Magma mixing in a zoned alkalic intrusion

The Marble Canyon stock is unique among the alkalic intrusions of the Trans-Pecos magmatic province in being zoned from a critically silica-undersaturated rim of alkali gabbro (AG) to a silica-oversaturated core of quartz syenite (QS). Hybrid rocks of intermediate chemical and mineralogical compositions occur between the rim and core. Nepheline-syenite dikes occur only within the AG. Silica-rich dikes of quartz trachyte, pegmatite, and aplite cut the AG, QS, and hybrid rocks. Thermodynamic calculations of silica activity in the magmas illustrate the presence of two trends with decreasing temperature: a silica-poor trend from AG to nepheline syenite and a silica-rich trend from hybrid rocks to QS. Least-square modeling of rock and mineral compositions suggests 1) the nepheline syenites were derived by crystal-liquid fractionation from nearly solidified AG at the rim of the stock, 2) AG magma farther from the rim mixed with a small proportion of granitic magma, and 3) the mixture then differentiated to produce the hybrid rocks and QS. Zirconium dioxide inclusions in plagioclase crystals of the hybrid rocks and QS indicate that the AG magma contained some crystals before it mixed with the granitic magma. Two origins for the granitic magma are possible: 1) a late-stage differentiate ofmore » a mantle-derived hypersthene-normative magma and 2) melting of crustal material by the AG magma. Recognition of magma mixing might not have been possible if the AG had been hypersthene-normative.« less