Anorthosites and Related Megacrystic Units in the Evolution of Archean Crust

Archean anorthositic complexes occur in essentially all Archeancratons and contain large equidimensional plagioclase crystals(up to 30 cm. diam.) with highly calcic compositions (An₈₀ toAn₉₀) but are not readily amenable to determination of theirparent melt compositions. However, insight into petrogenesisof the complexes is provided by megacrysts of plagioclase thatare identical to those in the complexes and occur in many Archeanflows, sills, and dikes whose matrices display REE and fractionationpatterns that indicate tholeiitic trends and are compatiblewith prior subtraction of plagioclase during earlier evolutionof the melts. Included blocks of anorthosite and megacrystswith very thin rims that approach the more sodic compositionof lathy plagioclase in the matrices indicate an earlier stageof cryst formation under different conditions of crystallizationthan the matrices. The megacrystic units occur both in greenstonebelts that have oceanic affinities and stable cratonic dikeswarms that have continental affinities. Both major and traceelement contents of the matrices of the megacrystic units differbetween greenstone and cratonic dike environments; the dikesbeing higher in Si0₂, TiO₂ FeO, Na₂, K₂O, and light REEs butlower in Al₂O₃ and CaO. The matrices of both environments followseparate but parallel tholeiitic fractionation with high Fe-enrichmenttrends similar to Skaergaard liquids suggesting relatively lowvolatiles and fo₂. Experimental data and projections in CMAFspace suggest a multistage petrogenesis involving a relativelyhigh-pressure fractionation of olivine and/or orthopyroxenefrom a primitive mafic melt followed by ascension of the fractionated,less-dense melt, probably in several pulses, to a low-pressurechamber, probably at 1 to 2 kb. The depressurization accompaniedby cooling could easily place the melt composition in the plagioclasefield and significantly below the liquidus resulting in severalcrystallization cycles of plagioclase in the low pressure chamber.The melts would crystallize as anorthositic complexes and periodicallyexpel pulses that would form the observed megacrystic flows,sills, and dikes.