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Tectonomagmatic evolution of the South Dehshir Ophiolite, Central Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2015

MORTEZA KHALATBARI JAFARI ,
HADI SEPEHR  and
KATAYOUN MOBASHER
MORTEZA KHALATBARI JAFARI*
Affiliation:
Research Institute for Earth Sciences, Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran
HADI SEPEHR
Affiliation:
Schools of Geology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
KATAYOUN MOBASHER
Affiliation:
University of North Georgia, Institute for Environmental Spatial Analysis, Georgia, US
*
†Author for correspondence: khalat1965@live.com
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Abstract

The South Dehshir Ophiolite, exposed along the southwestern margin of the Central Iranian microcontinent, comprises a mantle and a crustal sequence. This massif contains serpentinized peridotites, gabbros and diabase sheeted dykes cutting across wherlite, pegmatitic gabbro and plagiogranite, and is tectonically covered by radiolarites, pelagic limestones with Late Cretaceous microfauna and lavas. Under a microscope, the gabbros exhibit mesocumulate, adcumulate and hetradcumulate textures presumably formed in open magma chambers. Hypabyssal and lava samples show tholeiitic to calc-alkaline affinities, and their compositions cluster in the fields of arc or supra-subduction zone magmatism. Binary diagrams display compositional trends of magmatic differentiation, plotting away from the mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB) (tholeiitic) trend and following the arc (calc-alkaline) trend. Rare Earth element (REE) and spider diagrams display various enrichments at different levels. Moderate enrichment of the large-ion lithophile elements (LILE; Rb, Ba, Th, U, La, Sr) relative to the high-field-strength elements (HFSE; Nb, Ta) and slight depletion of Ti and Zr in some patterns may be attributed to variable influences of subduction components over the depleted mantle wedge. Elemental ratios display evidence for the contribution of both fluids and melt released from the subducted slab. Few patterns display ocean-island basalt (OIB) characteristics, possibly attributed to the involvement of local mantle plumes on the partial melting of the mantle wedge. This evidence indicates that the crustal rocks of the South Dehshir Ophiolite formed in a supra-subduction zone.

Keywords

Iranophiolitesupra-subductiongabbrodiabase
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 153 , Issue 4 , July 2016 , pp. 557 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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