Low-calcium garnet harzburgites from southern Africa: their relations to craton structure and diamond crystallization

Low-Ca garnet harzburgite xenoliths contain garnets that are deficient in Ca relative to those that have equilibrated with diopside in the iherzolite assemblage. Minor proportions of these harzburgites are of wide-spread occurrence in xenolith suites from the Kaapvaal craton and are of particular interest because of their relation to diamond host rocks. The harzburgite xenoliths are predominantly coarse but one specimen from Jagersfontein and another from Premier have deformed textures similar to those of high-temperature peridotites. Analyses for many elements in the harzburgites and associated iherzolites form concordant overlapping trends. On the average, however, the harzburgites are deficient in Si, Ca, Al and Fe but enriched in Mg and Ni relative to the lherzolites. Both the harzburgites and lherzolites are enstatite-rich with mg numbers [100.Mg/(Mg+Fe_total)] greater than 92 and in these respects differ markedly from residues generated by extraction of MORB. Equilibration temperatures and depths calculated for the harzburgites have the ranges 600–1,400°C and 50–200 km. Those of deepest origin overlap the interval between low-and high-temperature lherzolites that commonly is observed in temperature-depth plots for the Kaapvaal craton, suggesting that some harzburgites may be concentrated relative to lherzolites at the base of the lithosphere. The low-Ca harzburgites and lherzolite xenoliths have overlapping depths of origin, gradational bulk chemical characteristics and similar textures, and therefore both are believed to have formed as residues of Archaen melting events. The harzburgites differ from the lherzolites only in that they are more depleted. Garnets and associated minerals in harzburgite xenoliths differ from minerals of the same assemblage that are included in diamonds in that the latter are more Cr-rich, Mg-rich and Ca-poor. Coarse crystals of low-Ca garnet with the compositional characteristics of diamond inclusions commonly occur as disaggregated grains in diamondiferous kimberlites. Their host rocks are presumed to have been harzburgites and dunites. The differences in composition between the disaggregated grains that are similar to diamond inclusions and those comprising xenoliths imply some differences in origin. Possibly the disaggregated harzburgites with diamond-inclusion mineralogy have undergone repeated partial melting and depletion near the base of the lithosphere subsequent to their primary depletion and aggregation in the craton. Equilibration with magnesite may have reduced the Ca contents of their garnets and decomposition of the magnesite during eruption may have caused their disaggregation.     

中国东部岩石圈地幔的演化——地幔岩捕虏体微量元素的证据

对中国东部赋存于新生代玄武岩中的地幔岩捕虏体的全岩和单斜辉石等作了主元素和微量元素分析，证实了二辉橄榄岩及其单斜辉石在主元素有连续变化的趋势，反映了具部分熔融后残留相的性质。方辉橄榄岩及其中的单斜辉石的主元素，Ｎｄ／Ｙｂ，Ｔｉ／Ｚｒ和Ｓｒ／Ｚｒ值与二辉橄榄岩的同类矿物是不连续过渡。     

Textures and geochemistry of the Saramta peridotites (Siberian craton): Melting and refertilization during early evolution of the continental lithospheric mantle

The Saramta peridotite massif is located within the Sharyzhalgai complex, SW margin of the Siberian craton. The Saramta massif was formed in the Archean and then juxtaposed with granulites of crystalline basement of the Siberian craton. The Saramta harzburgites are highly refractory in terms of lack of residual clinopyroxene, olivine Mg-number (up to 0.937), and spinel Cr-number (∼0.5), suggesting high degree of partial melting. Detailed study of their microstructures shows that they have extensively reacted with a SiO₂-rich melt, leading to the crystallization of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, amphibole and spinel at the expense of olivine. The major element compositions of the least reacted harzburgites are similar to the residues of refractory peridotites produced by the fractional melting (initial melting pressures >3 GPa and melt fractions ∼40%). Moreover, non-residual clinopyroxenes are highly depleted in Yb, Zr and Ti, but highly enriched in LREE. A two-stage history is proposed for the Saramta peridotite: (1) primitive mantle underwent depletion in the garnet stability field followed by melting in the spinel stability field; (2) refractory harzburgites underwent refertilization by SiO₂-rich melt in supra-subduction zone. Rare Saramta lherzolites probably formed from more refractory harzburgites as a result of such a melt–rock reaction. The Saramta peridotites are similar to low-T coarse-grained peridotites of subcratonic mantle. Processes of their formation, as reflected by textures and composition of minerals of the Saramta peridotites, are characteristic of the early stages of subcratonic mantle formation.     

The Nature of Mantle Rocks in Ophiolites of the Polar Urals

This work presents the results of geochemical (LA-ICP-MS) study of minerals of peridotites from ophiolite complexes of the Polar Urals to clarify the nature of these formations. The distribution of trace and rare earth elements in clinopyroxenes testifies that there were three types of the mantle substratum, which formed in different geodynamic settings. Two types of primary peridotites were formed upon partial melting of the mantle at different-depth levels in the subduction zone. The first type is represented by lherzolites and diopside harzburgites, formed at partial melting under the spinel facies conditions; the second type is represented by diopside harzburgites, formed under polybaric partial melting under the garnet and spinel facies conditions. In the suprasubduction zone, peridotites experienced fluid-induced partial melting that resulted in crystallization of harzburgites. All types of harzburgites were transformed by ascending melts and fluids (refertilization) and high-temperature hydration with the formation of amphibole. These processes are recorded in variations in the REE spectra of minerals.     

Geology, Geochemistry and Chromite Mineralization Potential of the Amnay Ophiolitic Complex, Mindoro, Philippines

The Amnay Ophiolitic Complex in Mindoro, the Philippines, is considered an emplaced Cenozoic South China Sea oceanic lithosphere as a result of the collision between the Palawan microcontinental block and the Philippine mobile belt. Middle Oligocene sedimentary rocks intercalated with dominantly MORB-like pillow lavas and volcanic flows suggest the generation of this ophiolite complex in an intermediate spreading ridge within a back-arc basin setting. The volcanic rock suite geochemistry also manifests a slab component suggesting that it is a supra-subduction zone ophiolite. Petrography of the gabbros shows a plagioclase-clinopyroxene crystallization order consistent with a back-arc basin setting. Spinel and pyroxene geochemistry shows that the lherzolites and aluminous-spinel harzburgites are products of low degrees of partial melting. The chromitites hosted by the harzburgites could have not been associated with the MORB-like volcanic suites, gabbros, lherzolites and aluminous-spinel harzburgites. The chromitites are products of mantle sources that have undergone higher degrees of partial melting that would have involved the presence of water. The study of this ophiolitic complex gives us a glimpse of the characteristics of the South China Sea.     

Geochemical make-up of oceanic peridotites from NW Turkey and the multi-stage melting history of the Tethyan upper mantle

We present the whole-rock and the mineral chemical data for upper mantle peridotites from the Harmanc?k region in NW Turkey and discuss their petrogenetic–tectonic origin. These peridotites are part of a Tethyan ophiolite belt occurring along the ?zmir-Ankara-Ercincan suture zone in northern Turkey, and include depleted lherzolites and refractory harzburgites. The Al₂O₃ contents in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene from the depleted lherzolite are high, and the Cr-number in the coexisting spinel is low falling within the abyssal field. However, the orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene in the harzburgites have lower Al₂O₃ contents for a given Cr-number of spinel, and plot within the lower end of the abyssal field. The whole-rock geochemical and the mineral chemistry data imply that the Harmanc?k peridotites formed by different degrees of partial melting (~%10–27) of the mantle. The depleted lherzolite samples have higher MREE and HREE abundances than the harzburgitic peridotites, showing convex-downward patterns. These peridotites represent up to ~16 % melting residue that formed during the initial seafloor spreading stage of the Northern Neotethys. On the other hand, the more refractory harzburgites represent residues after ~4–11 % hydrous partial melting of the previously depleted MOR mantle, which was metasomatized by slab-derived fluids during the early stages of subduction. The Harmanc?k peridotites, hence, represent the fragments of upper mantle rocks that formed during different stages of the tectonic evolution of the Tethyan oceanic lithosphere in Northern Neotethys. We infer that the multi-stage melting history of the Harmanc?k peridotites reflect the geochemically heterogeneous character of the Tethyan oceanic lithosphere currently exposed along the ?zmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone.     

Geochemical variation in peridotite xenoliths and their constituent clinopyroxenes from Ray Pic (French Massif Central): implications for the composition of the shallow lithospheric mantle

Anhydrous mantle peridotite xenoliths from a single volcanic vent in the French Massif Central are compositionally varied, ranging from relatively fertile lherzolites to refractory harzburgites. Fertile lherzolites closely resemble previous estimates of undepleted mantle compositions but the average of the Ray Pic xenoliths is much less enriched in LILE and LREE than McDonough's (1990) average mantle [McDonough, W.F., 1990. Constraints on the composition of the continental lithospheric mantle. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 101, 1–18]. The wide geochemical variation in the bulk rocks reflects significant heterogeneities that can be attributed to two major processes within the shallow lithospheric mantle. The first process is depletion, related to variable degrees of partial melting and melt extraction from an originally near-chondritic mantle. This process has largely controlled the major elements and much of the trace element variation between fertile lherzolites and refractory peridotites. LREE-depleted compositions are also produced by this process. During partial melting, HREE behaved coherently with the major oxides and the moderately incompatible trace elements (Y, V and Sc). A subsequent process of enrichment is indicated by high concentrations of incompatible trace elements in many of the xenoliths. Sr, Ba, K, Th, U, Nb and LREE abundance are independent of major oxide variations and reflect enrichment related to infiltration by alkaline silicate melts/fluids. Both fertile and refractory mantle were enriched but harzburgites were particularly affected. Modal metasomatism occurred only rarely and is indicated by Cr-diopside-rich veins and patches in a few samples. Their chemistry suggests that they were also formed by migration of similar magmas/fluids from the asthenospheric mantle, although the presence of wehrlitic patches may indicate interaction with carbonate melts. In both depleted and enriched xenoliths, trace element patterns for separated clinopyroxenes closely reflect those of the bulk rock, except for Rb, Ba and Nb, which are probably hosted by other phases.     

海南岛陆缘扩张带形成及新生代岩石圈动力学机制:来自幔源包体的地球化学证据

海南岛陆缘扩张带蓬莱地区新生代玄武岩中捕获大量尖晶石二辉橄榄岩和方辉橄榄岩幔源包体。激光剥蚀等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)分析结果表明,蓬莱地幔橄榄岩含有三种不同地球化学特征的单斜辉石(Cpx):(1)a类单斜辉石Mg~#=92.3~93.4,来自富集Cpx的二辉橄榄岩,具有极低的LREE和不相容元素含量,HREE平坦,Th、U、La、Sr正异常,经历了7%~10%的尖晶石相部分熔融,仅受到极低程度强不相容元素(Th、U、La、Sr)初期富集交代作用;(2)b类单斜辉石Mg~#=89.9~90.3,来自较富集Cpx的二辉橄榄岩,具有中等的LREE和LILE含量,HREE平坦,微量元素蛛网图上显示Th、U正异常,Rb、Ba、Nb、Ta、Sr、Ti负异常,经历4%~5%的尖晶石相部分熔融,可能受到了含LREE和Th、U等不相容元素的硅酸盐熔体交代;(3)c类单斜辉石Mg~#=91.4~92.8,来自贫Cpx的二辉橄榄岩和方辉橄榄岩,具有富集的LREE和LILE含量,HREE弱分异,微量元素蛛网图上显示Th、U正异常及强烈的Nb、Ta、Ti负异常,经历了8%~20%的尖晶石相部分熔融,其交代熔体可能是来自源区有石榴子石残留的碳酸盐熔体。全岩主、微量元素及模拟计算结果表明,这些幔源包体的主量元素主要受部分熔融程度影响,并且方辉橄榄岩经历的部分熔融程度大于二辉橄榄岩。地幔橄榄岩的Sr-Nd同位素组成表明该区具有MORB-OIB型亏损地幔特征。此外,蓬莱部分地幔橄榄岩包体显示正斜率的HREE分异特征((Gd/Yb)_N=0.4~0.7),暗示该区地幔经历了源自石榴子石稳定区的变压熔融,总体熔融程度为18%以上,指示了较高的地幔潜能温度。综合前人对海南岛新生代玄武岩最新研究成果,我们认为海南地幔柱可能为该区软流圈地幔置换古老岩石圈地幔提供了热源,导致了区域岩石圈地幔的破坏,从而引起包括地幔柱本身、软流圈和富集岩石圈的熔融。岩石圈地幔性质的改变和不均一性可能是海南岛陆缘扩张带新生代岩石圈减薄的主要动力学机制。     

Composition and evolution of the lithospheric mantle beneath the interior of the South China Block: insights from trace elements and water contents of peridotite xenoliths

Major and trace elements and water contents were analyzed in 16 peridotite xenoliths embedded by the Cenozoic basalts in Pingnan (southeastern Guangxi Province), to constrain the chemical composition and evolution of the lithospheric mantle located in the central part of the South China Block (SCB). The peridotites are mainly moderately refractory harzburgites and lherzolites (Mg#-Ol?=?90.3–91.7) and minor fertile lherzolites (Mg#-Ol?=?88.9–89.9). Clinopyroxenes in the peridotites show LREE-depleted pattern, and commonly exhibit negative anomalies in Nb and Ti, suggesting the peridotites probably represent residues after 1–10% of partial melting without significant mantle metasomatism. Water contents range from 146 to 237 ppm wt. H₂O in clinopyroxene, and from 65 to 112 ppm wt. H₂O, in orthopyroxene but are below detection limit (2 ppm wt. H₂O) in olivine. Calculated bulk water contents, based on the mineral modes and partition coefficient, range from 14 to 83 ppm wt. H₂O (average 59 ppm wt. H₂O). There is a correlation between melting indices (such as Mg#-Ol, Yb_n in clinopyroxene) and water contents in clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene, but no correlation is observed between the whole-rock water contents and the redox state (Fe³⁺/∑Fe ratios in spinel), suggesting that water contents in the peridotites are mainly controlled by the degree of partial melting rather than by oxygen fugacity. The lithospheric mantle beneath the interior of the SCB may not be compositionally stratified; fertile and moderately refractory mantle coexist at the similar depths. Geochemical data and water contents of the studied peridotites are similar to the proposed MORB source and indicate that the ancient refractory lithospheric mantle was irregularly eroded or reacted by the upwelling asthenosphere, and eventually replaced by juvenile fertile accreted mantle through the cooling of the asthenosphere.     

Ancient depletion signals in lherzolites from forearc region: Constraints from Lu-Hf isotope compositions

The sub-arc mantle that experienced hydrous melting is commonly characterized by refractory geochemical compositions. Nevertheless, minor lherzolites with fertile compositions have also been reported for mantle peridotites from subduction zone. The petrogenesis and mantle source of the lherzolites are still controversial. The New Caledonia ophiolite(Peridotite Nappe) has been regarded as an allochthonous body of forearc lithosphere. This is supported by refractory compositions of its dominant mantle rocks.A few isolated lherzolitic massifs have also been observed in the northern part of New Caledonia.Those lherzolites are compositionally similar to abyssal peridotites, with negligible subduction-related modification. Here, we present new comprehensive geochemical compositions, in particular highprecision Sr-Nd-Hf isotope data, for the lherzolites. The initial¹⁷⁶ Hf/¹⁷⁷ Hf ratios display moderate correlations with sensitive indicators for the extent of melting(i.e., olivine Fo, whole-rock Mg# and Yb contents in clinopyroxene) and whole-rock initial¹⁸⁷ Os/¹⁸⁸ Os ratios. Some samples have ancient radiogenic Hf isotopes and unradiogenic Os isotope compositions, implying the preservation of ancient depletion signals in the lherzolites. The Nd isotope compositions, together with trace elements and mineral micro-textures, suggest that the lherzolites have been overprinted by a recent melt-rock interaction event. The high equilibrium temperatures of the studied samples have been estimated by the twopyroxene REE thermometer, yielding temperatures of 1066–1315 ℃. The lherzolites have more depleted Nd-Hf isotope compositions and higher equilibrium temperatures than the New Caledonia harzburgites.This indicates that the lherzolites may represent the residues of asthenosphere mantle trapped within the forearc region. Our studies on the New Caledonia lherzolites with ancient depletion signals suggest that ancient mantle domains in the convective mantle can be emplaced in forearc region by the upwelling of asthenosphere during the early stage of subduction initiation.     

西藏班公湖—怒江缝合带中段蓬湖蛇绿岩中的洋脊型二辉橄榄岩

蓬湖蛇绿岩产于西藏藏北湖区的蓬湖西侧,属班公湖-怒江缝合带中段白拉拉弄-依拉山亚带。该蛇绿岩主要由地幔橄榄岩、堆晶岩和辉绿岩等组成。其中地幔橄榄岩由方辉橄榄岩和二辉橄榄岩组成。蓬湖二辉橄榄岩的橄榄石Fo值介于88.85～90.33之间、斜方辉石的Al2O3含量范围在4.26%～6.60%。与原始地幔相比,蓬湖二辉橄榄岩岩石有较高的MgO含量和较低的Al2O3、CaO和TiO2等易熔组分含量;稀土元素总量介于1.11×10-6～1.53×10-6之间,明显低于原始地幔值,配分模式为轻稀土轻微亏损。在原始地幔微量元素蛛网图中,蓬湖二辉橄榄岩显示Rb、Zr亏损,U、Ta、Sr强烈富集特征。蓬湖二辉橄榄岩的铂族元素总量介于22.9×10-9～27×10-9之间,PGEs球粒陨石标准化图解显示其为接近原始地幔的"平坦型"。以上特征与深海橄榄岩相似,指示它们可能形成于大洋中脊环境。定量模拟估算表明,蓬湖二辉橄榄岩可能来源于地幔中尖晶石相二辉橄榄岩源区,系经历了约5%～10%的部分熔融残余。蓬湖堆晶岩矿物结晶顺序为橄榄石-单斜辉石-斜长石,其中异剥橄榄岩中的单斜辉石Mg#值介于86.92～89.93之间、橄榄石Fo平均值为84.45,明显不同于MOR型蛇绿岩堆晶岩。蓬湖堆晶岩的矿物组成、岩浆结晶顺序和矿物成分均与俯冲带上SSZ型蛇绿岩形成的堆晶岩类似。以上结果表明,蓬湖二辉橄榄岩形成于大洋脊环境,为尖晶石二辉橄榄岩源区经历了不超过10%部分熔融的残余,后期由于洋内俯冲作用经历了岩石-熔体反应,形成了SSZ型堆晶岩和含较高Cr#值尖晶石的方辉橄榄岩。     

Mineralogical and geochemical constraints on the shallow origin, ancient veining, and multi-stage modification of the Lherz peridotite

New major- and trace-element data of bulk-rocks and constituent minerals, and whole-rock Re-Os isotopic compositions of samples from the Lherz Massif, French Pyrenees, reveal complex petrological relationships between the dominant lithologies of lherzolite ± olivine-websterite and harzburgite. The Lherz peridotite body contains elongate, foliation parallel, lithological strips of harzburgite, lherzolite, and olivine-websterite cross-cut by later veins of hornblende-bearing pyroxenites. Peridotite lithologies are markedly bimodal, with a clear compositional gap between harzburgites and lherzolites ± olivine-websterite. Bulk-rock and mineral major-element oxide (Mg-Fe-Si-Cr) compositions show that harzburgites are highly-depleted and result from ∼20-25 wt.% melt extraction at pressures <2 GPa. Incompatible and moderately-compatible trace-element abundances of hornblendite-free harzburgites are analogous to some mantle-wedge peridotites. In contrast, lherzolites ± olivine-websterite overlap estimates of primitive mantle composition, yet these materials are composite samples that represent physical mixtures of residual lherzolites and clinopyroxene dominated cumulates equilibrated with a LREE-enriched tholeiitic melt. Trace-element compositions of harzburgite, and some lherzolite bulk-rocks and pyroxenes have been modified by; (1) wide-spread interaction with a low-volume LREE-enriched melt +/− fluid that has disturbed highly-incompatible elements (e.g., LREEs, Zr) without enrichment of alkali- and Ti-contents; and (2) intrusion of relatively recent, small-volume, hornblendite-forming, basanitic melts linked to modal and cryptic metasomatism resulting in whole-rock and pyroxene Ti, Na and MREE enrichment.Rhenium-Os isotope systematics of Lherz samples are also compositionally bimodal; lherzolites ± olivine-websterite have chondritc to suprachondritic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os values that overlap the range reported for Earth’s primitive upper mantle, whereas harzburgites have sub-chondritic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os values. Various Os-model age calculations indicate that harzburgites, lherzolites, and olivine-websterites have been isolated from convective homogenisation since the Meso-Proterozoic and this broadly coincides with the time of melt extraction controlled by harzburgite Os-isotope compositions. The association between harzburgites resulting from melting in mantle-wedge environments and Os-rich trace-phases (laurite-erlichmanite sulphides and Pt-Os-Ir-alloys) suggests that a significant portion of persistent refractory anomalies in the present-day convecting mantle of Earth may be linked to ancient large-scale melting events related to wide-spread subduction-zone processing.     

Thermal and redox state of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle of NE Spain from thermobarometric data on mantle xenoliths

Mantle xenoliths in within-plate Cenozoic alkaline mafic lavas from NE Spain are used to assess the local subcontinental lithospheric mantle geotherm and the influence of melting and metasomatism on its oxidation state. The xenoliths are mainly anhydrous spinel lherzolites and harzburgites and gradations between, with minor pyroxenites. Most types show protogranular textures, but transitional protogranular–porphyroclastic and equigranular lherzolites also exist. Different thermometers used in the estimates provide higher subsolidus equilibrium temperatures for harzburgites (1,062 ± 29°C) than for lherzolites (972 ± 89°C), although there is overlap; the lowest temperatures correspond to porphyroclastic lherzolites, whereas pyroxenites give the highest temperatures (up to 1,257°C). Maximum pressures for subsolidus equilibrium of peridotites are at 2.0–1.8 GPa. Later they followed adiabatic decompression and harzburgites registered lower pressures (1.02 ± 0.19 GPa) than lherzolites (1.41 ± 0.27 GPa). One pyroxenite gives values consistent with the spinel lherzolite field (1.08 GPa). The shallowest barometric data are in agreement with the highest local conductive geotherms, which implies that the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary is at 70–60 km minimum depth. Higher equilibrium temperatures for the harzburgites could be explained by the existence of mafic magma bodies or dykes at the lower crust–mantle boundary. Paleo-fO₂ conditions during partial melting as inferred from the covariation between V and MgO concentrations are mainly between QFM−1 and QFM−2 in log units. However, most thermobarometric fO₂ estimates are between QFM−1 and QFM+1, suggesting oxidation caused by later metasomatism during uplift and cooling.     

熔体再富集作用对大陆岩石圈地幔的影响

         二辉橄榄岩通常被认为是低程度部分熔融的残留,但熔体再富集作用为其成因提供了一种新的解释。熔体再富集作 用通常是指软流圈来源的玄武质熔体加入到难熔的方辉橄榄岩或纯橄岩形成更为饱满的二辉橄榄岩的过程。除了使主量元 素富集之外,熔体再富集作用还可以使微量元素与Sr-Nd 同位素从方辉橄榄岩中的富集特征转变为二辉橄榄岩所呈现的亏 损特征。对于熔体再富集作用是否改变橄榄岩的Os 同位素组成还存在较大的争议,它主要取决于加入熔体的比例,熔体中 硫的饱和程度以及熔体再富集作用发生的时间等因素。对于以低熔/岩比例为主的大陆岩石圈地幔来说,熔体再富集作用对 橄榄岩的Os 同位素组成的影响可能较为有限。除了化学成分上的影响之外,熔体的加入也会改变大陆岩石圈地幔的物理特 征。这一过程使得岩石圈地幔的渗透率增大和黏滞度降低,从而会破坏大陆岩石圈地幔的稳定性。虽然熔体再富集作用可 以影响和改变岩石圈地幔的性质,但它是否导致克拉通地幔的减薄以及克拉通破坏尚有疑问。     

Mantle ultrabasites of ophiolite complexes in the Polar Urals: Petrogenesis and geodynamic environments

Geological, mineralogical, and geochemical data on ultrabasites in the Polar Ural Ophiolite Zone in the Main Ural Fault zone indicate that the origin of the ultrabasites was controlled by the depletion process during the partial melting of mantle material, fluid-magmatic transformations, and subsequent metamorphism in various geodynamic environments. In a spreading environment above a subduction zone, the lherzolites and harzburgites of the older complex were produced by partial (10–25%) melting. The fluid-magmatic transformations were associated with the massive refertilization and enrichment in LREE, MREE, and incompatible trace elements. Along with this, the ultrabasites were affected by depyroxenization (dunitization) with the generation of a dunite-harzburgite complex in domains and zones of brittle-plastic deformations first in a spreading and then in an island-arc environment. The subsequent displacement of the ultrabasites to a crustal level was associated with their metamorphism without principal changes in their geochemistry.     

“Reactive” harzburgites from Huinan, NE China: products of the lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction during lithospheric thinning?

Petrologic, trace element and Sr-Nd isotopic studies of mantle xenoliths in Quaternary basalts from Huinan, NE China provide constraints on the origin of coarse-grained harzburgites and the nature of lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction during lithospheric thinning. The Huinan harzburgites have a secondary recrystallized texture and their composition deviates from the partial melting trend of residual peridotites. The convex-upward REE pattern and a positive Cr-Yb correlation in clinopyroxene imply an interaction with basaltic melts at a high melt/rock ratio. The Huinan harzburgites are therefore not simple residues of partial melting, but likely resulted from melt-rock interaction during which the percolating melts preferentially dissolved pyroxenes by precipitation of olivine, transforming lherzolite to harzburgite. The melt percolation-reaction enhanced grain boundary diffusion kinetics, and gave rise to the characteristic texture of these mantle rocks. These “reactive” harzburgites were eventually metasomatized by compositionally distinct small volume volatile-rich melts, which may be derived from the main harzburgite-forming event as a result of melt-consuming reaction. Most likely the formation of the Huinan harzburgites was coeval with thermo-tectonic erosion of the continental lithosphere by upwelling asthenospheric melts. Thermometric considerations suggest a relatively long time interval between lithospheric thinning and eruption of the host basalts, consistent with the contention that lithospheric thinning in eastern China may have peaked in the late Cretaceous.     

Os mobilization during melt percolation: The evolution of Os isotope heterogeneities in the mantle sequence of the troodos ophiolite, Cyprus

This study focuses on the origin of the Os isotope heterogeneities and the behaviour of Os and Re during melt percolation and partial melting processes in the mantle sequence of the Troodos Ophiolite Complex. The sequence has been divided into an eastern (Unit 1) and a western part (Unit 2) (Batanova and Sobolev, 2000). Unit 1 consists mainly of spinel-lherzolites and a minor amount of dunites, which are surrounded by cpx-bearing harzburgites. Unit 2 consists of harzburgites, dunites, and contains chromitite deposits.Unit 1 (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os: 0.1169 to 0.1366) and Unit 2 (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os 0.1235 to 0.1546) peridotites both show large ranges in their Os isotopic composition. Most of the ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios of Unit 1 lherzolites and harzburgites are chondritic to subchondritic, and this can be explained by Re depletion during ancient partial melting and melt percolation events. The old Os isotope model ages (>800 Ma) of some peridotites in a young ophiolitic mantle show that ancient Os isotopic heterogeneities can survive in the Earth upper mantle. Most harzburgites and dunites of Unit 2 have suprachondritic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios. This is the result of the addition of radiogenic Os during a younger major melt percolation event, which probably occurred during the formation of the Troodos crust 90 Ma ago.Osmium concentrations tend to decrease from spinel-lherzolites (4.35 ± 0.2 ng/g) to harzburgites (Unit 1: 4.06 ± 1.12 ng/g; Unit 2: 3.46 ± 1.38 ng/g) and dunites (Unit 1: 2.71 ± 0.84 ng/g; Unit 2: 1.85 ± 1.20 ng/g). Therefore, this element does not behave compatibly during melt percolation as it is observed during partial melting, but becomes dissolved and mobilized by the percolating melt. The Os contents and Re/Os ratios in the mantle peridotites can be explained if they represent mixing products of old depleted mantle with cpx- and opx-veins, which are crystallization products of the percolating melt. This mixing occurred during the melting of a continuously fluxed mantle in a supra-subduction zone environment.This study shows that Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Troodos mantle section have a complex and different evolution. However, the Os isotopic characteristics are consistent with a model where the harzburgites and dunites of both units belong to the same melting regime producing the Troodos oceanic crust.     

Petrology of recrystallized ultramafic xenoliths from Merelava volcano,Vanuatu

Xenoliths in primitive olivine tholeiite lavas from Merelava Volcano, Vanuatu, include recrystallized wehrlites and harzburgites characterized by extremely fine grain size (0.02–2 mm) and equigranular textures. The harzburgites display mineral segregations, have highly variable ratios of ol: opx, minor clinopyroxene and accessory Cr-spinel, and are interpreted as the residues of high degrees of melting of upper mantle peridotite. Annealed Cr-spinel aggregates in harzburgite sample # 31564B enclose numerous small inclusions of sodic sanidine and minor plagioclase, attributed to infiltration of the harzburgite by a residual melt derived from an earlier period of island arc magmatism. The recrystallized wehrlites have high ol/cpx ratios and depleted REE patterns compatible with a cumulus origin. The refractory nature of the phases in both groups of recrystallized xenoliths compares closely with phases in Alpine-type peridotites and primitive arc lavas, and is incompatible with compositions of abyssal peridotites. The recrystallized wehrlites give equilibration temperatures of 1070–1130° C and are interpreted as cumulates derived from an earlier period of Vanuatu Arc magmatism. The range of composition displayed by phases in the harzburgites is greater than phase variation in the wehrlites, and reflects a more complex thermal history. Textural, mineralogical, and geothermometric considerations indicate the harzburgites underwent cooling to 800°/900° C before being re-heated to 1000–1100° C by the current magmatic regime. A shallow crustal origin for these xenoliths is indicated by gravity data and tectonic considerations which strongly imply the presence of an ophiolite body beneath Merelava, representing the northward extension of the Pentecost Ophiolite. These interpretations are compatible with a published model for generation of the host basalts by partial melting at the crust/mantle boundary (ca. 17 km). Sr isotopic data show that the harzburgites are incompatible with residues of ocean-floor magmatism, or with residues of Merelava and Central Chain magmatism, but suggest an affinity with Vitiaz Arc magmatism of Eocene-lower Miocene age. Both groups of xenoliths were apparently entrained from wall rocks during ascent of the host magmas.     

Mantle derived lherzolite nodules associated with kimberlite,carbonatite and basalt magmatism: A review

Occurrences, petrography and major element chemistry of lherzolite nodules are reviewed. Spinel-garnet stability relationships in these nodules are discussed and are shown to be controlled by chemical as well as physical (P/T) considerations. On the basis of a survey of spinel compositions it is proposed that three classes of spinel bearing lherzolite nodules should be recognised: namely Al-spinel lherzolites [spinel 100 Cr/(Cr + Al)<25], Cr-spinel lherzolites [spinel 100 Cr/(Cr + Al) 25–65] and chromite lherzolites [spinel 100 Cr/(Cr + Al)>65].All lherzolite nodules yield sub-solidus P/T equilibration estimates and are interpreted as fragments of upper mantle wall rocks incorporated during the volatile charged eruptions. Depths of derivation increase from < 60 kms for most nodules in alkali basaltic magmas to > 150 kms for some nodules in kimberlites. The fact that Al-spinel lherzolites are the most common nodule type in magmas of the alkali basalt suite whilst garnet lherzolites are dominant in kimberlites is attributed to the combined effects of a typically steeper geotherm in the mantle beneath areas of alkali basaltic volcanism and a shallower depth of origin for this type of magmatism. Al-spinel lherzolites do, however, occur in the kimberlites of the western U.S.A. and south-west Greenland in contrast to their apparent absence in the kimberlites of southern Africa and Yakutia, U.S.S.R. This suggests that the uppermost mantle beneath these latter regions (as represented by nodules of chromite lherzolites and chromite or Cr-spinel harzburgites) has a more refractory residual type composition with a higher Cr/(Cr + Al) ratio—although the evidence indicates an overall decrease in the level of depletion in ‘basaltic’ magma yielding constituents with depth. Lherzolite nodules generally have chemical compositions which are depleted in such constituents relative to the pyrolite model compositions for primitive or pristine mantle; nevertheless their composition range is thought to encompass both highly ‘depleted’ and essentially ‘undepleted’ upper mantle compositions.The fact that consistent temperature estimates can be obtained from the various calibrated element exchange reaction geothermometers for some lherzolite nodules but not for others (notably those with strikingly porphyroclastic textures) may indicate that some lherzolite nodules comprise mantle derived rocks which failed to totally re-equilibrate following the diapiric movements which immediately preceded their incorporation and rapid transportation to the surface.     

Metasomatism and origin of glass in the lithospheric mantle xenoliths beneath Ain Temouchent area (North-West Algeria)

A spinel ± amphibole ± feldspar bearing Iherzolites, a spinel ± amphibole ± feldspar bearing harzburgites, and a spinel ± amphibole ± phlogopite bearing wehrlites are metasomatized peridotitic mantle xenoliths from Ain Temouchent volcanic complex (North-West Algeria). These xenoliths are metamorphic/deformed rocks with a strong planar fabric typical of mantle tectonites. The wehrlites are not the result of a simple model of partial melting. The spinel ± amphibole ± feldspar bearing harzburgites and lherzolites exhibit asymmetric concave-shaped REE patterns. These indicate that an earlier partial melting event was followed by metasomatic processes. The wehrlites have higher REE concentrations and LREE/HREE fractionations, indicating a sequential evolution of wehrlites from previous refractory material with melting as an addition process. This process reflects the interaction of the lithospheric mantle beneath the Ain Temouchent area with basaltic melt. Metasomatism is expressed by the formation of amphibole, phlogopite, and increased abundances of clinopyroxene at the expense of orthopyroxene, in lherzolite and harzburgite. In the Ain Temouchent area, metasomatizing agents are Na-alkali silicates. The similarities observed between the glasses studied in this paper, and the basaltic host rocks of the Ain Temouchent area, may suggest a common mantle source, or with chemical similarities but with relatively different evolutions pathways. The formation of glass in wehrlites from the Ain Temouchent area has an origin formed by the breakdown of amphibole or phlogopite as a result of decompressional melting and production of silica-undersaturated glasses. The glass reacts with essentially orthopyroxene to produce silica-rich glasses. This study has contributed to highlighting a relationship between glass, and the processes that caused the formation of metasomatic phases.