Magma mixing in the Sithonia Plutonic Complex, Greece: evidence from mafic microgranular enclaves

Summary ¶Mafic microgranular enclaves occur in most calc-alkaline granitoids, and it is widely accepted that they represent the remnants of basic magmas that interacted with more acid magmas. In this work we present new data on mafic microgranular enclaves occurring in the granodiorites of the Sithonia Plutonic Complex (Northern Greece). Enclave properties have been studied using different methods. Quantitative textural analysis has been carried out in order to decipher the crystallization history of enclaves once they have been entrained in the more acid and cooler host magma. In particular, the nucleation density (C), the mode (M) and the crystal index (n) of enclaves has been measured. Along with textural analysis, the size of enclaves has also been estimated using a method that, based on two-dimensional sections of enclaves, allows the estimation of volume of enclaves. Geochemical analyses have been performed to investigate the degree of chemical interaction that enclaves suffered from the host acid magma. The different data sets have been utilized to furnish a general evolutionary model of the magmatic interaction process between the basic and the acid magmas that led to the formation of the granodioritic host rock and related mafic microgranular enclaves. It is concluded that, as the magmatic interaction process proceeded, the crystallization of enclaves involved the nucleation of apatite and epidote (first stage of crystallization) followed by biotite, ± hornblende, plagioclase, and titanite (second stage of crystallization); the last minerals that nucleate were quartz and K-feldspar. During crystallization enclaves underwent contamination by the host acid magma through flow channels opened during the transfer of mineral phases from the host magma to the enclaves. When the two magmas attained similar rheological behaviour a two-end member mixing process was favoured inducing progressively more vigorous mixing dynamics. Volumetric analysis of enclaves indicates that the smaller ones suffered a more intense geochemical interaction compared to the larger ones. We interpret this evidence as being strictly related to the kinematics of the mixing process, the latter governed by chaotic dynamics. Enclaves are viewed as portions of the basic magma that did not mix completely with the acid host magma and survived the mixing process. Host rocks are considered as volumes of the magmatic system where the more efficient mixing dynamics produced different, generally higher, degrees of hybridisation.Received May 22, 2002; revised version accepted November 5, 2002 Published online February 24, 2003