Os, Pb, and Nd isotope geochemistry of the Permian Emeishan continental flood basalts: Insights into the source of a large igneous province

The nature of the source of continental flood basalts (CFB) is a highly debated topic. Proposed mantle sources for CFBs, including both high- and low-Ti basalts, include subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM), asthenospheric mantle, and deep, plume-related mantle. Re-Os isotope systematics can offer important constraints on the sources of both ocean island basalts (OIB) and CFB, and may be applied to distinguish different possible melt sources. This paper reports the first Re-Os isotope data for the Late Permian Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) in Southwest China. Twenty one CFB samples including both low- and high-Ti basalts from five representative sites within the Emeishan LIP have been analyzed for Os, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions. The obtained Os data demonstrate that crustal assimilation affected Os isotopic compositions of some Emeishan basalt samples with low Os concentrations but not all of the samples, and the Emeishan basalts with high Os contents likely experienced the least crustal contamination. The low and high-Ti basalts yield distinct Os signatures in terms of ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and Os content. The low-Ti basalt with the highest Os concentration (400 ppt) has a radiogenic Os isotopic composition (γOs(t), +6.5), similar to that of plume-derived OIB. Because the Os isotopic composition of basalts with relatively high Os concentrations (typically >50 ppt) likely represents that of their mantle source, this result implies a plume-derived origin for the low-Ti basalts. On the other hand, the high-Ti basalts with high Os concentration (over 50 ppt) have unradiogenic Os isotopic signatures (γOs(t) values range from −0.8 to −1.4), suggesting that a subcontinental lithosphere mantle (SCLM) component most likely contributed to the generation of these magmas. Combining Pb and Nd isotopic tracers with the Os data, we demonstrate that the low-Ti basaltic magmas in the Emeishan CFB were mainly sourced from a mantle plume reservoir, whereas the high-Ti basaltic magmas were most likely derived from a SCLM reservoir or were contaminated by a significant amount of lithospheric mantle material during plume-related magma ascent through the SCLM.     

Mantle processes during Gondwana break-up and dispersal

This paper reviews the Mesozoic continental flood basalts (CFBs) associated with the break-up and dispersal of Gondwana from 185-60 Ma, the conditions for melt generation in mantle plumes and within the continental mantle lithosphere, and possible causes for lithospheric extension. The number of CFB provinces within Gondwana is much less than the number of mantle plumes that are likely to have been emplaced beneath it in the 300 Ma prior to its initial break-up. Also, the difference between the age of the peak of CFB volcanism and that of the oldest adjacent ocean crust decreases with the age of volcanism during the break-up and dispersal of Gondwana. The older CFBs of Karoo and Ferrar appear to have been derived largely from source regions within the mantle lithosphere. It is only in the younger Paranâ-Etendeka and Deccan CFBs that there are igneous rocks with major, trace element and radiogenic isotope ratios indicative of melting within a mantle plume. These younger CFBs are also clearly associated with hot spot traces on the adjacent ocean floor. The widespread 180 Ma magmatic event is attributed to partial melting within the lithosphere in response to thermal incubation over 300 Ma. In the case of the Ferrar (Antarctica) this was focussed by regional plate margin forces. The implication is that supercontinents effectively self-destruct in response to the build up of heat and resultant magmatism, since these effects significantly weaken the lithosphere and make it more susceptible to break-up in response to regional tectonics. The younger CFB of Paranâ-Etendeka was generated, at least in part, because the continental lithosphere had been thinned in response to regional tectonics. While magmatism in the Deccan was triggered by the emplacement of the plume, that too may have been beneath slightly thinned lithosphere.     

Source, genesis, and timing of giant ignimbrite deposits associated with Ethiopian continental flood basalts

The Ethiopian continental flood basalt (CFB) province (∼30 Ma, > 3 × 10⁵ km³) was formed as the result of the impingement of the Afar mantle plume beneath the Ethiopian lithosphere. This province includes major sequences of rhyolitic ignimbrites generally found on top of the flood basalt sequence. Their volume is estimated to be at least 6 × 10⁴km³, which represents 20% of that of the trap basalts. Their phenocryst assemblage (alkali feldspar, quartz, aegyrine-augite, ilmenite ± Ti-magnetite, richterite, and eckermanite) suggests temperatures in the range of 740 to 900°C. Four units were recognized in the field (Wegel Tena, Jima, Lima Limo, and Debre Birhan areas), each with its own geochemical specificity. Zr/Nb ratios remain constant between basalt and rhyolite in each area, and rhyolites associated with high-Ti or low-Ti basalts are, respectively, enriched or depleted in titanium. Their trace element and isotope (Sr, Nd, O) signatures (high ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, compared to those of rhyolites from other CFB provinces) are clearly different from those of typical crustal melts and indicate that the Ethiopian rhyolites are among the most isotopically primitive rhyolites. Their major and trace element patterns suggest that they are likely to be derived from fractional crystallization of basaltic magmas similar in composition to the exposed flood basalts with only limited crustal contribution. Since Ethiopian high-Ti basalts have been shown to form from melting of a mantle plume, it is likely that Ethiopian ignimbrites, at least those that are Ti-rich, also incorporated material from the deep mantle.Rb-Sr isochrons on whole rocks and mineral separates (30.1 ± 0.4 Ma for Wegel Tena and 30.5 ± 0.4 Ma for Jima ignimbrites) show that most of the silicic volcanism occurred within < 2 Ma during the Oligocene. Ignimbritic eruptions resumed in the Miocene during two episodes dated at 15.4 ± 0.2 Ma and 8.0 ± 0.2 Ma for the Debre Birhan area. The Rb-Sr isochron ages of ignimbrites (both Oligocene and Miocene rhyolites) are indistinguishable within uncertainties from the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of the underlying flood basalts. The Oligocene ignimbrites and the underlying trap basalts are synchronous with a shift in the oxygen composition of foraminifera recorded in Indian and Atlantic Ocean cores. The temporal coincidence of Ethiopian Oligocene volcanism, which released immense volumes of S (> 1.4 × 10¹⁵ mol) and Cl (6.4 × 10¹⁵ mol) into the atmosphere over a short time span, with the global cooling event at 30.3 Ma suggests that this volcanism might have accelerated the climate change that was already underway.     

Formation of continental flood volcanism — The perspective of setting of melting

Models of continental flood basalt (CFB) formation are evaluated by examining their implications for the setting, mainly temperature and depth, of melting which is assumed to result from adiabatic decompression. Most attractive is the model of melting in upwelling bodies (probably plume heads) rising to the base of the continental lithosphere. This constrains the melting to 120–150 km or deeper (continental lithospheric thickness) and thus the plume potential temperatures to ≥ 300 °C higher than ambient mantle. The primary melts should be hot, MgO-rich, modified during ascent, and assimilate components of the lithosphere, which can provide the continental-like geochemical signature of many CFB. Circulation within the upwellings and presence of eclogite patches also influence magma generation and composition. Dehydration melting when plumes heat the lowermost lithosphere can generate CFB only if the source region contains ca. 15% hydrous minerals beneath the entire area covered by flood volcanics, which is difficult to justify. On the other hand, assimilation of “continental” chemical components from large parts of the lithosphere does not require such extreme metasomatism. Decompression melting under strongly thinned rifted lithosphere requires lower potential temperatures of the rising material and lesser modification of the primary magmas than the plume head model of CFB formation. Available observations do not support the contemporaneity of flood volcanism with rifts having the required sizes and histories, but more information is needed to further test this model. On the other hand, magma production can assist rift initiation and lithospheric rupture, so subsequent thinning can explain the common formation of volcanic rifted margins immediately following CFB emplacement. Ancient LIP should record the same processes as seen in young CFB.     

Geochemical Evidences for Possible Absence of Cu-Sulfide Deposits in the Deccan Volcanic Province,India

Continental flood basalt provinces (CFBs) are important hosts for large-scale Cu-sulfide deposits. However, sulfide mineralization is yet to be discovered, if any, in the end-Cretaceous Deccan volcanic province, India. In the present study, geochemical evidences for the possible absence of Cu-sulfide deposits associated with the Deccan basalts by analyzing and comparing the geochemistries of the Deccan and Siberian CFBs are provided. The Fe-rich nature and high fO₂ conditions did not favour sulfide saturation at any stage of magma evolution in the Deccan province. Crustal contamination of the Deccan magmas also did not increase the sulfur budget. The most contaminated basalts of Bushe and Poladpur formations of the Deccan province do not show any depletion in the copper contents compared to other formations. In the absence of sulfide saturation, copper behaved as an incompatible element in the Deccan magmas in contrast to the Siberian basalts, in which copper behaved as a compatible element during magma evolution due to sulfide saturation consequently formed world-class copper sulfide deposits. It is demonstrated that the lithosphere- and asthenosphere-derived Deccan magmas have similar Cu abundances thereby suggesting that the Cu-sulfide deposits associated with the CFBs are process-controlled rather than source-controlled. Although Cu-sulfide deposits may not have formed, the geochemical patterns suggest favourable conditions for native copper mineralization in the Deccan volcanic province. In the present study, a set of geochemical proxies that can be utilized as preliminary exploration tools for Cu-sulfide mineralization in the CFBs is proposed.     

Geochemical investigation of a semi-continuous extrusive basaltic section from the Deccan Volcanic Province, India: implications for the mantle and magma chamber processes

Spatial and temporal variations in the geochemistry of an extrusive basaltic section of Deccan traps record progressive changes in mantle melting and crustal filtration and are relevant to understand continental flood basalt (CFB) magmatism. In the present work we have carried out detailed field, petrographic, density and magnetic susceptibility, and geochemical investigations on a small, semi-continuous extrusive section in the eastern Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) to understand the role of shallow magma chambers in CFB magmatism. Four formations, Ajanta, Chikhli, Buldhana and Karanja crop out in the Gangakhed–Ambajogai area with increasing elevation. Our studies indicate that: (1) the Karanja Formation represents a major magma addition, as indicated by abrupt change in texture, increases in MgO, CaO, Ni, Cr, and Sr, and drastic decreases in Al₂O₃, Na₂O, K₂O, Rb, Ba, REE, bulk-rock density and magnetic susceptibility; (2) assimilation fractional crystallization, crystal-laden magmas, and accessory cumulus phases influence the trace element chemistry of Deccan basalts; (3) the predicted cumulate sequence of olivine gabbro–leucogabbro–oxide-apatite gabbro is supported by the observed layered series in a shallow magma chamber within the DVP; (4) the initial magma was saturated with olivine, plagioclase, and augite, and final the pressure of equilibration for the Gangakhed–Ambajogai section basalts is ~2 kbar (~6 km depth); (5) petrophysical parameters act as proxies for magmatic processes; (6) a small layer of oxide-rich basalts may represent the latest erupted pulse in a given magmatic cycle in the DVP; (7) parental basalts to some of the red boles, considered as formation boundaries, might represent small degree partial melts of the mantle; (8) SW Deccan basaltic-types continue into the eastern DVP; and (9) in addition to the magma chamber processes, dynamic melting of the mantle may have controlled DVP geochemistry. The present study underscores the importance of mapping specific stratigraphic intervals in limited areas to understand mantle and magma chamber processes relevant to CFB magmatism.     

大陆板内玄武岩数据挖掘:成分多样性及在判别图中的表现

通常认为,大陆溢流玄武岩(CFB)、裂谷玄武岩(CRB)、板内玄武岩(WPB)均产于板内构造环境,其地球化学特征与OIB类似,源于富集的下地幔,与地幔柱的活动有关。本文利用GEOROC数据库对全球CFB、CRB和WPB数据进行挖掘,发现上述三类玄武岩判别图投图几乎落入了全部的构造环境域,有些甚至主要落入MORB和IAB区,而不是落入WPB区。结果表明原先的玄武岩判别图的判别功能值得商榷,尤其对大陆玄武岩来说,许多判别图都存在问题。全体CFB、CRB和WPB的地球化学成分变化巨大,暗示其源区具有强烈的不均一性:部分CFB、CRB和WPB来自富集的地幔柱,仍然具有经典的OIB的特征;部分来自MORB的源区,与MORB的再循环作用有关;部分来自岛弧岩石圈之下的亏损地幔源区,以强烈亏损Nb-Ta为特征,类似岛弧玄武岩的地球化学特征。许多地区的大陆玄武岩可分为低钛和高钛两类,低钛玄武岩大多是亏损或强烈亏损的,而高钛玄武岩通常是富集型的。本文的研究表明,富集型大陆玄武岩可能来自富集的下地幔,而亏损的和强烈亏损的玄武岩可能来自具有MORB或岛弧特征的软流圈地幔。进一步指出,源区性质可能是大陆玄武岩多样性的主控因素,其次为部分熔融程度、熔融深度、结晶分离、陆壳混染以及AFC过程。     

Signatures of the source for the Emeishan flood basalts in the Ertan area： Pb isotope evidence

The Emeishan flood basalts can be divided into high-Ti (HT) basalt (Ti/Y>500) and low-Ti (LT) basalt (Ti/Y<500). Sr, Nd isotopic characteristics of the lavas indicate that the LT- and the HT-type magmas originated from distinct mantle sources and parental magmas. The LT-type magma was derived from a shallower lithospheric mantle, whereas the HT-type magma was derived from a deeper mantle source that may be possibly a mantle plume. However, few studies on the Emeishan flood basalts involved their Pb isotopes, especially the Ertan basalts. In this paper, the authors investigated basalt samples from the Ertan area in terms of Pb isotopes, in order to constrain the source of the Emeishan flood basalts. The ratios of 206Pb/204Pb (18.31–18.41), 207Pb/204Pb (15.55–15.56) and 208Pb/204Pb (38.81–38.94) are significantly higher than those of the depleted mantle, just lying between EM I and EM II. This indicates that the Emeishan HT basalts (in the Ertan area) are the result of mixing of EMI end-member and EMII end-member.     

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of basalts from the West Siberian Basin: an extension of the Permo–Triassic Siberian Traps, Russia

New major and trace element data for the Permo–Triassic basalts from the West Siberian Basin (WSB) indicate that they are strikingly similar to the Nadezhdinsky suite of the Siberian Trap basalts. The WSB basalts exhibit low Ti/Zr (50) and low high-field-strength element abundances combined with other elemental characteristics (e.g., low Mg#, and negative Nb and Ti anomalies on mantle-normalised plots) typical of fractionated, crustally contaminated continental flood basalts (CFBs). The major and trace element data are consistent with a process of fractional crystallisation coupled with assimilation of incompatible-element-enriched lower crust. Relatively low rates of assimilation to fractional crystallisation (0.2) are required to generate the elemental distribution observed in the WSB basalts. The magmas parental to the basalts may have been derived from source regions similar to primitive mantle (OIB source) or to the Ontong Java Plateau source. Trace element modelling suggests that the majority of the analysed WSB basalts were derived by large degrees of partial melting at pressures less than 3 GPa, and therefore within the garnet-spinel transition zone or the spinel stability field.

It seems unlikely that large-scale melting in the WSB was induced through lithospheric extension alone, and additional heating, probably from a mantle plume, would have been required. We argue that the WSB basalts are chemically and therefore genetically related to the Siberian Traps basalts, especially the Nadezhdinsky suite found at Noril'sk. This suite immediately preceded the main pulse of volcanism that extruded lava over large areas of the Siberian Craton. Magma volume and timing constraints strongly suggest that a mantle plume was involved in the formation of the Earth's largest continental flood basalt province.     

Plume dynamics beneath the African plate inferred from the geochemistry of the Tertiary basalts of southern Ethiopia

Southern Ethiopian flood basalts erupted in two episodes: the pre-rift Amaro and Gamo transitional tholeiites (45-35 million years) followed by the syn-extensional Getra-Kele alkali basalts (19-11 million years). These two volcanic episodes are distinct in both trace element and isotope ratios (Zr/Nb ratios in Amaro/Gamo lavas fall between 7 and 14, and 3-4.7 in the Getra-Kele lavas whereas ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios fall between 18-19 and 18.9-20, respectively). The distinctive chemistries of the two eruptive phases record the tapping of two distinct source regions: a mantle plume source for the Amaro/Gamo phase and an enriched continental mantle lithosphere source for the Getra-Kele phase. Isotope and trace element variations within the Amaro/Gamo lavas reflect polybaric fractional crystallisation initiated at high pressures accompanied by limited crustal contamination. We show that clinopyroxene removal at high (0.5 GPa) crustal pressures provides an explanation for the common occurrence of transitional tholeiites in Ethiopia relative to other, typically tholeiitic flood basalt provinces. The mantle plume signature inferred from the most primitive Amaro basalts is isotopically distinct from that contributing to melt generation in central Ethiopian and Afar. This, combined with Early Tertiary plate reconstructions and similarities with Kenyan basalts farther south, lends credence to derivation of these melts from the Kenyan plume rather than the Afar mantle plume. The break in magmatism between 35 and 19 Ma is consistent with the northward movement away from the Kenya plume predicted from plate tectonic reconstructions. In this model the Getra-Kele magmatism is a response to heating of carbonatitically metasomatised lithosphere by the Afar mantle plume beneath southern Ethiopia at this time.     

Global warming of the mantle beneath continents back to the Archaean

Throughout its history, the Earth has experienced global magmatic events that correlate with the formation of supercontinents. This suggests that the distribution of continents at the Earth's surface is fundamental in regulating mantle temperature. Nevertheless, most large igneous provinces (LIPs) are explained in terms of the interaction of a hot plume with the lithosphere, even though some do not show evidence for such a mechanism. The aggregation of continents impacts on the temperature and flow of the underlying mantle through thermal insulation and enlargement of the convection wavelength. Both processes tend to increase the temperature below the continental lithosphere, eventually triggering melting events without the involvement of hot plumes. This model, called mantle global warming, has been tested using 3D numerical simulations of mantle convection [Coltice, N., Phillips, B.R., Bertrand, H., Ricard, Y., Rey, P. (2007) Global warming of the mantle at the origin of flood basalts over supercontinents. Geology 35, 391–394.]. Here, we apply this model to several continental flood basalts (CFBs) ranging in age from the Mesozoic to the Archaean. Our numerical simulations show that the mantle global warming model could account for the peculiarities of magmatic provinces that developed during the formation of Pangea and Rodinia, as well as putative Archaean supercontinents such as Kenorland and Zimvaalbara.     

川西新元古代双峰式火山岩成因的微量元素和Sm-Nd同位素制约及其大地构造意义

系统的微量元素和Sm-Nd同位素分析表明,川西地区早震旦世苏雄组双峰式火山岩中的大多数玄武岩具有高的正ε_Nd(T)值(+5～+6)、大离子亲石元素和LREE富集,与现代典型的洋岛玄武岩和大陆溢流玄武岩省中的碱性玄武岩有非常相似的地球化学和同位素组成特征。酸性火山岩的ε_Nd(T)值较低(+1.1～+2.6),地球化学特征总体上与A₂-型花岗岩相似,它们是受地壳混染的OIB型玄武质岩浆在地壳中部的一个“双扩散”岩浆房通过结晶分异形成的。苏雄组双峰式火山岩形成于典型的大陆裂谷环境,非常类似于现代与地幔柱活动有关的高火山活动型裂谷火山岩,扬子块体西缘 800Ma前的裂谷作用和火山活动应是约825Ma前的华南地幔柱活动引发的结果。     

地幔柱数值模拟研究进展

国外大量的数值模拟研究表明地幔柱由热浮力驱动,流体的黏度对地幔柱的形状和物质组成有着很大的影响,地幔柱可造成岩石圈的熔蚀减薄和地表隆升,数值模拟可以定量地得出地幔柱运动的速度、岩石圈的熔融量和熔融温度等要素,但这些模拟描述的仅是物理过程,缺乏与化学动力学相耦合.国内开发的可对峨眉地幔柱进行数值模拟的软件MantlePlume1.0也存在许多需要进一步研究解决的问题,如峨眉山玄武岩的物质来源、活动中心、喷发时限、喷发规模、岩石圈的隆升程度,以及峨眉地幔柱的温压条件和断裂构造形成机理等.     

The Axum–Adwa basalt–trachyte complex: a late magmatic activity at the periphery of the Afar plume

The Axum–Adwa igneous complex consists of a basalt–trachyte (syenite) suite emplaced at the northern periphery of the Ethiopian plateau, after the paroxysmal eruption of the Oligocene (ca 30 Ma) continental flood basalts (CFB), which is related to the Afar plume activity. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and K–Ar ages, carried out for the first time on felsic and basaltic rocks, constrain the magmatic age of the greater part of the complex around Axum to 19–15 Ma, whereas trachytic lavas from volcanic centres NE of Adwa are dated ca 27 Ma. The felsic compositions straddle the critical SiO₂-saturation boundary, ranging from normative quartz trachyte lavas east of Adwa to normative (and modal) nepheline syenite subvolcanic domes (the obelisks stones of ancient axumites) around Axum. Petrogenetic modelling based on rock chemical data and phase equilibria calculations by PELE (Boudreau 1999) shows that low-pressure fractional crystallization processes, starting from mildly alkaline- and alkaline basalts comparable to those present in the complex, could generate SiO₂-saturated trachytes and SiO₂-undersaturated syenites, respectively, which correspond to residual liquid fractions of 17 and 10 %. The observed differentiation processes are consistent with the development of rifting events and formation of shallow magma chambers plausibly located between displaced (tilted) crustal blocks that favoured trapping of basaltic parental magmas and their fractionation to felsic differentiates. In syenitic domes, late- to post-magmatic processes are sometimes evidenced by secondary mineral associations (e.g. Bete Giorgis dome) which overprint the magmatic parageneses, and mainly induce additional nepheline and sodic pyroxene neo-crystallization. These metasomatic reactions were promoted by the circulation of Na–Cl-rich deuteric fluids (600–400 °C), as indicated by mineral and bulk rock chemical budgets as well as by δ¹⁸O analyses on mineral separates. The occurrence of this magmatism post-dating the CFB event, characterized by comparatively lower volume of more alkaline products, conforms to the progressive vanishing of the Afar plume thermal effects and the parallel decrease of the partial melting degrees of the related mantle sources. This evolution is also concomitant with the variation of the tectono-magmatic regime from regional lithospheric extension (CFB eruption) to localized rifting processes that favoured magmatic differentiation.     

Siberian meimechites: origin and relation to flood basalts and kimberlites

Here we combine petrological-geochemical and thermomechanical modeling techniques to explain origin of primary magmas of both Maimecha–Kotui meimechites and the Gudchikhinskaya basalts of Norilsk region, which represent, respectively, the end and the beginning of flood magmatism in the Siberian Trap Province.We have analyzed the least altered samples of meimechites, their olivine phenocrysts, and melt inclusions in olivines, as well as samples of dunites and their olivines, from boreholes G-1 and G-3 within the Guli volcanoplutonic complex in the Maimecha–Kotui igneous province of the northern Siberian platform. The Mn/Fe and Ni/MgO ratios in olivines indicate a mantle peridotite source of meimechites. Meimechite parental magma that rose to shallow depths was rich in alkalis and highly magnesian (24 wt.% MgO), largely degassed, undersaturated by sulfide liquid and oxidized. At greater depths, it was, likely, high in CO₂ (6 wt.%) and H₂O (2 wt.%) and resulted from partial melting of initially highly depleted and later metasomatized harzburgite some 200 km below the surface. Trace-element abundances in primary meimechite magma suggest presence of garnet and K-clinopyroxene, in the mantle source and imply for genetic link to the sources of the early Siberian flood basalts (Gudchikhinskaya suite) and kimberlites. The analyzed dunite samples from the Guli complex have chemistry and mineralogy indicating their close relation to meimechites.We have also computed thermomechanical model of interaction of a hot mantle plume with the shield lithosphere of variable thickness, using realistic temperature- and stress-dependent visco-elasto-plastic rocks rheology and advanced finite element solution technique.Based on our experimental and modeling results we propose that a Permian–Triassic plume, with potential temperature of about 1650 °C transported a large amount of recycled ancient oceanic crust (up to 15%) as SiO₂-supersaturated carbonated eclogite. Low-degree partial melting of eclogite at depths of 250–300 km produced carbonate-silicate melt that metasomatized the lithospheric roots of the Siberian shield. Further rise of the plume under relatively attenuated lithosphere (Norilsk area) led to progressive melting of eclogite and formation of reaction pyroxenite, which then melted at depths of 130–180 km. Consequantly, a large volume of melt (Gudchikhinskaya suite) penetrated into the lithosphere and caused its destabilization and delamination. Delaminated lithosphere that included fragments of locally metasomatized depleted harzburgite subsided into the plume and was heated to the temperatures of the plume interior with subsequent generation of meimechite magma. Meimechites showed up at the surface only under thicker part of the lithosphere aside from major melting zone above because otherwise they were mixed up in more voluminous flood basalts. We further suggest that meimechites, uncontaminated Siberian flood basalts and kimberlites all shear the same source of strongly incompatible elements, the carbonated recycled oceanic crust carried up by hot mantle plume.     

大陆溢流玄武岩的地球化学特征及起源

快速上涌的大陆溢流玄武岩（CFB），与大陆裂开存在密切的成因关系。CBF总体岩石及地球化学成分均一，富集同位素及不相容元素，但一些样品含有明显的亏损成分，反映出普遍的地幔不均一性，来自上下地幔边界及软流圈的地幔柱提供了CFB所需的主要物质和能量来源，地壳混染作用对CBF的成分影响不大，而受俯冲带脱水流体以及热地幔柱自身与围岩发生的交代作用影响。交代岩石圈地幔对CBF产生重要影响，很好地解释了CFB所具备的微量元素和同位素特征。     

Distribution of PGE in Permo-Triassic basalts of the Siberian Large Igneous Province

We have revealed the spatio-temporal regularities of distribution of platinum group elements (PGE) in basaltoids related to the activity of the Siberian mantle plume. As objects of study, we chose rift and flood basalts from the Norilsk district (sampled from the SD-9 borehole), flood basalts from the central part of the Tunguska syneclise (Lower Tunguska), Kuznetsk Basin traps, and subalkalic basalt from the Semeitau volcanoplutonic structure in eastern Kazakhstan. Based on the PGE patterns of basaltoids related to the activity of the Permo-Triassic Siberian plume, we have shown that the rocks that formed in the central part of the Siberian Large Igneous Province (LIP) at the early rift stage have low contents of PGE, whereas picrites and tholeiitic flood basalts have high contents. The rift (Semeitau structure) and flood (Kuznetsk Basin traps) basalts from the peripheral regions are characterized by extremely low PGE contents. The high PGE contents in magmas of the plume head are responsible for the high productivity of ultramafic-mafic trap magmatism. The elevated K contents in magmas and the high PGE contents in the mantle plume head are probably due to the ascent of deep-seated material from the core-lower-mantle boundary, as follows from the thermochemical model of the Siberian plume.     

峨眉山大火成岩省Cu-Ni-PGE成矿作用——几个典型矿床岩石地球化学特征的分析

峨眉山大火成岩省岩浆型Cu-Ni-PGE矿化岩体广泛分布,构成峨眉山地幔柱成矿系统中一个非常重要的成矿系列。本文剖析了峨眉山大火成岩省该类矿床的分布及部分典型矿床的地质地球化学特征和矿化特征,揭示了成矿岩体统一的地幔柱成因,阐述了Cu-Ni-PGE成矿作用与峨眉山地幔柱岩浆活动体系的关系,探讨了由于岩浆演化过程及硫化物熔离富集过程的差异所导致的矿化类型变异。指出Cu-Ni-PGE矿床成矿岩体原始岩浆为地幔柱高程度熔融的高镁玄武岩浆,成矿岩体与峨眉山低钛玄武岩同源,矿化岩体主要产于峨眉山地幔柱活动模型的内带低钛玄武岩分布区;金宝山、朱布、力马河、杨柳坪矿床分别代表峨眉山地幔柱Cu-Ni-PGE成矿作用不同成矿机制的端员类型。     

地球化学急变带与地幔柱资源系统

地幔柱产生大面积软流圈上涌，沿深断裂形成岩浆房，导致大规模溢流玄武岩裂隙式喷发。良好的地幔柱成矿系统常出现在岩石圈不连续界面和三叉拼接裂谷，表现为地球化学急变带。地幔柱资源系统包括以下几方面：(1)地幔柱岩浆分异成矿系统，从封闭到开放环境的岩浆分异形成了富钛、富镁和低钛三个岩浆端员，构成了Cu—Ni(PGE)硫化物、Fe—Ti—V氧化物和Cu—Ag自然金属三个成矿体系；(2)地幔柱同生火山热液成矿系统，包括赤铁矿—阳起石—硅化氧化铜，沥青化—绿泥石—浊沸石化自然铜和碳酸盐化硫化物三个成矿体系；(3)地幔柱同构造盆地油气系统，巨量岩浆的快速成溢流导致地壳的快速沉降，形成同构造热盆地，具有油气前景；(4)地幔柱火山岩、硅质岩和富有机质砂页岩组合为优势生态体系提供了地质环境。     

Origin of the Felsic and Basaltic Dikes and Flows in the Rajula-Palitana-Sihor Area of the Deccan Traps,Saurashtra, India: A Geochemical and Geochronological Study

Rhyolite, trachyte, pitchstone, and granophyre dikes are associated with mafic dolerite dikes and basaltic flows of the northwestern part of the Deccan flood basalt province in the Saurashtra Peninsula, India. Felsic dikes, exposed in the Rajula area of Saurashtra, are similar in age to the basaltic flows of neighboring Palitana. The ages of both the felsic and mafic rocks straddle the ~65 Ma Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary and correspond to the main Deccan flood basalt episode. Palitana is centered on an elongated gravity high whose major axis is NE-SW, and Rajula is located on its southwestern flank. Unlike the younger Bombay felsic rocks from the western coast of India, which have been explained as partial melts of gabbros in deep crustal sills or previously erupted basalts, the incompatible-element characteristics of the Rajula rocks indicate that the Rajula rhyolites, trachytes, and dacites may have been generated by an almost complete melting of upper crustal rocks at the southwestern flank of the Rajula-Palitana-Sihor magmatic body. High potential temperatures of the Deccan plume, quick migration of the hot basaltic parent magma through lithospheric weak trends, and collection and residence of magma in upper-crustal magma chambers before eruption may have produced the right conditions to melt the upper crust in the vicinity of the Rajula-Palitana-Sihor magma chamber. On the other hand, the andesite located northeast of the magmatic body possibly evolved by assimilation of upper-crustal wall rocks accompanied by 5-10% crystallization of a Rajula-type basalt near the wall of the magma chamber. The Sihor rhyolites may also have been derived from the Sihor basalts through fractional crystallization accompanied by crustal assimilation. The Rajula granophyres, however, do not show any involvement of the upper crust in their genesis. These may have a history similar to that of the Bombay rocks and may have erupted in response to rifting along the Cambay rift.