Petrogenesis and source characteristics of metatholeiites from the Archean Ramagiri schist belt, eastern part of Dharwar craton, India

Abstract

The N–S trending, 2–4 km wide Ramagiri schist belt is made up of three blocks dominated by metavolcanic rocks, separated and surrounded by granitic rocks of distinct characteristics. The metavolcanic rocks are tholeiitic in composition and are very similar in their major element composition as well as in their abundances of some trace elements. However, the rare earth elements (REE) require distinct sources. The rocks of the amphibolite facies eastern block have LREE depleted REE patterns ([Ce/Yb] = 0.7–0.9), requiring derivation from depleted mantle-like sources. The greenschist facies metatholeiitic rocks of the central block have LREE enriched REE patterns ([Ce/Yb] = 3–6), reflecting the nature of their source(s). The Nd isotopic data require that the LREE enriched nature could not have been attained significantly prior to its melting. The fine-grained, upper greenschist facies metatholeiites of the western block have flat to slightly LREE depleted patterns ([Ce/Yb] = 0.8–0.95). Minor fractional crystallization of rock forming minerals may relate a few samples to each other among samples from each of the three blocks. Different extents of partial melting of distinct mantle sources have played a dominant role in the generation of the parent magmas to the central versus eastern and western block metatholeiites.

The geochemical data suggest that the mantle sources were non-lherzolitic, and that these sources may have seen previous episodes of melt addition and extraction prior to melting that gave rise to the parent melts to the rocks ∼2750 Ma ago. The REE data indicate that while the sources of the eastern and western block rocks were similar to depleted mantle (ɛ_{Nd( i )} about +2), the source of the central block rocks (ɛ_{Nd( i )} about +3.5) were enriched in large ion lithophile element (LILE)-rich fluids/melts probably derived from subducting oceanic crust. This and other trace element signatures point to magma extraction in tectonic settings similar to modern island arcs. Subsequent to magma emplacement and crystallization, all the three suites of rocks were affected by interaction with low-temperature, crustal derived fluids (ɛ_{Nd 2750Ma} of about −8 to −12), probably during the accretion of the three blocks of the belt in the present form. The inferred source characteristics, tectonic setting of magma generation and the crustal fluid processes seem to suggest that Phanerozoic-style tectonic processes may have been important in the generation of Archean crust in the Dharwar craton.