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Geochemistry of Late Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Igneous Rocks on the Eastern North American Margin

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Geochemistry of Late Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Igneous Rocks on the Eastern North American Margin Geochemistry of late Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous igneous rocks on the eastern North American margin GEORGIA PE-PIPER Department of Geology, St Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3C3, Canada LUBOMIR F. JANSA Geological Survey of Canada, Atlantic Geoscience Centre, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y4A2, Canada ABSTRACT alkali olivine basalts. Variations in element ra- alkali volcanic rocks occur in three wells in the tios for geochemically very similar element Orpheus Graben (Hercules J-15, Jason C-20, Geochemical analyses have been made of pairs (such as La/Ce and Zr/Hf) suggest that and Argo F-38), and dikes are found in the late Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous vol- the mantle beneath the two suites may have Hesper 1-52 and P-52 wells to the south. Radi- canic rocks on the eastern North American different compositions. The mantle composi- ometric and biostratigraphic evidence again in- margin from Baltimore Canyon northeast- tion inferred for the New England suite is dicates an Early Cretaceous age (Table 1). ward to the Newfoundland Seamounts. Sam- similar to that postulated by many authors as Basaltic tuffs (Amato and Simonis, 1980) ples from the Newfoundland Seamounts were resulting from mantle plumes. The localiza- were first noted in the COST G-2 well on obtained from dredge hauls, from the New tion of the volcanism in the Early Cretaceous, Georges Bank. Tuffs, flows, and alkalic dikes England Seamounts from Deep Sea Drilling however, is related to the development of were encountered in the Exxon Lydonia Can- Project holes, and from the Grand Banks, fractures, some of which resulted from reac- yon block 133 no. 1 well and have been inter- Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank, and Baltimore tivation of old fracture zones. preted by Hurtubise and others (1984) as part of Canyon area from exploratory oil wells. All the widespread Early Cretaceous activity in the of the rocks analyzed are alkali basalts and INTRODUCTION New England-Quebec alkalic igneous province, related mafic rocks. The analytical data allow which is represented by plutonic intrusions in the rocks to be divided into two distinct igne- Geologic Setting the White Mountains, subvolcanic alkalic and ous suites. The New England suite includes peralkalic rocks in Quebec, and the Champlain the Baltimore Canyon, Georges Bank, and Exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons on the dike swarm in Vermont (McHone and Cor- New England Seamounts. Rocks from these continental shelf of eastern North America over neille, 1980). Jansa and Pe-Piper (in press), on areas show marked enrichment in light REE the past 20 yr has shown that volcanic rocks and the basis of both biostratigraphy and radiometric and many incompatible trace elements. The associated hypabyssal intrusions of Mesozoic dates, suggest that the volcanism on Georges Eastern Canadian suite, consisting of rocks age are widespread off the northeastern United Bank is of late Middle Jurassic age. from the Scotian Shelf and Grand Banks, States and southeastern Canada. The distribu- In the Baltimore Canyon trough, six wells lo- show slightly convex REE spectra and less tion and ages of these rocks are summarized in cated over the "Great Stone Dome" (Schlee and enrichment in incompatible elements. The Table 1 and Figure 1. The stratigraphic setting others, 1976) have intersected igneous dikes. rocks from the New England suite contain and petrography of the late Middle Jurassic and We have studied samples of these dikes from the high-pressure clinopyroxene phenocrysts, Cretaceous rocks are described in a companion Mobil 544-1 and Conoco 590-1 wells. Radio- some of which show complex zoning; these paper by Jansa and Pe-Piper (in press) and by metric and stratigraphic evidence suggests an are absent in rocks from the Eastern Cana- Jansa and Pe-Piper (1985). over-all Early Cretaceous age for the dikes dian suite. Cretaceous tholeiitic volcanism is widespread (Jansa and Pe-Piper, in press). The data available from these offshore on the Labrador Shelf (McWhae and Michel, The Early Cretaceous was also a period of areas is limited and does not permit a unique 1975; Umpleby, 1979), where it is thought to be major volcanism in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean petrogenetic explanation for the geochemical associated with the rifting of the Labrador Sea. basin (Jansa and Pe-Piper, 1985). The J- differences between the two suites. The East- Alkalic volcanism occurs on margins adjacent to anomaly Ridge off the southeastern Grand ern Canadian suite resembles early-formed the Jurassic Atlantic Ocean. On the Grand Banks (Fig. 1) represents enhanced extrusive ac- alkali rocks from Loihi Seamount, interpreted Banks of Newfoundland (Jansa and Pe-Piper, in tivity at the mid-ocean ridge at about Aptian as the products of a low degree of partial press), lavas and pyroclastic rocks occur at the time (Houghton and others, 1979). The New- melting of a MORB-type mantle source. This base of the Brant P-87 well and at a second foundland and New England Seamount chains source was slightly depleted in LREE in horizon about 700 m higher in the well. The both yield radiometric ages of Early Cretaceous order to produce the observed convex LREE Twillick G-49 well bottomed in a thick diabase age (Table 1). Particularly in the case of the spectra. The New England suite closely re- flow or sill. A series of diorite dikes occur in the New England Seamounts, there is controversy sembles many ocean island basalt suites. Our Emerillon C-56 well. Radiometric dates and as to whether the seamounts resulted from a data do not allow discrimination between var- biostratigraphic data suggest that all of these hotspot, or from volcanism associated with reac- ious current hypotheses for the origin of rela- rocks are of Early Cretaceous age (Table 1). On tivation of a fracture zone. The age of the Fogo tive enrichment in incompatible elements of the Scotian Shelf (Jansa and Pe-Piper, 1985), Seamounts located off the southwestern Grand Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 99, p. 803-813, 8 figs., 3 tables, December 1987. 803 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/99/6/803/3998440/i0016-7606-99-6-803.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/99/6/803/3998440/i0016-7606-99-6-803.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 \ Bjarni H-81 A 22-139 m.y.) Roberval K-92^ I L-N (122-129 m.y.) V r -i ^ \ \ \ .Indian Har. M-52 \ U ' (90 +m.y.) \ "Leif M-48 \ 1 n / (E. Cretaceous) Figure 1. Map showing occurrences of volcanic and subvolcanic rocks of BUDGELLS HAR. STOCK Jurassic and Cretaceous age on the (135 m.y.) ^ eastern continental margin of North America. Numbers relate to the boxed LAMPROPHYRE DIKES areas, which delineate approximate (115, 129, 144 m.y.) boundaries of tectono-igneous prov- \ inces (Jansa and Pe-Piper, in press). Ages for individual igneous occur- \ rences (in brackets) correspond to those summarized in Table 1, where the source and method of dating is in- dicated. Tectono-igneous provinces: ercules AVALON DIKE 4, Labrador margin (rift); 5, eastern j.15 Scatarie Bank (191-201 m.y North America (rift); 6, Newfoundland 19 m.y^127m^)Em-r|||onC.56 » Phalarope \ Seamounts (seamount chain); 7, south- -^Jason C-20 (96.4 m.y.^ • P-62 ern Grand Banks-Scotian Shelf (with- ¿VlAptian) v x x . \ in plate); 8, Fogo Seamounts (sea- mount chain); 9, J-anomaly Ridge 7 ^ N^xr^ Brant P-87a» TwillickG-49 (fossil spreading center); 10, New Eng- v (135 m.y.)l^w\_ (117 m.y. land Seamounts (seamount chain); 11, Georges Bank (within plate); 12, Bal- \ ^ J' (?); timore Canyon Trough (within plate); Mallard M-45 (E. Cret ?) 13, New England-Quebec (within plate). (Note overlap in center.) J" ANOMALY RIDGE Cretaceous ?113 m.y.) Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/99/6/803/3998440/i0016-7606-99-6-803.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 806 PE-PIPER AND JANSA TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF LATE JURASSIC AND CRETACEOUS IGNEOUS ACTIVITY ON THE EASTERN CONTINENTAL and mineral analyses from Deep Sea Drilling MARGIN OF NORTH AMERICA Project (DSDP) Sites 382 and 385, drilled on Location Rock type Age (m.y.) and Reference the New England Seamounts. A critique of this dating method latter study and new data were presented by Pe-Piper and Jansa (in press). LABRADOR SHELF Basalt flows and tuffs 90-145 (KA) 18 In this paper, we present detailed new geo- GRAND BANKS chemical data from wells on the Grand Banks, Brant P-87 Two units—lower 123 m diabase sills or flows; upper 55 m of 135 ± 6 (KA) 1 basalt and pyroclastics Georges Bank, and Baltimore Canyon, together Emerillon G-56 21 m dioritic dike 96.4 ± 3.8 (KA) 19 with some additional trace-element and mineral Twillick G-49 14.6 m porphyritic diabase 117 ± 5 (KA) 1 chemistry data from other areas. Detailed petro- SCOTIAN SHELF graphic descriptions of all geochemical samples Argo F-38 < 100 m volcaniclastics and pyroclastics over 15 m basalt Aptian 2 used in this study are found in the following Hercules J-I5 82 m volcaniclastics and pyroclastics over 23 m basalt 119 ± 5 (KA) 2 102.9 ± 2.6 (KA) papers: Jansa and Pe-Piper (in press) for the Hesper 1-52 20 m diabase sill 112 ± 5 (KA) 2 125.9 ± 3.2 (KA) Grand Banks, Georges Bank, and Baltimore Jason C-20 85 m volcaniclastics and pyroclastics over three basalt flows (14 m) Aptian 2 Canyon; Jansa and Pe-Piper (1985) for the Scotian Shelf; Pe-Piper and Jansa (in press) and GEORGES BANK Exxon, Lydonia Canyon 227 m pyroclastics and basalt flows over 81 m diabase 140 ± 6,134 ± 4 (KA) 19 Houghton (1979) for the New England Sea- Block 133-1 137 ± 7 (KA) 16 mounts; and Sullivan (1978) for the Newfound- BALTIMORE CANYON land Seamounts.
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