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On the relationship between the Bushveld Complex and its felsic roof rocks, part 2: the immediate roof

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Abstract

Emplacement of large volumes of mafic magma into the crust undoubtedly causes significant thermal perturbation to the overlying crust. Despite the clear importance of the country rock in modulating the thermal evolution the Bushveld Complex, little is known about the nature and extent of its roof zone. This manuscript details the lateral variability of the rocks that make up the immediate roof of the intrusion in the Eastern Limb. In the Northern Segment of the eastern Bushveld, the roof is dominated by thermally metamorphosed metapelites; in the Central Segment, the roof is dominated by highly metamorphosed meta-volcanic rocks and their partially molten equivalents; and in the Southern Segment, the roof is likely composed of modestly thermally metamorphosed felsic volcanic rocks. The variability of roof lithology is also reflected in the variability of floor rocks to the intrusion. A new model for the emplacement of the eastern Bushveld Complex is proposed in which the mafic magmas intrude at a deeper level in the north and become shallower to the south.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NSF-EAR 0947247 awarded to E. A. Mathez.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, 610 Taylor Rd., Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    J. A. VanTongeren

  2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, American Museum of Natural History, 79th and Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024, USA

    J. A. VanTongeren & E. A. Mathez

Authors
  1. J. A. VanTongeren
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  2. E. A. Mathez
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Correspondence to J. A. VanTongeren.

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Communicated by Timothy L. Grove.

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VanTongeren, J.A., Mathez, E.A. On the relationship between the Bushveld Complex and its felsic roof rocks, part 2: the immediate roof. Contrib Mineral Petrol 170, 56 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-015-1211-y

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