Petrogenesis and tectonomagmatic significance of volcanic and subvolcanic rocks in the Albanide–Hellenide ophiolitic mélanges

Abstract Ophiolitic mélanges associated with ophiolitic sequences are wide spread in the Mirdita–Subpelagonian zone (Albanide–Hellenide Orogenic Belt) and consist of tectonosedimentary ‘block‐in‐matrix‐type’ mélanges. Volcanic and subvolcanic basaltic rocks included in the main mélange units are studied in this paper with the aim of assessing their chemistry and petrogenesis, as well as their original tectonic setting of formation. Basaltic rocks incorporated in these mélanges include (i) Triassic transitional to alkaline within‐plate basalts (WPB); (ii) Triassic normal (N‐MORB) and enriched (E‐MORB) mid‐oceanic ridge basalts; (iii) Jurassic N‐MORB; (iv) Jurassic basalts with geochemical characteristics intermediate between MORB and island arc tholeiites (MORB/IAT); and (v) Jurassic boninitic rocks. These rocks record different igneous activities, which are related to the geodynamic and mantle evolution through time in the Mirdita–Subpelagonian sector of the Tethys. Mélange units formed mainly through sedimentary processes are characterized by the prevalence of materials derived from the supra‐subduction zone (SSZ) environments, whereas in mélange units where tectonic processes prevail, oceanic materials predominate. In contrast, no compositional distinction between structurally similar mélange units is observed, suggesting that they may be regarded as a unique mélange belt extending from the Hellenides to the Albanides, whose formation was largely dominated by the mechanisms of incorporation of the different materials. Most of the basaltic rocks surfacing in the MOR and SSZ Albanide–Hellenide ophiolites are incorporated in mélanges. However, basalts with island arc tholeiitic affinity, although they are volumetrically the most abundant ophiolitic rock types, have not been found in mélanges so far. This implies that the rocks forming the main part of the intraoceanic arc do not seem to have contributed to the mélange formation, whereas rocks presumably formed in the forearc region are largely represented in sedimentary‐dominated mélanges. In addition, Triassic E‐MORB, N‐MORB and WPB included in many mélanges are not presently found in the ophiolitic sequences. Nonetheless, they testify to the existence throughout the Albanide–Hellenide Belt of an oceanic basin since the Middle Triassic.     

Tectono-magmatic evolution of the West Philippine-Mariana region and the origin of boninites

Re-examination of published data on the tectomagmatic evolution of the West Philippine-Mariana region indicate that arc magmatism and back-arc extensional pulses are not synchronous but are largely asynchronous. Arc volcanism ceases within a few million years of the development of a back-arc basin, and recommences oceanward on a new arc during the final stages in the development of the back-arc basin. Following Karig's model, we believe that ascent beneath the arc axial chain of a line of diapirs of MORB-source mantle interferes with processes of arc magma generation and arc magmatism wanes. Partial melting of the diapirs produces voluminous MORB-type tholeiites which split the arc and form the crust of a widening back-arc basin.We show for both the West Philippine-Mariana region, and occurrences of boninite-like lavas in ophiolites, that boninites appear to be erupted after arc magmatism and immediately before eruption of MORB-type lavas.Passage of a diapir of hot MORB-source mantle through refractory sub-arc peridotite which has been enriched in LILE and H₂O, will result in limited partial melting of the hydrous peridotite and the restricted production of boninitic magmas. These are more likely to erupt modified or only slightly modified by crystal fractionation through the thin forearc crust. Continued ascent of the MORB-source mantle diapir will result in it partially melting to yield MORB tholeiites which erupt shortly after, and in considerably more voluminous amounts, than the boninites.Finally we suggest that forearcs regions are likely to be incorporated into foldbelts and that boninite (or low-Ti lava)-bearing ophiolites may characterize such regions.     

The petrochemistry of ophiolite gabbroic complexes. A key for the classification of ophiolites into low-Ti and high-Ti types

Ophiolites have been divided into two groups: high-Ti and low-Ti types. These can be discriminated by studying the fractionation trends of both gabbroic complexes (this work) and lavas and dykes [16], particularly in the TiO₂/M.I. diagram. The first type typically shows MORB-like magmas whereas in the second the magma types have a spectrum of composition from mid-ocean ridge basalts to island arc tholeiites and boninite-like magmas often occur.High-Ti ophiolites are petrologically and geochemically similar to major oceanic and ensialic back-arc basin crusts as well as oceanic crust generated during the intermediate and late-stage opening of intraoceanic back-arc basins.Parental magmas and fractionation processes of low-Ti ophiolites fit with an hypothesis of their formation in the early stage of opening of intraoceanic back-arc basins.     

Mineral chemistry and petrogenesis of chromitites from the Khoy ophiolite complex,Northwestern Iran: Implications for aggregation of two ophiolites

The Khoy ophiolitic complex in Northwestern Iran is a part of the Tethyan ophiolite belt, and is divided into two sections: the Eastern ophiolite in Qeshlaq and Kalavanes (Jurassic–Cretaceous) and the Western ophiolite in Barajouk, Chuchak and Hessar (Late Cretaceous). Our chromitites can be clearly classified into two groups: high‐Al chromitites (Cr# = 0.38–0.44) from the Eastern ophiolite, and high‐Cr chromitites (Cr# = 0.54–0.72) from the Western ophiolite. The chromian spinels in high‐Al chromitite include primary mineral inclusions mainly as Na‐bearing diopside and pargasite with subordinate rutile and their formation was probably related to reaction between a MORB (mid‐ocean‐ridge basalt)‐like melt with depleted harzburgite, possibly in a back‐arc setting. Their host harzburgites contain clinopyroxene with higher contents of Al₂O₃, Na₂O, Cr₂O₃, and TiO₂ relative to Western harzburgites and are possibly residue after moderate partial melting (~15 %) whereas the Western harzburgite is residue after high partial melting (~25 %). The chromian spinel in the Western Khoy chromitites contains inclusions such as clinopyroxene, olivine and platinum group mineral‐bearing sulfides. These Western chromitites were possibly formed at two stages during arc growth and are divided into the moderately high‐Cr# chromitites (Barajouk and Hessar) and the high‐Cr# chromitites (Chuchak A and C). The former crystallized from island‐arc‐tholeiite (IAT) melts during reaction with the host depleted harzburgites, whereas the latter crystallized from boninitic melts (second stage melt) during reaction with highly depleted harzburgite in a supra‐subduction‐zone environment. Based on the mineral chemistry of chromian spinels, pyroxenes, and mineral inclusions, the chromitites and the host peridotites from the Eastern and Western Khoy ophiolites were formed in a back‐arc basin and arc‐related setting, respectively. The Khoy ophiolitic complex is a tectonic aggregate of the two different ophiolites formed in two different tectonic settings at different ages.     

Mesozoic to Tertiary tectonic history of the Mirdita ophiolites, northern Albania

Abstract In this paper, a summary of the tectonic history of the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe, northern Albania, is proposed by geological and structural data. The Mirdita ophiolitic nappe includes a subophiolite mélange, the Rubik complex, overlain by two ophiolite units, referred to as the Western and Eastern units. Its history started in the Early Triassic with a rifting stage followed by a Middle to Late Triassic oceanic opening between the Adria and Eurasia continental margins. Subsequently, in Early Jurassic time, the oceanic basin was affected by convergence with the development of a subduction zone. The existence of this subduction zone is provided by the occurrence of the supra‐subduction‐zone‐related magmatic sequences found in both the Western and Eastern units of the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe. During the Middle Jurassic, continuous convergence resulted in the obduction of the oceanic lithosphere, in two different stages – the intraoceanic and marginal stages. The intraoceanic stage is characterized by the westward thrusting of a young and still hot section of oceanic lithosphere leading to the development of a metamorphic sole. In the Late Jurassic, the marginal stage developed by the emplacement of the ophiolitic nappe onto the continental margin. During this second stage, the emplacement of the ophiolites resulted in the development of the Rubik complex. In the Early Cretaceous, the final emplacement of the ophiolites was followed by the unconformable sedimentation of the Barremian–Senonian platform carbonate. From the Late Cretaceous to the Middle Miocene, the Mirdita ophiolitic nappe was translated westward during the progressive migration of the deformation front toward the Adria Plate. In the Middle to Late Miocene, a thinning of the whole nappe pile was achieved by extensional tectonics, while the compression was still active in the westernmost areas of the Adria Plate. On the whole, the Miocene deformations resulted in the uplift and exposition of the Mirdita ophiolites as observed today.     

Ophiolites of the Eastern Peninsulas zone (Eastern Kamchatka): Age, composition, and geodynamic diversity

Abstract   The geological, geochemical and mineralogical data of dismembered ophiolites of various ages and genesis occurring in accretionary piles of the Eastern Peninsulas of Kamchatka enables us to discriminate three ophiolite complexes: (i) Aptian–Cenomanian complex: a fragment of ancient oceanic crust, composed of tholeiite basalts, pelagic sediments, and gabbroic rocks, presently occurring in a single tectonic slices (Afrika complex) and in olistoplaques in Pikezh complex of the Kamchatsky Mys Peninsula and probably in the mélange of the Kronotsky Peninsula; (ii) Upper Cretaceous complex, composed of highly depleted peridotite, gabbro and plagiogranite, associated with island arc tholeiite, boninite, and high-alumina tholeiitic basalt of supra-subduction origin; and (iii) Paleocene–Early Eocene complex of intra-island arc or back-arc origin, composed of gabbros, dolerites (sheeted dykes) and basalts produced from oceanic tholeiite melts, and back-arc basin-like dolerites. Formation of the various ophiolite complexes is related to the Kronotskaya intra-oceanic volcanic arc evolution. The first ophiolite complex is a fragment of ancient Aptian–Cenomanian oceanic crust on which the Kronotskaya arc originated. Ophiolites of the supra-subduction zone affinity were formed as a result of repeated partial melting of peridotites in the mantle wedge up to the subduction zone. This is accompanied by production of tholeiite basalts and boninites in the Kamchatsky Mys segment and plagioclase-bearing tholeiites in the Kronotsky segment of the Kronotskaya paleoarc. The ophiolite complex with intra-arc and mid-oceanic ridge basalt geochemical characteristics was formed in an extension regime during the last stage of Kronotskaya volcanic arc evolution.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of ophiolites from Northern Pindos (Greece)

The ophiolitic complex of Northern Pindos (Greece) contains ocean-floor basalts and low-Ti mafic rocks. The former rocks are similar to recent mid-ocean ridge basalts with a light REE depletion and a La/Yb ratio < 2. The low-Ti rocks resemble boninites in their high Mg and very low Ti and Zr contents and in their REE patterns which have convex-downwards shape with a slight light REE enrichment. However, their Zr/Ti, Ti/V and Zr/Y ratios are lower than in boninites. Both rock-types could be generated by dynamic partial melting of a rising upper mantle diapir. Slight enrichment in light REE, Sr, Rb and Ba in low-Ti rocks could be the result of either metasomatic or alteration processes. Although a subduction zone origin of the sequence is possible, the geochemical data do not necessarily imply such a setting.     

Initiation and evolution of intra-oceanic subduction in the Uralides: Geochemical and isotopic constraints from Devonian oceanic rocks of the Southern Urals, Russia

Abstract The Southern Uralides are a collisional orogen generated in the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous by the collision of the Magnitogorsk island arc (MA) generated in the Early to Middle Devonian by intra‐oceanic convergence opposite to the continental margin, and the continental margin of the East European craton. A suture zone of the arc to the continental margin, the Main Uralian Fault (MUF), is marked by ophiolites and exhumed high‐pressure–low‐temperature metamorphic rocks of continental origin. The pre‐orogenic events of the Southern Urals and their geodynamic setting are traced by means of fluid‐immobile incompatible trace elements (rare earth elements and high field strength elements) and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope geochemistry of the MA suites, in particular the protoarc suite with boninites and probably ankaramites, and the mature arc comprised of island arc tholeiitic (IAT) suites, transitional IAT to calc‐alkaline (CA), and CA suites. The MA volcanics result in genetically distinct magmatic source components. In particular, depleted normal‐mid‐oceanic ridge basalt‐type mantle sources with various enrichments in a slab‐derived aqueous fluid component are evident. The enriched component is not involved in significant amounts, as testified by the rather radiogenic Nd isotopes and unradiogenic Pb isotopes. Further information on the pre‐orogenic events is provided by the Mindyak Massif metagabbros derived from diverse gabbroic protoliths that were affected by oceanic rodingitization, and subsequently by a high‐temperature (HT) metamorphism related to the development of a metamorphic sole. The HT metamorphism has the same age as the protoarc volcanism, and constrains the initiation of subduction at approximately 410 Ma. Consequently, the maximum timespan between initial intra‐oceanic convergence and final collision is approximately 31 my, a duration consistent with that of present‐day ongoing collisions in the western Pacific. The characteristics of early volcanism and the traces of a metamorphic sole provide useful criteria to attribute most MUF ophiolites to the Tethyan type with a complex pre‐orogenic evolution.     

Basalt and tonalite from the Amami Plateau, northern West Philippine Basin: New Early Cretaceous ages and geochemical results, and their petrologic and tectonic implications

Abstract Basalts and tonalites dredged from the Amami Plateau in the northern West Philippine Basin have the geochemical characteristics of intraoceanic island arc rocks: low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70297–0.70310), intermediate ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51288–0.51292), moderate light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment (La/Yb = 4.1–6.6) and high La/Nb (1.4–4.3). The incremental heating of hornblende from tonalites yielded well‐defined plateaus and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar isochron ages of 115.8 ± 0.5 Ma and 117.0 ± 1.1 Ma, while plagioclase yielded disturbed Ar release patterns, with ages ranging from 70 to 112 Ma. Taken together, these results show that the Amami Plateau was formed by subduction‐related magmatism in the Early Cretaceous period, earlier than indicated by prior K/Ar results. The results support tectonic models in which the West Philippine Basin was opened within a complex of Jurassic–Paleocene island arc terranes, which are now scattered in the northern West Philippine Basin, the Philippine Islands and Halmahera. The Amami Plateau tonalites and basalts have higher Sr/Y and lower Y and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr compared with younger tonalitic rocks from the northern Kyushu–Palau Ridge and the Tanzawa complex, which were formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. Based on the geochemical characteristics of the basalts, the Early Cretaceous subduction zone that formed the Amami Plateau may have been the site of slab melting, which suggests that a younger and hotter plate was being subducted at that time. However, the Amami tonalites were probably formed from basaltic magma by fractional crystallization or by partial melting of basaltic arc crust, rather than by melting of the subducted slab.     

Tethyan ophiolites and Pangea break-up

Abstract The break‐up of Pangea began during the Triassic and was preceded by a generalized Permo‐Triassic formation of continental rifts along the future margins between Africa and Europe, between Africa and North America, and between North and South America. During the Middle–Late Triassic, an ocean basin cutting the eastern equatorial portion of the Pangea opened as a prograding branch of the Paleotethys or as a new ocean (the Eastern Tethys); westwards, continental rift basins developed. The Western Tethys and Central Atlantic began to open only during the Middle Jurassic. The timing of the break‐up can be hypothesized from data from the oceanic remnants of the peri‐Mediterranean and peri‐Caribbean regions (the Mesozoic ophiolites) and from the Atlantic ocean crust. In the Eastern Tethys, Middle–Late Triassic mid‐oceanic ridge basalt (MORB) ophiolites, Middle–Upper Jurassic MORB, island arc tholeiite (IAT) supra‐subduction ophiolites and Middle–Upper Jurassic metamorphic soles occur, suggesting that the ocean drifting was active from the Triassic to the Middle Jurassic. The compressive phases, as early as during the Middle Jurassic, were when the drifting was still active and caused the ocean closure at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary and, successively, the formation of the orogenic belts. The present scattering of the ophiolites is a consequence of the orogenesis: once the tectonic disturbances are removed, the Eastern Tethys ophiolites constitute a single alignment. In the Western Tethys only Middle–Upper Jurassic MORB ophiolites are present – this was the drifting time. The closure began during the Late Cretaceous and was completed during the Eocene. Along the area linking the Western Tethys to the Central Atlantic, the break‐up was realized through left lateral wrench movements. In the Central Atlantic – the link between the Western Tethys and the Caribbean Tethys – the drifting began at the same time and is still continuing. The Caribbean Tethys opened probably during the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous. The general picture rising from the previous data suggest a Pangea break‐up rejuvenating from east to west, from the Middle–Late Triassic to the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous.     

Did boninite originate from the heterogeneous mantle with recycled ancient slab?

Boninites are widely distributed along the western margin of the Pacific Plate extruded during the incipient stage of the subduction zone development in the early Paleogene period. This paper discusses the genetic relationships of boninite and antecedent protoarc basalt magmas and demonstrates their recycled ancient slab origin based on the T–P conditions and Pb–Hf–Nd–Os isotopic modeling. Primitive melt inclusions in chrome spinel from Ogasawara and Guam islands show severely depleted high‐SiO₂, MgO (high‐silica) and less depleted low‐SiO₂, MgO (low‐silica and ultralow‐silica) boninitic compositions. The genetic conditions of 1 346 °C at 0.58 GPa and 1 292 °C at 0.69 GPa for the low‐ and ultralow‐silica boninite magmas lie on adiabatic melting paths of depleted mid‐ocean ridge basalt mantle with a potential temperature of 1 430 °C in Ogasawara and of 1 370 °C in Guam, respectively. This is consistent with the model that the low‐ and ultralow‐silica boninites were produced by remelting of the residue of the protoarc basalt during the forearc spreading immediately following the subduction initiation. In contrast, the genetic conditions of 1 428 °C and 0.96 GPa for the high‐silica boninite magma is reconciled with the ascent of more depleted harzburgitic source which pre‐existed below the Izu–Ogasawara–Mariana forearc region before the subduction started. Mixing calculations based on the Pb–Nd–Hf isotopic data for the Mariana protoarc basalt and boninites support the above remelting model for the (ultra)low‐silica boninite and the discrete harzburgite source for the high‐silica boninite. Yb–Os isotopic modeling of the high‐Si boninite source indicates 18–30 wt% melting of the primitive upper mantle at 1.5–1.7 Ga, whereas the source mantle of the protoarc basalt, the residue of which became the source of the (ultra)low‐Si boninite, experienced only 3.5–4.0 wt% melt depletion at 3.6–3.1 Ga, much earlier than the average depleted mid‐ocean ridge basalt mantle with similar degrees of melt depletion at 2.6–2.2 Ga.     

Low- and high-Ti ophiolites in Northern Pindos: Petrological and geological constraints

Ophiolites with different magmatic characteristics are closely associated in space with one another in northern Pindos. Some have affinities with ocean-floor magmas (Group I), and others represent melts which are frequently strongly depleted in «incompatible» elements (Group II). Group I is composed of cumulates, dolerites and lavas, whereas Group II occurs mainly as pillows and dykes, and postdates Group I. The two groups have different geochemical, mineralogical and petrographic features. They exhibit different Ti, Cr, Ni, Y, Zr, P, Si and Mg contents, and clinopyroxenes and spinels of Group I have higher Ti/Al and Ti/Mn ratios, and lower Cr/(Cr + Al) values respectively than those of Group II. Many rocks of Group II are chemically similar to boninites and associated rocks as well as to low-Ti basalts from other areas and ophiolitic complexes. It is concluded that geochemical and mineralogical data alone do not allow a definitive answer about the original tectonic setting of the investigated rocks, although a genesis above a subduction zone seems to be plausible hypothesis.     

Across-arc geochemical variation of Quaternary lavas in West Java, Indonesia: Mass-balance elucidation using arc basalt simulator model

The Sunda Arc of Indonesia developed along the convergent margin between the Eurasian and the Australian Plates. More than 100 Quaternary volcanic centers occur along the arc. The West Java Arc is a segment of the Sunda Arc in which more than 10 volcanic centers are located, corresponding to the 120 to 200 km depth contours of the Wadati–Benioff zone. The geochemistry of 207 Quaternary lavas from six centers across the arc was investigated. The lavas range from basalt to dacite. Incompatible element abundances increase from the volcanic front to the rear‐arc in response to a change from low‐K to high‐K suites. Nd–Sr isotope compositions of the basalts scatter between mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source mantle and Indian Ocean sediment (SED) compositions, with volcanic front low‐K basalts having more radiogenic Nd than the rear‐arc basalts. It is suggested that mixing between slab‐derived fluids mainly from the SED and melt from MORB source mantle played a significant role in determining the geochemistry of the West Java basalts. Incompatible element patterns in primitive mantle normalized multi‐element plots are almost identical across the arc, except for greater inclination and weaker positive Sr spikes in the rear‐arc basalts. This suggests a lower degree of partial melting in the rear‐arc mantle, accompanied by change in SED fluid composition between the volcanic front and the rear‐arc. The latter is confirmed by fluid‐fluxed melting model calculations using multiple trace elements and Nd and Sr isotopes. All the West Java Arc lavas require deficit of Sr from the slab SED. This may occur due to selective breakdown of Sr‐rich hydrous silicate minerals, such as zoisite, at shallower depths before the SED component reaches the depth of dehydration effective for magma genesis. The rear‐arc basalts need further Sr deficits along with lesser fluid. These features are commonly observed in many arc basalts, and are likely attributable to the same mechanism.     

Slab melt as metasomatic agent in island arc magma mantle sources, Negros and Batan (Philippines)

Abstract Two new cases of association of adakites with ‘normal’ island arc lavas and transitional adakites are recognized in the islands of Batan and Negros in northern and central Philippines, respectively. The Batan lavas are related to the subduction of the middle Miocene portion of the South China Sea basin along the Manila trench; those of Negros come from the almost aseismic subduction of the middle Miocene Sulu Sea crust along the Negros trench. The occurrence of the Batan adakites is consistent with previous findings showing adakitic glass inclusions within minerals of mantle xenoliths associated with Batan arc lavas. The similarity of adakite ages (1.09 Ma) and that of the metasomatized xenoliths (1 Ma) suggests that both are linked to the same slab‐melting and metasomatic event. Earlier Sr, Pb and Nd‐isotopic studies, however, also reveal the presence of an important sediment contribution to the Batan lava geochemistry. Thus, the role played by slab melts, assumed to have mid‐ocean ridge basalts‐like (MORB) isotopic characteristics, in enriching the Batan subarc mantle is largely masked by the sediment input. The Negros adakites are present only in Mount Cuernos, the volcanic center nearest to the Negros trench. Batch partial melting calculations show that the Negros adakites could be derived from a garnet amphibolitic source with normal‐MORB (N‐MORB) geochemistry. This is supported by the MORB‐like isotopic characteristics of the Mount Cuernos lavas. The volcanic rocks from the other volcanoes consist of normal arc and transitional adakitic lavas that have slightly higher Sr‐ and Pb‐isotopic ratios, probably due to slight sediment input. Mixing of adakites and normal arc lavas to produce transitional adakites is only partly supported by trace element geochemistry and not by field evidence. The transitional adakites can be modeled as partial melts of an adakite‐enriched mantle. Trace element enrichment of non‐adakitic lavas could reflect the interaction of their mantle source with uprising slab melts, as metasomatic mantle minerals scavenge certain trace elements from the adakitic fluids. Therefore, in arcs beneath which thick (up to 2 km) continent‐derived detrital sediments are involved in subduction, like in Batan, the sediment signature can overwhelm the slab melt input. In arcs like Negros where slow subduction could cause a more efficient scraping of thinner (approximately 1 km) detrital sediments, the contribution of slab melts is easier to detect.     

The water content and hydrogen isotope composition of continental lithospheric mantle and mantle-derived mafic igneous rocks in eastern China

The water contents of minerals and whole-rock in mantle-derived xenoliths from eastern China exhibit large variations and are generally lower than those from other on- and off-craton lithotectonic units. Nevertheless, the water contents of mineral and whole-rock in Junan peridotite xenoliths, which sourced from the juvenile lithospheric mantle, are generally higher than those elsewhere in eastern China. This suggests that the initial water content of juvenile lithospheric mantle is not low. There is no obvious correlation between the water contents and Mg^# values of minerals in the mantle xenoliths and no occurrence of diffusion profile in pyroxene, suggesting no relationship between the low water content of mantle xenolith and the diffusion loss of water during xenolith ascent with host basaltic magmas. If the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) base is heated by the asthenospheric mantle, the diffusion loss of water is expected to occur. On the other hand, extraction of basaltic melts from the SCLM is a more efficient mechanism to reduce the water content of xenoliths. The primary melts of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basalts in eastern China have water contents, as calculated from the water contents of phenocrysts, higher than those of normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). The Mesozoic basalts exhibit similar water contents to those of island arc basalts, whereas the Cenozoic basalts exhibit comparable water contents to oceanic island basalts and backarc basin basalts with some of them resembling island arc basalts. These observations suggest the water enrichment in the mantle source of continental basalts due to metasomatism by aqueous fluids and hydrous melts derived from dehydration and melting of deeply subducted crust. Mantle-derived megacrysts, minerals in xenoliths and phenocrysts in basalts from eastern China also exhibit largely variable hydrogen isotope compositions, indicating a large isotopic heterogeneity for the Cenozoic SCLM in eastern China. The water content that is higher than that of depleted MORB mantle and the hydrogen isotope composition that is deviated from that of depleted MORB mantle suggest that the Cenozoic continental lithospheric mantle suffered the metasomatism by hydrous melts derived from partial melting of the subducted Pacific slab below eastern China continent. The metasomatism would lead to the increase of water content in the SCLM base and then to the decrease of its viscosity. As a consequence, the SCLM base would be weakened and thus susceptible to tectonic erosion and delamination. As such, the crust-mantle interaction in oceanic subduction channel is the major cause for thinning of the craton lithosphere in North China.     

Petrology, geochemistry and tectonic implications of volcanics dredged from the intersection of the Yap and Mariana trenches

Rocks dredged from the forearc very close to the intersection of the Yap and Mariana trenches include a suite of highly depleted arc tholeiites, and several samples of transitional to slightly alkaline basalt. The tholeiites range from magnesian quartz tholeiites with 0.46–0.6% TiO₂, to andesites with up to 62% SiO₂ and 8.2% FeO^*. All show pronounced LREE depletion and have very low contents of Ba and Sr. They are postulated to have been produced by partial melting of upper mantle peridotite residual after MORB extraction, following influx of hydrous fluids from the subducted slab. While these fluids were responsible for small enrichments in Ba, K, Rb and Sr in melts generated, LREE were not involved in the metasomatism, and the strong LREE depletion probably reflects the unmodified, depleted source peridotite.

The second lava suite includes slightly Ne-normative, Ti-augite-bearing basalts with convex-upward REE patterns, showing slight LREE depletion ((La/Sm)_N = 0.76). The chemical features of these basalts support affinities with basalts erupted during the earliest stages of backarc basin opening. A KAr age on one sample(7.8 ± 1.3m.y.) is in good agreement with the initial opening of the Mariana Trough.

The tectonic significance of the dredged arc tholeiite suite is less obvious. A KAr age of10.8 ± 0.4 My on one andesite, and the occurrence of similar lavas in dredges from at least 300 km along the length of the Yap arc, suggest that subduction was occurring beneath the Yap arc in the Late Miocene, after overthrusting of the Yap greenschist allochthon, and while calc-alkaline arc magmatism was occurring further north on the West Mariana Ridge. We suggest that the depleted arc tholeiites in dredge 1438 were generated by abnormally shallow melting of upper mantle beneath the Yap forearc following subduction beneath this area of young, hot Sorol Trough crust. These arc tholeiites represent a magma type transitional between more typical arc tholeiites (e.g. Tongan) and high-Mg andesites and boninites.     

Miocene to Late Quaternary Patagonian basalts (46–47°S): Geochronometric and geochemical evidence for slab tearing due to active spreading ridge subduction

Miocene to Quaternary large basaltic plateaus occur in the back-arc domain of the Andean chain in Patagonia. They are thought to result from the ascent of subslab asthenospheric magmas through slab windows generated from subducted segments of the South Chile Ridge (SCR). We have investigated three volcanic centres from the Lago General Carrera–Buenos Aires area (46–47°S) located above the inferred position of the slab window corresponding to a segment subducted 6 Ma ago. (1) The Quaternary Río Murta transitional basalts display major, trace elements, and Sr and Nd isotopic features similar to those of oceanic basalts from the SCR and from the Chile Triple Junction near Taitao Peninsula (e.g., (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_o = 0.70396–0.70346 and εNd = + 5.5 − + 3.0). We consider them as derived from the melting of a Chile Ridge asthenospheric mantle source containing a weak subduction component. (2) The Plio-Quaternary (< 3.3 Ma) post-plateau basanites from Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires (MLBA), Argentina, likely derive from small degrees of melting of OIB-type mantle sources involving the subslab asthenosphere and the enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle. (3) The main plateau basaltic volcanism in this region is represented by the 12.4–3.3-Ma-old MLBA basalts and the 8.2–4.4-Ma-old basalts from Meseta Chile Chico (MCC), Chile. Two groups can be distinguished among these main plateau basalts. The first group includes alkali basalts and trachybasalts displaying typical OIB signatures and thought to derive from predominantly asthenospheric mantle sources similar to those of the post-plateau MLBA basalts, but through slightly larger degrees of melting. The second one, although still dominantly alkalic, displays incompatible element signatures intermediate between those of OIB and arc magmas (e.g., La/Nb > 1 and TiO₂ < 2 wt.%). These intermediate basalts differ from their strictly alkalic equivalents by having lower High Field Strength Element (HFSE) and higher εNd (up to + 5.4). These features are consistent with their derivation from an enriched mantle source contaminated by ca. 10% rutile-bearing restite of altered oceanic crust. The petrogenesis of the studied Mio-Pliocene basalts from MLBA and MCC is consistent with contributions of the subslab asthenosphere, the South American subcontinental lithospheric mantle and the subducted Pacific oceanic crust to their sources. However, their chronology of emplacement is not consistent with an ascent through an asthenospheric window opened as a consequence of the subduction of segment SCR-1, which entered the trench at 6 Ma. Indeed, magmatic activity was already important between 12 and 8 Ma in MLBA and MCC as well as in southernmost plateaus, i.e., 6 Ma before the subduction of the SCR-1 segment. We propose a geodynamic model in which OIB and intermediate magmas derived from deep subslab asthenospheric mantle did uprise through a tear-in-the-slab, which formed when the southernmost segments of the SCR collided with the Chile Trench around 15 Ma. During their ascent, they interacted with the Patagonian supraslab mantle and, locally, with slivers of subducted Pacific oceanic crust that contributed to the geochemical signature of the intermediate basalts.     

The Zealandia Volcanic Complex: Further evidence of a lower crustal “hot zone” beneath the Mariana Intra‐oceanic Arc,Western Pacific

This paper addresses formation of felsic magmas in an intra‐oceanic magmatic arc. New bathymetric, petrologic, geochemical, and isotopic data for Zealandia Bank and two related volcanoes in the south‐central Mariana arc is presented and interpreted. These three volcanoes are remnants of an older andesitic volcano that evolved for some time and became dormant long enough for a carbonate platform to grow on its summit before reawakening as a rhyodacitic volcano. Zealandia lavas are transitional between low‐ and medium‐K and tholeiitic and calc‐alkaline suites. They define a bimodal suite with a gap of 56–58 wt% SiO₂; this suggests that mafic and felsic magmas have different origins. The magmatic system is powered by mantle‐derived basalts having low Zr/Y and flat rare earth element patterns. Two‐pyroxene thermometry yields equilibration temperatures of 1000–1100 °C for andesites and 900–1000 °C for dacites. Porphyritic basalts and andesites show textures expected for fractionating magmas but mostly fine‐grained felsic lavas do not. All lavas show trace element signatures expected for mantle and crustal sources that were strongly melt‐depleted and enriched by subduction‐related fluids and sediment melts. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions fall in the normal range of Mariana arc lavas. Felsic lavas show petrographic evidence of mixing with mafic magma. Zealandia Bank felsic magmatism supports the idea that a large mid‐ to lower‐crustal felsic magma body exists beneath the south‐central Mariana arc, indicating that MASH (mixing, assimilation, storage, and homogenization) zones can form beneath intra‐oceanic as well as continental arcs.     

Element transport by dehydration of subducted sediments: Implication for arc and ocean island magmatism

High-pressure experiments on a natural pelite have been conducted at 2–11-GPa pressures in order to evaluate contributions of subducted sediments to arc and ocean island magmatism. Obtained phase relations suggest that, at least in modern subduction zones, subsolidus dehydration of chlorite and phengitic muscovite in the subducted sediments, rather than partial melting, is a predominant process in overprinting sediment components onto the magma source region. Trace element compositions of sediment-derived fluids are estimated based on dehydration experiments at 5.5 GPa and 900/1300°C. Pb is effectively transported by fluids relative to other elements. This results in the Pb enrichment for arc basalts by fluids, generated by the dehydration of subducted sediments, together with altered mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), and complementary depletion of Pb in subducted sediments. Inferred arc magma compositions obtained by model calculations based on the present experimental results agree well with a natural primitive arc basalt composition. A large increase in the U/Pb ratio in the subducted sediments at deeper levels than major dehydration depths results in a high Pb isotopic ratio through radioactive decay after long periods of isolation. Combined with other isotopic ratios such as Sr and Nd, it is possible to produce the EM II source, one of the enriched geochemical reservoirs for ocean island basalt magmas, by mixing of a small amount of subducted sediments with depleted or primitive mantle.     

Magmatic response to early aseismic ridge subduction: the Ecuadorian margin case (South America)

A geochemical and isotopic study of lavas from Pichincha, Antisana and Sumaco volcanoes in the Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) in Ecuador shows their magma genesis to be strongly influenced by slab melts. Pichincha lavas (in fore arc position) display all the characteristics of adakites (or slab melts) and were found in association with magnesian andesites. In the main arc, adakite-like lavas from Antisana volcano could be produced by the destabilization of pargasite in a garnet-rich mantle. In the back arc, high-niobium basalts found at Sumaco volcano could be produced in a phlogopite-rich mantle. The strikingly homogeneous isotopic signatures of all the lavas suggest that continental crust assimilation is limited and confirm that magmas from the three volcanic centers are closely related. The following magma genesis model is proposed in the NVZ in Ecuador: in fore arc position beneath Pichincha volcano, oceanic crust is able to melt and produces adakites. En route to the surface, part of these magmas metasomatize the mantle wedge inducing the crystallization of pargasite, phlogopite and garnet. In counterpart, they are enriched in magnesium and are placed at the surface as magnesian andesites. Dragged down by convection, the modified mantle undergoes a first partial melting event by the destabilization of pargasite and produces the adakite-like lavas from Antisana volcano. Lastly, dragged down deeper beneath the Sumaco volcano, the mantle melts a second time by the destabilization of phlogopite and produces high-niobium basalts. The obvious variation in spatial distribution (and geochemical characteristics) of the volcanism in the NVZ between Colombia and Ecuador clearly indicates that the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge beneath the Ecuadorian margin strongly influences the subduction-related volcanism. It is proposed that the flattening of the subducted slab induced by the recent subduction (<5 Ma?) of the Carnegie Ridge has permitted the progressive warming of the oceanic crust and its partial melting since ca. 1.5 Ma. Since then, the production of adakites in fore arc position has deeply transformed the magma genesis in the overall arc changing from ‘typical’ calc-alkaline magmatism induced by hydrous fluid metasomatism, to the space- and time-associated lithology adakite/high-Mg andesite/adakite-like andesite/high-Nb basalts characteristic of slab melt metasomatism.