Abstract

The internal structure and emplacement mechanisms of composite plutons are investigated using new field data from the composite Late Miocene granitic intrusion of Mt Kinabalu in northern Borneo. The pluton was emplaced in the upper to middle crust in the Late Miocene at the contact between the ultramafic basement and sedimentary cover rocks. Structural data indicate that emplacement occurred during regional NNW–SSE-oriented extension, challenging tectonic models that involve contemporaneous regional compression. The six major units forming the pluton were accommodated by upward flexure of the cover rocks with most magma pulses emplaced successively beneath their predecessors. However, the irregular 3D internal structure of the pluton also reflects preferential emplacement of successive units along the granite–country rock contact of previous units in preference to the basement–cover rock contact exploited by the initial units. This study highlights the complex emplacement mechanisms and internal structure of composite intrusions and assesses how they differ from models of tabular emplacement.

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cover image Journal of the Geological Society
Journal of the Geological Society
Volume 174Number 1January 2017
Pages: 180 - 191

History

Received: 7 August 2015
Revision received: 18 July 2016
Accepted: 21 July 2016
Published online: 22 September 2016
Published: January 2017

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Alex Burton-Johnson* [email protected]
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Colin G. Macpherson
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Robert Hall
SE Asia Research Group, Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK

Notes

*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Scientific editing by Carl Stevenson

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Citing Literature

  • Post-subduction tectonics induced by extension from a lithospheric drip, Nature Geoscience, 10.1038/s41561-023-01201-7, 16, 7, (646-652), (2023).
  • Cenozoic Evolution of the Sulu Sea Arc‐Basin System: An Overview, Tectonics, 10.1029/2020TC006630, 40, 2, (2021).
  • Generation of the Mt Kinabalu Granite by Crustal Contamination of Intraplate Magma Modelled by Equilibrated Major Element Assimilation with Fractional Crystallization (EME-AFC), Journal of Petrology, 10.1093/petrology/egz036, 60, 7, (1461-1487), (2019).
  • Tectonic strain recorded by magnetic fabrics (AMS) in plutons, including Mt Kinabalu, Borneo: A tool to explore past tectonic regimes and syn-magmatic deformation, Journal of Structural Geology, 10.1016/j.jsg.2018.11.014, 119, (50-60), (2019).
  • Relationships of phosphorus concentration in reproductive organs with soil phosphorus availability for tropical rain-forest trees on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Journal of Tropical Ecology, 10.1017/S0266467418000329, 34, 6, (351-363), (2018).

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