• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.627-648
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• 2001

At least two distinct types of layering are present in the middle zone of the Skaergaard intrusion; alternating plagioclase-rich and pyroxene-rich, macro-rhythmic layers, and smaller scale, modally-graded, rhythmic layers. The macro-rhythmic layers are ubiquitous in the middle zone of the Layered Series, but are not observed in the lower and upper zone of the Layered Series or in the wall or roof tories of the intrusion. They range from 0.3 to 17.3 m in thickness, have sharp upper and lower boundaries, and can be traced laterally for over 2 ]fm in outcrop. Although individual macrorhythmic layers are not internally graded, many contain smaller-scale, modally-graded layers. Modally-graded. rhythmic layers are a common feature of the Layered Series but are not abundant in either the Upper Border Series or the Marginal Border Series. They range in thickness from 1 to 50 cm and can be traced laterally in outcrop for up to 100 m. Their lateral termination ranges from abrupt to gradational, and they are often associated with cut and fill structures and crossbedding suggestive of current activity. They are characterized by sharp lower and gradational upper contacts, and by strong intra-layer modal grading with olivine, ilmenite, and magnetite concentrated at the base, pyroxene concentrated above the base, and plagioclase concentrated at the top. The layers are also grain-size graded with the maximum size for each phase occurring at the horizon in the layer where the phase is most abundant. Modally-graded, rhythmic layers in the middle zone of the Layered Series occur within both plagioclase-rich and pyroxene-rich macro-rhythmic layers.