Petrogenesis and geochemical characteristics of Plio-Quaternary alkali basalts from the Qorveh–Bijar volcanic belt, Kurdistan Province, NW Iran

Abstract The Pliocene–Quaternary volcanic rocks which outcrop between Qorveh and Bijar are part of post-collisional within-plate volcanic activity in northern Iran. These mafic alkaline rocks form part of the northern arm of the Sanandaj–Sirjan (Hamedan–Tabriz) zone. Thermobarometry on equilibrium clinopyroxene – whole-rock pairs yields pressures and temperatures of 4–6 (±1.8) kbar and 1182–1213 (±27) °C, respectively; olivine – whole-rock (melt) equilibrium thermometry yields crystallization temperatures of 1212–1264 (±27) °C. Field relationships, including the presence of pyroxenitic xenoliths, and geochemical evidence (e.g. high FeO/MnO, and low CaO compared to lavas derived from peridotite sources) suggest a pyroxenitic mantle source for the studied rocks. Variation of trace elements and isotopic ratios (i.e. Ce/Pb, Ba/La, 87Sr/86Sr) indicate that this pyroxenite mantle source was generated by interaction between melted sediments of the subducted Neo-Tethys slab with ambient peridotitic lithospheric mantle. The resulting metasomatized lithosphere is denser and has a lower viscosity than the peridotitic mantle, and tectonic disturbance can cause it to fall into the depths of the mantle. The descending volatile-rich material starts to melt with increasing temperature. Modelling of rare earth element (REE) abundances suggests that <1 % partial melting of the descending pyroxenite could create the Plio-Quaternary alkali basaltic magma of the Qorveh–Bijar. The geochemical evidence for lithospheric foundering, and hence drip magmatism, in the Qorveh–Bijar volcanic belt is supported by seismographic studies indicating thinned lithosphere beneath the study area.