Constraints on the Mantle Sources of the Deccan Traps from the Petrology and Geochemistry of the Basalts of Gujarat State (Western India)

The late Cretaceous-early Tertiary flood basalts in the Gujaratarea of the northwestern Deccan Traps (Kathiawar peninsula,Pavagadh hills and Rajpipla) exhibit a wide range of compositions,from picrite basalts to rhyolites; moreover, the basaltic rockshave clearly distinct TiO₂ contents at any given degree of differentiationand strongly resemble the low-titanium and hightitanium basaltsfound in most of the Gondwana continental flood basalt (CFB)suites. Four magma groups are petrologically and geochemicallydistinguished: (1) A low-Ti group, characterized by rocks with varying SiO²saturation, and with TiO₂ <1•8 wt%, extremely low incompatibletrace element abundances, low Zr/ (av- 3•8), Ti/ V (av.27), and a very slight large ion lithophile element (LJLE) enrichmentover high field strength elements (HFSE). These rocks sharesome features with the Bushe Formation of the Western Ghatsfarther south, but have distinct geochemical characters, inparticular the strong depletion in most incompatible trace elements. (2) A high-Ti group, characterized by a more K-rich characterthan the low-Ti rocks, and with a strong enrichment in incompatibleelements, similar to average ocean island basalt (OIB), e.g.high TiO₂ (>1•8 wt% in picrites), Nb (>19 p.p.m.)Zr/ (av. 6•5) and Tt/V (av. 47). (3) An intermediate-Ti group, with TiO₂ contents slightly lowerthan the high-Ti rocks at the same degree of evolution, andwith correspondingly lower incompatible trace element contentsand ratios, in particular K₂O, Nb, Ba and Zr/Y (av. 5•2). (4) A potassium-rich group (KT), broadly similar in geochemicalcharacter to the high-Ti group but showing more extreme K, Rband Ba enrichment (av. K₂0/Na₂0l; Ba/Y20). The most primitive low-Ti and high-Ti picrites, when correctedfor low-pressure olivine fractionation, show distinct major(and trace) element geochemistry, in particular for CaO/AI₂O₃,CaO/TiO₂ and Al₂O₃/TiO₂, and moderate but significant variationsin their SiO₂ and Fe₂O_st contents; these characteristics stronglysuggest the involvement of different mantle sources, more depletedfor the low-Ti picrites, and richer in cpxfor the high-Ti picrites,but with broadly the same pressures of equilibration (27–14kbar). This, in turn, suggests a strong lateral heterogeneityin the Gujarat Trap mantle. Low-Ti picrites and related differentiatesin Kathiawar are reported systematically for the first timehere, and suggest the existence of HFSE-depleted mantle in thenorthwestern Deccan Traps, with extension at least to the SeychellesIslands and to the area of the Bushe Formation near Bombay inthe pre-drift position, before the development of the CarlsbergRidge. The absence of correlations between LILE/HFSE ratiosand SiO₂ argues against crustal contamination processes actingon the low-Ti picrites, possibly owing to their probably rapiduprise to the surface. Consequently, the mantle region of thisrock group was probably re-enriched by small amounts of ULE-richmaterials. The substantially higher, trace element enrichmentof the least differentiated high-Ti picrites, relative to thebasalts of the Ambe-noli and Mahableshwar Formations of theWestern Ghats, testifies also to the presence of more incompatibleelement rich, OIB4ike mantle sources in northern and northwesternGujarat. These sources were geochemicaily similar to the present-dayReunion mantle sources. KEY WORDS: Deccan Traps; geochemistry; petrology; picrite basalts; western India ^*Corresponding author, e-mail: mellujo{at}ds.cued.unina.it