Origin of the troodos and other ophiolites: A reply to hynes

Geologic and tectonic evidence on the origin of the Troodos ophiolitic complex is ambiguous, being compatible with its creation in an island arc or a continent as well as in a mid-oceanic ridge. However, there is decisive petrologic and chemical evidence against its origin in a mid-oceanic ridge (and in a marginal sea). A large proportion (about half) of volcanic rocks in the sheeted complex and lower pillow lavas of Troodos have SiO₂ > 52.5% and FeO*/MgO > 2.0 in contrast to mid-oceanic ridge volcanics which are almost entirely basic (SiO₂ < 52.5%) with FeO*/MgO < 2.0. (FeO* means total iron as FeO.) A considerable proportion of volcanic rocks in Troodos belong to the calc-alkalic series. These facts indicate that the Troodos massif was formed probably in an island arc or a continental region.In order to rebut the above chemical evidence, Hynes resorts to an assumption of thorough compositional change of the Troodos volcanic rocks by metasomatism. However, this assumption is not plausible.     

Comment on “the troodos ophiolitic complex was probably formed in an island arc”, by A. Miyashiro

The use of bulk chemical analyses from the Troodos complex to determine the chemical affinity of the ophiolites is unjustified since these rocks exhibit conspicuous alteration in thin section. Very similar rocks on mainland Greece can be shown, on mineralogical grounds, to have been mainly tholeiitic originally, with a subordinate alkaline trend. This is compatible with their origin at an oceanic ridge. Regional geological evidence provides strong support for this origin. However, bulk chemical analyses from them could be used, like those from Troodos, to argue against a mid-ocean ridge origin. This suggests that the use of bulk chemical analyses from these rocks is very unreliable. In the presence of other, more reliable data, inferences from bulk chemistry can be rejected. The Troodos ophiolites are very similar, in both petrology and geological position, to those in Greece and probably originated in the same way.     

The Troodos ophiolitic complex was probably formed in an island arc

The Troodos ophiolitic complex in Cyprus has been widely regarded as a fragment of oceanic crust that was created in a mid-oceanic ridge. However, about one-third of the analyzed rocks of the lower pillow lavas and sheeted complex in it follows a calc-alkalic trend. This strongly suggests that the massif was created as a basaltic volcano in an island arc with a relatively thin oceanic-type crust rather than in a mid-oceanic ridge. Other chemical features and the structure of the massif are also consistent with an island arc origin. Some other ophiolitic complexes also appear to have been formed in island arcs.     

Oceanic versus island arc origin of ophiolites

The silica content of basaltic rocks is an unreliable variable with which to distinguish ultramafic-mafic complexes developed at ocean ridges from those potentially formed beneath volcanic island arcs. Data from Appalachian ophiolites supports the view that silica metasomatism is responsible for the high silica content of supposed calc-alkaline basaltic rocks found in ophiolites such as Troodos, and that the high-silica (70 wt.%) leucocratic rocks associated with ophiolites are of tholeiitic rather than calc-alkaline parentage. The use of titanium as a discriminant of tectonic environment is also suspect because the titanium content of basalts associated with Appalachian ophiolites as well as those recently recovered from the Atlantic ocean floor ranges from values even lower than those typical of island arc tholeiites to values typical of abyssal tholeiites. However, the internal stratigraphy of ophiolites in both the Appalachian and Tethyan systems can only be explained on the basis of the postulate that ophiolites originate at oceanic spreading centres rather than beneath island arcs.     

An “off-axis” alkali volcanic suite associated with the Bay of Islands ophiolites,Newfoundland

The Skinner Cove volcanic rocks, the lowermost of a sequence of thrust slices associated with the Bay of Islands ophiolites of western Newfoundland, make up a continuous alkaline differentiation sequence from pillowed ankaramites to trachytes. They are interpreted as having formed off the axis of the mid-ocean ridge on which the main ophiolitic rocks were formed, in a manner comparable to the Upper Pillow lavas of the Troodos Massif, Cyprus, and the alkaline rocks dredged near the flanks of modern mid-ocean ridges.     

Na and Cr contents in clinopyroxenes from peridotites: A possible discriminant between “sub-continental” and “sub-oceanic” mantle

The compilation of data available in the literature and new analyses show that clinopyroxenes are significantly richer in Na and poorer in Cr in peridotites associated with high-grade metamorphic rocks than in ultramafites from oceanic environments, considered as “sub-continental” or “sub-oceanic” mantle, respectively. Two distinctive fields can be drawn in the Na-Cr plot. This fact is related to the large amount of basic magma provided by the oceanic mantle along the mid-oceanic ridges.Application of this Na-Cr diagram to clinopyroxenes from peridotites in orogenic belts and appearing as xenoliths in volcanic rocks and kimberlites (“nodules”) allows us to specify their origin, taking into consideration that the clinopyroxene composition is controlled by several factors each of which gives rise to a particular trend:P-T. conditions, mineral facies, partial melting and crystal fractionation, metasomatism. It appears that oceanic-type mantle may be found under continents in extensional areas having evolved towards rift systems, and in ophiolites. The latter exhibit different degree of depletion related to their formation in two main geotectonic situations: mid-oceanic ridges and active margin systems.     

Is the Vourinos Complex an island arc ophiolite?

A geochemical study has been undertaken on the Vourinos ophiolites, northern Greece, a complex long known for its unusual characteristics such as an environment of acidic rocks and a calc-alkaline chemical affinity. The Nd-Sr isotopic ratios and the Hf/Th and Ta/Th ratios are indicative of an island arc origin for Vourinos as opposed to the mid-oceanic ridge origin inferred for other ophiolites such as Inzecca, Corsica. Other data on trace elements confirm that the cumulative suite and the lavas originated from the same magma through a simple fractional crystallization process and show that this magma would have formed through partial melting of an already highly-depleted material. It is thus possible to distinguish ophiolites with MORB characteristics from island arc ophiolites such as the Vourinos Complex, the existence of the latter type imposing new constraints on the possible tectonic processes for emplacement.     

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.     

Bay of Islands ophiolite suite,Newfoundland: Petrologic and geochemical characteristics with emphasis on rare earth element geochemistry

Characteristic geochemical features of the ophiolite suite from the Bay of Islands Complex have been determined by major and trace element analyses of 13 rocks. Based on elements, such as rare earth elements (REE), whose abundances are relatively immobile during alteration and metamorphism, we find that (1) the pillow lavas and diabases are relatively depleted in light REE similar to most tholeiites occurring along spreading oceanic ridges, in back-arc basins and comprising the early phases of volcanism in island arcs; (2) the gabbros, composed of cumulate plagioclase and olivine with poikilitic clinopyroxene, have REE contents consistent with formation as cumulates precipitated from magmas represented by the overlying pillow lavas and diabases; (3) as in most harzburgites from ophiolites, the Bay of Islands harzburgite and dunite have relative REE abundances inconsistent with a genetic relationship to the overlying basic rocks — this inconsistency may be primary or it may result from late-stage alteration, contamination and/or metamorphism; (4) some Bay of Islands lherzolites have major and trace element abundances expected in the mantle source of the overlying basic rocks. Overall, the geochemical features of this Bay of Islands ophiolite suite are similar to those from Troodos and Vourinos, but these data are not sufficient to distinguish between different tectonic environments such as deep ocean ridge, small ocean basin or young island arc.     

Chromite in the mantle section of the Oman ophiolite: A new genetic model

Abstract   This paper reviews the compositional data (major elements, platinum group element [PGE] concentrations, Os- and O-isotopes) for chromites from the mantle section of the Oman ophiolite. Chromites in chromitite from the Oman ophiolite lie on a compositional spectrum between high-Cr♯, boninite-like and low-Cr♯, mid-oceanic ridge basalt-like end-members. The high-Cr♯ end-member is low in Ti, has a fractionated PGE pattern and is enriched in iridium group-platinum group elements (IPGE). The low-Cr♯ end-member has higher Ti and an unfractionated PGE pattern. The compositional variation in the chromitites reflects their crystallization from a range of different melt compositions. It is proposed that this wide variation in melt compositions was produced by the process of a melt–rock reaction, whereby a basaltic melt has reacted with harzburgitic mantle to yield successively more Cr-rich melts. In contrast to previous models, this approach does not require a change in the tectonic environment to explain the different chromite types.     

Flood traps through space and time and their bearing on some problems of geotectonics

A study of world stratigraphy reveals, somewhat unexpectedly, that there were extensive basalt flows in the early Precambrian, but the Upper Precambrian and the whole of the Palaeozoic Era, with some insignificant exceptions, are practically devoid of flood basalts. In fact there were very few cruptions between about 1000 M.yr. and about 200 M.yr, ago. Since Upper Triassic time, however, basalt floods have come to cover very extensive areas in both the hemispheres, and the activity is continuing almost unabated. Recent researches on the origin and nature of the mid-ocean ridges have indicated that the flood basalts are apparently genetically connected with these ridges which appear to have begun to open the present oceans within the past 150 M.yr. Basalts occur on the opposite coasts where the continents were formerly together, for example, Peninsular India and Eastern Africa. However, along certain coastal areas there are no basalts of appropriate age even though a mid-ocean ridge exists beyond these. This is true, for example, of eastern North America and western Europe. Elsewhere neither basalt flows nor a mid-oceanic ridge exist where the continents are reasonably believed to have been together. These anomalies call for an explanation, and it is suggested that the observed features can be explained by the fact that two distinct phenomena, crustal sliding and global expansion, have been responsible for the present disposition of the continents. The net result of these two activities has been recognised as ‘Continental Drift’.     

Petrography and geochemistry of basaltic rocks from the Conrad fracture zone on the America-Antarctica Ridge

Intrusive and extrusive basaltic rocks have been dredged from the Conrad fracture zone (transecting the slow-spreading America-Antarctica Ridge). The majority of rocks recovered are holocrystalline with the dominant mineral assemblage being plagioclase plus clinopyroxene with or without minor Fe-Ti oxides (olivine occurs in only three samples) and many of the samples show evidence of extensive alteration. Secondary minerals include chlorite, actinolite, K- and Na-feldspar, analcite and epidote. In terms of bulk chemistry the rocks are characterized by their generally evolved and highly variable compositions (e.g.Mg^*=0.65?0.35;TiO₂=0.7?3.6%;Zr=31?374ppm;Nb=<3?21ppm;Y=17?96ppm;Ni=100?9ppm), but with respect to the immobile incompatible element ratios (e.g. Zr/Nb, Y/Nb, La/Sm) are similar to “normal” or depleted mid-oceanic ridge basalts.Quantitative major and trace element modelling indicate that most of the variation observed can be attributed to low-pressure fractional crystallization of plagioclase plus clinopyroxene in approximately equal proportions with or without minor Fe-Ti oxides. The range in composition can be accounted for by up to 76% fractional crystallization. Although ferrobasalts have not frequently been associated with slow spreading ridges, the extreme differentiation observed in the Conrad fracture zone basalts implies some additional constraint other than spreading rate on the formation of ferrobasalt and reaffirms the importance of extensive crustal differentiation during the production of this basalt type.     

Pacific-type orogeny revisited: Miyashiro-type orogeny proposed

Abstract The concept of Pacific-type orogeny is revised, based on an assessment of geologic data collected from the Japanese Islands during the past 25 years. The formation of a passive continental margin after the birth of the Pacific Ocean at 600 Ma was followed by the initiation of oceanic plate subduction at 450 Ma. Since then, four episodes of Pacific-type orogeny have occurred to create an orogenic belt 400 km wide that gradually grew both oceanward and downward. The orogenic belt consists mainly of an accretionary complex tectonically interlayered with thin (<2 km thick), subhorizontal, high-P/T regional metamorphic belts. Both the accretionary complex and the high-P/T rocks were intruded by granitoids ～100 million years after the formation of the accretionary complex. The intrusion of calc-alkaline (CA) plutons was synchronous with the exhumation of high-P/T schist belts. Ages from microfossils and K-Ar analysis suggest that the orogenic climax happened at a time of mid-oceanic ridge subduction. The orogenic climax was characterized by the formation of major subhorizontal orogenic structures, the exhumation of high-P/T schist belts by wedge extrusion and subsequent domed uplift, and the intrusion-extrusion of CA magma dominantly produced by slab melting. The orogenic climax ended soon after ridge subduction, and thereafter a new Pacific-type orogeny began. A single Pacific-type orogenic cycle may correspond to the interaction of the Asian continental margin with one major Pacific oceanic plate. Ophiolites in Japan occur as accreted material and are not of island-arc but of plume origin. They presumably formed after the birth of the southern Pacific superplume at 600 Ma, and did not modify the cordilleran-type orogeny in a major way. Microplates, fore-arc slivers, intra-oceanic arc collisions and the opening of back-arc basins clearly contributed to cordilleran orogenesis. However, they were of secondary importance and served only to modify pre-existing major orogenic components. The most important cause of cordilleran-type orogeny is the subduction of a mid-oceanic ridge, by which the volume of continental crust increases through the transfer of granitic melt from the subducting oceanic crust to an orogenic welt. Accretionary complexes are composed mainly of recycled granitic sediments with minor amounts of oceanic material, which indicate that the accretion of oceanic material, including huge oceanic plateaus, was not significant for orogenic growth. Instead, the formation and intrusion of granitoids are the keys to continental growth, which is the most important process in Pacific-type orogeny. Collision-type orogeny does not increase the volume of continental crust. The name ‘Miyashiro-type orogeny’ is proposed for this revised concept of Pacific-type or cordilleran-type orogeny, in order to commemorate Professor A. Miyashiro's many contributions to a better understanding of orogenesis.     

Ophiolites of the Eastern Peninsulas zone (Eastern Kamchatka): Age, composition, and geodynamic diversity

Abstract   The geological, geochemical and mineralogical data of dismembered ophiolites of various ages and genesis occurring in accretionary piles of the Eastern Peninsulas of Kamchatka enables us to discriminate three ophiolite complexes: (i) Aptian–Cenomanian complex: a fragment of ancient oceanic crust, composed of tholeiite basalts, pelagic sediments, and gabbroic rocks, presently occurring in a single tectonic slices (Afrika complex) and in olistoplaques in Pikezh complex of the Kamchatsky Mys Peninsula and probably in the mélange of the Kronotsky Peninsula; (ii) Upper Cretaceous complex, composed of highly depleted peridotite, gabbro and plagiogranite, associated with island arc tholeiite, boninite, and high-alumina tholeiitic basalt of supra-subduction origin; and (iii) Paleocene–Early Eocene complex of intra-island arc or back-arc origin, composed of gabbros, dolerites (sheeted dykes) and basalts produced from oceanic tholeiite melts, and back-arc basin-like dolerites. Formation of the various ophiolite complexes is related to the Kronotskaya intra-oceanic volcanic arc evolution. The first ophiolite complex is a fragment of ancient Aptian–Cenomanian oceanic crust on which the Kronotskaya arc originated. Ophiolites of the supra-subduction zone affinity were formed as a result of repeated partial melting of peridotites in the mantle wedge up to the subduction zone. This is accompanied by production of tholeiite basalts and boninites in the Kamchatsky Mys segment and plagioclase-bearing tholeiites in the Kronotsky segment of the Kronotskaya paleoarc. The ophiolite complex with intra-arc and mid-oceanic ridge basalt geochemical characteristics was formed in an extension regime during the last stage of Kronotskaya volcanic arc evolution.     

Trace elements in ocean ridge basalts

A correlary of sea floor spreading is that the production rate of ocean ridge basalts exceeds that of all other volcanic rocks on the earth combined. Basalts of the ocean ridges bring with them a continuous record in space and time of the chemical characteristics of the underlying mantle. The chemical record is once removed, due to chemical fractionation during partial melting. Chemical fractionations can be evaluated by assuming that peridotite melting has proceeded to an olivine-orthopyroxene stage, in which case the ratios of a number of magmaphile elements in the extracted melt closely match the ratios in the mantle. Comparison of ocean ridge basalts and chondritic meteorites reveals systematic patterns of element fractionation, and what is probably a double depletion in some elements. The first depletion is in volatile elements and is due to high accretion temperatures of a large percentage of the earth from the solar nebula. The second depletion is in the largest, most highly charged lithophile elements (“incompatible elements”), probably because the mantle source of the basalts was melted previously, and the melt, enriched in these elements, was removed. Migration of melt relative to solid under ocean ridges and oceanic plates, element fractionation at subduction zones, and fractional melting of amphibolite in the Precambrian are possible mechanisms for depleting the mantle in incompatible elements. Ratios of transition metals in the mantle source of ocean ridge basalts are close to chondritic, and contrast to the extreme depletion of refractory siderophile elements, the reason for which remains uncertain. Variation of ocean ridge basalt chemistry along the length of the ridge has been correlated with ridge elevation. Thus chemically anomalous ridge segments up to 1000 km long appear to broadly coincide with regions of high magma production (plumes, hot spots). Basalt heterogeneity at a single location indicates mantle heterogeneity on a smaller scale. Variation of ocean ridge basalt chemistry with time has not been established, in fact, criteria for recognizing old oceanic crust in ophiolite terrains are currently under debate. The similarity of rare earth element patterns in basalt from ocean ridges, back-arc basins, some young island arcs, and some continental flood basalts illustrates the dangers of tectonic labeling by rare earth element pattern.     

Mid-ocean ridge popping rocks: implications for degassing at ridge crests

The vesicle size distribution (VSD) and rare gas abundances in popping rocks from 14°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge provide constraints on the behavior of volatiles during ridge crest volcanism. These popping rocks, which contain 16–18 volume percent vesicles, are rare mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) magmas which appear to have retained much of their volatile inventory. The logarithm of vesicle population density displays the same linear correlation with decreasing size in two of the samples studied. This implies that continuous and simultaneous nucleation and bubble growth have occurred during magma ascent, with no significant perturbations due to accumulation, coalescence or loss of bubbles. In contrast, most MORB magmas display low vesicularities and we suggest that they have suffered some degree of pre-eruptive vesicle loss. We tentatively propose that large vesicles are produced by coalescence when MORB melt is at rest in chambers and conduits, and may be lost during early gas-rich episodes. Most MORB would represent residual liquids which erupt after vesicle loss has occurred, whereas popping rocks would represent a rare case where physical sorting of vesicles from melt did not occur, because storage in a magma chamber did not occur.The rare gas concentrations in the studied popping rocks are the highest yet measured in glassy ridge basalts ([He] > 50 μccSTP/g). The rare gas abundance pattern of these popping rocks probably resembles the pattern for non-vesiculated MORB magma and potentially reflects that of the depleted mantle source. This pattern is similar to the “mean MORB” pattern (computed from MORB glasses with⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar > 10,000) although a higher enrichment in He (and possibly Ne) compared to the heavier rare gases is observed in MORB. The overall similarity in abundance patterns for MORB and popping rocks indicates that vesiculation and vesicle loss do not fractionate the ArKrXe relative abundances from those in non-vesiculated magma, and that the modern flux ratios of these gases at ridges are similar to their elemental ratios in the depleted mantle. The degassing flux of He at ridge crests estimated from the MORB He deficit relative to popping rocks is comparable to the flux derived from the³He budget for the abyssal ocean. This suggests that degassing at ridges may be strongly influenced by the dynamics and style of submarine volcanism.     

Serpentinization,abiogenic organic compounds,and deep life

The hydrocarbons and other organic compounds generated through abiogenic or inorganic processes are closely related to two science subjects,i.e.,energy resources and life’s origin and evolution."The earth’s primordial abiogenic hydrocarbon theory"and"the serpentinization of abiogenic hydrocarbon theory"are the two mainstream theories in the field of related studies.Serpentinization generally occurs in slow expanding mid-ocean ridges and continental ophiolites tectonic environment,etc.The abiogenic hydrocarbons and other organic compounds formed through the serpentinization of ultramafic rocks provide energy and raw materials to support chemosynthetic microbial communities,which probably was the most important hydration reaction for the origin and early evolution of life.The superposition of biological and abiological processes creates big challenge to the identification of the abiogenic organic materials in serpentinite-hosted ecosystem.Whether abiotic(inorganic)process can form oil and gas resource is a difficult question that has been explored continuously by scientific community for more than a century but has not yet been solved.However,some important progress has been made.The prospecting practice of abiogenic hydrocarbons in commercial gases from the Songliao Basin,China,provides an important example for exploring abiogenic natural gas resources.     

Complete mantle section of a slow-spreading ridge-derived ophiolite: An example from the Isabela ophiolite in the Philippines

Abstract   The Isabela ophiolite shows a complete ophiolite sequence exposed along the eastern coast of northern Luzon, the Philippines. It forms the Cretaceous basement complex for the northeastern Luzon block. This ophiolite is located at the northern end of a trail of ophiolites and ophiolitic bodies along the eastern margin of the Philippine Mobile Belt. This paper presents new findings regarding the nature and characteristics of the Isabela ophiolite. Peridotites from the Isabela ophiolite are relatively fresh and are composed of spinel lherzolites, clinopyroxene-rich harzburgites, depleted harzburgites and dunites. The modal composition, especially the pyroxene content, defines a northward depletion trend from fertile lherzolite to clinopyroxene-rich harzburgites and more refractory harzburgites. Variation in modal composition is accompanied by petrographic textural variations. The chromium number of spinel, an indicator of the degree of partial melting, concurs with petrographic observations. Furthermore, the Isabela ophiolite peridotites are similar in spinel and olivine major-element geochemistry and clinopyroxene rare earth-element composition to abyssal peridotites from modern mid-oceanic ridges. Petrological and mineral compositions suggest that the Isabela ophiolite is a transitional ophiolite subtype, with the fertile lherzolites representing lower sections of the mantle column that are usually absent in most ophiolitic massifs. The occurrence of the fertile peridotite presents a rare opportunity to document the lower sections of the ophiolitic mantle. The variability in composition of the peridotites in one continuous mantle section may also represent a good analogy of the melting column in the present-day mid-oceanic ridges.     

Origin of the early Cenozoic belt boundary thrust and Izanagi–Pacific ridge subduction in the western Pacific margin

The belt boundary thrust within the Cretaceous–Neogene accretionary complex of the Shimanto Belt, southwestern Japan, extends for more than ~ 1 000 km along the Japanese islands. A common understanding of the origin of the thrust is that it is an out of sequence thrust as a result of continuous accretion since the late Cretaceous and there is a kinematic reason for its maintaining a critically tapered wedge. The timing of the accretion gap and thrusting, however, coincides with the collision of the Paleocene–early Eocene Izanagi–Pacific spreading ridges with the trench along the western Pacific margin, which has been recently re‐hypothesized as younger than the previous assumption with respect to the Kula‐Pacific ridge subduction during the late Cretaceous. The ridge subduction hypothesis provides a consistent explanation for the cessation of magmatic activity along the continental margin and the presence of an unconformity in the forearc basin. This is not only the case in southwestern Japan, but also along the more northern Asian margin in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Sikhote‐Alin. This Paleocene–early Eocene ridge subduction hypothesis is also consistent with recently acquired tomographic images beneath the Asian continent. The timing of the Izanagi–Pacific ridge subduction along the western Pacific margin allows for a revision of the classic hypothesis of a great reorganization of the Pacific Plate motion between ~ 47 Ma and 42 Ma, illustrated by the bend in the Hawaii–Emperor chain, because of the change in subduction torque balance and the Oligocene–Miocene back arc spreading after the ridge subduction in the western Pacific margin.