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Mantle source characterization of Sylhet Traps, northeastern India: A petrological and geochemical study

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Abstract

In this study, mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic data are presented for the Sylhet Trap at the southern flank of the eastern Shillong Plateau, northeastern India, to determine the magma genesis in relation to the Kerguelen plume mantle source. Sylhet Trap rocks are porphyritic tholeiite and have diverse chemical compositions from picro-basalt, basalt, andesite to dacite, but mostly are within the subalkaline field. Major and trace element data were used to identify two distinct magma fractionation trends, a low and medium K series, characterized by relatively flat MORB-like (analogous to Rajmahal Traps (II)) and enriched OIB chondrite-normalized Rare Earth Element (REE) patterns. Initial 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, and 206Pb/204Pb isotope compositions were widely varied, ranging from 0.70435–0.71357, 0.51196–0.51266, and 17.92–19.72, respectively, when compared with basalts from the West Bengal, the Rajmahal Traps and the Kerguelen plume. Correlations among isotopic and trace element ratios of the Sylhet Traps provide evidence for the involvement of (1) HIMU-like mantle component, (2) the Kerguelen plume-like component, and (3) EMII-like crustal component. Magma from the Sylhet Traps was originated from a melting that derived directly from the heterogeneous Kerguelen mantle plume (components 1 and 2), which strongly suggests the presence of the Kerguelen plume-head in the Bengal basin.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to S Ohde (University of the Ryukyus) for providing accesses to TIMS and ICP-MS. Thoughtful and constructive comments by two anonymous referees have substantially improved the manuscript. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C; 21540496 and 25400519 to RS).

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  1. Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, Senbaru 1, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Md Shofiqul Islam, Daniel Meshesha & Ryuichi Shinjo

  2. Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh

    Md Shofiqul Islam

  3. EL MINING PLC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Daniel Meshesha

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Islam, M.S., Meshesha, D. & Shinjo, R. Mantle source characterization of Sylhet Traps, northeastern India: A petrological and geochemical study. J Earth Syst Sci 123, 1839–1855 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-014-0512-2

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