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In this study, mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic data are presented for the Sylhet Trap at the southern flank of the eastern Shillong Plateau, northeastern India, to determine the magma genesis in relation to the Kerguelen plume mantle source. Sylhet Trap rocks are porphyritic tholeiite and have diverse chemical compositions from picro-basalt, basalt, andesite to dacite, but mostly are within the subalkaline field. Major and trace element data were used to identify two distinct magma fractionation trends, a low and medium K series, characterized by relatively flat MORB-like (analogous to Rajmahal Traps (II)) and enriched OIB chondrite-normalized Rare Earth Element (REE) patterns. Initial Sr/Sr, Nd/Nd, and Pb/Pb isotope compositions were widely varied, ranging from 0.70435-0.71357, 0.51196-0.51266, and 17.92-19.72, respectively, when compared with basalts from the West Bengal, the Rajmahal Traps and the Kerguelen plume. Correlations among isotopic and trace element ratios of the Sylhet Traps provide evidence for the involvement of (1) HIMU-like mantle component, (2) the Kerguelen plume-like component, and (3) EMII-like crustal component. Magma from the Sylhet Traps was originated from a melting that derived directly from the heterogeneous Kerguelen mantle plume (components 1 and 2), which strongly suggests the presence of the Kerguelen plume-head in the Bengal basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of the synchroneity between the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic boundary (PTB) mass extinction has led to the proposition that the Siberian flood volcanism was responsible for the severest biotic crisis in the Phanerozoic. However, recent studies suggest that the Siberian Traps may have postdated the main extinction horizon. In this paper, we demonstrate, using stratigraphy, a time and intensity coincidence between PTB volcanic ash and the main extinction horizon. Geochemistry of the PTB volcanic ashes in five sections in South China indicates that they were derived from continental magmatic arc. Zircons extracted from the PTB volcanic ashes have negative εHf(t) (- 12.9 to - 2.0) and δ18O (6.8 to 10.9‰), consistent with an acidic volcanism and a crustal-derived origin, and therefore exclude a genetic link between the PTB mass extinction and the Siberian Traps. On the basis of spatial variation in the number of the PTB volcanic ash layers and the thickness of the ash layers in South China, we propose that the PTB volcanic ash may be related to Paleo-Tethys continental arc magmatism in the Kunlun area. Ignimbrite flare-up related to rapid plate subduction during the final assemblage of the Pangea super-continent may have generated a volcanic winter, which eventually triggered the collapse of ecosystem and ultimately mass extinction at the end of the Permian. The Siberian Traps may have been responsible for a greenhouse effect and so have been responsible for both a second pulse of the extinction event and Early Triassic ecological evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Permian Panjal Traps of northern India represent a significant eruption of volcanic rocks which occurred during the opening of the Neotethys Ocean. Basaltic, basaltic-andesites, dacitic and rhyolitic rocks collected from Guryal Ravine and Pahalgam show evidence for subaerial and subaqueous eruptions indicating that they are contemporaneous with the formation of a shallow marine basin. The major and trace element geochemistry of the basalts is consistent with a within-plate setting and there are basalts which have high-Ti (TiO2 > 2.0 wt.%) and low-Ti (TiO2 < 1.8 wt.%) compositions. The 'high-Ti' basalts are similar to OIB whereas the 'low-Ti' basalts are similar to continental tholeiites. The identification of 'high- and low-Ti' basalts within the Panjal Traps is analogous to other large igneous provinces (e.g. Karoo, Deccan, Parana, Emeishan). The Sr-Nd isotopic values (εNd(T) = - 5.3 to + 1.3; ISr = 0.70432 to 0.71168) of both types of basalts overlap indicating that the rocks may have originated from the same ancient subcontinental lithospheric (i.e. EMII-like) mantle source (TDM = ~ 2000 Ma). The two groups of basalts can be modeled by using a primitive mantle source and different degrees of partial melting where the high-Ti rocks are produced by ~ 1% partial melting of a spinel peridotite source whereas the low-Ti rocks are produced by ~ 8% partial melting. Trace elemental and isotope modeling indicates that some of the basalts assimilated ≤ 10% crustal material. In contrast, the basaltic-andesites are likely formed by mixing between basaltic magmas and crustal melts which produced rocks with higher SiO2 (~ 55 wt.%) content and enriched isotopic signatures (εNd(T) = - 6.1; ISr = 0.70992). The Panjal Trap volcanism was likely due to partial melting of the SCLM within a passive extensional setting related to the rifting of Cimmeria from Gondwana. Contemporaneous volcanic and plutonic granitic rocks throughout the Himalaya are probably not petrogenetically related but are likely part of the same regional tectonic regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Subtle traps have become an important petroleum play type for exploration in the Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, eastern China. The majority of the oil pools are in the middle interval of the Es 3 member of the Eocene–Oligocene Shahejie Formation, with the subtle traps being primarily in the lenticular, basin floor turbidite sands enclosed within basin floor mudstones. Detailed geochemical investigation of 68 oil and rock samples from the depression reveals that in contrast to previous models, the oils from the subtle traps correlate poorly with the surrounding source rocks. While the high pristane/phytane (Pr/Ph > 1) and low gammacerane/C30-hopane ratios in these source rocks represent a freshwater lacustrine setting, the oils feature low Pr/Ph ratios (<1) and relatively high gammacerane contents similar to the upper source rocks deposited in a brackish lacustrine setting. The compound-specific isotope ratios of n-alkanes in the oils have intermediate values between those observed in extracts from the lower Es 3 and upper Es 4 source rocks. Consequently, the oils in the subtle traps were most likely derived from mixed and sources, with the contribution from the source rocks being predominant. The oils generated from the source rocks must have migrated through a thick interval of the source rocks to reach the subtle traps in the , through which there are no apparent structural nor stratigraphic pathways. The traditional migration and accumulation model, i.e. indigenous crude oil with short migration distance to lenticular oil pools, should be revised to account for the charging of oils from source rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]