Journal of Geological Society of India (Online archive from Vol 1 to Vol 78)

B. C. Prabhakar ¹, M. Jayananda ¹, Mohamed Shareef ¹, T. Kano ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Geology, Bangalore University, Bangalore - 560 056, IN
2 Department of Earth Sciences, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi - 753, JP

Abstract

The results of field, petrographic and geochemical work of the granitoids of Hutti-Gurgunta area in the northern part of Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) is presented in this paper. This crustal section comprises polyphase banded to foliated TTG gneisses, middle amphibolite facies Gurgunta schist belt and upper greenschist facies Hutti schist belt and abundant granite plutons. The focus of the present study is mainly on basement TTG gneisses and a granite pluton (~240 sq km areal extent), to discuss crustal accretion processes including changing petrogenetic mechanism and geodynamic setting. The TTGs contain quartz, plagioclase, lesser K-feldspar and hornblende with minor biotite while the granite contain quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar and hornblende. Late stage alteration (chloritisation, sericitisation and epidotisation) is wide spread in the entire area. A huge synplutonic mafic body which is dioritic to meladioritic in composition injects the granite and displays all stages of progressive mixing and hybridization. The studied TTGs and granite show distinct major and trace element patterns. The TTGs are characterized by higher SiO₂, high Al₂O₃, and Na₂O, low TiO₂, Mg#, CaO, K₂O and LILE, and HFS elements compared to granite. TTGs define strong trondhjemite trend whilst granite shows calc-alkaline trend. However, both TTGs and granite show characteristics of Phanerozoic high-silica adakites. The granite also shows characteristics of transitional TTGs in its high LILE, and progressive increase in K₂O with differentiation. Both TTGs and granite define linear to sub-linear trends on variation diagrams. The TTGs show moderate total REE contents with fractionated REE patterns (La/Yb_N = 17.73-61.73) and slight positive or without any significant Eu anomaly implying little amount of amphibole or plagioclase in residual liquid. On the other hand, the granite displays poor to moderate fractionation of REE patterns (La/Yb_N = 9.06-67.21) without any significant Eu anomaly. The TTGs have been interpreted to be produced by low-K basaltic slab melting at shallow depth, whereas the granite pluton has been formed by slab melting at depth and these melts interacted with peridotite mantle wedge. Such changing petrogenetic mechanisms and geodynamic conditions explain increase in the contents of MgO, CaO, Ni and Cr from 2700 Ma to 2500 Ma granitoids in the EDC.

Keywords

TTGs, Granites, Gurgunta-Hutti Area, EDC, Archaean Crustal Evolution, Karnataka.

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B. C. Prabhakar ¹, M. Jayananda ¹, Mohamed Shareef ¹, T. Kano ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Geology, Bangalore University, Bangalore - 560 056, IN
2 Department of Earth Sciences, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, 753, JP

Abstract

In this paper we document widespread coeval felsic-mafic magma interaction and progressive hybridization near Gurgunta in the northern part of Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) where mafic magma pulses have injected into a 2.5 Ga granite pluton. The pluton contains voluminous pink porphyritic facies with minor equigranular grey facies. The mafic body shows compositional variation from diorite to meladiorite with hornblende as the chief mafic mineral with lesser clinopyroxene and biotite. The observed variation on binary diagrams suggests that granite was evolved by fractional crystallization. Chemical characteristics such as higher Al₂O₃ and moderate to high CaO, Mg#, Ni, Cr, Co and V are interpreted by slab-melting. Mafic bodies show lower SiO₂, Na₂O and K₂O; but higher CaO, Mg#, FeO, Cr, Ni and V; higher LREE with moderate to higher HREE which suggest their derivation from mantle. A major active shear zone has played an important role at the time of synplutonic mafic injection and hybridization process.

Field evidences suggest that the synplutonic mafic body has injected into the crystallizing felsic magma chamber in successive stages. The first stage injection has resulted in extensive mixing and hybridization due to the liquidus state of resident felsic magma to which hot mafic magma was injected. However, progressive mixing produced heterogeneity as the xenocrysts started mechanically dispersed into hybrid magma. The second stage injection, after a time gap, encountered colder and viscous hybrid magma in the magma chamber, which inhibited free injection. As a consequence, the mafic magma spread into magma chamber as flows, producing massive mafic bodies. However, with the continued mafic pulses and the heat gradient, the viscosity contrasts of mafic magma and felsic magma were again lowered resulting in second stage mixing. This episode was followed by mingling when the granite was almost crystallized, but still viscous enough to accommodate lamellar and ribbon like mafic penetrations to produce mingling. The successive mixing and mingling processes account for the observed heterogeneity in the granite pluton.

Keywords

Granite Plutons, Synplutonic Mafic Dykes, Felsic-Mafic Magma Interaction, Hybridization, Dharwar Craton, Gurgunta, Karnataka.

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