Potassic and sodic igneous rocks from eastern Paraguay: Their origin from the lithospheric mantle and genetic relationships with the associated Parana flood tholeiites

Eastern Paraguay represents the westernmost fringe of Early Cretaceous Parana flood tholeiites (Serra Geral Formation, SGF). Besides the SGF eastern Paraguay has been the site of alkaline magmatism since Mesozoic times: (1) Late Permian-Early Triassic sodic intrusions and lavas; (2) Early Cretaceous potassic igneous rocks and very scarce sodic lavas; (3) Late Cretaceous-Oligocene sodic lavas. Two distinct magmatic events are dominant in the Asuncion-Sapucai graben (ASU) of eastern Paraguay: (1) wide-spread potassic magmatism and SGF tholeiites (Early Cretaceous); (2) Asuncion sodic magmatism (Late Cretaceous-Oligocene). The potassic rocks from a compositional continuum from moderately to strongly potassic. Two potassic suites are proposed, i.e. basanite to phonolite and alkali basalt to trachyte and their intrusive analogues. The sodic rocks include ankaratrites, nephelinites and phonolites. Two similar but distinct parental magmas have been inferred for the potassic suites, both characterized by strongly fractionated REE and negative 'Ta-Nb-Ti'. anomalies: Slight positive Ta and Nb anomalies distinguish the sodic rocks. Sr-Nd isotope data confirm the distinction of the potassic locks, enriched zn radiogenic Sr and late, in radiogenic Nd, from the sodic rocks, close to bulk Earth. Crustal contamination does not appear to have been significant in the generation of the investigated rocks, supported by delta(18)O data. The source of potassic rocks is constrained by high LILE, LREE, Th, U and K, relative to a primitive mantle composition and a garnet peridotite is favoured as a possible mantle source for the investigated rocks. The close association of potassic and sodic rock suites in the ASU demands that their parental magmas derived from a heterogeneous subcontinental mantle, variously enriched in incompatible elements. Significant H2O, CO2 and F are expected in the mantle source(s) for the occurrence of coeval carbonatites. Any genetic hypothesis based on a 'mantle plume' system is constrained by strong lithospheric mantle characteristics. This does not preclude that thermal perturbations from the asthenosphere may have triggered magmatic activity in the lithospheric mantle. Model ages indicate that two distinct metasomatic events may have occurred during Late and Early-Middle Proterozoic as precursor to the genesis of tholeiitic and alkaline magmatism in the Parana Basin. These metasomatic processes were chemically distinct, indicated by the strong differences in Ti, LILE and HFSE concentrations found in both alkaline provinces (e.g. potassic rock from ASU vs Alto Paranaiba Igneous Province) and Parana tholeiites (low vs high Ti). In general, the relationships between the alkaline rocks from southeastern Brasil, ie. Alto Paranaiba, Ponta Grossa Arch, Serra do Mar, Lages and the flood basalts of the Parana Basin, support a common origin in the lithospheric mantle. Sr-Nd isotope and other geochemical data indicate that a significant role war played by a mantle component depleted in incompatible elements and with high Sm/Nd ratio. This component (N-MORB type) would be represented by the depleted portions of a mantle which was variously metasomatized during Proterozoic times. The isotopic and geochemical features of the modern Tristan da Cunha plume are distinctly different from the component depleted in incompatible elements, and its contribution is not apparent in the compositions of the Parana tholeiites.