Spatial, temporal and geochemical characteristics of Silurian collision-zone magmatism, Newfoundland Appalachians: An example of a rapidly evolving magmatic system related to slab break-off

• Published in: Lithos
• Main Authors: Whalen, Joseph B., McNicoll, Vicki J., van Staal, Cees R., Lissenberg, Cornelis Johan, Longstaffe, Frederick J., Jenner, George A., van Breeman, Otto
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Elsevier 2006
• Subjects: GC Oceanography; QE Geology; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/9916/; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2005.12.011

Silurian plutonic suites in the Newfoundland Appalachians include abundant gabbro, monzogabbro and granite to granodiorite and lesser quartz diorite and tonalite. Most are medium- to high-K, but included are some low-K and shoshonitic mafic compositions. Felsic rocks are of both alkaline (A-type or within-plate granite (WPG)) and calc-alkaline volcanic arc granite (VAG) affinity. Mafic rocks include both arc-like (Nb/Th < 3) calc-alkaline and non-arc-like (Nb/Th > 3) transitional calc-alkaline basalt to continental tholeiitic affinity compositions. εNd(T) values range from − 9.6 to + 5.4 and δ18O (VSMOW) values range from + 3.1 to + 13.2‰. A rapid progression from exclusively arc-type to non-arc-like mafic and then contemporaneous WPG plus VAG magmatism has been documented using precise U–Pb zircon dating. Earlier arc-like plutonism indicates subduction, while asthenosphere-derived mafic magmas support slab break-off, due to subduction of a young, warm back-arc basin. Contemporaneous mafic magmas with arc and non-arc geochemical signatures may reflect tapping of asthenospheric and subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) sources and/or contamination of asthenosphere-derived magmas by SCLM or crust. The brevity (< 5 Ma) of the mafic magmatic pulse agrees with the transient nature of magmatism associated with slab break-off. The subsequent ca. 1 to 2 m.y. period of voluminous WPG and VAG plutonism likely reflects mafic magma-driven partial melting of both SCLM and crustal sources, respectively. Continuation of VAG-like magmatism for an additional 2 to 5 m.y. may reflect lower solidus temperatures of crustal materials, enabling anatexis to continue after mantle melting ceased. East to west spatial variation of εNd and (La/Yb)CN in Silurian plutons suggests a transition from shallow melting of juvenile sources proximal to the collision zone to deeper melting of old source materials in the garnet-stability field further inboard. Previous work has demonstrated that geochemical discriminaton of ...