Geochemistry of Neoproterozoic mafic intrusions in the Panzhihua district (Sichuan Province,SW China): Implications for subduction-related metasomatism in the upper mantle

Metasomatism above subduction zones is an important process that produces heterogeneous mantle and thus a diversity of igneous rocks. In the Panzhihua district, on the western margin of the Yangtze Block (SW China), two Neoproterozoic mafic intrusions, one olivine gabbro and one hornblende gabbro, have identical ages of 746 ± 10 and 738 ± 23 Ma. Both of the gabbros are tholeiitic in composition and have arc-like geochemical compositions. The hornblende gabbros have K₂O concentrations ranging from 0.70 to 1.69 wt.% and show enrichment of Rb, Ba, U, Th and Pb and depletion of Nb,Ta and Ti. They have variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7045–0.7070) with constant ɛNd(t) values (−0.12 to −0.93). The olivine gabbros have relatively low K₂O (0.19–0.43 wt.%), are depleted in Rb and Th relative to Ba and U, and have obvious negative Nb–Ta and Zr–Hf anomalies on primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagrams. Their ɛNd(t) values range from −0.64 to −1.73 and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios from 0.7070 to 0.7075. Both types of gabbro experienced fractional crystallization of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, amphibole and minor Fe–Ti oxide. The parental magmas of the olivine and hornblende gabbros were formed by about 20% partial melting of garnet–spinel lherzolite and spinel lherzolite, respectively. According to trace elemental ratios, the hornblende gabbros were probably derived from a source strongly modified by subducted slab fluids, whereas the olivine gabbros came from a mantle source modified by subducted slab melts. The close association of the olivine gabbros and hornblende gabbros suggests that a steep subduction zone existed along the western margin of the Yangtze Block during Neoproterozoic time. Thus, the giant Neoproterozoic magmatic event in South China was subduction-related.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Gallego Volcanic Field,Solomon Islands,SW Pacific and geotectonic implications

The Upper Miocene to present day Gallego Volcanic Field (GVF) is located in northwest Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, SW Pacific, and potentially includes the offshore Savo volcano. The GVF is a multi-centred complex covering an area of ~ 800 km² on Guadalcanal and a further ~ 30 km² on the island of Savo, north of west Guadalcanal. GVF volcanism is characterised by effusive eruptions of lava, intrusion of sub-volcanic plutons, as well as pyroclastic flow and fall deposits dominated by block and ash flow deposits. Geochemical analysis of a representative suite of samples from the GVF demonstrates that the GVF comprise largely a ‘main suite’ of basalts to andesites and minor trachyandesites. The predominant mineralogy of the GVF comprises plagioclase, amphibole, clinopyroxene and magnetite-ilmenite. Associated with the ‘main suite’ are cognate nodules composed of hornblendite, gabbros, and clinopyroxenite. Interpretation of major and trace element geochemistry and petrographic studies suggests that fractionation was dominated by early clinopyroxene, and later amphibole + clinopyroxene + minor plagioclase. Geochemical features such as the incompatibility of Sr suggest that plagioclase largely crystallised en-masse late in the fractionation sequence. The presence of amphibole and late fractionation of plagioclase is suggestive of derivation from initially water-rich magmas. The region is characterised by strong geographically-related geochemical variations as evidenced by the Woodlark (and Manus) basins: basalts become more arc-like within the ocean basins with decreasing distance to the subducting trench. The GVF-Savo volcanoes are spatially and geochemically affected by deep N-S fractures that show some evidence of sympathetic geochemical variations with distance from the trench (e.g. Sr/Y ratios). Comparison with a range of international data for Th/Nb vs Pb/Nb and Dy/Yb vs SiO₂ indicate that: amphibole was indeed a strong controlling phase on magmatic evolution; garnet had no obvious role; there was little sediment input into the source region; that relative Pb/Nb enrichments may be linked to similar enrichments within the subducting Woodlark basin (and by analogy with the Manus basin and its abundant hydrothermal Pb-rich sulphide deposits); and the predominant influence on the source region for GVF-Savo was from metasomatic fluids and/or melts from the slab subducting at the southern trench.     

Changing compositions in the Iceland plume; Isotopic and elemental constraints from the Paleogene Faroe flood basalts

Elemental and Sr, Nd, Hf and high precision Pb isotopic data are presented from 59 low-Ti and high-Ti lavas from the syn-break up part of the Faroe Flood Basalt Province. The depleted MORB-like low-Ti lavas erupted in the rift zone between the Faroe Islands and central East Greenland around the time of break up of the North Atlantic have isotopic end-member compositions different from the depleted Iceland lavas. We suggest that the main low-Ti mantle component is NAEM (North Atlantic End-Member (Ellam and Stuart, 2000, J. Petrol. 41, 919) and that the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb value of the component should be 15.35 and ε_Hf = + 16.5. NAEM is the main depleted component in the early Iceland plume. This is supported by high mantle potential temperatures (up to 1550 °C) calculated for the source of the low-Ti basalts. The unique mantle isotopic composition of NAEM with low ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (17.5) and Δ7/4Pb (? 3.8) precludes a derivation from recycled MORB lithosphere. Instead we suggest that NAEM represents a plume component of recycled depleted Archean lithospheric mantle that was further depleted ~ 500 Ma ago, possibly in connection with the recycling process. Two other isotopic end-members are required to explain the variation of the Faroe low-Ti basalts: (1) The Faroe depleted component (FDC), with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7025, ε_Nd = + 11, ε_Hf = + 19.5, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.2, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.454 and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 37.75, which is similar in composition to some Atlantic MORB and is regarded as a local upper mantle source. (2) An enriched EM-type component similar in geochemistry to the Icelandic Öræfajökull lavas. This component is believed to be recycled pelagic sediments in the plume but it can alternatively be a local crustal or lithospheric mantle component. The enriched Faroe high-Ti lavas erupted inland from the rift have isotopic compositions very similar to the enriched Icelandic neo-volcanics and these lava suites apparently share the two enriched plume end-members IE1 and IE2 (Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 68, 2, 2004). The lack of mixing between high and low-Ti melts at the time of break up, is explained by a zoned plume where only low-Ti sources were present beneath the rift zone surrounded by high-Ti sources on both sides of the rift. The enriched plume components in the high-Ti lava sequences on the Faroe Islands and central East Greenland changed rapidly on a ka-scale which implies, from geophysical modelling, that this area was positioned above the center of the plume, and that the Iceland plume was centered under the Atlantic ridge already from the Paleocene.     

Magmatic evolution of a dying spreading axis: Evidence for the interaction of tectonics and mantle heterogeneity from the fossil Phoenix Ridge,Drake Passage

New ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages of 5.6 to 1.3 Ma for lavas from the fossil Phoenix Ridge in the Drake Passage show that magmatism continued for at least 2 Ma after the cessation of spreading at 3.3 ± 0.2 Ma. The Phoenix Ridge lavas are incompatible element-enriched relative to average MORB and show an increasing enrichment with decreasing age, corresponding to progressively decreasing degrees of partial melting of spinel peridotite after spreading stopped. The low-degree partial melts increasingly tap a mantle source with radiogenic Sr and Pb but unradiogenic Nd isotope ratios implying an ancient enrichment. The post-spreading magmas apparently form by buoyant ascent of enriched and easily fusible portions of the upper mantle. Only segments of fossil spreading ridges underlain by such enriched and fertile mantle show post-spreading volcanism frequently forming bathymetric highs. The Phoenix Ridge lavas belong to the Pacific, rather than the Atlantic, mantle domain in regional Sr–Nd–Pb space. Our new data show that the southern Pacific Ocean mantle is heterogeneous containing significant enriched portions that are preferentially tapped at low melt fractions. Isotopic mapping reveals that Pacific-type upper mantle flows eastward through Drake Passage and surrounds the subducting Phoenix Plate beneath the Bransfield Basin.     

Geochemistry and magmatic setting of Wadi El-Markh island-arc gabbro–diorite suite,central Eastern Desert,Egypt

Wadi El-Markh gabbro–diorite complex is composed of pyroxene hornblende gabbros, hornblende gabbros, diorites and quartz diorites. According to their bulk rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry, the gabbroic and dioritic rocks represent fractionates along a single line of descent and crystallized from a calc-alkaline mafic magma. When compared to the primitive mantle, all members of the gabbroic–dioritic rock suite are enriched in the large ion lithophile elements relative to the high field strength elements and display distinctive negative Nb and P₂O₅ anomalies. This signals an arc setting. Fractionation modeling involving the major elements reveals that the hornblende gabbros were generated from the parent pyroxene hornblende gabbros by 61.86% fractional crystallization. The diorites were produced from the hornblende gabbros by fractional crystallization with a 58.97% residual liquid, whereas the quartz diorites were formed from the diorites by 26.58% fractional crystallization. According to geothermobarometry based on amphibole mineral chemistry, the most primitive pyroxene hornblende gabbros crystallized at ～830 °C/～5 kbar. The crystallization conditions of the quartz diorites were estimated at ～570 °C/～2 kbar. In consequence the Wadi El-Markh gabbro–diorite complex represents a single magmatic suite of which fractionates crystallized in progressively shallower levels of an arc crust.     

Origin of melt pockets in mantle xenoliths from southern Patagonia,Argentina

Peridotite mantle xenoliths collected north of Gobernador Gregores, Patagonia, affected by cryptic and modal metasomatism bear melt pockets of unusually large size. Melt pockets consist of second generation olivine (ol2), clinopyroxene (cpx2) and spinel (sp2) ± relict amphibole (amph) immersed in a yellowish vesicular glass matrix. Amphibole breakdown was responsible for melt pocket generation as suggested by textural evidence and proved by consistent mass-balance calculations: amph → cpx2 + ol2 + sp2 + melt. Composition of calculated amphibole in amphibole-free melt pockets is very similar to that measured in amphibole-bearing melt pockets from the same xenolith, i.e. amphibole was consumed in the melt pocket generation process. In melt pockets devoid of relict amphibole, mass-balance calculations show remarkable differences between the calculated amphibole and the measured amphibole compositions in melt pockets from the same xenolith. The participation of minor proportions of a consumed reactant phase could be a reasonable explanation. In some samples the calculated phase proportion of glass is in excess compared to modal estimations based on backscattered electron images, probably because a portion of the generated melt was able to migrate out of the melt pockets. Compositional inhomogeneity of cpx2 and variable Ti Kd in cpx2 vs. glass in the same melt pocket reflect fast nucleation and growth and disequilibrium crystallisation, respectively. This and the difference between forsterite content in calculated equilibrium olivine and second generation olivine, suggest that mineral equilibrium was inhibited by rapid quenching of melt pockets.     

Thermal and redox equilibrium conditions of the upper-mantle xenoliths from the Quaternary volcanoes of NW Spitsbergen,Svalbard Archipelago

Upper-mantle xenoliths in Cenozoic basalts of northwestern Spitsbergen are rocks of peridotite (spinel lherzolites) and pyroxenite (amphibole-containing garnet and garnet-free clinopyroxenites, garnet clinopyroxenites, and garnet and garnet-free websterites) series. The upper-mantle section in the depth range 50–100 km is composed of spinel peridotites; at depths of 80–100 km pyroxenites (probably, dikes or sills) appear. The equilibrium conditions of parageneses are as follows: in the peridotites—730–1180 °C, 13–27 kbar, and oxygen fugacity of − 1.5 to + 0.3 log. un.; in the pyroxenites—1100–1310 °C, 22–33 kbar. The pyroxenite minerals have been found to contain exsolved structures, such as orthopyroxene lamellae in clinopyroxene and, vice versa, clinopyroxene lamella in orthopyroxene. The formation temperatures of unexsolved phases in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene are nearly 100–150 °C higher than the temperatures of the lamellae–matrix equilibrium and the equilibrium of minerals in the rock. The normal distribution of cations in the spinel structure and the equilibrium distribution of Fe^2 + between the M1 and M2 sublattices in the orthopyroxenes point to the high rate of xenolith ascent from the rock crystallization zone to the surface. All studied Spitsbergen rock-forming minerals from mantle xenoliths contain volatiles in their structure: OH⁻, crystal hydrate water H₂O_cryst, and molecules with characteristic CH and CO groups. The first two components are predominant, and the total content of water (OH– + H₂O_cryst) increases in the series olivine → garnet → orthopyroxene → clinopyroxene. The presence of these volatiles in the nominally anhydrous minerals (NAM) crystallized at high temperatures and pressures in the peridotites and pyroxenites testifies to the high strength of the volatile–mineral bond. The possibility of preservation of volatiles is confirmed by the results of comprehensive thermal and mass-spectral analyses of olivines and clinopyroxene, whose structures retain these components up to 1300 °C. The composition of hypothetic C–O–H fluid in equilibrium (in the presence of free carbon) with the underlying mantle rocks varies from aqueous (> 80% H₂O) to aqueous–carbonic (~ 60% H₂O). The fluid becomes essentially aqueous when the oxygen activity in the system decreases. However, there is no strict dependence of the redox conditions on the depth of formation of xenoliths.     

Formation of the Neoarchean Bad Vermilion Lake Anorthosite Complex and spatially associated granitic rocks at a convergent plate margin,Superior Province,Western Ontario,Canada

The Bad Vermilion Lake Anorthosite Complex (henceforth, the BVLA Complex) in western Ontario is one of the well-exposed, anorthosite-bearing, Archean layered intrusions in the Superior Province, Canada. This study presents new whole-rock major and trace element data for the various units of the Complex, oxygen isotope data for the anorthosite, and major and trace element data for the spatially associated granitic rocks intruding the BVLA Complex to constrain their petrogenetic and geodynamic origin. Zircons from granitic rocks have yielded a ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2716 ± 18 Ma, constraining the minimum intrusion age of the Complex.Despite deformation and greenschist facies metamorphism, primary igneous textures are locally well preserved in the BVLA Complex. Its whole-rock major and trace elemental compositions and the oxygen isotopic systematics appear not to have been substantially modified by deformation and metamorphism. Mantle-like oxygen isotope signatures and major and trace element compositions are inconsistent with significant crustal contamination of the BVLA Complex during its emplacement. The existence of primary calcic igneous plagioclase, coherent negative Nb anomalies (Nb/Nb* = 0.08–0.88), and geochemical similarities between gabbros from the BVLA Complex and gabbros from Cenozoic arcs collectively suggest an intra-oceanic subduction zone geodynamic setting for the Complex. Near-flat REE patterns in the various units of the BVLA Complex suggest that they were derived from melting of a shallow source beneath a subarc mantle wedge. Trends in immobile major (e.g., MgO) and trace (e.g., Zr) element data indicate that the mineralogical composition of the Complex can be explained by fractional crystallization and accumulation of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and possibly amphibole.Compositionally, the bordering granitic rocks are A₂-type and strongly enriched in Th and REE (> 100 times chondrite) and depleted of Ba, Sr, Eu and Ti. We suggest that they formed in a post-collisional, extensional, tectonic regime following emplacement of the BVLA Complex in an oceanic arc.     

High-P amphibolite-facies metamorphism in the Adrar–Souttouf Metamafic Complex,Oulad Dlim Massif (West African Craton margin,Morocco)

The Oulad Dlim Massif represents the northern segment of the Mauritanide belt that thrusts over the western margin of the Reguibat Shield, north of the West African Craton (WAC). This belt includes various metamorphic units of Archean, Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic ages that were stacked and thrust eastward during the Variscan orogeny. The core of the Oulad Dlim Massif comprises the Adrar–Souttouf Metamafic Complex that represents a large tectonic unit made of high-grade mafic rocks and vast exposures of amphibolites. A characterisation of the metamorphism in these amphibolites is essential to understand the relationships of the Oulad Dlim Massif with the southern segments of the Mauritanide belt and to provide constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the western margin of the WAC. Here we determine the P–T conditions of metamorphism of two samples of garnet amphibolites collected at the northernmost end of the Adrar–Souttouf Metamafic Complex. The samples show a main mineral assemblage of garnet + low-Ti pargasite + oligoclase + phengite + epidote + quartz + rutile ± paragonite ± K-feldspar. We calculated their P–T conditions using the amphibole–plagioclase NaSi–CaAl exchange thermometer, and the garnet–amphibole–plagioclase–quartz and the amphibole–plagioclase Si–Al partitioning barometers. The thermobarometric results indicate that this mineral assemblage was formed at high-P amphibolite-facies conditions at 650–700 °C and 10–13 kbar. The observed stability of paragonite and phengite reveals fluid-absent conditions or the presence of a fluid phase with reduced H₂O activity during the peak of metamorphism. We found no relicts of eclogite-facies mineral assemblage in the garnet amphibolites. This contrasts with the eclogite-facies metamorphism found due south in the Tarf Magneïna unit. This suggests that the northernmost end of the Adrar–Souttouf Metamafic Complex may have been buried to shallower depths than the units further south, probably during the Variscan orogeny. However, precise absolute radiometric dating of the high-P amphibolite-facies metamorphism is required to confirm these findings.     

Mineralogical evidence for crystallization conditions and petrogenesis of ilmenite-series I-type granitoids at the Baogutu reduced porphyry Cu deposit (Western Junggar,NW China): Mössbauer spectroscopy,EPM and LA-(MC)-ICPMS analyses

Primary ore-forming minerals retain geochemical signatures of magmatic crystallization information and can reveal the petrochemical conditions prevalent at the time of their formation. The Baogutu deposit is a typical reduced porphyry Cu deposit. Amphibole and biotite Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios, minerals (feldspar, biotite, amphibole, zircon and apatite), in situ elemental and apatite Nd isotopic compositions were determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and laser ablation multiple-collection inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively, to investigate the magma oxidation state, petrogenesis, source features, and to constrain the carbon species at magmatic stages for the intrusive phases. The results show that the primary plagioclase and amphibole in the mineralized diorite to granodiorite porphyry and post ore hornblende diorite porphyry are distinct (An_26-55 versus An_60-69; Mg-hornblende versus tschermakite). In particular, the amphibole shows distinct major and trace element compositions with light rare earth element enrichments and negative Eu anomalies in Mg-hornblende and light rare earth element depletions and no Eu anomalies in tschermakite. All the analyzed biotites are primary igneous phases with a biotite phenocryst profile showing significant variations of Zn, Cr, Sc and Sr from core to rim. These results may indicate the occurrence of mixing between two distinct magmas during mineral formation. Titanium in zircon and Si¹ in amphibole thermometries indicate that magma crystallized at >900 °C and continued to ∼650 °C. In situ apatite Nd isotope (εNd(t) = 5.6–7.6, T_DM2 = 620–460 Ma), indicate absence of significant reduced sedimentary contamination and the source of juvenile lower crust. Slightly decreasing Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios from biotite and amphibole to whole rock indicate decreasing oxygen fugacity during magma crystallization. Recalculated biotite compositions according to Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios indicate fO₂ values of less than Ni-NiO buffer (NNO) which show slightly lower values than that estimated according to zircon/melt distribution coefficients Ce anomalies (∼ΔNNO + 0.6). These values are consistent with the features of reduced porphyry Cu deposits. Crystallization of other mineral phases significantly affects the reliability of oxybarometer of zircon/melt distribution coefficients Eu anomalies and Mn contents in apatite. This oxidation state suggests that only CO₂ was present at the magmatic stage, and implies that CH₄ formed during CO₂ reduction occurring later hydrothermal alteration. The alteration of primary amphibole to actinolite released Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Na and K to the fluid with later precipitation of titanite, albite and minor ilmenite and magnetite during actinolite alteration.     

The Temaguessine Fe-cordierite orbicular granite (Central Hoggar,Algeria): U–Pb SHRIMP age,petrology, origin and geodynamical consequences for the late Pan-African magmatism of the Tuareg shield

The Temaguessine high-level subcircular pluton is intrusive into the LATEA metacraton (Central Hoggar) Eburnian (2 Ga) basement and in the Pan-African (615 Ma) granitic batholiths along a major NW–SE oriented major shear zone. It is dated here (SHRIMP U–Pb on zircon) at 582 ± 5 Ma. Composed of amphibole–biotite granite and biotite syenogranite, it comprises abundant enclaves: mafic magmatic enclaves, country-rock xenoliths and remarkable Fe-cordierite (#Fe = 0.87) orbicules. The orbicules have a core rich in cordierite (40%) and a leucocratic quartz–feldspar rim. They are interpreted as resulting from the incongruent melting of the meta-wacke xenoliths collapsed into the magma: the breakdown of the biotite + quartz assemblage produced the cordierite and a quartz–feldspar minimum melt that is expelled, forming the leucocratic rim. The orbicule generation occurred at T < 850° and P < 0.3 GPa. The Fe-rich character of the cordierite resulted from the Fe-rich protolith (wacke with 4% Fe₂O₃ for 72% SiO₂). Strongly negative ε_Nd (−9.6 to −11.2), Nd T_DM model ages between 1.64 and 1.92 Ga, inherited zircons between 1.76 and 2.04 Ga and low to moderately high I_Sr (0.704–0.710) indicate a Rb-depleted lower continental crust source for the Temaguessine pluton; regional considerations impose however also the participation of asthenospheric material. The Temaguessine pluton, together with other high-level subcircular pluton, is considered as marking the end of the Pan-African magma generation in the LATEA metacraton, resulting from the linear delamination along mega-shear zones, allowing asthenospheric uprise and melting of the lower continental crust. This implies that the younger Taourirt granitic province (535–520 Ma) should be considered as a Cambrian intraplate anorogenic event and not as a very late Pan-African event.     

Multi-stage granitic magmatism during exhumation of subducted continental lithosphere: Evidence from the Wulong pluton,South Qinling

Detailed petrology and zircon U–Pb dating data indicate that the Wulong pluton is a zoned granitic intrusive, formed from successive increments of magmas. An age range of at least 30 Ma is recorded from the 225–235 Ma quartz diorite on the pluton margin, the ca. 218 Ma granodiorite in the intermediate zone, and the ca. 207 Ma monzogranite at the pluton center. All the granitoids display evolved Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions, with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr(i) of 0.7044–0.7062, unradiogenic Nd (ε_Nd(t) values of − 6.1 to − 3.0, Nd model ages of 1.1–1.3 Ga, and moderately radiogenic Pb compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb(i) = 17.500–17.872, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb(i) = 15.513–15.549, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb(i) = 37.743–38.001), in combination with variations in zircon Hf isotopic compositions (with ε_Hf(t) values in each stage span 12 units) and the Hf isotopic model ages of 800–1600 Ma. These features suggest that the granitoids might have been derived from the reworking of an old lower crust, mixed with Paleozoic and Proterozoic materials. The rocks also display an adakitic affinity with Sr (479–973 ppm), high Sr/Y ratios (mostly > 60) and negligible Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.78–0.97) but low Rb/Sr ratios, low Y (4.6–17 ppm), HREE (Yb = 0.95–1.7 ppm), Yb/Lu (6–7) and Dy/Yb (1.9–2.4) ratios, suggesting the absence of plagioclase and presence of garnet + amphibole in their residue. Considering a large gap among their crystallization ages, we propose that the geochemical evolution from pluton margin to center was controlled mainly by melting conditions and source compositions rather than fractional crystallization. Mafic enclaves that were hosted in the quartz diorite and granodiorite are mainly syenogabbroic to syenodioritic in composition, and are metaluminous and enriched in LREE and LILEs, but are depleted in HFSE, and display an evolved Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic composition, suggesting that they may have been derived from the partial melting of an enriched mantle lithosphere, which was metasomatized by adakitic melts and fluids from a subducted continental crust.In combination with the results of the Triassic ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks in the Dabie orogenic belt, we apply a model involving the exhumation of subducted continental crust to explain the formation of the Wulong pluton. At the first stage, a dense and refractory mafic lower crust that was trapped at mantle depth by continental subduction witnessed melting under high temperature conditions to produce the quartz diorite magma, characterized by low SiO₂ (60.65–63.98 wt.%) and high TiO₂ (0.39–0.86 wt.%). The magma subsequently interacted with mantle peridotite, leading to high Mg# (57–67) and the metasomatism of the overriding mantle wedge. At the second stage, an asthenosphere upwelling that was probably caused by slab break-off at ca. 220 Ma melted the enriched sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) to produce mafic magmas, represented by the mafic enclaves that are hosted in the quartz and granodiorite, resulting in the partial melting of the shallower subducted crust, and generating the granodiorite that is distinguished by high SiO₂ (69.16–70.82 wt.%), high Al₂O₃ (15.33–16.22 wt.%) and A/CNK values (mostly > 1.05). At the third stage, the final collapse of the Triassic Qinling–Dabie Orogenic Belt at ca. 215–205 Ma caused extensive partial melting of the thickened orogenic lower crust to produce the monzogranite, which is characterized by high SiO₂ (67.68–70.29 wt.%), low TiO₂ (mostly < 0.35 wt.%) and high Sr/Y ratios of 86–151.     

Cenozoic volcanism and tectonic evolution of the Tibetan plateau

Cenozoic volcanism on the Tibetan plateau, which shows systematic variations in space and time, is the volcanic response to the India–Asia continental collision. The volcanism gradually changed from Na-rich + K-rich to potassic–ultrapotassic + adakitic compositions along with the India–Asia collision shifting from contact-collision (i.e. “soft collision” or “syn-collision”) to all-sided collision (i.e. “hard collision”). The sodium-rich and potasium-rich lavas with ages of 65–40 Ma distribute mainly in the Lhasa terrane of southern Tibet and subordinately in the Qiangtang terrane of central Tibet. The widespread potassic–ultrapotassic lavas and subordinate adakites were generated from ~ 45 to 26 Ma in the Qiangtang terrane of central Tibet. Subsequent post-collisional volcanism migrated southwards, producing ultrapotassic and adakitic lavas coevally between ~ 26 and 8 Ma in the Lhasa terrane. Then potassic and minor adakitic volcanism was renewed to the north and has become extensive and semicontinuous since ~ 20 Ma in the western Qiangtang and Songpan–Ganze terranes. Such spatial–temporal variations provide important constraints on the geodynamic processes that evolved at depth to form the Tibetan plateau. These processes involve roll-back and break-off of the subducted Neo-Tethyan slab followed by removal of the thickened Lhasa lithospheric root, and consequently northward underthrusting of the Indian lithosphere. The Tibetan plateau is suggested to have risen diachronously from south to north. Whereas the southern part of the plateau may have been created and maintained since the late-Oligocene, the northern plateau would have not attained its present-day elevation and size until the mid-Miocene when the lower part of the western Qiangtang and Songpan–Ganze lithospheres began to founder and detach owing to the persistently northward push of the underthrust Indian lithosphere.     

Dependence of clinopyroxene composition on cooling rate in basaltic magmas: Implications for thermobarometry

The compositional variation of clinopyroxene and the partitioning of major elements between clinopyroxene and melt are estimated as a function of the cooling rate. Clinopyroxenes were crystallized under variable cooling regimes (15, 9.4, 3, 2.1, and 0.5 °C/min from 1250 down to 1000 °C) and at isothermal conditions of 1000 °C from a basaltic composition at a pressure of 500 MPa under anhydrous and hydrous (H₂O = 1.3 wt.%) conditions. The clinopyroxene chemistry shows that, as the cooling rate increases, crystals are progressively depleted in Ca, Mg, Fe²⁺ and Si and enriched in Na, Fe³⁺, Al (mainly Al^IV), and Ti. Di and Hd versus CaTs and CaFeTs form a continuous binary solid solution characterized by higher amounts of tschermakitic components with increasing cooling rate. Two parameters (DH = Di + Hd and TE = CaTs + CaFeTs + En) are calculated to describe the effect of cooling rate on the clinopyroxene composition. The variation of DH/TE with increasing cooling rate evidences the kinetic process induced by rapid cooling in basic rocks under hydrous and anhydrous conditions.Dynamic crystallization conditions affect the partitioning of major elements between clinopyroxene and melt; with increasing cooling rate, the value of crystal–melt partition coefficient departs from that obtained at the isothermal condition. However, in spite of these variations, the values of ^cpx–meltKd_Fe–Mg remain almost constant. Therefore, the Fe²–Mg exchange between clinopyroxene and melt is not suitable to prove the (dis)equilibrium conditions in basaltic cooling magmas, giving rise to possible mismatches in the application of thermobarometers. The results of our study are consistent with that observed at the margin of dikes or in the exterior portions of lavas, where the cooling rate is maximized and disequilibrium compositions of clinopyroxene have been found.     

Kahoolawe Island,Hawaii: The role of an ‘inaccessible’ shield volcano in the petrology of the Hawaiian islands and plume

Kahoolawe volcano (～10×17 km) forms one of the eight major Hawaiian islands. Access for geologic sampling has long been restricted due to military and preservation policies. However, limited visits to Kahoolawe in the 1980s yielded >200 samples, many of which have since been used to study the volcano within the framework of Hawaiian shield and mantle source geochemistry, petrology, mineralogy, and igneous processes.Kahoolawe is a tholeiitic shield with tholeiitic caldera-filling lavas, and at least seven postshield vents that erupted tholeiitic and (sparse) alkalic lavas. On smaller scales are a gabbro intrusion and ultramafic and gabbroic xenoliths in some postshield lavas. There is no evidence for rejuvenated volcanism. In its structural setting, Kahoolawe lies along the “Loa” trend of Hawaiian shields.Major element compositions of shield and caldera-filling lavas are similar and cluster at ～6–7 wt% MgO, range from ～5.5 to 16 wt% MgO, and include ～9 wt% MgO examples that can be modeled as parental to the evolved lavas. For example, least squares mass balancing demonstrates that from ～15% to 30% crystallization of olivine (±orthopyroxene), clinopyroxene, and plagioclase accounts for the ～5.5–6 wt% MgO range of tholeiitic lavas. Greater differentiation occurred in the gabbro (diabasic) intrusive body as a segregation vein with ～2.9 wt% MgO, and extreme differentiation produced local, small-volume rhyolitic melts that segregated into lava vesicles. Postshield lavas are mainly tholeiitic, have ～5–7 wt% MgO, and overlap shield compositions. Some are alkalic, as low as ～3.9 wt% MgO (hawaiite), and can be modeled as liquids after a ～9 wt% MgO alkalic magma crystallized ～30% olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and magnetite.Important aspects of Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb isotopic ratios in Kahoolawe shield and caldera-filling lavas are slightly higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr than in Koolau shield lavas (Oahu island; Makapuu-stage; e.g., Koolau mantle ‘endmember’) when compared at a given ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (e.g., ～0.7042 at 0.5128), ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb largely at the low end of the range for Hawaiian shields (e.g., ～18), and ε_Hf generally comparable to the values of other Hawaiian shields and ocean islands (e.g., ε_Hf 8 at ε_Nd 4). The isotopic ratios overall suggest small-scale source heterogeneity, considering the island size, and that Kahoolawe shield and caldera lavas were derived from a Hawaiian plume source containing recycled oceanic crust of gabbro and sediments. Based on certain geochemical indicators, however, such as Ce/Sr and La/Nb vs. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, the source contained slightly less gabbro component than other shield sources (e.g., Koolau). Isotopic data for Kahoolawe postshield lavas are scarce, but those available generally overlap the shield data. However, ratios among certain alteration-resistant incompatible trace elements (e.g., Zr/Nb) discriminate some postshield alkalic from shield lavas. But because the different ratios for those postshield lavas can be explained by smaller partial-melting percentages of the shield source and by differentiation, neither isotopes nor trace elements identify postshield magmas as originating in a source unlike that for the shield lavas.     

Deformation processes and rheology of pyroxenites under lithospheric mantle conditions

We combined microstructural observations and high-resolution crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) mapping to unravel the active deformation mechanisms in garnet clinopyroxenites, garnet–spinel websterites, and spinel websterites from the Beni Bousera peridotite massif. All pyroxenites display microstructures recording plastic deformation by dislocation creep. Pyroxene CPOs are consistent with dominant slip on [001]{110} in clinopyroxene and on [001](100) or [001](010) in orthopyroxene. Garnet clinopyroxenites have however high recrystallized fractions and finer grain sizes than spinel websterites. Recrystallization mechanisms also differ: subgrain rotation dominates in garnet clinopyroxenites, whereas in spinel websterites nucleation and growth also contribute. Elongated shapes and strong intracrystalline misorientations suggest plastic deformation of garnet, but CPOs are weak. Clinopyroxene porphyroclasts in spinel websterites show deformation twins underlined by orthopyroxene exsolutions. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that garnet clinopyroxenites deformed at 2.0 GPa and 950–1000 °C and spinel pyroxenites at 1.8 GPa and 1100–1150 °C. The lower temperatures may explain the faster work rates implied by the finer grained microstructures in garnet clinopyroxenites. Greater stresses may have also reduced the competence contrast between garnet and pyroxene in the garnet pyroxenites and, at the outcrop scale, lowered the competence contrast between pyroxenites and peridotites, favoring mechanical dispersion of pyroxenites in the cooler lithospheric mantle.     

Petrological evolution of silica-undersaturated sapphirine-bearing granulite in the Paleoproterozoic Salvador–Curaçá Belt,Bahia, Brazil

The Salvador–Curaçá Belt, located in São Francisco Craton, Brazil, was subjected to granulite facies metamorphism during the Paleoproterozoic orogeny (c. 2.0 Ga). Well preserved in enclaves of silica-undersaturated sapphirine-bearing granulite occur in a charnockite outcrop located along a kilometric-scale shear zone. The sapphirine-bearing granulite preserves domains with distinct mineral assemblages that record interactions between melt and peritectic phases (orthopyroxene₁ + spinel₁ + biotite₁). Sapphirine was crystallized in the Si-poor cores of the enclaves, sillimanite and spinel–cordierite symplectites in the intermediate Si-rich domains between cores and margins, and garnet and quartz-bearing cordierite/biotite symplectites in Si-rich margins of the enclaves. Melt-rock interactions and metamorphism occurred at ultrahigh temperatures of 900–950 °C at 7.0–8.0 kbar pressures. The mineralogical evolution of the domains reflects not only the influence of changes in bulk composition in the equilibrium volume of the reactions but also P–T changes during orogeny evolution. Electron microprobe dating of monazite both in the sapphirine-bearing granulite and charnockite indicates UHT metamorphism timing at c. 2.08–2.05 Ga that is related to global Paleoproterozoic UHT metamorphic events that occurred during the Columbia supercontinent assembly.     

Petrogenesis of the Sabongari alkaline complex,cameroon line (central Africa): Preliminary petrological and geochemical constraints

The petrography, mineral chemistry and geochemical features of the Sabongari alkaline complex are presented and discussed in this paper with the aim of constraining its petrogenesis and comparing it with other alkaline complexes of the Cameroon Line. The complex is mainly made up of felsic rocks: (i) granites predominate and include pyroxene–amphibole (the most abundant), amphibole–biotite, biotite and pyroxene types; (ii) syenites are subordinate and comprise amphibole–pyroxene and amphibole–biotite quartz syenites; (iii) pyroxene–amphibole–biotite trachyte and (iv) relatively abundant rhyolite. The minor basic and intermediate terms associated with felsic rocks consist of basanites, microdiorite and monzodioites. Two groups of pyroxene bearing rocks are distinguished: a basanite–trachyte–granite (Group 1) bimodal series (SiO₂ gap: 44 and 63 wt.%) and a basanite–microdiorite–monzodiorite–syenite–granite (Group 2) less pronounced bimodal series (reduced SiO₂ gap: 56–67 wt.%). Both are metaluminous to peralkaline whereas felsic rocks bare of pyroxene (Group 3) are metaluminous to peraluminous. The Group 1 basanite is SiO₂-undersaturated (modal analcite in the groundmass and 11.04 wt.% normative nepheline); its Ni (240 ppm) and Cr (450 ppm) contents, near mantle values, indicate its most primitive character. The Group 2 basanite is rather slightly SiO₂-saturated (1.56 wt.% normative hypersthene), a marker of its high crustal contamination (low Nb/Y-high Rb/Y). The La/Yb and Gd/Yb values of both basanites (1: 19.47 and 2.92; 2: 9.09 and 2.23) suggest their common parental magma composition, and their crystallization through two episodes of partial melting (2% and 3% respectively) of a lherzolite mantle source with <4% residual garnet. The effects of crustal contamination were selectively felt in the values of HFSE/LREE, LREE/LILE and LREE/HFSE ratios, known as indicators. Similar features have been recently obtained in the felsic lavas of the Cameroon Volcanic Line.     

Geochronological and geochemical constrains on petrogenesis of the Huangyangshan A-type granite from the East Junggar,Xinjiang, NW China

The Huangyangshan pluton occurs in the Kalamaili region which is situated in the central part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, East Junggar, Xinjiang (NW China). The granitoid rocks are composed of medium-grained biotite (richterite, arfvedsonite) alkali-feldspar granite, fine grained arfvedsonite alkali-feldspar granite and microgranular enclaves. The granites have a pronounced A-type affinity: they are metaluminous to weakly peraluminous and calc-alkaline to alkaline in composition with high concentrations of Na₂O + K₂O varying from 8.4 to 9.2 wt.%, high FeOt/MgO and 10,000 Ga/Al ratios, low abundances of CaO, MgO and TiO₂, enrichment in some LILEs (such as Rb and Th) and HFSEs (such as Zr, Y and REEs except Eu), depletion in Sr and Ba. Moreover, they display characteristic tetrad REE patterns and non-CHARAC trace element behavior, which is well demonstrated in highly differentiated rocks with strong hydrothermal interaction. The U–Pb zircon LA-ICP-MS ages of the host rocks and enclaves are 311 ± 5 Ma and 300 ± 6 Ma, respectively. The similar of these two ages suggests that host rocks and enclaves formed at a same time. Furthermore, the time span closely corresponds to known ages of post-collisional A-type granitoids of the Junggar terrane. Geochemical, geochronological and isotopic data (ε_Nd(T) in the range +5.2 to +6.6 and I_Sr mostly in the range 0.7031–0.7041) suggest that the Huangyangshan intrusions, and the enclaves are of mixed origin and are most probably formed by the interaction between the lower crust- and mantle-derived magmas in the Late Carboniferous post-collisional tectonic setting (A₂ type granite). The magma for the Huangyangshan granites was derived by partial melting of an enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) that was modified by slab-derived components from an earlier subduction event, this melting resulted from heat supplied from the asthenosphere through an opening created during the break-off of an oceanic slab. This further proves the important contribution of the Late Paleozoic granitic magmatism in terms of vertical crustal growth in northern Xinjiang.     

Neoproterozoic arc magmatism in the southern Madurai Block,India: Subduction,relamination, continental outbuilding,and the growth of Gondwana

The Madurai Block in southern India is a composite collage of at least three sub-blocks, with Neoarchean–Paleoproterozoic segments in the north and central domains, and a Neoproterozoic segment in the south. Here we investigate a suite of rocks with magmatic protoliths that constitute the basement in the southern margin of the Madurai Block including alkali granites, charnockites, enderbites and gabbros. The alkali granites are dominantly composed of perthitic K-feldspar, minor plagioclase and quartz, with hornblende as the main mafic mineral suggesting a calc-alkaline nature. The enderbites and charnockites have a broadly similar mineralogical constitution except for the variation in the modal content of plagioclase, K-feldspar and quartz, as well as the additional presence of clinopyroxene in some of the enderbites. The high modal content of hornblende in the gabbros suggests crystallization from hydrous basaltic melts. The geochemical features of this suite are identical to those of arc magmatic rocks, with distinct Nb, Ta, and Ti depletion suggesting magmatism in a subduction-related environment. We envisage that the underplating of basaltic magmas within a convergent margin setting provided the heat input for lower crustal melting generating the charnockitic suite of rocks. The intrusion of the underplated mafic melts as gabbroic dykes and sills into the crystallizing felsic magmas resulted in magma mixing and mingling generating the widespread enclaves of gabbroic rocks. The alkali granites were derived from the differentiation of lower crustal melts. Zircon U–Pb data from the alkali granites yield weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 786 ± 10 to 772 ± 11 Ma for the oldest and the most dominant group of magmatic grains, with a 662 ± 20 Ma subordinate group. The oldest group of magmatic zircons in the charnockite samples shows ages of 938 ± 27 Ma, 896 ± 12 Ma, and 786 ± 9 Ma, suggesting multiple magmatic pulses during early and mid-Neoproterozoic. A subordinate population of magmatic zircons with ages of 661 ± 9 Ma and 632 ± 7 Ma is also present. In the enderbites, the magmatic zircon population yields weighted mean ages of 926 ± 22 Ma, 923 ± 36 Ma, 889 ± 13 Ma, 803 ± 10 Ma, 787 ± 23 Ma, 786 ± 10 Ma, 748 ± 27 Ma, 742 ± 11 Ma, 717 ± 8 Ma and 692 ± 10 Ma suggesting continuous and multiple pulses of magmas emplaced throughout early to mid-Neoproterozoic. Magmatic zircons from the gabbros show weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 903 ± 13 Ma, 777 ± 10 Ma, 729 ± 10 Ma and 639 ± 27 Ma. Metamorphic zircons from all the rock types show latest Neoproterozoic-Cambrian ages in the range of 567 ± 19 Ma to 510 ± 8 Ma suggesting prolonged heating. Zircon Lu–Hf data show that the alkali granite-charnockite-enderbite suite has depleted mantle ages (T_DM) in the range of 1164–2172 Ma and crustal residence ages (T_DM^C) of 1227–3023 Ma. These spots show both negative εHf(t) and positive εHf(t) values (− 22.1 to 10.6), suggesting magma derivation from mixed juvenile mid- to late-Mesoproterozoic components and reworked Mesoarchean to mid-Mesoproterozoic components. Zircon grains from the gabbroic rocks show depleted mantle ages and (T_DM) in the range of 1112–2046 Ma, crustal residence ages (T_DM^C) of 1306–2816 Ma, and both negative and positive εHf(t) values (− 17.8 to 7.9), suggesting that the magmas were dominantly derived from juvenile mid-Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic components as well as reworked Mesoarchean to mid-Mesoproterozoic sources.Our data clearly reveal multiple arc magmatism along the southern Madurai Block during distinct pulses throughout early to late Neoproterozoic, suggesting an active convergent margin along this zone at this time. Crustal thickening occurred through relamination by mafic magmas associated with slab melting. Continental outbuilding and southward growth of the Madurai Block were associated with the lateral accretion of the vast sedimentary belt of Trivandrum Block, culminating in collisional metamorphism during latest Neoproterozoic–Cambrian associated with Gondwana assembly.