The petrology and geochemistry of the Medicine Lake Volcano,California

The Medicine Lake shield volcano is part of the Oregon high alumina plateau basalt petrologic province, as defined by Waters (1962) and Higgins (1973). The early eruptions are basaltic andesites and they constitute a significant portion of the shield-forming lavas. These lavas are characterized by a mild iron enrichment trend produced by fractionation of plagioclase and olivine, together with lesser amounts of clinopyroxene. Siliceous andesites of less areal extent form the shield-capping lavas. Their formation is initiated by the appearance of titanomagnetite as a liquidus phase which prevents further iron enrichment. Additional fractionation of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and minor olivine continued during this interval.An origin for the basaltic andesites which involves the derivation of a liquid by partial melting of lithosphere composed of low Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ material previously subducted along the continental margin is favored. This magma subsequently fractionated under low pressure conditions, a conclusion supported by least squares mixing calculations.     

Experimental Study of Crystal-Liquid Relationships at High Pressures in Olivine Nephelinite and Basanite Compositions

The crystallization sequences in olivine-rich nephelinitic andbasanitic compositions have been experimentally studied underdry conditions at pressures up to 36 kb. Electron microprobeanalyses of olivines, clinopyroxenes, garnets, and orthopyroxenesenable calculation of possible crystal fractionation trendsfor these magmas at various pressures. Low-pressure fractionationis dominated by olivine and yields derivative liquids of highersilica content and showing rapid iron enrichment. At pressuresof 18–27 kb, fractionation is controlled by aluminousclinopyroxene with minor olivine or garnet. Derivative liquidsshow marked depletion in calcium accompanying silica depletionand increasing degree of undersaturation. .At pressures greaterthan 27 kb, crystal fractionation is controlled by garnet+clinopyroxeneseparation. Chemical analyses of these phases allow quantitativecalculations of possible fractionation which show that largedegrees of crystallization are required to produce quite smallchanges in silica content and in degree of undersaturation.In addition, fractionation by garnet and clinopyroxene separationis accompanied by depletion in calcium content in the more undersaturatedrocks and high degrees of crystallization are necessarily accompaniedby enrichment in iron relative to magnesium. These effects areinconsistent with the characteristics of natural magmas of mantlederivation in the range from alkali olivine basalts to olivinemelilitites. It is concluded that separation of garnet and clinopyroxeneunder upper mantle conditions does not produce the natural magmaseries from olivine-rich tholeiite to olivine nephelinite andolivine melilitite. The transient role of orthopyroxene overa very small P, T range in the melting interval of two of theexperimental compositions suggests that an olivine-rich basanitemay be developed by small degrees of partial melting of a sourcepyrolite under dry conditions at 60–80 km depth. Thisliquid, which would form in equilibrium with residual olivine,aluminous orthopyroxene, and aluminous clinopyroxene, wouldcontain approximately 5 per cent normative orthoclase, 5 percent albite, 12 per cent nepheline, 20 per cent anorthite, 22per cent diopside, and 31 per cent olivine.     

Quaternary lavas from the southern Cascades,western U.S.A.

A series of basaltic and andesitic lavas from three centers in the Cascades (Lassen, Medicine Lake, Mt. Shasta) have been investigated. The lavas are weakly porphyritic, containing phenocrysts of plagioclase, augite, and olivine or orthopyroxene; these phases are also found in the groundmass. Titanomagnetite is a groundmass phase in most lavas but it appears to be absent in some. A sub-calcic augite is found in the groundmass in some of the basic lavas. Orthopyroxenes are present only in the salic lavas and show an increase in calcium with increasing iron. The range in composition shown by both phenocryst and groundmass plagioclase is very similar except that the phenocrysts extend to slightly more calcic compositions. The residual glasses in many of the lavas have a rhyolitic composition. However, only those from the Shasta andesites have normative salic constituents that plot near the ternary minimum in the Ab-Or-Qtz system at 500 bars. Both chemical and mineralogical data allow the lavas of the different centers to be distinguished from one another. The most likely origin for the orogenic lavas of the Cascades is by partial melting of the upper mantle.     

Ca-enrichment in olivines from volcanic rocks

Data are presented on the Ca-content of olivines in a range of volcanic rocks from a variety of suites. These include olivine basalts through to trachytes from Gough, St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha Islands; trachytes from central Victoria, Australia, and a leucitite and phonclitic-tephrite series from Bufumbira, Uganda. In olivine crystals from basaltic lavas the Ca- and Mn-contents are low and Fe shows the most significant zoning from core to rim. In Fe-rich olivines from trachytic differentiates Ca and Mn frequently show more significant variation than Fe. While the Mn-content is proportional to the Fe-content of these olivines, Ca-zoning, in many cases, is unrelated to Fe-content. The marked Ca-enrichment in olivines occurs with the absence of plagioclase in the host lavas. The Ca(Al  Na  K) ratio is shown to be related not only to the Ca-content of the olivines in the lava, but may be used to predict olivine stability in evolved compositions.     

The Prospect Alkaline Diabase-Picrite Intrusion New South Wales, Australia

The Prospect intrusion is a dish-shaped alkaline diabase-picritemass 315–400 ft thick intruded into shale at a depth ofabout 600 ft. Picrite, containing more than 25 per cent olivine,occupies the lower half of the intrusion. In the upper half,alkaline diabase, averaging less than 5 per cent olivine, isconcentrated under structural highs of the contact, and alkalineolivine diabase, containing 10 to 25 per cent olivine, is concentratedunder structural lows. These rocks are separated from the shaleby a fine-grained chilled margin. Vertical sections through the picrite zone show a regular antipatheticvariation of modal olivine and plagioclase with a zone of maximumolivine concentration near the bottom; bulk rock compositionsshow an antipathetic relation between MgO plus total iron andall other constituents. Modal and bulk composition variationsare more erratic in the upper half of the intrusion, but analcite,alkali feldspar, and opaque minerals reach maximum concentrationsin this part of the intrusion. The pyroxene content remainsnearly constant in the major rock types. Trends of olivine andplagioclase composition and grain size vary regularly with heightin the intrusion and cross boundaries between major rock typeswithout deflexion. Olivine becomes progressively more fayaliticfrom the base of the picrite zone to the upper chilled margin,but the plagioclase curve has a trend toward more calcic compositionsin the picrite zone. Mean sizes of plagioclase, pyroxene, andolivine increase upwards between the chilled margins. The lower chilled margin is slightly less mafic than the bulkcomposition of the intrusion and may represent a pre-emplacementdifferentiate, but the major part of the differentiation occurredduring emplacement at the present site. Grain size and otherdata indicate that crystallization took place more rapidly fromthe base than from the top of the intrusion, and a variety ofinternal structures indicate that crystallization and differentiationtook place as the magma was intruded over a considerable periodof time. As consolidation of the intrusion proceeded, the liquid becameenriched in all constituents except magnesium and ferrous ironuntil consolidation of alkaline diabase began (when about 70per cent of the whole intrusion had solidified); at that stagethe proportion of calcium, titanium, and ferric iron in theliquid was reduced and the proportion of silica, alumina, andalkalis increased. Processes of differentiation that contributed most to the originof the main rock types are: diffusion, independently of crystallization,of volatiles, alkalis, and possibly calcium into the structurallyhigh parts of the intrusion; gravity accumulation of olivinethat crystallized a short distance above the main front of consolidationas it moved upwards from the base of the intrusion; and upwarddiffusion of salic constituents and downward diffusion of maficones over concentration gradients produced by crystallization. Removal of volatiles from the lower part of the intrusion beforecrystallization reduced the oxidation ratio in the liquid andresulted in a low proportion of ferric iron minerals; crystallizationof abundant olivine (average composition about Fo₇₀), however,prevented enrichment of the liquid in iron. Addition of volatilesto the upper part of the intrusion retarded crystallizationand raised the oxidation ratio to a level at which a relativelyhigh proportion of ferric iron minerals crystallized. Subordinate processes that contributed to the formation of themain rock types as well as to less abundant ones include gravityaccumulation of heavy minerals that were dispersed in the magmaat the time of emplacement, filter pressing caused by localbuttressing around irregularities of the contact, crystal sortingby viscous flow, and gas transfer. Pegmatitic differentiates are ascribed to a complex diffusionprocess along pressure and concentration gradients caused byshear on laminar flow planes. Syenite may have originated byreplacement of pegmatite, but aplites occupy true dilationaistructures and apparently represent liquid remaining after crystallizationof the adjacent rock.     

Mineralogy of Erromango lavas (New Hebrides): Evidence of an early stage of fractionation in island arc basalts

The orogenic volcanic rocks of Erromango island are divided into a Quaternary theoleiitic group and an older Pliocene one showing calc-alkalic affinity. The microprobe mineralogy of these lavas agrees with this geochemical distinction and indicates a marked iron enrichment trend in the recent tholeiitic lavas, whereas titanomagnetite occurs as early formed phenocrysts (Al, Cr, Mg-rich) only in Pliocene basalts. Some Ni and Mg-rich olivine phenocrysts (Fo88) and unusual chemically zoned clinopyroxene megacrysts are described from Pliocene basic lavas and interpreted as deep-fractionated minerals. The large compositional range of these latter (diopside core to augite rim, through salite intermediate zone) leads us to discuss the physical conditions and the corresponding cation substitutions prevailing during their formation. Diopside cores crystallized at depths of about 20 km from a relatively ‘primitive’ melt. The formation of salite is considered to be the result of concomitant fractionation of Mg-rich phases and increase of f_O2. An early stage of fractionation of Cr-bearing diopside + Ni-bearing olivine would account for the typical Cr and Ni depletion of Erromango lavas.     

Petrology of the Western Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland

The active tholeiitic volcanic zone of the Reykjanes Peninsulaconsists of five volcanic fissure swarms, the two westernmostof which are the subject of this petrological study. The recent(less than 12,000 years) extrusives of the swarms group morphologicallyand petrographically into small picrite basalt lava shields,large olivine tholeiite lava shields and tholeiite fissure lavas;formed in that chronological succession. The picrite basalts exhibit a primitive mineralogy with chromite,olivine (Fo 89) and plagioclase (An 90) as phenocrysts and mayrepresent a primary liquid from the mantle. Simultaneous crystallizationof olivine, plagioclase and augite to form glomerocrysts inthe fissure lavas indicate low pressure cotectic crystallizationconditions. Twenty-eight new major element chemical analyses of the lavasare presented. They are generally characterized by a low contentof alkalies and high CaO. The lavas constitute two main suites,a lava shield suite and a fissure lava suite. There is a positivecorrelation between the volume of individual lavas and the contentof incompatible elements of the lavas within each group. Likewisethere is an overall chemical trend through time demonstrated,for example, by a rise in K₂O from about 0.02 per cent to 0.24per cent during the last, approximately, 12,000 years. There is an apparent chemical zoning within each volcanic swarmsuch that the most evolved and youngest lavas are found in thecentral axial area of the swarm. This central area is also characterizedby graben subsidence, high magnetic anomalies and high temperaturethermal areas, all indicative of shallow magma reservoir(s).In spite of indications of fractional crystallization in theevolution of the olivine tholeiites and tholeiites, some otherprocesses must be sought to explain the volume chemistry relations.Cyclic volcanic activity is tentatively suggested to explainthe observed regular temporal variations within the swarm, eachcycle starting with the formation of picrite basalts.     

The volcanoes and caldera of Talasea,New Britain: Mineralogy

The Talasea Peninsula is composed of a chain of Quaternary volcanoes whose lavas range from basalt to rhyolite. The peninsula is situated in an orogenic environment and the lavas, while essentially calc-alkaline, show some differences from other orogenic suites on the Pacific rim. The most distinctive feature of the Talasea series is absolute iron enrichment in some lavas. Mineralogically, the andesites are characterized by phenocrysts of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite, while the basalts lack titanomagnetite phenocrysts but contain olivine. The acid rocks have a mineralogy similar to that of the andesites, but also contain quartz, amphibole, biotite and ilmenite. The compositions of coexisting titanomagnetite and ilmenite in the acid lavas indicate equilibration temperatures in the range 920° to 860° C and oxygen fugacities ( ) above those of the fayalitemagnetite-quartz buffer assemblage. The mineralogical evidence supports the hypothesis of a crystal fractionation origin for this series and there is a possibility that the was more or less constant during the early stages of its evolution. The iron enriched lavas may be an offshoot from the main line of descent, resulting from near-surface fractionation, with the dominance of plagioclase in the crystal residuum producing an iron-rich liquid.     

Mineralogical and geochemical implications of weathering rates in coastal dunes and beach sands close to a volcanic rock source in the western Gulf of Mexico,Mexico

Coastal dune (CD) and beach sand samples were mineralogically and chemically studied to assess the weathering rates in a coastal area surrounded by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). The study area is a narrow coastal plain with sub-humid warm weather and vigorous coastal dynamics located in the Western Gulf of Mexico (WGM). Our results show that the grain size parameters remain homogeneous along nine CD and beach sites, probably due to the hydrodynamic mechanisms prevailing in the area, i.e. wind deflation, longshore currents, and waves. The minerals found in the CD and beach sands are enriched in recycled, highly corroded monocrystalline quartz (Qm), with loss of plagioclase (P) and olivine (ol), with ilmenite fractions (op) especially in the northern sites. The geochemical data show that the sands are controlled by the exhumation of the TMVB rocks composed of a high volcanic lithic content with lathwork, microlithic, and negligible vitric textures. These volcanic fractions are in agreement with the presence of lavas of calc alkaline, andesite, Na-alkaline lavas, and rhyolite tuffs derived from the TMVB. Significant Spearman Rank Correlations (SRCs) resulted from high silica, titanium, iron, magnesium, calcium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, associated with the presence of Qm, ilmenite, clinopyroxene, shell fragments, and volcanic lithics. Monocrystalline quartz enrichments, compared to a quartz dilution effect (<Qm; < Qm) at the northern and southern beach sites, reflect the vigorous coastal dynamics. The presence of ilmenite lag deposits in the northern sites indicate that high energy hydrodynamic conditions prevail at the site. The rare earth element (REE) patterns support the mineralogical and compositional framework of the CD and beach sands as part of the TMVB exhumation. We used various chemical indices such as the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), the Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), the Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA), and the Weathering Index of Plagioclase (WIP). The WIP values reflect the depletion of mobile elements such as Ca, Na, K, and enrichment of Qm at the northern beach sites, e.g. the Istirinchiá site. The CIA/WIP ratio of 2.13 indicates intermediate weathering under warm climatic conditions and recycling of CD and beach sands.     

Aleutian tholeiitic and calc-alkaline magma series I: The mafic phenocrysts

Diagnostic mafic silicate assemblages in a continuous spectrum of Aleutian volcanic rocks provide evidence for contrasts in magmatic processes in the Aleutian arc crust. Tectonic segmentation of the arc exerts a primary control on the variable mixing, fractional crystallization and possible assimilation undergone by the magmas. End members of the continuum are termed calc-alkaline (CA) and tholeiitic (TH). CA volcanic rocks (e.g., Buldir and Moffett volcanoes) have low FeO/MgO ratios and contain compositionally diverse phenocryst populations, indicating magma mixing. Their Ni and Cr-rich magnesian olivine and clinopyroxene come from mantle-derived mafic olivine basalts that have mixed with more fractionated magmas at mid-to lower-crustal levels immediately preceding eruption. High-Al amphibole is associated with the mafic end member. In contrast, TH lavas (e.g., Okmok and Westdahl volcanoes) have high FeO/MgO ratios and contain little evidence for mixing. Evolved lavas represent advanced stages of low pressure crystallization from a basaltic magma. These lavas contain groundmass olivine (FO 40–50) and lack Ca-poor pyroxene. Aleutian volcanic rocks with intermediate FeO/MgO ratios are termed transitional tholeiitic (TTH) and calc-alkaline (TCA). TCA magmas are common (e.g., Moffett, Adagdak, Great Sitkin, and Kasatochi volcanoes) and have resulted from mixing of high-Al basalt with more evolved magmas. They contain amphibole (high and low-Al) or orthopyroxene or both and are similar to the Japanese hypersthene-series. TTH magmas (e.g., Okmok and Westdahl) contain orthopyroxene or pigeonite or both, and show some indication of upper crustal mixing. They are mineralogically similar to the Japanese pigeonite-series. High-Al basalt lacks Mg-rich mafic phases and is a derivative magma produced by high pressure fractionation of an olivine tholeiite. The low pressure mineral assemblage of high-Al basalt results from crystallization at higher crustal levels.     

Petrology and evolution of transitional alkaline — sub alkaline lavas from Patmos,Dodecanesos, Greece: evidence for fractional crystallization,magma mixing and assimilation

Petrographic, mineral chemical and whole-rock major oxide data are presented for the lavas of the Main Volcanic Series of Patmos, Dodecanesos, Greece. These lavas were erupted about 7 m.y. ago and range in composition from ne-trachybasalts through hy-trachybasalts and trachyandesites to Q-trachytes. To some extent, the ne-trachybasalts are intermediate in composition to the alkaline lavas found on oceanic islands and the calc-alkaline lavas of destructive plate margins. Major oxide variation is largely explicable in terms of fractional crystallization involving removal of the observed phenocryst and microphenocryst phases viz. olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene and Ti-magnetite in the mafic lavas, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, mica and Ti-magnetite in the evolved lavas. Apatite, which occurs as an inclusion in other phenocrysts or as microphenocrysts must also have been removed. However, mass balance calculations indicate that the chemistry of the hy-trachybasalts is inconsistent with an origin via fractional crystallization alone and the complex zoning patterns and resorbtion phenomena shown by phenocrysts in these lavas show that they are hybrids formed by the mixing of 80-77% ne-trachybasalt with 20–23% trachyandesite. It is estimated that the mixing event preceded eruption by a period of 12 h-2 weeks suggesting that mixing triggered eruption. Combined fractionation and mixing cannot explain the relatively low MgO contents of the hy-trachybasalts and it is concluded that assimilation also occurred. Assimilation, and especially addition of volatiles to the magmas, may be responsible for the evolutionary trend from ne-normative to hy-normative magmas and was probably facilitated by intensified convection resulting from mixing. A model is presented whereby primitive magma undergoes fractionation in an intracrustal magma chamber to yield more evolved liquids. Influx of hot primitive magma into the base of the chamber facilitates assimilation, but eventually mixing yields the hy-trachybasalts and finally the ne-trachybasalts are erupted.     

Petrology of Medicine Lake Highland volcanics: Characterization of endmembers of magma mixing

Lavas from Medicine Lake volcano, Northern California have been examined for evidence of magma mixing. Mixing of magmas has produced basaltic andesite, andesite, dacite and rhyolite lavas at the volcano. We are able to identify the compositional characteristics of the components that were mixed and to estimate the time lag between the mixing event and eruption of the mixed magma. Compositional data from pairs of phenocrysts identify a high alumina basalt (HAB) and a silicic rhyolite as endmembers of mixing. Mg-rich olivine or augite and Ca-rich plagioclase are associated with the HAB component, and Fe-rich orthopyroxene and Na-rich plagioclase are associated with the rhyolitic component. Some lavas contain multiple phenocryst assemblages suggesting the incorporation of several magmas intermediate between the HAB and silicic components. Glass inclusions trapped in Mg-rich olivine and Na-rich plagioclase are similar in composition to the proposed HAB and rhyolite end members and provide supportive evidence for mixing. Textural criteria are also consistent with magma mixing. Thermal curvature of the liquidus surfaces in the basalt-andesite-rhyolite system allows magmas produced by mixing to be either supercooled or superheated. Intergranular textures of basaltic andesites and andesites result from cooling initiated below the liquidus. The trachytic textures of silicic andesites form from cooling initiated above the liquidus. Reversed compositional zoning profiles in olivine crystals were produced by the mixing event, and the homogenization of the compositional zoning has been used to estimate the time interval between magma mixing and eruption. Time estimates are on the order of 80 to 90 h, suggesting that the mixing event triggered eruption.     

Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Younger Volcanic Islands of Tonga, S.W. Pacific

The Tongan Islands comprise a double island chain, and lie atthe northern end of an active island arc extending NNE fromnorthern New Zealand. The eastern chain are limestone covered,with an underlying pre-Upper Eocene gabbro-basalt-andesite seriesexposed on one island. The active volcanoes, the subject ofthis paper, form the western island chain, and lie some 100km above a westward dipping seismic zone. Basaltic andesitedominates the islands of Hunga Ha'apai and Late (and also Tofuaand Kao, which are not described in this paper). Dacite is themain lava of Fonualei and the 1967–68 Metis Shoal eruption.Acid andesites occur only sporadically. Chemically, the lavas are moderately iron-enriched, with relativelylow concentrations of K, Rb, Ba, Zr, REE, Pb, and U. K/Rb ratiosare 500–700. The lavas are not typically ‘calcalkaline’.Phenocryst minerals (normally poorly zoned) are dominated bybytownite with subordinate orthopyroxene, augite, and sometimespigeonite in the basaltic andesites. Titanomagnetite occursonly in the more silicic andesites and dacites. The pyroxenesshow a limited iron enrichment through the series. Coexistingpyroxenes exhibit equilibrium distributions of Mg, Mn, V, Sc,and Ni. Pyroxene partition coefficients for V, Sc. Mn, and Coincrease with increasing iron enrichment. Groundmass mineralsinclude intermediate plagioclase, pigeonite, hypersthene, magnetite,plus potash feldspar and quartz in the dacites. The Metis Shoallava consists of rhyolitic glass with xenocrysts of forsteriticolivine and enstatite and phenocrysts of bytownite, hypersthene,augite, and titanomagnetite. The basaltic andesites are interpreted to be the product ofdirect peridotitic fusion within the mantle, presumably in theregion overlying the seismic zone, and modified by olivine fractionationduring ascent. Least squares numerical calculations, using majorand trace element data, support the derivation of the more siliceouslava compositions by low pressure crystal fractionation of basalticandesite Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios exhibit a small range of variation(0.7036–0.7043), possibly indicative (except for the MetisShoal lava) of minor limestone (?) contamination within themore silicic lavas during fractionation.     

Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Magmatic Evolution of the Basaltic and Trachytic Lavas from Gough Island, South Atlantic

The Gough Island lavas range from picrite basalt through tosodalite-bearing aegirine-augite trachyte. The basaltic lavasare predominantly nepheline normative alkali basalts, althougha group of hypersthene normative tholeiitic basalts does occur.The oldest lavas on the island, represented by the Lower Basaltseries, are approximately 1?0 m.y. old and the youngest arethe Upper Basalts with an age of {small tilde} 0?13 m.y. Relatively coherent variations are described by the basalticand trachytic lavas with respect to both bulk rock major andtrace element geochemistry and mineral chemistry, and quantitativepetrogenetic modelling suggests that most of the variation canbe attributed to crystal fractionation/accumulation processesacting on a number of geochemically distinct parental magmas.The Upper Basalts and Lower Basalts have (within the limitsof sampling) a relatively restricted composition compared tothe Middle Basalt series lavas, with the latter ranging frompicrite basalt through to trachyandesite. The picrite basaltsand coarsely pyroxene-olivine phyric basalts represent partialcumulates with varying proportions (up to 40 wt. per cent) ofaccumulated olivine and clinopyroxene. In contrast, the moderatelyphyric and aphyric/finely porphyritic lavas represent the productsof crystal fractionation with the most evolved lavas havingexperienced at least 40 per cent fractional crystallizationof clinopyroxene, olivine, plagioclase and minor Fe-Ti oxidesand apatite. The detailed abundance variations in these lavasindicate that a number of parental magma compositions have fractionatedto produce the overall variations in basalt geochemistry, andsome of the magmas have interacted through mixing processes. The trachytic lavas show a large range in trace element abundance,but have only a limited major element variation. Most of thisvariation can be attributed to extensive (up to 70 per cent)fractional crystallization of predominantly alkali feldsparwith minor clinopyroxene, olivine, biotite, titano-magnetiteand apatite. A number of genetically distinct trachytes canbe recognized which are probably not related to each other byany simple fractional crystallization process. The compositionof the least evolved trachytes can be adequately accounted forby relatively extensive (up to 60 per cent) fractionation ofthe more evolved Middle Basalt series lavas. The trace element and isotopic characteristics of primitiveGough Island basalts support the concept that the source region(s)giving rise to these lavas is extremely enriched in highly incompatibleelements relative to primordial or ‘undepleted’mantle of bulk earth composition. It is unlikely that the lavashave sampled undepleted mantle as might be suggested by thesimilarity of the Sr and Nd isotopic ratios to ‘bulk earth’values. Rather, a model is favoured whereby the lavas are derivedfrom previously enriched sub-oceanic mantle which was subsequentlyinvaded and further enriched, at some time prior to partialmelting, by melts or fluids highly enriched in incompatibleelements. The enrichment could have occurred as veining by smalldegree partial melts or by infiltration of metasomatic fluids.     

The geochemistry of the Dunedin Volcano,East Otago,New Zealand: Rare earth elements

A variety of alkaline lavas from the Dunedin Volcano have been analyzed for the rare earth elements (REE) La-Yb. The compositions analyzed were: basalt-hawaiite-mugearite-benmoreite; basanite, nepheline hawaiite, nepheline trachyandesite and nepheline benmoreite; trachyte; phonolite. The series from basalt to mugearite shows continuous enrichment in the REE, consistent with a crystal fractionation model involving removal of olivine and clinopyroxene. From mugearite to benmoreite there is a depletion in the REE which is explained by the appearance of apatite as a liquidus phase. The chondrite normalized REE patterns for the phonolites are characterized by strong enrichment and fractionation coupled with a sharp depletion in Eu. Removal of plagioclase from benmoreite magma is suggested for the derivation of the phonolites. The series basanite-nepheline hawaiite, and basanite-nepheline hawaiite-nepheline benmoreite appear to be high pH₂O analogues of the series basalt-ben-moreite, with enrichment of the REE being achieved by removal of clinopyroxene, kaersutite and olivine. Compared with other lavas the trachyte has low REE abundances and is characterized by a striking positive Eu anomaly.     

Correlation of the lower devonian rocks of australasia

Alkali basaltic rocks from the Southern Highlands, N.S.W., contain oxide phases of both high and low pressure origin. The two phases are readily distinguished using chemical and textural criteria.

Chemical data for low‐pressure Fe‐Ti oxides indicate that oxygen fugacities of the host lavas range from 10‐^12.8 to 10‐⁸ atm at 950° to 1110°C. In most cases, the oxygen fugacities of the individual lava flows appear to be principally a function of temperature and intrinsic chemical equilibria existing at the time of formation of the basaltic liquid. However, some relatively differentiated flows shows a high degree of oxidation due to volatile enrichment with fractionation. Rare glassy flows show dendritic crystallization of Fe‐Ti oxides. Most flows in which abundant olivine was the first phase to be precipitated also contain Cr‐rich spinels associated, and apparently coeval, with the earliest‐crystallizing olivine.     

Olivine-liquid equilibrium

A number of experiments have been conducted in order to study the equilibria between olivine and basaltic liquids and to try and understand the conditions under which olivine will crystallize. These experiments were conducted with several basaltic compositions over a range of temperature (1150–1300° C) and oxygen fugacity (10^?0.68–10^?12 atm.) at one atmosphere total pressure. The phases in these experimental runs were analyzed with the electron microprobe and a number of empirical equations relating the composition of olivine and liquid were determined. The distribution coefficient 1 $$K_D = \frac{{(X_{{\text{FeO}}}^{{\text{Ol}}} )}}{{(X_{{\text{FeO}}}^{{\text{Liq}}} )}}\frac{{(X_{{\text{MgO}}}^{{\text{Liq}}} )}}{{(X_{{\text{MgO}}}^{{\text{Ol}}} )}}$$ relating the partioning of iron and magnesium between olivine and liquid is equal to 0.30 and is independent of temperature. This means that the composition of olivine can be used to determine the magnesium to ferrous iron ratio of the liquid from which it crystallized and conversely to predict the olivine composition which would crystallize from a liquid having a particular magnesium to ferrous iron ratio. A model (saturation surface) is presented which can be used to estimate the effective solubility of olivine in basaltic melts as a function of temperature. This model is useful in predicting the temperature at which olivine and a liquid of a particular composition can coexist at equilibrium.     

Cations in olivine,Part 2: Diffusion in olivine xenocrysts,with applications to petrology and mineral physics

Diffusivities for calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and aluminum have been measured for St. John's olivine undergoing cation exchange with synthetic basaltic melts. The variety of temperature, pressure and fO₂ conditions under which the diffusivities were measured complement the equilibrium-partitioning study of calcium in olivine-bearing basalts by Jurewicz and Watson, 1988. Olivine was found to be anisotropic with respect to the diffusion of calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese. This anisotropy is a weak function of temperature, but strongly dependent upon oxygen fugacity.Because diffusion is independent of olivine composition over the small range of compositions used in this study, it could be shown that the absolute values of the diffusion coefficients were also functions of temperature and fO₂. At near-atmospheric total pressure and an oxygen fugacity of 10^–8atm, D _Fe>D _Mn>D _Ca and D _MgD _Mn for a range of geologically reasonable temperatures. These relative diffusivities were shown to change with oxygen fugacity. The power-law dependence of diffusion on oxygen partial-pressure was determined for each cation and the results are consistent with the range of values given by Stocker (1978) and by other workers.For Ca and Fe, the effect of hydrostatic pressure on diffusion appears to be weak, at least for transport parallel to the c crystallographic direction. Unfortunately, no true activation volumes (or other pressure-related parameters) could be computed because the oxygen fugacity was not held constant over changes in pressure, and because accurate post-experiment reconstruction of sample orientation was not possible. Al was found to enter high-pressure olivines at concentrations of up to 0.14 weight percent, thus allowing aluminum diffusion to be characterized. The diffusivity of aluminum is, within error, the same as iron at 20 kb at 1430° C at the ambient fO₂ of our piston-cylinder cells. This correspondence suggests that diffusion of Al may depend on transport of either Fe or of Fe ⁺³ defects. While the results of these experiments are generally consistent with results published elsewhere, there are important inconsistencies. Tracer diffusion and interdiffusion in pure, ordered, olivine endmembers (e.g., tephroite and forsterite) showed significantly higher activation energies. This discrepancy could reflect the role of Fe⁺³ defects in diffusion; however, it may also suggest that order-disorder phenomena may be significant factors influencing diffusion in analog systems.The results of this study are applied to four petrologic problems: (1) calculation of rates of equilibration for olivine xenocrysts; (2) calculation of closure temperatures for the CaO/MgO olivine/basalt geothermometer (Jurewicz and Watson 1988); (3) delineation of an intrinsic-/O₂ geobarometer; and (4) investigation of the dependence of olivine dissolution upon crystallographic orientation. In addition, it is demonstrated that diffusion-exchange experiments are useful for studying the dominant point-defect mechanisms for cation diffusion.Currently, a visiting scientist with Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories Materials Laboratory (MLLM), Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433     

山东张家洼矽卡岩型铁矿矿物学特征及其对成矿环境的指示意义

张家洼矽卡岩型铁矿位于华北克拉通东南部,赋存在石炭系本溪组与奥陶系马家沟组之间的假整合面处及闪长岩体与奥陶系马家沟组大理岩的接触带附近,富铁矿石资源量已达大型规模。研究发现矽卡岩矿物种类在内外接触带分布有一定区别,内带为石榴石等钙质矽卡岩矿物,而外带为阳起石、金云母等镁质矽卡岩矿物,整体构成钙镁质矽卡岩。对矽卡岩矿物系统的研究表明,透辉石及石榴石发育有环带,其氧化物含量随矿物环带的形成比例不断变化,暗示酸碱度及氧逸度随着成矿流体的演化而发生相应的变化,即由早期矽卡岩阶段的相对还原的酸性环境演化为退化蚀变阶段相对氧化的碱性环境从而导致铁质逐渐萃取多次富集、沉淀,后期随着磁铁矿的沉淀又逐渐在硫化物阶段转化为还原环境生成金属硫化物。     

The Petrology of the Lower Old Red Sandstone Lavas of the Eastern Sidlaw Hills, Perthshire, Scotland

The calc-alkaline lava sequence of the eastern Sidlaw Hillsforms a small part of an extensive volcanic province of LowerOld Red Sandstone (Devonian) age in Scotland and N. England.The Sidlaw lavas ranging from olivine basalt to dacite are allporphyritic with combinations of olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene,orthopyroxene, and opaque oxide pheno-crysts. Chemically, thelavas are slightly more alkalic than modern calc-alkaline lavas.There is considerable variation in the ‘incompatible elements’.The differentiation of the lavas can be accounted for by fractionationof olivine+plagioclase+minor ore from a chemically variable,immediately parental magma at low pressure (c. 1 kb P_H2O). Itis suggested that fractionation of variable amounts of olivineand clinopyroxene from an olivine tholeiite at moderate P_H2Ocould give rise to this chemically variable, high alumina, immediatelyparental magma.