Pantelleritic obsidians from the volcano Chabbi (Ethiopia)

Chabbi, a Quaternary volcano in the Ethiopian Rift, appears to be unique in having erupted only non-porphyritic pantelleritic obsidians showing a very restricted range in composition. Petrogenetic schemes for deriving these lavas are discussed, and it is suggested that some degree of effective superheating, followed by failure of the magmas to crystallise because of their dryness (and hence high viscosity) can account at least for the absence of phenocrysts.     

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     

Crystal scale anatomy of a dying supervolcano: an isotope and geochronology study of individual phenocrysts from voluminous rhyolites of the Yellowstone caldera

A voluminous (>600 km³) and long-lived (~520–75 ka) phase of rhyolitic eruptions followed collapse of the Yellowstone caldera 640 ka. Whether these eruptions represent a dying cycle, or the growth of a new magma chamber, remains an important question. We use new U–Th zircon ages and δ¹⁸O values determined by ion microprobe, and sanidine Pb isotope ratios determined by laser ablation, to investigate the genesis of voluminous post-caldera rhyolites. The oldest post-caldera rhyolites, erupted between ~520 and 470 ka, exhibit extreme age and oxygen isotopic heterogeneity, requiring derivation from individual parcels of low-δ¹⁸O melts. We find a progressive increase in zircon homogeneity for rhyolite eruptions from ~260 to 75 ka, with homogeneous low-δ¹⁸O zircon values of 2.7–2.8‰ that are in equilibrium with low-δ¹⁸O host melts for the majority of the youngest eruptions. New sanidine Pb isotope data define separate arrays for post-caldera rhyolites and the caldera-forming tuffs that preceded them, indicating that they were not sourced from a mushy Lava Creek Tuff batholith that remained after caldera collapse. Rather, our new age and isotopic data indicate that the post-caldera rhyolites were generated by remelting of a variety of intracaldera source rocks, consisting of pre-Lava Creek Tuff volcanic and plutonic rocks and earlier erupted post-Lava Creek Tuff rhyolites. Batch assembly of low-δ¹⁸O melts starting at ~260 ka resulted in progressive homogenization, followed by differentiation and cooling up until the last rhyolite eruption ~75 ka, a trend that we interpret to be characteristic of a dying magma reservoir beneath the Yellowstone caldera.     

Insight into the origin of gabbro-dioritic cumulophyric aggregates from silicic ignimbrites: Sr and Ba zoning profiles of plagioclase phenocrysts from Oligocene Ethiopian Plateau rhyolites

The Were Ilu ignimbrites are unlike other Oligocene rhyolites from the Ethiopian continental flood basalt province, in that they consist of plagioclase (An_19–54), augite, pigeonite and Ti-magnetite, instead of anorthoclase, sodic sanidine, aegirine-augite and ilmenite. The minerals occur as (micro-)phenocrysts isolated within a glassy matrix or forming gabbroic and dioritic cumulophyric clots. Plagioclase is partially re-melted (sieve-textures with infilling glass). It is zoned with sudden changes in composition. However, the bulk zoning is normal with An-rich core (An_45–54) and more sodic rim (An_19–28). Ba and Sr concentration profiles of two plagioclase phenocrysts show a bulk rimward increase with compositions ranging from 250 ppm to 1,060 ppm and from 400 ppm to 1,590 ppm, respectively. The matrix glass has low CaO content (0.1–0.5 wt.%), a peralkalinity index of 0.79–1.04 and average Sr and Ba contents of 48±22 and 525±129 ppm, respectively. Geochemical modelling of Ba and Sr zoning profiles of plagioclase, based on experimental constraints, suggests that the cumulophyric clots can be derived from fractional crystallisation associated with limited assimilation (8 wt.%) from melts slightly less evolved than their rhyolitic matrix glass. These clots are not witnesses of intermediate magmas allowing the Daly Gap to be filled, but are cumulates differentiated from rhyodacitic melt. This indicates that parental magmas were stored in crustal magma chambers where they differentiated before being erupted at the surface.     

Tectonomagmatism in continental arcs: evidence from the Sark arc complex

The island of Sark (Channel Islands, UK) exposes syntectonic plutons and country rock gneisses within a Precambrian (Cadomian) continental arc. This Sark arc complex records sequential pulses of magmatism over a period of 7 Ma (ca. 616–609 Ma). The earliest intrusion (ca. 616 Ma) was a composite sill that shows an ultramafic base overlain by a magma-mingled net vein complex subsequently deformed at near-solidus temperatures into the amphibolitic and tonalitic Tintageu banded gneisses. The deformation was synchronous with D₂ deformation of the paragneissic envelope, with both intrusion and country rock showing flat, top-to-the-south LS fabrics. Later plutonism injected three homogeneous quartz diorite–granodiorite sheets: the Creux–Moulin pluton (150–250 m; ca. 614 Ma), the Little Sark pluton (>700 m; 611 Ma), and the Northern pluton (>500 m; 609 Ma). Similar but thinner sheets in the south (Derrible–Hogsback–Dixcart) and west (Port es Saies–Brecqhou) are interpreted as offshoots from the Creux–Moulin pluton and Little Sark pluton, respectively. All these plutons show the same LS fabric seen in the older gneisses, with rare magmatic fabrics and common solid state fabrics recording syntectonic crystallisation and cooling. The cooling rate increased rapidly with decreasing crystallisation age: >9 Ma for the oldest intrusion to cool to lower amphibolite conditions, 7–8 Ma for the Creux Moulin pluton, 5–6 Ma for the Little Sark pluton, and <3 Ma for the Northern pluton. This cooling pattern is interpreted as recording extensional exhumation during D₂. The initiation of the D₂ event is suggested to have been a response to the intrusion of the Tintageu magma which promoted a rapid increase in strain rate (>10⁻¹⁴ s⁻¹) that focussed extensional deformation into the Sark area. The increased rates of extension allowed ingress of the subsequent quartz diorite–granodiorite sheets, although strain rate slowly declined as the whole complex cooled during exhumation. The regional architecture of syntectonic Cadomian arc complexes includes flat-lying “Sark-type” and steep “Guernsey-type” domains produced synchronously in shear zone networks induced by oblique subduction: a pattern seen in other continental arcs such as that running from Alaska to California.     

Petrochemical variations among mildly peralkaline (comendite) obsidians from the oceans and continents

Eleven new analyses and modes of comendite obsidians are presented, and compared with all available data on similar rocks. Most specimens are aphyric or contain only sparse phenocrysts, most commonly alkali feldspar. The oxides SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Na₂O and K₂O total over ninety percent by weight in all analyses. Iron, as FeO, is the only other constituent rising above one percent by weight. When the analyses are projected into the system Na₂O-K₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂, oceanic and continental samples group differently. Oceanic specimens have a compositional spread ranging from trachytic to the quartz-feldspar cotectic zone, consistent with derivation through a trachyte magma stem. Continental comendites show a strong correlation with the experimentally determined quartz-feldspar minima along a path of increasing peralkalinity. These differences presumably reflect the contrasting environments of magma generation, and suggest an origin by partial melting within the continental crust for the continental comendite obsidians.     

Petrogenesis of rhyolites and trachytes from the Deccan Trap: Sr,Nd and Pb isotope and trace element evidence

Trachytes and rhyolites from Salsette Island, north of Bombay, have distinctive trace element and isotope features which mark them out from typical crustal melts. Their highly incompatible trace element and Sr-, Nd and Pb isotope ratios are similar to those of the associated Deccan flood basalts. Thus the rhyolites and trachytes are closely related to the basalts, and a striking compositional gap between 50 and 65% SiO₂ suggests that the high SiO₂ rocks evolved by 10–15% partial melting followed by variable amounts of fractional crystallisation. The source material could have been basalt within the Deccan Trap, or related gabbroic rocks in deep crustal sill complexes. The rhyolites yield an Rb-Sr whole rock age of 61.5±1.9 Ma, with a slightly high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7085±18. It is argued that crustal extension provides a suitable regime for the generation of acid magmas by partial melting of associated basic rocks.     

On the Origin of Crystal-poor Rhyolites: Extracted from Batholithic Crystal Mushes

The largest accumulations of rhyolitic melt in the upper crustoccur in voluminous silicic crystal mushes, which sometimeserupt as unzoned, crystal-rich ignimbrites, but are most frequentlypreserved as granodioritic batholiths. After approximately 40–50%crystallization, magmas of intermediate composition (andesite–dacite)typically contain high-SiO₂ interstitial melt, similar to crystal-poorrhyolites commonly erupted in mature arc and continental settings.This paper analyzes the feasibility of system-wide extractionof this melt from the mush, a mechanism that can rationalizea number of observations in both the plutonic and volcanic record,such as: (1) abrupt compositional gaps in ignimbrites; (2) thepresence of chemically highly evolved bodies at the roof ofsubvolcanic batholiths; (3) the observed range of ages (up to200–300 ka) recorded by zircons in silicic magmas; (4)extensive zones of low P-wave velocity in the shallow crustunder active silicic calderas. We argue that crystal–meltsegregation occurs by a combination of several processes (hinderedsettling, micro-settling, compaction) once convection is hamperedas the rheological locking point of the crystal–melt mixture(     

Blueschist facies metamorphism of peralkaline rhyolites from the Tenda crystalline massif (northern Corsica): evidence for involvement in the Alpine subduction event?

The Tenda crystalline massif (northern Corsica) is a fragment of the western Corsica basement involved in the Alpine orogeny. Rhyolite dykes crosscutting the gabbroic complex of Bocca di Tenda (southern sector of the Tenda crystalline massif) show an unusual metamorphic mineral assemblage, defined by jadeite‐bearing (up to 46 mol percentage) aegirine, riebeckite, celadonite‐rich phengite (Si=3.50–3.65 apfu), quartz, albite and K‐feldspar. Jadeite‐bearing aegirine and riebeckite mostly occur as coronas around jadeite‐free aegirine and arfvedsonite, respectively, which both are relics of igneous origin. This metamorphic assemblage reflects the peralkaline compositions, which are characterised by anomalously high contents of SiO₂ and Na₂O, and negligible CaO and MgO. The evolved rocks of the gabbroic sequence (quartz‐diorites to tonalites) and the surrounding granitoids are characterised by the development of riebeckite/ferroglaucophane, epidote, celadonite‐rich phengite and albite, thus pointing to a metamorphic crystallization in the epidote‐blueschist facies. In all the studied rocks, metamorphic reactions were controlled by fluid‐assisted mass‐transfer through grain boundaries and microfractures. The different mineral assemblages allow the peak P–T metamorphic conditions to be constrained to between 0.8 GPa/300 °C and 1.1 GPa/500 °C. These estimates attest to a geothermal gradient (dT/dP) of 10–13 °C km^?1 and indicate that the Tenda crystalline massif was buried to a minimum depth of 27 km during the Alpine orogeny. The blueschist facies recrystallization in the Tenda crystalline massif has been related to the cessation of an eastward‐dipping subduction event.     

大兴安岭南部钠闪石流纹岩的岩石成因:年代学和地球化学证据

本文报道了在大兴安岭南部白音高老组新发现的钠闪石流纹岩的锆石U-Pb定年结果和岩石地球化学资料,以便揭示富碱钠闪石流纹岩的成因与区域构造演化.钠闪石流纹岩中锆石为自形-半自形的长柱状、短柱状,具有明显岩浆成因的震荡生长环带,结合其Th/U比值(1.2～1.9),暗示其为岩浆成因.锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年结果表明,其206Pb/238U年龄介于134 ～ 149Ma之间,其加权平均年龄为141Ma,表明钠闪石流纹岩形成于早白垩世早期.锆石εHf(t)=+9.07～+12.08,二阶段Hf模式年龄介于415 ～616Ma之间.岩石地球化学资料表明,钠闪石流纹岩以富硅、碱、铁质和贫钙、镁质为特征,在地球化学上,具有典型的A型流纹岩特征.该类岩石不仅具有高的稀土元素总量(REE=307×10-6～ 1395×10-6)、显著的Ce正异常(Ce/Ce* =6.52 ～ 18.6)和显著的Eu负异常(Eu/Eu*=0.007 ～0.009),而且表现出高场强元素(如Zr、Hf、Nb、Ta)的显著富集、大离子亲石元素(如Ba、Sr)的强烈亏损和很高的Ga/A1比值(104×Ga/Al =4.88～6.41).上述资料表明,钠闪石流纹岩的原始岩浆应是古俯冲蚀变洋壳部分熔融的产物,并形成于蒙古-鄂霍茨克缝合带闭合后的岩石圈伸展构造环境.     

Melt inclusions in olivine phenocrysts in unaltered kimberlites from the Udachnaya-East pipe,Yakutia: Some aspects of kimberlite magma evolution during late crystallization stages

The results of a complex study of melt inclusions in olivine phenocrysts contained in unaltered kimberlites from the Udachnaya-East pipe indicate that the inclusions were captured late during the magmatic stage, perhaps, under a pressure of <1 kbar and a temperature of ≤800°C. The inclusions consist of fine crystalline aggregates (carbonates + sulfates + chlorides) + gas ± crystalline phases. Minerals identified among the transparent daughter phases of the inclusions are silicates (tetraferriphlogopite, olivine, humite or clinohumite, diopside, and monticellite), carbonates (calcite, dolomite, siderite, northupite, and Na-Ca carbonates), Na and K chlorides, and alkali sulfates. The ore phases are magnetite, djerfisherite, and monosulfide solid solution. The inclusions are derivatives of the kimberlite melt. The complex silicate-carbonate-salt composition of the secondary melt inclusions in olivine from the kimberlite suggests that the composition of the kimberlite melt near the surface differed from that of the initial melt composition in having higher contents of CaO, FeO, alkalis, and volatiles (CO₂, H₂O, F, Cl, and S) at lower concentrations of SiO₂, MgO, Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃, and TiO₂. Hence, when crystallizing, the kimberlite melt evolved toward carbonatite compositions. The last derivatives of the kimberlite melt had an alkaline carbonatite composition.     

Origin of high field strength element enrichment in volcanic arcs: Geochemical evidence from the Sulu Arc, southern Philippines

Lavas from the Sulu Arc, southern Philippines, exhibit an enrichment in high field strength elements (HFSE) that represents a departure from the typical volcanic arc geochemical signature. It has been postulated that this relative enrichment arises from metasomatism of mantle wedge peridotites by melts derived from the subducting oceanic lithosphere, through formation of amphibole which subsequently breaks down and enriches the mantle source of parental arc magmas in HFSE. Divergent chemical and isotopic characteristics between Sulu Arc HFSE-enriched lavas and the Sulu Sea crust being subducted—the presumed source of slab-derived melts—render it unlikely, however, that HFSE enrichment arises from the influence of such melts. New geochemical data suggest that the varying degrees of HFSE enrichment in Sulu Arc lavas are instead the result of variable amounts of mixing between enriched and depleted mantle end-components—the sources of South China Sea intraplate lavas and Sulu seafloor basalts, respectively—within a compositionally heterogeneous mantle wedge.     

Petrogenesis of early paleozoic peralkaline rhyolites from the Macedo de Cavaleiros region (NE Portugal)

The petrology and geochemistry of Variscan peralkaline gneisses from NE Portugal, discovered in 1962, is presented. Major and trace element data for the oversaturated sequence of the Macedo de Cavaleiros area depict some specific geochemical patterns: high Fe₂O₃ ^(t) (even higher than in the Ethiopian Main Rift), high REE concentrations and small Eu anomalies. Field and petrographical observations also suggest that liquid immiscibility has played an important petrogenetic role in the crystallization trends. The alternating pyroxenefeldsparhematite-rich bands observed in outcrop are interpreted as resulting from fluctuating fO₂ conditions. Petrological and geochemical data show that these pantelleritic and comenditic rocks are the end members of an alkaline-transitional basaltic sequence, by which they are overlain. An uppermost sequence of oceanic tholeiitic basalts completes the picture of an evolving rift environment, where mantle processes generate crustal thinning and eventually oceanic crust.

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Zusammenfassung Petrologie und Geochemie variszischer peralkaliner Gneisse aus Nordostportugal, 1962 entdeckt, werden dargestellt. Die Haupt- und Spurenelementanalysen dieser übersättigen Gesteine weisen Besonderheiten auf, wie z. B. die hohen Fe203-Gehalte, die selbst noch die des »Ethiopian Main Rift« übersteigen, die hohen Konzentrationen an Seltenen Erdelementen und die kleine negative Eu-Anomalie. Geländegeologie und Petrographie suggerieren, da\ die liquid-magmatische Entmischung eine wichtige petrogenetische Rolle im Kristallisationsablauf spielte. Im Aufschlu\ wird eine Wechsellagerung von Pyroxen-Feldspat- und Hämatit-reichen Schichten beobachtet, die hier als Folge von fO2-Schwankungen erklärt wird. Die petrologischen und geochemischen Daten zeigen, da\ die pantelleritischen und comenditischen Gesteine die letzten Glieder in einer Abfolge vom alkalinen übergangstyp darstellen... Die vulkanische Abfolge im Gebiet von Macedo de Cavaleiros endet mit tholeiitischen Basalten, die damit das Bild der magmatischen Entwicklung in einem Rift-Bereich, in dem Mantelprozesse eine Krustenverdünnung in einem Rift-Bereich, in dem Mantelprozesse eine Krustenverdünnung und die Bildung ozeanischer Kruste bewirkten, vervollständigen.

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Résumé L'auteur présente la pétrologie et la géochimie des gneiss varisques peralcalins du nord-est du Portugal, découverts en 1962. Les analyses des éléments majeurs et en traces dans ces roches sursaturées montrent quelques caractéristiques spéciales comme la haute teneur en Fe₂O₃ (t) (supérieure mÊme à celles de l'»Ethiopian Main Rift«), la haute concentration en terres rares et la faible anomalie négative de Eu. La géologie de terrain et les observations pétrographiques suggèrent aussi que l'imiscibilité entre liquides a joué un rÔle pétrogénétique important au cours de la cristallisation. Les alternances de bandes alternativement riches en pyroxène-feldspath et en hématite, observées sur les affleurements, sont interprétées comme le résultat de la fluctuation de fO₂. Les données pétrologiques et géochimiques montrent que les roches pantéléritiques et comenditiques représentent les derniers termes d'une séquence du type alcalintransitionel qui les surmonte. La séquence volcanique dans le secteur de Macedo de Calvaleiros se termine par des basaltes tholéiitiques qui complètent le cadre d'une environnement d'un zone de »rift« dans laquelle les processus mantéliques ont déterminé l'amincissement crustal et la formation d'une croûte océanique.

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Relationships between Campi Flegrei and Mt. Somma volcanism: evidence from melt inclusions in clinopyroxene phenocrysts from volcanic breccia xenoliths

Summary We present compositions of reheated melt inclusions in clinopyroxene phenocrysts from three mafic xenoliths in Breccia Museo, Campi Flegrei, Italy. Melt inclusion compositions are remarkably different from the compositions of known contemporary Campi Flegrei lavas, being significantly enriched in K₂O and depleted in Na₂O. Some differences are also evident in FeO^* (total Fe as FeO) and TiO₂ contents. The clinopyroxene phenocrysts could not have crystallised from Campi Flegrei magmas. We suggest that they originated from a volcanic system genetically very similar to, and possibly linked with, the >14 ka volcanic system of Mt. Somma, another Campanian volcano ∼ 30 km east from Campi Flegrei, from which Vesuvius subsequently developed. This result indicates a close relationship (or link) between the two volcanic systems which have until now been considered separate. We speculate that the link was established prior to eruption of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) (∼ 12 ka). The xenoliths were derived from a volcanic system older than the host breccias themselves. We suggest that this older volcanism had close similarities with the volcanism of the older products of Mt. Somma (∼25 ka). Received March 20, 2000; accepted November 2, 2000     

Late Jurassic I-type rhyolites from the Duobuza region,north-central Tibet: evidence for the occurrence of juvenile lower crust and crustal growth in the Southern Qiangtang Terrane

ABSTRACT

Previous studies of the Southern Qiangtang (SQ) Terrane in Tibet have shown significant growth of continental crust during the late Mesozoic (ca. 170–120 Ma) through underplating of mantle-derived melts beneath ancient lower crust. However, the mechanism of crustal growth remains defective during the Late Jurassic. In this contribution, we report new zircon U–Pb ages, whole-rock major and trace element concentrations, and zircon Hf isotopic compositions of Late Jurassic rhyolites from the Duobuza area in the SQ Terrane. Zircon LA–ICP–MS U–Pb dating yields concordant ages and weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 151–149 Ma, indicating that the rhyolites were erupted during the Late Jurassic. The rhyolite samples yield high SiO₂ (69.1–73.4 wt.%) and Na₂O (3.82–6.49 wt.%) concentrations, high values of the differentiation index (95.4–98.5), moderate Al₂O₃ (13.1–15.5 wt.%) and K₂O (2.55–3.26 wt.%) concentrations, and relatively low TiO₂ (0.34–0.44 wt.%), MgO (0.14–0.67 wt.%), and MnO (0.01–0.10 wt.%) concentrations and Mg# values (8.9–33.5). They are enriched in Rb, Th, Ba, and Pb, depleted in Nb, Ta, Sr, Ti, and P, and yield negative Eu anomalies. These characteristics suggest that the Duobuza rhyolites represent medium- to high-K calc-alkaline, highly fractionated I-type granitoids. Variations in major and trace element concentrations indicate that the rhyolites underwent significant fractionation of Fe–Ti oxides, plagioclase, K-feldspar, hornblende, biotite, and apatite. The samples yield positive zircon ε_Hf(t) values (+0.08 to +10.9) and young T^CD _M model ages (816–386 Ma), indicating that they were generated through partial melting of juvenile lower crust of the SQ Terrane. These data are distinct from those of Late Jurassic intermediate–felsic plutons in the SQ Terrane that generally yield negative ε_Hf(t) values and ancient T_C ^DM model ages. We suggest that the occurrence of the Duobuza rhyolites is the significant witness. The presence of juvenile lower crust beneath the SQ Terrane during the Late Jurassic (ca. 150 Ma) rather than during the Early Cretaceous (ca. 120Ma). The transition from ancient to juvenile lower crust has already began in the SQ Terrane during the Late Jurassic.     

Enrichment of SiO2 in rhyolites by fractional crystallization: An experimental study of peraluminous granitic rocks from the St. Francois Mountains, Missouri, USA

Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that higher silica rhyolites of the St. Francois Mountains, Missouri, USA are products of fractional crystallization of lower silica granitic magmas. Experiments were carried out at pressures of 0.5 and 1.0 kb under water-saturated conditions, temperatures ranged from 800° to 925°C and the oxygen fugacity for all experiments were maintained at, or near, the nickel-nickel oxide (NNO) buffer level.

Results of experiments with Butler Hill granite indicate that fractionation of near liquidus silicate phases, orthopyroxene and plagioclase, causes an enrichment of SiO₂ in the residual melts. Mineralogical and chemical compositions of the experimental charges are similar to that of higher silica Grassy Mountain rhyolites of the St. Francois Mountains. Experiments also show that at pressures of 1.0 Kb or higher orthopyroxene reacts with the hydrous melt to produce biotite which is a common phase in the plutonic rocks of the St. Francois Mountains.     

Collisional processes at the junction of the Aleutian–Kamchatka arcs: new evidence from fission track analysis and field observations

The Aleutian island arc collides with the Kuril–Kamchatka arc in the area of the Cape Kamchatka peninsula. Field studies of neotectonic structures and apatite fission track analysis provide evidence for crustal plate shortening onshore the Cape Kamchatka peninsula. Tectonic blocks show differential mean exhumation rates varying from 0.18 ± 0.04 mm yr⁻¹ in the north up to 1.2 ± 0.18 mm yr⁻¹ in the south of the peninsula. A few of the fission track length data point to an unsteady exhumation rate. The blocks are separated by major dextral fault zones splaying off from Aleutian island arc fault zones. Across the western segment of the North American–Pacific Plate boundary the strain is partitioned along the fault zones and increases from north to south. Results from this study suggest that indentation and accretion of island arc fragments has recently occurred in the southeastern part of the Cape Kamchatka peninsula.