Editorial for the Special Issue “Large Igneous Provinces: Research Frontiers”

Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) are vast intraplate magmatic events, typically mafic to ultramafic in composition, with volumes exceeding 0.1 million km³ (typically proxied by an areal extent greater than 0.1 million km²), and with significant geodynamic implications, comparable in impact to plate tectonics (e.g., [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]). LIPs occur in both continental and oceanic settings and are short-lived, usually lasting under five million years, though some have multiple pulses spanning tens of millions of years. LIPs feature extensive flood basalt volcanism and complex plumbing systems of mafic dykes, sills, and layered intrusions, sometimes accompanied by silicic magmatism (and termed Silicic LIPs when large enough, i.e., of LIP size), carbonatites, and kimberlites. Since the Archean eon, continental LIPs have formed irregularly, with an average recurrence of 20–30 million years. Oceanic LIPs, better preserved over the past 200 million years, occur at similar rates, suggesting a combined LIP recurrence interval of 10–15 million years back to 2.5 Ga. The Archean LIP record has recently been significantly expanded, resulting in the recognition of LIPs back to about 3.5 Ga, with a frequency comparable to that of the Proterozoic–Phanerozoic LIP record [14]. LIP analogs are also present on Venus and Mars. Terrestrial LIPs are closely tied to major geological and environmental phenomena, including continental rifting and breakup, ore deposit formation, sedimentary basin development, and climate perturbations, including those linked to mass extinctions. They are generally linked to mantle plumes, with the largest events being linked to plumes rising from the deep mantle. Other processes can contribute to multiple LIP pulses—most notably decompression melting and lithospheric delamination.

Our goal in producing this Special Issue has been to highlight some recent developments in LIPs research. This Special Issue consists of eight publications, five published in 2023, two in 2024, and one in 2025. They collectively represent a wide thematic range, each representing an important advance in our understanding of plume-generated LIPs. The papers presented in this Special Issue are organized in chronological order (youngest to oldest) with respect to their associated LIPs.

Two papers address aspects of the youngest known LIP, the 17 Ma Columbia River LIP: Streck et al. (2023) [26] consider the geochemical relationship of Picture Gorge Basalts (PGBs) to the lowermost units of Imnaha basalts; and Cahoon et al. (2024) [26] focus on the geochronology and geochemistry of the PGBs.

Streck et al. (2023) [26], in their paper titled “Province-Wide Tapping of a Shallow, Variably Depleted, and Metasomatized Mantle to Generate Earliest Flood Basalt Magmas of the Columbia River Basalt, Northwestern USA,” consider the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), the youngest LIP, which began with the Imnaha, Steens, and PGB fed from separate dyke swarms. The PGB, long considered compositionally distinct, shares chemical similarities with the lowermost Imnaha flows. This paper shows that the earliest CRBG lavas (~17 Ma) were derived from the shallow, variably depleted, subduction-metasomatized mantle across the province. Compositional provinciality reflects regional differences in mantle depletion and subduction overprint, indicating relatively local lava emplacement during initial CRBG activity.

Cahoon et al. (2024) [27], in their paper titled “Mantle Sources and Geochemical Evolution of the Picture Gorge Basalt, Columbia River Basalt Group,” focusing on PGB, an early Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) unit, provide key insights into mantle sources and plume influence. PGB geochemistry reveals LILE enrichment, HFSE depletion, low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, and mantle-like δ¹⁸O, indicating a metasomatized upper mantle source. Two parental magma types best explain observed variability. Age data indicate that PGB eruptions occurred in two pulses ~0.4 Ma apart (before and during the main-phase CRBG activity). Combined geochemical age evidence suggests progressively greater plume-like mantle input over time.

The next two papers, Chatterjee and Ghose (2023) [28] and Stotz et al. (2025) [29], address the role of plume-generated LIPs in continental breakup. Chatterjee and Ghose (2023) [28] consider the case of the Rajmahal flood basalts, which are linked with the Kerguelen mantle plume; and Stotz et al. (2025) [29] quantitatively analyze the role of plume-generated LIPs in the early Cretaceous opening of the South Atlantic

Chatterjee and Ghose (2023) [28], in their paper titled “Thermobarometry of the Rajmahal Continental Flood Basalts and Their Primary Magmas: Implications for the Magmatic Plumbing System,” consider the Late Aptian Rajmahal flood basalts caused by the Kerguelen Plume along India’s eastern margin. Thermobarometry indicates crystallization at ~5 kbar/1100–1200 °C (~19 km), while primary melts equilibrated deeper at ~9 kbar/1280 °C (~33 km). These depths match the gravity data, which shows a dense layer at lower the crustal depths, representing anomalous mantle. Magmas ponded beneath an upwarped Moho and rose through transcrustal faults to shallow chambers, where fractional crystallization occurred. This plumbing system reflects plume-driven magmatism and lithospheric erosion during Gondwana breakup.

Stotz et al. (2025) [29], in their paper titled “Continental Rift Driven by Asthenosphere Flow and Lithosphere Weakening by Flood Basalts: South America and Africa Cenozoic Rifting,” consider the much-debated mechanism by which LIPs contribute to continental rifting and breakup. It is shown that plume flow quantitatively links LIP magmatism to rifting, supported by the sedimentary record of stratigraphic hiatuses and LIP distribution. During the West Gondwana breakup, the Jurassic plume ascent created dynamic topography, while Cretaceous mafic dykes and sills weakened the lithosphere. Together, plume-driven forces and lithospheric weakening from dyke intrusion localized deformation, facilitating rift initiation and the separation of South America and Africa.

Latyshev et al. (2023) [30], in their paper titled “Reconstruction of the Magma Transport Patterns in the Permian-Triassic Siberian Traps from the Northwestern Siberian Platform on the Basis of Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility Data,” propose that understanding magma transport is key to the characterization of LIPs. Producing Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) data from >100 sites in lava flows and intrusions, the authors determined the magma flow patterns in the Noril’sk and Kulumbe regions of the northwestern part of the Siberian Traps LIP. The data show a predominant NW–SE lateral magma flow, fed from the Noril’sk–Kharaelakh and Imangda–Letninskiy fault zones. The magma transport geometry in these flows and intrusions contrasts with that determined in their earlier AMS study of the southern part of the Siberian Traps, where the magma-feeding was inferred to be located in the central, most down-warped part of the Angara–Taseeva depression.

Shelepaev et al. (2023) [31], in their chapter titled “Petrology and Age of the Yamaat Uul Mafic Complex, Khangai Mountains, Western Mongolia,” consider the petrology and age of a mafic complex in Mongolia that provides some important new information on the poorly understood Khangai LIP of Central Asia. The Yamaat Uul mafic complex in western Mongolia hosts Cu-Ni mineralization and comprises two intrusions: plagioclase–olivine–pyroxene cumulates and monzogabbro—the latter enriched with incompatible elements. U-Pb zircon dating indicates a Late Permian age (~256–263 Ma). Geochemical and isotopic data suggest derivation from a common parental melt without crustal contamination. The low-evolution sulfide melt resembles other Khangai intrusions (Nomgon, Oortsog Uul). As part of the Khangai LIP, Yamaat Uul is a potential PGE-Cu-Ni resource.

Stifeeva et al. (2023) [32], in their paper titled “Timing of Carbonatite Ultramafic Complexes of the Eastern Sayan Alkaline Province, Siberia: U–Pb (ID–TIMS) Geochronology of Ca–Fe Garnets,” apply an innovative dating method to units of the Eastern Sayan Alkaline Province (which may represent a portion of a poorly characterized LIP, based on the idea of alkaline suites being frequently associated with LIPs). U–Pb (ID-TIMS) dating of a calcic garnet from the Eastern Sayan alkaline ultramafic complexes constrains magmatism to 619–651 Ma. New ages from Bolshaya Tagna (632 ± 2 Ma) and Srednaya Zima (624 ± 5 Ma), combined with Belaya Zima (646 ± 6 Ma), define the main pulse of magmatic activity. Geochemical variations indicate parental melts derived from distinct chambers during a single mantle melting episode. Results demonstrate garnet U–Pb dating as a precise tool for dating alkaline ultramafic magmaism in large magmatic provinces, including in LIPs.

Yun et al. (2024) [33], in their chapter titled “Origin of Redbeds in the Neoproterozoic Socheong Formation and Their Relation to the Dashigou Large Igneous Province,” consider the role of a LIPs in producing hydrothermal fluids affecting sedimentary basins in the Sino–Korean craton (also known as the North China craton). Extensional tectonics in the Sino–Korean Craton produced basins influenced by the Dashigou LIP (ca. 940–890 Ma). This chapter reports Fe-rich redbeds in the Neoproterozoic Socheong Formation (Pyeongnam Basin). Geochemistry reveals basin-wide Fe enrichment from hydrothermal fluids linked to mafic intrusions of the Dashigou LIP. Episodic magmatism generated short-lived anoxia, preserved as ferruginous layers, making these redbeds key markers for stratigraphic correlation and carbon isotope studies across related basins, including the Sangwon, Xu-Huai, and Dalian basins.

We appreciate our authors for their authoritative contributions to this Special Issue, covering a range of LIP themes. All of chapters in this book were peer-reviewed according to journal standards. Our sincere thanks are extended to the many reviewers whose detailed and thoughtful comments helped ensure the scientific quality of the research presented herein. We also appreciate the invaluable role of the staff of Minerals, who have been our partners in this journey from conception to the publication of this volume.