Geology topics

Rodey Batiza

Publications and source records attributed to Rodey Batiza.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1984

Petrochemistry, age and isotopic composition of alkali basalts from Ponape Island, Western Pacific

Eleven analyzed lava samples from Ponape Island are alkali olivine basalt, basanite and basanitoid. Most lavas are aphyric or sparsely phyric (< 10% phenocrysts) and have phenocrysts of olivine (Fo77-80), clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite, and microphenocrysts of plagioclase (An53-68) in a fine-grained groundmass of olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, opaques, potassic oligoclase, ?? nepheline and accessary phases. Oxygen isotope and Fe2O3 FeO data suggest that most samples are fresh, although H2O contents are high. Xenoliths of chromite-bearing harzburgites and dunites, both with cumulate textures occur in one locality. Major- and trace-element concentrations are similar to other oceanic volcanic islands. Most major elements and compatible trace elements vary systematically with respect to the Mg number [ 100Mg (Mg + Fe2+)]. In contrast, the incompatible trace elements do not correlate with the Mg number, but do covary with other incompatible elements. Simple closed-system shallow fractionation cannot be invoked to explain the observed chemical variation in the lavas. Derivation of the fractionated lavas (Mg number = 66-48) probably involved polybaric crystal fractionation from a high-Mg-number parental liquid. In addition, variable-source concentration of a trace-element-rich minor phase is postulated. However, the mantle was homogeneous with respect to the ratio of 87Sr 86Sr. New KAr age data are not consistent with the hypothesis that Ponape and the Caroline Ridge represent a simple "hot spot". ?? 1984.

Chemical Geology↗

USGS1982

Chemical and isotopic diversity in basalts dredged from the East Pacific Rise at 10°S, the fossil Galapagos Rise and the Nazca plate

We present petrographic, chemical and isotopic data for fresh lava samples dredged from three regions: (1) the fossil Galapagos Rise; (2) an elongate volcano near this extinct spreading center; and (3) the East Pacific Rise at 10°S. The samples from the Galapagos Rise are among the first samples from any fossil spreading center to be analyzed. Alkalic picrites from the elongate seamount and transitional basalts from the East Pacific Rise are both somewhat unusual rock types considering their respective tectonic environments. The dredges from the East Pacific Rise at about 10°S recovered unusual transitional, light rare-earth element (LREE) enriched basalts which show a range of fractionation. On the basis of their chemical and isotopic abundances, it is unlikely that the lavas are related by a single simple process of magmatic differentiation. We suggest that the mantle source region of these basalts was chemically and isotopically heterogeneous. The chemistry of LREE-depleted tholeiitic basalt dredged from near the axis of the extinct Galapagos Rise indicates complex petrogenesis and differentiation. The presence of tholeiitic basalts here indicates that unlike the Guadalupe and Mathematician fossil ridges, the Galapagos Rise has not been the site of voluminous post-abandonment alkalic volcanism. Alkalic basalts of picritic bulk composition dredged from an elongate seamount near the Galapagos Rise do not represent liquid compositions. Instead, we suggest that these alkalic liquids contain added olivine and plagioclase xenocrysts. Although most of the samples analyzed are very fresh, a few have been altered. The latter exhibit characteristic chemical and isotopic effects of seawater alteration.

Marine Geology↗

USGS1979

Trace element and strontium isotope characteristics of volcanic rocks from Isla Tortuga: A young seamount in the Gulf of California

Isla Tortuga is a small isolated central volcano which is located near an actively spreading trough in the Gulf of California. The basalt lavas from Tortuga which have the highest Mg/Fe and Ni contents have trace element abundances and ratios and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr which are similar to those of mid-ocean ridge tholeiite. The major element, rare earth element and Sr abundances of fractionated tholeiite (low Mg/Fe) and tholeiitic andesite of Tortuga are consistent with an origin by closed-system fractional crystallization. This hypothesis is not supported by K, Na, Rb and Ba abundances in the lavas nor by their variable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.7024–0.7035). It is proposed that the apparent decoupling of light rare earth elements, other incompatible trace elements and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr is due to contamination of some Tortuga magmas while they are fractionated in a high-level crustal magma chamber. The mantle source of least-contaminated, high Mg/Fe basalt lavas of Tortuga is similar, although not identical to the source of normal mid-ocean ridge tholeiite; significant differences exist. The reasons for these differences are not yet known.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗