Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and K-Ar systematics of metamorphosed pillowed basalts and associated Besshi-type deposits in the Sanbagawa Belt, Japan

Samples from metamorphosed pillowed basalts and related Besshi-type deposits occurring in the Sanbagawa belt of the Shikoku Island, southwest Japan, have been analyzed for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and ⁴⁰ K/⁴⁰Ar. This is to investigate the tectonic settings in which the original submarine volcanism and associated Besshi-type mineralization occurred, as well as the age of metamorphism. Eight whole-rock samples of the pillow lavas metamorphosed in pumpellyite-actinolite facies conditions yield a Rb-Sr isochron age of 107 ± 15 Ma with an initial ratio of 0.70401 ± 0.00006, while they do not define a Sm-Nd isochron. We interpret the results as the metamorphic age, an interpretation consistent with the previously reported Rb-Sr whole-rock age for the Sanbagawa pelitic schists. The overall ranges of the initial epsilon values at T = 107 Ma are: ɛNd (T ) = +7.8 to +4.3; ɛSr(T ) = +2.2 to −7.0, suggesting that the most likely source for the pillowed basalts is depleted oceanic mantle, a conclusion supported by the previous Pb isotope studies. The K-Ar ages determined for twelve mineral separates from the Besshi-type deposits range from about 60 to 112 Ma, with a mean age of about 80 Ma, in agreement with the previous K-Ar and Ar-Ar data for the Sanbagawa pelitic and basic schists. The youngest age, 60 Ma, was obtained for sericite from the Hinooku deposit metamorphosed in pumpellyite- actinolite facies conditions, while the oldest one for hornblende from the spotted amphibolite in the immediate vicinity of the Shiragayama deposit metamorphosed in albite-biotite grade. The oldest age, 112 Ma, is interpreted to date the peak metamorphism, consistent with the Rb-Sr data, though a possibility of excess Ar cannot always be ruled out. In view of the closure temperatures of muscovite (350 °C) in the biotite zone, it is suggested that our K-Ar age data (