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Accumulation of calcic plagioclase in ocean-ridge tholeiite: an indication of spreading rate?

Nature volume 287, pages 530–532 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

Basaltic magma generated at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) appears on eruption to be characterized by the widespread accumulation of calcic plagioclase (An70–90) independently from olivine and clinopyroxene1–5. Plagioclase accumulation is curiously absent from basalt formed at faster-spreading ridge axes such as the Fact Pacific Rise (EPR)6–11, and it is interesting to speculate about the possible relationship of this phenomenon to spreading rate. Recent experiments12 and studies of thermal regime at ocean-ridge spreading axes as a function of spreading rate13,14 suggest an attractively simple solution to the problem, and point the way to a useful genetic spreading rate distinction for ophiolite rocks of unknown provenance.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, 60680

    M. F. J. Flower

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Flower, M. Accumulation of calcic plagioclase in ocean-ridge tholeiite: an indication of spreading rate?. Nature 287, 530–532 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/287530a0

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