Petrology of Eocene Volcanic Rocks in Dastgerdo to Molla Ahmad Area (East of Isfahan); Middle Part of the Urumieh- Dokhtar Magmatic Arc (UDMA)

The Eocene volcanic rocks are exposed in Dastgerdo and Molla Ahmad areas (East of Isfahan province); the middle part of Urumieh - Dokhtar magmatic arc (UDMA). In this area, the UDMA width is about 13 kilometers which is one of its narrowest parts. These Eocene rocks consist of lava (trachyte, dacite, andesite, basaltic andesite and basalt) and pyroclastic rocks (littic tuff, tuff breccia and ignimbrite) which cross cut by Oligocene granodiorites. Andesites are the predominant rock unit with good outcrops. The main rock- forming minerals of andesites are clinopyroxene (augite), orthopyroxene (enstatite), plagioclase (andesine to bytonite), amphibole (magnesian hornblande), biotite, quartz, magnetite, ilmenite and sphene. Secondary minerals which are produced by alteration are chloritized olivine, malachite, chlorite, calcite, epidote, actinolite, albite and montmorillonite. The geochemistry of volcanic rocks show that the volcanic rocks of Dastgerdo to Molla Ahmad areas have a wide range of SiO2 (50.4 to 65.5 wt%) and belong to the calc-alkaline magmatic series. These rocks are more enriched in light rare earth elements (LREEs) than the heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and represent evident negative anomaly of Eu. Whole rock chemistry and horizontal pattern of HREEs reveal that the spinel lherzolite is the source rock. Petrography and geochemistry of minerals and whole rock samples indicate that the studied andesites are formed by the same petrogenetic processes and are affected by magma mixing and contamination during crystallization. The field, petrography and geochemical data show that Dastgerdo to Molla Ahmad volcanic rocks belong to volcanic arc tectonic setting and are formed by subduction of Neothetys oceanic crust beneath the Central Iran.