Abstract
Granitic and mafic magma pulses were sequentially accreted in the spectacularly exposed shallow crustal Torres del Paine laccolith, in southern Patagonia. This 12.5 Ma pluton forms a composite intrusion with a subvertical feeding system in the west and a laccolith in the east. A key unknown in the formation of sill complexes is how individual magma pulses are assembled over time and the geometry and localization of their feeding system. High resolution zircon CA-ID-TIMS U–Pb dating shows that the laccolith grew first by under-accretion of granitic sills over 90±30 ka, linked to a ‘sheet-like’ feeding system, followed by underplating of mafic sills after ~20 ka of quiescence. In the mafic sills complex, individual sills were injected by over-accretion during 41±11 ka. Our data show that successive granitic and mafic magmas emplacement generated a volume of ~88 km3 in 162±11 ka.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 85-92 |
Journal | Earth and Planetary Science Letters |
Volume | 325-326 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- Laccolith growth
- sill accretion
- U-Pb zircon geochronology
- Patagonian Andes