Continental Flood Basalt Chemistry, Age and Volcanic Volumes

We have compiled a large collection of published chemical analyses of the 11 known continental flood basalts of the last 250 millions years. Only basaltic lavas and some related basic intrusive rocks are considered to be representative of the major episodes. Differentiation trends exhibit varying amounts of scatter, the trends for SiO₂, FeO, and TiO₂ are quite well defined, have slopes of the same sign, and can be represented adaquately by straigth lines. In contrast, the trends of CaO, Al₂O₃ and Na₂O are often poorly defined. There are clear differences in major element abundances between volcanic suites, particularly for elements with well defined slopes. The results of our regressions are generally consistent with those of Turner and Hawkesworth (1995), Peng et al (1994) and Lassister and DePaolo (1997), although some differences exist. Examination of the global data base shows that there are systematic global variations in continental flood basalt chemistry that correlate with age. Old CFB, such as the Central Atlantic and Karoo-Ferrar, show the following characteristics: low Na₂O, TiO₂ and FeO, high SiO₂. In contrast, basalts associated with recent breakups such as Afar-Yemen and Ethiopia, show the opposite chemical trends. Between these old and young continental breakup, a continuum of compositions is observed. The observed chemical systematics suggest that basalts associated with old breakups are derived by larger extent of melting at shallower mean pressures of melt segregation. Estimating the original volumes of lava in flood basalt provinces is rendered difficult due to subsequent erosion, partial destruction during continental collisions or burial beneath passive margin sedimentation wedges. Many CFBs were erupted in geologically brief intervals (0.5 to 2 Ma) although some, notably the Siberian Traps and Brito-Arctic Province, were emplaced in two or more distinct phases separeted by quiescent intervals. Our calculated emplacement rate show correlation with major element chemistry. Within the context of current models for CFB formation, we will discuss the simple functional dependence on age of the melting processes.