Reply to discussion of ‘Crustal fluid contamination in the Bushveld Complex, South Africa: an analogue for subduction zone fluid migration’ by Roger Scoon and Andrew Mitchell (2020)

In their discussion of our recent publication, Scoon and Mitchell (2020) put forward a number of arguments against the hydromagmatic model of Bushveld Complex formation that we present. Their criticisms of our model focus primarily on the formation mechanisms of the discordant bodies present at Bushveld, namely the iron-rich ultramafic pegmatites and the dunite pipes. While this was a minor portion of our paper, we here review evidence in favor of a fluid-related origin for these discordant bodies, in contrast to the primarily magmatic origin that Scoon and Mitchell present.

Duke Scholars

Author Alan E. Boudreau Earth and Climate Sciences