Article (Scientific journals)
Layered intrusions: Fundamentals, novel observations and concepts, and controversial issues
Latypov, R.M.; Namur, O.; Bai, Y. et al.
2024In Earth-Science Reviews, 249, p. 104653
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Keywords :
Controversial issues; Fundamentals; Future directions of research; Mafic layered intrusions; Magma chambers; Magma crystallization, differentiation, and solidification, mineral deposits; Novel observations and concepts; Earth and Planetary Sciences (all)
Abstract :
[en] Layered intrusions are fossilized natural laboratories that historically have constrained many fundamental principles of igneous petrology. Layered intrusions are typically stratiform, usually sill-like bodies of cumulate rocks, at least a few hundred metres to as much as 10 km thick, characterized by the presence of a variety of different types of layering over a range of length scales. They are the solid record of crystallization, differentiation and solidification processes of mainly basaltic magmas. The importance of layered intrusions also lies in hosting a significant proportion of the world's known reserves and resources of important critical metals: particularly, the majority of the global resource of platinum-group elements (PGE), chromium (Cr) and vanadium (V) and also very large resources of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and cobalt (Co). This paper summarizes the progress that has been made in the study of layered intrusions during the last three decades. The progress is marked by a number of novel observations from layered intrusions. Among them are: (1) draping of igneous layering over a few-km-high sloping step in the chamber floor; (2) development of igneous layering on the overturned to undercutting portions of a chamber floor; (3) magmatic karstification of the floor cumulates, (4) existence of three-dimensional framework of crystals in (oxide) cumulates; (5) systematic variations in dihedral angles between touching grains, and other microtextural features; (6) Cr-rich structures at the base of magnetitite layers; (7) co-existence of melt inclusions of contrasting composition in minerals; (8) thermal and chemical histories recorded by plagioclase; (9) textural and chemical features of minerals revealed by X-ray microscopy, (10) intrusion-scale to mineral-scale isotopic heterogeneity; (11) out-of-sequence zircon ages; and (12) skeletal/dendritic growth of minerals revealed by minor element zonation. The progress is also evident from development of several new concepts and refinement of some established ones. These include: (1) time and length scales in layered intrusion processes, (2) catastrophically fast growth of magma chambers, (3) out-of-sequence emplacement in layered intrusions, (4) large-scale slumping and mineral sorting in layered intrusions, (5) production of monomineralic cumulates from single phase-saturated melts, (6) origin of non-cotectic cumulate by in situ growth, (7) the arrival of new phases on the liquidus, (8) inward propagation of solidification fronts, (9) mushy and hard chamber floor, (10) absence of roof sequences due to their disruption, (11) basal reversals and chilled margins, (12) adcumulus growth theory, (13) compositionally stratified magma chambers, (14) melt-sediment interactions during magma chamber growth, (15) lateral reactive infiltration in a crystal mush, (16) reactions involving conjugate immiscible liquids in crystal mushes, and (17) constraints on subsolidus processes from non-traditional Fe-Mg-Cr stable isotopes. Finally, we show that the major controversies regarding layered intrusions currently revolve around whether: (a) the microstructure of igneous rocks are primary or secondary and (b) compaction in layered intrusions is pervasive or non-existent (c) large, long-lived and entirely-molten magma chambers exist or not. The review shows that layered intrusions provide ground-truth information on the processes of magma crystallization, differentiation, and solidification in crustal chambers as well as on mechanisms of ore-forming elements concentration into economically viable mineral deposits. We propose a few lines for future research that may potentially raise igneous petrology to a new level of understanding of the processes that govern the evolution of terrestrial magmatic systems.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Latypov, R.M.;  University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Namur, O.;  KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Bai, Y.;  Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Barnes, S.J.;  CSIRO Mineral Resources, Kensington, Perth, Australia
Chistyakova, SYu;  University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Holness, M.B.;  University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Iacono-Marziano, G.;  CNRS-Université d'Orléans-BRGM, Orléans Cedex 2, France
Kruger, W.A.J.;  University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
O'Driscoll, B.;  The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Smith, W.D.;  Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Virtanen, V.J.;  University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Wang, C.Y.;  Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Xing, C.-M.;  Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Charlier, Bernard  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géologie > Pétrologie, géochimie endogènes et pétrophysique
More authors (4 more) Less
Language :
English
Title :
Layered intrusions: Fundamentals, novel observations and concepts, and controversial issues
Publication date :
February 2024
Journal title :
Earth-Science Reviews
ISSN :
0012-8252
eISSN :
1872-6828
Publisher :
Elsevier B.V.
Volume :
249
Pages :
104653
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
National Research Foundation
Funding text :
The synchrotron XRF maps presented in this contribution were collected on the X-ray fluorescence microscopy beamline of the Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Victoria, part of ANSTO. BC is a Research Associate of the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research-FNRS. This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (Ref/Grant Number: SRUG2204193706-2023-04-19-CPRR ). We would like to thank Richard Naslund, Matthew Kohn and an anonymous reviewer for the careful review of various versions of our paper and many critical comments that helped to improve the quality and clarity of the manuscript. The editorial handling by Arturo Gomez-Tuena and Timothy Horscroft is gratefully acknowledged.
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