PETROLOGY OF QUATERNARY BASALTS OF TABAS (EAST OF IRAN)

Nd-Sr Abstract In southeastern Tabas there is a 400 square kilometer area of Quaternary basalts, which is geologically located in Lut zone. According to petrographic studies and EMPA analysis, the textures of these rocks are generally porphyric and some times aphyric. The phenocrysts of these basalts are generally chrisolite, augite, and plagioclase (andesine to labradorite), which are embedded in a texture of plagioclase microlites and small blades of pyroxene. According to the diagrams of accumulative amount of alkaline against the amount of SiO2, the nature of the magma is alkaline to sub-alkaline. The reason for the sub-alkaline character of some of these rocks is that the alkaline magma has been contaminated with crust materials. One of the most important reasons for this is the reduction of niobium in rocks enriched with SiO2. The alkaline samples have normative nepheline and the sub-alkaline samples normative quartz. The studies of Nd and Sr isotopes have confirmed the crust contamination and also the source for early magma of basalts is the upper parts of mantle. Based on the field studies and tectonomagmatic diagrams, these basalts are of intercontinental type because of the activities of great fault of Nayband in Quaternary and separation in their cross Archive of SID