Magmatic evolution of topaz-bearing granite stocks within the Wiborg rapakivi granite batholith

This study brings new insights into the magmatic evolution of natural F-enriched peraluminous granitic systems. The Artjärvi, Sääskjärvi and Kymi granite stocks within the 1.64 Ga Wiborg rapakivi granite batholith have been investigated by petrographic, geochemical, experimental and melt inclusion methods. These stocks represent late-stage leucocratic and weakly peraluminous intrusive phases typical of rapakivi granites worldwide. The Artjärvi and Sääskjärvi stocks are multiphase intrusions in which the most evolved phase is topaz granite. The Kymi stock contains topaz throughout and has a well-developed zoned structure, from the rim to the center: stockscheider pegmatite equigranular topaz granite porphyritic topaz granite. Geochemically the topaz granites are enriched in F, Li, Be, Ga, Rb, Sn and Nb and depleted in Mg, Fe, Ti, Ba, Sr, Zr and Eu. The anomalous geochemistry and mineralogy of the topaz granites are essentially magmatic in origin; postmagmatic reactions have only slightly modified the compositions. The Kymi equigranular topaz granite shows the most evolved character, and the topaz granites at Artjärvi and Sääskjärvi resemble the less evolved porphyritic topaz granite of the Kymi stock. Stockscheiders are found at the roof contacts of the Artjärvi and Kymi stocks. The stockscheider at Artjärvi is composed of biotite-rich schlieren and pegmatite layers parallel to the contact. The schlieren layering is considered to have formed by velocity-gradient sorting mechanism parallel to the flow, which led to the accumulation of mafic minerals along the upper contact of the topaz granite. Cooling and contraction of the topaz granite formed fractures parallel to the roof contact and residual pegmatite magmas were injected along the fractures and formed the pegmatite layers. The zoned structure of the Kymi stock is the result of intrusion of highly evolved residual melt from deeper parts of the magma chamber along the fractured contact between the porphyritic granite crystal mush and country rock. The equigranular topaz granite and marginal pegmatite (stockscheider) crystallized from this evolved melt. Phase relations of the Kymi equigranular topaz granite have been investigated utilizing crystallization experiments at 100 to 500 MPa as a function of water activity and F content. Fluorite and topaz can crystallize as liquidus phases in F-rich peraluminous systems, but the F content of the melt should exceed 2.5 - 3.0 wt % to facilitate crystallization of topaz. In peraluminous F-bearing melts containing more than 1 wt % F, topaz and muscovite are expected to be the first F-bearing phases to crystallize at high pressure, whereas fluorite and topaz should crystallize first at low pressure. Overall, the saturation of fluorite and topaz follows the reaction: CaAl2Si2O8 (plagioclase) + 2[AlF3]melt = CaF2 (fluorite) + 2Al2SiO4F2 (topaz). The obtained partition coefficient for F between biotite and glass D(F)Bt/glass is 1.89 to 0.80 (average 1.29) and can be used as an empirical fluormeter to determine the F content of coexisting melts. In order to study the magmatic evolution of the Kymi stock, crystallized melt inclusions in quartz and topaz grains in the porphyritic and the equigranular topaz granites and the marginal pegmatite were rehomogenized and analyzed. The homogenization conditions for the melt inclusions from the granites were 700 °C, 300 MPa, and 24 h, and for melt inclusions from the pegmatite, 700 °C, 100 MPa, and 24/96 h. The majority of the melt inclusions is chemically similar to the bulk rocks (excluding H2O content), but a few melt inclusions in the equigranular granite show clearly higher F and low K2O contents (on average 11.6 wt % F, 0.65 wt % K2O). The melt inclusion compositions indicate coexistence of two melt fractions, a prevailing peraluminous and a very volatile-rich, possibly peralkaline. Combined petrological, experimental and melt inclusion studies of the Kymi equigranular topaz granite indicate that plagioclase was the liquidus phase at nearly water-saturated (fluid-saturated) conditions and that the F content of the melt was at least 2 wt %. The early crystallization of biotite and the presence of muscovite in crystallization experiments at 200 MPa contrasts with the late-stage crystallization of biotite and the absence of muscovite in the equigranular granite, indicating that crystallization pressure may have been lower than 200 MPa for the granite.

An approach to palaeoseismicity in the Olkiluoto (sea) area during the early Holocene

Olkiluoto Island is situated in the northern Baltic Sea, near the southwestern coast of Finland, and is the proposed location of a spent nuclear fuel repository. This study examined Holocene palaeoseismicity in the Olkiluoto area and in the surrounding sea areas by computer simulations together with acoustic-seismic, sedimentological and dating methods. The most abundant rock type on the island is migmatic mica gneiss, intruded by tonalites, granodiorites and granites. The surrounding Baltic Sea seabed consists of Palaeoproterozoic crystalline bedrock, which is to a great extent covered by younger Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. The area contains several ancient deep-seated fracture zones that divide it into bedrock blocks. The response of bedrock at the Olkiluoto site was modelled considering four future ice-age scenarios. Each scenario produced shear displacements of fractures with different times of occurrence and varying recovery rates. Generally, the larger the maximum ice load, the larger were the permanent shear displacements. For a basic case, the maximum shear displacements were a few centimetres at the proposed nuclear waste repository level, at proximately 500 m b.s.l. High-resolution, low-frequency echo-sounding was used to examine the Holocene submarine sedimentary structures and possible direct and indirect indicators of palaeoseismic activity in the northern Baltic Sea. Echo-sounding profiles of Holocene submarine sediments revealed slides and slumps, normal faults, debris flows and turbidite-type structures. The profiles also showed pockmarks and other structures related to gas or groundwater seepages, which might be related to fracture zone activation. Evidence of postglacial reactivation in the study area was derived from the spatial occurrence of some of the structures, especial the faults and the seepages, in the vicinity of some old bedrock fracture zones. Palaeoseismic event(s) (a single or several events) in the Olkiluoto area were dated and the palaeoenvironment was characterized using palaeomagnetic, biostratigraphical and lithostratigraphical methods, enhancing the reliability of the chronology. Combined lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and palaeomagnetic stratigraphy revealed an age estimation of 10 650 to 10 200 cal. years BP for the palaeoseismic event(s). All Holocene sediment faults in the northern Baltic Sea occur at the same stratigraphical level, the age of which is estimated at 10 700 cal. years BP (9500 radiocarbon years BP). Their movement is suggested to have been triggered by palaeoseismic event(s) when the Late Weichselian ice sheet was retreating from the site and bedrock stresses were released along the bedrock fracture zones. Since no younger or repeated traces of seismic events were found, it corroborates the suggestion that the major seismic activity occurred within a short time during and after the last deglaciation. The origin of the gas/groundwater seepages remains unclear. Their reflections in the echo-sounding profiles imply that part of the gas is derived from the organic-bearing Litorina and modern gyttja clays. However, at least some of the gas is derived from the bedrock. Additional information could be gained by pore water analysis from the pockmarks. Information on postglacial fault activation and possible gas and/or fluid discharges under high hydraulic heads has relevance in evaluating the safety assessment of a planned spent nuclear fuel repository in the region.

Late Svecofennian leucogranites of southern Finland : Chronicles of an orogenic collapse

Leucogranite magmatism occurred in southern Finland during the later stages of the Paleoproterozoic Svecofennian orogeny. The leucogranites are considered to have formed from pre-existing crustal rocks that have undergone anatexis in the extensional stage of the orogeny, following continental collision and resultant crustal thickening. The leucogranites have been studied in the field using petrographic and mineralogical methods, elemental and isotope geochemistry on whole rocks and minerals, and U-Pb geochronology. On outcrop scale, these granites typically form heterogeneous, layered, sheet-like bodies that migmatize their country rocks. All of the leucogranites are peraluminous and rich in SiO2, but otherwise display significant geochemical variation. Their Nd isotope composition ranges from fairly juvenile to very unradiogenic, and the Hf isotope composition of their zircon shows a varying degree of mixing in the source, the zircon populations becoming more heterogeneous and generally less radiogenic towards the east. The leucogranites have been dated using U-Pb isotopic analyses, utilizing thermal ionization mass spectrometry, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and laser ablation multicollector ICP mass spectrometry on zircon and monazite. The results show that the granites were emplaced between 1.85 Ga and 1.79 Ga, which is a considerably longer period than has traditionally been perceived for these rocks. The rocks tend to become younger towards the east. Single crystal data also display a wide array of inherited zircons, especially in the eastern part of the leucogranite belt. The most common inherited age groups are ~2.8 2.5 Ga, ~2.1 2.1 Ga, and ~1.9 Ga. Magmatic zircon and monazite usually record similar ages for any one sample.Thermobarometric calculations indicate that the leucogranites in the Veikkola area of southcentral Finland were formed from relatively low-temperature melts, and emplaced at 17-25 km depth, i.e. at mid-crustal level. It is likely that these conditions apply to the Svecofennian leucogranites in general. Large differences in the Hf and Nd isotope compositions, emplacement ages, and distributions of inherited zircon ages show that these granites were formed from different types of source rocks, which probably included both sedimentary and igneous rocks.