Basanite

Basanite ( /ˈbæsənaɪt/) is an igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock with aphanitic to porphyritic texture.

This article is about the igneous rock. Basanite is also a variety of jasper.
Not to be confused with bassanite.
Basanite
Igneous rock
Volcanic bomb of black basanite enclosing a xenolith of green dunite from Réunion
Basanite sculpture of Livia Drusilla[1]

The mineral assembly is usually abundant feldspathoids (nepheline or leucite), plagioclase, and augite, together with olivine and lesser iron-titanium oxides such as ilmenite and magnetite-ulvospinel; minor alkali feldspar may be present, as illustrated by the position of the field for basanite in the QAPF diagram. Clinopyroxene (augite) and olivine are common as phenocrysts and in the matrix. The augite contains significantly greater titanium, aluminium and sodium than that in typical tholeiitic basalt. Quartz is absent, as are orthopyroxene and pigeonite. Chemically, basanites are mafic. They are low in silica (42 to 45% SiO2) and high in alkalis (3 to 5.5% Na2O and K2O) compared to basalt, which typically contains more SiO2, as evident on the diagram used for TAS classification. Nephelinite is yet richer in Na2O plus K2O compared to SiO2.

Basanites occur both on continents and on ocean islands. Together with basalts, they are produced by hotspot volcanism, for example in the Hawaiian Islands, the Comoros Islands[2] and the Canary Islands.

See also

References
  1. http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/livia
  2. "Geochemistry and Petrology of a Miocene Trachyte-Basanite Suite from Mt. Tsaratanana, Northern Madagascar". gsa.confex.com. Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2006-04-05.


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