Genesis and evolution of mafic microgranular enclaves through various types of interaction between coexisting felsic and mafic magmas

Abstract

ABSTRACTThermal, mechanical and chemical exchange occurs between felsic and mafic magmas in dynamic magma systems. The occurrence and efficiency of such exchanges are constrained mainly by the intensive parameters, the compositions, and the mass fractions of the coexisting magmas. As these interacting parameters do not change simultaneously during the evolution of the granite systems, the exchanges appear sequentially, and affect magmatic systems at different structural levels, i.e. in magma chambers at depth, in the conduits, or after emplacement. Hybridisation processes are especially effective in the plutonic environment because contrasting magmas can interact over a long time-span before cooling. The different exchanges are complementary and tend to reduce the contrasts between the coexisting magmas. They can be extensive or limited in space and time; they are either combined into mixing processes which produce homogeneous rocks, or only into mingling processes which produce rocks with heterogeneities of various size-scales. Mafic microgranular enclaves represent the most common heterogeneities present in the granite plutons. The composite enclaves and the many types of mafic microgranular enclaves commonly associated in a single pluton, or in polygenic enclave swarms, are produced by the sequential occurrence of various exchanges between coexisting magmas with constantly changing intensive parameters and mass fractions. The complex succession and repetition of exchanges, and the resulting partial chemical and complete isotopic equilibration, mask the original identities of the initial components.