Petrology of the Blue Mountain Complex, Marlborough, New Zealand |
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| Authors: | GRAPES RODNEY H |
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| Institution: | Victoria University of Wellington N.Z. |
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| Abstract: | Blue Mountain is a central-type alkali ultrabasic-gabbro ringcomplex (1?1?5 km) introducing Upper Jurassic sediments, Marlborough,New Zealand. The ultrabasic-gabbroic rocks contain lenses ofkaersutite pegmatite and sodic syenite pegmatite and are intrudedby ring dykes of titanaugite-ilmenite gabbro and lamprophyre.The margin of the intrusion is defined by a ring dyke of alkaligabbro. The plutonic rocks are cut by a swarm of hornblende-biotite-richlamprophyre dykes. Thermal metamorphism has converted the sedimentsto a hornfels ranging in grade from the albite-epidote hornfelsfacies to the upper limit of the hornblende hornfels facies. The rocks are nepheline normative and consist of olivine (Fo82-74),endiopside (Ca45Mg48Fe7-Ca36Mg55Fe9), titanaugite (Ca40Mg50Fe10-Ca44Mg39Fe17),plagioclase (An73-18), and ilmenitetitaniferous magnetite, withvarious amounts of titaniferous hornblende and titanbiotite.There is a complete gradation between end-iopside and titanaugitewith the coupled substitution Ry+z+Si (Ti+4+Fe+3)+Al+3 and asympathetic increase in CaAl2SiO6 (0?2-10?2 percent) and CaTiAl2O6(2?1-8?1 per cent) with fractionation. Endiopside shows a small,progressive Mg enrichment along a trend subparallel to the CaMgSi2O6-Mg2Si2O6boundary, and titanaugite is enriched in Ca and Fe+2+Fe+3 withdifferentiation. Oscillatory zoning between endiopside and titanaugiteis common. Exsolved ilmenite needles occur in the most Fe-richtitanaugites. The amphiboles show the trend: titaniferous hornblende(1?0–5?7 per cent TiO2) kaersutite (6?4 per cent TiO2)Fe-richhastingsite (18?0–19?1 per cent FeO as total Fe). Biotiteis high in TiO2 (6?6–7?8 per cent). Ilmenite and titaniferousmagnetite (3?5–10?6 per cent TiO2) are typically homogeneousgrains; their composition can be expressed in terms of R+2RO3:R+2O:R2+3O4. The intrusion of igneous rocks was probably controlled by subterraneanring fracturing. Subsidence of the country rock within the ringfracture provided space for periodic injections of magma froma lower reservoir up the initial ring fracture to form the BlueMountain rocks at a higher level. Downward movement of the floorof the intrusion during crystallization caused inward slumpingof the cumulates which affected the textural, mineralogical,and chemical evolution of the rocks in different parts of theintrusion. The order of mineral fractionation is reflected by the chemicalvariation in the in situ ultrabasic-gabbroic rocks and the successiveintrusions of titanaugite-ilmenite gabbro and lamprophyre ringdykes, marginal alkali gabbro and lamprophyre dyke swarm. Aninitial decrease, then increase in SiO2; a steady decrease inMgO, CaO, Ni, and Cr: an initial increase, then decrease inFeO+Fe2O3, TiO2, MnO, and V; almost linear increase in Al2O3and late stage increase in alkalis and P2O3, implies fractionationof olivine and endiopside, followed by titanaugite and Fe-Tioxides, followed by plagioclase, hornblende, biotite, and apatite.Reversals in the composition of cumulus olivine and endiopsideand Solidification Index, indicate that the ultrabasic-gabbroicsequence is composed of four main injections of magma. The ultrabasic rocks crystallized under conditions of high PH2Oand fairly high, constant PO2; PH2 and PO2 increased duringthe formation of the gabbroic rocks until fracturing of thechamber roof occurred. The abundance of euhedral amphibole inthe latter injection phases suggests that amphibole accumulatedfrom a hydrous SiO2 undersaturated magma when an increase inPO2, stabilized its crystallization. Plutonic complexes similar to Blue Mountain are found withinand beneath the volcanic piles of many oceanic islands, e.g.Canaries, Reunion, and Tahiti, and those intruding thick sedimentarysequences, as at Blue Mountain, e.g. the pipe-like intrusionsof the Monteregian Hills, Quebec. |
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