Memorial University DAI: The petrology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Riwaka Complex, South Island, New Zealand

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Title	The petrology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Riwaka Complex, South Island, New Zealand
Author	Saunders, Jeffrey Keith, 1966-
Description	Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998. Earth Sciences
Date	1997
Pagination	190 leaves : ill., maps, (1 map fold. in pocket)
Subject	Petrology--New Zealand--South Island; Geochemistry--New Zealand--South Island; Petrogenesis--New Zealand--South Island
Degree	M.Sc.
Degree Grantor	Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Earth Sciences
Discipline	Earth Sciences
Language	Eng
Spatial Coverage	New Zealand--South Island
Notes	Bibliography: leaves 138-147.
Abstract	The Riwaka Complex is a tholeiitic igneous intrusion (40km long, up to several km wide) located in the northwestern part of the South Island of New Zealand. It intrudes the Takaka Terrane which represents an assemblage of sedimentary rocks that are part of New Zealand's geologic Western Province. The Takaka Terrane is thought to have formed in a fore-arc environment associated with either one or two westward dipping Benioff zones. -- In this subduction zone environment the tholeiitic magma crystallized in a manner similar to that, that form Alaskan-type ultramafic complexes. Its distinctive petrological features include: cumulate olivine and clinopyroxene and interstitial amphibole; absence of orthopyroxene and plagioclase; and little or no Fe-enrichment, but a Ca-enrichment in the clinopyroxenes. The Riwaka Complex's geochemical evolution was dominated by olivine and clinopyroxene fractionation from as many as five pulses of magma, which gave rise to an intrusion made up almost entirely of ultramafic rocks ranging from clinopyroxene - bearing dunites to olivine - hornblende clinopyroxenites. Some minor gabbros and diorites are also present. -- The small amount of gabbro present represents an important part of the Riwaka Complex as these rocks contain significant amounts of primary sulphides which are rich in nickel, copper and platinum group elements. The nickel and copper ratios indicate that the composition of the parental magma was similar to that of a komatiite. This magma evolved to a basaltic type composition which gave rise to the gabbroic rocks. The high temperature platinum group elements (Os, Ir and Ru) are not found in the same abundances within the gabbroic rocks as their lower temperature counterparts (Rh, Pt and Pd) indicating that they have undergone an earlier fractionation, possibly within the early crystallized ultramafic rocks. These rocks may therefore represent an important exploration target.
Type	Text
Resource Type	Electronic thesis or dissertation
Format	Image/jpeg; Application/pdf
Source	Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries
Local Identifier	a1265736
Rights	The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission.
Collection	Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Scanning Status	Completed
PDF File	(15.23 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/JefferyKeithSaunders.pdf
CONTENTdm file name	28951.cpd