The Intrusion of the Meissen Pluton (Elbe Valley-Zone): Evidence from Geochemical and Isotopic Data

Abstract

Geochemical and mineralogical investigations of plutonic rocks from the Meiβen massif indicate different magmatic evolution trends of the Freital sequence as well as for the central part of the complex Constant ε-Nd_T-345 values of ?1.5 of the Freital sequence and major/trace element data point to a fractional crystallization process. Based on ε-Nd values, ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios as well as on geochemical data affinities to alkali basalts cannot be excluded.

Analogous conclusions have been drawn regarding mineral chemical data 10] and cathodoluminescence spectra of apatite 13]. Assimilation of old continental crust, reflected by relics of apatite and zircon, may be the reason that the ε-Nd values plot at the lower end of the “mantle array”. The pyroxene-monzodiorite from Gröba belongs to the same source environment as the Freital sequence (Nd-characteristics).

The geological evolution of the central part of the studied plutonic complex is completely different to the Freital sequence: most of the intrusions show signatures of open system fractionation processes. The ε-Nd_T-345 value of ?1.46 of the Leuben monzonite indicates a narrow relation to the Freital sequence, whereas the ε-Nd_T-345 value of +2.27 of the Spitzgrund monzonite either reflects the derivation of another basic material then the Freital-type or the participation of other mixing component(s) from geologically young crust.

Fabric and mineral chemical investigations of the porphyry-like granite GII point to a mixing process of basic xenocrysts, resembling the corresponding minerals of the Freital sequence, and granite melts 10]. Large amounts of old zircon cores 11] indicate the inheritance of continental crust components by the Hauptgranit. Isotopic investigations on various granitic samples (GII, Hauptgranit and Riesensteingranit) reflect an increasing trend towards the crustal source(s) of their parental melts. The ε-Nd_T-345 values are ?3.75, ?4.16 and ?6.13, respectively.

Chemical parameters and the ε-Nd_T value of the Riesensteingranit agree with data of granites from the Saxonian Granulite Massif (see e.g. Wand et al. 8]; von Quadt, 1992). Thus, it may be possible that both granite types derived from similar sources.