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G.K. Czamanske

Publications and source records attributed to G.K. Czamanske.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2012

Chemistry of rock-forming minerals of the Cretaceous-Paleocene batholith in southwestern Japan and implications for magma genesis

Petrographic descriptions and electron microprobe analyses of minerals are presented for 35 specimens from seven suites chosen to examine the transition from magnetite series to ilmenite series granitoids along two transects across the Cretaceous-Paleocene Inner Zone batholith of southwestern Japan. Regularities in chemical compositions of amphiboles, biotites, and feldspars suggest that fundamentally similar processes produced the magmas that formed the two series. Constant or decreasing Fe/(Fe+Mg) for biotites and amphiboles with increasing host rock silica content, coupled with the absence of early formed magnetite and sphene, suggest that magnetite series rocks may have become oxidized during crystallization near the level of intrusion, through the processes of second boiling and differential loss of hydrogen. For the Daito-Yokota, magnetite series suite, Fe/(Fe+Mg) for biotites decreased from 0.48 to 0.37 as SiO 2 content of the host rock increased from 55.3 to 75.5 wt %; for an ilmenite series suite from the Takanawa Peninsula, Fe/(Fe+Mg) for biotites increased from 0.51 to 0.77 with an increase in host rock SiO 2 from 53.4 to 75.5. Detailed consideration of amphibole chemistry shows predominance of edenitic and tschermakitic substitution schemes as well as coupling between substitutions of Ti in octahedral sites and Al IV . Interrelations between amphibole and biotite chemistry show that Fe/(Fe+Mg) and Mn contents can be interpreted in terms of equilibration, whereas Ti content cannot. The chemistry of chlorites correlates well with that of biotites; primary and secondary muscovites are distinct in composition. Plagioclase in all studied suites shows igneous zoning appropriate to host rock composition; perthitic alkali feldspars in all samples have lost albite component, and temperatures based on the two-feldspar geothermometer are low. The biotite-apatite geothermometer is also inoperative for this group of samples because fully fluorinated apatites typically occur in biotites of modest F content. Whereas magnetites have reequilibrated, analyses of ilmenites for the representative Daito-Yokota and Takanawa suites corroborate biotite compositional data and suggest that f O2 probably differed by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude during crystallization of silica-rich magnetite and ilmenite series granites. Whole-rock chemistry supports mineral chemistry in suggesting that the studied granitoids have crystallized from magmas generated in a lower crustal environment in which mantle-derived magmas partially melted source materials with igneous characteristics.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗
USGS1997

Applications of the 190Pt-186Os isotope system to geochemistry and cosmochemistry

Platinum is fractionated from osmium primarily as a consequence of processes involving sulfide and metal crystallization. Consequently, the 190 Pt 186 Os isotope system ( 190 Pt → 186 Os + α) shows promise for dating some types of magmatic sulfide ores and evolved iron meteorites. The first 190 Pt 186 Os isochrons are presented here for ores from the ca. 251 Ma Noril'sk, Siberia plume, and for group IIAB magmatic iron meteorites. Given the known age of the Noril'sk system, a decay constant for 190 Pt is determined to be 1.542 × 10 −12 a −1 , with ±1% uncertainty. The isochron generated for the IIAB irons is consistent with this decay constant and the known age of the group. The 186 Os/ 188 Os ratios of presumably young, mantle-derived osmiridiums and also the carbonaceous chondrite Allende were measured to high-precision to constrain the composition of the modern upper mantle. These compositions overlap, indicating that the upper mantle is chondritic within the level of resolution now available. Our best estimate for this 186 Os/ 188 Os ratio is 0.119834 ± 2 (2σ M ). The 190 Pt/ 186 Os ratios determined for six enstatite chondrites average 0.001659 ± 75, which is very similar to published values for carbonaceous chondrites. Using this ratio and the presumed composition of the modern upper mantle and chondrites, a solar system initial 186 Os/ 188 Os ratio of 0.119820 is calculated. In comparison to the modern upper mantle composition, the 186 Os/ 188 Os ratio of the Noril'sk plume was approximately 0.012% enriched in 186 Os. Possible reasons for this heterogeneity include the recycling of Pt-rich crust into the mantle source of the plume and derivation of the osmium from the outer core. Derivation of the osmium from the outer core is our favored model.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1997

Quantitative analysis of major elements in silicate minerals and glasses by micro-PIXE

The Guelph micro-PIXE facility has been modified to accommodate a second Si(Li) X-ray detector which records the spectrum due to light major elements (11 ??? Z ??? 20) with no deleterious effects from scattered 3 MeV protons. Spectra have been recorded from 30 well-characterized materials, including a broad range of silicate minerals and both natural and synthetic glasses. Sodium is mobile in some of the glasses, but not in the studied mineral lattices. The mean value of the instrumental constant H for each of the elements Mg, Al, and Si in these materials is systematically 6-8% lower than the H-value measured for the pure metals. Normalization factors are derived which permit the matrix corrections requisite for trace-element measurements in silicates to be based upon pure metal standards for Mg, Al and Si, supplemented by well-established, silicate mineral standards for the elements Na, K and Ca. Rigorous comparisons of electron microprobe and micro-PIXE analyses for the entire, 30-sample suite demonstrate the ability of micro-PIXE to produce accurate analysis for the light major elements in silicates. ?? 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Researc↗
USGS1996

A minimum U-Pb age for Siberian flood-basalt volcanism

Establishing an accurate and precise age for Siberian flood-basalt volcanism is of great importance in evaluating causes for the unequaled mass extinction of flora and fauna at the Permian-Triassic boundary. We report a new, minimum U-Pb age obtained from zircon and baddeleyite from the mineralized Noril'sk I intrusion that cuts the lower third of this rapidly deposited, 3500-m-thick volcanic sequence near Noril'sk. This 251.2 ?? 0.3 (2??) Ma age is within analytical error of the SHRIMP U-Pb age for zircon from the Permian-Triassic boundary at Meishan, South China [251.1 ?? 3.6 Ma (2??)], and confirms Siberian basaltic volcanism as a possible contributor to the mass extinction.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1996

Cryptic trace-element alteration of Anorthosite, Stillwater complex, Montana

Evidence of cryptic alteration and correlations among K, Ba, and LREE concentrations indicate that a post-cumulus, low-density aqueous fluid phase significantly modified the trace-element contents of samples from Anorthosite zones I and II of the Stillwater Complex, Montana. Concentrations of Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Sc, Sr, Th, Zn, and the rare-earth elements (REE) were measured in whole rocks and plagioclase separates from five traverses across the two main plagioclase cumulate (anorthosite) zones and the contiguous cumulates of the Stillwater Complex in an attempt to better understand the origin and solidification of the anorthosites. However, nearly the entire observed compositional range for many trace elements can be duplicated at a single locality by discriminating between samples rich in oikocrystic pyroxene and those which are composed almost entirely of plagioclase and show anhedral-granular texture. Plagioclase separates with high trace-element contents were obtained from the pyroxene-poor samples, for which maps of K concentration show plagioclase grains to contain numerous fractures hosting a fine-grained, K-rich phase, presumed to be sericite. Secondary processes in layered intrusions have the potential to cause cryptic disturbance, and the utmost care must be taken to ensure that samples provide information about primary processes. Although plagioclase from Anorthosite zones I and II shows significant compositional variation, there are no systematic changes in the major- or trace-element compositions of plagioclase over as much as 630 m of anorthosite thickness or 18 km of strike length. Plagioclase in the two major anorthosite zones shows little distinction in trace-element concentrations from plagioclase in the cumulates immediately below, between, and above these zones.

Canadian Mineralogist↗
USGS1996

Fluor-ferro-leakeite, NaNa2(FC2+2Fe3+2Li)Si8O22F2, a new alkali amphibole from the Canada Pinabete pluton, Questa, New Mexico, U.S.A.

Fluor-ferro-leakeite is a new amphibole species from the Canada Pinabete pluton, Questa, New Mexico, U.S.A.; it occurs in association with quartz, alkali feldspar, acmite, ilmenite, and zircon. It forms as anhedral bluish black crystals elongated along c and up to 1 mm long. It is brittle, H = 6, Dmeas = 3.37 g/cm3, Dcalc = 3.34 g/cm3. In plane-polarized light, it is strongly pleochroic, X = very dark indigo blue, Y = gray blue, Z = yellow green; X ??? c = 10?? (in ??obtuse), Y = b, Z ??? a = 4?? (in ?? obtuse), with absorption X > Y > Z. Fluor-ferro-leakeite is biaxial positive, ?? = 1.675(2), ??= 1.683(2), ?? = 1.694(1); 2V = 87(2)??; dispersion is not visible because of the strong absorption. Fluor-ferro-leakeite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, a = 9.792(1), b = 17.938(1), c = 5.3133(4) A??, ??= 103.87(7)??, V = 906.0(1) A??3, Z = 2. The ten strongest X-ray diffraction lines in the powder pattern are [d(I,hkl)]: 2.710(100,151), 2.536(92,202), 3.404(57,131), 4.481(54,040), 8.426(45,110), 2.985(38,241), 2.585(38,061), 3.122(29,310), 2.165(26,261), and 1.586(25,403). Analysis by a combination of electron microprobe, ion microprobe, and crystal-structure refinement (Hawthorne et al. 1993) gives SiO2 51.12, Al2O3 1.13, TiO2 0.68, Fe2O3 16.73, FeO 8.87, MgO 2.02, MnO 4.51, ZnO 0.57, CaO 0.15, Na2O 9.22, K2O 1.19, Li2O 0.99, F 2.87, H2Ocalc 0.60, sum 99.44 wt%. The formula unit, calculated on the basis of 23 O atoms, is (K0.23Na0.76)(Na1.97Ca0.03)(Mg 0.46Fe2+1.4Mn2+0.59Zn0.07Fe3+1.93-Ti 0.08Al0.02Li0.61])(Si7.81Al 0.19)O22(F1.39OH0.61). A previous crystal-structure refinement (Hawthorne et al. 1993) shows Li to be completely ordered at the M3 site. Fluor-ferro-leakeite, ideally NaNa2(Fe2+2Fe3+2Li)Si8O22F2, is related to leakeite, NaNa2(Mg2Fe3+3Li)Si 8O22(OH)2, by the substitutions Fe2+ ??? Mg and F ??? OH.

American Mineralogist↗
USGS1995

A reconnaissance 40Ar/39Ar geochronologic study of ore-bearing and related rocks, Siberian Russia

40 Ar 39 Ar "> 40 Ar 39 Ar age spectra of biotite from a mineralized vein in the ore-bearing, Noril'sk I intrusion and from picritic-like gabbrodolerite from the weakly mineralized, Lower Talnakh intrusion show that these bodies were emplaced at 249 ± 2 Ma, which is not significantly different from the age of the Permian-Triassic boundary. The ore-bearing intrusions postdate the lower third of the flood-basalt sequence in the Noril'sk area and, on the basis of geochemistry, can best be correlated with lavas slightly younger than those which they cut. Thus, flood basalt was erupted at the time of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event, although its role in this event is, as yet, ill defined. Additional new 40 Ar 39 Ar "> 40 Ar 39 Ar age data for a group of intrusive and extrusive rocks on the western margin of the Siberian craton indicate that mafic magmatism extended over a period of several tens of million years, whereas paleomagnetic data suggest that the bulk of the Siberian flood-basalt sequence near Noril'sk has been erupted in only a million years or so. 40 Ar 39 Ar "> 40 Ar 39 Ar ages of plagioclase from early flood-basalt flows are about 2% younger than those obtained for biotite from the crosscutting, Noril'sk I intrusion, probably because of slight alteration and Argon loss from the plagioclase.

Noril’sk-Talnakh Mining District, Siberia↗
USGS1995

Osmium and neodymium isotopic constraints on the temporal and spatial evolution of Siberian flood basalt sources

Picrites from the Gudchikhinsky suite, the oldest rocks examined, have ??Os of +5.3 to +6.1 and ??Nd of +3.7 to +4.0. The osmium and neodymium isotopic compositions of these rocks are similar to some modern ocean-island basalts (OIB), consistent with their derivation from an mantle plume. Picrites from the stratigraphically higher Tuklonsky suite have similar ??Os of +3.4 to +6.5, but ??Nd of -0.9 to -2.6. The similar ??Os, but lower ??Nd , suggest that some magmas from the same OIB-type, mantle source were contaminated by lithospheric components. A differentiated ankaramite flow, associated with the top of the stratigraphically higher Morongovsky suite, has ??Os of +9.8 to +10.2 and ??Nd of +1.3 to +1.4. The higher ??Os may indicate that the plume source was heterogeneous with respect to osmium isotopic composition, consistent with osmium isotopic measurements in rocks from other plume sources. Mg-rich, alkaline rocks (meymechites) from the Guli area that erupted much nearer the end of the flood-basalt event have ??Os of -1.2 to -2.6 and ??Nd of +3.7 to +4.9. These rocks were probably produced by low degrees of partial melting of mantle after the main stages of flood-basalt production. -from Authors

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1994

Re-Os isotopic evidence for an enriched-mantle source for the Noril'sk-type, ore-bearing intrusions, Siberia

Magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide ores and spatially associated ultramafic and mafic rocks from the Noril'sk I, Talnakh, and Kharaelakh intrusions are examined for Re-Os isotopic systematics. Neodymium and lead isotopic data also are reported for the ultramafic and mafic rocks. The Re-Os data for most samples indicate closed-system behavior since the ca. 250 Ma igneous crystallization age of the intrusions. There are small but significant differences in the initial osmium isotopic compositions of samples from the three intrusions. Ores from the Noril'sk I intrusion have γ Os values that vary from +0.4 to +8.8, but average +5.8. Ores from the Talnakh intrusion have γ Os values that range from +6.7 to +8.2, averaging +7.7. Ores from the Kharaelakh intrusion have γ Os values that range from +7.8 to +12.9, with an average value of +10.4. The osmium isotopic compositions of the ore samples from the Main Kharaelakh orebody exhibit minimal overlap with those for the Noril'sk I and Talnakh intrusions, indicating that these Kharaelakh ores were derived from a more radiogenic source of osmium than the other ores. Combined osmium and lead data for major orebodies in the three intrusions plot in three distinct fields, indicating derivation of osmium and lead from at least three isotopically distinct sources. Some of the variation in lead isotopic compositions may be the result of minor lower-crustal contamination. However, in contrast to most other isotopic and trace element data, Os-Pb variations are generally inconsistent with significant crustal contamination or interaction with the subcontinental lithosphere. Thus, the osmium and lead isotopic compositions of these intrusions probably reflect quite closely the compositions of their mantle source, and suggest that these two isotope systems were insensitive to lithospheric interaction. Ultramafic and mafic rocks have osmium and lead isotopic compositions that range only slightly beyond the compositions of the ores. These rocks also have relatively uniform ϵ Nd values that range only from −0.8 to + 1.1. This limited variation in neodymium isotopic composition may reflect the characteristics of the mantle sources of the rocks, or it may indicate that somehow similar proportions of crust contaminated the parental melts. The osmium, lead, and neodymium isotopic data for these rocks most closely resemble the mantle sources of certain ocean island basalts (OIB), such as some Hawaiian basalts. Hence, these data are consistent with derivation of primary melts from a mantle source similar to that of some types of hotspot activity. The long-term Re/Os enrichment of this and similar mantle sources, relative to chondritic upper mantle, may reflect 1. incorporation of recycled oceanic crust into the source more than 1 Ga ago, 2. derivation from a mantle plume that originated at the outer core-lower mantle interface, or 3. persistence of primordial stratification of rhenium and osmium in the mantle.

Siberia↗
USGS1994

Rare earth element evidence for the petrogenesis of the banded series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, and its anorthosites

A rare earth element (REE) study was made by isotope-dilution mass spectrometry of plagioclase separates from a variety of cumulates stratigraphically spanning the Banded series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana. Evaluation of parent liquid REE patterns, calculated on the basis of published plagioclase-liquid partition coefficients, shows that the range of REE ratios is too large to be attributable to fractionation of a single magma type. At least two different parental melts were present throughout the Banded series. This finding supports hypotheses of previous workers that the Stillwater Complex formed from two different parent magma types, designated the anorthositic- or A-type liquid and the ultramafic- or U-type liquid. On the basis of our data, one melt has a REE pattern with a distinctive shallow slope and is represented by samples from the thick, massive Anorthosite zones I and II (AN I and AN II) of the Middle Banded series. Although samples from AN I and AN II are separated by as much as 1400 m stratigraphically, they have remarkably similar calculated parent liquid characteristics, with (Ce/Sm)n = 1.7–1.9, (Nd/Sm)n = 1.3–1.4 and (Ce/Yb)n = 2.9–4.6 (where n denotes chondrite-normalized). These calculated liquids are probably close to representing A-type magma. In addition, plagioclase-bronzite cumulates from Norite zones I and II (N I and N II), although thought to be U-type cumulates, contain plagioclase that has A-type REE characteristics, implying that A-type magmas were injected into the magma chamber during formation of those zones. In contrast, calculated parent liquids of cumulus augite-bearing rocks have REE patterns that display distinctly steeper slopes than the A-type REE pattern. The extreme is the calculated parent liquid of a plagioclase-bronzite-augite cumulated with (Ce/Sm)n = 2.9, (Nd/Sm)n = 1.7, and (Ce/Yb)n = 10.1.

Journal of Petrology↗
USGS1993

Isotopic and trace-element constraints on mantle and crustal contributions to Siberian continental flood basalts, Noril'sk area, Siberia

We present a tightly controlled and comprehensive set of analytical data for the 250-Ma Siberian flood-basalt province. Consideration of major- and trace-element compositions, along with strontium, lead and neodymium isotopic compositions, strongly supports earlier Russian subdivision of this magmatism into three magmatic cycles, giving rise to three assemblages of eleven basalt suites in the ascending order Ivakinsky-Gudchikhinsky, Khakanchansky-Nadezhdinsky and Morongovsky-Samoedsky. Geochemical and isotopic discontinuities of varying magnitude characterize most of the boundaries between the eleven recognized basalt suites in the Noril'sk area. Although we conclude that the dominant volume of erupted magma originated from an asthenospheric mantle plume, none of the lavas is interpreted to directly represent asthenospheric melts, which would have been far more magnesian. On the basis of thermal considerations, we consider it unlikely that vast volumes of basaltic melt were produced directly from the continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Siberian craton. Moreover, there is little evidence from mantle xenoliths that the geochemical signatures of such melts would correspond to those of the Siberian flood basalts. Studies of melt migration lead us to conclude that transport of asthenospheric melt through the lithospheric mantle would be rapid, by fracture propagation. Lavas from the Gudchikhinsky suite have negligible Ta-Nb anomalies and positive ϵ Nd values and their parental magmas presumably interacted little with the continental lithospheric mantle or crust. All other lavas have negative Ta-Nb anomalies and lower ϵ Nd values that we attribute to interaction with continental crust. The model that we have developed requires discrete contributions from the plume and complex processing of all erupted magmas in the continental crust. The earliest magmas represent small percentages of melt formed in equilibrium with garnet. Over time, the percentage of melting in the source region and the volume of magma produced increased, and garnet was no longer stable in the plume source. All of the plume-derived melts initially contained more than 20 wt% MgO and became less Mg rich by fractionation of olivine as they traversed the lithospheric mantle. We conclude, however, that the most significant control on the geochemical and isotopic compositions of all the erupted lavas was processing of mantle-derived magma in crustal reservoirs during periodic replenishment, periodic tapping, continuous crystal fractionation and wallrock assimilation. Rapid eruption of an extremely large volume of processed magma that varied little in chemical and isotopic composition produced the sequence of relatively monotonous tholeiitic basalts that constitute the 2,300-m-thick third assemblage of the Siberian flood-basalt province near Noril'sk.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1993

Micro-PIXE analysis of silicate reference standards

The accuracy and precision of the University of Guelph proton microprobe have been evaluated through trace-element analysis of well-characterized silicate glasses and minerals, including BHVO-1 glass, Kakanui augite and hornblende, and ten other natural samples of volcanic glass, amphibole, pyroxene, and garnet. Using the 2.39 wt% Mo in a NIST steel as the standard, excellent precision and agreement between reported and analyzed abundances were obtained for Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, and Nb. -from Authors

American Mineralogist↗
USGS1991

A lead isotopic study of the Stillwater Complex, Montana: constraints on crustal contamination and source regions

Analyses of the Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase from 23 samples covering the stratigraphic thickness of the Stillwater Complex indicate a narrow range of apparent initial isotopic compositions (206Pb/ 204Pb=13.95; 207Pb/204Pb=14.95-15.01; 208Pb/204Pb=33.6). The uniformity of our data is in contrast to, but not necessarily contradictory to, other recent investigations which give indications that the complex formed by repeated injection of magmas with at least two distinct compositions that were presumably derived from different source regions. Samples from the Basal series of the complex have consistently higher 207Pb/204Pb ratios, suggesting either minor contamination from adjacent country rocks or a slight distinction between parental magmas. Apparent initial Pb isotopic compositions of the complex are very radiogenic compared to Late Archean model-mantle values, but are nearly identical to initial Pb isotopic compositions found for the the adjacent, slightly older (2.73-2.79 Ga), Late Archean crustal suite in the Beartooth Mountains. Contamination of magmas parental to the Stillwater Complex by the Late Archean crustal suite is rejected for two reasons: (1) Th and U concentrations in Stillwater rocks and plagioclase are very low (about 0.08 and 0.02 ppm respectively), yet Th/U ratios are uniform at about 4, in contrast to the highly variable (2-26) but often high Th/U ratios found for the Late Archean crustal complex; (2) it seems improbable that any contamination process would have adjusted the isotopic compositions of the diverse magmas entering the Stillwater chamber to near-identical values. The preferred hypothesis to explain the Pb isotopic data for the Stillwater Complex and the associated Late Archean crustal suite involves a major Late Archean crust-forming event that resulted in a compositionally complex crust/mantle system with relatively homogeneous and unusual Pb isotopic compositions. The parental magmas of the Stillwater Complex were generated at different levels within this crust/mantle system, before isotopic contrasts could develop by radioactive decay within compositionally discrete reservoirs. This situation limits the utility of all isotopic tracer systems in discriminating among the various mantle and crustal reservoirs that may have affected the final isotopic character of the Stillwater magmas. The late Archean crustal complex and the Stillwater Complex melts were ultimately derived from the same distinct mantle without obvious direct interaction with the Middle to Early Archean crust present in the region. ?? 1991 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1991

Low-K granophyres of the Stillwater Complex, Montana

Small bodies of granophyre occur as a volumetrically insignificant but ubiquitous component of the Banded series of the Stillwater Complex. White to pink granophyre typically occurs as veins, 1-12cm thick and as much as 100m long. A geochemically similar body of coalescing alaskite dikes, associated with an occurrence of Pt-group elements in the Banded series of the complex, crops out approximately 2km south-southeast of Picket Pin Mountain over an area 130 by 210m. Considering host rocks and chemistry, these rocks are comparable to the most siliceous examples of oceanic plagiogranite. The Stillwater granophyres, however, are enriched in Si, Th, U, and LREEs, and depleted in K, Fe, and Eu, relative to oceanic granophyres. -from Authors

American Mineralogist↗
USGS1990

H, O, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope geochemistry of the Latir volcanic field and cogenetic intrusions, New Mexico, and relations between evolution of a continental magmatic center and modifications of the lithosphere

Over 200 H, O, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope analyses, in addition to geologic and petrologic constraints, document the magmatic evolution of the 28.5-19 Ma Latir volcanic field and associated intrusive rocks, which includes multiple stages of crustal assimilation, magma mixing, protracted crystallization, and open- and closed-system evolution in the upper crust. In contrast to data from younger volcanic centers in northern New Mexico, relatively low and restricted primary ??18O values (+6.4 to +7.4) rule out assimilation of supracrustal rocks enriched in 18O. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.705 to 0.708), ??18O values (-2 to-7), and 206Pb/204Pb ratios (17.5 to 18.4) of metaluminous precaldera volcanic rocks and postcaldera plutonic rocks suggest that most Latir rocks were generated by fractional crystallization of substantial volumes of mantle-derived basaltic magma that had near-chondritic Nd isotope ratios, accompanied by assimilation of crustal material in two main stages: 1) assimilation of non-radiogenic lower crust, followed by 2) assimilation of middle and upper crust by inter-mediate-composition magmas that had been contaminated during the first stage. Magmatic evolution in the upper crust peaked with eruption of the peralkaline Amalia Tuff (???26 Ma), which evolved from metaluminous parental magmas. A third stage of late, roofward assimilation of Proterozoic rocks in the Amalia Tuff magma is indicated by trends in initial 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb ratios from 0.7057 to 0.7098 and 19.5 to 18.8, respectively, toward the top of the pre-eruptive magma chamber. Highly evolved postcaldera plutons are generally fine grained and are zoned in initial 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb ratios, varying from 0.705 to 0.709 and 17.8 to 18.6, respectively. In contrast, the coarser-grained Cabresto Lake (???25 Ma) and Rio Hondo (???21 Ma) plutons have relatively homogeneous initial 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb ratios of approximately 0.7053 and 17.94 and 17.55, respectively. ??18O values for all the postcaldera plutons overlap those of the precaldera rocks and Amalia Tuff, except for those for two late-stage rhyolite dikes associated with the Rio Hondo pluton that have ??18O values of-8.6 and-9.5; these dikes are the only Latir rocks which may be largely crustal melts. Chemical and isotopic data from the Latir field suggest that large fluxes of mantle-derived basaltic magma are necessary for developing and sustaining large-volume volcanic centers. Development of a detailed model suggests that 6-15 km of new crust may have been added beneath the volcanic center; such an addition may result in significant changes in the chemical and Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of the crust, although Pb isotope ratios will remain relatively unchanged. If accompanied by assimilation, crystallization of pooled basaltic magma near the MOHO may produce substantial cumulates beneath the MOHO that generate large changes in the isotopic composition of the upper mantle. The Latir field may be similar to other large-volume, long-lived intracratonal volcanic fields that fundamentally owe their origins to extensive injection of basaltic magma into the lower parts of their magmatic systems. Such fields may overlie areas of significant crustal growth and hybridization. ?? 1990 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1990

The Stillwater Complex and its anorthosites: an accident of magmatic underplating?

The Stillwater Complex, emplaced 2700??40 Ma, is exposed at the edge of a 4000-km2 block of Late Archean rocks that formed 40 to 110 m.y. yearlier. Voluminous plagioclase cumulates (anorthosites) within the Middle Banded series of the complex are difficult to explain either by in situ fractionation of mafic magma or by popular models for mixing of two magma types. Current models for the evolution of the lowermost continental crust by magmatic underplating suggest that a major crust-forming event of about 100 m.y. duration would satisfy geologic and geochemical constraints for the formation of the Stillwater Complex and the related granitoids. -from Authors

American Mineralogist↗