Neoproterozoic granites of Sharm El-Sheikh area, Egypt: mineralogical and thermobarometric variations

Calc-alkaline and alkaline intrusions of the late Neoproterozic form essential part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield. They were formed during the collision between East- and West-Gondwana. Sharm El-Sheikh area, Sinai, includes wide compositional array of these intrusions that can be considered as a case study. Variations in both tectonic and thermobarometric condition for granitic intrusions are studied. Four mappable granitic types are recognized namely monzogranite, syenogranite, alkali feldspar granites, and riebeckite-bearing granites. The monzogranite and the syenogranite of the study area are mostly I-type, whereas the alkali feldspar granite and the riebeckite-bearing granite belong to A-type granitoid. The calc-alkaline intrusions were formed in compressional setting due to decompressional melting of mafic lower crust. Partial melting and anatexing of crustal rocks are suggested to explain the protolith of the alkaline intrusions. The transition from the calc-alkaline magma to the alkaline one occurred as a result of the tectonic transition from compression regime to tectonic relaxation (extension setting) during the last stage of the Pan-African Orogeny. The amphiboles of the studied granites are classified as calcic- and alkali-amphiboles. The calcic-amphiboles are ferro-edenite while the alkali-amphiboles are typically riebeckite. Both amphibole types are of magmatic nature. Coexisting amphiboles and plagioclases are used to estimate the physicochemical parameters of magma crystallization. The syenogranite underwent temperature and pressure of formation range of 520–730 °C, <3 kbar. The alkali feldspar granite records 450–830 °C, <4 kbar, while the riebeckite-bearing granite records the lowest temperature condition among all varieties and estimate formation at 350–650 °C, <4 kbar.