Clinopyroxene composition in mafic lavas from different tectonic settings

Many metamorphosed and weathered basalts contain fresh clinopyroxene crystals set in an altered groundmass. Microprobe analysis of these relict grains can be used to identify the magma type of the host lava. Statistical discrimination of clinopyroxenes from known magma types provides a test of the effectiveness of this method, showing that any attempt to classify an unknown clinopyroxene as either an ocean-floor basalt, a volcanic arc basalt, a within plate tholeiite or a within plate alkali basalt magma type should have a 70% chance of success. Identification of within plate alkali basalts is most likely to be successful because their pyroxenes characteristically have high Na and Ti and low Si contents. Within plate tholeiites can usually be distinguished from volcanic arc basalts because their pyroxenes contain more Ti, Fe and Mn. However, neither of these last two magma types can be easily distinguished from ocean floor basalts on the basis of pyroxene analyses. Diagrams of pyroxene composition based on discriminant functions and on Na₂O vs MnO vs TiO₂, SiO₂ vs TiO₂ and SiO₂ vs Al₂O₃ provide the basis for visual discrimination. The discrimination achieved is mainly due to differences in the bulk chemistry of the host magmas and in the partitioning of cations into the pyroxene lattice; differences in temperature and crystallization histroy of the magmas are of lesser, but nevertheless finite, importance. Application of this technique to pyroxenes in metabasalts from Othris, Greece gave results consistent with, but more ambiguous than, results obtained from immobile trace element studies.     

Strontium isotope composition and petrogenesis of the Kirkpatrick basalt,Queen Alexandra Range,Antarctica

The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of twelve basalt flows of Jurassic age on Storm Peak in the Queen Alexandra Range are anomalously high and range from 0.7094–0.7133. The average value is 0.7112±0.0013 (1). The concentrations of rubidium and strontium have arithmetic means of 60.6±19.4 ppm and 128.8±11.9 ppm, respectively. The corresponding average Rb/Sr ratio is 0.47 which is also anomalously high for rocks of basaltic composition. In addition, these rocks have high concentrations of SiO₂ (56.50%) and K₂O (1.29%) and are depleted in Al₂O₃ (12.92%), MgO (3.44%) and CaO (7.91%) compared to average continental tholeiites. They are nevertheless classified as basalts on the basis of the composition of microphenocrysts.The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and all of the chemical parameters of the flows exhibit systematic stratigraphic variations. These are interpreted as indicating the occurrence of four eruptive cycles. In a typical cycle the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of successive flows and their concentrations of SiO₂, FeO (total iron), Na₂O, K₂O, P₂O₅, Rb and Sr decrease in ascending stratigraphic sequence while the concentrations of TiO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO, CaO and MnO increase upward. The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the flows show a strong positive correlation with the strontium concentration. Similar correlations are observed between the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and all of the major oxide components. These relationships are incompatible with the hypothesis that these flows are the products of crystal fractionation of a-34 magma at depth under closed-system conditions. It is suggested that the flows resulted from the hybridization of a normal tholeiite basalt magma by assimilation of varying amounts of granitic rocks in the Precambrian basement which underlies the entire Transantarctic Mountain chain.Mixtures of two components having different ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and differing strontium concentrations are related to each other by hyperbolic mixing equation. Such an equation was fitted by least squares regression of data points to a straight line in coordinates of initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and the reciprocals of the concentrations of strontium. This equation and plots of strontium versus other oxides were then used to estimate the chemical composition of the parent basalt magma and of the granitic contaminant by substituting reasonable estimates of their ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. The chemical composition of the parent basalt (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.706) is generally compatible with that of average continental tholeiite, but is distinctive by having a low concentration of strontium (117 ppm). The chemical composition of the contaminant (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.720) is enriched in strontium (173 ppm), SiO₂, FeO (total iron) and the alkalies but is depleted in Al₂O₃, MgO and CaO. The data for strontium indicate that the lava flows on Storm Peak contain between 20 and 40% of this granitic contaminant. The contamination of basalt magma is not a local event but is characteristic of the Jurassic basalt flows and diabase sills throughout the Transantarctic Mountains and in Tasmania.Laboratory for Isotope Geology and Geochemistry, Contribution No. 33.     

Magma mixing in the San Francisco Volcanic Field,AZ

A wide variety of rock types are present in the O'Leary Peak and Strawberry Crater volcanics of the Pliocene to Recent San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF), AZ. The O'Leary Peak flows range from andesite to rhyolite (56–72 wt % SiO₂) and the Strawberry Crater flows range from basalt to dacite (49–64 wt % SiO₂). Our interpretation of the chemical data is that both magma mixing and crustal melting are important in the genesis of the intermediate composition lavas of both suites. Observed chemical variations in major and trace elements can be modeled as binary mixtures between a crustal melt similar to the O'Leary dome rhyolite and two different mafic end-members. The mafic end-member of the Strawberry suite may be a primary mantle-derived melt. Similar basalts have also been erupted from many other vents in the SFVF. In the O'Leary Peak suite, the mafic end-member is an evolved (low Mg/(Mg+ Fe)) basalt that is chemically distinct from the Strawberry Crater and other vent basalts as it is richer in total Fe, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, MnO, Na₂O, K₂O, and Zr and poorer in MgO, CaO, P₂O₅, Ni, Sc, Cr, and V. The derivative basalt probably results from fractional crystallization of the more primitive, vent basalt type of magma. This evolved basalt occurs as xenolithic (but originally magmatic) inclusions in the O'Leary domes and andesite porphyry flow. The most mafic xenolith may represent melt that mixed with the O'Leary dome rhyolite resulting in andesite preserved as other xenoliths, a pyroclastic unit (Qoap), porphyry flow (Qoaf) and dacite (Darton Dome) magmas. Thermal constraints on the capacity of a melt to assimilate (and melt) a volume of solid material require that melt mixing and not assimilation has produced the observed intermediate lavas at both Strawberry Crater and O'Leary Peak. Textures, petrography, and mineral chemistry support the magma mixing model. Some of the inclusions have quenched rims where in contact with the host. The intermediate rocks, including the andesite xenoliths, contain xenocrysts of quartz, olivine and oligoclase, together with reversely zoned plagioclase and pyroxene phenocrysts. The abundance of intermediate volcanic rocks in the SFVF, as observed in detail at O'Leary Peak and Strawberry Crater, is due in part to crustal recycling, the result of basalt-driven crustal melting and the subsequent mixing of the silicic melts with basalts and derivative magmas.     

Clinopyroxene compositions in the Deccan and Rajmahal Traps and their bearing on magma types and evolution

Electron probe analyses of clinopyroxenes from several areas of the Deccan and Rajmahal Traps consisting mostly of subalkalic and alkalic basalts, picritic basalts and a few dolerite dykes have been obtained. Evaluation of the data indicate the absence of pigeonite from subalkalic basalts that occur in close spatial association with mild or strongly alkalic basalts in areas such as Rajpipla, Navagam and central Kachchh. Co-existence of augite and pigeonite, however, has been noticed in subalkalic basalts/dykes and picritic basalts from a number of Deccan localities such as Sagar, Igatpuri, Kalsubai, Triambak, Pavagarh and Girnar besides the one sample from Rajmahal. Diopside, salite, and wollastonite-rich compositions dominate the basanites and foidites of Kachchh whereas chrome-diopside and salite are the main types in the picrite basalt samples from Anila, Botad and Paliyad in Saurashtra akin to those found in contiguous areas in the east from borehole flows at Dhandhuka and Wadhwan studied in detail previously. Compositional variations in zoned clinopyroxenes indicate differentiation of the parental magma and also mixing of different magma types (subalkalic and alkalic) from areas such as Igatpuri, Rajpipla and Kachchh. Based on host-rock chemistry, total alkalis-silica plot, CIPW norms, estimated temperatures of eruption and augite – pigeonite thermometry, it has been inferred that clinopyroxene compositions, especially the incidence of pigeonite, appear to be very sensitive to bulk chemistry of host rocks, especially their Na₂O, K₂O, SiO₂, total iron and TiO₂ contents. Non-quadrilateral cationic components in the clinopyroxenes, such as Al in tetrahedral and octahedral positions together with Si, Na, Ti and Cr abundances have been found to be useful to discriminate clinopyroxenes from alkalic and subalkalic basalt types besides inferences on the ferric iron component in them. Evaluation of host-rock compositions in the ternary olivine–clinopyroxene-quartz plot indicate polybaric conditions of crystallization and evolution especially in samples that are picritic (e.g. Pavagarh, Anila and Kachchh) and which could also breach the olivine–clinopyroxene-plagioclase thermal divide that exists in part between alkalic and subalkalic basalts under atmospheric conditions.     

High-Ti type N-MORB parentage of basalts from the south Andaman ophiolite suite,India

A complete dismembered sequence of ophiolite is well exposed in the south Andaman region that mainly comprises ultramafic cumulates, serpentinite mafic plutonic and dyke rocks, pillow lava, radiolarian chert, and plagiogranite. Pillow lavas of basaltic composition occupy a major part of the Andaman ophiolite suite (AOS). These basalts are well exposed all along the east coast of southern part of the south AOS. Although these basalts are altered due to low-grade metamorphism and late hydrothermal processes, their igneous textures are still preserved. These basalts are mostly either aphyric or phyric in nature. Aphyric type exhibits intersertal or variolitic textures, whereas phyric variety shows porphyritic or sub-ophitic textures. The content of alkalies and silica classify these basalts as sub-alkaline basalts and alkaline basalts. A few samples show basaltic andesite, trachy-basalt, or basanitic chemical composition. High-field strength element (HFSE) geochemistry suggests that studied basalt samples are probably derived from similar parental magmas. Al₂O₃/TiO₂ and CaO/TiO₂ ratios classify these basalts as high-Ti type basalt. On the basis of these ratios and many discriminant functions and diagrams, it is suggested that the studied basalts, associated with Andaman ophiolite suite, were derived from magma similar to N-MORB and emplaced in the mid-oceanic ridge tectonic setting.     

Temporal magmatic variation at Boqueron volcano,El Salvador

The relative ages of 21 lavas from Boqueron volcano in El Salvador were determined by superposition. The lavas are grey to black, porphyritic basalts, basaltic andesites and andesites with phenocrysts of plagioclase, augite, olivine, and magnetite. The andesitic lavas appear to have evolved from basaltic magma by fractionation of the observed phenocryst phases.The temporal variation in the chemical composition of the lavas at Boqueron is composed of three components. First, there is a crudely cyclical alternation of basalts and andesites. Second, these cycles are progressively shifted toward higher SiO₂ contents. Third, approximately in the middle of the stratigraphic section sampled, there is an abrupt change in chemical variation trends from an Al-rich and Fe-poor trend to an Fe-rich and Al-poor trend. This change is interpreted to have been caused by an increased proportion of plagioclase fractionation and a decreased porportion of augite fractionation. The crudely cyclical change in SiO₂ content with time is interpreted as a combination of crystal fractionation that increases SiO₂ content, followed by influxes of basaltic magma that mix with residual magma to decrease SiO₂ content. Successive cycles are shifted toward higher SiO₂ content because there is a significant volume of fractionated magma remaining in the chamber before each influx of basalt.     

Sugarloaf Mountain,central Arizona,USA: A small-scale example of Miocene basalt-rhyolite magma mixing to yield andesitic magmas

Sugarloaf Mountain is a 200-m high volcanic landform in central Arizona, USA, within the transition from the southern Basin and Range to the Colorado Plateau. It is composed of Miocene alkalic basalt (47.2–49.1?wt.% SiO₂; 6.7–7.7?wt.% MgO) and overlying andesite and dacite lavas (61.4–63.9?wt.% SiO₂; 3.5–4.7?wt.% MgO). Sugarloaf Mountain therefore offers an opportunity to evaluate the origin of andesite magmas with respect to coexisting basalt. Important for evaluating Sugarloaf basalt and andesite (plus dacite) is that the andesites contain basaltic minerals olivine (cores Fo_76-86) and clinopyroxene (～Fs_9-18Wo_35-44) coexisting with Na-plagioclase (An_48-28Or_1.4–7), quartz, amphibole, and minor orthopyroxene, biotite, and sanidine. Noteworthy is that andesite mineral textures include reaction and spongy zones and embayments in and on Na-plagioclase and quartz phenocrysts, where some reacted Na-plagioclases have higher-An mantles, plus some similarly reacted and embayed olivine, clinopyroxene, and amphibole phenocrysts.Fractional crystallization of Sugarloaf basaltic magmas cannot alone yield the andesites because their ～61 to 64?wt.% SiO₂ is attended by incompatible REE and HFSE abundances lower than in the basalts (e.g., Ce 77–105 in andesites vs 114–166?ppm in basalts; Zr 149–173 vs 183–237; Nb 21–25 vs 34–42). On the other hand, andesite mineral assemblages, textures, and compositions are consistent with basaltic magmas having mixed with rhyolitic magmas, provided the rhyolite(s) had relatively low REE and HFSE abundances. Linear binary mixing calculations yield good first approximation results for producing andesitic compositions from Sugarloaf basalt compositions and a central Arizona low-REE, low-HFSE rhyolite. For example, mixing proportions 52:48 of Sugarloaf basalt and low incompatible-element rhyolite yields a hybrid composition that matches Sugarloaf andesite well ? although we do not claim to have exact endmembers, but rather, viable proxies. Additionally, the observed mineral textures are all consistent with hot basalt magma mixing into rhyolite magma. Compositional differences among the phenocrysts of Na-plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and amphibole in the andesites suggest several mixing events, and amphibole thermobarometry calculates depths corresponding to 8–16?km and 850° to 980?°C. The amphibole P-T observed for a rather tight compositional range of andesite compositions is consistent with the gathering of several different basalt-rhyolite hybrids into a homogenizing ‘collection' zone prior to eruptions. We interpret Sugarloaf Mountain to represent basalt-rhyolite mixings on a relatively small scale as part of the large scale Miocene (～20 to 15 Ma) magmatism of central Arizona. A particular qualification for this example of hybridization, however, is that the rhyolite endmember have relatively low REE and HFSE abundances.     

Petrogenesis of picrite and associated basalts from the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Basalts dredged from the south wall of a fracture zone transecting the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (SMAR) at 54° S are unusual in that they include a suite of highly olivine phyric basalts, sampled along with more normal sparsely plagioclase phyric basalts, and a highly plagioclase phyric basalt. Four basalt types (olivine phyric, sparsely plagioclase phyric, evolved sparsely plagioclase phyric and highly plagioclase phyric) are readily distinguished on the basis of petrography, mineralogy and bulk composition. They range from primitive to evolved, with the olivine phyric basalts having elevated MgO (up to 15.5%) and the plagioclase phyric basalt having elevated Al₂O₃ (19.3%) and CaO (13.1%) contents. Compositional variations are extremely consistant, with the olivine phyric basalts and the sparsely plagioclase phyric basalts defining coherent linear trends. On the basis of the ratios and covariation of the incompatible trace elements Zr, Nb, Y and Ba, distinct parental magmas for each basalt type are required. An investigation of Fe-Mg and Mg-Ni distribution coefficients between olivine and magma indicates that olivines from the olivine phyric basalts are on average too forsteritic and too Ni poor to have crystallized in a magma corresponding to the host bulk rock composition. This implies that these basalts are enriched in xenocrystic olivine. Olivines from the other basalt types are mostly of equilibrium composition, although there are some exceptions. Petrogenetic models for the formation of the different basalt types are quantitatively evaluated in terms of fractional crystallization/crystal accumulation processes. These indicate that (1) the olivine phyric basalts are the products of olivine and minor Cr-spinel accumulation and do not represent analogues of primary magma, or a liquid fractionation trend; (2) that the sparsely plagioclase phyric basalts were formed by polybaric fractional crystallization of olivine, plagioclase and clinopyroxene; and (3) that the evolved sparsely plagioclase phyric basalts are not readily related to one another. The single highly plagioclase phyric basalt is unrelated to the other basalt types and is cumulus enriched in plagioclase.The different basalt types are unrelated to one another and document the presence of at least four distinct magma types erupted in close proximity at this ridge/transform intersection on the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.     

Petrology of the Nandewar Volcano,N.S.W., Australia

The Nandewar Mountains, N.S.W., Australia, are the remains of a Miocene continental alkaline volcano whose products range from olivine basalts to comendites and alkali rhyolites. Intermediate hawaiites, mugearites and benmoreites predominate in the shield, in which olivine basalts are rare, and the trachytic rocks form many intrusions into the shield. The Nandewar alkaline series shows extreme fractionation of a relatively differentiated alkali olivine basalt magma, saturated with silica, to yield extremely oversaturated peralkaline comendites and peraluminous alkali rhyolites. The nature of the ferromagnesian phases forming was controlled by low oxygen fugacities. Throughout the series clinopyroxenes range from diopsidic augite, through sodic ferrohedenbergites to hedenbergite-acmite solid solutions. Riebeckite-arfvedsonite solid solutions appear in the trachytes and comendites, and aenigmatite appears in some of the peralkaline rocks. The feldspars in the series fractionate from calcic labradorite through potash oligoclase and calcic anothoclase towards the minimum melting alkali feldspar composition, Ab₆₅Or₃₅. The compositions of the alkali rhyolites approach the minimum in the system SiO₂-KAlSi₃O₈-NaAlSi₃O₈. All the mineralogical and chemical evidence points to the development of the Nandewar series by the processes of extreme crystallization differentiation of an alkali olivine basalt parent magma. No significant contamination occurred, xenoliths and xenocrysts are absent, and volatile transfer and metasomatism played a minor role.     

Compositions of immiscible liquids in volcanic rocks

Immiscible liquids, preserved as chemically distinct, glassy globules, (Si-rich and Fe-rich) occur in many tholeiitic basalts and some alkaline and calcalkaline lavas. The glasses typically form part of a dark mesostasis containing skeletal magnetite crystals. In thick flows, the Si-rich liquid may crystallize to granophyric patches, and the Ferich one to aggregates of hedenbergite, magnetite, and accessory phases. The mesostases containing these immiscible phases constitute from 20% of a primitive olivine tholeiite (MgO=7.5%) to 50% of a highly fractionated quartz tholeiite (MgO=2.8%), but may be less if the rock is oxidized. Abundant ferric iron promotes early crystallization of magnetite and prevents the iron enrichment necessary to reach the immiscibility field; thus, aa flows rarely exhibit immiscibility, whereas the more reduced pahoehoe ones do.Alumina and alkalis are concentrated in the Si-rich liquid, whereas the remainder of the major elements are concentrated in the Fe-rich melt; but the partitioning of Fe, Mg, Ca, and P is less pronounced in alkaline rocks than in tholeiites. Conjugate liquids have compositions of granite and Fe-rich pyroxenite, though the Si-rich melt in alkaline rocks is more syenitic and the Fe-rich one contains considerable normative alkali feldspar. The liquids coexist with plagioclase and augite of, respectively, An₅₀ and Ca₃₄Mg₁₉Fe₄₇ compositions in tholeiites, and An₄₀ and Ca₄₂Mg₂₉Fe₂₉ in alkaline rocks. Immiscibility is not restricted to K-rich residual liquids, but the miscibility gap is narrower for Na-rich compositions. In tholeiitic basalts with 52% SiO₂, the Na₂O/K₂O ratios in conjugate liquids are equal, but at lower silica contents the Si-rich liquid is relatively more sodic, whereas at higher silica contents it is relatively more potassic. This may explain the association of sodic granites with mid ocean ridge basalts.Immiscible liquids are present in sufficient amounts in so many volcanic rocks that magma unmixing should be considered a viable means of differentiation during the late stages of fractionation of common magmas, at least at low pressures.     

Basalt magmatism along the passive continental margin of SE Brazil (Campos basin)

The SE-Brazil passive continental margin is characterized by tholeiitic magmatism that is particularly widespread in the marginal Campos basin, facing the inland flood basalts of the adjacent Paranà basin. Campos magmatism is represented by Early Cretaceous (EC; 134–122 Ma) flood basalts and minor Upper Cretaceous-Early Tertiary basalt flows and intrusives, which were emplaced in a basin with attenuated crustal thickness (20 km). Petrography, mineral chemistry, wholerock geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotope composition emphasize that the EC-Campos basalts have suffered extensive seawater interaction which caused enrichment in MgO, FeO total, K₂O, Rb and Ba, and depletion in SiO₂ and CaO, while Zr, Nb, Y and REE remained virtually constant in samples with loss-on-ignition values less than 4 wt%. In general, Campos basalts have bulkrock chemistry similar to those of the inland Parana tholeiites (140–130 Ma) with relatively low concentrations of incompatible elements and TiO₂ (<2 wt%). Batch-melting calculations suggest that Campos basalt genesis requires a garnet-peridotite source and variable degree of melting (9–25%) in order to explain the rare-earth-element (REE) patterns with chondrite normalised La/Yb_(N) ratio ranging from 0.9–1.0 to 4.4–7.1. The Sr–Nd isotopic data for the slightly altered Campos basalts, of both Early Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous-Early Tertiary age, plot close to bulk earth, or in the enriched quadrant of the mantle array. Inter-element (La, Zr, Nb, Ba) ratios preclude for the Campos (and Paranà) basalt genesis any significant participation of N-type (Zr/Nb>16) MORB (mid-ocean-ridge basalt) mantle in simple binary mixing models. On the whole, the Early Cretaceous Campos basalts appear as an easterly, younger extension of the northern Paranà volcanism and probably erupted during early stages of the major riftingprocesses which caused continental thinning. It is notable that in the Campos marginal basin both the basalt magmatism contemporaneous with the continental break-up, as well as that which occurred after the S. America-Africa separation, appears substantially related to subcontinental lithosphere and a Dupal-like OIB (ocean-island basalt) (e.g. Tristan da Cunha) source components.     

Origin of basaltic magmas in the Mojave Desert area,California

The basaltic lavas erupted throughout the Mojave Desert are basanites (SiO₂<46%, normative nepheline>5%, and K₂O>1.5%), alkali-olivine basalts (SiO₂=46–48%; ne=0–5%; and K₂O=1.0–1.5%), and low-alumina, sub-alkaline basalts (SiO₂=48–51%; ne=0; K₂O<1.0%). One volcano, Pisgah Crater, erupted five times, with lava from each successive phase containing more silica and less potash than the one proceeding it. This compositional trend is the reverse of that expected from differentiation of a single alkalic magma, and therefore, may represent a succession of magmas tapped from a zone of continuing partial melting in the mantle.These lava compositions suggest that first melting was under high water pressure and was followed by relatively dry partial melting of gamet-orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-olivine assemblages. The successive increase in silica and alkali decrease also requires that the partial melting zone move to shallower levels.All lavas sampled in the Mojave Desert area have compositions that can best be explained by the extraction of magma from such a rising melting zone, analogous to the mantle diapirs suggested by Green and Ringwood.     

Evolution of major mineral compositions and trace element abundances during fractional crystallization of a model lunar composition

The evolution of major mineral compositions and trace element abundances during fractional crystallization of a model lunar magma ocean have been calculated. A lunar bulk composition consistent with petrological constraints has been selected. Major mineral compositions have been calculated using published studies of olivine-melt, plagioclase-melt, and pyroxene-olivine equilibria. Trace element abundances have been calculated using experimentally-determined partition coefficients where possible. In the absence of experimental determinations, published partition coefficients obtained by analyzing phase separates from porphyritic volcanic rocks have been used. Trace elements studied are La, Sm, Eu, Lu, Rb, Sr( Eu²⁺), Ni, Co, and Cr.The first mineral to crystallize is olivine, which varies in composition from Fo₉₈ at the liquidus to Fo₉₅ at 50% solidification. Orthopyroxene crystallizes from 50 to 60% solidification with a restricted composition range of En₉₅-En₉₃. Plagioclase and Ca-rich clinopyroxene (X_Wo arbitrarily set equal to 0.5) co-crystallize during the final 40% solidification. Plagioclase changes in composition from An₉₇ to approximately An₉₃, while clinopyroxene evolves from En₄₆ to approximately En₄₀. The concomitant evolution of major element abundances in the melt is also discussed.The concentration of Ni in the melt decreases rapidly because solid-melt partition coefficients are significantly greater than unity at all stages of crystallization. The concentration of Cr in the melt increases slowly during olivine crystallization, then drops precipitously during the crystallization of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene. The concentration of Co in the melt decreases slowly during olivine and orthopyroxene crystallization, after which it returns slowly to its initial concentration. Rubidium and Sr are not fractionated relative to one another until the onset of plagioclase crystallization. Ratios of Rb/Sr, normalized to their initial concentrations in the magma, do not rise above 10 until 95% of the magma has solidified. The ratios of Eu/Sm and La/Lu, normalized to their initial concentrations in the magma, remain essentially unfractionated until the onset of crystallization of clinopyroxene plus plagioclase, at which point the normalized La/Lu ratio increases to approximately 1.3 at 100% solidification and the normalized Eu/Sm ratio decreases to approximately 0.2 at 100% solidification.The model calculations are used to place approximate constraints on the bulk composition of the primitive Moon. Consideration of the effect on plagioclase composition of the activities of NaO_0.5 and SiO₂ in the melt suggests that the primitive Moon contained less than 0.4 wt % NaO_0.5 and approximately 42–43 wt % SiO₂. Concentrations of the REE in model lunar anorthosites are consistent with the returned samples. Concentrations of the REE in several model ‘highland basalts’ (considered to be representative of the average lunar terrae) are too low when compared with returned samples. Several possible explanations of this discrepancy are considered. The possible role of spinel in a twostage geochemical evolution of mare basalt liquids is discussed.     

Geochemical systematics of the Mauranipur-Babina greenstone belt,Bundelkhand Craton,Central India:Insights on Neoarchean mantle plume-arc accretion and crustal evolution

The Neoarchean Bundelkhand greenstone sequences at Mauranipur and Babina areas within the Bundelkhand Gneissic Complex preserve a variety of magmatic rocks such as komatiitic basalts, basalts,felsic volcanic rocks and high-Mg andesites belonging to the Baragaon, Raspahari and Koti Formations.The intrusive and extrusive komatiitic basalts are characterized by low SiO_2(39-53 wt.%), high MgO(18-25 wt.%).moderately high Fe_2O_3(7.1-11.6 wt.%), Al_2O_3(4.5-12.0 wt.%), and TiO_2(0.4-1.23 wt.%)with super to subchondritic(Gd/Yb)N ratios indicating garnet control on the melts. The intrusive komatiitic suite of Ti-enriched and Al-depleted type possesses predominant negative Eu and positive Nb, Ti and Y anomalies. The chemical composition of basalts classifies them into three types with varying SiO_2, TiO_2, MgO, Fe_2O_3, Al_2O_3 and CaO. At similar SiO_2 content of type Ⅰ and Ⅲ basalts, the type II basalts show slightly high Al_2O_3 and Fe_2O_3 contents. Significant negative anomalies of Nb, Zr, Hf and Ti, slightly enriched LREE with relatively flat HREE and low ∑REE contents are observed in type Ⅰ and Ⅱ basalts. TypeⅢ basalts show high Zr/Nb ratios(9.8-10.4), TiO_2(1.97-2.04 wt.%), but possess strikingly flat Zr, Hf, Y and Yb and are uncontaminated. Andesites from Agar and Koti have high SiO_2(55-64 wt.%), moderate TiO_2(0.4-0.7 wt.%), slightly low Al_2O_3(7-11.9 wt.%), medium to high MgO(3-8 wt.%) and CaO contents(10-17 wt.%). Anomalously high Cr, Co and Ni contents are observed in the Koti rhyolites. Tholeiitic to calc alkaline affinity of mafic-felsic volcanic rocks and basalt-andesite dacite-rhyolite differentiation indicate a mature arc and thickened crust during the advanced stage of the evolution of Neoarchean Bundelkhand greenstone belt in a convergent tectonic setting where the melts were derived from partial melting of thick basaltic crust metamorphosed to amphibolite-eclogite facies. The trace element systematics suggest the presence of arc-back arc association with varying magnitudes of crust-mantle interaction. La/Sm, La/Ta,Nb/Th, high MgO contents(20 wt.%), CaO/Al_2O_3 and(Gd/Yb)_N 1 along with the positive Nb anomalies of the komatiite basalts reflect a mantle plume source for their origin contaminated by subductionmetasomatized mantle lithosphere. The overall geochemical signatures of the ultramafic-mafic and felsic volcanic rocks endorse the Neoarchean plume-arc accretion tectonics in the Bundelkhand greenstone belt.     

Late cenozoic alkali-olivine basalts of the Basin-Range Province,USA

Petrographic and chemical analyses demonstrate that late Cenozoic mafic lavas from the Basin-Range Province, western United States, are predominantly alkali-olivine basalts. Associated with these lavas are lesser volumes of basaltic andesite which appear to be differentiates from the more primitive alkali basalts. Late Cenozoic basalts from adjacent regions (Columbia River Plateau, Snake River Plain, Yellowstone area, High Cascades and Sierra Nevada) are predominantly tholeiitic. This apparent petrologic provincialism is supported by complementary variations in heat flow, seismic velocities, crustal thickness, magnetic anomalies and geologic setting.Alkali-olivine basalts from Japan and eastern Australia are analogous to those from the Basin-Range province both in composition and tectonic environment. It is suggested that these lavas are the products of a unique environment characterized by high heat flow and a thin crust.Recent melting experiments on peridotites and basalts and measurements of heat flow allow limits to be placed on the depth of origin of Basin-Range alkali-olivine basalt magmas. It is proposed that these lavas are produced by partial melting (less than 20%) of peridotitic mantle material at depths between 40 and 60 km in response to an elevated geothermal gradient. The basaltic andesites may be derived from hydrous alkali basalt magma by fractionation at depths of 30 to 40 km.     

Composition and age of tertiary sills and dykes, Jameson Land Basin, East Greenland: relation to regional flood volcanism

The Paleozoic–Mesozoic Jameson Land Basin (East Greenland) is intruded by a sill complex and by a swarm of ESE trending dykes. Together with dykes of the inner Scoresby Sund fjord, they form a regional Early Tertiary intrusive complex located 200–400 km inland of the East Greenland rifted continental margin. Most of the intrusive rocks in the Jameson Land Basin are geochemically coherent and consist of evolved plagioclase–augite–olivine saturated, uncontaminated high-Ti basalt with 48.5–50.2 wt.% SiO₂, 2.2–3.2 wt.% TiO₂, 5.1–7.4 wt.% MgO, 9–17 ppm Nb and La/Yb_N=2.8–3.6. Minor tholeiitic rock types are: (a) low-Ti basalt (49.7 wt.% SiO₂, 1.7 wt.% TiO₂, 6.8 wt.% MgO, 2.6 ppm Nb and La/Yb_N=0.5) akin to oceanic basalts; (b) very-high-Ti basalt (48.6 wt.% SiO₂, 4.1 wt.% TiO₂, 5.1 wt.% MgO and 21 ppm Nb); and (c) plagioclase ultraphyric basalt. The tholeiitic dolerites are cut by alkali basalt (43.7–47.3 wt.% SiO₂, 4.1–5.1 wt.% TiO₂, 4.9–6.2 wt.% MgO, 29–46 ppm Nb and La/Yb_N=16–17) sills and dykes.Modelling of high-field-strength and rare-earth elements indicate that the high-Ti basalts formed from 6–10% melting of approximately equal proportions of garnet- and spinel-bearing mantle of slightly depleted composition beneath thick continental lithosphere. Conversely, dolerite intrusions and flood basalts of similar compositional kindred from adjacent but more rift-proximal occurrences in Northeast Greenland formed from shallower melting of dominantly spinel-bearing mantle beneath extended and thinned continental lithosphere. These variations in lithospheric thickness suggest the continent–ocean transition of the East Greenland rifted volcanic margin is sharp and narrow.⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating and paleomagnetism show that the high-Ti dolerites were emplaced at 53–52 Ma (most likely during C23r) and hence surprisingly postdate the main flood volcanism by 2–5 Ma and the inception of seafloor spreading between Greenland and Europe by 1–2 Ma. The formation of tholeiitic and alkaline magmas emplaced into the Jameson Land Basin corroborates to the importance of post-breakup magmatism along the East Greenland volcanic rifted margin. Upwelling of the ancestral Iceland mantle plume under central Greenland at 53–52 Ma (rather than under the active rift), perhaps accompanied by a failed attempt to shift the rift zone westward towards the plume axis, may have triggered post-breakup continental magmatism of the Jameson Land Basin and the inner Scoresby Sund region, along preexisting structural lineaments.     

Geochemical and mineralogical evidence for the occurrence of at least three distinct magma types in the ‘famous’ region

Bulk rock major and trace element variations in selected basalts from the Famous area, in conjunction with a detailed study of the chemical compositions of phenocryst minerals and associated melt inclusions are used to place constraints on the genetic relationship among the various lava types. The distribution of NiO in olivine and Cr-spinel phenocrysts distinguishes the picritic basalts, plagioclase phyric basalts and plagioclase-pyroxene basalts from the olivine basalts. For a given Mg/Mg+Fe²⁺ atomic ratio of the mineral, the NiO content of these phenocrysts in the former three basalt types is low relative to that in the phenocrysts in the olivine basalts. The Zr/Nb ratio of the lavas similarly distinguishes the olivine basalts from the plagioclase phyric and plagioclase pyroxene basalts and, in addition, distinguishes the picritic basalts from the other basalt types. These differences indicate that the different magma groups could not have been processed through the same magma chamber, and preclude any direct inter-relationship via open or closed system fractional crystallization.The Fe-Mg partitioning between olivine and host rock suggests that the picritic basalts represent olivine (±Cr-spinel) enriched magmas, derived from a less MgO rich parental magma. The partitioning of Fe and Mg between olivine, Cr-spinel and coexisting liquid is used to predict a primary magma composition parental to the picritic basalts. This magma is characterized by relatively high MgO (12.3%) and CaO (12.6%) and low FeO^* (7.96%) and TiO₂ (0.63%).Least squares calculations indicate that the plagioclase phyric basalts are related to the plagioclase-pyroxene basalts by plagioclase and minor clinopyroxene and olivine accumulation. The compositional variations within the olivine basalts can be accounted for by fractionation of plagioclase, clinopyroxene and olivine in an open system, steady state, magma chamber in the average proportions 453223. It is suggested that the most primitive olivine basalts can be derived from a pristine mantle composition by approximately 17% equilibrium partial melting. Although distinguished by its higher Zr/Nb ratio and lower NiO content of phenocryst phases, the magma parental to the picritic basalts can be derived from a similar source composition by approximately 27% equilibrium partial melting. It is suggested that the parental magma to the plagioclase-pyroxene and plagioclase phyric basalts might have been derived from greater depth resulting in the fractionation of the Zr/Nb ratio by equilibration with residual garnet.C.O.B. Contribution No. 722     

Water Content of Basalt Erupted on the ocean floor

Deep sea pillow basalts dredged from the ocean floor show that vesicularity changes with composition as well as with depth. Alkalic basalts are more vesicular than tholeiitic basalts erupted at the same depth. The vesicularity data, when related to experimentally determined solubility of water in basalt, indicate that K-poor oceanic tholeiites originally contained about 0.25 percent water, Hawaiian tholeiites of intermediate K-content, about 0.5 percent water, and alkali-rich basalts, about 0.9 percent water. Analyses of fresh basalt pillows show a systematic increase of H₂O⁺ as the rocks become more alkalic. K-poor oceanic tholeiites contain 0.06–0.42 percent H₂O⁺, Hawaiian tholeiites, 0.31–0.60 percent H₂O⁺, and alkali rich basalts 0.49–0.98 percent H₂O⁺. The contents of K₂O, P₂O₅, F, and Cl increase directly with an increase in H₂O⁺ content such that at 1.0 weight percent H₂O⁺, K₂O is 1.58 percent, P₂O₅ is 0.55 percent, F is 0.07 percent, and Cl is 0.1 percent. The measured weight percent of deuterium on the rim of one Hawaiian pillow is –6.0 (relative to SMOW); this value, which is similar to other indications of magmatic water, suggests that no appreciable sea water was absorbed by the pillow during or subsequent to eruption on the ocean floor.Concentrations of volatile constituents in the alkali basalt melts relative to tholeiitic melts can be explained by varying degrees of partial melting of mantle material or by fractional crystallization of a magma batch.Publication authorized by the Director, U.S. Geological Survey.     

Dynamics of magma mixing and degassing recorded in plagioclase at Stromboli (Aeolian Archipelago,Italy)

Crystal-rich materials (scoriae and lava flows) emitted during the 1985–2000 activity of Stromboli were taken into consideration for systematic study of bulk rock/matrix glass chemistry and in particular for the study of chemical and textural zoning of plagioclase, the most abundant mineral phase. Over the considered time period, bulk rock composition remained fairly constant in both major (SiO₂ 49.2–50.9 wt% and K₂O 1.96–2.18 wt%) and trace elements. The quite constant chemistry of matrix glasses also indicates that the degree of crystallization of magma was maintained at around 50 vol%. Plagioclase ranges in composition between An₆₂ and An₈₈ and is characterized by alternating, <10–100 m thick, bytownitic and labradoritic concentric layers, although the dominant and representative plagioclase of scoriae is An_68. The labradoritic layers (An_62–70) show small-scale (1–5 µm), oscillatory zoning, are free of inclusions, and appear to record episodes of slow crystal growth in equilibrium with a degassed liquid having the composition of the matrix glass. In contrast the bytownitic layers (An₇₀-An₈₈) are patchy zoned, show sieve structure with abundant micrometric glass inclusions and voids, and are attributed to rapid crystal growth.A key to understanding the origin of bytownitic layers can be retrieved from the texture and composition of the coronas of plagioclase xenocrysts, inherited from crystal-rich magma, in nearly aphyric pumice which are erupted during more energetic events and represent a deep, volatile-rich, HK-basaltic magma. They show a continuum from fine-sieve to evident skeletal texture from the inner to the outer part of the corona associated with normal compositional zoning from An₉₀ to An₇₅. In the light of these observations, we propose that input of H₂O-rich melt blobs, and their mixing with the residing magma, causes partial dissolution of the labradoritic layers followed by the growth of bytownitic composition whose sieve texture attests of rapid crystallization occurring under undercooling conditions mainly induced by degassing. As a whole, the zoning of plagioclase in the scoriae records successive and discrete intrusions of volatile-rich magma blobs, its degassing and mixing with the resident degassed magma at shallow level.Editorial responsibility: T.L. GroveAn erratum to this article can be found at     

Textural and compositional evidence for magma mixing and its mechanism,Abu volcano group,southwestern Japan

Quaternary basalts, andesites and dacites from the Abu monogenetic volcano group, SW Japan, (composed of more than 40 monogenetic volcanoes) show two distinct chemical trends especially on the FeO^*/MgO vs SiO₂ diagram. One trend is characterized by FeO^*/MgO-enrichment with a slight increase in SiO₂ content (Fe-type trend), whereas the other shows a marked SiO₂-enrichment with relatively constant FeO^*/MgO ratios (Si-type trend). The Fe-type trend is explained by fractional crystallization with subtraction of olivine and augite from a primitive alkali basalt magma. Rocks of the Si-type trend are characterized by partially melted or resorbed quartz and sodic plagioclase phenocrysts and/or fine-grained basaltic inclusions. They are most likely products of mixing of a primitive alkali basalt magma containing olivine phenocrysts with a dacite magma containing quartz, sodic plagioclase and hornblende phenocrysts. Petrographic variation as well as chemical variation from basalt to dacite of the Si-type trend is accounted for by various mixing ratios of basalt and dacite magmas. Pargasitic hornblende and clinopyroxene phenocrysts in andesite and dacite may have crystallized from basaltic magma during magma mixing. Olivine and spinel, and quartz, sodic plagioclase and common hornblende had crystallized in basaltic and dacitic magmas, respectively, before the mixing. Within a lava flow, the abundance of basaltic inclusions decreases from the area near the eruptive vent towards the perimeter of the flow, and the number of resorbed phenocrysts varies inversely, suggesting zonation in the magma chamber.The mode of mixing changes depending on the mixing ratio. In the mafic mixture, basalt and dacite magmas can mix in the liquid state (liquid-liquid mixing). In the silicic mixture, on the other hand, the basalt magma was quenched and formed inclusions (liquid-solid mixing). During mixing, the disaggregated basalt magma and the host dacite magma soon reached thermal equilibrium. Compositional homogenization of the mixed magma can occur only when the equilibrium temperature is sufficiently above the solidus of the basalt magma. The Si-type trend is chemically and petrographically similar to the calc-alkalic trend. Therefore, a calc-alkalic trend which is distinguished from a fractional crystallization trend (e.g. Fe-type trend) may be a product of magma mixing.