Influence of stretching and density contrasts on the chemical evolution of continental magmas: an example from the Ivrea-Verbano Zone

 The southern Ivrea-Verbano Zone of the Italian Western Alps contains a huge mafic complex that intruded high-grade metamorphic rocks while they were resident in the lower crust. Geologic mapping and chemical variations of the igneous body were used to study the evolution of underplated crust. Slivers of crustal rocks (septa) interlayered with igneous mafic rocks are concentrated in a narrow zone deep in the complex (Paragneiss-bearing Belt) and show evidence of advanced degrees of partial melting. Variations of rare-earth-element patterns and Sr isotope composition of the igneous rocks across the sequence are consistent with increasing crustal contamination approaching the septa. Therefore, the Paragneiss-bearing Belt is considered representative of an “assimilation region” where in-situ interaction between mantle- and crust-derived magmas resulted in production of hybrid melts. Buoyancy caused upwards migration of the hybrid melts that incorporated the last septa and were stored at higher levels, feeding the Upper Mafic Complex. Synmagmatic stretching of the assimilation region facilitated mixing and homogenization of melts. Chemical variations of granitoids extracted from the septa show that deep septa are more depleted than shallow ones. This suggests that the first incorporated septa were denser than the later ones, as required by the high density of the first-injected mafic magmas. It is inferred that density contrasts between mafic melts and crustal rocks play a crucial role for the processes of contamination of continental magmas. In thick under plated crust, the extraction of early felsic/hybrid melts from the lower crust may be required to increase the density of the lower crust and to allow the later mafic magmas to penetrate higher crustal levels. Received: 2 May 1995 / Accepted: 1 November 1995     

胶东青山群基性火山岩的Ar-Ar年代学和地球化学特征: 对华北克拉通破坏过程的启示

青山群火山岩是华北克拉通破坏期间最具代表性的地幔或地壳熔融产物,记录了华北深部地质演化的重要信息。本文对胶东青山群基性火山岩进行了40Ar/39Ar定年和岩石地球化学分析,结合前人报道的胶东青山群酸性火山岩资料,发现:(1)基性火山岩喷发年龄为122～113Ma,早于青山群酸性火山岩(110～98Ma);(2)基性和酸性火山岩显示了不同的元素和同位素地球化学特征。岩石成因分析表明,基性火山岩为交代富集地幔部分熔融作用的产物,而酸性火山岩为古老下地壳和中生代底侵岩浆的熔融产物(Ling et al.,2009)。因此,胶东地区青山群火山岩记录了岩浆熔融源区从地幔向下地壳的转变。这与长时间尺度的岩石圈减薄过程中热能由地幔向地壳传递过程相吻合,而不同于地壳拆沉作用所预测的岩浆演化趋势。     

Geochemical constraints on the origin of mafic and silicic magmas at Cordón El Guadal, Tatara-San Pedro Complex, central Chile

The aim of this study is to quantify the crustal differentiation processes and sources responsible for the origin of basaltic to dacitic volcanic rocks present on Cordón El Guadal in the Tatara-San Pedro Complex (TSPC). This suite is important for understanding the origin of evolved magmas in the southern Andes because it exhibits the widest compositional range of any unconformity-bound sequence of lavas in the TSPC. Major element, trace element, and Sr-isotopic data for the Guadal volcanic rocks provide evidence for complex crustal magmatic histories involving up to six differentiation mechanisms. The petrogenetic processes for andesitic and dacitic lavas containing undercooled inclusions of basaltic andesitic and andesitic magma include: (1) assimilation of garnet-bearing, possibly mafic lower continental crust by primary mantle-derived basaltic magmas; (2) fractionation of olivine + clinopyroxene + Ca-rich plagioclase + Fe-oxides in present non-modal proportions from basaltic magmas at ∼4–8 kbar to produce high-Al basalt and basaltic andesitic magmas; (3) vapor-undersaturated (i.e., P _H2O<P _TOTAL) partial melting of gabbroic crustal rocks at ∼3–7 kbar to produce dacitic magmas; (4) crystallization of plagioclase-rich phenocryst assemblages from dacitic magmas in shallow reservoirs; (5) intrusion of basaltic andesitic magmas into shallow reservoirs containing crystal-rich dacitic magmas and subsequent mixing to produce hybrid basaltic andesitic and andesitic magmas; and (6)␣formation and disaggregation of undercooled basaltic andesitic and andesitic inclusions during eruption from shallow chambers to form commingled, mafic inclusion-bearing andesitic and dacitic lavas flows. Collectively, the geochemical and petrographic features of the Guadal volcanic rocks are interpreted to reflect the development of shallow silicic reservoirs within a region characterized by high crustal temperatures due to focused basaltic activity and high magma supply rates. On the periphery of the silicic system where magma supply rates and crustal temperatures were lower, cooling and crystallization were more important than bulk crustal melting or assimilation. Received: 2 July 1997 / Accepted: 25 November 1997     

Revisiting Early–Middle Jurassic igneous activity in the Nanling Mountains,South China: Geochemistry and implications for regional geodynamics

Early–Middle Jurassic igneous rocks (190–170 Ma) are distributed in an E–W-trending band within the Nanling Tectonic Belt, and have a wide range of compositions but are only present in limited volumes. This scenario contrasts with the uniform but voluminous Middle–Late Jurassic igneous rocks (165–150 Ma) in this area. The Early–Middle Jurassic rocks include oceanic-island basalt (OIB)-type alkali basalts, tholeiitic basalts and gabbros, bimodal volcanic rocks, syenites, A-type granites, and high-K calc–alkaline granodiorites. Geochemical and isotopic data indicate that alkaline and tholeiitic basalts and syenites were derived from melting of the asthenospheric mantle, with asthenosphere-derived magmas mixing with variable amounts of magmas derived from melting of metasomatized lithospheric mantle. In comparison, A-type granites in the study area were probably generated by shallow dehydration-related melting of hornblende-bearing continental crustal rocks that were heated by contemporaneous intrusion of mantle-derived basaltic magmas, and high-K calc-alkaline granodiorites resulted from the interaction between melts from upwelling asthenospheric mantle and the lower crust. The Early–Middle Jurassic magmatic event is spatially variable in terms of lithology, geochemistry, and isotopic systematics. This indicates that the deep mantle sources of the magmas that formed these igneous rocks were significantly heterogeneous, and magmatism had a gradual decrease in the involvement of the asthenospheric mantle from west to east. These variations in composition and sourcing of magmas, in addition to the spatial distribution and the thermal structure of the crust–mantle boundary during this magmatic event, indicates that these igneous rocks formed during a period of rifting after the Indosinian Orogeny rather than during subduction of the paleo-Pacific oceanic crust.     

Intractions of mantle and crustal magmas in the southern part of the Ivrea Zone (Italy)

In the southern part of the Ivrea Zone (Italy), the majority of the Mafic Formation is composed of: 1. amphibole-bearing gabbro; 2. a series of rocks ranging from norites to charnockites; 3. leucocratic charnockites. In the proximity of metasedimentary septa within the Mafic Formation, the igneous lithologies are in many places intimately and chaotically intermingled, giving rise to a marble-cake structure. Whole-rock chemistry, and oxygen and strontium isotopic compositions indicate that the mafic and felsic rocks are dominated by mantle and crustal sources respectively. The norite-charnockite suite may be modelled as the mixing product of basic and acid melts. Abundant plastic deformation structures suggest that mafic and hybrid rocks experienced an important tectonic event during or soon after their crystallization. Melting of crustal country rocks continued after the deformation event and produced the undeformed leucocratic charnockites. The study area exemplifies some of the possible effects of the intrusion of a large volume of basic magma into hot crust.     

Magmatic processes that generate chemically distinct silicic magmas in NW Costa Rica and the evolution of juvenile continental crust in oceanic arcs

Northwestern Costa Rica is built upon an oceanic plateau that has developed chemical and geophysical characteristics of the upper continental crust. A major factor in converting the oceanic plateau to continental crust is the production, evolution, and emplacement of silicic magmas. In Costa Rica, the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) forms the overriding plate in the subduction of the Cocos Plate—a process that has occurred for at least the last 25 my. Igneous rocks in Costa Rica older than about 8 Ma have chemical compositions typical of ocean island basalts and intra-oceanic arcs. In contrast, younger igneous deposits contain abundant silicic rocks, which are significantly enriched in SiO₂, alkalis, and light rare-earth elements and are geochemically similar to the average upper continental crust. Geophysical evidence (high Vp seismic velocities) also indicates a relatively thick (~40 km), addition of evolved igneous rocks to the CLIP. The silicic deposits of NW Costa Rica occur in two major compositional groups: a high-Ti and a low-Ti group with no overlap between the two. The major and trace element characteristics of these groups are consistent with these magmas being derived from liquids that were extracted from crystal mushes—either produced by crystallization or by partial melting of plutons near their solidi. In relative terms, the high-Ti silicic liquids were extracted from a hot, dry crystal mush with low oxygen fugacity, where plagioclase and pyroxene were the dominant phases crystallizing, along with lesser amounts of hornblende. In contrast, the low-Ti silicic liquids were extracted from a cool, wet crystal mush with high oxygen fugacity, where plagioclase and amphibole were the dominant phases crystallizing. The hot-dry-reducing magmas dominate the older sequence, but the youngest sequence contains only magmas from the cold-wet-oxidized group. Silicic volcanic deposits from other oceanic arcs (e.g., Izu-Bonin, Marianas) have chemical characteristics distinctly different from continental crust, whereas the NW Costa Rican silicic deposits have chemical characteristics nearly identical to the upper continental crust. The transition in NW Costa Rica from mafic oceanic arc and intra-oceanic magma to felsic, upper continental crust-type magma is governed by a combination of several important factors that may be absent in other arc settings: (1) thermal maturation of the thick Caribbean plateau, (2) regional or local crustal extension, and (3) establishment of an upper crustal reservoir.     

Geochemistry, Petrogenesis and Geodynamic Relationships of Miocene Calc-alkaline Volcanic Rocks in the Western Carpathian Arc, Eastern Central Europe

We report major and trace element abundances and Sr, Nd andPb isotopic data for Miocene (16·5–11 Ma) calc-alkalinevolcanic rocks from the western segment of the Carpathian arc.This volcanic suite consists mostly of andesites and dacites;basalts and basaltic andesites as well as rhyolites are rareand occur only at a late stage. Amphibole fractionation bothat high and low pressure played a significant role in magmaticdifferentiation, accompanied by high-pressure garnet fractionationduring the early stages. Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic dataindicate a major role for crustal materials in the petrogenesisof the magmas. The parental mafic magmas could have been generatedfrom an enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB)-type mantlesource, previously metasomatized by fluids derived from subductedsediment. Initially, the mafic magmas ponded beneath the thickcontinental crust and initiated melting in the lower crust.Mixing of mafic magmas with silicic melts from metasedimentarylower crust resulted in relatively Al-rich hybrid dacitic magmas,from which almandine could crystallize at high pressure. Theamount of crustal involvement in the petrogenesis of the magmasdecreased with time as the continental crust thinned. A strikingchange of mantle source occurred at about 13 Ma. The basalticmagmas generated during the later stages of the calc-alkalinemagmatism were derived from a more enriched mantle source, akinto FOZO. An upwelling mantle plume is unlikely to be presentin this area; therefore this mantle component probably residesin the heterogeneous upper mantle. Following the calc-alkalinemagmatism, alkaline mafic magmas erupted that were also generatedfrom an enriched asthenospheric source. We propose that bothtypes of magmatism were related in some way to lithosphericextension of the Pannonian Basin and that subduction playedonly an indirect role in generation of the calc-alkaline magmatism.The calc-alkaline magmas were formed during the peak phase ofextension by melting of metasomatized, enriched lithosphericmantle and were contaminated by various crustal materials, whereasthe alkaline mafic magmas were generated during the post-extensionalstage by low-degree melting of the shallow asthenosphere. Thewestern Carpathian volcanic areas provide an example of long-lastingmagmatism in which magma compositions changed continuously inresponse to changing geodynamic setting. KEY WORDS: Carpathian–Pannonian region; calc-alkaline magmatism; Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes; subduction; lithospheric extension     

The Aguablanca Ni–(Cu) sulfide deposit, SW Spain: geologic and geochemical controls and the relationship with a midcrustal layered mafic complex

The Aguablanca Ni–(Cu) sulfide deposit is hosted by a breccia pipe within a gabbro–diorite pluton. The deposit probably formed due to the disruption of a partially crystallized layered mafic complex at about 12–19 km depth and the subsequent emplacement of melts and breccias at shallow levels (<2 km). The ore-hosting breccias are interpreted as fragments of an ultramafic cumulate, which were transported to the near surface along with a molten sulfide melt. Phlogopite Ar–Ar ages are 341–332 Ma in the breccia pipe, and 338–334 Ma in the layered mafic complex, and are similar to recently reported U–Pb ages of the host Aguablanca Stock and other nearby calc-alkaline metaluminous intrusions (ca. 350–330 Ma). Ore deposition resulted from the combination of two critical factors, the emplacement of a layered mafic complex deep in the continental crust and the development of small dilational structures along transcrustal strike-slip faults that triggered the forceful intrusion of magmas to shallow levels. The emplacement of basaltic magmas in the lower middle crust was accompanied by major interaction with the host rocks, immiscibility of a sulfide melt, and the formation of a magma chamber with ultramafic cumulates and sulfide melt at the bottom and a vertically zoned mafic to intermediate magmas above. Dismembered bodies of mafic/ultramafic rocks thought to be parts of the complex crop out about 50 km southwest of the deposit in a tectonically uplifted block (Cortegana Igneous Complex, Aracena Massif). Reactivation of Variscan structures that merged at the depth of the mafic complex led to sequential extraction of melts, cumulates, and sulfide magma. Lithogeochemistry and Sr and Nd isotope data of the Aguablanca Stock reflect the mixing from two distinct reservoirs, i.e., an evolved siliciclastic middle-upper continental crust and a primitive tholeiitic melt. Crustal contamination in the deep magma chamber was so intense that orthopyroxene replaced olivine as the main mineral phase controlling the early fractional crystallization of the melt. Geochemical evidence includes enrichment in SiO₂ and incompatible elements, and Sr and Nd isotope compositions (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i 0.708–0.710; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_i 0.512–0.513). However, rocks of the Cortegana Igneous Complex have low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and high initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values suggesting contamination by lower crustal rocks. Comparison of the geochemical and geological features of igneous rocks in the Aguablanca deposit and the Cortegana Igneous Complex indicates that, although probably part of the same magmatic system, they are rather different and the rocks of the Cortegana Igneous Complex were not the direct source of the Aguablanca deposit. Crust–magma interaction was a complex process, and the generation of orebodies was controlled by local but highly variable factors. The model for the formation of the Aguablanca deposit presented in this study implies that dense sulfide melts can effectively travel long distances through the continental crust and that dilational zones within compressional belts can effectively focus such melt transport into shallow environments.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Magmatic inclusions in rhyolites,contaminated basalts,and compositional zonation beneath the Coso volcanic field,California

Basaltic lava flows and high-silica rhyolite domes form the Pleistocene part of the Coso volcanic field in southeastern California. The distribution of vents maps the areal zonation inferred for the upper parts of the Coso magmatic system. Subalkalic basalts (<50% SiO₂) were erupted well away from the rhyolite field at any given time. Compositional variation among these basalts can be ascribed to crystal fractionation. Erupted volumes of these basalts decrease with increasing differentiation. Mafic lavas containing up to 58% SiO₂, erupted adjacent to the rhyolite field, formed by mixing of basaltic and silicic magma. Basaltic magma interacted with crustal rocks to form other SiO₂-rich mafic lavas erupted near the Sierra Nevada fault zone.Several rhyolite domes in the Coso volcanic field contain sparse andesitic inclusions (55–61% SiO₂). Pillow-like forms, intricate commingling and local diffusive mixing of andesite and rhyolite at contacts, concentric vesicle distribution, and crystal morphologies indicative of undercooling show that inclusions were incorporated in their rhyolitic hosts as blobs of magma. Inclusions were probably dispersed throughout small volumes of rhyolitic magma by convective (mechanical) mixing. Inclusion magma was formed by mixing (hybridization) at the interface between basaltic and rhyolitic magmas that coexisted in vertically zoned igneous systems. Relict phenocrysts and the bulk compositions of inclusions suggest that silicic endmembers were less differentiated than erupted high-silica rhyolite. Changes in inferred endmembers of magma mixtures with time suggest that the steepness of chemical gradients near the silicic/mafic interface in the zoned reservoir may have decreased as the system matured, although a high-silica rhyolitic cap persisted.The Coso example is an extreme case of large thermal and compositional contrast between inclusion and host magmas; lesser differences between intermediate composition magmas and inclusions lead to undercooling phenomena that suggest smaller T. Vertical compositional zonation in magma chambers has been documented through study of products of voluminous pyroclastic eruptions. Magmatic inclusions in volcanic rocks provide evidence for compositional zonation and mixing processes in igneous systems when only lava is erupted.     

Origin of the Felsic and Basaltic Dikes and Flows in the Rajula-Palitana-Sihor Area of the Deccan Traps,Saurashtra, India: A Geochemical and Geochronological Study

Rhyolite, trachyte, pitchstone, and granophyre dikes are associated with mafic dolerite dikes and basaltic flows of the northwestern part of the Deccan flood basalt province in the Saurashtra Peninsula, India. Felsic dikes, exposed in the Rajula area of Saurashtra, are similar in age to the basaltic flows of neighboring Palitana. The ages of both the felsic and mafic rocks straddle the ~65 Ma Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary and correspond to the main Deccan flood basalt episode. Palitana is centered on an elongated gravity high whose major axis is NE-SW, and Rajula is located on its southwestern flank. Unlike the younger Bombay felsic rocks from the western coast of India, which have been explained as partial melts of gabbros in deep crustal sills or previously erupted basalts, the incompatible-element characteristics of the Rajula rocks indicate that the Rajula rhyolites, trachytes, and dacites may have been generated by an almost complete melting of upper crustal rocks at the southwestern flank of the Rajula-Palitana-Sihor magmatic body. High potential temperatures of the Deccan plume, quick migration of the hot basaltic parent magma through lithospheric weak trends, and collection and residence of magma in upper-crustal magma chambers before eruption may have produced the right conditions to melt the upper crust in the vicinity of the Rajula-Palitana-Sihor magma chamber. On the other hand, the andesite located northeast of the magmatic body possibly evolved by assimilation of upper-crustal wall rocks accompanied by 5-10% crystallization of a Rajula-type basalt near the wall of the magma chamber. The Sihor rhyolites may also have been derived from the Sihor basalts through fractional crystallization accompanied by crustal assimilation. The Rajula granophyres, however, do not show any involvement of the upper crust in their genesis. These may have a history similar to that of the Bombay rocks and may have erupted in response to rifting along the Cambay rift.     

Geology and petrology of a deep crustal zone from the Famatinian paleo-arc, Sierras de Valle Fértil and La Huerta, San Juan, Argentina

The ranges of the Sierras Valle Fértil-La Huerta expose natural cross sections through a paleo-arc crust that formed in the Late Cambrian - Early Ordovician Famatinian magmatic arc, northwestern Argentina. Thick mafic sequences of amphibole gabbronorites to orthopyroxene-amphibole-biotite diorites form the lower levels of the exposed paleo-arc section. This mafic unit includes lens-shaped bodies of olivine-bearing cumulate rocks and tabular-shaped sill/dike intrusions of fine-grained chilled amphibole gabbro. The mafic magmas were emplaced into regional metasedimentary sequences at lower crustal levels, corresponding to pressure from 5 to 7 kbar. Gabbronorites likely representing the parental magmas that fluxed into the exposed paleo-arc crust differ from primitive magmatic arc rocks in having somewhat lower Mg-number (ca. 0.60) and compatible (Cr and Ni) trace element contents, and slightly higher Al₂O₃ contents. This difference is taken to indicate that a pyroxene-rich olivine-bearing assemblage with a bulk high Mg/Fe ratio and low Al₂O₃ content crystallized from mantle-derived melts before mafic magmas reached the crustal levels currently exhumed. However, some gabbronorites have incompatible trace element signatures typical of primitive mafic arc magmatism. Igneous rocks to some extent more evolved than those of the mafic unit make up a tonalite-dominated intermediate unit. The intermediate unit consists of a heterogeneous suite that ranges from orthopyroxene-bearing amphibole-rich diorites to biotite-rich amphibole-poor tonalites. Within the intermediate unit, chilled mafic rocks are found as a network of dikes, whereas metasedimentary migmatites appear interlayered as m-wide septa and km-long strips. The tonalite-dominated intermediate unit passes into a granodiorite batholith through a transitional zone that is up to 2-km wide. The boundary zone separating the tonalite-dominated and granodiorite-dominated units is characterized by mingling of tonalitic and leucogranitic magmas, which together appear multiply-intruded by mafic sill/dike bodies. Within the tonalite- and granodiorite-dominated units, the less evolved mafic rocks occur as: (1) bodies tens of meters long, (2) chilled dikes and sills, and (3) microgranular inclusions (enclaves), supporting the inference that mafic magmatism was the main source for generating a vast volume of intermediate and silicic igneous rocks. Mass balance calculations and trace element systematics are combined to demonstrate that tonalites and granodiorites formed by concurrent closed-system fractional crystallization and open-system incorporation of paragneissic migmatites and/or anatectic leucogranites into the evolving igneous sequence. This study argues that the sequence of igneous rocks from Valle Fértil-La Huerta was formed as the result of complementary petrogenetic processes that operated concurrently at different levels of the Famatinian arc crust.     

Tectonic evolution of Early Paleozoic island-arc systems and continental crust formation in the Caledonides of Kazakhstan and the North Tien Shan

The extended Saryarka and Shyngyz-North Tien Shan volcanic belts that underwent secondary deformation are traced in the Caledonides of Kazakhstan and the North Tien Shan. These belts are composed of igneous rocks pertaining to Early Paleozoic island-arc systems of various types and the conjugated basins with oceanic crust. The Saryarka volcanic belt has a complex fold-nappe structure formed in the middle Arenigian-middle Llanvirnian as a result of the tectonic juxtaposition of Early-Middle Cambrian and Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician complexes of ensimatic island arcs and basins with oceanic crust. The Shyngyz-North Tien Shan volcanic belt is characterized by a rather simple fold structure and consists of Middle-Late Ordovician volcanic and plutonic associations of ensialic island arcs developing on heterogeneous basement, which is composed of complexes belonging to the Saryarka belt and Precambrian sialic massifs. The structure and isotopic composition of the Paleozoic igneous complexes provide evidence for the heterogeneous structure of the continental crust in various segments of the Kazakh Caledonides. The upper crust of the Shyngyz segment consists of Early Paleozoic island-arc complexes and basins with oceanic crust related to the Saryarka and Shyngyz-North Tien Shan volcanic belts in combination with Middle and Late Paleozoic continental igneous rocks. The deep crustal units of this segment are dominated by mafic rocks of Early Paleozoic suprasubduction complexes. The upper continental crust of the Stepnyak segment is composed of Middle-Late Ordovician island-arc complexes of the Shyngyz-North Tien Shan volcanic belt and Early Ordovician rift-related volcanics. The middle crustal units are composed of Riphean, Paleoproterozoic, and probably Archean sialic rocks, whereas the lower crustal units are composed of Neoproterozoic mafic rocks.     

Arc dacite genesis pathways: Evidence from mafic enclaves and their hosts in Aegean lavas

Mafic enclaves are commonly found in intermediate arc magmas, and their occurrence has been linked to eruption triggering by pre-eruptive magma mixing processes. New major, trace, Sr–Nd and U–Th isotope data of rocks from Nisyros in the Aegean volcanic arc are presented here. Pre-caldera samples display major and trace element trends that are consistent with fractionation of magnetite and apatite within intermediate compositions, and zircon within felsic compositions, and preclude extensive hybridization between mafic and felsic magmas. In contrast, post-caldera dacites form a mixing trend towards their mafic enclaves. In terms of U-series isotopes, most samples show small ²³⁸U excesses of up to  10%. Mafic enclaves have significantly higher U/Th ratios than their dacitic host lavas, precluding simple models that relate the mafic and felsic magmas by fractionation or aging alone. A more complicated petrogenetic scenario is required. The post-caldera dacites are interpreted to represent material remobilized from a young igneous protolith following influx of fresh mafic magma, consistent with the U–Th data and with Sr–Nd isotope constraints that point to very limited (< 10%) assimilation of old crust at Nisyros. When these results are compared to data from Santorini in the same arc, there are many geochemical similarities between the two volcanic centers during the petrogenesis of the pre-caldera samples. However, striking differences are apparent for the post-caldera lavas: in Nisyros, dacites show geochemical and textural evidence for magma mixing and remobilization by influx of mafic melts, and they erupt as viscous lava domes; in Santorini, evidence for geochemical hybridization of dacites and mafic enclaves is weak, dacite petrogenesis does not involve protolith remobilization, and lavas erupt as less viscous flows. Despite these differences, it appears that mafic enclaves in intermediate Aegean arc magmas consistently yield timescales of at least 100 kyrs between U enrichment of the mantle wedge and eruption, on the upper end of those estimated for the eruptive products of mafic arc volcanoes. Finally, the data presented here provide constraints on the rates of differentiation from primitive arc basalts to dacites (less than  140 kyrs), and on the crustal residence time of evolved igneous protoliths prior to their remobilization by mafic arc magmas (greater than  350 kyrs).     

Mantle-Crust Interaction in Petrogenesis of the Gabbro-Granite Association in the Preobrazhenka Intrusion,Eastern Kazakhstan

The paper reports results of petrological-geochemical, isotope, and geochronological studies of the Preobrazhenka gabbro–granitoid massif located in the Altai collisional system of Hercynides, Eastern Kazakhstan. The massif shows evidence for the interaction of compositionally contrasting magmas during its emplacement. Mineralogical–petrological and geochemical studies indicate that the gabbroid rocks of the massif were formed through differentiation of primary trachybasaltic magma and its interaction with crustal anatectic melts. Origin of the granitoid rocks is related to melting of crustal protoliths under the thermal effect of mafic melts. The mantle–crust interaction occurred in several stages and at different depths. A model proposed here to explain the intrusion formation suggests subsequent emplacement of basite magmas in lithosphere and their cooling, melting of crustal protolith, emplacement at the upper crustal levels and cooling of the granitoid and basite magmas. It was concluded that the formation of gabbro-granitoid intrusive massifs serves as an indicator of active mantle–crust interaction at the late evolutionary stages of accretionary–collisional belts, when strike-slip pull-apart deformations causes the high permeability of lithosphere.     

Mid-Tertiary magmatism of the Toquima caldera complex and vicinity,Nevada: development of explosive high-K,calc-alkaline magmas in the central Great Basin,USA

The Toquima caldera complex (TCC) lies near the middle of a west-northwest-trending belt of Oligocene to early Miocene volcanic rocks that stretches from southwestern Utah to west-central Nevada. Three overlapping to eccentrically nested calderas, called Moores Creek, Mt. Jefferson, and Trail Canyon, comprise the TCC. The calderas formed due to eruption of the tuffs of Moores Creek, Mt. Jefferson, and Trail Canyon at 27.2 Ma, 26.4 Ma, and 23.6 Ma, respectively. In total, 900+ km³ of magma was erupted from the complex. The high-silica rhyolite tuff of Moores Creek is the least strongly zoned in silica (78.0–76.8 wt% SiO₂), and the tuff of Mt. Jefferson is the most strongly zoned (77.5–65.3 wt% SiO₂); the tuff of Trail Canyon is moderately zoned (75.9–70.4 wt% SiO₂). All eruptive products contain plagioclase, sanidine, quartz, biotite, Fe–Ti oxides, and accessory zircon, allanite, and apatite. Amphibole and clinopyroxene join the assemblage where compositions of bulk tuff are 74 wt% SiO₂ and 70 wt% SiO₂ respectively. Proportions and compositions of phenocrysts vary systematically with composition of the host tuff. Compositional zoning trends of sanidine and biotite suggest the presence of a high Ba-bearing magmatic component at depth or its introduction into the Mt. Jefferson and Trail Canyon magma chambers at a late stage of magmatic evolution. Rocks of the complex constitute a high-K, calc-alkaline series.Empirical data from other systems and results of published phase-equilibria and thermo-chemical studies suggest that magma erupted from the TCC was oxidized ( 1.5 to 2.0 log units above NNO), thermally zoned ( 700–730° C for high-silica rhyolite to 800–840° C for dacite) and water-rich (5.0–5.5. wt% H₂O for highsilica rhyolite to 4.0 wt% H₂O for dacite). Geologic relations and amphibole compositional data are consistent with total pressures of 1.5 to 2 kbars.Onset of mid-Tertiary magmatism in vicinity of the TCC began with intrusion of a small granodioritic stock and a northeast-trending dike swarm at 37–34 Ma. The dikes are broadly bimodal assemblage of silicic andesite and rhyolite. Voluminous ash-flow-tuff magmatism commenced at 32.3 Ma and persisted for 9 m.y. without eruption of intermediate to mafic magmas (<62 wt% SiO₂). As such, the TCC is probably a remnant of a more extensive complex of calderas whose identities are obscured by recurrent volcanism and by late Tertiary basin-range block faulting. The change from small-volume, broadly bimodal volcanism to voluminous outpourings of silicic magma is similar to that which occurred in east-central Nevada, where magmatism and rapid crustal extension overlapped in space and time. Although supracrustal extension at the time of formation of the TCC apears limited, the comparable magmatic histories and compositional characteristics of rocks erupted from east-central Nevada and the TCC suggest that fundamentally similar magmatic processes acted at depth and that extension may have been more pronounced in the lower and middle crust below the TCC and vicinity. Because strain is partitioned heterogeneously in the upper crust, the magmatic record, rather than surface structural features, may reflect better the actual state of crustal stress during volcanism.Mid-Tertiary magmatism in the TCC and vicinity probably began with intrusion of mantle-derived basalt into the lower crust, which led to crustal heating, local partial melting of crustal rocks, and intrusion of rhyolitic melts and contaminated basaltic differentiates (alkalirich andesite) into the upper crust. With time, intrusion to extrusion ratios increased as silicic melts retarded the rise of mafic magmas and mixing between mafic magmas and crustal partial melts occurred. The oxidized, water-rich, and low-temperature nature of these magmas reflects protracted crustal residence and interaction prior to eruption. The resulting hybridized and differentiated magmas ultimately erupted to form extensive deposits of silicic ash-flow tuff. By contrast, silicic lavas are scarce possibly because of coherent roof rocks that limited volatile degassing between major pyroclastic eruptions.     

Crustal-scale magmatic systems during intracontinental strike-slip tectonics: U, Pb and Hf isotopic constraints from Permian magmatic rocks of the Southern Alps

The Southern Alps host volcano-sedimentary basins that formed during post-Variscan extension and strike-slip in the Early Permian. We present U–Pb ages and initial Hf isotopic compositions of magmatic zircons from silicic tuffs and pyroclastic flows within these basins, from caldera fillings and from shallow intrusions from a 250 km long E–W transect (Bozen–Lugano–Lago Maggiore) and compare these with previously published data. Basin formation and magmatism are closely related to each other and occurred during a short time span between 285 and 275 Ma. The silicic magmatism is coeval with mafic intrusions of the Ivrea-Verbano Zone and within Austroalpine units. We conclude that deep magma generation, hybridisation and upper crustal emplacement occurred contemporaneously along the entire transect of the Southern Alps. The heat advection in the lower crust by injected mantle melts was sufficient to produce crustal partial melts in lower crustal levels. The resulting granitoid melts intruded into the upper crust or rose to the surface forming large caldera complexes. The compilation of Sr and Nd isotopic data of these rocks demonstrates that the mantle mixing endmember in the melts may not be geochemically enriched but has a depleted composition, comparable to the Adriatic subcontinental mantle exhumed to form the Tethyan sea floor during Mesozoic continental breakup and seafloor spreading. Magmatism and clastic sedimentation in the intracontinental basins was interrupted at 275 Ma for some 10–15 million years, forming a Middle Permian unconformity. This unconformity may have originated during large-scale strike-slip tectonics and erosion that was associated with crustal thinning, upwelling and partial melting of mantle, and advection of melts and heat into the crust. The unconformity indeed corresponds in time to the transition from a Pangea-B plate reconstruction for the Early Permian to the Late Permian Pangea-A plate assembly (Muttoni et al. in Earth Planet Sci Lett 215:379–394, 2003). The magmatic activity would therefore indicate the onset of >2,000 km of strike-slip movement along a continental-scale mega-shear, as their model suggests.     

4: Transpressional tectonics, lower crust decoupling and intrusion of deep mafic sills: A model for the unusual metallogenesis of SW Iberia

SW Iberia is interpreted as an accretionary magmatic belt resulting from the collision between the South Portuguese Zone and the autochthonous Iberian terrane in Variscan times (350 to 330 Ma). In the South Portuguese Zone, pull-apart basins were filled with a thick sequence of siliciclastic sediments and bimodal volcanic rocks that host the giant massive sulphides of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Massive sulphides precipitated in highly efficient geochemical traps where metal-rich but sulphur-depleted fluids of dominant basinal derivation mixed with sulphide-rich modified seawater. Massive sulphides formed either in porous/reactive volcanic rocks by sub-seafloor replacement, or in dark shale by replacement of mud or by exhalation within confined basins with high biogenic activity. Crustal thinning and magma intrusion were responsible for thermal maturation and dehydration of sedimentary rocks, while magmatic fluids probably had a minor influence on the observed geochemical signatures.The Ossa Morena Zone was a coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc. It was the site for unusual mineralization, particularly magmatic Ni–(Cu) and hydrothermal Fe-oxide–Cu–Au ores (IOCG). Most magmatism and mineralization took place at local extensional zones along first-order strike-slip faults and thrusts. The source of magmas and IOCG and Ni–(Cu) deposits probably lay in a large mafic–ultramafic layered complex intruded along a detachment at the boundary between the upper and lower crust. Here, juvenile melts extensively interacted with low-grade metamorphic rocks, inducing widespread anatexis, magma contamination and further exsolution of hydrothermal fluids. Hypersaline fluids (δ¹⁸O_fluid > 5.4‰ to 12‰) were focused upward into thrusts and faults, leading to early magnetite mineralization associated with a high-temperature (> 500 °C) albite–actinolite–salite alteration and subsequent copper–gold-bearing vein mineralization at somewhat lower temperatures. Assimilation of sediments by magmas led in turn to the formation of immiscible sulphide and silicate melts that accumulated in the footwall of the layered igneous complex. Further injection of both basic and sulphide-rich magmas into the upper crust led to the formation of Ni–(Cu)-rich breccia pipes.Younger (330 to 280 Ma?) peraluminous granitoids probably reflect the slow ascent of relatively dry and viscous magmas formed by contact anatexis. These granitoids have W–(Sn)- and Pb–Zn-related mineralization that also shows geochemical evidence of major mantle–crust interaction. Late epithermal Hg–(Cu–Sb) and Pb–Zn–(Ag) mineralization was driven by convective hydrothermal cells resulting from the high geothermal gradients that were set up in the zone by intrusion of the layered igneous complex. In all cases, most of the sulphur seems to have been derived from leaching of the host sedimentary rocks (δ³⁴S = 7‰ to 20‰) with only limited mixing with sulphur of magmatic derivation.The metallogenic characteristics of the two terranes are quite different. In the Ossa Morena Zone, juvenile magmatism played a major role as the source of metals, and controlled the styles of mineralization. In the South Portuguese Zone, magmas only acted as heat sources but seem to have had no major influence as sources of metals and fluids, which are dominated by crustal signatures. Most of the magmatic and tectonic features related to the Variscan subduction and collision seem to be masked by those resulting from transpressional deformation and deep mafic intrusion, which led to the development of a metallogenic belt with little resemblance to other accretionary magmatic arcs.     

Relationship between monogenetic magmatism and stratovolcanoes in western Mexico: The role of low-pressure magmatic processes

A large Quaternary monogenetic volcanic field is present in the western part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It is composed by mafic-intermediate scoria cones and silicic domes that are arranged in two NNW–SSE alignments. These mark the north and south borders (Northern Volcanic Chain and Southern Volcanic Chain, SVC) of the San Pedro–Ceboruco graben. The products of this monogenetic volcanic field span a large range of compositions (from basalt to rhyolite) and magma affinities (from sub-alkaline to Na-alkaline), defining different magmatic groups. Mafic and silicic monogenetic centres from the north alignment also coexist with two stratovolcanoes (Ceboruco and Tepetiltic) and sometimes punctuate their flanks.Whole-rock analyses indicate the existence of 4 different types of primitive magmas (Na-alkaline, High-Ti, Low-Ti/SVC and sub-alkaline) which have evolved independently by low-P magmatic processes. Despite the relatively small size and simplicity of the monogenetic magmatism, open-system processes have modified the geochemical and isotope composition of erupted products. The negative correlation between Sr isotope ratios and MgO contents observed for Southern Volcanic Chain and High-Ti groups points to crustal interaction via AFC processes, involving upper granitic crust and mafic lower crust respectively. In contrast, the large variability in Nd-isotopic ratios, combined with low and less variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, shown by the most mafic compositions of the High-Ti group is mostly due to mantle source heterogeneities. Low-Ti and Na-alkaline compositions are only slightly modified by crustal contamination processes and their whole-rock geochemistry reflects the complex nature of the western Mexico sub-arc mantle. It is therefore apparent that a combination of mantle source processes plus crustal assimilation has generated complex geochemical and isotopic characteristics in the western part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic belt.Despite the presence of monogenetic cones on the flanks of stratovolcanoes, limited magma interaction between monogenetic and polygenetic magmatism has been recognised only at Ceboruco, possibly producing the chemical variability of post-caldera lavas. Indeed, mafic magma feeding High-Ti monogenetic systems might represent the possible mafic end-member which triggered the Ceboruco caldera-forming event. This may have important implications for other explosive systems in which monogenetic magmatism is associated with stratovolcanoes.A geographic/tectonic control is also suggested by the geochemical data. Na-alkaline compositions are only found in the northern part of the Northern Volcanic Chain. Parental magmas of both the High-Ti and Low-Ti monogenetic series, erupted between the Ceboruco and Tepetiltic stratovolcanoes, were modified by lower crust AFC processes possibly favoured by the stress regime. Indeed, the presence of a local left-hand step over along the northern main fault systems between the two stratovolcanoes might inhibit free uprising of monogenetic mafic magmas. The preferential alignment of stratovolcanoes and monogenetic volcanic vents parallel to the northern main fault systems and the possible mixing between High-Ti mafic monogenetic magmas and more evolved Ceboruco magmas suggests that, under the predominance of regional stress, the influence of central volcanic vents on monogenetic magmatism might be more complex than simple control of vent directions and might favours magma mixing processes.     

Phanerozoic magma underplating and crustal growth beneath the North China Craton

Evidence for post‐Archaean crustal growth via magma underplating is largely based on U–Pb dating of zircons from granulite‐facies xenoliths. However, whether the young zircons from such xenoliths are genetically related to magma underplating or to anatexis remains controversial. The lower‐crustal xenoliths carried by igneous rocks in the Chifeng and Ningcheng (North China Craton) have low SiO₂ and high MgO, indicating that parental melts of their protoliths were of unambiguous mantle origin. The xenoliths contain abundant magmatic zircons with late‐Palaeozoic ages, and have more radiogenic zircon Hf‐isotope compositions and hence younger model ages than ancient crustal magmas and the “reworking array” of the basement rocks. Our data suggest that the granulites represent episodic magmatic underplating to the lower crust of this craton in Phanerozoic time. Considering the observation that regional lowermost crust (~5 km) is mafic and characterized by Phanerozoic zircons, this work reports an example of post‐Archaean crustal growth via magma underplating.     

Crustal Contamination of Early Cretaceous Magmatic Rocks of the Western Transbaikal Rifting Zone

Results of isotope Sr, Ns, and O analyses of volcanic rocks from the Uda sector of the West Transbaikal Rift Zone have allowed estimation of the character of interaction of their parental mantle melts with crustal rocks. The smallest magnitude of this interaction has been found in the compositions of Late Cretaceous (83–70 Ma) volcanics, the geochemical and isotope markers of which suggest their derivation from a moderately enriched mantle compositionally resembling OIB sources. The Early Cretaceous volcanics were derived from mantle sources that included a mantle enriched by subduction. While ascending through the crust, the parental melts of the Uda Complex (130–111 Ma) were contaminated by the lower crust matter. The Zazin Complex magmas (143–135 Ma) have features suggesting their interaction with upper crustal granitoids of the Angara–Vitim Batholith.