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Continental flood basalt (CFB) provinces are products of the largest known volumetric eruptions on Earth (~104 km3), with individual flow fields commonly covering well over 10 000 km2 with a mean lava thickness of over 5 m. Studies focusing on the emplacement style of such lava flows have relied extensively on morphological observations and comparisons with modern lava flows and experimental analogs. In the present study, we compare the textures of flood basalt lavas with those from different eruption settings all over the world using data collected from pre-existing literature to gain detailed insights into the style of eruption. Comparison of crystal size distribution data indicates that the eruption style of CFBs is similar to those of modern-day fissure eruptions (e.g. Iceland). This matches inferences based on observations of morphology. We also use a 1D thermal model to estimate the depth-dependent cooling rates within a single lava lobe and test the validity of assumptions built into the formulation of these models for large scale flood basalt lavas. The results reveal that, on average, flood basalt lavas need to conductively cool much faster than we would expect (up to order of ~102 times faster) to match the textural observations. The model is also frequently unable to replicate the observed depth-wise relative variations in length with depth for CFB lavas. Furthermore, the calculated cooling rates from crystal shapes also do not match those calculated from crystal lengths, indicating the assumptions in cooling flow models need to be modified for large CFB flow fields. Given the large areas of CFB flow fields and the relatively long eruption times inferred for the emplacement of individual flow fields, we hypothesize that inflation of lobes and formation of new lobes via breakouts combined with variable eruption rates are key processes that are missing when modeling the cooling of these flow fields. Accounting for these processes is essential to derive accurate cooling rates, which is important to better understand the environmental impact CFBs have at the time of emplacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continental large igneous provinces are among the largest magmatic events on Earth, characteristically manifesting at the surface as stacks of monotonous flood basalt lavas that form through a dynamic pattern of eruptive pulses separated by hiatuses. Such dynamic patterns may be difficult to detect from the composition of the lavas. Instead, lava crystal cargoes can be used to study how the eruption cycles inherent to continental large igneous provinces are moderated by episodic recharge and evacuation at multiple crustal levels. Here, we present a stratigraphically well-constrained series of 56 flood basalt flows from the Eocene Initial Phase of magmatic activity in East Africa. These flows and their crystal cargo permit temporal insight into the development of one of the youngest and best-preserved continental large igneous provinces. The stratiform mafic lavas exposed in northern Kenya consist of alternating aphyric and plagioclase-phyric lava packages consistent with periods of eruption punctuated by volcanic hiatus, where magmas stall and crystallize plagioclase at medium to shallow crustal levels. Plagioclase compositions (n  = 541) exhibit little intra-crystal or intra-sample compositional diversity. Intra-crystal equilibrium calculations for Sr and Ti indicate internal chemical equilibrium, requiring storage at high temperatures over a prolonged time interval (10 000–100 000 years). Using a series of seven interlinked partial crystal fractionation models under equilibrium conditions, we replicate the observed stratigraphic patterns in plagioclase composition. We find that the balance between recharge, evacuation, and diffusive equilibration within a shallow magmatic system controls the composition of plagioclase in these flood basalts. We conclude that the shallow fractionation system modulates eruptive cycles and thus constitutes a critical component in studies of continental large igneous provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) of the Pacific Northwest of the United States is the world's youngest and smallest large igneous province. Its earliest formations are the Imnaha, Steens, and now the Picture Gorge Basalt (PGB), and they were sourced from three different dike swarms exposed from SE Washington to Nevada to northcentral Oregon. PGB is often viewed to be distinct from the other formations, as its magmas are sourced from a shallow, relatively depleted, and later subduction-induced metasomatized mantle, along with its young stratigraphic position. It has long been known that the lowermost American Bar flows (AB1&2) of the Imnaha Basalt are chemically similar to those of the PGB, yet the Imnaha Basalt is generally thought to carry the strongest plume source component. These opposing aspects motivated us to revisit the compositional relationships between AB1&2 and PGB. Our findings suggest that tapping a shallow, variably depleted, and metasomatized mantle reservoir to produce earliest CRBG lavas occurred across the province, now pinpointed to ~17 Ma. Moreover, compositional provinciality exists indicating regional differences in degree of depletion and subduction overprint that is preserved by regionally distributed lavas, which in turn implies relatively local lava emplacement at this stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mannar Basin is a rift basin formed during the breakup of Gondwana, comprising sedimentary deposits from multiple cycles. Exploration for hydrocarbons has uncovered igneous sequences distributed throughout the basin's sedimentary sequences. These sequences exhibit geochemical characteristics, typical for flood basalts formed during a series of eruptions from 60 to 62 Ma. Previous studies have focused on the petroleum system, tectonostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and the paleo-environmental setting, therefore, little was known about the petrogenesis of this flood basalt sequence. This study investigates the petrogenesis of the flood basalt sequence, focusing on crystallization temperature, source magma characteristics, and the nature of magma fractional crystallization. Additionally, it examines the mineralogical characteristics, including clay minerals, of the interstratified sedimentary layers to interpret their origins—an area that has not been previously studied in depth. Petrographic thin sections were prepared from unwashed drill cuttings taken from a depth of 4000–4200 m in the Barracuda petroleum exploration well. A detailed petrographic study was conducted on these samples to investigate the petrogenesis. Additionally, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) was performed to determine the mineral chemistry of the basalt and interstratified sedimentary rock samples. The basalts are primarily composed of plagioclase (An62-82) and clinopyroxene (mostly augite), with minor occurrences of orthopyroxene (En54-67) and ulvöspinel. Only the lower-most basalt layers (4200–4210 m) contain olivine (Fo56-71). High-Al orthopyroxenes were observed in the shallower sequence. Mineral zoning and mineral chemical variations record fractional crystallization of the mafic magma. Together, these minerals reflect a complex magmatic evolution, where, initially, high-temperature conditions prevailed, followed by differentiation and fractional crystallization; a transition from primitive to more evolved conditions. Geothermometric calculations indicate crystallization temperatures of the basalt varying from 1330 to 1340 °C, typically associated with mantle-derived magmas and representing high-temperature magmatic processes.The interlayered sedimentary rocks within the basalt sequence are dark-coloured and consist of weathered feldspar and clinopyroxenes, with minor quartz and calcite. Powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses reveal the presence of clay minerals such as smectite, antigorite, attapulgite, and chlorite in these sedimentary rocks. While unpublished reports suggest that the interlayered rocks are sandstones and shales (based on gamma-ray log data), these analyses indicate that they are volcaniclastic sediments resulting from the weathering of individual layers of the flood basalt sequence after their eruption.

The Late Aptian Rajmahal Traps originated through Kerguelen-Plume-related volcanism at the eastern margin of the Indian Shield. Clinopyroxene and whole-rock thermobarometry reveals that the Rajmahal magmas crystallized at P-T conditions of ≤~5 kbar/~1100–1200 °C. These pressures correspond to upper crustal depths (≤~19 km). Modeling shows that the Rajmahal primary magmas were last in equilibrium with mantle at P-T conditions of ~9 kbar/~1280 °C. The corresponding depths (~33 km) are consistent with gravity data that indicate a high-density layer at lower crustal depths below an upwarped Moho. Thus, the high-density layer probably represents anomalous mantle. It is likely that the mantle-derived magmas accumulated below the upwarped Moho and were subsequently transported via trans-crustal faults/fractures to the upper crust where they evolved by fractional crystallization in small staging chambers before eruption. In the lower part of the Rajmahal plumbing system, buoyant melts from the Kerguelen Plume may have moved laterally and upward along the base of the lithosphere to accumulate and erode the eastern Indian lithospheric root. The Rajmahal plumbing system was probably shaped by tectonic forces related to the breakup of Gondwana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]