U–Pb geochronology documents out-of-sequence emplacement of ultramafic layers in the Bushveld Igneous Complex of South Africa

Abstract

Large igneous intrusions layering is thought to represent an upward-aggrading crystal pile. However, Mungallet al.show that the Rustenburg Layered Suite of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa was created by the injection of a series of thin sheet-like intrusions that cooled and solidified as separate bodies.