The System Na2O-Al2O3-Fc2O3-SiO2 at 1 Atmosphere, and the Petrogenesis of Alkaline Rocks

Equilibria involving acmite, albite, nepheline, quartz, anda liquid phase constitute the petrologically important partof the system Na₂O–Al₂O₃–Fe₂O₂–SiO₂, and theunivariant and invariant relations provide useful analogiesfor a wide variety of alkaline igneous rocks. These relationsare dominated by the incongruent melting behaviour of acmite,which does not appear on the liquidus of the join acmite-nepheline-silica;instead, a broad field of hematite is present and acmite crystallizesonly from liquids containing potential sodium silicate. Consequently,the oversaturated and undersaturated eutectics, correspondingto granitic and nepheline syenitic liquids, are rich in sodiumsilicate and distinct from those found in Petrogeny's Residuasystem: the temperatures of the eutectics are 7285C and 7155C, respectively. Survival of peralkaline granite in the aluminouscontinental crust can be explained by the strongly peralkalinecomposition of the oversaturated eutectic. Magma of this typemay be the primitive granite of the non-orogenic zones. Theubiquitous alkali metasomatism around alkaline complexes canalso be interpreted in terms of residual liquids enriched inalkali silicates. Transition from undersaturated to oversaturatedliquids is possible by fractionation of hematite and a new processfor achieving the reverse transition has been found. This dependson the substitution of Fe³ for Al³ in feldspar and suggestsa more important role for syenite in any scheme of petrogenesis. Each of the two eutectics is linked to a corresponding peritecticat which hematite reacts to give acmite. The liquid at the undersaturated,quaternary reaction point is of ijolitic type, providing thefirst intimation that ijolite may represent a low-melting fractionin nature. The system Na₂O–Al₂O₃–Fe₂O₃–SiO₂thus constitutes the peralkaline residua system and on thisbasis a coherent picture of stable continental magmatism canbe constructed. Ijolite is seen as the low-melting fractionfrom a range of peralkaline compositions and from rocks suchas melilite basalt, while the frequently associated carbonatiteis considered to be the volatile-rich, fugitive material fromthe mantle. Such a relationship is consistent with the dualassociation of carbonatite with either ijolite or kimberliteunder different tectonic conditions. The more common syenite,nepheline syenite, and alkaline granite of the non-orogenicregions are regarded as low-melting fractions from basalticmaterials in the deep crust. Most of this activity, involvingmagmas of residual type, could thus be explained in terms ofpartial melting in the deep crust and upper mantle. A possiblemechanism for this would be arching of the rigid continentalcrust, the consequent relief of lithostatic load giving riseto melting, and the concentration of fugitive constituents,in the underlying zones.