The Higganum dike of Connecticut is one of the earliest basaltic dikes of the Central Atlantic Magmatic province and is geochemically representative of the widespread low-Ti basaltic lavas (~1 wt % TiO2) that make up the majority of the province in North America. Liquid compositions calculated from Cr-rich clinopyroxene cores from the Higganum dike are significantly more primitive than the bulk rock with average Mg# s of 0.63 compared to the Higganum dike which has Mg #'s ~ 0.55. However, the negative Nb and positive Pb anomalies that are seen in trace element patterns of the low-Ti group are also found in the liquids calculated from the Cr-rich clinopyroxene cores. Ca-rich plagioclase cores that probably come up from depth with the Cr-rich clinopyroxenes were found to be more radiogenic than bulk Earth with 87Sr/86Sri ratios ranging from 0.7057 to 0.7064. We conclude that this enriched isotopic signature and the trace element signatures of primitive liquids calculated from clinopyroxene are inherited from the source. This source is identified as a subduction-enriched metasomatized lithospheric mantle. High-Ti magmas (~2-5 wt % TiO2) that are limited to a small geographic area of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province were found to be unrelated to the low-Ti magmas. These two groups probably originated from different degrees of partial melting of different sources and follow distinctive differentiation paths.

O magmatismo Penatecaua no Estado do Pará faz parte da Província Magmática do Atlântico Central (CAMP) cuja formação precedeu a ruptura do Pangea, o mais recente supercontinente. Nos arredores das cidades de Medicilândia, Placas, Rurópolis, Monte Alegre e Alenquer afloram uma grande quantidade de soleiras de diabásio e diques observados ao longo de estradas. Idades 40Ar/39Ar recentes atribuem a idade de ~ 201 Ma para o magmatismo CAMP nessa região. Estudo paleomagnético nessas intrusões foi realizado em trinta sítios de amostragem nas cinco áreas acima citadas. A magnetização remanente característica dos sítios estudados é de polaridade normal e foi identificada através de desmagnetizações por campos magnéticos alternados e térmicas e interpretada como termorremanente, adquirida na época do resfriamento da rocha. Os portadores magnéticos são magnetitas ou titano-magnetitas com baixo conteúdo de Titânio. O polo paleomagnético calculado com base em 20 sítios de amostragem e incorporando dados da literatura para o mesmo magmatismo, situa-se a 78 ºN 85.1 ºE (N = 25; 95 = 4.2; k = 47.78) e é coerente com polos de outras ocorrências ígneas da América do Sul já identificadas como pertencentes ao evento CAMP. Essa similaridade de resultados reforça as observações de que o CAMP na América do Sul foi um evento muito rápido e isso é notado claramente no registro magnético das rochas do Penatecaua. / The Penatecaua magmatism occurring in northern Brazil (Pará State) belongs to the so-called Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), which preceded the Pangaea breakup. Near the cities of Medicilândia, Placas. Rurópolis, Monte Alegre e Alenquer diabase sills and dikes outcrop along roads. Recent 40Ar/39Ar dating give an age of ~ 201 Ma for the CAMP magmatism in the area. The paleomagnetic study on 20 sampling sites of the Penatecaua magmatism, revealed stable characteristic magnetization components through alternating magnetic field and thermal demagnetizations. The main magnetic carriers are magnetite or low-Ti titanomagnetites. The paleomagnetic pole based on the studied sites and incorporating more data from the literature for the same magmatism is located at 78 ºN 85.1 ºE (N = 25; 95 = 4.2; k=47.78) and is coherent to other South American CAMP paleomagnetic poles for which good age control is available. This similarity of results reinforces the observations that the CAMP in South America was a very fast event and this is noticed in the magnetic record of the Penatecaua rocks.

Mid-Late Triassic-age alkali-basalt dikes were emplaced along the coast of New England between 240-200 Ma. Known as the Coastal New England (CNE) magmatic province, this dike swarm is the immediate magmatic predecessor to the formation of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province large igneous province at 201 Ma and the breakup of Pangea. The intent of this study is to determine the melt source and mechanisms for melting which produced the Triassic coastal dikes. To achieve this goal, major and trace element compositions were analyzed for 53 CNE dikes from Maine and Nova Scotia. Radiogenic Nd-Sr-Pb-Hf ratios, representing some of the first 176Hf/177Hf data for CNE, are reported for 12 of the dikes. Taken together, the compositional data implicate melting of a deep mantle source that is relatively enriched in incompatible elements, such as a mantle-plume similar to those hypothesized as the source of melting in modern ocean-island basalts (i.e. Hawaii). Dike compositions are inconsistent with melts generated at typical spreading-center ridges (i.e. MORB). Modeling suggests that CNE melts ascended through thick continental crust, consistent with the incipient stages of rifting of Pangea, as evidenced by a heterogeneous mix of melting and crystallization depths, between 0-70km, with no clear geographic pattern. Radiogenic isotope data are relatively consistent and represent a mixture between HIMU, EMI and DMM mantle reservoirs, implying component consisting of relict subducted oceanic crust (or other similarly evolved material). CNE magmatism may have contributed to the breakup of Pangea by destabilizing the lower crust in the limited local area where it erupted, but its true relationship with the breakup of Pangea and later CAMP event requires more study. / Master of Science / Approximately 200-250 million years ago, hundreds of sheets of lava, called dikes, erupted along what is today the coast of New England. As these volcanic dikes rose up from the Earth’s mantle, they traveled along cracks and weak areas of the Earth’s crust. Today, these dikes are found along the New England coast as far south as Rhode Island and as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada. Based on the similarity of their geochemistry and petrology, as well as their geologic age and geography of their eruption, geologists group these dikes and similar volcanics together as a single, related magmatic event. This magmatic event produced the Coastal New England (CNE) magmatic province. 250 million years ago, the coast of New England was actually an interior part of the supercontinent known as Pangea. Around 250 m.yr. ago, Pangea slowly began rifting apart, which is when CNE volcanism began. By 200 m.yr. ago, Pangea had broken up, and CNE volcanism had ended. Further complicating the story, a large-igneous province (LIP) also erupted 200 m.yr. ago. Known as the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), this volcanism consisted of enormous volumes of lava that flooded over the entire east coast of the United States. The intent of this study is to determine what geological conditions led to the CNE volcanism. By learning which part of the Earth melted and why, CNE volcanism’s role in the breakup of Pangea, and the much larger CAMP eruptions that coincided with it, will become clearer. For instance, did the geologic events that resulted in CNE volcanism contribute to the breakup of Pangea, or did the breakup of Pangea cause CNE volcanism followed by CAMP volcanism? To achieve this goal, the geochemical compositions of 53 CNE dikes from Maine and Nova Scotia were analyzed. Radiogenic Nd-Sr-Pb-Hf ratios for a subset of the dikes (12) were also analyzed. This study presents some of the first radiogenic hafnium data for rocks from CNE. The data indicate that the melting which produced the CNE dikes began in the deep mantle, similar to the melting of mantle plumes beneath modern ocean-islands such as Hawaii. In contrast, shallow mantle melting, like the melting at mid-ocean ridges where oceanic crust is produced, is not consistent with the geochemical evidence presented for CNE in this study. Modeling suggests that CNE magmas rose through thick continental crust, which caused them to begin forming crystals at relatively high depths. Radiogenic isotope data suggests that part of the mantle that melted was old, recycled oceanic crust or similar mantle material. CNE magmatism may have contributed to the breakup of Pangea by destabilizing the lower crust in the limited local area where it erupted, but its true relationship with the breakup of Pangea and later CAMP event requires more study.