Mineral chemistry of clinopyroxene in the Eocene basaltic rocks of the Gardaneh Ahovan area, NE Semnan

Eocene volcanic and volcanosedimentary rocks cover a large area in the Gardaneh Ahovan northeast of Semnan. These rocks comprise mainly of basalt, andesite, trachyandesite, rhyolite and dacite with hyalo porphyry, porphyry and glomeroporphyry textures. The basaltic rocks are composed of plagioclase and clinopyroxene phenocrysts. Sericite, kaolinite, calcite and chlorite also form the secondary minerals in these rocks. The size of the clinopyroxenes of these rocks range from fine to medium and their compositions include iron-magnesium-calcium type and plot in the diopside field. Medium-size clinopyroxenes show reverse zoning and compositional changes so the middle zone (btween core and rim) is depleted in Fe, Al and Ti whereas enriched in the Mg, Ca and Si. The determination diagrams of the magmatic series and tectonic environments, based on the chemical composition of clinopyroxenes, suggest that they are crystallized from alkaline to sub-alkaline magma, contianing 2-5% water and high oxygen fugacity. Thermo-barometery calculations also show that these clinopyroxenes were crystallized in pressures of ~1 kbar and temperatures of 1110-1230 °C.