A Complex Petrogenesis for an Arc Magmatic Suite, St Kitts, Lesser Antilles

St Kitts forms one of the northern group of volcanic islandsin the Lesser Antilles arc. Eruptive products from the Mt Liamuigacentre are predominantly olivine + hypersthene-normative, low-Kbasalts through basaltic andesites to quartz-normative, low-Kandesites. Higher-Al and lower-Al groups can be distinguishedin the suite. Mineral assemblages include olivine, clinopyroxene,orthopyroxene, plagioclase and titanomagnetite with rarer amphibole,ilmenite and apatite. Eruptive temperatures of the andesitesare estimated as 963–950°C at fO₂ NNO + 1 (whereNNO is the nickel–nickel oxide buffer). Field and mineralchemical data provide evidence for magma mixing. Glass (melt)inclusions in the phenocrysts range in composition from andesiteto high-silica rhyolite. Compositional variations are broadlyconsistent with the evolution of more evolved magmas by crystalfractionation of basaltic parental magmas. The absence of anycovariation between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr or ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and SiO₂ rulesout assimilation of older silicic crust. However, positive correlationsbetween Ba/La, La/Sm and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and between ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pband SiO₂ are consistent with assimilation of small amounts (<10%)of biogenic sediments. Trace element and Sr–Nd–Pbisotope data suggest derivation from a normal mid-ocean ridgebasalt (N-MORB)-type mantle source metasomatized by subductedsediment or sediment melt and fluid. The eruptive rocks arecharacterized by ²³⁸U excesses that indicate that fluid additionof U occurred <350 kyr ago; U–Th isotope data for mineralseparates are dominated by melt inclusions but would allow crystallizationages of 13–68 ka. However, plagioclase is consistentlydisplaced above these ‘isochrons’, with apparentages of 39–236 ka, and plagioclase crystal size distributionsare concave-upwards. These observations suggest that mixingprocesses are important. The presence of ²²⁶Ra excesses in twosamples indicates some fluid addition <8 kyr ago and thatthe magma residence times must also have been less than 8 kyr. KEY WORDS: Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes; U-series isotopes; crystal size distribution; petrogenesis