V51G-3121
Sr and Pb isotopic geochemistry of feldspars and implications for the growth of megacrysts in plutonic settings.
Abstract:
Why megacrystic textures develop in silicic igneous rocks is still unknown. One hypothesis is that these crystals nucleate early in a magma chamber with a high liquid content. A supportive observation of this hypothesis is areas in plutons with high concentrations of megacrysts suggesting flow sorting. Another group of hypotheses suggest megacrystic textures form during protracted late-stage coarsening in a low-melt, interlocked matrix due to either thermal oscillations from incremental pluton emplacement, or Ostwald ripening. Isotopic analyses of large, euhedral K-feldspar megacrysts from the Cretaceous intrusive suites of the Sierra Nevada batholith (SNB) provide new insight into their origin. Megacrysts from the SNB reach the decimeter scale, are Or rich (85-90%), are perthitic, and host mineral inclusions of nearly all phases in the host rock.