Textures in Partially Solidified Crystalline Nodules: a Window into the Pore Structure of Slowly Cooled Mafic Intrusions

Abundant glass is present along grain boundaries in coarse-grained,glass-bearing, crystalline gabbroic and peridotitic nodulesentrained and erupted in lavas from Iceland, Santorini and MaunaLoa (Hawaii), even when the total porosity is less than a fewvolume per cent. The glass films vary from a few microns toa few tens of microns thick, and are associated with stringsof small lensoid grain boundary pockets formed by impingementduring crystal growth. Additional porosity occurs as extensiveliquid-filled pockets adjacent to included grains within oikocrystsand as large triangular pockets formed by impingement of planar-sidedgrains. Interstitial material within glass films, and the irregularityof film thickness along a single grain boundary, suggest thatthe present pore structure is representative of the pore structurebefore entrainment and eruption. Pore geometry is consistentwith a dominant control by crystal growth during solidification,with little or no evidence for control by minimization of internalenergies driven by textural equilibration. Similarities betweenliquid distribution in the crystalline nodules and that of late-stage,interstitial phases in fully solidified mafic cumulates fromthe Rum and Skaergaard intrusions demonstrate that the crystallinenodules provide information about the latest stages of solidificationin slowly cooled mafic plutons. The highly permeable networkof intersecting liquid films, lenses and pockets may promotein situ crystallization in the solidifying mush, explainingthe common presence of adcumulates in such intrusions. KEY WORDS: textures; liquid distribution; mafic cumulates; crystalline nodules     

内蒙古固阳地区侵入渣尔泰群中新元古代早期辉长岩岩床的发现及其意义

华北克拉通由于新元古代早期构造-岩浆活动的地质记录较少,制约了对其新元古代时期构造演化的认识。本文对内蒙古中部固阳地区侵位于渣尔泰群阿古鲁沟组中3个变辉长岩岩床样品进行了锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年代学测试,显示其侵位年龄为～925 Ma,表明华北克拉通北缘存在新元古代早期的岩浆活动。该岩床与同时期华北克拉通中部～925 Ma的基性岩墙群(大石沟岩墙)和东南部945～890 Ma的基性岩床群(徐淮-辽东-沙里院岩床)具有相似的岩石地球化学特征和重叠的Nd同位素组成,表明其可能是新元古代早期华北克拉通中—东部发育的大规模基性岩浆活动事件在克拉通北缘的响应,但其规模相对华北克拉通东南缘明显较小。华北克拉通北缘新元古代早期基性岩浆活动的发现,为深入了解华北克拉通北缘新元古代构造演化及其与罗迪尼亚超大陆的关系提供了重要线索。     

Geochronology,petrogenesis and tectonic implications of the Zhongchuan granitic pluton in the Western Qinling metallogenic belt,China

The Zhongchuan district is an important component of the metallogenic belt in the Western Qinling. The Zhongchuan granite pluton occurring in the centre of the Zhongchuan metallogenic area has been poorly constrained, though the Triassic granite in Western Qinling has been well documented. In‐situ zircon U–Pb ages, Hf isotopic compositions and whole‐rock geochemical data are presented for host granite and mafic microgranular enclaves (MMES) from the Zhongchuan pluton, in order to constrain its sources, petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the pluton. The distribution of major, trace and rare earth elements apparently reflect exchange between the MMES and the host granitic rocks mainly due to interactions between coeval felsic host magma and mafic magma. The zircon U–Pb age of host granite (231.6 ± 1.5 to 235.8 ± 2.3 Ma) has overlapping uncertainty with that of the MMES (236.6 ± 1.3 Ma), establishing that the mafic and felsic magmas were coeval. The Hf isotopic composition of the MMES (ε_Hf(t) = −13.4 to 4.0) is distinct from the host granite (ε_Hf(t) = −15.7 to 0.0), indicating that both enriched subcontinental lithosphere mantle (SCLM) and crustal sources contributed to their origin. The zircons have two‐stage Hf model ages of 1064 to 1798 Ma for the host granite and 858 to 1747 Ma for the MMES. This suggests that the granitic pluton was likely derived from partial melting of a Late Mesoproterozoic crust, with subsequent interaction with the SCLM‐derived mafic magmas in tectonic affinity to the South China Block. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

U and Th Contents and Th/U Ratios of Zircon in Felsic and Mafic Magmatic Rocks: Improved Zircon-Melt Distribution Coefficients

High-precision data on U and Th contents and Th/U ratios of zircon obtained using secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis have been collected from the literature. Zircon in the granitic rocks has median values of 350 ppm U, 140 ppm Th, and Th/U=0.52; the recommended zircon-melt partition coefficients are 81 for DU and 8.2 for DTh. In zircon from mafic and intermediate rocks, the median values are 270 ppm U, 170 ppm Th, and Th/U=0.81, and the recommended zircon-melt partition coefficients are 169 for DU and 59 for DTh. The U and Th contents and Th/U ratios of magmatic zircon are low when zircon crystallizes in equilibrium with the melt. Increasing magma temperature should promote higher Th contents relative to U contents, resulting in higher Th/U ratios for zircon in mafic to intermediate rocks than in granitic rocks. However, when zircon crystallizes in disequilibrium with the melt, U and Th are more easily able to enter the zircon lattice, and their contents and Th/U ratios depend mainly on the degree of disequilibrium. The behavior of U and Th in magmatic zircon can be used as a geochemical indicator to determine the origins and crystallization environments of magmatic zircon.