Precambrian Research 135 (2004) 133147

Geochronological, geochemical, and NdHf isotopic constraints on the origin of Neoproterozoic plagiogranites in the Tasriwine ophiolite, Anti-Atlas orogen, Morocco
S.D. Samsona, , J.D. Inglisa , R.S. DLemosb , H. Admouc , J. Blichert-Toftd , K. Hefferane
Department of Earth Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA b Deers Cottage, Aston View, Somerton, Bicester OX25 6NP, UK c Faculty of Science, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco d Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France Department of Geography and Geology, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA Received 29 March 2004; accepted 10 August 2004
a

Abstract Small leucogranite bodies within the Tasriwine ophiolite, Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco have chemical characteristics consistent with being plagiogranites sensu stricto. Total REE abundances are low, as are K2 O (<0.5%) and Rb (<15 ppm) contents. REE patterns of the plagiogranites display an enrichment of LREE compared to HREE, and are characterized by at to slightly concave-up patterns from Gd to Yb. Such patterns contrast sharply with those of plagiogranites in more complete ophiolite sequences, such as the Semail ophiolite, Oman, or the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, where patterns are much atter and slightly LREE-depleted. Initial Nd isotopic ratios are remarkably uniform; Nd (762 Ma) values range from +6.0 to +6.3, and are consistent with direct derivation from a depleted mantle source. Hafnium isotopic ratios were determined on the same zircons as used for UPb geochronological analyses. Zircons from a folded plagiogranite dyke have present-day 176 Hf/177 Hf of 0.282699 17, corresponding to a maximum initial Hf of +14.2 0.6. Four batches of zircons from a second pluton have overlapping maximum initial Hf values (Hf (762 Ma) = +14.0 0.3 to +14.9 0.6) and are indistinguishable from the value for the dyke. The zircon hafnium isotope data are consistent with the Nd isotope whole-rock values, implying no decoupling between Hf and REE during or after plagiogranite emplacement. Two of the plagiogranites were dated using high-precision UPb zircon techniques. Analyses of four batches of zircon from one pluton lie on a line with an upper intersection with Concordia of 761.1 + 1.9/1.6 Ma, considered the age of emplacement of the pluton. Five small batches of zircon analyzed from a folded plagiogranite dyke lie on a chord that intersects Concordia at 762 + 1/2 Ma, which is considered the age of emplacement of the dyke, and the most precise estimate of the age of the plagiogranite as a whole.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 315 443 5298; fax: +1 315 443 3363. E-mail address: sdsamson@syr.edu (S.D. Samson).

0301-9268/$ see front matter 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2004.08.003

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The chemical and isotopic data for the plagiogranites are consistent with their generation by partial melting of a chemically enriched, but isotopically depleted mantle, followed by extensive fractional crystallization. 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Plagiogranite; Neoproterozoic; Morocco; Anti-Atlas; Hf isotopes

1. Introduction Ophiolites have played a major role in reconstructing ancient plate boundaries ever since their initial recognition as on-land slices of oceanic lithosphere. Establishing precise ages of ophiolites is one of the critical tasks involved in their full characterization, and is necessary in order to maximize the tectonic information potentially provided by these lithospheric fragments. Determining robust radiometric ages of the ultramac or mac rocks within an ophiolite is extremely difcult, thus much work has concentrated on the geochronology of spatially, and presumably temporally, associated plagiogranites. Plagiogranites, as dened by Coleman and Peterman (1975), are primarily composed of quartz and plagioclase and contain less than 10% ferromagnesian minerals. The bulk chemical composition of plagiogranites differs from average continental granites in that the K2 O content is usually less than one weight percent (and often 1%), whereas Na2 O and CaO contents are generally higher (Coleman and Donato, 1979). Because plagiogranites often contain zircon as a primary accessory mineral, they have been the target of many UPb geochronological studies (e.g. Mattinson, 1976; Bluck et al., 1980; Tilton et al., 1981; Dunning and Krogh, 1985; Mukasa and Ludden, 1987; Borsi et al., 1996; Clark et al., 1998; Whitehead et al., 2000; Khain et al., 2002, and many others). In the Neoproterozoic Anti-Atlas Orogen of central Morocco dismembered ophiolites occur in wellexposed erosional inliers, or boutonni` res (Fig. 1). e Although the economically important Bou AzzerEl Graa ophiolite has been the focus of numerous geological, petrological, and geochemical studies (e.g. Church and Young, 1974; Leblanc, 1976, 1981 and references therein; Bodinier et al., 1984; Saquaque et al., 1989; Naidoo et al., 1991, and many others), its age has not yet been directly established. The most commonly quoted age is 788 10 Ma (Clauer, 1976), which is based on a RbSr date of hornfelsed pelites collected close to meter-thick mac sills. Clauer et al. (1982)

argued that Leblanc (1975) considered the mac sills as magmatically connected with the ophiolites, and thus viewed the RbSr date as a reliable constraint of the age of the Bou AzzerEl Graara ophiolite. Approximately 60 km northwest of the Bou Azzer inlier is the Siroua inlier. The Siroua inlier has recently been considered as a westward extension of the Bou Azzer inlier based on extensive mapping and structural studies (Admou, 2000). Two small highly tectonized ophiolites, the Nqob and Tasriwine ophiolites (nomenclature of Thomas et al., 2002), crop out within the Siroua inlier. The relationship of the ophiolites in the Siroua inlier to the main Bou AzzerEl Graa ophiolite is unknown. One reason for the difculty in determining whether a genetic relationship exists between these different ophiolite sequences stems from the absence of precise ages of primary units within the ophiolites. There is also a lack of radiogenic isotopic data for the sequences that, by being powerful petrogenetic tracers, could be used as a means of comparison. Leucogranite bodies are known to occur within the Tasriwine ophiolite, however, and these are the focus of the combined geochemical, NdHf isotopic, and UPb zircon geochronological study presented here.

2. Geologic background The Khazama region of the Siroua inlier consists of distinct tectonic blocks (Admou, 2000). A southern block contains undated mica schists and gneisses of the Tachakoucht Formation. Thrust over this formation, or metamorphic complex, are banded gneisses of the Iriri Migmatite, which is thought to have a protolith age of 743 14 Ma based on UPb ion microprobe analyses of zircon from a tonalitic gneiss (Thomas et al., 2002). Further north, thrust slices of ultramac rocks (and their serpentinized equivalents), gabbroic rocks, and a dike complex occur (Admou, 2000). Collectively these units comprise what has been considered a dismembered ophiolite, named the Tasriwine ophiolite

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Fig. 1. Map of Anti-Atlas region of Morocco showing generalized geologic features. The Siroua and Bou AzzerEl Graara boutonni` res are e indicated. Inset diagram is of northwest Africa with Anti-Atlas region indicated by rectangle.

by Thomas et al. (2002). The ultramac rocks, which occur in a 200250 m thick section of fault-bounded blocks, consist of pyroxenites, wehrlites, dunites, and serpentinized harzburgites, interpreted to represent cumulate phases. The entire sequence has been both folded and extruded within shear zones. A 150200 m thick sequence of gabbros also occurs within ductile shear zones. The base of the gabbroic sequence is dominated by pyroxene gabbro, with minor hornblendite pegmatite, pyroxenite, diabase, and anorthosite (Admou, 2000). These units have been intruded by melano- and leuco-gabbros, mac dikes, and plagiogranites, all of which were subjected to amphibolite grade metamorphism. Finally, an 800 m thick dike complex occurs in the Khazama area. It consists of sub-vertical diabase and gabbroic dikes intruding pyroxenites and pyroxenerich gabbros. The dikes, which have an average thickness of 0.30.5 m, do not display classic asymmetric chilled margins. Instead, the Khzama dikes form a more random intrusion pattern suggesting multiple phases of intrusion. The dike complex has been hydrothermally altered and has also been folded during a ductile deformation event. More detailed discussions of the geology of the Khazama region, with specic reference to the dismem-

bered ophiolitic sequence, are given in Chabane (1991), El Boukhari et al. (1991), Admou and Juteau (1998), Admou (2000), and Thomas et al. (2002). A recent and extensive discussion of the overall geology of the area is given in Gresse et al. (2000).

3. Leucogranite bodies Various outcrops of granite occur within the Khazama region, including the deformed Tourtit granite, as well as several small (<10 m thick) unnamed outcrops of leucogranite (Fig. 2). The Tourtit granite is actually a very narrow, elongate gneissic body, rather than a granite sensu stricto. However, the very low content of ferromagnesian minerals in much of the outcrop area of the gneiss suggests that the most likely protolith is leucogranite and it is therefore considered as one of the collective outcrops of leucogranite in the region. The unnamed leucogranites occur as both narrow (1 m thick) dikes and slightly larger (few meters diameter) elliptical plutons, intruding massive gabbros. Although the leucogranites intrude the gabbros, they have structural features in identical orientation to the host gabbros. That is, all geological eld relationships indicate that the leucogranites are not later,

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Fig. 2. Generalized geologic map of part of the Siroua region that includes the Tasriwine ophiolite. Locality of plagiogranite samples analyzed in this study are shown by star. Map adapted from Admou (2000). Nomenclature from Thomas et al. (2002).

unrelated intrusive units, but are part of the overall ultramacgabbroic sequence. Two of the leucogranite samples are from small (<3 m diameter) rounded plutons and a third is from a 1 m wide deformed leucogranitic dike. The three samples are similar lithologically, consisting of 9297% quartz and plagioclase crystals, ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 mm, with variable amounts (typically <7%) of altered (chloritized?) amphibole minerals. Zircon is present in extremely low abundance and was the only observed accessory phase. Further petrographic details are given by Admou (2000).

a Na scintering technique followed by inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) analysis at Memorial University, Newfoundland. Details of the ICP-MS techniques are given by Longerich et al. (1990). Sample preparation, dissolution, Sm and Nd chemical separation, and mass spectrometric techTable 1 Chemical composition of Tasriwine leucogranites Sample 99-05 99-06 76.7 12.4 6.32 0.44 0.50 0.47 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.39 97.5 <1 120 99-07 79.0 11.4 5.71 0.37 0.73 0.35 0.09 0.03 0.10 0.49 98.3 1.35 117 Tourtit granite 71.6 16.6 5.73 0.43 0.90 1.32 0.08 0.03 1.45 1.04 99.3 36.9 415

4. Analytical techniques Major element analyses of the leucogranites were performed by X-ray uorescence spectroscopy at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada using a Fisons/ARL 8420+ spectrometer operating at 30 kV/100 mA. Further analytical details are given by Longerich (1995) and the data are provided in Table 1. Rare earth element (REE) compositions were determined by dissolving whole-rock powders using

Major oxides (Wt.%) SiO2 77.8 12.4 Al2 O3 5.47 Na2 O MgO 0.11 Fe2 O3 0.74 CaO 0.71 TiO2 0.07 P 2 O5 0.05 K2 O 0.58 LOI 0.46 Total 98.4

Trace elements (ppm) Rb 11.7 Sr 63.8

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niques for the SmNd isotope measurements followed those described by Samson et al. (1995). Details of the zircon dissolution, Hf chemical separation, and mass spectrometry techniques are fully outlined in Samson et al. (2003). The Hf isotope ratio measurement of the zircons from the leucocratic dike sample were made on a VG Plasma 54 multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Lyon, France following techniques outlined by Blichert-Toft et al. (1997). Hf isotope ratios for zircons from the more massive leucocratic body were measured at the University of Arizona, using the Micromass Isoprobe MC-ICP-MS, following similar techniques to those described by BlichertToft et al. (1997). Slight corrections to the measured 176 Hf/177 Hf ratios were made for the samples measured in Arizona, due to slight isobaric interference on 176 Hf from 176 Yb. The sample analyzed in Lyon required no Yb correction. UPb geochronological techniques followed those described by Samson and DLemos (1999). Data were reduced using the programs of Ludwig (1989, 1990).

the patterns show a slight enrichment of LREE over HREE ([La/Yb]N range = 2.75.8). All samples have signicant negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* range = 0.280.37) and are characterized by at to slightly concave up patterns from Gd to Yb ([Gd/Yb]N = 0.840.94). Total REE abundances are extremely low ( REE = 1723 ppm), again conforming to the general characteristics of plagiogranites sensu stricto. 5.3. Nd isotopic compositions Three whole-rock samples of the plagiogranite were analyzed for their Nd isotopic compositions (Table 3 ). Initial isotopic ratios are highly consistent, with Nd (762 Ma) values ranging from +6.0 to +6.3 (Fig. 4). Depleted mantle model extraction ages (TDM ) range from 760 to 800 Ma, based on the model of average depleted mantle described by DePaolo (1981). 5.4. Hf isotopic compositions Hf isotopic compositions were measured on zircons from both of the plagiogranite samples selected for UPb geochronology (Table 3). Because of
Table 2 Rare earth element composition of Tasriwine plagiogranites Sample 99-05 4.05 8.51 1.03 4.12 0.96 0.090 1.06 0.17 1.15 0.25 0.79 0.13 1.01 0.17 23.5 2.65 0.84 0.27 99-06 3.10 6.69 0.78 3.01 0.65 0.061 0.68 0.11 0.66 0.14 0.45 0.077 0.60 0.10 17.1 3.0 0.90 0.29 99-07 3.75 7.35 0.80 2.94 0.57 0.065 0.50 0.08 0.48 0.10 0.31 0.05 0.44 0.08 17.5 4.18 0.94 0.37

5. Geochemical and NdHf isotopic results 5.1. Major element compositions The Tourtit orthogneiss and the three small leucogranites all have high SiO2 contents >71% (Table 1). However, the leucogranites are particularly silica-rich ranging from 76% to 79% SiO2 . In addition, the three leucogranites have extremely low K2 O (<0.10.6%) and Rb (<1<12 ppm, see Table 1) contents tting exactly the geochemical characteristics of plagiogranites dened by Coleman and Peterman (1975). The Tourtit orthogneiss has broadly similar major element characteristics to the leucogranites, but has a higher K2 O content (1.5%) and higher Rb concentration (37 ppm, see Table 1). These features suggest that the protolith of the orthogneiss may have been a leucogranite, but not a plagiogranite sensu stricto, and thus the Tourtit granite was not analyzed further. 5.2. Rare earth element compositions REE concentrations were measured for the three small leucogranites (Table 2, Fig. 3). Overall,

La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu REE
a [La/Yb] b Eu/Eu* N N a [Gd/Yb]

Note: all concentrations in parts per million. a Normalized ratios are based on volatile free type I carbonaceous chondrites (i.e. 1.5 times original data of Evensen et al., 1978). b Eu/Eu* = Eu /[(Sm )(Gd )]1/2 . N N N

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Table 3 SmNd and Hf isotopic data for plagiogranite samples from the Tasriwine ophiolite Sample Nd (ppm) Sm (ppm) 0.98 0.98 0.68
147 Sm/144 Nd 143 Nda /144 Nd

Nd(0)b +0.4 +0.2 0.2

Nd(T)b +6.0 +5.9 +6.3

TDMc 801 806 763

176 Hfd /177 Hf

Hf(0)e

Hf(T)e

S.D. Samson et al. / Precambrian Research 135 (2004) 133147

Leucogranite pluton (99-05) Whole-rock 4.25 Repeat 4.28 Leucogranite pluton (99-06) Whole-rock 3.17 Zircon E (1) Zircon F (1) Zircon G (3) Zircon H (4) Leucogranite dike (99-07) Whole-rock 3.29 Zircon C (5)

0.1391 0.1383 0.1298

0.512656 5 0.512649 8 0.512629 4

0.282694 11 0.282718 17 0.282707 10 0.282692 8 +6.3 767 0.282699 17

2.8 1.9 2.3 2.8

+14.1 +14.9 +14.5 +14.0

0.62

0.1146

0.512550 6

1.7

2.6

+14.2

Note: letters for zircon analyses correspond to the UPb analyses in Table 2. a Measured ratio, corrected for spike. Normalized to 146 Nd/144 Nd = 0.7219. Uncertainties are 2 and refer to least signicant digit. m
b c d e

Nd (0) =

{[143 Nd/144 Nd]

Sample

[143 Nd/144 Nd]

Bulk Earth

Bulk Earth

[143 Nd/144 Nd]

104 ; Present-day Bulk Earth values: 143 Nd/144 Nd = 0.512638; 147 Sm/144 Nd = 0.1966; = 6.54 1012 yrs1 .

Depleted mantle model age following model of DePaolo (1981). Measured ratio, normalized to 179 Hf/177 Hf = 0.7325. Uncertainties are 2 m and refer to least signicant digit. Hf (0) =
{[176 Hf/177 Hf]
Sample

[176 Hf/177 Hf]

Bulk Earth

Bulk Earth

[176 Hf/177 Hf]

104 ; Present-day Bulk Earth values: 176 Hf/177 Hf = 0.282772; 176 Lu/177 Hf = 0.0332; = 1.865 1011 yrs1 (Scherer et al.,

2001).

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Fig. 3. Chondrite normalized (Evensen et al., 1978) plot of REE for the Tasriwine plagiogranite compared to plagiogranites from the Semail ophiolite (data from Pallister and Knight, 1981), the Troodos ophiolite (data of Kay and Senechal, 1976) and the northern Appenines (data from Borsi et al., 1996). The LREE enrichment of the plagiogranites in the Tasriwine and Appenine ophiolites contrasts sharply with the at to LREE-depleted patterns from the classic Semail and Troodos ophiolites. A LREE enrichment of the mantle source region must have occurred prior to the petrogenesis of the Tasriwine plagiogranites.

Fig. 4. Nd vs. age diagram for plagiogranites from the Tasriwine ophiolite (this study) and from and the nearby Nqob ophiolite (Thomas et al., 2002). The initial Nd values for the Tasriwine whole-rock samples are identical to the depleted mantle model of DePaolo (1981), consistent with a depleted mantle source for parental magmas that underwent signicant amounts of fractional crystallization. Evolution of 2 Ga Eburnian crust shown for comparison (data from Samson, unpublished).

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S.D. Samson et al. / Precambrian Research 135 (2004) 133147 Note: All zircons were extensively abraded prior to analysis. a Number of zircon crystals analyzed given in parentheses. b Measured ratio (uncorrected for fractionation, spike, or blank). c Corrected for fractionation plus Daly bias (0.18 0.09% amu1 ), spike, blank, and initial Pb. Errors are 2 Laboratory Pb blank ranged from 0.4 to 2 pg (50%) during the course of the study; U blank is 0.5 pg (50%). Initial common Pb composition is estimated using the crustal growth model of Stacey and Kramers (1975). d 207 Pb/235 U206 Pb/238 U error-correlation coefcient (following Ludwig, 1989).
0.843 0.844 0.878 0.906 0.982 0.975 0.961 0.913 0.921 Plagiogranite pluton (99-06) E (1) 0.189 23.7 F (1) 0.218 27.6 G (3) 0.500 63.5 H (4) 0.554 72.3 I (5) 0.215 30.1 1.2 1.5 1.1 0.69 2.9 1186 1139 3344 3189 597 7.80 7.01 8.12 6.64 5.44 0.12393 0.12391 0.12431 0.12563 0.12566 0.856 0.774 0.437 0.309 0.484 1.1047 1.1037 1.1081 1.1192 1.1197 0.872 0.795 0.456 0.339 0.529 0.064649 0.064605 0.064653 0.064614 0.064629 0.162 0.177 0.126 0.139 0.207 753.1 753.0 755.3 762.9 763.1 755.6 755.2 757.3 762.6 762.9 762.9 761.5 763.1 761.8 762.3

206 Pbc /238 U 206 Pbc /208 Pb 206 Pbb /204 Pb

5.5. UPb geochronological data Four zircon batches, ranging from a single grain to a group of 7 crystals, were analyzed from a sample of the deformed, narrow leucogranite dike (sample 99-07) Table 4. Three of the analyses are slightly discordant (1.5%), whereas the fourth analysis is 4.7% discordant (Fig. 6A). The four analyses lie on a well-dened chord (MSWD = 0.89) with an upper intersection with Concordia at 761.1 + 1.9/1.6 Ma and a lower intercept of 11 86 Ma. The upper intercept date is considered the best estimate of the crystallization age of the leucogranitic dike. The lower intercept is within error of 0 Ma, consistent with modern-day Pb loss from the zircons. Five batches of zircon, ranging from two singlegrain analyses to a group of ve zircons, were analyzed from a more massive portion of the plagiogran-

Table 4 UPb isotopic data for zircons from Tasriwine plagiogranites, Siroua inlier

Atomic ratios

Total common Pb (pg) Total Pb (pg) Analysisa Total U (ng)

Plagiogranite dike (99-07) A (1) 0.960 117 B (4) 0.677 85.3 C (5) 0.459 59.4 D (7) 1.317 170

0.98 0.43 0.59 2.4

10997 9892 5150 4043

8.70 8.66 6.50 6.92

0.11970 0.12418 0.12355 0.12413

the very high average concentration of Hf in zircon (10,000 ppm) combined with typically very low Lu concentrations (<100 ppm) (e.g. Knudsen et al., 2001; Grifn et al., 2002), the measured 176 Hf/177 Hf ratio is essentially that of the initial ratio for zircons younger than 1 Ga (e.g. Bodet and Sch rer, 2000; Samson et al., a 2003). Thus for the zircons analyzed here, it is assumed that the measured present-day Hf isotopic composition is virtually identical to the initial signature. The zircons for dike sample 99-07 has a present-day 176 Hf/177 Hf ratio of 0.282699 17, which corresponds to an initial Hf value of +14.2 0.6 when using a decay constant value of 1.865 1011 yrs1 for 176 Lu (Scherer et al., 2001). The four batches of zircons analyzed from sample 99-06 have initial Hf values that overlap within the individual in-run analytical errors, namely Hf (762 Ma) = +14.0 0.3 to +14.9 0.6, a range that encompasses the single value determined for the leucogranitic dike (Fig. 5). The weighted mean of the four initial Hf values for the zircons from sample 99-06 is +14.4. As no other Hf isotopic data are available for any of the other units comprising the Khazama ophiolite, a value of +14.4 for the leucogranite zircons is considered the current best estimate of the Hf isotopic composition of the ophiolite. If the old decay constant value of 1.93 1011 yrs1 for 176 Lu is used instead, the Hf values reported here would increase by only about half an epsilon unit, which is within error of the individual sample analyses themselves.

207 Pb/206 Pb 207 Pb/235 U 206 Pb/238 U

Ages (Ma)

Error (%)
207 Pbc /206 Pb

Error (%)
207 Pbc /235 U

Error (%)

0.152 0.153 0.192 0.223

1.0658 1.1053 1.1006 1.1057

0.181 0.181 0.219 0.247

0.064577 0.064557 0.064613 0.064605

0.097 0.097 0.105 0.104

728.8 754.6 750.9 754.3

736.7 755.9 753.7 756.1

760.6 759.9 761.8 761.5

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Fig. 5. Hf vs. age diagram for zircons from the Tasriwine plagiogranites. The height of the rectangles includes both the range of determined Hf values and the 2 errors or those measurements. The plagiogranites are the same age but are shown slightly offset in age to allow for better visualization. The values for the plagiogranite zircon crystals are extremely radiogenic, consistent with formation from a depleted mantle source. The evolution band for 2 Ga Eburnian crust, estimated from Nd isotopic data using the relationship Hf = 1.36 Nd + 3 determined by Vervoort et al. (1999), is shown for reference.

ite (sample 99-06). Two of the ve analyses are concordant (Fig. 6B), yielding identical 238 U/206 Pb* dates of 763.1 3.8 Ma and 762.9 2.3 Ma. The remaining three analyses overlap one another within the 2 error, but are slightly discordant (1%). A regression line through all ve analyses (forced through 0 Ma) intersects Concordia at 762 + 1/2 Ma (MSWD = 0.25). This date is considered the best estimate of the age of crystallization of this leucogranitic pod, and is analytically indistinguishable from the date of the leucogranite dike.

bearing on the evolution of the Tasriwine ophiolite. Details of these characteristics are discussed below. 6.1. REE compositions The total REE abundances ( REE) of the Tasriwine plagiogranites are extremely low (<23 ppm), consistent with analyses of plagiogranites from other ophiolites. However, the REE patterns of the Tasriwine plagiogranites do not resemble those of plagiogranites and associated mantle-derived rocks from fully developed ophiolites, such as the Semail ophiolite, Oman, or the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus (Fig. 3), nor do they resemble REE patterns typical of modern mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Based on data of Kay and Senechal (1976), Aldiss (1981) and Pallister and Knight (1981), REE patterns from plagiogranites within the Semail and Troodos ophiolites are characterized by LREEdepleted (e.g., [La/Yb]N = 0.50.8) to nearly at (e.g., [La/Yb]N = 1.11.2) patterns. Such patterns are similar to those of modern normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (i.e. N-MORB), and thus are thought to reect the generally LREE-depleted nature of typical mantle. It is therefore unlikely that the source region of the Tasriwine plagiogranites was similar to those of the pla-

6. Discussion The major element compositions of the leucogranites combined with their very low total REE contents and Rb concentrations are consistent with them being classied as plagiogranites. Further supporting this classication is the very radiogenic Nd and Hf isotopic compositions of the leucogranites, which are entirely consistent with the granites having been derived directly from depleted mantle sources. The leucogranites are thus considered to be true plagiogranites and therefore their chemical characteristics and ages have direct

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tramac rocks (e.g. Elliot et al., 1997; Grove et al., 2002 and references therein). Following melting of that LREE-enriched lithosphere, extensive fractional crystallization in the plagioclase-stability eld must have occurred to explain the very well developed negative Eu anomalies. Mesozoic plagiogranites from the northern Apennines also have LREE-enriched patterns, and thus are similar to the Tasriwine plagiogranite patterns, but have much higher ( REE) (Borsi et al., 1996). Borsi et al. (1996) invoked enrichment (metasomatism) of the mantle prior to formation of the plagiogranites, and suggested it occurred via injection of mantle melts produced by very small degrees of partial melting in a deeper, but adjacent part of the mantle. Whether enrichment occurred by uids released during slab dehydration or via small degrees of partial melt, both the Apennine and Tasriwine plagiogranites must have been generated from a source that became LREE-enriched within a short interval of time before petrogenesis of the plagiogranites to explain their very radiogenic initial Nd isotopic compositions. If LREE enrichment had occurred hundreds of millions of years prior to the formation of the plagiogranite, then their initial Nd values would be much lower than the Nd (762 Ma) values of +6 determined for the Tasriwine samples. 6.2. Nd isotopes The high initial Nd isotopic composition of the leucogranites is consistent with the production of the leucogranitic magmas, either directly or indirectly, from a depleted mantle source region. In fact, the two samples chosen for UPb zircon analyses have the exact initial Nd value predicted for average depleted mantle at 762 Ma, based on the model of DePaolo (1981). Being derived directly from the depleted mantle implies a mac parental magma that underwent very extensive fractional crystallization. Alternatively, the leucogranitic magmas could have been produced by partial melting of rocks that had themselves been produced by partial melting of depleted mantle. The Nd isotopic composition of the Tasriwine plagiogranite is similar to, but more radiogenic than, the composition of a plagiogranite in the nearby Nqob ophiolitic fragment (Fig. 4) (Thomas et al., 2002). The radiogenic nature of the Tasriwine plagiogranites is also similar to that observed for younger plagiogran-

Fig. 6. Concordia diagrams for zircon from the Tasriwine plagiogranites. (A) Zircon from the deformed plagiogranite dike. Upper intercept date of 761.1 + 1.9/1.6 Ma is considered the best estimate of the timing of emplacement of this dike. (B) Zircon from a more massive plagiogranite pod. Upper intercept date of 762 + 1/2 Ma (forced through 0 Ma) is considered the best estimate of the timing of crystallization of this plagiogranite body and is the best current age estimate of the Tasriwine ophiolite as a whole.

giogranites in the Troodos or Semail ophiolites. Instead, the REE patterns of the Tasriwine plagiogranites suggest that the source region must have been LREEenriched. One possibility is that LREE enrichment of the mantle occurred as the result of uids released from subducting lithosphere prior to the formation of the Tasriwine plagiogranites and associated mac and ul-

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ites in other ophiolitic regions. For example, Borsi et al. (1996) reported initial Nd values between +8.8 and +9.7 for 150 Ma plagiogranites within the western Alps and Northern Apennines, values about an epsilon unit higher than model 150 Ma depleted mantle. Amri et al. (1996) reported initial Nd values of +6.6 and +7.4 for two plagiogranite samples within the Maqsad area of the c.100 Ma Oman ophiolite, which although 12 epsilon units lower than model 100 Ma depleted mantle are still well within the range of depleted mantlederived Mesozoic oceanic basalts. 6.3. Hf isotopes The measured hafnium isotopic composition of the zircons from the plagiogranite samples is considered to accurately reect the initial isotopic composition of the leucogranite magmas. Most igneous rocks show tight coupling between their Hf and Nd isotopic compositions, with a general correlation of Hf = 1.36*Nd +3 for world-wide terrestrial samples (Vervoort et al., 1999). Based on the initial Nd isotopic composition of the plagiogranite whole-rock samples, the zircon Hf values are slightly higher than would be predicted using either the full terrestrial NdHf correlation line or a best-t correlation line for juvenile rocks only (Vervoort and Blichert-Toft, 1999). This may be due partly to the zircon Hf values being maximum values as no correction was made for the slight amounts of radiogenic in-growth of 176 Hf since formation of the plagiogranites. However, the correlation between Nd and Hf isotopes is better viewed as an array, with considerable scatter around a best-t regression, rather than a single line, and the Nd and Hf isotopic compositions of the leucogranite samples do fall well within that array. Thus, no decoupling between the SmNd and LuHf isotope systems need be invoked for the plagiogranites. The very high Hf values of the plagiogranites strongly reinforce the depleted mantle-like signature observed from the Nd isotopic compositions. Such high Hf values are exactly what would be expected if the leucogranitic magmas were produced by extensive fractional crystallization of much more basic magmas, which were themselves produced by partial melting of depleted mantle. While consistent with such a model, however, the isotopic compositions cannot distinguish between an origin by extensive fractional crystalliza-

tion of a basic magma or by a series of small-degree partial melting events of a mac source. 6.4. UPb geochronology The two UPb zircon dates are indistinguishable within error, consistent with the inference that the different exposures of these leucogranitic bodies represent a series of contemporaneous injections of leucogranitic magmas. The best estimate of the crystallization age of the plagiogranite suite as a whole, therefore, is 762 + 1/2 Ma, the more precise of the two leucogranite dates and the one based on two concordant analyses. As there are no reliable estimates of the ages of any of the more mac bodies within the overall sequence, an age of 762 + 1/2 Ma is thereby also the current best available estimate for the age of the entire dismembered Tasriwine ophiolite. The only other unit of similar age yet identied in the Siroua region is the 743 14 Ma Iriri Migmatite (Thomas et al., 2002). That unit has been interpreted as having formed during the early phases of an island arc built offshore of the West African craton. It is therefore possible that the Tasriwine ophiolite represents oceanic crust, possibly oceanic basement, associated with a nascent island arc that began to form shortly after production of the Tasriwine ocean crust. Viewed in this way, the Tasriwine ophiolite could be thought of as corresponding to approximately the second stage of the idealized life cycle of suprasubduction zone ophiolites as described by Shervais (2001).

7. Correlation of the Anti-Atlas ophiolites The proximity of the Tasriwine ophiolite to the small Nqob ophiolite and the larger Bou Azzer ophiolite to the east raises the possibility that they may all simply be dismembered pieces of a single, larger ophiolite body. One major difculty in trying to establish the possible relationship between the three areas is that there are no robust dates for any of the units deriving directly from either the Nqob or Bou Azzer ophiolites. If the RbSr date of 788 10 Ma (Clauer, 1976) from contact metamorphosed sediments near mac intrusions is taken at face value as constraining the age of the Bou Azzer ophiolite, then that ocean crust is 26 million years older than the Tasriwine ocean crust. Even if the youngest

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limit (778 Ma) of the RbSr date is used, given its 10 million year uncertainty, and the 2 million year uncertainty on the plagiogranite date is applied, an age difference of 14 million years still remains. This discrepancy would appear to preclude a direct genetic relationship between the two ophiolites, although they could have formed in similar geographic regions. It is also possible, however, that the reported RbSr date is not a robust estimate of the true age of the Bou Azzer ophiolite. If isotopic resetting of the sedimentary detritus did not occur completely during the intrusion of the mac sills, then the calculated date would not reect the timing of contact metamorphism, but would yield an older, geologically meaningless date. Given that no precise radiometric dates exist for any magmatic units unambiguously linked to the Bou Azzer ophiolite, its age should be considered unknown. Small aplitic bodies have been found within mac rocks in the area of At Ahmaine within the Bou Azzer ophiolite, but it is not yet clear whether these are younger, cross-cutting leucogranitic intrusions, possibly related to the quartz diorites in the general area, or true plagiogranites within the ophiolitic rocks. Comparison of Nd and Hf isotopic compositions of similar lithologies from the ophiolites would provide an additional method of testing possible genetic relationships. Thomas et al. (2002) report Nd isotopic data for one sample of plagiogranite from the Nqob ophiolite. Calculated at the age of the Tasriwine ophiolite their sample has an Nd (762 Ma) value of +5.4 1.4, indistinguishable to the values for the Tasriwine plagiogranites within analytical error. The Nd data is thus permissive of a genetic relationship between the two ophiolitic fragments. However, currently there are no isotopic data available from rocks that are part of the Bou Azzer ophiolite sensu stricto and thus testing the idea that there may be a genetic relationship between this ophiolite and the others in the Anti-Atlas will have to await the collection of further robust geochronological and geochemical data.

8. Comparison with other North African Neoproterozoic ophiolites The 762 + 1/2 Ma age of the Tasriwine ophiolite provides documentation that this period of Neoprotero-

zoic time was important for the production of ophiolitic assemblages in northwestern Africa. More numerous ophiolites and ophiolitic fragments are known to occur in northeastern Africa, particularly throughout the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Many of these ophiolites have been dated allowing for a comparison with the Tasriwine ophiolite. Claesson et al. (1984) reported wholerock and mineral SmNd isochrons of 743 24 Ma and 782 38 Ma for gabbro bodies from the Jabal al Wask and Jabal Ess ophiolites, respectively, of NW Saudi Arabia. Pallister et al. (1988) obtained indistinguishable dates based on UPb zircon dating. Initial Nd isotopic ratios of the two ophiolites range from +6.6 to +7.6. Thus both the ages and the isotopic compositions of these two Saudi Arabian ophiolites are broadly similar to those of the Tasriwine plagiogranites. Pallister et al. (1988) investigated several ophiolites from the central, southern and eastern regions of the Arabian-Nubian shield using UPb zircon techniques. However, few of the analyses are either concordant or lie on well-dened chords, making interpretation of the geochronological data difcult. A date of 838 10 Ma for a diorite in the Bir Umq ophiolite is the most reliable, as it is based on three collinear analyses, one of which is essentially concordant. The Bir Tuluhah ophiolite may also be 840 Ma as two discordant analyses of zircon from a plagiogranite within the ophiolite yielded 207 Pb/206 Pb dates of 823 11 Ma and 847 14 Ma. Pallister et al. (1988) reported an older date of 870 11 Ma for the Thurwah ophiolite in the central part of the shield. However, this was based on one discordant analysis and since two additional 207 Pb/206 Pb dates of 1228 and 1259 Ma were also obtained it is possible that xenocrystic components could have affected all three dates. In the eastern part of the Arabian-Nubian shield a younger date of 694 11 Ma was determined for two zircon analyses from a gabbro within the Urd ophiolite. Kr ner et al. (1992) provided 207 Pb/206 Pb zircon o dates, using the zircon evaporation technique, from widely separated ophiolites within Egypt and Sudan. Reported dates from ophiolites within Egypt include 770 9 Ma (Wadi Allaqi), 746 19 Ma (Wadi Ghadir), and 741 21 Ma (Jabal Gerf). The Onib ophiolite, Sudan, yielded a mean 207 Pb/206 Pb date of 808 14 Ma.

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Taken as a whole, the Arabian-Nubian shield contains ophiolites ranging from between about 840700 Ma, and possibly as old as 870 Ma. Most of these studied ophiolites are intimately associated with rocks of island arc afnity. Thus it has been proposed that the ophiolites in northeastern Africa were generated during intra-arc spreading, forming at various places at different times, rather than being linked together in large-scale correlations (Kr ner et al., 1992). o The Tasriwine ophiolite appears to have formed in a very similar tectonic setting to the ophiolites exposed in the Arabian-Nubian Shield, i.e. oceanic lithosphere generated in a supra-subduction environment. In addition, the Tasriwine ophiolite formed during the same time as the majority of northeast African ophiolites (780700 Ma). Ophiolite fragments are increasingly being recognized as components of island arc complexes that formed in distinct tectonic basins over brief periods of time (e.g. Hawkins, 2003; Pearce, 2003 and references therein). Many Phanerozoic ophiolites appear to have been generated only a short time prior to their obduction, thus it appears that most are minimally traveled lithospheric fragments. If this is also true of Neoproterozoic ophiolites, then both the northeastern and northwestern margins of the West African Craton were regions of the simultaneous formation of buoyant, oceanic lithosphere, associated with newly formed arc systems. The obduction of the ophiolitic fragments onto these two widely separated regions of the West African Craton presumably occurred during the accretion of the ophiolite-island arc complexes. Determining precisely the timing of these accretionary events remains as important a challenge as the precise determination of the formation of the ophiolites themselves.

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