Structure of the thermal lithosphere and asthenosphere beneath oceans and continents

The lithosphere and asthenosphere make up a common geodynamic system but are characterized by different physical parameters. The former has a temperature of 1200–1300°C, a density of 3.3 g/cm³, and a viscosity of 10²² poise, while the latter has a density of 3.23 g/cm³, a viscosity in the range 10²¹-10^18–19 poise, and a temperature from 1200–1300°C to 1600–1700°C. The asthenosphere is distinguished by a great variability of its physical state in the lateral and vertical directions. This circumstance necessitates the recognition of the different types of the asthenosphere: seismic (LVZ zone), electrical, thermal, and seismological. The structure and the physical state of the thermal asthenosphere is considered in this paper on the basis of P-T parameters. Its state normally fits viscous Newtonian liquid beneath the continents and provides partial (5–20%) melting in spreading zones and along continental margins. No partial melting is detected beneath the main portion of the continents. The interaction between the asthenosphere and lithosphere is characterized by spatiotemporal migration of partial melting zones and asthenosphere upwelling, and such interaction determines the entire range of geodynamic processes from spreading and rifting to collision and vertical motions of different senses.     

Geochemistry of silicic magmas in the Macolod Corridor, SW Luzon, Philippines: evidence of distinct, mantle-derived, crustal sources for silicic magmas

Silicic volcanic deposits (>65 wt% SiO₂), which occur as domes, lavas and pyroclastic deposits, are relatively abundant in the Macolod Corridor, SW Luzon, Philippines. At Makiling stratovolcano, silicic domes occur along the margins of the volcano and are chemically similar to the silicic lavas that comprise part of the volcano. Pyroclastic flows are associated with the Laguna de Bay Caldera and these are chemically distinct from the domes and lavas at Makiling stratovolcano. As a whole, samples from the Laguna de Bay Caldera contain lower concentrations of MgO and higher concentrations of Fe₂O_3(t) than the samples from domes and lavas. The Laguna de Bay samples are more enriched in incompatible trace elements. The silicic rocks from the domes, Makiling Volcano and Laguna de Bay Caldera all contain high alkalis and high K₂O/Na₂O ratios. Melting experiments of primitive basalts and andesites demonstrate that it is difficult to produce high K₂O/Na₂O silicic magmas by fractional crystallization or partial melting of a low K₂O/Na₂O source. However, recent melting experiments (Sisson et al., Contrib Mineral Petrol 148:635–661, 2005) demonstrate that extreme fractional crystallization or partial melting of K-rich basalts can produce these silicic magmas. Our model for the generation of the silicic magmas in the Macolod Corridor requires partial melting of mantle-derived, evolved, moderate to K-rich, crystallized calc-alkaline magmas that ponded and crystallized in the mid-crust. Major and trace element variations, along with oxygen isotopes and ages of the deposits, are consistent with this model. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Evolution of stress fields in the Por’ya Guba dike field (Kandalaksha Gulf, White Sea)

The tectonic evolution of the Por’ya Guba segment of the White Sea Rift System began in the late Paleoproterozoic, i.e., soon after completion of the Svecofennian collision. The fracture system that controlled localization of the lamproite dike complex was formed under conditions of horizontal compression combined with shear. Subsequently, this system predetermined the location of a rift-graben segment that formed as a result of simple shear. The reactivation of the rift system in the Middle Paleozoic proceeded in two stages. The first stage, when strike-slip movements along previously formed faults predominated, resulted in formation of quartz-carbonate veins bearing base-metal mineralization. The veins that filled the shear fractures opened owing to local reorientation of the stress field. The second stage fitted the transtension conditions, and the Late Devonian alkaline ultramafic dikes of this stage introded into the already existing fracture system, which was oriented at a roughly right angle to the predominant stress orientation.