Degradation and Metamorphic Differentiation of the Keweenawan Tholeiitic Lavas of Northern Michigan, U.S.A.

The Portage Lake Lava Series of the Keweenaw Peninsula, northernMichigan, is composed of over 5000 m of tholeiitic lava flows.Chemical and petrologic study of thin undifferentiated flowsfrom this sequence shows that the bulk of the flows are olivinetholeiites; highly ironenriched tholeiites comprise up to 10per cent of the volume. In addition, a few small rhyolitic intrusives,exceedingly rich in alkalis, are exposed in the region. Duringburial the amygdular tops of each flow acted as channelwaysfor migrating fluids during a regional metamorphic event thatproduced a progressive sequence of secondary phases within theflow tops. In the upper part of the stratigraphic section, laumontite,analcime, albite, and chlorite dominate assemblages characteristicof the zeolite facies. Stratigraphically deeper. flow tops arecharacterized by metamorphic assemblages of the prehnite-pumpellyitefacies. Within the higher rank facies, rocks along fractureshave been transformed to calcium-rich monomineralic domains(metadomains) of epidote or pumpellyite. These metadomains gradeoutward through incompletely reconstituted rocks containingalbitized feldspars, and finally, in flow centers, to basaltdisplaying few signs of mineralogical readjustment. Extremechemical disparity exists within the altered flow tops, particularlywith respect to calcium and sodium content. Calculations revealthat bulk compositions of metamorphically adjusted flow topsare similar to unaltered basalts. Thus, the chemical variationdisplayed by the metamorphic rock types resulted from localizedmetamorphic differentiation. The Keweenawan sequence displays progressive dehydration fromthe top to the base of the stratigraphic section. At the topchlorite (H₂O = 12 per cent) and pumpellyite (H₂O = 6 per cent)metadomains formed by dehydration. The fact that most of theserocks were hydrated strongly suggests that fluid pressures wereless than total pressures during the metamorphic event. In rocksundergoing hydration in the uper part of the stratigraphic section,therefore, water pressures decreased away from channelways.As a result, the most hydrous rock types formed in these regions.Conversely, in rock undergoing dehydration water pressures increasedaway from channelwasys, so that the most dehydrated rocks formedin such regions. Water content of an individual rock is dependenton both position in the stratigraphic pile and position withrespect to fluid channelways.