Field evidence,mineral chemical and geochemical constraints on mafic-felsic magma interactions in a vertically zoned magma chamber from the Chotanagpur Granite Gneiss Complex of Eastern India

The Nimchak granite pluton (NGP) of Chotanagpur Granite Gneiss Complex (CGGC), Eastern India, provides ample evidence of magma interaction in a plutonic regime for the first time in this part of the Indian shield. A number of outcrop level magmatic structures reported from many mafic-felsic mixing and mingling zones worldwide, such as synplutonic dykes, mafic magmatic enclaves and hybrid rocks extensively occur in our study domain. From field observations it appears that the Nimchak pluton was a vertically zoned magma chamber that was intruded by a number of mafic dykes during the whole crystallization history of the magma chamber leading to magma mixing and mingling scenario. The lower part of the pluton is occupied by coarse-grained granodiorite (64.84–66.61?wt.% SiO₂), while the upper part is occupied by fine-grained granite (69.80–70.57?wt.% SiO₂). Field relationships along with textural and geochemical signatures of the pluton suggest that it is a well-exposed felsic magma chamber that was zoned due to fractional crystallization. The intruding mafic magma interacted differently with the upper and lower granitoids. The lower granodiorite is characterized by mafic feeder dykes and larger mafic magmatic enclaves, whereas the enclaves occurring in the upper granite are comparatively smaller and the feeder dykes could not be traced here, except two late-stage mafic dykes. The mafic enclaves occurring in the upper granite show higher degrees of hybridization with respect to those occurring in the lower granite. Furthermore, enclaves are widely distributed in the upper granite, whereas enclaves in the lower granite occur adjacent to the main feeder dykes.Geochemical signatures confirm that the intermediate rocks occurring in the Nimchak pluton are mixing products formed due to the mixing of mafic and felsic magmas. A number of important physical properties of magmas like temperature, viscosity, glass transition temperature and fragility have been used in magma mixing models to evaluate the process of magma mixing. A geodynamic model of pluton construction and evolution is presented that shows episodic replenishments of mafic magma into the crystallizing felsic magma chamber from below. Data are consistent with a model whereby mafic magma ponded at the crust-mantle boundary and melted the overlying crust to form felsic (granitic) magma. The mafic magma episodically rose, injected and interacted with an overlying felsic magma chamber that was undergoing fractional crystallization forming hybrid intermediate rocks. The intrusion of mafic magma continued after complete solidification of the magma chamber as indicated by the presence of two late-stage mafic dykes.