Mineralogy, petrology and Geochemistry of the Basalt flows at Ash-Shun Ash-Shamaliyya Area, North West Jordan

Twenty-seven basaltic fresh rock samples collected from North West Jordan at Ash-Shuna Ash-Shamaliyya area studied. The Ash-Shuna Ash-Shamaliyya basalt (SHB) introduced within Pliocene to Quaternary (recent) volcanism in North West Jordan, and produced within intraplate continental alkali to calc-alkaline basalt. The mineralogy analyses of the SHB rocks are composed of plagioclase, pyroxene, olivine, opaque minerals (iron oxide), and secondary minerals included iddingsite and calcite. The common textures of the SHB were trachytic, glomeroporphyritic, seriate, intergranular, poikilitic, corona, ophtic to subophitic, radiate, cumulate, vesicular and amygdaloidal. The geochemical analysis data of SHB indicated that SHB was derived from a slightly fractionation magma as reflected by high MgO concentration(average 8ppm) and Mg#% (average 46%), and high concentration Ni (average158ppm) and low silica content (average 48wt%). The Geochemical classification of SHB introduced within basaltic to trachybasalt field and calc-alkaline to alkali basalt. The tectonic setting of SHB explained by using discrimination diagrams, Ti-Zr-Y, Ti-Zr-Sr, MgO-FeO(tot)-Al2O3, and Nb-Y, the SHB plotted within plate, calc-alkali and continental basalt respectively. The Rayleigh fractionation equation modeled for Sr verses Ba vector diagram indicated the SHB had fractionation less than10% for clinopyroxene, orthpyroxene, olivine and plagioclase.