Triassic–Jurassic alkaline magmatism in the Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Southern Alps: A zircon perspective on mantle sources and geodynamic significance

The Ivrea-Verbano Zone (IVZ; western Southern Alps) consists of a distinctive sequence of the lower continental crust of the Adriatic plate, extending down to the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. It is characterized by a large variety of intrusive bodies of variable geochemical composition and age, offering a unique insight into the evolution of mantle-derived magmatism in post-collisional and extensional geodynamic settings. In this study, we characterize a suite of alkaline dykes intruding a mantle massif – the Finero Phlogopite Peridotite in northern IVZ. These dykes include zircon-bearing diorites and anorthosites, mainly composed by HFSE-rich amphibole and phlogopite, albite (>90 vol% in anorthosites) and apatite. Zircon, monazite, ilmenite, titanite, Nb-rich oxides, and carbonates are common accessory minerals. Additionally, a “composite” diorite dyke containing both HFSE-rich and HFSE-poor amphiboles was investigated. The study is aimed at providing new trace element, U-Pb geochronological and Lu-Hf isotopes dataset on zircon from these alkaline dykes, to refine the understanding of their mantle source characteristics, emplacement age and geodynamic implications. The trace element composition of zircons from the studied dykes points to segregation from melts with alkaline to ultra-alkaline affinity. Concordia U-Pb ages of zircon from the alkaline diorite dykes span from 221 to 191 Ma, which are interpreted as the result of multiple crystallization/recrystallization stages related to different magmatic pulses. Conversely, zircon from anorthosite and composite diorite dykes yield a narrow time range of 198–202 Ma, highlighting the occurrence of a magmatic pulse around ca. 200 Ma. The εHf_(t) values (+13.4 to +5.7) of zircon from the alkaline diorite dykes are significantly more positive compared to the values in those from anorthosite and composite diorite dykes (+4.2 to −0.4), suggesting that the parental melts were derived from heterogeneous asthenospheric mantle sources with low to moderate amount of recycled continental crust components. Our data and reappraisal of the literature indicate that the IVZ experienced a protracted period of alkaline magmatism from ca. 235 Ma to 185 Ma. The melts migrated along mantle shear zones during the Triassic-Jurassic lithospheric extension. Different pulses of alkaline magmatism were associated with relevant extensional tectonic stages recorded by the continental crust, presumably triggering a passive uplift of heterogenous asthenospheric reservoirs over a front of at least 500 km. This tectono-magmatic cycle is a precursor to the focused rifting stage which caused the opening of the Jurassic Alpine Tethys, enhancing Pangea fragmentation.