Magmatism Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Copyright 2009, Society of Petroleum Engineers This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2009 SPE/EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 19–21 October 2009. This paper was selected for... more

Copyright 2009, Society of Petroleum Engineers This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2009 SPE/EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 19–21 October 2009. This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE ...

The Etna volcano is located in an apparently anomalous position on the hinge zone of the Apennines subduction and its Na-alkaline geochemistry does not favour a magma source from the deep slab as indicated for the Aeolian K-alkaline... more

The Etna volcano is located in an apparently anomalous
position on the hinge zone of the Apennines subduction and
its Na-alkaline geochemistry does not favour a magma source
from the deep slab as indicated for the Aeolian K-alkaline
magmatism. The steeper dip of the regional foreland monocline
at the front of the Apennines in the Ionian Sea than in Sicily,
implies a larger rollback of the subduction hinge in the Ionian
Sea. Moreover, the lengthening of the Apennines arc needs
extension parallel to the arc. Therefore, the larger southeastward
subduction rollback of the Ionian lithosphere with respect
to the Hyblean plateau in Sicily, should kinematically produce
right-lateral transtension and a sort of vertical `slab window'
which might explain (i) the Plio-Pleistocene alkaline magmatism
of eastern Sicily (e.g. the Etna volcano) and (ii) the late Pliocene
to present right lateral transtensional tectonics and seismicity
of eastern Sicily. The area of transfer of different dip and
rollback occurs along the inherited Mesozoic passive continental
margin between Sicily and the oceanic Ionian Sea, i.e. the
Malta escarpment.

A quantidade de trabalhos que abordam aspectos tectônicos, magmáticos e deposicionais das bacias sedimentares brasileiras é vasto e abrangente. Entretanto, muitos destes trabalhos são localizados e não abordam, de forma integrada, a... more

A quantidade de trabalhos que abordam aspectos tectônicos, magmáticos e deposicionais das bacias sedimentares brasileiras é vasto e abrangente. Entretanto, muitos destes trabalhos são localizados e não abordam, de forma integrada, a evolução do continente Sul-Americano como um todo. A última grande tentativa de integração dos dados evolutivos foi a atualização das Cartas Estratigráficas das
Bacias Sedimentares Brasileiras, publicada no Boletim de Geociências da Petrobras (v.15, n.2) em 2007. O presente trabalho visa integrar e condensar as informações contidas naquela publicação, bem como compilar o máximo de informações já publicadas. A correlação entre as bacias sedimentares e os principais eventos geológicos, durante
a evolução do continente, teve como amarração a Carta Estratigráfica Internacional, tornando possível a correlação destes eventos ao longo do tempo geológico. Além disto, foi feita uma criteriosa compilação de dados sobre os substratos
destas bacias, evidenciando os diversos ambientes geotectônicos envolvidos antes e durante a evolução polifásica do continente Sul-Americano. A principal intenção deste trabalho, no entanto, é resumir o estado-da-arte do conhecimento geológico sobre as bacias sedimentares brasileiras através de um painel, no qual estas informações foram integradas.

Computerized evaluation of Vibroseis similarity test data is the logical consequence of the increasing quality requirements for signal reproducibility and for synchronization of vibrators. The differences in start time and phase as well... more

Computerized evaluation of Vibroseis similarity test data is the logical consequence of the increasing quality requirements for signal reproducibility and for synchronization of vibrators. The differences in start time and phase as well as an indication of local phasing problems between any two Vibroseis signals can be obtained from an analysis of the difference of their respective phase spectra. This method appears to be accurate and stable with respect to harmonics which usually plague the signals from transducers monitoring the motion of the vibrators'base plates.

Underplatingwas originally proposed as the process of magma ponding at the base of the crust andwas inferred from petrologic considerations. This process not only may add high density material to the deep crust, but also may contribute... more

Underplatingwas originally proposed as the process of magma ponding at the base of the crust andwas inferred from petrologic considerations. This process not only may add high density material to the deep crust, but also may contribute low density material to the upper parts of the crust by magma fractionation during cooling
and solidification in the lower crust. Separation of the low density material from the high-density residue may
be a main process of formation of continental crust with its characteristic low average density, also during the
early evolution of the Earth. Despite the assumed importance of underplating processes and associated fractionation, the available geophysical images of underplated material remain relatively sparse and confined to specific tectonic environments. Direct ponding of magma at the Moho is only observed in very few locations, probably because magma usually interacts with the surrounding crustal rocks which leads to smearing of geophysical signals from the underplated material. In terms of processes, there is no direct discriminator between the traditional concept of underplated material and lower crustal magmatic intrusions in the form of batholiths and sill-like features, and in the current review we consider both these phenomena as underplating. In this broad sense, underplating is observed in a variety of tectonic settings, including island arcs,wide extensional continental areas, rift zones, continental margins and palaeo-suture zones in Precambrian crust. Wereview the structural styles of magma underplating as observed by seismic imaging and discuss these first order observations in relation to the Moho.

A submarine eruption started off the south coast of El Hierro, Canary Islands, on 10 October 2011 and continues at the time of this writing (February 2012). In the first days of the event, peculiar eruption products were found floating on... more

A submarine eruption started off the south coast of El Hierro, Canary Islands, on 10 October 2011 and continues at the time of this writing (February 2012). In the first days of the event, peculiar eruption products were found floating on the sea surface, drifting for long distances from the eruption site. These specimens, which have in the meantime been termed" restingolites"(after the close-by village of La Restinga), appeared as black volcanic" bombs" that exhibit cores of white and porous pumice-like material. Since their brief ...

Shoreline and shelf-edge trajectories describe the migration through time of sedimentary systems, using geomorphological breaks-in-slope that are associated with key changes in depositional processes and products. Analysis of these... more

Shoreline and shelf-edge trajectories describe the migration through time of sedimentary systems, using geomorphological breaks-in-slope that are associated with key changes in depositional processes and products. Analysis of these trajectories provides a simple descriptive tool that complements and extends conventional sequence stratigraphic methods and models. Trajectory analysis offers four advantages over a sequence stratigraphic interpretation based on systems tracts: (1) each genetically related advance or retreat of a shoreline or shelf edge is viewed in the context of a continuously evolving depositional system, rather than as several discrete systems tracts; (2) subtle changes in depositional response (e.g. within systems tracts) can be identified and honoured; (3) trajectory analysis does not anticipate the succession of depositional events implied by systems-tract models; and (4) the descriptive emphasis of trajectory analysis does not involve any a priori assumptions about the type or nature of the mechanisms that drive sequence development. These four points allow the level of detail in a trajectory-based interpretation to be directly tailored to the available data, such that the interpretation may be qualitative or quantitative in two or three dimensions. Four classes of shoreline trajectory are recognized: ascending regressive, descending regressive, transgressive and stationary (i.e. nonmigratory). Ascending regressive and high-angle (accretionary) transgressive trajectories are associated with expanded facies belt thicknesses, the absence of laterally extensive erosional surfaces, and relatively high preservation of the shoreline depositional system. In contrast, descending regressive and low-angle (nonaccretionary) transgressive trajectories are associated with foreshortened and/or missing facies belts, the presence of laterally extensive erosional surfaces, and relatively low preservation of the shoreline depositional system. Stationary trajectories record shorelines positioned at a steeply sloping shelf edge, with accompanying bypass of sediment to the basin floor. Shelf-edge trajectories represent larger spatial and temporal scales than shoreline trajectories, and they can be subdivided into ascending, descending and stationary (i.e. nonmigratory) classes. Ascending trajectories are associated with a relatively large number and thickness of shoreline tongues (parasequences), the absence of laterally extensive erosional surfaces on the shelf, and relatively low sediment supply to the basin floor. Descending trajectories are associated with a few, thin shoreline tongues, the presence of laterally extensive erosional surfaces on the shelf, and high sediment supply to basin-floor fan systems. Stationary trajectories record near-total bypass of sediment across the shelf and mass transfer to the basin floor.

An integrated interpretation of the late Paleozoic structural and geochronological record of the Iberian Massif is presented and discussed under the perspective of a Gondwana-Laurussia collision giving way to the Variscan orogen.... more

An integrated interpretation of the late Paleozoic structural and geochronological record of the Iberian Massif is presented and discussed under the perspective of a Gondwana-Laurussia collision giving way to the Variscan orogen. Compressional and extensional structures developed during the building of the Variscan orogenic crust of Iberia are linked together into major tectonic events operating at lithosphere scale. A review of the tectonometamorphic and magmatic evolution of the Iberian Massif reveals backs and forths in the overall convergence between Gondwana and Laurussia during the amalgamation of Pangea in late Paleozoic times. Stages dominated by lithosphere compression are characterized by subduction, both oceanic and continental, development of magmatic arcs, (over-and under-) thrusting of continental lithosphere, and folding. Variscan convergence resulted in the eventual transference of a large allochthonous set of peri-Gondwanan terranes, the Iberian Allochthon, onto the Gondwana mainland. The Iberian Allochthon bears the imprint of previous interaction between Gondwana and Laurussia, including their juxtaposition after the closure of the Rheic Ocean in Lower De-vonian times. Stages governed by lithosphere extension are featured by the opening of two short-lived oceanic basins that dissected previous Variscan orogenic crust, first in the Lower-Middle Devonian, following the closure of the Rheic Ocean, and then in the early Carboniferous, following the emplacement of the peri-Gondwanan allochthon. An additional, major intra-orogenic extensional event in the early-middle Carboniferous dismem-bered the Iberian Allochthon into individual thrust stacks separated by extensional faults and domes. Lateral tec-tonics played an important role through the Variscan orogenesis, especially during the creation of new tectonic blocks separated by intracontinental strike-slip shear zones in the late stages of continental convergence.

The Spontang ophiolite complex exposed along the Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) represents a fragment of oce-anic lithosphere emplaced after the closure of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean. The complex lying south of the ITSZ forms the highest... more

The Spontang ophiolite complex exposed along the Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) represents a fragment of oce-anic lithosphere emplaced after the closure of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean. The complex lying south of the ITSZ forms the highest tec-tonic thrust slice above the Mesozoic-Early Tertiary continental margin in the Ladakh-Zanskar Himalaya. The complex consists of a well-preserved ophiolite sequence dominated by peridotites, gabbros and ultramafic cumulates along with highly tectonized sheeted dykes and pillow lavas. The mantle suite of rocks is represented by minor lherzolites, harzburgites and dunites. Chromian spinel is brown to reddish, and its morphology and textural relationship with coexisting silicates varies with strain. Spinel occurs as blebs and vermicular exsolutions within orthopyroxene to spherical inclusions within olivine, characteristic of which is the elongate holly leaf shape. Chrome spinels are characterized by low TiO 2 and high Cr 2 O 3 indicative of their depleted nature. Cr# [= atomic ratio Cr/(Cr + Al)] in the studied spinels are characterized by a small decrease in TiO 2 for a larger increase in Cr# consistent with observations for spinels aligned along the Luobusa trend of the Yarlung Zangpo Suture Zone (YZSZ) ophiolites. Variations in Cr-spinel Cr# and Mg# observed in the investigated peridotites may have resulted from a wide range of degrees of mantle melting during their evolution. Mineral and whole-rock chemistry of the Spontang peridotites is characterized by interaction between depleted magma and pre-existing oceanic lithosphere, typical of supra-subduction zone settings. The Spontang peridotites have olivine, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene compositions similar to those from both abyssal and fore-arc peridotites and display spoon shaped REE profiles characteristic of interaction between LREE-enriched melt, derived from the subducting slab and LREE-depleted mantle residues. Equilibration temperatures calculated for the above rocks indicate that the studied samples represent typical mantle peridotites formed within the spinel stability field.

LA-MC-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages and wholerock geochemical data obtained from volcanic rocks erupted in the northern margin of Gondwana provide new insights on the polyphase magmatic evolution of the NW Iberian domain during the... more

LA-MC-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages and wholerock geochemical data obtained from volcanic rocks erupted in the northern margin of Gondwana provide new insights on the polyphase magmatic evolution of the NW Iberian domain during the establishment of passive margin conditions in Lower Paleozoic times. The U–Pb data show crystallization ages of ca. 455 Ma for two calc-alkaline rhyolites sampled in the Upper Parautochthon of the eastern Galicia—Trás-os-Montes Zone (GTMZ) and for an intraplate basalt intruded into Middle Ordovician slates of the autochthonous series of the Central Iberian Zone (CIZ). Together with previous data, the ages obtained reveal a periodic magmatic activity across the northern Gondwana margin during the Lower Paleozoic, which is comparable to that observed in NE Iberia and in other massifs of the Mediterranean realm. Both geochronological and geochemical data reinforce paleontological and stratigraphic evidences for paleogeographic proximity between these domains and contribute to the recognition of extensional-related magmatism along the northern margin of Central Gondwana associated with the opening of the Rheic Ocean.

Zircon grains extracted from S-type granites of the Mêda-Escalhão-Penedono Massif (Central Iberian Zone, Variscan Orogen) constrain the timing of emplacement and provide information about potential magma sources. Simple and composite... more

Zircon grains extracted from S-type granites of the Mêda-Escalhão-Penedono Massif (Central Iberian Zone, Variscan Orogen) constrain the timing of emplacement and provide information about potential magma sources. Simple and composite zircon grains from three samples of S-type granite were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS. New U–Pb data indicate that granites crystallized in the Bashkirian (318.7 ± 4.8 Ma) overlapping the proposed age range of ca. 321–317 Ma of the nearby S-type granitic rocks of the Carrazeda de Anciães, Lamego and Ucanha-Vilar massifs. The timing of emplacement of such S-type granites seems to coincide with the waning stages of activity of a D2 extensional shear zone (i.e. Pinhel shear zone) developed in metamorphic conditions that reached partial melting and anatexis (ca. 321–317 Ma). Dykes of two-mica granites (resembling diatexite migmatite) are concordant and discordant to the compositional layering and S2 (main) foliation of the high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Pinhel shear zone. Much of the planar fabric in these dykes was formed during magmatic crystallization and subsequent solid-state deformation. Field relationships suggest contemporaneity between the ca. 319–317 Ma old magmatism of the study area and the switch from late D2 extensional deformation to early D3 contractional deformation. Inherited zircon cores are well preserved in these late D2-early D3 S-type granite plutons. U–Pb ages of inherited zircon cores range from ca. 2576 to ca. 421 Ma. The spectra of inherited cores overlap closely the range of detrital and magmatic zircon grains displayed by the Ediacaran to Silurian metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks of the Iberian autochthonous and parautochthonous domains. This is evidence of a genetic relationship between S-type granites and the host metamorphic rocks. There is no substantial evidence for the addition of mantle-derived material in the genesis of these late D2–early D3 S-type granitic rocks. The εNd arrays of heterogeneous crustal anatectic melts may be just inherited from the source, probably reflecting mixing of a range of crustal materials with different ages and primary isotopic signatures. The generation of the Bashkirian S-type granites has been dominated by continental crust recycling, rather than the addition of new material from mantle sources.

The late Paleozoic collision between Gondwana and Laurussia resulted in the polyphase deformation and magmatism that characterizes the Iberian Massif of the Variscan orogen. In the Central Iberian Zone, initial continental thickening (D 1... more

The late Paleozoic collision between Gondwana and Laurussia resulted in the polyphase deformation and magmatism that characterizes the Iberian Massif of the Variscan orogen. In the Central Iberian Zone, initial continental thickening (D 1 ; folding and thrusting) was followed by extensional orogenic collapse (D 2) responsible for the exhumation of high-grade rocks coeval to the emplacement of granitoids. This study presents a tectonometamorphic analysis of the Trancoso-Pinhel region (Central Iberian Zone) to explain the processes in place during the transition from an extension-dominated state (D 2) to a compression-dominated one (D 3). We reveal the existence of low-dipping D 2 extensional structures later affected by several pulses of subhorizontal shortening, each of them typified by upright folds and strike-slip shearing (D 3 , D 4 and D 5 , as identified by superimposition of structures). The D 2 Pinhel extensional shear zone separates a low-grade domain from an underlying high-grade domain, and it contributed to the thermal reequilibration of the orogen by facilitating heat advection from lower parts of the crust, crustal thinning, decompression melting, and magma intrusion. Progressive lessening of the gravitational disequilibrium carried out by this D 2 shear zone led to a switch from subhorizontal extension to compression and the eventual cessation and capture of the Pinhel shear zone by strike-slip tectonics during renewed crustal shortening. High-grade domains of the Pinhel shear zone were folded together with low-grade domains to define the current upright folded structure of the Trancoso-Pinhel region , the D 3 Tamames-Marofa-Sátão synform. New dating of syn-orogenic granitoids (SHRIMP U\ \Pb zircon dating) intruding the Pinhel shear zone, together with the already published ages of early extensional fabrics constrain the functioning of this shear zone to ca. 331–311 Ma, with maximum tectonomagmatic activity at ca. 321–317 Ma. The capture and apparent cessation of movement of the Pinhel shear zone occurred at ca. 317– 311 Ma.

This contribution provides a case example on the generation of large-scale recumbent folds in syn-orogenic gran-itoids. We analyze the progressive reworking of extension-related structures into later ones after a period of crustal... more

This contribution provides a case example on the generation of large-scale recumbent folds in syn-orogenic gran-itoids. We analyze the progressive reworking of extension-related structures into later ones after a period of crustal thickening. The Padrón migmatitic dome formed after the climax of the Gondwana-Laurussia collision in the late Paleozoic. Petrostructural analysis carried out in the eastern flank of this dome reveals that extensional flow resulted in progressive exhumation of mainland Gondwana, which rested under peri-gondwanan alloch-thonous terranes and a suture zone during maximum crustal thickening. Exhumation proceeded up to upper crust levels (andalusite stability field) along with partial melting of the middle-lower crust and with the generation of granitoid laccoliths during an early extensional stage. Newly-formed lithological and mechanical anisot-ropies, such as the presence of variably-sized sheet-shaped bodies of syn-orogenic granitoids, provided a favorable rheological setting for fold nucleation during the intermediate stages of extension. In extending oro-genic crust, whether recumbent folds occur after significant melt production depends on the lateral/vertical flow ratio, and on the orientation of deforming bodies with regard to kinematic/strain axes. We suggest that subhorizontal extensional flow dominated over vertical flow during the early and intermediate stages of the evolution of the Padrón dome. A component of vertical (diapiric) flow caused progressive tilting of the sheet-like bodies and obliquity respect to strain axes. This resulted in the development of regional-scale folds at the expense of syn-orogenic granitoids, such as in the case of the Portomouro recumbent synform. Extensional ductile flow was oblique to the trend of the orogen during the whole process, and directed to the NNW during the formation of recumbent folds. Non-coaxial shearing favored an (NNW-SSE) elongate shape for the syn-kinematic granitic massifs as well as the subsequent nucleation of recumbent folds. Deformation concentrated along discrete detachments during the late stages of extension.

The Variscan orogen of NW Iberia contains abundant syn-and post-tectonic granitoids. The post-tectonic granitoids are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous, I-type granites, monzogranites ± granodiorites ± tonalites. The Porriño pluton... more

The Variscan orogen of NW Iberia contains abundant syn-and post-tectonic granitoids. The post-tectonic granitoids are metaluminous to slightly peraluminous, I-type granites, monzogranites ± granodiorites ± tonalites. The Porriño pluton studied here is a representative example. It consists of two units: i) a pink-red, peraluminous, biotite granite and ii) a gray, metaluminous to peraluminous, biotite (± amphibole ± titanite) monzogranite, including mafic-intermediate enclaves. SHRIMP U-Pb dating yielded 290-295Ma ages for all the units. The mineralogy and geochemistry show that the pink-red granite has features of I-and A-type granites, whereas the gray monzogranite and enclaves are I-types. Sr isotopes show scattered values for the pink-red granite (87 Sr / 86 Sr 295Ma ≈ 0.702-0.710) and uniform values for the gray monzogranite and enclaves (87 Sr/ 86 Sr 295Ma ≈ 0.705-0.706). Geochemical results indicate a peritectic entrainment of clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene ± Ca-plagioclase ± ilmenite ± garnet, and minor accessory phases (± zircon ± titanite ± apatite) into a melt similar to the leucocratic gray monzogranite. A mafic-intermediate source is proposed for the gray monzogranite and its enclaves. Restitic protoliths generated granitic melts with A-type features such as the pink-red granite. The I-type nature of many post-tectonic granitoids could be explained by the previous extraction of S-type syn-tectonic granites that left restites and less fertile rocks. Late orogenic new melting affected the previously unmelted and more mafic lithologies of the lower-middle crust, and gave rise to I-type granitoids. Repeated melting events affecting such lithologies and previous restites could have generated granitic melts with A-type features.

A simple filter is developed which transforms VLF-EM real magnetic field transfer functions into apparent resistivities. It is based on the relationship between the horizontal derivative of the surface electric field and the vertical... more

A simple filter is developed which transforms VLF-EM real magnetic field transfer functions into apparent resistivities. It is based on the relationship between the horizontal derivative of the surface electric field and the vertical magnetic field at the surface of a two-dimensional earth model. The performance of this simple autoregressive filter is tested for modelled and real survey data. The technique yields profiles of apparent resistivity very similar, both in magnitude and in wavelength, to those which would have been obtained using VLF-EM resistivity measurements or d.c. resistivity profiling. This low-pass filter has the advantage of reducing high-wavenumber noise in the data; therefore only the major features of the VLF-EM profile are displayed.

Magma transport in brittle rock occurs by diking. Understanding the dy- namics of diking and its observable consequences is essential to deciphering magma propagation in volcanic areas. Furthermore, diking plays a key role in tectonic... more

Magma transport in brittle rock occurs by diking. Understanding the dy- namics of diking and its observable consequences is essential to deciphering magma propagation in volcanic areas. Furthermore, diking plays a key role in tectonic phenomena such as continental rifting and plate divergence at mid-ocean ridges. Physics-based models of propagating dikes usually involve coupled transport of a viscous fluid with rock deformation and fracture. But the behaviour of dikes is also affected by the exchange of heat with the sur- roundings and by interaction with rock layering, pre-existing cracks, and the external stress field, among other factors. This complexity explains why ex- isting models of propagating dikes are still relatively rudimentary: they are mainly 2D, and generally include only a subset of the factors described above. Here, we review numerical models on dike propagation focusing on the most recent studies (from the last 15–20 years). We track the influence of two main philosophies, one in which fluid dynamics are taken to control the behavior and the other which focuses on rock fracturing. It appear that uncertainties in the way that rock properties such as fracture toughness vary from labora- tory to field scale remains one of the critical issues to be resolved. Finally, we present promising directions of research that include emerging approaches to numerical modeling and insights from hydraulic fracturing as an industrial analogue.

The mechanical conditions for a volcanic eruption to occur are conceptually simple: a magma-driven fracture (normally a dyke) must be able to propagate from the source to the surface. The mechanics of small to moderate (eruptive volumes... more

The mechanical conditions for a volcanic eruption to occur are conceptually simple: a magma-driven fracture (normally a dyke) must be able to propagate from the source to the surface. The mechanics of small to moderate (eruptive volumes less than 10 km 3) is reasonably well understood, whereas that of large eruptions (eruptive volumes of 10-1000 km 3) is poorly understood. Here I propose that, while both large and small eruptions are primarily driven by elastic energy and may come from the same magma chambers and reservoirs, the mechanisms by which the elastic energy is transformed or relaxed in these eruptions are different. More specifically, during small to moderate eruptions, the excess pressure in the source (the primary pressure driving the eruption) falls exponentially until it approaches zero, whereby the feeder-dyke closes at its contact with the source and the eruption comes to an end. Under normal conditions, the ratio of the eruptive and intrusive material of the eruption to the volume of a totally molten shallow basaltic crustal magma chamber (at the common depth of 1-5 km) is about 1400, and that of a partially molten deep-seated basaltic magma reservoir (in the lower crust or upper mantle) is about 5000. Many magma chambers are partially molten, in which case the ratio could be close to that of reservoirs. Most magma chambers are estimated to be less than about 500 km 3 , for which the maximum eruptive volume would normally be about 0.4 km 3. An eruptive volume of 1 km 3 would require a totally molten chamber of about 1400 km 3. While chambers of this size certainly exist, witness the volumes of the largest eruptions, large eruptions of 10-1000 km 3 clearly require a different mechanism, namely one whereby the excess pressure maintenance during the eruption. I suggest that the primary excess-pressure maintenance mechanism is through caldera subsidence for shallow magma chambers and graben subsidence for deep-seated magma reservoirs. In this mechanism, it is the subsidence, of tectonic origin, and associated volume reduction (shrinkage) of the magma source that drives out an exceptionally large fraction of the magma in the source, thereby generating the large eruption. Most explosive eruptions that exceed volumes of about 25 km 3 , and many smaller, are associated with caldera collapses. The data presented suggest that many large effusive basaltic eruptions, in Iceland, in the United States, and elsewhere, are associated with large graben subsidences In terms of the present mechanism, successful forecasting large of eruptions requires understanding and monitoring of the volcanotectonic conditions that trigger large caldera and graben subsidences.

The Ossa-Morena zone in SW Iberia represents a section of the northern margin of West Gondwana that formed part of a Cordilleran-type orogenic system during the Neoproterozoic (Cadomian orogeny). The crustal section in this zone preserves... more

The Ossa-Morena zone in SW Iberia represents a section of the northern margin of West Gondwana that formed part of a Cordilleran-type orogenic system during the Neoproterozoic (Cadomian orogeny). The crustal section in this zone preserves the record of rifting that led to the opening of the Rheic Ocean in the early Paleozoic and the collision of Gondwana and Laurussia in the late Paleozoic (Variscan orogeny). We present U-Pb zircon data from three alkaline to peralkaline syenites that intruded Neoproterozoic and Cambrian strata and give crystallization ages ranging between ca. 490 Ma and 470 Ma. Lu/Hf isotopic data from these zircons give positive initial εHf values (0 ≤ εHf(t) ≤ +11.5) that approach the model values for the depleted mantle at the time of crystallization. This suggests that a significant proportion of the magma was derived from the mantle, with limited mixing/assimilation with crustal-derived melts. Alkaline/peralkaline magmatic suites of similar age and chemical composition intruded other sections of the northern margin of West Gondwana and along the boundaries of the continental blocks that today make up Iberia. These blocks are further characterized by the presence of high-pressure metamorphic belts that formed during accretion and subsequent collision of peri-Gondwanan domains against Laurussia during the Devonian and Carboniferous (Variscan orogeny). Our U-Pb and Lu-Hf data set indicates that during the Cambrian−Ordovician transition, lithosphere extension reached a stage of narrow intracontinental rifting, where deeply sourced magmas, probably coming from the lower crust and/or the upper mantle, intruded continental upper crust across various sections of previously stretched crust. We propose that necking of the Gondwana lithosphere into several continental microblocks with fertile mantle beneath them compartmentalized extension (multiblock model), which favored the onset of early Paleozoic peralkaline and alkaline magmas. The boundaries of microblocks represent zones of inherited crustal weakness that were later reactivated during the late Paleozoic as major accretionary faults related to the amalgamation of Pangea during the Variscan orogeny. Our dynamic model provides an explanation for the unusual spatial relationship between peralkaline and alkaline igneous provinces (usually shallow in the crust) and the occurrence of high-pressure rocks. Our observations suggest that Cordilleran-type orogens subjected to extension after long-lived subduction can develop wide continental platforms that feature multiple continental blocks. In addition, the formation of sequenced high-pressure belts in collisional orogens can be explained as the ultimate consequence of multiple necking events within continental lithosphere during previous collapse of a Cordilleran-type orogen.

Basic to intermediate high-K, high-Mg mantle-derived rocks occur throughout the Iberian Massif and are particularly important in the Tormes Dome, where vaugnerites form several stocks and small plutons. One of the largest and... more

Basic to intermediate high-K, high-Mg mantle-derived rocks occur throughout the Iberian Massif and are particularly important in the Tormes Dome, where vaugnerites form several stocks and small plutons. One of the largest and geochemically most variable among these plutons is the Calzadilla pluton in the Tormes Dome that crystallized at 318 ± 1.4Ma (Bashkirian; U-Pb TIMS zircon). This age reveals that the vaugnerite pluton was emplaced during the transition from late D2 extensional deformation to early D3 contractional deformation (319 to 317Ma). Large-scale extension in the area resulted, on one hand, in extensive anatexis in the crust due to quasiisothermal decompression and mica-dehydration melting and, on the other hand, in the upwelling of the mantle, which induced partial melting of the enriched domains in the lithospheric mantle. The driving reason why crustal and mantle melts were coeval is extension. The U-Pb ID-TIMS age of allanite is not related to the emplacement nor cooling of the Calzadilla vaugnerite, but it seems to be related to a younger subsolidus overprint ca. 275Ma that, in the scale of the Central Iberian Zone, corresponds to a period of hydrothermal alteration, including episyenite formation and tungsten mineralization.