Deep Fractionation of Clinopyroxene in the East Pacific Rise 13°N: Evidence from High MgO MORB and Melt Inclusions

Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) from East Pacific Rise (EPR) 13°N are analysed for major and trace elements, both of which show a continuous evolving trend. Positive MgO–Al2O3 and negative MgO–Sc relationships manifest the cotectic crystallization of plagioclase and olivine, which exist with the presence of plagioclase and olivine phenocrysts and the absence of clinopyroxene phenocrysts. However, the fractionation of clinopyroxene is proven by the positive correlation of MgO and CaO. Thus, MORB samples are believed to show a “clinopyroxene paradox”. The highest magnesium-bearing MORB sample E13-3B (MgO=9.52%) is modelled for isobaric crystallization with COMAGMAT at different pressures. Observed CaO/Al2O3 ratios can be derived from E13-3B only by fractional crystallization at pressure >4 ±1 kbar, which necessitates clinopyroxene crystallization and is not consistent with cotectic crystallization of olivine plus plagioclase in the magma chamber (at pressure ~1 kbar). The initial compositions of the melt inclusions, which could represent potential parental magmas, are reconstructed by correcting for post-entrapment crystallization (PEC). The simulated crystallization of initial melt inclusions also produce observed CaO/Al2O3 ratios only at >4±1 kbar, in which clinopyroxene takes part in crystallization. It is suggested that MORB magmas have experienced clinopyroxene fractionation in the lower crust, in and below the Moho transition zone. The MORB magmas have experienced transition from clinopyroxene+plagioclase+olivine crystallization at >4±1 kbar to mainly olivine+plagioclase crystallization at <1 kbar, which contributes to the explanation of the “clinopyroxene paradox”.     

俄罗斯Chukchi半岛新生代碱性岩的形成和演化：熔体和流体包裹体证据

Melt and fluid inclusions were studied in the minerals of Cenozoic olivine melanephelinites from the Chukchi Peninsula, Russia.The rock contain several generations of olivine phenocrysts varying in composition at mg=0.88～0.77.The phenocrysts bear fluid and melt inclusions recording various stages of melt crystallization in volcanic conduits and shallow magma chambers.Primary fluid inclusions are CO_2-dominated with a density of up to O.93 g/cm~3.All fluid inclusions are partially leaked,which is indicated by haloes of tiny fluid bubbles around large fluid inclusions in minerals.Melt inclusions contain various daughter crystals,which were completely resorbed in thermometric experiments at about 1230℃.Assuming that this temperature corresponds to the entrapment conditions of the CO_2 fluid inclusions,the minimum pressure of the beginning of magma degassing is estimated as 800MPa.Variations in the compositions of homogenized silicate melt inclusions indicate that olivine was the earliest crystalline phase followed by clinopyroxene,nepheline and orthoclase.This sequence is in agreement with the mineralogy of the rocks.The melts are strongly enriched in incompatible trace elements and volatiles(in addition to CO_2,high C1,F,and S contents were detected).There are some differences between the compositions of melts trapped in minerals from different samples.Variations in SiO_2,FeO,and incompatible element contents are probably related to melt generations at various levels in a homogeneous mantle reservoir.     

Mineral Inclusions in Chromite from the Chromite Deposit in the Kudi Ophiolite, Tibet, Proto-Tethys

High-Al chromite from the Kudi chromitites contains a wide range of mineral inclusions. They include clinopyroxene, amphibole, phlogopite, olivine, orthopyroxene, apatite, base-metal sulfides, calcite and brucite. The modal abundance of inclusions vary greatly among different grains of chromite. The common inclusions are clinopyroxene and amphibole, which occur as monomineral or polymineral associated with other minerals. The shapes of these inclusions tend to follow the growth plane of host chromite. Mineral assemblages and textures demonstrate that some inclusions(olivine, clinopyroxene) are trapped during magmatic stage, and most of the inclusions(e.g., amphibole, phlogopite) are trapped during recrystallization of chromite. Sulfide inclusions are pentlandite, chalcopyrite and cubanite. They occur either as isolated grains or together with silicate minerals, and formed from the separation of sulfide-bearing liquid from silicate magma. The parental magma of chromitites contains Al_2O_3 15.0wt%–16.5wt%, TiO_20.30wt%–1.05wt% based on calculation with the composition of chromite, similar to parental magma of high-Al chromitites from elsewhere and the estimated melt composition is comparable with that of MORB. Considering the high-Mg olivine in disseminated chromitite and abundant hydrous inclusions, we propose that Kudi chromitites formed beneath a volcanic front during the subduction initiation of Proto-Tethys.     

Deep Fractionation of Clinopyroxene in the East Pacific Rise 13°N:Evidence from High MgO MORB and Melt Inclusions

Mid-ocean ridge basalts(MORBs)from East Pacific Rise(EPR)13°N are analysed for major and trace elements,both of which show a continuous evolving trend.Positive MgO-Al_2O3 and negative MgO-Sc relationships manifest the cotectic crystallization of plagioclase and olivine,which exist with the presence of plagioclase and olivine phenocrysts and the absence of clinopyroxene phenocrysts.However,the fractionation of clinopyroxene is proven by the positive correlation of MgO and CaO.Thus,MORB samples are believe...     

牛头山地区玄武岩类的高压分异作用

The Nutoushan basaltic cone, eonsisting of subalkali (quartz-tholeiite and olivinetholeiite) and alkali basalts, is Late Tertiary in age. Its major characteristics are generalized as follows: (1) Both early subalkali and late alkali basalts are formed under the same geological environment. (2) The continuity in chemical composition from snbalkali to alkali and the low FeO/MgO in alkali basalts show that they arc the products of cognate magmatic diffcrcntiation. (3) The change from low REE abundance and weak enrichment of LREE in subalkali to high REE abundance and strong enrichment of LREE in alkali basalts indicates obvious REE cnrichment and fractionation during magmatic differentiation.Weak positive Eu anomalies in the REE patterns arc indicative of their formation under low oxygen fugacity conditions. (4) According to the calculated values, 70-75% of the primary olivine tholeiitic magma had been separated as subalkaline basalic magma, the rest residual magma became alkaline basaltic magma. This result is consistent to the field observation that the outcrop area of subalkali basalts is four times as much as that of alkali basalts. (5) The basaltic rocks of Nutoushan show an S-type distribution straddling the thermal barrier on Ol‘-Ne‘-Qu‘ diagram and an evolution tendency for Ne to increase with increasing FeO/MgO. This is in agreement with the melting experimental data on olivine basalts at 10-20 kb. (6) Mantle-derived inclusions (spinel lherzolite) in this area occur in both alkali olivine basalts and olivine tholeiites. The latter is of extremely rare oceurrence. The formation temperature and pressure of the inclusions in alkali basalts and olivine tholeiites have been calculated. The results silow that the alkaline basaltic magma was separated from the subalkaline basaltic magma at about 20 kb. Basaltic rocks in Nutoushan were formed through the soealled “high pressure differentiation”, that is, at about 20 kb the crystallization of clinopyroxene and orthpyroxene resulted in the separation of subalkaline basaltic magma from the primary olivine tholeiitic magma, and then the residue gradually became alkaline olivine basaltic magma.     

Source Lithology and Magmatic Processes Recorded in the Mineral of Basalts from the Parece Vela Basin

Since the Early Cenozoic, the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) has undergone a complex tectonic evolution. During this period the Parece Vela Basin (PVB) was formed by seafloor spreading in the back-arc region of the proto-Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc. However, until now, studies of the geological, geophysical, and tectonic evolution of the PVB have been rare. In this study, we obtained in situ trace element and major element compositions of minerals in basalts collected from two sites in the southern part of the PVB. The results reveal that the basalts from site CJ09-63 were likely formed via ~10% partial melting of spinel-garnet lherzolite, while the basalts from site CJ09-64 were likely formed via 15%–25% partial melting of garnet lherzolite. The order of mineral crystallization for the basalts from site CJ09-64 was olivine, spinel, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase, while the plagioclase in the basalts from site CJ09-63 crystallized earlier than the clinopyroxene. Using a plagioclase-liquid hygrometer and an olivine-liquid oxybarometer, we determined that the basalts in this study have high H2O contents and oxygen fugacities, suggesting that the magma source of the Parece Vela basalts was affected by subduction components, which is consistent with the trace element composition of whole rock.     

Petrogenesis and Metallogenesis of the Niumaoquan Gabbroic Intrusion Associated with Fe-Ti Oxide Ores in the Eastern Tianshan, NW China

The Niumaoquan layered gabbroic intrusion is in the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in North Xinjiang, China, and hosts a Fe-Ti oxide deposit in its evolved gabbroic phases. In this paper, we report zircon U-Pb age, Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes, plagioclase chemistry, and whole-rock geochemistry of the Niumaoquan layered gabbroic intrusion. Zircon grains separated from an anorthosite sample analyzed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry yielded a concordia age of 314.7±0.74 Ma, indicating that the Niumaoquan ore-bearing gabbroic intrusion was emplaced during the Late Carboniferous. The olivine gabbro texture and plagioclase chemistry suggest that plagioclase was an early crystallized silicate phase that crystallized prior to olivine. Fractional crystallization and accumulation of plagioclase significantly controlled the evolution of the Niumaoquan gabbroic intrusion and contributed to the formation of anorthosite layers, causing metallogenic elements to become enriched in the residual melt. The Niumaoquan gabbroic intrusion is characterized by the enrichment of large ion lithophile elements and depletion of high field strength elements, positive zircon εHf(t) values (+2.1 to +12.2), positive εNd(t) values (+3.3 to +5.2), and low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7039 to 0.7047), suggesting that the parental magma was produced by interactions between metasomatized lithospheric mantle and depleted asthenospheric melts at an early post-collision stage. The Fe-Ti oxide mineralization of the Niumaoquan intrusion benefited from interactions between depleted asthenospheric melts and lithospheric mantle, and fractional crystallization of abundant plagioclase and magnesian minerals.     

Depth of volcanic basalt degassing forecasted from CO2 fluid inclusions

Fluid inclusions have recorded the history of degassing in basalt. Some fluid inclusions in olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts of basalt were analyzed by micro-thermometry and Raman spectroscopy in this paper. The experimental results showed that many inclusions are present almost in a pure CO2 system. The densities of some CO2 inclusions were computed in terms of Raman spectroscopic characteristics of CO2 Fermi resonance at room temperature. Their densities change over a wide range, but mainly between 0.044 g/cm3 and 0.289 g/cm3. Their micro-thermometric measurements showed that the CO2 inclusions examined reached homogenization between 1145.5℃ and 1265℃ . The mean value of homogenization temperatures of CO2 inclusions in basalts is near 1210℃. The trap pressures (depths) of inclusions were computed with the equation of state and computer program. Distribution of the trap depths makes it know that the degassing of magma can happen over a wide pressure (depth) range, but mainly at the depth of 0.48 km to 3.85 km. This implicates that basalt magma experienced intensive degassing and the CO2 gas reservoir from the basalt magma also may be formed in this range of depths. The results of this study showed that the depth of basalt magma degassing can be forecasted from CO2 fluid inclusions, and it is meaningful for understanding the process of magma degassing and constraining the inorganogenic CO2 gas reservoir.     

Petrology of ultramafic to mafic cumulate rocks from the G?ksun(Kahramanmaras) ophiolite,southeast Turkey

The G?ksun(Kahramanmaras)ophiolite(GKO),cropping out in a tectonic window bounded by the Malatya metamorphic unit on both the north and south,is located in the EW-trending lower nappe zone of the southeast Anatolian orogenic belt(Turkey).It exhibits a complete oceanic lithospheric section and overlies the Middle Eocene Maden Group/Complex with a tectonic contact at its base.The ophiolitic rocks and the tectonically overlying Malatya metamorphic(continental)unit were intruded by I-type calc-alkaline Late Cretaceous granitoid(~81-84 Ma).The ultramafic to cumulates in the GKO are represented by wehrlite,plagioclase wehrlite,olivine gabbro and gabbro.The crystallization order for the cumulate rocks is as follows:olivine±chromian spinel→clinopyroxene→plagioclase.The major and trace element geochemistry as well as the mineral chemistry of the ultramafic to mafic cumulate rocks suggest that the primary magma generating the GKO is compositionally similar to that observed in the modern island-arc tholeiitic sequences.The mineral chemistry of the ultramafic to mafic cumulates indicates that they were derived from a mantle source that was previously depleted by earlier partial melting events.The highly magnesian olivine(Fo77-83),clinopyroxene(Mg#of 82-90)and the highly Ca-plagioclase(An81-89)exhibit a close similarity to those,which formed in a supra-subduction zone(SSZ)setting.The field and the geochemical evidence suggest that the GKO formed as part of a much larger sheet of oceanic lithosphere,which accreted to the base of the Tauride active continental margin,including the ispendere,K?mürhan and the Guleman ophiolites.The latter were contemporaneous and genetically/tectonically related within the same SSZ setting during the closure of the Neotethyan oceanic basin(Berit Ocean)between the Taurides to the north and the Bitlis-Pütürge massif to the south during the Late Cretaceous.     

青藏高原新生代火山岩矿物化学及其岩石学意义

This paper deals with the features of mineral chemistry about olivine, pyroxene, feldspar, sanidine megacryst and garnet megacryst from Cenozoic volcanic rocks, Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The forming condition including temperature and pressure of the volcanic rock series is also studied. The results show that olivine belongs to forsterite (Fo=81—85) and clinopyroxene is rich in TiO₂ (1.06%—1.74%). Especially the sanidine megacryst is optical homogeneous. There are not zonal texture, exsolution texture and twin crystal. It is low in ordering degree and belongs to K-sanidine. The garnet megacryst mainly consists of Alm and Pyr, which crystallization depth resembles the depth of middle crust. The mineral chemistry, major element and isotopic features indicate that of the Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the north part of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau mainly consists of shoshonite series formed in the intracontinental orogenic belt, which primary magma originated from a particular enrichment upmantle and accreted crust-mantle mixed belt.     

Glass and Mineral Chemistry of Northern Central Indian Ridge Basalts:Compositional Diversity and Petrogenetic Significance

Abstract: The glass and mineral chemistry of basalts examined from the northern central Indian ridge (NCIR) provides an insight into magma genesis around the vicinity of two transform faults: Vityaz (VT) and Vema (VM). The studied mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) from the outer ridge flank (VT area) and a near-ridge seamount (VM area) reveal that they are moderately phyric plagioclase basalts composed of plagioclase (phenocryst [An60–90] and groundmass [An35–79]), olivine (Fo81–88), diopside (Wo45–51, En25–37, Fs14–24), and titanomagnetite (FeOt ~63.75 wt% and TiO2 ~22.69 wt%). The whole-rock composition of these basalts has similar Mg# [mole Mg/mole(Mg+Fe2+)] (VT basalt: ~0.56–0.58; VM basalt: ~0.57), but differ in their total alkali content (VT basalt: ~2.65; VM basalt: ~3.24). The bulk composition of the magma was gradually depleted in MgO and enriched in FeOt, TiO2, P2O5, and Na2O with progressive fractionation, the basalts were gradually enriched in Y and Zr and depleted in Ni and Cr. In addition, the SREE of magma also increased with fractionation, without any change in the (La/Yb)N value. Glass from the VM seamount shows more fractionated characters (Mg#: 0.56–0.57) compared to the outer ridge flank lava of the VT area (Mg#: 0.63–0.65). This study concludes that present basalts experienced low-pressure crystallization at a relatively shallow depth. The geochemical changes in the NCIR magmas resulted from fractional crystallization at a shallow depth. As a consequence, spinel was the first mineral to crystallize at a pressure >10 kbar, followed by Fe-rich olivine at <10 kbar pressure.     

“Subduction Initiation” for the Genesis of Podiform Chromite Deposits

<正>There is a diversity of unusual minerals and mineral inclusions associated with podiform chromitites.The presence of these minerals suggests that grains of amphibolite(plagioclase,amphibole and zircon)and eclogite(coesite,kyanite and garnet)were present in the magmas from which chromite crystallized.Multiphase     

Petrogenesis and Metallogenesis of the Mazaertag Layered Intrusion in the Tarim Large Igneous Province, NW China

The Mazaertag layered intrusion is located in the northwestern part of the Tarim large igneous province where several early Permian layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions host important Fe-Ti oxide deposits. The intrusion covers an area of ～0.13 km~2 and has a vertical stratigraphic thickness of at least300 m. It consists chiefly of olivine clinopyroxenite, and is cut through by the nearby mafic-ultramafic dykes. In this paper, we report new mineral chemistry data and whole-rock chemical and isotopic compositions for the Mazaertag intrusion along with whole-rock isotopic compositions for the nearby mafic dykes. The averaged compositions of cumulus olivine, clinopyroxene and intercumulus plagioclase within individual samples range from Fo_(71-73),Mg~# = 76 to 79 and An_(65-75) but they do not define sustained reversals. The observed mineral compositions are consistent with the differentiation of a single batch of magma in a closed system. Rocks of the Mazaertag intrusion are characterized by enrichment in light REE relative to heavy REE, positive Nb and Ta anomalies and a small range of age-corrected ε_(Nd)(t)(-0.1 to +0.9) and initial ~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr values(0.7044 to 0.7068). The slightly lower ε_(Nd)(t), initial ~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb and higher initial ~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr values of the intrusion compared to those of the least contaminated dykes[ε_(Nd)(t) =+2.8 to +3.4;(~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb)_i = 18.516-18.521;(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)_i = 0.7038-0.7041] imply that the Mazaertag magma was subjected to small to modest degrees of contamination by the upper crust. The Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of the least contaminated dykes are consistent with derivation from a FOZO-like mantle source. The parental magma of the Mazaertag intrusion, estimated from clinopyroxene compositions using mineral-melt partition coefficients, has trace element compositions similar to some of the most primitive mafic dykes in the same area. This suggests that the Mazaertag intrusion and mafic dykes shared a similar mantle source. Therefore, the parental magma of the Mazaertag intrusion was interpreted to have originated from a mantle plume. Based on the Cr_2 O_3 contents in titanomagnetite and less-evolved characteristics of the Mazaertag intrusion compared to the Wajilitag Fe-Ti oxide deposit in Bachu, it is speculated that there might not be a potential to find economic Fe-Ti oxide mineralization in the intrusion.     

Geochemical Characteristic of Charnockites in North Margin of North China Craton: Indicating the Significiant of the Neoarchean Tecnotic Event

The Neoarchean charnockites of North margain of North China Craton(NCC) has become a hot topic into understanding the Early Precambrian basement. Although there is a broad consensus that charnockite is usually related to granulite facies metamorphism, whether its petrogenesis and tectonics characteristics remains controversial. Inclusions within hypersthene and garnet in charnockite are used to identify the peak granulite facies mineral assemblage, with the formation of Magnesian–charnockite attributed to anatexis of the protolith associated with this granulite facies metamorphism. The distribution of major and trace elements in charnockite is very uneven, significant depleted in LILEs(eg. Cs, U, Th) and HFSEs(eg. Nb, Ta, P and Ti), riched in Sr. Raising to the coexistence of Eu–enrichment and Eu–depletion type of REE patterns that influenced by the content of plagioclase and the remnants minerals of zircon and apatite. Comparative the petrography, geochemistry and geochronology data of Magnesian–charnockite indicate that the ratios of mafic pellites and basalts involved in anatectic melting are different by the upwelling of mantle magma, also resulting in the Eu anormals characteristics. The formation of the Magnesian–charnockite is closely connected with the subduction of the NCC oceanic crust(About ～2.5 Ga). However, Ferroan–charnockite may be the formed by the crystallization differentiation of the upwelling of mantle–derived shoshonitic magma(About ～2.45 Ga), with the lower crust material addition.     

Petrological Significance of Zoned Plagioclase in Eldjurti Granite and Mafic Microgranular Enclaves,North Caucasus,Russia

Plagioclase phenocrysts from mafic enclaves and plagioclase from its host granite possess a pat-tern of complex zonation .A plagioclase phenocryst can generally be divided into three parts:an oscillatory, locally patchy zoned core (An47-19),a ring with dusty, more calcic plagioclase (An64-20) and a normally zoned rim composed of sodic plagioclase (An22-3.3). Major discontinuities in zoning coincide with resorption surfaces that are overgrown by the more calcic plagioclase.The cores of large plagioclase phenocrysts from mafic enclaves and host granite show similar zoning patterns and similar compositions, indicating their crystallization under the same conditions .Steep normal zoning of the rims of plagioclases both from host granite and mafic enclaves illustrates a drastic decrease in An content which is considered to have resulted from the continuous differentiation of hybrid magma and efficient heat loss because of the upward emplacement of the residual magma.Wide rims of plagioclases from the host granite against the discrete rims of plagioclases from mafic enclaves indicate that differentiation and cooling lasted much longer in the host granite than in the mafic enclaves.     

Melt Pockets in Garnet Megacrysts from Cenozoic Alkali Basalts of the Shavaryn Tsaram Vicinity, Mongolia

Garnet megacryst with a multiphase inclusion from intraplate alkali basalts of the Shavaryn Tsaram(Tariat,Mongolia)was the object of the study.This unusual aggregate consists of porous glass,Ti-rich biotite,orthopyroxene,spinel,clinopyroxene,olivine,and ilmenite.Win TWQ 2.32 thermodynamic simulation of this system revealed a few intervals of equilibrium.Pressure and temperature adjustment reflected in the paragenetic minerals of the melt pocket.The capture of already crystallised garnet megacryst was at P=0.8-1 GPa and T=1120-1160℃.Mineral crystallisation inside the melt pocket,accompanied by external inputs,occurred at P=0.75-0.95 GPa;T=790-1120℃.Symplectite assemblage formed in the garnet megacryst due to decomposition at(P=0.55-0.7 GPa;T=850-930℃).The study of the oxygen isotope content in primary garnet and biotite of the melt pocket showed that the δ¹⁸O_VSMOW values are the same and correspond to that of typical mantle xenoliths.However,the chemical and microcomponent composition of the melt pocket minerals reveals a material that differs from basalts and peridotites.Thus,it has been revealed that the multiphase inclusion in the garnet megacryst formed not only on account of the garnet’s substance,but also due to the entrapped material of the Earth’s interior.     

Magmatic Processes of Ashi Volcano,Western Kunlun Mountains,China

The Ashikule volcanic cluster(AVC) in western Kunlun Mountains is located in a graben region at the convergence of the Altun and Kangxiwa fault zones, and consists of more than 10 main volcanoes and dozens of volcanelloes. The Ashi volcano lies in the central part of the volcanic cluster. The lithology, chemical composition and texture of Ashi volcanic rocks were studied in detail, and their implication in magmatic processes was discussed. The phenocrysts in Ashi volcanic rocks consist mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene, and the statistical results of phenocryst contents show that the rocks can be subdivided into two groups. In group A, the content of pyroxene phenocrysts is generally higher than that of plagioclase phenocrysts, but an inverse relation occurs in group B. In TAS diagram, the compositions of both groups fall into the trachyandensite field, but they are obviously concentrated into two clusters. The two clusters exist also in the oxide diagrams. The pyroxene phenocrysts comprise augite, bronzite and hypersthene, and their Mg# histogram shows two peaks. Plagioclase phenocrysts with reaction rim are observed in rocks of both groups. The An values of the core are generally 30–40, and those of the rim are 44–48, which are closer to those of euhedral plagioclases. The bronzites are in equilibrium with the melt, and two sets of magma depths, i.e., 18–25 km and 13–18 km, can be estimated by using thermobarometer proposed by Putirka. The hypersthenes are not in equilibrium with the melt, and can be assigned to xenocrysts. The crystal size distribution(CSD) curves of plagioclase appear as kinked lines indicative of magma mixing. The above analyses show that two magma pockets might exist beneath the Ashi volcano. It is likely that they are connected with each other. The one has more evolved and contains more acidic magma, and the other is a trachyandensite magma pocket characterized by layering. The magma from the upper part of the trachyandensite magma pocket might mix with more acidic magma, resulting in a magma that is more acidic than the magma from the lower part.     

The First Discovery of Sulfide Inclusions within Apatite from Hornblende Cumulated Crystals

正Objective Sulfide inclusions within natural mineral phases play important roles in exploring the origin of magmatic sulfides ores,tracing the distribution of sulfur in mantle or crust and understanding continental mantle evolution(partial melting and metasomatism in upper mantle).Until now,varieties of sulfide inclusions have been extensively discovered in the ultramafic or mafic phenocrysts.However,previous studies     

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2016.11.007

Lunar anorthosite is a major rock of the lunar highlands,which formed as a result of plagioclasefloatation in the lunar magma ocean(LMO).Constraints on the sufficient conditions that resulted in the formation of a thick pure anorthosite(mode of plagioclase 95 vol.%) is a key to reveal the early magmatic evolution of the terrestrial planets.To form the pure lunar anorthosite,plagioclase should have separated from the magma ocean with low crystal fraction.Crystal networks of plagioclase and mafic minerals develop when the crystal fraction in the magma(φ) is higher than ca.40-60 vol.%,which inhibit the formation of pure anorthosite.In contrast,when φ is small,the magma ocean is highly turbulent,and plagioclase is likely to become entrained in the turbulent magma rather than separated from the melt.To determine the necessary conditions in which anorthosite forms from the LMO,this study adopted the energy criterion formulated by Solomatov.The composition of melt,temperature,and pressure when plagioclase crystallizes are constrained by using MELTS/pMELTS to calculate the density and viscosity of the melt.When plagioclase starts to crystallize,the Mg~# of melt becomes 0.59 at 1291 C.The density of the melt is smaller than that of plagioclase for P 2.1 kbar(ca.50 km deep),and the critical diameter of plagioclase to separate from the melt becomes larger than the typical crystal diameter of plagioclase(1.8-3 cm).This suggests that plagioclase is likely entrained in the LMO just after the plagioclase starts to crystallize.When the Mg~# of melt becomes 0.54 at 1263 C,the density of melt becomes larger than that of plagioclase even for 0 kbar.When the Mg~# of melt decreases down to 0.46 at 1218 C,the critical diameter of plagioclase to separate from the melt becomes 1.5-2.5 cm,which is nearly equal to the typical plagioclase of the lunar anorthosite.This suggests that plagioclase could separate from the melt.One of the differences between the Earth and the Moon is the presence of water.If the terrestrial magma ocean was saturated with H_2O,plagioclase could not crystallize,and anorthosite could not form.     

Study on Composition of Inclusions in Minerals and Simulation Experiment on Hydrothermal Metasomatic Process of the Bayan Obo Iron Deposit

On the basis of the mechanism of formation of mineral inclusions, it may be assumed that a certain relation exists between the compositions of fluid inclusions in various minerals formed at the same stage of hydrothermal activity. In order to study the genetic relationships between different minerals in the Bayan Obo iron deposit, the compositions(K~+, Na~+, Ca~+, Mg~+, F~+, Cl~+, CO_2~(2-), ΣSO_4~(2-) and pH) of inclusions in fluorite(23), hematite(13), magnetite(3), sodium pyroxene(2) and dolomite(5) from the main mine and the eastern mine were determined by using the vacuum decrepitation and leaching methods, and cluster analyses of the data on the compostions were made. The Q-mode cluster analysis indicates that some iron oxide minerals in the deposit are related to dolomite of sedimentary origin, while others are related to fluorite and sodium pyroxene--products of hydrothermal activity. The R-mode cluster analysis shows that the components of the leaching solution may be divided into two groups: one includes CO_2~(2-), Mg~(2+) and H~+(pH), which are obviously associated with dolomite; the other comprises Na~+, K~+, Ca~+, F~+, Cl~+ and SO_4~(2-), which may possibly represent the composition of hydrothermal solutions.The reaction of the Na-F-Cl solution(pH 4.72) with hematite dolomite at 300℃ and 5 × 10~7 Pa and under alternately"static and dynamic" conditions produced large amounts of hematite and fluorite and small amounts of smectite and Na(Fe) silicates, and the hematite-fluorite assemblage accords with the actual geological conditions in the deposit. From a comparison between the compositions of"static" and"dynamic" solution samples, it may be known that the flow reaction facilitates the migration of Fe, F, Ca and other components as well as Na-metasomatism(Na and Si are fixed in a solid phase).The study of the compositions of mineral inclusions and simulation experiments on hydrothermal metasomatism have provided new evidence for the hypothesis of metamorphosed-sedimentary and hydrothermal-remoulding origin of the Bayan Obo deposit, and pointed out emphatically that hydrothermal metasomatism plays an important role in the formation of the mineral deposit, particularly in the main and the east mine.