volcanic plutonic parity and the differentiation of the continental crust the continental crust is central to the biological and geological history of earth however crustal heterogeneity has prevented a thorough geochemical comparison of its primary igneous building blocks volcanic and plutonic rocks and the processes by which they differentiate to felsic compositions our analysis of a comprehensive global data set of volcanic and plutonic whole rock geochemistry shows that differentiation trends from primitive basaltic to felsic compositions for volcanic versus plutonic samples are generally indistinguishable in subduction zone settings but are divergent in continental rifts offsets in major and trace element differentiation patterns in rift settings suggest higher water content in plutonic magmas and reduced eruptibility of hydrous silicate magmas relative to dry rift volcanics in both tectonic settings our results indicate that fractional crystallization rather than crustal melting is predominantly responsible for the production of intermediate and felsic magmas emphasizing the role of mafic cumulates as a residue of crustal differentiation a global geochemical data set of volcanic and plutonic rocks indicates that differentiation trends from primitive basaltic to felsic compositions for volcanic versus plutonic samples are generally indistinguishable in subduction zone settings but are divergent in continental rifts brenhin keller and co authors present a global geochemical dataset of the two fundamental building blocks of the continental crust volcanic externally erupted and plutonic internally solidified rocks their results indicate that differentiation trends from primitive basaltic to felsic compositions for volcanic versus plutonic samples are generally indistinguishable in subduction zone settings but divergent in continental rifts offsets in major and trace element differentiation patterns in rift settings suggest higher water content in plutonic magmas and reduced eruptibility of hydrous silicate magmas relative to dry rift volcanics this work indicates that in both tectonic settings fractional crystallization rather than crustal melting is predominantly responsible for the production of intermediate and felsic magmas

the gem lake shear zone cretaceous dextral transpression in the northern ritter range pendant eastern sierra nevada california the gem lake shear zone is a northwest striking steeply dipping dextral transpressional shear zone that provides the first direct evidence for dextral deformation in wall rock pendants in the central part of the sierra nevada batholith the gem lake shear zone is a minimum of 30 km in length and extends at least from the north end of the northern ritter range pendant to the southeast edge of the ritter range pendant the amount of displacement on the zone is uncertain but matching fault slivers of pennsylvanian marble in the northern ritter range pendant to similar exposures north of the mount morrison pendant suggests a minimum dextral offset of 20 km the gem lake shear zone was active in early late cretaceous time from before 91 ma the age of the syntectonic granodiorite of kuna crest to at least 80 ma 40ar 39ar age of syndeformational mica from the shear zone in the ritter range pendant deformation in the gem lake shear zone is characterized by combined dextral simple shear and subvertical stretching which are variably partitioned in anastomosing high strain zones in the shear zone at gem lake predominantly dextral deformation is indicated by porphyroclast asymmetries s c fabric and asymmetric crenulations a component of subvertical stretching is indicated by a moderately to steeply plunging stretching lineation in a segment of the shear zone at kuna crest a strongly developed stretching lineation indicates predominantly subvertical stretching with a lesser component of dextral strike slip the gem lake shear zone is considered to be part of a proposed regional system of shear zones in the eastern sierra nevada the sierra crest shear zone system this dextral transpressional system was active prior to and synchronous with intrusion of the late cretaceous sierra nevada batholiths deformation ceased shortly after pluton emplacement the sierra crest shear zone system includes possibly related shear zones as far north as saddlebag lake pendant and at least as far south as oak creek pendant and the owens valley indicating a possible strike length greater than 150 km

construction of a pluton evidence from an exposed cross section of the searchlight pluton eldorado mountains nevada a top to bottom cross section of the searchlight pluton is exposed in a large tilt block in the colorado river extensional corridor of southern nevada hornblende barometry and geologic relations indicate that the pluton was about 10 km thick extending from approximately 3 to 13 km depth the pluton is stratified with about 2 km of fine grained quartz monzonite below the roof 2 km of granite in the center and 6 km of coarser more mafic quartz monzonite at the bottom the lower unit has a pronounced magmatic foliation that was subhorizontal prior to tilting contacts between the units are gradational over a few centimeters to about 20 m geometry field relations and elemental and isotopic data suggest that the three units mark the terminal stages of evolution of magma that filled a very thick magma chamber the upper unit formed as a solidification front that migrated downward from the roof and the middle unit granite and the lower unit represent complementary segregated melt and crystal rich cumulate thus the dominant part of the pluton appears to have solidified in monotonic fashion from more or less uniform magma that was compositionally similar to the upper unit the basal quartz monzonite and the lower part of the granite enclose widely scattered synplutonic hornblende gabbro and diorite pods that range from centimeter to kilometer scale these rocks are commonly fine grained and formed as quenched mafic melts they are isotopically distinct from the main sequence and represent discrete injections into the magma chamber the mafic magmas were contaminated by but did not strongly affect the main sequence magma the nd and sr isotopic compositions of the main sequence magma are intermediate between those of regional crust and enriched mantle derived basalts like those represented by the mafic pods this suggests that the principal magma was a hybrid with about 60 mantle component and thus the pluton represents both addition to and internal reorganization of the crust

the origin of brown hornblende in the artfjallet gabbro and dolerites brown hornblende occurs in minor amounts in the artfjallet gabbro and dolerites except in quartz dolerites where a pale green hornblende occurs in the gabbro brown hornblende is mostly ti bearing pargasite or kaersutite it occurs along veins of orthopyroxene as rims around and blebs in pyroxenes with orthopyroxene in coronas between olivine and plagioclase and in coronas between ilmenite and plagioclase in the olivine dolerites and orthopyroxene dolerites brown hornblende is ferroan titanian pargasite or ferroan kaersutite the pale green hornblende in the quartz dolerites is a magnesio hornblende the hornblendes in the dolerites are interstitial or granular in some dolerites occurring as coarse oikocrysts it is proposed that under certain conditions the ti content of hornblende can be used as a thermometer derived from experimental data of helz 1973 microstructures compositions and formation temperatures 1 040 c show that the brown hornblende in the gabbro is not magmatic but of subsolidus origin probably it formed as a result of the introduction of water into the gabbro during a deformation event that occurred early in the cooling history of the gabbro least squares modelling of hornblende formation indicates that all magmatic minerals must have participated in the reaction and that the reaction probably was not isochemical microstructures compositions and formation temperatures 1 030 965 c of brown hornblende in the dolerites are consistent with late stage crystallization from the magma for the pale green hornblende in the quartz dolerites a magmatic origin is likely but cannot be proven

middle cretaceous ash flow tuff and caldera collapse deposit in the minarets caldera east central sierra nevada california a 2 3 km section of ash flow tuff and associated caldera collapse deposit representing the extrusive facies of part of the sierra nevada batholith is totally exposed from its floor to its top in the minarets caldera east central sierra nevada rapid burial and subsequent hornblende hornfels facies metamorphism resulted in remarkable preservation of primary textures and structures despite the development of cleavage domains in parts of the caldera fill late tertiary uplift and quaternary erosion have produced a rugged terrain where every meter of section is available for study large scale caldera filling eruption of ash flow tuff was interrupted by emplacement of a wedge shaped mass of caldera collapse deposit as much as 2 km thick whose volume exceeded 70 km 3 individual clasts in the caldera collapse deposit range to as much as 1 8 km across and include a wide variety of andesitic to rhyoliic lavas and related volcaniclastic rocks remnants of a precaldera volcanic field that was probably much more extensive than the caldera itself the caldera fill sequence rests with angular unconformity on a rugged surface eroded into older volcanic rocks the sequence is capped by bedded volcaniclastic rocks including delicately laminated tuffs of probable caldera lake origin the total aerial extent of the minarets caldera is not known but the area studied plus scattered pendants of ash flow tuff and associated volcaniclastic rocks to the west defines a 30 x 22 km elliptical area that may approximate its original shape the caldera fill is invaded by a body of quartz monzonite porphyry locally miarolitic that was probably emplaced during an episode of caldera resurgence

depositional features and stratigraphic sections in granitic plutons implications for the emplacement and crystallization of granitic magma abstract many granitic plutons contain sheet like masses of dioritic to gabbroic rocks or swarms of mafic to intermediate enclaves which represent the input of higher temperature more mafic magma during crystallization of the granitic plutons small scale structures associated with these bodies e g load cast and compaction features silicic pipes extending from granitic layers into adjacent gabbroic sheets indicate that the sheets and enclave swarms were deposited on a floor of the magma chamber on granitic crystal mush and beneath crystal poor magma while the mafic magma was incompletely crystallized these structures indicate way up typically toward the interior of the intrusions and appear to indicate that packages of mafic sheets and enclave concentrations in these plutons are a record of sequential deposition hence these plutons preserve a stratigraphic history of events involved in the construction filling replenishment and crystallization of the magma chamber the distinctive features of these depositional portions of plutons allow them to be distinguished from sheeted intrusions which usually preserve mutual intrusive contacts and dike sill relations of different magma types the considerable thickness of material that can be interpreted as depositional and the evidence for replenishment suggest that magma chamber volumes at any one time were probably much less than the final size of the pluton thus magma chambers may be constructed much more slowly than presently envisaged the present steep attitudes of these structures in many plutons may have developed gradually as the floor of the chamber along with the underlying solidified granite and country rock sank during continuing episodes of magma chamber replenishment these internal magmatic structures support recent suggestions that the room problem for granites could be largely accommodated by downward movement of country rock beneath the magma chamber

young cumulate complex beneath veniaminof caldera aleutian arc dated by zircon in erupted plutonic blocks mount veniaminof volcano alaska peninsula provides an opportunity to relate quaternary volcanic rocks to a coeval intrusive complex veniaminof erupted tholeiitic basalt through dacite in the past 260 k y gabbro diorite and miarolitic granodiorite blocks ejected 3700 14 c yr b p in the most recent caldera forming eruption are fragments of a shallow intrusive complex of cumulate mush and segregated vapor saturated residual melts sensitive high resolution ion microprobe shrimp analyses define 238 u 230 th isochron ages of 17 6 2 7 ka 5 11 10 ka and 10 2 4 0 ka 2 for zircon in two granodiorites and a diorite respectively sparse zircons from two gabbros give 238 u 230 th model ages of 36 8 ka and 26 7 ka zircons from granodiorite and diorite crystallized in the presence of late magmatic aqueous fluid although historic eruptions have been weakly explosive strombolian fountaining and small lava effusions the young ages of plutonic blocks as well as late holocene dacite pumice are evidence that the intrusive complex remains active and that evolved magmas can segregate at shallow levels to fuel explosive eruptions

late pleistocene granodiorite source for recycled zircon and phenocrysts in rhyodacite lava at crater lake oregon abstract rhyodacite tephra and three lavas erupted 27 ka interpreted to be early leaks from the climactic magma chamber of mount mazama contain ubiquitous resorbed crystals antecrysts that were recycled from young granodiorite and related plutonic rocks of the same magmatic system the shallow composite pluton is represented by blocks ejected in the 7 7 ka climactic eruption that formed crater lake caldera plagioclase crystals in both rhyodacite and granodiorites commonly have cores with crystallographically oriented fe oxide needles exsolved at subsolidus conditions at least 80 of plagioclase crystals in the rhyodacite are antecrysts derived from plutonic rocks other crystals in the rhyodacite notably zircon also were recycled sims 238 u 230 th dating indicates that zircons in 4 granodiorite blocks crystallized at various times between 20 ka and 300 ka with concentrations of analyses near 50 70 110 and 200 ka that correspond to periods of dacitic volcanism dated by k ar u th ages of zircon from a rhyodacite sample yield similar results no analyzed zircons from the granodiorite or rhyodacite are pre quaternary zircon minimum ages in blocks from different locations around the caldera reflect ages of nearby volcanic vents and may map the distribution of intrusions within a composite pluton survival of zircon in zircon undersaturated hydrous magma and of fe oxide needles in plagioclase suggests that little time elapsed from entrainment of antecrysts to the 27 ka eruption of the rhyodacite the 27 ka rhyodacite is an example of young silicic magma that preserved unstable antecrysts from a known source early during growth of a large high level magma chamber in contrast the voluminous 7 7 ka climactic rhyodacite pumice is virtually lacking in zircon indicating dissolution of any granodioritic debris in the intervening period mineralogical evidence of assimilation may be destroyed in hot vigorously growing silicic magma bodies such as ultimately produced the climactic eruption of mount mazama

isotopic variation in the tuolumne intrusive suite central sierra nevada california granitoid rocks of the compositionally zoned late cretaceous toulumne intrusive suite in the central sierra nevada california have initial87sr 86sr values sri and143nd 144nd values ndi that vary from 0 7057 to 0 7067 and from 0 51239 to 0 51211 respectively the observed variation of both sri and ndi and of chemical composition in rocks of the suite cannot be due to crystal fractionation of magma solely under closed system conditons the largest variation in chemistry ndi and sri is present in the outer most equigranular units of the tuolumne intrusive suite sri varies positively with sio2 na2o k2o and rb concentrations and negatively with ndi al2o3 fe2o3 mgo feo cao mno p2o5 tio2 and sr concentrations this covariation of sri ndi and chemistry can be modeled by a process of simple mixing of basaltic and granitic magmas having weight percent sio2 of 48 0 and 73 3 respectively isotopic characteristic of the mafic magma are sri 0 7047 ndi 0 51269 and 18o 6 0 and of the felsic magma are sri 0 7068 ndi 0 51212 and 18o 8 9 the rocks sampled contain from 50 to 80 of the felsic component an aplite in the outer equigranular unit of the tuolumne intrusive suite apparently was derived by fractional crystallization of plagioclase and hornblende from magma with granudiorite composition that was a product of mixing of the magmas described above siliceous magmas derived from the lower crust having a maximum of 15 percent mantle derived mafic component are represented by the inner prophyritic units of the tuolumne intrusive suite

zircon growth and recycling during the assembly of large composite arc plutons abstract concordant u pb zircon dates have been interpreted traditionally to date the crystallization ages of plutons because until recently analytical uncertainties have generally been large enough to encompass the anticipated duration of pluton growth advances in zircon tims analysis and geochronological studies by sims on zircon from young volcanic rocks along with evolving views of the evolution of magmatic systems makes it necessary to revaluate this interpretation assignment of unique pluton crystallization ages based on zircon dating is complicated by the propensity of zircon to survive multiple intrusive events that culminate in a large pluton distinctions must be made between true inherited zircon xenocrystic zircon derived from host rocks during magma ascent and or emplacement and multi stage growth of zircon during waxing and waning of magma reservoirs that solidify to form large plutons these complications are exemplified by recent high precision u pb zircon age dating from the cretaceous tuolumne and mt stuart batholiths which clearly show that the timeframe of pluton assembly was long 5 ma for mt stuart and 8 ma for tuolumne zircon crystals from samples from both batholiths exhibit appreciable concordant age dispersion for zircon several 10 5 yr up to 2 10 6 yr and assignment of statistically valid rock solidification ages is not possible from these data low zr in the rocks of each batholith indicates that magmas were initially strongly undersaturated in zircon when emplaced and inherited zircon is rare or absent recycling of zircon antecrysts during successive magmatic injections is the primary cause of the modest age dispersion of concordant zircon ages and is compatible with progressive growth of a large long lived crystal mush body because eruption of magma requires low to moderate crystal fraction and high temperatures relative to stored crystal mushes zircon crystals are more likely to be eradicated during thermal rejuvenation preceding major eruptions

melt segregation structures in granitic plutons when melt fraction increases beyond a critical value migmatites behave as magmas conversely when melt fraction decreases crystallizing magmas form solid framework mushes and behave as solids the richness in preserved mesoscopic melt segregation structures in migmatites is not matched by melt segregation structures in granitic bodies this paper identifies melt segregation structures in granites and compares them to structures in migmatites the rarity of segregation structures in granites is a consequence of the solid framework mush allowing for cryptic melt extraction from its pores the relatively short duration of solidification of the mush and the fragile nature of the solid framework identifying segregation features in granitoids at outcrop scale provides the basis for understanding the physical processes that lead to chemical and mineralogical differentiation in granitic magmas

coal petrology and anomalous coalification of middle and late pleistocene peat and soft brown coal from the tengchong basin western yunnan people s republic of china abstract in the tengchong basin western yunnan people s republic of china the absolute age of middle pleistocene soft brown coal is about 600 000 b p and late pleistocene peat part of which had been transformed into soft brown coal is about 75 000 to 10 000 b p the forma is the world s youngest soft brown coal thus this basin affords an opportunity for studying the transformation of peat to soft brown coal our study of early coalification is based on comprehensive methods including the following coal petrological techniques radiometric dating botanical methods sporopollen analysis electron probe epma scannign electron microscopy sem proximate and ultimate analyses and pyrolysis gas chromatography py gc in view of the fact that the most abundant information on premacerals and macerals is obtained from peat and soft brown coal we propose a revised classification system of macerals of soft brown coal which is also used for peat the premacerals and macerals of peat and soft brown coal from the tengchong basin are divided into four maceral groups the huminite liptinite liptohuminite newly proposed and inertinite maceral groups the liptohuminite group includes the macerals lying between liptinite and huminite maceral groups therefore in optical properties chemical composition technological properties and genesis these macerals show transitional characteristics there are also some new interpretations of the genesis of several macerals for example sclerotinite like phlobaphinite appears to have originated from the polyhedral cell tissue of teh endomycorriza of several kinds of plants the authors subdivide different types of microstructures of some macerals with the scanning electron microscope sem and use both sporo pollen analysis and microfluorescence photometry to determine some fluorescence regularities in early coalification the coalification of tengchong peat and soft brown coal is quite different from normal coalification in two respects 1 the coalification occurred during a brief period of time and 2 there are anomalous factors of coalification such as high paleogeothermal gradient introduced by volcanic activity and shallow burial thus we suggest the term anomalous coalification

field and geochemical constraints on mafic felsic interactions and processes in high level arc magma chambers an example from the halfmoon pluton new zealand the 140 ma halfmoon pluton of stewart island new zealand provides direct evidence for a number of physico chemical processes that operate at depth within active arc settings it is characterized by a sequence of mingled mafic sheets and enclaves that are preserved within intermediate felsic host rocks way up structures and textures are consistent with a younging direction to the south and allow a south dipping magma chamber stratigraphy to be constructed the similarity in modal mineralogy geochemistry and isotopic signature between the various components and their proximity in space and time indicates that the system can be considered as a single composite pluton with discrete portions active at different times interpretation of mingling structures and textures in the field combined with detailed geochemical and geochronological analyses has allowed the identification of several physical and chemical processes operating within the chamber including 1 multiple mafic magma pulses that were extensively mingled and sometimes physically mixed at the exposed level and at depth 2 the development of mineral fabrics e g aligned plagioclase and hornblende crystals and alignment of mafic enclaves caused by processes of crystal accumulation magmatic flow and compaction 3 shortening of the chamber during crystallization as a result of magmatic loading 4 fractional crystallization of the intermediate felsic host magma that was interrupted periodically by mafic magma intrusion 5 incremental assembly of the pluton from the base up 6 limited chemical transfer between the mingled mafic sheets and enclaves and the surrounding intermediate felsic host rocks variations in morphology chemistry and texture of the mingled mafic rocks relative to their position within the magmatic stratigraphy indicate that processes operating within the chamber varied in both space and time mineral assemblages chemical characteristics primitive isotopic signatures and a lack of zircon inheritance indicate that the amphibole rich calc alkaline halfmoon pluton was emplaced into a juvenile arc setting and experienced no contamination with ancient crustal materials a model of pluton construction and evolution is presented that shows that the halfmoon pluton consisted of at least two adjacent magma pods that grew incrementally by episodic replenishments of mafic magma into a magma chamber of evolving intermediate felsic composition data are consistent with a model whereby hydrous amphibole rich basaltic magmas ponded at the crust mantle interface and episodically rose injected and mingled

identifying the crystal graveyards remaining after large silicic eruptions abstract the formation of crystal poor high silica rhyolite via extraction of interstitial melt from an upper crustal mush predicts the complementary formation of large amounts of typically unerupted silicic cumulates however identification of these cumulates remains controversial one hindrance to our ability to identify them is a lack of clear predictions for complementary chemical signatures between extracted melts and their residues to address this discrepancy we present a generalized geochemical model tracking the evolution of trace elements in a magma reservoir concurrently experiencing crystallization and extraction of interstitial melt our method uses a numerical solution rather than analytical thereby allowing for various dependencies between crystallinity partition coefficients for variably compatible and or incompatible elements and melt extraction efficiency results reveal unambiguous fractionation signatures for the extracted melts while those signatures are muted for their cumulate counterparts our model is first applied to a well constrained example searchlight pluton usa and provides a good fit to geochemical data we then extrapolate our results to understanding the relationship between volcanic and plutonic silicic suites on a global scale utilizing the navdat database to identify crystal accumulation or depletion signatures for each suite we suggest that many large granitoids are indeed silicic cumulates although their crystal accumulation signature is expected to be subtle

petrology and geochemistry of the late eocene harrison pass pluton ruby mountains core complex northeastern nevada which suggest a single mixing event before emplacement in the upper the late eocene harrison pass pluton was emplaced in the crust late stage activity consisted of three pulses of monzogranitic transition zone between the infrastructure and suprastructure of the magma plus sparse mafic dikes the largest and youngest of these ruby mountains core complex emplacement was at 3 kbar pulses the two mica monzogranite of green mountain creek is pressure and was in two stages early stage tonalitic to monzogranitic distinct from all other units in the presence of restitic enclaves low magmas followed by late stage monzogranites and mafic dikes nd and high initial sr sr pod like bodies of leucocratic biotite the early stage began with emplacement of biotite hornblende amphibole monzogranite and sheets and dikes of leucocratic granodiorite of toyn creek followed by the biotite monzogranite of two mica monzogranite make up the other late stage granites these corral creek quenched equivalents of these units are preserved as rocks display deep negative eu anomalies and show wide nonporphyritic dikes in the roof leucocratic monzogranite that forms systematic concentrations of high field strength elements however cupolas in the roof zone represents the product of fractional crystheir isotopic compositions are identical to those of the early stage tallization of the early magmas al in hornblende barometry and rocks they are thought to be small melt fractions of the lower to the presence of magmatic epidote suggest that early stage magmas middle crust their elemental compositions are thought to result resided at a pressure of 5 6 kbar before emplacement in the from the effects of residual plagioclase and accessory minerals the upper crust compositional variation in the toyn creek and corral variable and non systematic isotopic compositions of all granitic creek units is essentially linear and can be explained by mixing units in the pluton suggest a heterogeneous source region such as of a tonalitic end member with a monzogranitic end member such the proterozoic mojave province as evolved samples of the monzogranite of corral creek the tonalitic end member was itself a hybrid that formed by interaction

high silica granites terminal porosity and crystal settling in shallow magma chambers abstract high silica 70 wt sio2 granites hsgs are important carriers of highly incompatible elements thus understanding their origin is relevant to understanding how the composition of the continental crust evolves we examined a large scale geochemical study of plutons in the peninsular ranges batholith in southern california usa to better understand the petrogenetic relationships between hsgs and the batholith using highly incompatible and compatible elements we show that hsgs represent residual liquids within a felsic 69 72 wt sio2 magmatic crystal mush at crystal fractions of 50 60 and residual liquid fractions of 40 50 trace element systematics show that separation of the hsg liquid from the crystal mush is inefficient such that no more than 70 80 of the hsg is fully extracted and the remaining greater than 20 30 remains trapped in cumulate mush we find little evidence of more efficient liquid crystal segregation which suggests that compaction induced segregation may be too slow to be important on a large scale instead the terminal porosity of 20 30 coincides with theoretical maximum packing fraction of unimodal particles settled out of suspension 0 74 which may indicate that crystal settling perhaps in the form of hindered settling drives segregation of viscous silicic melts and crystals unlike compaction settling operates on timescales of 1 10 ky fast enough to generate large volumes of hsg and complementary cumulates with trapped melt before magma chambers freeze many felsic plutons may thus be cumulates but because of trapped melt they are difficult to geochemically distinguish from plutons whose compositions fall along liquid lines of descent the approach here using a combination of highly incompatible and compatible elements provides a way of identifying and quantifying trapped melt fractions finally we show that hsgs appear to form only in the shallow crust

hinterland directed transtensional faulting at an orogen structural front the example of the cap chat melange quebec appalachians the cap chat melange is a regional scale dismembered unit that occurs close to the quebec appalachian front the melange records early d 1 taconian and late d 3 acadian regional deformations the greater degree of disruption of the melange compared with surrounding units is due to the superimposition of d 2 structures that are rare outside the melange d 2 structures include both layer extensional features such as block disruption along shear zones and faults and layer contractional features such as folds that record the transtensional collapse of the taconian orogenic wedge along a rheologically weak deformation zone the cap chat melange is interpreted as the westernmost remnant of a zone of mechanical decoupling in the upper crust which allows normal or transtensional faulting in the inner parts of the orogen this paper presents evidence that beyond the general complexity of melange units geological observations may still contribute to unraveling their tectonic history and that transtensional reactivation of original thrust faults is a viable mechanism in the frontal parts of orogens

contrasting stratified plutons exposed in tilt blocks eldorado mountains colorado river rift nv usa abstract roof to floor exposures of mid miocene plutons in tilt blocks south of las vegas nv reveal distinct but strongly contrasting magma chamber statigraphy the searchlight and aztec wash plutons are well exposed stratified intrusions that show a similar broad range in composition from 45 75 wt sio 2 homogeneous granites that comprise about one third of each intrusion are virtually identical in texture and elemental and isotopic chemistry mafic rocks that are present in both plutons document basaltic input into felsic magma chambers isotopic compositions suggest that mafic magmas were derived from enriched lithospheric mantle with minor crustal contamination whereas more felsic rocks are hybrids that are either juvenile basaltic magma crustal melt mixtures or products of anatexis of ancient crust young mesozoic or miocene mafic intraplate despite general similarities the two plutons differ markedly in dimensions and lithologic stratigraphy the searchlight pluton is much thicker 10 vs 3 km and has thick quartz monzonite zones at its roof and floor that are absent in the aztec wash pluton isotopic and elemental data from searchlight pluton suggest that the upper and lower zones are cogenetic with the granite we interpret the finer grained slightly more felsic upper zone to represent a downward migrating solidification front and the lower zone to be cumulate in contrast the upper part of the aztec wash pluton is granite and a heterogeneous mafic rich injection zone with distinct isotopic chemistry forms the lower two thirds of the intrusion similar mafic rocks are relatively sparse in searchlight pluton and do not appear to have played a central role in construction of the pluton large felsic and composite dikes that attest to repeated recharging and intrachamber magma transfer are common in the aztec wash pluton but absent in the searchlight pluton thus although both intrusions were filled by similar magmas and both developed internal stratification the two intrusions evolved very differently the distinctions may be attributable to scale and resulting longevity and or to subtle differences in tectonic setting

magmatic arc asymmetry and distribution of anomalous plutonic belts in the batholiths of california effects of assimilation crustal thickness and depth of crystallization in order to better understand geologic fac tors controlling pronounced regional variations in whole rock chemistry mineralogy and mineral chemistry in the batholiths of california we calculate the magmatic intensive variables f hf f h 2 o f hf f hcl and f o 2 regional scale west to east increases in f oh in mafic silicates corresponding to the systematic i wc to i mc and i sc progression reflect orders of magnitude increase in f hf f h 2 o attending pluton crystallization low f hf f h 2 o of formation of western i wc types is consistent with their derivation from low fluorine source rocks in subducted oceanic slabs or the upper mantle in contrast higher f hf f h 2 o of crystallization of i mc and i sc types to the east implies the involvement of 1 progressively greater amounts of continental crustal source material such as biotite bearing metamorphic rocks their unweathered sedimentary derivatives retaining f rich mafic minerals or their fusion products and or 2 source materials which become more f rich toward the continental interior the regional distribution of i mc and i sc types suggests that the precambrian craton of western north america or derivative sediments may extend farther north in california and be morphologically more complex than previously thought from seemingly out of place occurrences of i wc plutons on the eastern slopes of the sierra nevada batholith we infer the existence of regions where precambrian basement was thin or absent in mesozoic time which prevented extensive cratonal contamination of subducted slab or upper mantle derived magmas new methods for estimating t f o 2 relations in the magmas demonstrate that i scr granites crystallize at oxygen fugacities as much as five orders of magnitude lower than those of i wc i mc and i sc types under conditions at or below the maximum stability limit of graphite in equilibrium with a c o h s gas phase the local scale formation of i scr granites in plutonic belts within specific wall rock terranes containing highly reducing sediments or metasediments may occur by contamination of i types with graphitic pelite or in some cases by the direct fusion of this reducing pelitic wall rock the spatial distribution of i scr granite provinces therefore is controlled simply by wall rock lithology amphibole geobarometry demonstrates a general west to east decrease in crystallization pressure across the sierra nevada batholith in contrast the peninsular ranges batholith displays a west to east crystallization pressure increase the bulk of the california batholiths crystallized at pressures less than 4 5 kb and depths less than about 15 19 km in the southern sierra nevada batholith the san gabriels and the eastern peninsular ranges however plutons crystallized at pressures exceeding 6 kb at deep crustal levels 23 km reconstruction of the pre erosion top of the batholith shows that in an east west cross section the central sierra nevada batholith was a horizontal tabular body with an aspect ratio of at least five to one

trace element indicators of crystal accumulation in silicic igneous rocks abstract if fractional crystallization coupled with some crustal assimilation afc is the dominant process for generating evolved magmas in the earth s crust large quantities of igneous cumulates must be present in the rock record however despite some reported occurrences intermediate to silicic rocks characterized by an unambiguous crystal accumulation signature have remained elusive the signature is expected to be subtle in viscous silicic magmas and sensitive criteria need to be developed to test whether these cumulates are truly rare or simply difficult to discern we propose models that use specific trace element concentrations and ratios zr ba eu eu and zr hf within a well constrained framework for the physical extraction of liquid from crystals mostly occurring between 50 and 70 vol crystals to identify silicic cumulates the results of these models indicate that crystal accumulation or melt extraction has occurred in multiple natural examples around the world both in plutonic and volcanic realms however these examples were selected because they represent conditions that are most favorable high amount of melt extraction well constrained initial liquid compositions for unambiguously identifying cumulate residue in many cases we show that the trace element signature for crystal accumulation will remain largely concealed in addition the different liquid lines of descent related to the various tectonic settings on earth dry reduced in hot spots divergent margins and wetter more oxidizing in arc environments will lead to different trace element evolution and each criterion must be applied on a case by case basis despite these limitations the undeniable but subtle presence of silicic cumulates in the mid to upper crust lends support to the idea that igneous differentiation is dominantly driven by melt extraction from partially crystalline reservoirs

the role of residual melt migration in producing compositional diversity in a suite of granitic rocks abstract we present a quantitative model for in situ crystallization within a solidification zone or boundary layer based on the trace and major element compositions of plutonic igneous rocks and related geochemical data we developed the model to account for the characteristics of a suite of granitic rocks nearly uniform mineral compositions in rocks that range widely in bulk composition e g 58 76 wt sio 2 linear variation and correlation of all major and trace elements analyzed except ba large and apparently random variations in ba concentration these characteristics cannot be explained by any standard petrogenetic model involving fractionation mixing or restite unmixing but are successfully reproduced by our model of residual melt migration we do not attempt to model the entire crystallization history of a pluton but rather only that interval during which melt migration processes have recognizable geochemical effects for the granitic suite the chemical signature of residual melt migration resulted from the change in ba compatibility with the onset of orthoclase crystallization at a granite minimum our results demonstrate that plutonic rocks can develop large compositional variations comparable to those expected to result from extreme differentiation within a large magma body over short distances by melt migration under conditions of high permeability or slow crystallization rate within the solidification zone melt migration is probably a common process that could be overlooked in large plutons if sampling is sparse and if variations in some components that appear random are not considered our model equations yield estimates for parameters that describe the proportions of residual melt that crystallize within and migrate out of the solidification zone values of these parameters can be used to infer information about permeability and melt mobility within the solidification zone the model parameters derived for the granitic suite have a roughly concentric spatial pattern in the pluton suggesting that residual melt was trapped near the margins accumulated in the interior with a zone of enhanced melt mobility and possibly compositional convection in between our model may be of general usefulness because it requires no assumptions about magma chamber geometry or magma dynamics it is applicable to magmas of any composition and the equations could be formulated to include those variables best constrained by a particular suite of plutonic igneous rocks

rethinking the emplacement and evolution of zoned plutons geochronologic evidence for incremental assembly of the tuolumne intrusive suite california new u pb geochronologic data indicate that the tuolumne intrusive suite california was assembled over a period of at least 10 m y between 95 and 85 ma and that the half dome granodiorite intruded over a period approaching 4 m y simple thermal considerations preclude the possibility that a magma chamber the size of the half dome pluton could have existed as a liquid at shallow crustal depths for that long rather field evidence for sheeting along the margins of the suite the range of ages and the regular decrease of ages toward the center of the suite and within individual plutons suggest incremental assembly geochronologic evidence for incremental assembly is consistent with the failure of geophysical methods to detect large magma chambers with more than 20 melt even in active volcanic areas because it is unlikely that the individual plutons composing the tuolumne ever coexisted as liquid rich magmas the chemical evolution of the suite cannot be the result of simple fractionation and or mixing between exposed units but instead must reflect processes occurring during magma generation