Showing papers in "Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology in 1990"

Calcic amphibole equilibria and a new amphibole-plagioclase geothermometer

Abstract: There is currently a dearth of reliable thermobarometers for many hornblende and plagioclase-bearing rocks such as granitoids and amphibolites. A semi-empirical thermodynamic evaluation of the available experimental data on amphibole+plagioclase assemblages leads to a new thermometer based on the Aliv content of amphibole coexisting with plagioclase in silica saturated rocks. The principal exchange vector in amphiboles as a function of temperature in both the natural and experimental studies is $$\left( {Na\square _{ - 1} } \right)^A \left( {AlSi_{ - 1} } \right)^{T1}$$ . We have analysed the data using 3 different amphibole activity models to calibrate the thermometer reactions 1. $$1. Edenite + 4 Quartz = Tremolite + Albite$$ 2. $$2. Pargasite + 4 Quartz = Hornblende + Albite.$$ The equilibrium relation for both (1) and (2) leads to the proposed new thermometer $$T = \frac{{0.677P - 48.98 + Y}}{{ - 0.0429 - 0.008314 ln K}} and K = \left( {\frac{{Si - 4}}{{8 - Si}}} \right)X_{Ab}^{Plag} ,$$ where Si is the number of atoms per formula unit in amphiboles, with P in kbar and T in K; the term Y represents plagioclase non-ideality, RTlnγab, from Darken's Quadratic formalism (DQF) with Y=0 for X ab>0.5 and Y=-8.06+25.5(1-X ab)2 for X ab<0.5. The best fits to the data were obtained by assuming complete coupling between Al on the T1 site and Na in the A site of amphibole, and the standard deviation of residuals in the fit is ±38°C. The thermometer is robust to ferric iron recalculation procedures from electron probe data and should yield temperatures of equilibration for hornblende-plagioclase assemblages with uncertainties of around ±75° C for rocks equilibrated at temperatures in the range 500°–1100° C. The thermometer should only be used in this temperature range and for assemblages with plagioclase less calcic than An92 and with amphiboles containing less than 7.8 Si atoms pfu. Good results have been attained on natural examples from greenschist to granulite facies metamorphic rocks as well as from a variety of mafic to acid intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks. Our analysis shows that the pressure dependence is poorly constrained and the equilibria are not suitable for barometry.

The influence of bulk composition on the speciation of water in silicate glasses

Abstract: Infrared spectroscopy was used to determine the concentrations of molecular water and hydroxyl groups in hydrous rhyolitic, orthoclasic, jadeitic, and Ca−Al-silicate glasses synthesized by quenching of melts from elevated presure and temperature. The rhyolitic glasses and some of the Ca−Al-silicate glasses were quenched from water-vapor-saturated melts and used to determine the solubility of water in melts of these compositions. For all compositions studied, hydroxyl groups are the dominant hydrous species at low total water contents, whereas molecular water dominates at elevated water contents. Although the trends in species concentrations in all these compositions are similar, the proportions of the two hydrous species are influenced by silicate chemistry: increasing silica content and K relative to Na both favor molecular water over hydroxyl. Results on rhyolitic glass demonstrate that molecular water is also favored by decreasing temperature at T<850°C. For rhyolitic glasses quenched from vapor-saturated melts, the mole fraction of molecular water is proportional to water fugacity for P(H2O)≤1500 bars, demonstrating that the behavior of molecular water is approximately Henrian at total water contents up to at least several weight percent. Data on water solubility for albitic, orthoclasic, and Ca−Al-silicate melts to higher pressures can also be fit by assuming Henrian behavior for molecular water and can be used to set constraints on the partial molar volume of water in these melts. The demonstration of Henry's law for molecular water in these liquids provides a link between spectroscopic measurements of microscopic species concentrations and macroscopic thermodynamic properties.

Monazite U-Pb dating of staurolite grade metamorphism in pelitic schists

Abstract: A study of the occurrence of and relations between rare-earth element (REE) minerals in pelitic schists indicates that monazite forms at or near the P and T of the staurolite isograd. Samples at staurolite grade from the Silurian Perry Mountain Formation in the Rumford quadrangle of Maine yield monazite in sufficient quantities to permit accurate dating of the metamorphic events forming the monazites. The bulk chemistry of the metapelites, as seen in the major element abundances and REE patterns, does not vary significantly across the study area. Thus the appearance and disappearance of REE phases is assumed to reflect changes in metamorphic grade. In a sample from the biotite zone, scanning electron microscope and microprobe studies show allanite and monazite intimately associated on a 10 μm scale. The texture suggest that metastable detrital monazite breaks down, distributing its REE components to allanite. From samples below staurolite grade in which monazite is not present, our observations suggest that REEs are partitioned into allanite. At or near the staurolite isograd monazite forms as a metamorphic mineral, initiating its role as a geochronometer. Garnet-biotite geothermometry on samples at this grade from this and other studies places constraints on the minimum temperature necessary to form monazite: 525° C±25°C at 3.1±0.25 kbar. A total of 15 separates from nine schist samples ranging up to sillimanite grade have been dated. Each date is remarkably concordant, even though petrologic and textural studies by previous workers have shown that the rocks in the area have been affected by at least three metamorphic episodes. Calculations indicate insignificant Th disequilibrium in these monazites. The conditions associated with the metamorphic events suggest that monazite remains closed to lead loss provided that subsequent metamorphisms are at or below sillimanite grade. Two distinct metamorphic events are resolved, one at around 400 Ma and one at about 370 Ma. The latter was due to thermal effects of a nearby pluton that yields concordant monazite ages of 363 Ma. This work suggests that in addition to dating plutonism and high-grade metamorphism, monazite should be viewed as a reliable geochronometer for moderate metamorphism of pelitic schists.

Empirical calibration of six geobarometers for the mineral assemblage quartz+muscovite+biotite+plagioclase+garnet

Abstract: Six equilibria among quartz, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite, and garnet were empirically calibrated using mineral composition data from 43 samples having the assemblage quartz+muscovite+biotite+garnet+plagioclase+Al2SiO5 (sillimanite or kyanite). Pressures and temperatures in the data set used for calibration were determined through the simultaneous application of garnet-biotite geothermometry and garnet-quartz-plagioclase-Al2SiO5 geobarometry. Thermodynamic expressions for four of the six equilibria incorporate interaction parameters that model non-ideality in the mixing of cations in the octahedral sites of both muscovite and biotite. With pressure chosen as the dependent variable, multiple regression was used to solve for unknowns in the equilibrium thermodynamic expressions. The regressions yielded multiple correlation coefficients ranging from 0.983 to 0.999, with corresponding standard deviations of 338 and 92 bars in the residuals. The standard deviations in the residuals may be explained largely or entirely by the propagation of errors associated with electron microprobe analysis. These equilibria enable the determination of pressures from equilibrium assemblages of quartz+garnet+plagioclase+muscovite+biotite, and give results closely comparable to the experimentally calibrated garnet-quartz-plagioclase-Al2SiO5 geobarometer. Geobarometric applications should be restricted to rocks in which equilibrium constants and compositional variables fall within the same ranges as those used for calibration.

On the kinematics of zircon growth and its petrogenetic significance: a cathodoluminescence study

Abstract: The relative growth rates of zircon crystal faces are recorded by growth zoning, which is recognizable in cathodoluminescence photographs of oriented crystal sections. The kinematics of zircon growth is graphically presented by the slopes of “Grabahnen” between crystal sectors. The relative velocities of advance of crystal faces correlate to the pattern of growth zoning. Widely spaced zoning, interrupted by surfaces of dissolution, on the one hand, and narrowly spaced uninterrupted oscillatory zoning, on the other hand, are interpreted as markers of low and high zircon-supersaturation of the melt, respectively. The following model is deduced from this correlation. The prism {110} is that crystal form, the growth rate of which reacts most sensitively to the zircon-supersaturation of the melt. The growthrate of the steep pyramid {211} is not primarily controlled by zircon-supersaturation. Instead, the growth of {211} is delayed by the adsorption of foreign atoms on its faces. The kinematics of zircon growth in anatectic, plutonic and meta-rhyolitic host rocks in the pre-Mesozoic basement of the Tauern Window (Eastern Alps) is explained by this model. Results show that the kinematics of zircon growth carry a much greater petrogenetic significance than has been previously suggested for the final shape of crystals alone.

Incompatible element and isotopic evidence for tectonic control of source mixing and melt extraction along the Central American arc

Abstract: The Sr and Nd isotopic ratios of Central American volcanics can be described by the mixing of four components, marine sediment from DSDP Site 495, MORB-source mantle (DM), EMORB-source mantle (EM), and continental crust. Most of the isotopic data define a trend between EM and a modified mantle (MM) formed as a mixture of DM and less than 0.5% marine sediment, or fluid derived there from. The MM to EM trend is equally apparent in the incompatible-element data and is most clearly seen in a Ba/La versus La/Yb plot. A hyperbolic trend connects high Ba/La and low La/Yb at the MM end of the trend to low Ba/La and high La/Yb at the EM end. Smooth regional variations in incompatible-element and isotopic ratios correlate with the dip of the subducted slab beneath the volcanic front and the volume of lava erupted during the last 100,000 years (volcanic flux). Steep dip and low flux characterize the MM end-member and shallow dip and high flux characterize the EM end-member. The simplest model to explain the linked tectonic and geochemical data involves melting in the wedge by two distinct mechanisms, followed by mixing between the two magmas. In one case, EM magma is generated by decompression of EM plus DM asthenosphere, which is drawn in and up toward the wedge corner. EM mantle is preferentially melted to small degrees because of the presence of low melting components. The second melt is formed by release of fluid from the subducted slab beneath the volcanic front to form MM magma. Mixing between EM and MM magmas is controlled by subduction angle, which facilitates delivery of EM magma to the volcanic front at low-dip angles and impedes it at steep-dip angles.

Geochemistry of the Siberian Trap of the Noril'sk area, USSR, with implications for the relative contributions of crust and mantle to flood basalt magmatism

Abstract: The sequence investigated of the Siberian Trap at Noril'sk, USSR, consists of at least 45 flows that have been divided into six lava suites. The lower three suites consist of alkalic to subalkalic basalts (the Ivakinsky suite), overlain by nonporphyritic basalts (the Syverminsky suite), and porphyritic and picritic basalts (the Gudchikhinsky suite). The upper three suites are tholeiitic. The uppermost 750 m of dominantly non-porphyritic basalt belong to the Mokulaevsky suite and are characterized by a nearly constant Mg number (0.54–0.56), SiO2 (48.2–49.1 wt%), Ce (12–18 ppm), and Ce/Yb (5–8). The underlying 1100 m of dominantly porphyritic basalt belong to the Morongovsky and Nadezhdinsky suites. There is a continuous increase in SiO2 (48.1–55.2 wt%), Ce (12–41 ppm), and Ce/Yb (5–18) from the top of the Mokulaevsky to the base of the Nadezhdinsky with little change in the Mg number (0.53–0.59). Mokulaevsky magmas have trace element signatures similar to slightly contaminated transitional type mid-ocean ridge basalts. The change in major and trace element geochemistry in the upper three suites is consistent with a decline in the degree of anatexis and assimilation of tonalitic upper crust by Mokulaevsky magma. The Nadezhdinsky and underlaying lavas thicken within and thus appear to be related to an elongate basin centred on the Noril'sk-Talnakh mining camp. The Mokulaevsky and Morongovsky lavas thicken to the east and appear to be related to a basin centred more than 100 km to the east of the Noril'sk region; these magmas may have risen up out of a different conduit system.

Fluid controlled eclogitization of granulites in deep crustal shear zones, Bergen arcs, Western Norway

Abstract: During the Caledonian orogeny large parts of the western margin of the Baltic shield were disrupted, sliced and stacked. Caledonian deformation resulted in a massif thickening of the continental crust. Mafic granulites and granulite facies meta-anorthosites build up a large portion of the Bergen Arcs terrane in southwestern Norway. The rocks represent typical Precambrian continental lower crust. These rocks experienced extensive eclogitization in response to stacking and crustal thickening during the Caledonian orogenic cycle. Eclogite formation resulted from shear deformation and associated infiltration of H2O-rich fluids (XH2O≥0.75). During an early stage, eclogite facies mineralogy formed in extension fractures (veins). The veins are probably related to hydraulic fracture systems which transported the inferred fluid phase. During the main stage, eclogitization occurred along shear zones ranging from centimeters to tens of meters in thickness. Eclogite forming reactions are shown to consume H2O, alkalies and to release SiO2. Much of the SiO2 released by the eclogitization process can be found in late quartz vein systems. The eclogitization took place at a temperature of about 700°C and a pressure between 18 and 21 kbar. Fluid infiltration was supported by a decrease in rock volume during reaction (ΔVsolids<0). The negative volume change of reaction occurs despite that the process of eclogitization involves hydration reactions. The formation of eclogite from granulite produces approximately 15 KJ heat per 100 cm3 original granulite. Numerical modeling of the regional temperature effects associated with partial hydration of the lower crust suggests that these processes may not cause large perturbations on the geotherm. Both, transport of heat and matter by advection of the fluid phase is negligible on a regional scale.

Trace-element and Sr, Nd, Pb, and O isotopic composition of Pliocene and Quaternary alkali basalts of the Patagonian Plateau lavas of southernmost South America

Abstract: The Pliocene and Quaternary Patagonian alkali basalts of southernmost South America can be divided into two groups. The “cratonic” basalts erupted in areas of Cenozoic plateau volcanism and continental sedimentation and show considerable variation in 87Sr/86Sr (0.70316 to 0.70512), 143Nd/144Nd (ɛNd) and 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb ratios (18.26 to 19.38, 15.53 to 15.68, and 38.30 to 39.23, respectively). These isotopic values are within the range of oceanic island basalts, as are the Ba/La, Ba/Nb, La/Nb, K/Rb, and Cs/Rb ratios of the “cratonic” basalts. In contrast, the “transitional” basalts, erupted along the western edge of the outcrop belt of the Pliocene and Quaternary plateau lavas in areas that were the locus of earlier Cenozoic Andean orogenic arc colcanism, have a much more restricted range of isotopic composition which can be approximated by 87Sr/86Sr=0.7039±0.0004, ɛNd, 206Pb/204Pb=18.60±0.08, 207Pb/204Pb=15.60±0.01, and 208Pb/204Pb=38.50±0.10. These isotopic values are similar to those of Andean orogenic are basalts and, compared to the “cratonic” basalts, are displaced to higher 87Sr/86Sr at a given 143Nd/144Nd and to higher 207Pb/204Pb at a given 208Pb/204Pb. The “transitional” basalts also have Ba/La, Ba/Nb, La/Nb, and Cs/Rb ratios higher than the “cratonic” and oceanic island basalts, although not as high as Andean orogenic are basalts. In contrast to the radiogenic isotopes, δ18O values for both groups of the Patagonian alkali basalts are indistinguishable and are more restricted than the range reported for Andean orogenic are basalts. Whole rock δ18O values calculated from mineral separates for both groups range from 5.3 to 6.5, while measured whole rock δ18O values range from 5.1 to 7.8. The trace element and isotopic data suggest that decreasing degrees of partial melting in association with lessened significance of subducted slabderived components are fundamental factors in the west to east transition from arc to back-arc volcanism in southern South America. The “cratonic” basalts do not contain the slab-derived components that impart the higher Ba/La, Ba/Nb, La/Nb, Cs/Rb, 87Sr/86Sr at a given 143Nd/144Nd, 207Pb/204Pb at a given 208Pb/204Pb, and δ18O to Andean orogenic arc basalts. Instead, these basalts are formed by relatively low degrees of partial melting of heterogeneous lower continental lithosphere and/or asthenosphere, probably due to thermal and mechanical pertubation of the mantle in response to subduction of oceanic lithosphere below the western margin of the continent. The “transitional” basalts do contain components added to their source region by either (1) active input of slab-derived components in amounts smaller than the contribution to the mantle below the arc and/or with lower Ba/La, Ba/Nb, La/Nb, and Cs/Rb ratios than below the arc due to progressive downdip dehydration of the subducted slab; or (2) subarc source region contamination processes which affected the mantle source of the “transitional” basalts earlier in the Cenozoic.

Development of microporosity, diffusion channels and deuteric coarsening in perthitic alkali feldspars

Abstract: Turbidity is an almost universal feature of alkali feldspars in plutonic rocks and has been investigated by us in alkali feldspars from the Klokken syenite using SEM and TEM It is caused by the presence of myriads of tubular micro-inclusions, either fluid-filled micropores or sites of previous fluid inclusions, and is associated with coarsening of microperthite and development of sub-grains Micropores are abundant in coarsened areas, in which porosities may reach 45%, but are almost absent from uncoarsened, pristine braind-microperthite areas The coarsening is patchy, and involves a scale increase of up to 103 without change in the composition of the phases, low albite and low microcline, or in the bulk composition of the crystal It occurs abruptly along an irregular front within individual crystals, which retain their original shapes The coherent braid microperthite gives way across the front to an irregular semi-coherent film perthite over a few μm and then to a highly coarsened irregular patch perthite containing numerous small sub-grains on scales of a few hundred nm, in both phases The coarsening and micropore formation occured at a T≤400°–450° C and it is inferred to have been driven by the release of coherent strain energy, low-angle grain-boundary migration being favoured by a fluid The patchy nature of the coarsening and the absence of a relationship with initial grain boundaries suggest that the fluid was of local origin, possibly arising in part through exsolution of water from the feldspar The sub-grain texture and microporosity modify profoundly the permeability of the rock, and greatly enhance the subsequent reactivity of the feldspars

Partitioning of F between H2O and CO2 fluids and topaz rhyolite melt - Implications for mineralizing magmatic-hydrothermal fluids in F-rich granitic systems

Abstract: Fluid/melt distribution coefficients for F have been determined in experiments conducted with peraluminous topaz rhyolite melts and fluids consisting of H2O and H2O+CO2 at pressures of 0.5 to 5 kbar, temperatures of 775°–1000°C, and concentrations of F in the melt ranging from 0.5 to 6.9 wt%. The major element, F, and Cl concentrations of the starting material and run product glasses were determined by electron microprobe, and the concentration of F in the fluid was calculated by mass balance. The H2O concentrations of some run product glasses were determined by ion microprobe (SIMS). The solubility of melt in the fluid phase increases with increasing F in the system; the solubility of H2O in the melt is independent of the F concentration of the system with up to 6.3 wt% F in the melt. No evidence of immiscible silica- and fluoriderich liquids was detected in the hydrous but water-undersaturated starting material glasses (≦8.5 wt% F in melt) or in the water-saturated run product glasses. F concentrates in topaz rhyolite melts relative to coexisting fluids at most conditions studied; however, DF (wt% F in fluid/wt% F in melt) increases strongly with increasing F in the system. Maximum values of DF in this study are significantly larger than those previously reported in the literature. Linear extrapolation of the data suggests that DF is greater than one for water-saturated, peraluminous granitic melts containing ≧8 wt% F at 800° C and 2 kbar. DF increases as temperature and as (H2O/H2O+CO2) of the fluid increase. For topaz rhyolite melts containing ≦1 wt% F and with H2O-rich fluids, DF is independent of changes in pressure from 2 to 5 kbar at 800° C; for melts containing ≦1 wt% F and in equilibrium with CO2-bearing fluids the concentrations of F in fluid increases with increasing pressure. F-and lithophile element-enriched granites may evolve to compositions containing extreme concentrations of F during the final stages of crystallization. If F in the melt exceeds 8 wt%, DF is greater than one and the associated magmatic-hydrothermal fluid contains >4 molal F. Such F-enriched fluids may be important in the mass transport of ore constituents, i.e., F, Mo, W, Sn, Li, Be, Rb, Cs, U, Th, Nb, Ta, and B, from the magma.

Single grain argon laser probe dating of phengites from the blueschist to greenschist transition on Sifnos (Cyclades, Greece)

Abstract: Measurements of 40Ar/39Ar age spectra on single white mica crystals of Tertiary age is a new means of obtaining detailed geochronological information of Alpine blueschists. Internal consistency of the data set, as well as excellent agreement with previous conventional K−Ar results, demonstrates that this new technique can be used with confidence to obtain information on the thermal evolution of young metamorphic belts.

The differentiation of the Skaergaard Intrusion

Abstract: We find no support for the claim that the Skaergaard magma followed the trend of common tholeiitic volcanic magmas, such as those of Iceland and the Scottish Tertiary. The end product of differentiation was not a large mass of rhyolite but an iron-rich, silica-poor liquid not unlike that deduced by Wager in 1960. The proposal that a large mass of rhyolitic liquid occupied the upper levels of the intrusion finds no support in the field. The thick series of ferrogabbos, which became richer in iron and poorer in silica until they reached a field of immiscibility cannot be reconciled with crystallization of a large mass of felsic magma. Mass-balance calculations that indicate otherwise are invalid, because they fail to take into account large volumes of rocks that differ in composition from those assumed in the calculations. While ignoring the existence of major units of the intrusion, Hunter and Sparks propose that lavas in Scotland and Iceland are more relevant to the liquid compositions than rocks that are intimately associated with the intrusion. Their argument that the Skaergaard Intrusion followed a trend of silica enrichment that is universal to tholeiitic magmas is based on an incomplete knowledge of the rocks and faulty calculations of mass-balance relations. We agree that much remains to be learned about the Skaergaard Intrusion and the basic mechanisms of magmatic differentiation. In this case, however, we are ready to hang our case on well-established field relations and a mass of laboratory data for what must be the most intensely studied body of rock on Earth.

Activities of components in omphacitic solid solutions

Abstract: Available experimental data on mixing of disordered C2/c clinopyroxenes in the system diopside-jadeite-hedenbergite-acmite are reviewed and evaluated. Because the methods used to determine jadeite activity suffer from severe uncertainty at high jadeite mol fractions, these data cannot be used to infer asymmetry in the jadeite-diopside or the jadeite-hedenbergite solid solutions. If the measurement uncertainties are taken into account, a single parameter (regular, or reciprocal energy) suffices to describe the mixing properties of these two solid solutions. It is argued that a two-site entropy of mixing satisfies the experiments and is consistent with the C2/c disordered nature of the solid solutions; the data in the range 600–1300° C are consistent with a temperature-independent interaction energy, implying no discernible excess entropy. The available experimental data imply W=26±2 kJ mol−1 for jd-di, and W=25±3 kJ mol−1 for jd-hd, solid-solutions. Landau theory for a tricritical phase transformation (C2/c-P2/n) is in good agreement with the calorimetrically determined disordering enthalpy, and may be used to derive a simple expression for the activities in ordered omphacite solid solutions. The derived activities of jadeite at 600° C in ordered omphacites are remarkably close to those reported previously for short-range ordered pyroxenes. A simple model is presented for determining the activities of end-members in the system jadeite-diopside-hedenbergite-acmite.

The Nevados de Payachata volcanic region (18°S/69°W, N. Chile) II. Evidence for widespread crustal involvement in Andean magmatism

Abstract: Volcanism extending over 11 Ma is represented in the rocks of the Nevados de Payachata region, culminating in the formation of two large composite stratocones within the last 500 000 years. Chemically distinct mafic magmas are erupted at a number of parasitic centers. These cannot be related to each other by crystal fractionation and do not appear to be direct parents for the differentiated suites of the composite cones. Two distinct trends are defined by the intermediate and evolved rocks; a high LILE (large ion lithophile element), TiO2 and Ce/Yb lineage among the youngest rocks (including the two major stratocones), and a more typical calc-alkaline trend among the older (>1 Ma) rock types. Within individual volcanic centers, differentiation involves fractionation of plagioclase, pyroxene and hornblende, with biotite and K-feldspar in the more-evolved rock types. Isotopic compositions (Sr, Pb, Nd, O) vary little with differentiation from basaltic andesite to rhyolite, or with age. Contamination during differentiation from basalt to rhyolite may occur, but the most mafic rocks erupted in the region are already enriched in incompatible trace elements and therefore may be insensitive to the effects of interaction with the crust. The majority of data are similar to “baseline” compositions (Cenozoic parental magmas) from other parts of the central Andes and may reflect a relatively homogeneous magma source (or source mixture) throughout this central volcanic zone (CVZ), which is distinct from the southern and northern Andes, and from island-arc volcanic rocks. The detailed study of Nevados de Payachata serves as a useful reference against which to assess magmatism in general in the CVZ. The possibility that central Andean magmas are generated from an enriched subcontinental-lithosphere mantle wedge is rejected on the basis of: (1) thermal considerations (subcontinental mantle lithosphere is probably cold and refractory); (2) lack of consistency between the tectonic history of the region and geochemical variations through time. Instead, parental magmas in the CVZ are thought to be generated by mixing between normal arc magmas originating in the depleted mantle wedge followed by contamination and homogenization with lower crustal melts. In the central Andes, the extent of contamination increased greatly as the crust thickened due to crustal shortening within the last 20 Ma, the thicker crust providing an effective filter to trap and differentiate magma batches repeatedly during ascent.

Sm−Nd and Pb isotopic study of mafic rocks associated with early Proterozoic continental rifting: the Peröpohja schist belt in northern Finland

Abstract: The Perapohja schist belt in northern Finland rests unconformably on Archaean granitoids, and marks the early stages of Proterozoic crustal evolution in the Fennoscandian (Baltic) shield. 2440 Ma old layered mafic intrusions predate the supracrustal , and ca. 2200 Ma old sills of the gabbro-wehrlite association intrude the lowest quartzites and volcanics (Runkaus) of the sequence. The Sm-Nd mineral isochron of the Penikat layered intrusion gives an age of 2410±64 Ma. The initial ɛNd-values of the Penikat intrusion (ɛNd(2440) = −1.6) and the Runkausvaara sill (ɛNd(2200) ≈ 0) suggest that these mafic magmas were contaminated by older crustal material. The Sm-Nd and Pb isotopic results on the 2.44–2.2 Ga old Runkaus volcanics indicate mobility of Pb, fractionation of Sm/Nd during “late” greenschist facies metamorphism, and crustal contamination. The Pb-Pb data provide an age of 1972±80 Ma with a high initial 207Pb/204Pb ratio (μ1 = 8.49), while scattered Sm-Nd data result in an imprecise age of 2330±180 Ma, with an initial ɛNd-value of about zero. Secondary titanite gives an U-Pb age of ca. 2250 Ma. The Jouttiaapa basalts, in contrast, ascended from the mantle without interaction with older crust. These LREE depleted tholeiites mark a break in continental sedimentation, and yield a Sm-Nd age of 2090±70 Ma. Their initial ɛNd = + 4.2 ±0.5 implies that the subcontinental early Proterozoic mantle had been depleted in LREE for a long period of time. The first lava flows are strongly depleted in LREE, suggesting that their source was significantly more depleted than the source of mid-ocean ridge basalts today.

Ferric iron in mantle-derived garnets

Abstract: The oxidation state of a mantle assemblage may be defined by heterogeneous reactions between oxygen and iron-bearing minerals. In spinel lherzolites, the presence of Fe3+ in spinel allows use of the assemblage olivine-orthopyroxene-spinel to define f O 2 at fixed T and P. As a first step towards establishing an analogous reaction for garnet lherzolites, garnets from mantle-derived xenoliths from South Africa and the USSR have been analyzed with 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy at 298 and 77K to determine Fe3+/Fe2+ and the coordination state of iron. Garnets from South African alkremites (pyrope+Mg-spinel) and eclogites, as well as garnet-spinel and low-temperature garnet lherzolites from both South Afica and the USSR, have Fe3+/ΣFe 0.10. Ferric iron is octahedrally coordinated, and ferrous iron is present in the dodecahedral site in all samples. The occurrence of significant Fe3+ in these garnets necessitates caution in the use of geothermometers and geobarometers that are applied to mantle samples. For example, the presence of ∼12% of the Fe as Fe3+ in garnets can increase temperatures calculated from existing Fe/Mg geothermometers by>200°C. The concomitant increase in pressures calculated from geobarometers that use the Al content in orthopyroxene coexisting with garnet are ∼10–15 kbar. Results of calculations based on heterogeneous equilibria between garnet, olivine, and pyroxene are consistent with the derivation of the peridotite samples from source regions that are relatively oxidized, between the f O 2 of the FMQ (quartz-fayalite-magnetite) buffer and that of the WM buffer. No samples yield values of f O 2 as reduced as IW (iron-wustite buffer).

Corrensite and mixed-layer chlorite/corrensite in metabasalt from northern Taiwan: TEM/AEM, EMPA, XRD, and optical studies

Abstract: Many chloritic minerals in low-grade metamorphic or hydrothermally altered mafic rocks exhibit abnormal optical properties, expand slightly upon glycolation (“expandable chlorite”) and/or have excess AlVI relative to AlIV, as well as significant Ca, K and Na contents. Chloritic minerals with these properties fill vesicles and interstitial void space in low-grade metabasalt from northern Taiwan and have been studied with a combination of TEM/AEM, EMPA, XRD, and optical microscopy. The chloritic minerals include corrensite, which is an ordered 1:1 mixed-layer chlorite/smectite, and “expandable chlorite”, which is shown to be a mixed-layer chlorite/corrensite. Corrensite and some mixed-layer chlorite/corrensite occur as rims of vesicles and other cavities, while later-formed mixed-layer chlorite/corrensite occupies the vesicle cores. The TEM observations show that the mixed-layer chlorite/corrensite has ca. 20%, and the corrensite has ca. 50% expandable smectite-like layers, consistent with XRD observations and with their abnormal optical properties. The AEM analyses show that high Si and Ca contents, high AlVI/AlIV and low FeVI/(Fe+Mg)VI ratios of “chlorites” are correlated with interstratification of corrensite (or smectite-like) layers in chlorite. The AEM analyses obtained from 200–500 A thick packets of nearly pure corrensite or chlorite layers always show that corrensite has low AlIV/SiIV and low FeVI/(Fe+Mg)VI, while chlorite has high AlIV/SiIV and high FeVI/(Fe+Mg)VI. This implies that the trioctahedral smectite-like component of corrensite has significantly lower AlIV/SiIV and FeVI/(Fe+Mg)VI. The ratios of FeVI/(Fe+Mg)VI and AlIV/SiIV thus decrease in the order chlorite, corrensite, smectite. The proportions of corrensite (or smectite-like) layers relative to chlorite layers in low-grade rocks are inferred to be controlled principally by Fe/Mg ratio in the fluid or the bulk rock and by temperature. Compositional variations of “chlorites” in low-grade rocks, which appear to correlate with temperature or metamorphic grade, more likely reflect variable proportions of mixed-layered components. The assemblages of trioctahedral phyllosilicates tend to occur as intergrown discrete phases, such as chlorite-corrensite, corrensite-smectite, or chlorite-corrensite-smectite. A model for the corrensite crystal structure suggests that corrensite should be treated as a unique phase rather than as a 1:1 ordered mixed-layer chlorite/smectite.

Magma source components in an arc-continent collision zone: the Flores-Lembata sector, Sunda arc, Indonesia

Abstract: Major, trace-element, and Sr-, Nd-and Pbisotope data are presented for volcanics from 12 active or recently active volcanoes from the islands of Flores, Adonara, Lembata and Batu Tara in the eastern Sunda are. The volcanics vary in composition from low-K tholeiite, through medium-and high-K calcalkaline types to the K-rich leucite basanites of Batu Tara. From the tholeiites to the leucite basanites there are marked increases in the concentrations of LILE (K, Rb, Ba, Sr), LREE and La/Yb, and all the volcanics have high Ba/ Nb, La/Nb and Ba/La compared with mid-ocean ridge and intraplate eruptives. K/Cs values are generally lower than OIB values, and overlap those of other arc volcanics and northeast Indian Ocean sediments. The volcanics exhibit a broad range of 87Sr/86Sr (0.70468–0.70706), 143Nd/144Nd (0.512946–0.512447), and a moderate range in 206Pb/204Pb (18.825–19.143), 207Pb/ 204Pb (15.643–15.760) and 208Pb/204Pb (38.97–39.51). Trace-element and isotopic data suggest that the mantle beneath the eastern Sunda arc is a complex heterogeneous mixture of 3 or 4 major source components: MORB-source or depleted MORB-source, OIB-source and subducted Indian Ocean sediment. The low-K tholeiites were probably formed by relatively large degrees of melting of depleted MORB-source mantle, modified by subduction-related fluids, whereas the trace-element and isotopic characteristics of the K-rich volcanics suggest that they were derived from an OIB source which and been modified by a subduction-related melt component. The source components of the medium-to high-K calcalkaline rocks are more difficult to determine, and probably include mixtures of MORB-source or OIB-source, and melt/fluid derived from subducted oceanic sediment. Minor-and trace-element modelling calculations indicate substantial difficulties in producing the relatively low Ti-contents of arc volcanics by melting OIB-source mantle. Where OIB mantle is considered to be an important component of arc magmas it is suggested that the HFSE are buffered to relatively low concentration by a residual Ti-rich accessory phase.

High temperature-low pressure Cretaceous metamorphism related to crustal thinning (Eastern North Pyrenean Zone, France)

Abstract: The Mesozoic sediments in the Eastern North Pyrenean Zone have suffered a high temperature-low pressure metamorphism which reached its climax before the major deformation event. The mineral associations in pelitic rocks are consistent with temperatures of 500°–600°C and a maximum pressure of 3–4 kb. Post-metamorphic brittle deformation has disturbed the initial thermal pattern. The Albo-Cenomanian (98–87 Ma) metamorphism is related to thermal anomalies contemporaneous with the crustal thinning in the North Pyrenean Zone. The distribution of paleotemperatures suggests that the intensity of metamorphism may have been related to the magnitude of crustal attenuation. High-grade rocks are associated with lherzolites and granulites, whereas low-grade rocks are associated with higher-level crustal material (gneisses and micaschists). Crustal thinning and metamorphism developed during sinistral transcurrent displacement of Iberia with respect to Europe.

The timescale and mechanism of granulite formation at Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Abstract: Incipient charnockite formation at Kurunegala in Sri Lanka is characterized by the growth of orthopyroxene at the expense of amphibole and biotite in an originally homogeneous gneiss. Mineral equilibria in the charnockite assemblage record pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions of 738±60° C and 6.9±1.2 kbar at-17.0±1.2 log fO2 and aH2O=0.18±0.16. Wholerock trace-element and isotopic measurements show that charnockite formation was accompanied by a systematic depletion of Sm>Rb>Pb>U>Sr>Nd, with a fractionation of Rb/Sr, Sm/Nd and Th/U ratios, and crystallization of the charnockite assemblage at 535±5 Ma. Major element (Fe−Mg−Ca) and Sm−Nd equilibration between minerals occurred at 524±9 Ma, whereas, Pb and Rb−Sr underwent continued exchange to 501±5 Ma and 486±1 Ma, respectively. Trace-element data for both amphibolite and charnockite minerals show that depletion on a whole-rock scale can be accounted for either by changes in mineral modes or trace-element abundances, within the immediate area of dehydration. The fractionation of Sm/Nd on a whole-rock scale is controlled by the breakdown of amphibole, without the growth of a major new host-phase for Sm in the charnockite. Rubidium and Sr are dependent on the relative behaviour of biotite, plagioclase and alkali-feldspar. Modelling of dehydration-melting involving the breakdown of amphibole, biotite, and alkali-feldspar reproduces the observed Sm/Nd and Rb/Sr fractionation, and indicates the loss of small melt fractions, on a cm scale, from the charnockite. These observations suggest that partial melting is the most plausible means of effecting both the dehydration and depletion that accompanies charnockite formation.

Effects of hydrothermal alteration on the compositions of chromian spinels

Abstract: Chromite spinels in hydrothermally altered rocks from fracture-zone ultramafic rocks and from both ultramafic cumulate pods and sheeted dikes in the Josephine ophiolite, California, display a wide variety of compositions. Alteration of the spinel may not be visible in thin section. The primary composition changes accompanying hydrothermal alteration are increase in Cr/(Cr+Al) and/or Fe2+/(Fe2++Mg). In general, altered spinel grains associated with hornblende and chlorite show an increase in Cr/(Cr+Al) from core to rim. Altered spinel grains associated with serpentine show an increase in Fe2+/(Fe2++Mg) from core to rim but may not show an increase in Cr/(Cr+Al). The compositional zoning in some altered spinel grains appears to result both from reaction of clinopyroxene plus spinel to form hornblende, and from reaction of hornblende to form chlorite. These observations suggest that subsolidus hydrothermal metamorphic effects need to be considered when interpreting spinel compositions and the compositions should not be interpreted solely in terms of igneous processes. Further, the presence of highly altered spinels may be indicative of hydrothermal alteration in rocks where other evidence of such alteration is absent.

A transmission electron microscope study of white mica crystallite size distribution in a mudstone to slate transitional sequence, North Wales, UK

Abstract: High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurements of the thickness of white mica crystallites were made on three pelite samples that represented a prograde transition from diagenetic mudstone though anchizonal slate to epizonal slate. Crystallite thickness, measured normal to (001), increases as grade increases, whereas the XRD measured 10 A peak-profile, the Kubler index, decreases. The mode of the TEM-measured size population can be correlated with the effective crystallite size N(001) determined by XRD. The results indicate that the Kubler index of white mica crystallinity measures changes in the crystallite size population that result from prograde increases in the size of coherent X-ray scattering domains. These changes conform to the Scherrer relationship between XRD peak broadening and small crystallite size. Lattice ‘strain’ broadening is relatively unimportant, and is confined to white mica populations in the diagenetic mudstone. Rapid increases in crystallite size occur in the anchizone, coincident with cleavage development. Changes in the distribution of crystallite thickness with advancing grade and cleavage development are characteristic of grain-growth by Ostwald ripening. The Kubler index rapidly loses sensitivity as an indicator of metapelitic grade within the epizone.

Erratum to: Chemical interdiffusion of dacite and rhyolite: anhydrous measurements at 1 atm and 10 kbar, application of transition state theory, and diffusion in zoned magma chambers

Abstract: Chemical diffusivity measurements have been made on anhydrous metaluminous diffusion couples of dacite and rhyolite at 1 atm, 1200°–1400° C, and 10 kbar, 1300°–1600° C, and on anhydrous peraluminous and peralkaline dacite-rhyolite diffusion couples at 10 kbar, 1300°–1600° C. Chemical diffusivities for Si, Al, Fe, Mg, and Ca were measured in all experiments on the metaluminous diffusion couples using Boltzmann-Matano analysis, and Si diffusivities were measured on the other diffusion couples. Two 10 kbar metaluminous experiments were analyzed with the X-ray microprobe and diffusivities of Sr, Y, Zr and Nb were measured. Si diffusivity displays a weak negative correlation with SiO2 content over the range of 65%–75% SiO2. At a given SiO2 content chemical diffusivities of all non-alkali elements are usually within less than an order of magnitude of Si chemical diffusivity and are controlled by partitioning along the diffusion profile so as to maintain local equilibrium at each point along the profile. Alkali chemical diffusivities were not measured but can be estimated from the experiments to be orders of magnitude higher than non-alkali chemical diffusivities. Data were fit to Arrhenius equations for diffusivities measured at 65, 70 and 75% SiO2. At 1 atm the Arrhenius equation for non-alkalies at 70% SiO2 in the metaluminous system is: $$D_T = 72.5\exp \left( { - 82.5 kcal/RT} \right)$$ an at 10 kbar: $$D_T = 0.0673\exp \left( { - 56.5 kcal/RT} \right)$$ whereDT is the diffusivity in cm2/s,R is in calories, andT is in Kelvin. At 65 and 75% SiO2 the pre-exponential factors and activation energies are similar to the values determined at 70% SiO2. Results on the metaluminous system demonstrate that the effect of increasing pressure is to increase the diffusivity at constant temperature, by about a factor of 4 at 1300° C, less at higher temperatures. Ten kbar activation energies and pre-exponential factors for peraluminous and peralkaline systems are slightly smaller than for the metaluminous system and reflect the slightly higher diffusivities in the peraluminous and peralkaline systems consistent with their lower calculated viscosities when compared to the metaluminous system. 1-atm diffusivities can be calculated from melt viscosities using the Eyring equation to within a factor of 5, except for 75% SiO2 diffusivities which consistently display calculated diffusivities approximately an order of magnitude below measured diffusivities. Using fundamental equations of transition state theory the 1-atm chemical diffusivities of non-alkalies, and alkalies too, can be calculated from thermodynamic data and melt structure models. There are, however, discrepancies in the calculated and measured activation energies and pre-exponential factors. Application of diffusivity measurements to magma chamber processes demonstrates that diffusion is not an effective process for compositional modification and can only begin to have a significant effect on melt compositions if the dacitic and rhyolitic melts are convecting separately and separated by a thin, static zone where diffusive transport is occurring; even in this case diffusion is likely to modify alkali concentrations only, and perhaps isotopic ratios in small magma chambers, or chambers with large aspect ratios (width/height). If the dacitic melt forms enclaves which are mixed into the rhyolitic melt, then diffusion coupled with the physical mixing of enclaves has the potential to rapidly affect alkali and isotopic ratios of the rhyolite melt and dacitic enclaves. Non-alkali concentrations in both dacite enclaves and rhyolite are, however, unlikely to be significantly affected. Because of the ineffectiveness of diffusion, once a magma chamber becomes zoned in major and trace elments it will remain zoned, with the exception of alkalies and possibly isotopic ratios, unless physical mixing between the different compositions occurs.

Nd- and Sr-isotopic compositions of lavas from the northern Mariana and southern Volcano arcs: implications for the origin of island arc melts

Abstract: Nd- and Sr-isotopic data are reported for lavas from 23 submarine and 3 subaerial volcanoes in the northern Mariana and southern Volcano arcs Values of eNd range from +24 to +95 whereas 87Sr/86Sr ranges from 070319 to 070392; these vary systematically between and sometimes within arc segments The Nd-and Sr-isotopic compositions fall in the field of ocean island basalt (OIB) and extend along the mantle array Lavas from the Volcano arc, Mariana Central Island Province and the southern part of the Northern Seamount Province have eNd to +10 and 87Sr/86Sr=07032 to 07039 These are often slightly displaced toward higher 87Sr/86Sr at similar eNd In contrast, those lavas from the northern part of the Mariana Northern Seamount Province as far north as Iwo Jima show OIB isotopic characteristics, with eNd and 87Sr/86Sr=07035 to 07039 Plots of 87Sr/86Sr and eNd versus Ba/La and (La/Yb)n support a model in which melts from the Mariana and Volcano arcs are derived by mixing of OIB-type mantle (or melts therefrom) and a metasomatized MORB-type mantle (or melts therefrom) An alternate interpretation is that anomalous trends on the plots of Nd- and Sr-isotopic composition versus incompatible-element ratios, found in some S-NSP lavas, suggest that the addition of a sedimentary component may be locally superimposed on the two-component mixing of mantle end-members

Meta-igneous origin of Hercynian peraluminous granites in N.W. French Massif Central: implications for crustal history reconstructions

Abstract: Seventy samples of Hercynian peraluminous granites (Gueret, Millevaches and Saint Sylvestre massifs) and metamorphic units of the Limousin area were analysed for Rb−Sr and Sm−Nd. The source rocks of the peraluminous granites can be found in the metamorphic rocks of Limousin, among them meta-igneous rocks were largely predominent over meta-sedimentary rocks in the source of the three granites. Millevaches and Gueret granites were generated by the partial melting of rocks comprising meta-volcanics and meta-sediments, whereas the Saint Sylvestre granite was produced exclusively by the melting of late Precambrian granites. This leads to confusing T DM Nd values, the confusion being amplified by the segregation of monazite during the petrogenetic evolution of the peraluminous granites, which leads to dramatic fractionation in Sm/Nd ratios. The data of the present study tend to demonstrate that peraluminous granites do not give a good representation of isotopic mean crustal estimates. Late Precambrian time seems, however, to have been a period of extensive crustal generation in Western Europe.

Deep fluid circulation in alpine shear zones, Pyrenees, France: field and oxygen isotope studies

Abstract: A combined field, stable isotope, and whole-rock chemical study was made on late Cretaceous to Tertiary metasomatic shear zones cutting Hercynian gneisses in the Aston Massif, Pyrenees, France. Mylonitisation occurred during the early stages of Alpine compression under retrograde conditions at 400–450°C and about 10 km depth. Whole-rock δ18O values of (+11 to +12‰ in the gneisses) was lowered to +5 to +9‰ in the shear zones, with the quartz-muscovite 18O/16O fractionations of about 2 to 4‰ essentially unchanged. These 18O/16O systematics, together with δD muscovite=-40 to-50‰ indicate that large volumes of formation waters or D-rich meteoric waters passed through the shear zones during deformation. The same fluids also redistributed major elements, as shown by the correlation of δ18O shift with muscovitisation and albitisation reactions in granitic wall rocks. However, even though δ18O was universally lowered within the shear zones, the 18O/16O ratios were not homogenised, nor do they correlate in detail with the presence or absence of muscovitisation, suggesting that fluid flow was probably fracture-controlled and episodic. Field mapping shows that, along the length of a particular shear zone, muscovitisation of granite gneiss dies out 150m above the contact with underlying sillimanite gneiss. Thus, muscovitisation and albitisation of granite gneiss in shear zones and their wall rocks probably occurred during re-equilibration of acidic, chloride-rich, aqueous fluids that had previously moved upward within the shear zones through underlying sillimanite gneiss. Extremely high material-balance fluid-rock ratios (∼103) are required to explain the extent of muscovitisation along this shear zone, implying integrated fluid mass fluxes of about 108 kg/m2; this is probably close to the maximum value for other shear zones in the network. Similar volumes of a more chemically evolved fluid must have passed through the unmuscovitised mylonites, showing that the absence of alteration cannot necessarily be used to infer low values of fluid flux. For reasonable pressure gradients and time scales of fluid movement, effective permeabilities of 10-15 to 10-17 m2 are required. Such values can be accounted for by short-lived, widely-spaced cracks produced during seismic activity. A model is presented in which formation waters were seismically pumped down an underlying, shallow, southward-dipping decollement and then upward through the steeply-dipping shear zone network.

Diffusion of 40Ar in metamorphic hornblende

Abstract: Isothermal, hydrothermal experiments were performed on two compositionally contrasting hornblendes from amphibolites in order to examine Ar diffusion behavior in metamorphic hornblendes. Ten experiments on sample RF were performed at temperatures of 750°C, 800°C, and 850°C and pressures of 1 kbar using measured grain radii of 158, 101, and 34 μm. Eight experiments on sample 118576 were performed under the same conditions using measured grain radii of 145, 77, and 25 μm. Minor (<5%) alteration was observed in high temperature runs. Diffusion coefficients were calculated from measured radiogenic 40Ar loss following treatment assuming a spherical geometry for the mineral aggregate. Diffusivities calculated for different grain sizes vary by up to an order of magnitude for a given temperature indicating that the effective diffusion radius was less than the measured grain radius. Diffusivities for RF and 118576 calculated for grain radii of 101 and 145 μm, respectively, form a linear array on an Arrhenius diagram with slopes indicating activation energies of ∼ 60 kcal/mol. No correlation between Mg number (100 Mg/(Mg+Fe)) and activation energy was observed. Diffusivities calculated for these experiments are higher than previously reported results from similar experiments performed on hornblendes. A comparison of results for 34 μm splits from these two studies indicates higher apparent diffusivities (by a factor of 5), which probably result from observed phyllosilicate inter-growths (chlorite) and/or exsolution lamellae that partition the metamorphic hornblendes into smaller subdomains. Diffusivities calculated for experiments performed on 65 μm and 34 μm splits of 40Ar/39Ar standard MMhb-1 at 800°C and 1 kbar are consistent with a previously reported activation energy of 65 kcal/mol. Arrhenius parameters which emerge from the empirical model of Fortier and Giletti (1989) agree with experimental results to within analytical uncertainty. Although results of these experiments support previously reported estimates of the activation energy of 40Ar in hornblende (∼60 kcal/mol), phyllosilicate intergrowths and/or microstructures such as exsolution lamellae within the two metamorphic hornblendes result in extremely small diffusion domains, which may lead to lower Ar retentivities and lower closure temperatures. The effective diffusion dimension for 40Ar in hornblende is not likely to be defined by dislocations but rather by some larger structure within the crystal. TEM and SEM studies may provide some insight into the effective diffusion dimension for 40Ar in amphiboles, thereby enabling better estimates of closure temperatures and more precise temperature-time reconstructions.

Evolution of alkalic lavas at Haleakala Volcano, east Maui, Hawaii.

Abstract: The postshield and posterosional stages of Haleakala Volcano contain intercalated alkalic basalt and evolved alkalic lavas. Isotopic and incompatible element abundance ratios in the Haleakala postshield basalts changed systematically with time, providing evidence for significant temporal changes in the mantle components contributing to the magmatic sources. Specifically, a depleted, i.e. low87Sr/86Sr and high143Nd/144Nd, mantle component is more abundant in younger lavas. However, as magma-production rates decreased during the postshield and posterosional stages, basaltic melts in magma reservoirs cooled and fractionated, leading to evolved residual melts such as hawaiite. Because primary basalt compositions changed with time, the evolved Haleakala lavas formed from a range of parental compositions. However, basalts and evolved lavas of similar age and isotopic ratios (Sr and Nd) have major and trace element contents that are consistent with a crystal-fractionation model. Although alkalic basalt and hawaiite are the dominant lavas of the postshield stages of both Haleakala and Mauna Kea volcanoes, there are important differences between their lavas. For example, compositional differences between the hawaiite suites at Haleakala and Mauna Kea indicate that, on average, the evolved lavas at Haleakala formed at lower pressures. Also, at Haleakala basalts are intercalated with hawaiites, whereas at Mauna Kea basalts and hawaiites are separated by a sharp boundary. These differences probably reflect a higher magma supply rate to the Haleakala volcano.

Along-arc lateral variation of Rb-Sr and K-Ar ages of Cretaceous granitic rocks in Southwest Japan

Abstract: Cretaceous granitic rocks were emplaced over a distance of 700 km along arc in Southwest Japan. Rb−Sr and K−Ar ages of a major group of these granitic rocks, with ilmenite series ore mineralogy, were examined. Rb−Sr whole rock ages of 92.8±4.0 Ma and Rb−Sr and K−Ar biotite ages of 80–88 Ma were obtained on one group of these granitic rocks from Kamo-Sera area of central Hiroshima Prefecture. The K−Ar ages of various minerals, combined with the Rb−Sr whole-rock age, give a smooth cooling curve, which suggests a 5 to 10 Ma time-lag between intrusion and cooling at 300° C for the Cretaceous granitic rocks. The Rb−Sr whole-rock and Rb−Sr/K−Ar biotite ages of these granitic rocks become younger eastward along the Southwest Japan arc, and the time-lag between the two systems remains constant at 5 to 10 Ma over the entire area. The along-arc age variation does not support the genetical relationship of the Cretaceous granitoids with steady-state subduction. The Cretaceous granitic province at the eastern margin of Eurasian continent was, at least partly, formed by an episodic event such as ridge subduction.