Th-U-total Pb timing constraints on the emplacement of the granitoid pluton of Stolpen, Germany

Monazite from the Stolpen monzogranite (SE Germany) was studied to constrain the Th-U-total Pb age of pluton formation. Monazite grains demonstrate subtle to distinct patchy zoning related to slight compositional variations. Textural and compositional characteristics indicate that the monazite formed in a single magmatic event in a slightly heterogeneous system, and was only weakly affected by secondary alteration, which did not disturb the Th-U-Pb system. Chemical dating of the monazite gave a consistent age of 299 ± 1.7 Ma. The current study presents the first geochronological data for the Stolpen granite. It provides evidence that Stolpen is the youngest Variscan granitic intrusion in the Lusatian Granodiorite Complex and indicates that magmatic activity related to post-collisional extension in this region lasted at least 5my longer than previously assumed

Geochemistry and growth morphology of alkali feldspar crystals from an IAB iron meteorite : insight into possible hypotheses of their crystallization

Alkali feldspar crystals have been recognized in the troilite-graphite nodules of the Morasko IAB iron meteorite. Their chemical, microtextural and structural properties were studied using electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The feldspars occur as perthitic or antiperthitic intergrowths, whereas the albite lamellae are perfectly twinned. The structural properties reveal intergrown phases with fairly disordered patterns. The electron microprobe analyses demonstrate that the intergrown phases are mainly rich in sodium or potassium, resulting in compositions that are close to those of albite or orthoclase. The compositions, calculated on the basis of a segmented perthite-antiperthite image, showed that the Or-to-Ab proportions in the homogenized crystals were almost 0.3:0.7, thus indicating that the anorthoclase crystallized under high-temperature conditions. Two hypotheses of crystal formation could account for these characteristics: crystallization from a melt or from a metasomatic solution. Relics with evidence of metasomatic replacement of former minerals were not found. Accordingly, this work focuses on arguments that support the other hypothesis. Large ion lithophile elements (LILEs, e.g., Ba, Sr, Rb, LREE, Pb, and Ga) were used to track the origin of the crystals. Their concentrations indicate crystallization from a parent melt strongly depleted in LILEs. Alkali feldspar is commonly a product of a highly differentiated melt. However, highly differentiated melts are typically enriched in LILEs, which here is not the case. The melt that crystallized the feldspar cannot be related to impact-induced partial melting of the chondritic material alone. The derived melt probably was contaminated by silica-rich target material during interaction between the IAB projectile and the target material and was accompanied by metal and sulphide melts that were both immiscible with a silicate melt

Apatite from NWA 10153 and NWA 10645 : the key to deciphering magmatic and fluid evolution history in Nakhlites

Apatites from Martian nakhlites NWA 10153 and NWA 10645 were used to obtain insight into their crystallization environment and the subsequent postcrystallization evolution path. The research results acquired using multi-tool analyses show distinctive transformation processes that were not fully completed. The crystallization history of three apatite generations (OH-bearing, Cl-rich fluorapatite as well as OH-poor, F-rich chlorapatite and fluorapatite) were reconstructed using transmission electron microscopy and geochemical analyses. Magmatic OH-bearing, Cl-rich fluorapatite changed its primary composition and evolved toward OH-poor, F-rich chlorapatite because of its interaction with fluids. Degassing of restitic magma causes fluorapatite crystallization, which shows a strong structural affinity for the last episode of system evolution. In addition to the three apatite generations, a fourth amorphous phase of calcium phosphate has been identified with Raman spectroscopy. This amorphous phase may be considered a transition phase between magmatic and hydrothermal phases. It may give insight into the dissolution process of magmatic phosphates, help in processing reconstruction, and allow to decipher mineral interactions with hydrothermal fluids

Chaotic three-dimensional distribution of Ba, Rb, and Sr in feldspar megacrysts grown in an open magmatic system

As has been demonstrated in recent years, the heterogeneities of coeval magmas can be more successfully revealed by zoned megacrysts rather than by analysis of the whole rocks hosting them. Here, the geochemical heterogeneities of feldspar megacrysts from the Karkonosze granite, Poland, are investigated by LA-ICP-MS. The crystals are the product of migration and growth in regions of poorly mixed magmas. 3D-modeling of the Ba, Sr, and Rb distributions emphasizes the importance of micro-domain growth morphologies. Two models of element behavior—a relative concentration model and a composition gradient model—provide a potentially effective tool for tracking the mixing process on a microscale. Measured concentrations of elements of different mobilities do not agree with what might be expected from the mixing of two end-member magmas. If mixing was the only process occurring, linear correlations between the concentrations of any two elements should be observed; this, however, is not the case. For combinations of any two of the three elements, modeling reveals differing non-linear correlations between concentrations. The megacryst heterogeneities provide an insight into how mixing magmas are chaotically advected to growing crystals and the degree of inter-magma element exchange between the magmas

How do granitoid magmas mix with each other? Insights from textures, trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic composition of apatite and titanite from the Matok pluton (South Africa)

International audienceIn plutonic systems, magma mixing is often modelled by mass balance based on whole-rock geochemistry. However, magma mixing is a chaotic process and chemical equilibration is controlled by non-linear diffusive–advective processes unresolved by the study of bulk samples. Here we present textural observations, LA-(MC-)ICP-MS trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic data of accessory apatites and titanites from a hybrid granodiorite of the Neoarchean Matok pluton (South Africa), collected in a zone of conspicuous mixing between mafic and felsic magmas. Apatite grains mostly show a pronounced zoning in CL images, corresponding to abrupt changes in REE and HFSE concentrations recording their transfer through compositionally different melt domains during mixing. These grains crystallized early, at temperatures of 950–1000 °C. Titanite grains crystallized at temperatures of 820–900 °C (Zr-in-sphene thermometry). They show limited intra-grain chemical variations but huge inter-grain compositional scatter in REE and HFSE, pinpointing crystallization within a crystal mush, from isolated melt pockets having different composition from one another owing to incomplete chemical homogenization and variable Rayleigh fractionation. These chemical–textural characteristics, in combination with partitioning models and Polytopic Vector Analysis, point to “self-mixing” between co-genetic dioritic and granodioritic/granitic magmas. Both resulted from differentiation of mantle-derived mafic melts, showing that mixing does not necessarily involve magmas from contrasted (crust vs. mantle) sources. Systematic variations in εNdt (−4.5 to −2.5) and 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.703–0.707) of titanite and apatite grains/domains crystallized from the two magmas point to an isotopically inhomogeneous mantle source, which is not resolved by bulk-rock isotopic data. Interaction between the two magmas must have occurred at relatively high temperatures (ca. 900°C) so that their viscosity contrast remained low, allowing efficient mechanical mixing. Despite this, chemical homogenization was incomplete, as recorded by diffusive fractionation between REE–HFSE and Sr. Modelling thereof reveals that chemical exchange between the liquid phases of the two mixed magmas did not last more than a few tens to hundreds of years. The chemical equilibration between mixed magmas thus strongly depends on the considered elements and observational length scales