Application of petrographic and geochemical methods to sourcing felsitic archaeological materials in Southeastern New England

At least four volcanic complexes of different age and petrologic character occur in southeastern New England. Each complex contains a variety of fine-grained felsitic rocks, and three of these are known to have been quarried by prehistoric people for material used in the production of stone tools. These volcanics include a Late Proterozoic calcalkaline suite (Lynn-Mattapan) and several alkaline suites of Ordovician to Carboniferous age (Blue Hill, Spencer Hill, and Wamsutta suites). Each suite exhibits unique petrographic and geochemical features that help to constrain sources of felsitic archaeological materials. Distinctive petrographic features are: (1) Lynn/Mattapan: mostly pyroclastic rocks that typically contain broken crystals, volcanic clasts, and relict pumice and glass shards; phenocrysts of plagioclase, quartz, and perthite, commonly in glomeroporphyritic clusters; accessory sphene and prominent late-stage epidote; some varieties exhibit distinct flow-banding. (2) Blue Hill and Spencer Hill rocks: mainly lava flows; abundant perthite and quartz phenocrysts, with minor or no plagioclase; accessory minerals may include fluorite, aegerine, riebeckite, zircon, and allanite. (3) Wamsutta rhyolite: phenocrysts solely of anorthoclase; quartz restricted to late-stage filling of vesicles, and to planar, subparallel fractures in-filled as lithophysae; lava flows with devitrified glass matrix. Major element geochemistry is of limited use in distinguishing the volcanic groups, but trace element signatures are distinct and provide excellent criteria to discriminate rocks from each suite. Compared to the Lynn/Mattapan suite, the Blue Hill and Spencer Hill rocks exhibit higher concentrations of Rb, Y, Zr, Nb, La, Ce and Zn, and lower concentrations of Sr and Ba. Wamsutta rhyolite is intermediate in composition, but distinct. Examination of material from six prehistoric quarries, and debitage collected at seven archaeological sites, demonstrates that most samples can be assigned to one of the above volcanic suites based on combined petrographic and geochemical attributes. These geologic attributes add a significant element of quantification to archaeological sourcing problems that lead to improved identification of materials compared to hand sample characterization alone. The volcanics from source areas proximal to the Boston basin were important to Early and Middle Archaic period populations across most of southeastern Massachusetts. During the Late/Terminal Archaic period, these materials were being transported extensively throughout eastern and southeastern Massachusetts, the Narragansett Bay area, and parts of Rhode Island. Thus, routinely applied geological methods can provide useful approaches to constrain the sources of felsites from southeastern New England found in archaeological contexts. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Petrographic and geochemical source-modeling of volcanic lithics from archaeological contexts: A case study from British Camp,San Juan Island,Washington

Classification and sourcing of vulcanic lithics is simplified through petrographic and geochemical analyses. In examining volcanic lithics, major element geochemistry is required for classification, trace element geochemistry is necessary for discrimination of materials from different sources, and rare earth elements are used in source-modeling. Materials such as those found in the debitage at the British Camp shell midden, San Juan Island (45SJ24), are ubiquitous in the Gulf of Georgia region of the Pacific Northwest. Previous archaeological reports over the past 100 years have classified this volcanic debitage as basalt and predicted a local source. Petrographic analyses of thin sections and geochemical analyses using ICP emission spectrometry have shown that these artifacts are formed of dacite rather than basalt. The analysis also shows that the major lithic material used for stone chipping during the entire temporal sequence at the British Camp site is invariably from the same distant source in the High Cascades, possibly as far as 200 km from the site. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Formation of the Late Cenozoic volcanic complexes of the Lesser Caucasus

The paper considers the role of the lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere during the Late Cenozoic collision volcanism of the Lesser Caucasus. The results of petrogeochemical studies show that the products of volcanism of the West Volcanic Zone of Armenia and the calc-alkaline andesite–dacite–rhyodacite complex of the Neogene Kelbadzhar and Karabakh plateaus were formed from an enriched source in a suprasubduction setting. Late Pliocene–Quaternary moderately alkaline and alkaline volcanic rocks of the Lesser Caucasus differ in petrogeochemistry from suprasubduction volcanic rocks. In trace element contents and patterns, they are similar to rocks formed from an enriched mantle source. Comparative analysis of the geological and geophysical data suggests the model of lithospheric slab break-off of the thickened lithosphere as the triggering mechanism for Late Cenozoic magmatism of the Lesser Caucasus.     

福建中-新生代玄武岩的地球化学特征及其成因

对福建中—新生代玄武岩的岩石化学、地球化学特征研究表明,该地区的玄武岩化学成分、微量元素和稀土元素含量都有一定的差别。这项研究对揭示源区特征和了解中国东部沿海大陆火山岩带深部地质背景提供了重要信息。     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of suprasubduction volcanic complexes of the Char shear zone,eastern Kazakhstan

The paper presents new petrographic, geochemical, and petrologic data from volcanic rocks of suprasubduction origin of the Char shear zone in eastern Kazakhstan. We discuss bulk rock composition (concentrations of major and trace elements), types of mantle sources and parameters of their melting, conditions of crystallization of mafic magma, and geodynamic settings of basalt eruption. According to the major element composition, the volcanic rocks are basalt, andesibasalt, and andesite of tholeiitic and transitional, from tholeiitic to calc-alkaline, series. They are characterized by low TiO₂ (0.85 wt.% on average) and crystallization trends in MgO–major elements plots. In terms of trace element composition, the volcanic rocks possess moderately LREE-enriched rare-earth element patterns and are characterized by negative Nb anomalies present on the multi-element spectra (Nb/La_pm = 0.14–0.47; Nb/Th_pm = 0.7–1.6). The distribution of rare-earth elements (La/Sm_n = 0.8–2.3, Gd/Yb_n = 0.7–1.9) and the results of geochemical modeling in the Nb–Yb system suggest high degrees of melting of a depleted mantle source at spinel facies depths. Fractional crystallization of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and opaque minerals also affected the final composition of the volcanic rocks. Clinopyroxene monomineral thermometry calculations suggest that the melts crystallized within a range of 1020–1180 °C. We think that this volcanic complex formed at a western active margin of the Paleo-Asian Ocean.     

Chemical geodynamics of Western Anatolia

We report major and trace element concentrations and Nd–Sr–Pb isotopic data of 10 post-collisional volcanic domains in Western Anatolia, a seismically active part of the Alpine–Himalayan belt in the Aegean extensional province. Our objective is to provide geochemical constraints for tectono-magmatic processes shaping the late Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of Western Anatolia.

Calc-alkaline volcanic rocks occurring to the north of the Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan suture zone show arc-like trace elements and isotopes and were formed by the melting of the metasomatized Neotethyan mantle-wedge; this process was facilitated by asthenospheric upwelling resulting from slab delamination. Calc-alkaline and alkaline volcanic rocks from within the Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan suture zone also show the imprint of subduction fluids in their major and trace elements, but their isotopic compositions indicate derivation from a metasomatized lithospheric mantle followed by assimilation of ancient crust. Volcanics along the N–S-oriented Kirka–Afyon–Isparta trend were derived from the lithospheric mantle that was metasomatized by fluids from the older subduction of the African plate. Golcuk–Isparta volcanic rocks show an asthenospheric imprint; the latter was a consequence of upwelling following a tear in the subducting African lithosphere. Shoshonitic Kula volcanic rocks show very high trace element concentrations, OIB mantle-like trace elements, and Nd–Sr–Pb isotopic signatures, and were formed by partial melting of the upwelling asthenospheric mantle; this event was synchronous with the Aegean extension and possibly also with slab window formation due to ruptures in the African plate.

Inherent in the above chemical geodynamic models are the high ?_Nd(0) values (+6.4) of the end-member volcanic rocks, implying the presence of an asthenospheric source beneath Western Anatolia that is responsible for the currently observed high heat flow, low Pn wave velocities, high seismicity, and tectonic activity.     

Geochemical character and tectonic significance of Early Devonian keratophyres in the New England Fold Belt,eastern Australia

Extrusive and high level intrusive Early Devonian keratophyres are the oldest in situ igneous rocks in the Tamworth Block of the New England Fold Belt of eastern Australia. They show extensive evidence of degradation, including the destruction of magmatic phases, the growth of low grade metamorphic minerals, and changes in composition involving the dilution of elemental abundances in response to silica addition. Relations between the less mobile minor and trace elements, and limited data on clinopyroxene compositions, lead to the conclusion that these Early Devonian volcanic rocks are mostly calc‐alkaline volcanic arc andesites with minor dacite. These rocks unconformably overlie a sequence of Early Palaeozoic forearc basin deposits, indicating that the Early Devonian marks a period of readjustment of tectonic elements within the New England Fold Belt, associated with a marked east‐directed stepping out of the magmatic arc. Generation of the keratophyres in a subduction zone environment limits the position of the trench to 100 km east of the Peel Fault System.     

Provenance of the Langjiexue Group to the south of the Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone in southeastern Tibet: Insights on the evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean in the Late Triassic

ABSTRACT

The Upper Triassic Langjiexue Group, which lies immediately south of the Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone in the Shannan area of southeastern Tibet, represents an important part of the Tethyan Himalayan Sequence (THS). Its provenance and palaeogeography have been the subject of debate. We present new data on petrographic composition, whole-rock geochemistry, and detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology to constrain the provenance of the Langjiexue Group. The dominance of quartz grains and felsic volcanic lithic fragments suggests that the sandstones are litho-quartzose. The trace element geochemical signatures (V–Ni–Th*10, Co/Th–La/Sc, Eu/Eu*–Th/Sc) suggest derivation from felsic igneous sources. The detrital zircon age spectra display three major peaks: a Meso-to-Neoproterozoic peak (1200–900 Ma, 7–18%), a Neoproterozoic-to-Late Cambrian peak (750–500 Ma, 32–65%), and a Late Carboniferous-to-Late Triassic peak (300–200 Ma, 11–33%). The maximum depositional age of early Carnian (236–235 Ma) is obtained by calculating weighted average ages of the youngest zircons (≤250 Ma). The youngest age cluster (300–200 Ma) is incompatible with sources from neighbouring terranes, including the South Qiangtang terrane, Lhasa terrane, THS, and Higher Himalayan Crystalline. Correlations of the Permian–Triassic zircons with those of time-equivalent strata in northwest Australia, west Burma, and the Banda Arc unveil a potential connection to the Tasmanides along the convergent margin of eastern Australia. The New England Orogen (300–230 Ma) could have supplied the Langjiexue Group with magmatic materials via continent-scale drainage systems or a submarine fan complex. This scenario provides a new perspective into the transport of detritus from distal orogens to sedimentary basins thousands of kilometres away.     

Small-scale coexistence of island-arc- and enriched-MORB-type basalts in the central Vanuatu arc

We report here major, trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data for a new set of basaltic lavas and melt inclusions hosted in Mg-rich olivines (Fo_86–91) from Mota Lava, in the Banks islands of the Vanuatu island arc. The results reveal the small-scale coexistence of typical island-arc basalts (IAB) and a distinct type of Nb-enriched basalts (NEB) characterized by primitive mantle-normalized trace element patterns without high-field-strength element (HFSE) depletion. The IAB show trace element patterns with prominent negative HFSE anomalies acquired during melting of mantle sources enriched with slab-derived, H₂O-rich components during subduction. In contrast, the NEB display trace element features that compare favourably with enriched-mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and the most enriched basalts from the Vanuatu back-arc troughs. Both their trace element and Nd–Sr isotopic compositions require partial melting of an enriched-MORB-type mantle source, almost negligibly contaminated by slab-derived fluids (~0.2 wt%). The coexistence of these two distinct types of primitive magma, at the scale of one volcanic island and within a relatively short span of time, would reflect a heterogeneous mantle source and/or tapping of distinct mantle sources. Direct ascent of such distinct magmas could be favoured by the extensive tectonic setting of Mota Lava Island, allowing decompression melting and sampling of variable mantle sources. Significantly, this island is located at the junction of the N–S back-arc troughs and the E–W Hazel Home extensional zone, where the plate motion diverges in both direction and rate. More broadly, this study indicates that crustal faulting in arc contexts would permit basaltic magmas to reach Earth’s surface, while preserving the geochemical heterogeneity of their mantle sources.     

Carboniferous palaeogeography of the Yarrol and New England Orogens,eastern Australia

During the Carboniferous Period the Yarrol and New England Orogens comprised an active depositional margin east of cratonised parts of Australia. Patterns of deposition within the orogens were probably controlled by dextral shear systems believed responsible for tectonism and the positions of the various depositional elements (volcanic chain, shelf, slope and basin, pull‐apart troughs and graben), and global changes in sea level. These patterns are illustrated by a series of non‐palin‐spastic palaeogeographic reconstructions.

In the Early Carboniferous, similar patterns of deposition existed within the western volcanic chain, marine shelf, and eastern slope and basin provinces of both orogens. Sediments were deposited in two cycles. They range from volcanic fluvial and marine sandstone to siltstone, mudstone and turbidites. Complex depositional patterns within shelfal regions are shown in detailed palaeogeographic reconstructions.

This uniform pattern changed during the latest Visean and Namurian, with the uplift of the New England Arch, subsidence of a non‐marine graben (Werrie Trough) to the west, and development of a new shelf in the east. The Werrie Trough received volcanics as well as fluvial and glacigene sediments, and the shelf marine sandstone and siltstone. The Yarrol Orogen was unaffected by tectonism but there was a change in provenance.

Late in the Carboniferous the Yarrol Orogen was restructured by the intrusion of granitoids into the former volcanic chain, and development of the Yarrol and North D'Aguilar Troughs as probable pull‐apart basins. In the New England Arch, deformation and metamorphism were followed by intrusion of S‐type granitoids. A comparable episode of deformation and metamorphism affected the southeastern part of the Yarrol Orogen at the end of the Carboniferous Period. This partial cratonisation of the mobile zone was a prelude to widespread basin formation during the Permian Period.     

Sr and Nd isotopic geochemistry of the early ultramafic–mafic rocks of the Mako bimodal volcanic belt of the Kedougou–Kenieba inlier (Senegal)

The Mako bimodal volcanic belt of the Kédougou–Kéniéba inlier is composed of volcanic basalts and peridotites interbedded by quartzites and limestones intruded by different generations of granitoïds. The early volcanic episode of the belt is constituted of submarine basalts with peridotite similar to those of the oceanic abyssal plains. It is intruded by the Badon Kakadian TTG?granitic batholite dated around 2200 Ma. The second volcanic phase is constituted of basaltic, andesitic, and felsitic flows exhibit structures of aerial volcanic rocks. It is intruded by granites dated between 2160 and 2070 Ma. The general pattern of trace element variation of submarine volcanic rocks is consistent with those of basalts from oceanic plateaus which are the modern equivalent of the Archean greenstones belts. The Nd and Sr isotopic systematics typical of juvenile material indicates that the source of these igneous rocks is derived from a depleted mantle source. These results are consistent with the idea of a major accretion within the West African Craton occurring at about 2.1 Ga and corresponding to an important process of mantle–oceanic lithosphere differentiation.     

Geochemistry and early Palaeogene SHRIMP zircon ages for island arc granitoids of the Sierra Maestra, southeastern Cuba

The Palaeogene volcanic arc successions of the Sierra Maestra, southeastern Cuba, were intruded by calc-alkaline, low- to medium-K tonalites and trondhjemites during the final stages of subduction and subsequent collision of the Caribbean oceanic plate with the North American continental plate. U-Pb SHRIMP zircon dating of five granitoids yielded ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U emplacement ages between 60.5±2.2 and 48.3±0.5 Ma. The granitoids are the result of subduction-related magmatism and have geochemical characteristics similar to those of magmas from intra-oceanic island-arcs such as the Izu Bonin-Mariana arc and the New Britain island arc, Lesser Antilles. Major and trace element patterns suggest evolution of these rocks from a single magmatic source. Geochemical features characterize these rocks as typical subduction-related granitoids as found worldwide in intra-oceanic arcs, and they probably formed through fractional crystallization of mantle-derived low- to medium-K basalt.     

赣南——粤北白垩纪火山杂岩微量元素特征及源区探讨

赣南－粤北白垩纪火山杂岩来自两个不同的岩浆源区,中、基性岩类源自幔源区,酸性岩类源自壳源区,两者互有影响,组成过渡性岩浆杂岩建造,它们具有各自不同的微量元素特征。本文在讨论两个不同岩浆源区火山杂岩微量元素、稀土元素特征的基础上,对它们的岩浆源区性质进行了探讨。     

Sr–Nd isotope geochemistry and tectonomagmatic setting of the Dehsalm Cu–Mo porphyry mineralizing intrusives from Lut Block,eastern Iran

The Dehsalm Cu–Mo-bearing porphyritic granitoids belong to the Lut Block volcanic–plutonic belt (central eastern Iran). These rocks range in composition from gabbro-diorite to granite, with dominance of monzonites and quartz monzonites, and have geochemical features of high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic volcanic arc suites. Primitive mantle-normalized trace element spider diagrams display strong enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements such as Rb, Ba and Cs and depletions in some high-field strength elements, e.g., Nb, Ti, Y and HREE. Chondrite-normalized plots display significant LREE enrichments, high La_N/Yb_N and a lack of Eu anomaly. High Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios of Dehsalm intrusives reveal that, despite their K-rich composition, these granitoids show some resemblances with adakitic rocks. A Rb–Sr whole rock–feldspar–biotite age of 33 ± 1 Ma was obtained in a quartz monzonite sample and coincides, within error, with a previous geochronological result in Chah-Shaljami granitoids, further northwest within the Lut Block. (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i and εNd_i isotopic ratios range from 0.70481 to 0.70508 and from +1.5 to +2.5, respectively, which fits into a supra-subduction mantle wedge source for the parental melts and indicates that crustal contribution for magma diversification was of limited importance. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions together with major and trace element geochemistry point to an origin of the parental magmas by melting of a metasomatized mantle source, with phlogopite breakdown playing a significant role in the geochemical fingerprints of the parental magmas; small amounts of residual garnet in the mantle source also help to explain some trace element patterns. Geochemical features of Dehsalm porphyries and its association with Cu–Mo mineralization agree with a mature continental arc setting related to the convergence of Afghan and Lut plates during Oligocene.     

The Devonian history of northeastern Australia

Devonian rocks occur in northeastern Australia within the ‘Tasman Geosyncline’ in three major tectonic divisions—(a) a very broad mobile platform related to the last stages of stabilisation of the Lachlan Geosyncline, marginal to which is found, (b) the volcanic‐rich New England Geosyncline, and (c) a contrasting region in northern Queensland where complex marine to continental sedimentation occurred on cratonic blocks while non‐volcanic flysch‐like sedimentation occurred in the marginal Hodgkinson Basin.

The tectonic setting was governed by differences in the nature of the continental margin, so that the New England Geosyncline and Hodgkinson Basin, which developed along the eastern margin of the continent from the earliest Devonian to the late Palaeozoic, show correspondingly different sedimentation and deformation histories.

An integrated account of the Devonian geology of these regions is given, leading to.an interpretation of the environments of the Devonian in terms of plate‐tectonic movements, generally from the east.

Postulated tectonic zones within the New England Geosyncline region include pre‐Devonian deep ocean deposits with mild high‐pressure low‐temperature meta‐morphism, and Devonian volcanic arc and marginal sea volcanic‐derived deposits. Within the mobile platform to the west, variable marine and continental deposits are associated with volcanicity in the zone transitional to the New England Geosyncline. In the northern region, rifting of the craton and development of an Atlantic‐type margin was followed by subduction with folding and metamorphism at the end of the Devonian.

The Devonian rocks are strongly affected by intense late Palaeozoic tectonic and igneous activity in the eastern marginal regions, but only minor effects are seen to the west.     

Australian provenance for Upper Permian to Cretaceous rocks forming accretionary complexes on the New Zealand sector of the Gondwanaland margin

U–Pb (SHRIMP) detrital zircon age patterns are reported for 12 samples of Permian to Cretaceous turbiditic quartzo‐feldspathic sandstone from the Torlesse and Waipapa suspect terranes of New Zealand. Their major Permian to Triassic, and minor Early Palaeozoic and Mesoproterozoic, age components indicate that most sediment was probably derived from the Carboniferous to Triassic New England Orogen in northeastern Australia. Rapid deposition of voluminous Torlesse/Waipapa turbidite fans during the Late Permian to Late Triassic appears to have been directly linked to uplift and exhumation of the magmatically active orogen during the 265–230 Ma Hunter‐Bowen event. This period of cordilleran‐type orogeny allowed transport of large volumes of quartzo‐feldspathic sediment across the convergent Gondwanaland margin. Post‐Triassic depocentres also received (recycled?) sediment from the relict orogen as well as from Jurassic and Cretaceous volcanic provinces now offshore from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. The detailed provenance‐age fingerprints provided by the detrital zircon data are also consistent with progressive southward derivation of sediment: from northeastern Queensland during the Permian, southeastern Queensland during the Triassic, and northeastern New South Wales — Lord Howe Rise — Norfolk Ridge during the Jurassic to Cretaceous. Although the dextral sense of displacement is consistent with the tectonic regime during this period, detailed characterisation of source terranes at this scale is hindered by the scarcity of published zircon age data for igneous and sedimentary rocks in Queensland and northern New South Wales. Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic age components cannot be adequately matched with likely source terranes in the Australian‐Antarctic Precambrian craton, and it is possible they originated in the Proterozoic cores of the Cathaysia and Yangtze Blocks of southeast China.     

湘东南汝城盆地火山岩的元素地球化学及源区性质讨论

湘东南汝城盆地火山岩系由辉绿岩、玄武岩和玄武质火山碎屑岩组成 ,属于低钾拉斑玄武岩系。玄武岩全岩K Ar年龄为 ( 12 8 4± 4 2 )Ma ,辉绿岩全岩K Ar年龄为 ( 112 1±3 2 )Ma。元素地球化学分析表明火山岩系具有同一岩浆源区 ,其形成以部分熔融方式为主。岩石微量元素出现大离子亲石元素Rb、Ba、Th、U的富集和高场强元素Ta、Nb、Ti的亏损。强不相容元素含量的比值表明岩浆源区明显偏离原始地幔组分 ,具有富集型地幔的特征。岩浆源区主要受到地壳物质混染以及来自消减残留板片析出流体的交代改造作用。     

Geochemistry and provenance of the Middle Ordovician Austin Glen Member (Normanskill Formation) and the Taconian Orogeny in New England

The Austin Glen Member of the upper Middle Ordovician Normanskill Formation is a sandstone-shale flysch succession deposited in the foreland of the Taconian Orogen. Petrographic, major and trace element, and Nd–Pb isotopic data provide substantial constraints on its provenance. Lack of K-feldspar and paucity of plagioclase, in addition to the dominance of sedimentary rock fragments, indicate that the source was dominated by recycled, sedimentary components. Major and trace element data support this conclusion and indicate that the provenance of both shales and sandstones was the same. No evidence of an ophiolitic or volcanic component was observed. Interpretation of Nd isotopic characteristics are complicated by a partial resetting of the Nd isotope system at about the time of sedimentation but indicate that the provenance of the Austin Glen Member had a long-term history of light rare earth element (LREE) enrichment (average T_DM = 1·8 Ga). Furthermore, Nd isotopic compositions are extremely homogeneous (?_Nd = –8·1 ± 0·6; 1 s.d.; n = 23) at 450 Ma, the approximate depositional age, indicating either a single source or very well-mixed sources. ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios are variable but within the range of Pb isotopic compositions typically described as Grenvillian. The range of ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb is greater than expected for the range of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and suggests an additional component of Pb, possibly introduced during diagenesis. The immediate source of the Austin Glen Member may have been the accretionary prism that developed as older sediments of the Laurentian margin were scraped off the basin floor, incorporated within the accretionary prism and shed into the basin. No evidence indicating the arrival of an undifferentiated island arc or continental fragment during the Taconian Orogeny has been found. The data acquired during this study can be explained almost exclusively by Grenville Province source components but with possible additional contributions from older Laurentian terranes and Late Proterozoic rift volcanics that are not readily quantified but likely to have been minor. Accordingly, we conclude that the Taconian Orogeny in New England involved either: (1) a continental arc that involved exclusively Laurentia; (2) collision of a continental block with identical geochemical characteristics as Laurentia; or (3) essentially no detritus from any exotic colliding block (island arc or continental fragment) reached the foreland basin at the time of Austin Glen deposition.     

Geochemical characteristics of the Río Verde Complex,Central Hispaniola: Implications for the paleotectonic reconstruction of the Lower Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc

New geochronological, trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data for metabasalts, dolerites and amphibolites from the Río Verde Complex, Central Hispaniola, are integrated with existing geochemical data for mafic volcanic rocks and metamorphic derivatives from the Los Ranchos, Amina and Maimón Formations, giving new insights into magma petrogenesis and paleotectonic reconstruction of the Lower Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc–back arc system. U–Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data show that the Río Verde Complex protoliths were in part coeval with volcanic rocks of the Los Ranchos Formation (Upper Aptian to Lower Albian). The geochemical data establish the existence of gradients in trace element parameters (Nb/Yb, Th/Yb, Zr/Yb, Zr/Ba, and normalized Ti, Sm, Y and Yb abundances) and Nd isotope compositions from throughout Hispaniola, which reflect differences in the degree of mantle wedge depletion and contributions from the subducting slab. The Río Verde Complex mafic rocks and some mafic sills and dykes intruding in the Loma Caribe Peridotite, have a transitional IAT to N-MORB geochemistry and a weak subduction-related signature, and are interpreted to form in a rifted arc or evolving back-arc basin setting. The Los Ranchos, Amina and Maimón Formations volcanic rocks have arc-like characteristics and represent magmatism in the volcanic front. Trace element and Nd isotope modeling reproduce observed data trends from arc to back-arc and suggest that the variations in several geochemical parameters observed in a SW direction across the Caribbean subduction system can be explained from the progressively lower subduction flux into a progressively less depleted mantle source. The low Nb contents and high (ε_Nd)_i values in both arc and back-arc mafic rocks imply, however, the absence of a significant Lower Cretaceous plume enriched component. In order to explain these observations, a model of proto-Caribbean oceanic lithosphere subducting to the SW at least in the 120–110 Ma interval, is proposed to cause the observed magmatic variations in the Lower Cretaceous Caribbean island-arc–back-arc system. In this context, arc rifting and initial sea-floor spreading to form the Río Verde Complex protoliths occurred in the back-arc setting of this primitive island-arc, built on the NE edge of the Caribbean plate.     

Petrogenesis of volcanic rocks in the Sangxiu Formation,central segment of Tethyan Himalaya: A probable example of plume–lithosphere interaction

The ∼133 Ma volcanic rocks of Sangxiu Formation are distributed in the eastern part of the central Tethyan Himalaya and belong paleogeographically to the northeastern margin of Greater India. These volcanic rocks include alkaline basalts and felsic volcanic rocks. Major and trace element abundances and whole-rock isotopic data for selected samples of these volcanic rocks are used to infer their petrogenesis. Geochemically, the Sangxiu basalts are closely similar to the Emeishan high-Ti basalts. Major and trace element data and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions suggest that the Sangxiu basalts may have been derived from an OIB-type mantle source, with discernable contributions from subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The basaltic magmas may have formed as a result of the infiltration of plume-derived melts into the base of the lithosphere in a continental rift setting. The Sangxiu felsic volcanic rocks share most of the geochemical features of A-type granite, and have Sr–Nd isotopic compositions which differ considerably from the Sangxiu basalts, suggesting that they originated from the anatexis of ensialic continental crust. The Sangxiu volcanic rocks may be considered as the consequence of an interaction between the Kerguelen hotspot and the lithosphere of the northeastern margin of Greater India at ∼133 Ma, and may represent the initial stage of the separation of Greater India from southwestern Australia.