The genesis of basaltic magmas

This paper reports the results of a detailed experimental investigation of fractionation of natural basaltic compositions under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. A single stage, piston-cylinder apparatus has been used in the pressure range up to 27 kb and at temperatures up to 1500° C to study the melting behaviour of several basaltic compositions. The compositions chosen are olivine-rich (20% or more normative olivine) and include olivine tholeiite (12% normative hypersthene), olivine basalt (1% normative hypersthene) alkali olivine basalt (2% normative nepheline) and picrite (3% normative hypersthene). The liquidus phases of the olivine tholeiite and olivine basalt are olivine at 1 Atmosphere, 4.5 kb and 9 kb, orthopyroxene at 13.5 and 18 kb, clinopyroxene at 22.5 kb and garnet at 27 kb. In the alkali olivine basalt composition, the liquidus phases are olivine at 1 Atmosphere and 9 kb, orthopyroxene with clinopyroxene at 13.5 kb, clinopyroxene at 18 kb and garnet at 27 kb. The sequence of appearance of phases below the liquidus has also been studied in detail. The electron probe micro-analyser has been used to make partial quantitative analyses of olivines, orthopyroxenes, clinopyroxenes and garnets which have crystallized at high pressure.These experimental and analytical results are used to determine the directions of fractionation of basaltic magmas during crystallization over a wide range of pressures. At pressures corresponding to depths of 35–70 km separation of aluminous enstatite from olivine tholeiite magma produces a direct fractionation trend from olivine tholeiites through olivine basalts to alkali olivine basalts. Co-precipitation of sub-calcic, aluminous clinopyroxene with the orthopyroxene in the more undersaturated compositions of this sequence produces derivative liquids of basanite type. Magmas of alkali olivine basalt and basanite type represent the lower temperature liquids derived by approximately 30% crystallization of olivine-rich tholeiite at 35–70 km depth. At depths of about 30 km, fractionation of olivine-rich tholeiite with separation of both olivine and low-alumina enstatite, joined at lower temperatures by sub-calcic clinopyroxene, leads to derivative liquids with relatively constant SiO₂ (48 to 50%) increasingly high Al₂O₃ (15–17%) contents and retaining olivine + hypersthene normative chemistry (5–15% normative olivine). These have the composition of typical high-alumina olivine tholeiites. The effects of low pressure fractionation may be superimposed on magma compositions derived from various depths within the mantle. These lead to divergence of the alkali olivine basalt and tholeiitic series but convergence of both the low-alumina and high-alumina tholeiites towards quartz tholeiite derivative liquids.The general problem of derivation of basaltic magmas from a mantle of peridotitic composition is discussed in some detail. Magmas are considered to be a consequence of partial melting but the composition of a magma is determined not by the depth of partial melting but by the depth at which magma segregation from residual crystals occurs. Magma generation from parental peridotite (pyrolite) at depths up to 100 km involves liquid-crystal equilibria between basaltic liquids and olivine + aluminous pyroxenes and does not involve garnet. At 35–70 km depth, basaltic liquids segregating from a pyrolite mantle will be of alkali olivine basalt type with about 20% partial melting but with increasing degrees of partial melting, liquids will change to olivine-rich tholeiite type with about 30% melting. If the depth of magma segregation is about 30 km, then magmas produced by 20–25% partial melting will be of high-alumina olivine tholeiite type, similar to the oceanic tholeiites occurring on the sea floor along the mid-oceanic ridges.Hypotheses of magma fractionation and generation by partial melting are considered in relation to the abundances and ratios of trace elements and in relation to isotopic abundance data on natural basalts. It is shown that there is a group of elements (including K, Ti, P, U, Th, Ba, Rb, Sr, Cs, Zr, Hf and the rare-earth elements) which show enrichment factors in alkali olivine basalts and in some tholeiites, which are inconsistent with simple crystal fractionation relationships between the magma types. This group of elements has been called incompatible elements referring to their inability to substitute to any appreciable extent in the major minerals of the upper mantle (olivine, aluminous pyroxenes). Because of the lack of temperature contrast between magma and wall-rock for a body of magma near to its depth of segregation in the mantle, cooling of the magma involves complementary processes of reaction with the wall-rook, including selective melting and extraction of the lowest melting fraction. The incompatible elements are probably highly concentrated in the lowest melting fraction of the pyrolite. The production of large overall enrichments in incompatible elements in a magma by reaction with and highly selective sampling of large volumes of mantle wall-rock during slow ascent of a magma is considered to be a normal, complementary process to crystal fractionation in the mantle. This process has been called wall-rock reaction. Magma generation in the mantle is rarely a simple, closed-system partial melting process and the isotopic abundances and incompatible element abundances of a basalt as observed at the earth's surface may be largely determined by the degree of reaction with the mantle or lower crustal wall-rocks and bear little relation to the abundances and ratios of the original parental mantle material (pyrolite).Occurrences of cognate xenoliths and xenocrysts in basalts are considered in relation to the experimental data on liquid-crystal equilibria at high pressure. It is inferred that the lherzolite nodules largely represent residual material after extraction of alkali olivine basalt from mantle pyrolite or pyrolite which has been selectively depleted in incompatible elements by wall-rock reaction processes. Lherzolite nodules included in tholeiitic magmas would melt to a relatively large extent and disintegrate, but would have a largely refractory character if included in alkali olivine basalt magma. Other examples of xenocrystal material in basalts are shown to be probable liquidus crystals or accumulates at high pressure from basaltic magma and provide a useful link between the experimental study and natural processes.     

Iron- and manganese-rich minor intrusions emplaced under late-orogenic conditions in the proterozoic of South Greenland

Three small intrusions in Ketilidian gneisses near Julianehaab comprise sheets and veins of olivine-magnetite-grunerite or magnetite-amphibole rocks partly surrounded by garnetiferous hornblende-biotite granitoid rock. The latter skin locally widens out into diffuse bodies of fayalite-orthopyroxene-quartz syenite or monzonite and biotite granite, which show layering similar to that resulting from gravity settling of crystals. Near the intrusions the country rocks lose their foliation and have been partially melted. Intrusion probably occurred at the close of regional metamorphism 1,750–1,780 m.y. ago, just prior to emplacement of the rapakivi granite suite of South Greenland. The mafic minerals of the intrusions are markedly enriched in iron and, in the case of olivine, orthopyroxene, grunerite and garnet, in manganese as well: olivine Fa₉₀Te₅Fo₅; orthopyroxene (inverted pigeonite) Ca₂Fe₇₇Mn₆Mg₁₅; calciferous amphiboles are typically hastingsitic; biotites generally have Fe/Fe+Mg ratios of 0.8; garnets are almandine-grossularite-spessartine mixtures; essentially pure magnetite is the dominant oxide mineral and ilmenite is only moderately manganiferous. Crystallization of the mafic rocks appears to have followed the trend of the quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffer curve from perhaps 800°C to <550°C at pressures, calculated from thermodynamic considerations, of 4 to 5 kb. However, the presence of Mn makes estimates of pressure and temperature uncertain. Comparison with other late- to post-orogenic intrusions—the South Greenland and Finnish rapakivi granite suites, the Labrador adamellite complex and the Pikes Peak batholith of Colorado—reveals both similarities and differences, particularly with respect to mineral parageneses, depth of emplacement and manganese enrichment.     

The origin of basaltic rocks in Niutoushan area— high pressure differentiation

The Niutoushan basaltic cone, consisting of subalkali (quartz-tholeiite and olivine-tholeiite) and alkali basalts, is Late Tertiary in age. Its major characteristics are generalized as follows:

1. Both early subalkali and late alkali bali basalts are formed under the same geological environment.
2. The continuity in chemical composition from subalkali to alkali and the low FeO/MgO in alkali basalts show that they are the products of cognate magmatic differentiation.
3. The change from low REE abundance and weak enrichment of LREE in subalkali to high REE abundance and strong enrichment of LREE in alkali basalts indicates obvious REE enrichment and fractionation during magmatic differentiation. Weak positive Eu anomalies in the REE patterns are indicative of their formation under low oxygen fugacity conditions.
4. According to the calculated values, 70–75% of the primary olivine tholeiitic magma had been separated as subalkaline basaltic magma, the rest residual magma became alkaline basaltic magma. This result is consistent to the field observation that the outcrop area of subalkali basalts is four times as much as that of alkali basalts.
5. The basaltic rocks of Niutoushan show an S-type distribution straddling the thermal barrier on Ol′-Ne′-Qu′ diagram and an evolution tendency for Ne to increase with increasing FeO/MgO. This is in agreement with the melting experimental data on olivine basalts at 10–20 kb.
6. Mantle-derived inclusions (spinel lherzolite) in this area occur in both alkali olivine basalts and olivine tholeiites. The latter is of extremely rare occurrence. The formation temperature and pressure of the inclusions in alkalibasalts and olivine tholeiites have been calculated. The results show that the alkaline basaltic magma was separated from the subalkaline basaltic magma at about 20 kb.

Basaltic rocks in Niutoushan were formed through the so-called “high pressure differentiation”, that is, at about 20 kb the crystallization of clinopyroxene and orthpyroxene resulted in the separation of subalkaline basaltic magma from the primary olivine tholeiitic magma, and then the residue gradually became alkaline olivine basaltic magma.     

Crystallization conditions of Los Angeles, a basaltic Martian meteorite

The texture of Los Angeles (stone 1) is dominated by relatively large (0.5−2.0 mm) anhedral to subhedral grains of pyroxene, and generally subhedral to euhedral shocked plagioclase feldspar (maskelynite). Minor phases include subhedral titanomagnetite and ilmenite, Fe-rich olivine, olivine+augite-dominated symplectites [some of which include a Si-rich phase and some which do not], pyrrhotite, phosphate(s), and an impact shock-related alkali- and silica-rich glass closely associated with anhedral to euhedral silica grains. Observations and model calculations indicate that the initial crystallization of Mg-rich pigeonitic pyroxenes at ≤1150 °C, probably concomitantly with plagioclase, was followed by pigeonitic and augitic compositions between 1100 and 1050 °C whereas between 1050 and 920 to 905 °C pyroxene of single composition crystallized. Below 920 to 905 °C, single composition Fe-rich clinopyroxene exsolved to augite and pigeonite. Initial appearance of titanomagnetite probably occurred near 990 °C and FMQ-1.5 whereas at and below 990 °C and ≥FMQ-1.5 titanomagnetite and single composition Fe-rich clinopyroxene may have started to react, producing ilmenite and olivine. However, judging from the most common titanomagnetite compositions, we infer that most of this reaction likely occurred between 950 and 900 °C at FMQ-1.0±0.2 and nearly simultaneously with pyroxene exsolution, thus producing assemblages of pigeonite, titanomagnetite, olivine, ilmenite, and augite. We deem this reaction as the most plausible explanation for the formation of the olivine+augite-dominated symplectites in Los Angeles. But we cannot preclude possible contributions to the symplectites from the shock-related alkali- and silica-rich glass or shocked plagioclase, and the breakdown of Fe-rich pigeonite compositions to olivine+augite+silica below 900 °C. Reactions between Fe-Ti oxides and silicate minerals in Los Angeles and other similar basaltic Martian meteorites can control the T-fO₂ equilibration path during cooling, which may better explain the relative differences in fO₂ among the basaltic Martian meteorites.     

Crystallization Orders and Phase Chemistry of Glassy Lavas from the Pillow Sequences, Troodos Ophiolite, Cyprus

Three genetically unrelated magma suites are found in the extrusivesequences of the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus. A stratigraphicallylower pillow lava suite contains andesite and dacite glassesand shows the crystallization order plagioclase; augite, orthopyroxene;titanomagnetite (with the pyroxenes appearing almost simultaneously).These lavas can in part be correlated chemically and mineralogicallywith the sheeted dikes and the upper part of the gabbro complexof the ophiolite. The second magma suite is represented in astratigraphically upper extrusive suite and contains basalticandesite and andesite glasses with the crystallizaton orderchromite; olivine; Ca-rich pyroxene; plagioclase. This magmasuite can be correlated chemically and mineralogically withparts of the ophiolitic ultramafic and mafic cumulate sequence,which has the crystallization order olivine; Ca-rich pyroxene;orthopyroxene; plagioclase. The third magma suite is representedby basaltic andesite lavas along the Arakapas fault zone andshows a boninitic crystallization order olivine; orthopyroxene;Ca-rich pyroxene; plagioclase. One-atmosphere, anhydrous phaseequilibria experiments on a lava from the second suite indicateplagioclase crystallization from 1225?C, pigeonite from 1200?C,and augite from 1165?C. These experimental data contrast withthe crystallization order suggested by the lavas and the associatedcumulates. The observed crystallization orders and the presenceof magmatic water in the fresh glasses of all suites are consistentwith evolution under relatively high partial water pressures.In particular, high P_H2O (1–3 kb) can explain the lateappearances of plagioclase and Ca-poor pyroxene in the majorityof the basaltic andesite lavas as the effects of suppressedcrystallization temperatures and shifting of cotectic relations.The detailed crystallization orders are probably controlledby relatively minor differences in the normative compositionsof the parental magmas. The basaltic andesite lavas are likelyto reach augite saturation before Ca-poor pyroxene saturation,whereas the Arakapas fault zone lavas, which have relativelyless normative diopside and more quartz, reached the Ca-poorpyroxene-olivine reaction surface and crystallized Ca-poor pyroxeneafter olivine.     

Experimental crystal growth in glass inclusions: the possibilities and limits of the method

Glass inclusions trapped in bytownite phenocrysts (from the Ardoukoba eruption, Djibouti Republic, 7 November 1978) are used as an experimental environment to follow the evolution of crystallization and residual liquids in a magma with tholeiitic affinities. The results are compared with those obtained from abyssal tholeiites by Walker et al. (1979). In near equilibrium crystallization conditions, simultaneous crystallization of olivine and pyroxene is obtained in the enclosed silicate liquid as well as plagioclase as overgrowths on the cavity walls. Oxides only appear at lower temperatures. The olivine is homogeneous and rather rare (5% in weight). It forms at a temperature between 1,186° C±3(Fo85) and 1,126° C(Fo66). The distribution coefficient of Mg between the liquid and the olivine varies regularly with the temperature until titanomagnetite appears. The augite is much more abundant (>20% in weight of the original trapped melt) and is characterized by a composition that varies from the centre to the edges of the crystals Wo 43.5–36.2, En 43.8-41.7, Fs 12.7–22.1. Composition shows an unsatisfactory correlation with temperature and, at most, an Fs enrichment may be noted with temperature decrease. The composition of the plagioclase deposited on the cavity walls varies linearly with temperature from An 73.3 at 1,186° C to An 56.5 at 1,135° C in the case of contemporaneous crystallization of Pl, Cpx, Ol and Ox. If experiments are carried out by undercooling (as much as 150° C) in relation to crystallization of the ferromagnesian minerals, the composition of the plagioclase changes from An 78.8 at 1,160° C to An 52.8 at 1,025° C. In the case of the Pl, Ol, Cpx and +OX crystallization, the included liquids evolve from tholeiitic basalts to ferrobasalts in the same way as the lavas studied in the Asal rift (Demange et al. 1980). The advantages and limitations of the method are discussed.     

Mineralogy and proposed P-T paths of basaltic lavas from Rabaul caldera,Papua New Guinea

Rabaul caldera is a large volcanic depression at the north-east tip of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The lavas range in composition from basalt to rhyolite and have a calc-alkalic affinity but also display features typical of tholeiites, including moderate absolute iron enrichment in flows cropping out around the caldera. The basalts contain phenocrysts of plagioclase and clinopyroxene with less abundant olivine and titanomagnetite. In the basaltic andesites olivine is rare, while orthopyroxene and titanomagnetite are common along with plagioclase and clinopyroxene. Orthopyroxene is also found mantling olivine in some of the basalts while in both rock types pigeonitic augite is a fairly common constituent of the groundmass. Plagioclase in both basalt and basaltic andesite often exhibits sieve texture and analysis of the glass blebs show them to be of similar composition to the bulk rock. Phenocrystic clinopyroxene is a diopsidic augite in both basalt and basaltic andesite. Al₂O₃ content of the clinopyroxene is moderately high (4%) and often shows considerable variation in any one grain. Calculations show that the microphenocrysts probably crystallised near the surface, while phenocrysts crystallised at around 7 kb (21 km). Neither the basalts nor the basaltic andesites would have been in equilibrium at any geologically reasonable P and T with quartz eclogite. Equilibration between mantle peridotite and a. typical Rabaul basaltic liquid could have occurred around 35 kb and 1270 °C. A basaltic andesite liquid yields a temperature of 1263 °C and a pressure of 28 kb for equilibration with mantle peridotite.Partial melting of sufficient volumes of mantle peridotite at these P's and T's requires about 15% H₂O, but there is no evidence that these magmas ever contained large amounts of water. It is proposed that the Rabaul magmas were initially generated by partial melting of subducted lithosphere and subsequently modified by minor partial melting as they passed through the overlying mantle peridotite.     

Simulation of primary phase relations and mineral compositions in the Partridge River intrusion,Duluth Complex,Minnesota: implications for the parent magma composition

In order to describe the composition and crystallinity of the initial (parental) magma of the Partridge River intrusion of the Keweenawan Duluth Complex, and thereby understand the mode of emplacement and solidification of the intrusion, we have applied a numerical simulation technique called geochemical thermometry (Frenkel et al. 1988). The parental magma was a low-alumina, high-Ti-P olivine tholeiite similar to typical Keweenawan low-alumina, high-Ti-P basalts associated with the Duluth Complex and from the nearby Portage Lake area of the Lake Superior region. The parental magma was emplaced as a crystal-liquid suspension, followed by chilling of an evolved, leading edge ferrodioritic liquid in the basal zone of the intrusion. The conditions of emplacement at the present crustal location were 1,150°C, 2 kbar, and f _{O 2} slightly above the wustite-magnetite (WM) buffer. The main differentiation process after emplacement was the sorting and redistribution of plagioclase and olivine crystals on a local scale accompanied by less efficient convection and minor settling of olivine. Calculated crystallization sequence for the parental magma is olivine+plagioclase (1,240°C)olivine+plagioclase+magnetite (1,146°C, WM+0.5)olivine+plagioclase+magnetite+augite (1,140°C, WM+0.5). The calculated compositions of the cumulus olivine and plagioclase in equilibrium with the parent magma at 1,150°C are Fo_66.7±1.1 and An_64.5±2.5, respectively, and are similar to the estimated average composition of primary olivine (Fo_69.1±2.8) and the average composition of plagioclase core (An_66.3±2.8) measured in drill core samples through the intrusion (Chalokwu and Grant 1987).     

The Generation of Oceanic Rhyolites by Crystal Fractionation: the Basalt-Rhyolite Association at Volcn Alcedo, Galpagos Archipelago

Alcedo volcano is one of six shield volcanoes on Isabela Islandin the western Galpagos Islands. Although Alcedo is dominantiybasaltic, it is unusual in that it also has erupted 1 km³ ofrhyolite. The rhyolitic phase marked a 10-fold decrease in themass-eruption rate of the volcano, and the volcano has returnedto erupting basalt. The basalts are tholeiitic and range fromstrongly to sparsely porphyritic. Olivine and plagiodase arethe liquidus phases in the most primitive basalts. The MgO andNi concentrations in the most primitive basalts indicate thatthey have undergone substantial differentiation since extractionfrom the mantle. The rhyolites contain the assemblage oligoclase-augite-titanomagnetite-fayalite-apatiteand sparse xenoliths of quenched basalt and cumulate gabbros.Intermediate rocks are very rare, but some are apparently basaltrhyolitehybrids, and others resulted from differentiation of tholeiiticmagma. Several modeling approaches and Sr-, Nd-, and O-isotopicdata indicate that the rhyolites resulted from 90% fractionation(by weight) of plagiodase, augite, titanomagnetite, olivine,and apatite from the most primitive olivine tholeiite. The dataare inconsistent with the rhyolites originating by crustal anatexis.The extreme Daly gap may be caused by the large increase inviscosity as the basaltic magma differentiates to intermediateand siliceous compositions; highly evolved magmas are eruptibleonly after they become saturated with volatiles by second boiling.The close association of the hybrid intermediate magmas andmagmatic inclusions with the climactic plinian eruption indicatesmixing between mafic and silicic magmas immediately before eruption.Rhyolite production was favored by the decrease in supply ofbasaltic magma as Alcedo was carried away from the focus ofthe Galpagos hotspot. A three-stage model for the magmaticevolution of a Galpagos volcano is proposed. In the first stage,the supply of basaltic magma is large. Basaltic magma continuallyintrudes the subcaldera magma chamber, buffering the magmas'compositional and thermal evolution. As the volcano is carriedaway from the basaltic source, the magma chamber is allowedto cool and differentiate, as exemplified by Alcedo's rhyoliticphase. Finally, the volcano receives even smaller influx ofbasalt, so a large magma chamber cannot be sustained, and thevolcano shifts to isolated basaltic eruptions. KEY WORDS: Galpagos; oceanic rhyolites; fractional crystallization; Isabela Island ^*Corresponding author, e-mail: Geist{at}IDUI1.csrv.uidaho.edu. Telephone: 208-885-6491. Fax: 208-885-5724     

Mineralogy as a function of depth in the prehistoric Makaopuhi tholeiitic lava lake,Hawaii

The electron probe X-ray microanalyzer has been used to determine the compositional variability of the groundmass minerals and glass in 10 specimens from a complete 225-foot section of the prehistoric tholeiitic lava lake of Makaopuhi Crater, Hawaii. The order of beginning of crystallization was: (1) chromite, (2) olivine, (3) augite, (4) plagioclase, (5) pigeonite, (6) iron-titanium oxides and orthopyroxene, (7) alkali feldspar and apatite, and (8) glass.Although the lake is chemically tholeiitic throughout, the occurrence of ferromagnesian minerals is as though there were a gradation from alkali olivine basalt in the upper chill downwards to olivine tholeiite. Groundmass olivine decreases downwards and disappears at about 20 feet. Pigeonite is absent in the uppermost 5±2 feet, then increases in amount down to 20 feet, below which augite and pigeonite coexist in constant 21 proportions. Strong zoning and metastable compositions characterize the pyroxenes of the chilled zones, but these features gradually disappear towards the interior of the lake to give way to equilibrium pyroxenes. Relatively homogeneous poikilitic orthopyroxene ( Ca₄Mg₇₀Fe₂₆) occurs in the olivine cumulate zone, having formed partly at the expense of pre-existing olivine, augite, and pigeonite ( Ca₈Mg₆₆Fe₂₆). The growth of orthopyroxene is believed to have been facilitated by the slower cooling rate and higher volatile pressure at depth, and by the rise in Mg/Fe ratio of the liquid due to the partial dissolution of settled olivine.Unlike olivine and pyroxene, feldspar is least zoned in the upper and lower chilled regions. The greatest range of compositional zoning in feldspar occurs at 160 to 190 feet, where it extends continuously from Or_1.0Ab₂₂An₇₇ to Or₆₄Ab₃₃An₃. The feldspar fractionation trend in the An-Ab-Or triangle gradually shifts with depth toward more equilibrium trends, even though the zoning becomes more extreme. The variation with depth in the initial (core) composition of the plagioclase suggests the influence of either slow nucleation and growth (undercooling) or slow diffusion in the liquid, relative to the rate of cooling.Idiomorphic opaque inclusions in olivine phenocrysts are chrome-spinels showing continuous variation from 60 percent chromite to 85 percent ulvospinel and to magnetite-rich spinel. A pre-eruption trend of increasing Al with decreasing Cr can be recognized in chromites from the upper chill. Most of the inclusions show a trend of falling Cr and Al, toward an ulvospinelmagnetite solid solution which is progressively poorer in Usp with depth. This trend was produced by solid state alteration of the chromite inclusions during cooling in the lava lake. Ilmenite (average Ilm₉₁Hm₉) coexists with variably oxidized titaniferous magnetite in the basalt groundmass. Estimated oxygen fugacities agree well with other independent determinations in tholeiitic basalt. No sulfide phase has been detected.Fractional crystallization produced a groundmass glass of granitic composition. Average, in percent, is: SiO₂, 75.5; Al₂O₃, 12.5; K₂O, 5.7; Na₂O, 3.1; CaO, 0.3; MgO, 0.05; total FeO, 1.2; and TiO₂, 0.8. Normative Or> Ab. Minor changes in glass composition with depth are consistent with a greater approach towards the granite minimum. Incipient devitrification precluded reliable analysis of glass from the lower half of the section. The SiO₂-phase associated with devitrification contains alkalis and Al and is believed to be cristobalite. Needle-like apatite crystals in the groundmass glass are Siand Fe-bearing fluorapatites containing appreciable rare earths (predominantly Ce) and variable Cl.The grain-size and maximum An content of the cores of plagioclase grains were controlled by cooling rate and are at a maximum at the center of the section. The most homogeneous pyroxene (and olivine, Moore and Evans, 1967), most equilibrium pyroxene trends, most abundant alkali feldspar, and most equilibrium feldspar trends are found at 160 to 190 feet, which is appreciably below that part of the lake which was slowest to crystallize. Volatile pressure, increasing with depth, possibly controlled the degree of attainment of equilibrium more than cooling rate.Since they are dependent on cooling history, some of the modal criteria commonly used for recognizing basalt types, such as the absence of Ca-poor pyroxene, presence of groundmass olivine, and the presence of alkali feldspar, should be applied with caution. Petrographic comparison of basalts from one flow, volcano, or province, with another, should recognize the possible variations due to cooling history alone.Publication authorized by the Director, U.S. Geological Survey     

Olivine-normative dolerite dikes from western South Carolina: Mineralogy,chemical composition and petrogenesis

This investigation describes five Mesozoic dolerite dikes which intrude Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks of the Inner Piedmont of western South Carolina. The dikes are vertical or nearly so and strike approximately N40° W. Three major northeast-trending faults also occur in the study area. Left lateral displacement of one dolerite is documented at a locality near Cleveland, South Carolina. Elsewhere, several of the dolerite dikes appear to terminate at or near the faults. — The dolerite dikes have subophitic to microporphyritic textures and consist principally of plagioclase (generally An_70–80), olivine (dominantly Fo_80–90) and augite with subordinate pigeonite, titanomagnetite, chromite and brown, partly glassy mesostasis. In one dike pyroxene compositions trend from augite to ferroaugite in contrast to an augitesubcalcic augitepigeonite trend characteristic of the other dolerites. The contrasting trends primarily result from differences in SiO₂ abundance in the dolerite magmas. — Major and trace element analyses indicate the presence of two different olivine-normative dolerite magma types. The two magma types are not related by near surface crystal fractionation. Models for genesis of the olivine-normative dolerite magmas by partial melting of a plagioclase peridotite upper mantle source region are presented. The models require that the source region be enriched in LREE and incompatible elements such as Rb, Ba, Hf and Th relative to Cl chondritic abundances. One magma type appears to represent a primary dolerite magma that ascended from the source region with little subsequent compositional change. The second magma type most likely experienced assimilation of clinopyroxene-garnet (eclogite) during ascent, thereby acquiring a REE pattern with a less steep negative slope for the LREE and a slight positive slope in the HREE.     

The nakhlite meteorites: Augite-rich igneous rocks from Mars

The seven nakhlite meteorites are augite-rich igneous rocks that formed in flows or shallow intrusions of basaltic magma on Mars. They consist of euhedral to subhedral crystals of augite and olivine (to 1 cm long) in fine-grained mesostases. The augite crystals have homogeneous cores of Mg′=63% and rims that are normally zoned to iron enrichment. The core-rim zoning is cut by iron-enriched zones along fractures and is replaced locally by ferroan low-Ca pyroxene. The core compositions of the olivines vary inversely with the steepness of their rim zoning - sharp rim zoning goes with the most magnesian cores (Mg′=42%), homogeneous olivines are the most ferroan. The olivine and augite crystals contain multiphase inclusions representing trapped magma. Among the olivine and augite crystals is mesostasis, composed principally of plagioclase and/or glass, with euhedra of titanomagnetite and many minor minerals. Olivine and mesostasis glass are partially replaced by veinlets and patches of iddingsite, a mixture of smectite clays, iron oxy-hydroxides and carbonate minerals. In the mesostasis are rare patches of a salt alteration assemblage: halite, siderite, and anhydrite/gypsum. The nakhlites are little shocked, but have been affected chemically and biologically by their residence on Earth.Differences among the chemical compositions of the nakhlites can be ascribed mostly to different proportions of augite, olivine, and mesostasis. Compared to common basalts, they are rich in Ca, strongly depleted in Al, and enriched in magmaphile (incompatible) elements, including the LREE. Nakhlites contain little pre-terrestrial organic matter. Oxygen isotope ratios are not terrestrial, and are different in anhydrous silicates and in iddingsite. The alteration assemblages all have heavy oxygen and heavy carbon, while D/H values are extreme and scattered. Igneous sulfur had a solar-system isotopic ratio, but in most minerals was altered to higher and lower values. High precision analyses show mass-independent fractionations of S isotopes. Nitrogen and noble gases are complex and represent three components: two mantle sources (Chas-E and Chas-S), and fractionated Martian atmosphere.The nakhlites are igneous cumulate rocks, formed from basaltic magma at ∼1.3 Ga, containing excess crystals over what would form from pure magma. After accumulation of their augite and olivine crystals, they were affected (to various degrees) by crystallization of the magma, element diffusion among minerals and magma, chemical reactions among minerals and magma, magma movement among the crystals, and post-igneous chemical equilibration. The extent of these modifications varies, from least to greatest, in the order: MIL03346, NWA817, Y000593, Nakhla=Governador Valadares, Lafayette, and NWA998.Chemical, isotopic, and chronologic data confirm that the nakhlites formed on Mars, most likely in thick lava flows or shallow intrusions. Their crystallization ages, referenced to crater count chronologies for Mars, suggest that the nakhlites formed on the large volcanic constructs of Tharsis, Elysium, or Syrtis Major. The nakhlites were suffused with liquid water, probably at ∼620 ma. This water dissolved olivine and mesostasis glass, and deposited iddingsite and salt minerals in their places. The nakhlites were ejected from Mars at ∼10.75 Ma by an asteroid impact and fell to Earth within the last 10,000 years.Although the nakhlites are enriched in incompatible elements, their source mantle was strongly depleted. This depletion event was ancient, as the nakhlites’ source mantle was fractionated while short-lived radionuclides (e.g., ) were still active. This differentiation event may have been core formation coupled with a magma ocean, as is inferred for the moon.     

Elevation of potassium content of basaltic magma by fractional crystallization: the effect of pressure

A wide range of natural quartz-normative liquids crystallizes olivine at low pressure. Addition of K₂O to the system results in expansion of the olivine primary phase field and replacement of pigeonite (stable in the K-free system) by hypersthene. Some variation in phase relations results from depression of crystallization temperature towards the temperature at which pigeonite reacts to form augite and hypersthene because of addition of K₂O. Another important influence on phase relations results from cation interactions in the liquid related to addition of K₂O. Studies of crystallization behavior of materials similar in most elements except K₂O show that K₂O content markedly alters crystallization behavior for more siliceous liquids but appears to have less effect on liquids with lower SiO₂ contents. Low-Ca pyroxenes melt congruently at P>5 kbar, so anhydrous liquids coprecipitate olivine, plagioclase, and two pyroxenes. Addition of K₂O to the liquid has the same effect as at 1 atm. Hypersthene replaces pigeonite as the Low-Ca pyroxene crystallization from liquids with >1.5% K₂O and the olivine primary phase field grows at the expense of those of pyroxenes and plagioclase. At 10 kbar, olivine may develop a reaction relationship with liquids containing >6% K₂O. At 15 kbar, however, liquids evolve to a pseudoeutectic involving alkali feldspar. The systematic variation in phase relations has important consequences for magmatic evolution in different environments. Dry mafic liquids at shallow levels in oceanic areas can crystallize olivine until the liquid is very evolved, resulting in extreme SiO₂-enrichment besides enrichment in K₂O, and producing potassic dacites. Olivine coexists with liquids with up to 54% SiO₂ if K₂O=0.6% (Grove and Baker 1984) but as much as 63% SiO₂ if K₂O3.5% (Ussler and Glazner 1989). Magmas rising beneath light continental crust may pond at the Moho and evolve to low-density liquids that can rise to the surface. Coprecipitation of olivine, plagioclase, augite, and a low-Ca pyroxene, produces enrichment in K₂O with only slight enrichment in SiO₂. This is terminated, at pressures of 6 to, possibly, 12 kbar, by development of a reaction relationship of olivine and liquid that progresses to higher K₂O contents with pressure. At pressures as high as 15 kbar, the reaction relation may not develop and only crystallization of alkali feldspar suppresses K₂O-enrichment. Any magmatic H₂O or crustal contamination may modify phase relations. The phase relations do, however, suggest that variation in K₂O:SiO₂ of evolved volcanic rocks is related to crustal thickness rather than to variation in the chemical compositions of primary magmas.     

Evolved lavas from the Snake River Plain: Craters of the Moon National Monument,Idaho

Holocene lavas from Craters of the Moon (COM) National Monument are representative of differentiated lavas which occur around the margins of the Snake River Plains (SRP) and they range serially in composition from alkali- and phosphorous-rich ferrobasalts to ferrolatites. Petrographic study indicates that these lavas evolved primarily by cotectic crystallization of olivine, plagioclase, magnetite and apatite in the mafic members of the suite (ferrobasalts), and by cotectic crystallization of plagioclase, magnetite, clinopyroxene and minor olivine in the salic members. Quantitative phase relations in the COM lavas, calculated by means of a leastsquares mixing program, indicate that the observed range in composition among these lavas corresponds to at least 70 percent crystallization of a magma similar to the most mafic COM lavas. Anhydrous one-atmosphere experimental crystallization studies fail to reproduce exactly the inferred phase relations; the discrepancy is attributed to the presence of water in the naturally crystallized magmas. The origin of COM parental magma cannot be unequivocably resolved. Available evidence suggests that COM lavas do not represent melts derived directly from the mantle: (1) high Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios (0.708 to 0.712), (2) relatively high Fe/(Fe+Mg) and excluded-element content in even the most mafic COM lavas, (3) occurrence of megacrysts of inferred high-pressure origin in the Lava Creek flow. Megacrysts occur in the Lava Creek flow as clusters of labradorite, aluminous clinopyroxene, and olivine. Analogy with the experiments of Thompson [1] and least squares mixing calculations indicate that intermediate (ca. 8 to 10 Kbar) pressure fractionation of such megacrysts from olivine tholeiite magma may yield derivative COM-type liquids.     

Crustal contamination of Late Neogene basalts in the Dien Bien Phu Basin,NW Vietnam: Some insights from petrological and geochronological studies

Early Pliocene (Zanclean) basalts in the Dien Bien Phu pull-apart basin in NW Vietnam, associated with the presently sinistral Dien Bien Phu Fault Zone, have been dated by the K–Ar method at 4.4–4.9 and 5.4–5.2 Ma. Rapid migration of basaltic magma to the surface in the Dien Bien Phu Fault Zone may be due to Pliocene transtension of the crust in this region, resulting from asthenospheric upwelling induced by lateral displacement of the mantle. The basalts are moderately phyric ( < 10%) and consist of olivine (hyalosiderite), plagioclase (bytownite–labradorite) and orthopyroxene (bytownite–labradorite) phenocrysts, and a fine-grained crystalline matrix (olivine–hortonolite, plagioclase–labradorite, clinopyroxene–pigeonite and augite, K-feldspar). The presence of Fe-rich olivine and orthopyroxene phenocrysts indicates that the basalts are SiO₂-saturated/oversaturated olivine tholeiites which formed under water-undersaturated conditions. The Dien Bien Phu basalts contain both mantle-derived (pyroxenites, dunites, gabbros) and crustal (sillimanite/mullite + Mg–Fe spinel), wallrock xenoliths, indicative of crustal contamination during the ascent of the basaltic magma. The basalts show selective enrichment in some mobile elements (K, Rb, Sr and Th), a feature considered to be a result of metasomatism. These rocks, classified on the basis of their normative composition as quartz tholeiites, could represent primary olivine tholeiites/basalts, in which the geochemical signatures were modified by the processes of contamination.     

A numerical approach to boundary layer fractionation: application to differentiation in natural magma systems

With few exceptions, geochemical models of igneous differentiation have assumed that crystals form homogeneously throughout the cooling magma chamber. This is in spite of field evidence and physical models suggesting for natural systems, that heat loss, and thus most crystallization, occurs primarily along the walls and roof of magma chambers. Such systems would produce aphyric, evolved composition lavas. Existing models of boundary layer crystal fractionation suggest that the products of such a process are significantly different from the products of homogeneous crystallization. To investigate this process further, we have developed a model using a numerical approach to boundary layer crystal fractionation based on new phase equilibria and trace element constraints. In addition to olivine, augite and plagioclase, this new model includes the ability to calculate the effects of oxide (magnetite and ilmenite), apatite and low-Ca pyroxene fractionation. This is critical if we are to effectively evaluate the geochemical signature of boundary layer fractionation. This is because the products of boundary layer fractionation are most different from homogeneous fractionation for high degrees of crystallization in the solidification zone. These are the same conditions where oxides, low-Ca pyroxene and apatite are saturated in most natural, differentiated mafic systems. The results of this model suggest that boundary layer fractionation can help to explain such phenomena as phantom crystallization, variation in incompatible element ratios, and the decoupling of major and trace element systematics. In addition, many of the geochemical patterns that we use to distinguish between the products of low pressure and high pressure differentiation are obscured by the fact that the liquid line of descent can be controlled by the removal of phases not in equilibrium with the entire magma chamber.     

Electron-probe studies of the earlier pyroxenes and olivines from the Skaergaard intrusion,East Greenland

Pyroxenes and olivines from the earlier stages of fractionation of the Skaergaard intrusion (Wager and Brown, 1968; Brown, 1957) have been studied using the electron microprobe. The subsolidus trend for both Ca-rich and Ca-poor pyroxenes has been established, from the Mg-rich portion of the quadrilateral to the Hed-Fs join, together with the orientations of the tie-lines joining coexisting pyroxenes. For the Mg-rich Ca-poor pyroxenes, Brown's (1957) solidus trend has been modified slightly. From a study of a previously undescribed drill core, reversals in the cryptic layering have been found in the Lower Zone. The reversals are attributed to existence within the convecting magma chamber of local temperature differences. The Skaergaard magma temperatures are postulated to have passed out of the orthopyroxene stability field into the pigeonite stability field at EnFs ratios of 7228, for Ca-free calculated compositions, and specimen 1849, a perpendicular-feldspar rock, is interpreted as straddling the orthopyroxene-pigeonite transition interval. The cessation of crystallisation of Ca-poor pyroxene and the increase in Wo content of the Ca-rich pyroxene trend have been reexamined, and Muir's (1954) peritectic reaction (pigeonite+liquid=augite) has been confirmed. The composition at which Ca-poor pyroxene starts reacting with the liquid is postulated as Wo₁₀ En_36.7Fs_{53 3}. It is suggested that the cessation of crystallisation of Ca-poor pyroxene is sensitive to the amount of plagioclase crystallising from the liquid.A complete series of accurate olivine compositions for the whole Skaergaard sequence is presented for the first time, including the compositions of the Middle Zone olivine reaction rims.     

Magmatic evolution of Hekla,Iceland

The extrusive rocks of Hekla are predominantly flows of basaltic andesite and andesite (icelandite) but each eruptive cycle is initiated by production of tephra of andesitic, dacitic, and even rhyolitic composition. The evolution of basaltic andesites to dacites and rhyolites can be explained by crystallization and (presumably gravitative) separation of olivine, titaniferous magnetite, plagioclase, and probably augite. No contamination by sialic crustal material is required.Although basalts are never erupted from Hekla the origin of the basaltic andesites is probably best explained by separation of magnesian olivine, augite, and calcic plagioclase from an olivine tholeiite parent, producing an initial differentiation trend toward a high Fe/Mg ratio. The increase in Fe/Mg ratio is limited by the appearance of magnetite as a liquidus phase.From the Fe/Mg ratios of the lavas and from compositions of the plagioclase phenocrysts the water pressure of the basaltic andesites is estimated to have been between 0.6 and 2.4 kb. Total pressure may have been significantly higher. A best estimate for the water content is approximately 2 1/2 to 6 weight percent. This high water content accounts for the explosive initiation of each eruptive cycle and is consistent with fractional crystallization in a shallow magma chamber.Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Contribution No. 2355.     

A petrological study of the younger Tongan andesites and dacites,and the olivine tholeiites of Niua Fo'ou Island,S. W. Pacific

Basaltic andesites are the dominant Tongan magma type, and are characterized by phenocrysts of augite, orthopyroxene (or rarely pigeonite), and calcic plagioclase (modally most abundant phase, and interpreted as the liquidus phase). The plagioclase phenocrysts exhibit slight oscillatory reverse zoning except for abrupt and thin more sodic rims, which are interpreted to develop during eruptive quenching. These rim compositions overlap those of the groundmass plagioclase. The pyroxene phenocrysts also exhibit only slight compositional zoning except for the outermost rim zones; the compositions of these rims, together with the groundmass pyroxenes, vary throughout the compositional range of subcalcic augite to ferroaugite through pigeonite to ferropigeonite, and are interpreted in terms of quench-controlled crystallization. This is supported, for example, by the random distribution of Al solid solution in the groundmass pyroxenes, compared to the more regular behaviour of Al in the phenocryst pyroxenes. The analysed Niua Fo'ou olivine tholeiites are aphyric; groundmass phases are plagioclase (An_17–88), olivine (Fa_18–63), titanomagnetite (usp. _59–73), and augite-ferroaugite which does not extend to subcalcic compositions; this is interpreted to be due to higher quenching temperatures and lower viscosities of these tholeiites compared to the basaltic andesites.Application of various geothermometers to the basaltic andesites suggest initial eruptive quenching temperatures of 1,008–1,124 ° C, plagioclase liquidus temperatures (1 bar) of 1,210–1,277 ° C, and orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene equilibration of 990–1,150 ° C. These calculated temperatures, together with supporting evidence (e.g. absence of olivine and amphibole, liquidus plagioclase, and plagioclase zoning patterns) are interpreted in terms of phenocryst crystallization from magmas that were either strongly water undersaturated, nearly anhydrous, or at best, water saturated at very low pressures (< 0.5 kb). This interpretation implies that these Tongan basaltic andesites did not originate by any of the currently proposed mechanisms involving hydrous melting within or above the Benioff zone.     

Geochemistry of Karroo dolerite sills in the Calvinia district,Western Cape Province,South Africa

Two Karroo dolerite sills display chemical and mineralogical variation compatible with cumulus enrichment. The Blaauwkrans sill is an olivine tholeiite and contains a central zone slightly enriched in olivine, plagioclase and clinopyroxene. The thicker Hangnest sill is a quartz tholeiite and shows evidence of crystal settling and has a lower zone enriched in cumulus orthopyroxene and plagioclase.The two sills differ quite markedly in their trace element compositions, with the Hangnest magma enriched by a factor of two in LIL elements (Rb, Ba, Nb, Zr, Y) relative to the Blaauwkrans magma. The Hangnest magma contained extremely low Ni contents (3–5 ppm), whereas the Blaauwkrans magma contained higher but more normal Ni (100–110ppm). Such contrasting trace element compositions preclude any simple genetic relationship between the two Karroo magmas but they may be related either through a common parent or are derivatives from separate parental magmas.South African Contribution No. 24 to the International Geodynamics Project