Derivation of the 1.0-0.9 Ga ferro-potassic A-type granitoids of southern Norway by extreme differentiation from basic magmas

Major and trace elements, Sr and Nd isotopic data as well as mineral compositions are presented for a selection of the 1.0-0.9 ferro-potassic A-type granitoids (Bessefjellet, Rustfjellet, Verhuskjerringi, Valle, Holum, Svofjell, Handeland-Tveit, Angstromseral, Lyngdal gabbronorites) that occur close to the Mandal-Ustaoset Line (MUL) of southern Norway. These hornblende biotite granitoids (HBG) define an extensive differentiation trend ranging from gabbronorites (50 wt.% SiO2) to granites (77 wt.% SiO2). This trend is interpreted as resulting from extreme fractional crystallization of several basaltic magma batches with similar major and trace elements compositions. At 930 Ma, the HBG suite displays a narrower range in I-Sr (0.7027-0.7056) than in epsilon(Nd(t)) (+1.97 down to -4.90) suggesting some assimilation of a Rb-depleted lower crust (AFC process) or/and source variability. An age of 929 +/- 47 Ma is given by a Rb-Sr isochron on the Holum granite (Sr-i = 0.7046 +/- 0.0006, MSWD = 1.7). Geothermobarometers indicate a low pressure of emplacement (1.3-2.7 kbar) and an oxygen fugacity close to NNO. High liquidus temperatures are given by the apatite saturation thermometer (1005-1054 degreesC) and are in agreement with results from other studies. The basaltic parent magmas of the HBG suite are partial melts of an hydrous mafic, potassic source lying either in the lithospheric upper mantle or in the mafic lower crust derived from it. This contrasts with the 930 Ma anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite suite (AMC suite) of the Rogaland Province for which a depleted lower crustal anhydrous gabbronoritic source has been indicated. The present data imply the penecontemporaneous melting of two contrasting sources in southern Norway. The source duality could result from an increasing degree of metamorphism (amphibolite to granulite) from East to West, an horizontal stratification of the lower crust or from the stratification of the lithosphere (melting of the lower crust or upper mantle). It may also indicate that the AMC and HBG suites formed in two distinct crustal segments. The linear alignment of the HBG suite along the Mandal-Ustaoset shear zone suggests that a linear uprise of the asthenosphere, following a lithospheric delamination under this structure, could be the vector of the mantle heat. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.