José Julián Esteban

Tectonic evidence in the Ronda peridotites, Spain, for mantle diapirism related to delamination

The contribution of asthenospheric diapirs to the exhumation of orogenic lherzolites from the mantle to Earths surface is a major issue in the evolution of orogenic belts. Detailed maps of the trajectories of the foliation in the Carratraca massifs of the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordillera, southern Spain) provide evidence for a narrow mantle diapir that was formed in early Miocene time. When set in its geologic and petrologic context, this diapir documents the injection of hot asthenosphere into older and cooler lithospheric mantle, possibly in response to the delamination of the lithosphere that had been thickened during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic convergence of the African and Iberian plates from Cretaceous time onward.

A revised Aquitanian age for the emplacement of the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordilleras, southern Spain)

The hot emplacement of the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordilleras) developed a dynamothermal aureole and partial melts that led to the intrusion of granite dykes in the peridotites. Previous geochronological data place rather broad limits for this event between 22 and 19 Ma. Analyses of neocrystalline zircon rims from large zircon populations yield a U–Pb SHRIMP age of 22.3±0.7 Ma for the dynamothermal aureole formation, and intrusion ages of granite dykes between 22.6±1.8 and 21.5±3.8 support that conclusion. Therefore, these new ages provide a more robust constraint on the hot emplacement of the Ronda peridotites at middle crustal levels.

Tectonic implications of the granite dyke swarm in the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordilleras, Southern Spain)

This paper deals with the origin and structural relationships of the leucocratic dykes that intruded the Ronda peridotites. Plagiogranites are frequent in ophiolitic sequences, but similar Si-rich melts are scarce in orogenic lherzolites. The Ronda peridotites could be an excellent target in which to look for Si-rich melts of mantle origin, as they form the largest mass of orogenic lherzolites in the world and contain many granite dykes. However, petrographic and geochemical data provide evidence that the dykes come from felsic magmas originated from partial melting of the continental crust. Structural studies of the deformed and undeformed dykes reveal that they are non-Andersonian dykes that exploited pre-existing fractures. Undeformed dykes display N15°E strike, whereas the deformed ones show N50°E or N100°E trends and sinistral and dextral shear senses, respectively. These structural data point to reactivation of pre-existing fractures either as tensional cracks (undeformed dykes) or transtensional shear zones (deformed dykes) during the ENE-directed thrusting of the Ronda peridotites. Consequently, the dominant N15°E trend of the undeformed dykes can be used to infer an ENE-thrusting direction for the buried basal shear zone of the Ronda peridotites.

Is there a time lag between the metamorphism and emplacement of plutons in the Axial Zone of the Pyrenees

Detailed petrographic and geochemical studies conducted on zircons from the Lys-Caillaouas pluton reveal their igneous and metamorphic affinities. The igneous zircons constrain the emplacement of the pluton to 300±2 Ma. By contrast, the metamorphic zircons yield an older age of 307±3 Ma, which probably dates the thermal peak of the HT/LP Variscan metamorphism. Therefore, a short time lag of c . 7 Ma emerges between the metamorphic climax and emplacement of the pluton in the Axial Zone (Pyrenees).

The Sphene-Centered Ocellar Texture: An Effect of Grain-Supported Flow and Melt Migration in a Hyperdense Magma Mush

The sphene-centered ocellar texture consists of leucocratic ocelli with sphene (titanite) crystals at the center, enclosed in a biotite-rich matrix. This texture has been recognized worldwide in hybrid intermediate rocks. On the basis of structural, petrological, and geochronological data from selected outcrops of the Variscan Ribadelago pluton (NW Iberian Massif), we propose that the ocelli were formed by migration and accumulation of a residual melt through a plagioclase- and biotite-dominated crystalline framework. At the late stage of crystallization, the magma acted as a hyperdense suspension and reacted to the pressure gradient caused by the regional stress field, entering the domain of grain-supported flow. Microstructures reveal that aligned crystal domains arose in the crystal framework from the shearing and compaction of the crystal mush and behaved as magmatic microshears. Relative displacement of adjacent crystal clusters along these microshears corresponded to the onset of Reynolds dilatancy that generated an expansion of the crystal mush, involving melt migration and pore aperture. The mineralogy of the ocelli, dominated by andesine and sphene, represents the composition of the migrating melt. The chemistry of this late, Ti-rich melt stems from the incongruent melting of biotite. Magmatic sphene from the ocelli yields a U-Pb age of Ma, which represents the final crystallization of the hybridized magmatic system. Moreover, this texture offers an opportunity to better understand the rheological behavior of highly crystallized magmas.