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Geochemistry of the volcanoes of basse terre, Guadeloupe — An example of intra-island variation

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Abstract

Seventy-one samples from seven volcanic centers of Basse Terre, Guadeloupe have been analysed. Low-K pyroxene andesite, associated with minor basaltic andesite and basalt is the dominant rock type, in all but two of the centers. Of these two exceptions, one. Mts. Caraibes, is composed mainly of high-alumina (plagioclase) basalt, while Les Deux Mamelles, are two prominent domes of sodic rhyolite, being one of the three known occurrences of this rock in the active are of the Lesser Antilles. On the basis of differences in such elements as K.O. Rb, and Ba, the various centers may be distinguished one from another, with the maximum differences being as large as the reported chemical differences between different islands in the are. This fact, together with the occurrence of both basalte and andesitic dominated volcanoes on the same island seem to argue against any systematic variation in chemistry of magma type along the arc.

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Gunn, B.M., Roobol, M.J. & Smith, A.L. Geochemistry of the volcanoes of basse terre, Guadeloupe — An example of intra-island variation. Bull Volcanol 43, 403–411 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02598041

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