Surendra P. Verma

Bio: Surendra P. Verma is an academic researcher from National Autonomous University of Mexico. The author has contributed to research in topics: Volcanic belt & Volcanic rock. The author has an hindex of 47, co-authored 205 publications receiving 7230 citations. Previous affiliations of Surendra P. Verma include Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos & University of Mainz.

Geochemistry of Sandstones from the Upper Miocene Kudankulam Formation, Southern India: Implications for Provenance, Weathering, and Tectonic Setting

Abstract: Petrographic, major, trace, and rare earth element compositions of sandstones from the upper Miocene Kudankulam Formation, Southern India, have been investigated to determine their provenance, tectonic setting, and weathering conditions. All sandstone samples are highly enriched in quartz (Q) but poor in feldspar (F) and lithic fragments (L). The major-element concentrations of these sandstones reveal the relative homogeneity of their source. Geochemically, the Kudankulam sandstones are classified as arkose, subarkose, litharenite, and sublitharenite. The CIA values (chemical index of alteration; mean value 44.5) for these sandstones and the A-CN-K diagram suggest their low-weathering nature. Similarly, their Fe2O3* + MgO (mean 2.7), Al2O3/SiO2 ( 0.09), K2O/Na2O ( 2.2) ratios and TiO2 contents ( 0.3) are consistent with a passive-margin setting. The Eu/Eu* ( 0.5), (La/Lu)cn ( 21), La/Sc ( 5.9), Th/Sc ( 1.9), La/Co ( 5.7), Th/Co ( 1.8), and Cr/Th ( 5.3) ratios support a felsic source for these sandstones. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns with LREE enrichment, flat HREE, and negative Eu anomaly also are attributed to felsic source-rock characteristics for Kudankulam sandstones. Total REE concentrations of these sandstones reflect the variations in their grain-size fractions. The source rocks are probably identified to be Proterozoic gneisses, charnockites, and granites of the Kerala Khondalite Belt, which must have been exposed at least since the late Miocene. Finally, the unusual Ni enrichment in the Kudankulam sandstones, unaccompanied by a similar enrichment in Cr, Co, and V, may be related to either the presence of pyrite in the sandstones or, more likely, the fractionation of garnet from the source rocks during transportation.

Geochemistry of Cenezoic volcanic rocks, Baja California, Mexico: Implications for the petrogenesis of post-subduction magmas

Abstract: Late Cenozoic volcanism in Baja California records the effects of cessation of subduction at a previously convergent, plate margin. Prior to 12.5 m.y., when subduction along the margin of Baja ceased, the predominant volcanic activity had a calc-alkaline signature, ranging in composition from basalt to rhyolite. Acidic pyroclastic activity was common, and possibly represented the westermost, distal edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental province. After 12.5 m.y., however, the style and composition of the magmatic products changed dramatically. The dominant rock type within the Jaraguay and San Borja volcanic fields is a magnesian andesite, with up to 8% MgO at 57% SiO2, low Fe/Mg ratios, and high Na/K ratios. These rocks have unusual trace-element characteristics, with high abundances of Sr (up to 3000 ppm), low contents of Rb; K/Rb ratios are very high (usually over 1000, and up to 2500), and Rb/Sr ratios are low (less than 0.01). Furthermore, Lan/Ybn ratios are high, consistent with derivation from a mantle source with fractionated REE patterns. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are less than 0.7048, and usually less than 0.7040, whereas the pre-12.5 m.y. lavas have 87Sr/86Sr ratios between 0.7038 and 0.7063. We have previously termed these rocks bajaites, in order to distinguish them from other magnesian andesites. Bajaites also occur in southernmost Chile and the Aleutian Islands, areas which also have histories of attempted or successful ridge subduction. It is proposed that the bajaite series is produced during the unusual physico-chemical conditions operating during the subduction of young oceanic lithosphere, or subduction of a spreading centre. During normal subduction, the oceanic crust dehydrates, releasing volatiles (water, Rb and other large-ion lithophile elements) into the overlying wedge. Subduction of younger crust will result in a progressive decrease, and eventual cessation of the transfer of volatiles when subduction stops. Thermal rebound of the mantle may cause the slab to melt, perhaps under eclogitestable conditions. The resulting melt will be heavy-REE-depleted, perhaps dacitic, but will otherwise inherit MORB-like Rb/Sr and K/Rb ratios. The ascending melt will react with the mantle to form the source of the bajaitic rocks. Furthermore, any amphibole in the mantle, stabilised during the higher PH2O conditions of earlier subduction, will break down and contribute a high-K/Rb ratio component. The implications of this study are that firstly, the subducted slab does not contribute a highly fractionated REE component in most modern arcs (i.e. the slab does not melt); secondly, Rb has a very short residence time in the mantle, and its abundance in arc rocks is a direct reflection of the input from the dehydrating slab; and thirdly, bajaitelike rocks may provide recognition of attempted or successful ridge subduction in the geologic past.

Derivation of some modern arc magmas by melting of young subducted lithosphere

Abstract: MOST volcanic rocks in modern island and continental arcs are probably derived from melting of the mantle wedge, induced by hydrous fluids released during dehydration reactions in the subducted lithosphere1. Arc tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basaltic magmas are produced by partial melting of the mantle, and then evolve by crystal fractionation (with or without assimilation and magma mixing) to more silicic magmas2—basalt, andesite, dacite and rhyolite suites. Although most arc magmas are generated by these petrogenetic processes, rocks with the geochemical characteristics of melts derived directly from the subducted lithosphere are present in some modern arcs where relatively young and hot lithosphere is being subducted. These andesites, dacites and sodic rhyolites (dacites seem to be the most common products) or their intrusive equivalents (tonalites and trondhjemites) are usually not associated with parental basaltic magmas3. Here we show that the trace-element geochemistry of these magmas (termed 'adakites') is consistent with a derivation by partial melting of the subducted slab, and in particular that subducting lithosphere younger than 25 Myr seems to be required for slab melting to occur.

Global correlations of ocean ridge basalt chemistry with axial depth and crustal thickness

Abstract: Regional averages of the major element chemistry of ocean ridge basalts, corrected for low-pressure fractionation, correlate with regional averages of axial depth for the global system of ocean ridges, including hot spots, cold spots, and back arc basins, as well as “normal” ocean ridges. Quantitative consideration of the variations of each major element during melting of the mantle suggests that the global major element variations can be accounted for by ∼8–20% melting of the mantle at associated mean pressures of 5–16 kbar. The lowest extents of melting occur at shallowest depths in the mantle and are associated with the deepest ocean ridges. Calculated mean primary magmas show a range in composition from 10 to 15 wt % MgO, and the primary magma compositions correlate with depth. Data for Sm, Yb, Sc, and Ni are consistent with the major elements, but highly incompatible elements show more complicated behavior. In addition, some hot spots have anomalous chemistry, suggesting major element heterogeneity. Thermal modeling of mantle ascending adiabatically beneath the ridge is consistent with the chemical data and melting calculations, provided the melt is tapped from throughout the ascending mantle column. The thermal modeling independently predicts the observed relationships among basalt chemistry, ridge depth, and crustal thickness resulting from temperature variations in the mantle. Beneath the shallowest and deepest ridge axes, temperature differences of approximately 250°C in the subsolidus mantle are required to account for the global systematics.