Simultaneous cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging and X-ray microanalysis

A facility has been developed to acquire hyperspectral cathodoluminescence (CL) images simultaneously with X-ray composition data. Based around an electron microprobe, the system uses a built-in Cassegrain microscope to efficiently couple emitted light directly into the entrance slit of an optical spectrograph. A cooled array detector allows the parallel acquisition of CL spectra, which are then built up into a multidimensional data-cube containing the full set of spectrally- and spatially-resolved information for later analysis. This setup has the advantage of allowing wavelength-dispersive X-ray (WDX) data to be recorded concurrently, providing a powerful technique for the direct comparison of luminescent and compositional properties of materials. The combination of beam and sample scanning thus allows the correlation of composition and luminescence inhomogeneities on length scales ranging from a few cm to sub-micron

Asthenosphere-induced melting of diverse source regions for East Carpathian post-collisional volcanism

The occurrence of post-subduction magmatism in continental collision zones is a ubiquitous feature of plate tectonics, but its relation with geodynamic processes remains enigmatic. The nature of mantle sources in these settings, and their interaction with subduction-related components, are difficult to constrain using bulk rocks when magmas are subject to mixing and assimilation within the crust. Here we examine post-collisional magma sources in space and time through the chemistry of olivine-hosted melt inclusions and early-formed minerals (spinel, olivine and clinopyroxene) in primitive volcanic rocks from the Neogene–Quaternary East Carpathian volcanic range in Călimani (calc-alkaline; 10.1–6.7 Ma), Southern Harghita (calc-alkaline to shoshonitic; 5.3–0.03 Ma) and the Perșani Mountains (alkali basaltic; 1.2–0.6 Ma). Călimani calc-alkaline parental magma compositions indicate a lithospheric mantle source metasomatised by ~ 2% sediment-derived melts, and are best reproduced by ~ 2–12% melting. Mafic K-alkaline melts in Southern Harghita originate from a melt- and fluid-metasomatised lithospheric mantle source containing amphibole (± phlogopite), by ~ 5% melting. Intraplate Na-alkaline basalts from Racoș (Perșani) reflect small-degree (1–2%) asthenosphere-derived parental melts which experienced minor interaction with metasomatic components in the lithosphere. An important feature of the East Carpathian post-collisional volcanism is that the lithospheric source regions are located in the lower plate (distal Europe-Moesia), rather than the overriding plate (Tisza-Dacia). The volcanism appears to have been caused by (1) asthenospheric uprise following slab sinking and possibly south-eastward propagating delamination and breakoff, which induced melting of the subduction-modified lithospheric mantle (Călimani to Southern Harghita); and (2) decompression melting as a consequence of minor asthenospheric upwelling (Perșani)

Post-collisional Tertiary–Quaternary mafic alkalic magmatism in the Carpathian–Pannonian region: a review

Mafic alkalic volcanism was widespread in the Carpathian–Pannonian region (CPR) between 11 and 0.2 Ma. It followed the Miocene continental collision of the Alcapa and Tisia blocks with the European plate, as subduction-related calc-alkaline magmatism was waning. Several groups of mafic alkalic rocks from different regions within the CPR have been distinguished on the basis of ages and/or trace-element compositions. Their trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope systematics are consistent with derivation from complex mantle-source regions, which included both depleted asthenosphere and metasomatized lithosphere. The mixing of DMM-HIMU-EMII mantle components within asthenosphere-derived magmas indicates variable contamination of the shallow asthenosphere and/or thermal boundary layer of the lithosphere by a HIMU-like component prior to and following the introduction of subduction components. Various mantle sources have been identified: Lower lithospheric mantle modified by several ancient asthenospheric enrichments (source A); Young asthenospheric plumes with OIB-like trace element signatures that are either isotopically enriched (source B) or variably depleted (source C); Old upper asthenosphere heterogeneously contaminated by DM-HIMU-EMII-EMI components and slightly influenced by Miocene subduction-related enrichment (source D); Old upper asthenosphere heterogeneously contaminated by DM-HIMU-EMII components and significantly influenced by Miocene subduction-related enrichment (source E). Melt generation was initiated either by: (i) finger-like young asthenospheric plumes rising to and heating up the base of the lithosphere (below the Alcapa block), or (ii) decompressional melting of old asthenosphere upwelling to replace any lower lithosphere or heating and melting former subducted slabs (the Tisia block)

Tectonic significance of changes in post-subduction Pliocene-Quaternary magmatism in the south east part of the Carpathian-Pannonian Region

The south-eastern part of the Carpathian–Pannonian region records the cessation of convergence between the European platform/Moesia and the Tisza–Dacia microplate. Plio-Quaternary magmatic activity in this area, in close proximity to the ‘Vrancea zone’, shows a shift from normal calc-alkaline to much more diverse compositions (adakite-like calc-alkaline, K-alkalic, mafic Na-alkalic and ultrapotassic), suggesting a significant change in geodynamic processes at approximately 3 Ma. We review the tectonic setting, timing, petrology and geochemistry of the post-collisional volcanism to constrain the role of orogenic building processes such as subduction or collision on melt production and migration. The calc-alkaline volcanism (5.3–3.9 Ma) marks the end of normal subduction-related magmatism along the post-collisional Călimani–Gurghiu–Harghita volcanic chain in front of the European convergent plate margin. At ca. 3 Ma in South Harghita magma compositions changed to adakite-like calc-alkaline and continued until recent times (< 0.03 Ma) interrupted at 1.6–1.2 Ma by generation of Na and K-alkalic magmas, signifying changes in the source and melting mechanism. We attribute the changes in magma composition in front of the Moesian platform to two main geodynamic events: (1) slab-pull and steepening with opening of a tear window (adakite-like calc-alkaline magmas) and (2) renewed contraction associated with deep mantle processes such as slab steepening during post-collisional times (Na and K-alkalic magmas). Contemporaneous post-collisional volcanism at the eastern edge of the Pannonian Basin at 2.6–1.3 Ma was dominated by Na-alkalic and ultrapotassic magmas, suggesting a close relationship with thermal asthenospheric doming and strain partitioning related to the Adriatic indentation. Similar timing, magma chamber processes and volume for K-alkalic (shoshonitic) magmas in the South Apuseni Mountains (1.6 Ma) and South Harghita area at a distance of ca. 200 km imply a regional connection with the inversion tectonics

Origin of the Laleaua Albă dacite (Baia Sprie volcanic area and Au-Pb-Zn ore district, Romania): evidence from study of melt inclusions

Crystal inclusions (plagioclase, biotite, magnetite) and melt inclusions were studied in minerals of the Laleaua Albă dacite (Baia Sprie, Romania). Electron microprobe analysis of 29 melt inclusions in the plagioclase, K-feldspar, and quartz confirm that crystallization of these minerals took place from typical silicic melts enriched in potassium relative to sodium (K2O/Na2O = 1.5). The sum of the petrogenic components is 92–99 wt%. This points to a possible change in water content from 8 to 1 wt% during crystallization of phenocrysts. According to ion microprobe analysis of 11 melt inclusions, the minimum water content is 0.5 wt%, and the maximum water content is 6.1 wt%. The presence of high-density water fluid segregation in one of the melt inclusions suggests that the primary water content in the melt could reach 8.4 wt%. Ion microprobe data revealed a high concentration of Cu (up to 1260 ppm) as well as higher U content (from 5.0 to 14.3 ppm; average 11.5 ppm) in some melt inclusions as compared to the average U contents in silicic melts (2.7 ppm in island-arc settings and 7.9 ppm in continental rift settings). Chondrite-normalized trace-element patterns in melt inclusions suggest a complex genesis of the studied magmatic melts. Contents of some elements (for instance Sr and Ba) are close to those in island-arc melts, while others (for instance Th, U, and Eu) resemble those in melts of continental settings

Geochemistry and tectonic development of Cenozoic magmatism in the Carpathian–Pannonian region

This review considers the magmatic processes in the Carpathian–Pannonian Region (CPR) from Early Miocene to Recent times, as well as the contemporaneous magmatism at its southern boundary in the Dinaride and Balkans regions. This geodynamic system was controlled by the Cretaceous to Neogene subduction and collision of Africa with Eurasia, especially by Adria that generated the Alps to the north, the Dinaride–Hellenide belt to the east and caused extrusion, collision and inversion tectonics in the CPR. This long-lived subduction system supplied the mantle lithosphere with various subduction components. The CPR contains magmatic rocks of highly diverse compositions (calc-alkaline, K-alkalic, ultrapotassic and Na-alkalic), all generated in response to complex post-collisional tectonic processes. These processes formed extensional basins in response to an interplay of compression and extension within two microplates: ALCAPA and Tisza–Dacia. Competition between the different tectonic processes at both local and regional scales caused variations in the associated magmatism, mainly as a result of extension and differences in the rheological properties and composition of the lithosphere. Extension led to disintegration of the microplates that finally developed into two basin systems: the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins. The southern border of the CPR is edged by the Adria microplate via Sava and Vardar zones that acted as regional transcurrent tectonic areas during Miocene–Recent times. Major, trace element and isotopic data of post-Early Miocene magmatic rocks from the CPR suggest that subduction components were preserved in the lithospheric mantle after the Cretaceous–Miocene subduction and were reactivated especially by extensional tectonic processes that allowed uprise of the asthenosphere. Changes in the composition of the mantle through time support geodynamic scenarios of post-collision and extension processes linked to the evolution of the main blocks and their boundary relations. Weak lithospheric blocks (i.e. ALCAPA and western Tisza) generated the Pannonian basin and the adjacent Styrian, Transdanubian and Zărand basins which show high rates of vertical movement accompanied by a range of magmatic compositions. Strong lithospheric blocks (i.e. Dacia) were only marginally deformed, where strike–slip faulting was associated with magmatism and extension. At the boundary of Adria and Tisza–Dacia strike–slip tectonics and core complex extension were associated with small volume Miocene magmatism in narrow extensional sedimentary basins or granitoids in core-complex detachment systems along older suture zones (Sava and Vardar) accommodating the extension in the Pannonian basin and afterward Pliocene–Quaternary inversion. Magmas of various compositions appear to have acted as lubricants in a range of tectonic processes

The onset of the volcanism in the Ciomadul Volcanic Dome Complex (Eastern Carpathians): Eruption chronology and magma type variation

Combined zircon U-Th-Pb and (U-Th)/He dating was applied to refine the eruption chronology of the last 2 Myr for the andesitic and dacitic Pilişca volcano and Ciomadul Volcanic Dome Complex (CVDC), the youngest volcanic area of the Carpathian-Pannonian region, located in the southernmost Harghita, eastern-central Europe. The proposed eruption ages, which are supported also by the youngest zircon crystallization ages, are much younger than the previously determined K/Ar ages. By dating every known eruption center in the CVDC, repose times between eruptive eventswere also accurately determined. Eruption of the andesite atMurgulMare (1865±87 ka) and dacite of the Pilişca volcanic complex (1640 ± 37 ka) terminated an earlier pulse of volcanic activity within the southernmost Harghita region, west of the Olt valley. This was followed by the onset of the volcanism in the CVDC, which occurred after several 100s kyr of eruptive quiescence. At ca. 1 Ma a significant change in the composition of erupted magma occurred from medium-K calc-alkaline compositions to high-K dacitic (Baba-Laposa dome at 942±65 ka) and shoshoniticmagmas (Malnaş and Bixad domes; 964±46 ka and 907±66 ka, respectively). Noteworthy, eruptions of magmaswith distinct chemical compositions occurredwithin a restricted area, a few km from one another. These oldest lava domes of the CVDC form a NNE-SSW striking tectonic lineament along the Olt valley. Following a brief (ca. 100 kyr) hiatus, extrusion of high-K andesitic magma continued at Dealul Mare (842 ± 53 ka). After another ca. 200 kyr period of quiescence two high-K dacitic lava domes extruded (Puturosul: 642 ± 44 ka and Balvanyos: 583 ± 30 ka). The Turnul Apor lava extrusion occurred after a ca. 200 kyr repose time (at 344 ± 33 ka), whereas formation of the Haramul Mic lava dome (154± 16 ka) represents the onset of the development of the prominent Ciomadul volcano. The accurate determination of eruption dates shows that the volcanic eruptions were often separated by prolonged (ca. 100 to 200 kyr) quiescence periods. Demonstration of recurrence of volcanism even after such long dormancy has to be considered in assessing volcanic hazards, particularly in seemingly inactive volcanic areas, where no Holocene eruptions occurred. The term of ‘volcanoes with Potentially Active Magma Storage’ illustrates the potential of volcanic rejuvenation for such long-dormant volcanoes with the existence of melt-bearing crustal magma body

Episodes of dormancy and eruption of the Late Pleistocene Ciomadul volcanic complex (Eastern Carpathians, Romania) constrained by zircon geochronology

Ciomadul is the youngest volcanic system in the Carpathian-Pannonian Region recording eruptive activity from ca. 1Ma to 30ka. Based on combined zircon U-Th and (U-Th)/He geochronology, Ciomadul volcanism is divided into two main eruptive periods: Old Ciomadul (1Ma – 300 ka; OCEP) and Young Ciomadul Eruptive Period (160–30ka; YCEP). OCEP activity comprises Eruptive Epochs 1–3, whereas new ages for eight lava domes and four pyroclastic units belonging to the YCEP lead to its further subdivision into two eruptive epochs: Eruptive Epochs 4 and 5. The extrusion of most of the lava domes occurred between 160 and 90 ka (Eruptive Epoch 4) during three eruptive episodes at ca. 155ka, 135 ka and 95 ka (Eruptive Episodes 4/1, 4/ 2 and 4/3, respectively) along a NE-SW lineament, which is perpendicular to the regional NW-SE trend of the Călimani-Gurghiu-Harghita volcanic chain. Eruptive Epoch 5 occurred after a ca. 40 kyr of quiescence at ca. 55–30 ka, and is mainly characterized by explosive eruptions with a minor lava dome building activity. All of the dated pyroclastic outcrops, together with the lava dome of Piscul Pietros, belong to the older Eruptive Episode 5/1, with an eruption age of 55–45ka. The eruption centers of Eruptive Epoch 5 are located at the junction of the conjugated NW-SE and NE-SW lineaments defined by the older eruptive centers. The whole-rock geochemistry of all studied samples is fairly homogeneous (SiO2=63–69wt%, K2O=3–4wt%). It also overlaps with the composition of the lava domes of the Old Ciomadul Eruptive Period, implying a monotonous geochemical characteristic for the past 1 Myr. The eruption rates for the Ciomadul volcanism were determined based on the erupted lava dome volume calculations, supplemented with the eruption ages. The activity peaked during the Eruptive Epoch 4 (160–90 ka), having an eruption rate of 0.1 km3 /kyr. In comparison, these values are 0.05km3 /kyr for the YCEP (160–30ka) and 0.01 km3 /kyr for the overall Ciomadul volcanism (1Ma–30 ka). Based on the geochemical characteristics, the quiescence periods and the lifetime of the complex, as well as the relatively small amount of erupted material, this volcanic system can be placed in a subduction-related post-collisional geodynamic setting, which shows strong chemical similarities to continental arc volcanism. The commonly found long repose times between the active phases suggest that the nature of a volcano cannot be understood solely based on the elapsed time since the last eruption. Instead, comprehensive geochronology, coupled with the understanding of the magma storage behavior could be a base of hazard assessment for volcanic fields, where the last eruptions occurred several 10's of thousand years ago and therefore they are not considered as potentially active