Rare earth elements in the bimodal Mount Peyton batholith: Evidence of crustal anatexis by mantle-derived magma
The Mount Peyton batholith of central Newfoundland is one of many Siluro-Devonian ("Acadian") plutons of the Appalachians with contrasting mafic and silicic compositions. The distributions of rare earth and other trace elements in 18 representative samples indicate that the contrasting rock types are not genetically related by any crystal–liquid fractionation process. Rather they support earlier suggestions that the granitic melt was generated by crustal melting due to intrusion of the mantle-derived mafic magma, and the two evolved independently through processes involving some crystal fractionation and contamination with country rocks during ascent.