Tertiary Ultrapotassic Volcanism in Serbia: Constraints on Petrogenesis and Mantle Source Characteristics

The Serbian province of Tertiary ultrapotassic volcanism is related to a post-collisional tectonic regime that followed the closure of the Tethyan Vardar Ocean by Late Cretaceous subduction beneath the southern European continental margin. Rocks of this province form two ultrapotassic groups; one with affinities to lamproites, which is concentrated mostly in the central parts of the Vardar ophiolitic suture zone, and the other with affinities to kamafugites, which crops out in volcanoes restricted to the western part of Serbia. The lamproitic group is characterized by a wide range of Sr/Sri (0 70735–0 71299) and Nd/Ndi (0 51251–0 51216), whereas the kamafugitic group is isotopically more ho…

Mafic alkaline metasomatism in the lithosphere underneath East Serbia: evidence from the study of xenoliths and the host alkali basalts

Effects of mafic alkaline metasomatism have been investigated by a combined study of the East Serbian mantle xenoliths and their host alkaline rocks. Fertile xenoliths and tiny mineral assemblages found in depleted xenoliths have been investigated. Fertile lithologies are represented by clinopyroxene (cpx)-rich lherzolite and spinel (sp)-rich olivine websterite containing Ti-Alrich Cr-augite, Fe-rich olivine, Fe-Al-rich orthopyroxene and Al-rich spinel. Depleted xenoliths, which are the predominant lithology in the suite of East Serbian xenoliths, are harzburgite, cpxpoor lherzolite and rare Mg-rich dunite. They contain small-scale assemblages occurring as pocket-like, symplectitic or irreg…

The analcime problem and its impact on the geochemistry of ultrapotassic rocks from Serbia

AbstractTertiary ultrapotassic volcanic rocks from Serbia occasionally display low levels of K2O and K2O/ Na2O. In these rocks, analcime regularly appears as pseudomorphs after pre-existing leucite microphenocrysts. The process ofleucite transformation in Serbian ultrapotassic rocks is very thorough: fresh leucite survives only in ugandites from the Koritnik lava flows as well as in rare inclusions in Cpx. This paper focuses on the impact of ‘analcimization’ on the mineralogy and geochemistry ofthe Serbian ultrapotassic rocks, using the samples where leucite survived as a monitor for the process.Analcimization has had a great impact on the geochemistry of the rocks, but affects only a restr…

An anorogenic pulse in a typical orogenic setting: The geochemical and geochronological record in the East Serbian latest Cretaceous to Palaeocene alkaline rocks

Abstract This study focuses on the East Serbian latest Cretaceous to Palaeocene Mafic Alkaline Rocks (hereafter, ES-MAR). This alkaline magmatism developed along the Eurasian border after the closure of the Mesozoic Tethys in the Balkan sector. Olivine(± clinopyroxene)-phyric and olivine- and nepheline-normative basanite, tephrite and theralite rocks are studied using Ar/Ar ages and major elements, trace elements and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes. The ES-MAR are geochemically similar to other alkaline rocks of the Circum-Mediterranean Anorogenic Cenozoic Igneous (CiMACI) province, showing elevated contents of high field strength elements (HFSE) (e.g., Nb = 50–100 ppm) and high HFSE/LILE (large ion lith…

A review of petrogenesis of Mediterranean Tertiary lamproites: A perspective from the Serbian ultrapotassic province

The Late Cretaceous Klepa basalts in Macedonia (FYROM) – Constraints on the final stage of Tethys closure in the Balkans

The waning stage(s) of the Tethyan ocean(s) in the Balkans are not well understood. Controversy centres on the origin and life-span of the Cretaceous Sava Zone, which is allegedly a remnant of the last oceanic domain in the Balkan Peninsula, defining the youngest suture between Eurasia- and Adria-derived plates. In order to investigate to what extent late-Cretaceous volcanism within the Sava zone is consistent with this model, we present new age data together with trace-element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data for the Klepa basaltic lavas from the central Balkan Peninsula. Our new geochemical data show marked differences between the Cretaceous Klepa basalts (Sava Zone) and the rocks of other volca…

Geodynamic significance of ultramafic xenoliths from Eastern Serbia: Relics of sub-arc oceanic mantle?

A suite of highly depleted peridotite xenoliths in East Serbian Palaeogene basanites represents the lithospheric mantle beneath the Balkan Peninsula. The xenoliths are harzburgites, clinopyroxene-poor lherzolites and rare dunites. They contain mostly 91), high Cr# in spinel (mostly 0.5–0.7), and by distinctively low Al2O3 contents in orthopyroxene (mostly 1–2 wt.%). They have experienced some mantle metasomatism which has slightly obscured their original composition. Nevertheless, the general characteristics of the xenoliths imply a composition which is significantly more depleted than most non-cratonic sub-continental mantle xenolith suites, as well as orogenic peridotites and abyssal peri…

Modification of the subcontinental mantle beneath East Serbia: Evidence from orthopyroxene-rich xenoliths

Orthopyroxene-rich olivine websterite xenoliths (OWB2) in Palaeogene basanites in East Serbia are mostly composed of tabular low-Al2O3 orthopyroxene (> 70 vol.%, Mg# 85–87) containing tiny Cr spinel inclusions. Orthopyroxene shows a slightly U-shaped primitive mantle-normalized trace element pattern with strong peaks at U and Pb, similar to that of orthopyroxene from normal regional peridotitic mantle. In between the orthopyroxenes are interstitial spaces composed of partially altered olivine (Mg# 85–87), clinopyroxene, Ti-rich spinel, Mg-bearing calcite, K-feldspar, apatite, ilmenite and relicts of a hydrous mineral. Clinopyroxene appears as selvages around orthopyroxene and as coarser euh…

Os-isotope constraints on the dynamics of orogenic mantle: The case of the Central Balkans

Abstract We used Os isotopic systematics to assess the geochemical relationship between the lithospheric mantle beneath the Balkans (Mediterranean), ophiolitic peridotites and lavas derived from the lithospheric mantle. In our holistic approach we studied samples of Tertiary post-collisional ultrapotassic lavas sourced within the lithospheric mantle, placer Pt alloys from Vardar ophiolites, peridotites from nearby Othris ophiolites, as well as four mantle xenoliths representative for the composition of the local mantle lithosphere. Our ultimate aim was to monitor lithospheric mantle evolution under the Balkan part of the Alpine-Himalayan belt. The observations made on Os isotope and highly …