Petrography, Geochemistry and Relative Chronology of Quaternary Volcanic Formations in the Mermoz and Fann Sectors, West Senegal

Detailed work on Quaternary volcanism has been carried out in the Mermoz and Fann sectors of western Senegal. In the Mermoz sector, the main emission zone is a collapsed crater located at the intersection of three major fractures: NE-SW, NW-SE and N-S. The lithological succession in this Mermoz sector comprises, from bottom to top: 1) a substratum with at its base Eocene limestones on which lie Quaternary sands surmounted by stratified tuffs;2) a vesicular ball dolerite which deforms the stratified tuffs;3) a dark early breccia;4) two generations of basanites: the first is vesicular, the second non-vesicular;5) a clear intermediate breccia and finally 6) a late breccia. The Fann sector contains several emission zones, most of which are currently located in the ocean. The lavas may have reached the coast through E-W and NE-SW faults. The lithological succession includes from bottom to top: 1) scoria-rich early volcanic breccias;2) a first generation of non-vesicular mesocrate dolerite (D1);3) a second generation of melanocrate vesicular dolerite (D2);4) basanites and finally 5) a late breccia. The geochemical characteristics of the lavas studied are compatible with a very enriched and very deep magmatic source of the garnet lherzolite type located in the lower mantle. The magma from this source would have risen in the form of mantle plumes through major NE-SW and E-W faults in a continental intraplate context.

Zircon U-Pb ages and O-Hf isotopes of Quaternary trachytes from the East Sea:Implications for the genesis of low-δ^(18)O magmas

Quaternary intraplate magmatism formed several volcanic islands and seamounts,including Dokdo(DD),Ulleungdo(UD),Simheungtack(ST),Anyongbok,and Isabu in the southwest of the East Sea back-arc basin.In this study,we present whole-rock geochemical,zircon U–Pb age,and in situ O–Hf isotope data for the submerged volcanic rocks from DD,UD,and ST to provide new insights into the eruption timing of these volcanoes and constrain the magma evolution processes.All samples used in this study were trachytes and exhibited ferroan,alkalic,and metaluminous to weakly peraluminous characteristics.They showed light rare earth element(REE)-enriched patterns with(La/Yb)N ratios of 25.3–31.7 and mostly negative Eu anomalies in a chondrite-normalized REE plot.In addition,they were enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and high field strength elements;they exhibited positive Pb anomalies and strongly negative Ba,Sr,P,and Ti anomalies.The zircons yielded a weighted-mean 206Pb/238U age of 2.61,0.348–0.704,and 2.76–2.94 Ma for the DD,UD,and ST trachytes,respectively.All zircons exhibited lowerδ^(18)O values than normal depleted mantle values,regardless of the crystallization age and spatial distribution of volcanoes.Theδ^(18)O values showed no correlation with U contents or Th/U ratios,indicating that the lowδ^(18)O signatures were of primary magmatic origin.The Hf isotopic compositions of the zircons were relatively heterogeneous but predominately characterized by positive eHf values.Binary O–Hf mixing modeling revealed that low-δ^(18)O rocks with positive eHf values from the UD and ST volcanoes were derived from a hybrid source of recycled juvenile crustal materials with low-δ^(18)O and positive eHf signatures and an enriched mantle source with normalδ^(18)O and negative eHf values.The juvenile oceanic crust in the source was likely metasomatized by seawater at high temperatures prior to melting.In contrast,the felsic magma that formed the DD volcanoes may have assimilated with regional basement rocks(Triassic–Jurassic granitoids),resulting in increasedδ^(18)O values and decreased eHf values relative to those of the UD and ST volcanoes.Our study highlights the significant contribution of recycled oceanic crust materials to the generation of the Quaternary magmas.

Lineaments Extraction and Analysis Using Landsat 8 (OLI/TIRS) in the Northeast of Morocco

Northeastern Morocco is made up of several units belonging to the Alpine belt and its foreland. Miocene to plio-quaternary volcanic rocks with variable mineralogy and geochemistry dominate the geology of this region. The presence of active faults in different directions explains the high tectonic instability and the high frequency of earthquakes. This study contributes to the effort of understanding the geothermal potential of the Northeast of Morocco. Heat source and permeability are both key factors in the geothermal process. Indeed, lineaments analysis constrains the structures and their directions and indicates severely faulted zones, which are the most promising areas for geothermal exploration. For this purpose, we used Landsat data combined with geological and structural maps available in this region. Different image processing techniques were applied including band ratio (6/2) and directional filters. To validate the results, we conducted a comparative study between linear structures, available geological data, and previous studies. Results of the automatic extraction method of lineaments from Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS indicate three main lineament systems: 1) a NE-SW system ranging from N40 to N70;2) an N-S system ranging from N10 to N45;3) an EW to WNW-ESE systems ranging from N80 to N120. Most of lineaments extracted are localized in Kebdana, Amejjaou, Nador and Melilla regions. Compared to previous studies, the NE-SW system is consistent with an extensive period (Tortonian to Pliocene);the NW-SE system is consistent with the last compressive episode (Pliocene);the N-S system is consistent with the first compressive period (Late/End Tortonian).