Long-term geochemical variability of the Late Cretaceous Tuolumne Intrusive Suite, central Sierra Nevada, California
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Published:January 01, 2008
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CiteCitation
Walt Gray, Allen F. Glazner, Drew S. Coleman, John M. Bartley, 2008. "Long-term geochemical variability of the Late Cretaceous Tuolumne Intrusive Suite, central Sierra Nevada, California", Dynamics of Crustal Magma Transfer, Storage and Differentiation, Catherine Annen, Georg F. Zellmer
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Abstract
This study investigates the internal anatomy and petrogenesis of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite (TIS), which comprises metaluminous, high-potassium, calc-alkaline granitoids typical of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Although the TIS has often been cited as an example of a large magma chamber that cooled and fractionated from the margins inward, its geochemistry is inconsistent with closed-system fractionation. Most major elements are highly correlated with SiO2, but the scattered nature of trace elements and variations of initial Sr and Nd isotopic ratios indicate that fractional crystallization is not the predominant process responsible for its chemical evolution. Isotopic data suggest...
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Contents
Dynamics of Crustal Magma Transfer, Storage and Differentiation

Magmas are subject to a series of processes that lead to their differentiation during transfer through, and storage within, the Earth’s crust. The depths and mechanisms of differentiation, the crustal contribution to magma generation through wall-rock assimilation, the rates and timescales of magma generation, transfer and storage, and how these link to the thermal state of the crust are subject to vivid debate and controversy. This volume presents a collection of research articles that provide a balanced overview of the diverse approaches available to elucidate these topics, and includes both theoretical models and case studies. By integrating petrological, geochemical and geophysical approaches, it offers new insights to the subject of magmatic processes operating within the Earth’s crust, and reveals important links between subsurface processes and volcanism.
GeoRef
- amphibole group
- biotite
- calc-alkalic composition
- California
- chain silicates
- clinoamphibole
- Cretaceous
- feldspar group
- framework silicates
- geochemistry
- granites
- granodiorites
- hornblende
- igneous rocks
- magnetite
- major elements
- Mesozoic
- metals
- metaluminous composition
- mica group
- mineral assemblages
- Monte Carlo analysis
- oxides
- plutonic rocks
- potassic composition
- rare earths
- sheet silicates
- Sierra Nevada
- Sierra Nevada Batholith
- silicates
- statistical analysis
- trace elements
- Tuolumne Intrusive Suite
- United States
- Upper Cretaceous
- Cathedral Peak