M. Griselin et al., PLUME-LITHOSPHERE INTERACTION AND CRUSTAL CONTAMINATION DURING FORMATION OF COPPERMINE RIVER BASALTS, NORTHWEST-TERRITORIES, CANADA, Canadian journal of earth sciences, 34(7), 1997, pp. 958-975
New trace-element and Nd-isotope analyses were carried out on the Copp
ermine River basalts, a suite of 1.77 Ga old continental flood basalts
in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Although all the samples are
tholeiitic basalts, their chemical and isotopic compositions change up
wards in the sequence. The lowermost unit has relatively high contents
of SiO2 and incompatible trace elements, high ratios of elements with
different compatibilities (e.g., Th/Nb, La/Sm), high Gd/Yb, negative
Nb anomalies, and low epsilon(Nd). Samples at the top of the sequence
have less pronounced enrichment and fractionation of incompatible elem
ents coupled with an absence of Nb anomalies and positive epsilon(Nd)
values. These results are interpreted to indicate that the lavas lowes
t in the sequence were produced by melting in the garnet stability fie
ld, al depths greater than 90 km, and probably in a mantle plume benea
th the continental lithosphere. These magmas passed through magma cham
bers in the lower and upper crust where they became contaminated with
crustal rocks. During the course of the eruption of the entire volcani
c sequence the extent of crustal contamination became minimal and the
lavas lost the chemical signature of residual garnet. The youngest lav
as formed by melting in the spinel field and were free of crustal cont
amination. The site of mantle melting apparently became shallower, per
haps because of lithosphere thinning.