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TEXTURAL AND MICROANALYSIS OF IGNEOUS ROCKS: TOOLS ...

TEXTURAL AND MICROANALYSIS OF IGNEOUS ROCKS: TOOLS ...

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were the types of crustal rocks assimilated, as favored by Ingle [75], assimilation<br />

must have occurred prior to plagioclase dominated partial crystallization. Core,<br />

intermediate zone, and rim 87 Sr/ 86 SrI variations are subtle, which indicates that<br />

the Unit 4 and 10 plagioclase crystals grew from already contaminated parent<br />

magmas. This may also suggest that over time the magmatic system became well<br />

buffered, which minimized late stage pulses of greater crustal assimilation.<br />

Inverted parent magma compositions from both Units 4 and 10 are offset from<br />

ranges of trace and REE abundances of their respective whole-rock basalt groups.<br />

This indicates either poor choices of partition coefficients and/or that diffusion<br />

of trace elements occurred within Unit 4 and 10 plagioclase crystals. Indeed, a<br />

greater proportion of crystals from the Unit 10 basalt are diffusively re-equilibrated<br />

relative to the Unit 4 crystals. This indicates that Unit 10 crystals were held at<br />

magmatic temperatures for greater periods of time. This consistent with the<br />

working hypothesis that the majority of the Unit 4 plagioclase phenocrysts bear<br />

a close genetic relationship with their host basalt, and the majority of the Unit<br />

10 crystals were stirred up from a cumulate layer or other mush pile.<br />

I propose that, much like the Ferrar magmatic mush column and Kerguelen<br />

Archipelago examples, the magma chamber system below Elan Bank was a com-<br />

plex system of interconnected dikes and sills (c.f., [36, 100]. I suggest that the<br />

abundant plagioclase phenocrysts In the Unit 4 and 10 basalts originated from<br />

the shallowest magma chambers within this system where crustal contamination<br />

was an insignificant process. Crustal assimilation was most prominent during<br />

the initial emplacement of basaltic magma into Elan Bank crust, and variations<br />

in the crustal contamination signature over time may be as much linked to re-<br />

mobilization and partial resorption of crystal mush material formed directly fol-<br />

219

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