Magma Interaction Recorded in Plagioclase Zoning in Granitoid Systems, Zigana Granitoid, Eastern Pontides, Turkey

Authors: ORHAN KARSLI, FARUK AYDIN, M. BURHAN SADIKLAR

Abstract: Plagioclase crystals characterized by compositional zoning are typical of the Zigana Granitoid (ZG), NE Turkey. The zoned crystals, which show textural equilibrium with the assemblage quartz + plagioclase + K-feldspar + hornblende + biotite + pyroxene + magnetite + ilmenite, exhibit oscillatory zoning. The zoned plagioclase crystals, ranging in size from 3 to 6 mm, are oval and larger than normal lath-shaped crystals. The zoned crystals are divided petrographically into two main types: (i) crystals zones only at their rims, with spongy cores; and (ii) completely zoned ones. Composition of the zoned crystals ranges from An_{23} (oligoclase) to An_{70} (labradorite). Plagioclase crystals with oscillatory zoning are governed by strong substitution mechanisms of Ca^{2+} Na^+, Al^{3+} Si^{4+} and weak substitution of Fe^{3+} for Si^{4+}. The Fe_2O_3^{(t)} (wt %) contents of the subject plagioclases increase with increasing An content. The petrographic and compositional changes from rim to rim (oscillatory zoning), and positive correlation between Fe_2O_3^{(t)} (wt %) and An (mol %) contents of the zoned plagioclases, suggest recurrent mafic magma injection into a felsic magma chamber, and thus magma interaction as a dominant magmatic process during the evolution of the Zigana Granitoid (ZG).

Keywords: plagioclase, oscillatory zoning, mafic-felsic magma interaction, Zigana Granitoid, eastern Pontides, Turkey

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