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Neoproterozoic ophiolitic peridotites along the Allaqi-Heiani suture, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

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Abstract

The Wadi Allaqi ophiolite along the Egyptian-Sudanese border defines the southernmost ophiolitic assemblage and suture zone in the Eastern Desert. Ophiolite assemblages comprise nappes composed mainly of mafic and ultramafic rocks that were tectonically emplaced and replaced by serpentine and carbonates along shear zones probably due to CO2-metasomatism. Serpentinites, altered slices of the upper mantle, represent a distinctive lithology of dismembered ophiolites of the western YOSHGAH suture. Microscopically, they are composed of more than 90 % serpentine minerals with minor opaque minerals, carbonate, brucite and talc. The mineral chemistry and whole-rock chemical data reported here indicate that the serpentinized peridotites formed as highly-depleted mantle residues. They show compositions consistent with formation in a suprasubduction zone environment. They are depleted in Al2O3 and CaO similar to those in fore-arc peridotites. Also, high Cr# (Cr/ (Cr+Al)) in the relict chrome spinels (average ~0.72) indicates that these are residual after extensive partial melting, similar to spinels in modern fore-arc peridotites. Therefore, the studied serpentinites represent fragments of an oceanic lithosphere that formed in a fore-arc environment, which belongs to an ophiolitic mantle sequence formed in a suprasubduction zone.

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Acknowledgments

We highly appreciate thoughtful reviews by Kurt Stüwe (Associate Editor) and Shoji Arai (Kanazawa, Japan), which caused us to carry out a serious revision of the manuscript and improve it dramatically. This research was supported by NSF grant 0804749 (US-Egyptian Scientific Co-operation) to RJS and NSF EAR-0116660 for Electron Microprobe at UTEP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, National Research Centre, 12622-Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

    M. K. Azer, M. D. Samuel & H. E. Moussa

  2. Department of Mineral Resources and Rocks, Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80206, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    K. A. Ali

  3. Geosciences Department, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080, USA

    R. J. Stern

  4. Geology Department, Assiut University, Faculty of Science, Assiut, 71516, Egypt

    H. A. Gahlan

  5. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA

    M. Ren

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Azer, M.K., Samuel, M.D., Ali, K.A. et al. Neoproterozoic ophiolitic peridotites along the Allaqi-Heiani suture, South Eastern Desert, Egypt. Miner Petrol 107, 829–848 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-012-0204-z

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