Chapter 15 Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the southern Heritage Range, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctic

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Geological Society of America

Memoir 170
1992
Chapter 15
Igneous petrology and geochemistry

of the southern Heritage Range,
Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica
Walter R. Vennum
Department of Geology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California 94928
Peter Gizycki
Institut für Angewandte Ökologie, Hindenburg Strasse 20, 7800 Freiburg, Federal Republic of Germany
Vladimir V. Samsonov and A. G. Markovich
Department ofAntarctic Geology and Mineral Resources, Vniiokeangeologia, Moyka 120, St Petersburg, Russian Federation 190121
Robert J. Pankhurst
British Antarctic Survey, National Environmental Research Council, c/o Institute of Geological Sciences, 64-78 Gray's Inn Road,
London WC1X 8NG, England
ABSTRACT
Igneous rocks exposed in the southern Heritage Range include two diabasic sills
(100 m and 300 m thick), three gabbroic stocks (outcrop areas each <0.5 km2), a
spessartite lamprophyre plug (200 m diameter), a 10-km2 sanidine quartz phytic dacite
stock, and numerous aphanitic to porphyritic dikes and lava flows. Lava flows that are
largely basaltic, but range in composition from basalt to alkali rhyolite, compose about
10 to 15 percent of the 1,000-m thickness of the Liberty Hills Formation of the Heritage
Group. Eighty-four samples have been analyzed for major, minor, and trace elements by
x-ray fluorescence. Field relations and comparison of chemical composition of intrusive
and extrusive rocks suggest that all igneous rocks in the southern Heritage Range except
the dacite stock were emplaced in Cambrian time; all have undergone pumpellyite-
actinolite or greenschist facies metamorphism. A four-point Rb-Sr isochron yields a
mid-Devonian (369 + 18 Ma) emplacement age for the dacite stock. The extrusive
igneous rock suite is dominated by basalts but also includes rhyolites, dacites, and sparse
andesites and is thus bimodal. The relict primary mineralogy, distribution of alteration-
resistant trace elements (Nb, Ti, Y, Zr), and incorporation within a thick sequence of
carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks all suggest that the mafic igneous rocks are
continental basalts whose original chemical compositions were largely mildly tholeiitic
or transitional between tholeiitic and alkali basalt; some calc-alkaline traits are also
evident. Discrimination diagrams based on alteration-resistant trace elements and distri-
bution of large ion lithophile elements (Ba, Rb, Sr) suggest that the felsic and interme-
diate rocks also possess tholeiitic, calc-alkaline, and alkaline traits.
Age relations and comparison of chemical compositions indicate that the southern
Heritage Range igneous rocks are not correlative with either the Jurassic Ferrar Super-
group or the Jurassic Kirwan Volcanics of the Transantarctic Mountains. The most
likely possible correlatives might be diabasic sills and dikes and subordinate plugs and
sills of felsic porphyry intrusive into the upper Precambrian Patuxent Formation, which
crops out in the Neptune Range of the Pensacola Mountains 500 km to the southeast.
Vennum, W. R., Gizycki, P., Samsonov, V. V., Markovich, A. G., and Pankhurst, R. J., 1992, Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the southern Heritage
Range, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica, in Webers, G. F., Craddock, C., and Splettstoesser, J. F., Geology and Paleontology of the Ellsworth Mountains, West
Antarctica: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Memoir 170.
295
Downloaded from memoirs.gsapubs.org on June 18, 2015
296 W. R. Vennum and Others
Tholeiitic suites with contemporaneous calc-alkaline and alkaline traits are unusual but
have been reported from the Yellowknife volcanic belt in Canada's Northwest Territo-
ries and from southeastern Maine. We conclude that the bimodal basaltic-rhyolitic suite
of igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range was emplaced in a continental area
undergoing extensional tectonism and does not represent an island arc-continental
margin subduction zone complex.
INTRODUCTION
Reconnaissance geological mapping of the Ellsworth Moun-

tains (Fig. 1) was first undertaken during the 1961-1962,
1962-1963, and 1963-1964 austral summers by expeditions
from the University of Minnesota (Craddock and others, 1964;
Craddock, 1969). The range was next visited during the
1974-1975 austral summer by a four-man party from the Norsk
Polarinstitutt (Hjelle and others, 1978, 1982) and again during
the 1979-1980 austral summer by an international group of more
than 40 scientists from eight countries (Splettstoesser and Web-
ers, 1980). The Norwegian party conducted a relatively detailed
stratigraphic study of the metasedimentary and metavolcanic
rocks of the southern Heritage Range and briefly examined the
Wilson Nunataks sill (Fig. 2). Their efforts concentrated mainly
on stratigraphy, so this report and an earlier paper by Gizycki
(1983) present more detailed accounts of the petrology and geo-
chemistry of the igneous rocks. The fieldwork for this report was
done during the 1979-1980 field season. Figure 1. Map of Antarctica showing geographic features mentioned in
Given that the igneous rocks of the southern Heritage Range text.
have undergone pumpellyite-actinolite and greenschist facies
metamorphism (Bauer, 1983), their major-element oxide geo-
chemistry, especially that of the mafic rocks, is most likely no
longer representative of original magmatic composition. Conse- as the range passes into a series of widely dispersed hills and
quently, one of the focal points of this chapter is an attempt to nunataks.
infer, through the use of alteration-resistant trace elements, the The Ellsworth Mountains are underlain by a section of
chemical affinities and thus the tectonic setting in which these strongly folded, low metamorphic grade, largely marine metasedi-
rocks were emplaced. A comparison of the petrology, stratigraph- mentary and metavolcanic rocks that range in age from Cam-
ic and structural relations, and geochemistry of these rocks is then brian to Permian and are at least 13,000 m thick. The entire range
made with the Ferrar Supergroup of the Transantarctic Moun- is folded into a major anticlinorium that plunges gently northwest-
tains and the Kirwan Volcanics of Queen Maud Land. ward parallel to the long axis of the mountains; thus only the
lower part of this section is exposed in the southern Heritage
PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGIC SETTING Range. The rock units that crop out in the southern Heritage
Range, in decreasing order of age, are the Heritage Group, a
The Ellsworth Mountains are a slightly arcuate, 350-km- 7,200-m-thick sequence of phyllite, argillite, black shale, quartz-
long, north-northwest-trending mountain chain located between ite, conglomerate, and minor marble of Middle and Late Cam-
the polar plateau of West Antarctica and the Ronne Ice Shelf. brian age; the Minaret Formation, a 0- to 600-m-thick sequence
The range is as much as 90 km wide and constitutes one of the of light gray locally oolitic Upper Cambrian carbonate rocks; and
largest areas of exposed bedrock in West Antarctica. The Minne- the Upper Cambrian to Devonian Crashsite Group, which is at
sota Glacier, which flows eastward from the polar plateau into least 3,200 m thick (Webers and Sporli, 1983).
the Ronne Ice Shelf, divides the Ellsworth Mountains into a The Heritage Group contains abundant interbedded basaltic
northern Sentinel Range and a southern Heritage Range (Fig. 1). to rhyolitic lava flows and pyroclastics and is locally intruded by
The 2,500-m-high western escarpment of the Sentinel Range rises gabbroic dikes, stocks, and sills as much as 300 m thick. A single
abruptly from the polar plateau to elevations in excess of 5,000 m felsic intrusive body, a porphyritic dacitic stock, intrudes the Heri-
at the summit of the Vinson Massif (4,897 m), the highest peak in tage Group in the central Soholt Peaks (Fig. 2). Bauer (1983)
Antarctica. By contrast the Heritage Range is much more has demonstrated an increase in metamorphic grade from
subdued, and toward the south its elevation gradually decreases pumpellyite-actinolite facies to greenschist facies downward
Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 297
within the Heritage Group and attributes this to a burial meta- Arctic, Leningrad, USSR (sample numbers prefixed with the letter
morphic event that may have affected the entire Ellsworth Moun- S); and the Institut für Allgemeine und Angewandte Geologie der
tains range. Mafic igneous rocks from the Wilson Nunataks Universität München, West Germany (sample numbers prefixed
possess greenschist facies metamorphic mineral assemblages. All with the letter H). A variety of U.S. Geological Survey (AGVI,
other mafic igneous rocks described in this chapter contain BCR1, G2, GH, GSP1, and W l ) and Canadian Department of
pumpellyite-actinolite assemblages. R. Bauer (personal communi- Energy, Mines, and Resources (MRG) standards were utilized in
cation, 1982) suggests that the transition between these two facies the California laboratory. Quantitative spectroscopy was used to
requires burial of 8,000 m and temperatures of 350 to 400°C. determine Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, and V at Leningrad. Phosphorous
The only igneous rocks known to occur in the Sentinel Range are was determined by colorimetric methods when interference from
a small outcrop of gabbro exposed at O'Neill Nunataks along the silicon prevented the use of x-ray fluorescence. Total iron was
northern edge of the Minnesota Glacier (they are not discussed in determined by x-ray fluorescence, ferrous iron by titration, and
this report). Craddock and others (1964) and Craddock (1969) ferric iron by the difference between the other two quantities.
have published more detailed accounts of the geology of the
Ellsworth Mountains. FIELD RELATIONS
METHODS Mafic intrusive rocks occur in the form of diabasic sills,

gabbroic stocks, a spessartite lamprophyre plug, and glacial errat-
Analyses for most reported major, minor, and trace elements ics and as two mineralogically distinct types of dikes. Diabasic
were performed by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence at the sills crop out in the northwestern part of the Wilson Nunataks
University of California, Davis; the Institute of the Geology of the (80°01'S, 80°44'W) and along the ridge crest immediately south
of the Hyde Glacier icefall in the central Edson Hills (79°49'S,
83°57'W). Pace and compass traverses indicate that the Wilson
Nunataks sill is approximately 300 m thick and that the Hyde
Glacier sill is approximately 100 m thick. Detailed independent
geological mapping by the senior author and by Masaru Yoshida
(personal communication, 1980) indicate that the Hyde Glacier
sill and its host rocks lie on the eastern limb of a west-dipping
overturned anticline. The sill is intrusive into an interbedded
sequence of quartzite, black slate, and siliceous lava flows, all of
which are strongly cleaved. The upper (topographic) half and
lower quarter of the sill are massive, but the remainder of this
body is strongly jointed. The joints are oriented perpendicular to
the margins of the sill, and their average spacing is 10 to 15 cm.
Kink folds with amplitudes of 20 cm and wavelengths of 15 cm
deform about one-third of the joint planes. The Wilson Nunataks
sill and its metasedimentary host rocks are also strongly cleaved.
Gabbroic stocks crop out at High Nunatak and in the
northwestern (80°01'S, 80°47'W) and central (survey control sta-
tion 787, 80°03'S, 80°34'W) Wilson Nunataks. None of the
gabbroic stocks is exposed over areas greater than 0.5 km 2 . A
spessartite lamprophyre plug 200 m in diameter crops out on the
northeastern corner of High Nunatak where it is cross cut by the
abovementioned gabbroic stock.
A 1-km-long glacier-carved surface along the northeastern
flank of Mt. Fordell in the Marble Hills is covered with a large
number of glacial erratics that range from 15 cm to 2 m in
diameter. All erratics there are fine- to medium-grained gabbroic
rocks. Orientation of glacial striations on this surface, the lack of
outcrops of similar rock in the Marble and Liberty Hills, and the
0 10 20 KM ss g
absence of erratics of other rock types that are exposed in the
Figure 2. Map of the southern Heritage Range, Ellsworth Mountains, Marble and Liberty Hills strongly suggest that the source of the
Antarctica, showing geographic features mentioned in text. Modified erratics is a body of gabbroic rock concealed beneath ice to the
from Hjelle and others (1978). Elevation of unnamed peak given in
meters. Outlines show mountains and nunataks that are surrounded by northwest of the Marble Hills.
snow and ice. Mafic dikes (1 to 2.5 m thick) cut every outcrop where the
sills and stocks are exposed and are also widespread throughout
the rest of the southern Heritage Range. Although some of these
dikes cannot be traced laterally to a parent intrusive body, many
are obviously satellitic to the sills and stocks; these relations are
well exposed at High Nunatak (Fig. 3). Andesitic dikes (0.5 to 1.5
m thick) crop out locally in the Wilson Nunataks and a 75-cm-
wide, 7-m-long pinkish-gray quartz latite dike extensively veined
with epidote cuts metasedimentary rock on the eastern flank of
High Nunatak. Most dikes are strongly cleaved and often are
moderately well foliated parallel to their margins.
A pyrite-bearing sanidine quartz phyric dacite stock, the j 5 j Sandiione
only body of felsic intrusive rock yet discovered in the Ellsworth

Mountains, underlies the central Soholt Peaks. Only the southern m r Unconformity
margin of this body was examined, but field relations and study Gabbro (G) and
Lamprophyre (U Dikes
of aerial photographs suggest that the stock crops out over a
roughly circular area of approximately 10 km 2 centered midway cn —
between Mt. Bursik and Peak 2,431 m (Fig. 2). The rock weath- j 2 j Hornblende Lamprophyre
ers into a rugged craggy topography and is often stained a dark | , py/j ;°;;'*"0*d!As,,sj'^*,<ry Br ,«i,
rusty red by the weathering of finely disseminated pyrite. A 10-

Figure 3. An east-west geological cross section of High Nunatak, south-
m-wide chill zone surrounds the southern margin of the stock.
ern Heritage Range.
The rock is strongly cleaved and extensively veined with quartz
stringers.
Lava flows from tens of centimeters to 50 m thick, which
are largely (approximately 75 percent) basaltic but which range rior of the sill. The coarsest grain size and most felsic rocks occur
in composition from basalt to alkali rhyolite, are abundant along slightly below the center of the sill.
the eastern flank of the Liberty Hills, where they are well exposed Plagioclase in all thin sections examined has been converted
along the northeastern and southeastern ridges of Mt. Rosenthal, to a mixture of albite and clinozoisite with subordinate sericite
Moulder Peak, Sponholz Peak, and Kelley Peak. Outcrops of and minor carbonate. Clinopyroxene crystals, however, are rela-
volcanic rocks along the eastern flank of the Liberty Hills all lie tively fresh (RIß = 1.68, 2Vy = 60°, ZAc = 38°, 5 = 0.030,
along the north-south strike of Heritage Group sedimentary rocks nonpleochroic but very pale brown in plain polarized light). The
and most likely represent eruption at separate, but approximately groundmass is a mixture of actinolite, albite, chlorite (anomalous
contemporaneous, volcanic centers. The Liberty Hills are under- brown colors), clinozoisite, leucoxene, pumpellyite, sphene and
lain by the Liberty Hills Formation of the Heritage Group, a unit minor calcite, hematite, pyrite, and apatite. Toward the interior of
composed of polymictic conglomerate, quartzite, argillite, and the sill the amounts of groundmass clinozoisite and actinolite
interbedded lava flows and volcanic breccia and considered to be increase, and both these minerals begin to take on a spray-like
at least 1,000 m thick (Webers and Sporli, 1983). Lava flows habit; apatite and clinopyroxene crystals are more prismatic, clino-
compose about 10 to 15 percent of the total thickness of this pyroxene grains are fringed with actinolite, and small amounts of
formation. Volcanic rocks of similar composition also crop out in interstitial quartz, zircon and skeletal titanomagnetite are present.
the Edson Hills and at several unnamed nunataks adjacent to
High Nunatak. All geographic locations mentioned in the text are Wilson Nuntaks sill
depicted in Figure 2.
This rock body bears many similarities to the Hyde Glacier
PETROGRAPHY sill. Rocks from the sill margins have an aphanitic to fine-grained
greenish-black groundmass and a few widely scattered blocky
Hyde Glacier sill greenish-white plagioclase crystals (1.5 to 2 mm). Toward the
interior of the sill the grain size increases, the rocks become more
Although this sill has been metamorphosed, relict textures feldspathic, and a diabasic texture becomes evident. Pegmatitic
are preserved. Hand samples from the margins of the sill are fine- dikes(?) and segregations occur in the upper quarter of the sill, but
to medium-grained (< 1 mm to 1 to 5 mm) greenish-black rocks most outcrop in this area is blanketed with a thick accumulation
with a subophitic to equigranular texture and a few widely scat- of frost-shattered talus blocks, and the relation of these coarse-
tered clinopyroxene phenocrysts (2 mm). These textures grade grained rocks to the rest of the sill is not obvious. Clots of ran-
inward to rocks that are subophitic but that also contain poikilitic domly oriented plagioclase crystals (to 5 cm) also occur in the
clinopyroxene crystals (5 mm). Grain size progressively increases upper quarter of the sill, and groups of these clots are usually
and rock composition becomes more feldspathic toward the inte- aligned parallel to the sill margins.
Sills and stocks compared groundmass in which are set < 1 percent minute green to black
amygdules and plagioclase laths, all of which average 0.5 to 1
The gabbroic stocks and erratics are petrographically identi- mm in diameter. Clinopyroxene phenocrysts are uncommon. Pet-
cal to the two sills described above. Only slight differences in rographically the dikes are composed largely of randomly orient-
mineralogy exist between the Wilson Nunataks and Hyde Glacier ed or locally trachytic-textured plagioclase laths now almost
sills. Pale brown clinopyroxene occurs only locally in the Wilson totally replaced by albite and epidote ± sericite ± carbonate. The
Nuntaks sill as relict cores of grains (1 to 3 mm) that have been groundmass is composed largely of chlorite (pennine; RIß = 1.60,
almost totally replaced by an actinolitic amphibole (RI/3 = 1.63, 8 = 0.0004, optically positive, a = ß = pale green, y = pale
2Va = 70°, ZAc = 18°, 8 = 0.021, Z = moderate green, Y = pale yellow) and lesser amounts of epidote, actinolite, sericite, leucox-
green, X = very pale yellow, Z> Y>X). Toward the interior of the ene, hematite, quartz, magnetite, and pyrite. Celadonite was
Wilson Nunataks sill the pleochroic colors of the actinolite inten- found in a single dike from the Wilson Nunataks. Clinopyroxenes
sify, and the extinction angle changes to ZAc = 25°, changes that have been almost totally replaced by chlorite. Amygdules are
suggest a higher iron content in the actinolite crystals. Grains of filled with epidote and/or chlorite ± quartz ± carbonate. The
reddish-brown amphibolite (RI/3 = 1.66, 2Va = 80°, ZAc = 18°, petrographic characteristics of these dikes very closely match the
6 = 0.020, Z = dark red brown, Y = red brown, X = pale red features of quartz keratophyres described by Williams and others
brown, Z>Y>X) occur only in the coarser grained parts of the (1982) and Nockolds and others (1978).
Wilson Nunataks sill. They occur as rims on relic clinopyroxene Type II dikes crop out only at High Nunatak and in the
grains and also apparently as primary crystals, as some grains of Wilson Nunataks. They were not found in contact with type I
this mineral exhibit the euhedral diamond-shaped amphibole dikes. Hand samples have an aphanitic to very fine grained green
cross section. Electron microprobe analyses of the reddish-brown to greenish-black groundmass in which are set scattered plagio-
amphiboles indicate that they are magnesian hastingsite (Leake, clase and hornblende phenocrysts (3 mm). Plagioclase pheno-
1978). Some of the primary magnesian hastingsite is rimmed crysts are now mixtures of epidote and albite ± sericite and
with actinolite, and in one instance a clinopyroxene core is carbonate, but the hornblende phenocrysts are fresh (RIß = 1.67,
rimmed with magnesian hastingsite, which is in turn rimmed with 2Va = 75°, ZAc = 1 I o , 5 = 0.026, Z = moderate red brown, Y =
actinolite. Pumpellyite is not present in rocks from the Wilson yellow brown, X = straw yellow, Z>Y>X). The groundmass is
Nunataks sill except for a single anomalous occurrence in a largely albite, hornblende occasionally rimmed with actinolite,
quartz-rich sample described by Bauer (1983). The pegmatitic and pyrite along with lesser amounts of sphene, actinolite, apatite,
segregations were originally essentially bimineralic (plagioclase hematite, and quartz. Trachyitic texture is locally developed, and
and magnesian hastingsite) and equigranular. Their mineralogy is a very few partially chloritized clinopyroxene crystals (1 mm)
now similar to the interior of the sill. occur in the groundmass of several of the dikes. Andesitic dikes
previously mentioned are simply slightly more siliceous variants
Spessartite lamprophyre plug of the type II dikes.
The ground mass of this rock body is an aphanitic to very Quartz latite dike
fine grained mottled green to greenish-black mixture of albite,
actinolite, epidote, calcite, chlorite, pumpellyite, pyrite, and In thin section the fine-grained quartz latite dike displays a
sphene. Adjacent to the contact with the younger gabbro the plug typical hypidiomorphic intergrowth of plagioclase (albite and ep-
contains approximately 10 percent black hornblende phenocrysts idote), quartz, mafic minerals, and pyrite. Most of the mafic
(3 to 4 mm). Toward the core of the plug the number of horn- minerals are now chloritized, but their shapes suggest they were
blende phenocrysts decreases, but their size reaches a maximum originally biotite. A trace amount of relict hornblende (RIß =
of 5 cm. The majority of the hornblende phenocrysts have been 1.65,8 = 0.020, ZAc = 14°, Z = dark green, X = moderate yellow
entirely replaced by chlorite and lesser actinolite. A few blocky green) rimmed with actinolite is present. The groundmass is a
clinopyroxene phenocrysts (5 mm) are also present; these have mixture of chlorite, albite, actinolite, pyrite, epidote, sphene, apa-
been partially uralitized. Amygdules (< 1 percent) are filled with tite, zircon, hematite, and calcite.
actinolite, quartz, and chlorite and rimmed with opaque minerals.
Soholt Peaks stock
Mafic and andesitic dikes
Fresh hand samples are dark gray to greenish-black and
Mafic dikes are largely plagioclase phyric, subophitic to poi- consist of 10 to 20 percent phenocrysts (3 to 4 mm) of feldspar
kilitic textured meta-diabases or gabbros (type I), but several of (mostly sanidine) and high-temperature (ß) quartz set in an apha-
the dikes (type II) exposed at High Nunatak and in the Wilson nitic groundmass. Many of the ß quartz phenocrysts are marginal-
Nunataks also contain magnesian hastingsite similar to that which ly resorbed or embayed, glomeroporphyritic, and occasionally
occurs in the Wilson Nunataks sill. Hand samples of type I dikes crushed and recrystallized. Feldspar phenocrysts are almost entire-
have an aphanitic to very fine grained green to greenish-black ly unaltered. The groundmass is largely microcrystalline (0.05 to
0.10 mm) granoblastic quartz + feldspar, minor calcite, hematite, pellyite, sericite, and sphene. Felsic flows tend to be yellowish
and rare epidote. Texture and composition suggest the ground- brown, tan, or light gray and are often plagioclase and/or quartz
mass represents devitrified glass (Lofgren, 1971). The ground- phyric. Sanidine and hornblende phenocrysts are uncommon.
mass also contains small (0.1 to 1.0 mm) anhedral porphyroblasts Except for the development of smaller amounts of actinolite and
of nearly isotropic, optically negative chlorite (weakly pleochroic the lack of pumpellyite the groundmass mineralogy of these rocks
in shades of green and pale yellow green), and abundant ragged is similar to that of the mafic flows. Patches of mosaic-textured
flakes of biotite (pleochroic in shades of dark olive to pale yel- quartz and feldspar suggest that some of these rocks were origi-
low). The biotite, and locally the chlorite, define a moderately nally largely glass. Although metamorphism has obliterated many
well developed foliation. Accessory minerals in approximate or- of the primary features, some of the felsic rocks in the Liberty
der of abundance are pyrite, magnetite, sphene, apatite, and zir- Hills appear to have been emplaced as ash flows.
con. Vennum and Nishi (this volume) have described an unusual
assemblage of secondary materials that have formed from the GEOCHEMISTRY
oxidation of pyrite concentrated in the margins of this stock.
Mafic rocks
Lava flows
Sixty-four new analyses (37 from stocks and sills, 14 dikes,
Mafic flows are generally purple to green, are locally pil- and 13 lava flows) of major, minor, and trace elements are re-
lowed and amygdaloidal, and are usually plagioclase phyric. Clin- ported in tables 1A-D and 2A. CIPW norms for all 64 analyses
opyroxene phenocrysts are uncommon, and olivine phenocrysts are listed in the same tables and are plotted on Figure 4; the
are rare. Plagioclase phenocrysts have been converted to a mix- normative basalt classification is from Yoder and Tilley (1962).
ture of albite, epidote, and sericite ± calcite, whereas olivine has Norms were calculated after the analyses were converted to a 100
been completely pseudomorphed by calcite, chlorite, opaque percent anhydrous total. As the oxidation state of iron has a
minerals, and epidote. Clinopyroxene phenocrysts are generally significant effect on the amount of normative quartz, these com-
relatively fresh but are commonly rimmed by actinolite and/or putations were completed using an Fe203:Fe0 ratio of 0.15
opaque minerals or partially replaced by chlorite + calcite. (Brooks, 1976). When calculated in this fashion, 9 analyses are
Amygdules are filled with epidote, chlorite, calcite, and/or pum- silica-saturated tholeiites (quartz normative), 28 are olivine tho-
pellyite, and the groundmass often displays a pilotaxitic to tra- leiites (normative hypersthene and olivine), and 27 are alkali
chytic texture where plagioclase laths are enclosed in a matrix of basalts (normative nepheline). Analyses from High Nunatak plot
actinolite, albite, epidote, calcite, chlorite, opaque minerals, pum- mainly in the olivine tholeiite field, but those from other centers
Ne-
Intrusives
Edson Hills
High Nunatak o
Lamprophyre •
Wilson Nunatak Group A
Volcanics x
Figure 4. Plot of CIPW norms calculated from chemically analyzed samples of mafic igneous rocks from
the southern Heritage Range. Classification is from Yoder and Tilley (1962).
of igneous activity are not confined to any particular part of the element mobility during metamorphism to nonoceanic basalt.
diagram. On an alkali-silica diagram (Fig. 5), all but 8 analyses Due to the apparent mobility of silica and the alkali elements
fall inside the alkali basalt field of Macdonald and Katsura during metamorphism, the FeO*/MgO ratio (where FeO* is
(1964). On an AFM diagram (Fig. 6) the analyses form a large total iron expressed as FeO + 0.9 Fe203) is apparently a much
cluster of points near the center of the triangle and are approxi- better indicator of fractionation than the more commonly used
mately equally divided between the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline Harker diagrams or solidification index (Saunders and others,
fields of Irvine and Barager (1971). Similar results are obtained 1979). FeO* is plotted against FeO*/MgO in Figure 8 and
from a plot (Fig. 7) of weight percent AI2O3 versus normative against Si02 in Figure 9. Although some calc-alkaline character-
plagioclase composition [100An/(An+Ab+5/3Ne)]. The dikes are istics are still evident, these two diagrams suggest that the suite of
generally higher in Si02 than the rest of the analyses, and al- mafic igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range is much
though there are exceptions, they also have a tendency to be more strongly tholeiitic than indicated by Figures 6 and 7, both of
lower in AI2O3, MgO, CaO, and total iron oxides and higher in which are partially based on abundance of alkali elements. Figure
Na 2 0 than the other rock types. 8 also shows that as the FeOVMgO ratio increases, there is an
It is, however, now well known that ocean-floor basalt is accompanying increase in the amount of total iron, a feature
prone to extensive chemical modification when subjected to considered to be indicative of a tholeiitic differentiation trend
either hydrothermal alteration (Bass and others, 1973) or green- (Miyashiro, 1974). Irvine and Barager (1971) have previously
schist facies metamorphism (Pearce, 1975). The oxides that are commented that in tholeiitic series, andesites and/or more felsic
most mobile during metamorphism appear to be CaO and AI2O3 rocks are greatly subordinate to basalts, but that in calc-alkaline
and, to a lesser extent, Na20, K2O, Si02, and FeO. Although suites, this situation is reversed. As discussed in a later section of
Bass and others (1973) and Pearce (1975) dealt with ocean-floor this chapter, igneous rocks of the southern Heritage Range are
basalt, it seems safe to extend Pearce's conclusions regarding dominantly basaltic in composition. Cr and Ni and, to a lesser
10-
9-
8 -
ALKALI BASALT
1-
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FeO + 0.9 FSgOg diagram (Fig. 12) fall in or just outside the "within-plate field"
(Pearce and Norry, 1979).
It should be pointed out that the validity of the above-
mentioned discrimination diagrams, especially the Ti-Zr-Y dia-
gram, has been recently questioned (Holm, 1982; Prestvik, 1982).
Some of these misgivings apparently result, however, because the
precautions mentioned by Pearce and Cann (1973) were not
followed (Brooks and Cole, 1980). In order to circumvent this
problem, only analyses with CaO + MgO between 12 and 20
percent and total alkalis < 20 percent after calculations are made
for presentation in an AFM diagram (Fig. 6) are plotted in Fig-
ures 11 and 12.
The scarcity of olivine and the relatively large amount of
plagioclase relative to pyroxene are suggestive of tholeiitic chemis-
try. Although titanaugite is apparently not present, optical proper-
ties of relict clinopyroxenes suggest a calcic augite composition.
This feature, the apparent lack of orthopyroxene, and the pres-
ence of magnesian hastingsite, are all characteristics of alkali
basalts. Thus, study of alteration-resistant trace-element abun-
Figure 6. Ternary plot showing variation of total alkalies, magnesium, dances and relict primary mineralogy suggests that the mafic
and iron expressed as oxides in chemically analyzed samples of igneous
rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Classification is from Irvine and igneous rocks of the southern Heritage Range are continental
Barager (1971). basalts, the original chemical compositions of which were mildly
tholeiitic or transitional between tholeiitic and alkali basalt. Their
intrusion into a thick sequence of carbonate and clastic sedimen-
tary rocks is not compatible with an oceanic island setting.
extent, Co, Cu, and V are the only trace elements with behaviors Felsic and intermediate rocks (>56 percent S1O2)
that correlate (negatively) with the FeO*/MgO ratio. Amounts
of alkalis, alkali earths, and various alkali/alkali-earth ratios fluc- Twenty analyses (14 lava flows, 4 dikes, and 2 from the
tuate randomly; this is believed due to mobility of these elements Soholt Peaks stock) of major, minor, and trace elements are
during metamorphism. reported in Tables ID and 2B. CIPW norms are listed in the
In 1970, Cann was able to show that amounts of Nb, Ti, Y, same tables and are plotted on Figure 13, the quartz-feldspar
and Zr in ocean-floor basalt fall within a fairly restricted range normative volcanic rock classification scheme of Streckeisen
and that abundances of these elements are strongly resistant to (1979). As some of the analyses reported total iron as Fe203,
modification by secondary processes. A number of other penolo- norms were calculated on the same basis as those for the basaltic
gists (Jakes and Gill, 1970; Pearce and Cann, 1971; Floyd and rocks (on a 100 percent anhydrous base with an Fe203:Fe0 ratio
Winchester, 1975; Pearce and others, 1975) have since devised a of 0.15). Analzyed samples span the complete range of interme-
variety of geochemical methods utilizing these four elements as diate to felsic compositions from andesite to alkali rhyolite. It
well as Cr, P, Sr, and the rare earths to determine the original should be emphasized that these rocks are present in the field in
chemistry and tectonic setting of altered basaltic rocks. Pearce far smaller amounts, relative to the basalts, than is indicated by
and Cann (1973) used the Y/Nb ratio to indicate whether a the number of analyses presented here. When these analyses are
specific rock is alkalic or tholeiitic; Y/Nb s£ 1 is indicative of plotted on an AFM diagram (Fig. 6) they appear to define a
alkaline chemistry and Y/Nb 5= 2 is indicative of tholeiitic chem- calc-alkaline differentiation trend. Plots of vanadium versus
istry in their scheme. Examination of a Ti-Y/Nb plot (Fig. 10) chromium (Fig. 14), vanadium versus FeOVMgO, and weight
indicates that all analyzed Ellsworth Mountains mafic rocks have percent Si02 versus chromium (the latter two not shown) all
Y/Nb ratios that fall in the transitional basalt chemistry range indicate that the felsic and intermediate rocks display both tholeii-
(Y/Nb 1, but < 2). When these analyses are plotted in a tic and calc-alkaline traits. These are apparently misleading ob-
Ti-Zr-Y discrimination diagram (Fig. 11), 22 of 26 points plot in servations, as several petrologists (Noble, 1968; Lipman and
or along the edge of the "within-plate basalt" field, a category that others, 1969; Kochhar, 1977) have shown that glassy felsic rocks
includes both ocean island and continental basalt (Pearce and are prone to modification of their chemical composition, espe-
Cann, 1973). On the previously mentioned Ti-Y/Nb plot, all cially of the alkali elements, by a variety of pre- and post-
analyzed samples fall in the continental tholeiite field but in areas consolidation mechanisms. Indeed the possibility of alkali
overlapped by the fields of either oceanic tholeiites and continen- exchange during hydration while these rocks were still glassy
tal alkali basalt. Twenty-five of 27 points plotted on a Zr/Y-Zr (Lipman and others, 1969) is supported by two lines of evidence.
When these analyses are plotted in a Na20-K20-Ca0 triangle erals could easily have been originally incorporated in glassy
(not shown), they outline a random distribution pattern scattered groundmasses. Contents of large ion lithophile elements (Ba, Rb,
over most of the diagram but concentrated toward the Na20 Sr) fall between those reported for calc-alkaline and shoshonitic
corner (50 to 85 percent relative Na20). In addition, rocks with associations (Jakes and White, 1972) and thus support the above
high Na20 contents generally have low K2O contents. conclusion, but as these elements are also prone to mobility this
Discrimination diagrams such as those used with basaltic criterion must be used with caution.
rocks have not been used extensively with altered igneous rocks
of other compositions. Winchester and Floyd (1977) and Floyd GEOCHRONOLOGY
and Winchester (1978) have, however, utilized several immobile
elements (Ce, Ga, Nb, Sc, Y, Ti, Zr) to construct a series of Lack of either unaltered rocks or minerals of suitable com-
diagrams relating altered intermediate and felsic volcanic rocks to position has restricted radiometric geochronology in the Ells-
their original chemical composition but not to tectonic setting. worth Mountains. Four whole-rock K-Ar dates from intrusive
Their plot of SiC>2 percent versus the ratio Zr/TiC>2, reproduced rocks reported earlier by Yoshida (1982) and six new K-Ar dates
as Figure 15, suggests that the intermediate and felsic volcanic performed on three intrusive rocks and three lava flows in the
rocks of the southern Heritage Range are in part calc-alkaline and German Democratic Republic (DDR) are listed in Table 3. Two
in part alkalic, i.e., that the high alkali contents present in the of Yoshida's dates and all six of the DDR dates are clearly
whole rock analyses are not entirely due to alkali element mobil- anomalous, most likely due to Ar loss. The three DDR dates
ity but are in part a primary magmatic characteristic of these from the Hyde Glacier sill range from 161 to 245 Ma and are
rocks. Granted none of these rocks apparently contain the modal much lower than Yoshida's 396-Ma date from the same body.
indicators of high alkalinity (feldspathoids, sodic amphibole The three dated alkali basalt flows from High Nunatak (242 to
and/or pyroxene, aenigmatite), but the components of these min- 303 Ma) are all interbedded with Cambrian sedimentary rocks of
2 2 —1
CALC-ALKALINE
10 -
9 -
8 -
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
NORMATIVE PLAQIOCLASE COMPOSITION

Figure 7. Variation between weight percent AI2O3 and normative plagioclase composition in chemically
analyzed samples of mafic igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Classification is from Irvine
and Barager (1971).
1 1 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 5
FeO*/MgO FeO*/MgO
Figure 8. Plot of FeO* versus FeO*/MgO for chemically analyzed Figure 9. Plot of FeO*/MgO versus SiC>2 for chemically analyzed sam-
samples of mafic igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Clas- ples of mafic igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Classifica-
sification is from Miyashiro (1974). tion is from Miyashiro (1974).
the Heritage Group. The two dikes dated by Yoshida give ages of event, and the age is close to the two K-Ar ages reported by
237 and 254 Ma. These two dikes intrude sedimentary rocks of Yoshida (1982) from the Hyde Glacier and Wilson Nunataks
the lower Heritage Group but are in turn truncated by a con- sills. Interpretation of the isochron is, however, problematic. If
glomeratic unit that is also part of the Heritage Group. The the samples were fresh and unmetamorphosed, the preferred ex-
significance of Yoshida's dates from the Wilson Nunatak sill (381 planation would be that 369 ± 1 8 Ma represents the time of
± 19 Ma) and the Hyde Glacier sill (396 ± 20 Ma) is discussed crystallization of the stock, in which case the high initial
87
below. Sr/ 86 Sr ratio would be ascribed to magma genesis by anatexis
Although igneous rocks of the Heritage Range are also or assimilation of older crustal material (either the exposed Cam-
generally unsuitable for Rb-Sr whole rock dating, a four-point brian strata of the Heritage Range or a hypothetical Precambrian
whole-rock isochron was obtained from the Soholt Peaks stock. basement). Yoshida (1982) has also reported a K-Ar date of 935
The available hand samples were small (about 500 g each) and ± 47 Ma from a fine-grained meta-pelite from the Wilson Nuna-
exhibited a moderate amount of groundmass alteration but con- taks, the only radiometric evidence of Precambrian rocks in the
tained reasonable fresh feldspar phenocrysts. Rb/Sr ratios were Ellsworth Mountains. In view of the altered nature and small size
determined on whole-rock powders by x-ray fluorescence (Pank- of the samples, however, it is equally possible that the data reflect
hurst and O'Nions, 1973), and Sr-isotope compositions were isotopic homogenization on a hand-specimen scale during low-
determined with a fully automated VG Micromass 30 mass spec- grade metamorphism, a phenomenon frequently claimed to occur
trometer at the Institute of Geological Sciences in London. Suffi- in fine-grained felsic volcanic rocks. This would imply a mid-
cient spread in Rb/Sr (Table 4) was found to define an age fairly Devonian phase of metamorphism, an event earlier postulated by
precisely, but some scatter of the data points outside analytical Yoshida (1982).
error is indicated by the MS WD figure of 7.3. If this scatter is Most geologists who have worked in the Ellsworth Moun-
used to define the uncertainty of a best fit line, an age of 369 ± 1 8 tains feel that the range was deformed and metamorphosed by a
Ma and an initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio of 0.7148 ± 0.0003 are ob- single orogenic event (Ellsworth Orogeny) that is presently no
tained (Fig. 16). These data clearly represent a discrete geological more closely dated than Late Permian to early Mesozoic (Crad-
dock, 1972; Ford, 1972). It is thought by Craddock (1983) to be dates and the age of emplacement of the Soholt Peaks stock
probably Triassic in age. Hjelle and others (1982) and Yoshida would imply the lack of a genetic link between these three intru-
(1982) have postulated other earlier periods of folding and/or sive bodies and the volcanic rocks of the Heritage Group. All
low-grade metamorphism. volcanic rocks discussed in this report are interbedded with sedi-
In choosing between the two alternative interpretations of mentary rocks containing Cambrian fossils (Webers, 1972; Hjelle
the Rb-Sr isochron, we are impressed by the fact that the Rb-Sr and others, 1978, 1982; Webers and Sporli, 1983). All plutonic
data are apparently unaffected by the Ellsworth Orogeny, and hypabyssal rocks discussed in this study are intrusive only
whereas this event apparently had a profound effect on the K-Ar into Heritage Group sedimentary rocks. The lack of intrusive
whole-rock ages. Because the earlier phases of metamorphism rocks, especially dikes, in the overlying Minaret Formation and
postulated by Yoshida (1982) are of low grade, it would seem Crashsite Quartzite and the close correspondence in chemical
illogical that almost total resetting should have occurred in an composition between the intrusive and extrusive rocks strongly
earlier phase but none at all during the later Ellsworth Orogeny. suggests that the intrusive igneous rocks of the southern Heritage
We, therefore, consider it more likely that the Rb-Sr age repre- Range, except for the Soholt Peaks stock, are cogenetic with the
sents a mid-Devonian intrusive emplacement of the Soholt Peaks volcanic rocks and were emplaced no later than Late Cambrian
stock and that low-grade metamorphism accompanying the Ells- time. We regard the K-Ar dates obtained from the Hyde Glacier
worth Orogeny slightly disturbed the Rb-Sr systematics but had a and Wilson Nunataks sills by Yoshida (1982) to be reset min-
much greater effect on the K-Ar whole-rock systems. imum ages of emplacement, and their close correspondence to the
In relation to the three anomalously low DDR K-Ar dates emplacement age of the Soholt Peaks stock to be coincidental.
from the Hyde Glacier sill (161 to 245 Ma), Yoshida's (1982)
COMPARISON WITH TRANSANTARCTIC
K-Ar dates of 381 ± 19 Ma from the Wilson Nunataks sill and
MOUNTAINS IGNEOUS ROCKS
396 ± 20 Ma from the Hyde Glacier sill must be considered
minimum ages of emplacement and also to have been partially Mesozoic basalt and dolerite, generally tholeiitic in composi-
reset. The apparent close correspondence between Yoshida's two tion and Jurassic in age, are widely distributed on Southern Hem-
\
OTB Oceanic tholeiitic basalts
OAB Oceanic alkati basalts
OAB CTB Continental tholeiitic basalts
CAB Continental alkali basalts
OTB
i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 r
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Y/Nb
Figure 10. Variation between TiC>2 and Y/Nb in chemically analyzed samples of mafic igneous rocks
from the southern Heritage Range. Fields of various basalt types from Floyd and Winchester (1975).
Ti/100 ¡sphere continents. In Antarctica, Ferrar Supergroup rocks crop

1. W i t h i n - p l a t e basalts
out for 3,000 km along the Transantarctic Mountains from
2. L o w - p o t a s s i u m t h o l e i i t e s
3. L o w - p o t a s s i u m t h o l e i i t e s
northern Victoria Land to the Pensacola Mountains (Fig. 1) and
O c e a n floor b a s a l t s include lava flows (Kirkpatrick Basalt Group), dolerite sills and
Calc-alkaline basalts
4. C a l c - a l k a l i n e b a s a l t s
dikes (Ferrar Dolerite Group), and the Forrestal Gabbro Group,
which is composed entirely of the Dufek intrusion, a very large
(minimum area of 50,000 km2) differentiated stratiform gabbroic
intrusion (Kyle and others, 1981). The Ferrar Supergroup is
chemically and isotopically similar to Tasmanian dolerite sills,
and these two groups of rocks are now regarded as part of the
same petrologic province (Heier and others, 1965, Compston and
others, 1968; Faure and others, 1972, 1974, 1982; Kyle, 1980;
Kyle and others, 1983). Basalt and dolerite (Kirwan Volcanics)
that crop out in Queen Maud Land (Fig. 1) are chemically and
isotopically distinct from the Ferrar Supergroup but are similar in
these characteristics to the Karoo basalts of South Africa and the
Zr Y- 3
Serra Geral dolerites of Brazil (Faure and others, 1972, 1979).
Figure 11. Ti-Zr-Y discrimination diagram from chemically analyzed Ford and Kistler (1980) have recently shown that in Antarctica
samples of mafic igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Fields
of various basalt types from Pearce and Cann (1973).
the boundary between these two Mesozoic basaltic petrologic
provinces lies to the north of the Pensacola Mountains along the
margin of the Weddell Sea.
In 1966, Gunn subdivided the Ferrar Dolerite in the
McMurdo Sound area into three magma types: hypersthene
tholeiite, pigeonite tholeiite, and much less common olivine
tholeiite. Analyses of chilled hypersthene and pigeonite tholeiite
10 —
1. W i t h i n - p l a t e b a s a l t s
2. Mid-ocean ridge basalts
3 . Island arc b a s a l t s
5 —
>-
N
i r
10 50 100 500
ppm Zr
Figure 12. Zr/Y-Zr discrimination diagram from chemically analyzed samples of mafic igneous rocks
from the southern Heritage Range. Fields of various basalt types from Pearce and Norry (1979).
are similar to some of the Kirkpatrick Basalt (Kyle, 1980). well as "average" Kirwan Volcanics (Faure and others, 1979),
Chilled margins of sills from the Pecora Escarpment in the Pen- are given in Table 5 for comparison purposes. The basalts from
sacola Mountains are intermediate in composition between Queen Maud Land have noticeably lower Si02, K2O, Rb, and
Gunn's (1966) hypersthene and pigeonite tholeiite, and average Rb/Sr and higher Ti0 2 , MgO, CaO, Sr, and K/Rb than Kirk-
composition of mafic dikes from the Cordiner Peaks (also in patrick Basalt.
the Pensacola Mountains) corresponds closely to hypersthene Metamorphism of the Ellsworth Mountains basaltic rocks
tholeiite (Ford and Kistler, 1980). Analyses of these rock types, as hinders comparison of their chemistry with nonmetamorphosed
Ferrar Supergroup and Kirwan Volcanics. It should be pointed
out, though, that some Kirkpatrick Basalt has been zeolitized and
thus has also probably undergone some geochemical mobility
(Elliot, 1970, 1972; Kyle, 1980). Consequently, only chilled
margins of Heritage Range sills (analyses 7f, S10, SI4, 14g, and
141 in Table 1A) are used for comparison, as these rocks should
be the least differentiated and should thus more closely approxi-
mate original magma composition. These five analyses are also
listed in Table 5 but are not averaged because there are significant
chemical differences between margins of the Hyde Glacier and
Wilson Nunataks sills. Compared to basaltic rocks of the Ferrar
Supergroup, the Ellsworth Mountains sills have much lower SiC>2
(43.96 to 46.55 percent versus 50.40 to 56.60 percent), Cu, and
Rb/Sr ratios and higher total iron oxides, Sr, and K/Rb ratios.
Figure 13. Ternary plot of normative quartz (Qz), orthoclase (A), and The Hyde Glacier sill also has a much higher MgO content than
albite plus anorthite (P) from chemically analyzed samples of felsic and
intermediate (>56 percent SiC^) igneous rocks from the southern Heri- all Ferrar Supergroup rocks except the rare olivine tholeiite
tage Range. Classification is from Streckeisen (1979). magma types. Na20 is also generally higher in the Ellsworth
Mountains rocks than in the Ferrar Supergroup, although this
element's distribution is prone to mobility. There are thus signifi-
500 n cant chemical differences between the Ellsworth Mountains
mafic rocks and those of the Ferrar Supergroup. The same con-
clusion was reached earlier by Hjelle and others (1978, 1982).
THOLEIITIC
100 -
E
a
a O O
E
3
C A LC-ALKALINE
co
c
>co
CALC-ALKALINE and THOLEIITIC
10
1000 100 10
Chromium (ppm)
Figure 14. Plot of vanadium versus chromium for chemically analyzed samples of felsic and interme-
diate (>56 percent Si0 2 ) igneous rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Classification is from
Miyashiro and Shido (1975).
1 1
1 » 1 1
87Sr/86Sr
SOHOLT PERKS ^-
0.730
.—•
s*
•
0.720-
0.710
AGE 3G9 + 18 Ma (2-sigma)
Intercept 0.7148 + 0.0003
MSWD 7.3 Enhanced Errors
87Rb/86Sr
Zr/TiO_
2 1 1 1 , 1
Figure 15. Si02-Zr/Ti02 discrimination diagram for chemically ana- 1.0 2.0 3.0
lyzed samples of felsic and intermediate (>56 percent Si02> igneous Figure 16. Rubidium-strontium whole-rock isochron diagram for the
rocks from the southern Heritage Range. Symbols used are A, rhyolite; Soholt Peaks dacite stock.
B, dacite and rhyodacite; C, comendite and pantellerite; D, trachyte;
E, andesite; F, trachyandesite; G, phonolite. Fields of various rock types
from Winchester and Floyd (1977).
When compared to average Kirwan basalt (Faure and oth- intrude Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone in the Shackleton Range
ers, 1979) the Ellsworth Mountains rocks are lower in Si(>2, (northeast of the Pensacola Mountains) yield K-Ar dates between
Ti02, and CaO but higher in AI2O3 and Na20. The Hyde 297 and 457 Ma (Clarkson, 1981) but do not appear to be close
Glacier sill has a much higher MgO and K2O content, and the chemical equivalents of the Ellsworth Mountains mafic rocks.
Wilson Nunataks sill has a much higher total iron oxide content. Porphyritic metafelsic rocks also crop out in the Queen Maud
There is, however, considerable overlap in the values of Rb, Sr, Range of the central Transantarctic Mountains. These include the
K/Rb, and Rb/Sr. Thus these two groups of rocks do not seem late Precambrian Wyatt Formation, which contains both extru-
to be chemical equivalents either, but the disparity is less and it sive and hypabyssal rocks as well as porphyritic metarhyolites
should be pointed out that only a few samples are being com- and minor metabasalts that occur in the lower part of the Cam-
pared. The transitional to mildly tholeiitic original chemistry of brian Taylor Formation along the Shackleton Glacier (Stump,
the Ellsworth Mountains mafic rocks predicted earlier by the use 1982).
of alteration resistant trace elements is not a feature of either the
Ferrar Supergroup or the Kirwan Volcanics. Felsic and inter- TECTONIC SETTING
mediate rocks are relatively rare in both Ferrar Supergroup and
Kirwan volcanic terranes but have been reported locally Earlier in this paper, discrimination diagrams utilizing im-
(Marshak and others, 1981). mobile trace elements were employed in an attempt to determine
as much as possible about the original chemistry and tectonic
CORRELATION setting of the metamorphosed igneous rocks of the southern Her-
itage Range. We concluded on their basis and on the basis of field
Only a few tentative correlations can be attempted between setting (an associated thick sequence of carbonate and clastic
igneous rocks of the Ellsworth and Transantarctic mountains, the sedimentary rocks) and scarcity of andesite that the mafic rocks
closest possible comparisons being in the Pensacola Mountains. were continental in setting and largely tholeiitic in composition
Schmidt and others (1978) and Schmidt and Ford (1969) have but that they also displayed some calc-alkaline tendencies even
mapped an extensive suite of basaltic and diabasic sills and dikes when plotted on diagrams (FeO* versus FeO*/MgO) designed to
and subordinate plugs and sills of felsic porphyry of uncertain, but totally negate the effect of alkali mobility. The Ti02-Y/Nb dia-
probable, late Precambrian age that are intrusive into the late gram, however, suggests that some of the mafic rocks are transi-
Precambrian Patuxent Formation in the Neptune Range of the tional in composition between tholeiitic and alkali basalt.
Pensacola Mountains. Unpublished chemical analyses of these Intermediate to felsic igneous rocks are much less abundant than
mafic rocks are similar to those from the southern Heritage Range mafic igneous rocks in the southern Heritage Range, and the
(A. B. Ford, personal communication, 1982). Dolerite dikes that intermediate rocks are far less abundant than the felsic ones. The
TABLE 3. WHOLE ROCK K-AR DATES FROM IGNEOUS ROCKS

OF THE SOUTHERN HERITAGE RANGE
Rock Type and K Ar40030 AIÔR^X K40X Isotopie Age

9
Location (%) (%) 10" Mole/g 10" 7 Mole/g (Ma)
Diabase-upper part
Hyde Glacier Sill* 1.39 88.6 0.569 0.415 220.0 ± 9.4
Diabase-central part
Hyde Glacier Sill (S16)* 0.84 52.2 0.246 0.251 161.6 +11.2
Diabase-lower part
Hyde Glacier Sill* 1.24 88.7 0.565 0.370 245.2 ±11.2
Alkali basalt flow

High Nunatak* 2.55 92.8 1.149 0.761 242.8 ±10.9
Alkali basalt flow

High Nunatak (S2)* 2.42 91.4 1.386 0.722 303.4 ±13.9
Alkali basalt flow

High Nunatak* 2.76 88.5 1.260 0.824 245.7 ±10.4
Diabase-
Hyde Glacier Sillt 0.43 86.3 0.740§ 396 ± 20
Diabase-
Wilson Nunataks Sillt 0.785 90.8 1,295§ 381 ±19
Andesite Dike-
Edson Hülst 4.88 97.6 4.805§ 237 ±12
Basaltic Dike-
Edson Hillst 2.35 96.4 2.495§ 254 ±13
Note: 'Samples analyzed by I. Pilot, G. Kaiser, and V. Klemm, German Democratic Republic.
Constants: Xß = 4.72 X 10" 10 a" 1 , ^ = 0.584 X 10" 10 a" 1 .
tSamples from Yoshida (1982), analyzed by Teledyne Isotopes Co., New Jersey.
Constants: Xß = 4.962 X 10" 10 a" 1 , = 0.581 X 10- 1 0 a" 1 , K 4 0 = 1.167 X 10' 4 atom/atom of natural
potassium.
§ s c c A r 4 0 R a d / g X 10"5.
TABLE 4. RUBIDIUM-STRONTIUM DATA

FROM THE SOHOLT PEAKS DACITE STOCK
Sample Rb Sr 87 R b/86 Sr 87 S r / 86 S r
Number (ppm) (ppm)
V79a 14.4 110 0.380 0.71665

V79b 13.4 119 0.325 0.71665
V79c 83.7 85.9 2.834 0.72955
V79d 71.4 133 1.555 0.72319
Error: Rb, Sr ± 2%; Rb/Sr ± 0.5%; 8 7 Sr/ 8 6 Sr ± 0.01%

TABLE 5. COMPOSITION OF FERRAR SUPERGROUP AND KIRWAN VOLCAN ICS COMPARED TO ELLSWORTH
MOUNTAINS SILL MARGINS
A B C D E F G H I J
Si02 50.40 53.75 55.65 53.3 54.6 56.50 48.07 55.86 46.34 44.45
Ti0 2 0.44 0.70 1.03 0.65 0.75 1.28 2.06 1.35 2.44 1.13
AI 2 O 3 15.51 14.33 13.95 15.5 14.5 12.92 13.03 13.55 13.99 15.87
Fe203 1.5 1.8 3.2 3.64 2.89 2.63
FeO 8.72* 9.65* 10.30* 8.0 8.2 8.5 9.33 11.51* 12.21 8.94
MnO 0.17 0.18 0.17 0.13 0.18 0.22 0.19 0.18 0.21 0.17
MgO 10.60 6.64 4.50 6.6 5.6 3.44 8.59 3.50 6.12 10.33
CaO 10.87 10.60 8.51 10.3 9.5 7.91 9.70 8.12 8.08 7.35
Na 2 0 1.42 1.83 2.50 1.9 1.8 2.29 2.44 2.24 3.55 2.64
K2O 0.37 0.81 1.45 0.72 0.82 1.29 0.51 1.43 0.56 1.38
P2O5 0.08 0.18 0.23 0.15 0.12 0.16 0.22 0.15 0.33 0.09
Ba 157 232 376 370 262

Cr 352 142 59 168 71 178
Cu 69 118 123 112 129 45
Ni 249 85 53 89 87 125
Rb 12 30 50 21 28 61 10 55 20 27
Sr 100 126 138 172 113 129 213 128 270 353
Zr 53 83 157 162 125
K/Rb 308 270 290 267 182 215 500 260 280 510
Rb/Sr 0.12 0.24 0.36 0.12 0.25 0.47 0.47 0.43 0.07 0.08
Note: A = chilled margin olivine tholeiite sill, Gunn (1966); B = average 5 analyses chilled margins hypersthene tholeiite sills,
Gunn (1966); C = average 4 analyses chilled margins pigeonite tholeiite sills, Gunn (1966); D = average 12 analyses Cordiner
Peaks dikes, Ford and Kistler (1980); E = average 5 analyses chilled margins Pecora Escarpment sills, Ford and Kistler (1980);
F = average 12 analyses Kirkpatrick Basalt, Storm Peak, Faure and others (1974); G = average 17 analyses Kirwan Volcanics,
Faure and others (1979); H = average 14 analyses Kirkpatrick Basalt, Mt. Falla, Faure and others (1982); I = average 3 analyses
chilled margins Wilson Nunataks sill; J = average 2 analyses chilled margins Hyde Glacier sill.
*Total iron as FeO.
igneous rocks thus constitute a bimodal suite characterized by alkaline, and alkaline volcanism can occur simultaneously in dif-
large amounts of mafic rocks and very few of intermediate com- ferent parts of the same terrane.
position. Discrimination diagrams, although not as extensively Basaltic or strongly bimodal basaltic-rhyolitic suites with
developed for use with more siliceous rocks, and content of in- scarce andesite are characteristic of continental areas subjected to
compatible trace elements suggest that the felsic and intermediate plate separation and extension. In direct contrast, igneous rock
rocks also show both tholeiitic and calc-alkaline tendencies along suites developed along converging plate boundaries usually are
with some alkaline traits. unimodal and display a wide range of compositions often domi-
It is well known that igneous rock suites, especially volcanic nated by andesite (Christiansen and Lipman, 1972; Lipman and
ones, often grade from tholeiitic through calc-alkaline to sho- others, 1972; Miyashiro, 1974). Bimodal convergent suites have
shonitic through time and/or space across island arc-continental been noted (individual Cascade volcanoes and individual islands
margin situations (Jakes and White, 1972). This is not the case of the Lesser Antilles), but in these cases, andesite is an abundant
here, however. Igneous rocks in the southern Heritage Range are rock type (McBirney, 1968; Brown and others, 1977). We there-
interlayered with, or intrusive into, the same portion of the sedi- fore conclude that the igneous rocks of the southern Heritage
mentary section and are thus regarded as being contemporaneous Range were emplaced in a continental area undergoing exten-
in time and space. If the conclusions based on the discrimination sional tectonism and do not represent an island arc-continental
diagrams are valid, then the igneous rock association discussed in margin subduction zone complex.
this paper is somewhat unusual. Similar sequences have, how-
ever, been reported from the Yellowknife volcanic belt in ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Canada's Northwest Territories (Irvine and Barager, 1971) and
from southeastern Maine (Gates and Moench, 1981). In addition, This project was funded by National Science Foundation
Arculus and Johnson (1978) have shown that tholeiitic, calc- grant DPP78-21720 to Gerald Webers of Macalester College.
Logistical support was provided by the Antarctic Research Pro- State College Press, p. 301-325.
gram of the National Science Foundation and U.S. Navy squad- , 1972, Major oxide chemistry of the Kirkpatrick Basalt, central Transant-
ron VXE-6. We thank Philip Fenn of the University of Califor- arctic Mountains, in Adie, R. J., ed., Antarctic geology and geophysics: Oslo,
Universitetsforlaget, p. 413-418.
nia, Davis, for his help with the chemical analyses and Ronald Faure, G., Hill, R. L., Jones, L. M., and Elliot, D. H., 1972, Isotope composition
Leu of Sonoma State University for preparing the thin sections. of strontium and silica content of Mesozoic basalt and dolerite from Antarc-
Discussions in the field with Bernard Sporli and over many tica, in Adie, R. J., ed., Antarctic geology and geophysics: Oslo, Universitets-
glasses of beer with Arthur Ford were especially helpful. All forlaget, p. 617-624.
figures were drafted by Marc Druckman of Sonoma State Uni- Faure, G., Bowman, J. R., Elliot, D. H., and Jones, L. M., 1974, Strontium
isotope composition and pedogenesis of the Kirkpatrick Basalt, Queen Alex-
versity. A previous version of this manuscript benefited from
andra Range, Antarctica: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 48,
reviews by Paul Weiblen of the University of Minnesota and p. 153-169.
Glen Himmelberg of the University of Missouri. Faure, G., Bowman, J. R., and Elliot, D. H., 1979, The isotopic composition of
strontium of the Kirwan Volcanics, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica: Chemi-
cal Geology, v. 26, p. 77-90.
Faure, G., Pace, K. K., and Elliot, D. H., 1982, Systematic variations of 87Sr/86Sr
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Printed in U.S.A.
Geological Society of America Memoirs
Chapter 15: Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the southern Heritage

Range, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica
Walter R. Vennum, Peter Gizycki, Vladimir V. Samsonov, A. G. Markovich and Robert J. Pankhurst
Geological Society of America Memoirs 1992;170;295-324

doi: 10.1130/MEM170-p295
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Geological Society of America

Igneous petrology and geochemistry

296 W. R. Vennum and Others

Reconnaissance geological mapping of the Ellsworth Moun-

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 297

METHODS Mafic intrusive rocks occur in the form of diabasic sills,

298 W. R. Vennum and Others

only body of felsic intrusive rock yet discovered in the Ellsworth

rusty red by the weathering of finely disseminated pyrite. A 10-

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 299

300 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 301

302 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 319

304 W. R. Vennum and Others

CO H oCO -co o o ^f O S W » II) Ol

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 321

m -r- 8 CMT or»

322 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 323

308 W. R. Vennum and Others

o 00 -3- 'S- •<T

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 309

310 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 327

CMO) 05 •fl- L O 0) •fl- •fl-

312 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 329

314 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 315

NORMATIVE PLAQIOCLASE COMPOSITION

316 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 317

318 W. R. Vennum and Others

Ti/100 ¡sphere continents. In Antarctica, Ferrar Supergroup rocks crop

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 319

320 W. R. Vennum and Others

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 337

TABLE 3. WHOLE ROCK K-AR DATES FROM IGNEOUS ROCKS

Rock Type and K Ar40030 AI^OR^X K40X Isotopie Age

Alkali basalt flow

Alkali basalt flow

Alkali basalt flow

TABLE 4. RUBIDIUM-STRONTIUM DATA

V79a 14.4 110 0.380 0.71665

Error: Rb, Sr ± 2%; Rb/Sr ± 0.5%; 8 7 Sr/ 8 6 Sr ± 0.01%

322 W. R. Vennum and Others

Ba 157 232 376 370 262

Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the S. Heritage Range 323

324 W. R. Vernum and Others

Geological Society of America Memoirs

Chapter 15: Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the southern Heritage

Geological Society of America Memoirs 1992;170;295-324

© 1992 Geological Society of America

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