Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4732060 Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 2010 14 Pages PDF
Abstract

Post-collisional potassic and ultrapotassic (UP) alkaline magmas were erupted northwest of Marand in northern part of Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc (UDMA) during Plio-Quaternary. The studied rocks display microlithic porphyritic texture with phenocrysts of clinopyroxene, leucite, and plagioclase ± biotite ± olivine. The UP volcanic rocks are mostly silica undersaturated with normative nepheline, high Mg#, and high K2O/Na2O ratios. They are characterized by significant enrichment in LILE and LREE and depletion in selected high-field-strength elements, such as Nb, Ta and Ti. All of the studied samples display fractionated REE pattern (Ce/Yb)N = (15.39–18.08) and negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu∗ = 0.71–0.78). Furthermore, they exhibit high Ba/Nb (41–60) and Ba/Ta (682–1139) ratios, which are a typical feature of subduction related-magmas. Rare-earth element modeling, Rb/Sr and Ba/Rb ratios indicate that they can be generated from low degree partial melting of lithospheric mantle with phlogopite-garnet peridotite source. We suggest that post-collisional volcanic activity during late Miocene to Quaternary occurred by rollback and slab breakoff processes after Neo-Tethys subduction. The slab breakoff mechanism would have caused the direct contact of hot asthenospheric mantle with metasomatised sub-continental lithospheric mantle and also has increased the thermal gradient, which weakened the lithosphere and assisted to lithospheric extension and magma ascent.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Geology
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