Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4688723 Journal of Geodynamics 2008 17 Pages PDF
Abstract
Our review suggests an alternative hypothesis, whereby source enrichment is related to the subduction of either the Budva-Pindos or Vardar Ocean during the Mesozoic-Paleogene. In this model the Alcapa microplate was transferred to its present tectonic position via extrusion and rotations. Geophysical modeling and mantle xenoliths provide evidence that this process occurred at the scale of the lithospheric mantle, indicating that the subduction-modified lithospheric mantle was coupled to the crust. Melting in the lithospheric mantle of the Alcapa unit was triggered by the extension during the formation of the Pannonian Basin. The preserved subduction-related geochemical character of volcanics in intra-plate settings that are otherwise directly unaffected by subduction, can be attributed to tectonic transport of metasomatised mantle from a previous subduction-affected setting. This model provides an alternative approach to understanding the geochemical complexity seen among intra-plate calc-alkaline volcanics, where chemical characteristics can be explained without the involvement of plumes.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes
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