Ultrapotassic volcanism from the waning stage of the Neotethyan subduction: a key study from the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture belt, central northern Turkey

Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary successions in the Central Pontides of Turkey, related to the closure of the Tethys Ocean, include a variety of alkaline ultrapotassic igneous rocks that have been classified as leucititic, lamprophyric and trachytic based on their mineral paragenesis. Although the ultrapotassic rocks display a range of K 2 O contents (0·9–8·4 wt %) that may partly reflect alteration processes, they display subduction-related trace element signatures characterized by significant enrichment of large ion lithophile elements and light rare earth elements relative to high field strength elements and heavy rare earth elements and depletion of Nb and Ta. However, their initial…