An oxygen isotope and chemical study of the Ivrea Zone, Italy: interaction between mafic magmas and lower crustal metamorphic rocks

Abstract

The Ivrea Zone is arguably the best example of an exposed tectonic slice through middle to lowermost continental crust. The study area is dominated by a large, composite, ultramafic-mafic intrusion termed the Mafic Complex, which was emplaced during the late Hercynian (~260-300 Ma) into a middle amphibolite- to granulite-facies, metavolcanic-sedimentary sequence. Oxygen isotope analyses of ~130 samples from the Mafic Complex comprise the most complete data base presently available for underplated lower continental crust