Igneous Rocks 2: Volcanic Rocks

2021 ◽  
pp. 176-177
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Henrik Stendal ◽  
Wulf Mueller ◽  
Nicolai Birkedal ◽  
Esben I. Hansen ◽  
Claus Østergaard

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Stendal, H., Mueller, W., Birkedal, N., Hansen, E. I., & Østergaard, C. (1997). Mafic igneous rocks and mineralisation in the Palaeoproterozoic Ketilidian orogen, South-East Greenland: project SUPRASYD 1996. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 176, 66-74. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v176.5064 _______________ The multidisciplinary SUPRASYD project (1992–96) focused on a regional investigation of the Palaeoproterozoic Ketilidian orogenic belt which crosses the southern tip of Greenland. Apart from a broad range of geological and structural studies (Nielsen et al., 1993; Garde & Schønwandt, 1994, 1995; Garde et al., 1997), the project included a mineral resource evaluation of the supracrustal sequences associated with the Ketilidian orogen (e.g. Mosher, 1995). The Ketilidian orogen of southern Greenland can be divided from north-west to south-east into: (1) a border zone in which the crystalline rocks of the Archaean craton are unconformably overlain by Ketilidian supracrustal rocks; (2) a major polyphase pluton, referred to as the Julianehåb batholith; and (3) extensive areas of Ketilidian supracrustal rocks, divided into psammitic and pelitic rocks with subordinate interstratified mafic volcanic rocks (Fig. 1). The Julianehåb batholith is viewed as emplaced in a magmatic arc setting; the supracrustal sequences south of the batholith have been interpreted as either (1) deposited in an intra-arc and fore-arc basin (Chadwick & Garde, 1996), or (2) deposited in a back-arc or intra-arc setting (Stendal & Swager, 1995; Swager, 1995). Both possibilities are plausible and infer subduction-related processes. Regional compilations of geological, geochemical and geophysical data for southern Greenland have been presented by Thorning et al. (1994). Mosher (1995) has recently reviewed the mineral exploration potential of the region. The commercial company Nunaoil A/S has been engaged in gold prospecting in South Greenland since 1990 (e.g. Gowen et al., 1993). A principal goal of the SUPRASYD project was to test the mineral potential of the Ketilidian supracrustal sequences and define the gold potential in the shear zones in the Julianehåb batholith. Previous work has substantiated a gold potential in amphibolitic rocks in the south-west coastal areas (Gowen et al., 1993.), and in the amphibolitic rocks of the Kutseq area (Swager et al., 1995). Field work in 1996 was focused on prospective gold-bearing sites in mafic rocks in South-East Greenland. Three M.Sc. students mapped showings under the supervision of the H. S., while an area on the south side of Kangerluluk fjord was mapped by H. S. and W. M. (Fig. 4).


1862 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 582-583
Author(s):  
Archibald Geikie

After referring to a previous communication to the Society, in which the author had given an outline of the chronology of the igneous rocks of Scotland, he proceeded in the present paper to describe in detail the character of the volcanic phenomena in one district—that of the carboniferous system of the Forth basin. The igneous rocks of this district consist partly of doleritic and felspathic lava-form masses, and partly of various kinds of ash or traptuff. These materials present a considerable diversity in their modes of arrangement. But the author had found that all the volcanic hills of the district might be reduced to three types of structure:—1. A simple cone of ash, round and over which the ordinary sedimentary accumulation of the carboniferous period had been deposited. 2. A cone of ash with the crater filled up by a neck or plug of basalt. 3. Sheets of different lavas with intercalated ash or sedimentary matter.


1993 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
pp. 835-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Noble ◽  
R. D. Tucker ◽  
T. C. Pharaoh

AbstractThe U-Pb isotope ages and Nd isotope characteristics of asuite of igneous rocks from the basement of eastern England show that Ordovician calc-alkaline igneous rocks are tectonically interleaved with late Precambrian volcanic rocks distinct from Precambrian rocks exposed in southern Britain. New U-Pb ages for the North Creake tuff (zircon, 449±13 Ma), Moorby Microgranite (zircon, 457 ± 20 Ma), and the Nuneaton lamprophyre (zircon and baddeleyite, 442 ± 3 Ma) confirm the presence ofan Ordovician magmatic arc. Tectonically interleaved Precambrian volcanic rocks within this arc are verified by new U-Pb zircon ages for tuffs at Glinton (612 ± 21 Ma) and Orton (616 ± 6 Ma). Initial εNd values for these basement rocks range from +4 to - 6, consistent with generation of both c. 615 Ma and c. 450 Ma groups of rocksin continental arc settings. The U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotope data support arguments for an Ordovician fold/thrust belt extending from England to Belgium, and that the Ordovician calc-alkaline rocks formed in response to subductionof Tornquist Sea oceanic crust beneath Avalonia.


Author(s):  
Xiu Liu ◽  
Xinqi Yu ◽  
Pengju Li ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Mengyan Liu ◽  
...  

Yanshanian granitoids (178–120 Ma, Jurassic to Cretaceous), which intruded into Precambrian crystalline base- ment and Paleozoic strata, are widely distributed at the junction of the Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces (the ZGW region) in southern China, along with coeval volcanic rocks. This paper summarizes zircon U–Pb age data, geochemi- cal characteristics and Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics of the Late Jurassic to Middle Cretaceous granitoids and volcanic rocks from the ZGW region. We demonstrate that members of the Shiling rhyolite formed during two different periods of magmatic activity at 154.7 ± 2.5 Ma and 139–134 Ma and that igneous rocks from the different periods have distinct geochemical characteristics. Jurassic igneous rocks of the ZGW region have relatively low SiO2and high Al 2O3contents, and show enrichment of large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and depletion of high field strength elements (HFSEs). They are strongly enriched in LREE and depleted in HREEs with weakly negative Eu anomalies and strongly negative Nb, Ta anomalies. Rb and Y concentrations follow the trends of I-type and S-type granites. By contrast, Cretaceous igneous rocks of this region are characterized by high SiO2and low Al2O3contents with negative Eu anomalies. They have typical wing- shaped rare earth element (REE) distribution patterns and show enrichment of Rb, Th, U, Nb, Ta and depletion of Ba, Sr, P and Ti. They have affinity to A-type peraluminous granites or highly-fractionated felsic rocks. Overall, the igneous rocks evolved from high-Sr low-Yb to low-Sr high-Yb, which might reflect the evolution of the tectonic setting from subduction to lithospheric extension/thinning, i. e., a transition from a continental margin subduction setting during the Late Jurassic to a within-plate extensional setting during the Early Cretaceous, at c. 142 ± 3 Ma. The repeated alternation between lava extrusion and extension and extensional fault kinematics in the late Mesozoic is related to the changes of direction and rate of plate movement of the Izanagi and Pacific plates.


1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Phillips ◽  
R. P. Barnes ◽  
R. J. Merriman ◽  
J. D. Floyd

AbstractIn the northern part of the Southern Uplands, restricted volumes of basic igneous rocks occur at or near the base of the Ordovician sedimentary strata. These rocks have previously been interpreted as ocean-floor tholeiites representative of the subducted Iapetus oceanic plate, preserved as tectonic slivers in a fore-arc accretionary prism. The alternative, back-arc basin model proposed for the Southern Uplands on sedimentological evidence raises questions over the origin of these rocks. New geochemical data and previously published data clearly indicate that the volcanic material does not have a simple single source. The oldest (Arenig) volcanic rocks from the Moffat Shale Group associated with the Leadhills Fault include alkaline within-plate basalts and tholeiitic lavas which possibly display geochemical characteristics of midocean ridge basalts. In the northernmost occurrence, alkaline and tholeiitic basalts contained within the Caradoc Marchburn Formation are both of within-plate ocean island affinity. To the south, in the Gabsnout Burn area, the Moffat Shale Group contains lenticular bodies of dolerite and basalt which have characteristics of island-arc to transitional basalts. This complex association of basaltic volcanic rocks is, at the present time, difficult to reconcile with either a simple fore-arc or back-arc setting for the Southern Uplands. However, the increasing arc-related chemical influence on basic rock geochemistry towards the southeast may tentatively be used in support of a southern arc-terrane, and as a result, a back-arc situation for the Southern Uplands basin. An alternative is that these volcanic rocks may represent the local basement to the basin and include remnants of an arc precursor to the Southern Uplands basin.


1973 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Qasim Jan ◽  
D. R. C. Kempe

SummaryA series of metamorphosed (amphibolite facies) basic and intermediate igneous rocks from upper Swat, Pakistan, is described, with seven chemical analyses. The rocks intrude ?Palaeozoic metasediments and are partially bordered by other, later, intrusive and volcanic rocks. The group, now represented by, from S–N, epidote amphibolites, amphibolites, noritic and hypersthene gabbros, and quartz diorites, is considered to be derived from a series of plagioclase hypersthenites, norites, hypersthene gabbros, and hypersthene diorites. Variation diagrams are used to show that the series forms a differentiated sequence; FMA and lime-alkali diagrams suggest that it is similar to the rocks of the Garabal Hill–Loch Fyne area of Scotland. Some of the mineralogy of the group is briefly discussed, with five chemical analyses. A K/Ar age determination gives 67 Ma; thus the rocks probably derive from an early Himalayan (Alpine) tholeiitic basalt magma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-222
Author(s):  
A.V. Grebennikov ◽  
S.O. Maksimov

Abstract ––New isotope-geochemical data on the volcanic complexes of the South Yakut and Martel volcanic depressions in southern Primorye are presented. Their formation in the early Eocene (54.3 Ma) and Late Cretaceous (83.5 Ma), respectively, is evidenced by U–Pb zircon dating (LA-ICP-MS). Based on the geochemical characteristics, it is concluded that the volcanics are typical A-type igneous rocks. Their formation coincides with the sudden change in the vector of motion of the Pacific slab with respect to the continent in the Campanian and Paleocene–Eocene, which caused destruction of the slab with its probable discontinuity and the injection of the subslab asthenosphere. The effect of mantle fluids on the continental lithospheric-rock melting determined the generation of magmas with the specific geochemical features of A-type igneous rocks. The regularities of their composition are due to the deep-seated reduced F-rich fluids that caused the intense differentiation of magmas accumulating fluidized melts enriched in mobile components in the apical part.


1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1430-1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Winchester ◽  
C. R. van Staal ◽  
J. P. Langton

An investigation of the geology and chemistry of the basic igneous rocks in the Elmtree and Belledune inliers in northern New Brunswick shows that the bulk of the Middle Ordovician rocks of the ophiolitic Fournier Group are best interpreted as the products of volcanism and sedimentation in an extensive ensimatic back-arc basin southeast of a volcanic arc. The oceanic back-arc-basin igneous rocks form the basement to renewed arc-related basaltic volcanism in late Middle to Late Ordovician time. The Fournier Group is separated from the structurally-underlying, shale-dominated Elmtree Formation of the Tetagouche Group by an extensive tectonic melange, which incorporates lenses of serpentinite, mafic volcanic rocks, and sedimentary rocks of both the Tetagouche and Fournier groups. The mafic volcanic rocks in the Elmtree Formation correlate best with those intercalated with the lithologically similar sediments of the Llandeilian–Caradocian Boucher Brook Formation in the northern Miramichi Highlands. The melange and the present structural amalgamation of the Tetagouche and Fournier groups result from closure of the marginal basin by northward-directed subduction at the end of the Ordovician. Most mafic suites in the Elmtree and Belledune inliers can be chemically correlated with similar suites in the northern Miramichi Highlands, showing that the two areas are not separated by a terrane boundary.


1908 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 500-509
Author(s):  
W. F. Hume

1. The ancient core of the North-East African Continent consists of the Cataract and Sudan banded gneisses, which may represent a very ancient igneous magma. They are usually much veined by granitic dykes.2. In certain places in the Arabian Desert, Cataracts, etc., these underlie highly metamorphosed schists (the mica-schists of Sikait, the calcareous schists of Um Garaiart and Haimar and of the Amara Cataracts, also the dolomites of the latter region) which are sharply separated from the banded gneisses and are possibly the oldest sedimentary representatives in Egypt.3. The greater part of the mountainous regions of the Eastern Desert and Sinai are occupied by two types of rocks, a schistose constituent overlying or being surrounded by the acid member. (a) The first-named, the Dokhan volcanic rocks and schists, are partly volcanic in origin and partly sedimentary, the former being represented by lavas of various types, while the latter are clearly altered sedimentary strata (grits, conglomerates, etc.). No fossils have yet been found, but they have their nearest lithological analogues in the latest pre-Cambrian and Cambrian series. Here are included some of the most interesting rocks of Egypt, such as the Imperial Porphyry and the Breccia Verde Antico. (b) The igneous member intruded into these ancient sediments, etc., includes a great diversity of igneous rocks, varying from highly basic to acid types.Contact-phenomena of complex nature occur at the junctions of (a) and (b).4. Red granite and dyke rocks, whose parallelism and extent of distribution present one of the most conspicuous features of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, mark the final eruptive action before Carboniferous times.5. Three periods of volcanic activity have been subsequently noted—(a) In Western Sinai in late Carboniferous times.(b) An undated series of eruptions interbedded with the base of the Nubian Sandstone or intrusive into it with marked contact alterations.(c) The basic intrusions near Cairo and the Fayum, etc., which are intimately associated with the Oligocena Continental Period in Egypt.


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