Chemical variation induced by flow differentiation in an extensive Karroo dolerite sheet,southern Namibia

Chemical relations in an extensive Karroo dolerite sheet are consistent with large-scale phenocryst redistribution during intrusion of a tholeiitic magma. Flow differentiation provides a mechanism for inward migration of early olivine, plagioclase and augite, resulting in a total phenocryst population concentrated in and roughly symmetrically distributed about the centre of the sill. The inferred early phenocryst content of the magma varies by a factor of two from 23 wt% at the margins to 50 wt% in the centre of the sill. Chilled dolerite from the sill margins is the most phenocryst-poor material and is not representative of the bulk magma. Integration over height in the sill provides the best approximation to the bulk composition. No significant lateral variation in bulk sill chemistry is detected over a distance of 20 km.