Fifty-two samples of basalt from the four holes drilled on the Leg 81 transect across the Rockall margin were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence for Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, and Nb. On the basis of these results 13 samples were chosen for major and supplementary trace-element analysis. The results show no progressive change in the character of the volcanism, from Hole 555 in the continental domain through Holes 552 and 553A in the dipping reflector sequence to Hole 554A on the outer high. Two distinct magma types are present, apparently reflecting heterogeneity of the underlying mantle, but both types are present in both Holes 553A and 555, while Hole 552 and Hole 554 are each composed of a single type. Both magma types have a clear ocean-floor basalt signature when examined by discrimination diagrams, as does the basalt from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 112, which formed at the same time as the Leg 81 basalts slightly farther south along the spreading center. In contrast, the basalts of East Greenland, formed at the same time, are more enriched in incompatible elements and have a within-plate geochemical signature, as is found in some basalts of Iceland today. Clearly the present distinction in geochemistry between the basalts of Iceland and those erupting well south on the Reykjanes Ridge was already established when continental splitting took place.

The life cycle of a fault following initiation is governed in part by the reshear criterion, of which rock surface friction is the critical factor limiting the dip of a fault at its death. Using structural restorations where the initial and final dips of faults can be ascertained, the coefficient of rock surface friction is calculated for well-characterized extended locales (n=20) in the Basin and Range province, many with multiple fault generations (n=34). The calculated values exhibit a considerably wider range (0.19–1.33) than previously reported. The amount of tilting associated with each fault generation is compared with eight characteristics (mean slip magnitude, tilting per unit of slip, fault spacing, percentage extension, absence or presence and composition of magmatism, duration of extension, timing of extension and strain rate). No statistically strong correlation was found with any of the examined characteristics, although tentative linkages were noted with percentage extension, strain rate and mean slip magnitude from weighted regression analysis. These results are consistent with normal faults behaving as non-linear systems, with friction being an emergent property.

This field trip integrates economic geology with structural geology and tectonics, as well as petrology, geochemistry, and regional geology, to examine a segment of the Laramide arc that includes part of the Laramide porphyry copper province of southwestern North America. The province arguably is the second-largest porphyry copper province in the world, hosting six of the world’s 25 largest porphyry deposits on the basis of contained copper metal. The Globe–Superior–Ray–San Manuel area includes about a dozen Laramide (Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene) porphyry copper deposits and the related granodioritic to granitic plutons. These plutons and their wall rocks were tectonically dismembered and variably easterly or westerly tilted (locally >90°) during Laramide contraction and subsequent mid-Cenozoic extension. The style of both shortening and extension here remains a subject of debate. Although this trip includes one brief mine visit and examination of drill core at the Resolution deposit, it will principally focus on: (1) different parts of various plutons and the associated alteration aureoles, including review of resultant mineralization, and the original sides, roots, and deep flanks of the hydrothermal systems; and (2) structure in the adjacent wall rocks and the implications for the style and timing of deformation in absolute and relative terms to hypogene ore formation. An increased understanding of the structural geology and the alteration-mineralization zonation of the dismembered hydrothermal aureoles allows an integrated view of the original geometry and size of the porphyry systems, the relationship between porphyry copper mineralization and crustal shortening, and possible origins of deep hydrothermal alteration.

The Laramide continental arc formed in southwestern North America at about the same time the Sierra Nevadan arc was shutting down, and the Laramide arc was active concurrent with the progress of the Laramide orogeny, from ca. 80 Ma to ca. 45 Ma. East-central Arizona offers an excellent opportunity to explore aspects of tectonics, structural geology, magmatism, and hydrothermal systems in a segment of the Laramide arc that is exceptionally well endowed with porphyry copper deposits. The structure of this region is especially complicated, with multiple generations of normal faults commonly superimposed on originally moderate-angle reverse faults with associated fault-propagation folds. A large new porphyry copper deposit, Resolution, was discovered near Superior in the mid-1990s. The discovery started a new round of development in the mining life cycle at the Resolution deposit; in the region, it contributed to copper exploration again becoming vigorous in the last decade. In the years since discovery of Resolution, important new scientific insights have been gained, including at the regional scale. Post-ore crustal extension exposed multiple levels of Laramide and older igneous and hydrothermal systems at the surface where they can be more easily mapped and sampled, and palinspastic reconstructions of post-mineral normal faulting permit the exposures to be restored to their original positions. The porphyry-related products that are observed at higher levels include local advanced argillic alteration and Cordilleran-style veins and associated mantos, such as at the Magma mine, Resolution deposit, and Old Dominion mine in the shallowest levels of the Superior-Globe-Miami area. Most porphyry copper ore bodies were developed at intermediate depths, where porphyry intrusions exhibit sericitic and potassic alteration and carbonate rocks were converted to skarn, such as in the heart of the Miami-Inspiration, Resolution, Ray, and Christmas deposits. Plutonic rocks are exposed at deeper paleodepths, where pegmatites, quartz veins, and greisen muscovite are locally observed, especially directly beneath porphyry copper orebodies, as in the Schultze and Granite Mountain plutons. Likewise, sodic-calcic alteration may be developed on the deep flanks of porphyry systems, such as adjacent to the Tea Cup pluton. Subsequent Cenozoic extension variously buried or exhumed the hypogene portions of these hydrothermal systems, leading to the development of various supergene products, both in situ and exotic.