The Thickness of the Mantle Lithosphere and Collision-Related Volcanism in the Lesser Caucasus
- Sugden, PJ
- Savov, IP
- Wilson, M
- Meliksetian, K
- Navasardyan, G
- Halama, R
DOIAbstract
The Lesser Caucasus mountains sit on a transition within the Arabia–Eurasia collision zone between very thin lithosphere (<100 km) to the west, under Eastern Anatolia, and a very thick lithospheric root (up to 200 km) in the east, under western Iran. A transect of volcanic highlands running from NW to SE in the Lesser Caucasus allows us to look at the effects of lithosphere thickness variations on the geochemistry of volcanic rocks in this continental collision zone. Volcanic rocks from across the region show a wide compositional range from basanites to rhyolites, and have arc-like geochemical characteristics, typified by ubiquitous negative Nb–Ta anomalies. Magmatic rocks from the SE, where the lithosphere is thought to be thicker, are mor...
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