北祁连山元古宙末－寒武纪主动大陆裂谷火山作用

北祁连山元古宙末－寒武纪大陆裂谷火山岩系为双峰式火山岩套，主要由基性与酸性火山岩组成。基性火山岩有磁性玄武岩与拉斑玄武岩两个岩浆系列，且富集ＬＲＥＥ与ＬＩＬ，其岩浆源区为与洋岛玄武岩源相似的富集地幔柱源。软流圈地幔柱上涌导致岩石圈地慢部分熔融，其熔体与地幔柱衍生熔浆混合，形成本区具有中等钕，锶同位素比值特点的基性岩浆。基性岩浆上侵至陆壳，引起下部陆壳深熔，产生长英质岩浆。地幔柱上隆促使大陆扩张，及至形成北祁连山元古宙末－寒武纪大陆裂谷。     

东南沿海地区第四纪大陆岩石圈地幔的特征

东南沿海地区新生代玄武岩中的橄榄岩包体来自年轻的大陆岩石圈地幔 ,该岩石圈地幔在岩石学、矿物组成、痕量元素以及Sr Nd同位素组成等各方面具有很大差异。这些差异反映了它们来自不同的地幔过程。南海张开与地幔热柱有关 ,南海扩张后第四纪形成的火山岩携至地表的包体更多保留了地幔热柱的信息。橄榄岩包体的矿物成分与深海橄榄岩类似 ,相对贫Opx而富Ol;在痕量元素上 ,表现为强不相容元素的富集 ,其配分模式类似于其寄主岩 ;Nd同位素强烈亏损 ,显示出比MORB源区更亏损的特征。大陆岩石圈地幔经历了来自地幔深处的贫SiO2 熔体的进一步改造。     

南秦岭元古宙板内火山作用特征及构造意义

南秦岭元古宙火山岩主要由两大类岩石构成，一类为SiO245%-57%的基性火山岩系，另一类为SiO267%-78%的酸性火山岩系，主要岩石类型为细碧岩、玄武岩和石英角班岩、流纹岩。基性火山岩整体上属拉斑玄武岩系列，酸性火山岩属钙碱系列。火山岩强烈富集稀土元素，尤其是轻稀土元素，酸性火山岩和基性火山岩有相似的稀土元素特征，显示了源区特征的不同。基性火山岩富集强不相容元素，相对亏损Nb和Ti, 成于大陆裂谷环境，具有大陆拉斑玄武岩的特征。同位素特征表明基性火山作用与地幔柱活动密切相关。南秦岭的中、晚元古代大陆拉张及由古地幔柱活动所引发的陆裂火山岩浆活动是古秦岭洋打开的先兆。     

广东三水盆地火山岩: 地球化学特征及成因--兼论火山岩性质的时空演化和南海形成的深部过程

位于中国东南部的三水盆地、珠江口盆地、雷琼半岛和北部湾地区广泛分布新生代火山岩。火山岩的形成时间具有从内陆向沿海变新的特点,早第三纪三水和珠江口盆地火山岩具有由玄武岩与粗面岩-流纹岩构成的双峰式特点。其中玄武岩和粗面岩的微量元素和稀土元素的配分形式相似,富集大离子亲石元素并且有相似的εNd(T)同位素组成(2.34～6.4),说明它们来自相同的地幔源区,为同源岩浆演化的产物。玄武岩和粗面岩经历了不同的结晶分异过程,其中玄武岩在较深部岩浆房中经历橄榄石和单斜辉石为主的分离结晶作用,而粗面岩则是在浅部岩浆房中由玄武岩浆分异形成的过渡性岩浆再经过强烈的钾长石和斜长石、以及磷灰石的结晶分异形成的。晚第三纪珠江口盆地和北部湾火山岩、雷琼半岛第四纪火山岩则由碱性和拉斑玄武岩构成。这些火山岩的形成时间和地球化学和同位素特征表明它们经历了连续的软流圈地幔上涌和部分熔融过程,受控于自晚中生代以来的地幔柱构造。南海的形成是地幔柱活动引起的地幔上涌和大陆裂解作用的结果。     

Magmatic zoning of Late Cenozoic volcanism in Central Mongolia: Relation with the mantle plume

The concentric zonal structure of the Late Cenozoic volcanism areal in Central Mongolia which is situated on the territory of the Khangai vault has been educed. The central part of the structure conforms to the axial part of the vault and is presented with volcanic fields of the Watershed graben and newest valley flows. The peripheral zone is presented with volcanic fields located along the vault frame (Taryat graben, Lake Valley graben, and grabens of the Orkhon-Selenga interfluve). The structural zoning of the areal comports with the substantial zoning of volcanism products. The rocks of the central part have isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb) and geochemical characteristics conforming to the most primitive (like PREMA) compositions of mantle sources of magmatism. Magmatism sources in the peripheral zone of the volcanic areal, besides the PREMA mantle, contained a substance of enriched mantle like EMI. The character of substantial and structural zoning of volcanism is caused by the influence of the mantle plume on the Central Asia lithosphere. According to geophysical and isotopic-geochemical data, this plume had a lower mantle nature.     

Systematic variations in the composition of volcanic rocks in tectono-magmatic seamount chaines in the Brazil Basin

Data on the composition of rocks in linear tectono-magmatic rises in the Brazil Basin indicate that volcanic rocks in the Vitoria—Trindade seamount chain were derived from a mantle reservoir unevenly enriched in phosphorus under the effect of melts close to subalkaline picrobasalt. These melts contained much of the EM I mantle component because the plume material was contaminated with continental lithospheric component. A long-lived isotopic homogeneity of the source is typical of the whole structure, including the Trindade and Martin Vaz Islands and the Abrolhos Plateau. The analogous isotopic ratios of rocks at the Fernando de Noronha Islands are reportedly explained by a similar mechanism of melt derivation and the similar evolution of the mantle plume material, which was originally situated beneath the South American continent. Compared to the melts of volcanic rocks of all other seamounts discussed herein, the parental melts of volcanics at the Victoria—Trindade Seamounts were derived at lower degrees of melting of enriched source material at a greater depth. The overwhelming majority of volcanic rocks at the northern chain of the Bahia Seamounts were produced by melts generated with the involvement of material of the HIMU type. At the same time, one of our rock samples was derived from a source of composition close to DM with a certain admixture of enriched material like EM I. The mantle source of rocks of the Pernambuco Seamounts consisted of a mixture of DM and HIMU material with a certain admixture of EM I (or, perhaps, EM II). The 10°–11° S Seamounts were formed near the MAR axial zone at the decompressional melting of chemically homogeneous mantle source that consisted of DM material with an admixture of EM I (or, perhaps, EM II) component.     

Complex geometry of the Cenozoic magma plumbing system in the central Sahara,NW Africa

Topographic uplifts in the central Sahara occur in the Hoggar-Aïr and Tibesti-Gharyan swells that consist of Precambrian rocks overlain by Cenozoic volcanic rocks. The swells and associated Cenozoic volcanism have been related either to mantle plumes or to asthenospheric upwelling and to partial melting due to rift-related delamination along pre-existing Pan-African mega-shears during the collision between Africa and Europe. The Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the Hoggar generally range from Oligocene tholeiitic/transitional plateau basalts, which occur in the centre of the dome, to Neogene alkali basalts characterized by a decrease in their degree of silica undersaturation and an increase in their La/Yb ratios. The alkali basaltic rocks occur mainly along the margins of the dome and typically have less radiogenic Nd and Sr isotopic ratios than the tholeiitic/transitional basalts. The geochemistry of the most primitive basaltic rocks resembles oceanic island basalt (OIB) tholeiitic – in particular high-U/Pb mantle (HIMU)-type – and is also similar to those of the Circum-Mediterranean Anorogenic Cenozoic Igneous (CiMACI) province. These characteristics are consistent with, but do not require, a mantle plume origin. Geophysical data suggest a combination of the two mechanisms resulting in a complex plumbing system consisting of (a) at depths of 250–200 km, an upper mantle plume (presently under the Aïr massif); (b) between 200 and 150 km, approximately 700 km northeastward deflection of plume-derived magma by drag at the base of the African Plate and by mantle convection; (c) at approximately 150 km, the magma continues upwards to the surface in the Tibesti swell; (d) at approximately 100 km depth, part of the magma is diverted into a low S-wave velocity corridor under the Sahara Basin; and (e) at approximately 80 km depth, the corridor is tapped by Cenozoic volcanism in the Hoggar and Aïr massifs that flowed southwards along reactivated Precambrian faults.     

Composition,structure, origin,and evolution of off-axis linear volcanic structures of the Brazil Basin,South Atlantic

The paper considers the conditions and mechanisms of the formation of linear volcanic structures in the Brazil Basin, South Atlantic. Among these objects, those related to the ascent of deep mantle plumes predominate. It is shown that the ascent of melts from plume sources leads to the formation of (a) hot spot tracks in the form of linear volcanic ridges and (b) active hot lines in the form of submarine mountain chains with trends differing from those of hot spot tracks and with a more variable character of the age distribution of volcanic rocks. Fault tectonics affects the character of plume activity. In addition, plume material from a hot spot area is dragged by a moving plate as a flow or a sublithospheric lens, which leads to the long-term existence of particular independent segments of linear structures and sometimes to late volcanism reactivation within their limits. Decompression melting of the asthenospheric mantle in zones where thin lithosphere undergoes tension causes the formation of passive hot lines. The main mantle source for the considered volcanic rocks was a mixture of DMM and HIMU mantle components, with the latter abruptly dominating. In marginal oceanic regions, the EM1 component is also present (the EM2 component is found more rarely) within fragments of tectonically delaminated continental mantle that was trapped by the oceanic mantle during the breakup of Gondwana.     

峨眉山大火成岩省晚期酸性火山岩的岩石地球化学特征

峨眉山大火成岩省出露有少量酸性火山岩,它们与基性火山岩共生,表现出双峰式的特征,为研究峨眉山地幔柱晚期岩浆活动提供了重要的窗口。本文通过对双峰式火山岩主、微量元素和斑晶电子探针分析研究表明,基性火山岩属于碱性玄武岩,酸性火山岩主要由粗面岩组成;相对玄武岩,粗面岩中MgO、Fe2O3、P2O5、TiO2、CaO含量明显降低;粗面岩与玄武岩具有相互平行的REE配分模式,但粗面岩出现明显的Eu负异常,以及Sr、Ti等元素的强烈亏损;粗面岩与玄武岩具有同源的特征,通过稀土元素模拟计算表明粗面岩可以由玄武质岩浆经过80%分离结晶作用(辉石、斜长石和Fe-Ti氧化物)而形成。在峨眉山大火成岩省晚期出现双峰式火山岩,可能与地幔柱活动晚期岩浆供给少,在地壳岩浆房中停留时间长,岩浆发生强烈分离结晶作用有关。     

Timing of regional deformation of the hill end trough: A reassessment

Layered and differentiated mafic/ultramafic sills are an important component of greenstones in the Eastern Goldfields Province and can be grouped into tholeiitic and high‐Mg associations. These associations can be further subdivided according to geochemical parameters and order of crystallization of the main mineral phases. The distribution of sills is consistent with models that envisage the Kalgoorlie Terrane (abundant komatiitic and MORB‐like tholeiitic volcanics and intrusive equivalents) as an ancient continental margin basin. Although mafic volcanic rocks and sills encompass a similar range of compositions, chemostratigraphic trends for sills in the Ora Banda domain oppose those of the enclosing volcanic rocks. Plagioclase‐rich (leucodolerite) sills in the Melita area (Gindalbie Terrane) have alumina‐rich, TiO₂‐poor compositions comparable to island‐arc tholeiites and were derived by partial melting of an enriched mantle source. The geochemistry and distribution of sills is not compatible with a simple, craton‐scale plume model for the formation of the greenstone belts.     

Major and trace element, and Sr-Nd isotope constraints on the origin of Paleogene volcanism in South China prior to the South China Sea opening

Paleogene volcanic rocks crop out in three sedimentary basins, namely, Sanshui, Heyuan and Lienping, in the attenuated continental margin of south China. Lavas from the Sanshui basin which erupted during 64-43 Ma are bimodal, consisting of intraplate tholeiitic basalt and trachyte/rhyolite associations. Similar to Cretaceous A-type granites from the nearby region, the felsic member shows peralkaline nature [Na₂O + K₂O ≈ 10–12%; (Na + K)/Al≈ 0.98−1.08], general enrichment in the incompatible trace elements and significant depletion in Ba, Sr, Eu, P and Ti. Although both types of the Sanshui lavas have rather uniform Nd isotope compositions [_Nd(T) ≈ +6 to +4]that are comparable to Late Cenozoic basalts around the South China Sea, the felsic rocks possess apparently higher initial Sr isotope ratios (I_Sr up to 0.713) and form a horizontal array to the right in the Nd vs. Sr isotope plot. Closed system differentiation of mantle-derived magmas in a ‘double diffusive’ magma chamber is considered for the bimodal volcanism, in which the trachytes and rhyolites represent A-type melts after extensive crystal fractionation in the upper portion of the chamber. Such A-type melts were later contaminated by small amounts (1–3%) of upper crustal materials during ascent. On the other hand, composition of lavas in the other two basins varies from tholeiitic basalt to andesite. Their Sr and Nd isotope ratios [I_Sr ≈ 0.705 to 0.711; _Nd(T) ≈ +1 to − 5] and generally correlative Nb-Ta depletions suggest a distinct magma chamber process involving fractional crystallization concomitant with assimilation of the country rock. We conclude that these Paleogene volcanic activities resulted from the lithospheric extension in south China that migrated southwards and eventually led to opening of the South China Sea during 30-16 Ma.     

Conditions of basalt formation in the Dzhida zone of the Paleoasian Ocean

Petrological and geochemical studies performed with invoking data on the compositions of clinopyroxenes have clarified the conditions of formation of Vendian-Cambrian basaltic complexes in the Dzhida zone of the Paleoasian Ocean (northern Mongolia and southwestern Transbaikalia). The research was based on a comparative analysis with reference igneous basaltic associations. Of special importance are our microprobe data on trace and rare-earth elements in clinopyroxenes from igneous rocks of different present-day geodynamic settings, namely, N-MORB (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Central Atlantic), OIB (Bouvet Island, South Atlantic), WPB (within-plate tholeiitic plateau basalts of the Siberian Platform), and boninites of ensimatic arcs (Izu-Bonin island arc, Pacific). The studies have shown that the paleo-oceanic structures in the district of the Urgol guyot formed during geodynamic processes under the impact of mantle plumes on oceanic spreading crust, which resulted in oceanic basaltic plateaus and within-plate oceanic islands. All these structures were later superposed by typical island-arc structure-lithologic associations. Formation of basalt complexes in the Dzhidot guyot district proceeded with a stronger effect of enriched plume melts of within-plate oceanic islands as compared with the Urgol guyot. This is evidenced from petrochemical and geochemical data showing the development of OIB-type magmatic systems on the oceanic basement. Data on clinopyroxenes confirm the participation of mantle plume in this process, which led to the evolution of magmas from typical oceanic basalts (MORB) to plateau basalts and OIB.     

Geochemical and geochronological study of the Sanshui basin bimodal volcanic rock suite,China: Implications for basin dynamics in southeastern China

Sanshui basin is one of the typical Mesozoic–Cenozoic intra-continental rift basins with voluminous Cenozoic volcanic rocks in southeastern China. Thirteen cycles of volcanic eruptions and two dominant types of volcanic rocks, basalt and trachyte–rhyolite, have been identified within the basin. Both basalt and trachyte–rhyolite members of this bimodal suit have high values of εNd (+2.3 to +6.2) and different Sr isotopic compositions (initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are 0.70461–0.70625 and 0.70688–0.71266 for basalts and trachyte–rhyolite, respectively), reflecting distinct magma evolution processes or different magma sources. The results presented in this study indicate that both of the trachyte–rhyolite and basaltic magmas were derived from similar independent primitive mantle, but experienced different evolution processes. The trachyte-rhyolitic magma experienced significant clinopyroxene and plagioclase fractionational crystallization from deeper magma chamber with significant crustal contamination, while the basaltic magmas experienced significant olivine and clinopyroxene fractionational crystallization in shallower magma chamber with minor crustal contamination. New zircon U–Pb dating confirms an initial volcanic eruption at 60 Ma and the last activity at 43 Ma. Geologic, geochemical, and geochronological data suggest that the inception of the Sanshui basin was resulted from upwelling of a mantle plume. The Sanshui basin widened due to subsequent east–west extension and the subsequent volcanism constantly occurred in the center of the basin. Evidence also supports a temporal and spatial association with other rift basins in southeastern China. The upwelling mantle plume became more active during late Cenozoic time and most likely triggered opening of other basins, including the young South China Sea basin.     

Beyond Subduction and Plumes: A Unified Tectonic-Petrogenetic Model for the Mexican Volcanic Belt

The Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB) is a major linear belt of Miocene to present-day volcanism in southern Mexico. Its origin has been controversial, although the majority opinion views it as a volcanic arc related to the subduction of the Cocos plate under the North American plate. Both calc-alkaline and alkaline volcanism characterize the belt; the latter has been previously cited as indicative of the role of a mantle plume. Here we present objections to these explanations, and conclude on the basis of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data that the MVB is unrelated to subduction or to a mantle plume, and is instead a rift-like structure experiencing active extension. Calc-alkaline or alkaline geochemistry of magmas is not useful for inferring tectonic setting, but reflects source parameters and petrogenetic processes. For the MVB, calc-alkaline geochemistry suggests crustal contamination, and the OIB-like geochemistry suggests an enriched mantle source. Our proposal of a heterogeneous mantle beneath the MVB comprising “normal” mantle and metasomatic, enriched veins, can explain the close association in space and time of calc-alkaline and alkaline volcanism throughout the belt.     

Alkaline basaltic volcanism of the Sea of Japan and the Philippine Sea: Similar and distinct geochemical and genetic features

The results of study of the deep sources of volcanic rocks from the Sea of Japan and the Philippine Sea with continental and oceanic basements, respectively, are presented. This problem is considered with the example of alkaline volcanic rocks of the Middle Miocene to Pliocene complex of the Sea of Japan and the Eocene–Oligocene Urdaneta Plateau of the Philippine Sea. The rocks have a similar geochemistry typical of OIBs, which indicates their deep (plume) origin. The presence of the Oligocene calc-alkaline volcanic rocks, which were formed prior to the marginal sea volcanism in the Sea of Japan, however, is the main difference in volcanism of the Sea of Japan from that of the Urdaneta Plateau, and this is explained by the different basements of these seas.     

Permian age of the Burpala alkaline pluton, Northern Transbaikalia: Geodynamic implications

This paper presents the U-Pb zircon age of pulaskite of the main phase (294 ± 1 Ma) and the rare metal syenite (283 ± 8 Ma) of the Burpala alkaline pluton. The geochronological data show that it was formed in the Early Permian. By age, it is comparable with the Synnyr pluton of the Synnyr rift zone, alkaline granitic rocks and bimodal volcanic associations of the Uda-Vitim rift zone, and carbonatites of the Saizhen rift zone of the Central Asian foldbelt. These intraplate igneous complexes were formed almost simultaneously with crustal granitic rocks of the Angara-Vitim batholite. All of this gives ground to suppose that the origination of their parental melts is a result of the influence of the mantle hot spot or mantle plume on the lithosphere that led to extensive crustal anatexis.     

Alkaline volcanism in the history of the Norwegian-Greenland basin

The opening of the North Atlantic Ocean began in the Late Paleocene and was accompanied by the eruption of submarine and subaerial basalts, which built up submarine plateau and ridges, islands, and volcanoes. The volcanic rocks are dominated by low-K tholeiitic basalts, which associate with almost coeval alkaline rocks (subalkali and alkali basalts and their derivatives, basanites, nephelinites, and others). The oldest alkaline volcanics (58–56 Ma) were formed during the opening of the oceanic rift at its shoulders, in northeastern Greenland and the western Norwegian shelf. It was recently found that 55–53 Ma-old alkali-ultramafic rocks are much more widespread at the eastern coast of Greenland than it was previously thought. The younger occurrences of alkali volcanism with pulses at 30, 10, 5 Ma, and up to the present day were formed on the young oceanic plate and newly formed islands and seamounts. To compare the oceanic and continental volcanism of this region, oceanic volcanics dredged during Cruise 10 of the R/V Akademik Kurchatov were reanalyzed using modern analytical methods (XRF and ICP-MS). This study showed that the oceanic and continental alkaline rocks are significantly different in petrochemical and geochemical characteristics, which is caused by differences in magma generation depths and compositions of the mantle source material. The primary continental alkaline magmas were initially more enriched in incompatible trace elements than oceanic ones. During the shallow-level differentiation of oceanic magmas, trace elements and alkalis could be accumulated in residual melts, but these processes occurred on a minor scale and depended on tectonic conditions.     

Volcanism of the southern part of the Sredinny Range of Kamchatka in the Neogene-Quaternary

Based on the geochemical characteristics of the Miocene-Quaternary volcanic rocks of the Sredinny Range of Kamchatka, we divide it into northern and southern provinces; the latter comprises the “eastern”, “western”, and “central” flanks. We present new data on the composition of Neogene-Quaternary volcanic rocks in the southern part of the Sredinny Range of Kamchatka: Khangar and Icha volcanic massifs and Mt. Yurtinaya on the “western” flank, Bystrinsky and Kozyrevsky Ridges on the “eastern” flank, and Anaunsky Dol and Uksichan massif located in between. We show systematic differences in the composition of rocks from the “western” and “eastern” flanks. During the Neogene, a typical island-arc volcanism took place within the “eastern” flank. Quaternary volcanic rocks of this area have both island-arc and within-plate geochemical features. We propose to call rocks of this type hybrid rocks. Within the “western” flank, hybrid volcanism has been manifested since the Neogene, while typical island-arc rocks are not found. Magma generation processes on the “western” flank of the Sredinny Ridge are influenced by an enriched mantle source; the effect of fluid is less pronounced here as compared to the rocks of the “eastern” flank, where it is clearly traced.     

Neoproterozoic nascent island arc volcanism from the Nubian Shield of Egypt: Magma genesis and generation of continental crust in intra-oceanic arcs

The Neoproterozoic Wadi Ranga metavolcanic rocks, South Eastern Desert of Egypt, constitute a slightly metamorphosed bimodal sequence of low-K submarine tholeiitic mafic and felsic volcanic rocks. The mafic volcanic rocks are represented by massive and pillow flows and agglomerates, composed of porphyritic and aphyric basalts and basaltic andesites that are mostly amygdaloidal. The felsic volcanic rocks embrace porphyritic dacites and rhyolites and tuffs, which overlie the mafic volcanic rocks. The geochemical characteristics of Wadi Ranga volcanic rocks, especially a strong Nb depletion, indicate that they were formed from subduction-related melts. The clinopyroxene phenocrysts of basalts are more akin to those crystallizing from island-arc tholeiitic magmas. The tholeiitic nature of the Wadi Ranga volcanics as well as their LREE-depleted or nearly flat REE patterns and their low K₂O contents suggest that they were developed in an immature island arc setting. The subchondritic Nb/Ta ratios (with the lowest ratio reported for any arc rocks) and low Nb/Yb ratios indicate that the mantle source of the Wadi Ranga mafic volcanic rocks was more depleted than N-MORB-source mantle. Subduction signature was dominated by aqueous fluids derived from slab dehydration, whereas the role of subducted sediments in mantle-wedge metasomatization was subordinate, implying that the subduction system was sediment-starved and far from continental clastic input. The amount of slab-derived fluids was enough to produce hydrous magmas that follow the tholeiitic but not the calc-alkaline differentiation trend. With Mg# > 64, few samples of Wadi Ranga mafic volcanic rocks are similar to primitive arc magmas, whereas the other samples have clearly experienced considerable fractional crystallization.The low abundances of trace elements, together with low K₂O contents of the felsic metavolcanic rocks indicate that they were erupted in a primitive island arc setting. The felsic volcanic rocks are characterized by lower K/Rb ratios compared to the mafic volcanic rocks, higher trace element abundances (~ 2 to ~ 9 times basalt) on primitive arc basalt-normalized pattern and nearly flat chondrite-normalized REE patterns, which display a negative Eu anomaly. These features are largely consistent with fractional crystallization model for the origin of the felsic volcanic rocks. Moreover, SiO₂-REE variations for the Wadi Ranga volcanic rocks display steadily increasing LREE over the entire mafic to felsic range and enriched La abundances in the felsic lavas relative to the most mafic lavas, features which are consistent with production of the felsic volcanic rocks through fractional crystallization of basaltic melts. The relatively large volume of Wadi Ranga silicic volcanic rocks implies that significant volume of silicic magmas can be generated in immature island arcs by fractional crystallization and indicates the significant role of intra-oceanic arcs in the production of Neoproterozoic continental crust. We emphasize that the geochemical characteristics of these rocks such as their low LILE and nearly flat REE patterns can successfully discriminate them from other Egyptian Neoproterozoic felsic volcanic rocks, which have higher LILE, Zr and Nb and fractionated REE patterns.     

Petrochemistry of Cenozoic basalts and associated rocks in the Baikal rift zone

The main episode of Cenozoic volcanic activity occurred simultaneously with formation of the Sayan—Baikal uplift, before the rift depressions were initiated. Volcanism and rifting in this region have developed as independent processes, connected with each other only by an ultimate primary mantle energy source. The volcanic regions do not coincide with the rift depressions, except in the Tunka graben.Chemical features of the volcanics show that during the entire period of volcanic activity there was a complex alternation of basaltic lavas of alkaline, intermediate and tholeiitic composition. Both alkaline and subalkaline lavas are distributed over the entire volcanic region, excepting the Tunka depression where tholeiitic lavas are predominant. However, there is neither mineralogical nor chemical evidence for the existence of two separate magma types within the Baikal rift zone.Judging by the presence of high-pressure, lherzolitic megacrysts of clinopyroxene, and to a lesser extent titaniferous biotite and amphibole in alkaline basalts, variations of lava chemistry are connected with high-pressure fractionation of initial melts, which was more complete for sources outside the rift zone. The predominance of tholeiitic lavas in the Tunka depression is likely to have been caused by a higher degree of partial melting and quick ascent of magma to the surface, facilitated by a high geothermal gradient under the depression where crustal extension is taking place.