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Constraints on the formation of geochemically variable plagiogranite intrusions in the Troodos Ophiolite, Cyprus

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Abstract

The geochemistry and petrology of tonalitic to trondhjemitic samples (n = 85) from eight different plagiogranite intrusions at the gabbro/sheeted dyke transition of the Troodos Ophiolite were studied in order to determine their petrogenetic relationship to the mafic plutonic section and the lava pile. The plagiogranitic rocks have higher SiO2 contents than the majority of the glasses of the Troodos lava pile, but lie on a continuation of the chemical trends defined by the extrusive rocks, indicating that the shallow intrusions generally represent crystallised magmas. We define three different groups of plagiogranites in the Troodos Ophiolite based on different incompatible element contents and ratios. The first and most common plagiogranite group has geochemical similarities to the tholeiitic lavas forming the lavas and sheeted dyke complex in the Troodos crust, implying that these magmas formed at a spreading axis. The second plagiogranite group occurs in one intrusion that is chemically related to late-stage and off-axis boninitic lavas and dykes. One intrusion next to the Arakapas fault zone consists of incompatible element-enriched plagiogranites which are unrelated to any known mafic crustal rocks. The similarities of incompatible element ratios between plagiogranites, lavas and mafic plutonic rocks, the continuous chemical trends defined by plagiogranites and mafic rocks, as well as incompatible element modelling results, all suggest that shallow fractional crystallisation is the dominant process responsible for formation of the felsic magmas.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the help of U. Westernströer during trace element analyses. We thank Diplom students T. Endres, C. Weinzierl and H. Schmidt for the help during field work and H. Brätz and R. Klemd for timely and fast LA-ICP-MS analyses. We want to acknowledge A. Richter, M. Meyer and P. Brandl for loyal support during EMP problems. We want to express our thanks to M. Hertel for her perennial lab work and Jeanne and Florian for patience sawing the hard rocks. The manuscript benefitted from the very constructive reviews by L. Coogan and an anonymous reviewer and from comments by the editor J. Hoefs. S. Freund was funded by DFG grant HA2568/21.

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  1. GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Sarah Freund, Karsten M. Haase, Manuel Keith & Christoph Beier

  2. Institute of Geosciences, Universität Kiel, Ludewig-Meyn-Str. 10, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Dieter Garbe-Schönberg

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  1. Sarah Freund
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  2. Karsten M. Haase
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Correspondence to Sarah Freund.

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Communicated by J. Hoefs.

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Supplementary material 1 (PDF 247 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (PDF 241 kb)

Supplementary material 3 (PDF 240 kb)

Supplementary material 4 (PDF 248 kb)

410_2014_978_MOESM5_ESM.xls

Supplementary Table 1: Major and trace elements of all measured Troodos plagiogranites and aphyric dykes and averages and reference values of standard measurements. (XLS 104 kb)

Supplementary Table 2: Major and trace elements of Troodos plagiogranite minerals (EMP and LA-ICP-MS). (XLS 432 kb)

410_2014_978_MOESM7_ESM.xls

Supplementary Table 3: Mineral assemblage and composition of Troodos plagiogranites using thin-sections (microscopy and EMP analyses) and X-ray diffraction. (XLS 53 kb)

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Freund, S., Haase, K.M., Keith, M. et al. Constraints on the formation of geochemically variable plagiogranite intrusions in the Troodos Ophiolite, Cyprus. Contrib Mineral Petrol 167, 978 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-014-0978-6

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