Abstract
THE Bay of Islands (BOI) complex in western Newfoundland is one of the world's best-known ophiolites, and has generally been interpreted as a fragment of ocean floor emplaced on the eastern margin of North America1,2. The similarities of the BOI to litho-sphere formed at mid-ocean ridges has led many investigators to use the BOI as an onland laboratory in which to study the geochemical, tectonic and geophysical properties of the oceanic lithosphere1–9. There have been, nonetheless, a few suggestions that the BOI ophiolite formed above a subduction zone10–12, as have most other ophiolites13–15. Here I report the existence of a substantial tantalum depletion in BOI magmas; Jenner et al.16 demonstrate that BOI magmas have a niobium depletion as well. These depletions are characteristic of magmas erupted above subduction zones but not at mid-ocean ridges, indicating that the BOI is not, after all, a good analogue for lithosphere formed at mid-ocean ridges.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Malpas, J. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A288, 527–546 (1978).
Casey, J. F., Elthon, D. L., Siroky, F. X., Karson, J. A. & Sullivan, J. Tectonophys. 116, 1–40 (1985).
Suen, C. J., Frey, F. A. & Malpas, J. Earth planet. Sci Lett. 45, 337–348 (1979).
Komor, S. C., Elthon, D. & Casey, J. F. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 95, 278–300 (1987).
Komor, S. C. & Elthon, D. J. Petrol. 31, 1–50 (1990).
Elthon, D., Casey, J. F. & Komor, S. C. J. geophys. Res. 87, 8717–8734 (1982).
Elthon, D., Casey, J. F. & Komor, S. C. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 13, 83–97 (1984).
Collins, J. A., Brocher, T. M. & Karson, J. A. J. geophys. Res. 91, 12520–12538 (1986).
Karson, J. A. & Elthon, D. Geology 15, 127–131 (1987).
Dick, H. J. B. & Bullen, T. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 34, 54–76 (1984).
Bedard, J. H. J. Geol. 99, 225–249 (1991).
Searle, M. P. & Stevens, R. K. in Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithosphere (eds Gass, I.G., Lippard, S. J. & Shelton, A. W.) 303–319 (Blackwell, London, 1984).
Alabaster, T., Pearce, J. A. & Malpas, J. G. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 81, 168–183 (1982).
Robinson, P. T., Melson, W. G., O'Hearn, T. & Schmincke, H.-U. Geology 11, 400–404 (1983).
Pearce, J. A., Lippard, S. J. & Roberts, S. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 16, 77–94 (1984).
Jenner, G. A., Dunning, G. R., Malpas, J., Brown, M. & Brace, T. Can. J. Earth Sci. (in the press).
Penrose Field Conference Participants Geotimes 17, 24–25 (1972).
Cameron, W. E. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 89, 1–17 (1985).
Coish, R. A. in Boninites (ed. Crawford, A. J.) 264–287 (Unwin Hyman, London, 1989).
Menzies, M., Blanchard, D. P. & Xenophontos, C. Am. J. Sci. 280, 329–344 (1980).
Cyprus Crustal Study Project Geol. Surv. Canada Paper 88–9 (1989).
Hawkins, J. W. & Evans, C. A. Am. Geophys. Un. Monogr. Ser. 27, 95–123 (1982).
Beard, J. S. Geology 14, 848–851 (1986).
Anders, E. & Grevesse, N. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 53, 197–214 (1989).
Hole, M. J., Saunders, A. D., Marriner, G. F. & Tarney, J. J. geol. Soc. Lond. 141, 453–472 (1984).
Pearce, J. A. in Andesites: Orogenic Andesites and Related Rocks (ed. Thorpe, R. S.) 525–598 (Wiley, Chichester, 1982).
Wood, D. A. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 50, 11–30 (1980).
Sun, S. S. & McDonough, W. F. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 42, 313–345 (1989).
Ryerson, F. J. & Watson, E. B. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 86, 225–239 (1987).
Saunders, A. D. & Tarney, J. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 16, 59–76 (1984).
Wood, D. A. et al. Init. Rep. Deep Sea Drill. Proj. 60, 611–645 (1981).
Saunders, A. D. & Tarney, J. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 43, 555–572 (1979).
Ogawa, Y. & Naka, J. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 13, 291–301 (1984).
Karson, J. A. & Dewey, J. F. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 89, 1037–1049 (1978).
Carter, K. E. thesis, Univ. of Houston, 150 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elthon, D. Geochemical evidence for formation of the Bay of Islands ophiolite above a subduction zone. Nature 354, 140–143 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/354140a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/354140a0
This article is cited by
-
The ephemeral history of Earth’s youngest supra-subduction zone type ophiolite from Timor
Communications Earth & Environment (2023)
-
Petrology of ultramafic and mafic rocks from the South Andaman Ophiolite, Bay of Bengal: Evidence for an arc-related high-pressure origin
Mineralogy and Petrology (2022)
-
Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Yishak Volcanic Sequence, Kudi ophiolite, West Kunlun (NW China): implications for the magmatic evolution in a subduction zone environment
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2005)
-
Mineral chemistry of ultramafic and mafic cumulates as an indicator of the arc-related origin of the Mersin ophiolite (southern Turkey)
Geologische Rundschau (1996)
-
Ocean-ridge basalts with convergent-margin geochemical affinities from the Chile Ridge
Nature (1995)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
