Petrogenesis of syenites at Phalaborwa, Kaapvaal Craton: (isotope) geochemical, modelling and age constraints
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Whole rock major and trace element data and apatite compositions (including Nd isotopes) for fifteen syenites from intrusions surrounding the Phalaborwa carbonatite-phoscorite Complex are presented to evaluate magmatic sources, processes, and also petrogenetic relationships across alkaline provinces in the Kaapvaal Craton. Thermodynamic modelling (alphamelts) of fractional crystallization assuming a gabbroic parental melt reproduces syenite compositions, involving early clinopyroxene and apatite removal, dominant K-feldspar crystallization with minor ilmenite and magnetite, and late biotite and quartz fractionation. Discrepancies between observed and modelled major elements (higher K₂O, Al₂O₃; lower CaO, Na₂O, P₂O₅) are explained by accumulation of K-feldspar (minor biotite and clinopyroxene) and dilution of apatite, plagioclase and Ti-oxides. Apatite displays zoning and high REE–Sr contents are indicative of a magmatic origin. Minor and compositionally distinct apatite and unradiogenic εNd₂.₀₆ Ga (−1.4 to −12.0) imply assimilation of granitic/gneissic basement in some syenites. For most syenites, however, mixing models using suitable endmembers do not reproduce whole rock compositions. LA-SF-ICP-MS U Pb ages of zircon, titanite, rutile and monazite range from 2.03 to 1.86 Ga. Titanite and rutile ages (1936 ± 24 Ma, 1860 ± 65 Ma, 2 SE) record post-emplacement hydrothermal alteration. Only one monazite age of 2032 ± 9 (2 SE) Ma likely dates magmatic emplacement, slightly post-dating emplacement of the 2060 Ma carbonatite-phoscorite Complex, but coeval with mafic dyke intrusions. Imprecise zircon upper-intercept ages (2.5–1.9 Ga) and petrographic features in zircon, titanite and rutile are ascribed to hydrothermal alteration by fenitising fluids or thermal overprinting related to dyke emplacement. We propose a model whereby alkaline melts at Phalaborwa were (partly) derived from metasomatically-enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). Mantle (re)fertilization likely began during a 2.9–2.8 Ga subduction event and continued with a major ~2.0 Ga hydrous metasomatic episode. A shared SCLM signature among several Kaapvaal alkaline complexes therefore registers (plume-induced?) melting of a subduction-metasomatized lithospheric mantle as an important crust formation process at 2 Ga.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".