The southeastern sector of the Hafafit Metamorphic Complex, southern Eastern Desert of Egypt comprises infrastructural orthogneisses of tonalite and syenogranite parentage, amphibolites, and a volcano-sedimentary association. These are overthrust by an obducted suprastructural ophiolite nappes via the Nugrus thrust. The protolith of the biotite–hornblende-gneisses was formed during island-arc accretion, while that of the garnet–biotite gneisses were formed in a within-plate regime, consistent with a transition to a post-collisional setting. The volcano-sedimentary association comprises interbedded and intercalated highly foliated metapelitic schists, metabasites, and leucocratic gneisses, deposited in a back-arc basin. The metapelites and the leucocratic gneisses originated from immature Fe-shales and arkoses derived from intermediate-mafic and acidic igneous rocks, respectively, via weak chemical weathering in a tectonically active island arc terrane. The intercalated amphibolites were derived from tholeiitic basalts generated in a back-arc setting.

The volcano-sedimentary association was metamorphosed under upper-amphibolite facies conditions with pressures of 9–13 kbar and temperatures of 570–675 °C, as derived from conventional geothermobarometry and pseudosection calculation. A steep, tight clockwise P–T path is constrained and a geothermal gradient around 20 °C/km is estimated for the peak metamorphism. We assume that deformation and metamorphism are due to crustal thickening during the collision of East and West Gondwana, where peak metamorphism took place in the middle to lower crust at 33 km average crustal depth. This was followed by a subsequent quasi-isothermal decompression due to rapid exhumation during wrench tectonics. Sinistral transcurrent shearing with extensional denudation resulted in vertical ductile thinning that was accompanied by heat input from magmatism, as indicated by a higher geothermal gradient during retrograde metamorphism and exhumation of the complex.

U–Pb data from magmatic zircons yields protolith ages of 731 ± 3 Ma for the biotite–hornblende gneisses and 646 ± 12 Ma for the garnet–biotite gneisses. Conforming to field evidence, our geochronology data point to a depositional age of the volcano-sedimentary cover at around 650 Ma. The age of metamorphism is constrained by a low Th/U ratio of a zircon grain crystallized at an age of 597 ± 6 Ma.

Tourmalines from the late-Variscan Arbus pluton (SWSardinia) and its metamorphic aureole were structurally and chemically characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron and nuclear microprobe analysis, Mössbauer, infrared and optical absorption spectroscopy, to elucidate their origin and relationships with the magmatic evolution during the pluton cooling stages. The Arbus pluton represents a peculiar shallow magmatic system, characterized by sekaninaite (Fe-cordierite)-bearing peraluminous granitoids, linked via AFC processes to gabbroic mantle-derived magmas. The Fe²⁺-Al-dominant tourmalines occur in: a) pegmatitic layers and pods, as prismatic crystals; b) greisenized rocks and spotted granophyric dikes, as clots or nests of fine-grained crystals in small miaroles locally forming orbicules; c) pegmatitic veins and pods close to the contacts within the metamorphic aureole. Structural formulae indicate that tourmaline in pegmatitic layers is schorl, whereas in greisenized rocks it ranges fromschorl to fluor-schorl. Tourmalines in thermometamorphosed contact aureole are schorl, foitite and Mg-rich oxy-schorl. The main substitution is Na+Fe²⁺↔▢+Al, which relates schorl to foitite. The homovalent substitution (OH)↔F at the O1 crystallographic site relates schorl to fluor-schorl, while the heterovalent substitution Fe²⁺+(OH, F)↔Al+O relates schorl/fluor-schorl to oxy-schorl. Tourmaline crystallization in the Arbus pluton was promoted by volatile (B, F and H₂O) enrichment, low oxygen fugacity and Fe²⁺ activity. The mineralogical evolutive trend is driven by decreasing temperature, as follows: sekaninaite+quartz →schorl+quartz→fluor-schorl+quartz → foitite+quartz. The schorl→foitite evolution represents a distinct trend towards (Al+!) increase and unit-cell volumedecrease. These trends are typical of granitic magmas and consistent with Li-poor granitic melts, as supported by the absence of elbaite and other Li-minerals in the Arbus pluton. Tourmaline-bearing rocks reflect the petrogenetic signi!cance of contribution from a metapelitic crustal component during the evolution of magmas in the middle-upper crust.

The Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep metamorphic core complexes in northern Thailand are comprised of amphibolite-grade migmatitic gneisses mantled by lower-grade mylonites and metasedimentary sequences, thought to represent Cordilleran-style core complexes exhumed through the mobilization of a low-angle detachment fault. Previous studies have interpreted two metamorphic events (Late Triassic and Late Cretaceous), followed by ductile extension between the late Eocene and late Oligocene, a model which infers movement on the detachment at ca. 40 Ma, and which culminates in a rapid unroofing of the complexes in the early Miocene. The Chiang Mai Basin, the largest such Cenozoic Basin in the region, lies immediately to the east. Its development is related to the extension observed at Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep, however it is not definitively dated, and models for its development have difficulty reconciling Miocene cooling ages with Eocene detachment movement. Here we present new in-situ LA-ICP-MS and SIMS U–Pb age data of zircon and monazite grains from gneiss and leucogranite samples taken from Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep. Our new zircon data exhibit an older age range of 221–210 Ma, with younger ages of ca. 72 Ma, and 32–26 Ma. Our monazite data imply an older age cluster at 83–67 Ma, and a younger age cluster of 34–24 Ma. While our data support the view of Indosinian basement being reworked in the Cretaceous, they also indicate a late Eocene–Oligocene tectonothermal event, resulting in prograde metamorphism and anatexis. We suggest that this later event is related to localized transpressional thickening associated with sinistral movement on the Mae Ping Fault, coupled with thickening at the restraining bend of the Mae Yuan Fault to the immediate west of Doi Inthanon. Further, this upper Oligocene age limit from our zircon and monazite data would imply a younger Miocene constraint on movement of the detachment, which, when combined with the previously recorded Miocene cooling ages, has implications for a model for the onset of extension and subsequent development of the Chiang Mai Basin in the early mid-Miocene.

An Ediacaran mafic intrusion of south Jordan is a distinctive appinitic igneous rock with a possibly unique texture, characterized by spherical clots up to 40 mm in diameter composed of amphibole cores from which plagioclase euhedra radiate; we call it the Rosetta Gabbro. It is exposed as a small (ca. 750 m2) outcrop in the Neoproterozoic basement of south Jordan. A second outcrop of otherwise similar gabbro is located about 400 m to the north of the Rosetta Gabbro, but it lacks the distinctive texture. The Rosetta Gabbro could represent a magma pipe. It intrudes the Aqaba Complex (~ 600 Ma) granitoids and metasediments of the Janub Metamorphic Complex (633–617 Ma). The gabbro is an Ol- to QZ tholeiite with the following chemical characteristics: SiO2 = 46.2–47.8 wt.%; Al2O3 = 16.4–17.7 wt.%, TiO2 = 1.70–2.82 wt.%, Na2O = 1.27–2.83 wt.%. K2O = 0.82–1.63 wt.%; Mg# 58–63; Σ REE = 70–117 ppm; La/Yb ~ 6 to 8; and Eu/Eu* = 1.05–1.2. The investigated gabbro has the geochemical features of a continental flood tholeiitic basalt emplaced in a within-plate tectonic setting. Two varieties of amphiboles are found: 1) large, 3–5 mm, brown ferri-titanian-tschermakite (K0.09Na0.28)(Na0.20Ca1.80)(Mn0.04Fe3 +1.1Mg2.34Fe2 +0.90Ti0.29Al0.22)(Al1.85Si6.15)O22(OH)1.95 of the calcic amphibole group which is riddled with opaques; and 2) acicular yellowish-light green ferrian-magnesiohornblende (K0.04Na0.153)(Ca1.755Na0.245) (Fe3 +0.66Mn0.01Fe2 +1.01Mg3.03Ti0.06Al0.22)(Al1.03Si6.97)O22(OH)1.95. Scattered flakes of phlogopite also occur. Tabular radiating plagioclase (An64–79) are complexly twinned, with broad lamellae that show no zoning. Laser-ablation ICP-MS analyses of amphibole and plagioclase reveal considerable variation in trace element abundance, in spite of more subtle major element variations except for TiO2 in amphibole. The REE in the amphibole shows an order of magnitude variation with a concave-downward pattern and a positive Eu anomaly Eu/Eu* = 0.6–2, though far less pronounced compared to the Eu/Eu* = 5–45 of plagioclase. The 3D dandelion-like texture of the rosettas is broadly similar to “Chrysanthemum Stone”, which is a diagenetic growth in sedimentary rock, but we can find no description of similar textures in igneous rocks. The formation of the rosettas is thought to reflect loss of magmatic water resulting in supersaturation of plagioclase, which grew rapidly around amphibole and may have floated in the magma. This implies magmatic evolution in shallow (10 to 12 km deep) crust where temperatures were nevertheless in the range of ca. 750 to 900 °C.

New sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) UPb zircon geochronologic data, whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data, and zircon and quartz ÎŽ18O isotopic data from the Staré Město granitoids (SMG), Jawornik granitoids (JG), and Kłodzko-Złoty Stok granitoids (KZSG) and associated mafic and ultramafic rocks are examined. This study provides new insights into the processes of magma generation, transport and emplacement during the Variscan development of the contact zone of the Saxothuringia, Teplá-Barrandia and Brunovistulia in the Central European portion of the Variscan belt. The results of this study, combined with existing geochemical and isotopic data, imply that the parental magmas of these intrusions share a close affinity and suggest that these intrusions formed in a subduction-related tectonic setting. The SMG, JG and KZSG magmas represent hybrids that formed from the contamination of partial melts from the lower crust and/or subducted sediments with various proportions of enriched mantle-derived melts. These mainly sheeted plutons intruded along the main geological boundaries during the Visean and recorded the vertical and lateral displacements between the major tectono-stratigraphic units (microplates) in the NE Bohemian Massif. In the Central Sudetes, these granitoid magmas were first emplaced along the northern continuation of the Moldanubian Zone. The SHRIMP UPb dating of zircons indicates that the SMG intruded the reactivated suture zone between the Brunovistulia and Saxothuringia at 344–341 Ma. Sills of the JG were emplaced between c. 347 and c. 334 Ma. The composite Kłodzko-Złoty Stok Pluton, which includes the KZSG and accompanying mafic enclaves and pyroxenite and lamprophyre dykes, was mainly emplaced at 340–333 Ma. The magmas of the KZSG possibly facilitated the final amalgamation of the Sudetic counterparts of the Teplá-Barrandia and Saxothuringia microplates during the orogenic uplift of the latter. Petrologic and oxygen isotopic data further indicate partial post-magmatic hydrothermal and/or alteration processes. Our new data further stress the connection of magma transfer and active shear zones, which could manifest as crustal-scale magma-ascent conduits.

Granitoids and gneisses from the Danish island of Bornholm have been investigated using whole rock geochemistry, Sr and Nd isotope geochemistry and Hf isotopes in zircon. Recent U-Pb dating shows that the rocks were formed during a short time interval at 1.45 to 1.46 Ga, penecontemporaneous with ongoing deformation. The strong similarity in geochemical signatures indicate that they all belong to a single igneous suite composed of alkali-calcic biotite-hornblende quartz monzonites to more evolved biotite granites, albeit with an apparent gap in SiO₂ content at around 70 wt%, dividing the suite into an intermediate and a felsic part. These dominantly metaluminous rocks are strongly ferroan and potassic, and with highly elevated concentrations of many trace elements, traits that are typical for A-type granitoids. The presence of magnetite and titanite indicates relatively oxidized compositions, and Nb/Y ratios designate them to the A₂ subtype. Initial whole rock e_Nd values range between +1 and -2 (with one outlier at +4), and initial zircon e_Hf values between +3 and -4. These values may be explained by melting of relatively juvenile crust similar to that forming the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt alone, but the spread in Hf and Nd isotope compositions to values overlapping with the Svecofennian mantle at 1.45 Ga suggests involvement of a mantle-derived component. This indicates the magmatism was associated with juvenile crustal growth. There are no systematic differences in isotope or trace element characteristics between the orthogneisses and the less deformed granitoids, suggesting similar origins for both rock types, and no systematic changes in isotopic composition with SiO₂concentration. 

Trace element compositions indicate a within-plate setting, similar to other 1.45 Ga granites in southwest Fennoscandia, in spite of the close relation between magmatism and deformation on Bornholm. We therefore suggest intracratonic A-type magmatism within an active continental shear zone as a tentative model for the Mesoproterozoic magmatism on Bornholm. However, a close relationship to the nearby Hallandian tectono-magmatic activity in southern Sweden, attributed to continental margin orogenic processes, is also evident. Intermediate magmas presumably formed by ponding of enriched mantle-derived basic magma at the crust-mantle boundary or within the lower crust, causing extensive partial melting and assimilation of mafic to intermediate crustal rocks related to the Transcandinavian Igneous Belt. The magmas then evolved to granitic compositions by removal of an assemblage similar to that seen petrographically, i.e. plagioclase, amphibole, magnetite, titanite, and late-stage K-feldspar.

Zircon ages, mineral chemistry, whole-rock major and trace element compositions, as well as Sr–Nd isotopic ratios of basaltic (basanite, basalt, and hawaiite with MgO = 3.90–10.06 and SiO₂ = 43.18–48.16) to andesitic (SiO₂ = 50.86–61.27) and rhyolitic (SiO₂ = 71.11–71.13) volcanic rocks (E-W emplaced Nallıhan volcanics) in the Lower Eocene terrestrial sedimentary units in the Central Sakarya Zone were studied and compared with those of the northerly located E-W-trending Eocene volcanic rocks (the Kızderbent Volcanics with 52.7–38.1 Ma radiometric ages) that are thought to be related to slab break-off process following the continental collision in the NW Anatolia. Zircon U–Pb ages of the Nallıhan volcanics vary from 51.7 ± 4.7 to 47.8 ± 2.4 Ma.

Clinopyroxene from the basaltic and andesitic rocks record crystallization conditions from ~ 7–8 kbars (~ 23 km) and ~ 1210 °C, to 4.5–1.5 kbars (~ 14–1.5 km) and 1110–1010 °C crystallization conditions, respectively. The olivine-bearing, high-MgO (up to 10 wt%) basaltic rocks of the Nallıhan volcanics have nepheline-normative and Na-alkaline compositions, while the andesitic to rhyolitic rocks show calc-alkaline affinity with mainly sodic character. This is the first time this type of volcanic rock has been described in this region. The initial Sr isotopic ratios of both basaltic and andesitic–rhyolitic samples from the Nallıhan volcanics are similar (~ 0.7040–0.7045), indicating that fractional crystallization processes were not accompanied by crustal contamination and that the magma chambers were likely stored within ophiolitic units. Trace element ratios suggest that the Nallıhan volcanics were derived from E-MORB- or OIB-like enriched mantle sources, while the Kızderbent volcanics had N-MORB-like depleted mantle sources. Both volcanic units were produced by partial melting of spinel-bearing (shallow) mantle sources that had undergone subduction-related enrichment processes, with the degree of enrichment having been greater for the Kızderbent volcanics.

The geochemical features of both the Nallıhan and Kızderbent volcanics are best explained as the result of slab break-off, in which the Nallıhan volcanics (located closer to the original subduction front) were produced mainly by the melting of upwelling asthenospheric mantle. Further back from the subduction front, the upwelling interacted with more highly metasomatized sub-arc mantle that underwent partial melting to produce the Kızderbent volcanics. This geodynamic scenario can be used for understanding other post-collisional slab break-off-related magmatic activities.

Observed geochemical and geophysical signatures in the southern Svecofennian domain (SD) and the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt (TIB) are explained through a model of tectonic cycling and episodic south-westward migration of a subduction zone system. The Västervik area is located between these two major tectonic domains and as such has received much attention. Granitoids of the Västervik area were recently re-grouped and classified within the context of this larger regional tectonic model, but a discrepancy between previous relative age estimations and the few available granitoid age determinations was noted. To address this issue, we have dated 13 granitoid samples using a high spatial resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) U–Pb technique. Our new results constrain the intrusion of the majority of granitoids to 1819–1795 Ma, thus placing them into the TIB-1 period. This age range also encompasses our new ages from the central granodiorite belt and the Örö-Hamnö pluton, demonstrating a previous overestimation of older granitoid generations in the Västervik area. Nonetheless, it is shown that Askersund/TIB-0 magmatism, represented by an augen gneiss sample dated to 1846 Ma, is unambiguously present as far south as the Västervik region. The anatectically generated leucogranites reveal TIB-1 ages and, as expected, older inherited zircon derived from the parental metasedimentary Västervik formation. By simple Sr–Nd isotope modeling it is further possible to deduce that most TIB-1 granitoids follow a simple (assimilation-) fractional crystallization petrogenetic trend. The youngest granitoid generation was produced through low-pressure fluid-absent crustal melting. In conclusion, granitoids of the Västervik area fit well into the proposed model for south-westward migration of a subduction zone system active in the Svecofennian domain and represent a new tectonic cycle. It is therefore possible to link the Svecofennian domain and the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt within a single evolutionary scenario explaining the observed granitoid petrology, geochemistry and geochronology. The study area is located at the edge of a particularly long-lived active continental margin that started to operate during the supercontinent Columbia at ca. 1.8 Ga and the presented model explains how this margin initiated at its eastern end.

The central Fennoscandia is characterized by the Archean-Proterozoic (AP) boundary and the Central Finland Granitoid Complex (CFGC), a roundish area of approximately 40,000 km² surrounded by supracrustal belts. Deep seismic reflection profile FIRE 3A runs across these units, and we have re-interpreted the profile and crustal evolution along the profile using 1.92–1.85 Ga plutonic rocks as lithospheric probes. The surface part of the profile has been divided into five subareas: Archean continent (AC) in the east, AP, CFGC, boundary zone (BZ) and the Bothnian Belt (BB) in the west. There are 12 key samples from which zircons were studied for inclusions and analyzed (core-rim) by ion probe for U–Pb dating and oxygen isotopes, followed by analyzes for Lu–Hf by LA–MC–ICP–MS.

The AC plutonic rocks (1.87–1.85 Ga) form a bimodal suite, where the proposed mantle source for the mafic rocks is 2.1–2.0 Ga metasomatized lower part of the Archean subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) and the source for the felsic melts is related plume-derived underplated mafic material in the lower crust. Variable degrees of contamination of the Archean lower crust have produced “subduction-like” Nb–Ta anomalies in spidergrams and negative ε_Nd (T) values in the mafic-intermediate rocks. The felsic AC granitoids originate from a low degree melting of eclogitic or garnet-bearing amphibolites with titanite ± rutile partly prevailing in the residue (Nb–Ta fractionation) followed by variable degree of assimilation/melting of the Archean lower crust. The AP plutonic rocks (ca. 1.88 Ga) can be divided into I-type and A-type granitoids (AP/A), where the latter follow the sediment assimilation trend in ASI diagram, have high δ¹⁸O values (up to 8‰) in zircons and exhibit negative Ba anomalies (Rb–Ba–Th in spidergram), as found in sedimentary rocks. A mixing/assimilation of enriched mantle-derived melts with melts from already migmatized sedimentary rocks ± amphibolites is proposed. The CFGC is characterized by both I-type and A-type (CFGC/A) intermediate and felsic granitoids. The I-type granitoids are divided into two groups at ≥ 1885 Ma and ≤ 1882 Ma, where the latter overlap in age with the CFGC/A granitoids. Both I-type CFGC and CFGC/A granitoids are interpreted to have formed from mixing of Paleoproterozoic SCLM-derived melts with crustal melts from hydrous and dry intermediate-felsic igneous sources, respectively. The geochemistry, dominantly δ¹⁸O values below 6.5‰ in zircons and T_DM (2.11–2.42 Ga) of the CFGC granitoids favor the occurrence of older crust (ca. 2.1–2.0 Ga) in their genesis. The BZ granitoids are similar in age but more juvenile with T_DM ages between 1.94 Ga and 2.16 Ga. The 1.92 Ga granodiorite in the BB is correlated with juvenile gneissic tonalites and granodiorites found from the AP boundary.

We suggest that the present high-velocity lower crust under the CFGC is composed of melt-extracted granulites (crustal source age ≥ 2.0 Ga) and mafic cumulates which both formed during 1.90–1.88 Ga arc magmatism. The ≤ 1.88 Ga stage represents the end of compression/transpression and is followed by 1.87–1.86 Ga buckling, forming the Bothnian Oroclines.

At Mt. Bambouto, a continental stratovolcano of the Cameroon Line, magmatic activity lasted for over 20Ma and was characterized by at least two caldera formation events. Here we present detailed mineral and whole-rock compositions of Mt. Bambouto basanites, hawaiites, trachytes and phonolites, with emphasis on caldera related volcanic rocks. These data show that differentiation took place within a complex magma plumbing system, with magma chambers occurring at different depths within the crust. Though differentiation was chiefly dominated by fractional crystallization, chemical mineral zoning of olivines, clinopyroxenes, and feldspars is also indicative of open-system processes such as magma mixing and magma chamber recharge. Chemical zoning is evident mainly in the outer 100 microns of the analyzed crystals, suggesting that magma mixing occurred shortly before eruption. The last caldera collapse at about 15Ma also marked a clear change in the magma plumbing system. Before caldera collapse, Mt. Bambouto was characterized by a dominant production of peralkaline quartz trachytic magmas in shallow magma chambers. During this phase, evolved basic magmas (hawaiites) and strongly evolved alkaline magmas were formed in middle and upper crustal magma chambers, respectively. After emptying of the shallow quartz trachytic magma chamber and caldera collapse, magmas from the deep magmatic plumbing system were mobilized and partially mixed. This triggered eruptions of magmas on the caldera rims.

The complex history of assemblage and disruption of continental plates surrounding the Atlantic Ocean is in part recorded by the distribution of detrital zircon ages entrained in continental sedimentary strata from Morocco (Central High Atlas and Argana basins) and Canada (Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick). Here we investigate detrital zircon from the latest Triassic (ca. 202Ma) sedimentary strata directly underlying lava flows of the Central Atlantic magmatic province or interlayered within them. SHRIMP (Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe) and LA-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry) U–Pb ages for zircon range from Paleozoic to Archean with a dominant Neoproterozoic peak, and significant amounts of ca. 2Ga zircon. These ages suggest a prevailing West African (Gondwanan) provenance at all sampling sites. Notably, the Paleoproterozoic zircon population is particularly abundant in central Morocco, north of the High Atlas chain, suggesting the presence of Eburnean-aged rocks in this part of the country, which is consistent with recent geochronologic data from outcropping rocks. Minor amounts of late Mesoproterozoic and early Neoproterozoic zircon ages (ca. 1.1–0.9Ga) in Moroccan samples are more difficult to interpret. A provenance from Avalonia or Amazonia, as proposed by previous studies is not supported by the age distributions observed here. An involvement of more distal source regions, possibly located in north-eastern Africa (Arabian Nubian Shield) would instead be possible. Paleozoic zircon ages are abundant in the Canadian sample, pointing to a significant contribution from Hercynian aged source rocks. Such a signal is nearly absent in the Moroccan samples, suggesting that zircon-bearing Hercynian granitic rocks of the Moroccan Meseta block were not yet outcropping at ca. 200Ma. The only Moroccan samples that yield Paleozoic zircon ages are those interlayered within the CAMP lavas, suggesting an increased dismantling (i.e. uplift) of the Hercynian chain during emplacement of CAMP lava flows, combined with subsidence of the volcanic grabens.

The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), emplaced at the Triassic–Jurassic (T–J) boundary (~200Ma), is among the largest igneous provinces on Earth. The Maranhão basin in NE Brazil is located around 700km inland and 2000km from the site of the earliest Pangea disruption. The CAMP tholeiites occur only in the western part of the basin and have been described as low and high-Ti. Here we document the occurrence of two sub-groups among the high-Ti tholeiites in the Western Maranhão basin. The major and trace elements and the Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic ratios define three chemical groups corresponding to the low-Ti (TiO2<1.3wt.%), high-Ti (TiO2~2.0wt.%) and evolved high-Ti (TiO2>3wt.%) western Maranhão basin tholeiites (WMBT). The new 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages obtained on plagioclase separates for high-Ti (199.7±2.4Ma) and evolved high-Ti WMBT (197.2±0.5Ma and 198.2±0.6Ma) are indistinguishable and identical to those of previously analyzed low-Ti WMBT (198.5±0.8Ma) and to the mean 40Ar/39Ar age of the CAMP (199±2.4Ma). We also present the first Re–Os isotopic data for CAMP basalts. The low and high-Ti samples display mantle-like initial (187Os/188Os)i ranging from 0.1267 to 0.1299, while the evolved high-Ti samples are more radiogenic ((187Os/188Os)i up to 0.184) We propose that the high-Ti WMBT were derived from the sub-lithospheric asthenosphere, and contaminated during ascent by interaction with the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The evolved high-Ti WMBT were derived from the same asthenospheric source but experienced crustal contamination. The chemical characteristics of the low-Ti group can be explained by partial melting of the most fertile portions of the SCLM metasomatized during paleo-subduction. Alternatively, the low-Ti WMBT could be derived from the sub-lithospheric asthenosphere but the resulting melts may have undergone contamination by the SCLM. The occurrences of high-Ti basalts are apparently not restricted to the area of initial continental disruption which may bring into question previous interpretations such as those relating high-Ti CAMP magmatism to the initiation of Atlantic ridge spreading or as the expression of a deep mantle plume. We propose that the CAMP magmatism in the Maranhão basin may be attributed to local hotter mantle conditions due to the combined effects of edge-driven convection and large-scale mantle warming under the Pangea supercontinent. The involvement of a mantle-plume with asthenosphere-like isotopic characteristics cannot be ruled out either as one of the main source components of the WMBT or as a heat supplier.

The age and origin of the Late Cretaceous magmatism on the North American and Iberian-African margins and the adjacent northern Central and Southern North Atlantic ocean are not well constrained due to the lack of appropriate data. To solve this issue, we used the 40Ar/39Ar geochronology and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes geochemistry of basalts from the New England Seamounts (NES) and the J-Anomaly Ridge (JAR) as these localities on the North American margin are still poorly investigated. We obtained a reliable age of 82.39 ± 0.12 Ma (2σ) for the Nashville Seamount (NES) and an alteration age of ca. 76 Ma for the JAR. Our new dates from the New England Seamounts, combined with those available from the Tore–Madeira Rise and SW Portugal, on the Iberia–African margins, confirm an overlapping period of activity around 105-80 Ma on both the North American and Iberian-African margins and the adjacent oceanic basins. Plate kinematic reconstructions indicate that these magmatic occurrences were located within a ~1000 km radius within the yet narrow Atlantic Ocean. The J-Anomaly Ridge samples were most likely formed at the mid-Atlantic ridge around ~120 Ma. The Sr-Nd-Pb initial isotopic ratios from the New England seamounts show similarities with the chemical signature of the Tore–Madeira Rise and, to a lesser extent, SW Portugal. Moreover, New England Seamounts display a trend toward EMI isotopic end-member, similar to those documented in at the Late Cretaceous Godzilla seamount on the Tore–Madeira Rise and sills from ODP Site 1276. The shared chemical signature is distributed across a torus-shaped area of ~2000 × 2000 km at a near-fixed location on Earth and is not temporally-controlled, suggesting a large-scale chemical anomaly in the shallow mantle. Therefore, geochronological, geochemical and plate reconstructions imply a large-scale, anomalously fertile mantle source that generated widespread magmatism during the Late Cretaceous in the northern Central Atlantic.

The link between the Kerguelen large igneous province and several moderately-voluminous magmatic domains emplaced on continental crust near the relict triple junction of eastern Gondwana remains tentative. In particular, linking Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic ratios of the 90,000km2 submerged Naturaliste Plateau at the relict triple junction of eastern Gondwana to the Kerguelen LIP were difficult due to previous age estimates of ca. 100Ma. Sericite hydrothermal plateau ages as old as 127.6±0.6Ma indicate that the volcanism on the plateau began at or prior to ca. 128Ma, which is >25m.y. older than previous estimations. These ages are closely matched by the then-nearby ca. 140–130Ma Comei, 137–130Ma Bunbury, 124Ma Wallaby Plateau and 118–117Ma Rajmahal-Bengal-Sylhet magmatic provinces. The Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic characteristics of the majority of these ca. 140–117Ma circum-eastern Gondwana magmatic provinces display only source contributions from the depleted asthenosphere and lithosphere with negligible contribution from the Kerguelen mantle plume. The Comei Province shows a direct plume-related melt signature, probably because it sits directly in the center of the modeled plume head position at 140–130Ma. We suggest that the Kerguelen mantle plume provided the additional heat necessary to melt the asthenosphere and lithosphere of the circum-eastern Gondwanan magmatic provinces. Only after the motion of the Kerguelen plume head into the nascent Indian Ocean at ca. 100–95Ma does a significant melt contribution from the Kerguelen mantle plume become evident in the isotopic signature, a signal that persists until the present-day. Despite differences in source contributions over time, it is clear that the Kerguelen mantle plume is necessary for the production of all the circum-eastern Gondwana magmatic domains, which we propose should be referred to as the Greater Kerguelen Large Igneous Province.

Determining the tectonic evolution and thermal structure of a tectonic unit that experiences a subduction-related pressure temperature (P-T) loop is challenging. Within a single unit, P-T conditions can vary from top to bottom which can only be revealed by detailed petrological work. We present micropetrological data from the middle section of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit (CBU) in Naxos, Greece, which indicates a different P-T loop than that for the top of the sequence. Using Zr-in-rutile and Ti-in-biotite thermometry coupled with quartz-in-garnet elastic barometry and phase equilibrium thermodynamic modeling, we identify a prograde path from 15.4 ± 0.8 kbar to 19.9 ± 0.6 kbar and from 496 ± 16 °C to 572 ± 7 °C (2σ uncertainty), equilibration during decompression at 8.3 ± 1.5 kbar and 519 ± 12 °C followed by near-isobaric heating to 9.2 ± 0.8 kbar and 550 ± 10 °C (or even 584 ± 19 °C), and a final greenschist-facies equilibration stage at 3.8 ± 0.3 kbar and 520 ± 4 °C. We compare these P-T estimates with published data from the top and also the bottom of the CBU section and find that the bottom half of the CBU on Naxos records higher peak high-pressure (HP) of about 4 kbar than the top of the unit, defining the thickness of the CBU section on Naxos to about 15 km in the Eocene. We determine that crustal thickening of up to ~15% occurs in the upper half of the CBU section during exhumation of the HP rocks in an extrusion wedge in a convergence setting. At about 30 Ma, the bottom half of the CBU was finally thrust onto the radiogenic Cycladic basement. Subsequently this bottom half of the CBU section underwent isobaric heating of 9–96 °C between c. 32–28 and 23–21 Ma. Isobaric heating occurred below the upper CBU section that thickened during decompression and commenced when HP metamorphism in the Cyclades ended. This suggests that thermal relaxation following tectonic accretion in the Cyclades controlled heating of the evolving Cycladic orogen during a tectonically quiescent period before lithospheric extension commenced by 23–20.5 Ma.

Constraints on the composition of the depleted mantle Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf crust formation ages have a long history of scientific debate. When calculating mantle extraction ages, and constructing crustal growth models, a linear evolution of incompatible trace elements in a depleted mantle since > 4 Ga is routinely used. Mantle depletion however varies regionally and over time and subduction of sediments and oceanic crust renders a mantle-wedge variously enriched relative to a modelled depleted mantle.

Here we show that primitive mantle-derived subduction related gabbroic intrusions from southern Fennoscandia have Hf isotope compositions that are enriched relative to a MORB-like linear depleted mantle evolution curve. Extrapolation of primitive Paleoproterozoic gabbro suites enables the construction of a regional mantle evolution curve, providing improved constraints on model ages, crustal residence times and the fraction of juvenile versus reworked continental crust. Convergent margins are assumed to be one of the main sites of continental crust growth, and using an overly depleted mantle source yield model ages that are too old, and hence cumulative crustal growth models show too much crust generation early in the Earth's history. The approach of using the Hf isotope composition of zircon from primitive subduction related gabbroic intrusions as a proxy for mantle Hf isotope composition, piloted in this study, can be applied to other convergent margins.

A significant portion of the Earth's water is found at trace levels in nominally anhydrous rock forming minerals in the crust and mantle. Its distribution has far-reaching implications in melt-generating processes, mantle rheology and the stability of the lithosphere. We report petrographic, major and trace element, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry data on four eclogite xenoliths from the Obnazhennaya kimberlite, Siberia that contain hydrous minerals at upper mantle conditions. Al-rich (>9.9 wt% Al2O3) omphacitic clinopyroxene, a major mineral of eclogites, contains crystallographically controlled exsolutions of CaO-rich (up to 23.6 wt%) garnet (coronae, lenses), garnet-zoisite (lamellae) or amphiboles (needle/blade-like exsolutions). The omphacite hosting the exsolved lamellae shows enrichment or depletion in major (Al, Si, Mg) and trace (e.g., HREE) elements compatible with garnet and zoisite, proportional to the abundance of exsolutions.

We argue that zoisite likely formed concomitantly with garnet exsolution from a water- and Al-rich precursory omphacite, without any fluid addition. The compositional gradients are consistent with diffusion-controlled partitioning in a closed system, and their preservation indicates the exsolution likely took place shortly prior to eclogite entrapment by the kimberlite. Large, non-exsolved, omphacite grains contain minimum ~870–1500 ppm wt. H2O (determined as OH). We infer that intertwined lamellae of hydrous garnet (600–960 ppm wt. H2O) and minor (<1%) zoisite (2 wt% H2O) formed at mantle conditions due to progressive exsolution, without external fluids. Recalculated whole rock water contents range from ~320 to 970 ppm wt. H2O. These estimates exceed by far those for the surrounding peridotitic mantle and suggest that, although a minor component, eclogites may locally be an important water reservoir in the cratonic mantle.

New geochronology from a thick (> 800 m) basaltic succession along the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula confirm a Middle Jurassic age (178 ± 1 Ma). This marginally postdates the adjacent Ferrar large igneous province of the Transantarctic Mountains and predates the extensive silicic volcanism of the Mapple Formation (~ 170 Ma) of the Antarctic Peninsula. The geochemistry of other rare, but broadly contemporaneous, basaltic successions of the Antarctic Peninsula, along with Cretaceous-age mafic dykes, are used to interpret the influences of lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle sources during the Mesozoic. Two significant high magmatic addition rate events occurred along the Antarctic Peninsula continental margin at 170 and 110 Ma and can be correlated to events along the South American Cordillera. These ‘flare-up’ events are characterised by extensive silicic (mostly ignimbrite) volcanism of the Chon Aike Province (V2 event: 170 Ma) and significant granitoid batholith emplacement of the Lassiter Coast intrusive suite (110 Ma). The 170 Ma event is exposed across large parts of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, whilst the 110 Ma event is more widespread across the southern Antarctic Peninsula. The basaltic volcanism described here precedes the ‘flare-up’ event at 170 Ma and has geochemical characteristics that indicate a thickened lithosphere prevailed. A major dyke swarm that followed the 170 Ma event indicates that extensive lithospheric thinning had occurred, which allowed the ascent of depleted mafic melts. The thinning was the direct result of widespread lower crustal/upper lithospheric melting associated with the silicic volcanism. In the southern Antarctic Peninsula, the lithosphere remained over thickened until the emplacement of the major batholiths of the Lassiter Coast intrusive suite at 110 Ma and was then immediately followed by the emplacement of more asthenosphere-like melts indicating extensive lithospheric thinning.

The timing of diamond crystallization is generally inferred from radiometric dating of individual or multiple mineral inclusions in diamond, where ages are derived from isochrons or isotopic evolution models. Resulting ages often significantly predate the emplacement ages of host kimberlites, but age information from both approaches can be ambiguous due to long-lived mantle heterogeneities where mixing can mimic isochrons or in-situ aging. Direct dating of accessory mineral inclusions in diamonds, by contrast, has rarely been attempted because of the scarcity of such inclusions, requiring careful high grading of large amounts of diamond concentrates. Here, we report secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS) U–Pb ages from a suite of rare rutile inclusions which were extracted from diamond in an eclogitic paragenesis from the Mir kimberlite pipe, Siberia. One population of rutile inclusions shows diamond crystal-shapes and was petrographically identified as completely enclosed in diamond prior to host burning for inclusion extraction. These rutile inclusions were screened for U abundances (0.24–23 μg/g U) and those with the highest U contents were dated, yielding a uniform U–Pb concordia age of 375.5 ± 7.0 Ma (error 95% confidence; mean square of weighted deviates MSWD = 0.74; number of spots n = 19). This age is nearly coeval with, but significantly (at the 95% confidence level) older than combined U–Pb rutile ages for rutile intergrown with polycrystalline fibrous diamond (362.9 ± 9.5 Ma; MSWD = 0.96; n = 7) and rutile from the eclogitic xenolith matrix (369 ± 16 Ma; MSWD = 0.30; n = 5). Rutile ages are consistent with published ages for kimberlite emplacement (ca. 360 Ma), but much younger than Re–Os sulfide isochron ages between ca. 913 Ma and 2.1 Ga for groups of individual inclusions in diamond from the same location. When assuming the oldest Re–Os sulfide age as the timing of rutile entrapment, diffusive Pb-loss from rutile inclusions over ca. 2 Ga would require diffusivities of Pb in diamond of >10−22 m2/s, as well as Pb partitioning coefficients between diamond and rutile at near or greater unity. Alternatively, if Pb is immobile in diamond, ancient rutile ages could have been reset due to processes other than volume diffusion through diamond (e.g., due to fluid migration along cracks). However, in this scenario it remains difficult to explain why all rutile inclusions dated here would have been located along cracks, whereas sulfide inclusions investigated in other studies were not. Another explanation is that rutile inclusions were entrapped at the time of diamond formation, and that this event is recorded by U–Pb rutile ages, whereas sulfides predate diamond crystallization and their Re–Os systematics were incompletely reset. Trace element heterogeneity in rutile suggests that they originated in chemically different environments, and thus rutile likely predates diamond formation. However, due to rapid diffusion of Pb in rutile, radiogenic Pb accumulated only after entrapment in diamond (for inclusions) or eruptive quenching (for intergrown or matrix rutile). Overall, rutile geochronology indicates that at least some diamond from the Mir pipe formed briefly (within the ca. 20 Ma age difference between U–Pb rutile ages for inclusions and intergrown/matrix rutile) before kimberlite eruption, supporting models that link diamond formation with carbon-rich precursors of kimberlite magmas.

In the central Erzgebirge within the Bohemian Massif, lenses of high pressure and ultrahigh pressure felsic granulites occur within meta-sedimentary and meta-igneous amphibolite-facies felsic rocks. In the felsic granulite, melt rich parts and restite form alternating layers, and were identified by petrology and bulk rock geochemistry. Mineral assemblages representing the peak P-T conditions were best preserved in melanocratic restite layers. In contrast, in the melt rich leucocratic layers, garnet and related HP minerals as kyanite are almost completely resorbed. Both layers display differences in accessory minerals: melanosomes have frequent and large monazite and Fe–Ti-minerals but lack xenotime and apatite; leucosomes have abundant apatite and xenotime while monazite is rare. Here we present a detailed petrographic study of zircon grains (abundance, size, morphology, inclusions) in granulite-facies and amphibolite-facies felsic gneisses, along with their oxygen and hafnium isotope compositions. Our data complement earlier UPb ages and trace element data (REE, Y, Hf, U) on zircons from the same rocks (Tichomirowa et al., 2005). Our results show that the degree of melting determines the behaviour of zircon in different layers of the granulites and associated amphibolite-facies rocks. In restite layers of the granulite lenses, small, inherited, and resorbed zircon grains are preserved and new zircon formation is very limited. In contrast, new zircons abundantly grew in the melt rich leucocratic layers. In these layers, the new zircons (UPb age, trace elements, Hf, O isotopes) best preserve the information on peak metamorphic conditions due to intense corrosion of other metamorphic minerals. The new zircons often contain inherited cores. Compared to cores, the new zircons and rims show similar or slightly lower Hf isotope values, slightly higher Hf model ages, and decreased oxygen isotope ratios. The isotope compositions (Hf, O) of new zircons indicate partial Hf isotope homogenization in the melt, and melt infiltration from an external source. New zircon was most likely formed by a peritectic reaction with melt above the wet solidus (peritectic zircon). Conversely, the amphibolite-facies host gneisses lack indications of significant melt production. Pre-metamorphic zircons experienced mainly solid-state recrystallization and variable Pb loss with only minor new zircon formation. However, subtle changes in cathodoluminescence pattern, in the Hf and O isotopes, and in the Lu/Hf, Yb/Hf ratios of zircons suggest that small volumes of melt were locally present. In difference to granulites, melt was internally produced. The detection of low degree melts (inferred from zircon geochemistry) is extremely important for the rheology because these amphibolite-facies rocks could act as large scale ductile shear zones. The new zircon data support a different P-T path for closely spaced amphibolite- and granulite-facies rocks.