Petrogenesis of voluminous mid-Tertiary ignimbrites of the Sierra Madre Occidental,Chihuahua, Mexico

The mid-Tertiary ignimbrites of the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico constitute the largest continuous rhyolitic province in the world. The rhyolites appear to represent part of a continental magmatic arc that was emplaced when an eastward-dipping subduction zone was located beneath western Mexico.In the Batopilas region of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental the mid-Tertiary Upper Volcanic sequence is composed predominantly of rhyolitic ignimbrites, but volumetrically minor lava flows as mafic as basaltic andesite are also present. The basaltic andesite to rhyolite series is calc-alkalic and contains 1% K₂O at 60% SiO₂. Trace element abundances of a typical ignimbrite with 73% SiO₂ are Sr 225 ppm, Rb 130 ppm, Y 32 ppm, Th 12 ppm, Zr 200 ppm, and Nb 15 ppm. The entire series plots as coherent and continuous trends on variation diagrams involving major and trace elements, and the trends are distinct from those of geographicallyassociated rocks of other suites. We interpret these and other geochemical variations to indicate that the rocks are comagmatic. Mineral chemistry, Sr isotopic data, and REE modelling support this interpretation.Least squares calculations show that the major element variations are consistent with formation of the basaltic andesite to rhyolite series by crystal fractionation of observed phenocryst phases in approximate modal proportions. In addition, calculations modelling the behavior of Sr with the incompatible trace element Th favor a fractional crystallization origin over a crustal anatexis origin for the rock series. The fractionating minerals included plagioclase (> 50%), and lesser amounts of Fe-Ti oxides, pyroxenes, and/or hornblende. The voluminous ignimbrites represent no more than 20% of the original mass of a mantle-derived mafic parental magma.     

New Insights into Crustal Contributions to Large-volume Rhyolite Generation in the Mid-Tertiary Sierra Madre Occidental Province, Mexico, Revealed by U Pb Geochronology

Voluminous (3·9 x 10⁵ km³), prolonged (18 Myr) explosivesilicic volcanism makes the mid-Tertiary Sierra Madre Occidentalprovince of Mexico one of the largest intact silicic volcanicprovinces known. Previous models have proposed an assimilation–fractionalcrystallization origin for the rhyolites involving closed-systemfractional crystallization from crustally contaminated andesiticparental magmas, with <20% crustal contributions. The lackof isotopic variation among the lower crustal xenoliths inferredto represent the crustal contaminants and coeval Sierra MadreOccidental rhyolite and basaltic andesite to andesite volcanicrocks has constrained interpretations for larger crustal contributions.Here, we use zircon age populations as probes to assess crustalinvolvement in Sierra Madre Occidental silicic magmatism. Laserablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysesof zircons from rhyolitic ignimbrites from the northeasternand southwestern sectors of the province yield U–Pb agesthat show significant age discrepancies of 1–4 Myr comparedwith previously determined K/Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from thesame ignimbrites; the age differences are greater than the errorsattributable to analytical uncertainty. Zircon xenocrysts withnew overgrowths in the Late Eocene to earliest Oligocene rhyoliteignimbrites from the northeastern sector provide direct evidencefor some involvement of Proterozoic crustal materials, and,potentially more importantly, the derivation of zircon fromMesozoic and Eocene age, isotopically primitive, subduction-relatedigneous basement. The youngest rhyolitic ignimbrites from thesouthwestern sector show even stronger evidence for inheritancein the age spectra, but lack old inherited zircon (i.e. Eoceneor older). Instead, these Early Miocene ignimbrites are dominatedby antecrystic zircons, representing >33 to 100% of the datedpopulation; most antecrysts range in age between 20 and 32 Ma.A sub-population of the antecrystic zircons is chemically distinctin terms of their high U (>1000 ppm to 1·3 wt %) andheavy REE contents; these are not present in the Oligocene ignimbritesin the northeastern sector of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Thecombination of antecryst zircon U–Pb ages and chemistrysuggests that much of the zircon in the youngest rhyolites wasderived by remelting of partially molten to solidified igneousrocks formed during preceding phases of Sierra Madre Occidentalvolcanism. Strong Zr undersaturation, and estimations for veryrapid dissolution rates of entrained zircons, preclude coevalmafic magmas being parental to the rhyolite magmas by a processof lower crustal assimilation followed by closed-system crystalfractionation as interpreted in previous studies of the SierraMadre Occidental rhyolites. Mafic magmas were more probablyimportant in providing a long-lived heat and material flux intothe crust, resulting in the remelting and recycling of oldercrust and newly formed igneous materials related to Sierra MadreOccidental magmatism. KEY WORDS: ignimbrite; rhyolite; Sierra Madre Occidental; Tertiary; U–Pb geochronology; zircon; antecryst; crustal melting     

Nd-Sr isotope composition of lower crustal xenoliths — Evidence for the origin of mid-tertiary felsic volcanics in Mexico

Isotopic data were collected on lower crustal xenoliths to constrain the Mexican lower crust as source material for the mid-Tertiary Sierra Madre Occidental, which is one of the largest silicic volcanic piles known. The xenoliths are predominantly pelitic gneisses and mafic orthogneisses that were brought to the surface on the eastern edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental by recent alkalic basalts. The pelitic gneisses are uniform in mineral assemblage and contain garnet+quartz+plagioclase+sanidine+rutile +sillimanite/kyanite+graphite. The orthogneisses are plagioclase, garnet and/or spinel bearing two pyroxene granulites. Available geothermometric and geobarometric data show that the xenoliths equilibrated at temperatures and pressures consistent with those of the mantle/crust boundary in those areas.The xenoliths range from 46.2 to 67.2 SiO₂. Paragneisses are in general more silicic than the orthogneisses. The xenoliths have Rb concentrations between 0.4 and 97 ppm but most samples are very low, with less than 3 ppm Rb. The Sr isotopic ratios of orthogneisses from the lowermost crust throughout most of northern Mexico are very similar and range from ca. 0.705 to 0.706. Previous studies indicate that these rocks have measured (inNd) values between+2 and –5. Paragneiss xenoliths are generally more radiogenic in Sr isotopic ratio, up to 0.730, and have lower _Nd values of–11.The Nd and Sr isotopic characteristics of the orthogneisses are similar to those of the voluminous mid-Tertiary ignimbrites of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The xenoliths cannot represent cumulate material produced during the mid-Tertiary volcanism because they are Paleozoic or older. Consequently, based on Sr and Nd isotopic data, the silicic ignimbrites could comprise up to 100% lower crustal material.     

Thermomechanical maturation of the continental crust and its effects on the late Eocene–early Oligocene volcanic record of the Sierra Madre del Sur Province,southern Mexico

We interpret the voluminous late Eocene–early Oligocene volcanic successions of the north-central Sierra Madre del Sur as the eruptive manifestation of a progressive thermomechanical maturation of the crust, driven by sustained igneous activity that affected the region since the early Eocene. Widespread Eocene magmatism and injection of mantle-derived melts into the crust beneath the Michoacán-Puebla area promoted the development of a hot zone extending to upper crustal levels, and the formation of a mature intracrustal magmatic system. Within this context, the intermediate siliceous compositions of the Tilzapotla, Muñeca, and Goleta explosive centres were generated through fractional crystallization, crustal contamination, and anatexis. In particular, decreasing bulk-rock Sr and Eu concentrations and Nd isotopes with increasing silica in the Tilzapotla and Muñeca suites document an evolution through low-pressure fractional crystallization of plagioclase-dominated assemblages, simultaneous with the assimilation of middle–upper crustal materials. In contrast, marked Eu, Sr, and Ba depletions coupled with high and variable Rb/Nd at constant ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd in the Goleta rhyolites suggest their derivation from partial melting of biotite-bearing quartz-feldspathic lithologies. Ascent of the thermal anomaly induced by magma emplacement and accumulation at shallow depths shifted the brittle–ductile crustal transition close to the surface, and produced an ignimbrite flare-up through caldera-forming eruptions. A different petrogenetic–volcanologic scenario developed in north-western Oaxaca, where less profuse early–middle Eocene igneous activity and an ancient lower crustal basement made up of refractory granulitic lithologies inhibited the expansion of the hot zone to shallow levels, and constrained magmatic evolution at depth. Here, composite and monogenetic volcanoes with intermediate compositions were produced through high-pressure fractional crystallization and crustal contamination. Specifically, increasing La/Yb and Sm/Yb with increasing silica in the Oaxaca suite, and negative correlations of Nd isotopes with SiO₂ at low Rb/Nd, suggest garnet fractionation from parental basalts, coupled with the assimilation of Rb-depleted lower crustal materials.     

Trace element model studies of Nyanzian greenstone belts,western Kenya

The Archean greenstone belts of the Nyanzian System in western Kenya are composed principally of andesite with minor tholeiitic basalt and siliceous volcanics. The Nyanzian tholeiite is an intermediate-K tholeiite with a flat REE pattern. There are two chemically-distinct andesites: a low-K andesite (Andesite I) and a high-K andesite (Andesite II). The REE pattern of the Andesite II is enriched in light REE and depleted in heavy REE relative to Andesite I.Major and trace element calculations indicate an origin for the Nyanzian tholeiite by 35–40% equilibrium melting of a lherzolite source followed by 10% shallow fractional crystallization. Similar calculations best explain Andesite I and Andesite II by 20 and 5% melting, respectively, of an ecologite or garnet amphibolite source of Nyanzian tholeiite composition. The rhyolite may have formed either by 20–30% partial melting of a siliceous granulite or by 20–30% fractional crystallization of a granodiorite parent magma.With respect to total exposure areas, the Nyanzian volcanics have significantly less tholeiite and more Andesite and siliceous volcanics than other Archean greenstone belts. If these abundances are representative, two models are proposed to explain the anomalous abundances of Andesite and siliceous volcanics. The first model involves an Archaen upper mantle with a relatively low geothermal gradient beneath Kenya, while the second model involves a relatively cool mantle plume. Both models inhibit ascent of a significant amount of primary tholeiite to the surface and prevent formation of secondary tholeiite. Other Archean greenstone terranes with higher mantle geotherms or hotter mantle plumes would receive higher proportions of mafic and ultramafic magmas.     

Geochemistry and origin of the Archean Prince Albert Group volcanics,western Melville Peninsula,Northwest Territories,Canada

Major and trace element data on the Archean metavolcanic rocks of the Prince Albert Group (PAG), Northwest Territories. Canada, are reported. The following major groups were found, based on combined field and geochemical evidence: ultramafic flows; basaltic rocks, predominantly tholeiites; andesites; heavy REE depleted dacites; and rhyolites.The ultramafic and basaltic rocks are relatively normal Archean volcanics except for the downward bowed REE patterns of the tholeiitic basalts. The andesites, dacites and rhyolites, however, are not typical of Archean terrains. Comparisons between the andesites of the PAG and other Archean and more recent ones show that those of the PAG are most similar chemically to modern high-K andesites. REE patterns in these rocks suggest that partial melting of assemblages with significant garnet are an unlikely source but it is not possible to ascribe their origin to any simple process. Partial melting of a garnet-poor mafic granulite is an acceptable source for the heavy REE depleted dacites. The geochemical characteristics of the rhyolites cannot be explained by partial melting of a mafic source or by fractional crystallization from the daeites. It is suggested that these rocks originated by partial melting of pre-existing sialic crust.     

Geochemistry of Miocene shoshonites,Lesbos, Greece

Mid-Miocene shoshonitic volcanism in Lesbos is preceded and followed by minor calcalkaline activity that probably terminated in the Pliocene. Two differentiation trends are recognised in the shoshonites. The older shoshonites include voluminous acid rocks (mostly ignimbrites) and show normal shoshonite REE patterns. They were probably derived from partial melting of garnet peridotite enriched in LILE, with later fractionation controlled by anhydrous phases. Cooling units in the ignimbrites show upward increase in the K content of glass, suggesting K-feldspar fractionation in a high level magma chamber. Later shoshonites and the calc-alkali rocks have HREE enrichment and contain hydrous cognate xenoliths. Partial melting of a rising periodite diapir which had been relatively enriched in HREE within the garnet stability field and then entered the spinel stability field, would produce the observed HREE enrichment pattern. Later fractionation of these younger shoshonites and calc-alkali rocks was controlled largely by hydrous phases.     

Perpotassic granulites from southern Bohemia

Garnetiferous, perpotassic granulites associated with voluminous, felsic calc-alkaline garnet-kyanite granulites in the Blanský les massif are described as a new rock type. A K₂O content near 13 wt%, Zr content ranging from 17 to 5877 ppm, primary Ca-Mg-Fe garnet (pyrope up to 33 mol %), and the absence of primary plagioclase and quartz characterize the new type of granulite. Calcium is incorporated only in garnet and apatite. Owing to the content of garnet the bulk syenitic compositions are metaaluminous to peraluminous. The perpotassic granulites are accompanied by subordinated melanocratic perpotassic granulite and alkali-feldspar melanocratic granulite containing up to 20 vol % quartz. These rock types also contain highly variable amounts of zircon. High-pressure, noneutectic partial melting of crustal rocks and crystallization under upper mantle conditions is suggested as the main process in generation of perpotassic granulites. A polyphase, ductile to brittle deformation and recrystallization in pyroxene granulite and later in amphibolite facies accompanied obduction of the granulite massif which carries numerous enclaves of pyrope peridotite. Euhedral equant zircon crystals up to 4 mm long enclosed in large garnet crystals and in the alkali feldspar matrix of perpotassic granulite represent a uniform, high-temperature population with a nearly concordant U-Pb system (Aftalion et al. 1989). The Hercynian age of this zircon indicates the role of the Hercynian anatexis of crustal rocks under upper mantle conditions in generation of granulites in the Moldanubian zone of the Bohemian massif.     

大兴安岭南段晚中生代双峰式火山作用

大兴安岭南段晚中生代克头鄂博组山岩表现出双峰式特征，主要由玄武质安山岩、英安岩和流纹岩组成。基性火山岩属于代钾拉斑系列，轻微富集LREE，Eu异常不明显（Eu/Eu=0.99-1.04)和HREE无明显分馏的特征（Dy/YbcN=1.030-1.089);富集大离子亲石元素（LILE）而亏损高场强元素（HFSE），尤其是强烈亏损Nb,Ta。英安岩和流纹岩为钙碱性系列，在REE配分模式上为LREE富集型，其中英安岩为Eu弱负异常（Eu/Eu=0.81-1.01)，流纹岩的Eu负异常明显（Eu^*/Eu=0.65-0.76)；在微量元素蛛网图上，英安岩类似于基性火山岩，流纹岩除了具LILE富集和HFSE亏损特征外，还显示出Sr,P,Ti等元素的强烈亏损，可能与岩浆演化过程中斜长石、磷灰石的分离结晶作用相关。晚中生代双峰式火山岩分离结晶的结果。流纹岩表现出较高的La/Sm比值和很高的K／P、K／Ti比值，其成因可能与地壳混染作用或与大陆中、下地壳重熔作用有关。结合区域晚中生代盆岭构造格局特征、大兴安岭南段晚中生代双峰式火山岩形成于造山后阶段，是岩石圈快速伸展体制下导致受早期流体交代的岩石圈地幔发生减压部分熔融作用的产物。     

Magmatic processes that generated the rhyolite of Glass Mountain, Medicine Lake volcano, N. California

Glass Mountain consists of a 1 km³, compositionally zoned rhyolite to dacite glass flow containing magmatic inclusions and xenoliths of underlying shallow crust. Mixing of magmas produced by fractional crystallization of andesite and crustal melting generated the rhyolite of Glass Mountain. Melting experiments were carried out on basaltic andesite and andesite magmatic inclusions at 100, 150 and 200 MPa, H₂O-saturated with oxygen fugacity controlled at the nickel-nickel oxide buffer to provide evidence of the role of fractional crystallization in the origin of the rhyolite of Glass Mountain. Isotopic evidence indicates that the crustal component assimilated at Glass Mountain constitutes at least 55 to 60% of the mass of erupted rhyolite. A large volume of mafic andesite (2 to 2.5 km³) periodically replenished the magma reservoir(s) beneath Glass Mountain, underwent extensive fractional crystallization and provided the heat necessary to melt the crust. The crystalline residues of fractionation as well as residual liquids expelled from the cumulate residues are preserved as magmatic inclusions and indicate that this fractionation process occurred at two distinct depths. The presence and composition of amphibole in magmatic inclusions preserve evidence for crystallization of the andesite at pressures of at least 200 MPa (6 km depth) under near H₂O-saturated conditions. Mineralogical evidence preserved in olivine-plagioclase and olivine-plagioclase-high-Ca clinopyroxene-bearing magmatic inclusions indicates that crystallization under near H₂O-saturated conditions also occurred at pressures of 100 MPa (3 km depth) or less. Petrologic, isotopic and geochemical evidence indicate that the andesite underwent fractional crystallization to form the differentiated melts but had no chemical interaction with the melted crustal component. Heat released by the fractionation process was responsible for heating and melting the crust. Received: 26 March 1996 / Accepted: 14 November 1996     

Geochemical constraints on the origin of bimodal magmatism at the Okinawa Trough, an incipient back-arc basin

The magmatism at the axial zone of the middle Okinawa Trough, a young continental back-arc basin, comprises a bimodal basaltic–rhyolitic suite, accompanied by minor intermediate rocks. We report major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic data for the intermediate to silicic suites, to provide constraints on their petrogenesis. The rhyolites, recovered as lava and pumice, fall into three geochemical groups (type 1, 2, and 3 rhyolites). Type 1 rhyolites have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7040–0.7042) and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.5128–0.5129) identical to those of associated basalts, and are characterized by highly fractionated REE patterns. Petrogenesis of type 1 rhyolites is explicable in terms of fractional crystallization of the associated basalt. In contrast, type 2 rhyolites and andesite have slightly higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7044–0.7047) but similar ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.5128) compared to those of the basalts. The compositions of type 2 rhyolite and andesite can be explained by assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) processes of the basalt magma; quantitative analysis suggests assimilation/fractional crystallization (M_a/M_c) ratios of ≤0.05. Hybrid andesite generated by mixing of evolved basalt and type 1 rhyolite is also present. We emphasize that mechanical extension in this part of the Okinawa Trough involves gabbroic lower crust that resulted from fractionation of mantle-derived basaltic magmas. Type 3 rhyolite occurs only as pumice, which makes its derivation questionable. This rhyolite has major and trace element compositions and Sr–Nd isotopic ratios, which suggests that it may be derived from volcanic activity on the southern Ryukyu volcanic front, and arrived in the Okinawa Trough by drifting on the Kuroshio Current.     

Assimilation of granite by basaltic magma at Burnt Lava flow,Medicine Lake volcano,northern California: Decoupling of heat and mass transfer

At Medicine Lake volcano, California, andesite of the Holocene Burnt Lava flow has been produced by fractional crystallization of parental high alumina basalt (HAB) accompanied by assimilation of granitic crustal material. Burnt Lava contains inclusions of quenched HAB liquid, a potential parent magma of the andesite, highly melted granitic crustal xenoliths, and xenocryst assemblages which provide a record of the fractional crystallization and crustal assimilation process. Samples of granitic crustal material occur as xenoliths in other Holocene and Pleistocene lavas, and these xenoliths are used to constrain geochemical models of the assimilation process.A large amount of assimilation accompanied fractional crystallization to produce the contaminated Burnt lava andesites. Models which assume that assimilation and fractionation occurred simultaneously estimate the ratio of assimilation to fractional crystallization (R) to be >1 and best fits to all geochemical data are at an R value of 1.35 at F=0.68. Petrologic evidence, however, indicates that the assimilation process did not involve continuous addition of granitic crust as fractionation occurred. Instead, heat and mass transfer were separated in space and time. During the assimilation process, HAB magma underwent large amounts of fractional crystallization which was not accompanied by significant amounts of assimilation. This fractionation process supplied heat to melt granitic crust. The models proposed to explain the contamination process involve fractionation, replenishment by parental HAB, and mixing of evolved and parental magmas with melted granitic crust.     

The Geologic Evolution of the Southern Sierra de Guanajuato,Mexico: A Documented Example of the Transition from the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Mexican Volcanic Belt

Geologic mapping and new K-Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of the southeastern Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO), at its intersection with the northern margin of the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB), indicate the occurrence of three volcanic groups. The oldest group corresponds to the SMO, and includes 29 to 22 Ma voluminous ignimbrites and 30 Ma andesites and rhyolites. The youngest group includes widespread basaltic-andesitic lava plateaus that yielded ages from 14.6 to 8.8 Ma and are interpreted as the beginning of the MVB. From 22 to 14.6 Ma, volcanic activity in the area was significantly reduced, but did not cease entirely. We refer to the third group as transitional volcanism, which is dominated by andesitic and rhyolitic lava domes but also includes high-grade andesitic ignimbrites. We conclude that the change from volcanism proper of the SMO to that of the MVB was gradual with respect to age and drastic with respect to composition and style, from a voluminous-silicic-ignimbrite domain to a widespread basaltic-andesitic-lava plateau domain. This change may have been related to major plate tectonic reorganizations within the interval from 25 to 12 Ma that involved the waning of subduction of the Farallon plate west of northern Mexico and the associated southward migration of the triple junction of the Pacific-Farallon-North America plates, the subsequent break-up of the Farrallon plate into the Guadalupe and Cocos plates, and the counterclockwise and clockwise rapid rotation of the ridge between them around 16 to 12.5 Ma.     

大兴安岭北段三根河林场新民组流纹岩锆石U－Pb定年及地球化学特征

三根河林场新民组火山岩主要由流纹岩、流纹质熔结凝灰岩组成,U－Pb定年结果表明流纹岩形成于165.71±0.83 Ma的中侏罗世.岩石地球化学分析结果显示,SiO₂含量71.05%～76.77%,Na₂O+K₂O含量6.66%～8.49%,铝饱和指数（A/CNK）1.02～1.17,相对富硅、碱、过铝质,稀土元素总量中等,轻、重稀土元素分馏明显,具有较强的Eu负异常（δEu=0.39～0.66）和Dy负异常,大离子亲石元素Ba、Sr相对亏损,高场强元素Th、U相对富集,Nb、Dy、Ti相对亏损,岩石具有A型流纹岩的特征.岩石地球化学研究表明,岩浆来源于地壳物质的部分熔融作用.空间上,新民组沿大兴安岭火山岩带中北段均有分布,显示大兴安岭火山岩带于中侏罗世处于张性构造环境.     

Equilibrium vs. disequilibrium melting relations in theHigher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) pelitic migmatites,Sikkim Himalaya

Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) complex of the Sikkim Himalaya predominantly consists of high-grade pelitic migmatites. In this study, reaction textures, mineral/bulk rare earth elements (REE), trace element partition coefficients and trace element zoning profiles in garnet are used to demonstrate a complex petrogenetic process during crustal anatexis. With the help of equilibrium REE and trace element partitioning model, it is shown that strong enrichment of Effective Bulk Composition (EBC) is responsible for the zoning in garnet in these rocks. The data strongly support disequilibrium element partitioning and suggest that the anatectic melts associated with mafic selvedges are likely produced by disequilibrium melting because of fast melt segregation process.     

南岭地区高度演化花岗岩类的稀土元素模型

本文应用现有的理论模型和矿物／熔体分配系数讨论南岭地区高度演化花岗岩类的ＲＥＥ模型，包括重稀土富集型和稀土亏损型。在花岗岗岩浆分异演化过程中，副矿物（尤其是稀土矿物）的晶出种类，顺序和物理化学条件是控制ＲＥＥ强烈分馏的关键因素。ＲＥＥ分布型式不能简单地作为鉴别岩石成因的标志。     

Petrological and trace element geochemical features of the Okete Volcanics,western North Island,New Zealand

The Okete Volcanics form small volume monogenetic volcanoes situated around the flanks of larger tholeiitic cones of the Plio-Pleistocene Alexandra Volcanics, in the back-arc tectonic environment of western North Island, New Zealand. The lavas and tuffs of the Okete Volcanics have compositions which include basanites, alkali olivine basalts, olivine tholeiites, and hawaiites. Most rocks have Mg numbers >66, >250 p.p.m. Ni, >500 p.p.m. Cr, and often contain ultramafic xenoliths, which indicate that they are very close to being primary magmas. The Okete Volcanics show geochemical trends, from basanite to hawaiite, of progressive depletion of both compatible and incompatible trace elements, progressive increase in Al₂O₃, and heavy REE and Y enrichment with crossingover REE patterns in the hawaiites. These geochemical trends can be accounted for by varying degrees of partial melting of a light REE enriched garnet peridotite with subsequent modification of the melts near source or during ascent by fractional crystallization of olivine and minor clinopyroxene. Mass balance calculations cannot quantitatively constrain the degree of partial melting or fractional crystallization, but nevertheless indicate that the Okete alkali olivine basalts, olivine tholeiites, and hawaiites have been derived by successively larger degrees of partial melting relative to basanites, and have also been progressively more modified by fractional crystallization than have the basanites. Sources of the alkalic melts lay at depths corresponding to >20 kb, and most of the ultramafic xenoliths, apart from some which may be cognate cumulates, are unrelated to the magmas that brought them to the surface. Magmas have changed in composition with time from older smaller-volume volcanoes of basanite or alkali olivine basalt compositions, to younger and more voluminous volcanoes which contain hawaiites. The geochemical trends shown by the Okete Volcanics and their spatial association with voluminous tholeiitic volcanism, are features which are different from those observed elsewhere in the Pliocene to Recent basaltic fields of northern North Island, and may be related to their unique tectonic setting, situated in a distinct structural domain.     

Extension and magmatism in the Cerocahui basin,northern Sierra Madre Occidental,western Chihuahua,Mexico

The Sierra Madre Occidental of northwestern Mexico is the biggest silicic large igneous province of the Cenozoic, yet very little is known about its geology due to difficulties of access to much of this region. This study presents geologic maps and two new U-Pb zircon laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ages from the Cerocahui basin, a previously unmapped and undated ~25 km-long by ~12 km-wide half-graben along the western edge of the relatively unextended core of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province. Five stratigraphic units are defined in the study area: (1) undated welded to non-welded silicic ignimbrites that underlie the rocks of the Cerocahui basin, likely correlative to Oligocene-age ignimbrites to the east and west; (2) the ca. 27.5–26 Ma Bahuichivo volcanics, comprising mafic-intermediate lavas and subvolcanic intrusions in the Cerocahui basin; (3) alluvial fan deposits and interbedded distal non-welded silicic ignimbrites of the Cerocahui clastic unit; (4) basalt lavas erupted into the Cerocahui basin following alluvial deposition; and (5) silicic hypabyssal intrusions emplaced along the eastern margin of the basin and to a lesser degree within the basin deposits.

The main geologic structures in the Cerocahui basin and surrounding region are NNW-trending normal faults, with the basin bounded on the east by the syndepositional W-dipping Bahuichivo–Bachamichi and Pañales faults. Evidence of syndepositional extension in the half-graben (e.g. fanning dips, unconformities, coarsening of clastic deposits toward basin-bounding faults) indicates that normal faulting was active during deposition in the Cerocahui basin (Bahuichivo volcanics, Cerocahui clastic unit, and basalt lavas), and may have been active earlier based on regional correlations.

The rocks in the Cerocahui basin and adjacent areas record: (1) the eruption of silicic outflow ignimbrite sheets, likely erupted from caldera sources to the east during the early Oligocene pulse of the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up, mostly prior to synextensional deposition in the Cerocahui basin (pre-27.5 Ma); (2) synextensional late Oligocene mafic-intermediate composition magmatism and alluvial fan sedimentation (ca. 27.5–24.5 Ma), which occurred during the lull between the Early Oligocene and early Miocene pulses of the ignimbrite flare-up; and (3) post-extensional emplacement of silicic hypabyssal intrusions along pre-existing normal faults, likely during the early Miocene pulse of the ignimbrite flare-up (younger than ca. 24.5 Ma). The timing of extensional faulting and magmatism in the Cerocahui basin and surrounding area generally coincides with previous models of regional-scale middle Eocene to early Miocene southwestward migration of active volcanism and crustal extension in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental controlled by post-late Eocene (ca. 40 Ma) rollback/fallback of the subducted Farallon slab.     

二连盆地北缘晚中生代火山岩Ar-Ar年代、地球化学及构造背景

中国东北二连盆地周缘分布有三组时代不同的晚中生代火山岩,其中早、中期为两套地球化学性质不同的流纹岩,晚期为玄武质火山岩。本文通过测定火山岩基质Ar-Ar同位素年龄,表明早期查干诺尔组流纹岩形成于142Ma,晚期不拉根哈达组基性火山岩形成于129Ma,可见二连盆地北缘晚中生代火山岩时代均为早白垩世。通过对主、微量元素地球化学特征和Sr-Nd-Pb同位素组成研究,以及与邻区同期满克头鄂博组英安岩和流纹岩、玛尼吐组英安岩、霍林河地区查干诺尔组英安岩、流纹岩对比,认为早期查干诺尔组流纹岩来源于新成下地壳,岩浆演化过程经历了强烈分异作用;中期流纹岩源区为中上地壳或下地壳岩浆经历了上地壳强烈同化混染作用;晚期不拉根哈达组基性火山岩则源于受俯冲洋壳流体交代的富集岩石圈地幔。结合早白垩世区域岩石圈减薄背景,本文认为研究区早白垩世火山岩形成于陆内伸展构造环境。     

Rare earth evidence for the origin of the Nûk gneisses Buksefjorden region,southern West Greenland

Rare earth element (REE) concentrations have been determined (by the INAA method) for the c. 2,800 m.y. old Nûk gneisses from the Buksefjorden region, southern West Greenland. Samples include dioritic to granodioritic gneisses and synplutonic mafic dykes; a Malene metagabbro and Qôrqut granite were analysed for comparisons.The early Nûk gneisses, diorites and tonalites, have mildly fractionated REE patterns which are interpreted as resulting from partial melting of garnetbearing amphibolite or granulite. Early Nûk trondhjemitic gneisses possess downward convex patterns with prominent positive Eu anomalies; they may be related to the diorites and tonalites by the separation of hornblende in a residue of partial melting or fractional crystallization. Most of the later Nûk grey gneisses have extremely fractionated linear patterns which were derived from a source very rich in garnet, possibly eclogite. REE patterns measured in the late Nûk Ilivertalik granite complex are mildly fractionated but with a high overall abundance consistent with an origin by partial melting of mafic lower crustal material. Two sets of synplutonic mafic dykes have strongly fractionated patterns similar to those found in alkali basalts.The geochemical variations suggest that the igneous precursors of the Nûk gneisses were not cogenetic, but were derived from widely differing sources.