Low- and high-Ti ophiolites in Northern Pindos: Petrological and geological constraints

Ophiolites with different magmatic characteristics are closely associated in space with one another in northern Pindos. Some have affinities with ocean-floor magmas (Group I), and others represent melts which are frequently strongly depleted in «incompatible» elements (Group II). Group I is composed of cumulates, dolerites and lavas, whereas Group II occurs mainly as pillows and dykes, and postdates Group I. The two groups have different geochemical, mineralogical and petrographic features. They exhibit different Ti, Cr, Ni, Y, Zr, P, Si and Mg contents, and clinopyroxenes and spinels of Group I have higher Ti/Al and Ti/Mn ratios, and lower Cr/(Cr + Al) values respectively than those of Group II. Many rocks of Group II are chemically similar to boninites and associated rocks as well as to low-Ti basalts from other areas and ophiolitic complexes. It is concluded that geochemical and mineralogical data alone do not allow a definitive answer about the original tectonic setting of the investigated rocks, although a genesis above a subduction zone seems to be plausible hypothesis.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of rift-related volcanic rocks from South Kivu (Zaire)

Two volcanic zones (Bukavu and Kamituga) south of Lake Kivu (southeastern Zaire) are part of the western branch of the Eastern African rift. They were formed during three volcanic cycles, one pre-rift (70-7 Ma old) and the other two syn-rift (7.8-1.9 Ma old and 14,000 y.-sub-Recent, respectively), and evolved from quartz tholeiites of the pre-rift period to alkali basalts of the rift stage. The basaltic rocks, which strongly predominate, are compositionally similar to other rift-related basalts and also to oceanic-island rocks. Most of the basalts have undergone only limited fractional crystallization (5–10%) dominated by olivine and clinopyroxene. The distinct variations of incompatible elements even in rocks of very similar major-element composition imply that the basaltic rocks were derived from a heterogeneous source by variable degrees of melting. The inferred source composition closely resembles that of metasomatized peridotite xenoliths from alkali basalts.     

Strymon and Strymonikos Gulf basins (Northern Greece): Implications on their formation and evolution from faulting

In Central and Eastern Macedonia of Northern Greece large NW–SE trending basins filled up mainly with terrestrial sediments developed during the Neogene over the Alpine basement rocks. Among them, the Strymon basin was established along the NNW–SSE trending Strouma/Strymon Lineament which formed over the tectonic boundary of the Serbomacedonian and Rhodope massifs, both representing the hinterland of the Hellenic orogen. The present study suggests that the Strymon basin was not formed as a syn-detachment basin over the Strymon Valley Detachment Fault, considered to have caused exhumation of the Rhodope massif metamorphic complex. Instead, transpressional s.l. tectonics dominated the region in the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene and it progressively changed into a wrench tectonics under which the Strymon basin has been initiated in the Middle Miocene. The basin continued to develop further under a short-lived NW–SE extension in the Middle-Late Miocene. The whole deformation is attributed to the late-stage collisional processes between the Apulia and Eurasia plates. The prevalent NE–SW extension has been constrained later on in the Late Miocene and Pliocene times activating both low-angle and high-angle NW–SE trending faults and causing the regional tilting towards the SW of the mountain fault blocks (i.e., mountain chains). From Quaternary onwards, the Strymon basin has been separated from the Strymonikos Gulf basin due to an N–S extension that mainly activates E–W striking normal faults.     

Aftershock patterns of the 2021 Mw 6.3 Northern Thessaly (Greece) earthquake

Journal of Seismology - On March 3, 2021, a strong shallow earthquake of magnitude Mw 6.3 struck Northern Thessaly, an area that lies in one of the most active fault zones of mainland Greece. The...     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of Late Ladinian OIB-like basalts from Tabai,Yunnan Province,China

Major and trace elements analysis has been carried out on the Late Ladinian Tabai basalts from Yunnan Province with the aim of studying their petrogenesis. Their SiO2 contents range from 43.63 wt.% to 48.23 wt.%. The basalts belong to the weakly alkaline(average total alkalis Na2 O+K2O=3.59 wt.%), high-Ti(3.21 wt.% to 4.32 wt.%) magma series. The basalts are characterized by OIB-like trace elements patterns, which are enriched in large ion lithosphile elements(LILE) including Rb and Ba, and display negative K, Zr and Hf anomalies as shown on the spider diagrams. The Tabai basalts display light rare-earth elements(LREE) enrichment and are depleted in heavy rare-earth elements(HREE) on the REE pattern. Those dates indicate that the parental magma of the Tabai basalts was derived from low-degree(1%–5%) partial melting of garnet peridotite. The magma underwent olivine fractional crystallization and minor crustal contamination during their ascent. The Tabai basalts were related to a relaxation event which had triggered the Emeishan fossil plume head re-melting in the Middle Triassic.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of ultramafic and mafic plutonic rocks of the Dras ophiolitic melange, Indus suture (northwest Himalaya)

Geochemical data are presented for a suite of ultramafic and related rocks from the Dras ophiolitic melange of the Indus suture zone in the western Himalaya. Harzburgites from the suite have highly refractory chemistry. Lherzolites from the suite represent modified mantle material and are comparable to potential source rocks for MORB and to the lherzolites of the Bay of Islands ophiolites. Cumulus dunite, pyroxenite and gabbro units contain olivine, chromite, clinopyroxene and plagioclase as the major cumulus phases. Orthopyroxene is absent as a cumulus phase and in this respect the Dras ophiolite differs from the Marum, Betts Cove and Troodos ophiolites. However, the Dras cumulates are similar to the Vourinos and Bay of Islands cumulate sequence and are consistent with accumulation of low-pressure liquidus phases of mid-oceanic ridge-type magmas. Magmas parental to the Dras cumulate rocks contained high 100 Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) ratios of 77–79, high Ni, Cr and possibly Ca, low Ti and depleted LREE. Parent magmas were probably similar to those of normal MORB formed by two-stage (or dynamic) melting processes in the mantle. Peridotite fabrics suggest high-temperature plastic (mantle) deformation. Disruption, serpentinisation and melange formation were probably produced during emplacement in the Indus suture zone.     

Mineral chemistry and petrogenesis of chromitites from the Khoy ophiolite complex,Northwestern Iran: Implications for aggregation of two ophiolites

The Khoy ophiolitic complex in Northwestern Iran is a part of the Tethyan ophiolite belt, and is divided into two sections: the Eastern ophiolite in Qeshlaq and Kalavanes (Jurassic–Cretaceous) and the Western ophiolite in Barajouk, Chuchak and Hessar (Late Cretaceous). Our chromitites can be clearly classified into two groups: high‐Al chromitites (Cr# = 0.38–0.44) from the Eastern ophiolite, and high‐Cr chromitites (Cr# = 0.54–0.72) from the Western ophiolite. The chromian spinels in high‐Al chromitite include primary mineral inclusions mainly as Na‐bearing diopside and pargasite with subordinate rutile and their formation was probably related to reaction between a MORB (mid‐ocean‐ridge basalt)‐like melt with depleted harzburgite, possibly in a back‐arc setting. Their host harzburgites contain clinopyroxene with higher contents of Al₂O₃, Na₂O, Cr₂O₃, and TiO₂ relative to Western harzburgites and are possibly residue after moderate partial melting (~15 %) whereas the Western harzburgite is residue after high partial melting (~25 %). The chromian spinel in the Western Khoy chromitites contains inclusions such as clinopyroxene, olivine and platinum group mineral‐bearing sulfides. These Western chromitites were possibly formed at two stages during arc growth and are divided into the moderately high‐Cr# chromitites (Barajouk and Hessar) and the high‐Cr# chromitites (Chuchak A and C). The former crystallized from island‐arc‐tholeiite (IAT) melts during reaction with the host depleted harzburgites, whereas the latter crystallized from boninitic melts (second stage melt) during reaction with highly depleted harzburgite in a supra‐subduction‐zone environment. Based on the mineral chemistry of chromian spinels, pyroxenes, and mineral inclusions, the chromitites and the host peridotites from the Eastern and Western Khoy ophiolites were formed in a back‐arc basin and arc‐related setting, respectively. The Khoy ophiolitic complex is a tectonic aggregate of the two different ophiolites formed in two different tectonic settings at different ages.     

Geochemistry of the high-K calc-alkaline basaltic sills and dykes in the South Rhodope Massif (N Greece)

In this paper mafic sills and dykes found in Palaeogenic sedimentary rocks of the South Rhodope Massif (Greece) are studied. Their mineralogy is represented mainly by plagioclases (An₄₅-An₈₈), amphiboles (Mg-hornblende, Mg-hastingsite) and clinopyroxenes of salitic compositions with subordinate biotite. Chemistry and corresponding discriminant diagrams (Ti-Zr-Y, Ti-Zr-Sr) and discriminant functions (F₁-F₂ from pyroxene) classify them as basalts and basaltic andesites of the high-K calc-alkaline rocks series. According to their geochemical and petrological features an orogenic nature results for the rocks in study. REE abundances show an enrichement of LREE and a moderate fractionation in HREE patterns. The above together with the non significant europium anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0,92–0,85) and the relatively high contents of K, Ba and Sr in these rocks indicate a magma genesis by partial melting of an upper mantle source already enriched in LILE. A K-Ar determination on hornblende phenocrysts gave a Lower Oligocene age (33,5±1.2 m.y.) which is in accordance with the age of the andesitic lavas extended to the northwest of the studied area.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the kilimanjaro volcanic rocks of the Amboseli area,Kenya

The paper summarizes the geochemical and petrogenetic aspects of an investigation of late Tertiary to Recent volcanic rocks in the Amboseli area of southern Kenya. A study of chemical variations in the Amboseli and Kilimanjaro lavas distinguishes a mildly alkaline series (alkali olivine basalts, trachybasalts/trachyandesites, trachytes, rhomb porphyries and phonolites) from a strongly alkaline series embracing subordinate nephelinitic, phonolitic and tephritic lavas. The two series probably evolved independently from a source in the mantle. A comparison of Kilimanjaro with other East African volcanoes shows that the focus of strongly alkaline volcanicity moved from eastern Uganda and western Kenya to northern Tanzania at the end of Miocene times. The Pliocene to Recent centres near the Kenya-Tanzania border show evidence of decreasing alkalinity from a western zone of nephelinite-phonolite volcanoes to an eastern region in which central volcanoes are characterized by the association of strongly and mildly alkaline suites.     

Geochemistry and regional distribution of ophiolites and associated volcanics in Mianlüe suture, Qinling-Dabie Mountains

Systematic studies of the ophiolites and associated volcanics stretching more than 1500 km from the Derni-Nanping-Pipasi-Kangxian area in the west to the Qingshuihe area of the south Dabie Mountains in the east indicate the existence of a suture zone (the Mianl(u)e suture)and a vanished paleo-ocean basin (the Mianlue paleo-ocean basin) in the region. From west to east, ophiolitic melange associations distribute discontinuously along the suture. Rock assemblages include ophiolite, island arc and oceanic island rock series. The Mianlue paleo-ocean basin experienced its major formation and expending episode during the Carboniferous-Permian period. The finding of the suture zone and the paleo-ocean basin is tectonically significant in timing the collision between the North China-Qinling and Yangtze blocks and determining the formation and evolution of the Qinling orogenic belt.     

Geochemistry of calc-alkaline volcanic rocks from southeastern Iran (kouh-e-shahsavaran)

The Upper Tertiary to Quaternary volcanic complex of Kouh-e-Shahsavaran in southeastern Iran is composed of calc-alkaline rocks of island are type (high-alumina basalts, basic andesites, andesites and dacites) even though it was emplaced on the continental basement. The volcanic rocks of the complex are genetically related and were probably derived by low-pressure fractional crystallization of high-Al basalts. The anomalously high content of Sr in some rocks probably reflects an accumulation of plagioclase. The trace element data are consistent with the origin of the parental magma by partial melting of an “enriched” upper mantle peridotite.     

Helium and CO2 soil gas emission from Santorini (Greece)

Soil gas investigation is a useful tool to detect active faults. The sudden appearance of soil gas anomalies in zones of deep-reaching faults represents a promising potential precursor of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In volcanic areas the development of soil gas monitoring techniques is particularly important, as they can represent, together with remote sensing techniques, the only geochemical methods that can be safely applied during volcanic unrest, when it becomes impossible or too dangerous to sample crater fumaroles. A soil gas survey was carried out in June 1993 at the main island of Thera, in the Santorini volcanic complex. CO₂ flux and CO₂ and helium concentrations were measured at 50 cm depth for 76 points covering the entire island, with a spacing of 500 m or less. Several anomalous soil degassing sites have been detected. The main anomalies correspond to the Kolumbos line and to the Kameni line, two volcano-tectonic fault systems that controlled all the historic volcanic activity of Santorini. A third anomaly is related to a gas-leaking fault cutting the geothermal field of southern Thera. Soil gas data, together with geovolcanological and seismological evidence, indicate that the Kolumbos and Kameni lines are the most probable sites for future volcanic or seismic reactivation, and provide the basis for the establishment of a new geochemical monitoring technique at Thera.     

Bimodal tholeiitic and mildly alkalic basalts from Bhir area,central Deccan Volcanic Province,India: Geochemistry and petrogenesis

Bimodal tholeiitic and mildly alkalic basalts occur near Bhir, in the central part of Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP). Major and trace element concentrations show that, of the ten flows, nine are tholeiitic and one is an alkalic basalt. The Bhir basalts have a wide range of chemical composition. Geochemical variations in the stratigraphic section define three distinct phases of evolution (zones 1 to 3). Crystal fractionation of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, olivine and Fe–Ti oxide expanded the compositional range. Low Mg#s (39–55), low concentrations of Ni and Cr and high Zr suggest the evolved nature of the Bhir basalts. Fractionation modeling suggests about 42% fractional crystallization.In spite of the dominant role of fractional crystallization in the evolution of Bhir basalts, some other processes must be sought to explain the chemical variations. Crustal contamination, magma mixing and degree of partial melting are suggested to explain the observed chemical variations. Resorption, reverse zoning and compositional bimodality in plagioclase phenocrysts indicate magma mixing. Samples of flows one and four suspected of being contaminated all have enriched SiO₂ and LILE (K, Rb, and Ba) contents and depletion in Ti and P, believed to be due to ‘granitic’ crustal contamination.As compared to tholeiitic basalts, the alkalic basalts are characterized by low SiO₂ and high TiO₂, Na₂O, K₂O and P₂O₅. Alkalic basalts are richer in LILE (Rb and Ba), HFSE (Nb, Zr, and Y) and REE than the tholeiitic basalts. The alkalic basalt occurrence is important from a petrogenetic point of view and also suggests that the sources of alkalic basalt magmas may be of variable ages under different parts of the DVP. Based on major, trace and rare earth element distributions it is suggested that asthenospheric mantle having affinities with the source of OIB was the source material of the magmas and the range in the composition of tholeiitic and alkalic basalts was probably controlled by different degrees of melting and/or inhomogeneities in the mantle source.     

Geochemistry of mafic cainozoic volcanic rocks from Sardinia (western mediterranean)

The Cainozoic volcanism of Sardinia (Italy) can be divided into two main cycles with different magmatic and geodynamic significance. The early cycle — Oligo-Miocenic in age (29-13 My ago) — shows the calc-alkaline character typical of converging plate areas. The later activity, ranging from Lower Pliocene (about 5 My ago) to recent Pleistocene, produced mostly basic lavas extruded onto a continental plate («within plate basalts»). It was related to a period of tensional tectonics which had affected the western Mediterranean area prior to, and during, the volcanic activity. Intermediate and acid volcanic products were associated with the mafic rocks of the latest magmatic episodes. The main groups of rocks — the basic ones, already classified from their petrographic features and geological setting — can be characterized very well when a statistical elaboration of their chemical analyses is used. In fact, from chemical data it is possible to distinguish the Oligo-Miocene volcanic products from those of Plio-Pleistocene age. Moreover, within this latter group basanites, alkalic and subalkalic basaltic rocks can clearly be distinguished. Samples that had not clearly been defined on the basis of their petrographic characteristics (anonymous samples) have been attributed to one or the other of the main groups by means of discriminant functions. Chemical variations in the Plio-Pleistocenic rocks are due to fractionation episodes at shallow depths superimposed on primary magmatic variations. A model of partial fusion of the mantle accounts for many but not all the observed original chemical variations. Different physical melting conditions, the effects of minor mineral phases in the mantle and, probably, crustal contamination were also effective in creating the observed chemical variations.     

Reliability of Ambient Noise Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio in Urban Environments: The Case of Thessaloniki City (Northern Greece)

In the framework of an ambient noise measurement project in the downtown district of the City of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece), several tests and evaluation of noise recordings were performed in selected sites. This data set was processed and compared with previous results for the same sites in terms of horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratio obtained from weak and strong motion earthquake data. The recording system used was tested against a reference one. Finally, systematic ambient noise measurements were performed at eight sites in the citys downtown area, to evaluate diurnal and seasonal variations. It was concluded that the recording system used was reliable and the ambient noise H/V spectral ratios were in good agreement with relevant results previously obtained. Diurnal variation of the ambient noise H/V spectral ratio showed that it is preferable to perform measurements during the calm hours of the day, when man-made noise is relatively low. However, no systematic seasonal fluctuation effect on the ambient noise H/V spectral ratio was identified.     

Geochemistry,petrogenesis and tectonic significance of the late Triassic A-type granite in Fujian,South China

The late Permian–Triassic granites in southeastern China have important tectonic significance for the evolution of South China. Here, we present the detailed geochronological, geochemical and petrological analyses for the Jinlongyan(JLY) granite in northwest Fujian Province, southeast China. LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating yielded a weighted average ~(206)Pb/~(238)U age of 224.1 ±3.3 Ma. The granite is mainly comprised of K-feldspar,plagioclase, quartz, biotite and minor amphibole. It is characterized by enrichments in Rb, Th, REEs(total REE = 295.1–694.3 ppm), and HFSEs(e.g., Zr = 289–520 ppm, Hf = 9.3–15.0 ppm, Y = 36.2–68.2 ppm) but depletions in Ba, Sr, Eu and Ti. The granite is metaluminous to weakly peraluminous and show a clear A-type granite geochemical signature with high SiO_2(70.89 wt%–75.76 wt%), total alkalis(Na_2O + K_2O = 7.51 wt%–8.72 wt%), Ga/Al ratios(10000 Ga/Al = 2.72–3.43). Insitu zircon Hf isotope analysis shows their eHf(t) values ranging from-7.2 to-3.2, with Mesoproterozoic T2DM ages(1308–1525 Ma). Whole-rock Nd isotope data show their eNd(t) values in the range of-9.5 to-9.1 and yield paleoproterozoic TDMages(1606–1985 Ma). These characteristics indicate that the JLY A-type granite magma was formed by the partial melting of Meso-Paleoproterozoic crust rocks in the Cathaysia Block. Our study of the JLY A-type granite, together with other Triassic A-type granitesin South China, defines an extensional environment in the late Triassic which probably was caused by the collision of the South China Block with Indochina Block.