Scientific article
English

Incremental growth of mid- to upper-crustal magma bodies during Arabia-Eurasia convergence and collision: A petrological study of the calc-alkaline to shoshonitic Meghri- Ordubad pluton (Southern Armenia and Nakhitchevan, Lesser Caucasus)

Published inJournal of Petrology, vol. 59, p. 931-966
Publication date2018
Abstract

The composite Meghri-Ordubad pluton (MOP) is located in the southernmost Lesser Caucasus and outcrops over ~1000 km2 in southern Armenia and Nakhitchevan. It is characterized by nested intrusions incrementally emplaced over ~30 Myr from the Middle Eocene to Early Miocene, coeval with the closure of the Neotethyan Ocean and the regional Arabia-Eurasia continental collision. We recognize three compositionally distinct intrusive series in the MOP: a medium- to high-K calc-alkaline series 1 dominated by gabbro, quartz diorite and tonalite, a shoshonitic to high-K calc-alkaline series 2 including gabbro, monzogabbro, monzodiorite, monzonite and syenite, and a high-K calc-alkaline adakitic series 3 characterized by the emplacement of lamprophyre dikes followed by porphyritic granodioritic intrusions and dikes. Thermobarometry calculations together with detailed petrography, mineral chemistry and experimental mineral stability P-T diagrams indicate a polybaric crystallization history and magma emplacement at mid- to upper crustal levels (0.1-0.3 GPa). Mineral textures and compositions reveal open-system magmatic processes such as mafic magma replenishment and reactivation of crystal mushes prior to transport towards shallower crustal levels in the MOP. The evolution of magma chemistry (calc-alkaline vs shoshonitic) and mineral assemblages (amphibole-bearing vs amphibole-free) indicate fluctuation in primary melt alkali and water contents over time. Such chemical evolution is ascribed to a decrease in the degree of partial melting of a chemically heterogeneous, but isotopically homogeneous, mantle source. Overall, the MOP is characterized by the successive emplacement of hydrous magma batches in the mid- to upper crust and petrological processes that were dominated by fractional crystallization (± crustal assimilation) upon cooling and, or, decompression (± degassing). We propose a new temporal and spatial petrogenetic model for the MOP, encompassing three long-lived, chemically distinct magmatic series incrementally assembled over 30 Myr within a pre-, syn- and post-collisional geodynamic setting.

Keywords
  • Tethyan orogenic belt
  • Incremental pluton assembly
  • Magmatic processes
  • Mineral chemistry
  • Thermobarometry
Citation (ISO format)
REZEAU, Hervé et al. Incremental growth of mid- to upper-crustal magma bodies during Arabia-Eurasia convergence and collision: A petrological study of the calc-alkaline to shoshonitic Meghri- Ordubad pluton (Southern Armenia and Nakhitchevan, Lesser Caucasus). In: Journal of Petrology, 2018, vol. 59, p. 931–966. doi: 10.1093/petrology/egy050
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Article (Published version)
accessLevelRestricted
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0022-3530
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