Structure of the Ethiopian lithosphere: Xenolith evidence in the Main Ethiopian Rift

The lithospheric and sublithospheric processes associated with the transition from continental to oceanic magmatism during continental rifting are poorly understood, but may be investigated in the central Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) using Quaternary xenolith-bearing basalts. Explosive eruptions in the Debre Zeyit (Bishoftu) and Butajira regions, offset 20 km to the west of the contemporaneous main rift axis, host Al-augite, norite and lherzolite xenoliths, xenocrysts and megacrysts. Al-augite xenoliths and megacrysts derived from pressures up to 10 kb are the dominant inclusion in these recent basalts, which were generated as small degree partial melts of fertile peridotite between 15 and 25 kb. Neither the xenoliths nor the host basalts exhibit signs of carbonatitic or hydrous (amphibole + phlogopite) metasomatism, suggesting that infiltration of silicate melts resulting in pervasive Al-augite dyking/veining dominates the regional lithospheric mantle. Recent geophysical evidence has indicated that such veining/dyking is pervasive and segmented, supporting the connection of these Al-augite dykes/veins to the formation of a proto ridge axis. Al-augite xenoliths and megacrysts have been reported in other continental rift settings, suggesting that silicate melt metasomatism resulting in Al-augite dykes/veins is a fundamental processes attendant to continental rift development.     

Os isotopes in mantle xenoliths from the Eifel volcanic field and the Vogelsberg (Germany): age constraints on the lithospheric mantle

The effects of mantle metasomatism on the sulfide phase in mantle xenoliths in general, and on the Os isotopic system in particular, have received increased attention in recent years. Here, we report on Os isotopic systematics of metasomatized mantle xenoliths from the late Quaternary Eifel (Dreiser Weiher and Meerfelder Maar) and neighboring Vogelsberg volcanic fields, which provide insight into the effects of melt extraction and metasomatism on Os isotopes and place constraints on the evolution of the lithospheric mantle component beneath central Europe. Sixteen harzburgite, lherzolite, and pyroxenite xenoliths from the Eifel and two lherzolite xenoliths from the Vogelsberg were analyzed for Os isotopes. Samples from the anhydrous peridotite suite (Ib) are highly variable in their Os isotopes, ranging from subchondritic values (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os=0.1236) to suprachondritic values (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os=0.1420), indicating that some of these samples have been overprinted by the addition of radiogenic Os and have lost the primary mantle Os that was presumably present. The suprachondritic values suggest a source for this Os in a reservoir with a time-integrated Re/Os ratio greater than that of the bulk Earth. Eifel samples with Os contents >1.5 ng/g from the hydrous suite (Ia) have relatively unradiogenic Os isotope compositions (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os=0.1208-0.1237) and Al₂O₃-Os isotopic systematics consistent with ancient melt depletion and isolation from the convecting asthenospheric mantle for time periods similar to the age of the overlying crust (~1.5 Ga) as well with results from peridotite massifs in the European region. The LREE-metasomatism and the enrichment of Os (up to 6.47 ng/g) and As (sulfide metasomatism?) in the hydrous suite is strongly inversely correlated with the Os isotope ratios, demonstrating that mantle processes such as metasomatism can significantly modify the Os isotope chemistry of mantle xenoliths.     

Metasomatic interactions between slab-derived melts and depleted mantle: Insights from xenoliths within Monglo adakite (Luzon arc, Philippines)

The Monglo adakite contains mafic and ultramafic xenoliths, which probably originated from the mantle section of an Early Cretaceous supra-subduction zone ophiolitic complex located within the Luzon arc crust. Spinel-bearing dunites are dominant among this xenolith collection and display evidence for three episodes of subduction-related melt percolation. The first one is evidenced by an undeformed clinopyroxene characterized by convex-upwards REE pattern. This clinopyroxene crystallized from a calc-alkaline basaltic magma, likely formed in the Cretaceous supra-subduction setting of the ophiolite. Then, two metasomatic events, evidenced by orthopyroxene-rich and amphibole-rich secondary parageneses, respectively, affected most of the spinel dunites. The opx-rich paragenesis is related to the circulation within the dunitic upper mantle of hydrous slab-derived melts similar to those affecting the mantle peridotite xenoliths from Papua New Guinea and Kamchatka. Finally the amphibole-rich veins are related to the interaction between the studied dunite xenoliths and the host adakite or an adakitic melt similar to it.     

Primary alkaline magmas associated with the Quaternary Alligator Lake volcanic complex,Yukon Territory,Canada

The Alligator Lake complex is a Quaternary alkaline volcanic center located in the southern Yukon Territory of Canada. It comprises two cinder cones which cap a shield consisting of five distinct lava units of basaltic composition. Units 2 and 3 of this shield are primitive olivine-phyric lavas (13.5–19.5 cation % Mg) which host abundant spinel lherzolite xenoliths, megacrysts, and granitoid fragments. Although the two lava types have erupted coevally from adjacent vents and are petrographically similar, they are chemically distinct. Unit 2 lavas have considerably higher abundances of LREE, LILE, and Fe, but lower HREE, Y, Ca, Si, and Al relative to unit 3 lavas. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopic ratios of these two units are, however, indistinguishable. The differences between these two lava types cannot be explained in terms of low pressure olivine fractionation, and the low concentrations of Sr, Nb, P, and Ti in the granitoid xenoliths relative to the primitive lavas discounts differential crustal contamination. The abundance of spinel lherzolite xenoliths and the high Mg contents in the lavas of both units indicates that their compositional differences originated in the upper mantle. The Al and Si systematics of these lavas suggests that, compared to unit 3 magmas, the unit 2 magmas may have segregated at greater depths from a garnet lherzolite mantle. The identical isotopic composition and similar ratios of highly incompatible elements in these two lava units argues against their differences being a consequence of random metasomatism or mantle heterogeneity. The lower Y and HREE contents but higher concentrations of incompatible elements in the unit 2 lavas relative to unit 3 can be most simply explained by differential partial melting of similar garnet-bearing sources. The unit 2 magmas thus appear to have been generated by smaller degrees of melting at a greater depth than the unit 3 magmas. The contemporaneous eruption of two distinct but volumetrically restricted primary magmas from adjacent vents at the Alligator Lake volcanic complex suggests that volcanism in this region of the Canadian Cordillera is controlled by localized, small batch processes.     

Metasomatised and veined upper-mantle xenoliths from Pello Hill,Tanzania: evidence for anomalously-light mantle beneath the Tanzanian sector of the East African Rift Valley

Peridotite xenoliths from the Pello tuff cone in the Rift Valley of northern Tanzania, bear witness to upper mantle veining and metasomatism. Veins of katungite composition, with an asthenospheric signature, have imposed K, Fe, Ti, OH and REE metasomatism upon previously depleted peridotite. Chemical and mineralogical gradients are present in the peridotite wall rocks, and hydrous phases developed in the peridotite are generally lower in Ti and Fe, but higher in Mg and Cr, than those in the veins. The metasomatism has reduced the density of affected peridotite by up to 4.5%, supporting earlier geophysical models for low-density mantle beneath the Rift Valley. Age constraints for the metasomatically-induced density decrease permit correlation with Recent faulting in the Rift Valley, but not with the major upwarp of the Kenya Dome in the late Tertiary.     

Spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Atsagin-Dush volcano, Dariganga lava plateau, Mongolia: a record of partial melting and cryptic metasomatism in the upper mantle

Spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Atsagin-Dush volcanic centre, SE Mongolia range from fertile lherzolites to clinopyroxene(cpx)-bearing harzburgites. The cpx-poor peridotites typically contain interstitial fine-grained material and silicate glass and abundant fluid inclusions in minerals, some have large vesicular melt pockets that apparently formed after primary clinopyroxene and spinel. No volatile-bearing minerals (amphibole, phlogopite, apatite, carbonate) have been found in any of the xenoliths. Fifteen peridotite xenoliths have been analysed for major and trace elements; whole-rock Sr isotope compositions and O isotope composition of all minerals were determined for 13 xenoliths. Trace element composition and Sr-Nd isotope compositions were also determined in 11 clinopyroxene and melt pocket separates. Regular variations of major and moderately incompatible trace elements (e.g. heavy-rare-earth elements) in the peridotite series are consistent with its formation as a result of variable degrees of melt extraction from a fertile lherzolite protolith. The Nd isotope compositions of LREE (light-rare-earth elements)-depleted clinopyroxenes indicate an old (≥ 1 billion years) depletion event. Clinopyroxene-rich lherzolites are commonly depleted in LREE and other incompatible trace elements whereas cpx-poor peridotites show metasomatic enrichment that can be related to the abundance of fine-grained interstitial material, glass and fluid inclusions in minerals. The absence of hydrous minerals, ubiquitous CO₂-rich microinclusions in the enriched samples and negative anomalies of Nb, Hf, Zr, and Ti in primitive mantle-normalized trace element patterns of whole rocks and clinopyroxenes indicate that carbonate melts may have been responsible for the metasomatic enrichment. Low Cu and S contents and high δ³⁴S values in whole-rock peridotites could be explained by interaction with oxidized fluids that may have been derived from subducted oceanic crust. The Sr-Nd isotope compositions of LREE-depleted clinopyroxenes plot either in the MORB (mid-ocean-ridge basalt) field or to the right of the mantle array, the latter may be due to enrichment in radiogenic Sr. The LREE-enriched clinopyroxenes and melt pockets plot in the ocean island-basalt field and have Sr-Nd isotope signatures consistent with derivation from a mixture of the DMM (depleted MORB mantle) and EM (enriched mantle) II sources. Received: 18 January 1996 / Accepted: 23 August 1996     

Lithospheric petrology beneath the northern part of the Arabian Plate in Syria: evidence from xenoliths in alkali basalts

A petrological model for the upper mantle and lower crust under the northern part of the Arabian Plate (Syria) has been derived on the basis of petrology of upper mantle and lower crustal xenoliths occurring in the Neogene to Quaternary alkali basalts of the Shamah volcanic fields. The xenolith suite has been classified by texture mineralogy and chemistry into the following groups: (1) Type I metasomatised and dry Cr diopside xenoliths with protogranular to porphyroclastic textures; (2) Type II Al augite spinal and garnet pyroxenite and websterite which have igneous and/or porphyroclastic textures and abundant phlogopite and/or amphibole; (3) Cr-poor megacrysts; and (4) mafic lower crustal xenoliths. Estimates of Type I xenolith temperatures are 990–1070°C with pressure between 13 and 19 kbar. Type II xenoliths yield temperatures of 930–1150°C and pressures in the range 12—13 kbar. The lower crustal xenolith mineral assemblages and geothermometry based on coexisting minerals suggest equilibration conditions between 6 and 8 kbar and 820–905°C. Mantle plumes, which may be the source of the volatile flux, have implications for melt generation in the Arabian basalt provinces. It is estimated that the lithosphere beneath the Arabian Plate is less than 80 km thick. Xenolith data and geophysical studies indicate that the Moho is located at a depth of 40–37 km and that the crust-mantle transition zone has a thickness of 8–5 km and occurs at a depth of 27–30 km. The boundary between an upper granitic crust and a lower mafic crust occurs at a depth of 19 km. Type I dry xenoliths show a low overall concentration of REE (La/Yb =1–2 and Sm = 0.7–1.1 times chondrite), whereas Type I hydrous xenoliths are LREE enriched (La/Yb=6–9 and Sm=1.1–1.3 times chondrite). Type II xenoliths show high overall LREE enrichment. Petrological and geochemical data for the lower crustal xenoliths indicate that these xenoliths represent basaltic cumulates crystallised at lower crustal pressures.     

河北汉诺坝碱性玄武岩的源区和成因

我国华北北部新近纪喷发的汉诺坝玄武岩,岩层出露比较完整,普遍含有超镁铁岩包体和各种高压巨晶。大麻坪代黄沟剖面出露较好,主要岩性为玄武岩,从上到下可分为上三、二、一层和底层。岩相学观察显示这些玄武岩含有1%~5%的捕虏晶且斑晶数量很少。橄榄岩包体为尖晶石二辉橄榄岩,轻稀土略微亏损,轻重稀土无分馏,显示这是只经过少量部分熔融后的原始地幔包体。通过对代黄沟碱性玄武岩中橄榄石、辉石和斜长石等斑晶或捕虏晶的矿物学分析,得出它们的成分变化是玄武岩混合了分解的地幔橄榄岩快速上升造成的。玄武岩的主量元素与二辉橄榄岩相平衡的原生熔体相比,Mg#(52.0~62.7)以及CaO(7.3%~8.5%)、Ni((82~192)×10-6)和Cr((65~192)×10-6)含量都较低。玄武岩的稀土分配模式为轻稀土富集的右倾型,δEu=1.01~1.05,δCe=0.95~1.02,富集高场强元素Nb、Ta、Zr及大离子亲石元素Ba、Sr。玄武岩痕量元素Ba/Rb和Rb/Sr的比值显示源区可能遭受过流体的交代作用。同时,痕量元素显示这一系列玄武岩主要受到部分熔融的控制,大量的结晶分异并未发生,且源区残留石榴子石。分析认为玄武岩岩浆应该是原生岩浆,而不是演化岩浆,影响整个岩浆的形成的过程可能是部分熔融而不是分离结晶。基于目前已发表的实验岩石学结果和理论分析认为汉诺坝玄武岩与辉石岩类相平衡,源区主要矿物相为单斜辉石和石榴子石,可能存在少量的橄榄石。     

Silicate, Hydrous and Carbonate Metasomatism at Lherz, France: Contemporaneous Derivatives of Silicate Melt-Harzburgite Reaction

Complex multi-stage models involving silicate, hydrous and carbonatemelts of distinct provenance have been invoked to explain themetasomatism observed in mantle rocks. In contrast, relativelysimple models requiring polybaric crystallization of alkalinesilicate melts have been proposed to explain the occurrenceof veined mantle rocks. To address the spatial and temporalrelationships between veins and wall-rocks, a sequence of drillcores was obtained from Lherz, France. In outcrop the vein (amphibole–garnetpyroxenite dyke) is spatially associated with hornblendite veinlets(lherzite), and proximal amphibole-bearing and distal apatite-bearingwall-rock peridotite. Considerable elemental and isotopic heterogeneityexists in these wall-rock peridotites, in many instances equivalentto, or greater than, that observed in mantle xenoliths fromworldwide localities. A single stage of reactive porous flowbest explains the elemental and isotopic heterogeneity in thewall-rock. In essence it is proposed that emplacement of thesilicate melt (dyke) was inextricably linked to chromatographicfractionation/reaction of derivatives which led to the coexistence,in space and time, of silicate, hydrous and carbonate melts.This model elegantly and simply describes the formation of complexmetasomatic aureoles around mantle veins and negates the need,in the case of basalt-hosted (and kimberlite-hosted) xenoliths,for complex multi-stage models involving several episodes ofmelt influx with each melt being of different provenance. KEY WORDS: mantle metasomatism; trace-element enrichment; isotopic contamination; wall-rock peridotite; Lherz peridotite     

Petrology and Geochemistry of Peridotite Xenoliths in Alkali Basalts from the Transdanubian Volcanic Region, West Hungary

Type I (Cr-diopside group) peridotite xenoliths occur abundantlyat four volcanic vents (Szentb?k?lla, Szigliget, Bondor?-hegy,G?rce) in the Transdanubian Volcanic Region of Hungary (TVR).They comprise four-phase spinel Iherzolites and spinel harzburgites.The only additional phase a brown amphibole in some of the nodulesfrom Szigliget. Protogranular and equigranular textures prevailexcept at G?rce where porphyroclastic textures predominate.Attention has been focused however, on a rarer textural typedisplaying spherical, subhedral, or rarely even euhedral spinelinclusions in silicate phases (special group xenoliths). Major and trace element data permit the reconstruction of severalmantle events and provide indications of the nature and dimensionsof heterogeneities in the lithospheric mantle beneath the TVR.The most important events in their supposed order of time aresummarized as follows: (A) An old depletion event evidencedby LREE abundances in diopside (Type IA xenoliths) (B) laterenrichment in LREE and other LIL elements (Type IB xenoliths);(C) hydrous metasomatism bringing about the formation of amphibole;(D) magmatic introduction of Type II (Al-augite group) materialand related chemical exchange reactions with cool mantle rocks;and (E) veining of the uppcr mantle by plagioclase-free amphibolite(probably slightly prior to the volcanic eruptions). In addition,in our interpretation special group xenoliths indicate an ancientmagmatic event. As evidence we can mention: (1) textural featureswhich may be connected with generation of cumulates and whichare associated with (2) anomalous bulk rock and phase chemistry(as compared with most published data) such as: (a) a generallow abundance of Al; (b) high Cr in the spinel phase; (c) unusuallyhigh contents of Fe³⁺ in spinel; (d) anomalous distributionof Al between enstatite and diopside; and (e) other disequilibriumfeatures such as the lack of the expected correlation of majorelements with mg-value or important departures from the correlationlines. These peculiarities suggest that the special group xenolithsprobably reflect crystal accumulation rather than an equilibriumpartial melting process.     

Multiple metasomatism in Sulu ultrahigh-P garnet peridotite constrained by petrological and geochemical investigations

The pre‐pilot hole (PP1) of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD) recovered drill core samples from a 118 m‐thick section of peridotites located at Zhimafang in the southern Sulu UHP terrane, China. The peridotites consist of phlogopite‐bearing garnet lherzolite, harzburgite, wehrlite and dunite. Some peridotite layers contain magnesite and Ti‐clinohumite, and are characterized by LREE and LILE enrichment and HFSE depletion. Phlogopite (Phl) occurs in the peridotite matrix and is LILE‐enriched with low Zr/Hf ratios (0.19–0.60). Phlogopite shows a mantle signature in H and O isotopes (δ¹⁸O: +5.4‰ to +5.9‰, and δD: ?76‰ to ?91‰). Ti‐clinohumite (Ti‐Chu) is Nb and Ta‐enriched and has higher Ti and HREE concentrations than phlogopite. Magnesite (Mgs) occurs as megacrysts, as a matrix phase, and as veins (±Phl ± Ti‐Chu), and contains low REE^total contents (<0.3 ppm) with a flat REE pattern. The δ¹⁸O values (+5.5‰ to +8.0‰) of magnesite are in the range of primary carbonatite, but the δ¹³C values (?2.4‰ to ?3.4‰) are slightly more positive than those of the mantle and of primary carbonatite. Petrochemical data indicate that the Zhimafang peridotite was subjected to three episodes of metasomatism, listed in succession from oldest to youngest: (1) crystallization of phlogopite in the mantle caused by infiltration of K‐rich hydrous fluid/melt; (2) formation of Mgs and Mgs ± Phl ± Ti‐Chu veins possibly caused by infiltration of mantle‐derived carbonatitic melt with a hydrous silicate component; and (3) replacement of magnesite, garnet and diopside by dolomite and secondary hydrous phases caused by a crust‐related, CO₂‐bearing, aqueous fluid. Stable isotopic compositions of phlogopite and magnesite indicate metasomatic agents for events (1) and (2) are from an enriched mantle. Multiple metasomatism imposed on mantle peridotite of variable composition led to significant compositional heterogeneity at all scales within the Zhimafang peridotite.     

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.     

High pressure cognate inclusions in the Newer Volcanics of Victoria

High pressure pyroxene- and amphibole-rich inclusions are found in a number of Victorian Newer Volcanics volcanoes. The host lavas range from nepheline basanite to nepheline hawaiite and nepheline mugearite. The wide variation in chemistry and mineralogy of the inclusions is explained by crystallization from basaltic magmas under varying P-T and P_H2_O conditions at depth. At moderate pressure wehrlite inclusions (ol+cpx) form, whereas at higher pressures pyroxenites (opx+cpx) and genetically related megacrysts form. Under relatively anhydrous conditions the clinopyroxene megacrysts show a trend of Ca enrichment whereas under hydrous conditions, when amphibole is also stable, the pyroxene shows a trend to greater iron enrichment. The trend nepheline basanite to nepheline mugearite has developed by extensive fractionation of amphibole at elevated pressures under hydrous conditions. Under less hydrous conditions where clinopyroxene assumes the dominant role during crystal fractionation, derivative liquids display a trend of increasing K₂O/Na₂O ratio, with little modification of their level of undersaturation. Olivine plays a decreasing role in crystal fractionation processes with increasing pressure. The available evidence indicates that the only magma which could have been parental to the observed basanites was a more picritic basanite.     

Reaction between slab-derived melts and peridotite in the mantle wedge: experimental constraints at 3.8 GPa

Laboratory experiments on natural, hydrous basalts at 1–4 GPa constrain the composition of “unadulterated” partial melts of eclogitized oceanic crust within downgoing lithospheric slabs in subduction zones. We complement the “slab melting” experiments with another set of experiments in which these same “adakite” melts are allowed to infiltrate and react with an overlying layer of peridotite, simulating melt:rock reaction at the slab–mantle wedge interface. In subduction zones, the effects of reaction between slab-derived, adakite melts and peridotitic mantle conceivably range from hybridization of the melt, to modal or cryptic metasomatism of the sub-arc mantle, depending upon the “effective” melt:rock ratio. In experiments at 3.8 GPa, assimilation of either fertile or depleted peridotite by slab melts at a melt:rock ratio 2:1 produces Mg-rich, high-silica liquids in reactions which form pyrope-rich garnet and low-Mg# orthopyroxene, and fully consume olivine. Analysis of both the pristine and hybridized slab melts for a range of trace elements indicates that, although abundances of most trace elements in the melt increase during assimilation (because melt is consumed), trace element ratios remain relatively constant. In their compositional range, the experimental liquids closely resemble adakite lavas in island-arc and continental margin settings, and adakite veins and melt inclusions in metasomatized peridotite xenoliths from the sub-arc mantle. At slightly lower melt:rock ratios (1:1), slab melts are fully consumed, along with peridotitic olivine, in modal metasomatic reactions that form sodic amphibole and high-Mg# orthopyroxene.     

The Cu---Fe---Ni sulfide component of the amphibole-rich veins from the Lherz and Freychinède spinel peridotite massifs (Northeastern Pyrenees, France): A comparison with mantle-derived megacrysts from alkali basalts

The orogenic-type spinel peridotite massifs of Lherz and Freychinède (Northeastern Pyrenees, Ariège, France) were tectonically emplaced along the North Pyrenean fault. They have been cross-cut by Cretaceous alkali basalts, a few kilometres below the Moho. These magmas crystallized at about 1.0–1.5 GPa as veins of amphibole-rich pyroxenites, containing garnet, and also occasionally as phlogopite hornblendites. In spite of the low volume of trapped silicate liquid, the veins contain up to 1900 ppm S, up to 140 ppm Cu and up to 10 ppb Pd. Under the microscope, the sulfides occur as isolated inclusions within magmatic phases (orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, amphibole, garnet, spinel, ilmenite), irrespective of parting, cleavage or exsolution planes, or as interstitial grains among the major phases, showing signs of textural equilibration. The sulfide inclusions are interpreted as resulting from entrapment of an immiscible sulfide liquid during magmatic crystallization of the veins. However, a detailed comparison with sulfide inclusions from Cpx- and Al-augite megacrysts entrained in continental basalts shows that post-trapping structural and compositional rearrangements have probaly occurred, in response to cooling, deformation and recrystallization of the veins in the lithospheric mantle.

Except in the thinnest veins where subsolidus re-equilibration of the Ni partitioning has occurred between the veins and their host peridotites, the sulfide inclusions are predominantly composed of slightly nickeliferous pyrrhotite, coexisting with subordinate amounts of pentlandite and chalcopyrite. Bulk chemistry recomputed from modal proportions and microprobe analyses of each individual sulfide in 500 inclusions is as follows: 54% Fe, 5.5% Ni, 2.0% Cu and 38.0% S. A calculation combining this composition and the experimentally determined distribution coefficients for Ni and Cu between sulfide melt and silicate melt leads to < 200 ppm Ni and > 85 ppm Cu in the silicate melt at the time at which the sulfide liquid became immiscible. It is concluded that the alkalic basaltic magma parent to the amphibole-rich veins reached sulfide saturation at depth of 30–40 km, i.e. after some differentiation occurred in the uppermost lithospheric mantle.     

Evolution of the upper mantle beneath the southern Baikal rift zone: an Sr-Nd isotope study of xenoliths from the Bartoy volcanoes

Anhydrous and amphibole-bearing peridotite xenoliths occur in roughly equal quantitites in the Bartoy volcanic field about 100 km south of the southern tip of Lake Baikal in Siberia (Russia). Whole-rock samples and pure mineral separates from nine xenoliths have been analyzed for Sr and Nd isotopes in order to characterize the upper mantle beneath the southern Baikal rift zone. In an Sr-Nd isotope diagram both dry and hydrous xenoliths from Bartoy plot at the junction between the fields of MORB and ocean island basalts. This contrasts with data available on two other localities around Lake Baikal (Tariat and Vitim) where peridotites typically have Sr–Nd isotope compositions indicative of strong long-term depletion in incompatible elements. Our data indicate significant chemical and isotopic heterogeneity in the mantle beneath Bartoy that may be attributed to its position close to an ancient suture zone separating the Siberian Platform from the Mongol-Okhotsk mobile belt and occupied now by the Baikal rift. Two peridotites have clinopyroxenes depleted in light rare earth elements (LREE) with Sr and Nd model ages of about 2 Ga and seem to retain the trace element and isotopic signatures of old depleted lithospheric mantle, while all other xenoliths show different degrees of LREE-enrichment. Amphiboles and clinopyroxenes in the hydrous peridotites are in Sr–Nd isotopic disequilibrium. If this reflects in situ decay of ¹⁴⁷Sm and ⁸⁷Rb rather than heterogeneities produced by recent metasomatic formation of amphiboles then 300–400 Ma have passed since the minerals were last in equilibrium. This age range then indicates an old enrichment episode or repeated events during the Paleozoic in the lithospheric mantle initially depleted maybe 2 Ga ago. The Bartoy hydrous and enriched dry peridotites, therefore, are unlikely to represent fragments of a young asthenospheric bulge which, according to seismic reflection studies, reached the Moho at the axis of the Baikal rift zone a few Ma ago. By contrast, hydrous veins in peridotites may be associated with rift formation processes.     

Different styles of metasomatic veining in ultramafic xenoliths from the TUBAF Seamount (Bismarck Microplate,Papua New Guinea)

Petrologic, geochemical and isotopic investigations on two ultramafic xenoliths with metasomatic veins from the TUBAF Seamount in the Bismarck Archipelago NE of Papua New Guinea reveal different styles of metasomatic overprinting. The first xenolith, a clinopyroxene–poor spinel lherzolite, was part of the depleted upper mantle. It contains an orthopyroxene-rich vein that formed by hydrous metasomatism at ~ 980 °C and ~ 1.5 GPa. The second xenolith is a clinopyroxene-dominated spinel olivine websterite that formed as a magmatic cumulate at the transition of the upper mantle to the oceanic crust. The websterite contains a vein with orthopyroxenes and clinopyroxenes, which give evidence for high-temperature crystallization at ~ 1300 °C and < 0.36 GPa. Both xenoliths were transported to the seafloor by a Quaternary trachybasalt in a fore-arc position. The vein minerals show a strong affinity to a supra-subduction zone or island arc setting. The REE pattern of the vein in the clinopyroxene–poor lherzolite strongly resembles the one from the host trachybasalt, with a high enrichment of the LREE and a strong to moderate enrichment of the MREE and HREE. Although broadly similar in shape, the REE pattern of the vein in the websterite shows a much weaker enrichment. The same applies to the trace-element patterns, although there are significant differences in the Eu, Zr, Hf and Nb concentrations. The isotope signatures of both veins suggest a derivation from a subducted slab that had been hydrothermally altered by seawater (high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values).The contrasting crystallization temperatures of the vein minerals as well as their overall geochemical differences indicate that the metasomatic agents responsible for the vein in the websterite were mobilized from a previously depleted source at a much deeper mantle level than those forming the vein of the clinopyroxene–poor lherzolite. The metasomatic agents may also have been mobilized at different times and from different plates, i.e., the deeply subducted Solomon Sea Microplate (for the veins in the websterite) and the shallow dehydrating Pacific Plate (for the veins in the clinopyroxene–poor lherzolite).Metasomatic agents responsible for similar petrologic phenomena, i.e., modal or cryptic metasomatism, may have distinctly different origins and show contrasting histories. A strongly depleted lherzolite may totally lose its initial geochemical signature by the influence of an enriched metasomatic agent, whereas a primarily enriched ultramafic rock, e.g., a websterite, may strongly obscure the trace-element pattern of a less enriched metasomatic vein. Furthermore, the geochemistry of the ultramafic xenoliths may reflect polyphase cryptic and modal metasomatism related to veining and later transport by the hosting melt to the seafloor.     

Multistage evolution of the European lithospheric mantle: new evidence from Sardinian peridotite xenoliths

Peridotite xenoliths entrained in Plio-Pleistocene alkali basalts from Sardinia represent fragments of the uppermost lithospheric mantle, and are characterised by an anhydrous four-phase mineral assemblage. They range in bulk rock composition from fertile spinel-lherzolites to residual spinel-harzburgites. The Sr-Nd isotope and trace element composition of clinopyroxene mineral separates varies between LREE-depleted samples with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr as low as 0.70262 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd up to 0.51323 and LREE-enriched samples with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr up to 0.70461 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd down to 0.51252. The available data suggest that all the studied peridotite samples suffered variable degrees of partial melting during Pre-Mesozoic times (based on Nd model ages relative to CHUR and DMM). The overprinted enrichment is related to a subsequent metasomatism, induced by fluids rising through the lithosphere that preferentially percolated the originally most depleted domains. Despite the occurrence of orogenic volcanism in the area, preferential enrichment in elements typically associated with slab derived fluids/melts (K, Rb, Sr, Th) relative to LREE has not been detected, and metasomatism seems to be more likely related to the infiltration of highly alkaline basic melts characterised by an EM-like Sr-Nd isotopic composition. Similar ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd compositions, characterised by an EM signature, are observed in anorogenic mafic lavas and peridotite xenoliths from widespread localities within the "European" plate, whereas they have not previously been recorded in peridotite xenoliths and associated alkaline mafic lavas from the stable "African" lithospheric domain.     

内蒙古阿尔山——柴河地区陆下岩石圈地幔性质研究——第四纪碱性玄武岩中橄榄岩捕掳体中单斜辉石微量元素证据

阿尔山—柴河第四纪碱性玄武岩中地幔捕掳体为尖晶石相的二辉橄榄岩和方辉橄榄岩,方辉橄榄岩数量略多于二辉橄榄岩。采用激光剥蚀等离子体质谱(LA--ICP--MS)对研究区地幔橄榄岩中的单斜辉石和橄榄石等矿物进行了成分分析,结合橄榄岩包体的岩相学、岩石化学的特征,重点探讨了研究区所经历的部分熔融作用和地幔交代作用。结果显示,少数样品的熔融程度5%,大多数样品熔融程度范围为10%~20%,研究区陆下岩石圈地幔性质以难熔、亏损为主要特征。同时也经历了复杂的交代作用改造,交代介质为富挥发组分的硅酸盐熔/流体。与华北克拉通东北缘陆下岩石圈地幔比较,推测研究区遭受破坏和改造的程度较小,并保留有相当量的古老地幔残余。