Crustal Melting in the Cordilleran Interior: The Mid-Cretaceous White Creek Batholith in the Southern Canadian Cordillera

The mid-Cretaceous White Creek batholith in southeast BritishColumbia is a zoned pluton ranging from quartz monzodioriteon the margin, to hornblende-and biotite-bearing granodioritetowards the interior of the batholith, which are in turn crosscutby two-mica granite. This range in rock type is similar to therange displayed by Mesozoic granitoid suites found in the Cordilleraninterior of western North America. The lithological zones inthe White Creek batholith correlate with distinet jumps in majorelement, trace element, and isotopic compositions, and indicatethat several pulses of magma were emplaced within the WhiteCreek magma chamber. The hornblende-and biotite-bearing granitoidsare metaluminous to weakly peraluminous, have strong light rareearth element (LREE) enrichment, and small negative Eu anomalies.These granitoids have initial _Sr ranging from +32 to +84 (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶SrTfrom 0.7069 to 0.7106), initial _Nd ranging from –5 to–10, and initial ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pbranging from 18.3 to 18.7, 15.58 to 15.65, and 38.3 to 39.0,respectively. The two-mica granites and associated aplites arestrongly peraluminous, and show only moderate LREE enrichmentand strong negative Eu anomalies. These granites have _Sr rangingfrom +174 to + 436 (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_T from 0.7169 to 0.7354), _Nd rangingfrom –12 to –16, and more radiogenic initial Pbisotope ratios than the hornblende-and biotite-bearing granitoids. Oxygen, Sr, Pb, and Nd isotopes, REE modelling, and phase equilibriumconstraints are consistent with crustal anatexis of Precambrianbasement gneisses and Proterozoic metapelites exposed in southeastBritish Columbia, the product being the hornblende-biotite granitoidsand two-mica granites, respectively. The sequence of intrusionin the White Creek batholith constrains the melting sequence.A zone of anatexis proceeded upwards through the crust, firstmelting basement gneisses then melting overlying metapelites.A model for basaltic magmatic underplating as a primary causeof anatexis of the crust during the mid-Cretaceous magmaticepisode is difficult to reconcile with the absence of earlyCretaceous basalt in the southern Canadian Cordillera. A muchmore likely petrogenetic model is that crustal anatexis wasprobably a response to crustal thickening in association withterrane accretion and collision along the western margin ofthe North American continent.     

Geostrophic sand ridge, dune fields and associated bedforms from the Northern KwaZulu-Natal shelf, south-east Africa

Subaqueous dunes are formed on the KwaZulu-Natal outer-shelf due to sediment transport by the Agulhas Current (geostrophic current). These dunes occur within two dune fields at depths of ? 35 to ? 70 m. The net sediment transport direction is south, but short-period reversals form northward-migrating bedforms. The dune fields are physically bounded by late Pleistocene beachrock and aeolianite ledges. A bedform hierarchy has been recognized in the dune fields comprising a system of three generations of climbing bedforms. The outer dunefield has given rise to a sand ridge (H=12 m; L=4 km; W=1.1 km; and an 8° lee slope) whereas the inner dune fields have achieved large-scale dune status. Bedload parting zones within the dune fields occur where the sediment transport direction switches from north to south due to reversals in the geostrophic flow; these zones occur at depths of ? 60, ? 47 and ? 45 m. An interpretative stratigraphic model is presented on what such geostrophite deposits would look like in the ancient sedimentary record.     

Ultrapotassic Magmas along the Flanks of the Oligo-Miocene Rio Grande Rift, USA: Monitors of the Zone of Lithospheric Mantle Extension and Thinning Beneath a Continental Rift

Recent theoretical studies of rift tectonics have concludedthat their observed geophysical features, require that (1) extensionaffects a much wider zone of the underlying lithospheric mantlethan the crust; (2) early extension involves a comparativelywide zone that narrows with time. The Neogene evolution of thesegment of the Rio Grande rift between the Great Plains andColorado Plateau shows this theoretical pattern clearly. Thewidth of the crustal extension zone narrowed from {small tilde}170km in the Oligo-Miocene to {small tilde}50 km in the Pliocene.In contrast, both gravity and teleseismic studies indicate thatthe current width of the zone of thinned lithospheric mantle(ß = 2–3) beneath the rift is {small tilde}750km. To assess the contributions of lithosphere- and asthenosphere-derivedmelts to the magmatismassociated with the early phase of developmentof the Rio Grande rift, we have undertaken a 670-km geochemicaltraverse of Oligo-Miocene volcanism between latitudes 36 and38N. Our section is centered on the present-day axis of therift in the Espanola Basin. It extends from the Navajo volcanicfield, Arizona, to Two Buttes, SE Colorado, and intersects hypabyssalintrusions on the rift shoulders at Dulce, west of the rift,and Spanish Peaks to the east. We have sampled a diverse rangeof magma types that vary in composition from ultrapotassic toHy- and Ne-normative basalts. A geochemical profile along thistraverse shows a spatially symmetrical variation in elementand oxide ratios, such as Na₂O/K₂O and Ba/Nb, and also in Srand Nd isotope ratios. On the rift flanks and shoulders Oligo-Miocenevolcanism was dominated by K-rich mafic magmatism, whereas atthe rift axis tholeiitic and alkalic basalts with whole-rockcompositions similar to those of ocean-island basalts (OIB)were erupted. This symmetrical geochemical variation broadlyparallels the corresponding teleseismic lithosphere thicknessprofile and is a mirror image of the gravity profile. We interpret the OIB-type magmas at the rift axis as predominantlyasthenosphere-derived melts. These suggest that mantle upwelling,and melting by decompression, were occurring during the earlydevelopment of the Rio Grande rift The symmetrical variationof incompatible elements and isotope ratios in rocks about therift axis suggests that the sources of the K-rich mafic magmason the stable flanks and shoulders of the rift are not directlyrelated to the subduction of the Farallon plate: an asymmetricprocess. Instead, we propose that the K-rich mafic magmas onthe flanks and shoulders of the Rio Grande rift are derivedfrom the melting of a metasomatized layer in the lithosphericmantle during extension. *Present address: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK     

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.     

Stratigraphy and Petrology of the Mulcahy Lake Layered Gabbro: An Archean Intrusion in the Wabigoon Subprovince, Ontario

The Mulcahy Lake gabbro is an Archean layered intrusion of tholeiiticbulk composition located in the Wabigoon subprovince. The intrusionis 6 km thick at the thickest and is exposed over an area of63 km². It intrudes basaltic to siliceous volcanics of the CrowLake-Savant Lake greenstone belt and is intruded by the Atikwabatholith. Zircon U-Pb data indicate crystallization at 27322+1·0/–0·9m·y. Principal phases are plagioclase, orthopyroxene, augite (andpigeonite in iron-rich rocks), olivine, hornblende and magnetite.Olivine is confined to several horizons. Apatite and then zirconare prominent accessory phases at advanced stages of fractionation.Plagioclase, pyroxenes and olivine are cumulate phases. Hornblendeis invariably an intercumulus phase. Magnetite is ubiquitousthroughout the intrusion, generally as a cumulate phase, andforms centimeter thick layers in fractionated rocks. Fractionationfollowed a tholeiitic trend with iron enrichment in the liquid. The intrusion is divided into lower, mixed, middle, upper andmarginal zones. The lower and middle zones are 2·0 and2·5 km thick respectively. The upper zone is approximately1 km thick, and the marginal zone is measured in hundreds ofmeters. A 200 m thick mixed zone is interposed between the lowerand middle zones. The base of the lower zone consists of ultramaficunits containing olivine of Fo₈₂. The top of the zone has olivineof Fo₂₈. Fractionation of the lower zone, from the floor up,was interrupted by the introduction of pristine liquid whichmixed with more dense and cooler residual liquid in the chamberto form the mixed zone. Further introduction of several minorpulses of liquid constructed the lower part of the middle zone.The upper part of the middle zone was constructed from a majorpulse of liquid plus several minor pulses each of which is representedby reversals in cryptic layering. The upper zone consists ofultramafic to iron-rich gabbro cumulates formed by cooling throughthe roof plus horizons formed by influx of pristine liquid.Marginal zone rocks represent cooling through the walls of theintrusion. Rhythmic layering is well developed in lower and middle zonecumulates. Petrofabric data show that orthopyroxene has a lineationin the plane of layering and parallel to structures suggestiveof flow. Plagioclase laths also have a preferred orientationin many cumulates and in unlayered gabbros as well. Flow, possiblylaminar, of liquid-crystal material is suggested and may belinked to the ultimate development of layering. Pressure during the course of crystallization probably was greaterthan 2 and less than 5 kb. Temperatures estimated from pyroxenesvaried from approximately 1200 to 1000 °C.f_o², is not wellconstrained but was sufficient to allow the formation of thinlocal magnetite cumulates late in the crystallization. The primarymelt was hydrous as indicated by the presence of hornblende.It is very unlikely that the melt was saturated with water duringcrystallization of the cumulate phases.     

The mineralogy and origin of some Silurian bentonites, Welsh Borderland, U.K.

ABSTRACT Thirty clay-rich horizons from the Wenlock and Ludlow Series of the Welsh Borderland were analysed to investigate their mineralogy and possible origins. Two mineralogical assemblages were determined: an assemblage of illite-smectite and kaolinite of volcanic origin which was associated in many samples with an assemblage of illite and chlorite of detrital origin. Immobile chemical discriminants (Zr/TiO₂ versus Nb/Y) infer an originally rhyolitic ash composition with a possible temporal progression, from the Wenlock to Ludlow, to more differentiated compositions. The thin nature of the bentonites and lack of juxtaposed subduction related calc-alkaline magmatism suggests that the tuffs were derived from distant explosive eruptions from volcanic centres, possibly in NE Europe.     

Secular Geochemistry of Central Puerto Rican Island Arc Lavas: Constraints on Mesozoic Tectonism in the Eastern Greater Antilles

Island arc volcanism in the Greater Antilles persisted for >70m.y. from Middle Cretaceous to Late Eocene time. During theinitial 50 m.y., lavas in central Puerto Rico shifted from predominantlyisland arc tholeiites (volcanic phase I, Aptian to Early Albian,120–105 Ma), to calc-alkaline basalts (phase II, LateAlbian, 105–97 Ma), and finally to high-K, incompatible-element-enrichedbasalts (phases III and IV, Cenomanian–Maastrichtian,97–70 Ma). Following an island-wide eruptive hiatus, geochemicaltrends were reversed in the Eocene with renewed eruption ofcalc-alkaline basalts (phase V, 60–45 Ma). Progressiveincreases in large-ion lithophile elements (LILE)/light rareearth elements (LREE), LILE/high field strength elements (HFSE),LREE/HFSE, and HFSE/heavy rare earth elements (HREE) characterizethe compositional evolution of the first four volcanic phases.The shift in trace element compositions is mirrored by increasingradiogenic content of the lavas. Pb