René C. Maury

Clinopyroxene composition as a method of identification of the magmatic affinities of paleo-volcanic series

A set of discrimination diagrams have been derived from a statistical study of the Ti, Cr, Ca, Al and Na contents of over 706 analyses of calcic clinopyroxene phenocrysts from recent volcanic rocks of various magmatic types from various tectonic settings. Using these diagrams three major basaltic groups can be distinguished with greater than 80% confidence: alkali basalts and related rocks, tholeiites from spreading centres and orogenic basalts. Thesediagrams can be used to identify the magmatic affinities of paleo-volcanic series where, in spite of metamorphic or metasomatic transformations, primary clinopyroxene phenocrysts are commonly preserved. This method is applied successfully to six examples of Mesozoic to Paleozoic metabasites and spilitized volcanic rocks.

Can slab melting be caused by flat subduction

Slab melting has been suggested as a likely source of adakitic arc magmas (i.e., andesitic and dacitic magmas strongly depleted in Y and heavy rare earth elements). Existing numerical and petrologic models, however, restrict partial melting to very young (≤ 5 Ma) oceanic crust (typically at 60–80 km depth). Paradoxically, most of the known Pliocene-Quaternary adakite occurrences are related to subduction of 10–45 Ma lithosphere, which should not be able to melt under normal subduction-zone thermal gradients. We propose an unusual mode of subduction known as flat subduction, occurring in ∼10% of the worlds convergent margins, that can produce the temperature and pressure conditions necessary for fusion of moderately old oceanic crust. Of the 10 known flat subduction regions worldwide, eight are linked to present or recent (<6 Ma) occurrences of adakitic magmas. Observations from Chile, Ecuador, and Costa Rica suggest a three-stage evolution: (1) steep subduction produces a narrow calc-alkaline arc, typically ∼300 km from the trench, above the asthenospheric wedge; (2) once flat subduction begins, the lower plate travels several hundred kilometers at nearly the same depth, thus remaining in a pressure-temperature window allowing slab melting over this broad distance; and (3) once flat subduction continues for several million years, the asthenospheric wedge disappears, and a volcanic gap results, as in modern-day central Chile or Peru. The proposed hypothesis, which reconciles thermal models with geochemical observations, has broad implications for the study of arc magmatism and for the thermal evolution of convergent margins.

Evidence for mantle metasomatism by hydrous silicic melts derived from subducted oceanic crust.

The low concentrations of niobium, tantalum and titanium observed in island-arc basalts are thought to result from modification of the sub-arc mantle by a metasomatic agent, deficient in these elements, that originates from within the subducted oceanic crust. Whether this agent is an hydrous fluid or a silica-rich melt has been discussed using mainly a trace-element approach and related to variable thermal regimes of subduction zones. Melting of basalt in the absence of fluid both requires high temperatures and yields melt compositions unlike those found in most modern or Mesozoic island arcs. Thus, metasomatism by fluids has been thought to be the most common situation. Here, however, we show that the melting of basalt under both H2O-added and low-temperature conditions can yield extremely alkali-rich silicic liquids, the alkali content of which increases with pressure. These liquids are deficient in titanium and in the elements niobium and tantalum and are virtually identical to glasses preserved in mantle xenoliths found in subduction zones and to veins found in exhumed metamorphic terranes of fossil convergent zones. We also found that the interaction between such liquids and mantle olivine produces modal mineralogies that are identical to those observed in metasomatized Alpine-type peridotites. We therefore suggest that mantle metasomatism by slab-derived melt is a more common process than previously thought.

The geochemistry of young volcanism throughout western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica: an overview

Oblique aseismic subduction below western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica has produced Recent arc-related volcanism. The aseismicity is probably related to the subduction of relatively hot oceanic lithosphere. The volcanism throughout this region over the past 2 Ma has been quite distinct, consisting of felsic magmas (andesites to rhyolites but mainly dacites) with geochemical signatures suggesting a metamorphosed basaltic source. It is believed that the subduction of young oceanic crust sets up conditions under which the slab melts rather than the overlying mantle wedge. Rocks with slab-melt geochemistries and associated with young subducted crust have been termed adakites elsewhere. The young adakite melts are sometimes associated with a few rare young high-Nb basalts, but there is no obvious genetic link between them through differentiation. High-Nb basalts may also be derived from the partial melting of the subducted oceanic crust. High-Nb basalt migmatites have been found with pegmatites of adakite compositions in the exposed subduction terrain of the Catalina Schist, California. Alternatively, the high-Nb basalts may be partial melts of phlogopite-rich mantle that has previously reacted with adakite magmas. Eruption of adakites and high-Nb basalts was preceded by a 2-3 Ma period of relative quiescence. Prior to this, there was a 7 Ma period of calc-alkaline volcanism typical of the present-day magmatism (associated with a distinct Benioff zone) found throughout the Central American arc. The abrupt transition in volcanism with time from an early calc-alkaline sequence to a later adakite-high-Nb basalt sequence may record a change in the tectonic setting of western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica over the past 12 Ma.

Trace element and SrNdPb isotopic constraints on a three-component model of Kamchatka Arc petrogenesis

The Kamchatka arc (Russia) is located in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and is divided into three segments by major sub-latitudinal fault zones (crustal discontinuities). The southern (SS) and central (CS) segments are associated with the subduction of old Pacific lithosphere, whereas the northern, inactive segment (NS) was formed during westward subduction of young (< 15 Ma) Komandorsky Basin oceanic crust. Further segmentation of the arc is outlined by the development of the Central Kamchatka Depression (CKD) intra-arc rift, which is oriented parallel to the arc and is splitting the CS into the active Eastern Volcanic Front (EVF) and the largely inactive, rear-arc Sredinny Range. The NS volcanics (15-5 Ma) include calc-alkaline lavas, shoshonites, adakites, and Nb-enriched arc basalts. Isotopically all magma types share high 143Nd/144Nd ratios of 0.512976-0.513173 coupled with variable 87Sr/86Sr (0.702610-0.70356). NS lavas plot within or slightly above the Pacific MORB field on the Pb isotopic diagrams. The EVF volcanoes have more radiogenic 143Nd/144Nd (0.51282-0.513139) and 208Pb/204Pb (38.011–38.1310) than the NS lavas. CKD lavas display MORB-like Nd isotope ratios at slightly elevated 87Sr/86Sr values accompanied by a slightly less radiogenic Pb composition. Kamchatka lavas are thought to be derived from a MORB-like depleted source modified by slab-derived siliceous melts (adakites) and fluids (NS), or fluids alone (CS and SS). The NS and EVF lavas may have been contaminated by small fractions of a sedimentary component that isotopically resembles North Pacific sediment. Petrogenesis in the Kamchatka arc is best explained by a three-component model with depleted mantle wedge component modified by two slab components. Slab-derived hydrous melts produced incompatible element characteristics associated with northern segment lavas, while hydrous slab fluids caused melting in the depleted mantle below the southern and central segments of the Kamchatka arc. Trace element characteristics of Kamchatka lavas appear to be controlled by slab fluids or melts, while radiogenic isotope ratios which are uniform throughout the arc reflect depleted composition of sub-arc mantle wedge.

Origin of anomalous rare-earth element and yttrium enrichments in subaerially exposed basalts: Evidence from French Polynesia

Abstract Basalts from French Polynesian islands occasionally display extremely high abundances and anomalous distributions of rare-earth elements (REE) and yttrium, whereas other incompatible element concentrations and O, Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios do not differ from those of “normal” basalts from the same area. The REE- and Y-enriched basalts contribute up to 15% of the sample set, suggesting that this feature is more widespread than previously thought. REE-Y enrichment is related to the presence of rhabdophane-type REE-Y-phosphate identified through electron microprobe analyses in the most enriched sample and inferred from leaching experiments in the others. This phenomenon is confined to subaerially exposed basaltic sequences, indicating a close relationship to supergene processes. This is supported by negative Ce anomalies in these basalts, since decoupling of Ce from the other REE is restricted to oxidizing, low-temperature, aqueous environments. Similar Nd isotopic ratios for enriched and normal basalts allow us to exclude the possibility that additional REE and Y are derived from marine sediments or guano, but rather suggest an origin from the local basalts. Moreover, light REE enrichment in the REE-Y-phosphates suggests short migration distances of the fluids, supporting the conclusion that additional REE and Y were mobilized from weathered basalts and transported by descending meteoric waters.

Initiation of subduction and the generation of slab melts in western and eastern Mindanao, Philippines

Adakite, found in both the eastern and western parts of Mindanao Island, Philippines, is a rare rock type, characterized by low heavy rare earth elements and Y contents together with high Sr/Y ratios, and is considered to be the result of the melting of young subducted oceanic crust, which leaves an eclogite residue. Pliocene-Quaternary adakites from western Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula) are probably derived from the melting of the young Miocene Sulu Sea crust, which is currently subducting beneath Zamboanga. Associated Nb-enriched basalts are thought to come from mantle metasomatized through interaction with adakitic melts. In eastern Mindanao, Pliocene-Quaternary cones and plugs of typical adakitic composition mark the trace of the Philippine fault in Surigao and north Davao. The underlying Philippine Sea crust is of Eocene age and therefore cannot melt under normal subduction thermal conditions. Thermal models indicate that melting at the start of subduction can occur. Subduction of the Philippine Sea plate began 3 to 4 Ma beneath eastern Mindanao and probably accounts for the presence of adakites along the Philippine fault.

Late Miocene adakites and Nb-enriched basalts from Vizcaino Peninsula, Mexico: Indicators of East Pacific Rise subduction below southern Baja California?

A typical slab melt association was emplaced from 11 to 8 Ma in the Santa Clara volcanic field, Vizcaino Peninsula, Baja California Sur. It includes adakitic domes and associated pyroclastic flow deposits, together with lava flows of niobium-enriched basalts. The trace element and isotopic (Sr-Nd-Pb) signatures of adakites are consistent with melting of altered mid-ocean ridge basalts, and the sources of the Nb-enriched basalts contain an enriched mantle wedge component. Such associations commonly form at depths of 70–80 km during low-dip subduction of very young oceanic crust. However, the Santa Clara field is relatively close (100 km) to the paleotrench, which suggests that the genesis of its adakites and Nb- enriched basalts occurred in a very high thermal regime linked to the subduction of the then-active Guadalupe spreading center of the East Pacific Rise. Our data suggest that the asthenospheric window documented below northern Baja California also developed beneath the south of the peninsula during the Neogene. This hypothesis is consistent with the spatial distribution and the ages of adakites and magnesian andesites from this region.

Post-collisional transition from calc-alkaline to alkaline volcanism during the Neogene in Oranie (Algeria): magmatic expression of a slab breakoff

Abstract During the Neogene, a magmatic change from calc-alkaline to alkaline types occurred in all the regions surrounding the western Mediterranean. This change has been studied in Oranie (western Algeria). In this area, potassic to shoshonitic calc-alkaline andesites (with La/Nb ratios in the range 4–6) were mainly erupted between 12 and 9 Ma. They were followed (between 10 and 7 Ma) by basalts displaying geochemical features which are transitional between calc-alkaline and alkaline lavas (La/Nb=1–1.7). After a ca. 3-Ma quiescence period, volcanic activity resumed, with the eruption of OIB-type alkaline basalts (La/Nb=0.5–0.6), from 4 to 0.8 Ma. A combined geochemical approach, using incompatible elements and Sr, Nd and O isotopes, allows us to conclude that the transitional basalts derived from the melting of a heterogeneous mantle source, at the boundary between lithosphere and asthenosphere. We propose that melting of a previously subduction-modified lithospheric mantle occurred between 12 and 10 Ma, in response to the upwelling of hot asthenosphere flowing up into an opening gap above a detached sinking slab. As a result, calc-alkaline magmas were formed. From 10 to 7 Ma, the transitional basalts were generated through melting of the boundary mantle zone between the lithosphere and the upwelling asthenosphere. During that stage, the contribution of the lithospheric source was still predominant. Then, as sinking of the oceanic slab progressed, the increasing uprise of the asthenosphere led to the formation and emplacement (from 4 to 0.8 Ma) of typical within-plate alkaline basalts derived from a plume-modified asthenospheric mantle.

Partition coefficients of trace elements: Application to volcanic rocks of St. Vincent, West Indies

Abstract Island arc basaltic rocks (basalts and basic andesites with SiO 2 P - T conditions. The temperatures obtained from the geothermometers based upon the distribution of the major elements are in good agreement with the data from trace element geothermometers.