A Grenville-age layered intrusion in the subsurface of west Texas: petrology, petrography, and possible tectonic setting

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 2159-2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hulusi Kargi ◽  
Calvin G. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Basaltic Magma ◽  
Layered Intrusion ◽  
Mafic Magma ◽  
Magma Source ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Hornblende Gabbro ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
Extensional Tectonic ◽  
General Order

The Nellie intrusion is a thick (more than 4420 m) mafic to ultramafic layered intrusion with a radiometric age of ~1163 Ma. Rock types change abruptly with stratigraphic height and include norite, pyroxenite, gabbronorite, hornblende gabbro, gabbro, anorthosite, harzburgite, and lherzolite. Norite is most abundant, but gabbro and hornblende gabbro are locally abundant. Rare olivine-rich layers are also present. The general order of crystallization was olivine, orthopyroxene, plagioclase + clinopyroxene, and hornblende. Mg#'s, expressed as 100 Mg/(Mg + Fe), range from 76.3 to 85.8 for olivine, 56.7 to 84.9 for orthopyroxene, 62.5 to 90.3 for clinopyroxene, and 52.4 to 82.8 for amphibole. Mg#'s vary with height and display abrupt reversals, which indicate open-system addition of new mafic magma. Eleven cyclic units were identified on the basis of evidence for injection of basaltic magma; these can be grouped into three megacyclic units. The abundance of orthopyroxene, and mineral compositional evidence for Fe enrichment within cyclic units, indicates that parental magmas were subalkaline and tholeiitic. Plagioclase in equilibrium with olivine ranges from An65 to An46, which precludes an arc-related magma source. Although the intrusion is approximately coeval with Keweenawan magmatism and with emplacement of diabasic dikes in western North America, it is dissimilar in detail to both suites of rocks. Nevertheless, its composition and geophysical setting are consistent with emplacement in an extensional tectonic environment.

Mineral chemistry, petrogenesis, and tectonic setting of the Wateranga layered intrusion, southeast Queensland, Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (11) ◽  
pp. 1967-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reddy VR Talusani ◽  
Warwick J Sivell ◽  
Paul M Ashley
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Parental Magma ◽  
Layered Intrusion ◽  
Mafic Magma ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Magma Source ◽  
Olivine Gabbro ◽  
Layered Mafic Intrusion ◽  
Southeast Queensland

The Wateranga layered mafic intrusion (28 km2 in area, > 500 m thick) is a tholeiitic, undeformed, unmetamorphosed, Permo-Triassic layered gabbroic pluton intruded into the late Carboniferous Goodnight beds of the Goodnight Block in southeast Queensland. The intrusion mainly consists of gabbro and norite, associated with subordinate amounts of troctolite, anorthosite, and orthopyroxenite, and rare picrite. Olivine gabbro is the dominant rock type of the intrusion. Fractionation followed a tholeiitic trend with iron enrichment in the liquid. Petrographic, mineral chemical, and whole-rock geochemical data have been used to divide the intrusion into Lower, Middle, and Upper zones, which are interpreted as reflecting magma chamber replenishment. The observed changes in the crystallization order between the zones reveal that a single parental magma is inadequate to explain the data. The common differentiation indices, such as An content of plagioclase, Mg#s of olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and whole-rocks, and the whole-rock concentrations of various incompatible trace elements (Zr, Y, Nb, La Ba, Rb, Sr, and Nd), all vary widely with stratigraphic depth and display abrupt shifts at the zone boundaries, indicating open system addition of new mafic magma. Temperatures estimated from two-pyroxene geothermometer vary from 1057 to 927 °C. During the course of crystallization, pressure probably was > 2 and < 4 kbar (1 kbar = 100 MPa). The variation trend of anorthite content of plagioclase versus the forsterite content of olivine precludes an arc-related magma source. The composition and geological setting of the intrusion are consistent with emplacement in a post-subduction extensional tectonic environment.

Geochemistry, zircon ages and whole-rock Nd isotopic systematics for Palaeoproterozoic A-type granitoids in the northern part of the Delhi belt, Rajasthan, NW India: implications for late Palaeoproterozoic crustal evolution of the Aravalli craton

2006 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
PARAMPREET KAUR ◽  
NAVEEN CHAUDHRI ◽  
INGRID RACZEK ◽  
ALFRED KRÖNER ◽  
ALBRECHT W. HOFMANN
Keyword(s):  
Source Region ◽  
Magma Source ◽  
Crustal Evolution ◽  
Nd Isotope ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
Granulite Metamorphism ◽  
Extensional Tectonic ◽  
Aravalli Craton ◽  
Isotope Systematics

Determination of zircon ages as well as geochemical and Sm–Nd isotope systematics of granitoids in the Khetri Copper Belt of the Aravalli mountains, NW India, constrain the late Palaeoproterozoic crustal evolution of the Aravalli craton. The plutons are typical A-type within-plate granites, derived from melts generated in an extensional tectonic environment. They display REE and multi-element patterns characterized by steep LREE-enriched and almost flat HREE profiles and distinct negative anomalies for Sr, P and Ti. Initial εNd values range from −1.3 to −6.2 and correspond to crustal sources with mean crustal residence ages of 2.5 to 2.1 Ga. A lower mafic crustal anatectic origin is envisaged for these granitoids, and the heterogeneous εNd(t) values are inferred to have been acquired from the magma source region. Zircon Pb–Pb evaporation and U–Pb ages indicate widespread rift-related A-type magmatism at 1711–1660 Ma in the northern Delhi belt and also suggest a discrete older magmatic event at around 1800 Ma. The emplacement ages of the compositionally distinct A-type granitoid plutons, and virtually coeval granulite metamorphism and exhumation in another segment of the Aravalli mountains, further signify that part of the Aravalli crust evolved during a widespread extensional event in late Palaeoproterozoic time.

Geochemical, mineralogical, and isotopic data relating to the origin and tectonic setting of the Rossland volcanic rocks, southern British Columbia

1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 858-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Beddoe-Stephens ◽  
R. St J. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Major And Trace Elements ◽  
Lower Jurassic ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
Arc Setting

Bulk-rock and mineral chemical and isotopic analyses of Rossland volcanic rocks are used to infer the nature of the magma extruded in the Nelson–Rossland area of southern British Columbia during the Early Jurassic. Metamorphism of the volcanic rocks to subgreenschist and greenschist facies precludes use of mobile major and trace elements (e.g., Na, K, and Rb) as petrogenetic indicators. Data on immobile elements (Ti, Zr, and Y) and pyroxene compositions indicate that the volcanic rocks formed in a destructive-margin plate tectonic environment. Present-day 87Sr/86Sr ratios range from 0.70372 to 0.70480 but do not define an isochron. Corrected to Jurassic time, the initial ratios range from 0.70328 to 0.70404. Whole-rock δO18 values range from 7.9 to 11.6%, correlating inversely with metamorphic grade. Clinopyroxene δO18 of 4.8–6.5 is comparable with fresh clinopyroxenes from mafic rocks of mantle origin. In view of the preponderance of basaltic rather than andesitic rock types, and because of the nature of the lithologies within the volcanic rocks and associated sediments, an island-arc setting is indicated. The appearance of primary amphibole in basaltic members of the Rossland suite, and the occurrence of ankaramitic rocks, are thought to indicate a mildly alkalic rather than a subalkalic parent magma. Comparison of the Rossland volcanic rocks with those of recent island arcs, and consideration of the Upper Triassic – Lower Jurassic paleogeography in the Cordillera, suggest the rocks may be related to a localized oceanic basin, their extrusion being associated with faults bounding its western edge.

Silicic Magmas Derived by Fractional Crystallization from Miocene Minette, Elkhead Mountains, Colorado

1988 ◽  
Vol 52 (368) ◽  
pp. 577-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. Leat ◽  
R. N. Thompson ◽  
M. A. Morrison ◽  
G. L. Hendry ◽  
A. P. Dickin
Keyword(s):  
Fractional Crystallization ◽  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Isotopic Data ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Extensional Tectonic ◽  
Tectonic Settings ◽  
Silicic Magmas ◽  
Rock Association ◽  
Considerable Doubt

AbstractThe rock association of minette with silicic lavas and intrusions (granites, syenites, dacites) is a common geologic feature in both collisional and extensional tectonic settings. Considerable doubt exists as to whether a genetic link exists between these mafic and silicic rocks. We describe a Miocene sill from NW Colorado which is a clear example of a mixed magma consisting of originally-liquid inclusions of minette in a silicic trachydacite host. Chemical and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic data are consistent with derivation of the silicic host magma of the sill dominantly by fractional crystallization of the minette magma. Correlations between the elemental compositions of the rock types and their Sr and Nd isotopic ratios imply minor assimilation of continental crust with relatively low values of both 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd, concomitantly with fractional crystallization. The parental minette magma was probably derived by partial melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle. While the sill was emplaced in a rift-like tectonic setting, the chemical and isotopic composition of the lithosphere-derived minette magmas (and hence the silicic fractionates) was largely independent of this setting, but dependent upon the composition and age of the lithospheric mantle and crust.

Stratigraphy and petrology of the lower part of the Mulcahy Gabbro, northwestern Ontario: origin of reverse and normal fractionation trends and implications for tectonic setting of late Archean mafic magmatism

1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1753-1768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Sutcliffe ◽  
Alan R. Smith ◽  
Alan D. Edgar
Keyword(s):  
Marginal Zone ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Basaltic Magma ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
Parental Magma ◽  
Layered Intrusion ◽  
Density Currents ◽  
Lower Zone ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Mineral Compositions

The Mulcahy Gabbro (2.73 Ga) is an exceptionally well-preserved tholeiitic layered intrusion located in the Wabigoon Subprovince of the Superior Province. The intrusion has a 900 m thick marginal zone of weakly layered gabbronoritic cumulate rocks characterized by a trend of upward Mg-enrichment. The overlying 1100 m thick lower zone consists of well-layered cumulate rocks that display a prominent trend of upward Fe-enrichment. The order of appearance of cumulus minerals in the lower zone is orthopyroxene + plagioclase, augite, apatite, pigeonite, Fe-rich olivine, magnetite.The upward increase in the XMg in marginal-zone cumulus low-Ca pyroxene and augite from 0.44 to 0.72 and 0.57 to 0.79, respectively, is primarily attributed to the injection of successively less fractionated batches of magma into the chamber, rather than to the effect of trapped liquid on cumulus mineral compositions. In the lower zone, crystal fractionation control results in an upward decrease in XMg in low-Ca pyroxene and augite from 0.72 to 0.32 and 0.79 to 0.45, respectively. The change from weakly developed layering in the marginal zone to the well-layered lower zone may represent the transition from a regime of cooling through the chamber floor to one of cooling predominantly through the chamber roof and walls. Rhythmic layering on a scale of centimetres to metres in the lower zone is largely attributed to magmatic density currents. Sulphur saturation occurs near the marginal zone – lower zone transition from reverse to normal fractionation and is attributed to mixing of the older fractionated magma with an injection of buoyant younger primitive magma.Based on cumulus mineral compositions, the most primitive parental magma for the lower zone is determined to have had an Mg# equal to or less than 0.46 and weak enrichment of light rare-earth elements ((Ce/Yb)N = 1.4). The cumulates are derived from a hydrous, high-Al2O3 basaltic magma with a moderately high silica activity. These constraints and the close temporal and spatial association with calc-alkaline granitoid rocks suggest that the Mulcahy Gabbro is a cumulate assemblage from a high-Al tholeiite magma and is part of a late Archean calc-alkaline, arc-related plutonic complex.

scholarly journals Igneous Rock Associations 26. Lamproites, Exotic Potassic Alkaline Rocks: A Review of their Nomenclature, Characterization and Origins

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-142
Author(s):  
Roger H. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Alkaline Rock ◽  
Mantle Metasomatism ◽  
Geochemical Evolution ◽  
Alkaline Rocks ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Economic Significance ◽  
Rock Types

Lamproite is a rare ultrapotassic alkaline rock of petrological importance as it is considered to be derived from metasomatized lithospheric mantle, and of economic significance, being the host of major diamond deposits. A review of the nomenclature of lamproite results in the recommendation that members of the lamproite petrological clan be named using mineralogical-genetic classifications to distinguish them from other genetically unrelated potassic alkaline rocks, kimberlite, and diverse lamprophyres. The names “Group 2 kimberlite” and “orangeite” must be abandoned as these rock types are varieties of bona fide lamproite restricted to the Kaapvaal Craton. Lamproites exhibit extreme diversity in their mineralogy which ranges from olivine phlogopite lamproite, through phlogopite leucite lamproite and potassic titanian richterite-diopside lamproite, to leucite sanidine lamproite. Diamondiferous olivine lamproites are hybrid rocks extensively contaminated by mantle-derived xenocrystic olivine. Currently, lamproites are divided into cratonic (e.g. Leucite Hills, USA; Baifen, China) and orogenic (Mediterranean) varieties (e.g. Murcia-Almeria, Spain; Afyon, Turkey; Xungba, Tibet). Each cratonic and orogenic lamproite province differs significantly in tectonic setting and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotopic compositions. Isotopic compositions indicate derivation from enriched mantle sources, having long-term low Sm/Nd and high Rb/Sr ratios, relative to bulk earth and depleted asthenospheric mantle. All lamproites are considered, on the basis of their geochemistry, to be derived from ancient mineralogically complex K–Ti–Ba–REE-rich veins, or metasomes, in the lithospheric mantle with, or without, subsequent contributions from recent asthenospheric or subducted components at the time of genesis. Lamproite primary magmas are considered to be relatively silica-rich (~50–60 wt.% SiO2), MgO-poor (3–12 wt.%), and ultrapotassic (~8–12 wt.% K2O) as exemplified by hyalo-phlogopite lamproites from the Leucite Hills (Wyoming) or Smoky Butte (Montana). Brief descriptions are given of the most important phreatomagmatic diamondiferous lamproite vents. The tectonic processes which lead to partial melting of metasomes, and/or initiation of magmatism, are described for examples of cratonic and orogenic lamproites. As each lamproite province differs with respect to its mineralogy, geochemical evolution, and tectonic setting there is no simple or common petrogenetic model for their genesis. Each province must be considered as the unique expression of the times and vagaries of ancient mantle metasomatism, coupled with diverse and complex partial melting processes, together with mixing of younger asthenospheric and lithospheric material, and, in the case of many orogenic lamproites, with Paleogene to Recent subducted material.

scholarly journals Petrogenesis of the 91-Mile peridotite in the Grand Canyon: Ophiolite or deep-arc fragment?

Geosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.J. Seaman ◽  
M.L. Williams ◽  
K.E. Karlstrom ◽  
P.C. Low
Keyword(s):  
High Pressures ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Mafic Magma ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Partial Melt ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Tectonic Boundaries ◽  
Tectonic Boundary ◽  
Lower Crustal ◽  
Plagioclase Textures

Recognition of fundamental tectonic boundaries has been extremely difficult in the (&gt;1000-km-wide) Proterozoic accretionary orogen of southwestern North America, where the main rock types are similar over large areas, and where the region has experienced multiple postaccretionary deformation events. Discrete ultramafic bodies are present in a number of areas that may mark important boundaries, especially if they can be shown to represent tectonic fragments of ophiolite complexes. However, most ultramafic bodies are small and intensely altered, precluding petrogenetic analysis. The 91-Mile peridotite in the Grand Canyon is the largest and best preserved ultramafic body known in the southwest United States. It presents a special opportunity for tectonic analysis that may illuminate the significance of ultramafic rocks in other parts of the orogen. The 91-Mile peridotite exhibits spectacular cumulate layering. Contacts with the surrounding Vishnu Schist are interpreted to be tectonic, except along one margin, where intrusive relations have been interpreted. Assemblages include olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, magnetite, and phlogopite, with very rare plagioclase. Textures suggest that phlogopite is the result of late intercumulus crystallization. Whole-rock compositions and especially mineral modes and compositions support derivation from an arc-related mafic magma. K-enriched subduction-related fluid in the mantle wedge is interpreted to have given rise to a K-rich, hydrous, high-pressure partial melt that produced early magnetite, Al-rich diopside, and primary phlogopite. The modes of silicate minerals, all with high Mg#, the sequence of crystallization, and the lack of early plagioclase are all consistent with crystallization at relatively high pressures. Thus, the 91-Mile peridotite body is not an ophiolite fragment that represents the closure of a former ocean basin. It does, however, mark a significant tectonic boundary where lower-crustal arc cumulates have been juxtaposed against middle-crustal schists and granitoids.

Melt segregation in the lower crust: how have experiments helped us?

1996 ◽  
Vol 87 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Rushmer
Keyword(s):  
Lower Crust ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Crustal Rock ◽  
Melt Migration ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
Rock Cores ◽  
Melt Distribution ◽  
Chemical Behaviour ◽  
Melt Segregation

ABSTRACT:The rheological and chemical behaviour of the lower crust during anatexis has been a major focus of geological investigations for many years. Modern studies of crustal evolution require significant knowledge, not only of the potential source regions for granites, but also of the transport paths and emplacement mechanisms operating during granite genesis. We have gained significant insights into the segregation and transport of granitoid melts from the results of experimental studies on rock behaviour during partial melting. Experiments performed on crustal rock cores under both hydrostatic conditions and during deformation have led, in part, to two conclusions. (1) The interfacial energy controlling melt distribution is anisotropic and, as a result, the textures deviate significantly from those predicted for ideal systems—planar solid-melt interfaces are developed in addition to triple junction melt pockets. The ideal dihedral angle model for melt distribution cannot be used as a constraint to predict melt migration in the lower crust. (2) The ‘critical melt fraction’ model, which requires viscous, granitic melt to remain in the source until melt fractions reach >25 vol%, is not a reliable model for melt segregation. The most recent experimental results on crustal rock cores which have helped advance our understanding of melt segregation processes have shown that melt segregation is controlled by several variables, including the depth of melting, the type of reaction and the volume change associated with that reaction. Larger scale processes such as tectonic environment determine the rate at which the lower crust heats and deforms, thus the tectonic setting controls the melt fraction at which segregation takes place, in addition to the pressure and temperature of the potential melting reactions. Melt migration therefore can occur at a variety of different melt fractions depending on the tectonic environment; these results have significant implications for the predicted geochemistry of the magmas themselves.

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