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Crustal xenoliths from Tallante (Betic Cordillera, Spain): insights into the crust–mantle boundary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2013

GIANLUCA BIANCHINI ,
ROBERTO BRAGA  and
ANTONIO LANGONE
GIANLUCA BIANCHINI*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università di Ferrara – Via Saragat 1, I44100 Ferrara, Italia
ROBERTO BRAGA
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna – Piazza di Porta S. Donato 1, I40126 Bologna, Italia
ANTONIO LANGONE
Affiliation:
Istituto CNR di Geoscienze e Georisorse (IGG), Via Ferrata 1, I27100 Pavia, Italia
*
†Author for correspondence: bncglc@unife.it
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Abstract

The volcano of Tallante (Pliocene) in the Betic Cordillera (Spain) exhumed a heterogeneous xenolith association, including ultramafic mantle rocks and diverse crustal lithologies. The latter include metagabbroids and felsic rocks characterized by quartz-rich parageneses containing spinel ± garnet ± sillimanite ± feldspars. Pressure–temperature estimates for felsic xenoliths overlap (at 0.7–0.8 GPa) those recorded by the mantle-derived peridotite xenoliths. Therefore, we propose that an intimate association of interlayered crust and mantle lithologies characterizes the crust–mantle boundary in this area. This scenario conforms to evidence provided by the neighbouring massifs of Ronda and Beni Bousera (and by other peri-Mediterranean deep crust/mantle sections) where exhumation of fossil crust–mantle boundary reveals that this boundary is not sharp. The results are discussed on the basis of recent geophysical and petrological studies emphasizing that in non-cratonic regions the crust–mantle boundary is often characterized by a gradational nature showing inter-fingering of heterogeneous lithologies. Silica-rich melts formed within the crustal domains intruded the surrounding mantle and induced metasomatism. The resulting hybrid crust–mantle domains thus provide suitable sources for exotic magma types such as the Mediterranean lamproites.

Keywords

Tallante volcanismBetic Cordilleraheterogeneous xenolith associationcrust–mantle boundary
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 150 , Issue 5 , September 2013 , pp. 952 - 958
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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