Geochemical Characterization of a Feeder-Dike System in the Seiland Igneous Complex, Northern Norway: Implications for Geotectonic Environment of Emplacement

• Main Author: Keathley, Danielle E.
• Other Authors: Hetherington, Callum J., Barnes, Calvin G., Barnes, Melanie A. W.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Seiland Igneous Province; Geochemistry; Tectonic environment; Norway; Seiland; Sørøy; Northern Norway
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2346/73476

The 575-560 Ma Seiland Igneous Province is an intrusive suite of mafic and ultramafic rocks, occasional mozonites and diorites, and, carbonatite and (nepheline)-syenite alkaline dikes on the northwest margin of Baltica that have a contested geo-tectonic origin. The carbonatite and alkaline magmas were used to argue for a rift environment, but such magmatism may occur in back-arc basins or during de-suturing of a continent-continent boundary. Another source of complexity is that many rocks are cumulates with modified geochemical signatures that makes application of compositional-based discrimination techniques challenging. A suite of mafic-ultramafic, monzodiorite and nepheline monzonite dikes that may represent a feeder system to structurally higher plutons were sampled on the island of Sørøy. They were geochemically analyzed and the data used to test compositional-based models for geo-tectonic environments of emplacement. Geochemically, with increasing SiO2, the rocks have increasing Al2O3, Na2O, and K2O with decreasing TiO2, Fe2O3, MgO, CaO, and P2O5, and are enriched in Sr, Ba, and Rb relative to N-MORB. Some high-field strength elements (Th, Ta, Nb) are enriched by factors of 10 to 100 compared to N-MORB, while others (Zr to Yb) have values closer to unity or less. Chondrite normalized whole-rock REE patterns are LREE enriched and the mafic to ultramafic samples have consistently negative REE slopes, although HREE slopes flatten and turn slightly positive as silica content increases. All samples have positive Eu anomalies that increase in magnitude from ultramafic to mafic through the nepheline monzonites. Chondrite normalized REE patterns for amphibole in the mafic to ultramafic samples have flat or slightly positive sloped LREE patterns that become negative from MREEs to the HREEs. Trace element geochemistry reflects increasing Ce/Yb, Th/Yb, and Ta/Yb ratios with increasing alkalinity and SiO2 content. Pearce discrimination diagrams show that many of the dikes are compositionally similar to within-plate ...