Basalts and Ultramafic

Volcanic Rocks

Basalt: pl, augite, hypersthene,

olivine, spinel (45-52 SiO2)

Ultramafic volcanics :
komatiite : olivine, high Mg, low Ti
kimberlite : olivine, phlogopite, matrix

Classification of Igneous Rocks

Plagioclase

Anorthosite

Figure 2-2. A classification of the phaneritic

igneous rocks. b. Gabbroic rocks. c. Ultramafic
rocks. After IUGS.

90

Olivine
Dunite

Olivine
gabbro

Plagioclase-bearing ultramafic rocks

Pyroxene

Olivine

(b)

Peridotites

lite
hr
We

Ha
rzb
urg
ite

90

Lherzolite

40

(c)

Pyroxenites

Olivine Websterite

Orthopyroxenite

10

10

Orthopyroxene

Websterite
Clinopyroxenite

Clinopyroxene

Komatiite
olivine

rare ultramafic volcanic rocks(>18 wt.% MgO ).

Komatiite sample displays "spinifex texture" defined by extremely
acicular olivine phenocrysts(blue colored )--probably a sign of rapid
crystallization from a significantly-undercooled magma.

Occurrences
Rift volcanism: tensional forces (MORB)
tholeiitic, tholeiitic-rhyolitic, andesite (rare)
Subduction zone volcanism: compressional
setting (andesite, dacite, rhyolite) composite
volcano. diverse basalt (calc-alkaline ~ tholeiitic)
Intraplate volcanism: hot spot environment- OIB,
LIPs(Large Igneous Proveince)

Ophiolite development

Alkali vs. Silica diagram for Hawaiian volcanics:

Seems to be two distinct groupings: alkaline and subalkaline
12

%Na2O + K2O

10

Alkaline

Subalkaline
35

40

45

50

%SiO

55

60

65

AFM diagram: can further subdivide the subalkaline

magma series into a tholeiitic and a calc-alkaline series
Figure 8-14. AFM diagram showing the distinction
between selected tholeiitic rocks from Iceland, the MidAtlantic Ridge, the Columbia River Basalts, and Hawaii
(solid circles) plus the calc-alkaline rocks of the Cascade
volcanics (open circles). From Irving and Baragar
(1971). After Irvine and Baragar (1971). Can. J. Earth
Sci., 8, 523-548.

ic

o l ei
h
it
T

Calc-alkaline

Ocean Intraplate Volcanism

Ocean islands and seamounts

Commonly associated with hot spots

Figure 14-1. After Crough (1983) Ann.

Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 11, 165-193.

Currently there are 3 Hawaiian volcanoes

that we can easily classify as active:

Kilauea, actively erupting since 1983

Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984 and
is building for a new eruption in the next
few years
Loihi, which erupted in 1996
All three of these active Hawaiian
volcanoes share the Hawaiian hot spot, but
retain unique volcanic histories and
compositions.

Mauna Loa, or "Long Mountain" in Hawaiian, is located

on the island of Hawaii. It is pictured above rising 13,680
ft. (4,170 m) above sea level (this photo was taken from
over Loihi seamount, some 30 km or so to the south).
Since 1832, Mauna Loa has erupted 39 times; its last
eruption was in 1984.

Hawaiian Scenario
Cyclic, pattern to the eruptive history
1. Pre-shield-building stage somewhat
alkaline and variable (alkali olivine
basalt)
2. Shield-building stage begins with
tremendous outpourings of tholeiitic
basalts

Hawaiian Scenario
3. Postshield Stage Waning activity more
alkaline, episodic, and violent (Mauna Kea,
Hualalai, and Kohala). Lavas are also more
diverse, with a larger proportion of
differentiated liquids
4. Rejuvenated Stage A long period of
dormancy, followed by a late, posterosional stage. Characterized by highly
alkaline and silica-undersaturated
magmas, including alkali basalts,
nephelinites, melilite basalts, and
basanites

Mantle origin
Generation depth >40km (Seismic data)
Phase equilibria > 80km
Mantle xenolith

These pictures show an example

of an olivine-clinopyroxene
bearing mantle xenolith from the
1800-1801 lava flow of
Hualalai.

Mantle plume

Age progression of volcanism

Trends of volcanic chain
Plume hypothesis
Geochemistry (He-isotope, eNd,)

Hotspots
But plate tectonics can not easily explain volcanism in
the interiors of plates
Because of the presumed excess heat responsible for
volcanism, such features are called hotspots
Iceland
Yellowstone

Azores

Hawaii
Afar

Galapagos

Reunion

Easter

Tristan

Hotspots
Where these hotspots occur in the ocean basins they
generally occur at the tips of aseismic ridges or island
and seamount chains
Tracks on the same plate are generally parallel

Intraplate Volcanism
Columbia River Basalt (Flood Basalt)
No petrographic, chemical variation
Qtz-tholeiite, olivine tholeiite, tholeiitic
andesite

LIPs(Large Igneous Proveince)

2,000,000 km3 of lava

Global distribution of flood basalt provinces.

There are no "volcanoes" as such found
in these provinces !!

Map showing the present extent of

the Columbia River flood basalts
(gray area on the map).

A sequence of about 20 Columbia River basalt lava flows in the canyon of the
Grande Ronde River, Washington state. Each flow is 15 to 20 meters thick.

Magmatic history
Matle melting, ascent of magma
Pl, ol, px fractionation
Magma mixing, assimilation of crust
Enriched mantle-plume component (Ba, Th, Nb)
Fractionation(Eu-anomaly)
Nd, Sr

Figure 15-4. Present setting of the Columbia River Basalt Group in the Northwestern United States. Winter (2001). An
Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. Prentice Hall. Also shown is the Snake River Plain (SRP) basalt-rhyolite
province and proposed trace of the Snake River-Yellowstone hot spot by Geist and Richards (1993) Geology, 21, 789-792.

Model for the CRFB Province

Melting within a plume head (initial stages of the Yellowstone hot spot).
The plume head contains stringers of recycled oceanic crust that melts before the peridotite,
yielding silica-rich basaltic magma equivalent to the main Grande Ronde basalts.
The large plume head stalls and spreads out at the base of the lithosphere and the basaltic
magma underplates the base of the crust, where it melts some crust to create rhyolite.
Basalt escapes along a northward trending rift system to feed the CRBG.

Diagrammatic cross section illustrating possible models for the development of continental flood basalts.
DM is the depleted mantle (MORB source reservoir), and the area below 660 km depth is the less depleted,
or enriched OIB source reservoir. Winter (2001) An Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology.

The Muskox Intrusion

Mechanisms of
differentiation

Layering in igneous rocks

Large Igneous Provinces

Large Igneous Provinces

Many hotspots can be traced back to massive volcanic
eruptions of flood basalts, creating LIPs
Columbia River Basalts16.5 Ma
Washington, USA

Deccan Traps 66 Ma India

Mantle Plumes
Morgan deduced that these thermal plumes must rise
from a thermal boundary layer and proposed that they
originate at the core-mantle boundary (~2900 km)
Plume

Plume

Mantle Plumes

These plumes can also explain the LIPs

Models show that plume heads should be created as a
plume initiates and rises