Petrogenetic processes in alkaline magmatism in the southern Mozambique Channel

Abstract

Whereas the northern part of the Mozambique Channel, between the eastern coast of Africa and Madagascar, is intensively studied, the southern part remains poorly investigated. The 2014 PAMELA-MOZ01 and 2015 PAMELA-MOZ04 cruises enabled us to collect volcanic rocks from the submarine flanks of the Bassas da India-Europa complex, including Bassas da India atoll, Europa Island, and Jaguar and Hall Banks. Despite significant alteration, probably due to their prolonged stay in seawater and the hydrothermal circulation they underwent, we are able to describe the main petrological and geochemical aspects of these largely unknown lavas. To achieve this, we integrated petrographic and mineralogical observations with geochemical analyses of the dredged rocks, aiming to identify the key aspects of the alteration and to characterize their petrological and geochemical properties.

The volcanism of this region is characterized by strongly silica-undersaturated alkaline magmas. Here, we demonstrate that this volcanism is marked by a bimodal magmatic activity with ultrabasic and basic compositions, and more silica-rich compositions. Using isotopic signatures and trace elements, we suggest that magmas are produced by a low degree of partial melting (1 to 5 %) of a metasomatized mantle at about 80 km depth. These mafic magmas then rise from the source to the surface via several magma storage levels, located at about 25–30 km and 15 km depth, the latter corresponding to the mantle-crust boundary as identified by geophysical methods. Fragments of zoned sanidine phenocrysts within intermediate lavas (olivine-free nephelinite or tephri-phonolite) also suggest the presence of differentiated magma reservoirs. Our observations strongly support frequent magmatic recharges, coupled with magma differentiation through olivine + clinopyroxene crystallization/assimilation, in long-lived magma reservoirs. In many respects, this volcanism has similar characteristics (nature of the source, degree of partial melting, composition of the lavas, age, and spatial distribution) to those of the Miocene to Quaternary volcanic provinces of Madagascar, the northern Mozambique Channel or the East African Rift. We propose that this volcanism might result from regional extension through the Mozambique Channel and the southern part of the East African Rift System, coupled with a thermal erosion of a mantle plume.