Nd,Sr and O isotopic study of the petrogenesis of two syntectonic members of the New Hampshire Plutonic Series

 Nd, Sr and O isotope systematics were used to investigate the petrogenesis of two adjacent plutons of the Bethlehem Gneiss (BG) and the Kinsman Quartz Monzonite (KQM), exposed within the Central Maine Terrane (CMT) of New England. Both are Acadian-aged (≈413 Ma) synmetamorphic and syntectonic members of the New Hampshire Plutonic Series (NHPS). Potential source rocks analyzed for this study include Silurian and Devonian metasedimentary rocks of the CMT, and Ordovician metasedimentary rocks and granitic gneisses of the Bronson Hill Anticlinorium (BHA), which border the CMT to the west. The ɛ_Sr(413),  ɛ_Nd(413) and δ¹⁸O values for the KQM range from 56.3 to 120.0, 2.8 to −6.4, and 7.6‰ to 12.9‰, respectively; values for the BG range from 7.4 to 144.7, 0.6 to −9.3, and 8.3‰ to 11.3‰, respectively; and values for possible source rocks range from 38.1 to 654.2, −10.7 to 5.4, and 6.2‰ to 14.1‰, respectively. Both the BG and KQM have extremely heterogeneous initial isotopic compositions consistent with mixing of multiple crustal source rocks, and neither contains a volumetrically significant (i.e., ≥10%) mantlederived component. Overlapping values of ɛ_Nd(413),  ɛ_Sr(413) and δ¹⁸O values for both the BG and KQM samples resemble values for metasedimentary host rocks of the CMT and BHA. We observe no systematic correlations between ɛ_Nd and ɛ_Sr values for either the BG or the KQM. The ɛ_Sr and δ¹⁸O values for the BG do not form any simple mixing trends, nor is there any direct correlation between the isotopic compositions of contact BG samples and their adjacent host rocks, in contrast to our observations for the KQM (Lathrop et al. 1994). We propose that the KQM and BG magmas were generated through anatexis of metasedimentary rocks from both the BHA and CMT in response to crystal thickening during the Acadian orogeny. Melting may have been initiated within CMT metasediments in response to high heat production in these mid-crustal rocks combined with crustal thickening, whereas melting of BHA rocks with normal crustal heat production, which were located at lower-crustal levels than CMT rocks, is likely to have been driven by crustal thickening alone. Following upward advection of mobile BHA magmas, BHA- and CMT-derived magmas may have mingled during complex Acadian deformation in the CMT, thus accounting for the isotopic similarities we observe between the BG and the KQM. Received: 13 September 1994/Accepted: 31 January 1996     

Plutonism in the Variscan Odenwald (Germany): from subduction to collision

 Latest Devonian to early Carboniferous plutonic rocks from the Odenwald accretionary complex reflect the transition from a subduction to a collisional setting. For ∼362 Ma old gabbroic rocks from the northern tectonometamorphic unit I, initial isotopic compositions (ε_Nd=+3.4 to +3.8;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr =0.7035–0.7053;δ¹⁸O=6.8–8.0‰) and chemical signatures (e.g., low Nb/Th, Nb/U, Ce/Pb, Th/U, Rb/Cs) indicate a subduction-related origin by partial melting of a shallow depleted mantle source metasomatized by water-rich, large ion lithophile element-loaded fluids. In the central (unit II) and southern (unit III) Odenwald, syncollisional mafic to felsic granitoids were emplaced in a transtensional setting at approximately 340–335 Ma B.P. Unit II comprises a mafic and a felsic suite that are genetically unrelated. Both suites are intermediate between the medium-K and high-K series and have similar initial Nd and Sr signatures (ε_Nd=0.0 to –2.5;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7044–0.7056) but different oxygen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁸O=7.3–8.7‰ in mafic vs 9.3–9.5‰ in felsic rocks). These characteristics, in conjunction with the chemical signatures, suggest an enriched mantle source for the mafic magmas and a shallow metaluminous crustal source for the felsic magmas. Younger intrusives of unit II have higher Sr/Y, Zr/Y, and Tb/Yb ratios suggesting magma segregation at greater depths. Mafic high-K to shoshonitic intrusives of the southern unit III have initial isotopic compositions (ε_Nd=–1.1 to –1.8;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr =0.7054–0.7062;δ¹⁸O=7.2–7.6‰) and chemical characteristics (e.g., high Sr/Y, Zr/Y, Tb/Yb) that are strongly indicative of a deep-seated enriched mantle source. Spatially associated felsic high-K to shoshonitic rocks of unit III may be derived by dehydration melting of garnet-rich metaluminous crustal source rocks or may represent hybrid magmas. Received: 7 December 1998 / Accepted: 27 April 1999     

Oxygen isotope geochemistry of the Granite Harbour Intrusives, Wilson Terrane, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Summary The oxygen and strontium isotope compositions of the Cambro-Ordovician granitoids cropping out in the Wilson Terrane (Granite Harbour Intrusives–GHI) constrain the petrological evolution of the magmatism in Antarctica, related to the Ross Orogeny. The measured δ¹⁸O_WR values of these intrusives define three different compositional groups: the metaluminous rocks (MAG), with δ¹⁸O_WR ranging from 6.9 (olivine gabbro) to 11.4‰ (monzogranite); the unaltered peraluminous granites (PAG), having δ¹⁸O_WR values ranging from 10.6 to 13.2‰, and the foliated peraluminous leucogranites (SKG), characterised by δ¹⁸O_WR values above 14‰. The analysis of equilibrium mineral assemblages indicates that the high δ¹⁸O_WR values are magmatic and unaffected by low-temperature processes. A few peraluminous granites sampled in the vicinity of Cenozoic intrusions show anomalously low δ¹⁸O_WR, due to meteoric-hydrothermal alteration. The isotopic data indicate that the coeval and spatially related metaluminous mafic and felsic intrusives forming the GHI were not comagmatic: the mafic and intermediate rocks were likely derived from lower crustal contamination of a pristine basaltic magma; their δ¹⁸O_WR values were also increased during emplacement, due to the interaction with the adjacent ¹⁸O-rich hydrous felsic magmas (mixing). Oxygen isotope data indicate that the crustal sources producing the Granite Harbour intrusives were not homogeneous: the felsic metaluminous intrusives were produced by partial melting of fertile rock with possible igneous origin, whereas partial melting of a metapelitic source rock is claimed for the genesis of the peraluminous granites. Received February 9, 2001; revised version accepted August 10, 2001     

4.4 billion years of crustal maturation: oxygen isotope ratios of magmatic zircon

Analysis of δ¹⁸O in igneous zircons of known age traces the evolution of intracrustal recycling and crust-mantle interaction through time. This record is especially sensitive because oxygen isotope ratios of igneous rocks are strongly affected by incorporation of supracrustal materials into melts, which commonly have δ¹⁸O values higher than in primitive mantle magmas. This study summarizes data for δ¹⁸O in zircons that have been analyzed from 1,200 dated rocks ranging over 96% of the age of Earth. Uniformly primitive to mildly evolved magmatic δ¹⁸O values are found from the first half of Earth history, but much more varied values are seen for younger magmas. The similarity of values throughout the Archean, and comparison to the composition of the “modern” mantle indicate that δ¹⁸O of primitive mantle melts have remained constant (±0.2‰) for the past 4.4 billion years. The range and variability of δ¹⁸O in all Archean zircon samples is subdued (δ¹⁸O(Zrc)=5–7.5‰) ranging from values in high temperature equilibrium with the mantle (5.3± 0.3‰) to slightly higher, more evolved compositions (6.5–7.5‰) including samples from: the Jack Hills (4.4–3.3 Ga), the Beartooth Mountains (4.0–2.9 Ga), Barberton (3.5–2.7 Ga), the Superior and Slave Provinces (3.0 to 2.7 Ga), and the Lewisian (2.7 Ga). No zircons from the Archean have been analyzed with magmatic δ¹⁸O above 7.5‰. The mildly evolved, higher Archean values (6.5–7.5‰) are interpreted to result from exchange of protoliths with surface waters at low temperature followed by melting or contamination to create mildly elevated magmas that host the zircons. During the Proterozoic, the range of δ¹⁸O(Zrc) and the highest values gradually increased in a secular change that documents maturation of the crust. After ∼1.5 Ga, high δ¹⁸O zircons (8 to >10‰) became common in many Proterozoic and Phanerozoic terranes reflecting δ¹⁸O(whole rock) values from 9 to over 12‰. The appearance of high δ¹⁸O magmas on Earth reflects nonuniformitarian changes in the composition of sediments, and rate and style of recycling of surface-derived material into magmas within the crust. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Chemical and mineralogical heterogeneity in the basal zone of the Partridge River Intrusion: implications for the origin of Cu–Ni sulfide mineralization in the Duluth Complex,midcontinent rift system

Copper–nickel sulfide mineralization in the Partridge River Intrusion of the 1.1 Ga Duluth Complex is restricted primarily to a 100 m thick zone near the base of the intrusion, which is heterogeneous at meter scales in terms of both sulfide contents and rock types, which include dunite, melatroctolite, troctolite, leucotroctolite, gabbro, olivine gabbro, gabbronorite, and rare norite. Olivine-rich troctolites and melatroctolites appear to have required mineral accumulation on a substrate, whereas augite troctolite and gabbros are thought to have formed via in situ crystallization of magmas ranging in composition from high-Al olivine tholeiite to high-Ti tholeiite. δ¹⁸O values of orthopyroxene-poor rocks in the Partridge River Intrusion range from 5.2 to 6.7‰. δ¹⁸O values of 6.7‰ are consistent with less than 20% contamination by high-¹⁸O metasedimentary country rock, either via devolatilization or local partial melting. Rocks with greater than ∼15% orthopyroxene, gabbronorites, and norites, are characterized by δ¹⁸O values in excess of 6.9‰, and required the assimilation of larger amounts of siliceous country rocks. Sulfur isotopic values in leucotroctolitic rocks that contain less than ∼400 ppm S and that overlie the basal zone range between −1.5 and 2‰, values that are consistent with those of mantle-derived sulfur. In contrast, δ³⁴S values in the basal zone range from −1.4 to 10.5‰, where the ³⁴S-enriched samples require an input of sulfur from metasedimentary country rocks. δ³⁴S values of the rocks in the basal zone correlate with variations in olivine Fo content but not with S abundance. The wide range in δ³⁴S values of rocks in the basal zone strongly suggests that magmas interacted with layers in the sedimentary country rocks that were themselves characterized by variable sulfide contents and δ³⁴S values. The S isotopic data suggest that the heterogeneity observed in the basal zone results from the emplacement of relatively thin sheets of compositionally distinct magma. All rock types present in the basal zone can be produced as a result of variable degrees of fractionation of a parental high-Al olivine tholeiite, followed by varying degrees of contamination of derivative liquids by country rocks. The S-contamination process was essential for the development of Cu–Ni mineralization, and was restricted to the earliest stages in the development of the Duluth Complex at a time when volatile species such as S and H₂O, and low-T partial melts of country rocks, were available to magmas. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Magmatic zircon oxygen isotopes of 1.88–1.87 Ga orogenic and 1.65–1.54 Ga anorogenic magmatism in Finland

Summary Oxygen isotope ratios of igneous zircon from magmatic rocks in Finland provide insights into the evolution and growth of the Precambrian crust during the Svecofennian orogeny. These data preserve magmatic δ¹⁸O values and correlate with major discontinuities in the lower crust. Oxygen isotope ratios of zircon across the 1.88–1.87 Ga Central Finland granitoid complex (CFGC) range from 5.50‰ to 6.84‰, except for three plutons in contact with the adjacent greenstone and metasedimentary belts (δ¹⁸O(Zrc) = 7.60‰–7.78‰). There is a systematic variation in δ¹⁸O(Zrc) with respect to geographic location in the CFGC, ranging from 6.60±0.23‰ (σ) in the northeast to 5.90±0.40‰ in the west-southwest. These values correlate with a change in crustal thickness and shift in geochemical composition. The oxygen isotope composition of the 1.65–1.54 Ga rapakivi granites and related rocks in southern Finland show a decreasing trend from north to south, independent of their emplacement age. The southern anorogenic granite group has an average δ¹⁸O in zircon of 6.14±0.07‰ and the northern anorogenic group has an average δ¹⁸O in zircon of 8.14±0.59‰. This difference reflects the boundary between island arc terrains accreted during the Paleoproterozoic. Deceased     

Oxygen isotope composition of phenocrysts from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island lavas: variation with fractional crystallization and evidence for assimilation

We have measured the δ¹⁸O values of the major phenocrysts (olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase) present in lavas from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island. These islands, which result from the same mantle plume, have enriched radiogenic isotope ratios and are, therefore, prime candidates for an oxygen isotope signature that is distinct from that of MORB. Consistent differences between the δ¹⁸O values of olivine, pyroxene and feldspar in the Gough lavas show that the phenocrysts in the mafic Gough Island lavas are in oxygen isotope equilibrium. The olivines in lavas with SiO₂ <50 wt% have a mean δ¹⁸O value of 5.19‰, consistent with crystallization from a magma having the same oxygen isotope composition as MORB. Phenocrysts in all the Gough lavas show a systematic increase in δ¹⁸O value as silica content increases, which is consistent with closed-system fractional crystallization. The lack of enrichment in δ¹⁸O of the Gough magmas suggests that the mantle source contained <2% recycled sediment. In contrast, the Tristan lavas with SiO₂ >48 wt% contain phenocrysts which have δ¹⁸O values that are systematically ∼0.3‰ lower than their counterparts from Gough. We suggest that the parental mafic Tristan magmas were contaminated by material from the volcanic edifice that acquired low δ¹⁸O values by interaction with water at high temperatures. The highly porphyritic SiO₂-poor lavas show a negative correlation between olivine δ¹⁸O value and whole-rock silica content rather than the expected positive correlation. The minimum δ¹⁸O value occurs at an SiO₂ content of about 45 wt%. Below 45 wt% SiO₂, magmas evolved via a combination of assimilation, fractionational crystallization and crystal accumulation; above 45 wt% SiO₂, magmas appeared to have evolved via closed-system fractional crystallization. Received: 23 November 1998 / Accepted: 27 September 1999     

Sulfur isotopic systematics of granitoids from southwestern New Brunswick, Canada: implications for magmatic-hydrothermal processes, redox conditions, and gold mineralization

Bulk δ ³⁴S_rock values, sulfur contents, and magnetic susceptibility were determined for 12 gold-related granitoid intrusions in southwestern New Brunswick, the Canadian Appalachians. The sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide minerals in some of the granitoid samples were also analyzed. This new dataset was used to characterize two distinctive groups of granitoids: (1) a Late Devonian granitic series (GS) and (2) a Late Silurian to Early Devonian granodioritic to monzogranitic series (GMS). The GS rocks have a large range in δ ³⁴S values of −7.1‰ to +13‰ with an average of 2.2 ± 5.0‰ (1σ), low bulk-S contents (33 to 7,710 ppm) and low magnetic susceptibility values (<10⁻⁴ SI), consistent with reduced ilmenite-series granites. The GMS rocks have a relatively narrower variation in δ ³⁴S values of −4.4‰ to +7.3‰ with an average 1.2 ± 2.9‰ but with larger ranges in bulk-S contents (45 to 11,100 ppm) and high magnetic susceptibility values (>10⁻³ SI), indicative of oxidized magnetite-series granites. The exceptions for the GMS rocks are the Lake George granodiorite and Tower Hill granite that display reduced characteristics, which may have resulted from interaction of the magmas forming these intrusions with graphite- or organic carbon-bearing sedimentary rocks. The bulk δ ³⁴S values and S contents of the GMS rocks are interpreted in terms of selective assimilation–fractional crystallization (SAFC) processes. Degassing processes may account for the δ ³⁴S values and S contents of some GS rocks. The characteristics of our sulfur isotope and abundance data suggest that mineralizing components S and Au in intrusion-related gold systems are dominantly derived from magmatic sources, although minor contaminants derived from country rocks are evident. In addition, the molar sulfate to sulfide ratio in a granitic rock sample can be calculated from the δ ³⁴S_rock value of the whole-rock sample and the δ ³⁴S_sulfide (or δ ³⁴S_sulfate) value of sulfide and/or sulfate mineral in the sample on the basis of S-isotope fractionation and mass balance under the condition of magmatic equilibrium. This may be used to predict the speciation of sulfur in granitic rocks, which can be a potential exploration tool for intrusion-related gold systems.     

Variations in the Nd isotopic ratios and canonical ratios of concentrations of incompatible elements as an indication of mixing sources of alkali granitoids and basites in the Khaldzan-Buregtei massif and the Khaldzan-Buregtei rare-metal deposit in western Mongolia

The paper reports data on the Nd isotopic composition and the evaluated composition of the sources of magmatism that produced massifs of alkali and basic rocks of the Khaldzan-Buregtei group. The massifs were emplaced in the terminal Devonian at 392–395 Ma in the Ozernaya zone of western Mongolia. The host rocks of the massifs are ophiolites of the early Caledonian Ozernaya zone, which were dated at 545–522 Ma. The massifs were emplaced in the following succession (listed in order from older to younger): (1) nordmarkites and dolerites syngenetic with them; (2) alkali granites and syngenetic dolerites; (3) dike ekerites; (4) dike pantellerites; (5) rare-metal granitoids; (6) alkali and intermediate basites and quartz syenites; and (7) miarolitic rare-metal alkali granites. Our data on the Nd isotopic composition [?_Nd(T)] and conventionally used (canonical) ratios of incompatible elements (Nb/U, Zr/Nb, and La/Yb) in rocks from the alkaline massifs and their host ophiolites indicate that all of these rocks were derived mostly from mantle and mantle-crustal enriched sources like OIB, E-MORB, and IAB with a subordinate contribution of N-MORB (DM) and upper continental crustal material. The variations in the ?_Nd(T) values in rocks of these massifs suggest multiple mixing of the sources or magmas derived from them when the massifs composing the Khaldzan-Buregtei group were produced. The OIB and E-MORB sources were mixed when the rocks with mantle signatures were formed. The occurrence of nordmarkites, alkali granites, and other rocks whose isotopic and geochemical signatures are intermediate between the values for mantle and crustal sources testifies to the mixing of mantle and crustal magmas. The crustal source itself, which consisted of rocks of the ophiolite complex, was obviously isotopically and geochemically heterogeneous, as also were the magmas derived from it. The model proposed for the genesis of alkali rocks of the Khaldzan-Buregtei massifs implies that the magmas were derived at two major depth levels: (1) mantle, at which the plume source mixed with an E-MORB source, and (2) crustal, at which the ophiolites were melted, and this gave rise to the parental magmas of the nordmarkites and alkali granites. The basites were derived immediately from the mantle. The mantle syenites, pantellerites, and rare-metal granitoids were produced either by the deep crystallization differentiation of basite magma or by the partial melting of the parental basites and the subsequent crystallization differentiation of the generated magmas. Differentiation likely took place in an intermediate chamber at depth levels close to the crustal (ophiolite) level of magma generation. Only such conditions could ensure the intense mixing of mantle and crustal magmas. The principal factor initiating magma generation in the region was the mantle plume that controlled within-plate magmatism in the Altai-Sayan area and the basite magmas related to this plume, which gave rise to small dikes and magmatic bodies in the group of intrusive massifs.     

The origin of high-Mg magmas in Mt Shasta and Medicine Lake volcanoes,Cascade Arc (California): higher and lower than mantle oxygen isotope signatures attributed to current and past subduction

We report the oxygen isotope composition of olivine and orthopyroxene phenocrysts in lavas from the main magma types at Mt Shasta and Medicine Lake Volcanoes: primitive high-alumina olivine tholeiite (HAOT), basaltic andesites (BA), primitive magnesian andesites (PMA), and dacites. The most primitive HAOT (MgO > 9 wt%) from Mt. Shasta has olivine δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸O_Ol) values of 5.9–6.1‰, which are about 1‰ higher than those observed in olivine from normal mantle-derived magmas. In contrast, HAOT lavas from Medicine Lake have δ¹⁸O_Ol values ranging from 4.7 to 5.5‰, which are similar to or lower than values for olivine in equilibrium with mantle-derived magmas. Other magma types from both volcanoes show intermediate δ¹⁸O_Ol values. The oxygen isotope composition of the most magnesian lavas cannot be explained by crustal contamination and the trace element composition of olivine phenocrysts precludes a pyroxenitic mantle source. Therefore, the high and variable δ¹⁸O_Ol signature of the most magnesian samples studied (HAOT and BA) comes from the peridotitic mantle wedge itself. As HAOT magma is generated by anhydrous adiabatic partial melting of the shallow mantle, its 1.4‰ range in δ¹⁸O_Ol reflects a heterogeneous composition of the shallow mantle source that has been influenced by subduction fluids and/or melts sometime in the past. Magmas generated in the mantle wedge by flux melting due to modern subduction fluids, as exemplified by BA and probably PMA, display more homogeneous composition with only 0.5‰ variation. The high-δ¹⁸O values observed in magnesian lavas, and principally in the HAOT, are difficult to explain by a single-stage flux-melting process in the mantle wedge above the modern subduction zone and require a mantle source enriched in ¹⁸O. It is here explained by flow of older, pre-enriched portions of the mantle through the slab window beneath the South Cascades.     

Petrogenesis of the Kirkpatrick Basalt,Solo Nunatak,northern Victoria Land,Antarctica, based on isotopic compositions of strontium,oxygen and sulfur

Chemical and isotopic compositions of Jurassic tholeiites of the Kirkpatrick Basalt Group from Solo Nunatak, northern Victoria Land, indicate that these rocks are contaminated with crustal material. The basalts are fine grained and contain phenocrysts of augite, pigeonite, hypersthene and plagioclase. The flows on Solo Nunatak are chemically more similar to average tholeiite than flows from Mt. Falla and Storm Peak in the Central Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) which appear to be more highly differentiated. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the flows on Solo Nunatak are high (>0.710) and are similar to those reported for the Kirkpatrick Basalt in the Central TAM. Whole-rock δ¹⁸O values are also high, ranging from +6.0 to +9.3‰ and correlate positively with initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, similar to the Kirkpatrick Basalt in the Central TAM. The correlation between initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and δ¹⁸O values is explained as the result of simultaneous fractional crystallization and assimilation of a crustal contaminant. Sulfur isotope compositions vary between limits of δ³⁴S= -4.01 to +3.41‰ Variations in (δ³⁴S probably resulted from outgassing of SO₂ under varying oxygen fugacities. Laboratory for Isotope Geology and Geochemistry (Isotopia), Contribution No. 71     

Deciphering the source and contamination history of peraluminous magmas using δ18O of accessory minerals: examples from garnet-bearing plutons of the Sierra Nevada batholith

Peraluminous granitoids provide critical insight as to the amount and kinds of supracrustal material recycled in the central Sierra Nevada batholith, California. Major element concentrations indicate Sierran peraluminous granitoids are high-SiO₂ (68.9–76.9) and slightly peraluminous (average molar Al₂O₃/(CaO + Na₂O + K₂O)=1.06). Both major and trace element trends mimic those of other high-silica Sierran plutons. Garnet (Grt) in the peraluminous plutons is almandine–spessartine-rich and of magmatic origin. Low grossular contents are consistent with shallow (<4 kbar) depths of garnet crystallization. Metasediments of the Kings Sequence commonly occur as wallrocks associated with the plutons, including biotite schists that are highly peraluminous (A/CNK=2.25) and have high whole rock (WR) δ¹⁸O values (9.6–21.8‰, average=14.5±2.9‰, n=26). Ultramafic wallrocks of the Kings–Kaweah ophiolite have lower average δ¹⁸O (7.1±1.3‰, n=9). The δ¹⁸O(WR) of the Kings Sequence is variable from west to east. Higher δ¹⁸O values occur in the west, where quartz in schists is derived from marine chert; values decrease eastward as the proportion of quartz from igneous and metamorphic sources increases. Peraluminous plutons have high δ¹⁸O(WR) values (9.5–13‰) consistent with supracrustal enrichment of their sources. However, relatively low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values (0.705–0.708) indicate that the supracrustal component in the source of peraluminous magmas was dominantly altered ocean crust and/or greywacke. Also, plutons lack or have very low abundances (<1% of grains) of inherited zircon (Zrc) cores. Average δ¹⁸O(Zrc) is 7.9‰ in peraluminous plutons, a higher value than in coeval metaluminous plutons (6–7‰). Diorites associated with peraluminous plutons also have high δ¹⁸O(Zrc), 7.4–8.3‰, which is consistent with the diorites being derived from a similar source. Magmatic garnet has variable δ¹⁸O (6.6–10.5‰, avg.=7.9‰) due to complex contamination and crystallization histories, evidenced by multiple garnet populations in some rocks. Comparison of δ¹⁸O(Zrc) and δ¹⁸O(Grt) commonly reveals disequilibrium, which documents evolving magma composition. Minor (5–7%) contamination by high δ¹⁸O wallrocks occurred in the middle and upper crust in some cases, although low δ¹⁸O wallrock may have been a contaminant in one case. Overall, oxygen isotope analysis of minerals having slow oxygen diffusion and different times of crystallization (e.g., zircon and garnet), together with detailed textural analysis, can be used to monitor assimilation in peraluminous magmas. Moreover, oxygen isotope studies are a valuable way to identify magmatic versus xenocrystic minerals in igneous rocks. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Uniformly mantle-like δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O in zircons from oceanic plagiogranites and gabbros

Lower ocean crust is primarily gabbroic, although 1–2% felsic igneous rocks that are referred to collectively as plagiogranites occur locally. Recent experimental evidence suggests that plagiogranite magmas can form by hydrous partial melting of gabbro triggered by seawater-derived fluids, and thus they may indicate early, high-temperature hydrothermal fluid circulation. To explore seawater–rock interaction prior to and during the genesis of plagiogranite and other late-stage magmas, oxygen-isotope ratios preserved in igneous zircon have been measured by ion microprobe. A total of 197 zircons from 43 plagiogranite, evolved gabbro, and hydrothermally altered fault rock samples have been analyzed. Samples originate primarily from drill core acquired during Ocean Drilling Program and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program operations near the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest Indian Ridges. With the exception of rare, distinctively luminescent rims, all zircons from ocean crust record remarkably uniform δ¹⁸O with an average value of 5.2 ± 0.5‰ (2SD). The average δ¹⁸O(Zrc) would be in magmatic equilibrium with unaltered MORB [δ¹⁸O(WR) ~ 5.6–5.7‰], and is consistent with the previously determined value for equilibrium with the mantle. The narrow range of measured δ¹⁸O values is predicted for zircon crystallization from variable parent melt compositions and temperatures in a closed system, and provides no indication of any interactions between altered rocks or seawater and the evolved parent melts. If plagiogranite forms by hydrous partial melting, the uniform mantle-like δ¹⁸O(Zrc) requires melting and zircon crystallization prior to significant amounts of water–rock interactions that alter the protolith δ¹⁸O. Zircons from ocean crust have been proposed as a tectonic analog for >3.9 Ga detrital zircons from the earliest (Hadean) Earth by multiple workers. However, zircons from ocean crust are readily distinguished geochemically from zircons formed in continental crustal environments. Many of the >3.9 Ga zircons have mildly elevated δ¹⁸O (6.0–7.5‰), but such values have not been identified in any zircons from the large sample suite examined here. The difference in δ¹⁸O, in combination with newly acquired lithium concentrations and published trace element data, clearly shows that the >3.9 Ga detrital zircons did not originate by processes analogous to those in modern mid-ocean ridge settings.     

Fluid origin and structural enhancement during mineralization of the Jinshan orogenic gold deposit, South China

The Jinshan orogenic gold deposit is a world-class deposit hosted by a ductile shear zone caused by a transpressional terrane collision during Neoproterozoic time. Ore bodies at the deposit include laminated quartz veins and disseminated pyrite-bearing mylonite. Most quartz veins in the shear zone, with and without gold mineralization, were boudinaged during progressive shear deformation with three generations of boudinage structures produced at different stages of progressive deformation. Observations of ore-controlling structures at various scales indicate syn-deformational mineralization. Fluid inclusions from pyrite intergrown with auriferous quartz have ³He/⁴He ratios of 0.15–0.24 Ra and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios 575–3,060. δ¹⁸O_fluid values calculated from quartz are 5.5–8.4‰, and δD values of fluid inclusions contained in quartz range between −61‰ and −75‰. The δ¹³C values of ankerite range from −5.0‰ to −4.2‰, and ankerite δ¹⁸O values from 4.4‰ to 8.0‰. The noble gas and stable isotope data suggest a predominant crustal source of ore fluids with less than 5% mantle component. Data also show that in situ fluids were generated locally by pervasive pressure solution, and that widespread dissolution seams acted as pathways of fluid flow, migration, and precipitation. The in situ fluids and fluids derived from deeper levels of the crust were focused by deformation and deformation structures at various scales through solution-dissolution creep, crack-seal slip, and cyclic fault-valve mechanisms during progressively localized deformation and gold mineralization.     

Mineralogical and stable isotope studies of gold–arsenic mineralisation in the Sams Creek peralkaline porphyritic granite, South Island, New Zealand

At Sams Creek, a gold-bearing, peralkaline granite porphyry dyke, which has a 7 km strike length and is up to 60 m in thickness, intrudes camptonite lamprophyre dykes and lower greenschist facies metapelites and quartzites of the Late Ordovician Wangapeka formation. The lamprophyre dykes occur as thin (< 3 m) slivers along the contacts of the granite dyke. δ¹⁸O_magma values (+5 to +8‰, VSMOW) of the A-type granite suggest derivation from a primitive source, with an insignificant mature crustal contribution. Hydrothermal gold–sulphide mineralisation is confined to the granite and adjacent lamprophyre; metapelite country rocks have only weak hydrothermal alteration. Three stages of hydrothermal alteration have been identified in the granite: Stage I alteration (high fO₂) consisting of magnetite–siderite±biotite; Stage II consisting of thin quartz–pyrite veinlets; and Stage III (low fO₂) consisting of sulphides, quartz and siderite veins, and pervasive silicification. The lamprophyre is altered to an ankerite–chlorite–sericite assemblage. Stage III sulphide veins are composed of arsenopyrite + pyrite ± galena ± sphalerite ± gold ± chalcopyrite ± pyrrhotite ± rutile ± graphite. Three phases of deformation have affected the area, and the mineralised veins and the granite and lamprophyre dykes have been deformed by two phases of folding, the youngest of which is Early Cretaceous. Locally preserved early-formed fluid inclusions are either carbonic, showing two- or three-phases at room temperature (liquid CO₂-CH₄ + liquid H₂O ± CO₂ vapour) or two-phase liquid-rich aqueous inclusions, some of which contain clathrates. Salinities of the aqueous inclusions are in the range of 1.4 to 7.6 wt% NaCl equiv. Final homogenisation temperatures (Th) of the carbonic inclusions indicate minimum trapping temperatures of 320 to 355°C, which are not too different from vein formation temperatures of 340–380°C estimated from quartz–albite stable isotope thermometry. δ¹⁸O values of Stage II and III vein quartz range from +12 and +17‰ and have a bimodal distribution (+14.5 and +16‰) with Stage II vein quartz accounting for the lower values. Siderite in Stage III veins have δ¹⁸O (+12 to +16‰) and δ¹³C values (−5‰, relative to VPDB), unlike those from Wangapeka Formation metasediments (δ¹³C_{bulk carbon} values of −24 to −19‰) and underlying Arthur Marble marine carbonates (δ¹⁸O = +25‰ and δ¹³C = 0‰). Calculated δ¹⁸O_water (+8 to +11‰, at 340°C) and (−5‰) values from vein quartz and siderite are consistent with a magmatic hydrothermal source, but a metamorphic hydrothermal origin cannot be excluded. δ³⁴S values of sulphides range from +5 to +10‰ (relative to CDT) and also have a bimodal distribution (modes at +6 and +9‰, correlated with Stage II and Stage III mineralisation, respectively). The δ³⁴S values of pyrite from the Arthur Marble marine carbonates (range from +3 to +13‰) and Wangapeka Formation (range from −4 to +9.5‰) indicate that they are potential sources of sulphur for sulphides in the Sams Creek veins. Another possible source of the sulphur is the lithospheric mantle which has positive values up to +14‰. Ages of the granite, lamprophyre, alteration/mineralisation, and deformation in the region are not well constrained, which makes it difficult to identify sources of mineralisation with respect to timing. Our mineralogical and stable isotope data does not exclude a metamorphic source, but we consider that the source of the mineralisation can best be explained by a magmatic hydrothermal source. Assuming that the hydrothermal fluids were sourced from crystallisation of the Sams Creek granite or an underlying magma chamber, then the Sams Creek gold deposit appears to be a hybrid between those described as reduced granite Au–Bi deposits and alkaline intrusive-hosted Au–Mo–Cu deposits.     

Oxygen isotope constraints on the petrogenesis of the Sybille intrusion of the Proterozoic Laramie Anorthosite Complex

The origin of monzonitic intrusions that are associated with Proterozoic massif-type anorthosite complexes is controversial. A detailed oxygen isotope study of the Sybille intrusion, a monzonitic intrusion of the Laramie Anorthosite Complex (Wyoming), indicates that either derivation from a basaltic magma of mantle origin with a metasedimentary component (∼20%) incorporated early in its magmatic history, or a partial melt of lower crustal rocks is consistent with the data. The oxygen isotope compositions of plagioclase, pyroxene and zircon from the Sybille monzosyenite, the dominant rock type in the Sybille intrusion, were analyzed in order to establish the isotopic composition of the source of the magma. Plagioclase δ¹⁸O values range from 6.77 to 9.17‰. We interpret the higher plagioclase δ¹⁸O values (average 8.69 ± 0.30‰, n = 19) to be magmatic in origin, lower plagioclase δ¹⁸O values (average 7.51 ± 0.44‰, n = 22) to be the result of variable subsolidus alteration, and pyroxene δ¹⁸O values (average 6.34 ± 0.38‰, n = 19) to be the result of closed-system diffusional exchange during cooling. Low magnetic zircons, which have been shown to retain magmatic oxygen isotope values despite high grade metamorphism and extensive subsolidus hydrothermal alteration, have δ¹⁸O values (7.40 ± 0.24‰, n = 11) which are consistent with our interpretation of the plagioclase and pyroxene results. Oxygen isotope data from all three minerals indicate that the magmatic oxygen isotope composition of the Sybille intrusion is enriched in ¹⁸O relative to the composition of average or “normal” mantle-derived magmas. This enrichment is approximately twice the oxygen isotope enrichment that could result from closed-system fractionation, rendering a closed-system, comag- matic petrogenetic model between the Sybille intrusion and the mantle-derived anorthositic lithologies of the Laramie Anorthosite Complex improbable. Received: 7 April 1998 / Accepted: 19 January 1999     

Carbon and oxygen isotope constraints on fluid sources and fluid–wallrock interaction in regional alteration and iron-oxide–copper–gold mineralisation, eastern Mt Isa Block, Australia

The source of metasomatic fluids in iron-oxide–copper–gold districts is contentious with models for magmatic and other fluid sources having been proposed. For this study, δ ¹⁸O and δ ¹³C ratios were measured from carbonate mineral separates in the Proterozoic eastern Mt Isa Block of Northwest Queensland, Australia. Isotopic analyses are supported by petrography, mineral chemistry and cathodoluminescence imagery. Marine meta-carbonate rocks (ca. 20.5‰ δ ¹⁸O and 0.5‰ δ ¹³C calcite) and graphitic meta-sedimentary rocks (ca. 14‰ δ ¹⁸O and −18‰ δ ¹³C calcite) are the main supracrustal reservoirs of carbon and oxygen in the district. The isotopic ratios for calcite from the cores of Na–(Ca) alteration systems strongly cluster around 11‰ δ ¹⁸O and −7‰ δ ¹³C, with shifts towards higher δ ¹⁸O values and higher and lower δ ¹³C values, reflecting interaction with different hostrocks. Na–(Ca)-rich assemblages are out of isotopic equilibrium with their metamorphic hostrocks, and isotopic values are consistent with fluids derived from or equilibrated with igneous rocks. However, igneous rocks in the eastern Mt Isa Block contain negligible carbon and are incapable of buffering the δ ¹³C signatures of CO₂-rich metasomatic fluids associated with Na–(Ca) alteration. In contrast, plutons in the eastern Mt Isa Block have been documented as having exsolved saline CO₂-rich fluids and represent the most probable fluid source for Na–(Ca) alteration. Intrusion-proximal, skarn-like Cu–Au orebodies that lack significant K and Fe enrichment (e.g. Mt Elliott) display isotopic ratios that cluster around values of 11‰ δ ¹⁸O and −7‰ δ ¹³C (calcite), indicating an isotopically similar fluid source as for Na–(Ca) alteration and that significant fluid–wallrock interaction was not required in the genesis of these deposits. In contrast, K- and Fe-rich, intrusion-distal deposits (e.g. Ernest Henry) record significant shifts in δ ¹⁸O and δ ¹³C towards values characteristic of the broader hostrocks to the deposits, reflecting fluid–wallrock equilibration before mineralisation. Low temperature, low salinity, low δ ¹⁸O (<10‰ calcite) and CO₂-poor fluids are documented in retrograde metasomatic assemblages, but these fluids are paragenetically late and have not contributed significantly to the mass budgets of Cu–Au mineralisation.     

The origin of high δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O zircons: marbles,megacrysts, and metamorphism

The oxygen isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O) of most igneous zircons range from 5 to 8‰, with 99% of published values from 1345 rocks below 10‰. Metamorphic zircons from quartzite, metapelite, metabasite, and eclogite record δ¹⁸O values from 5 to 17‰, with 99% below 15‰. However, zircons with anomalously high δ¹⁸O, up to 23‰, have been reported in detrital suites; source rocks for these unusual zircons have not been identified. We report data for zircons from Sri Lanka and Myanmar that constrain a metamorphic petrogenesis for anomalously high δ¹⁸O in zircon. A suite of 28 large detrital zircon megacrysts from Mogok (Myanmar) analyzed by laser fluorination yields δ¹⁸O from 9.4 to 25.5‰. The U–Pb standard, CZ3, a large detrital zircon megacryst from Sri Lanka, yields δ¹⁸O = 15.4 ± 0.1‰ (2 SE) by ion microprobe. A euhedral unzoned zircon in a thin section of Sri Lanka granulite facies calcite marble yields δ¹⁸O = 19.4‰ by ion microprobe and confirms a metamorphic petrogenesis of zircon in marble. Small oxygen isotope fractionations between zircon and most minerals require a high δ¹⁸O source for the high δ¹⁸O zircons. Predicted equilibrium values of Δ¹⁸O(calcite-zircon) = 2–3‰ from 800 to 600°C show that metamorphic zircon crystallizing in a high δ¹⁸O marble will have high δ¹⁸O. The high δ¹⁸O zircons (>15‰) from both Sri Lanka and Mogok overlap the values of primary marine carbonates, and marbles are known detrital gemstone sources in both localities. The high δ¹⁸O zircons are thus metamorphic; the 15–25‰ zircon values are consistent with a marble origin in a rock-dominated system (i.e., low fluid_(external)/rock); the lower δ¹⁸O zircon values (9–15‰) are consistent with an origin in an external fluid-dominated system, such as skarn derived from marble, although many non-metasomatized marbles also fall in this range of δ¹⁸O. High δ¹⁸O (>15‰) and the absence of zoning can thus be used as a tracer to identify a marble source for high δ¹⁸O detrital zircons; this recognition can aid provenance studies in complex metamorphic terranes where age determinations alone may not allow discrimination of coeval source rocks. Metamorphic zircon megacrysts have not been reported previously and appear to be associated with high-grade marble. Identification of high δ¹⁸O zircons can also aid geochronology studies that seek to date high-grade metamorphic events due to the ability to distinguish metamorphic from detrital zircons in marble.     

Mesoproterozoic olivine gabbronorites of the Bashkirian anticlinorium,the South Urals: Parental melts and specifics of magma evolution

This paper is devoted to detailed study of picritic rocks (olivine melanogabbronorites) and comagmatic gabbrodolerites from sills and dikes in the central part of the Bashkirian meganticlinorium. These rocks are ascribed to the Kama-Belsk magmatic province (KBP) that was formed in the eastern East European Platform (EEP) in the Mesoproterozoic time. The study of minerals (EMPA, SIMS), rocks, and their oxygen isotope compositions showed the contribution of crustal contamination, fractional crystallization and cumulus processes in their formation. The geochemical indicators of crustal contamination (Nb/Nb*, (Nb/La) _n , δ¹⁸O, and others) show strong variations, which indicates uneven crustal contribution in the parental melts during rock formation (10–25%). The study of weakly contaminated (δ¹⁸O = 5.3‰) olivine melanogabbronorites (MgO = 22.55 wt %) from the small Ishlya-1 subvolcanic body, which contain subordinate amount of cumulus (24%), high-magnesian olivine (Fo91.3), and high-Cr spinel (cr# 0.67), as well as HREE depleted clinopyroxenes, allowed us to retrieve the composition of parental melt. The latter contained about 20 wt % MgO and was formed by 19–26% melting of mantle source (potential mantle temperature T _m of 1530–1545°C). Geochemical characteristics of KBP reflect the formation of primary melts by melting of mantle column at different depths, mixing of the melts, and significant contamination by crustal material. The dominant role in the formation of the rocks of the Ishlya area and Mashak Complex was played by derivatives of spinel peridotites, while the rocks of the Bakal-Satka area were derived from garnet peridotites.     

300 Million years of episodic hydrothermal activity: stable isotope evidence from hydrothermal rocks of the Eastern Iberian Central System

The Eastern Iberian Central System has abundant ore showings hosted by a wide variety of hydrothermal rocks; they include Sn-W, Fe and Zn-(W) calcic and magnesian skarns, shear zone- and episyenite-hosted Cu-Zn-Sn-W orebodies, Cu-W-Sn greisens and W-(Sn), base metal and fluorite-barite veins. Systematic dating and fluid inclusion studies show that they can be grouped into several hydrothermal episodes related with the waning Variscan orogeny. The first event was at about 295 Ma followed by younger pulses associated with Early Alpine rifting and extension and dated near 277, 150 and 100 to 20 Ma, respectively (events II–IV). The δ¹⁸O-δD and δ³⁴S studies of hydrothermal rocks have elucidated the hydrological evolution of these systems. The event I fluids are of mixed origin. They are metamorphic fluids (H₂O-CO₂-CH₄-NaCl; δ¹⁸O=4.7 to 9.3‰; δD ab.−34‰) related to W-(Sn) veins and modified meteoric waters in the deep magnesian Sn-W skarns (H₂O-NaCl, 4.5–6.4 wt% NaCl eq.; δ¹⁸O=7.3–7.8‰; δD=−77 to −74‰) and epizonal shallow calcic Zn-(W) and Fe skarns (H₂O-NaCl, <8 wt% NaCl eq.; δ¹⁸O=−0.4 to 3.4‰; δD=−75 to −58‰). They were probably formed by local hydrothermal cells that were spatially and temporally related to the youngest Variscan granites, the metals precipitating by fluid unmixing and fluid-rock reactions. The minor influence of magmatic fluids confirms that the intrusion of these granites was essentially water-undersaturated, as most of the hydrothermal fluids were external to the igneous rocks. The fluids involved in the younger hydrothermal systems (events II–III) are very similar. The waters involved in the formation of episyenites, chlorite-rich greisens, retrograde skarns and phyllic and chlorite-rich alterations in the shear zones show no major chemical or isotopic differences. Interaction of the hydrothermal fluids with the host rocks was the main mechanism of ore formation. The composition (H₂O-NaCl fluids with original salinities below 6.2 wt% NaCl eq.) and the δ¹⁸O (−4.6 to 6.3‰) and δD (−51 to −40‰) values are consistent with a meteoric origin, with a δ¹⁸O-shift caused by the interaction with the, mostly igneous, host rocks. These fluids circulated within regional-scale convective cells and were then channelled along major crustal discontinuities. In these shear zones the more easily altered minerals such as feldspars, actinolite and chlorite had their δ¹⁸O signatures overprinted by low temperature younger events while the quartz inherited the original signature. In the shallower portions of the hydrothermal systems, basement-cover fluorite-barite-base metal veins formed by mixing of these deep fluids with downwards percolating brines. These brines are also interpreted as of meteoric origin (δ¹⁸O< ≈ −4‰; δD=−65 to −36‰) that leached the solutes (salinity >14 wt% NaCl eq.) from evaporites hosted in the post-Variscan sequence. The δD values are very similar to most of those recorded by Kelly and Rye in Panasqueira and confirm that the Upper Paleozoic meteoric waters in central Iberia had very negative δD values (≤−52‰) whereas those of Early Mesozoic age ranged between −65 and −36‰. Received: 9 June 1999 / Accepted: 19 January 2000