The Role of Continental Crust and Lithospheric Mantle in the Genesis of Cameroon Volcanic Line Lavas: Constraints from Isotopic Variations in Lavas and Megacrysts from the Biu and Jos Plateaux

We present a combined Sr, Nd, Pb and Os isotope study of lavasand associated genetically related megacrysts from the Biu andJos Plateaux, northern Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). Comparisonof lavas and megacrysts allows us to distinguish between twocontamination paths of the primary magmas. The first is characterizedby both increasing ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (19·82–20·33)and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0·70290–0·70310), and decreasing_Nd (7·0–6·0), and involves addition of anenriched sub-continental lithospheric mantle-derived melt. Thesecond contamination path is characterized by decreasing ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb(19·82–19·03), but also increasing ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr(0·70290–0·70359), increasing ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os(0·130–0·245) and decreasing _Nd (7·0–4·6),and involves addition of up to 8% bulk continental crust. Isotopicsystematics of some lavas from the oceanic sector of the CVLalso imply the involvement of a continental crustal component.Assuming that the line as a whole shares a common source, wepropose that the continental signature seen in the oceanic sectorof the CVL is caused by shallow contamination, either by continent-derivedsediments or by rafted crustal blocks that became trapped inthe oceanic lithosphere during continental breakup in the Mesozoic. KEY WORDS: crustal contamination; CVL; megacrysts; ocean floor; osmium isotopes     

Geochemistry of the Wrangellia Flood Basalt Province: Implications for the Role of Continental and Oceanic Lithosphere in Flood Basalt Genesis

The Wrangellia terrane of North America contains a large volumeof Middle to Late Triassic oceanic flood basalts which wereemplaced on top of a preexisting island arc. Nd-, Sr-, and Pb-isotopiccompositions reflect derivation from a plume source with _Nd(T)+6 to + 7, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i0•7034, and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_i19•0.Major and trace element compositions suggest the Wrangelliaflood basalts (WFB) formed through relatively small degreesof partial melting at greater depths than estimated for otheroceanic plateaux such as Ontong Java. It appears that the WFBdid not form in a rifting environment, and that preexistingarc lithosphere limited the ascent and decompression meltingof the source plume. Rocks from the preexisting arc are stronglydepleted in high field strength elements (HFSEs) relative tolarge ion lithophile elements (LILEs), but the WFB are not.Assimilation of arc lithospheric mantle or crust was thereforegenerally minor. However, some contamination by arc componentsis evident, particularly in basalts erupted in the early stagesof volcanism. Minor isotopic shifts, to lower _Nd(T) and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_iand higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i, are accompanied by shifts in trace elementratios towards more arclike signatures, e.g. low Nb/Th and Nb/La.Arc contamination is greatest in the most evolved basalts, indicatingthat assimilation was coupled with fractional crystallization.A comparison of the WFB with other continental and oceanic floodbasalts reveals that continental flood basalts generally formthrough smaller degrees of melting than oceanic flood basaltsand that the contribution of material from the crust and litho-sphericmantle is significantly greater. KEY WORDS: oceanic flood basalts; Wrangellia terrane; petrogenesis; Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes ^*Corroponding author