Evidence for Multiple Mechanisms of Crustal Contamination of Magma from Compositionally Zoned Plutons and Associated Ultramafic Intrusions of the Alaska Range

Models of continental crustal magmagenesis commonly invoke theinteraction of mafic mantle-derived magma and continental crustto explain geochemical and petrologic characteristics of crustalvolcanic and plutonic rocks. This interaction and the specificmechanisms of crustal contamination associated with it are poorlyunderstood. An excellent opportunity to study the progressiveeffects of crustal contamination is offered by the compositeplutons of the Alaska Range, a series of nine early Tertiary,multiply intruded, compositionally zoned (Peridotite to granite)plutons. Large initial Sr and Nd isotopic contrasts betweenthe crustal country rock and likely parental magmas allow evaluationof the mechanisms and extents of crustal contamination thataccompanied the crystallization of these ultra-mafic throughgranitic rocks. Three contamination processes are distinguishedin these plutons. The most obvious of these is assimilationof crustal country rock concurrent with magmatic fractionalcrystallization (AFC), as indicated by a general trend towardcrustal-like isotopic signatures with increasing differentiation.Second, many ultramafic and mafic rocks have late-stage phenocrystreaction and orthocumulate textures that suggest interactionwith felsic melt. These rocks also have variable and enrichedisotopic compositions that suggest that this felsic melt wasisotopically enriched and probably derived from crustal countryrock. Partial melt from the flysch country rock may have reactedwith and contaminated these partly crystalline magmas followingthe precipitation and accumulation of the cumulus phenocrystsbut before complete solidification of the magma. This suggeststhat in magmatic mush (especially of ultramafic composition)crystallizing in continental crust, a second distinct processof crustal contamination may be super imposed on AFC or magmamixing involving the main magma body. Finally, nearly all rocks,including mafic and ultramafic rocks, have (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i thatare too high, and (T) _Nd that are too low, to represent theexpected isotopic composition of typical depleted mantle. However,gabbro xenoliths with typical depicted-mantle isotopic compositionsare found in the plutons. This situation requires either anadditional enriched mantle component to provide the parentalmagma for these plutons, or some mechanism of crustal contaminationof the parent magma that did not cause significant crystallizationand differentiation of the magma to more felsic compositions.Thermodynamic modeling indicates that assimilation of alkali-andwater-rich partial melt of the metapelite country rock by fractionating,near-liquidus basaltic magma could cause significant contaminationwhile suppressing significant crystallization and differentiation. KEY WORDS: crustal contamination; Alaska Range; isotope geochemistry; zoned plutons; assimilation ^*Corresponding author. e-mail: preiners{at}u.washington.edu; fax: (206) 543-3836.     

Pressure Increases, the Formation of Chromite Seams, and the Development of the Ultramafic Series in the Stillwater Complex, Montana

This paper explores the hypothesis that chromite seams in theStillwater Complex formed in response to periodic increasesin total pressure in the chamber. Total pressure increased becauseof the positive V of nucleation of CO₂ bubbles in the melt andtheir subsequent rise through the magma chamber, during whichthe bubbles increased in volume by a factor of 4–6. Byanalogy with the pressure changes in the summit chambers ofKilauea and Krafla volcanoes, the maximum variation was 0•2–0•25kbar, or 5–10% of the total pressure in the Stillwaterchamber. An evaluation of the likelihood of fountaining andmixing of a new, primitive liquid that entered the chamber withthe somewhat more evolved liquid already in the chamber is basedupon calculations using observed and inferred velocities andflow rates of basaltic magmas moving through volcanic fissures.The calculations indicate that hot, dense magma would have oozed,rather than fountained into the chamber, and early mixing ofthe new and residual magmas that could have resulted in chromitecrystallizing alone did not take place. Mixing was an important process in the Stillwater magma chamber,however. After the new magma in the chamber underwent {smalltilde}5% fractional crystallization, its composition, temperature,and density approached those of the overlying liquid in thechamber and the liquids then mixed. If this process occurredmany times over the course of the development of the Ultramaficseries, a thick column of magma with orthopyroxene on its liquiduswould have been the result. Thus, the sequence of multiple injections,fractionation, and mixing with previously fractionated magmacould have been the mechanism that produced the thick bronzitecumulate layer (the Bronzitite zone) above the cyclic units.     

SHORT COMMUNICATION COMMENTS ON THE RESIDUAL BILINEARIZATION METHOD

Through theoretical analysis and computer simulation,this short communication comments on theresidual bilinearization(RBL)method and compares it with non-bilinear rank annihilation(NBRA)forthe treatment of second-order calibration with non-bilinear data.It is found that these two methods aremathematically equivalent but have different noise propagation properties.The second-order advantage,namely quantitation in the presence of unknown interferences,can be carried over to non-bilinear dataonly if there exists a net analyte rank(NAR)for the analyte of interest.     

Basal Waitemata Group lithofacies: rapid subsidence in an early Miocene interarc basin, New Zealand

The abrupt transition from coastal and shallow shelf sediments to bathyal sediments provides a record of rapid subsidence and deepening of the early Miocene Waitemata basin. Basal shallow marine strata (Kawau Subgroup) accumulated upon a highly dissected surface that overlies deformed Mesozoic metagreywacke. The early Miocene coast was characterized by an embayed and cliffed shoreline with numerous sea stacks and islands. Kawau Subgroup lithofacies, which include pocket beach, shallow shelf and base-of-cliff talus deposits, reflect rapidly changing coastline configuration and water depths as the rugged bedrock surface was buried. The response to continued rapid subsidence and transgression in Waitemata basin was a decrease in the supply of coarse clastic sediment. Beach gravels were locally displaced to greater water depths by avalanching down steep bedrock slopes. The first bathyal turbidite facies, which abruptly overlie the shallow-water Kawau Subgroup, include locally derived sediment gravity flows commonly ponded by remnant bedrock submarine highs. When this local supply of sediment had been exhausted, coarse sediment starvation ensued and bathyal muds accumulated. With the resumption of sediment supply and gradual burial of submarine bedrock relief, submarine fans coalesced and increased in lateral extent. Subsidence of the Waitemata basin to bathyal depths is thought to have occurred in less than a million years. From the above hypothesis, a general model of sedimentation is proposed.     

Lithospheric flexure as a control on stratal geometry and fades distribution in Upper Cretaceous rocks of the Alberta foreland basin

Facies distributions, stratal geometry and regional erosional bevelling surfaces in Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Santonian) strata of the Alberta foreland basin are interpreted in terms of high-frequency (probably eustatic) relative changes in sea level, superimposed on longer-term basin-floor warping, related to episodic tectonic loading. Thick marine shales correspond to periods of rapid subsidence whereas thin but extensive strandplain sandstones record rapid progradation during slow subsidence. Westward-thickening wedges of coastal plain strata were deposited during initial downwarping of a near-horizontal strandplain, prior to marine transgression. Surfaces of erosional bevelling beneath which between 40 and >160m of strata have been removed extend at least 300 km from the present deformation front and are interpreted to reflect forebulge uplift in the east. Uplift appears to have lagged about 0.25-0.5 Myr behind the onset of accelerated loading. Thin marine sandstones which grade westward into mudstone are interpreted as material winnowed from the crest of the rising forebulge. Subsidence and/or westward migration of the forebulge allowed the sea to flood westward across the eastern flank of the eroded forebulge. The transgressive shoreface cut asymmetric notches which were later blanketed by marine shales which lap out from east to west. The two unconformities which embody the largest erosional vacuity are veneered locally with oolitic ironstone which accumulated in a shallow, sediment-starved setting on the crest of the forebulge. The consistent pattern of erosional bevelling and lap-out of transgressive shales might be interpreted as evidence that the forebulge migrated towards the thrust load over a period of <1 Myr.     

Pressure--Temperature--Time Paths of Regional Metamorphism I. Heat Transfer during the Evolution of Regions of Thickened Continental Crust

The development of regional metamorphism in areas of thickenedcontinental crust is investigated in terms of the major controlson regional-scale thermal regimes. These are: the total radiogenicheat supply within the thickened crust, the supply of heat fromthe mantle, the thermal conductivity of the medium and the lengthand time scales of erosion of the continental crust. The orogenicepisode is regarded as consisting of a relatively rapid phaseof crustal thickening, during which little temperature changeoccurs in individual rocks, followed by a lengthier phase oferosion, at the end of which the crust is at its original thickness.The principal features of pressure—temperature—time(PTt) paths followed by rocks in this environment are a periodof thermal relaxation, during which the temperature rises towardsthe higher geotherm that would be supported by the thickenedcrust, followed by a period of cooling as the rock approachesthe cold land surface. The temperature increase that occursis governed by the degree of thickening of the crust, its conductivityand the time that elapses before the rock is exhumed sufficientlyto be affected by the proximity of the cold upper boundary.For much of the parameter range considered, the heating phaseencompasses a considerable portion of the exhumation (decompression)part of the PTt path. In addition to the detailed calculationof PTt paths we present an idealized model of the thickeningand exhumation process, which may be used to make simple calculationsof the amount of heating to be expected during a given thickeningand exhumation episode and of the depth at which a rock willstart to cool on its ascent path. An important feature of thesePTt paths is that most of them lie within 50 °C of the maximumtemperature attained for one third or more of the total durationof their burial and uplift, and for a geologically plausiblerange of erosion rates the rocks do not begin to cool untilthey have completed 20 to 40 per cent of the total uplift theyexperience. Considerable melting of the continental crust isa likely consequence of thickening of crust with an averagecontinental geotherm. A companion paper discusses these resultsin the context of attempts to use metamorphic petrology datato give information on tectonic processes.     

Pressure--Temperature--Time Paths of Regional Metamorphism II. Their Inference and Interpretation using Mineral Assemblages in Metamorphic Rocks

A companion paper (England & Thompson, 1984a) investigatesthe pressure-temperature-time (PTt) paths followed by rocksundergoing burial metamorphism in continental thickening events.This paper discusses problems involved in inferring such pathsfrom the petrological data available in metamorphic rocks and—oncesuch paths are determined—how they may be interpretedin terms of the thermal budgets of metamorphism. Each of theprincipal facies series (glaucophane-jadeite, andalusite- sillimaniteand kyanite-sillimanite) may be encountered by rocks involvedin the thickening and erosion of continental crust in a regimeof average continental heat flow. The inference of a minimumthermal budget required for a given metamorphism depends stronglyon a knowledge of the PTt paths followed by rocks during themetamorphism. Discrimination between possible thermal regimesis greatly enhanced if portions of PTt paths, rather than singlePT points, are available, and additional constraint is possibleif these paths are supplemented by geochronological, structuraland heat flow data.     

Nature and origins of internal sediments in Jurassic limestones of Burgundy (Franc) and Fnoud (Algeria)

ABSTRACT Numerous hard-grounds and palaeo-emersion surfaces in Middle Jurassic grainstones of Burgundy (France) and Upper Jurassic micritic limestones of the Fnoud region (Algeria) exhibit a variety of diagenetic cements and internal sediments. Four types of internal sediments have been defined, each being the product of a particular environment: Type 1, unsorted microbioclastic wackestone characterizes submarine hard-grounds; Type 2, pelleted grainstone with inverse graded bedding occurs in microcaverns developed in palaeobeach rocks; Type 3, centrifugal micrite seems to characterize relatively dry supratidal substrates; Type 4, crystal silt is associated with early sparitic cements and dissolution phenomena indicating the influence of non-marine waters. Within a given pore space, a centripetal succession of various cements and internal sediments seems to reflect the lateral evolution of the tidal-flat or beach; at any given pore space interstitial waters have evolved progressively as the intertidal zone advanced or receded. Thus, internal sediments and related early diagenetic phenomena are valid criteria both for particular environments and for the general evolution of the coastal plain. Finally, although internal sediments may accumulate both within grainstones (Burgundy) and mudstone substrates (Fnoud), these textural differences may influence the type and frequency of internal sedimentation. RESUME De multiples ciments diagénétiques et sédiments internes précoces ont été reconnus dans les nombreuses surfaces durcies et surfaces d'émersion des calcaires grainstones du Jurassique moyen de Bourgogne (France) et des calcaires micritiques de la région des Fnoud (Algérie). Quatre types principaux de sédiments internes ont été définis, chacun étant le produit d'un milieu diagénétique particulier; Le Type 1 est un wackestone rnicrobioclastique non classé qui caractérise les surfaces durcies sousmarines; Le Type 2 est un micrograinstone à pellets avec granoclassement inverse qui existe dans les microcavernes developpées dans les paléo-grés de plage; Le Type 3 est une micrite centrifuge qui se developpe dans des conditions supratidales; Le Type 4 consiste en un silt à débris de cristaux, associé aux ciments sparitiques précoces et aux phénomènes de dissolution caractérisant ainsi l'influence d'eaux non marines. Dans un pore donné, la succession centripète entre ciment et sédiments internes reflète I'evolution latérale de la plaine côtière ou de la plage suivant le régime sédimentaire. Dans cet espace poreux, les eaux intersticielles evoluent progressivement au fur et à mesure que la zone intertidale s'accro?t ou se réduit. Ainsi les sédiments internes et les phénomenes diagénétiqués associes constituent de bons critères pour la detérmination d'un environnement particulier et pour retracer I'évolution générale de la plaine côtiere. Enfin, bien que les sediments internes se déposent au sein de calcaires grainstones (Bougogne) ou de calcaires mudstones (Fnoud), les différences texturales du sédiment hôte peuvent influencer sur le type et la fréquence de la sédimentation interne.     

MARS:A TUTORIAL

This tutorial paper presents a simplified view of one of the more recently published multivariatecalibration methods particularly suited to dealing with non-linear data sets.The method is referred toas MARS and stands for multivariate adaptive regression splines.Simple examples are provided toexplain the workings of the method.     

Calc-Silicate Diffusion Zones between Marble and Pelitic Schist

Four distinct calc-silicate zones are observed between interlayeredmarble and pelite in a roof-pendant (Gile Mountain Fm.) of agranitic intrusive at Lake Willoughby in northern Vermont. Thezones are characterized by garnet, coarse diopside-clinozoisite,fine clinozoisite-diopside and amphibole-plagioclase. The bulkcompositions of the zones, calculated from modal data and microprobeanalyses, deviate significantly from a gradational mixture ofmarble and pelite. The observed zonal sequence is close to thatpredicted by a simple model of cation diffusion metasomatism.Possible locations of the initial marble-pelite boundary aresuggested on the basis of bulk compositional data and petrographicevidence. Calculated mass balance relations for the formationof the zones by diffusion at constant volume are unrealisticfor reasonable locations of the initial boundary. Calculatedmass balance relations at constant Al₂O₃ suggest a volume decreaseof about one third during formation of the diffusion zones whollyfrom the pelite. In addition the data suggest that nearly equalvolumes of initial marble and pelite have disappeared, leadingto a total volume decrease of near 50 percent. The observationssuggest that diffusion of calcium was dominant and that diffusionof aluminium, iron and magnesium was relatively unimportant.Evaluation of relative diffusional mobilities is shown to bepossible but intractable with the quality of available thermochemicaldata and activity-concentration relations of crystalline solutions.