Andrew R. Duncan

The timing and duration of the Karoo igneous event, southern Gondwana

A volcanic event of immense scale occurred within a relatively short period in early Jurassic time over large regions of the contiguous Gondwana supercontinent. In southern Africa, associated remnants of thick volcanic successions of lava flows and extensive dike and sill complexes of similar composition have been grouped together as the Karoo Igneous Province. Correlative volcanic and plutonic rocks occur in Antarctica and Australia as the Ferrar Province. Thirty-two new 40Ar-39Ar incremental heating experiments on feldspars and whole rocks from Namibia, South Africa and East Antarctica produce highly resolved ages with a vast majority at 183±1 Ma and a total range of 184 to 179 Ma. These are indistinguishable from recent, high-resolution 40Ar-39Ar and U-Pb age determinations reported from the Antarctic portion of the province. Initial Karoo volcanism (Lesotho-type compositions) occurred across the entire South African craton. The ubiquitous distribution of a plexus of generally nonoriented feeder dikes and sills intruding Precambrian crystalline rocks and Phanerozoic sediments indicates that these magmas penetrated the craton over a broad region. Lithosphere thinning of the continent followed the main pulse of igneous activity, with volcanism focused in the Lebombo-Nuanetsi region, near the eventual split between Africa and Antarctica. Seafloor spreading and dispersion of east and west Gondwana followed some 10–20 m.y. afterward. The volume of the combined Karoo-Ferrar province (∼2.5×106 km3) makes it one of the largest continental flood basalt events. The timing of this event correlates with a moderate mass extinction (Toarcian-Aalenian), affecting largely marine invertebrates. This extinction event was not as severe as those recorded at the Permian-Triassic or Cretaceous-Tertiary boundaries associated with the Siberian and Deccan flood basalts events, respectively. The difference may be due to the high southerly latitude and somewhat lower eruption rates of the Karoo event.

AGE OF ETENDEKA FLOOD VOLCANISM AND ASSOCIATED INTRUSIONS IN SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA

Detailed 40Ar/39Ar laser step-heating analyses of mineral separates from five volcanic units in Namibia and Angola and five intrusions in Namibia yield important geochronological data for the Etendeka igneous province. Ten plateau dates on plagioclase, hornblende, and biotite between 131.7 ± 0.7 and 132.3 ± 0.7 Ma were obtained, and a late syenite from the Messum intrusive complex yielded a slightly younger hornblende plateau date of 129.3 ± 0.7 Ma. Magnetostratigraphy of the volcanic rocks in three sections up to 700 m thick, laterally spanning more than 100 km, suggests that the flows record only two geomagnetic polarity reversals. Precise temporal coincidence with the Parana flood volcanic province in South America indicates that Etendeka volcanism does not represent a significantly younger phase of magmatism that migrated from northwest to southeast over 10 m.y., as has recently been proposed. The duration of intrusive activity was at least 2–3 m.y. longer than recorded by volcanism, and its total duration awaits further constraints.

Trans-Atlantic correlation of eruptive sequences and individual silicic volcanic units within the Paraná-Etendeka igneous province

The Mesozoic volcanic rocks of the Serra Geral Formation in the Parana Basin, South America, and of the Etendeka Group in northwestern Namibia were erupted shortly before the opening of the South Atlantic. The major widespread silicic volcanic units in the Etendeka Group are interpreted as rheoignimbrites (Milner et al., 1992) and are interbedded with tholeiitic basalts and basaltic andesites. The southern portion of the Etendeka Group is subdivided into a basal Awahab Formation which is overlain disconformably by the Tafelberg Formation. Both formations contain silicic and mafic units. Bulk composition, initial 87Sr86Sr ratios, phenocryst assemblages and mineral compositions are used to correlate silicic units of the Awahab Formation with the basal units of the Palmas silicic volcanic rocks in the southern Parana Basin. Silicic units of the Tafelberg Formation can similarly be correlated with silicic units in the upper portion of the Palmas succession, which are also disconformable on the units below them. Not all silicic units in these successions are present in both the Etendeka and Parana areas, but where correlation of individual units is possible, then this is found to be consistent with the overall stratigraphic sequence. Silicic units in the Awahab Formation were erupted from the Messum Igneous Complex in Namibia and their correlation into Brazil indicates that individual eruptive units must have travelled over 340 km from their source. Serial changes in the composition of silicic units in the Awahab Formation and their correlatives indicates that they were erupted from a single magma system from which a total of ~ 8600 km3 of material was erupted.

The Karoo igneous province — A problem area for inferring tectonic setting from basalt geochemistry

Tholeiitic basalts and associated intrusives are the major component of the Karoo igneous province. They are of Mesozoic age and constitute one of the worlds classic continental flood basalt (CFB) provinces. It has been argued that most Karoo basalts have not undergone significant contamination with continental crust and that their lithospheric mantle source areas were enriched in incompatible minor and trace elements during the Proterozoic. The only exceptions to this are late-stage MORB-like dolerites near the present-day continental margins which are considered to be of asthenospheric origin. When data for the “southern” Karoo basalts are plotted on many of the geochemical discriminant diagrams which have been used to infer tectonic setting, essentially all of them would be classified as calc-alkali basalts (CABs) or low-K tholeiites. Virtually none of them plot in the compositional fields designated as characteristic of “within-plate” basalts. There is little likelihood that the compositions of the Karoo basalts can be controlled by active subduction at the time of their eruption and no convincing evidence that a “subduction component” has been added to the subcontinental lithospheric mantle under the entire area in which the basalts crop out. It must be concluded that the mantle source areas for CABs and the southern Karoo basalts have marked similarities. In contrast, the data for “northern” Karoo basalts largely plot in the “within-plate” field on geochemical discriminant diagrams. Available data suggest that the source composition and/or the restite mineralogy and degree of partial melting are different for southern and northern Karoo basalts. There is no evidence for any difference in tectonic setting between the southern and northern Karoo basalts at the time they were erupted. This appears to be clear evidence that specific mantle source characteristics and/or magmatic processes can vary within a single CFB province to an extent that renders at least some geochemical discriminant diagrams most unreliable for classifying tectonic environment with respect to continental volcanic rocks.

Quartz latite rheoignimbrite flows of the Etendeka Formation, north-western Namibia

The Etendeka Formation of north-western Namibia consists of a sequence of interbedded quartz latites and tholeiitic basalts and forms part of the Karoo Igneous Province in southern Africa. The age of the Etendeka Formation is approximately 130–135 Ma. The quartz latites make up a significant proportion of the stratigraphic succession (<25% of the total stratigraphic thickness) and form as much as 60% of the outcrop area in the southern Etendeka. Apart from some systematic differences between pitchstones and devitrified quartz latite, largely explained by alteration processes, individual quartz latite units exhibit remarkably uniform compositions with no significant vertical or lateral variation. Geochemistry can be used as a primary criterion for the correlation of major quartz latite units over much of the southern Etendeka area enabling the reconstruction of the Etendeka Formation stratigraphy in this region. Individual quartz latite units occur as voluminous (400–2600 km3), widespread (up to 8800 km2), sheet-like deposits typically between 40 and 300 m thick. Each unit consists of basal, main and upper zones. The main zone generally constitutes over 70% of the thickness of the unit and typically consists of texturally featureless devitrified quartz latite. In contrast the basal and upper zones of the flow are characterised by flow banding, pitchstone lenses and breccia, with rare occurrences of pyroclastic textures. The quartz latites are sparsely porphyritic (<10% phenocrysts) with glassy or devitrified groundmass textures. The phenocrysts consist of plagioclase, pyroxene, titanomagnetite and rare ilmenite. Pyroxene geothermometry indicates high (1000–1100°C) temperatures of crystallisation which, coupled with the absence or primary hydrous phases, indicates that the quartz latites were relatively hot, H2O-undersaturated magmas. The quartz latites display features common to both rhyolite lavas and ignimbrites and are clearly the products of an unusual eruption style. The local preservation of pyroclastic textures and the broad areal extent of these units lead to the conclusion that the quartz latites are high-temperature rheomorphic ignimbrites (i.e. rheoignimbrites). A combination of high eruption temperature and relatively low viscosity helps to explain the often completely welded and homogeneous textures observed in most quartz latite outcrops in the Etendeka area.

The Cretaceous Messum igneous complex, S.W. Etendeka, Namibia: Reinterpretation in terms of a downsag-cauldron subsidence model

Abstract The Messum igneous complex (MIC) lies within the ENE-trending zone of Lower Cretaceous (∼132 Ma) Damaraland intrusive complexes in Namibia, intruded into Pan-African Damara basement. It is defined by a roughly circular structure ∼18 km in diameter, the bounding ring fault exposed along the eastern sector. Encircling Messum are the volcanic sequences of the Goboboseb Mountains, comprising a lower basalt series (Tafelkop and Tafelberg types) followed, with intervening basalts, by four voluminous quartz latite (QL) eruptions (Goboboseb and Springbok QL units). Inferred stages of development are: (a) an initial very broad basaltic lava shield, comprising the Tafelberg and Tafelkop basalts, and Messum crater basalts (MCB; possibly ponded in near-vent lava lakes). Embedded within the lower basaltic sequence is a localised rhyolite-dominated eruptive centre (ca. 5 km in diameter), interpreted as a funnel caldera located towards the centre of the MIC. (b) Downsagging, extending northwards from Messum, following the Goboboseb QL eruptions (≥2300 km3). Ponding of overlying basaltic units. (c) Climactic Springbok QL eruption (≥6300 km3) producing further downsag together with the inward radial dip of all volcanic units towards the MIC. Ring fault initiation. (d) Cauldron subsidence emplacement of a granitoid suite, forming the MIC ‘moat’ (area between the ring fault and the core region). (e) Intrusion of gabbroic cone sheets into incompletely solidified granitic melts within the southeastern moat. Resulting hybridisation and magma mingling produced extensive development of heterogeneous granitoid and hybrid dioritic lithologies. (f) Cone sheet intrusions of the eastern gabbros into more highly solidified granitoids of the southeastern moat. (g) Intrusion of thick (∼1–2 km) western gabbro cone sheets, exhibiting local fine-scale layering, into solidified granitoids, mainly within the western moat. Minor late-stage granitic intrusions. (h) 2–3 Ma quiescent period followed by quartz- and ne-syenite intrusions, and finally basanite dykes, emplaced within the MIC core. Accompanying differential uplift of the core. Uplift/resurgence within the MIC has accompanied intrusion of the moat granitoids and mafic cone sheets, thereby juxtaposing volcanic and intrusive sequences. Phases of both subsidence and uplift have characterised the MIC. The NW Scotland Tertiary central igneous complexes and Messum show evidence of a number of parallel developments, but also important differences. The MIC differs markedly from caldera systems within the western USA and circum-Pacific. Messum is therefore suggested to represent a distinct class of intrusive/extrusive central complex, although probably common in large igneous provinces.

Practical XRF Calibration Procedures for Major and Trace Elements

Different calibration procedures for the determination of major and trace elements by XRF analysis are presented and discussed. Empirical calibration curves comparing intensities with concentrations can be used for the analysis of samples with limited variations of the matrix composition. However, a general-purpose calibration procedure that is applicable to a larger variety of matrix types and covering wider ranges of the analyte concentration is usually more desirable. This paper presents practical and simple calibration procedures for the determination of major and trace elements that will allow one to adapt any mathematical model to any set of experimental data while producing the maximum of accuracy in the final results. It is also shown how to calculate from multi-element standards a practical intensity of the pure analyte, thus eliminating the requirement for a pure analyte specimen.

Oxygen isotope geochemistry of the Mesozoic volcanics of the Etendeka Formation, Namibia

The Etendeka Formation volcanics consist of a bimodal association of basalts and quartz latites. Forty three new whole rock oxygen isotope analyses are reported for all the major magma types. All the rocks except a minor suite of dolerites have higher δ18O values than normal mantle. The basic rocks (average of 29=8.8‰) have significantly different δ18O to the acid rocks (average of 10=14.4‰) These data are apparently consistent with previously published petrogenetic models, which propose that the basalts were affected by crustal contamination and that the quartz latites are crustally derived. However, mineral oxygen data show that there is significant oxygen isotopic disequilibrium between phenocryst and whole rock, the latter being significantly higher in most cases. One of the basic magma types (the Tafelberg basalts) shows mutual positive correlations between δ18O, SiO2 and ɛSr. If these correlations are due to crustal contamination, then as much as 45% contamination is required by material having a δ18O value of 15‰ which is the maximum observed value in the Damaran basement rocks. In the absence of pyroxene phenocryst δ18O data for the high ɛSr Tafelberg basalts (they are aphyric), it is not possible to confirm that contamination has taken place. An alternative explanation is that the correlation between ɛSr and SiO2 resulted from assimilation coupled with fractional crystallization (AFC) (before emplacement). Post-eruption alteration resulted in a correlation between SiO2 δ18O because the material with the most Si-O bonds was able to concentrate 18O more effectively. The limited mineral data for the quartz latites suggests that there is some source heterogeneity. A pyroxene δ18O value of 10% for a southern Etendeka quartz latite is consistent with a crustal source.