Neogene Patagonian magmatism between the rupture of the Farallon plate and the Chile Ridge subduction

Abstract Based on chemical composition and timing of late Paleogene and Neogene igneous rocks in southern Patagonia, six igneous suites are identified and correlated with subduction processes during the approaching and subduction of active oceanic ridges. Neogene magmatism took place after a period of decreased sub-alkaline magmatism during late Paleogene (LPg Suite). Early Miocene calc-alkaline rocks mark the reactivation of magmatism after subduction acceleration (Suite 1). These rocks are located at ca. 200 km from the trench and are typical products of continental magmatic arcs, where focused metasomatism of the mantle wedge results on high-degree of partial melting (>15%) in a restricted area expressed as a narrow volcanic arc. Contrarily, transitional sub-alkaline to alkaline rocks (Suite 2) were formed during the approaching of the Chile spreading ridge and the subduction of hot oceanic lithosphere (prior to the development of a slab window), where metasomatism encompassed a broader region of the mantle wedge, resulting in lower degrees of partial melting (