Luigi Beccaluva

Petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the Roman Volcanic Province, Italy

Abstract The volcanism in the Roman Province of Italy can be modelled by the partial melting of heterogeneously enriched mantle sources. The heterogeneity was created by materials derived from a subducted slab which can still be traced geophysically beneath the central Apennines. New petrographical and chemical data are presented for the high-K calc-alkaline and the shoshonitic volcanics of the Campania region. Primary magmas are present only locally. The existence of spatial zonation in the volcanism of Campania is documented for the first time. The shoshonitic, leucite-basanitic and leucititic volcanics of the Phlegraean Fields-Procida-Ischia and the Somma-Vesuvius areas are, at similar degrees of evolution, about two times richer in Nb and Ba than those of northwestern Campania and the Latium part of the Roman Province. Accordingly, distinct north-western and south-eastern subprovinces can be defined. The evaluation of enrichment factors, that is the abundance ratio between the average contents of each element in the relatively primitive lavas of the low K- and the high K suites, shows that the mantle sources prior to K-metasomatism were different in the two sub-provinces of the Roman Province. In the north-western one, they resembled the sources of ocean-island tholeiites and moderately enriched MOR-basalts. In the south-east they were similar to those of ocean island alkaline lavas and enriched MORBs. Modelling based on K, P, Ce, Sr, Rb, Ba, Th, Sm, Eu, Gd, Y, Nb and 87 Sr 86 Sr was carried out. It indicates that the range of mantle sources of the volcanics in northwestern Campania and Latium can be modelled by the addition of 3 to 20% of materials derived by partial melting of carbonaceous pelites to a Sr-enriched mantle wedge comparable to the Honolulu mantle source least enriched in Nb. The production of Sr-enriched mantle wedge requires either the action of fluids produced by dehydration of subducted oceanic crust, or a small amount of metasomatism caused by the presence of carbonatite melts. The near absence of Ti, Ta, Nb, Yb and the highly fractionated REE in the metasomatizing component requires the presence of residual garnet and accessory Ti-rich minerals during the partial melting of the subducted sediments. The writers propose that the mantle wedge overlying the subducted slab was hybridized by melts produced by partial fusion of subducted material derived from the continental crust, probably sediments. This process played a dominant role in the generation of the mantle sources from which the high-K calc-alkaline, shoshonitic, leucite-basanitic and leucititic magmas of the Roman Province were derived.

Glasses in mantle xenoliths as geochemical indicators of metasomatic agents

Abstract An extensive comparison between world-wide occurrences of mantle glasses in both continental and oceanic settings is presented here. Several localities were chosen on the basis of the available major (and trace) element data, coupled with a clear identification of the nature of the metasomatizing agents. Xenoliths bearing amphibole and/or phlogopite, which can strongly affect the glass chemistry, were not considered. Despite their considerable geochemical variability world-wide, glasses are rather homogeneous within single xenoliths and their main geochemical features are broadly maintained in the same area. Orthopyroxene always plays a major role in glass genesis, as suggested by the relationship between its presence in the primary assemblage and the silica saturation degree, as well as by the FeO vs. SiO2 decreasing trends. At the same time, the absence of any correlation between mg# and SiO2 rules out the possibility of glass chemistry resulting from (or being affected by) secondary mineral fractionation. Thus, the geochemical features of mantle glasses are a powerful tool for investigating the nature of the metasomatic melts. According to available data, glasses in mantle xenoliths from Gran Comore, Samoa, Spitsbergen, Mongolia and Hoggar have been related to carbonatite metasomatism, whereas glasses in mantle xenoliths from Mt. Lessini, Hawaii, Cape Verde and Yitong have been related to metasomatism by alkali silicate basic melts. Moreover, the distinctly different alkali contents in Mt. Lessini and Hawaii glasses as compared with those of Cape Verde and Yitong allow a sodic signature to be attributed to the alkali silicate metasomatic melt of the former with respect to a potassic characteristic of the latter. Glasses related to carbonatite metasomatism are characterized by high CaO, Na2O, and low SiO2 and K2O contents, with Na2O/K2O ratios usually greater than 2; they tend to have the highest Nb and LREE and the lowest Zr and Ti contents. On the other hand, glasses related to K-alkali silicate metasomatism are mainly characterized by high SiO2 and K2O and low CaO and NaO contents, with Na2O/K2O ratios less than 1; they generally present higher Rb and lower Nb and REE contents. Glasses related to Na-alkali silicate metasomatism are characterized by SiO2 contents comparable to those related to K-alkali silicate metasomatism, but present higher Na2O contents (in any case lower than those of carbonatite metasomatism), with Na2O/K2O ratios usually ranging between 1 and 2. On these bases, diagrams for discriminating between carbonatite- and Na-alkali or K-alkali silicate-related metasomatism are presented.

Clinopyroxene composition of ophiolite basalts as petrogenetic indicator

Abstract A statistical microprobe study has been carried out on augitic clinopyroxene in high-Ti to low-Ti metabasalts from various Phanerozoic ophiolites; a comparison has been made with clinopyroxenes from mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), oceanic intraplate basalts, island-arc tholeiites and boninites. Leaving aside the effect of cooling rate and of fractional crystallization as major factors influencing pyroxene chemistry, their composition appears to be essentially related to the type of host magma. Both the TiO2 and the TiO 2 Al 2 O 3 in clinopyroxenes are positively correlated with the Zr/Y ratios of the host basalts, which is a diagnostic parameter insensitive to alteration increasing regularly from low-Ti to high-Ti ophiolitic basalts. Ti also shows a positive correlation and average D Ti Cpx rock partition coefficients varying from 0.3–0.6 to 1 from low-Ti to high-Ti basalts, which compare favorably with those from Tongan (southwest Pacific) basaltic andesites (0.3–0.6) and MORB (0.75), respectively. Likewise the average K Fe Mg calculated for clinopyroxene-rock pairs varies from 0.20 in low-Ti basalts to 0.26 in high-Ti basalts up to 0.33 in the highest-Ti rocks, suggesting a significant dependence of this parameter on magma composition. The compositional correspondence of clinopyroxenes from various ophiolitic basalts with those from oceanic actualistic equivalents is shown in various diagrams. Concomitantly with increasing TiO2 and Na2O and decreasing SiO2 contents, clinopyroxenes from very low-Ti to high-Ti ophiolitic basalts are best equated with those from boninites, basaltic andesites and tholeiites from island arcs, and MORB, respectively. Accordingly, a parallel increase is shown by the substitutional molecules CaTiAl2O6 and NaTiSiAlO6. Within each basalt type, fractional crystallization processes are reflected in the NaTiSiAlO6 and FeTiAl2O6 increase and MgCrSiAlO6 decrease from early to late crystallized clinopyroxenes.

Mineralogical, petrological and geochemical aspects of alkaline and alkaline-carbonatite associations from Brazil

Abstract A general description of Mesozoic and Tertiary (Fortaleza) Brazilian alkaline and alkaline-carbonatite districts is presented with reference to mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry and geochronology. It mainly refers to scientific results obtained during the last decade by an Italo-Brazilian research team. Alkaline occurrences are distributed across Brazilian territory from the southern (Piratini, Rio Grande do Sul State) to the northeastern (Fortaleza, Ceara State) regions and are mainly concentrated along the borders of the Parana Basin generally coinciding with important tectonic lineaments. The most noteworthy characteristics of these alkaline and alkaline-carbonatite suites are: (i) prevalence of intrusive forms; (ii) abundance of cumulate assemblages (minor dunites, frequent clinopyroxenites and members of the ijolite series) and (iii) abundance of evolved rock-types. Many data demonstrate that crystal fractionation was the main process responsible for magma evolution of all Brazilian alkaline rocks. A hypothesis is proposed for the genesis of carbonatite liquids by immiscibility processes. The incidence of REE and trace elements for different major groups of lithotypes, belonging both to carbonatite-bearing and carbonatite-free districts, are documented. Sr and preliminary Nd isotopic data are indicative of a mantle origin for the least evolved magmas of all the studied occurrences. Mantle source material and melting models for the generation of the Brazilian alkaline magma types are also discussed.

The southern margin of the Caribbean Plate in Venezuela: tectono-magmatic setting of the ophiolitic units and kinematic evolution

Abstract The southern Caribbean Plate margin in Venezuela consists of a W–E elongated deformed belt, composed of several tectonic units dismembered along the northern part of the South America continental Plate since the Late Cretaceous. The present review, based on petrology and tectono-magmatic significance of each unit, makes it possible to define the main geotectonic elements and to reconstruct the paleogeographic domains from Late Jurassic to Tertiary: (a) Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB) proto-Caribbean oceanic basin (Loma de Hierro Unit); (b) oceanic plateau (Dutch and Venezuelan Islands basement); (c) rifted continental margin (Cordillera de La Costa and Caucagua–El Tinaco Units) with Within Plate Tholeiitic (WPTh) magmatism; (d) an intra-oceanic subduction zone represented by Island Arc Tholeiitic (IAT) magmatism (Villa de Cura and Dos Hermanas Units) of Early Cretaceous age; (e) an Early Cretaceous ocean–continent subduction trench filled by melange (Franja Costera); (f) a new intra-oceanic subduction zone, represented by the tonalitic arc magmatism of Late Cretaceous age (Dutch and Venezuelan Islands). Regional tectonic constraints and coherent kinematic reconstruction suggest an original “near-Mid America” location of the Jurassic–Cretaceous “proto-Caribbean” oceanic realm. From Early to Late Cretaceous one sub-continental subduction with melanges (Franja Costera Unit) and two main stages of intra-oceanic arc magmatism are recorded in the so-called “eo-Caribbean” phases. The first consists of generally metamorphosed and deformed volcano-plutonic sequences with IAT affinity (Villa de Cura and Dos Hermanas Units), probably in relation to a southeastward-dipping subduction. The second is mainly represented by generally unmetamorphosed tonalitic intrusives cutting the oceanic plateau in the Dutch and Venezuelan Islands, and related to the new intra-oceanic subduction with reverse lithospheric sinking. The latter probably marked the onset of the Aves/Lesser Antilles arc system in the Late Cretaceous.

Heavy metals in soils and sedimentary deposits of the Padanian Plain (Ferrara, Northern Italy): characterisation and biomonitoring

PurposeThis contribution investigates agricultural soils and sedimentary deposits in the province of Ferrara (Padanian alluvial plain, Northern Italy) in order to: examine their genesis; to define the geochemical background of the area; and to evaluate the existence of anthropogenic contamination. Moreover, environmental risk related to the presence of potentially toxic heavy metals that can be transferred into agricultural products (and consequently bio-accumulated in the food chain) was also assessed.Materials and methodsThe analyses (reported in an extensive supplementary dataset) include XRD, XRF and ICP-MS assessment of bulk sediments, tests of metal extraction with aqua regia, as well as analyses of local agricultural products, i.e. biomonitoring which is important in the evaluation of element mobility.Results and discussionBased on the results, GIS-based geochemical maps were produced and local background levels were defined. This approach demonstrated that high concentrations of Cr and Ni is a natural (geogenic) feature of the local alluvial terrains, which in turn is related to the origin and provenance of the sediments, as confirmed by the lack of top enrichment in all of the investigated sites. Tests of metal extraction and analyses of agricultural products provide guidelines for agricultural activities, suggesting that extensive use of sewage sludge, industrial slurry and manure (that are often rich in metals) should be minimised.ConclusionsThe dataset reported in this paper shows that the agricultural terrains of the studied alluvial plain are not characterised by anthropogenic heavy metal pollution. In spite of the elevated natural background of Cr and Ni, most of the local agricultural products do not show significant evidence of bio-magnification. Exceptions are represented by forage grass (alfalfa) and corn (maize) that tend to uptake As and Ni, respectively. This demonstrates that in agricultural areas, a geochemical risk assessment must include both soil and plant investigations.

The role of HIMU metasomatic components in the North African lithospheric mantle: Petrological evidence from the Gharyan lherzolite xenoliths, NW Libya

Abstract The Neogene–Quaternary alkali-basalt–hawaiite lavas of the Gharyan volcanic field (NW Libya) contain mantle xenoliths. These mostly consist of protogranular spinel lherzolites with superimposed metasomatic textures represented by reaction patches where primary orthopyroxene (opx), clinopyroxene (cpx) and spinel (sp) are the main reacting phases. The secondary parageneses include clinopyroxene (cpx2), olivine (ol2) and feldspar (feld) as reaction rims around opx, spongy-textured clinopyroxene with recrystallized portions (cpx2±feldspar), and brown spinel destabilized in a higher Cr/(Cr+Al) black vermicular aggregate (sp2) generally associated with feldspar microlites. Cpx2 are typically depleted in Na2O and Al2O3 relative to cpx; feldspar includes both alkali-feldspar (Or 17–51) and plagioclase (An 23–64). Bulk rocks have flat heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns (1.2–2.3 times chondrite) and are variably enriched in light REE (LREE; LaN/YbN up to 6.6). The constituent clinopyroxenes are characterized by flat HREE distributions (8–14.5 times chondrite) and variable LREE enrichment with LaN/YbN up to seven, which generally conform to the bulk-rock chemistry. Samples relatively unaffected by metasomatism have clinopyroxene Sr–Nd isotopic composition (87Sr/86Sr down to 0.7023, 143Nd/144Nd up to 0.5139) that approaches the depleted mantle (DM), suggesting that the lithospheric mantle beneath the area underwent a long-term depletion probably by pre-Palaeozoic extraction of basic melts. The remaining samples approach 87Sr/86Sr c. 0.7030, 143Nd/144Nd c. 0.5130, with 206Pb/204Pb up to 19.66. These data imply that the causative agents of metasomatism were Na-alkali silicate melts with a clear HIMU affinity, in accordance with the isotopic signature of the host lavas (87Sr/86Sr=0.7032, 143Nd/144Nd=0.5130, 206Pb/204Pb=19.60). This prevalent HIMU geochemical signature is comparable with that recorded in Cenozoic alkaline basic lavas and associated mantle xenoliths from other occurrences of the northern–central African lithosphere, suggesting a common regional sub-lithospheric component. The relatively low 3He/4He of the Gharyan xenoliths (5.3–6.5 Ra) indicates that this component originates within the upper mantle and is unrelated to the deep-seated mantle plume source of the Ethiopian–Yemen plateau basalts. Therefore, the Cenozoic volcanic districts of the Saharan belt could be related to smaller-scale shallow mantle upwellings (also referred to as ‘hot fingers’) triggered by intraplate reactivation of regional tectonic lineaments within the Pan-African cratonic basement, as a foreland reaction of the African–Europe collisional system.

Caribbean Plate margin evolution: constraints and current problems

Oceanic crust was generated at multiple spreading centres during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, forming a “proto-Caribbean” oceanic domain. During the Cretaceous, part of that crustal domain thickened into an oceanic plateau, of petrologic Mid-Ocean Ridge (MOR) to Ocean Island Basalt (OIB) affinity. Simultaneously, the South and North American continental plates developed rifting and tholeiitic magmatism in the Middle America region (Venezuela and Cuba). The rifting created space for the proto-Caribbean oceanic domain. Petrological and regional correlations suggest that, beginning in the Cretaceous, the proto-Caribbean domain was involved into two main stages of subduction, referred to as first and second “eo-Caribbean” phases. Each phase is characterized by oblique convergence. The older (mid-Cretaceous) stage, involved in subduction (probably eastward dipping) of thin proto-Caribbean lithosphere, with generation of Island Arc Tholeiitic (IAT) and Calc-Alkaline (CA) magmatism, accompanied by high pressure - low temperature (HP - LT) metamorphic effects, and formation of arc units and ophiolitic melanges (Guatemala, Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, in the northern margin; Venezuela in the southern). The Late Cretaceous second stage consisted of westward dipping intra-oceanic subduction; it is recorded by tonalitic arc magmatism related to the onset of the Aves - Lesser Antilles arc system. Since the Late Cretaceous, the inner undeformed portions of the Caribbean oceanic plateau (i.e. the Colombian and Venezuelan Basins) were trapped east of the Pacific subduction of the Chortis, Chorotega and Choco blocks, ultimately building the Central American Isthmus. From Tertiary to Present, continuous eastward movement of the Caribbean Plate with respect to the Americas, gave rise to transpression along both the northern and southern margins, marked by scattered and dismembered ophiolitic terranes.

Chemical evolution, petrogenesis, and regional chemical correlations of the flood basalt sequence in the central Deccan Traps, India

The lava sequence of the central-western Deccan Traps (from Jalgaon towards Mumbai) is formed by basalts and basaltic andesites having a significant variation in TiO2 (from 1.2 to 3.3 wt%), Zr (from 84 to 253 ppm), Nb (from 5 to 16ppm) and Ba (from 63 to 407 ppm), at MgO ranging from 10 to 4.2 wt%. Most of these basalts follow a liquid line of descent dominated by low pressure fractionation of clinopyroxene, plagioclase and olivine, starting from the most mafic compositions, in a temperature range from 1220° to 1125°C. These rocks resemble those belonging to the lower-most formations of the Deccan Traps in the Western Ghats (Jawhar, Igatpuri and Thakurvadi) as well as those of the Poladpur formation. Samples analyzed for87Sr/86Sr give a range of initial ratios from 0.70558 to 0.70621. A group of flows of the Dhule area has low TiO2 (1.2–1.5 wt%) and Zr (84–105 ppm) at moderate MgO (5.2–6.2 wt%), matching the composition of low-Ti basalts of Gujarat, low-Ti dykes of the Tapti swarm and Toranmal basalts, just north of the study area. This allows chemical correlations between the lavas of central Deccan, the Tapti dykes and the north-western outcrops. The mildly enriched high field strength element contents of the samples with TiO2 > 1.5 wt% make them products of mantle sources broadly similar to those which generated the Ambenali basalts, but their high La/Nb and Ba/Nb, negative Nb anomalies in the mantle normalized diagrams, and relatively high87Sr/86Sr, make evident a crustal input with crustally derived materials at less differentiated stages than those represented in this sample set, or even within the sub-Indian lithospheric mantle.

Mantle metasomatism by melts of HIMU piclogite components: new insights from Fe-lherzolite xenoliths (Calatrava Volcanic District, central Spain)

Abstract Mantle xenoliths from the Calatrava Volcanic District (CLV), central Spain, are characterized by a wide compositional range that includes lherzolites (prevalent), as well as minor amounts of wehrlite, olivine (ol)-websterite and rare dunites. They generally have a bulk-rock Mg# of less than 89, lower than any primordial mantle estimates. Intra-suite variations in modal proportions are inconsistent with those predicted by melting models irrespective of the starting composition; mineral and bulk-rock variation diagrams show inconsistencies between the CLV compositions (anomalously enriched in Fe–Ti) and those predicted from the partial melting of primordial mantle material. Processes other than pure melt extraction are confirmed by the whole-rock REE (rare earth element) budget, typically characterized by LREE enrichments, with LaN/YbN (up to 6.7), probably related to pervasive metasomatism. CLV mantle clinopyroxenes (cpx) generally display fractionated REE patterns with upwards-convex shapes, characterized by low HREE (Tm–Lu) concentrations (typically <6× chondrite) and enrichments in middle–light REE (MREE–LREE) (NdN/YbN up to 7, LaN/YbN up to 5). These ‘enriched’ cpx compositions either result from re-equilibration of primary mantle cpx with an incoming melt, or represent cpx crystallization directly from the metasomatic agent. The latter was plausibly generated at greater depths in the presence of residual garnet (from peridotite or eclogite starting materials). Separated cpx have homogeneous 87Sr/86Sr compositions between 0.7031 and 0.7032; 143Nd/144Nd ranges from 0.51288 to 0.51295 (ϵNd 4.74–6.07) and 176Hf/177Hf is in the range 0.28302–0.28265 (ϵHf −3.6 to 9.0). Unlike mantle xenoliths and alpine-type peridotites from other Iberian occurrences, which range in composition from the depleted mantle (DM) to the enriched mantle (EM), the CLV mantle cpx approach the composition of the HIMU mantle end member, the genesis of which is generally interpreted as the result of long-term recycling of oceanic basalts/gabbros (or their eclogitic equivalent) via ancient subduction. A model is proposed for the mantle evolution under central Iberia, where sublithospheric convective instabilities – possibly triggered by the neighbouring subduction along the Betic collisional belt – could have remobilized deep domains from the mantle ‘transition zone’ (410–660 km), which may include relicts of older subducted slabs. Within these remobilized domains, characterized by the coexistence of peridotite and eclogite and referred to as a ‘piclogite’ association, the eclogites melt preferentially generating Fe–Ti rich melts characterized by a HIMU isotopic signature that infiltrates and metasomatizes the shallower lithospheric mantle.