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The small Quaternary volcanic district of Nowbaran (NW Iran) belongs to the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc, a ~1800 km long NW-SE striking Cenozoic belt characterized by the irregular but abundant presence of subduction-related igneous products. Nowbaran rocks are characterized by absence of feldspars coupled with abundance of clinopyroxene and olivine plus nepheline, melilite and other rarer phases. All the rocks show extremely low SiO2 (35.4-41.4 wt%), very high CaO (13.1-18.3 wt%) and low Al2O3 (8.6-11.6 wt%), leading to ultracalcic compositions (i.e., CaO/Al2O3 >1). Other less peculiar, but still noteworthy, characteristics are the high MgO (8.7-13.3 wt%) and Mg# (0.70-0.75), coupled with a variable alkali content with sodic affinity (Na2O = 1.8-5.4 wt%; K2O = 0.2-2.3 wt%) and variably high LOI (1.9-10.4 wt%; average 4.4 wt%). Measured isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr = 0.7052-0.7056; 143Nd/144Nd = 0.51263-0.51266; 206Pb/204Pb = 18.54-18.66; 207Pb/204Pb = 15.66-15.68; 208Pb/204Pb = 38.66-38.79) show small variations and plot within the literature field for the Cenozoic volcanic rocks of western Iran but tend to be displaced towards slightly higher 207Pb/204Pb. Primitive mantle-normalized multielemental patterns are intermediate between typical subduction-related melts and nephelinitic/melilititic melts emplaced in intraplate tectonic settings. The enrichment in Th, coupled with high Ba/Nb and La/Nb, troughs at Ti in primitive mantle-normalised patterns, radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and positive 7/4 anomalies (from +15.2 to +17.0) are consistent with the presence of (old) recycled crustal lithologies in the sources.The origin of Nowbaran magmas cannot be related to partial melting of C-H-free peridotitic mantle, nor to digestion of limestones and marls by “normal” basaltic melts. Rather, we favour an origin from carbonated lithologies. Carbonated eclogite-derived melts or supercritical fluids, derived from a subducted slab, reacting with peridotite matrix, could have produced peritectic orthopyroxene- and garnet-rich metasomes at the expenses of mantle olivine and clinopyroxene. The residual melt compositions could evolve towards SiO2-undersaturated, CaO- and MgO-rich and Al2O3-poor alkaline melts. During their percolation upwards, these melts can partially freeze reacting chromatographically with portions of the upper mantle wedge, but can also mix with melts from shallower carbonated peridotite. The T-P equilibration estimates for Nowbaran magmas based on recent models on ultrabasic melt compositions are compatible with provenance from the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary at average temperature (~1200 °C ± 50 °C). Mixing of melts derived from subduction-modified mantle sources with liquids devoid of any subduction imprint, passively upwelling from slab break-off tears could generate magmas with compositions recorded in Nowbaran.

The Late Cretaceous (~78 Ma) Poços de Caldas massif is the largest alkaline complex in Brazil and the second in the world by extension (>800 km2). It is considered the westernmost outcrop of the Cabo Frio magmatic lineament, in the northern sector of Serra do Mar potassic-ultrapotassic igneous province, central-eastern Brazil. The outcropping rocks are peralkaline phonolites (~80%) and nepheline syenites (~15%) with rarer (

We report a petrographic and whole-rock geochemical characterization of the Cenozoic volcanic rocks cropping out in the Tafresh area of the central Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Arc of Iran. The investigated rocks range mainly from basaltic andesite to dacite, and are considered to be genetically linked by (mostly) closed-system evolutionary processes involving fractionation of ferromagnesian minerals and plagioclase first, then of plagioclase and lesser amphibole (plus minor clinopyroxene) and finally of plagioclase with lesser alkali feldspar and minor amphibole. These represent a typical calcalkaline series emplaced in a subduction-related setting, producing the observed LILE-enriched and HFSE-depleted geochemical signature. The basaltic andesite compositions likely derived from an unsampled hydrous primitive melt equilibrated in a spinel-bearing metasomatized peridotite source, evolving at shallow to moderate crustal depths., Periodico di Mineralogia, Vol. 90 No. 1 (2021)

A diffuse and voluminous (>1400 km3) Miocene-Quaternary volcanic activity developed around the KarlıovaTriple Junctionin East Anatolia as a consequence of collisional tectonics among Anatolia, Arabia andEurasiacontinental plates. The volcanic rocks of this region are grouped into three phases of activity: 1) Early Phase (Solhanvolcanism; ~7.3–4.4 Ma), with emplacement ofalkali basaltto trachytelava flowsand pyroclastic successions; 2) Middle Phase (Turnadağ and Vartovolcanism; ~3.6–2.6 Ma), mostly with products with the same compositional range plus minordacitesandrhyolites, and 3) Late Phase (Özenç volcanism; ~2.6–0.5 Ma), with emplacement of alkali basaltic, hawaiitic and mugearitic lavas and dykes. Primitive Mantle-normalized patterns of the three rock groups share an enrichedLILEand depleted HFSE contents, with overall positive spikes of Pb and mildly fractionated LREE/HREE trends showing more similar affinity to global subducting sediments rather than tomagmasemplaced in mid-plate settings (i.e., OIB). Initial Srisotopic ratiosof the least evolved compositions range from values lower than BSE (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7041) to radiogenic compositions (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7050). They reflect either FC-like processes, with87Sr/86Sriup to 0.7064, or closed systemfractional crystallization, with87Sr/86Sri = 0.7046–0.7049. Initial Nd are higher than ChUR estimate for the most and the least evolved compositions (143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51267–0.51280), indicating provenance from isotopically depleted sources. Leadisotopic ratiosare characterized by a remarkable homogeneous206Pb/204Pb (18.95–19.04), with207Pb/204Pb (15.65–15.72) and208Pb/204Pb (38.87–39.21) slightly above the Northern Hemisphere Reference Line, pointing towards the EMII end-member. Geochemical modelling for the least evolved volcanic units indicate the likely generation from an amphibole-bearing spinel-lherzolitic source. P-T calculations for partial melting calculations gave lithospheric pressures for initialmagma generation(0.8–1.3 GPa). Possible cause of melting might be related to passive upwelling ofasthenosphereas a response to the local extension linked to the development of North Anatolian and East Anatolian Fault Zones. Anyhow, volcanic units from the KTJ display only limited geochemical signatures of garnet-bearing sources, or any HIMU-OIB like characteristics, as instead observed in the other portions of the Eastern Anatolia. The long-lasting complextectonic evolutionof the Eastern Anatolia is responsible for the large geochemical variability of the magmatic products. However, the general characteristics of KTJ volcanic rocks are mainly dominated by subduction-related signatures, with most of the primary magma characteristics having been heavily masked by fractionation and crustal assimilation processes.

Petrological and geochemical data for basic (alkali basalts and hawaiites) and silicic peralkaline rocks, plus rare intermediate products (mugearites and benmoreites) from the Pleistocene Boseti volcanic complex (Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa) are reported in this work. The basalts are slightly alkaline or transitional, have peaks at Ba and Nb in the mantle-normalized diagrams and relatively low 87Sr/86Sr (0.7039-0.7044). The silicic rocks (pantellerites and comendites) are rich in sanidine and anorthoclase, with mafic phases being represented by fayalite-rich olivine, opaque oxides, aenigmatite and slightly Na-rich ferroaugite (ferrohedenbergite). These rocks were generated after prolonged fractional crystallization process (up to 90-95 %) starting from basaltic parent magmas at shallow depths and fO2 conditions near the QFM buffer. The apparent Daly Gap between mafic and evolved Boseti rocks is explained with a model involving the silicic products filling upper crustal magma chambers and erupted preferentially with respect to basic and intermediate products. Evolved liquids could have been the only magmas which filled the uppermost magma reservoirs in the crust, thus giving time to evolve towards Rb-, Zr- and Nb-rich peralkaline rhyolites in broadly closed systems.

U–Pb ages and Hf isotope data were obtained for zircon from amphibole-rich mafic to ultramafic rocks from the Adamello batholith and the Bergell pluton, the largest Palaeogene intrusions of the Alpine Orogen. The 206 Pb/ 238 U age pattern of U–Pb concordant dates from the Adamello mafic rock shows a major crystallization event at c . 41 Ma and older age peaks at c . 50 and c . 45 Ma. Hornblendite and amphibole gabbro samples of the Adamello batholith have zircon with initial ϵHf of c . +9.0 and c . +7.0, respectively. Amphibole gabbro and diorite samples of the Bergell pluton yield a younger age of c . 31 Ma and have zircon with lower initial ϵHf ( c . +4.0). We propose that the amphibole-rich rocks from the Adamello batholith originated from a depleted mantle source activated by the subduction of the Ligurian–Piedmontese Basin. The amphibole-rich rocks from the Bergell pluton formed 10–15 Ma later than the Adamello counterparts by melts derived from a mantle sector metasomatized by the subduction of the Valais Basin. The enriched Hf isotopic signature of the amphibole-rich rocks from the Bergell pluton is therefore interpreted to reflect the peculiar lithostratigraphy of the Valais Basin or a primary feature of the newly activated mantle source. Supplementary material: (1) A map showing the location of analysed samples and table with GPS coordinates of the samples, (2) data tables for U–Pb in zircon determined by LA-ICP-MS, (3) data tables for Hf isotopes in zircon, (4) U–Pb and Hf isotope analytical methods, (5) cathodoluminescence images of analysed zircon from the amphibole-rich mafic rocks of the Adamello and Bergell intrusions, and (6) a U–Pb concordia diagram for zircon of the Adamello amphibole gabbro are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18763.

The volcanic activity of Mt. Karacadag (SE Anatolia) is divided into three major stages: Siverek Stage (∼11–2.7 Ma), Karacadag Stage (∼1.9–1.0 Ma) and Ovabag Stage (0.4–0.01 Ma). The magmas are mildly alkaline mafic rocks, mostly basanites, hawaiites and alkali basalts. Detailed geochemical investigation indicates a continuous variation of composition with time, with the oldest products (Siverek Stage) being characterized by average lowest HFSE (Ti, Hf, Zr, Nb, Ta), 143Nd/144Nd, Nb/U, Ta/Yb, Nb/Nb* and the highest ΔQ, La/Nb, Ti/Nb, Zr/Nb, Ba/Nb, Th/Ta, K/La, and the youngest products (Ovabag Stage) at the opposite end of the trend. The overall incompatible element content of the Karacadag volcanic rocks resembles closely average HIMU-OIB compositions, with the oldest samples deviating more strongly from typical compositions of “anorogenic” magmas. We interpret these geochemical variations with a process of partial melting of a chemically and mineralogically heterogeneous mantle source rather than with process of variable crustal contamination at shallow depths. During the first stages of mantle melting the volumes with lowest solidus temperature (e.g., the amphibole and phlogopite-rich metasomes, particularly abundant in the Arabia mantle xenolith suite) contributed significantly to the partial melts. “Average” peridotitic matrix is involved in partial melting processes only when these metasomatic volumes start to be exhausted, producing mantle melts with geochemical composition resembling average “anorogenic” mildly alkaline sodic rocks, common in the circum-Mediterranean area.

The alkaline activity in the Cabo Frio region is made up mainly of intermediate and felsic differentiate rocks emplaced about 55 Ma ago into the crystalline basement as sills, plugs and dykes. Two magma suites can be distinguished: (a) a strongly silica-undersaturated tephriphonolite to phonolite serie; (b) a weakly silica-undersaturated to satured trachyandesite-trachyte series. Petrography, mineral chemistry, whole-rock chemistry trends and isotopic data strongly support a genetic link among the lithotypes of each suites consistent with fractional crystallization processes dominated by the observed phases. The same data, however appear to exclude a link between the two groups of rocks, supporting a petrogenesis by prolonged differentiation processes starting from two distinct parental magma with a slight difference in the SiO2 saturation. The scarce basanites and trachybasalts reported in the same area could represent the most probable compositions for the parental magmas of the two suites. The initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.70401-0.70458) and 143Nd/144Nd (0.51239-0.51247) isotopic ratios and the significant potassic component indicate derivation of these rocks from an enriched lithospheric mantle source.

During the Oligo-Miocene, the Island of Sardinia was covered by the products of voluminous magmatic activity, with a typical subduction-related signature. The mafic rocks of the Montresta (north) and Arcuentu (south) volcanic districts include primitive high MgO basalts whose trace element and Sr-, Nd- and Pb-isotope compositions constrain the nature and role of subduction-related components in the Tertiary Sardinian volcanism. The geochemical and isotopic data require an approximate degree of partial melting of 15% of a MORB-like depleted mantle prior to enrichment, and the input of two subduction components in the mantle wedge consisting of fluids from subducted oceanic crust (altered MORB) and fluids from subducted sediments. Ratios among trace elements which are variably compatible with fluid and melt phases (i.e. Th/Pb, Th/Nd and Sr/Nd) exclude the contribution of melts from the subducted slab. Models based on isotopic ratios indicate that the pre-subduction depleted mantle source of Sardinia magmas was enriched by 0.1-0.5% MORB fluid and less than 0.1% sediment fluid. The geochemical and isotopic compositions of the Montresta volcanic rocks are homogeneous, whereas those of the Arcuentu show quite heterogeneous characters, suggesting variations in mantle source over the long time-span (about 13 Ma) of volcanic activity in this district.

The Cenozoic Arabia–Iran continental collision was associated with emplacement of a large variety of magmatic rock types. This aspect is particularly evident in the Bijar-Qorveh area of NW Iran, where Miocene andesitic to rhyolitic rocks and Quaternary basic alkaline rocks crop out. The Miocene intermediate to acid products show radiogenic Sr and Pb isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sri 0.70531–0.71109, 206Pb/204Pb 18.71–19.01, 207Pb/204Pb 15.66–15.73, 208Pb/204Pb 38.76–39.14), coupled with unradiogenic Nd isotopic ratios (143Nd/144Ndi 0.51223–0.51265). These characteristics, together with primitive mantle-normalised multielemental patterns resembling ‘subduction-related’ geochemical fingerprints, are considered ultimately derived from the Iranian plate mantle wedge, metasomatised during previous NE-directed Neothetyan Ocean subduction. The alkali-rich andesitic and dacitic rocks evidence both closed- and open-system differentiation, as typically observed for collisional settings in general. Both rock types display a high Sr/Y (37–100) and La/Yb (29–74) ‘adakitic’ signature that it is interpreted here with plagioclase (± amphibole) accumulation or melting of local mafic crustal rocks. Open-system processes involve recycling of crustal cumulates for pyroxene-rich andesite and biotite-rich dacite varieties and low-degree partial melting of the local crust for rhyolites. A radical change occurred during the Quaternary, when SiO2-understaturated to SiO2-saturated poorly evolved rocks (basanites, tephrites, alkaline and subalkaline basalts) were emplaced. The complete change of mantle sources suggests a phase of local extensional tectonics related with WNW-ESE right-transcurrent faults. The major oxide, as well as incompatible trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic fingerprint of these younger rocks is more akin to that of intraplate magmas, but still bearing some evidences for a variable contribution from a ‘subduction-modified’ mantle source. The NW-trend of increasing involvement of this subduction component is indicative of the strong tectonic control on magmatism. Additional lithotypes indicate the presence of open-system differentiation and remelting processes in the youngest phase of magmatic activity.

In this contribution, we investigate the space and time distribution of the Cenozoic magmatism and the asso-ciated porphyry Cu-Mo +/- Au and other hydrothermal (mostly epithermal) ore deposits along the south Caucasus -west Iranian tectono-magmatic belt. We use a comprehensive georeferenced database containing whole-rock and geochronological analyses of 3150 samples from the igneous rocks distributed in the study area. Overall, the timing of the ore deposits overlaps with the timing of the Eocene to Miocene diachronous collision between the Arabia and Eurasia plates. This is associated with a change in the geochemical fingerprints of the magmas during and after collisional thickening, with a marked increase in Sr/Y values associated with a general transition to-wards adakitic signatures. This is interpreted with a change towards an amphibole-(+/- garnet) rich residue at the arc roots. Clusters of ore mineralization are observed within areas of long-lived magmatism (lasting >10 Myr), usually located at the intersections of basement fault zones, parallel and orthogonal to the collisional boundaries and likely formed along inherited zones of crustal/lithospheric weakness. The isotopic data of the ore-forming magmas show a pronounced correlation with young (

The Eocene-MioceneMianeh-Hashtroud igneous district in NW Iran is part of the Turkish-Caucasus-Iranian collision zone, a key region to decipher the assembly and differentiation of Gondwana-derived terranes along the Alpine-Himalayan convergence zone. Major inherited tectonic structures control in space and time the Mesozoic-Cenozoic transition from oceanic subduction to continental collision in the region. The geology of the study area is dominated by a polyphase, long-lived magmatic activity, spanning from similar to 45 to similar to 6 Ma. The igneous products are subalkaline to alkaline, with intermediate to acid compositions and a high-K calcalkaline to shoshonitic affinity. Evidence of crustal contamination is attested by inherited zircons in the oldest (Eocene-Oligocene) samples, with ages spanning from Neo-Archean to Paleocene. The Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of the Eocene-Oligocene samples plot close to the Bulk Silicate Earth estimate, whereas the Miocene samples document stronger crustal contamination. The lack of correlation between Nd-Sr isotopes and SiO2 supports a scenario of magma differentiation of different magma batches rather than crustal contamination. Major oxide and Sr-Nd isotopic variation lead us to suggest that magmatism is the consequence of re-melting of earlier underplated (Mesozoic-Tertiary) magmatic products, controlled by amphibole-dominated fractionation processes. Regional scale correlations show long-lived Cenozoic magmatism in NW Iran and Caucasus region, where the main porphyry and epithermal deposits occur. We propose that the Cenozoic collisional magmatism and the associated mineralisation at the junction between NW-Iran and Caucasus was controlled by the activity of a major, lithosphere-scale inherited boundary, transverse to the convergence zone. In such a geodynamic setting, the along-strike segmentation of the lithosphere slab generated asthenospheric melts, their upwelling into the metasomatised supra-subduction mantle wedge and the potential activation of different mantle and crustal sources, with consequent mineral endowment in the region. (C) 2020 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

During the dismembering of the Pangea supercontinent, middle–late Triassic sub-volcanic alkaline rocks were emplaced in central Sicily. These rocks have an alkali basaltic composition and show OIB-like incompatible element patterns in primitive mantle-normalized diagrams (e.g., enrichments in HFSE and LREE coupled with high HFSE/LILE ratios), as well as slightly positive $$ \varepsilon_{{{\text{Nd}} }} $$ values. Only subtle effects of crustal contamination at shallow depths emerge from geochemical data. These characteristics are very different compared with the Permian calcalkaline magmas from elsewhere in SW Europe still carrying the geochemical signature of modifications related to the Variscan orogeny. The mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic compositions of the investigated samples from central Sicily are also different from the coeval shoshonitic volcano-plutonic formations of Southern Alps (Dolomites). The incompatible element composition and Nd isotopic ratios are consistent with low-degree partial melting of a moderately depleted asthenospheric mantle source, with a negligible involvement of the thinned continental crust. The studied alkaline basalts represent the only known evidence of a segment of the Triassic rift system associated with early Pangea breakup in central Sicily. The close similarity of the central Sicily Triassic alkali basalts with coeval basalts emplaced along former orogenic sutures across the peri-Mediterranean area suggests a common origin related, at least partly, to asthenospheric passive upwelling following the tectonic collapse of the Variscan Belt. These rocks provide new constraints on the spatial–temporal distribution, magma source evolution and geodynamic meaning of the widespread Permo-Triassic basic magmatism developed after the end of the Variscan Orogeny in southwestern Europe.

Partition coefficients (Min/L D ) for a series of geochemically relevant elements have been calculated from combined EMP/LA-ICP-HRMS analyses of plagioclase, alkali feldspar, Ti-magnetite, biotite, apatite, and trachytic/trachyphonolitic melt pairs in selected Campi Flegrei rocks. Pl/L D and Kfs/L D values are generally very low for most of the trace-elements but Sr, Ba, and Eu. Kfs/L D for the latter elements record a systematic increase as the melt composition changes from trachyte to trachyphonolite, likely due to increasing structural compliance of the sanidine in the trachyphonolites related to larger Na/K values. Conversely, Kfs/L D values for transitional, highly charged incompatible elements (e.g., LREE) decrease from trachyte to trachyphonolite, possibly in response to the decrease of melt polymerization. Min/L D values for titanomagnetite generally decrease with the increasing melt evolution, the highest values being those measured for Ti, V, and Sc. Ti, Ba, Sc, Rb, Nb, Ta, and V are compatible in biotite in equilibrium with trachytic melt, whereas Cs, Sr, and Pb are incompatible and REE are strongly incompatible, as supported by the extremely low Bt/L D Y (0.003–0.008). Partition coefficients for apatite and trachyphonolitic glass pairs are high for Sr, REE (particularly MREE), and Y, large for Th, U, and V, generally low for HFSE, and variable for other LILE. The comparison of measured Min/L D values for Campi Flegrei trachytes/trachyphonolites with other sets of partition coefficients reported in literature for evolved systems suggests that a reliable data set for magma evolution modeling requires: (1) a thorough preliminary selection of natural samples; (2) the adoption of accurate microanalytical techniques; (3) the direct measurement of Min/L D values for each specific melt composition.

This article investigates how, where, and to what extent the mineralogical and chemical composition of sand-sized sediments is modified by extreme weathering in modern equatorial settings, with the ultimate goal of learning to read climate from the sedimentary record. To single out the weathering effect, we studied the compositional trends of fluvial sands along the western branch of the East African Rift between 5°S and 5°N. The relative durability of different detrital components, as well as potential hydraulic-sorting and grain-size effects, were assessed by comparing samples with similar provenances in different climatic and environmental conditions or of different size classes within the same sample. Sands of equatorial central Africa at the headwaters of the Congo and Nile basins display the full spectrum of petrologic suites characterizing rift-shoulder and volcanic rift provenances. Unlike in arid Arabia, quartzose sands are not restricted to areas where detritus is recycled from prerift sedimentary covers. In a hot humid climate, weathering can effectively obliterate the fingerprint of parent rock lithology and produce a nearly pure quartz residue even where midcrustal basement rocks are being actively uplifted and widely unroofed. In such settings garnet is destroyed faster than hornblende, and zircon faster than quartz. Weathering control on detrital modes is minor only in the rain shadow of the highest mountains or volcanoes, where amphibole-dominated quartzofelicdspathic metamorphiclastic sands (Rwenzori Province) or clinopyroxene-dominated feldspatholithic volcaniclastic sands (Virunga Province) are generated. Our detailed study of the Kagera basin emphasizes the importance of weathering in soils at the source rather than of progressive maturation in temporary storage sites during stepwise transport and shows that the transformation of diverse parent rocks into a quartzose "white sand" may be completed in one sedimentary cycle in hydromorphic soils of subequatorial lowlands. Micas and heavy minerals, which are less effectively diluted by recycling than main framework components, offer the best key to identify the original source-rock imprint. The different behavior of chemical indexes such as the CIA (a truer indicator of weathering) and the WIP (markedly affected by quartz dilution) helps us to distinguish strongly weathered first-cycle versus polycyclic quartz sands.

Whether the volcanism of the Columbia River Plateau, eastern Snake River Plain, and Yellowstone (western U.S.) is related to a mantle plume or to plate tectonic processes is a long-standing controversy. There are many geological mismatches with the basic plume model as well as logical flaws, such as citing data postulated to require a deep-mantle origin in support of an “upper-mantle plume” model. USArray has recently yielded abundant new seismological results, but despite this, seismic analyses have still not resolved the disparity of opinion. This suggests that seismology may be unable to resolve the plume question for Yellowstone, and perhaps elsewhere. USArray data have inspired many new models that relate western U.S. volcanism to shallow mantle convection associated with subduction zone processes. Many of these models assume that the principal requirement for surface volcanism is melt in the mantle and that the lithosphere is essentially passive. In this paper we propose a pure plate model in which melt is commonplace in the mantle, and its inherent buoyancy is not what causes surface eruptions. Instead, it is extension of the lithosphere that permits melt to escape to the surface and eruptions to occur—the mere presence of underlying melt is not a sufficient condition. The time-progressive chain of rhyolitic calderas in the eastern Snake River Plain–Yellowstone zone that has formed since basin-range extension began at ca. 17 Ma results from laterally migrating lithospheric extension and thinning that has permitted basaltic magma to rise from the upper mantle and melt the lower crust. We propose that this migration formed part of the systematic eastward migration of the axis of most intense basin-range extension. The bimodal rhyolite-basalt volcanism followed migration of the locus of most rapid extension, not vice versa. This model does not depend on seismology to test it but instead on surface geological observations.

Quantitative provenance analysis based on high-resolution bulk-petrography and heavy-mineral data on beach and dune sands, integrated with detrital-zircon geochronology and chemical analyses of pyroxene, garnet and staurolite, demonstrates that sand derived from the Orange River is carried by powerful and persistent longshore currents as far as northern Namibia and southern Angola, 1750. km north of its mouth. This is the longest cell of littoral sand transport documented so far. Compositional forward modeling indicates that >=. 80% of dune sand in the Skeleton Coast is Orange-derived, the remaining

The kimberlites, kamafugites and phlogopite-picrites of Alto Paranaiba Igneous Province (APIP), southern Brazil, span a range between ~ 91 and 78 Ma with new in-situ, more tightly constrained U–Pb ages. The kimberlites show porphyritic texture with olivine xeno- and phenocrysts plus phlogopite, Fe-Ti-Cr oxides and perovskite microcrysts set in a carbonate-rich matrix. The kamafugites are feldspar-free rocks represented by ugandites and mafurites. Ugandites and mafurites are porphyritic and contain olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts in a fine-grained groundmass composed by clinopyroxene, perovskite, apatite, magnetite, phlogopite, leucite and/or analcime in ugandites, and by olivine, clinopyroxene, amphibole, phlogopite, perovskite, magnetite, kalsilite and Ba-zeolites in mafurites. Phlogopite-picrites have a pseudo-fluidal porphyritic texture with olivine phenocrysts and abundant phlogopite microcrysts in a groundmass composed by olivine, spinel, apatite, perovskite, calcite and rare garnet. New in‐situ Sr and Nd isotopic data on perovskites ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i = 0.70467–0.70565 and 143 Nd/ 144 Nd i = 0.51222–0.51233) fall within the known ranges of APIP rocks ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i = 0.70431–0.70686; 143 Nd/ 144 Nd i = 0.51205–0.51280). The APIP magmas derived from a source assemblage made up of an old metasomatized mica-carbonate garnet lherzolite, that did not suffer interaction with convective mantle, nor with any hypothetical melts derived from a Trindade mantle plume. Geochemical modelling show that low degree melting ( f = 0.5–2%) of such a source can produce compositions resembling the APIP rocks. The geochemical and isotopic composition of the magmas, the calculated degrees of partial melting, the composition of the calculated source and the absence of a hot spot track from Goias to Alto Paranaiba igneous provinces can be explained with the presence of chemically and mineralogically heterogeneous mantle sources that melted at different pressures.

Late Miocene basanites of Nosy Be and Nosy Sakatia islands (Nosy Be Archipelago, northern Madagascar) carry spinel-facies anhydrous ultramafic xenoliths (lherzolites, harzburgites and wehrlites). Geo-thermobarometric estimates indicate that these xenoliths derive from shallow mantle depths of 35-40 km, with those from Nosy Be island showing equilibration T (averages in the range of 945-985 degrees C) lower than the Nosy Sakatia analogues (averages ranging from 1010 to 1110 degrees C). One Nosy Sakatia mantle xenolith exhibits relatively fertile lherzolite composition, with trace and major element mineral chemistry consistent with a residual character after low degrees (1-2%) of mafic melt extraction. We interpret this composition as that resembling a depleted mantle (DM)-like lithospheric composition before metasomatic overprints. The other lherzolites and harzburgites display petrochemical characters consistent with variable extent of partial melting (up to 18%), associated with pronounced metasomatic overprints caused by migrating melts, as highlighted by enrichments in highly incompatible trace elements (e.g. light rare earth elements, LREE and Sr), together with the abundant occurrence of wehrlitic lithologies. The variability of petrochemical features points to different styles of metasomatism and metasomatic agents. The estimated composition of the parental melts of wehrlites matches that of host basanites. The combination of this evidence with the petrographic features, characterized by coarse-granular to porphyroclastic textures and by the presence of olivine without kink-banding, suggests that wehrlites are veins or pockets of high pressure cumulates within the mantle peridotite. The same melts also metasomatized via porous-flow percolation some lherzolites and harzburgites. Distinctly, a group of lherzolites and harzburgites was metasomatized by a different alkaline melt having markedly lower incompatible trace element contents. Late infiltration of metasomatic fluids is responsible for the spongy texture of some clinopyroxenes of lherzolites, harzburgites and wehrlites

Geological and geodynamic models of the mantle often rely on joint interpretations of published seismic tomography images and petrological/geochemical data. This approach tends to neglect the fundamental limitations of, and uncertainties in, seismic tomography results. These limitations and uncertainties involve theory, correcting for the crust, the lack of rays throughout much of the mantle, the difficulty in obtaining the true strength of anomalies, choice of what background model to subtract to reveal anomalies, and what cross-sections to select for publication. The aim of this review is to provide a relatively non-technical summary of the most important of these problems, collected together in a single paper, and presented in a form accessible to non-seismologists. Appreciation of these issues is essential if final geodynamic models are to be robust, and required by the scientific observations. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Cenozoic igneous activity of Sardinia is essentially concentrated in the 38-0.1 Myr time range. On the basis of volcanological, petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic considerations, two main rock types can be defined. The first group, here defined SR (Subduction-Related) comprises Late Eocene-Middle Miocene (~ 38-15 Ma) igneous rocks, essentially developed along the Sardinian Trough, a N-S oriented graben developed during the Late Oligocene-Middle Miocene. The climax of magmatism is recorded during the Early Miocene (~ 23-18 Ma) with minor activity before and after this time range. Major and trace element indicators, as well as Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-Os-O isotope systematic indicate complex petrogenetic processes including subduction-related metasomatism, variable degrees of crustal contamination at shallow depths, fractional crystallization and basic rock partial melting. Hybridization processes between mantle and crustal melts and between pure mantle and crustally contaminated mantle melts increased the isotopic and elemental variability of the composition of the evolved (intermediate to acid) melts. The earliest igneous activity, pre-dating the Early Miocene magmatic climax, is related to the pushing effects exerted by the Alpine Tethys over the Hercynian or older lower crust, rather than to dehydration processes of the oceanic plate itself. The second group comprises volcanic rocks emplaced from ~ 12 to ~ 0.1 Ma. The major and, partially, trace element content of these rocks roughly resemble magmas emplaced in within-plate tectonic settings. From a Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-Os isotopic point of view, it is possible to subdivide these rocks in two subgroups. The first, defined RPV (Radiogenic Pb Volcanic) group comprises the oldest and very rare products (~ 12-4.4 Ma) occurring only in the southern sectors of Sardinia. The second group, defined UPV (Unradiogenic Pb Volcanic), comprises rocks emplaced in the remaining central and northern sectors during the ~ 4.8-0.1 Ma time range. The origin of the RPV rocks remains quite enigmatic, since they formed just a few Myr after the end of a subduction-related igneous activity but do not show any evidence of slab-derived metasomatic effects. In contrast, the complex origin of the mafic UPV rocks, characterized by low 206Pb/204Pb (17.4-18.1), low 143Nd/144Nd (0.51232-0.51264), low 176Hf/177Hf (0.28258-0.28280), mildly radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr (~ 0.7044) and radiogenic 187Os/188Os ratios (0.125-0.160) can be explained with a mantle source modified after interaction with ancient delaminated lower crustal lithologies. The strong isotopic difference between the RPV and UPV magmas and the absence of lower crustal-related features in the SR and RPV remain aspects to be solved.

The north-western sector of the Gharyan volcanic field (northern Libya) consists of trachytic-phonolitic domes emplaced between ~ 41 and 38 Ma, and small-volume mafic alkaline volcanic centres (basanites, tephrites, alkali basalts, hawaiites and rare benmoreites) of Middle Miocene-Pliocene age (~ 12–2 Ma). Two types of trachytes and phonolites have been recognized on the basis of petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry. Type-1 trachytes and phonolites display a smooth spoon-shaped REE pattern without negative Europium anomalies. Type-2 trachytes and phonolites show a remarkable Eu negative anomaly, higher concentration in HFSE (Nb Ta Zr Hf), REE and Ti than Type-1 rocks. The origin of Type-1 trachytes and phonolites is compatible with removal of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, alkali feldspar, amphibole, magnetite and titanite starting from benmoreitic magmas, found in the same outcrops. Type-2 trachytes and phonolites could be the result of extensive fractional crystallization starting from mafic alkaline magma, without removal of titanite. In primitive mantle-normalized diagrams, the mafic rocks (Mg# = 62–68, Cr up to 514 ppm, Ni up to 425 ppm) show peaks at Nb and Ta and troughs at K. These characteristics, coupled with low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (i) (0.7033-0.7038) and positive e Nd (from + 4.2 to + 5.3) features typical of the mafic anorogenic magmas of the northern African plate and of HIMU-OIB-like magma in general. The origin of the mafic rocks is compatible from a derivation from low degree partial melting (3–9%) shallow mantle sources in the spinel/garnet facies, placed just below the rigid plate in the uppermost low-velocity zone. The origin of the igneous activity is considered linked to passive lithospheric thinning related to the development of continental rifts like those of Sicily Channel (e.g., Pantelleria and Linosa) and Sardinia (e.g., Campidano Graben) in the Central-Western Mediterranean Sea.

Mantle xenoliths hosted in Miocene-Quaternary mafic alkaline volcanic rocks from Sardinia have been investigated with electron microprobe, laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and thermal ionization mass spectrometry techniques. The xenoliths are anhydrous clinopyroxene-poor lherzolites and harzburgites, plus very rare websterites and olivine-websterites. Glassy pods having thin subhedral to euhedral microlites of olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel have been found in harzburgites and websterites. Clinopyroxene shows trace element variability, with values of (La/Yb)(N) ranging from sub-chondritic (0.01) to supra-chondritic (8.6). The Sr-Nd isotopic ratios of the clinopyroxenes fall mostly in the field of the European lithospheric mantle xenoliths (Sr-87/Sr-86 from 0.70385 to 0.70568 and Nd-143/Nd-144 ranging from 0.512557 to 0.512953). The geochemical characteristics of the Sardinian xenoliths testify to the variable degrees of earlier partial melt extraction, followed by metasomatic modification by alkaline melts or fluids. Websterites are considered to represent small lenses or veins of cumulitic (i.e. magmatic) origin within the mantle peridotite.

Sourced as the Nile in distant basaltic rift highlands, the Orange River is the predominant ultimate source of sand for the Namib Desert dunes, as proved independently by bulk-petrography, heavy-mineral, pyroxene-chemistry, and U/Pb zircon-age datasets. Additional local entry points of sand do exist at the edges of the desert, and were quantified by comparison with detrital modes and heavy-mineral suites of hinterland-river sediments. After long-distance fluvial transport, Orange sand is washed by ocean waves and dragged northwards by vigorous longshore currents. Under the incessant action of southerly winds, sand is blown inland and carried farther north to accumulate in the Namib erg, a peculiar wind-dominated sediment sink displaced hundreds of kilometres away from the river mouth. And yet changes in sand mineralogy along the way are minor. After a multistep journey of cumulative 3000 km from their source in Lesotho, volcanic rock fragments and pyroxene are found in unchanged abundance as far as the northern edge of the desert. Only locally is volcanic detritus slightly depleted and minor but regular enrichment in quartz and garnet is observed, the sole potential effect of prolonged transport or recycling of Tertiary aeolianites. Selective comminution of fragile minerals is thus proved unable to substantially modify sand composition in fluvial, coastal, or aeolian settings. Mechanical processes have a much greater effect on the morphology of detrital grains, which in Namib dunes appear commonly shaped into nearly perfect spheres. Aeolian sorting concentrates denser minerals locally in placer lags, but such effects can be identified and compensated for. This study demonstrates that mechanical breakdown is unable to markedly affect provenance signatures even during long-distance and prolonged multistep transport in high-energy settings. In arid climates, where chemical processes are negligible, high-resolution bulk-petrography and heavy-mineral analyses are thus powerful techniques to quantitatively reconstruct provenance, and to trace sediment sources and dispersal paths over distances up to thousands of kilometres.

Matrix glass and melt inclusions in phenocrysts from pantellerite lavas of the Boseti volcanic complex, Ethiopia, record extreme fractionation of peralkaline silicic magma, with Al2O3 contents as low as 2.3 wt.%, FeO* contents up to 17 wt.% and SiO2 contents ~65 wt.%. The new data, and published data for natural and experimental glasses, suggest that the effective minimum composition for peralkaline silicic magmas has ~5 wt.% Al2O3, 13 wt.% FeO* and 66 ± 2 wt.% SiO2. The dominant fractionating assemblage is alkali feldspar + fayalite + hedenbergite + oxides ± quartz. Feldspar - melt relationships indicate that the feldspar is close to the minimum on the albite-orthoclase solid solution loop through the entire crystallization history. There is petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical evidence that magma mixing may have been a common process in the Boseti rhyolites.

During Early Miocene northwestern Sardinia was interested by widespread volcanic activity belonging to the calcalkaline to high-K calcalkaline “orogenic” Sardinian cycle. The peak of activity is recorded in the ~ 22-18 Ma time span and it is mostly concentrated along the Fossa Sarda graben, an Oligo-Miocene rift system cutting the western Sardinia from north to south. The northwestern Sardinia volcanic rocks crop out in the districts of Bosa-Alghero, Anglona, Logudoro, Mulargia-Macomer and Ottana graben, ranging in composition from rare high alumina basalt lavas to rhyolitic ignimbrites (welded and unwelded) and lava flows, through basaltic andesites, andesites and dacitic domes, with the most evolved rocks (dacites and rhyolites) being volumetrically predominant. Here we report the chemical composition of the main rock-forming minerals (clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, sanidine, magnetite, ilmenite, olivine, brown mica and amphibole) and whole-rock data covering the entire spectrum of occurring lithotypes. The bulk-rock major and trace element variations are consistent with an evolution mainly driven by fractional crystallization of the observed mineral phases. This was confirmed by mass balance calculations and MELTS-based modelling, which allowed reconstructing liquid lines of descent for each district. Crystallization conditions took place at low pressures (1 kbar) and low H2O contents (< 2 wt.%), with oxygen fugacities close to the QFM and Ni-NiO synthetic buffers and temperature values ranging from ~ 900 to ~ 1150 °C for mafic rocks and from ~ 800 to ~ 1000 °C for the silicic ones. Open-system processes may also have had a role in the petrogenesis of the silicic rocks.

The central-western Mediterranean is one of the most important areas on Earth for studying subduction-related potassic and ultrapotassic magmatism. In the circum-Tyrrhenian area leucite-free (i.e., lamproite) and leucite-bearing (i.e., kamafugite, leucitite, and plagioleucitite) ultrapotassic rocks have been emplaced and are associated with shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline volcanic rocks. Four different magmatic provinces are recognised from this area. Eastward and then south-eastward migration of magmatism with time occurred following roll-back of the subducting plate. Leucite-free silica-rich lamproites are restricted to the early stages of magmatism, associated with shoshonites and high-K calc-alkaline volcanic rocks. Present day volcanic activity is restricted to the Neapolitan district where ultrapotassic rocks with variable geochemical and isotopic characteristics occur. Ultrapotassic rocks are strongly enriched in incompatible trace elements with variable fractionation of Ta, Nb, and Ti with respect to Th and large ion lithophile elements. Mafic ultrapotassic rocks are also variably enriched in radiogenic Sr and Pb and unradiogenic Nd. The main geochemical and isotopic signatures result from sediment recycling within the upper mantle via subduction. Selected trace element ratios suggest that high temperatures are required to generate sediment-derived melts. Recycling of carbonated pelites play an important role in the Roman province controlling the genesis of leucite-bearing magmas. Large volumes of metasomatic components are predicted to be accommodated within a vein network in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. Partial melting of the pure vein mineralogy is likely to generate ultrapotassic magmas of either lamproitic or kamafugitic nature. Over time, increased interaction between the metasomatic vein lithology and the surrounding mantle dilutes the alkaline component producing shoshonites and high-K calc–alkaline rocks. The addition of a further subduction-related component shortly before magma generation is required to explain the isotopic composition of rocks from the Neapolitan district. In the last phases of circum-Tyrrhenian evolution, a within-plate component appears within south-eastern Italy. This component is evident at Vulture volcano, in the Lucanian Magmatic province (SE Italy).

Late Cenozoic volcanic rocks on the island of Sardinia are mildly alkalinetransitional lavas, dominantly hawaiites, mugearites, and transitional basalts with minor phonolites and trachytes, which form ~80% of the entire sample population. Tholeiitic basaltic andesites form the remaining 20% of the analyzed rocks. The oldest lavas, the ca. 6.6–4.4 Ma radiogenic Pb volcanic group, are in southern Sardinia; they have geochemical characteristics very similar to most Circum-Mediterranean Anorogenic Cenozoic Igneous Province rocks. After a gap of ~0.5 m.y., volcanism occurred in central and northern Sardinia, from ca. 3.9 to ca. 0.1 Ma. These products, the unradiogenic Pb volcanic group, are geochemically very different. Their geochemical characteristics (relatively high SiO 2 , low CaO, and CaO/Al 2 O 3 , relatively high Ni, relatively low high fi eld strength elements, low heavy rare earth elements, high Ba/Nb and La/Nb, slightly high Sr/Sr, and unradiogenic Nd/Nd and Pb/Pb ratios) are considered to be derived from an orthopyroxene-rich lithospheric mantle source. The origin of this enrichment in orthopyroxene is a consequence of SiO 2 -rich melt derived from delaminated and detached ancient lower continental crust reacting with mantle peridotite. The presence of two distinct groups of rocks (unradiogenic Pb volcanics and radiogenic Pb volcanics) in a very close geographic position is related to the existence of a lithospheric discontinuity running roughly E-W in southern Sardinia.

During the Oligo-Miocene, the Island of Sardinia was covered by the products of voluminous magmatic activity, with a typical subduction-related signature. The mafic rocks of the Montresta (north) and Arcuentu (south) volcanic districts include primitive high MgO basalts whose trace element and Sr-, Ndand Pb-isotope compositions constrain the nature and role of subduction-related components in the Tertiary Sardinian volcanism. The geochemical and isotopic data require an approximate degree of partial melting of 15% of a MORB-like depleted mantle prior to enrichment, and the input of two subduction components in the mantle wedge consisting of fluids from subducted oceanic crust (altered MORB) and fluids from subducted sediments. Ratios among trace elements which are variably compatible with fluid and melt phases (i.e. Th/Pb, Th/Nd and Sr/Nd) exclude the contribution of melts from the subducted slab. Models based on isotopic ratios indicate that the pre-subduction depleted mantle source of Sardinia magmas was enriched by 0.1-0.5% MORB fluid and less than 0.1% sediment fluid. The geochemical and isotopic compositions of the Montresta volcanic rocks are homogeneous, whereas those of the Arcuentu show quite heterogeneous characters, suggesting variations in mantle source over the long time-span (about 13 Ma) of volcanic activity in this district.

The first comprehensive chemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data set of Plio-Pleistocene tholeiitic and alkaline volcanic rocks cropping out in Sardinia (Italy) is presented here. These rocks are alkali basalts, hawaiites, basanites, tholeiitic basalts and basaltic andesites, and were divided into two groups with distinct isotopic compositions. The vast majority of lavas have relatively high Sr-87/Sr-86 (0.7043-0.7051), low Nd-143/Nd-144 (0.5124-0.5126), and are characterised by the least radiogenic Pb isotopic composition so far recorded in Italian (and European) Neogene-to-Recent mafic volcanic rocks (Pb-206/Pb-204 = 17.55-18.01) (unradiogenic Pb volcanic rocks, UPV); these rocks crop out in central and northern Sardinia. Lavas of more limited areal extent have chemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic ratios indicative of a markedly different source (Sr-87/Sr-86 = 0.7031-0.7040; Nd-143/Nd-144 = 0.5127-0.5129; Pb-206/Pb-204 = 18.8-19.4) (radiogenic Pb volcanic rocks, RPV), and crop out only in the southern part of the island. The isotopic ratios of these latter rocks match the values found in the roughly coeval anorogenic (i.e. not related to recent subduction events in space and time) mafic volcanic rocks of Italy (i.e. Mt. Etna, Hyblean Mts., Pantelleria, Linosa), and Cenozoic European volcanic rocks. The mafic rocks of the two Sardinian rock groups also show distinct trace element contents and ratios (e.g. Ba/Nb > 14, Ce/Pb = 8-25 and Nb/U = 29-38 for the UPV; Ba/Nb < 9, Ce/Pb = 24-28 and Nb/U = 46-54 for the RPV). The sources of the UPV could have been stabilised in the Precambrian after low amounts of lower crustal input (about 3%), or later, during the Hercynian Orogeny, after input of Precambrian lower crust in the source region, whereas the sources of the RPV could be related to processes that occurred in the late Palaeozoic-early Mesozoic, possibly via recycling of proto-Tethys oceanic lithosphere by subduction. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Special Issue 1: a showcase of the Italian research in petrology: magmatism in Italy.