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• 1. [Article] Partial melting of tonalite at the margins of a Columbia River Basalt Group dike, Wallowa Mountains, northeastern Oregon

  Columbia River Basalt Group dikes cut the tonalite-granodiorite Wallowa Batholith in northeastern Oregon, providing a natural setting in which to examine partial melting. Many dikes have up to 5 m-wide ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Partial melting of tonalite at the margins of a Columbia River Basalt Group dike, Wallowa Mountains, northeastern Oregon Author: Petcovic, Heather L. Columbia River Basalt Group dikes cut the tonalite-granodiorite Wallowa Batholith in northeastern Oregon, providing a natural setting in which to examine partial melting. Many dikes have up to 5 m-wide zones of quenched partially melted wallrock at their margins. This paper examines the progressive partial melting reactions in biotite-and hornblende-bearing tonalite at the margin of a near-vertical Grande Ronde dike in the vicinity of Maxwell Lake. Paleodepth at the time of dike emplacement is estimated at 1- 2 km, and dike temperature was about 1140°C. Samples collected from the dike margin represent five successive stages of melt reaction over a distance of about 5 m from unmolten wallrock (Stage 1) to about 40 volume percent (vol%) quenched melt (Stage 5). This melt is now represented by about 31 vol% silicic glass that has undergone little to no devitrification and about 9 vol% plagioclase, pyroxene, and Fe-Ti oxide quench crystals. Whole rock major and trace element bulk compositional data are nearly identical to unmolten rock at each stage, suggesting that the melt did not separate from the restite and each stage represents essentially a chemically closed system. With progressive melting, primary hornblende, biotite, and orthoclase are entirely consumed but residual plagioclase, quartz, Fe-Ti oxides and apatite persist in the restite. Hornblende dehydration initially produces a dusty intergrowth of augite, pigeonite, lesser enstatite, and sparse Fe-Ti oxides. Initial biotite dehydration produces titaniferous magnetite and lesser ilmenite aligned in bands in an intergrowth of enstatite and plagioclase. Andesine plagioclase develops a spongy texture as the albite component is lost to the melt. Reaction of hornblende, quartz, and feldspar produces sparse tonalitic (high-Ca) glass, while the reaction of biotite, quartz, and feldspar produces abundant granitic (high-K) glass. The two glass types are irregularly distributed around mafic reaction sites and in up to 2 mm seams on quartz-feldspar contacts. With progressive melting, replacement phases become compositionally more homogeneous, clinopyroxene is consumed, the proportion of plagioclase decreases, and glasses become slightly more mafic. Granitic and tonalitic glasses persist in just over 31 vol% glass suggesting that deformation is required to mix these melt types. Title: Partial melting of tonalite at the margins of a Columbia River Basalt Group dike, Wallowa Mountains, northeastern Oregon Author: Petcovic, Heather L. Columbia River Basalt Group dikes cut the tonalite-granodiorite Wallowa Batholith in northeastern Oregon, providing a natural setting in which to examine partial melting. Many dikes have up to 5 m-wide zones of quenched partially melted wallrock at their margins. This paper examines the progressive partial melting reactions in biotite-and hornblende-bearing tonalite at the margin of a near-vertical Grande Ronde dike in the vicinity of Maxwell Lake. Paleodepth at the time of dike emplacement is estimated at 1- 2 km, and dike temperature was about 1140°C. Samples collected from the dike margin represent five successive stages of melt reaction over a distance of about 5 m from unmolten wallrock (Stage 1) to about 40 volume percent (vol%) quenched melt (Stage 5). This melt is now represented by about 31 vol% silicic glass that has undergone little to no devitrification and about 9 vol% plagioclase, pyroxene, and Fe-Ti oxide quench crystals. Whole rock major and trace element bulk compositional data are nearly identical to unmolten rock at each stage, suggesting that the melt did not separate from the restite and each stage represents essentially a chemically closed system. With progressive melting, primary hornblende, biotite, and orthoclase are entirely consumed but residual plagioclase, quartz, Fe-Ti oxides and apatite persist in the restite. Hornblende dehydration initially produces a dusty intergrowth of augite, pigeonite, lesser enstatite, and sparse Fe-Ti oxides. Initial biotite dehydration produces titaniferous magnetite and lesser ilmenite aligned in bands in an intergrowth of enstatite and plagioclase. Andesine plagioclase develops a spongy texture as the albite component is lost to the melt. Reaction of hornblende, quartz, and feldspar produces sparse tonalitic (high-Ca) glass, while the reaction of biotite, quartz, and feldspar produces abundant granitic (high-K) glass. The two glass types are irregularly distributed around mafic reaction sites and in up to 2 mm seams on quartz-feldspar contacts. With progressive melting, replacement phases become compositionally more homogeneous, clinopyroxene is consumed, the proportion of plagioclase decreases, and glasses become slightly more mafic. Granitic and tonalitic glasses persist in just over 31 vol% glass suggesting that deformation is required to mix these melt types. Close