Tertiary basalts and peridotite xenoliths from the Hessian Depression (NW Germany), reflecting mantle compositions low in radiogenic Nd and Sr

A total of 17 alkali basalts (alkali olivine basalt, limburgite, olivine nephelinite) and quartz tholeiites, and of 10 peridotite xenoliths (or their clinopyroxenes) were analyzed for Nd and Sr isotopes. ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of all basalts and of the majority of ultramafic xenoliths plot below the mantle array with a large variation in Nd isotopes and a smaller variation in Sr isotopes. The tholeiites were less radiogenic in Nd than the alkali basalts. Volcanics from the Eifel and Massif Central regions contain Nd and Sr, which is more radiogenic than that of the basalts from the Hessian Depression. Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of all rocks from the latter area, with the exception of one tholeiite and one peridotite plot in the same field of isotope ratios as the Ronda ultramafic tectonite (SW Spain), which ranges in composition from garnet to plagioclase peridotite. The alkali basaltic rocks are products of smaller degrees of partial melting of depleted peridotite, which has undergone a larger metasomatic alteration compared with the source rock of tholeiitic magmas. For the peridotite xenoliths such metasomatic alteration is indicated by the correlation of their K contents and isotopic compositions. We assume that the upper mantle locally can acquire isotopic signatures low in radiogenic Nd and Sr from the introduction of delaminated crust. Such granulites low in radiogenic Nd and Sr are products of early REE fractionation and granite (Rb) separation.     

西准噶尔洋中海山及其俯冲带处地质效应

随着研究的不断深入,在中亚造山带(CAOB)不断有不同时代的洋岛玄武岩(OIB)被识别出来。在中亚造山带西南缘的西准噶尔地区的多条蛇绿混杂岩带中,也存在具有OIB特征的玄武岩。这些玄武岩呈枕状,与超基性岩、辉长岩、块状玄武岩、灰岩及紫红色硅质岩等紧密共生。地球化学研究表明枕状玄武岩均为碱性系列,具有较高的TiO2含量(大多>2.5%)、强烈富集轻稀土元素、无明显Nb、Ta负异常,与典型的OIB极为相似,认为其可能形成于大洋板内与地幔柱有关的海山环境。通过对海山的发展阶段分析认为,西准噶尔地区海山应该发展到爆炸海山阶段,因为其中发育大量的枕状熔岩。海山中火山岩或火山碎屑沉积物富集大离子亲石元素和高场强元素,海山的俯冲将对弧及弧后地区火山岩地球化学产生明显影响,而西准噶尔地区泥盆纪-石炭纪火山岩中恰恰存在海山的信号。因此,海山俯冲模式可能能更好地解释西准噶尔地区火山岩中存在OIB特征火山岩的成因。另外,海山俯冲还存在潜在的资源效应,因此应该寻找和研究古海山及火山岛链俯冲的迹象,将对进一步找金铜等矿提供可靠依据。     

Mantle-derived mafic-ultramafic xenoliths and the nature of Indian sub-continental lithosphere

Mantle derived xenoliths in India are known to occur in the Proterozoic ultrapotassic rocks like kimberlites from Dharwar and Bastar craton and Mesozoic alkali igneous rocks like lamrophyres, nephelinites and basanites. The xenoliths in kimberlites are represented by garnet harzburgites, lherzolites, wehrlite, olivine clinopyroxenites and kyaniteeclogite varieties. The PT conditions estimated for xenoliths from the Dharwar craton suggest that the lithosphere was at least 185 km thick during the Mid-Proterozoic period. The ultrabasic and eclogite xenoliths have been derived from depths of 100–180 km and 75–150 km respectively. The Kalyandurg and Brahmanpalle clusters have sampled the typical Archaean subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) with a low geotherm (35 mW/m²) and harzburgitic to lherzolitic rocks with median X_mg ^olivine > 0.93. The base of the depleted lithosphere at 185–195 km depth is marked by a 10–15 km layer of strongly metasomatised peridotites (X_mg ^olivine > ∼0.88). The Anampalle and Wajrakarur clusters 60 km to the NW show a distinctly different SCLM; it has a higher geotherm (37.5 to 40 mW/m²) and contains few subcalcic harzburgites, and has a median X_mg ^olivine = 0.925. In contrast, the kimberlites of the Uravakonda and WK-7 clusters sampled quite fertile (median X_mg ^olivine ∼0.915) SCLM with an elevated geotherm (> 40 mW/m²). The lamrophyres, basanites and melanephelinites associated with the Deccan Volcanic Province entrain both ultramafic and mafic xenoliths. The ultramafic group is represented by (i) spinel lherzolites, harzburgites, and (ii) pyroxenites. Single pyroxene granulite and two pyroxene granulites constitutes the mafic group. Temperature estimates for the West Coast xenoliths indicate equilibration temperatures of 500–900°C while the pressure estimates vary between 6–11 kbar corresponding to depths of 20–35 km. This elevated geotherm implies that the region is characterized by abnormally high heat flow, which is also supported by the presence of linear array of hot springs along the West Coast. Spinel peridotite xenoliths entrained in the basanites and melanephelinites from the Kutch show low equilibrium temperatures (884–972°C). The estimated pressures obtained on the basis of the absence of both plagioclase and garnet in the xenoliths and by referring the temperatures to the West Coast geotherm is ∼ 15 kbar (40–45 km depth). The minimum heat flow of 60 to 70 mW/m² has been computed for the Kutch xenolith (Bhujia hill), which is closely comparable to the oceanic geotherm. Xenolith studies from the West Coast and Kutch indicate that the SCLM beneath is strongly metasomatised although the style of metasomatism is different from that below the Dharwar Craton.     

Geochemistry of subducted metabasites exhumed from the Mariana forearc: Implications for Pacific seamount subduction

Seamounts on the drifting oceanic crust are inevitably carried by plate motions and eventually accreted or subducted. However, the geochemical signatures of the subducted seamounts and the significance of seamount subduction are not well constrained. Hundreds of seamounts have subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate following the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate since the Eocene (~52 Ma). The subducted oceanic crust and seamount materials can be exhumed from the mantle depth to the seafloor in the Mariana forearc region by serpentinite mud volcanoes, providing exceptional opportunities to directly study the subducted oceanic crust and seamounts. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) expedition 366 has recovered a few metamorphosed mafic clasts exhumed from the Mariana forearc serpentinite mud volcanoes, e.g., the Fantangisña and Asùt Tesoru seamounts. These mafic clasts have tholeiitic to alkaline affinities with distinct trace elements and Nd-Hf isotopes characteristics, suggesting different provenances and mantle sources. The tholeiites from the Fantangisña Seamount have trace element characteristics typical of mid-ocean ridge basalt. The Pacific-type Hf-Nd isotopic compositions, combined with the greenschist metamorphism of these tholeiites further suggest that they came from the subducted Pacific oceanic crust. The alkali basalts-dolerites from the Fantangisña and Asùt Tesoru seamounts show ocean island basalt (OIB)-like geochemical characteristics. The OIB-like geochemical signatures and the low-grade metamorphism of these alkali basalts-dolerites suggest they came from subducted seamounts that originally formed in an intraplate setting on the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate origin of these metabasites suggests they were formed in the Early Cretaceous or earlier.Two types of OIBs have been recognized from alkali metabasites, one of which is geochemically similar to the HIMU-EMI-type OIBs from the West Pacific Seamount Province, and another is similar to the EMII-type OIBs from the Samoa Island in southern Pacific, with negative Nb-Ta-Ti anomalies and enriched Nd-Hf isotopes. Generally, these alkali metabasites are sourced from the heterogeneous mantle sources that are similar to the present South Pacific Isotopic and Thermal Anomaly. This study provides direct evidence for seamount subduction in the Mariana convergent margins. We suggest seamount subduction is significant to element cycling, mantle heterogeneity, and mantle oxidation in subduction zones.     

Petrogenesis of Garnet Pyroxenite and Spinel Peridotite Xenoliths of the Tell-Danun Alkali Basalt Volcano,Harrat As Shamah,Syria

A suite of samples, including kaersutite and ilmenite megacrysts, spinel peridotites, garnet pyroxenites, and the alkali basalts that host them, have been studied in an effort to better constrain the mineralogy and chemistry of the subcontinental mantle beneath the central portion of the Arabian plate. Kaersutite megacrysts are classified as Type-A high-pressure precipitates of the alkali basalt host, which transported these xenoliths to the surface and extruded them during formation of the Tell-Danun volcano, southwestern Syria. Ilmenite megacrysts are classified as Type-B megacrysts and could not have precipitated from the alkali basalts presently sampled. Instead, they were derived from a magma that was enriched in the rare-earth elements (REE) by ca. four times and depleted in Zr and Hf, compared to the alkali basalts.

Garnet pyroxenites from the Tell-Danun volcanic field yield temperatures and pressures of 946-1045° C and 8-10 kbar, respectively. These xenoliths likely were precipitated as dikes or along walls of conduits at depths of 24-30 km in the lower crust and/or upper mantle beneath the Arabian plate. Spinel peridotites last were equilibrated at temperatures of 755-1080° C and pressures from 10-20 kbar (30-60 km depth) and could represent samples of a mantle that has been depleted by a prior partial melting event. Many spinel peridotites also contain evidence (specifically in concave-upward REE patterns) of a subsequent enrichment event. However, the age and timing of this depletion, and of the subsequent enrichment event, are not known. This event could have occurred as a consequence of the entrainment of the xenoliths in the LREE- enriched alkali basalts or could have occurred prior to alkali basalt volcanism via metasomatic processes.     

Differentiation and crystallization conditions of basalts from the Kerguelen large igneous province: an experimental study

Phase relations of basalts from the Kerguelen large igneous province have been investigated experimentally to understand the effect of temperature, fO₂, and fugacity of volatiles (e.g., H₂O and CO₂) on the differentiation path of LIP basalts. The starting rock samples were a tholeiitic basalt from the Northern Kerguelen Plateau (ODP Leg 183 Site 1140) and mildly alkalic basalt evolved from the Kerguelen Archipelago (Mt. Crozier on the Courbet Peninsula), representing different differentiation stages of basalts related to the Kerguelen mantle plume. The influence of temperature, water and oxygen fugacity on phase stability and composition was investigated at 500 MPa and all experiments were fluid-saturated. Crystallization experiments were performed at temperatures between 900 and 1,160°C under oxidizing (log fO₂ ~ ΔQFM + 4) and reducing conditions (log fO₂ ~ QFM) in an internally heated gas-pressure vessel equipped with a rapid quench device and a Pt-Membrane for monitoring the fH₂. In all experiments, a significant influence of the fO₂ on the composition and stability of the Mg/Fe-bearing mineral phases could be observed. Under reducing conditions, the residual melts follow a tholeiitic differentiation trend. In contrast, melts have high Mg# [Mg²⁺/(Mg²⁺ + Fe²⁺)] and follow a calk-alkalic differentiation trend at oxidizing conditions. The comparison of the natural phenocryst assemblages with the experimental products allows us to constrain the differentiation and pre-eruptive conditions of these magmas. The pre-eruptive temperature of the alkalic basalt was about 950–1,050°C. The water content of the melt was below 2.5 wt% H₂O and strongly oxidizing conditions (log fO₂ ~ ΔQFM + 2) were prevailing in the magma chamber prior to eruption. The temperature of the tholeiitic melt was above 1,060°C, with a water content below 2 wt% H₂O and a log fO₂ ~ ΔQFM + 1. Early fractionation of clinopyroxene is a crucial step resulting in the generation of silica-poor and alkali-rich residual melts (e.g., alkali basalt). The enrichment of alkalis in residual melts is enhanced at high fO₂ and low aH₂O.     

Magmatic modification of the uppermost mantle beneath the Basin and Range to Colorado Plateau Transition Zone; Evidence from xenoliths, Wikieup, Arizona

Upper mantle xenoliths from Wikieup, AZ, provide abundant evidence for magmatic modification of the uppermost mantle beneath the Transition Zone between the Colorado Plateau and the southern Basin and Range province. Upper mantle lithologies in this xenolith suite are represented by spinel peridotite, wehrlite, plagioclase peridotite, and Al-augite group pyroxenites. Isotopic data for these xenoliths yield relatively uniform values and suggest a common petrogenesis. Al-augite-bearing gabbro and pyroxenite xenoliths from this locality are interpreted to have formed by crystal fractionation processes from parent alkali basalts similar to the Wikieup host basalt. Mineral and whole rock compositions show consistent trends of increasing incompatible element contents (Fe, Al, Ca, Na, K, LIL, and LREE), and decreasing compatible element contents (Mg, Cr, Ni) from spinel peridotite to wehrlite to plagioclase peridotite to the host basalt composition. These compositional trends are interpreted as resulting from varying degrees of magma-mantle wall rock interaction as ascending mafic magmas infiltrated upper mantle peridotite. Small degrees of melt infiltration resulted in slightly modified spinel peridotite compositions while moderate degrees metasomatized spinel peridotite to wehrlite, and the highest degrees metasomatized it to plagioclase peridotite. Whole rock compositions and clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and whole rock isotopic data suggest that the infiltrating magmas were the same as those from which the gabbros and pyroxenites crystallized, and that they were alkalic in composition, similar to the Wikieup host alkali olivine basalts. Relatively uniform ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd for the mineral separates and whole rocks in spite of the significantly wide range in their ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.71–0.23 in clinopyroxene) suggests that the Wikieup xenoliths including gabbro, pyroxenite, peridotite, wehrlite, and plagioclase peridotite, are all relatively young rocks formed or metasomatized by a relatively recent magmatic episode. Received: 21 May 1996 / Accepted: 23 December 1996     

Geochemistry of lavas from Mohns Ridge,Norwegian-Greenland Sea: implications for melting conditions and magma sources near Jan Mayen

 Mohns Ridge lavas between 71 and 72°30′N (∼360 km) have heterogeneous compositions varying between alkali basalts and incompatible-element-depleted tholeiites. On a large scale there is a continuity of incompatible element and isotopic compositions between the alkali basalts from the island Jan Mayen and Mohns Ridge tholeiites. The variation in isotopes suggests a heterogeneous mantle which appears to be tapped preferentially by low degree melts (∼5%) close to Jan Mayen but also shows its signature much further north on Mohns Ridge. Three lava types with different incompatible element compositions [e.g. chondrite-normalized (La/Sm)_N<1 to >2] occur in the area at 72°N and were generated from this heterogeneous mantle. The relatively depleted tholeiitic melts were mixed with a small degree melt from an enriched source. The elements Ba, Rb and K of the enriched melt were probably buffered in the mantle by residual amphibole or phlogopite. That such a residual phase is stable in this region of oceanic mantle suggests both high water contents and low mantle temperatures, at odds with a hotspot origin for Jan Mayen. Instead we suggest that the melting may be induced by the lowered solidus temperature of a “wet” mantle. Mohns MORB (mid ocean ridge basalt) and Jan Mayen area alkali basalts have high contents of Ba and Rb compared to other incompatible elements (e.g. Ba/La >10). These ratios reflect the signature of the mantle source. Ratios of Ce/Pb and Rb/Cs are normal MORB mantle ratios of 25 and 80, respectively, thus the enrichments of Ba and Rb are not indicative of a sedimentary component added to the mantle source but were probably generated by the influence of a metasomatizing fluid, as supported by the presence of hydrous phases during the petrogenesis of the alkali basalts. Geophysical and petrological models suggest that Jan Mayen is not the product of hotspot activity above a mantle plume, and suggest instead that it owes its existence to the unique juxtaposition of a continental fragment, a fracture zone and a spreading axis in this part of the North Atlantic. Received: 3 May 1995 / Accepted: 6 November 1995     

汉诺坝玄武岩Re-Os同位素地球化学——Re的挥发性丢失和壳-幔相互作用的证据

本文报道了采自汉诺坝玄武岩区周坝和白龙硐剖面以及白布洛张20井等地29个玄武岩样品的Re、Os含量和~(187)Os/~(188)Os比值。Os含量为11×10~(-12)～314×10~(-12),Re含量为40×10~(-12)～238×10~(-12),Re和Os含量有正相关趋势。碱性玄武岩(AK)的Re、Os含量高于拉斑玄武岩(TH)和过渡玄武岩(TR),玄武岩Os含量变化与分离结晶作用有关,玄武岩的低Re含量与地面喷发的火山岩浆脱气过程中Re的挥发性丢失作用有关。玄武岩的~(187)Os/~(188)Os比值为0.14735～0.61136,AK的~(187)Os/~(188)Os比值比TH和TR低且变化小。玄武岩的~(187)Os/~(188)Os比值与Os含量有负相关性。随着Os含量降低到小于75×10~(-12),~(187)Os/~(188)Os比值迅速升高,反映了地壳混染在TH和TR成因中的贡献。在以往的研究中没有观察到类似的地壳混染作用,说明了Re-Os同位素体系在示踪壳源物质上的优势。一些Os含量较高的TH的~(187)Os/~(188)Os比值表明其地幔源区既非亏损的又非经交代富集的SCLM,可能是混入了地壳俯冲物质的"Marble cake"型地幔。总之,汉诺坝玄武岩的Re-Os同位素地球化学研究支持了以往研究的主要成果,两类玄武岩地球化学差异性和异源成因论;分离结晶和部分熔融过程在玄武岩成因中的重要作用;碱性玄武岩的成因与地幔柱的关系等。同时揭示了一些新的现象:汉诺坝玄武岩形成中存在少量的地壳混染作用;地面喷发的火山熔岩在脱气过程中Re的挥发性丢失;拉斑玄武岩的源区更有可能为"Marble cake"型地幔。     

Composition and processes of the mantle lithosphere in northeastern Brazil and Fernando de Noronha: evidence from mantle xenoliths

Spinel–peridotite facies mantle xenoliths in Cenozoic alkali basalts of the Pico Cabuji volcano (Rio Grande do Norte State, Northeast Brazil) and the adjacent South Atlantic oceanic island of Fernando de Noronha are studied for: (1) the information they provide on the composition of the lithospheric component in the erupted basalt geochemistry, and (2) to check the effects of the Fernando de Noronha plume track on the mantle lithosphere. Xenoliths from Pico Cabuji are protogranular lherzolites and porphyroclastic harzburgites recording average equilibrium temperatures of 825 ± 116 and 1248 ± 19 °C, respectively. Pressure in the porphyroclastic xenoliths ranges from 1.9 to 2.7 GPa (Ca-in-olivine geobarometer). Both groups show major element chemical variation trends in whole-rock and Ti and HREE (Er, Yb) variations in clinopyroxene consistent with fractional melting and basalt extraction. REE (rare earth element) profiles of clinopyroxenes vary from LREE (La, Ce) enriched (spoon shaped) to LREE depleted in the protogranular group, whereas they are slightly convex upward in most porphyroclastic clinopyroxenes. HFSE (Ti and Zr) negative anomalies are in general modest in the clinopyroxenes of both groups. Xenoliths from Fernando de Noronha have textural variations similar to those of Pico Cabuji. Protogranular and porphyroclastic samples have similar temperature (1035 ± 80 °C) and the pressure is 1–1.9 and 2.3 GPa, respectively. Whole-rock chemical variation trends overlap and extend further than those of Pico Cabuji. The trace element profiles of the clinopyroxenes of the porphyroclastic xenoliths are enriched in La up to 30 × PM and are smoothly fractionated from LREE to HREE, with deep, negative, Zr and Ti anomalies. The geochemical heterogeneities of the xenoliths from both localities are interpreted in terms of reactive porous percolation. The porphyroclastic xenoliths from Pico Cabuji represent the lower part of a mantle column (the head of a mantle diapir, at the transition conductive–adiabatic mantle), where OIB infiltration triggers melting, and the protogranular xenoliths the top of the mantle column, chromatographically enriched by percolation at a low melt/rock ratio. This interpretation may also apply for Fernando de Noronha, but the different geochemical signature recorded by the clinopyroxenes requires a different composition of the infiltrated melt. Nd and Sr isotopes of the Pico Cabuji porphyroclastic clinopyroxenes (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd= 0.51339–0.51255, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70275–0.70319) and of Fernando de Noronha (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51323–0.51285, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70323–0.70465) plot on distinct arrays originating from a similar, isotopically depleted composition and trending to low Nd–low Sr (EMI) and low Nd–high Sr (EMII), respectively. Correlation of the isotope variation with geochemical parameters indicates that the isotopic variation was induced by the metasomatic component, of EMI type at Pico Cabuji and of EMII type at Fernando de Noronha. These different components enriched a lithosphere isotopically similar to DMM (depleted MORB mantle) at both localities. At Fernando de Noronha, the isotopic signature of the metasomatic component is similar to that of the ∼ 8 Ma old lavas of the Remedios Formation, suggesting that this is the age of metasomatism. At Pico Cabuji, the mantle xenoliths do not record the high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr component present in the basalts. We speculate that the EMII component derives from a lithospheric reservoir, which was not thermally affected during mantle metasomatism at Pico Cabuji, but was mobilized by the hotspot thermal influence at Fernando de Noronha. This interpretation provides a plausible explanation for the presence of distinct metasomatic components at the two localities, which would be difficult to reconcile with their genetic relationship with the same plume. Received: 12 June 1999 / Accepted: 13 December 1999     

Geochemical Characteristics of Jinwozi Gold Deposit,Xinjiang

The Jinwozi gold deposit consists of gold-bearing quartz veins in a biotite granodiorite of Hercynian age (zircon U-Pb age ≈ 335.7 Ma). Ore mineralogy is simple. In addition to native gold, there are only small amounts of sulfides, mainly pyrite and minor sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. δ³⁴S values average 6.69‰, and δ¹⁸O 13.99‰ Abundant CO₂ is contained in fluid inclusions from quartz. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions are between 186 and 262 °C. REE distribution patterns indicate that the igneous mass may have been derived from a common initial material of calcareous-argillaceous sediments and alkali basalts as the country rocks. In other words, the Jinwozi granodiorite is of remelting origin from crustal material. Isotopic evidence of S, O and Pb shows that the ore-forming material is genetically related to magmatic hydrothermal activity.     

The mineral chemistry and origin of xenoliths from the lavas of Anjouan,Comores Archipelago,Western Indian Ocean

Mineralogical data for xenoliths occurring as inclusions in the fissure erupted alkali basalts and the basanitic tuffs of Anjouan reveal three xenolith suites: 1) the lherzolites, 2) the dunites and wehrlites, 3) the gabbros and syenites. The dunite-wehrlite suite and the gabbro suite are shown to represent high-level cumulate sequences resulting from ankaramitic fractionation of the hy-normative shield-building lavas and cotecictic fractionation of the alkali basalt lavas respectively, whilst the syenitic xenoliths represent evolved high-level intrusions. Mineralogical and rare earth element (REE) data indicate that the most likely origin for the spinel lherzolite xenoliths is by extraction of a basaltic phase from spinel peridotite, leaving a light REE-poor spinel lherzolite residuum. REE models, constructed using model peridotite assemblages, imply that the hy-normative basalt lavas may be derived by partial melting of spinel peridotite at pressures of <20–25 kb leaving a residual lherzolite, and that the alkali basalt and basanite melts are formed by small degrees of melting of a garnet-peridotite source at pressures of >20–25 kb. The spinel lherzolite source for the hy-normative basalts has been accidentally sampled during explosive eruption of the alkali basalt and basanite magmas.     

Mantle metasomatism and magma formation in continental lithosphere: Data on xenoliths in alkali basalts from the Makhtesh Ramon,Negev desert,Israel

Mantle xenoliths (lherzolites, clinopyroxene dunites, wehrlites, and clinopyroxenites) in the Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks of Makhtesh Ramon (alkali olivine basalts, basanites, and nephelinites) represent metasomatized mantle, which served as a source of basaltic melts. The xenoliths bear signs of partial melting and previous metasomatic transformations. The latter include the replacement of orthopyroxene by clinopyroxene in the lherzolites and, respectively, the wide development of wehrlites and olivine clinopyoroxenites. Metasomatic alteration of the peridotites is accompanied by a sharp decrease in Mg, Cr, and Ni, and increase of Ti, Al, Ca contents and ³⁺Fe/²⁺Fe ratio, as well as the growth of trace V, Sc, Zr, Nb, and Y contents. The compositional features of the rocks such as the growth of ³⁺Fe/²⁺Fe and the wide development of Ti-magnetite in combination with the complete absence of sulfides indicate the high oxygen fugacity during metasomatism and the low sulfur concentration, which is a distinctive signature of fluid mode during formation of the Makhtesh Ramon alkali basaltic magma. Partial melting of peridotites and clinopyroxenites is accompanied by the formation of basanite or alkali basaltic melt. Clino- and orthopyroxenes are subjected to melting. The crystallization products of melt preserved in the mantle rock are localized in the interstices and consist mainly of fine-grained clinopyroxene, which together with Ti-magnetite, ilmenite, amphibole, rhenite, feldspar, and nepheline, is cemented by glass corresponding to quartz–orthopyroxene, olivine–orthopyroxene, quartz–feldspar, or nepheline–feldspar mixtures of the corresponding normative minerals. The mineral assemblages of xenoliths correspond to high temperatures. The high-Al and high-Ti clinopyroxene, calcium olivine, feldspar, and feldspathoids, amphibole, Ti-magnetite, and ilmenite are formed at 900–1000°. The study of melt and fluid inclusions in minerals from xenoliths indicate liquidus temperatures of 1200–1250°C, solidus temperatures of 1000–1100°C, and pressure of 5.9–9.5 kbar. Based on the amphibole–plagioclase barometer, amphibole and coexisting plagioclase were crystallized in clinopyroxenites at 6.5–7.0 kbar.     

Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks of the Fan–Karategin transitional blueschist/greenschist belt, South Tianshan, Tajikistan: seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics

The Fan–Karategin metamorphic belt, South Tianshan, Tajikistan, is regarded to be an ancient subduction–accretionary complex and is composed of three tectonostratigraphic units which display lithologies consistent with different tectonic settings. The mafic schists, which make up the major part of the older unit of the belt, contain both alkali and tholeiitic metabasalts. On the basis of rare-earth and other immobile element characteristics, the alkali metabasalts are akin to within-plate ocean island basalts, whereas the tholeiitic metabasalts resemble E-type MORB. The association is interpreted to have been formed on seamount-like structures under a within-plate plume. Bedded cherts and marbles in the unit are regarded as ancient pelagic sediments and carbonate caps developed upon basaltic seamounts, respectively. Dismemberment of the seamount-related basalts and pelagic sediments and the high-P/low-T prograde metamorphism of the unit rocks up to transitional blueschist/greenschist facies was the result of paleoseamount submergence into a subduction zone. This unit is tectonically overlain by arc-derived metavolcanic unit and a disrupted, mainly clastic unit of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian age. Metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the two upper units have geochemical characteristics compatible with subduction-related origin. The lithological assemblages of the individual units and their juxtaposition suggest an origin involving collision–accretionary processes. The Fan–Karategin belt is a subduction–accretionary complex which formed during subduction of oceanic crust under a volcanic arc and was subjected to tectonic juxtaposition and imbrication of seamount, deep-sea, trench and volcanic arc sequences.     

Geochemistry of Late Cretaceous （ 60 - 67 Ma） igneous activities in the Hebrides Terrace seamount （guyot） area, Scotland

Tholeiitic basalts in various stages of alteration were dredged from Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks (60 -67 Ma) in the Hebrides Terrace seamount area in the Atlantic Ocean. These rocks are extrusive olivine basalts, including high- and low-Al basalts. High-Al basalts are depleted in MgO, CaO, Cr,Sc, V, St, Zr and enriched in TiO2, Na2O, Nb, Rb as compared with low-A1 basalts. Petrography and bulk-rock composition (major, trace and rare-earth elements) data defined clear tholeiitic suites displaying possible liquid lines of descent related to different degrees of crystal fractionation and partial melting.Isotopic dating of dredged samples gave the guyot an age of 60 - 67 Ma, in support of the assumption that it was formed during the Late Cretaceous.     

Granulite—facies Middle—Lower Crustal Xenoliths from Nueshan Alkali Basalt in Northeastern Anhui Province, China

Metamorphic xenoliths within the Nushan alkali basalt of northeastern Anhui (NEA),China ,are from the middle-lower crust.They could be divided into two end-members:basic and acid.Interme-diate xenoliths are scarcely found.Basic two-pyroxene granulites(pyriclasites) were formed at 720-810℃ and 7-8kb.Petrological and geochemical studies indicate that the primary magma of the protoliths of basic granulites was derived from the metasomatized upper mantle, while the pa-rental magma of the acid end-member was probably produced by partial melting of the basic rocks. The protoliths of charnockites and grey gneisses represent respectively the early and late crystallization products of the granitic magma.The Nushan granulites are much different in many aspects from the granulites exposed in the northern part of North China ,which implies the inhomogeneity regarding to the early evolution of the North China terranc.     

Geochemical trends in the alkali basaltic suite of the Assab range (Ethiopia)

Two groups of rocks are distinguished in the Assab volcanic range (Afar) on the basis of their petrology. The first one is a typical alkaline suite with high Li, Ba, Rb, Sr, Th and U concentrations. A second subalkaline group may be related to a parental basalt characterized by low trace-element concentrations and intermediate in character between alkali and tholeiitic basalt.U and Th concentrations of the analyzed Assab basalts, as well the reported values for the alkali and transitional basalts of the East African Rift and the Afar depression, are higher than values reported for similar basalts from oceanic and continental environments.     

Oil and Gas Production in the Amu Dar'ya Basin of Western Uzbekistan and Eastern Turkmenistan

The Deccan flood basalt province of west-central India has been linked to the Reunion plume, and reconstructions suggest that the Kutch region was over the plume at the time of Deccan volcanism at 65-68 Ma. Field relations and isotopic data indicate that the alkaline basalts of Kutch, which occur to the NNW of the main Deccan tholeiitic province, preceded the main flood-basalt volcanism and are related to the limited plume incubation period. Several plugs of these alkali basalts contain small spinel peridotite xenoliths of mantle origin. The minerals of the spinel peridotites have been analyzed for their major, trace, and rare-earth element (REE) concentrations using electron micro-probe and LAM-ICPMS techniques. The modes and mineral chemistry, especially of the clinopyroxenes, indicate a fertile mantle; modeling of the clinopyroxene REE data is consistent with <5 to 15% of partial melting of a primitive mantle source material in the spinel peridotite field. Subsequent cryptic metasomatism introduced LREE, U, Th, and Zr. The xenoliths may represent: (1) young lithosphere generated during the lithospheric extension that preceded the main Deccan volcanism; or (2) material from the uppermost parts of the rising plume, brought to the surface by the first stages of the volcanism. Their low equilibration temperatures (≤900°C) and their textural and chemical similarity to xenolith suites from other Phanerozoic intraplate settings favor the first alternative. However, the extensive cryptic metasomatism may reflect the influence of the rising Deccan plume.     

南海盆海山火山碎屑岩的发现及其地质意义

海山火山碎屑岩是水下爆发性火山作用的产物.南海盆两座海山上发现火山碎屑岩表明海山顶部曾经一度高于PCL(压力补偿深度).岩相学特征显示这些火山碎屑岩的胶结物主要为一混合相,包括粘土矿物和黑色铁质矿物等,这从一个侧面反映海山的正地形限制了粗粒外生碎屑到达海山顶部.岩石的单矿物组分、主量元素化学特征与同海山玄武质熔岩具有可比性,属碱性岩浆系列.计算获得海山平均最小下沉速率为0.06mm/年,最大可能达0.30mm/年.海山岩石的机械风化产物对周围海盆的沉积作用作出重要贡献.     

Cretaceous lower crust of the continental margins of the northern pacific: Petrological and geochronological data on lower to middle crustal xenoliths

Despite the exposures of Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks and the accretionary tectonic history of the northern Pacific (northeastern Asia, Alaska, and Kamchatka), it is likely that a considerable portion of the lower crust of the continental margins is much younger and was generated by Cretaceous postaccretion magmatic events. Data on xenoliths suggest that Late Cretaceous and Paleocene mafic intrusions and cumulates of calc-alkaline magmas may become more important with increasing depth. This conclusion is based on the petrological and geochronological investigation of lower-middle crustal xenoliths borne by mantlederived alkali basalt lavas and U-Pb dating of zircon cores from the igneous rocks of the region. We studied deep mafic xenoliths of granulites and gabbroids (accounting for <2% of the general xenolith population) from the Late Neogene alkali basalt lavas of the Enmelen and Viliga volcanic fields (Russia) and the Imuruk volcanic field in the Seward Peninsula, St. Lawrence Island, and Nunivak Island (Alaska). Depleted MORB-like varieties and relatively enriched in radiogenic isotopes and LREE rocks were distinguished among plagioclase-bearing xenoliths. The most representative collection of Enmelen xenoliths was subdivided into three groups: LREE enriched charnockitoids and mafic melts, pyroxene-plagioclase cumulates with a positive Eu anomaly, and LREE depleted garnet gabbroids. Mineral thermobarometry and calculated seismic velocities (P = 5–12 kbar, T = 740–1100°C, and V _p = 7.1 ± 0.3 km/s) suggest that the xenoliths were transported from the lower and middle crust, and the rocks show evidence for their formation through the magmatic fractionation of calc-alkaline magmas and subsequent granulite-facies metamorphism. The U-Pb age of zircon from the xenoliths ranges from the Cretaceous to Paleocene, clustering mainly within 107–56 Ma (147 crystals from 17 samples were dated). The zircon dates were interpreted as reflecting the magmatic and metamorphic stages of the growth and modification of the regional crust. The distribution of the obtained age estimates corresponds to the main magmatic pulses in two largest magmatic belts of the region, Okhotsk-Chukchi and Anadyr-Bristol. The absence of older inherited domains in zircons from both the xenoliths and igneous rocks of the regions is a strong argument in favor of the idea on the injection of juvenile material and underplating of calc-alkaline magmas in the lower crust during that time interval. This conclusion is supported by isotope geochemical data: the Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios of the rocks and xenolith minerals show mantle signatures (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7040–0.70463, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.51252–0.51289, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.32–18.69) corresponding to an OIB source and are in general similar to those of the Cretaceous calc-alkaline basalts and andesites from continental-margin suprasubduction volcanoplutonic belts. Xenoliths from Nunivak Island and Cape Navarin show more depleted (MORB-like) geochemical and isotopic characteristics, which indicates variations in the composition of the lower crust near the southern boundary of the Bering Sea shelf.