Chemistry of ilmenites crystallized within the anhydrous melting range of a tholeiitic andesite at pressures between 5 and 26 kb

1976 ◽  
Vol 40 (316) ◽  
pp. 857-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Glass ◽  
Significant Trend ◽  
Snake River Plain ◽  
The Other ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Melting Range ◽  
Equilibrium Crystallization ◽  
Titaniferous Magnetite ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
River Plain

SummaryMicroprobe analyses of eight ilmenites, a titaniferous magnetite, and a rutile are presented. They were synthesized at pressures from 5 to 26 kb and temperatures between 1075 and 1225°C in the anhydrous melting interval of a tholeiitic andesite from the Snake River Plain, Idaho, U.S.A. Both the Fe/Ti distribution between coexisting ilmenite and titanomagnetite at 11 kb/1075°C and the low calculated Fe3+ contents of the other ilmenites confirm previous suggestions that the fo2 in these experiments was buffered by graphite capsules to values near those generated by the wüstitemagnetite assemblage. Mn in the ilmenites (0·30-0·51% MnO) shows moderate negative correlations with both the pressures and temperatures of their formation, whilst Al (0·41-1·06 % Al2O3) shows poor positive correlations with these parameters. In contrast, the only significant trend shown by Mg in the ilmenites (2·09-5·26 % MgO) is with the position of each experimental run in the melting interval of the lava. Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) of the ilmenite decreases during equilibrium crystallization at a given pressure and appears to be controlled solely by Mg/Fe2+ distribution amongst the coexisting ferromagnesian minerals and interstitial liquid (glass).

Regionally continuous Miocene rhyolites beneath the eastern Snake River Plain reveal localized flexure at its western margin: Idaho National Laboratory and vicinity

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-270
Author(s):  
Kyle L. Schusler ◽  
David M. Pearson ◽  
Michael McCurry ◽  
Roy C. Bartholomay ◽  
Mark H. Anders
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Snake River Plain ◽  
North American Plate ◽  
Snake River ◽  
Trace Element Geochemistry ◽  
Deep Borehole ◽  
Age Progression ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Silicic Volcanic ◽  
River Plain

The eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) is a northeast-trending topographic basin interpreted to be the result of the time-transgressive track of the North American plate above the Yellowstone hotspot. The track is defined by the age progression of silicic volcanic rocks exposed along the margins of the ESRP. However, the bulk of these silicic rocks are buried under 1 to 3 kilometers of younger basalts. Here, silicic volcanic rocks recovered from boreholes that penetrate below the basalts, including INEL-1, WO-2 and new deep borehole USGS-142, are correlated with one another and to surface exposures to assess various models for ESRP subsidence. These correlations are established on U/Pb zircon and 40Ar/39Ar sanidine age determinations, phenocryst assemblages, major and trace element geochemistry, δ18O isotopic data from selected phenocrysts, and initial εHf values of zircon. These data suggest a correlation of: (1) the newly documented 8.1 ± 0.2 Ma rhyolite of Butte Quarry (sample 17KS03), exposed near Arco, Idaho to the upper-most Picabo volcanic field rhyolites found in borehole INEL-1; (2) the 6.73 ± 0.02 Ma East Arco Hills rhyolite (sample 16KS02) to the Blacktail Creek Tuff, which was also encountered at the bottom of borehole WO-2; and (3) the 6.42 ± 0.07 Ma rhyolite of borehole USGS-142 to the Walcott Tuff B encountered in deep borehole WO-2. These results show that rhyolites found along the western margin of the ESRP dip ~20º south-southeast toward the basin axis, and then gradually tilt less steeply in the subsurface as the axis is approached. This subsurface pattern of tilting is consistent with a previously proposed crustal flexural model of subsidence based only on surface exposures, but is inconsistent with subsidence models that require accommodation of ESRP subsidence on either a major normal fault or strike-slip fault.

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