published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

The Troodos ophiolite is a type example of ophiolite and has been studied for more than 50 years. Albeit numerous findings have been derived from previous investigations, some questions about the details of its formation processes are still outstanding. One of them concerns the origin of the pyroxenites in the mantle and the lower crustal section, and this is the main theme of this thesis. Integrated field, petrographical and geochemical work was conducted in this study. On the basis of distribution, the pyroxenites can be divided into two categories, crustal pyroxenites and mantle pyroxenite dykes. The results show that the layered or massive crustal pyroxenites can be distinguished by their magmatic features, and their formations have been controlled by a series of factors, including the melt composition, change of pressure, magma replenishment and magma mixing. The crystallization sequences of the crustal ultramafic unit samples are classified into two trends. Trend (i) olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase has been derived from tholeiitic-boninitic transitional melts, whereas trend (ii) olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, orthopyroxene from depleted boninitic melts. Regarding the mantle section, the pyroxenite dykes have been formed by focused flow of melt during migration towards the crust. Data show that they are products of several processes, including melt-rock reactions and fractional crystallization. On the basis of modal composition, the pyroxenite dykes are divided into clinopyroxenites and orthopyroxenites. Geochemical compositions suggest that the clinopyroxenites have been derived from island arc tholeiitic melts, whereas the orthopyroxenites from boninitic melts. The important overlap of the tholeiitic and the boninitic series throughout the sections of the ophiolite, as well as the presence of lithologies with compositions transitional between the two series, suggests that the two magmatic suites existed together. A tectonic model of subduction initiation, during which the subducting slab rolled-back rapidly, triggering asthenospheric mantle flow into the mantle wedge, inducing partial melting at a shallow level of the mantle to generate a series of island arc tholeiitic magmas and at deeper level, a series of depleted boninitic magmas. The two magmatic series have possibly been mixed during migration in the mantle, producing transitional units of the two series. / published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 6, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Mémoire (M.Sc.A)- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1978. / "Mémoire présenté en vue de l'obtention de la maîtrise ès Sciences appliquées en géologie". CaQCU Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Mémoire (M.Sc.A)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1980. / "Mémoire présenté en vue de l'obtention de la maîtrise ès Sciences appliquées en géologie". CaQCU Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Mémoire (M.Sc.A.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1986. / "Mémoire présenté à Chicoutimi en vue de l'obtention d'une maîtrise en science appliquée (géologie)" CaQCU Bibliogr.: p. 129-134. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Mémoire (M.Sc.T.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1989. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Field work and mapping with the aid of aerial photographs have shown the north Gap Dyke to be a vertical intrusion 93½ miles long . It extends from a point about 4½ miles south of Cathcart to the coast where it enters the sea about 100 yards north of the Ngadla R lver mouth. It is composed of several rock types including dolerite pegmatite, granophyric dolerite, subophitic dolerite, and it has a more or less central core of mobilized sediment at the western end. The essential minerals of the dolerite types include zoned plagioclase, which is described in some detail, and augite. Less important are hornblende and micropegmatite. Accessories include apatite, ilmenite, magnetite, quartz, actinolite, prehnite, calcite and epidote. Iddingsite (?), saussurite and chlorite occur as alteration products. The mode of origin of the Gap Dyke magma remains an open question: it may have arisen as a result of normal crystal fractionation or as the result of hybridization in depth followed by differentiation.

D.Phil. Geology) / This study presents detailed petrographic, mineral-chemical and geochemical characteristics ofmafic intrusions from three iron oremining areas - Thabazimbi, Sishen and Hotazel - in southern Africa In addition, as themafic intrusions at the Thabazimbi, Sishen and Hotazel mines occur in close spatial association with iron and manganese ore, this study addresses the aspect of whether these intrusions have a bearing on the localization of these ores. Precise geochronologic data of these previously undated mafic dykes and sills is presented to classify them into a regional context. particularly in considering whether these dykes and sills are part of known Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) in sonthem Africa. The Thabazimbi dykes are coarse grained dolerites while the sills are diabases. The dykes are younger than the sills. Composition wise, sills are dominantly basaltic andesites, while the dykes are dominantly hasaltic. Different to the sills, the dykes are characterized byrestriction of olivine, higher HFSE and LREE as well as less prominent negative Bu" anomaly. Geochemical and isotope chemical characteristics of the Thabazimhi dykes and sills are explained in terms of a combined partial melting, followed by fractional crystallization and crustal contamination with differentiation model. with the dykes showing greater crustal assimilation. The petrogenetic characteristics of the Sishen dolerite dykes in many ways resemble both the Colombia River Basalts and the typical Umkondo dolerites, and point to significant crustal contamination, typical of continental tholeiites. Geochemical characteristics of the Sishen dolerites is acconnted by the partial melting followed by fractional crystallization and crustal contamination, but unlike the Thabazimbi dykes and sills crustal assimilation is significant. At Hotazel, the petrographyand geochemistry of 'bostonites' bas been used to define their true composition while at the same time highlighting the presence of a -2 - 3 m thick iron ore unit associated with banded iron formation and manganese ore. Geochemically, the Hotazel 'bostonites' are "basaltic andesites' while textnra1ly, the Hotazel <bostonites' are essentially diabases. Regarding the iron ores that occurs in the Hotazel Formation at the base of the Pre-Mapedi nnconformity, they are composed of various forms of hematite with variable minor chlorite. quartz and carbonates. Iron ore genesis is attributed to supergene processes similar to those that have affected Sishentype iron ore below the Gamagara unconformity on the Maremane Dome. A U-Pb 2046.6±3.4 Ma age has been obtained for the crystallization of a Thabazimbi sill by dating titanite. This is interpreted to indicate that while the mafic/ultramafic component ofthe Bushveld Complex may have been emplaced over a short period, there was later magmatic activity at 2046 Ma, represented by the Thabazimbi sill and other late Bushveld Complex related intrusions such as the Uitkomst Complex at 2044 Ma. The 1044.3±7.5 Ma age obtained for the Sishen dolerites has resulted into two major interpretations. Firstly. the age is interpreted to be the minimum age for Umkondo LIP. The age shows that while large sections of the Umkondo LIP may have been emplaced within a short time interval, emplacement of end members ofthis LIP was in progress at least - 50 Ma later. Secondly. the age of these dolerites shows that they were emplaced subsequent to major iron ore genesis at Sishen. The new age. coupled with the limited extent ofthese intrusions shows that they played a no part in the origin ofthe bulk ofthe iron ore at the mine.

The emplacement of continental flood basalt provinces is often ascribed to fissure eruption. However, in many provinces the locations of actual vent complexes remains illusive. In southern Africa, the Karoo continental flood basalt province was erupted during the Jurassic between 183 and 179 Ma. The southernmost outcrop of the Karoo continental flood basalt lavas is the Lesotho remnant; and is comprised of the Drakensberg Group which forms the uppermost portion of the Karoo Supergroup. The geochemical stratigraphy for the Drakensberg Group is well established. At the base, there are a number of small volume compositionally diverse units, which form the Barkly East Formation, overlying which, there are larger volume, compositionally less variable units of the Lesotho Formation, which form the bulk of the volcanic sequence. The Lesotho remnant is associated with an abundance of dykes in the adjacent vicinity. This suggests that the lavas were fed from local rather than distal eruption sites. This study presents whole rock major and trace element data for 94 dykes and three sills from the northern Lesotho - northeastern Free State region and demonstrates that on the basis of geochemistry, all 97 intrusions can be correlated with various units of the northern Barkly East and Lesotho Formations. In addition, the petrographical; characteristics, orientation and distribution of the dykes do not correlate with geochemistry. Geochemical discrimination diagrams have been used to identify five compositionally diverse dykes, which are similar to the northern Barkly East Formation units. Three dykes are characteristic of the Letele unit and two are compositionally similar to the Wonderkop unit. Although the geochemical characteristics of the Lesotho Formation units are rather well constrained, the composition of these units is typified by considerable overlap in composition. Therefore, since unambiguous classification of dykes with geochemical similarities to the various units of the Lesotho Formation is unachievable using an empirical approach, the multivariate forward-stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA) technique was used to facilitate the classification of the remaining 89 dykes and three sills. Forward-stepwise DFA classified 23 dykes as having compositional similarities to the Mafika Lisiu unit, 29 as having compositions of the Maloti or Senqu types; and 32 as having the composition of the Mothae type. In addition, eight dykes are compositionally similar to the Oxbow dykes, which intrude the Senqu unit in northern Lesotho. These results suggest that that the Lesotho remnant was fed from local eruption sites and that long distance magma transport for the bulk of the Lesotho remnant basalt lavas is unlikely.