Layered amphibolite sequence in NE Sardinia,Italy: remnant of a pre-Variscan mafic silicic layered intrusion?

A banded amphibolite sequence of alternating ultramafic, mafic (amphibolite) and silicic layers, tectonically enclosed within Variscan migmatites, outcrops at Monte Plebi (NE Sardinia) and shows similarities with leptyno-amphibolite complexes. The ultramafic layers consist of amphibole (75–98%), garnet (0–20%), opaque minerals (1–5%) and biotite (0–3%). The mafic rocks are made up of amphibole (65–80%), plagioclase (15–30%), quartz (0–15%), opaque minerals (2–3%) and biotite (0–2%). The silicic layers consist of plagioclase (60–75%), amphibole (15–30%) and quartz (10–15%). Alteration, metasomatic, metamorphic and hydrothermal processes did not significantly modify the original protolith chemistry, as proved by a lack of K₂O-enrichment, Rb-enrichment, CaO-depletion, MgO-depletion and by no shift in the rare earth element (REE) patterns. Field, geochemical and isotopic data suggest that ultramafic, mafic and silicic layers represent repeated sequences of cumulates, basic and acidic rocks similar to macrorhythmic units of mafic silicic layered intrusions. The ultramafic layers recall the evolved cumulates of Skaergaard and Pleasant Bay mafic silicic layered intrusions. Mafic layers resemble Thingmuli tholeiites and chilled Pleasant Bay mafic rocks. Silicic layers with Na₂O: 4–6 wt%, SiO₂: 67–71 wt% were likely oligoclase-rich adcumulates common in many mafic silicic layered intrusions. Some amphibolite showing a strong Ti-, P-depletion and REE-depletion are interpreted as early cumulates nearly devoid of ilmenite and phosphates. All Monte Plebi rocks have extremely low Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf content and high LILE/HFSE ratios, a feature inherited from the original mantle sources. The mafic and ultramafic layers show slight and strong LREE enrichment respectively. Most mafic layer samples plot in the field of continental tholeiites in the TiO₂–K₂O–P₂O₅ diagram and are completely different from N-MORB, E-MORB and T-MORB as regards REE patterns and Nd, Sr isotope ratios but show analogies with Siberian, Deccan and proto-Atlantic rift tholeiites. Comparisons with Thingmuli, Skaergaard and Kiglapait rocks and with experimental data suggest that the Monte Plebi intrusion was an open-to-oxygen system with fO₂ FMQ. Mafic and ultramafic samples yielded _Nd(460)=+0.79 /+3.06 and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.702934–0.703426, and four silicic samples _Nd(460)=–0.53/–1.13; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.703239–0.703653. Significant differences in Nd isotope ratios between mafic and silicic rocks prove that both groups evolved separately in deeper magma chambers, from different mantle sources, with negligible interaction with crustal material, and were later repeatedly injected within a shallower magma chamber. The spectrum of Sr and Nd isotope data is consistent with a slightly enriched mantle metasomatized during an event earlier than 460 Ma. The metasomatising component was represented by alkali-Th-rich fluids of crustal origin rather than by sedimentary materials, able to modify alkali and Sr–Nd isotope systematics. Monte Plebi layered amphibolites might represent the first example of a strongly metamorphosed fragment of an early Paleozoic mafic silicic layered intrusion emplaced in a thinning continental crust and then tectonically dismembered by Variscan orogeny.     

Dehydration-melting of amphibolite at 10 kbar: the effects of temperature and time

We have simulated the dehydration-melting of a natural, low-K, calcic amphibolite (67.4% hornblende, 32.5% anorthite) in piston-cylinder experiments at 10 kbar and 750–1000°C, for 1–9 days. The solidus temperature is lower than 750°C; garnet appears at 850°C. The overall reaction is: Hb+PL+Cpx+Al-Hb+Ca-Hb+Ga+Opx. Three stages of reaction are: (1) melting dominated by the growth of clinopyroxene and garnet, with little change in composition of liquid or garnet, (2) a reversal of this reaction between 875°C and 900°C, with decreases in the amounts of liquid and garnet, and (3) a large increase in liquid along with the loss of hornblende and decrease of plagioclase while clinopyroxene and garnet increase. Garnet is enriched in pyrope and zoned from Fe-cores to Mg-edges (range 3 mol % pyrope); liquid composition is enriched first in An (to 950°C) and then in Ab. The liquids are more calcic and aluminous than natural tonalites, which is attributed to the plagioclase composition (An₉₀). The formation of peraluminous liquid from the metaluminous amphibolite is caused by anorthite — not H₂O-saturated conditions. The results are consistent with an amphibolite phase diagram with relatively high solidus temperatures in the garnet-absent field (900–1000°C), but with a solidus backbend at 7–9 kbar, coincident with the garnet-in boundary. Hornblende breakdown due to garnet formation in a closed system must make H₂O available for H₂O-undersaturated melting right down to the H₂O-saturated solidus, below 700°C, which defines a large low-temperature PT area where hydrous granitoid melts can be generated with residual garnet and hornblende.     

Crustal xenoliths from Tertiary volcanics of the Northern Hessian Depression

A suite of crustal xenoliths from Tertiary basaltic tuffs of the Northern Hessian Depression (NHD) volcanic field comprises abundant meta-igneous pyroxene granulites of mafic, noritic to anorthositic, IAT and tonalitic composition. Less abundant are granitic, tonalitic and leucogranitic gneisses and metasedimentary xenoliths. A total of 49 samples were analyzed for modal compositions, for major and trace elements (including Li, Rb, Sr, Ba, Cs, V, Sc, Cr, Co, Ni, Y, Zr, Nb, Ta, Hf, Th and REE) and oxygen isotopes. Two-pyroxene thermometry yields temperatures between 700 and 900° C for mafic and noritic granulites. Feldspar thermometry indicates temperatures of 660°–710° C for tonalitic granulites and 470°–520° C for granitic and tonalitic gneisses. One highly depleted sillimanite-rich metasediment contains cordierite and garnet which have equilibrated at temperatures of 780° C. The general lack of garnet in the mafic and noritic granulites and the presence of sillimanite in felsic xenoliths indicates that metamorphic pressures have not exceeded 10 kb. Major and trace element data and oxygen isotope compositions of the mafic granulites are compatible with an origin from spilitized enriched-type MORB rocks (enrichment in ¹⁸O to 11 and in Li to 34 ppm at average SiO₂ contents of 44.1 wt%). These low-T spilites were transformed into amphibolites and then pyroxene granulites during subsequent high temperature metamorphic events. Low Si, Al, K, and Rb concentrations along with An contents in plagioclase ranging from near 50 to 98 mole percent suggest that amphibolite facies protoliths have generated tonalitic melts during partial melting at temperatures above 700° C. The mafic granulite xenoliths are interpreted as restites whereas the tonalitic samples probably represent the extracted partial melts derived by 20 to 30 percent degree of melting. Metasedimentary xenoliths strongly depleted in granitic component could represent restites from which granitic S-type partial melts have been extracted. Tonalitic and leucogranitic gneisses including one trondhjemite xenolith have many chemical characteristics (e.g. REE distribution) in common with tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite suites of the North Atlantic region but cannot be accounted for a more specific origin. Estimated elastic properties of the main types of NHD xenoliths yield P-wave velocities of 6.0–6.4 km^-1 for granitic, tonalitic and trondhjemite gneisses including tonalitic granulites and 6.5–7.0 for the more mafic xenoliths. When compared with two seismic depths-V_p profiles these data are in accordance with a model where the mafic, andesitic, noritic and tonalitic granulites comprise abundant rock types at depths between 29 km (Moho) and 20 km which mainly consists of old oceanic crust including subduction related volcanic products. The more felsic xenoliths probably represent material from depths between 12 and 20 km.     

Petrology of the Chilliwack batholith,North Cascades,Washington: generation of calc-alkaline granitoids by melting of mafic lower crust with variable water fugacity

Calc-alkaline granitoid rocks of the Oligocene-Pliocene Chilliwack batholith, North Cascades, range from quartz diorites to granites (57–78% SiO₂), and are coeval with small gabbroic stocks. Modeling of major element, trace element, and isotopic data for granitoid and mafic rocks suggests that: (1) the granitoids were derived from amphibolitic lower crust having REE (rare-earth-element) and Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics of the exposed gabbros; (2) lithologic diversity among the granitoids is primarily the result of variable water fugacity during melting. The main effect of f_{H 2 O} variation is to change the relative proportions of plagioclase and amphibole in the residuum. The REE data for intermediate granitoids (quartz diorite-granodiorite; Eu/Eu^*=0.84–0.50) are modeled by melting with f_{H 2 O}<1 kbar, leaving a plagioclase + pyroxene residuum. In contrast, data for leucocratic granitoids (leuco-granodiorites and granites; Eu/Eu^* =1.0–0.54) require residual amphibole in the source and are modeled by melting with f_{H 2 O}=2–3 kbar. Consistent with this model, isotopic data for the granitoids show no systematic variation with rock type (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i =0.7033–0.7043; Nd(0)=+3.3 to +5.5) and overlap significantly with data for the gabbroic rocks (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i =0.7034–0.7040; Nd(0)=+3.3 to +6.9). The f_{H 2 O} variations during melting may reflect additions of H₂O to the lower crust from crystallizing basaltic magmas having a range of H₂O contents; Chillwack gabbros document the existence of such basalts. One-dimensional conductive heat transfer calculations indicate that underplating of basaltic magmas can provide the heat required for large-scale melting of amphibolitic lower crust, provided that ambient wallrock temperatures exceed 800°C. Based on lithologic and geochemical similarities, this model may be applicable to other Cordilleran batholiths.     

Experimental study of a low-alkali tholeiite at 1–5 kbar: optimal condition for the crystallization of high-An plagioclase in hydrous arc tholeiite

We conducted melting experiments on a low-alkali tholeiite (SiO₂ ~52 wt%, MgO ~6.5 wt%, CaO/Na₂O~4.4, Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ~0.33) under both H₂O-undersaturated and H₂O-saturated conditions to investigate the effect of H₂O on the Ca–Na partitioning between plagioclase and melt. Experiments were performed in the temperature and pressure ranges of 1,000–1,300°C and 1–5 kbar, respectively, with varying H₂O contents of 0–12wt%. Redox condition was 0–2 log unit above NNO (nickel–nickel oxide) buffer. Temperature-bulk H₂O diagrams for the low-alkali tholeiite are constructed at 1, 2, and 5 kbar, and compositions of near-liquidus plagioclase and coexisting melt are determined. To exclude the effect of melt composition (CaO/Na₂O and Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratios) on plagioclase composition and to reveal the effect of H₂O on An (=100×Ca/(Ca+Na)) content and (=(Ca/Na)_pl/(Ca/Na)_melt), we focused on the composition of near-liquidus plagioclases which crystallized from melts with nearly constant CaO/Na₂O and Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratios. Our experimental results show that, at each experimental pressure, An content of the near-liquidus plagioclase and the K_D^Ca-Na almost linearly increases as H₂O content in melt increases. Each of the An content and the variations in a low-alkali tholeiitic system (CaO/Na₂O~4.0–4.5, Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ~0.27–0.33) can be described by one equation using temperature, pressure, and melt H₂O content as parameters. An content and of liquidus plagioclase increases with increasing melt H₂O and with decreasing pressure, elucidating that nearly H₂O-saturated conditions of 2–3 kbar is optimal for the crystallization of the most An-rich plagioclase (>An₈₈). We suggest this pressure condition of 2–3 kbar, corresponding to depth of 7–11 km, plays an important role for the origin of An-rich plagioclase in H₂O-rich low-alkali tholeiite. At pressures more than ca. 4 kbar, crystallization of liquidus Ca-rich clinopyroxene decreases the CaO/Na₂O ratio of liquid, thus prohibiting the crystallization of high-An plagioclase from hydrous tholeiite.     

On the origin of some mica-lamprophyres: experimental evidence from a mafic minette

Experimental melting relationships for a mafic minette (mica-lamprophyre) from Buell Park, Arizona were determined under fO₂ conditions equivalent to the ironwüstite-graphite and quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffers, at pressures of 10–20 kbar. A comparison between experimental products and phenocrysts in the most primitive minettes indicates that those lavas preserve a near-liquidus assemblage of olivine, diopside and Ti-rich phlogopite crystallized in the upper mantle under fO₂QFM and in the presence of an H₂O-bearing fluid phase. It is suggested that micalamprophyric (minette) magmas may originate from a metasomatized, garnet-bearing peridotitic source at deeper levels in the mantle (P20 kbar) but can also be in equilibrium with a phlogopite-bearing wehrlite (±opx) source at pressures of 17–20 kbar, under reducing or oxidizing mantle conditions. Owing to their rapid crystallization rate and high liquidus temperatures, a series of potassic daughter melts (potassic latites and felsic minettes) can be formed by segregation from mafic minette parents during their ascent through the cooler continental crust. The preservation of olivine in equilibrium with phlogopite phenocrysts in primitive minettes precludes a petrogenetic process dominated by assimilation/fractional crystallization in a shallow magma chamber and supports a model by which some lamprophyric magmas are brought to near surface conditions at temperatures in the range of 1,000–1,200° C and chilled rapidly.     

Magmatic fluids in the Fen carbonatite complex,S.E. Norway

Three different types of carbonatite magma may be recognized in the Cambrian Fen complex, S.E. Norway: (1) Peralkaline calcite carbonatite magma derived from ijolitic magma; (2) Alkaline magnesian calcite carbonatite magma which yielded biotite-amphibole søvite and dolomite carbonatite; and (3) ferrocarbonatite liquids, related to (2) and/or to alkaline lamprophyre magma (damjernite). Apatite formed during the pre-emplacement evolution of (2) contains inclusions of calcite and dolomite, devitrified mafic silicate glass and aqueous fluid. All of these inclusions have a magmatic origin, and were trapped during a mid-crustal fractionation event (P4 kbars, T625° C), where apatite and carbonates precipitated from a carbonatite magma which coexisted with a mafic silicate melt. The fluid inclusions contain water, dissolved ionic species (mainly NaCl, with minor polyvalent metal salts) and in some cases CO₂. Two main groups of fluid inclusions are recognized: Type A: CO₂-bearing inclusions, of approximate molar composition H2O _88–90 CO _27-5 NaCl ₅ (d=0.85–0.87 g/ cm³). Type B: CO₂-free aqueous inclusions with salinities from 1 to 24 wt% NaCl_eq and densities betwen 0.7 and 1.0 g/cm³. More strongly saline type B inclusions (salinity ca. 35wt%, d=1.0 to 1.1 g/cm³) contain solid halite at room temperature and occur in overgrowths on apatite. Type A inclusions probably contain the most primitive fluid, from which type B fluids have evolved during fractionation of the magmatic system. Type B inclusions define a continuous trend from low towards higher salinities and densities and formed as a result of cooling and partitioning of alkali chloride components in the carbonatite system into the fluid phase. Available petrological data on the carbonatites show that the fluid evolution in the Fen complex leads from a regime dominated by juvenile CO₂ + H₂O fluids during the magmatic stage, to groundwater-derived aqueous fluids during post-magmatic reequilibration.     

Kornerupine in Mg-Al-rich gneisses from Namaqualand,South Africa: mineralogy and evidence for late-metamorphic fluid activity

Three kornerupine occurrences are reported in distinctive SiO₂-poor, MgO- and Al₂O₃-rich paragneisses from the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex in South Africa. Kornerupine coexists stably with phlogopite, cordierite, orthopyroxene, gedrite, sapphirine, sillimanite and plagioclase and, in sapphirine-free rocks, with spinel and corundum. Tourmaline of a texturally older generation than kornerupine is commonly present in the same samples.Ten analysed kornerupines show a variation in total Fe as FeO from 1.8 to 10.9 weight per cent. B₂O₃ contents are estimated from x-ray data and a few spectrochemical analyses to range from 0.9 to 3.5 weight per cent. There is a strong inverse correlation between B³⁺ and Al³⁺. Total iron content has a strong and systematic effect on refractive index, colour and dispersion. Fe and Mg are systematically partitioned with the other minerals, and Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios increase as follows: spinel 相似文献   

Partial melting of metagreywackes. Part I. Fluid-absent experiments and phase relationships

Island arcs, active and passive margins are the best tectonic settings to generate fertile reservoirs likely to be involved in subsequent granitoid genesis. In such environments, greywackes are abundant crustal rock types and thus are good candidates to generate large quantities of granitoid magmas. We performed a series of experiments, between 100 and 2000 MPa, on the fluid-absent melting of a quartz-rich aluminous metagreywacke composed of 32 wt% plagioclase (Pl) (An₂₂), 25 wt% biotite (Bt) (X _Mg45), and 41 wt% quartz (Qtz). Eighty experiments, averaging 13 days each, were carried out using a powder of minerals (5m) and a glass of the same composition. The multivariant field of the complex reaction Bt+Pl+QtzGrt/Crd/Spl+ Opx+Kfs+melt limited by the Opx-in and Bt-out curves, is located between 810–860°C at 100 MPa, 800–850°C at 200 MPa, 810–860°C at 300 MPa, 820–880°C at 500 MPa, 860–930°C at 800 MPa, 890–990°C at 1000 MPa, and at a temperature lower than 1000°C at 1500 and 1700 MPa. The melting of biotite+plagioclase+ quartz produced melt+orthopyroxene (Opx) +cordierite (Crd) or spinel (Spl) at 100, 200 and 300 MPa, and melt+orthopyroxene+garnet (Grt) from 500 to 1700 MPa (+Qtz, Pl, FeTi Oxide at all pressures). K-feldspar (Kfs) was found as a product of the reaction in some cases and we observed that the residual plagioclase was always strongly enriched in orthoclase component. The P-T surface corresponding to the multivariant field of this reaction is about 50 to 100°C wide. At temperatures below the appearance of orthopyroxene, biotite is progressively replaced by garnet with increasing P. At 850°C, we observed that (1) the modal proportion of garnet increases markedly with P; (2) the grossular content of the garnet increases regularly from about 4 mol% at 500 MPa to 15 mol% at 2000 MPa. These changes can be ascribed to the reaction Bt+Pl+Qtz Grt+Kfs+melt with biotite +plagioclase+quartz on the low-P side of the reaction. As a result, at 200 MPa, we observed the progressive disappearance of biotite without production of orthopyroxene. These experiments emphasize the importance of this reaction for the understanding of partial melting processes and evolution of the lower continental crust. Ca-poor Al-metagreywackes represent fertile rocks at commonly attainable temperatures (i.e. 800–900°C), below 700 MPa. There, 30 to 60 vol.% of melt can be produced. Above this pressure, temperatures above 900°C are required, making the production of granitoid magmas more difficult. Thin layers of gneisses composed of rothopyroxene, garnet, plagioclase, and quartz (±biotite), interbedded within sillimanite-bearing paragneisses, are quite common in granulite terrains. They may result from partial melting of metagreywackes and correspond to recrystallized mixtures of crystals (+trapped melt) left behind after removal of a major proportion of melt. Available experimental constraints indicate that extensive melting of pelites takes place at a significantly lower temperature (850°C±20) than in Al-metagreywackes (950°C±30), at 1000 MPa. The common observation that biotite is no longer stable in aluminous paragneisses while it still coexists commonly with orthopyroxene, garnet, plagioclase and quartz, provides rather tight temperature constraints for granulitic metamorphism.Abbreviations Ab albite - alm almandine component in garnet - Als aluminum silicate - An anorthite - Ap apatite - Bt biotite - Cal calcite - Crd cordierite - Crn corundum - En enstatite - Fl fluid phase - Fs ferrosilite - Ged gedrite - Gl glass - Grs Grossular - grs grossular component in garnet - Grt garnet - Hc hercynite - Hem hematite - Ilm ilmenite - Kfs K-feldspar - M melt - Mag magnetite - Ms muscovite - Opx orthopyroxene - Or orthoclase - Phl phlogopite - Pl plagioclase - Po Pyrrhotite - Prp pyrope - prp pyrope component in garnet - Otz quartz - Rt rutile - Sa sanidine - Sil sillimanite - Spl spinel - St staurolite - Ti-Mag titano-magnetite - W water     

Anhydrous PT phase relations of an Aleutian high-MgO basalt: an investigation of the role of olivine-liquid reaction in the generation of arc high-alumina basalts

We report results of anhydrous 1 atm and piston-cylinder experiments on ID16, an Aleutian high-magnesia basalt (HMB), designed to investigate potential petrogenetic links between arc high-alumina basalts (HABs) and less common HMBs. ID16 is multiply saturated with a plagioclase/spinel iherzolite mineral assemblage (olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, spinel) immediately beneath the 12 kbar liquidus. Derivative liquids produced at high temperatures in the 10–20 kbar melting interval of ID16 have compositions resembling those published of many moderate-CaO HABs, although lower-temperature liquids are poorer in CaO and richer in alkalies than are typical HABs. Isomolar pseudoternary projections and numerical mass-balance modeling suggest that derivative melts of ID16 enter into a complex reaction relationship with olivine at 10 kbar and 1,200° C–1,150° C. We sought to test such a mechanism to explain the lack of liquidus olivine in anhydrous experiments on mafic high-alumina basalts such as SSS. 1.4 (Johnston 1986). These derivative liquids, however, do not resemble typical arc high-alumina basalts, suggesting that olivine-liquid reaction does not account for Johnston's (1986) observations. Instead, we suggest that olivine can be brought onto the liquidus of such compositions only through the involvement of H₂O, which will affect the influence of bulk CaO, MgO, and Al₂O₃ contents on the identity of HAB liquidus phases (olivine or plagioclase) at pressures less than 12 kbar.     

Metastable melting in the granite system Qz-Or-Ab-An-H2O

Time studies were performed in the quinary system Qz-Or-Ab-An-H₂O at kbars and T=665 ° and 660 ° C. Starting material was a mixture of quartz, alkali feldspar Or₈₀ and plagioclase An₃₁. The compositions of plagioclases of run products were determined and compared with the plagioclase of stable solidus conditions.The solidus of the granite system was fixed at P _HäO=5 kbars using various plagioclase — and appropriate alkali feldspar — compositions besides quartz in the starting mixture (Fig. 1).The results of time studies (Table 3 and Fig. 3) reveal metastable melting in the granite system Qz-Or-Ab-An-H₂O. Plagioclase melts almost stoichiometrically. The new plagioclase compositions formed during melting of cotectic compositions approach the theoretically expected stable plagioclase compositions only extremely slowly. An extrapolation of the data achieved in run times of 5–1,500 h indicates attainment of equilibrium after 10¹⁴ years. Metastable melting of granitic compositions is not only considered as an experimental problem but also as a rock forming process in nature.     

Phase relations in silicic systems at one-atmosphere pressure

An important control on magma rheology is the extent to which the magma crystallizes during ascent as a result of the effective undercooling created by volatile exsolution. To assess this undercooling, we need to know the final (anhydrous) one-atmosphere phase relations of silicic magmas. For this reason, we have performed one-atmosphere controlled-fO₂ crystallization experiments on dacitic to rhyolitic melt compositions (67–78 wt% SiO₂) and determined equilibrium phase assemblages, melt fractions, and some phase compositions over a range of temperatures. Experiments were run at oxygen fugacities between NNO+1 and NNO+2 and temperatures of 1,000 to 1,250°C. Constant phase compositions and sample crystallinities in runs longer than 3.5 days suggest that these runs closely approached compositional equilibrium. Additionally, melting experiments with similar compositions yielded results closely resembling those obtained in crystallization experiments. All samples have liquidus temperatures between 1,250 and 1,200 °C, with plagioclase the liquidus phase for the two most mafic samples and quartz for the most silicic sample. When associated glass compositions are projected into the Qz-Ab-Or system they define a revised one-atmosphere quartz-feldspar cotectic 5–10% less quartz normative than previously estimated. Glass compositions from each sample plot along this cotectic between 1,100 and 1,000 °C, consistent with the plagioclase-quartz co-crystallization textures found in runs at these temperatures. This cotectic constrains glass compositions to a maximum silica content of 76±1 wt% SiO₂. Reported glass compositions in excess of 77 wt% SiO₂ in volcanic samples suggest non-equilibrium crystallization, perhaps a consequence of large melt undercoolings.Editorial responsibility: I. Carmichael     

Anhydrous melting of peridotite at 0–15 Kb pressure and the genesis of tholeiitic basalts

The anhydrous melting behaviour of two synthetic peridotite compositions has been studied experimentally at temperatures ranging from near the solidus to about 200° C above the solidus within the pressure range 0–15 kb. The peridotite compositions studied are equivalent to Hawaiian pyrolite and a more depleted spinel lherzolite (Tinaquillo peridotite) and in both cases the experimental studies used peridotite –40% olivine compositions. Equilibrium melting results in progressive elimination of phases with increasing temperature. Four main melting fields are recognized; from the solidus these are: olivine (ol)+orthopyroxene (opx)+clinopyroxene (cpx)+Al-rich phase (plagioclase at low pressure, spinel at moderate pressure, garnet at high pressure)+liquid (L); ol+opx+cpx+Cr-spinel+L; ol+opx+Cr-spinel +L: ol±Cr-spinel+L. Microprobe analyses of the residual phases show progressive changes to more refractory compositions with increasing proportion of coexisting melt i.e. increasing Mg/(Mg+Fe) and Cr/(Cr+Al) ratios, decreasing Al₂O₃, CaO in pyroxene.The degree of melting, established by modal analysis, increases rapidly immediately above the solidus (up to 10% melting occurs within 25°–30° C of the solidus), and then increases in roughly linear form with increasing temperature.Equilibrium melt compositions have been calculated by mass balance using the compositions and proportions of residual phases to overcome the problems of iron loss and quench modification of the glass. Compositions from the melting of pyrolite within the spinel peridotite field (i.e. 15 kb) range from alkali olivine basalt (<15% melting) through olivine tholeiite (20–30% melting) and picrite to komatiite (40–60% melting). Melting in the plagioclase peridotite field produces magnesian quartz tholeiite and olivine-poor tholeiite and, at higher degrees of melting (30–40%), basaltic or pyroxenitic komatiite. Melts from Tinaquillo lherzolite are more silica saturated than those from pyrolite for similar degrees of partial melting, and range from olivine tholeiite through tholeiitic picrite to komatiite for melting in the spinel peridotite field.The equilibrium melts are compared with inferred primary magma compositions and integrated with previous melting studies on basalts. The data obtained here and complementary basalt melting studies do not support models of formation of oceanic crust in which the parental magmas of common mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are attributed to segregation from source peridotite at shallow depths ( 25 km) to leave residual harzburgite. Liquids segregating from peridotite at these depths are more silica-rich than common MORB.     

Ti-poor hoegbomite in kornerupine-cordierite-sillimanite rocks from Ellammankovilpatti,Tamil Nadu,India

Hoegbomite occurs sparingly in minute (mostly 0.1 mm) grains with fine-grained hercynite, magnetite, and rutile in two coarse-grained kornerupine-cordierite-sillimanite rocks from Ellammankovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, India. The hoegbomite is Ti-poor (2.5 wt% TiO₂), Fe-rich (25–26% Fe as FeO), and contains 6.2–6.8% MgO, 59.8–60.1% Al₂O₃, 1.0–1.3% ZnO, 0.3–0.7% Cr₂O₃ and 0.02% Li₂O. Minor amounts (estimated not to exceed 0.2 wt% oxide) of V, Co, Ni, Ga, and Sn were detected on the electron microprobe, but Be, Nb, and Zr were not detected with the ion microprobe mass analyser. Assuming the crystal structure refined by Gatehouse and Grey (1982) to be applicable to the Ellammankovilpatti hoegbomite, the analyses were recalculated on a basis of 22 cations, 30 oxygens, and two hydroxyls, resulting in 49 to 53% of the iron being ferric. Identification of hoegbomite was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. Associated cordierite (Fe/(Fe+Mg)=0.14) and kornerupine (Fe/(Fe+Mg)= 0.27) contain 0.02 weight % Li₂O and 0.05–0.07% BeO, while only the kornerupine contains B₂O₃ — 1.57% (ion microprobe analyses). Hoegbomite and the other oxides may have crystallized at temperatures between 680 and 720° C (P6.5 kbar) following attainment of peak conditions by the reaction: kornerupine+sillimanite±rutile+ZnO+H₂O+O₂ =cordierite+chlorite+hercynite+hoegbomite +magnetite+B₂O₃.The conditions for hoegbomite formation at Ellammankovilpatti appear to be characteristic of many hoegbomite parageneses. Critical for hoegbomite are silica undersaturation and relatively high oxygen and water activities at fairly high temperatures, conditions which are most commonly attained in later phases of a metamorphic cycle in upper amphibolite- and granulite-facies terrains.     

Nature and timing of magma interactions before,during, and after the caldera-forming eruption of Volcán Ceboruco,Mexico

Volcán Ceboruco, Mexico, erupted ~1,000 years ago, producing the Jala pumice and forming a ~4-km-wide caldera. During that eruption, 2.8 to 3.5 km³ of rhyodacite (~70 wt% SiO₂) magma and 0.2 to 0.5 km³ of mixed dacite (~67 wt% SiO₂) magma were tapped and deposited as the Jala pumice. Subsequently, the caldera was partially filled by extrusion of the Dos Equis dome, a low-silica (~64 wt% SiO₂) dacite dome with a volume of ~1.3 km³. Petrographic evidence indicates that the Jala dacite and Dos Equis dacite originated largely through the mixing of three end-member magmas: (1) rhyodacite magma, (2) dacite magma, and (3) mafic magma. Linear least-squares modeling and detailed modal analysis indicate that the Jala dacite is predominantly a bimodal mixture of rhyodacite and dacite with a small additional mafic component, whereas the Dos Equis dacite is composed of mostly dacite mixed with subordinate amounts of rhyodacite and mafic magma. According to Fe–Ti oxide geothermometry, before the caldera-forming eruption the rhyodacite last equilibrated at ~865 °C, whereas the dacite was originally at ~890 °C but was heated to ~960 °C by intrusion of mafic magma as hot as ~1,030 °C. Zoning profiles in plagioclase and/or magnetite phenocrysts indicate that mixing between mafic and dacite magma occurred ~34–47 days prior to eruption, whereas subsequent mixing between rhyodacite and dacite magmas occurred only 1–4 days prior to eruption. Following the caldera-forming eruption, continued inputs of mafic magma led to effusion of the Dos Equis dome dacite. In this case, timing between mixing and eruption is estimated at ~93–185 days based on the thickness of plagioclase overgrowth rims.Editorial responsibility: T.L. Grove     

Pervasive rehydration of granulites during exhumation – an example from the Pulur complex, Eastern Pontides, Turkey

Summary High-grade gneisses from the Pulur complex in NE Turkey bear evidence for biotite-dehydration melting at 820°C and 0.7–0.8GPa, melt segregation and near-isothermal decompression to 0.4–0.5GPa. During further exhumation, the rocks underwent secondary pervasive rehydration at temperatures between 400 and 230°C and fluid pressures between 0.3 and 0.1GPa. Metamorphic peak conditions are dated at 331–327Ma, while hydrothermal retrogression occurred significantly later at 315–310Ma under static conditions. During the rehydration event, primary high-grade mineral assemblages including garnet, cordierite, sillimanite, spinel, biotite, plagioclase and ilmenite were extensively replaced by muscovite, paragonite, margarite, corundum, diaspore, chlorite, kaolinite, pumpellyite, prehnite, epidote, titanite, anatase, pyrite and chalcopyrite. Secondary mineral assemblages indicate that the infiltrating fluids were characterized by low fO₂, very low X_CO2 (<0.002), variable activities of Ca²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺ and H⁺ and relatively high activities of H₂S and CH₄. Quartz veins that might have acted as pathways for the fluids are rare. Ubiquitous veinlets consisting of (i) albite, (ii) chlorite+calcite+quartz or (iii) K-feldspar+calcite+quartz were formed after the pervasive rehydraton event by precipitation from aqueous solutions that were somewhat richer in CO₂.     

Partial melting kinetics of plagioclase-diopside pairs

Partial melting experiments on plagioclase (An₆₀) and diopside have been carried out using pairs of large crystals to investigate textures and kinetics of melting. The experiments were done at one atmosphere pressure as a function of temperature (1,190–1,307° C) and time (1.5–192 h). Melting took place mainly at the plagioclase-diopside contact planes. Reaction zones composed of fine mixtures of calcic plagioclase and melt were developed from the surface of the plagioclase crystal inward. There exists a critical temperature, below which only a few % melting can occur over the duration of the experiments. This sluggish melting is caused by slow NaSi-CaAl diffusion in plagioclase, because the plagioclase crystal must change its composition to produce albite-rich cotectic melts. Diffusion in the solid also affects the chemical composition of the melts. During initial melting, potassium is preferentially extracted from plagioclase because K-Na diffusion in plagioclase is faster than that of NaSi-CaAl. This also causes a shift in the cotectic compositions. Above the critical temperature, on the other hand, melting is promoted by a metastable reaction in which the plagioclase composition does not change, and which produces melts with compositional gradients along the original An₆₀-diopside tie line. The critical temperature is determined by the intersection of the cotectic and the An₆₀-diopside tie line. Interdiffusion coefficients of plagioclase-diopside components in the melt are estimated from melting rates above the critical temperature by using a simplified steady-state diffusion model (e.g., 10^–8 cm²/sec at 1,300° C).Many examples of reaction zones due to partial melting have been described as spongy or fingerprint-like textures in xenoliths. Metastable melting above the critical temperature is considered to take place in natural melting where there is a high degree of melting. However, we cannot exclude the possibility of disequilibrium created by sluggish melting controlled by diffusion in the minerals. If melting occurs close to the solidus, this process can be important even for partial melting in the upper mantle.     

Melting and phase relations in the plane tholeiite-lherzolite-nepheline basanite to 40 kilobars with geological implications

Six crystalline mixtures, picrite, olivine-rich tholeiite, nepheline basanite, alkali picrite, olivine-rich basanite, and olivine-rich alkali basalt were recrystallized at pressures to 40 kb, and the phase equilibria and sequences of phases in natural basaltic and peridotitic rocks were investigated.The picrite was recrystallized along the solidus to the assemblages (1) olivine+orthopyroxene+ clinopyroxene +plagioclase+spinel below 13 kb, (2) olivine+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene+spinel between 13 kb and 18 kb, (3) olivine+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene+ garnet+spinel between 18 kb and 26 kb, and (4) olivine+clinopyroxene+garnet above 26 kb. The solidus temperature at 1 atm is slightly below 1,100° and rises to 1,320° at 20 kb and 1,570° at 40 kb. Olivine is the primary phase crystallizing from the melt at all pressures to 40 kb.The olivine-rich tholeiite was recrystallized along the solidus into the assemblages (1) olivine+ clinopyroxene+plagioclase+spinel below 13 kb, (2) clinopyroxene+orthopyroxene+ spinel between 13 kb and 18 kb, (3) clinopyroxene+garnet+spinel above 18 kb. The solidus temperature is slightly below 1,100° at 1 atm, 1,370° at 20 kb, and 1,590° at 40 kb. The primary phase is olivine below 20 kb but is orthopyroxene at 40 kb.In the nepheline basanite, olivine is the primary phase below 14 kb, but clinopyroxene is the first phase to appear above 14 kb. In the alkali-picrite the primary phase is olivine to 40 kb. In the olivine-rich basanite, olivine is the primary phase below 35 kb and garnet is the primary phase above 35 kb. In the olivine-rich alkali basalt the primary phase is olivine below 20 kb and is garnet at 40 kb.Mineral assemblages in a granite-basalt-peridotite join are summarized according to reported experimental data on natural rocks. The solidus of mafic rock is approximately given by T=12.5 P _Kb+1,050°. With increasing pressure along the solidus, olivine disappears by reaction with plagioclase at 9 kb in mafic rocks and plagioclase disappears by reaction with olivine at 13 kb in ultramafic rocks. Plagioclase disappears at around 22 kb in mafic rocks, but it persists to higher pressure in acidic rocks. Garnet appears at somewhat above 18 kb in acidic rocks, at 17 kb in mafic rocks, and at 22 kb in ultramafic rocks.The subsolidus equilibrium curves of the reactions are extrapolated according to equilibrium curves of related reactions in simple systems. The pyroxene-hornfels and sanidinite facies is the lowest pressure mineral facies. The pyroxene-granulite facies is an intermediate low pressure mineral facies in which olivine and plagioclase are incompatible and garnet is absent in mafic rocks. The low pressure boundary is at 7.5 kb at 750° C and at 9.5 kb at 1,150° C. The high pressure boundary is 8.0 kb at 750° C and 15.0 kb at 1,150° C. The garnet-granulite facies is an intermediate high pressure facies and is characterized by coexisting garnet and plagioclase in mafic rocks. The upper boundary is at 10.3 kb at 750° C and 18.0 kb at 1,150° C. The eclogite facies is the highest pressure mineral facies, in which jadeite-rich clinopyroxene is stable.Compositions of minerals in natural rocks of the granulite facies and the eclogite facies are considered. Clinopyroxenes in the granulite-facies rocks have smaller jadeite-Tschermak's molecule ratios and higher amounts of Tschermak's molecule than clinopyroxenes in the eclogite-facies rocks. The distribution coefficients of Mg between orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene are normally in the range of 0.5–0.6 in metamorphic rocks in the granulite facies. The distribution coefficients of Mg between garnet and clinopyroxene suggest increasing crystallization temperature of the rocks in the following order: eclogite in glaucophane schist, eclogite and granulite in gneissic terrain, garnet peridotite, and peridotite nodules in kimberlite.Temperatures near the bottom of the crust in orogenic zones characterized by kyanitesillimanite metamorpbism are estimated from the mineral assemblages of metamorphic rocks in Precambrian shields to be about 700° C at 7 kb and 800° C at 9 kb, although heat-flow data suggest that the bottom of Precambrian shield areas is about 400° C and the eclogite facies is stable.The composition of liquid which is in equilibrium with peridotite is estimated to be close to tholeiite basalt at the surface pressure and to be picrite at around 30 kb. The liquid composition becomes poorer in normative olivine with decreasing pressure and temperature.During crystallization at high pressure, olivine and orthopyroxene react with liquid to form clinopyroxene, and a discontinuous reaction series, olivine orthopyroxene clinopyroxene is suggested. By fractional crystallization of pyroxenes the liquid will become poorer in SiO₂. Therefore, if liquid formed by partial melting of peridotite in the mantle slowly rises maintaining equilibrium with the surrounding peridotite, the liquid will become poorer in MgO by crystallization of olivine, and tholeiite basalt magma will arrive at the surface. On the other hand, if the liquid undergoes fractional crystallization in the mantle, the liquid may change in composition to alkali-basalt magma and alkali-basalt volcanism may be seen at a late stage of volcanic activity.Publication No. 681, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles.     

Sapphirine bearing granulites from the Sipiwesk Lake area of the late Archean Pikwitonei granulite terrain,Manitoba, Canada

Sapphirine occurs in the orthopyroxene-cordierite and feldspar-sillimanite granulites in the Sipiwesk Lake area of the Pikwitonei granulite terrain, Manitoba (97°40W, 55°05N). The orthopyroxene-cordierite granulites have extremely high Al₂O₃ (24.5 wt%) and MgO (24.6 wt%) contents and contain sapphirine (up to 69.2 wt% Al₂O₃), aluminous orthopyroxene (up to 8.93 wt% Al₂O₃), cordierite, spinel, phlogopite, and corundum. Sapphirine forms coronas mantling spinel and corundum. Corona sapphirine is zoned and its composition varies through the substitution (Mg, Fe, Mn) Si=2 Al as a function of the phases with which it is in contact. Textural and chemical relationships of sapphirine with coexisting phases indicate that spinel + cordierite reacted to form orthopyroxene + sapphirine under conditions of increasing pressure. Moreover, decreasing core to rim variation of Al₂O₃ in orthopyroxene porphyroblasts suggests decreasing temperature during sapphirine formation. On the basis of experimentally determined P-T stability of the assemblage enstatite + sapphirine + cordierite, and the Al content of hypothetical Fe²⁺-free orthopyroxene associated with sapphirine and cordierite, metamorphic temperatures and pressures are estimated to be 860–890° C and 3.0–11.2 kbar.In the feldspar-sillimanite granulites, sapphirine occurs as a relict phase mantled by sillimanite and/or by successive coronas of sillimanite and garnet. These textural relations suggest the reaction sapphirine + garnet + quartz = orthopyroxene + sillimanite with decreasing temperature. Compositions of minerals in the assemblage garnet-orthopyroxene-sillimanite-plagioclase-quartz, indicate metamorphic P-T conditions of 780–880° C and 9±1 kb.The metamorphic conditions estimated in this study suggest that the sapphirine bearing granulites in the Sipiwesk Lake area represent Archean lower crustal rocks. Their formation might be related to the crustal thickening processes in this area as suggested by Hubregtse (1980) and Weber (1983).     

Evolution of a tourmaline-bearing lawsonite eclogite from the Elekdağ area (Central Pontides,N Turkey): evidence for infiltration of slab-derived B-rich fluids during exhumation

An undated high-pressure low-temperature tectonic mélange in the Elekda area (central Pontides, N Turkey) comprises blocks of MORB-derived lawsonite eclogite within a sheared serpentinite matrix. In their outer shells, some of the eclogite blocks contain large (up to 6 cm) tourmaline crystals. Prograde inclusions in poikiloblastic garnet from a well-preserved eclogite block are lawsonite, epidote/clinozoisite, omphacite, rutile, glaucophane, chlorite, Ba-bearing phengite, minor actinolite, winchite and quartz. In addition, glaucophane, lawsonite and rutile occur as inclusions in omphacite. These inclusion assemblages document the transition from a garnet-lawsonite-epidote-bearing blueschist to a lawsonite eclogite with the peak assemblage garnet + omphacite I + lawsonite + rutile. Peak metamorphic conditions are not well-constrained but are estimated approximately 400–430°C and >1.35 GPa, based on Fe–Mg exchange between garnet and omphacite and the coexistence of lawsonite + omphacite + rutile. During exhumation of the eclogite–serpentinite mélange in the hanging wall of a subduction system, infiltration of B-rich aqueous fluids into the rims of eclogite blocks caused retrogressive formation of abundant chlorite, titanite and albite, followed by growth of tourmaline at the expense of chlorite. At the same time, omphacite I (X_Jd=0.24–0.44) became unstable and partially replaced by omphacite II characterized by higher X_Jd (0.35–0.48), suggesting a relatively low silica activity in the infiltrating fluid. Apart from Fe-rich rims developed at the contact to chlorite, tourmaline crystals are nearly homogeneous. Their compositions correspond to Na-rich dravite, perhaps with a small amount of excess (tetrahedral) boron (~5.90 Si and 3.10 B cations per 31 anions). ¹¹ B values range from –2.2 to +1.7. The infiltrating fluids were most probably derived from subducting altered oceanic crust and sediments.