The Weekend dykes consist of 10 Late Devonian spessartite lamprophyres cropping out within the allochthonous Meguma lithotectonic terrane of the northern Appalachians. The dykes have characteristic panidiomorphic textures, with seriate phenocrysts of amphibole, clinopyroxene, and rare biotite set in a groundmass of intergrown plagioclase, K-feldspar, and quartz, with deuteric calcite and epidote. All dykes intruded during one magmatic episode (ca. 370 Ma) following terrane accretion of the Acadian Orogeny. The unaltered Weekend dykes show restricted major element variation (SiO2 54–58 wt.%, Al2O3 14–16 wt.%, MgO 7–11 wt.%, and total alkalies 2.4–5.5 wt.%) and have high Mg# (71–80) and moderate to high concentrations of Ni (69–278 ppm) and Cr (390–992 ppm). Large ion lithophile element (e.g., Sr, Ba 294–1194 ppm) and light rare earth element (13–67CN) abundances are high relative to high field strength element (e.g., Nb, Ta, Y 0.45–26 ppm) and heavy rare earth element (6–30CN) abundances. Geochemical variation largely corresponds to minor phenocryst fractionation, but high Mg# indicate the primitive nature of most dykes and preclude significant evolution of lamprophyric magmas in the crust. Incompatible element enrichments coupled with depleted mantle high field strength element abundances probably require a melt derived from reenriched lithospheric mantle sources, whereas Nb depletion and the volatile-rich mineralogy suggest metasomatic contributions from subducted ocean lithosphere. Geochemical comparisons with continental margin arc basalts and immobile element tectono-magmatic discrimination reinforce a subduction model for the Weekend dykes and strongly suggest active subduction prior to the emplacement of the Meguma terrane.
Rare earth and high field strength element partitioning between iron-rich clinopyroxenes and felsic liquids
