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Enriched asthenosphere melting beneath the nascent North African margin: trace element and Nd isotope evidence in middle–late Triassic alkali basalts from central Sicily (Italy)

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Abstract

During the dismembering of the Pangea supercontinent, middle–late Triassic sub-volcanic alkaline rocks were emplaced in central Sicily. These rocks have an alkali basaltic composition and show OIB-like incompatible element patterns in primitive mantle-normalized diagrams (e.g., enrichments in HFSE and LREE coupled with high HFSE/LILE ratios), as well as slightly positive \( \varepsilon_{{{\text{Nd}} }} \) values. Only subtle effects of crustal contamination at shallow depths emerge from geochemical data. These characteristics are very different compared with the Permian calcalkaline magmas from elsewhere in SW Europe still carrying the geochemical signature of modifications related to the Variscan orogeny. The mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic compositions of the investigated samples from central Sicily are also different from the coeval shoshonitic volcano-plutonic formations of Southern Alps (Dolomites). The incompatible element composition and Nd isotopic ratios are consistent with low-degree partial melting of a moderately depleted asthenospheric mantle source, with a negligible involvement of the thinned continental crust. The studied alkaline basalts represent the only known evidence of a segment of the Triassic rift system associated with early Pangea breakup in central Sicily. The close similarity of the central Sicily Triassic alkali basalts with coeval basalts emplaced along former orogenic sutures across the peri-Mediterranean area suggests a common origin related, at least partly, to asthenospheric passive upwelling following the tectonic collapse of the Variscan Belt. These rocks provide new constraints on the spatial–temporal distribution, magma source evolution and geodynamic meaning of the widespread Permo-Triassic basic magmatism developed after the end of the Variscan Orogeny in southwestern Europe.

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Acknowledgments

Rosanna Maniscalco and Giovanni Sturiale are thanked for providing geological and stratigraphic information on the study area. Marcello Serracino (CNR-IGAG, Rome) is thanked for his usual skill during microprobe analyses. The manuscript strongly benefitted from reviews by Ioan Seghedi and Gerhard Franz, as well as from the editorial handling and suggestions by Christoph Breitkreuz. Samuele Agostini is thanked for his comments on a previous version of this manuscript. The authors would like to express special thanks to Professor Wolf-Christian Dullo for his constructive and helpful editorial handling. Financial support from University of Catania (R.C., Fondi Ateneo 2009; P.F., Fondi Ateneo 2012; V.R., PhD grants; A.T., Fondi Ateneo, 2010), La Sapienza University of Rome (M.L., Fondi Ateneo 2014) and MIUR (M.L., PRIN 2010 Research Grant 20107ESMX9_001) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania, Corso Italia, 57, 95129, Catania, Italy

    Rosolino Cirrincione, Patrizia Fiannacca, Vanessa Romano & Annunziata Tranchina

  2. CNR – IGAG, c/o Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Michele Lustrino

  3. Centro Universitario Datazioni e Archeometria, Università di Milano Bicocca, 20126, Milan, Italy

    Igor M. Villa

  4. Institut für Geologie, Universität Bern, Baltzerstrasse 3, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Igor M. Villa

Authors
  1. Rosolino Cirrincione
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  2. Patrizia Fiannacca
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  3. Michele Lustrino
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  4. Vanessa Romano
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  5. Annunziata Tranchina
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  6. Igor M. Villa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrizia Fiannacca.

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Cirrincione, R., Fiannacca, P., Lustrino, M. et al. Enriched asthenosphere melting beneath the nascent North African margin: trace element and Nd isotope evidence in middle–late Triassic alkali basalts from central Sicily (Italy). Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 105, 595–609 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1190-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1190-2

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