Geochemistry of an island-arc plutonic suite: Wadi Dabr intrusive complex, Eastern Desert, Egypt

The Wadi Dabr intrusive complex, west of Mersa-Alam, Eastern Desert, Egypt ranges in composition from gabbro to diorite, quartz diorite and tonalite. The gabbroic rocks include pyroxene-hornblende gabbro, hornblende gabbro, quartz-hornblende gabbro, metagabbro and amphibolite. Mineral chemistry data for the gabbroic rocks indicate that the composition of clinopyroxenes ranges from diopside to augite and the corresponding magma is equivalent to a volcanic-are basalt. Plagioclase cores range from An(75) to An(34) for the gabbroic varieties, except for the metagabbro which has An(11-18). The brown amphiboles are primary phases and classified as calcic amphiboles, which range from tschermakitic hornblende to magnesiohornblende. Green hornblende and actinolite are secondary phases. Hornblende barometry and hornblende-plagioclase themometry for the gabbroic rocks estimate crystallisation conditions of 2-5 kb and 885-716 degrees C. The intrusive rocks cover an extensive silica range (47.86-72.54 wt%) and do not exhibit simple straight-line variation on Harker diagrams for many elements (e.g. TiO2, Al2O3, FeO*, MgO, CaO, P2O5, Cr, Ni, V, Sr, Zr and Y). Most of these elements exhibit two geochemical trends suggesting two magma sources. The gabbroic rocks are relatively enriched in large ion lithophile elements (K, Rb, Sr and Ba) and depleted in high field strength elements (Nb, Zr, Ti and Y) which suggest subduction-related magma. Rare earth element (REE) data demonstrate that the gabbroic rocks have a slight enrichment of light REE [(La/Yb)(N)=2.67-3.91] and depletion of heavy REE [(Tb/Yb)(N)=1.42-1.47], which suggest the parent magma was of relatively primitive mantle source. The diorites and tonalites are clearly calc-alkaline and have negative anomalies of Nb, Zr, and Y which also suggest subduction-related magma. They are related to continental trondhjemites in terms of Rb-Sr, K-Na-Ca, and to volcanic-are granites in terms of Rb-(Y+Nb) and Nb-Y. The Wadi Dabr intrusive complex is analogous to intrusions emplaced in immature ensimatic island-arcs and represents a mixture of mantle (gabbroic rocks) and crustal fusion products (diorites and tonalites) modified by fractional processes.