Composition and petrogenesis of oxide-, apatite-rich gabbronorites associated with Proterozoic anorthosite massifs: examples from the Adirondack Mountains, New York

Abstract

Mafic dikes and sheets rich in Fe, Ti-oxides and apatite are commonly associated with Proterozoic massif anorthosites and are referred to as oxide-apatite gabbronorites (OAGN). Within the Adirondacks, field evidence indicates that during middle to late stages of anorthositic evolution, these bodies were emplaced as magmas with unspecified liquid-crystal ratios. Sixty whole rock analyses of Adirondack OAGN and related rocks define continuous oxide trends on Harker variation diagrams (SiO₂=37–54%). Similar trends exist for Sr, Y, Nb, Zr, and REE and together suggest a common origin via fractional crystallization. A representative parental magma (plagioclase-rich crystal mush) has been chosen from this suite, and successive daughter magmas have been produced by removal of minerals with compositions corresponding to those determined in actual rocks. Least squares, mass balance calculations of major element trends indicate that removal of intermediate plagioclase (∼An_40–50) plus lesser amounts of pyroxene account for the compositional variation of this suite and produce very low sums of the squares of the residuals (R² _s>0.25). The extracted mineral phases correspond volumetrically and compositionally to those of the anorthositic suite, and the model succeeds in accounting for the observed OAGN trends. The major element model is utilized to calculate trace elejent concentrations for successive magmas, and these agree closely with observation. We conclude that, beginning with a plagioclase-rich crystal mush, the extraction of intermediate plagioclase (∼An_40–50) drives residual magmas to increasingly Fe-, Ti-, and P-rich and SiO₂-poor conditions characteristic of Fenner-type fractionation. The crystallization sequence is plagioclase→plagioclase+orthopyroxene→plagioclase+orthopyroxene (pigeonite)+augite. Fe, Ti-oxides begin to crystallize near the end of the sequence and are followed by apatite and fayalitic olivine which appears in place of pigeonite. Augitic pyroxene becomes the dominant ferromagnesian phase in late stages of fractionation. Resultant OAGN magmas are injected into congealed anorthosite by filter pressing of liquid-rich interstitial fractions. Varying compositions of the dikes reflect filter pressing at different stages during fractionation and thereby provide information on the fractionation history of Proterozoic massif anorthosites.