Petrology and geochemistry of the unbrecciated achondrite Northwest Africa 1240 (NWA 1240): an HED parent body impact melt

NWA 1240 is an unusual eucrite recently recovered in Morocco as a single stone of 98 g. It is an unbrecciated greenish-brown rock nearly devoid of fusion crust. It displays porphyritic texture consisting of skeletal hollow low-Ca pyroxene phenocrysts set in a variolitic (fan-spherulitic) mesostasis of fine elongate pyroxene and plagioclase crystals. Minor phases are skeletal chromite, iron, silica, troilite, ilmenite and minute amounts of phosphate and fayalite. Pyroxenes are unequilibrated and show one of the widest ranges of composition so far described for a eucrite, from En_76.0Wo_1.9Fs_22.1 to compositions nearly devoid of Mg (unusual ferrosilite and Fe-augite symplectites and possibly pyroxferroite). Plagioclase crystals contain significant amounts of Fe and Mg, which are possibly controlled by the Ca(Mg,Fe²⁺)Si₃O₈ plagioclase component.To discuss the potential effects of hot-desert weathering on NWA 1240, we have analyzed a series of Saharan eucrites (Agoult, Aoufous, Igdi, Smara, NWA 047 and NWA 049) and large aliquots (0.39 to 2.8 g) of eucrite falls (Bereba, Bouvante, Jonzac, Juvinas and Serra de Magé). These results indicate that among the elements we have determined, Pb, Ba and Sr are the most sensitive indicators of Saharan weathering.The bulk composition of NWA 1240 has been determined for 45 elements by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. The data show that the meteorite is not significantly weathered: its Pb concentration is very low; Ba and Sr concentrations are not anomalously high; the Th/U and Hf/Sm ratios are chondritic (Th/U = 3.65, Hf/Sm = 0.74). NWA 1240 is rich in MgO (10.4 wt%) and Cr₂O₃ (0.71 wt%), and displays striking similarities with cumulate eucrites, such as having similar incompatible trace element patterns and a significant positive Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = 1.37). The combination of fast cooling and cumulate eucrite-dominated composition suggests that NWA 1240 is not an igneous rock but rather an impact melt.     

Petrology and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope geochemistry of gabbro xenoliths from the Hyblean Plateau: a MARID reservoir beneath SE Sicily?

In situ trace-element and isotopic (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) data and whole-rock Sr–Nd–Hf data on 12 gabbro xenoliths from the Hyblean Plateau (south-eastern Sicily) illustrate the complex petrogenetic evolution of this lithospheric segment. The gabbros formed by precipitation of plagioclase + clinopyroxene from a HIMU-type alkaline melt, then were cryptically metasomatized by a low-Rb, high-⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr fluid, and finally infiltrated by an exotic, late Fe–Ti-rich melt with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ~ 0.7055, carrying high concentrations of Sr, Rb and HFSE. The geochemical and isotopic features of both the metasomatizing fluid and the Fe–Ti-rich melt are compatible with their common derivation by the progressive melting of an amphibole–phlogopite–ilmenite metasomatic domain (MARID-type?) that probably resided within the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Therefore, both the astenosphere and the lithosphere underneath the Hyblean Plateau contributed to the petrogenesis of the gabbros. Sm–Nd dating yields an age of 253 ± 60 Ma for the cumulitic pile, roughly coinciding with a hydrothermal event recorded by crustal zircons in the area. We suggest that the Hyblean Plateau suffered a thermal event—probably related to lithospheric thinning and upwelling and melting of the asthenosphere—in Permo-Triassic time (the opening of the Ionian Basin?). The induced perturbation in the lithosphere caused consequent melting of some previously metasomatised portions.     

Mullite-corundum-spinel-cordierite-plagioclase xenoliths in the Skaergaard Marginal Border Group: multi-stage interaction between metasediments and basaltic magma

Metapelitic country rocks were contact- and pyro-metamorphosed by the Tertiary Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland. In an initial stage of heating, while they were probably still in place within the host rock contact aureole, they overstepped a range of equilibrium and disequilibrium melting reactions and produced both a granitic melt and very refractory spinel+cordierite+plagioclase±corundum residuals. Parts of these refractory rocks were then subjected to another melting event after being entrained as xenoliths into the Skaergaard Marginal Border Group, where they experienced a temperature of about 1,000°C at a pressure of about 650 bars and at an oxygen fugacity about 0.2–0.5 log units below the FMQ buffer. Here, they underwent bulk melting, but did not mix with the Skaergaard magma, presumably because of the high viscosity contrast. The Al-rich melts crystallized to an assemblage of corundum+mullite+sillimanite+ plagioclase+spinel+rutile±tridymite±cordierite and they reacted with the surrounding basalt producing a strongly cryptically zoned rim of plagioclase (An₅₅ close to the basalt to An₉₀ close to the Al-rich melt). The assemblage in the inner parts of the xenoliths provides textural evidence for disequilibrium growth due to slow diffusivities in the highly viscous, probably water-free Al-rich melt. Later interaction of lower temperature ferrobasaltic to granophyric melts with the xenoliths along their margins and along cracks led to consumption of corundum and mullite and to the stable assemblage of spinel+cordierite+plagioclase+quartz+K-feldspar +magnetite+ilmenite at about 800°C.     

A Tiny Piece of Basalt Probably from Asteroid 4 Vesta

Grove Mountains (GRV) 99018 is a new eucrite (0.23 g), consisting mainly of pyroxene (50.5 vol%) and plagioclase (37.2 vol%) with minor silica minerals (7.0 Vol%) and opaque minerals (5.2 vol%). It was intensely shocked, leading to partial melting, formation of abundant tiny inclusions in pyroxenes and plagioclase, and heavy brecciation. Exsolution of most pyroxenes (1-3μm in width of the lamellae), recrystallization of the shpck-induced melt pockets and veins (5-20μm in size), and homogeneous compositions of pyroxenes of     

Phase equilibria and melt productivity in the pelitic system: implications for the origin of peraluminous granitoids and aluminous granulites

Peraluminous granitoid magmas are a characteristic product of ultrametamorphism leading to anatexis of aluminous metasedimentary rocks in the continental crust. The mechanisms and characteristic length-scales over which these magmas can be mobilized depend strongly on their melt fraction, because of their high viscosities. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to understand the controls exerted by pressure, temperature and bulk composition of the source material on melt productivity. We have studied experimentally the vapour-absent melting behaviour of a natural metapelitic rock and our results differ greatly from those of previous experimental and theoretical investigations of melt productivity from metamorphic rocks. Under H₂O-undersaturated conditions, bulk composition of the source material is the overriding factor controlling melt fraction at temperatures on the order of 850–900° C. Granitoid melts formed in this temperature interval by the peritectic dehydration-melting reaction: $$\begin{gathered} Biotite + plagioclase + aluminosilicate + quartz \hfill \\ = melt + garnet \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ have a restricted compositional range. As a consequence, melt fractions will be maximized from protoliths whose modes coincide with the stoichiometry of the melting reaction. This “optimum mode” (approximately 38% biotite, 32% quartz, 22% plagioclase and 8% aluminosilicate) reflects the fact that generation of low-temperature granitoid liquids requires both fusible quartzo-feldspathic components and H₂O (from hydrous minerals). Metapelitic rocks rich in mica and aluminosilicate and poor in plagioclase contain an excess of refractory material (Al₂O₃, FeO, MgO) with low solubility in low-temperature silicic melts, and will therefore be poor magma sources. Melt fraction varies inversely with pressure in the range 7–13 kbar, but the effect is not strong: the decrease (at constant temperature) over this pressure range is of at most 15 vol% (absolute). The liquids produced in our experiments are silicarich (68–73 wt% SiO₂), strongly peraluminous (2–5 wt% normative corundum) and very felsic (MgO+FeO^* +TiO₂ less than 3 wt%, even at temperatures above 1000° C). The last observation suggests that peraluminous granitoids with more than 10% mafic minerals (biotite, cordierite, garnet) contain some entrained restite. Furthermore, because liquids are also remarkably constant in composition, we believe that restite separation is more important than fractional crystallization in controlling the variability within and among peraluminous granitoids. We present liquidus phase diagrams that allow us to follow the phase relationships of melting of silica-and alumina-saturated rocks at pressures corresponding to the mid- to deep-continental crust. Garnet, aluminosilicate, quartz and ilmenite are the predominant restitic phases at temperatures of about 900° C, but Ti-rich biotite or calcic plagioclase can also be present, depending on the bulk composition of the protolith. At temperatures above 950–1050° C (depending on the pressure) the restitic assemblage is: hercynitic spinel+ilmenite+quartz±aluminosilicate. Our results therefore support the concept that aluminous granulites (garnet-spinel-plagioclase-aluminosilicate-quartz) can be the refractory residuum of anatectic events.     

Low‐P and high‐T metamorphism of basalts: Insights from the Sudbury impact melt sheet aureole and thermodynamic modelling

Low‐pressure and high‐temperature (LP–HT) metamorphism of basaltic rocks, which occurs globally and throughout geological time, is rarely constrained by forward phase equilibrium modelling, yet such calculations provide valuable supplementary thermometric information and constraints on anatexis that are not possible to obtain from conventional thermometry. Metabasalts along the southern margin of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) record evidence of high‐grade contact metamorphism involving partial melting and melt segregation. Peak metamorphic temperatures reached at least ~925°C at ~1–3 kbar near the SIC contact. Preservation of the peak mineral assemblage indicates that most of the generated melt escaped from these rocks leaving a residuum characterized by a plagioclase–orthopyroxene–clinopyroxene–ilmenite‐magnetite±melt assemblage. Peak temperatures reached ~875°C up to 500 m from the SIC lower contact, which marks the transition to metabasalts that only experienced incipient partial melting without melt loss. Metabasalts ~500 to 750 m from the SIC contact are characterized by a similar two‐pyroxene mineral assemblage, but typically contain abundant hornblende that overgrew clino‐ and orthopyroxene along an isobaric cooling path. Metabasalts ~750 to 1,000 m from the SIC contact are characterized by a hornblende–plagioclase–quartz–ilmenite assemblage indicating temperatures up to ~680°C. Mass balance and phase equilibria calculations indicate that anatexis resulted in 10–20% melt generation in the inner ~500 m of the aureole, with even higher degrees of melting towards the contact. Comparison of multiple models, experiments, and natural samples indicates that modelling in the Na₂O–CaO–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O₂ (NCFMASHTO) system results in the most reliable predictions for the temperature of the solidus. Incorporation of K₂O in the most recent amphibole solution model now successfully predicts dehydration melting by the coexistence of high‐Ca amphibole and silicate melt at relatively low pressures (~1.5 kbar). However, inclusion of K₂O as a system component results in prediction of the solidus at too low a temperature. Although there are discrepancies between modelling predictions and experimental results, this study demonstrates that the pseudosection approach to mafic rocks is an invaluable tool to constrain metamorphic processes at LP–HT conditions.     

Carbon-bearing phases in shock-induced melt zones of the Elga meteorite

The mineralogy and texture of shock-induced melt veinlets and melt pockets in silicate inclusions in the Elga IIE iron meteorite have been studied by reflected-light optical microscopy, EMPA, SEM, Raman spectroscopy and TEM. The results suggest that Elga experienced two discrete impact events. The earlier event involved the collision of a metallic projectile with a silicate target and resulted in partial melting and recrystallization of the silicate material, forming schreibersite and oxide rims between the metal and silicate. The later impact event resulted in melt pockets in the silicate inclusions and was associated with fragmentation, melting, and brecciation of the rims and displacement of some fragments into the melt pockets. These fragments are shown to contain carbon-bearing phases: siderite and amorphous sp ² carbon, which form carbon–oxide, siderite–oxide, and siderite–schreibersite associations. The fact that the carbon-bearing fragments are spatially constrained to shock breccia and melt zones indicates that these fragments are genetically related to the impact process and that their carbon-bearing phases are of cosmic origin.     

Experimental Study of the Melting Reaction and Genetic Mechanism of Mineral Phase Transformation in Granulite Facies Metamorphism

The high-temperature and high-pressure experiment on natural block rock indicates that dehydration-melting of hydrous biotite (Bi) and partial melting of felsic minerals in garnet-biotite-plagioclase gneiss are mainly controlled by temperature, while mineral phase transformation is not only controlled by temperature-pressure conditions but also genetically associated with hydrous mineral dehydration-melting and partial melting of felsic minerals. According to the characteristics of biotite dehydration-melting and garnet transformation reaction, three stages may be distinguished: (1) when the experimental temperature is 700℃, biotite transforms to ilmenite (Ilm) + magnetite (Mt) + H2O and garnet to magnetite (Mt); (2) when the temperature is 730-760℃, biotite is dehydrated and melted and transformed into K2O-rich melt + Ilm + Mt, and garnet, into hypersthene (Hy) + cordierite (Crd); (3) when the temperature is up to or higher than 790℃, biotite is dehydrated and melted and transformed into melt + Hy +     

Petrology and chemistry of the Picritic Shergottite North West Africa 1068 (NWA 1068)

We report on the petrology and chemistry of North West Africa 1068 (NWA 1068), a shergottite recently recovered in Morocco. This meteorite has a total known mass of about 577 g and comprises 23 fragments. The largest fragment is a greenish-brown rock devoid of fusion crust. It displays a porphyritic texture consisting of a fine-grained groundmass and olivine grains. Excluding the impact melt pockets and the minor carbonate veins produced by terrestrial weathering, modal analyses indicate the following mineral proportions: 52 vol% pyroxenes, 22% maskelynite, 21% olivine, 2% phosphates (merrillite and chlorapatite), 2% opaque oxides (mainly ilmenite and chromite) and sulfides, and 1% K-rich mesostasis. Olivines with various habits occur as clusters often associated with chromite, or single crystals ranging in size from 50 μm to 2 millimeters (“megacrysts”). These crystals originate probably from disrupted cumulates with strong affinities with peridotitic shergottites.The bulk composition of NWA 1068 has been determined for 45 elements. It is an Al-poor ferroan basaltic rock, rich in MgO. Its major element composition is similar to those reported for other picritic shergottites, especially EETA79001A. Furthermore, key element ratios such as Fe/Mn (45), Al/Ti (6.6), Na/Ti (1.83), Ga/Al (4.4 × 10⁻⁴) and Na/Al (0.28) are typical of Martian meteorites. The trace elements demonstrate unambiguously that NWA 1068 is unpaired with any of the other hot desert finds: it is the first picritic shergottite with a REE pattern similar to those of Shergotty, Zagami, and Los Angeles.Incompatible element abundances indicate that NWA 1068 was not formed from a “primitive” shergottitic melt. It derived more likely from a basaltic shergottite, which has accumulated (and possibly partly digested) fragments of an olivine-rich lithology, in full agreement with major element abundances and petrographical interpretations.     

The Stannern trend eucrites: Contamination of main group eucritic magmas by crustal partial melts

We report on the petrology of a new eucrite belonging to the Stannern trend and discuss the origin of this trend. The eucrite Northwest Africa 4523 (NWA 4523) is an equilibrated eucrite consisting of dark clasts embedded in a fine-grained crystallized matrix. Two types of clasts have been observed: medium-grained ophitic/subophitic clasts, and very fine-grained clasts. Despite textural differences, the clasts display the same mineralogy, in particular the same kind of pyroxenes with pigeonitic cores containing sparse exsolution lamellae, and augitic rims, zoned plagioclases and the occurrence of K-feldspar. The major and trace element abundances of a large medium-grained clast are very similar to Stannern or Bouvante.The Stannern trend eucrites are characterized by high incompatible trace element abundances. Their trace element patterns normalized to a representative Main Group eucrite, exhibit significant Eu, Sr and Be negative anomalies. In this paper, we show that contamination of Main Group eucritic magmas by melts derived by partial melting of the asteroid’s crust can successfully explain both the high incompatible trace elements concentrations and the distinctive Eu, Sr, Be anomalies shown by the Stannern trend eucrites. This model is in agreement with the view that Stannern and some Main Group-Nuevo Laredo trend eucrites have been contemporaneously erupted, and with the probable assumption that Stannern trend eucrites formed rather late in the history of the 4-Vesta’s crust.     

Formation of corundum megacrysts during H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O-saturated incongruent melting of feldspar: P–T pseudosection-based modelling from the Skattøra migmatite complex,North Norwegian Caledonides

Corundum megacryst-bearing rocks associated with the high-pressure migmatites of the Skattøra migmatite complex (SMC) belonging to the Nakkedal Nappe Complex, North Norwegian Caledonides, display a classical example of incongruent melting of plagioclase under water-saturated conditions. Petrography and micro-textures suggest that several centimetre long corundum megacrysts formed from the silicate melt along with amphibole (pargasite) and plagioclase (X_An ~ 0.47). The corundum-bearing leucosomes are rich in biotite compared to the other mafic units of SMC. Locally, margarite occurs in coronas around corundum megacrysts. Geochemically, the corundum-bearing rocks are enriched in Al, K, Rb and Ba and depleted in Fe, Mg and Ca compared to the leucogabbroic host rock. A P–T pseudosection of the leucogabbro indicates that feldspar breakdown and corundum formation occurred at temperatures >850 °C and pressure >1.2 GPa. The calculated equilibrium P–T of the corundum-bearing rock corresponds to 750–825 °C and 0.9–1.1 GPa. The P–T pseudosection of margarite indicates that margarite formed after cooling and decompression to P–T conditions corresponding to 600 °C at 0.5 GPa. Based on geochemical and mineral chemical analysis coupled with thermodynamic modelling, we suggest that formation of corundum occurred as a result of high-pressure incongruent melting of plagioclase in the presence of a K-, Rb- and Ba-rich external fluid. It is also suggested that the external fluid transported out portions of Ca, Fe and Mg, resulting in an increase of the peraluminousity of the melt and promoting further growth of corundum.     

Shock implantation of Martian atmospheric argon in four basaltic shergottites: A laser probe Ar/Ar investigation

Spatially resolved argon isotope measurements have been performed on neutron-irradiated samples of two Martian basalts (Los Angeles and Zagami) and two Martian olivine-phyric basalts (Dar al Gani (DaG) 476 and North West Africa (NWA) 1068). With a ∼50 μm diameter focused infrared laser beam, it has been possible to distinguish between argon isotopic signatures from host rock (matrix) minerals and localized shock melt products (pockets and veins). The concentrations of argon in analyzed phases from all four meteorites have been quantified using the measured J values, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ratios and K₂O wt% in each phase. Melt pockets contain, on average, 10 times more gas (7-24 ppb ⁴⁰Ar) than shock veins and matrix minerals (0.3-3 ppb ⁴⁰Ar). The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio of the Martian atmosphere, estimated from melt pocket argon extractions corrected for cosmogenic ³⁶Ar, is: Los Angeles (∼1852), Zagami (∼1744) and NWA 1068 (∼1403). In addition, Los Angeles shows evidence for variable mixing of two distinct trapped noble gas reservoirs: (1) Martian atmosphere in melt pockets, and (2) a trapped component, possibly Martian interior (⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar: 480-490) in matrix minerals. Average apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages determined for matrix minerals in the four analyzed meteorites are 1290 Ma (Los Angeles), 692 Ma (Zagami), 515 Ma (NWA 1068) and 1427 Ma (DaG 476). These ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar apparent ages are substantially older than the ∼170-474 Ma radiometric ages given by other isotope dating techniques and reveal the presence of trapped ⁴⁰Ar. Cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages were measured using spallogenic ³⁶Ar and ³⁸Ar production. Los Angeles (3.1 ± 0.2 Ma), Zagami (2.9 ± 0.4 Ma) and NWA 1068 (2.0 ± 0.5 Ma) yielded ages within the range of previous determinations. DaG 476, however, yielded a young CRE age (0.7 ± 0.25 Ma), attributed to terrestrial alteration. The high spatial variation of argon indicates that the incorporation of Martian atmospheric argon into near-surface rocks is controlled by localized glass-bearing melts produced by shock processes. In particular, the larger (mm-size) melt pockets contain near end-member Martian atmospheric argon. Based on petrography, composition and argon isotopic data we conclude that the investigated melt pockets formed by localized in situ shock melting associated with ejection. Three processes may have led to atmosphere incorporation: (1) argon implantation due to atmospheric shock front collision with the Martian surface, (2) transformation of an atmosphere-filled cavity into a localized melt zone, and (3) shock implantation of atmosphere trapped in cracks, pores and fissures.     

Macrocrystic corundum and Fe–Ti oxide minerals entrained in alkali basalts from the Eger (Ohře) Rift: Mg−Fe3+-rich ilmenite as tracer of an oxidized upper mantle

Macrocrysts of corundum, ilmenite, and spinel-group minerals from alluvial deposits of the Eger Rift were studied for composition, texture, and mineral inclusions. All macrocrysts show usually magmatic corrosion textures indicating disequilibrium with the transporting alkali-basalt magma. Corundum grains, exclusively sapphires, were classified by trace-element signatures as magmatic and metamorphic types. Some sapphire grains show erratic compositions that may have resulted from a metasomatic overprint. The inclusion inventory of magmatic corundum suggests crystallization from a differentiated alkaline silicate melt. Corundum itself was never observed as an inclusion mineral. Magnesium- and Fe³⁺-rich ilmenite, described as typical mantle-derived species, is the dominant heavy mineral in almost all alluvial deposits of the Eger Rift. Most discrete macrocrysts are similar in appearance and composition to kimberlite- and basanite-related ilmenite. Ilmenite included in alluvial corundum and zircon grains differ from the bulk of discrete ilmenite grains by larger concentrations of Nb and Mn. The mantle origin of the Mg–Fe³⁺-rich ilmenite is confirmed by compositional and thermo-barometric comparison with ilmenite from clinoproxenitic and hornblenditic xenoliths, which probably originated in the Moho region. The Fe–Ti two-oxide geothermometry and oxygen-barometry of coexisting ilmenite–magnetite pairs yield equilibrium temperatures between 900 and 1,080 °C and oxygen fugacities log₁₀fO₂ between ?0.1 and 1.1 (relative to the NNO buffer), which indicate that the upper mantle as well as the mantle/crust transition zone below the rift is at least partially oxidized. The ilmenite macrocrysts were transported from the source region to the surface by explosive alkali-basalt magmas, as implied by the presence of basaltic-pipe breccias in close vicinity to some placer deposits.     

A AB-complex iron meteorite containing low-Ca clinopyroxene: northwest Africa 468 and its relationship to lodranites and formation by impact melting

Northwest Africa 468 (NWA 468) is a new ungrouped, silicate-rich member of the IAB complex of nonmagmatic iron meteorites. The silicates contain relatively coarse (∼300 μm) grains of low-Ca clinopyroxene with polysynthetic twinning and inclined extinction. Low-Ca clinopyroxene is indicative of quenching from high temperatures (either from protoenstatite in a few seconds or high-temperature clinoenstatite in a few hours). It seems likely that NWA 468 formed by impact melting followed by rapid cooling to ≤660°C. After the loss of a metal-sulfide melt from the silicates, sulfide was reintroduced, either from impact-mobilized FeS or as an S₂ vapor that combined with metallic Fe to produce FeS. The O isotopic composition (Δ¹⁷O = −1.39‰) indicates that the precursor material of NWA 468 was a metal-rich (e.g., CR) carbonaceous chondrite. Lodranites are similar in bulk chemical and O isotopic composition to the silicates in NWA 468; the MAC 88177 lodranite (which also contains low-Ca clinopyroxene) is close in bulk chemical composition. Both NWA 468 and MAC 88177 have relatively low abundances of rare earth and plagiophile elements. Siderophiles in the metal-rich areas of NWA 468 are similar to those in the MAC 88177 whole rock; both samples contain low Ir and relatively high Fe, Cu, and Se. Most unweathered lodranites contain ∼20 to 38 wt.% metallic Fe-Ni. These rocks may have formed in an analogous manner to NWA 468 (i.e., by impact melting of metal-rich carbonaceous chondrite precursors) but with less separation of metal-rich melts from silicates.     

Quench temperatures of Moore County and other eucrites: residence time on eucrite parent body

We report an electron probe investigation of the eucrite Moore County. Moore County consists predominantly of four pyroxene phases and plagioclase, with minor tridymite, ilmenite, chromite, troilite, iron metal and possibly apatite. Temperatures have been computed for Moore County and other eucrites using three independent techniques for coexisting pairs of pyroxenes. These computed temperatures are all subsolidus and approach those calculated for slowly cooled terrestrial igneous and metamorphic rocks. These temperatures conflict with the conclusions of earlier workers that Moore County was catastrophically removed from its cumulate environment at high temperatures. The eucrites cooled to temperatures substantially below the solidus on their parent body.Our results are consistent with the conclusion that Moore County resided for an extended period of time on the eucrite parent body, perhaps from the time of its crystallization from a basaltic melt (～-4.5AE) until a few tens of millions of years ago. This extended residence time is consistent with the conclusion that the eucrite parent body is still intact, but raises dynamical objections to the tentative identification of the eucrite parent body as asteroid 4 Vesta.An alternative scenario involves ejection from the eucrite parent body, at times significantly older than those indicated by cosmic ray exposure ages, of meteoroids of sufficient size that their interiors were shielded from cosmic rays. These meteoroids were removed by low-probability mechanisms into Earth-crossing orbits where they were disrupted and ultimately sampled by the Earth. This proposal appears to remove the dynamical objections to the tentative identification of the eucrite parent body as Vesta.     

A micro-scale investigation of melt production and extraction in the upper mantle based on silicate melt pockets in ultramafic xenoliths from the Bakony–Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (Western Hungary)

Mantle xenoliths in Neogene alkali basalts of the Bakony–Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (Western Hungary) frequently have melt pockets that contain silicate minerals, glass, and often carbonate globules. Textural, geochemical and thermobarometric data indicate that the melt pockets formed at relatively high pressure through breakdown of mainly amphibole as a result of temperature increases accompanied, in most cases, by the influx of external metasomatic agents. New elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data show that in several xenoliths the external agent was either a LIL-enriched aqueous fluid or a CO₂-rich fluid, whereas in other xenoliths the melt pockets were additionally enriched in LREE and sometimes HFSE, suggesting metasomatism by a silicate melt. The compositional character of the external agents might have been inherited by melting of a hydrated and probably carbonated deeper lithospheric component, which itself was metasomatized by melts with significant slab-derived components. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The origin of spongy texture in minerals of mantle xenoliths from the Western Qinling, central China

Spongy textures are observed in mantle peridotite xenoliths hosted in Cenozoic kamafugites from the Western Qinling, central China. These textures are mainly developed in clinopyroxenes and spinels, and occur as spongy rims consisting of low-Na clinopyroxene, ilmenite, and bubbles, enclosing nonspongy cores. The ilmenites and bubbles exhibit shapes and sizes that vary with the width of the spongy rims. The spongy-textured minerals preserve primary shapes and well-defined grain boundaries and do not show apparent interaction with contact minerals or observed melts except the subsequent melts forming melt pockets. The xenocrysts display reactive zoning textures with host magmas rather than spongy textures. Compositionally, the spongy rims are enriched in Ca, Ti, and most trace elements, have high Cr#, and are depleted in Na, Al, Fe, Al^VI, and Al^IV/Al^VI compared with the cores. These observations suggest that melts/host magmas did not play any significant role in the formation of the spongy textures. We therefore propose that spongy-textured clinopyroxenes and spinels in Western Qinling peridotite xenoliths developed from a decompression-induced partial melting event prior to formation of melt pockets and xenolith entrainment in host magmas.     

Dumortierite- and corundum-bearing quartz–feldspar–mica rocks of the Belomorian eclogite province: An example of melting of phengite + quartz

In the Salma eclogite of the Belomorian eclogite province, a dumortierite–phengite–corundum–bearing quartz–feldspar rock has been studied: its primary HP mineral paragenesis included garnet, phengite, and quartz. The phengite–quartz rocks were formed during dehydration and/or melting of boroncontaining rocks when they were dipped in the Meso- Neoarchaean subduction zone to a depth of not less than 70 km. As a result of the subsequent superimposed high-temperature metamorphic events under PT conditions of high-pressure granulite facies, the phengite in quartz underwent incongruent dehydration melting with formation of complex polymineral pseudomorphs, consisting of feldspars, biotite, newly formed muscovite, kyanite, corundum, and dumortierite. New estimates of the metamorphic temperature (850–900°C according to the melting reactions of phengite and the dumortierite field of stability; about 1000°C by the reintegrated composition of feldspar–mesoperthite) that affected the HP parageneses of Salma eclogitized rocks are at least 50–100°C (or even more) higher than them estimated earlier.

     

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.     

Heat capacity calculations for Al2O3 corundum and MgSiO3 ilmenite

We have used Kieffer's vibrational model to calculate heat capacities and entropies for Al₂O₃ corundum and MgSiO₃ ilmenite, using available vibrational and elastic data for these phases. The calculated heat capacity for corundum is within 1–2 percent of the experimental values between 100 K and 1,800 K, while that for MgSiO₃ ilmenite is within 1–2 percent of the experimental data between 350 K and 500 K. We have calculated the heat capacity for MgSiO₃ ilmenite from 50 K to 1,800 K, which extends the range of available heat capacity data for this phase. The results of this calculation suggest that there may be differences in the vibrational properties of corundum and MgSiO₃ ilmenite. Finally, we have used the results of our calculation to obtain a transition entropy of near -18.8 J/mol.K for the MgSiO₃ pyroxene-ilmenite reaction.