Sheeted dyke complex

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A sheeted dyke complex is a normal component of an ophiolite, a piece of oceanic crust that has been emplaced within a sequence of continental rocks. The dykes act as feeders for the overlying sequence of extrusive rocks typically pillow lavas, together forming layer 2 of the oceanic crust. As each injection of a dyke represents one increment of seafloor spreading, each dyke is normally intruded into earlier dykes. The dykes are typically dolerites but plagiogranites (trondhjemites) often form a significant part of the complex.