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Emplacement of the Cabezo María lamproite volcano (Miocene, SE Spain)

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Abstract

Lamproite volcanoes are uncommon in the geological record but are exceptionally well preserved in the Betic Cordilleras of SE Spain, where they erupted during the Late Miocene (Tortonian to Messinian stages). The parent melts are thought to have been channelled through major lithospheric faults to erupt at or near the faulted margins of Neogene sedimentary basins. Lamproite magmas are thought to be relatively CO2-poor (<1 wt %) and are typically characterised by an effusive eruption style and the development of lava lakes and scoria cones. Cabezo María is a relatively small (∼550 m diameter) lamproite volcano that was emplaced within the shallow-water marine-influenced Vera Basin. The lamproites are compositionally similar to those of the Roman Province and generally less potassic (K2O<5 wt%) than other (ultra-) potassic rocks in SE Spain (e.g. Cancarix, Fortuna). The initial eruption stages were dominated by explosive magma-water interactions and the formation of peperites. These are characterised by angular fragments of glassy lamproite lavas (and isolated lobes) incorporated in sediments, locally showing the effects of thermal metamorphism. Further, elutriation pipes and ‘jigsaw-fit’ textures are observed in the peperites. The lavas and peperites are overlain by outward-dipping well-stratified scoria deposits defining part of a cinder cone, which is inferred to have emerged above sea level. Steep internal contacts with inward-dipping, structureless breccias likely represent the inner wall deposits of a central conduit. The deposits are cross-cut by late-stage dykes, which supplied fissure eruptions of geochemically similar lavas capping the scoria cone. The transition from explosive to effusive behaviour may reflect the decreased availability of water, possibly due to downward migration of the feeder conduit below the level of water-saturated sediments.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Roberto Sulpizio and Ian Skilling for their very helpful comments and Sonia Calvari for her editorial handling of our manuscript. E.J.R. acknowledges Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship FL12 0100050.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK

    Thomas M. Gernon, Samuel Spence, Clive N. Trueman, Rex N. Taylor, Eelco Rohling, Stuart J. Hatter & Ian C. Harding

  2. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. 2601, Australia

    Eelco Rohling

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  1. Thomas M. Gernon
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  2. Samuel Spence
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  3. Clive N. Trueman
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Correspondence to Thomas M. Gernon.

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Editorial responsibility: S. Calvari

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Gernon, T.M., Spence, S., Trueman, C.N. et al. Emplacement of the Cabezo María lamproite volcano (Miocene, SE Spain). Bull Volcanol 77, 52 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0934-y

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