Tectonics and magmatism of ultraslow spreading ridges

The tectonics, structure-forming processes, and magmatism in rift zones of ultraslow spreading ridges are exemplified in the Reykjanes, Kolbeinsey, Mohns, Knipovich, Gakkel, and Southwest Indian ridges. The thermal state of the mantle, the thickness of the brittle lithospheric layer, and spreading obliquety are the most important factors that control the structural pattern of rift zones. For the Reykjanes and Kolbeinsey ridges, the following are crucial factors: variations in the crust thickness; relationships between the thicknesses of its brittle and ductile layers; width of the rift zone; increase in intensity of magma supply approaching the Iceland thermal anomaly; and spreading obliquety. For the Knipovich Ridge, these are its localization in the transitional zone between the Gakkel and Mohns ridges under conditions of shear and tensile stresses and multiple rearrangements of spreading; nonorthogonal spreading; and structural and compositional barrier of thick continental lithosphere at the Barents Sea shelf and Spitsbergen. The Mohns Ridge is characterized by oblique spreading under conditions of a thick cold lithosphere and narrow stable rift zone. The Gakkel and the Southwest Indian ridges are distinguished by the lowest spreading rate under the settings of the along-strike variations in heating of the mantle and of a variable spreading geometry. The intensity of endogenic structure-forming varies along the strike of the ridges. In addition to the prevalence of tectonic factors in the formation of the topography, magmatism and metamorphism locally play an important role.     

Two contrasting magmatic types coexist after the cessation of back-arc spreading

Amongst island arcs, Izu–Bonin is remarkable as it has widespread, voluminous and long-lived volcanism behind the volcanic front. In the central part of the arc this volcanism is represented by a series of seamount chains which extend nearly 300 km into the back-arc from the volcanic front. These back-arc seamount chains were active between 17 and 3 Ma, which is the period between the cessation of spreading in the Shikoku Basin and the initiation of currently active rifting just behind the Quaternary volcanic front. In this paper we present new age, chemical and isotopic data from the hitherto unexplored seamounts which formed furthest from the active volcanic front. Some of the samples come from volcanoes at the western limit of the back-arc seamount chains. Others are collected from seamounts of various sizes which lie on the Shikoku Basin crust (East Shikoku Basin seamounts). The westernmost magmatism we have sampled is manifested as a series of volcanic edifices that trace the extinct spreading centre of the Shikoku Basin known as the Kinan Seamount Chain (KSC).Chemically, enrichment in fluid-mobile elements and depletion in HFSE relative to MORB indicates that the back-arc seamount chains and the East Shikoku Basin seamounts have a significant contribution of slab-derived material. In this context these volcanoes can be regarded as a manifestation of arc magmatism and distinct from the MORB-like lavas of the Shikoku back-arc basin. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages range from 15.7 to 9.6 Ma for the East Shikoku Basin seamounts, indicating this arc magmatism started immediately after the Shikoku Basin stopped spreading.Although the KSC volcanoes are found to be contemporaneous with the seamount chains and East Shikoku Basin seamounts, their chemical characteristics are very different. Unlike the calc-alkaline seamount chains, the KSC lavas range from medium-K to shoshonitic alkaline basalt. Their trace element characteristics indicate the absence of a subduction influence and their radiogenic isotope systematics reflect a mantle source combining a Philippine Sea MORB composition and an enriched mantle component (EM-1). One of the most remarkable features of the KSC is that their geochemistry has a distinct temporal variation. Element ratios such as Nb/Zr and concentrations of incompatible elements such as K₂O increase with decreasing age and reach a maximum at ca. 7 Ma when the KSC ceased activity.Based on the chemical and temporal information from all the data across the back-arc region, we have identified two contrasting yet contemporaneous magmatic provinces. These share a tectonic platform, but have separate magmatic roots; one stemming from subduction flux and the other from post-spreading asthenospheric melting.     

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.     

Compositional data analysis in the study of integrated geochemical anomalies associated with mineralization

Geochemical data are typical compositional data which should be opened prior to univariate and multivariate data analysis. In this study, a frequency-based method (robust principal component analysis, RPCA) and a frequency-space-based method (spectrum–area fractal model, S–A) are applied to explore the effects of the data closure problem and to study the integrated geochemical anomalies associated with polymetallic Cu mineralization using a stream sediment geochemical dataset collected from the Zhongteng district, Fujian Province (China). The results show that: (1) geochemical data should be opened prior to RPCA to avoid spurious correlation between variables; (2) geochemical pattern is a superimposition of multi-processes and should be decomposed; and (3) the S–A fractal model is a powerful tool for decomposing the mixed geochemical pattern.     

Distinctive petrological, geochemical, and geodynamic features of subduction-related magmatism

Geological-petrological and geochemical data on subduction-related magmatism (including the volumes and compositions of the corresponding magmatic series) are compared to the results of experiments and numerical simulation. The subduction zone is subdivided into five depth sectors and volcanic zones I, II, and III: 1 is the accretionary wedge that controls the geodynamic stability of subduction; 2 is the sector of dehydration and fluid filtration; 3 is the zone of eclogitization and initial partial melting in the slab above which boninite volcanic zone I is formed during early stages; 4 is the main zone of melting of the sedimentary-basite layer and the development of volcanic zone II with the predominance of andesites; and 5 is the zone of higher degree melting, above which volcanic zone III (basaltic andesite and alkali basalt) is formed. The criterion of volcanism intensity, which was obtained within the scope of the melting model, is proportional to the subduction velocity and the thickness of the melting zone, and the distance between the groups of volcanics along the subduction zone is 75–100 km, at a thickness of the melting zone of 15–20 km. The calculated isotherm of 600°C, which controls the stability of serpentine and chlorite, is not identified at depth above 150 km, and this is confirmed by the composition and P-T conditions of the high-pressure rocks (containing diamond and coesite), which were brought from depths of 150–200 km in subduction zones. Seismic sections constructed with regard for the amplitude characteristics of seismic waves show two melting zones (“wet” melting at a depth of 100–200 km and “dry” melting at a depth of 150–200 km) and a complicated thermal structure of the suprasthenospheric wedge, which can include slant magma conduits. The mineralogical and geochemical features of arc magmatic series are formed at a decisive role of an H₂O-CO₂ fluid and an elevated oxidation potential. The predominant buffer minerals are as follows: garnet in the slab melting zone; magnetite, Ca-pyroxene, and amphibole in intermediate magmatic chambers; and amphibole, protoenstatite-bronzite (in place of olivine), and Cr-spinel (in place of magnetite) for boninite series generated in a “hot” asthenospheric wedge at interaction with fluids or water-rich melts. Actively disputable problems are the interactions scale of melts and fluids generated in a subduction zone with a “hot” mantle wedge, the possibility of transporting water-rich minerals deep into the mantle (to depths greater than 150 km), and the evolution of the scale at which young continental crust is generated by subduction melts.     

化探找金几个阶段中的方法探讨

目前，化探找金逐步被人们重视，在地质找矿中的效果也逐渐明显，成为寻找各种类型金矿床比较快速、经济、有效的重要手段．在区域普查中，通过查明区域地球化学异常，可迅速指出找矿远景区；在详查及勘探阶段，通过岩石地球化学异常的研究，可直接发现金矿床或矿体，更好地发挥化探在地质找矿工作中的作用。     

A trace-element geochemical model for imperfect fractional crystallization associated with the development of crystal zoning

Although many petrological studies of volcanic rocks have suggested that crystallization proceeds within magma bodies, highly compatible trace elements do not display the marked variations and extreme depletions predicted to result from perfect fractional crystallization. Imperfect crystal-liquid separation is a key process in explaining this paradox. The presence of suspended crystals greatly affects variations in highly compatible elements, and has been quantitatively modeled by assuming perfect equilibrium between the suspended crystals and the liquid (equilibrium crystallization and imperfect separation; ECIS); however, volcanic rocks generally contain zoned phenocrysts that reflect the absence of solid-state equilibration. The present study develops a mass-balance model for zoned crystallization and imperfect separation (ZCIS). The ZCIS process is more efficient than the conventional ECIS process in generating depleted compatible elements. These two end-member models are able to explain the compositional range of igneous rocks that experienced imperfect fractional crystallization under natural conditions. The predicted compositional regions in bivariate trace-element diagrams successfully account for the sizes and shapes of the regions defined by whole-rock and melt-inclusion data from the Bishop Tuff, CA, USA.     

Mantle derived lherzolite nodules associated with kimberlite,carbonatite and basalt magmatism: A review

Occurrences, petrography and major element chemistry of lherzolite nodules are reviewed. Spinel-garnet stability relationships in these nodules are discussed and are shown to be controlled by chemical as well as physical (P/T) considerations. On the basis of a survey of spinel compositions it is proposed that three classes of spinel bearing lherzolite nodules should be recognised: namely Al-spinel lherzolites [spinel 100 Cr/(Cr + Al)<25], Cr-spinel lherzolites [spinel 100 Cr/(Cr + Al) 25–65] and chromite lherzolites [spinel 100 Cr/(Cr + Al)>65].All lherzolite nodules yield sub-solidus P/T equilibration estimates and are interpreted as fragments of upper mantle wall rocks incorporated during the volatile charged eruptions. Depths of derivation increase from < 60 kms for most nodules in alkali basaltic magmas to > 150 kms for some nodules in kimberlites. The fact that Al-spinel lherzolites are the most common nodule type in magmas of the alkali basalt suite whilst garnet lherzolites are dominant in kimberlites is attributed to the combined effects of a typically steeper geotherm in the mantle beneath areas of alkali basaltic volcanism and a shallower depth of origin for this type of magmatism. Al-spinel lherzolites do, however, occur in the kimberlites of the western U.S.A. and south-west Greenland in contrast to their apparent absence in the kimberlites of southern Africa and Yakutia, U.S.S.R. This suggests that the uppermost mantle beneath these latter regions (as represented by nodules of chromite lherzolites and chromite or Cr-spinel harzburgites) has a more refractory residual type composition with a higher Cr/(Cr + Al) ratio—although the evidence indicates an overall decrease in the level of depletion in ‘basaltic’ magma yielding constituents with depth. Lherzolite nodules generally have chemical compositions which are depleted in such constituents relative to the pyrolite model compositions for primitive or pristine mantle; nevertheless their composition range is thought to encompass both highly ‘depleted’ and essentially ‘undepleted’ upper mantle compositions.The fact that consistent temperature estimates can be obtained from the various calibrated element exchange reaction geothermometers for some lherzolite nodules but not for others (notably those with strikingly porphyroclastic textures) may indicate that some lherzolite nodules comprise mantle derived rocks which failed to totally re-equilibrate following the diapiric movements which immediately preceded their incorporation and rapid transportation to the surface.     

A fragment of back-arc paleospreading in the Tunka terrane

High magnesium metavolcanites, which are found for the first time in the Tunka terrane (the Baikal-Khubsogul region), are described. By the content of MgO (12–16%), SiO₂ (up to 52%), and alkali oxides, they are classified as metamorphosed picrites. There are two groups of them, divided by the TiO₂ content and by the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio. When making a distinction between geochemical peculiarities of two groups, their rare-element composition is intermediate between picrites and boninites. The comparison between metavulcanites and their nonmetamorphosed analogues is made, some aspects of their genesis are considered, and the conclusion is made that these metavulcanites mark paleospreading of the back-arc basin.     

Proterozoic basic magmatism of the Siberian Craton: Main stages and their geodynamic interpretation

Geological data on the Precambrian basic complexes of the Siberian Craton and their isotopic age are considered. The three main episodes of Precambrian basic magmatism of Siberia correspond to certain stages of the geodynamic evolution of the craton and the Earth as a whole. In the Late Paleoproterozoic, largely in the south and the north of the craton, the basic rocks were emplaced against the background of post-collision extension, which followed the preceding collision-accretion stage responsible for the formation of the craton. In the Mesoproterozoic, primarily in the north of the craton, basic magmatism was controlled by dispersed within-plate extension apparently caused by the impact of a mantle plume. Neoproterozoic basic magmatism widespread in the southern and southeastern parts of the craton was caused by rifting, which accompanied breakdown of the Rodinia supercontinent and opening of the Paleoasian ocean along the southern margin of the Siberian Craton.     

Types of paleoisland arcs and back-arc basins in the northeast of the Paleoasian Ocean (from geochemical data)

Based on a comparative study of geochemistry of metavolcanics and metasediments of two large terranes, Baikal-Muya and Khamar-Daban-Ol’khon, as well as of the Baikal-Patom passive margin and Olokit accretionary wedge, we have recognized volcanosedimentary series accumulated in the settings of island arcs of different maturities and fragments of volcanosedimentary complexes of back-arc and fore-arc basins. Metabasalts of the Medvezhy and Tyya Formations in the basement of passive-margin sequence and the Olokit Group are similar in geochemistry to plateau basalts and mark the beginning of rifting on the platform periphery. The abundance of metavolcanics and turbidites in the Olokit Group permits this structure to be considered an accretionary wedge of the Baikal-Muya island arc. According to the metavolcanics composition, the Baikal-Muya terrane formed in the environment of oceanic ensimatic island arcs and back-arc and inter-arc basins with the minimum amounts of sediments and contains ophiolite slices. The geochemistry of metavolcanics and metasediments of the Ol’khon, Talanchan, and Slyudyanka complexes evidences their formation in the environment of ensialic back-arc sediment-rich basin (Slyudyanka, Ol’khon, and Svyatoi Nos series), mature island arc (Anga-Talanchan paleoarc, Anga and Talanchan Groups), and fore-arc basin (Khangarul’ Group). According to chemistry and evolution history, all these complexes must be assigned to the Khamar-Daban-Ol’khon terrane.     

Sources of devonian magmatism in the Minusa Trough based on geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics of basites

The results of geochemical and isotopic (Sr-Nd) studies of the rocks comprising the structure of igneous associations of Minusa Trough are presented. They allowed us to identify the heterogeneity of igneous sources. Similar heterogeneity is determined by mixing of at least two sources of source melts. The first one corresponds, by the geochemical parameters, to the OIB composition with a high content of noncoherent lithophile elements and to the PREMA-type mantle in its isotopic parameters. Another source is comparable to the lithospheric mantle that was metasomatized in above-subduction conditions. Participation of a second source melt in magma formation led to the appearance of IAB geochemical features (typical depletion in high-charge hydrophobic Ti, Nb, and Ta, and enrichment in Ba, common and radiogenic Sr) for basite melts. The performed studies give us ground to attribute the magmatism of Minusa Trough to the Altai-Sayan plume evolution beneath the convergent boundary within the limits of the southwestern margin of the Siberian continent.     

A study of residual maps in the interpretation of geochemical anomalies

Using a set of copper assay values (from soil samples collected near Surda, Singhbhum Dt., Bihar) and applying numerical methods, such as relaxation, trend surface, composite analysis, and linear moving average, residuals have been determined. Zones of positive and negative anomalies are delineated and an attempt has been made to correlate with the structural phenomena and drainage pattern of the region.     

Detailed geochemical studies of the initial stages of weathering of alkaline rocks: Ilha de São Sebastião, Brazil

Detailed mineral and chemical studies of samples of syenite rocks with thick weathering rinds, found in the alkaline massifs on Ilha de São Sebastião, illustrate the complex interplay between variables controlling initial weathering processes. An array of geochemical information was obtained by optical and electron microscopy, X-ray analyses, mass spectroscopy and optical spectrometry. Sericite and metahalloysite are the principal phases nucleating and forming as the perthitic feldspar rock matrix disintegrates. Incipient feldspar dissolution and the formation of submicrometer X-ray opaque secondary phases were observed in “fresh rock” material using transmission electron microscopy. Pore waters, from which secondary phases nucleate and grow are under the constant influence, as alteration proceeds, of physical (e.g., accessibility of mineral surfaces to percolating fluids) and chemical (e.g. chemistry of minerals providing the dominant solutes) controls. Minor- and trace-element signatures do not vary significantly except for Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, REE and Pb. Lathanide mobilities appear related to their host-mineral stabilities with respect to ambient pore waters.     

The graphite deposit at Borrowdale (UK): A catastrophic mineralizing event associated with Ordovician magmatism

The volcanic-hosted graphite deposit at Borrowdale in Cumbria, UK, was formed through precipitation from C-O-H fluids. The δ¹³C data indicate that carbon was incorporated into the mineralizing fluids by assimilation of carbonaceous metapelites of the Skiddaw Group by andesite magmas of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. The graphite mineralization occurred as the fluids migrated upwards through normal conjugate fractures forming the main subvertical pipe-like bodies. The mineralizing fluids evolved from CO₂-CH₄-H₂O mixtures (XCO₂ = 0.6-0.8) to CH₄-H₂O mixtures. Coevally with graphite deposition, the andesite and dioritic wall rocks adjacent to the veins were intensely hydrothermally altered to a propylitic assemblage. The initial graphite precipitation was probably triggered by the earliest hydration reactions in the volcanic host rocks. During the main mineralization stage, graphite precipitated along the pipe-like bodies due to CO₂ → C + O₂. This agrees with the isotopic data which indicate that the first graphite morphologies crystallizing from the fluid (cryptocrystalline aggregates) are isotopically lighter than those crystallizing later (flakes). Late chlorite-graphite veins were formed from CH₄-enriched fluids following the reaction CH₄ + O₂ → C + 2H₂O, producing the successive precipitation of isotopically lighter graphite morphologies. Thus, as mineralization proceeded, water-generating reactions were involved in graphite precipitation, further favouring the propylitic alteration. The structural features of the pipe-like mineralized bodies as well as the isotopic homogeneity of graphite suggest that the mineralization occurred in a very short period of time.     

Intra-continental back-arc basin inversion and Late Carboniferous magmatism in Eastern Tianshan,NW China: Constraints from the Shaquanzi magmatic suite

The Yamansu belt,an important tectonic component of Eastern Tianshan Mountains,of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt,NW China hosts many Fe-(Cu)deposit.In this study,we present new zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemical data of the volcanic rocks of Shaquanzi Formation and diorite intrusions in the Yamansu belt.The Shaquanzi Formation comprises mainly basalt,andesite/andesitic tuff,rhyolite and sub-volcanic diabase with local diorite intrusions.The volcanic rocks and diorites contain ca.315-305 Ma and ca.298 Ma zircons respectively.These rocks show calc-alkaline affinity with enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements(LILEs),light rare-earth elements(LREEs),and depletion in high field strength elements(HFSEs)in primitive mantle normalized multi-element diagrams,which resemble typical back-arc basin rocks.They show depleted mantle signature with ε_(Nd)(t)ranging from+3.1 to +5.6 for basalt;+2.1 to+4.7 for andesite;-0.2 to+1.5 for rhyolite and the ε_(Hf)(t)ranges from-0.1 to +13.0 for andesites;+5.8 to +10.7 for andesitic tuffs.We suggest that the Shaquanzi Formation basalt might have originated from a depleted,metasomatized lithospheric mantle source mixed with minor(3-5%)subduction-derived materials,whereas the andesite and rhyolite could be fractional crystallization products of the basaltic magma.The Shaquanzi Formation volcanic rocks could have formed in an intracontinental back-arc basin setting,probably via the southward subduction of the Kangguer Ocean beneath the Middle Tianshan Massif.The Yamansu mineralization belt might have undergone a continental arc to back-arc basin transition during the Late Carboniferous and the intra-continental back-arc basin might have closed in the Early Permian,marked by the emplacement of dioritic magma in the Shaquanzi belt.     

The early stages of island-arc plagiogranitoid magmatism in Gornaya Shoriya and West Sayan

The structure, composition, and age of Vendian–Early Cambrian plagiogranitoid associations composing the Kshta and Taraskyr massifs of the Yenisei pluton in the Altai–North Sayan island-arc belt are considered. We have established that these associations formed within 550–520 Ma and differ in petrographic composition and sources. Two stages of island-arc plagiogranitoid magmatism are recognized: early (550–540 Ma, formation of plagiogranitoids of the Kshta (545 ± 8 Ma) and Taraskyr (545 ± 7 Ma) massifs) and late (525–520 Ma, formation of plagiogranitoids of the Maina complex of the Yenisei (524 ± 2 Ma) and Tabat plutons). By petrochemical composition and geochemical characteristics, the rocks of the Kshta massif are high-alumina plagiogranitoids similar to adakites. They might have been produced through the melting of metabasites compositionally similar to N-MORB in equilibrium with garnet-containing restite during the subduction of oceanic slab at ≥ 15 kbar. The rocks of the Taraskyr massif are low-alumina plagiogranites. They formed through the melting of metabasites located in the lower layers and(or) the basement of the island-arc system in equilibrium with plagioclase-containing restite at 3–8 kbar. The low-alumina plagiogranitoids of the Yenisei pluton melted out under the same conditions. Isotope-geochemical studies showed that the Vendian–Early Cambrian plagiogranitoids formed at the early stage are characterized by high positive ∑ Nd(T) values (7.5–4.9), Late Riphean model Nd-age (TNd(DM) = 0.64–0.98 Ga), and Sr isotope ratio varying from 0.7040 to 0.7053. These data point to the juvenile parental melts of the rocks and the varying content of ancient crustal material in the magma generation zone.     

The use of bond dissociation energy to analyze the geochemical behavior of uranium in the process of granitic magmatism

It is estimated that the uranium-oxygen bond dissociation energy (D _U 4 ₋₀ ⁺ =1465.38kJ/mol) is higher than silicon-and aluminium-oxygen bond dissociation energies (D_Si4 ₋₀ ⁺ =1264.41 kJ/mol and D_Al3 ₋₀ ⁺ =1105.32 kJ/mol). During the process of magmatic differentiation with increasing degree of polymerization for silicon-oxygen complex ion, uranium in granitic melts tends to combine with oxygen to form the coordination polyhedron [UO _x ^2x−n ] and to occur in the form of nuclei and crystals of uraninite, as has been demonstrated by the induced fission-track study of quartz syenite from Huangmeijian.