Deep Lithospheric Thickening and Refertilization beneath Continental Arcs: Case Study of the P, T and Compositional Evolution of Peridotite Xenoliths from the Sierra Nevada, California

Chin, Emily; Lee, Cin-Ty A.; Luffi, Péter; Tice, Mike

doi:10.1093/petrology/egr069

Cited by 59 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…First, ultramafic xenoliths collected from much younger volcanic rocks (Fig. 18) suggest that the xenoliths are dominantly residual cumulates remaining after extraction of partial melts from both upper mantle and subcontinental lithosphere at depths of at least 32-18 kb (Mukhopadhyay and Manton 1994;Chin et al 2012), consistent with upwelling mantle and adiabatic melting resulting from slab failure. Ducea and Saleeby (1998) showed that the cumu- late rocks are the same age as Sierran granitoid magmatism.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Cordilleran Batholithsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…18), the first by Lee et al (2001), who, as mentioned, found two types of xenoliths with contrasting thermal histories and concluded that hot asthenosphere and cold Proterozoic lithospheric mantle "were suddenly juxtaposed, a feature consistent with the aftermath of rapid lithospheric removal or sudden intrusion of asthenospheric mantle into the lithosphere" during the Mesozoic. The second by Chin et al (2012), showed that peridotite Sierra Nevada Lee et al 2001Chin et al 2012Mukhopadhyay & Manton 1994 Figure 18. P-T grid illustrating the final equilibrium conditions calculated for various groups of mantle xenoliths from the Sierra Nevada.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Cordilleran Batholithsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…P-T grid illustrating the final equilibrium conditions calculated for various groups of mantle xenoliths from the Sierra Nevada. Although the arrays are artifacts of the different reaction kinetics of the geothermometers and geobarometers, the points represent minimum P values (Chin et al 2012). These high pressures (~3 GPa) support the model presented here in that the La Posta and Sierran Crest magmatic suites resulted from melting at great depth caused by slab failure, upwelling of asthenosphere, and melting within the garnet stability field.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Cordilleran Batholithsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…He argued, based on previous work elsewhere (Hamilton and Myers 1967), that the batholiths were the roots of volcanoes built along the western margins of the Americas and were analogous to the modern Andean volcanic arc. These concepts provided a basis for the more recent interpretation of Cordilleran batholiths as magmatic arc rocks emplaced during compressional deformation and great crustal thickening, which is considered to be related to (1) voluminous influx of magmas from the mantle; (2) underthrusting of the crust in either a fore-arc or retro-arc setting, commonly with shallow subduction; or (3) a combination of the two (Isacks 1988;Allmendinger et al 1997;Ducea 2001;Kay et al 2005;Grove et al 2008;DeCelles et al 2009;Paterson et al 2012;Chin et al 2012). There are, however, complications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the xenoliths provide minimum pressure bounds (Chin et al 2012), they clearly were formed within the garnet peridotite field (Fig. 18), and as La Posta plutons have REE patterns of residual garnet (Gromet and Silver 1987), it is reasonable to assume that the slab failure basalt magma originated from rising asthenosphere at deeper levels, say in the garnet stability field (Grove et al 2013), than the precursors to typical arc magmas, which appear to be formed at shallower levels by melting in the plagioclase and spinel stability fields (Till et al 2012).…”

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Arc and Slab-Failure Magmatism in Cordilleran Batholiths II – The Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges Batholith of Southern and Baja California

Hildebrand

Whalen

2014

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Ever since the late 1960s when Warren Hamilton proposed that the great Cordilleran batholiths of the western Americas are the roots of volcanic arcs like the Andes and were generated by longstanding eastward subduction, most geologists have followed suit, despite the evergrowing recognition that many Cordilleran batholiths are complex, composite bodies that developed with intervals of intense shortening and exhumation between and during periods of magmatism. The Peninsular Ranges batholith of Southern and Baja California provides a superb place to unravel the complexities because there is a lot of data and because it is longitudinally composed of two parts: an older western portion of weakly to moderately deformed, low-grade volcanic and epizonal plutonic rocks ranging in age from ~128–100 Ma; and a more easterly sector of deformed amphibolite grade rocks cut by compositionally zoned, mesozonal plutonic complexes of the La Posta suite, emplaced from 99–86 Ma. While plutons of the La Posta suite are generally considered to be the product of continued eastward subduction, they are enigmatic, because they and their wall rocks were rapidly exhumed from as deep as 23 km and eroded during, and just after, their emplacement, unlike plutons in magmatic arcs, which are generally emplaced in zones of subsidence. Here we resolve the enigma with a model where westward-dipping subduction led to arc magmatism of the western sector, the Santiago Peak–Alisitos composite arc, during the period ~128–100 Ma. Arc magmatism shut down when the arc collided with a west-facing Early Cretaceous passive margin at about 100 Ma. During the collision the buoyancy contrast between the continental crust of the eastern block and its attached oceanic lithosphere led to failure of the subducting slab. The break-off allowed subjacent asthenosphere to upwell, adiabatically melt, and rise into the upper plate to create the large zoned tonalite–granodiorite–granite complexes of the La Posta suite. While compositionally similar to arc plutons in many respects, the examples from the Southern California and Baja segments of the batholith have geochemistry that indicates they were derived from partial melting of asthenosphere at deeper levels in the mantle than typical arc magmas, and within the garnet stability field. This is consistent with asthenosphere upwelling through the torn lower-plate slab. We identify kindred rocks with similar geological relations in other Cordilleran batholiths of the Americas, such as the Sierra Nevada, which lead us to suggest that slab failure magmatism is common, both spatially and temporally.SOMMAIREDepuis la fin des années 1960, Warren Hamilton a proposé que les grands batholites de la Cordillère de l'ouest des Amériques sont les racines d’arcs volcaniques andéens issus de la subduction vers l'est de longue durée, et depuis la plupart des géologues ont emboîté le pas, bien qu’un nombre croissant d’indications montrent que de nombreux batholites de la Cordillère sont des entités composites complexes qui se sont développés lors d’intervalles intenses de contraction et d’exhumation, durant et entre les périodes de magmatisme. Le batholite Peninsular Ranges du Sud de la Californie et de Baja California est un excellent endroit permettant de démêler les choses parce qu'il y a beaucoup de données et parce qu'il est composé longitudinalement de deux parties: une partie occidentale plus ancienne, faiblement à modérément déformée, de roches volcaniques de faible métamorphisme et de roches plutoniques épizonales âgées d’environ 128 Ma à 100 Ma; et, d’un segment plus à l'est de roches amphiboliques déformées recoupées par des roches de composition zonée des complexes mésozonaux plutoniques de la suite de la Posta, mises en place entre 99 Ma et 86 Ma. Bien que les plutons de la suite La Posta sont généralement considérés comme le produit d’une subduction soutenue vers l’est, ils posent problème, parce qu'avec leurs roches encaissantes, ils ont été rapidement exhumés de profondeurs aussi grandes que 23 km, et érodées durant et juste après leur mise en place, contrairement aux plutons des arcs magmatiques, qui sont généralement mis en place dans les zones de subsidence. Dans le présent article, nous proposons une solution à ce problème, avec un modèle de subduction vers l'ouest qui conduit à un magmatisme d'arc du secteur ouest, l'arc composite de Santiago Peak-Alisitos, durant la période d’environ 128 Ma à 100 Ma. Le magmatisme d’arc s’est arrêté lorsque l'arc est entré en collision avec une marge passive à pendage ouest du début du Crétacé, il y a environ 100 Ma. Lors de la collision, le contraste de flottabilité entre la croûte continentale du bloc de est et la lithosphère océanique qui y est rattachée a conduit à l'avortement de la plaque plongeante. La cassure a entrainé la remontée de l’asthénosphère sous-jacente, sa fusion adiabatique, et sa remontée dans la plaque supérieure pour former les grands complexes zonés de tonalite-granodiorite-granite de La Posta. Bien que de composition similaire aux plutons d'arc à bien des égards, les exemples des segments de batholites de Californie du Sud et de Baja ont une géochimie qui indique qu'ils proviennent de la fusion partielle de l’asthénosphère à des niveaux plus profonds dans le manteau que les magmas d'arc typiques, à l’intérieur du domaine de stabilité du grenat. Ce qui correspond à une remontée d’asthénosphère à travers une dalle de plaque inférieure cassée. Nous connaissons des roches semblables avec les relations géologiques similaires dans d'autres batholites de la Cordillère des Amériques, tel celles de la Sierra Nevada, ce qui nous amène à penser que le magmatisme de cassure de plaque est commun, tant spatialement et temporellement.

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Section: Comparison With Other Cordilleran Batholithsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Comparison With Other Cordilleran Batholithsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison With Other Cordilleran Batholithsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arc and Slab-Failure Magmatism in Cordilleran Batholiths II – The Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges Batholith of Southern and Baja California

Hildebrand

Whalen

2014

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The role of magmatically driven lithospheric thickening on arc front migration

Karlstrom

Lee

Manga

2014

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Volcanic activity at convergent plate margins is localized along lineaments of active volcanoes that focus rising magma generated within the mantle below. In many arcs worldwide, particularly continental arcs, the volcanic front migrates away from the interface of subduction (the trench) over millions of years, reflecting coevolving surface forcing, tectonics, crustal magma transport, and mantle flow. Here we show that extraction of melt from arc mantle and subsequent magmatic thickening of overlying crust and lithosphere can drive volcanic front migration. These processes are consistent with geochemical trends, such as increasing La/Yb, which show that increasing depths of differentiation correlate with arc front migration in continental arcs. Such thickening truncates the underlying mantle flow field, squeezing hot mantle wedge and the melting focus away from the trench while progressively decreasing the volume of melt generated. However, if magmatic thickening is balanced by tectonic extension in the upper plate, a steady crustal thickness is achieved that results in a more stationary arc front with long-lived mantle melting. This appears to be the case for some island arcs. Thus, in combination with tectonic modulation of crustal thickness, magmatic thickening provides a self consistent model for volcanic arc front migration and the composition of arc magmas.

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Microstructural and geochemical constraints on the evolution of deep arc lithosphere

Chin

Soustelle

Hirth

et al. 2016

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Mantle xenoliths from the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, sampled a vertical column (60-120 km) of lithosphere that formed during Mesozoic continental arc magmatism. This lithosphere experienced an anticlockwise P-T-t path resulting in rapid cooling that effectively ''quenched in'' features inherited from earlier high-temperature conditions. Here we combine new mineral chemistry data (water, trace element, and major element concentrations) with mineral crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) to investigate the relationship between melt infiltration and deformation. The peridotites record a refertilization trend with increasing depth, starting from shallow, coarse-protogranular, less-melt-infiltrated spinel peridotite with strong, orthorhombic olivine CPO to deep, fine-porphyroclastic, highly melt-infiltrated garnet peridotite with weak, axial-[010] olivine CPO. In contrast to the observed axial-[010] CPOs, subgrain boundary orientations and misorientation axes suggest the dominant activation of the (001)[100] slip system, suggesting deformation under moderately hydrous conditions. After accounting for effects of subsolidus cooling, we see coherent trends between mineral trace element abundance and water content, indicating that melt infiltration led to an increase in water content of the peridotites. However, measured olivine and pyroxene water contents in all peridotites (5-10 and 30-500 wt ppm, respectively) are lower than that required to promote dominant (001)[100] slip system observed in both natural and experimental samples. These results suggest that deformation occurred earlier along the P-T path, probably during or shortly after hydrous melt infiltration. Subsequent rapid cooling at 90 Ma led to water loss from olivine (owing to decreased solubility at low temperature), leaving behind a deep arc lithosphere that remained viscously coupled to the Farallon slab until the opening of the slab window in the late Cenozoic.

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Deep Lithospheric Thickening and Refertilization beneath Continental Arcs: Case Study of the P, T and Compositional Evolution of Peridotite Xenoliths from the Sierra Nevada, California

Cited by 59 publications

References 90 publications

Arc and Slab-Failure Magmatism in Cordilleran Batholiths II – The Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges Batholith of Southern and Baja California

Arc and Slab-Failure Magmatism in Cordilleran Batholiths II – The Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges Batholith of Southern and Baja California

The role of magmatically driven lithospheric thickening on arc front migration

Microstructural and geochemical constraints on the evolution of deep arc lithosphere

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