Cretaceous erosion in central South Africa: evidence from upper-crustal xenoliths in kimberlite diatremes
- Hanson, E Kelsey, Moore, John M, Bordy, Emese M, Marsh, Julian S, Howarth, Geoffrey H, Robey, Julian van Aardt
- Authors: Hanson, E Kelsey , Moore, John M , Bordy, Emese M , Marsh, Julian S , Howarth, Geoffrey H , Robey, Julian van Aardt
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144978 , vital:38397 , https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.112.2.125
- Description: Twelve Group II and fourteen Group I kimberlite diatremes in central South Africa were examined for upper crustal xenoliths in order to estimate the extent of various lithological units of the Karoo Supergroup in the main Karoo basin at times of kimberlite eruption, the Cretaceous erosional history of the area, and the approximate vertical extent of the kimberlite diatremes prior to erosion. Sandstone and amygdaloidal basaltic lava xenoliths from the Karoo Supergroup were specifically selected as their modal mineralogies and geochemical compositions respectively can be attributed to specific stratigraphic positions within the Karoo Supergroup. Results indicated that, at the time of Group II kimberlite eruption (120 Ma), basaltic lavas of the Drakensberg Group covered the entire area, but by the time of Group I kimberlite eruption (85 Ma), they were restricted to the south-eastern half of the study area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Hanson, E Kelsey , Moore, John M , Bordy, Emese M , Marsh, Julian S , Howarth, Geoffrey H , Robey, Julian van Aardt
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144978 , vital:38397 , https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.112.2.125
- Description: Twelve Group II and fourteen Group I kimberlite diatremes in central South Africa were examined for upper crustal xenoliths in order to estimate the extent of various lithological units of the Karoo Supergroup in the main Karoo basin at times of kimberlite eruption, the Cretaceous erosional history of the area, and the approximate vertical extent of the kimberlite diatremes prior to erosion. Sandstone and amygdaloidal basaltic lava xenoliths from the Karoo Supergroup were specifically selected as their modal mineralogies and geochemical compositions respectively can be attributed to specific stratigraphic positions within the Karoo Supergroup. Results indicated that, at the time of Group II kimberlite eruption (120 Ma), basaltic lavas of the Drakensberg Group covered the entire area, but by the time of Group I kimberlite eruption (85 Ma), they were restricted to the south-eastern half of the study area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Al/Cr ratios of coexisting pyroxenes and spinellids in some ultramafic rocks
- Eales, Hugh V, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1983
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133534 , vital:36987 , https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2541(83)90045-1
- Description: Al/Cr atomic ratios of coexisting spinellids and ortho- and clinopyroxenes show a pattern of sympathetic variation that persists through ultramafic rocks of layered mafic complexes of upper-crustal type, Alpine complexes, and the nodules found in kimberlites and alkaline basalts. Simple expressions are empirically derived to link (Al/Cr) orthopyroxene and (Al/Cr)spinel ratios in putatively equilibrated rocks. Equivalence of spinel compositions in shallow layered complexes and kimberlite nodules of deep-seated origin negates direct crystallochemical control of Al/Cr ratios of spinels by pressure.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1983
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133534 , vital:36987 , https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2541(83)90045-1
- Description: Al/Cr atomic ratios of coexisting spinellids and ortho- and clinopyroxenes show a pattern of sympathetic variation that persists through ultramafic rocks of layered mafic complexes of upper-crustal type, Alpine complexes, and the nodules found in kimberlites and alkaline basalts. Simple expressions are empirically derived to link (Al/Cr) orthopyroxene and (Al/Cr)spinel ratios in putatively equilibrated rocks. Equivalence of spinel compositions in shallow layered complexes and kimberlite nodules of deep-seated origin negates direct crystallochemical control of Al/Cr ratios of spinels by pressure.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1983
Some geochemical constraints upon models for the crystallization of the upper critical zone-main zone interval, northwestern Bushveld complex
- Eales, Hugh V, Marsh, Julian S, Mitchell, Andrew A, de Klerk, William J, Kruger, Floris J, Field, Matthew
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S , Mitchell, Andrew A , de Klerk, William J , Kruger, Floris J , Field, Matthew
- Date: 1986
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/136044 , vital:37331 , https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.1986.050.358.03
- Description: Ratios between elements Mg, Fe, Co, Cr, Ni, V, and Sc are consistently different in mafic rocks of the upper critical zone, and those above the Bastard unit. Within the 300 m section above the Merensky Reef, 87Sr/86Sr ratios increase from c.0.7063 to c.0.7087, irrespective of rock type. Decoupling of Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) ratios and the Ca contents of plagioclase, and wide variations in the proportions of anorthosite within the Bastard, Merensky, and Merensky Footwall units, are inconsistent with anorthosite formation by simple fractional crystallization of magma batches of limited volume.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S , Mitchell, Andrew A , de Klerk, William J , Kruger, Floris J , Field, Matthew
- Date: 1986
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/136044 , vital:37331 , https://doi.org/10.1180/minmag.1986.050.358.03
- Description: Ratios between elements Mg, Fe, Co, Cr, Ni, V, and Sc are consistently different in mafic rocks of the upper critical zone, and those above the Bastard unit. Within the 300 m section above the Merensky Reef, 87Sr/86Sr ratios increase from c.0.7063 to c.0.7087, irrespective of rock type. Decoupling of Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) ratios and the Ca contents of plagioclase, and wide variations in the proportions of anorthosite within the Bastard, Merensky, and Merensky Footwall units, are inconsistent with anorthosite formation by simple fractional crystallization of magma batches of limited volume.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
Base-metal mineralization in alkaline pyroclastics: the Regenstein Vent, South West Africa
- Ferreira, C A M, Jacob, Roger E, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Ferreira, C A M , Jacob, Roger E , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1979
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133220 , vital:36950 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA10120750_1123
- Description: Geochemical analysis of soil samples taken from the area underlain by the Regenstein alkaline diatreme indicated potential areas for Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization, and these were subsequently proved by drilling. The pipelike body, emplaced into quartzites of the Damara Supergroup, consists of lithic and volcanic breccias. The breccias have been intruded, first by phonolite dykes, and then by numerous bodies of alkaline mafic and ultramafic rocks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1979
- Authors: Ferreira, C A M , Jacob, Roger E , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1979
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133220 , vital:36950 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA10120750_1123
- Description: Geochemical analysis of soil samples taken from the area underlain by the Regenstein alkaline diatreme indicated potential areas for Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization, and these were subsequently proved by drilling. The pipelike body, emplaced into quartzites of the Damara Supergroup, consists of lithic and volcanic breccias. The breccias have been intruded, first by phonolite dykes, and then by numerous bodies of alkaline mafic and ultramafic rocks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1979
The chemistry and petrogenesis of igneous rocks of the Karoo central area, southern Africa
- Eales, Hugh V, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133934 , vital:37042 , https://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetailamp;idt=6519911
- Description: Outcrops of the Jurassic Karoo basalts and dolerites in central South Africa are remnants of an intracratonic continental igneous suite whose volume probably once exceeded 1.5 x 106 km³. Basic rocks with 6-8% MgO, 50-55% Si02 and Mg-number = 53-67 are overwhelmingly dominant in the Central area suite. Application of discriminant analysis to a data set of major and trace element analyses of the basic rocks confirms field and petrographic evidence that a number of compositionally distinct basalt magma types exist in the Central area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133934 , vital:37042 , https://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetailamp;idt=6519911
- Description: Outcrops of the Jurassic Karoo basalts and dolerites in central South Africa are remnants of an intracratonic continental igneous suite whose volume probably once exceeded 1.5 x 106 km³. Basic rocks with 6-8% MgO, 50-55% Si02 and Mg-number = 53-67 are overwhelmingly dominant in the Central area suite. Application of discriminant analysis to a data set of major and trace element analyses of the basic rocks confirms field and petrographic evidence that a number of compositionally distinct basalt magma types exist in the Central area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
High-Mg tholeiitic rocks and their significance in the Karroo Central Province
- Eales, Hugh V, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1979
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:36916 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA00382353_5039
- Description: Averages for the composition of dolerites from the Southern and Eastern Cape, and the correlative basaltic lavas of the Stormberg, are presented for major elements and 8 of the more significant trace elements. The remarkable correspondence between these averages is indicative of the uniformity in composition of the magma emplaced over a very large area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1979
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 1979
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:36916 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA00382353_5039
- Description: Averages for the composition of dolerites from the Southern and Eastern Cape, and the correlative basaltic lavas of the Stormberg, are presented for major elements and 8 of the more significant trace elements. The remarkable correspondence between these averages is indicative of the uniformity in composition of the magma emplaced over a very large area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1979
The Karoo igneous province: an introduction
- Eales, Hugh V, Marsh, Julian S, Cox, K G
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S , Cox, K G
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133945 , vital:37043 , http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetailamp;idt=6519910
- Description: The Karoo rocks are amongst the earliest manifestations of igneous activity accompanying the break-up of Gondwanaland during the early Mesozoic. Remnants of the once extensive lava sequence and the associated dolerite sills are found throughout southern Africa south of latitude 150S, the present outcrop being ca. 140,000 km². The main peak of volcanic activity is dated at about 190 m.y. and is probably coincident with the earliest stages of the opening of the Indian Ocean by the separation of Antarctica from southern Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V , Marsh, Julian S , Cox, K G
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/133945 , vital:37043 , http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetailamp;idt=6519910
- Description: The Karoo rocks are amongst the earliest manifestations of igneous activity accompanying the break-up of Gondwanaland during the early Mesozoic. Remnants of the once extensive lava sequence and the associated dolerite sills are found throughout southern Africa south of latitude 150S, the present outcrop being ca. 140,000 km². The main peak of volcanic activity is dated at about 190 m.y. and is probably coincident with the earliest stages of the opening of the Indian Ocean by the separation of Antarctica from southern Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
Volcanic rocks of the Witwatersrand triad, South Africa I: description, classification and geochemical stratigraphy
- Bowen, Teral B, Marsh, Julian S, Bowen, Michael P, Eales, Hugh V
- Authors: Bowen, Teral B , Marsh, Julian S , Bowen, Michael P , Eales, Hugh V
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138682 , vital:37663 , https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-9268(86)90038-0
- Description: The Witwatersrand triad contains thick volcanic sequences confined largely to the Dominion Group at the base and the Ventersdorp Supergroup at the top. These volcanic sequences are of late-Archaean to early-Proterozoic age and are amongst the oldest supracrustal volcanic sequences erupted onto the Archaean Kaapvaal craton. The volcanic rocks have suffered low-grade greenschist facies metamorphism but primary textures and, in some samples, primary mineralogies are well preserved.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Bowen, Teral B , Marsh, Julian S , Bowen, Michael P , Eales, Hugh V
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/138682 , vital:37663 , https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-9268(86)90038-0
- Description: The Witwatersrand triad contains thick volcanic sequences confined largely to the Dominion Group at the base and the Ventersdorp Supergroup at the top. These volcanic sequences are of late-Archaean to early-Proterozoic age and are amongst the oldest supracrustal volcanic sequences erupted onto the Archaean Kaapvaal craton. The volcanic rocks have suffered low-grade greenschist facies metamorphism but primary textures and, in some samples, primary mineralogies are well preserved.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2003
The Bero Volcanic Complex: extension of the Paraná-Etendeka Igneous Province into SW Angola
- Marsh, Julian S, Swart, Roger S
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S , Swart, Roger S
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60763 , vital:27827 , https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027316304176
- Description: An extension of the Etendeka-Paraná Igneous Province into SW Angola occurs as minor basalt lavas, intrusive gabbro sheets, minor mafic dykes and thick sheets and lava flows (with minor pyroclastics) of quartz latite composition This suite crops out along the eastern margin of the Cretaceous Namibe Basin in SW Angola. The quartz latites from one locality have been referred to informally as the Giraul volcanics but the name ‘Giraul’ has previously been used for Cretaceous conglomerates. We propose the name Bero Volcanic Complex for this suite of intrusive and extrusive rocks on the basis that the full compositional range of this diverse suite crops out along the Rio Bero. Major and trace element compositions and Sr-, Nd-, and Pb-isotopic compositions indicate that the basalts and gabbros are equivalent to the high-Ti Khumib/Urubici and Pitanga types from the Etendeka and Paraná. The basalts underlie the quartz latites which are cut by mafic dykes some of which are compositionally equivalent to the Paranapanema lavas in the Paraná. Five different geochemical types of high-Ti quartz latite are recognised amongst the silicic volcanics, 3 of which have very close geochemical affinities to the Ventura, Sarusas, and Khoraseb types of the northern Etendeka. Their relative stratigraphic position in the Bero volcanic sequence is the same as in the Etendeka sequence and extend significantly the area over which these types were erupted. The two remaining types, Chinguau and High-Nb are not known from either the Etendeka or the Paraná provinces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S , Swart, Roger S
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60763 , vital:27827 , https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027316304176
- Description: An extension of the Etendeka-Paraná Igneous Province into SW Angola occurs as minor basalt lavas, intrusive gabbro sheets, minor mafic dykes and thick sheets and lava flows (with minor pyroclastics) of quartz latite composition This suite crops out along the eastern margin of the Cretaceous Namibe Basin in SW Angola. The quartz latites from one locality have been referred to informally as the Giraul volcanics but the name ‘Giraul’ has previously been used for Cretaceous conglomerates. We propose the name Bero Volcanic Complex for this suite of intrusive and extrusive rocks on the basis that the full compositional range of this diverse suite crops out along the Rio Bero. Major and trace element compositions and Sr-, Nd-, and Pb-isotopic compositions indicate that the basalts and gabbros are equivalent to the high-Ti Khumib/Urubici and Pitanga types from the Etendeka and Paraná. The basalts underlie the quartz latites which are cut by mafic dykes some of which are compositionally equivalent to the Paranapanema lavas in the Paraná. Five different geochemical types of high-Ti quartz latite are recognised amongst the silicic volcanics, 3 of which have very close geochemical affinities to the Ventura, Sarusas, and Khoraseb types of the northern Etendeka. Their relative stratigraphic position in the Bero volcanic sequence is the same as in the Etendeka sequence and extend significantly the area over which these types were erupted. The two remaining types, Chinguau and High-Nb are not known from either the Etendeka or the Paraná provinces.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The Etendeka Igneous Province: magma types and their stratigraphic distribution with implications for the evolution of the Paraná-Etendeka flood basalt province
- Marsh, Julian S, Ewart, A, Milner, Simon C, Duncan, Andrew R, Miller, R McG
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S , Ewart, A , Milner, Simon C , Duncan, Andrew R , Miller, R McG
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149762 , vital:38882 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s004450000115
- Description: Detailed geochemical and field data for the volcanic sequence and intrusions of the Etendeka Igneous Province are used to construct a stratigraphic framework for petrogenetic interpretation of the evolution of the Etendeka-Paraná continental flood volcanic event. Geochemical and petrographic characterization of over 1,000 analyzed samples allows 8 mafic and 17 silicic magma types to be recognized.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S , Ewart, A , Milner, Simon C , Duncan, Andrew R , Miller, R McG
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149762 , vital:38882 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s004450000115
- Description: Detailed geochemical and field data for the volcanic sequence and intrusions of the Etendeka Igneous Province are used to construct a stratigraphic framework for petrogenetic interpretation of the evolution of the Etendeka-Paraná continental flood volcanic event. Geochemical and petrographic characterization of over 1,000 analyzed samples allows 8 mafic and 17 silicic magma types to be recognized.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
The oxygen isotope composition of Karoo and Etendeka picrites: High δ18O mantle or crustal contamination?
- Harris, Chris, Le Roux, Petrus, Cochrane, Ryan, Martin, Laure, Duncan, Andrew R, Marsh, Julian S, Le Roex, A P
- Authors: Harris, Chris , Le Roux, Petrus , Cochrane, Ryan , Martin, Laure , Duncan, Andrew R , Marsh, Julian S , Le Roex, A P
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60774 , vital:27829 , https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00410-015-1164-1
- Description: Olivine and orthopyroxene phenocrysts from picrite and picrate basalt lavas and dykes (Mg# 64-80) from the Tuli and Mwanezi (Nuanetsi) regions of the ~180 Ma Karoo Large Igneous province (LIP) have δ18O values that range from 6.0 to 6.7 ‰ (Fig. 1), suggesting that they crystallized from magmas having δ18O values about 1 to 1.5 ‰ higher than expected in an entirely mantle-derived magma. Olivines from picrite and picrite basalt dykes from the 135 Ma Etendeka LIP of Namibia and Karoo-age picrite dykes from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica do not have such elevated δ18O values. The Etendeka picrites show good correlations between δ18O value and Sr-, Nd- and Pb-isotope ratios that are consistent with previously proposed models of crustal contamination (e.g. Thompson et al., 2007). Explanations for the high δ18O values in Tuli/Mwenezi picrites are limited to (i) alteration, (ii) crustal contamination, and (iii) derivation from mantle with an abnormally high δ18O. The lack of variation in olivine and orthopyroxene δ18O values, together with the lack of correlation between mineral and whole-rock δ18O values are not consistent with alteration being the cause of high δ18O values. The high δ18O values in selected olivine cores have been confirmed by SIMS, and aggressive cleaning of crystals with HF makes no difference to the δ18O value obtained. Average εNd and εSr values of -8 and +16, and high concentrations of incompatible elements such as K are typical of picrites from the Mwanezi (Nuanetsi) region, which have been explained by a variety of models that range from crustal contamination to derivation from the ‘enriched’ mantle lithosphere. The primitive character of the magmas combined with the lack of correlation between δ18O values and radiogenic isotope composition and MgO content or Mg# are inconsistent with crustal contamination, and lend weight to arguments in favour of an 18O-enriched mantle source having high incompatible trace element concentration and enriched radiogenic isotope composition. Although elevated initial Sr isotope ratios, εNd values of -8, and δ18O values about 1 ‰ higher than expected for mantle-derived magma are also a feature of the Bushveld mafic and ultramafic magmas, it is unlikely that a long-lived 18O-enriched mantle source would have survived for nearly 2 Ga. Incorporation of crustal material into the mantle by subduction or delamination of the lower crust are the most likely mechanisms for enriching the mantle in 18O.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Harris, Chris , Le Roux, Petrus , Cochrane, Ryan , Martin, Laure , Duncan, Andrew R , Marsh, Julian S , Le Roex, A P
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: article , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60774 , vital:27829 , https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00410-015-1164-1
- Description: Olivine and orthopyroxene phenocrysts from picrite and picrate basalt lavas and dykes (Mg# 64-80) from the Tuli and Mwanezi (Nuanetsi) regions of the ~180 Ma Karoo Large Igneous province (LIP) have δ18O values that range from 6.0 to 6.7 ‰ (Fig. 1), suggesting that they crystallized from magmas having δ18O values about 1 to 1.5 ‰ higher than expected in an entirely mantle-derived magma. Olivines from picrite and picrite basalt dykes from the 135 Ma Etendeka LIP of Namibia and Karoo-age picrite dykes from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica do not have such elevated δ18O values. The Etendeka picrites show good correlations between δ18O value and Sr-, Nd- and Pb-isotope ratios that are consistent with previously proposed models of crustal contamination (e.g. Thompson et al., 2007). Explanations for the high δ18O values in Tuli/Mwenezi picrites are limited to (i) alteration, (ii) crustal contamination, and (iii) derivation from mantle with an abnormally high δ18O. The lack of variation in olivine and orthopyroxene δ18O values, together with the lack of correlation between mineral and whole-rock δ18O values are not consistent with alteration being the cause of high δ18O values. The high δ18O values in selected olivine cores have been confirmed by SIMS, and aggressive cleaning of crystals with HF makes no difference to the δ18O value obtained. Average εNd and εSr values of -8 and +16, and high concentrations of incompatible elements such as K are typical of picrites from the Mwanezi (Nuanetsi) region, which have been explained by a variety of models that range from crustal contamination to derivation from the ‘enriched’ mantle lithosphere. The primitive character of the magmas combined with the lack of correlation between δ18O values and radiogenic isotope composition and MgO content or Mg# are inconsistent with crustal contamination, and lend weight to arguments in favour of an 18O-enriched mantle source having high incompatible trace element concentration and enriched radiogenic isotope composition. Although elevated initial Sr isotope ratios, εNd values of -8, and δ18O values about 1 ‰ higher than expected for mantle-derived magma are also a feature of the Bushveld mafic and ultramafic magmas, it is unlikely that a long-lived 18O-enriched mantle source would have survived for nearly 2 Ga. Incorporation of crustal material into the mantle by subduction or delamination of the lower crust are the most likely mechanisms for enriching the mantle in 18O.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Eruptive history of the Karoo lava flows and their impact on early Jurassic environmental change:
- Moulin, Maud, Fluteau, Frédéric, Courtillot, Vincent, Marsh, Julian S, Delpech, Guillaume, Quidelleur, Xavier, Gérard, Martine
- Authors: Moulin, Maud , Fluteau, Frédéric , Courtillot, Vincent , Marsh, Julian S , Delpech, Guillaume , Quidelleur, Xavier , Gérard, Martine
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145098 , vital:38408 , https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013354
- Description: This paper reports new paleomagnetic and geochronologic data from a ~1500 m thick composite section belonging to the Drakensberg group, the thickest remnant of the Karoo lavas in Northern Lesotho. Flow‐by‐flow analysis of paleomagnetic directions reveals 21 magnetic directional groups, corresponding to single eruptive events, and 16 individual lava flows. The new age determinations of lava flows range from 180.1 ± 1.4 to 182.8 ± 2.6 Ma. These data, combined with previous results, allow us to propose that the main part of the Drakensberg group and the Karoo intrusive complex dated around 181–183 Ma may have been erupted over a period as short as 250 kyr and may have coincided with the two main phases of extinction in the Early Toarcian. This scenario agrees well with the discontinuous rhythm of environmental and biotic perturbations in the Late Pliensbachian‐Toarcian interval.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Moulin, Maud , Fluteau, Frédéric , Courtillot, Vincent , Marsh, Julian S , Delpech, Guillaume , Quidelleur, Xavier , Gérard, Martine
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145098 , vital:38408 , https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013354
- Description: This paper reports new paleomagnetic and geochronologic data from a ~1500 m thick composite section belonging to the Drakensberg group, the thickest remnant of the Karoo lavas in Northern Lesotho. Flow‐by‐flow analysis of paleomagnetic directions reveals 21 magnetic directional groups, corresponding to single eruptive events, and 16 individual lava flows. The new age determinations of lava flows range from 180.1 ± 1.4 to 182.8 ± 2.6 Ma. These data, combined with previous results, allow us to propose that the main part of the Drakensberg group and the Karoo intrusive complex dated around 181–183 Ma may have been erupted over a period as short as 250 kyr and may have coincided with the two main phases of extinction in the Early Toarcian. This scenario agrees well with the discontinuous rhythm of environmental and biotic perturbations in the Late Pliensbachian‐Toarcian interval.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Karoo volcanic and intrusive rocks: Lesotho and Eastern Cape
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144890 , vital:38388
- Description: The Karoo Igneous Province is one of the classic Mesozoic continental flood basalt provinces. At present erosion levels it comprises numerous eroded remnants of an extensive, thick volcanic sequence (largely lava flows) and a well-exposed subvolcanic intrusive complex of dykes and sheets which are particularly abundant in the underlying Karoo sedimentary strata.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144890 , vital:38388
- Description: The Karoo Igneous Province is one of the classic Mesozoic continental flood basalt provinces. At present erosion levels it comprises numerous eroded remnants of an extensive, thick volcanic sequence (largely lava flows) and a well-exposed subvolcanic intrusive complex of dykes and sheets which are particularly abundant in the underlying Karoo sedimentary strata.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Karoo basalts, South Africa: Petrogenesis and the nature of their mantle rocks
- Marsh, Julian S, Eales, Hugh V
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S , Eales, Hugh V
- Date: 1982
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70141 , vital:29625
- Description: Outcrops of the Jurassic Karoo basalts and dolerites in central South Africa are remnants of a intracratonic continental igneous suite whose volume probably once exceeded 10 6km3.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S , Eales, Hugh V
- Date: 1982
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70141 , vital:29625
- Description: Outcrops of the Jurassic Karoo basalts and dolerites in central South Africa are remnants of a intracratonic continental igneous suite whose volume probably once exceeded 10 6km3.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1982
The geochemistry and evolution of Palaeogene phonolites, central Namibia:
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145000 , vital:38399 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2010.02.012
- Description: Phonolites of Palaeogene age occur at two different localities in central Namibia, occurring as clusters of eroded monogenetic lava domes. Six phonolites at Aris collectively exhibit a narrow compositional range and represent a single magma system of highly evolved phonolite with high concentrations of Na2O, Rb, Th, Zr, Zn, Pb, and REE and very low abundances of MgO, P2O5, Sr and Ba. No mafic rocks are associated with the Aris phonolites and their ultimate petrogenetic origin remains obscure. The more abundant Staalhart phonolites exhibit more variable but scattered compositional variation consistent with fractional crystallization dominated by sanidine (and nepheline) and pyroxene. The behaviour of REE is decoupled from Zr, Nb, and Th in this suite indicating a controlling role for minor phases in their evolution. The least evolved phonolites have initial 87Sr/86Sr 0.7043, which is identical to a small occurrence of associated plagioclase-bearing nephelinite indicating a possible petrogenetic link.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145000 , vital:38399 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2010.02.012
- Description: Phonolites of Palaeogene age occur at two different localities in central Namibia, occurring as clusters of eroded monogenetic lava domes. Six phonolites at Aris collectively exhibit a narrow compositional range and represent a single magma system of highly evolved phonolite with high concentrations of Na2O, Rb, Th, Zr, Zn, Pb, and REE and very low abundances of MgO, P2O5, Sr and Ba. No mafic rocks are associated with the Aris phonolites and their ultimate petrogenetic origin remains obscure. The more abundant Staalhart phonolites exhibit more variable but scattered compositional variation consistent with fractional crystallization dominated by sanidine (and nepheline) and pyroxene. The behaviour of REE is decoupled from Zr, Nb, and Th in this suite indicating a controlling role for minor phases in their evolution. The least evolved phonolites have initial 87Sr/86Sr 0.7043, which is identical to a small occurrence of associated plagioclase-bearing nephelinite indicating a possible petrogenetic link.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Compositionally diverse magmas erupted close together in space and time within a Karoo flood basalt crater complex:
- McClintock, Murray, Marsh, Julian S, White, James D L
- Authors: McClintock, Murray , Marsh, Julian S , White, James D L
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144966 , vital:38396 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-007-0178-6
- Description: Geochemical data and mapping from a Karoo flood basalt crater complex reveals new information about the ascent and eruption of magma batches during the earliest phases of flood basalt volcanism. Flood basalt eruptions at Sterkspruit, South Africa began with emplacement of thin lava flows before abruptly switching to explosive phreatomagmatic and magmatic activity that formed a nest of craters, spatter and tuff rings and cones that collectively comprise a crater complex >40 km2 filled by 9–18 km3 of volcaniclastic debris.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: McClintock, Murray , Marsh, Julian S , White, James D L
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144966 , vital:38396 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-007-0178-6
- Description: Geochemical data and mapping from a Karoo flood basalt crater complex reveals new information about the ascent and eruption of magma batches during the earliest phases of flood basalt volcanism. Flood basalt eruptions at Sterkspruit, South Africa began with emplacement of thin lava flows before abruptly switching to explosive phreatomagmatic and magmatic activity that formed a nest of craters, spatter and tuff rings and cones that collectively comprise a crater complex >40 km2 filled by 9–18 km3 of volcaniclastic debris.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Distinct kimberlite pipe classes with contrasting eruption processes
- Skinner, E M W, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Skinner, E M W , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150603 , vital:38988 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2004.03.044
- Description: Field and Scott Smith [Field, M., Scott Smith, B.H., 1999. Contrasting geology and near-surface emplacement of kimberlite pipes in southern Africa and Canada. Proc. 7th Int. Kimb. Conf. (Eds. Gurney et al.) 1, 214–237.] propose that kimberlite pipes can be grouped into three types or classes. Classical or Class 1 pipes are the only class with characteristic low temperature, diatreme-facies kimberlite in addition to hypabyssal- and crater-facies kimberlite. Class 2 and 3 pipes are characterized only by hypabyssal-and crater-facies kimberlite.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Skinner, E M W , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150603 , vital:38988 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2004.03.044
- Description: Field and Scott Smith [Field, M., Scott Smith, B.H., 1999. Contrasting geology and near-surface emplacement of kimberlite pipes in southern Africa and Canada. Proc. 7th Int. Kimb. Conf. (Eds. Gurney et al.) 1, 214–237.] propose that kimberlite pipes can be grouped into three types or classes. Classical or Class 1 pipes are the only class with characteristic low temperature, diatreme-facies kimberlite in addition to hypabyssal- and crater-facies kimberlite. Class 2 and 3 pipes are characterized only by hypabyssal-and crater-facies kimberlite.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2004
An attempt to constrain the age, duration, and eruptive history of the Karoo flood basalt: Naude's Nek section (South Africa)
- Moulin, Maud, Fluteau, Frédéric, Courtillot, Vincent, Marsh, Julian S, Delpech, Guillaume, Quidelleur, Xavier, Gérard, Martine, Jay, Anne E
- Authors: Moulin, Maud , Fluteau, Frédéric , Courtillot, Vincent , Marsh, Julian S , Delpech, Guillaume , Quidelleur, Xavier , Gérard, Martine , Jay, Anne E
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145022 , vital:38401 , https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008210
- Description: We have carried out paleomagnetic sampling of a ∼750 m sequence of the Karoo large igneous province (Naude's Nek Pass, South Africa). K‐Ar dating (Cassignol‐Gillot) has been performed on four samples from the 650 m upper unit (mean age 179.2 ± 1.8 Ma) and a sample from the lower unit (184.8 ± 2.6 Ma). A succession of two phases of volcanism is suggested. The lower 25 flows (115 m thick) have recorded a reversed polarity; the next 23 flows (135 m thick) are transitional and contribute a detailed record of the “Van Zijl” (1962) Jurassic reversal.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Moulin, Maud , Fluteau, Frédéric , Courtillot, Vincent , Marsh, Julian S , Delpech, Guillaume , Quidelleur, Xavier , Gérard, Martine , Jay, Anne E
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/145022 , vital:38401 , https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB008210
- Description: We have carried out paleomagnetic sampling of a ∼750 m sequence of the Karoo large igneous province (Naude's Nek Pass, South Africa). K‐Ar dating (Cassignol‐Gillot) has been performed on four samples from the 650 m upper unit (mean age 179.2 ± 1.8 Ma) and a sample from the lower unit (184.8 ± 2.6 Ma). A succession of two phases of volcanism is suggested. The lower 25 flows (115 m thick) have recorded a reversed polarity; the next 23 flows (135 m thick) are transitional and contribute a detailed record of the “Van Zijl” (1962) Jurassic reversal.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Rock magnetic stratigraphy of a mafic layered sill: a key to the Karoo volcanics plumbing system
- Maes, S M, Ferré, E E, Tikoff, B, Brown, P E, Marsh, Julian S
- Authors: Maes, S M , Ferré, E E , Tikoff, B , Brown, P E , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144901 , vital:38389 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.07.038
- Description: The Insizwa sill is an 1 km-thick subhorizontal layered mafic intrusion and part of the Karoo Large Igneous Province in South Africa. This well-exposed intrusion consists of several superimposed petrologically and geochemically distinct units. Magnetic methods were used to study the intrusion in order to constrain the physical processes active in these types of bodies during crystallization. Rock magnetism studies indicate that within different petrologic units bulk susceptibility is controlled by primary magnetite (with minor pyrrhotite) and/or paramagnetic minerals (olivine, pyroxene). New magnetic data based on 659 specimens obtained from 3 vertical borehole cores, each spaced 5 km apart, confirm the prominent vertical zonation in low field magnetic susceptibility (Klf), degree of anisotropy (Pj) and orientation of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) axes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Maes, S M , Ferré, E E , Tikoff, B , Brown, P E , Marsh, Julian S
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144901 , vital:38389 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.07.038
- Description: The Insizwa sill is an 1 km-thick subhorizontal layered mafic intrusion and part of the Karoo Large Igneous Province in South Africa. This well-exposed intrusion consists of several superimposed petrologically and geochemically distinct units. Magnetic methods were used to study the intrusion in order to constrain the physical processes active in these types of bodies during crystallization. Rock magnetism studies indicate that within different petrologic units bulk susceptibility is controlled by primary magnetite (with minor pyrrhotite) and/or paramagnetic minerals (olivine, pyroxene). New magnetic data based on 659 specimens obtained from 3 vertical borehole cores, each spaced 5 km apart, confirm the prominent vertical zonation in low field magnetic susceptibility (Klf), degree of anisotropy (Pj) and orientation of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) axes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Petrology and geochemistry of early cretaceous bimodal continental flood volcanism of the NW Etendeka, Namibia Part 2: characteristics and petrogenesis of the high-Ti latite and high-Ti and low-Ti voluminous quartz latite eruptives
- Ewart, A, Marsh, Julian S, Milner, Simon C, Duncan, Andrew R, Kamber, B S, Armstrong, R A
- Authors: Ewart, A , Marsh, Julian S , Milner, Simon C , Duncan, Andrew R , Kamber, B S , Armstrong, R A
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150593 , vital:38987 , https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egg082
- Description: As a result of their relative concentration towards the respective Atlantic margins, the silicic eruptives of the Paraná (Brazil)–Etendeka large igneous province are disproportionately abundant in the Etendeka of Namibia. The NW Etendeka silicic units, dated at ∼132 Ma, occupy the upper stratigraphic levels of the volcanic sequences, restricted to the coastal zone, and comprise three latites and five quartz latites (QL).
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Ewart, A , Marsh, Julian S , Milner, Simon C , Duncan, Andrew R , Kamber, B S , Armstrong, R A
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150593 , vital:38987 , https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egg082
- Description: As a result of their relative concentration towards the respective Atlantic margins, the silicic eruptives of the Paraná (Brazil)–Etendeka large igneous province are disproportionately abundant in the Etendeka of Namibia. The NW Etendeka silicic units, dated at ∼132 Ma, occupy the upper stratigraphic levels of the volcanic sequences, restricted to the coastal zone, and comprise three latites and five quartz latites (QL).
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2004