Petrogenesis of the Bunbury Basalt, Western Australia: interaction between the Kerguelen plume and Gondwana lithosphere

F.A. Frey, Neal Mcnaughton, D.R. Nelson, J.R. De Laeter, R.A. Duncan

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    136 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Subsequent to the initial rifting of Greater India from Australia/Antarctica at similar to 132 Ma, widespread early Cretaceous volcanism occurred on the continental margins. Two examples are the similar to 117 Ma Rajmahal Traps in northeast India and the similar to 123-130 Ma Bunbury Basalt in Western Australia, which erupted in the Perth Basin, a fault-bounded trough separating Archaean and Proterozoic crust. On the basis of spatial distribution, age, petrography, and geochemical characteristics the Bunbury Basalt is divided into two lava types: Casuarina and Gosselin. Relative to the 130 Ma Casuarina lavas, the 123 Ma Gosselin lavas have higher MgO content, lower abundances of high field strength elements (P, Ti, Zr, Nh and Ta), higher Sr-87/Sr-86 (similar to 0.7080), and Pb-207/Pb-204 (>15.61) and lower Nd-143/Nd-144. These isotopic features, combined with relative depletion in Nb and Ta, are characteristic of continental crust. The low MgO and Ni contents (5.3-6.9% and
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)163-183
    JournalEarth and Planetary Science Letters
    Volume144
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1996

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