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Formation of a laccolith by magma pulses: Evidence from modal and

chemical composition of the 500 m long borehole section through the Permo-
Carboniferous Landsberg laccolith (Halle...

Article  in  Geochemical journal GJ · September 2015

DOI: 10.2343/geochemj.2.0382

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Geochemical Journal, Vol. 49, pp. 523 to 537, 2015 doi:10.2343/geochemj.2.0382

Formation of a laccolith by magma pulses: Evidence from modal and chemical

composition of the 500 m long borehole section through
the Permo-Carboniferous Landsberg laccolith (Halle Volcanic Complex)

·
ELZBIETA SL ODCZYK ,1* ANNA PIETRANIK,1 CHRISTOPH BREITKREUZ,2 ARTUR P˛EDZIWIATR,1 MARCIN BOKL A ,1
KATARZYNA SCHAB 1 and MARTA GRODZICKA1

1
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wroc l aw, ul. Cybulskiego 30, 50-205, Wroc l aw, Poland
2
Institute for Geology and Paleontology, Bernhard-Von-Cotta-Str. 2, TU Bergakademie, Freiberg, Germany

(Received March 9, 2015; Accepted June 19, 2015)

The 500 m long section through the upper part of the Permo-Carboniferous Landsberg laccolith (Halle Volcanic Com-
plex) was sampled every 25 meters. The modal proportions between plagioclase and K-feldspar phenocrysts vary in the
section and the laccolith may be divided into four parts with different proportions of Pl/Kfs, which, in subvolcanic rocks,
should reflect different proportions of these minerals in the magma plumbing system. Chemical composition of whole
rock samples is uniform, but the correlations of Si and other elements with depth within all of the four sections suggest
that the sections based on modal composition are also reflected in chemical composition of the rock. Also, the uppermost
100 meters of the laccolith has slightly higher contents of Fe, Ti, Zr and Nb compared to those in the rest of the laccolith
and this is consistent with it being a separate magma pulse derived from a distinct source. Detailed analyses of chemical
variations within each section are consistent with the model that the upper 500 meters of the Landsberg laccolith was
formed by three successive pulses with slightly different chemical compositions. The best documented is the uppermost
pulse, which was over-accreted on the first pulse. Another pulse was probably emplaced in the middle of the first pulse.
The thickness of the pulses was 100–300 m, which is consistent with previous 2D and 3D emplacement models of the
Halle laccoliths. However, the contacts between the pulses based on modal and chemical compositional variations are not
always concurrent with the presence of shearing zones, the discrepancy that is not yet well understood. In general, be-
cause silica-rich laccoliths are relatively small bodies that cool quickly due to high level of emplacement, they may
preserve better evidence for separate magma pulses compared to plutonic batholiths.

Keywords: laccolith formation, magma pulses, rhyolite, Halle Volcanic Complex

INTRODUCTION variations in layering (Pons et al., 2006), or could be rec-

ognized only later by differences in chemical composi-
Recent field, geochemical and mineralogical studies
tion between the pulses (e.g., Wiebe et al., 2002; Matzel
show that magma chambers develop and grow by amal-
et al., 2006; Michel et al., 2008). However, chemical vari-
gamation of several intrusions (Coleman et al., 2004;
ations within the magma body could also be an evidence
Horsman et al., 2009). The process was documented for
for fractional crystallization and/or magmatic segregation.
both deep-seated granitic plutons (e.g., Glazner et al.,
Additional information that may help to indicate that in-
2004) and also for subvolcanic laccoliths (e.g., Mock et
ternal heterogeneity in the magma body was due to sepa-
al., 2003). The style of magma emplacement depends on
rate magma pulses can be provided by application of quan-
the size and form of a magmatic body and many other
titative textural analysis including modal abundance of
important variables such as depth, wall-rock structure,
minerals (Mock et al., 2003).
magma viscosity. Sills grow mainly by lateral propaga-
In the current paper we use combined chemical and
tion, whereas laccoliths seem to grow by vertical thick-
mineralogical analyses of selected samples from the 500
ening before extending laterally again to form plutons and
m long completely cored well, which constitutes the up-
batholiths (Menand, 2008). The separate pulses forming
per part of the coarse-grained rhyolitic Landsberg
laccoliths or plutons could be observed in the field due to
laccolith (Halle Volcanic Complex, Germany). The bot-
tom of the laccolith was not drilled, but the core analysed
in this paper probably represents more than half of the
*Corresponding author (e-mail: elzbieta.slodczyk@ing.uni.wroc.pl)
vertical section through the laccolith. Our goal is to in-
Copyright © 2015 by The Geochemical Society of Japan. terpret the modal and chemical variations of the Landsberg

523

Fig. 1. a) Distribution of coarse and fine grained rhyolitic
laccolith units within Halle Volcanic Complex. Inset shows the
location of the study area within Germany; b) corresponding
a–b cross section; c) location of the investigated drill core
within Landsberg laccolith; figures modified after: Breitkreuz
and Mock, 2004; Mock et al., 2005; Schmiedel et al., 2015.
laccolith in the context of recent models of pulsed magma
chambers formation. We particularly seek to provide com-
plimentary information on the magma chambers forma-
tion, which may come from relatively quickly chilled
laccoliths and may be lost in longer-lived plutons. In de-
tail, we aim to check if geochemical and petrological data
524 E. S l odczyk et al.
are in accordance with the 3D emplacement model of the
Landsberg laccolith suggested by Schmiedel et al. (2015).
GEOLOGICAL S ETTING
Voluminous magmas of felsic to mafic composition
were formed across Central Europe at the Carboniferous/
Permian transition (Romer et al., 2001; Breitkreuz et al.,
2007; Oberc-Dziedzic et al., 2010; Turniak et al., 2014).
Chemical characteristics suggest that this magmatism was
caused either by mantle upwelling in a post-collisional
setting (e.g., Zeh et al., 2000; Turniak et al., 2014), or by
ongoing plate subduction (Schmidberger and Hegner,
1999). However, the subduction-type chemical charac-
teristic are probably inherited from the melting of crust,
which was affected previously by subduction-related flu-
ids (Romer et al., 2001). Halle Volcanic Complex (HVC)
was formed during the Permo-Carboniferous magmatic
activity and consists of several laccoliths located in the
Mid-German Crystalline Rise (MGCR), in the northeast-
ern Saale Basin in eastern central Germany (Romer et
al., 2001; Mock et al., 2005; Breitkreuz et al., 2009). The
magmatic activity of the HVC is characterized by silica-
rich, shallow emplaced units (~300 km 3, Mock et al.,
2005; Schmiedel et al., 2015) forming three fine-grained
porphyritic (Wettin, Petersberg and Brachstedt) and two
coarse-grained porphyritic laccoliths (Löbejün and
Landsberg; Fig. 1, Breitkreuz and Mock, 2004; Mock et
al., 2005; Schmiedel et al., 2015). The coarse and fine
grained laccoliths have also different aspect ratios (height
to length), approximately 0.07 for coarse grained and 0.04
for fine grained units (Schmiedel et al., 2015).
The intrusive character of the laccoliths is confirmed
by their large thickness, tilting of bedding in sedimen-
tary rocks occurring between the laccolith units and the
presence of internal flow structures within the units (Mock
et al., 2003). The three types of margin geometries dis-
tinguished within HVC laccoliths include (1) vertical
margin of an intrusive-extrusive complex visible in
Löbejün laccolithic unit; (2) stacked lobes/fingers for
Petersberg and Brachstedt units; (3) sediment rafts en-
gulfed by rhyolitic sheets within Landsberg unit (for de-
tails and source literature see: Schmiedel et al., 2015).
Overall geometry of the HVC is well documented by about
6000 wells, some of which reaching down to 700 m depth.
3D modeling of the Landsberg unit estimated its mini-
mum volume at ~63 km3 (Schmiedel et al., 2015).
The coarse grained Löbejün and Landsberg laccoliths
are composed of porphyritic rhyolite with large feldspar
phenocrysts up to ~30 mm long (Mock et al., 2003), and
with zircon SHRIMP ages of 297 ± 3 Ma and 301 ± 3 Ma
respectively (Breitkreuz and Kennedy, 1999; Breitkreuz
et al., 2009). The Wettin, Petersberg and Brachstedt
laccoliths are composed of fine-grained porphyritic
rhyolite and have zircon SHRIMP ages of 297 ± 3 Ma,
292 ± 3 Ma and 292 ± 3 Ma, respectively (Breitkreuz and
Kennedy, 1999; Breitkreuz et al., 2009). These rhyolite
units contain small (~10 mm) feldspar phenocrysts, which
define textural variations (Mock et al., 2003).
Geochemistry of the HVC: previous research
All major rock types forming the HVC were investi-
gated by Romer et al. (2001) who presented major and
trace element data as well as Sr and Nd isotope composi-
tions for felsic, intermediate and mafic rocks. K-feldspar
phenocrysts from rhyolite units were also analysed for
Pb isotopes (Romer et al., 2001), and Hf and O isotopes
in zircon were analysed in both fine grained and coarse
grained rhyolites (S l odczyk et al., in revision).
Mafic and intermediate rocks of the HVC were
grouped by Siegert (1967a, b) into four groups of
Porphyrites (I–IV) with decreasing age of emplacement
and Romer et al. (2001) analysed samples from these
groups. The rock types analysed in each group included
trachybasalts of Porphyrite I group, trachyandesites and
trachydacites of Porphyrite II and IV groups and basaltic
trachyandesites of Porphyrite III group. Generally, the
samples are strongly altered and, therefore, the concen-
trations of the mobile elements (such as MgO, CaO, Na2O,
K2O, Li, Rb, Sr, Zn, Cs, Ba, Pb, U) are affected and could
be used only in a limited way (Romer et al., 2001). Based
on Sr and Nd isotope composition, the Porphyrites were
divided into two groups: (1) less evolved Porphyrites I
and II (eNd (T=300Ma)= –0.8 to –1.7; 87Sr/ 86Sr (T=300Ma) =
0.7053–0.7060); and (2) more evolved Porphyrites III and
IV ( e Nd (T=300Ma) = –5.9 to –7.4; 87 Sr/ 86Sr (T=300Ma) =
0.7065–0.7094).
Felsic rocks in the HVC comprise rhyolites that are
low-Si (SiO2 = 71.5–72.5 wt%), calc-alkaline (K2O/Na2O
= 1.7–1.9) and weakly peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.04–
1.08). Characteristic feature for all of the rhyolites is their
uniform contents of Zr, Hf, REE, Nb, Ta, Th, TiO2, and
P2O5 (Romer et al., 2001). Differences in some other trace
elements may be explained by postmagmatic alteration
and surface weathering (Romer et al., 2001). For exam-
ple Li, Rb, Cs and Zn decrease during chloritization of
biotite while Ca, Sr, and Pb depletion is linked to
albitization (and weathering) of feldspars (Romer et al.,
2001). Nd isotope composition of rhyolites is also uni-
form and similar to Porphyrites III and IV (eNd(T=300Ma)
= –6.7 to –7.0). In contrast, Sr isotope composition is more
variable and higher than that of the Porphyrites (87Sr/
86
Sr(T=300Ma) = 0.7100–0.7128), but Sr isotopes could also
have been altered by post-magmatic processes. Isotope
composition (Sr, Nd, Pb) of K-feldspar phenocrysts is
similar to that of the whole rock, but with more variable
Sr isotope composition (87Sr/86Sr(T=300Ma) = from 0.7107–
0.7108 to 0.7044–0.7065, Romer et al., 2001). The iso-
topic composition of K-feldspar indicates involvement of
isotopically distinct sources (crustal and mantle) (Romer
et al., 2001) and similar conclusion is supported by eHf
and d 18O in zircons, which show relatively uniform, but
scattered values (eHf = –4.1 to –8.4 and d18O = 6.4 to
8.3, Sl odczyk et al., in revision). Hf and O isotopes in
zircon are similar between different laccolith units, but
they are consistent with derivation of the magmas form-
ing the laccoliths from several different sources. In de-
tail, the variability of Hf and O isotopes in zircon sug-
gests remelting of heterogeneous crust with minor to neg-
ligible contribution from the mantle (S l odczyk et al., in
revision). It is also clear, based on zircon analyses, that
the rhyolites evolved in at least two stages, with the last
stage being remelting of crystal mush or a granite batholith
formed shortly prior to the rhyolites formation (a similar
model was also suggested by Bryan et al. (2008), Pietranik
et al. (2013)).
Quantitative textural analyses of finely grained
Petersberg laccolith: previous research
The knowledge about 3D geometry and stratigraphy
of the HVC comes from natural outcrops and deep wells.
Analyses of internal structures and textures from the top
to the bottom of laccoliths show changes in the size and
packing arrangement of the phenocrysts with depth (Mock
et al., 2003).
Petersberg laccolith forms one the largest laccoliths
in the HVC (~60 km3) and has been sampled at six differ-
ent depths of 49.9 m, 167.1 m, 184.3 m, 223.5 m, 250.8
m, 286 m (Mock et al., 2003). Modal abundances of
orthoclase (Or), plagioclase (Pl) and quartz (Qtz)
phenocrysts were similar in each sample. The detailed
analysis of crystal population showed: (1) continuous
growth of crystals in the magma during its ascent and
emplacement (determined by crystal size distribution); (2)
flow alignment of feldspar crystal as a result of flow shear-
ing; (3) redistribution of crystals as a result of the flow;
(4) emplacement of the laccolith involving successive
pulses of magma intruding each other (determined by
spatial distribution of phenocrysts); (5) distinct (two?)
magma pulses that contributed to the growth of the
laccolith. In this study we combined both whole rock
geochemistry and modal abundances of phenocrysts to
see if similar laccolith formation processes are recorded
for coarse grained rhyolite variety forming the Landsberg
laccolith.
METHODS
Rock samples were taken from the fully preserved 500
m drill core representing the upper part of the Landsberg
laccolith (the unit has never been perforated by wells,
even the deepest one having 710 m), stored in the Geo-
Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 525
Fig. 2. (a) Representative fragment of the drill core, (rhyolite from 29 m depth); (b–d) representative microscope images of the
analysed rhyolite (crossed polarized light).

526 E. S l odczyk et al.

 Table 1. Modal composition of samples from the Landsberg laccolith

Sample depth [m] Minerals Background Pl/Kfs Section

Qtz Pl Kfs Opx*
29 9.3 13.2 9.6 2.1 65.8 1.4 1
56 7.7 13.4 8.0 2.7 68.2 1.7 1
76 6.0 14.2 11.3 2.4 66.1 1.3 1
102 9.9 14.1 9.2 2.3 64.5 1.5 1
102 8.7 12.7 14.2 1.7 62.7 0.9 2
128 6.8 12.2 14.8 3.3 62.9 0.9 2
155 10.6 8.6 12.6 2.9 65.3 0.7 2
175 7.2 12.4 16.4 3.5 60.5 0.8 2
197 8.3 11.4 14.2 3.7 62.4 0.8 2
201 9.5 13.1 8.2 3.2 66.0 1.6 3
225 10.7 9.6 13.7 2.6 63.4 0.7 3
245 12.3 10.8 9.3 3.7 63.9 1.2 3
258 8.8 8.6 15.5 2.8 64.3 0.5 3
281 8.8 13.8 12.4 3.9 61.1 1.1 3
281 7.7 7.4 17.7 2.2 65.0 0.4 3
304 8.9 14.3 10.4 1.9 64.5 1.4 3
357 6.9 10.2 18.2 1.8 62.9 0.6 3
378 8.6 8.8 9.7 3.5 69.4 0.9 4
400 9.2 11.2 13.5 4.5 61.6 0.8 4
452 8.2 10.4 12.4 2.1 66.9 0.8 4
481 8.9 13.5 11.3 4.2 62.1 1.2 4

*Opx is often replaced by opaque minerals.

logical Survey of Sachsen-Anhalt in Halle. It can be esti-
mated that the 500 m represents more than half of the
laccolith vertical section as based on the aspect ratios of
other laccolith units in the area. We sampled the rhyolite
drill core approximately at 25 m intervals taking samples
of 4 cm-diameter core from 15 up to 30 cm in length. The
most fresh looking samples were chosen for this study,
however, most samples contained phenocrysts affected
by secondary processes. The samples were cut vertically
to show flat rectangular surface, which was scanned to
obtain high quality images. Additionally thin sections
were prepared from 3 depths: 16 m, 250 m and 490 m
representing the top, the middle and the bottom of the
preserved drill core. The samples were described and the
images were analysed in JMicroVision freeware
(www.jmicrovision.com/index.htm). The program was
used for measuring and quantifying components of high-
definition images, including scans and thin sections. To
maintain larger analysed surface and, thus more repre-
sentative quantitative data from different drill core depths,
we only used samples with surface area between 10 and
50 cm2. To check on the reproducibility of the results the
analyses of some cores were done in replicates (Supple-
mentary Table S1). Differences were usually less than 5%.
The accuracy was limited by the macroscopic recogni-
tion of minerals by human eye, therefore the results were
double checked by analyzing thin section from the same
depths.
Additionally, cathodoluminescence (CL) images of
quartz were done for thin sections from 16 m and 490 m.
The thin sections were carbon-coated, and analysed us-
ing a “hot cathode” CL microscope HC1-LM (cf., Neuser
et al., 1995). The system was operated at 14 kV acceler-
ating voltage and a current of 0.2 mA (current density of
about 10 mA/mm 2). Luminescence images were captured
“on-line” during CL operations using a peltier cooled,
digital video-camera (OLYMPUS DP72).
Major and trace elements were analysed in all sam-
ples in the ACME laboratories. Major elements were ana-
lysed by ICP-ES, whereas trace elements by ICP-MS.
Accuracy of the data was checked by replicate analysis
of STD SO-18 reference material (n = 2) (Supplementary
Table S2) and it is below 1% for SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO,
CaO, MnO and below 7% for Na2O, K2O, TiO 2, P2O5,
Cr2O3. Reproducibility was checked for 3 samples, which
were analysed in replicates. It was less than 5% for all
the major elements with the exception of CaO. Repro-
ducibility for trace elements was also less than 5% apart
from Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho, Tm.
RESULTS
Petrography and modal composition
All the analysed samples of the coarsely porphyritic
Landsberg rhyolite have similar mineral composition and
contain phenocrysts of K-feldspar (Kfs), plagioclase (Pl),

Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 527

Fig. 3. (a) Variations in Pl/Kfs proportion with depth and a first-hand interpretation linking the variations in the Pl/Kfs ratio
with separate pulses (see also text); (b–g) variations in chemistry within 500 m drill core of the Landsberg laccolith.
quartz (Qtz) and a mafic phase orthopyroxene (Opx) and/
or biotite (Bt) (Fig. 2a). The largest phenocrysts are K-
feldspar with the longest dimensions usually from 0.5 cm
up to several cm (Fig. 2b). Plagioclase is usually smaller
from 2 mm to 1 cm. Background is fine grained (~0.1
mm) and composed of quartz, feldspars and opaque min-
erals (Figs. 2b–d). Feldspars and mafic minerals are usu-
ally fully replaced by secondary minerals e.g., sericite in
feldspars (Fig. 2b) and opaque minerals in orthopyroxene
(Fig. 2d). Generally, despite the alteration, the major min-
erals could be distinguished in most of the analysed cores.
Only the cores at depths 328 and 428–430 m were thor-
oughly altered and the recognition of the minerals was
not possible (Table S1). Despite general similarity in min-
eral composition and texture, the rhyolite shows differ-
ences in the relative abundances of phenocrysts and
groundmass (Table 1; Table S2), with the most pro-
nounced being relative proportions of K-feldspar and
plagioclase (Fig. 3a). Based on these differences we di-
528 E. S l odczyk et al.
vided the drill core in 4 sections from the top to the bot-
tom: (1) Section 1: Pl dominates with relatively high Pl/
Kfs ratios from 1.3 to 1.7. (Table 1); (2) Section 2: Kfs
dominates with low Pl/Kfs ratio from 0.6 to 0.9; (3) Sec-
tion 3: variable proportion of Pl and Kfs with Pl/Kfs val-
ues form 0.4 to 1.6; (4) Section 4: Kfs dominates with
relatively low Pl/Kfs ratios, mainly below 1.
Geochemical data
Major and trace element contents in rhyolites are simi-
lar between the samples and also typical for rhyolites from
the HVC as reported by Romer et al. (2001). All the sam-
ples from Landsberg laccolith have similar composition
in CHUR normalized REE diagrams and primitive man-
tle normalized spider diagrams. They show LREE en-
riched chondrite-normalised REE patterns and negative
Eu anomaly (Fig. 4a). Also all rhyolites (coarse and fine
grained types) form the HVC, including these analysed
in this study, overlap in the same compositional field in
Fig. 4. (a) Chondrite-normalised REE patterns of Landsberg rhyolite (dark, this study) and rhyolite from HVC (grey, Romer et
al., 2001). Chondrite data from McDonough and Sun, 1995; (b) trace element patterns for Landsberg rhyolite normalized against
primitive mantle (McDonough and Sun, 1995); (c, d) selected trace elements versus 1/TiO2.

the 1/TiO2 vs. Zr and Y (Figs. 4c and d respectively).
Consistently lower Ca, Sr and Pb contents of Landsberg
rhyolites compared to unaltered fine grained rhyolites
analysed by Romer et al. (2001, Fig. 4b) indicate that
plagioclase alteration could have affected the chemical
composition of the whole rocks. Consequently, the po-
tentially mobile elements can not be used for interpreta-
tion of chemical variability of the Landsberg rhyolites.
Generally, Landsberg samples have uniform compo-
sition, however, in detail, distinct variations in composi-
tion between samples were observed. Twenty one sam-
ples from the Landsberg laccolith are characterized by a
range of SiO 2 contents from 71.5 to 73.8 wt% with only
one outstanding sample (SiO2 = 67.7 wt%). Compositional
variations within sections defined by different Pl/Kfs ra-
tios are small, but samples from Section 1 (the upper-
most 100 m) are characterized by the lowest CaO and
MgO (Table 2) and the highest, FeO, TiO2, K2O, Ba, Sr,
Zr, Nb, Rb (Figs. 3c–g, Table 2). There is a statistically
significant difference in Fe and Ti contents between sam-
ples from this section and those from other sections (one-
way ANOVA test, P < 0.05, post-hoc Pairwise Multiple
Comparison Procedure, Holm-Sidak method). Similar
high contents of Sr, Ti, Zr and Nb occur also in selected
samples from Section 3 (Fig. 3) and these samples have
also higher proportions of Pl/Kfs similar to those observed
in Section 1 (Fig. 6).
Correlations with the depth for the whole laccolith
section are weak (R2 = 0.0 for P 2O 5 to 0.39 for Fe2O3).
However, some correlations in chemical composition can
be related to the different sections distinguished in the
laccolith based on the Pl/Kfs ratio (Fig. 3a). For exam-
ple, Si content decreases with depth in Sections 1, 3 and
4 (R2 = 0.64, 0.88 and 0.85 respectively) and increases
with depth in Section 2 (R2 = 0.77, Fig. 3b). The low Si
sample occurs at the border between Sections 2 and 3.
For many elements, e.g., Si, Al, K and Na Sections 2 and
4 show opposite trends with depth (Fig. 5). Section 1
shows strong negative correlations with depth for LREE
(e.g., R2 = 0.89 for Ce) and positive correlations for Mg

Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 529

 Table 2. Geochemistry of the Landsberg rhyolite from Halle Volcanic Complex
Sample depth [m]
29 56 76 102 128 155 175 197 201 225 245 258 281 304 328 357 378 400 428 430 452 481
SiO2 [wt%] 72.8 72.2 71.9 72.1 71.7 72.3 72.2 73.8 67.7 72.8 73.1 72.6 72.2 72.2 71.8 71.5 73.2 73.0 72.2 72.3 72.6 71.9
Al 2O 3 13.5 13.7 13.6 13.8 13.6 13.4 13.6 13.1 16.2 13.3 13.0 13.7 13.3 13.1 12.7 12.8 12.7 13.4 12.6 13.3 13.1 13.7
Fe 2O 3 2.8 2.8 3.1 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.3 3.0 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.6
MgO 0.42 0.47 0.57 0.78 0.96 1.13 0.9 0.71 0.68 0.99 0.77 0.81 0.72 0.59 0.45 0.6 0.57 0.52 0.5 1.02 0.48 0.65
CaO 0.21 0.24 0.17 0.17 0.34 0.33 0.13 0.11 0.18 0.24 0.40 0.20 0.61 0.75 1.89 1.50 0.84 0.44 1.44 0.64 0.59 0.49

530 E. S l odczyk et al.

Na 2O 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.1 2.0 2.2 1.9 3.4 3.5 3.2 3.0 3.9 2.9 2.4 4.2 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.4 2.8 3.0 2.7
K 2O 6.0 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 5.9 6.7 4.6 6.2 4.8 5.5 4.2 5.5 5.9 3.4 4.8 4.8 5.7 5.0 5.8 5.8 6.1
TiO2 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.22 0.21 0.22 0.21 0.19 0.25 0.21 0.20 0.21 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.19 0.20 0.20 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.23
P 2O 5 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06
MnO <0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.02
LOI 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.5 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.6 2.1 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.6 2.1 2.7 2.4 1.7 1.1 2 1.6 1.7 1.5
Total 99.8 99.9 99.8 99.8 99.8 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 100 99.9 99.8 99.8 99.9 99.8 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.8 99.9

Sc [ppm] 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 5 6 5 6
Ba 617 589 704 632 544 580 595 499 532 267 470 240 400 422 128 298 325 364 374 555 452 483
Be 2 2 3 2 4 1 <1 <1 3 <1 1 3 <1 3 <1 4 <1 <1 1 1 2 <1
Co 2.6 1.6 2.6 4 2.1 2.6 2.1 2.4 1.9 2.8 2.4 2.7 2.2 2.5 1.7 2 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.1 1.7
Cs 4.8 2.2 1.6 3 2.6 2.4 5.5 2.4 4.7 2 2 3.2 2.4 3.1 2.1 2.6 2.5 2.2 2 11.2 2.9 4.1
Ga 16.3 17.1 19.4 18.6 17.7 17.9 17.4 18.6 21.5 17.8 17.6 20.5 18.2 18.4 16.3 16.2 16.7 15.7 14.5 19.3 16.6 18.9
Hf 5.1 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.5 7 5.1 5.4 5.1 5.6 5.5 4.8 5.2 5.1 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.4 5.9
Nb 18.6 24.5 21.4 20.2 17.9 18.8 17.2 17.4 22.6 17 20.9 18.2 18.2 18.4 17.1 18.6 20.5 19.1 19.5 19.5 17.3 19.5
Rb 206 221 228 243 221 205 228 174 220 175 184 161 194 229 121 166 169 207 190 259 225 245
Sn 5 5 5 4 5 6 5 6 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 6 5 4 8 6 4
Sr 32.3 36 39.5 35.5 27.5 28.4 27.2 27.6 33 22.1 32.7 21.1 21.2 23.1 19.1 25 25.5 21.6 24 40.5 26.7 31
Ta 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.5
Th 18.6 18.8 19.9 17.9 18.6 17.8 18.2 18 20.8 18.4 18 16.3 18.2 18.2 16.6 16.5 16.9 18.3 17.8 17.7 18.7 19.3
U 3.7 4 3.4 5.5 3.9 4.2 4 4.2 4.9 5.6 4 5.1 7.3 4.4 14.1 3.8 3.9 5 6.6 4.7 4.7 4.5
V 29 16 29 15 16 28 20 36 17 24 10 16 96 24 15 13 19 16 15 15 27 25
W 4.1 3.9 1.7 1.8 5.5 2.3 2.3 1.8 3.3 2 2.3 2.5 2.2 1.5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.3 3.3 3.5 8
Zr 188 216 219 204 196 194 188 200 239 172 198 188 181 187 169 185 188 193 202 184 191 208
Y 34.9 31.1 34.2 35.8 26.4 33.8 30.2 32.3 38.2 31.7 34.5 29.2 37.2 39.2 32.8 38.5 35.6 33.8 38.4 33 38.3 32.1
La 62.3 58.9 60.4 55.8 59.2 55.1 51.3 53.3 62.7 56 53.6 45.1 56.4 52.1 55.4 80.4 63.5 66.3 50.2 50.1 53.8 63.1
Ce 121 118 115 104 117 106 107 111 124 107 107 102 113 107 99 114 113 118 116 106 113 112
Pr 13.6 13 13 12.1 13.2 12 12.4 12.2 13.8 12.1 12.1 11.3 12.7 12.6 11 12.7 13 13.1 12.7 12.2 11.9 12.1
Nd 49 45.5 46.9 42.6 47 42.4 45.2 44.5 47.8 42.6 43.7 41 45.6 44.6 39.1 40.8 46 43.8 45 42.2 42.2 40.8
Sm 8.99 8.26 8.36 7.7 8.03 7.85 8.53 7.91 8.91 7.75 7.65 7.74 8.06 8.25 7.08 7.04 7.94 7.13 8.27 7.74 7.47 6.52
Eu 0.89 0.92 0.78 0.82 0.8 0.84 0.86 0.85 0.85 0.74 0.86 0.8 0.82 0.86 0.65 0.77 0.8 0.74 0.89 0.7 0.8 0.62
Gd 7.35 6.7 7.14 7 6.2 6.16 6.54 6.67 7.67 6.32 6.62 6.21 6.88 7.5 6.1 6.48 6.59 6.18 7.39 6.56 6.54 6.17
Tb 1.11 1.01 1.09 1.15 0.89 1.05 0.99 1.01 1.16 1 1.07 0.92 1.12 1.18 1.01 1.15 1.06 1.05 1.18 1.02 1.11 1
Dy 5.95 5.95 6.19 6.67 4.89 6.29 5.14 5.77 6.81 5.98 6.35 5.1 6.62 7.03 6.13 6.98 6.27 6.22 7.1 5.8 6.62 5.87
Ho 1.27 1.16 1.23 1.25 0.91 1.2 1.01 1.15 1.27 1.11 1.19 1 1.27 1.34 1.14 1.3 1.13 1.15 1.35 1.11 1.28 1.17
Er 3.21 3.29 3.55 3.66 2.51 3.44 2.97 3.51 3.74 3.37 3.38 2.83 3.58 3.99 3.35 3.78 3.3 3.38 3.84 3.19 3.63 3.5
Tm 0.54 0.48 0.53 0.54 0.4 0.49 0.43 0.5 0.57 0.47 0.52 0.44 0.54 0.61 0.49 0.56 0.49 0.52 0.54 0.5 0.55 0.48
Yb 2.99 3.16 3.23 3.46 2.63 3.15 2.69 3.22 3.64 3.15 3.38 2.77 3.44 3.66 3.2 3.57 3.21 3.21 3.32 2.96 3.48 3.35
Lu 0.46 0.46 0.49 0.53 0.4 0.48 0.41 0.44 0.53 0.43 0.49 0.42 0.52 0.54 0.48 0.55 0.47 0.48 0.5 0.46 0.5 0.49
Mo 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.5
Cu 2.1 4.6 3.1 2.5 6.3 2.4 3.7 2.8 2.1 2.1 3.7 2.1 1.6 3 1.9 5.4 5.2 2.2 2.4 5.1 3.1 2.1
Pb 3.6 2.7 2.8 3 2.7 2.9 2.5 2 3.2 3 2.6 1.6 1.7 2.4 2.7 1.7 2 2.4 4.7 6 2.9 3
Zn 15 22 30 27 26 25 25 28 19 35 26 24 25 39 6 10 16 13 19 13 17 24
Ni 2.4 2.4 4 3.5 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.7 1.5 3.2 2.6 2.5 2.2 2.8 1.8 3.8 2.2 2.3 2.8 2.4 1.9 1.8
As 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.1 1.5 1.2 1.1 5.6 1.4 1.5 1.8 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.3 2.1 0.9 0.9 1.9 1.1 0.7 0.8
Fig. 5. Correlations between major and trace elements and depth: Section 1 (left column); Sections 2 and 4 (right columm).
(R 2 = 0.91) and HREE (e.g., R2 = 0.97 for Yb). Strong
correlations with depth are observed in Section 3, nega-
tive one for Mg (R2 = 0.75) and positive one for Ca (R2 =
0.91). This section is the only one, which shows correla-
tions between Pl/Kfs ratio and the major and important
trace constituents of these two phases, i.e., Ba and Rb
(Fig. 6). However, the correlations are opposite to what
is expected e.g., Na concentration is higher in the sam-
ples with more Kfs and K, Ba and Rb in the samples con-
taining more Pl (Fig. 6).
Cathodoluminescence images
CL images of quartz show differences in the type of
zonation between the top (16 m) and the bottom (478 m)
samples suggesting different sources of quartz
phenocrysts in both samples. In detail the sample from
the top includes two types of quartz grains with different
CL zonation. Type 1 is characterized by fine oscillatory
zoning observed in whole grains (Fig. 7). The Type 1
grains are rounded and small embayments often occur at
the rims. The grains are also often cracked and the crack-
Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 531
 Fig. 6. Variations in trace elements with Pl/Kfs ratio.
ing affects whole grains suggesting that it probably oc-
curred late during the crystallization history. Type 2 quartz
zonation pattern is characterized by unzoned core sur-
rounded by the zoned rim composed of only a few zones
(Fig. 7). The grains of Type 2 are often cracked, but not
rounded or embayed. Cracks in Type 2 grains occur only
within inner core and not in the whole grains. This sug-
gests that they were formed earlier than the cracks in Type
1 grains.
Sample from the bottom of laccolith include only
quartz grains with one type of the CL zonation pattern.
All grains are characterized by oscillatory zoning ob-
served through whole grains and late cracking (Fig. 7).
This characteristics is similar to that of the Type 1 quartz
CL pattern distinguished in the top sample.
DISCUSSION
Variations with depth in the Landsberg laccolith: evidence
for many magma pulses?
Landsberg laccolith is characterized by variations in
modal and chemical composition with depth, which may
be due to the formation of the laccolith by several magma
pulses. The variations in proportions of phenocrysts de-
fine four sections in the Landsberg laccolith with differ-
ent Pl/Kfs ratio, however, the most consistent is the change
in this ratio at 100 meters depth. Because phenocrysts
532 E. S l odczyk et al.
grow before the final emplacement of the magma as a
laccolith, their varying proportions through the laccolith
should represent magma portions derived from different
parts of a crystallizing magma plumbing system (e.g.,
Mock et al., 2003). This fact is a strength of analyzing
laccoliths for the evidence of their formation by magma
pulses, since in plutonic magma chambers, crystals may
also grow in-situ and it is often difficult to recognize sev-
eral crystal populations. Different proportions between
the major phases in high silica systems may be mainly
due to differences in pressure and water content and
magma composition (e.g., Whitney 1975; Scaillet et al.,
1995). As such, the sections of the Landsberg laccolith
with different phenocrysts proportions could be inter-
preted as different magma pulses derived from magma
sources with different composition or crystallizing in dif-
ferent conditions.
On the other hand, chemical composition of the whole
rock is sensitive to both magmatic and alteration proc-
esses. Also, the magma differentiation may occur before
and/or after the final emplacement. Three paths to pro-
duce chemical variability in a laccolith body during the
magmatic stage are by (1) in-situ mineral segregation e.g.,
by flow, (2) in-situ magma differentiation after emplace-
ment, due to preferential crystallization of background
phases in response to undercooling at the margins or (3)
by a coalescence of chemically different magma pulses
Fig. 7. Microscope and cathodoluminescence images of quartz grains from different depths (16 and 490 m) of the Landsberg
laccolith.
derived from chemically variable magma plumbing sys-
tem. Since there is no evidence for flow foliation in the
Landsberg laccolith (Mock et al., 2005), only the latter
two processes might have played role in the evolution of
magmas forming the laccolith. The chemical composi-
tion of the analysed section of the Landsberg laccolith is
roughly uniform and the largest variations are observed
for the elements such as Ca, Mg, K, Ba, Rb, Sr and Pb,
which are easily affected by the alteration of major phases.
Only the samples from the top 100 m of the laccolith show
slightly higher contents of immobile elements such as Fe,
Ti, Zr and Nb. This enrichment, together with a distinct
Pl/Kfs ratio in the top 100 m section of the laccolith indi-
cate that this section represents a separate magma pulse
and that the Landsberg laccolith was formed by at least
two pulses. Also, the distinct chemical composition of
this section compared to the rest of the analysed
Landsberg laccolith may suggest that the magma pulses
were derived from two sources. In reality, the sources
could be separate or could occur together as ephemeral
magma lenses in a crystallizing crystal mush (Fig. 8). Such
heterogeneous crustal source is consistent with the zir-
con data from several Halle units (S l odczyk et al., in re-
vision). In detail, higher Fe, Ti, Zr and Nb contents for
the top 100 m of the laccolith, which is also character-
ized by high Pl/Kfs, may suggest that this pulse was de-
rived from a less evolved part of the crystal mush (i.e.,
enriched in the elements compatible in later crystallizing
accessory phases) and also could entrain more original
crystals from the mush (e.g., antecrystic zircon or early
crystallized quartz as suggested by the presence of two
types of quartz grains in this section, Fig. 7). Interest-
ingly, the top 100 m of the laccolith is also characterized
by the highest Sr, Ba, Pb and Rb contents. These elements
may be redistributed by secondary processes, but if the
difference is magmatic in origin, such magma could be
derived from a source similar to that from which fine-
grained rhyolites were derived, as the latter are generally
characterized by higher contents of these elements (Sup-
plementary Fig. S1).
The remaining part of the analysed Landsberg laccolith
(from 100 m to 480 m depth) shows no evidence for
chemically different pulses as it is characterized by vari-
ations only in mobile elements. However, the top 100 m
of the laccolith is characterized by increases and decreases
of certain elements with depth, including decreases in Si
Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 533
Fig. 8. Schematic model of the Landsberg laccolith formation. The distribution of sedimentary rafts after: Schmiedel et al., 2015.
The emplacement of the laccolith by three magma pulses with different types of interactions between the pulses. Inset shows
secular evolution of SiO 2 in the whole rock and Pl/Kfs ratio in the phenocrysts population through the analysed section as
successive pulses form the Landsberg laccolith.

534 E. S l odczyk et al.

and LREE and increases in Al and HREE (Fig. 5). Be-
cause we see no correlations between these elements and
modal composition (e.g., Pl/Kfs ratio) we tentatively in-
terpret these variations as records of in-situ crystalliza-
tion of the background, probably with the lower Si melts
crystallizing first at the margins. Such a process could
be, in theory, similar to the crystallization of chilled mar-
gins in granitic plutons, where the margins are impover-
ished in Si and the most incompatible elements. Interest-
ingly, similar correlations between Si and depth are ob-
served in the remaining 3 sections of the Landsberg
laccolith (Figs. 3 and 5) suggesting that they also repre-
sent individual magma pulses recording magma differ-
entiation as background crystallized. We believe that Si
is a good marker of such a late crystallization, because
its content is mostly controlled by the amount of quartz
in the background with less quartz crystallizing in more
undercooled regions of the pulse. In detail, Sections 2
and 4 show opposite trends in Si and some other elements
with depth (Fig. 5), which may suggest that they repre-
sent a single pulse that crystallized from the top and the
bottom at the same time (Fig. 8a, inset). Also Section 3 is
characterized by low Si region at the upper contact with
Section 2 and a consistent increase in Si from the contact
with Section 4, which may indicate that Section 3 is also
a separate pulse that was emplaced in the middle of the
pulse, now represented by Sections 2 and 4 (Fig. 8b, in-
set). The consistent change in the whole rock composi-
tion in Section 3 is in contrast with the variable Pl/Kfs
ratio in this section, once again suggesting that the Si
content in the whole rock is mostly controlled by the back-
ground crystallization. The complex nature of Section 3
may be explained if the magma forming the pulse is the
mixture of the magmas forming the uppermost pulse (Sec-
tion 1) with the magma forming the underlying pulse (Sec-
tions 2 and 4). This scenario is consistent with the posi-
tive correlation between Pl/Kfs ratio and the elements,
which are higher in Section 1, such as K, Ba, Rb and Zr.
Some of these elements are mobile, but the fact that they
correlate with Pl/Kfs ratio, which is not affected by sec-
ondary processes, adds credence to their importance. We
speculate that the correlations, if not the product of al-
teration, may represent mixing between two magmas: one
with higher Pl/Kfs, but originally also enriched in Ba,
Rb, Zr and K and the other with lower Pl/Kfs and con-
taining lower amounts of these elements. The mixing of
the magmas could have happened in the plumbing sys-
tem, on the way upwards or within the laccolith itself.
To summarize, the combined chemical and modal data
from the Landsberg laccolith are consistent with the up-
per 100 m of the laccolith being a separate magma pulse,
derived from a different source than the lower part of the
analysed section. The evidence for more pulses comes
from correlations between Si and other elements with
depth. These correlations follow Sections borders as de-
fined by differences in Pl/Kfs ratios suggesting in-situ
crystallization of up to 3 separate pulses in 100 to 480
meter region of the Landsberg laccolith. The pulse oc-
curring between 200 and 350 meters may represent mix-
ture of magma coming from two sources: that forming
the uppermost pulse and that forming the underlying
pulse.
How the Landsberg laccolith was formed
Magma bodies grow by coalescence of many pulses
(Glazner et al., 2004). Separate pulses were distinguished
in magma bodies of variable size from <0.03 km3 in the
Maiden Creek sill, which was formed by 2 pulses, through
the 0.05 km3 Trachyte Mesa laccolith composed of over
10 pulses to the 0.4 km3 Black Mesa bysmalith with un-
known number of pulses (Horsman et al., 2009). From 2
to 4 pulses are consistent with the chemical and modal
analyses of the Landsberg laccolith presented in this study.
Structural patterns and the presence of sediments in
between separate pulses suggested that the magma bod-
ies could have been formed by under-accretion, mid-ac-
cretion and over-accretion of the new pulses (Menand,
2008). Formation of the laccolith by several magma pulses
was also suggested for the Landsberg laccolith based on
the 3D and 2D geometry modeling (Schmiedel et al.,
2015). Our data show that modal and chemical composi-
tion of the laccoliths may offer an additional insight into
the growth of magma bodies. In particular, modal pro-
portions between major phenocrysts should represent
variations in the magma plumbing system. As the first
approximation the modal characteristic changes every
100–150 meters indicating that such was the height of
the magma injections, which is similar to that suggested
for the Landsberg laccolith by 2D and 3D modeling
(Schmiedel et al., 2015). Variety in thickness of separate
magma pulses was observed also in other magma bodies
worldwide e.g., in the Maiden Creek sill (Horsman et al.,
2009).
However, Section 3 in the Landsberg laccolith is com-
plex with strong variations in both modal and chemical
composition. We suggest that this is due to the injection
of new magma with a distinct chemical characteristic into
not fully solidified magma body, now represented by Sec-
tions 2 and 4. This process lead to magma mingling and
interactions between the pulses (Figs. 8a and b). On the
other hand the stronger modal and chemical contrasts
between Sections 2 and 1 indicate that the latter repre-
sents a magma pulse, which was over-accreted probably
after the previous pulses were solid enough to avoid ex-
tensive interactions between the pulses (Fig. 8c).
In summary, we suggest that three successive pulses
formed the upper 500 meters of the Landsberg laccolith
(1) the first pulse that encompasses Sections 2 and 4 with
Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 535
a probable overall thickness of 300 m, (2) the second pulse
that encompasses Section 3 and was injected in the mid-
dle of the pulse 1 with the thickness of approximately
150 m and (3) the third pulse that encompasses Section 1
(100 m in thickness) and was over-accreted on the previ-
ous pulses (Fig. 8). We believe that the Landsberg
laccolith with its relatively small volume and the high
emplacement level, which imply quick cooling, preserved
records of successive magma pulses and interaction be-
tween them from extensive interaction to limited one.
Our model is consistent with previous 2D and 3D
emplacement models of the Halle laccoliths (Schmiedel
et al., 2015), which also suggests pulsed model for the
formation of the Landsberg laccolith. However, Schmiedel
et al. (2015) also describe two major shear zones in the
laccolith at approximately 150 and 270 meters depth, the
depths which are not consistent with the division based
on chemical and modal compostion. It is possible that
some shear zones are not present in the core record, as in
many parts of the core several meter long sections were
not recovered. However, the shear zones at 150 and 270
meters should represent margins of the separate pulses
and they are just in the middle of our suggested pulses.
The complex nature of the third pulse in our model (Fig.
8b, Section 3 in Fig. 3a) may suggest that it is actually
composed of two or more smaller pulses and the shear
zone at 270 meters is a part of this complexity. The dis-
crepancy between our contacts of pulses at 100 and 200
meters and the presence of the shearing zone at 150 m is
more difficult to explain and will remain the unsolved
problem. Despite this discrepancy, our study shows that
the chemical and petrological studies of the samples from
the Landsberg laccolith offer an additional insight into
formation processes of laccoliths. They not only support
the laccolith formation by several separate magma pulses,
but also suggest that the magmas were derived from the
chemically different sources. As such, we suggest that
detailed analyses of thick sections of laccoliths may of-
fer insight into possible scenarios of magma chambers
formation, but more detailed work is required to corre-
late the chemical information with the structural one. Our
preliminary analyses of quartz cathodolumiencence zo-
nation show that not only chemical and modal composi-
tion of the laccolith varies with depth, but also character-
istic of individual minerals.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we used exceptionally well preserved
500 meters long drill core of the Landsberg laccolith (rep-
resenting the upper part of the laccolith) to distinguish
variable sections representing successive growth of such
magma body. Proportions between Pl and Kfs in
phenocryst population varied through the core, defining
536 E. S l odczyk et al.
four sections with different Pl/Kfs ratio. For quickly
cooled laccolith bodies, the variations in phencrysts pro-
portions should represent different magma pulses, as such
variations could not develop in-situ. This division in 4
sections was not supported by the general variations in
the whole rock composition, partly because the composi-
tion was affected by secondary processes and partly be-
cause the rhyolitic magma was chemically uniform. In
fact, the variations in immobile elements were slight and
mostly observed between the uppermost section and the
remaining part of the laccolith. However, the detailed
analyses of variations in Si and other elements within the
sections are consistent with the formation of the
Landsberg laccolith by three magma pulses, derived prob-
ably from at least two magma sources. The pulses were
emplaced both before and after the previous pulses were
solidified leading to formation of complex variations in
mineral and chemical composition with depth. Our re-
sults are consistent with 3D and 2D modeling of the ge-
ometry of the Landsberg laccolith (Schmiedel et al.,
2015), but also offer the additional information on sources
of the magma pulses.
Acknowledgments—This work was funded by National Sci-
ence Centre grant PRELUDIUM (UMO-2013/09/N/ST10/
00655) to ES. AP acknowledges MOBILITY grant. Many thanks
go to the WISMUT GmbH for allowing access and sampling of
drill cores and to Jens Götze for CL images. We thank Sven
Morgan and anonymous reviewer for constructive reviews.
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S UPPLEMENTARY M ATERIALS
URL (http://www.terrapub.co.jp/journals/GJ/archives/
data/49/MS382.pdf)
Figure S1
Tables S1 and S2
Landsberg laccolith formed by magma pulses 537