K-Ar ages, Sr-isotopic compositions and chemistry of late Cretaceous- Tertiary basalts from the Nubian Desert (northern Sudan)

Major and trace element chemistry of basaltic rocks from the Nubian Desert in northern Sudan reveals characteristics typical of continental intraplate basalts. Chondrite normalized rare earth element patterns show enrichment in LREE and moderate depletion in HREE. K-Ar whole rock ages of the basalts range from 34 to 92 Ma. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios vary from 0.7029 to 0.7035, indicating a depleted upper mantle source. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr vs. 1/Sr suggests that the isotopic variation is due to mantle heterogeneity rather than to crustal contamination. -from Authors