Lead isotopic compositions of Tonga-Kermadec volcanics and their petrogenetic significance

Lead isotopic compositions, and lead and uranium concentrations have been determined for samples from the Tongan islands of Late, Fonualei, Hunga-Ha'apai and Eua and for the Kermadec islands of Raoul, Macauley, Esperance and Napier. The Kermadec samples form a linear array in a Pb²⁰⁶/Pb²⁰⁴ vs Pb²⁰⁷/Pb²⁰⁴ plot which if interpreted in terms of a two stage mantle model indicates a mantle fractionation of Pb from U at about 1.2×10⁹ yr. The Tongan volcanics, except Eua, have a very narrow range of isotopic compositions, only slightly exceeding the experimental error limits. This is interpreted to be the result of efficient mixing of the mantle in response to rapid extension behind the Tongan arc. The rate of extension appears to determine whether convection mixing can occur, since the sub-Kermadec mantle which experienced slower extension is not well mixed isotopically. The isotopic compositions show no evidence for a component in the magma derived from sediments dragged down the Benioff zone. The pre-Eocene Eua volcanics have lead which is substantially more radiogenic than the younger Tongan volcanics and are interpreted as a sample of the mantle before convective mixing occurred.     

碱性玄武岩中幔源岩石包体内尖晶石成分特征及其岩石学成因意义

通过对我国东部北起黑龙江省南至海南省３１个产地的新生代碱性玄武岩中橄榄岩类 （纯橄岩、方辉橄榄岩及二辉橄榄岩） 包体和辉石岩类包体中的１６０ 多个尖晶石电子探针分析数据, 论述了尖晶石的Ｃｒ－Ａｌ, Ｆｅ－Ｍｇ, Ｎｉ－Ｍｇ 主元素及有关比值和端员组分之间的关系, 分析研究了不同岩类包体中尖晶石的颜色、成分及成因之间的联系。并利用所分析的有关橄榄石、斜方辉石、单斜辉石共生矿物的电子探针分析数据, 采用新的、较合理的Ｂｒｅｙ－Ｋｏｈｌｅｒ温度计及Ｋｏｈｌｅｒ－Ｂｒｅｙ 压力计和Ｂａｌｌｈａｕｓ ｅｔａｌ． 氧逸度计算方法进行了计算, 探讨了尖晶石成分与其形成温度、压力和氧逸度状态的关系, 指出了尖晶石成分所反映的地幔亏损程度及部分熔融程度的变化规律及尖晶石 （相） 稳定的温度、压力和氧逸度范围。     

Lead contents of S-type granites and their petrogenetic significance

An evaluation of Pb and Ba contents in S-type granites can provide important information on the processes of crustal partial melting. Primary low-T S-type granites, which form mainly by fluid-absent muscovite melting, may acquire a significant enrichment in Pb when compared to higher-T S-type granites for a given Ba content. We consider the following factors are responsible for this enrichment: Muscovite is a major carrier of Pb in amphibolite facies metapelites, and thus large quantities of Pb can be liberated upon its breakdown. The typical restite assemblage of Qz?+?Bt?+?Sil?±?Pl?±?Grt?±?Kfsp that forms during low-T, fluid-absent muscovite melting can take up only minor amounts of this Pb. This is because the crystal/melt Pb distribution coefficients for these restite minerals are low to very low. Only K-feldspar is moderately compatible for Pb, with a crystal/melt distribution coefficient of ~3, but its modal content in restites is usually low. At the same time, the restite assemblage will retain much Ba owing to the very high Ba uptake in both biotite and K-feldspar, which is an order of magnitude higher than for Pb. Thus, during a low-T anatectic event involving a low degree of crustal melting, Pb (as an incompatible element) can become strongly enriched in the partial melt relative to Ba and also relative to source rock values. In the case of higher-T anatexis and larger partial melt amounts, the Pb becomes less enriched and the Ba less depleted or even enriched relative to source rock values. During fractional crystallization of a S-type granite magma, Ba behaves strongly compatibly and Pb weakly compatibly. The concentrations of both elements decrease along the liquid line of decent. Owing to this sympathetic fractionation behavior, the primary, source-related Pb–Ba fingerprint (with weak or strong Pb enrichment) remains in evolved S-type granites. This facilitates a distinction between primary low-T S-type granites, which are related to muscovite melting, and secondary low-T S-type granites that evolve through fractional crystallization from a higher-T parental magma. We show in this paper that a simple logarithmic Pb versus Ba diagram can be a valuable aid for interpreting the petrogenesis of S-type granite suites.     

Geochemistry of Paleozoic ignimbrites in central Kazakhstan and their petrogenetic significance

Ignimbrites in the Devonian and Late Paleozoic volcanic belts in central Kazakhstan were produced in various geotectonic environments and are diverse in composition. The bulk composition of the Devonian ignimbrites is rhyolitic. The Eifelian rocks of the Chingiz island-arc system belong to the calc-alkaline series and are enriched in Zr, Nb, Y, and REE (predominantly LREE). The Frasnian ignimbrites that were formed in unusual island arcs of the Mediterranean type are ultrapotassic. Compared to the Eifelian ignimbrites, they bear lower concentrations of Zr, Nb, Y, and REE but are richer in Rb and Ba. Both rock varieties show clearly pronounced Eu minima and Ce anomalies. The Carboniferous and Permian ignimbrites were generated within a volcanic belt in a continental margin. The Carboniferous ignimbrites are mostly of dacite-rhyolite and sometimes of dacitic andesite composition. Compared to the Devonian ignimbrites, they are depleted in Zr, Nb, and Y at higher concentrations of Ba and low REE sums, which are notably dominated by LREE; their Eu minima are small, and they have no Ce anomalies. The Permian ignimbrites are predominantly of rhyolite composition. The Early Permian rocks have REE sums close to those in the Carboniferous rocks, but the former have clearly pronounced Eu minima and Ce anomalies. The Late Permian ignimbrites have total REE concentrations close to those in the Devonian ignimbrites, but the former are strongly enriched in LREE and have prominent Eu minima and Ce anomalies. The major-and trace-element composition of fiamme in all ignimbrite varieties varies depending on the relative age of the fiamme. The REE patterns of the fiamme differ from massif to massif, but their systematic changes from older to younger fiamme are similar. Along with the identity of the isotopic characteristics of whole-rock ignimbrite samples and fiamme of different ages in them, this testifies that the ignimbrites were formed not via the mixing of various melts but by the systematic evolution of a parental melts, which were different for different massifs.     

Phenocryst-bulk rock composition relations of abyssal tholeiites and their petrogenetic significance

In order to infer equilibrium phase relations of abyssal tholeiites, olivine, plagioclase, augite, and pigeonite tholeiites from the ocean floor are plotted in terms of the CIPW norm proportions in the tetrahedron olivine-plagioclase-diopside-quartz. The phase relations of abyssal tholeiites have a general similarity in form to those of the experimentally studied relevant systems. Experimental studies on natural basalts allow the pressure of crystallization for abyssal tholeiitic magmas to be evaluated approximately. It appears that the pressure at which the phenocryst-stage crystallization of abyssal tholeiites takes place is as high as 2 or 3 kbar, provided that abyssal tholeiitic magmas are ‘dry’.Abyssal tholeiites could be derived from liquids that are in equilibrium with Ca-poor pyroxene in the pressure range of about 5–8 kbar. Major element chemistry of abyssal tholeiites is incompatible with the view that these tholeiitic basalts are derived from picritic magma by olivine fractionation.     

Ammonium in granites and its petrogenetic significance

Ammonium is present as a trace constituent in all granites, with an average concentration of 45 ppm (NH₄⁺), equivalent to 35 ppm of elemental N. It shows wide variations related to petrography and region, but the only significant correlation between ammonium and other geochemical parameters is that it is most abundant in peraluminous granites and least abundant in peralkaline granites. These variations can be related to (a) the amount of sedimentary material in the magmatic source region, and (b) redox conditions in the source region. The ammonium content of granitic magmas can also be modified by fractionation or contamination. Hydrothermal alteration has a major effect on the ammonium content of granitic rocks, and variation due to this cause may exceed the magmatic variation. Most hydrothermally altered granites are enriched in ammonium as a result of the transfer of ammonium from sedimentary country rocks by the hydrothermal fluids.     

Clinopyroxene zoning patterns in the young alkali basalts of Hungary and their petrogenetic significance

In the Upper Pliocene, during the final phase of igneous activity within the Pannonian Basin, alkali basalts were erupted. Their occurrences are restricted to two main regions in Hungary: 1) Transdanubia; 2) Nógrád County. The clinopyroxene phenocrysts of these rocks are zoned titanaugites which often have distinctive colourless or green cores. Two kinds of green cores can be distinguished: 1. olive-green cores (fassaitic augite and fassaite), and 2. grassgreen cores (salite and ferrosalite). Both types of green cores are comparatively iron-rich and they occur only in the basalts of Nógrád County. The olive-green fassaites probably precipitated from relatively evolved melts which have been mixed into their present host magmas, whereas the grassgreen salites and ferrosalites are xenocrysts derived probably from upper mantle rocks. The clinopyroxene zoning patterns suggest, that after being generated by small-degree partial melting in the mantle the Transdanubian basalts ascended to the surface with little or no modification en route, whereas those of Nógrád County had a more complex evolution, in which fractionation at depth and magma mixing played an important role.     

Lamellar pyroxenes and their petrogenetic significance: Three examples from the Czech Massif

The first event in the crystallization of pyroxenite in nodules from Bory was the growth of clinopyroxene at an uncertain 1,190(30)° C and 2.5(2)GPa. Lamellae of garnet and orthopyroxene in CPX nucleated slightly above 1,000° C and equilibrated at 940(20)° C and 3.9(6)GPa. The growth of lamellae was followed by crystallization of groundmass that corroded lamellar clinopyroxene. Phenocrysts of clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene in olivine pyroxenite from T?i Studně crystallized at 1,290(100)° C and 2.3(1.4)GPa. The lamellae in both phases nucleated between 1,400 and 1,200° C and equilibrated at 860(40)° C and 0.2(3)GPa, before regional metamorphism. (The temperatures of nucleation mentioned rest on uncertain assumptions in the phase-boundary theory and should be viewed with caution.) The serpentinized peridotite-pyroxenite from De?tná contains clinopyroxene relics (the only primary phase) with lamellae of a 1.42 nm sheet silicate topotactically pseudomorphing enstatite, possibly a chlorite or vermiculite. All phases in lamellae are crystallographically oriented in the hosts. The present cases suggest that when applying the theory of phase boundaries, a modified procedure of Robinson et al. should also be considered, in which identity of adjacent areas, rather than just vectors, is the basis of calculation. Spinel lamellae in CPX are bounded not only by faces parallel to coherent interfaces, but also by faces formed by accumulation of incoherent edges of growth ledges.     

Intrinsic oxygen Fugacity measurements on chromites from the Bushveld Complex and their petrogenetic significance

Oxygen Fugacity measurements were carried out on chromites from the Eastern Bushveld Complex (Maandagshoek) and are compared with former measurements on chromites from the western Bushveld Complex (Zwartkop Chrome Mine). These results together with those of Hill and Roeder (1974) yield the following conditions of formation for the massive chromitite layers: Western Bushveld Complex (Zwartkop Chrome Mine) $$\begin{gathered} Layer{\text{ }}T(^\circ C) p_{O_2 } (atm) \hfill \\ LG3{\text{ 1160}} - {\text{1234 10}}^{ - {\text{5}}} - 10^{ - 7.6} \hfill \\ LG4{\text{ 1175}} - {\text{1200 10}}^{ - 6.35} - 10^{ - 7.20} \hfill \\ LG6{\text{ 1162}} - {\text{1207 10}}^{ - 6.20} - 10^{ - 7.50} \hfill \\ \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ Eastern Bushveld Complex (Farm Maandagshoek) $$\begin{gathered} {\text{LXI 1115}} - {\text{1150 10}}^{ - 7.80} - 10^{ - 8.80} \hfill \\ ( = {\text{Steelpoort Seam)}} \hfill \\ {\text{LX 1125 10}}^{ - 8.25} \hfill \\ {\text{V 1120 10}}^{ - 8.55} \hfill \\ {\text{LII 1120 10}}^{ - 8.0} - 10^{ - 8.60} \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ The comparison of the data shows, that the chronitite layers within each particular sequence were formed under approximately identicalp _{o 2}- andT-conditions. The chromites from the western Bushveld Complex, however, were formed at higher temperatures and higher oxygen fugacities than the chromites from the eastern Bushveld Complex. Fromp _{o 2}-T-curves of disseminated chromites and the temperatures derived above, the following conditions of formation for the host rocks were obtained: Western Bushveld Complex $$T = 1200^\circ {\text{C; }}p_{{\text{o}}_{\text{2}} } = 10^{ - 7.25} - 10^{ - 7.50} $$ Eastern Bushveld Complex $$T = 1125^\circ {\text{C; }}p_{{\text{o}}_{\text{2}} } = 10^{ - 8.50} - 10^{ - 9.25} $$ Consequently, the host rocks in the Zwartkop-Chrome-Mine, were formed under higher temperatures and higher oxygen fugacities than the host rocks at Maandagshoek. The rock sequence in the Zwartkop-Chrome-Mine therefore originated in an earlier stage of the differentiation of the Bushveld magma. Comparison of the chromites from the host rocks with the chromites from massive layers supports Ulmer's (1969) thesis that an increase of the oxygen fugacity is responsible for the formation of massive chromitite layers. The values in this investigation show that increases of only about 0.5–1.0 log units are necessary to enhance chromitite layer formation.     

The crystallisation trends of spinels in tertiary basalts from Rhum and Muck and their petrogenetic significance

Spinels are commonly observed in alkali olivine basalts and olivine basalts that form the Plateau Magma Series of the British Tertiary Province. The spinels are either partly or wholly enclosed within olivine or may have adhered to olivine surfaces, and have undergone cation exchange and reaction with the cooling basaltic melt. Detailed microprobe traverses indicate complex exchanges involving Fe-Mg, Cr-Al, Fe³⁺-R³⁺ and Fe²⁺ Ti-R³⁺ substitutions. Some of these changes are due to a reaction with liquid that produced plagioclase and resulted in Al depletion in the spinel. A complex series of solid solutions between hercynite-magnesioferrite-chromite and Al-Cr-titomomagnetite, is indicated in a combination that precludes the disappearance of spinel by a simple peritetic reaction with the melt. The initial spinels are compositionally distinct from the chromites found in the Rhum layered series and underline the great compositional variability of liquidus spinels that can crystallise from basaltic liquid. Some of this variability may relate to the changing solubility of Cr, which behaves as a trace element, in basaltic liquids in response to slight changes in the structure of the melt.LDGO Contribution no. 2575     

Some subcalcic clinopyroxenites from Salt Lake Crater,Oahu, and their petrogenetic significance

Some inclusions from Salt Lake Crater are essentially single-phase subcalcic clinopyroxenites whose original clinopyroxenes, prior to extensive unmixing, were tschermakitic subcalcic varieties with compositions close to Ca₃₄Mg₅₄Fe₁₂. In addition to copious amounts of orthopyroxene, very minor garnet and spinel also were exsolved from the subcalcic clinopyroxenes.The genesis of the garnet pyroxenite suite at Salt Lake Crater has been examined in terms of three models, namely: (i) cumulates from alkali basaltic magmas; (ii) fractional fusion of basanitic garnet clinopyroxenite; and (iii) anatexis of upper mantle lherzolites. Field, mineralogical, chemical and experimental data collectively favour model (iii) and indicate that the nodules are genetically unrelated to their nephelinitic hosts. The Salt Lake garnet pyroxenites can be closely equated with the garnet pyroxenites in magmatictype layers in certain alpine-type ultramafic massifs and they are also similar to many garnet pyroxenite xenoliths in alkaline volcanics from other localities.Liquids produced by anhydrous partial melting of spinel Iherzolite at pressures of approximately 20 kb commonly have picritic chemistries. The crystallization behaviour of picritic liquids at elevated pressures ( 20 kb) indicates that the initial crystallization products may be either essentially single-phase subcalcic clinopyroxenites (with minimal high pressure fractionation) or a range of olivine-aluminous orthopyroxene-aluminous subcalcic clinopyroxene-garnet-(spinel) assemblages with variable 100 Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios (when fractionation has been operative). All these assemblages may be subsequently modified by subsolidus exsolution and recrystallization.     

新疆阿舍勒铜锌矿区潜玄武安山岩的岩石地球化学特征及其地质意义

对新疆阿舍勒铜锌矿区潜玄武安山岩进行了岩石学、岩石地球化学和同位素地球化学研究,结果表明:岩石具有中等的SiO_2(51.90%~52.85%)、MgO(4.44%~5.08%)、Al_2O_3(14.94%~16.11%)、TiO_2(0.99%~1.03%)含量,较低的K_2O(0.01%~0.27%)含量,属于低钾拉斑玄武岩系列;岩石具有较低的稀土元素总量,ΣREE=38.07×10~(-6)~41.70×10~(-6),亏损轻稀土元素,LREE/HREE=0.57~0.61,(La/Yb)N=0.84~0.91,具有明显Eu正异常(δEu=1.13~1.23);富集Sr、Ba、Th等大离子亲石元素,亏损Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf等高场强元素,具有洋中脊玄武岩(MORB)和岛弧拉斑玄武岩(IAB)的特征,形成于岛弧(或弧前)环境;具有相对高的εNd(t)值(+6.9~+7.6),表明其原始岩浆来源于俯冲流体交代地幔楔的部分熔融,没有明显深海沉积物加入。结合阿尔泰造山带南缘的区域地质资料及潜玄武安山岩的地球化学特征,认为阿尔泰南缘在晚古生代处于活动大陆边缘,阿舍勒盆地处于岛弧(或弧前)背景。     

Maestrichtian-Danian andesite series of the Eastern Sikhote Alin: Mineralogy,geochemistry, and petrogenetic aspects

In the stratigraphic sequence of volcanic rocks in the Eastern Sikhote Alin, Maestrichtian-Danian predominantly andesitic volcanics are characterized by a boundary position between the Late Cretaceous subduction, mostly acid volcanic rocks and Cenozoic post-subduction basaltoids. Data on these rocks are important for elucidating the genesis of andesitic magmas, constraining and specifying the geodynamic evolutionary stages in this territory, and revealing the conditions under which the parental melts of these rocks were derived and evolved. Results of detailed mineralogical and geochemical studies, including ICP-MS analysis for trace elements point to a hybrid character of the andesitic volcanic rocks and an important role of fractional crystallization and crustal contamination in their genesis. Although geological evidence (variations in the style of volcanism, the composition of its products, and the character of their distribution) testifies to a change in the geodynamic environment in the Eastern Sikhote Alin in the Maestrichtian-Danian, geochemically the volcanics of this age range are typical subduction-related rocks with anomalously low concentrations of Nb and high contents of K, Ba, Rb, Pb, and U. The volcanic piles contain no adakites, which are indicators of the geodynamic environment in which slab windows are formed. The inconsistency between geological and geochemical indicators of the geodynamic environment suggests certain genetic features of the transitional magmatic series. The parental magmas of the andesitic volcanics were derived from the suprasubduction mantle wedge, which had been metasomatically recycled in the course of the dehydration and melting of the subducted oceanic slab. The increasing extension provided the possibility for the parental basaltic magmas to enter upper crustal levels, where they could interact with the host rocks and form hybrid andesitic melts.     

Lead Isotopic Compositions of Feldspars and Ores and Their Geologic Significance

The lead isotopic compositions of feldspars and ores from granitoid rocks andassociated hydrothermal ore deposits in eastern China are strictly controlled by the nature and age of basement rocks in different tectonic belts.In eastern China,at least five discrete plumbotectonic provinces can be distinguished:the North China platform province,the Qinling province,the Lower Yangtze prov-ince,the Nanling province and the Southeast China coastal province.Each province is marked for unique types of mineralization and ore-metal assemblages.     

长石铅和矿石铅同位素组成及其地质意义

中国东部中生代花岗岩类岩石的长石铅和矿石铅同位素组成,严格地受不同构造带基底岩石的性质和年龄所控制,至少可分为5个铅同位素构造省,即华北地台省、秦岭省、下扬子省、南岭省和东南沿海省。每个省具独特的矿化类型和矿石金属组合。     

Variations in chemical element compositions in different types of Holocene calcareous root tubes in the Tengger Desert,NW China,and their palaeoenvironmental significance

Calcareous root tubes (CRTs) contain abundant information about palaeoenvironmental conditions and have been used for palaeoenvironmental studies in the desert hinterlands of arid regions. However, as subclasses of CRTs, calcareous sheaths and rhizocretions are formed by different processes, and it remains unclear whether these differences produce variations in the chemical element composition. Furthermore, it remains uncertain whether variations in chemical element concentrations amongst different subclasses of the CRTs can affect palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. In this study, we collected 54 CRT samples from the Tengger Desert of northwestern China. All samples were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C dating, and the chemical element composition and concentration differences of the two CRT subclasses were determined using X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry. The CRT samples were dated to the Holocene. The calcareous sheath and rhizocretion samples contained varying concentrations of the same chemical elements. The rhizocretions had high concentrations of mobile elements (Ca, Mg and Sr) and P, whereas the calcareous sheaths had high concentrations of stable elements, including Al, Si, Ti, Zr, Rb and Ba. These differences were due to the different formation processes of the two subclasses of CRTs. Moreover, the Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in the calcareous sheaths were higher than those in the rhizocretions from the same period, but these ratio differences had little effect on palaeo‐effective moisture reconstructions at the millennial scale during the Holocene. The reconstructions were not influenced by the various CRT subclasses. The Holocene millennial‐scale moisture changes in the Tengger Desert revealed by the Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios showed that there was an arid period during the Early Holocene, a humid period during the Middle Holocene and a humid to arid period during the Late Holocene.     

The significance of trace elements in solving petrogenetic problems and controversies

In contrast to the cases of interpolation, in the cases of extrapolation trace elements and trace-element ratios can be used as evidence in solving petrogenetic problems. Despite of the many instances of successful employment of trace elements in solving genetic problems and in differentiating cases, on the whole trace elements should only be used as contributory evidence, together with geological, structural and textural data.     

Compilation of radiogenic isotope data in Mexico and their petrogenetic implications

Seven hundred and twenty-five Sr, two hundred and forty-three Nd and one hundred and fifty-one Pb isotopic ratios from seven different Mexican magmatic provinces were compiled in an extensive geochemical database. Data were arranged according to the Mexican geological provinces, indicating for each province total number of analyses, range and mean of values and two times standard deviation (2σ). Data from seven provinces were included in the database: Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB), Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO), Baja California (BC), Pacific Ocean (PacOc), Altiplano (AP), Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS), and Sierra Madre Oriental (SMOr). Isotopic values from upper mantle and lower crustal xenoliths, basement outcrops and sediments from the Cocos Plate were also compiled. In the MVB the isotopic ratios range as follows:⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr 0.703003-0.70841;¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd 0.512496-0.513098;²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 18.567-19.580;²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 15.466-15.647;²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 38.065-38.632. The SMO shows a large variation in⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ranging from ∼0.7033 to 0.71387.¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios are relatively less variable with values from 0.51191 to 0.51286. Pb isotope ratios in the SMO are as follows:²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 18.060-18.860;²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 15.558-15.636;²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 37.945-38.625. PacOc rocks show the most depleted Sr and Nd isotopic ratios (0.70232-0.70567 for Sr and 0.512631-0.513261 for Nd). Pb isotopes for PacOc show the following range:²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 18.049-19.910;²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴⁷Pb 15.425-15.734;²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 37.449-39.404. The isotopic ratios of the AP rocks seem to be within the range of those from the PacOc. Most samples with reported Sr and Nd isotopic data are spread within and around the “mantle array”. The SMO seems to have been formed by a mixing process between mantle derived magmas and continental crust. The MVB appears to have a larger mantle component, with AFC as the dominant petrogenetic process for the evolved rocks. There is still a need for Pb isotopic data in all Mexican magmatic provinces and of Nd isotopes in BC, AP, SMS, and SMOr.     

Mafic xenoliths from Egyptian Tertiary basalts and their petrogenetic implications

Mineralogical data, coupled with whole-rock major and trace element data of mafic xenoliths from two occurrences of the Egyptian Tertiary basalts, namely Abu Zaabal (AZ) near Cairo and Gabal Mandisha (GM) in the Bahariya Oases, are presented for the first time. Chemically, AZ basalts are sodic transitional, while those of GM are alkaline. In spite of the different petrographic and geochemical features of the host rocks, mafic xenoliths from the two occurrences are broadly similar and composed essentially of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, alkali feldspar, and Fe–Ti oxides. The analytical results of host rocks, xenoliths and their minerals suggest that the xenoliths are cognate to their host magmas rather than basement material. The mafic xenoliths are olivine-free and contain alkali feldspar contrary to the phenocryst assemblage of the host rocks, confirming that they are not cumulates from the host magma. The geochemical and mineralogical characteristics show that the precursor magmas of these xenoliths are more fractionated and possibly contaminated compared to those of the host rocks. Estimated crystallization conditions are  1–3 kbar for xenoliths from both areas, and temperature of  950–1100 °C vs. 920–1050 °C for AZ and GM, respectively. These cognate xenoliths probably crystallized from early-formed, highly-fractionated anhydrous magma batches solidified in shallow crustal levels, possibly underwent some AFC during their ascent, and later ripped-up during fresh magma pulses. The xenoliths, although rare, provide an evidence for the importance of crystal fractionation at early evolution of the Egyptian Tertiary basalts.