Onset of magmatic accretion within a magma-poor rifted margin: a case study from the Platta ocean-continent transition, eastern Switzerland

Abstract.

Exhumation of subcontinental mantle rocks and its exposure at the seafloor is known from different magma-poor passive continental margins. However, the transition from largely amagmatic passive rifting to seafloor spreading is still poorly documented. In this contribution we use MOR-type gabbroic and basaltic rocks to characterize the magmatism associated with the formation of an ancient ocean-continent transition preserved in the Platta nappe, eastern Switzerland. Gabbros form individual small intrusions into exhumed serpentinized subcontinental mantle rocks. Mineral and bulk-rock chemistry and simple modeling indicate that each gabbro body records different magmatic processes ranging from predominantly fractional crystallization to solidification without fractionation. Mg numbers and Ni contents of equilibrium olivine calculated from basalts and gabbros indicate that few mafic rocks are primary melts but most represent fractionated compositions ranging from T- to N-MORB. Whereas most mafic rocks may be explained by low to moderate degrees of melting of an N-MORB-type mantle, the source of some basalt is enriched in incompatible elements. This compositional variation seems to correlate with the spatial distribution of the mafic rocks within the ocean-continent transition whereby mafic rocks with T-MORB signatures occur close to the continental margin whereas N-MORB signatures are predominantly found oceanwards. As in an opening system time and space are closely linked, the chemical evolution of the mafic rocks along the ocean-continent transitions suggests continuous thinning of the subcontinental mantle and associated uplift of the underlying asthenosphere during the time between the crustal and the lithospheric breakup.