks from other Stikine Belt and Anahim Belt centres, as well as alkali olivine basalts from the Fort Selkirk volcanic centres of the western Yukon.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshuman Giri ◽  
Rajagopal Anand

<p>The archaean greenstone belts, dominated by mafic to felsic volcanic rocks followed by younger granitic intrusions occurs associated with volcano-sedimentary sequences. The Dharwar Super group (2600 to 2900 Ma) of rocks in western Dharwar craton, underlie the older TTG gneisses. The Shimoga greenstone belt (SGB) of WDC constitute the basal polymictic conglomerate along with quartzite, pyroclastic rocks, carbonaceous rocks, greywacke-argillite sequences with a thick pile of mafic and felsic metavolcanic rocks (BADR). These rocks are suffered from greenschist to lower amphibolite grade of metamorphism. The Medur metavolcanic volcanic rocks give an age of 2638 ± 66 Ma (1), whereas the Daginakatte felsic volcanic rocks give an age of 2601 ± 6 Ma (2). The present studied age of 2638 ± 66 Ma, tells about the cessation of mafic magmatism in WDC. The metavolcanic rocks of the Medur formation are tholeiitic to calc-alkaline in nature. These rocks show flat to LREE enriched REE pattern with negative europium anomaly. And also show enrichment in LILE and depletion in HFSE elements with significant Nb-Ta anomaly. The geochemical and the isotope data suggest the involvement of partial melting of the depleted mantle by the slab components and assimilation fractional crystallization (AFC) processes for the magma generation. The SGB metavolcanic rocks have 143Nd/144Nd ratios (0.511150 to .513076) and εNd values of -3.1 to -5.5 and the negative εNd values  for the rocks is due to the crustal contamination of the magma in a shallow marine subduction setting. The parental magmas were derived from melting in the mantle wedge fluxed by slab derived fluids and slab components followed by assimilation fractional crystallization (AFC) processes involving continental crust in an active continental margin.</p><ul><li>(1) Giri et al., 2019. Lithos, <strong>330-331</strong>, 177-193</li> <li>(2) Trendall et al., 1997a. J. Geol. Soc. India, <strong>50</strong>, 25-50.</li> </ul>


1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Tucker Barrie ◽  
Steven B. Shirey

Geochemistry and Nd isotopic compositions are used to characterize mantle and crustal sources and to provide constraints on petrogenetic models for tholeiitic, calc-alkalic, and lamprophyric suites in the Kamiskotia–Montcalm area. The Kamiskotia gabbroic complex (KGC) and cogenetic, bimodal volcanic rocks have εNd(t) = +2.2 to +2.6, consistent with a direct derivation from a long-term, light rare-earth element (LREE)-depleted mantle. The Montcalm gabbroic complex has decreasing εNd(t) upsection from +2.8 to +1.0, consistent with contamination by long-term, LREE-enriched (with respect to the long-term, LREE-depleted Abitibi mantle) crust during fractionation. Two calc-alkalic lamprophyre samples, characterized by large-ion lithophile element (LILE) and LREE enrichment and high MgO, Ni, and Cr contents, have εNd(t) of +2.5 and +2.8, indicating a derivation from a depleted mantle source that had undergone recent trace-element enrichment. A different lamprophyre suite is extremely LILE and LREE enriched and has an εNd(t) of +1.0, indicating a derivation from a slightly different source that had earlier LREE enrichment. Granitoid rocks internal and external to greenstone belt rocks have εNd(t) = +2.5 to +3.8 and +0.6 to −0.4, respectively. The lower values provide additional evidence for the existence of LREE-enriched crust in this area.Considering these data along with other radiogenic isotope studies, a petrogenetic and tectonic model is suggested for the crustal development of the southern Abitibi Subprovince. From >2740 to 2698 Ma—the major period of volcanic activity—komatiitic and tholeiitic suites and one lamprophyre suite were derived from a uniformly LREE-depleted mantle reservoir with εNd(t) = +2 to +3. Calc-alkalic granitoids were emplaced generally after 2700 Ma. Their long-term, LREE-depleted and LREE-enriched Nd isotopic signatures are similar to signatures in continental-arc settings (e.g., the Coastal Batholith of Peru). Form 2690 to 2670 Ma, when transpressional tectonism prevailed, mantle-derived magmatism was represented by long-term, LREE-enriched (εNd(t) = +1 to +2) lamprophyric and alkalic volcanic suites.The Kamiskotia suite has a seven-point, whole-rock – mineral isochron Sm–Nd age of 2710 ± 30 Ma, identical to U–Pb zircon ages for the suite, indicating closed-system behavior. An Rb–Sr mineral – whole-rock isochron age from one KGC sample is 2450 ± 30 Ma, identical to U–Pb ages for the Hearst–Matachewan dike swarm, a prominent feature in the KGC area. Regression of whole-rock and mineral-isotope data for one granitoid sample with a U–Pb zircon age of 2696 ± 1.5 Ma gives identical ages of 2530 ± 30 Ma in the Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr systems. The latter data add to an increasing body of evidence for cryptic, late thermal events after granitoid–greenstone belt development in the southern Abitibi Subprovince.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1010
Author(s):  
Yun Zhong ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Zhilei Sun ◽  
Jinnan Liu ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
...  

In an attempt to investigate the nature and origin of mantle heterogeneities beneath the South Mid-Atlantic Ridge (SMAR), we report new whole-rock Sr, Nd, Pb, and Hf isotopic data from eight basalt samples at four dredge stations along the SMAR between 18°S and 21°S. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic data from SMAR mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) at 18–21°S published by other researchers were also utilized in this study. The SMAR MORBs at 18–21°S feature the following ratio ranges: 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70212 to 0.70410, 143Nd/144Nd = 0.512893 to 0.513177, 206Pb/204Pb = 18.05 to 19.50, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.47 to 15.71, 208Pb/204Pb = 37.87 to 38.64, and 176Hf/177Hf = 0.283001 to 0.283175. The 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, 206Pb/204Pb, and 176Hf/177Hf ratios of these MORBs varied considerably along the SMAR axis. The variable compositions of the Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotopes, combined with the corresponding whole-rock major and trace elemental abundances reported in previous studies, suggest that the SMAR MORBs at 18–21°S were probably derived from a heterogeneous mantle substrate related to a mixture of depleted mantle (DM) materials with a small amount (but variable input) of HIMU (high-μ, where μ = 238U/204Pb)- and enriched (EMII)-type materials. The HIMU-type materials likely originated from the proximal St. Helena plume and may have been transported through “pipe-like inclined sublithospheric channels” into the SMAR axial zone. The EMII-type materials possibly originated from a recycled metasomatized oceanic crust that may have been derived from the early dispersion of other plume heads into the subcontinental asthenosphere prior to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. In addition, the contributions of subducted sediments, continental crust, and subcontinental lithospheric mantle components to the formation of the SMAR MORBs at 18–21°S may be nonexistent or negligible.


1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Bell ◽  
John Blenkinsop ◽  
S. T. Kwon ◽  
G. R. Tilton ◽  
R. P. Sage

Rb–Sr and U–Pb data from the Borden complex of northern Ontario, a carbonatite associated with the Kapuskasing Structural Zone, indicate a mid-Proterozoic age. A 207Pb/206Pb age of 1872 ± 13 Ma is interpreted as the emplacement age of this body, grouping it with other ca. 1900 Ma complexes that are the oldest known carbonatites associated with the Kapuskasing structure. A 206Pb–238U age of 1894 ± 29 Ma agrees with the Pb–Pb age but has a high mean square of weighted deviates (MSWD) of 42. A Rb–Sr apatite–carbonate–mica whole-rock isochron date of 1807 ± 13 Ma probably indicates later resetting of the Rb–Sr system.An εSr(T) value of −6.2 ± 0.5 (87Sr/86Sr = 0.70184 ± 0.00003) and an εNd(T) value of +2.8 ± 0.4 for Borden indicate derivation of the Sr and Nd from a source with a time-integrated depletion in the large-ion lithophile (LIL) elements. These closely resemble the ε values for Sr and Nd from the Cargill and Spanish River complexes, two other 1900 Ma plutons. The estimated initial 207Pb/204Pb and 206Pb/204Pb ratios from Borden calcites plot significantly below growth curves for average continental crust in isotope correlation diagrams, a pattern similar to those found in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and most ocean-island volcanic rocks, again suggesting a source depleted in LIL elements. The combined Nd and Sr, and probably Pb, data strongly favour a mantle origin for the Borden complex with little or no crustal contamination and support the model of Bell et al. that many carbonatites intruded into the Canadian Shield were derived from an ancient, LIL-depleted subcontinental upper mantle.


Nature ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 331 (6156) ◽  
pp. 511-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Fornari ◽  
Michael R. Perfit ◽  
James F. Allan ◽  
Rodey Batiza

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2551-2567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Ujike ◽  
A. M. Goodwin

Felsic magma petrogenesis was studied by analyzing 24 stratigraphically controlled Archean andesite-to-rhyolite lava flows of both tholeiitic and calc-alkalic affinity from the upper Noranda Subgroup, Quebec, using instrumental neutron activation and X-ray fluorescence techniques. The lavas have moderate values of [La/Yb]N (0.9–3.8) and low values of 100 × Th/Zr (~1). According to calculations following batch partial melting and Rayleigh fractional crystallization models, both the calc-alkalic and tholeiitic felsic volcanic rocks are probably products of shallow-level fractional crystallization of mafic parental magmas formed respectively by lower (~7 % for calc-alkalic) and higher (~14% for tholeiitic) degrees of partial melting of a primitive mantle source.Contribution to the magma genesis from plausible crustal materials was negligible. A back-arc-type diapirism is geochemically suggested for the tectonic model of origin of Noranda felsic magmas, in conformity with geological observations. Felsic volcanic rocks with compositions analogous to the studied samples exist in several other Archean terrains of the Canadian Shield, suggesting thereby that the late Archean sialic crust was at least in part produced by volcanic rocks ultimately derived from the primitive mantle.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Gao ◽  
Shuwen Liu ◽  
Peter Cawood ◽  
Jintuan Wang ◽  
Guozheng Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract The redox evolution of Archean mantle impacted Earth differentiation, mantle melting and the nature of chemical equilibrium between mantle, ocean and atmosphere of the early Earth. However, how and why it varies with time remain controversial. Archean mantle-derived volcanic rocks, especially basalts are ideal lithologies for reconstructing the mantle redox state. Here we show that the ~3.8-2.5 Ga basalts from fourteen cratons are subdivided geochemically into two groups, B-1, showing incompatible element depleted and modern mid-ocean ridge basalt-like features ((Nb/La)PM ≥ 0.75) and B-2 ((Nb/La)PM < 0.75), characterized by modern island arc basalt-like features. Our updated V-Ti redox proxy indicates the Archean upper mantle was more reducing than today, and that there was a significant redox heterogeneity between ambient and modified mantle presumably related to crustal recycling, perhaps via plate subduction, as shown by B-1 and B-2 magmas, respectively. The oxygen fugacity of modified mantle exhibits a ~1.5-2.0 log units increase over ~3.8-2.5 Ga, whereas the ambient mantle becomes more and more heterogeneous with respect to redox, apart from a significant increase at ~2.7 Ga. These findings are coincident with the increase in the proportions of crustal recycling-related lithologies with associated enrichment of associated incompatible elements (e.g., Th/Nb), indicating that increasing recycling played a crucial role on the secular oxidation of Archean upper mantle.


Author(s):  
Jixin Wang ◽  
Huaiyang Zhou ◽  
Vincent J M Salters ◽  
Henry J B Dick ◽  
Jared J Standish ◽  
...  

Abstract Mantle source heterogeneity and magmatic processes have been widely studied beneath most parts of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). But less is known from the newly recovered mid-ocean ridge basalts from the Dragon Bone Amagmatic Segment (53°E, SWIR) and the adjacent magmatically robust Dragon Flag Segment. Fresh basalt glasses from the Dragon Bone Segment are clearly more enriched in isotopic composition than the adjacent Dragon Flag basalts, but the trace element ratios of the Dragon Flag basalts are more extreme compared with average mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) than the Dragon Bone basalts. Their geochemical differences can be explained only by source differences rather than by variations in degree of melting of a roughly similar source. The Dragon Flag basalts are influenced by an arc-like mantle component as evidenced by enrichment in fluid-mobile over fluid-immobile elements. However, the sub-ridge mantle at the Dragon Flag Segment is depleted in melt component compared with a normal MORB source owing to previous melting in the subarc. This fluid-metasomatized, subarc depleted mantle is entrained beneath the Dragon Flag Segment. In comparison, for the Dragon Bone axial basalts, their Pb isotopic compositions and their slight enrichment in Ba, Nb, Ta, K, La, Sr and Zr and depletion in Pb and Ti concentrations show resemblance to the Ejeda–Bekily dikes of Madagascar. Also, Dragon Bone Sr and Nd isotopic compositions together with the Ce/Pb, La/Nb and La/Th ratios can be modeled by mixing the most isotopically depleted Dragon Flag basalts with a composition within the range of the Ejeda–Bekily dikes. It is therefore proposed that the Dragon Bone axial basalts, similar to the Ejeda–Bekily dikes, are sourced from subcontinental lithospheric Archean mantle beneath Gondwana, pulled from beneath the Madagascar Plateau. The recycling of the residual subarc mantle and the subcontinental lithospheric mantle could be related to either the breakup of Gondwana or the formation and accretion of Neoproterozoic island arc terranes during the collapse of the Mozambique Ocean, and is now present beneath the ridge.


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