Subduction geodynamics in Archean and formation of diamond-bearing lithospheric keels and early continental crust of cratons

The diamond-bearing mantle keels underlying Archean cratons are a unique phenomenon of Early Precambrian geology. The common stable assemblage of the Archean TTG early continental crust and underlying subcontinental lithospheric mantle clearly shows their coupled tectogenesis, which was not repeated in younger geological epochs. One of the least studied aspects of this phenomenon is concerned with the eclogitic xenoliths carried up by kimberlite pipes together with mantle-derived nodules. The eclogitic xenoliths reveal evidence for their subduction-related origin, but the Archean crustal counterparts of such xenoliths remained unknown for a long time, and the question of their crustal source and relationships to the formation of early continental crust remained open. The Archean crustal eclogites recently found in the Belomorian Belt of the Baltic Shield are compared in this paper with eclogitic xenoliths from kimberlites in the context of the formation of both Archean subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) and early continental crust. The crustal eclogites from the Belomorian Belt are identical in mineral and chemical compositions to the eclogite nodules (group B), including their diamond-bearing varieties. The eclogite protoliths are comparable in composition with the primary melts of the Meso- and Neoarchean oceanic crust, which was formed at a potential temperature of the upper mantle which exceeded its present-day temperature by 150–250 K. The reconstructed pathways of the Archean oceanic crust plunging in the upper mantle suggest that the Archean mantle was hotter than in the modern convergence settings. The proposed geodynamic model assumes coupled formation of the Archean diamond-bearing SCLM and growth of early continental crust as a phenomenon related to the specific geodynamics of that time controlled by a higher terrestrial heat flow.     

深部过程对埃达克质岩石成分的制约

埃达克岩、太古宙TTG和中国东部广泛出露的燕山期埃达克质中酸性火山-侵入岩在岩石地球化学特征方面有许多相似之处,也有一些显著的差异。与典型的埃达克岩相比,太古宙TTG具有相对高Si和低Mg^#的特点：中国东部埃达克质岩石多表现为低Mg^#贫A120,和高K特征。埃达克岩相对高Mg^#是由于俯冲洋壳部分熔融产生的原生埃达克岩熔体受到了地幔橄榄岩的混染,太古宙TTG多无明显的地幔混染印记,反映其可能主要形成于下地壳底侵玄武岩的部分熔融,而与洋壳俯冲没有直接联系。中国东部埃达克质岩石相对低Mg^#畜K,暗示其可能是下地壳底侵玄武岩部分熔融或拆沉-熔融的产物,而幔源富钾熔体的混合、壳内分异和混染过程都有可能影响其成分特征中国东部部分地区的高镁埃达克质岩石可能揭示了下地壳拆沉一熔融和地幔混染过程。钾质埃达克岩的源区可能是被小比例软流圈熔体交代富集的底侵玄武岩层(增厚的下地壳)。结合燕山期岩浆作用和构造转换的特点来看,埃达克岩的形成是中国东部晚中生代岩石圈强烈减薄和大规模岩浆作用产物的一部分,这一重大构造体制的转换可能与地幔柱上涌对岩石圈的侵蚀和导致的伸展作用有关。     

Production and recycling of oceanic crust in the early Earth

Because of the strongly different conditions in the mantle of the early Earth regarding temperature and viscosity, present-day geodynamics cannot simply be extrapolated back to the early history of the Earth. We use numerical thermochemical convection models including partial melting and a simple mechanism for melt segregation and oceanic crust production to investigate an alternative suite of dynamics which may have been in operation in the early Earth. Our modelling results show three processes that may have played an important role in the production and recycling of oceanic crust: (1) Small-scale (x×100 km) convection involving the lower crust and shallow upper mantle. Partial melting and thus crustal production takes place in the upwelling limb and delamination of the eclogitic lower crust in the downwelling limb. (2) Large-scale resurfacing events in which (nearly) the complete crust sinks into the (eventually lower) mantle, thereby forming a stable reservoir enriched in incompatible elements in the deep mantle. New crust is simultaneously formed at the surface from segregating melt. (3) Intrusion of lower mantle diapirs with a high excess temperature (about 250 K) into the upper mantle, causing massive melting and crustal growth. This allows for plumes in the Archean upper mantle with a much higher excess temperature than previously expected from theoretical considerations.     

下地壳拆沉作用及大陆地壳演化

讨论了下地壳拆沉作用的地球化学示踪方法,并以近来对秦岭－大别造山带和美国西部内华达岩基地区的研究成果为例,说明了下地壳拆沉在两地区壳－幔演化方面可能起的重要作用。     

Could Iceland be a modern analogue for the Earth's early continental crust?

For the last two decades, Iceland and other oceanic plateaux have been considered as potential analogues for the formation of the early Earth's continental crust. This study examines the compositions of silicic rocks from modern oceanic plateaux, revealing their differences to Archaean continental rock types (trondhjemite–tonalite–granodiorite or TTG) and thereby emphasising the contrasted mechanisms and/or sources for their respective origins. In most oceanic plateaux, felsic magmas are thought to be formed by fractional crystallization of basalts. In Iceland, the interaction between mantle plume and the Mid‐Atlantic ridge results in an abnormally high geothermal gradient and melting of the hydrated metabasaltic crust. However, despite the current `Archaean‐like' high geothermal gradients, melting takes place at a shallow depth and is unable to reproduce the TTG trace element signature. Consequently, oceanic plateaux are not suitable environments for the genesis of the Archaean continental crust. However, their subduction could account for the episodic crustal growth which has occurred throughout the Earth's history.     

Formation of cratonic subcontinental lithospheric mantle and complementary komatiite from hybrid plume sources

Peridotitic sulphide inclusions in diamonds from the central Slave craton constrain the age and origin of their subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) sources. These sulphides align with either a ca. 3.5 Ga (shallow SCLM) or a ca. 3.3 Ga isochron (deep SCLM) on a Re–Os ischron diagram, with variably enriched initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os. Since some Archaean to recent plume-derived melts carry a subducted crust (eclogite) signature and some cratonic SCLM may have been generated in plumes by extraction of komatiitic liquids, we explain these data by subduction of evolved lithospheric material (shallow SCLM) and melting in a hybrid mantle plume that contains domains of recycled eclogite (deep SCLM), respectively. In upwelling hybrid mantle, eclogite-derived melts react with olivine in surrounding peridotites to form aluminous orthopyroxene, convert peridotite to pyroxenite and confer their crustal isotope signatures. We suggest that it is subsequent to orthopyroxene enrichment of peridotite in an upwelling plume that partial melting of this Al- and Si- enriched source generated komatiites and complementary ultradepleted cratonic mantle residues. Although subduction is needed to explain some cratonic features, melting of a hybrid plume source satisfies several key observations: (1) suprachondritic initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os in subsets of lithospheric mantle samples and in some coeval Archaean komatiites; (2) variable enrichment of cratonic mantle by high-temperature aluminous orthopyroxene; (3) high Mg# combined with high orthopyroxene content in cratonic mantle due to higher melt productivity of an Al- and Si-richer source; (4) variable orthopyroxene enrichment possibly linked to varying mantle potential temperatures (Tp), plume buoyancy and resultant eclogite load and/or variable availability of subducted material in the source; and (5) absence of younger analogues due to a secular decrease in Tp. Most importantly, this model also alleviates a mass balance problem, because it predicts a hybrid mantle source with variably higher SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ than primitive mantle, and, contrary to a primitive mantle source, is able to reconcile compositions of komatiites and complementary cratonic mantle residues.     

埃达克质岩的构造背景与岩石组合

本文介绍了埃达克质岩形成的构造背景与岩石组合。埃达克质岩可以形成于不同的构造背景并与不同类型的岩石同时出现：1）火山弧环境中常出现埃达克质岩一高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合,它的形成可能与板片熔融以及熔体一地幔橄榄岩的相互作用有关;2）大陆活动碰撞造山带环境（如羌塘）中埃达克质岩常与同期钾质或橄榄玄粗质岩共生,这可能与俯冲陆壳熔融和俯冲陆壳熔体交代的地幔橄榄岩熔融有关;3）造山带伸展垮塌环境（如大别山）中埃达克质岩会伴随有镁铁质一超镁铁质岩浆出露,增厚下地壳产生埃达克质岩浆后的榴辉岩质残留体拆沉进入地幔,与地幔橄榄岩的混合可能形成后期镁铁质一超镁铁质岩浆的源区;4）大陆板内伸展环境中埃达克质岩常与同期橄榄玄粗质的岩石共生,增厚、拆沉下地壳,以及富集地幔的熔融或岩浆混合在岩石的成因中发挥了重要作用。     

Petrogenesis of Archaean Trondhjemites, Tonalites, and Granodiorites from Eastern Finland: Major and Trace Element Geochemistry

The grey gneisses of eastern Finland form the basement on whichthe Archaean greenstone belts were developed. They are composedof orthogneisses emplaced during two distinct magmatic episodes:2.86 Ga (Kivij?rvi gneisses) and 2.65 (Naavala gneisses). Theirmodal and chemical compositions are those of trondhjemites,tonalites and granodiorites (TTG). Both suites show low-K₂Ocalc-alkaline differentiation trends (trondhjemitic). The aim of this study is to qualify and quantify the successionof different mechanisms by which the TTG series evolved. Theyoungest process was studied first, and the arguments then appliedin order to go back in time to the older ones. For each one,quantification was arrived at with the major elements, and theseresults provided a basis for calculation with the rare earthelements (REE). Finally the whole model was tested with othertrace elements. The petrogenetic model may be summarized as follows: meltingof the upper mantle to form a tholeiitic crust; melting of thesetholeiites transformed into garnet-bearing amphibolites to yieldthe parental magma of the TTG. The residue of the melt consistedof hornblende, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and garnet with minoramounts of ilmenite and magnetite (10 < F < 30); and fractionalcrystallization of hornblende, plagioclase, and ilmenite withoccasional allanite and/or zircon in small amounts ((1-F) <40). No matter when they were emplaced during the Archaean, all theTTG of this part of the Baltic Shield arose from similar parentalmagmas. The petrogenetic study has shown that garnet and hornblendewere necessarily residual phases during the melting of the Archaeantholeiites. This constraint is very important, as it impliesthat the Archaean geothermal gradients occurring in subduction-zoneswere much higher than in modern times, thus allowing the partialmelting of the subducted oceanic crust.     

埃达克岩：关于其成因的一些不同观点

埃达克岩的概念是十多年前提出来的,指由俯冲的年轻洋壳熔融形成的火成岩。自从最初在现代岛弧近十几个地方报道埃达克岩以来,新近又在几个地方发现有埃达克岩（如日本西南部,外墨西哥火山岩带,等等）。但是,过去十 多年的研究也表明,埃达克岩可以由俯冲期间的其它过程产生（例如,沿俯冲板片的撕裂边,留在上地幔中的板片残余等）。另外,埃达克岩似乎与一些岩石呈共生组合,这些岩石包括高镁安山岩、富Nb的弦玄武岩（NEAB）,还可能有玻安岩（几个研究者已在玻安岩中发现有埃达克岩的组分）。高镇安山岩不是来自埃达克与地幔的相互作用（Adak-type),就是来自此相互作用期间地幔的熔融（Piip-type);富Nb的弦玄武岩,据认为是来自一种被埃达我岩广泛交代的地幔的部分熔融。作为一个新的岩套,埃达克岩交代火山岩系列已被建议用来解释各种岩石组合。此外,大量的富Pb弧玄武岩也已被发现包含有超镁铁质的地幔包体,而这些包体有高亏损地幔与埃达克反应的明显证据。关于主要与下地壳熔而不是冲板片有关的埃达克岩的起源已提出几种假说,一个模型认为,下地壳熔融出现在玄武质岩浆底侵下地壳时。但是,有许多理由似乎可以排除这种模式。另一种模型认为,在大陆地壳很厚的区域,下地壳可能变成榴辉岩,从而拆离并下沉到地幔中（拆沉）。这个拆沉过程将导致下地壳下中拆沉的下地壳的上部与相对热的地幔接触,进而可引起下地壳熔融和埃达克岩的形成。这使我们认为,在中国东部发现的与俯冲作用无关的白垩纪埃达克可能是下地壳熔融与拆沉作用的产物。我们 还要强调,如果下地壳熔融与拆沉作用真能形成埃达克岩,那么埃达克岩这一术语不应该仅仅局限于与板片熔融有关的过程,而应包括那些与下地壳熔融有关的过程。太古宙的大陆地壳主要由奥长花岗岩、英云闪长岩和英安岩（TTD）组成。这种大陆地壳是来自板片熔融还是下地壳熔融仍是有争议的。然而,我们认为,太古宙期间地幔的较高温度会导致较多的洋中脊的形成,从而产生比今天“更多”的年轻洋壳的俯冲。据此,我们认为,太古宙TTD大陆地宙主要由板片熔融形成。我们也注意到,太古宙是广泛金矿化的时期。有些研究者还发现,金和铜的矿化与埃达克质交代火山岩系列有关。因此,该火山岩系列可能会寻找金属矿床的一个重要标志。     

Discussion: “Xenoliths in ultrapotassic volcanic rocks in the Lhasa block: direct evidence for crust–mantle mixing and metamorphism in the deep crust” by Wang et al. 2016 (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology) 171:62

Wang et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 171:62, 2016a) present data on composition of xenolith from Southern Tibet and conclude that ulrapotassic melts from the region formed by melting mantle, and complex interaction with a crustal component. In this discussion we demonstrate that numerous observations presented by Wang et al. (2016a) can be explained by partial melting of crust followed by interaction between that melt and the mantle. We show that this model can explain the variability of magmas in such suits without evoking occurrence of coincidental, unrelated events. Moreover we demonstrate that our model of a crustal origin of the proto-shoshonite melts is now supported by independent lines of evidence such as geochemistry of restites after high- and ultrahigh- pressure melting and melt inclusion studies.     

Mantle convection and early crustal evolution

The existence of peridotitic komatiites in the Archaean suggests that the Archaean mantle was significantly hotter than the modern mantle. This evidence is contradicted by estimates of Archaean continental geothermal gradients, based on the pressure and temperature recorded in metamorphic rocks, which suggest that there is no marked difference between Archaean and modern continental geothermal gradients.Numerical modelling shows that small changes in the mantle temperature can have an important influence on convection. If the average temperature of the upper mantle is increased by 200°C, convection within the mantle becomes chaotic and an upper mantle partial melt zone encircles the globe. The crust formed during this period will be komatiitic in composition but will be unstable and will be mixed back into the mantle by subduction. Later, when the mantle temperature falls to 100°C above its present level, the upper mantle partial melt zone contracts away from subduction areas.It is suggested that the first primitive felsic magmas were generated at subduction zones. The appearance of these magmas at ～3.8 Ga permitted the formation of buoyant continents and eventually led to crustal thickening. As a consequence of this thickening the proto-continents, consisting of a bimodal suite of basalts and sodic granodiorites, contained two types of latent energy: (1) radioactive energy held in elements such as Th, K and U; and (2) potential energy resulting from the elevation of the continents above sea level. The potential energy of the continents led to sedimentation. The increase in the rate of sedimentation during the Archaean resulted from increased crustal buoyancy. At the same time heat released by radioactive elements in the deep crust built up under the insulating blanket of the upper crust. This caused a major metamorphic, metasomatic and crustal melting event which produced the potassic granites of the late Archaean. Once the radioactive elements had been removed from the lower crust, that region of the continent become tectonically stable. The Proterozoic shelf sediments were deposited at the margins of these stable cratons.Convection models of the Archaean mantle show hot diapirs rising from the boundary layer above the core—mantle interface. We suggest that these diapirs began to melt at a depth of ～ 450 km, giving rise to komatiitic magmas. This model requires the average temperature of the Archaean upper mantle to be ～ 100°C above that of the modern mantle. The similarity between Archaean and modern continental geothermal gradients can be explained if Archaean continents formed above subduction zones.Raising the temperature of the Archaean mantle by 100°C (1) halves the thickness of the oceanic lithosphere, (2) increases the oceanic geothermal gradient at the mid-point of a convection cell, (3) decreases the viscosity of the mantle by at least an order of magnitude. The combination of these effects produces a marked decrease in the strength of the Archaean lithosphere and mantle. Thus the form of Archaean tectonics can be expected to have been very different from modern tectonics.     

变质玄武岩体系相平衡及矿物 熔体微量元素分配：限定TTG/埃达克岩形成条件和大陆壳生长模型

埃达克质岩石是高Na、Al和Sr、低Y和HREE以及Nb、Ta亏损的钠质花岗质岩石,奥长花岗岩-英云闪长岩-花岗闪长岩(TTG)是早期(太古宙)大陆壳主要组分,成分与埃达克质岩石相似,这些成分独特的岩石总体上认为是俯冲洋壳、下地壳和拆沉的下地壳中变质玄武岩部分熔融的产物。文中综述我们近年来在变质玄武岩体系相平衡和矿物-熔体微量元素分配实验研究成果:相平衡实验和熔体微量元素特征研究表明,变质玄武岩部分熔融过程中金红石是导致TTG/埃达克岩浆Nb、Ta亏损的必要残留矿物,从而否定了前人“TTG由无金红石的角闪岩熔融产生”的观点;证实金红石仅仅在压力1.5GPa以上才能稳定存在,从而限定TTG/埃达克岩熔体必定产生在大约50km以上,表明TTG/埃达克岩是在相对较深的含金红石榴辉岩相条件下熔融产生的。矿物(石榴子石、角闪石,单斜辉石和金红石)-熔体微量元素分配系数测定和部分熔融模拟结果进一步限定俯冲洋壳和下地壳起源的TTG/埃达克岩浆由含金红石角闪榴辉岩熔融产生,而拆沉下地壳起源的埃达克岩浆的产生要求软流圈地幔高温,由无水或含有少量含水矿物的榴辉岩熔融产生。     

Archaean high-K granitoids produced by remelting of earlier Tonalite–Trondhjemite–Granodiorite (TTG) in the Sangmelima region of the Ntem complex of the Congo craton,southern Cameroon

We present a geochemical and isotopic study that, consistent with observed field relations, suggest Sangmelima late Archaean high-K granite was derived by partial melting of older Archaean TTG. The TTG formations are sodic-trondhjemitic, showing calcic and calc-alkalic trends and are metaluminous to peraluminous. High-K granites in contrast show a potassic calc-alkaline affinity that spans the calcic, calc-alkalic, alkali-calcic and alkalic compositions. The two rock groups (TTG and high-K granites) on the other hand are both ferroan and magnesian. They have a similar degree of fractionation for LREE but a different one for HREE. Nd model ages and Sr/Y ratios define Mesoarchaean and slab-mantle derived magma compositions respectively, with Nb and Ti anomalies indicating a subduction setting for the TTG. Major and trace element in addition to Sr and Nd isotopic compositions support field observations that indicate the derivation of the high-K granitic group from the partial melting of the older TTG equivalent at depth. Geochemical characteristics of the high-K granitic group are therefore inherited features from the TTG protolith and cannot be used for determining their tectonic setting. The heat budget required for TTG partial melting is ascribed to the upwelling of the mantle marked by a doleritic event of identical age as the generated high-K granite melts. The cause of this upwelling is related to linear delamination along mega-shear zones in an intracontinental setting.     

Generation of the Early Cenozoic adakitic volcanism by partial melting of mafic lower crust,Eastern Turkey: Implications for crustal thickening to delamination

Early Cenozoic (48–50 Ma) adakitic volcanic rocks from the Eastern Pontides, NE Turkey, consist of calc-alkaline and high-K calc-alkaline andesite and dacite, with SiO₂ contents ranging from 56.01 to 65.44 wt.%. This is the first time that Early Eocene volcanism and adakites have been reported from the region. The rocks are composed of plagioclase, amphibole, quartz, and Mg-rich biotite. They have high and low-Mg# values ranging from 55 to 62 and 13 to 42, respectively. High-Mg# rocks have higher Ni and Co contents than low-Mg# samples. The rocks exhibit enrichments in large ion lithophile elements including the light rare earth elements, depletions in Nb, Ta and Ti and have high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios. Their relative high I_Sr (0.70474–0.70640) and low ε_Nd (50 Ma) values (? 2.3 to 0.8) are inconsistent with an origin as partial melts of a subducted oceanic slab. Combined major- and trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data suggest that the adakitic magmas are related to the unique tectonic setting of this region, where a transition from a collision to an extension stage has created thickening and delamination of the Pontide mafic lower crust at 50 Ma. The high-Mg adakitic magmas resulted from partial melting of the delaminated eclogitic mafic lower crust that sank into the relatively hot subcrustal mantle, and its subsequent interaction with the mantle peridotite during upward transport, leaving garnet as the residual phase, elevates the MgO content and Mg# of the magmas, whereas low-Mg# magmas formed by the melting of newly exposed lower crustal rocks caused by asthenospheric upwelling, which supplies heat flux to the lower crust. The data also suggest that the mafic lower continental crust beneath the region was thickened between the Late Cretaceous and the Late Paleocene and delaminated during Late Paleocene to Early Eocene time, which coincides with the initial stage of crustal thinning caused by crustal extensional events in the Eastern Pontides and rules out the possibility of an extensional regime before ~ 50 Ma in the region during the Late Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic.     

The episodic development of intermediate to silicic volcano-plutonic suites in the Archaean West Pilbara, Australia

Four felsic igneous rock suites in the Archaean West Pilbara have been identified based on geochemistry and geochronology. A voluminous TTG suite formed at ca. 3260 Ma, which appears to be from melting of a mafic-subducted oceanic slab and thus represents generation of new continental crust. A tholeiitic to calc-alkaline volcanic assemblage and coeval granitoids formed at ca. 3120 Ma in an extensional environment. Further TTG magmatism occurred at ca. 3000 Ma, generating both large granitoid complexes and small plutons, again adding new continental crust to the West Pilbara. At 2930-Ma crustal reworking, most likely of the 3000-Ma rocks, generated small plutons that are coeval with layered ultramafic-mafic intrusions in the region. The changes from new crustal material to crustal reworking infer changing tectonic regimes, which is important for models of Archaean continental crust generation. The data presented here indicate that crustal generation mechanisms varied and were episodic in the West Pilbara, implying that early crustal evolution was a result of periodic changes in tectonic regime, which is reflected in the geochemistry of the rocks.     

Growing primordial continental crust self-consistently in global mantle convection models

The majority of continental crust formed during the hotter Archean was composed of Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) rocks. In contrast to the present-day loci of crust formation around subduction zones and intra-plate tectonic settings, TTGs are formed when hydrated basalt melts at garnet-amphibolite, granulite or eclogite facies conditions. Generating continental crust requires a two step differentiation process. Basaltic magma is extracted from the pyrolytic mantle, is hydrated, and then partially melts to form continental crust. Here, we parameterise the melt production and melt extraction processes and show self-consistent generation of primordial continental crust using evolutionary thermochemical mantle convection models. To study the growth of TTG and the geodynamic regime of early Earth, we systematically vary the ratio of intrusive (plutonic) and eruptive (volcanic) magmatism, initial core temperature, and internal friction coefficient. As the amount of TTG that can be extracted from the basalt (or basalt-to-TTG production efficiency) is not known, we also test two different values in our simulations, thereby limiting TTG mass to 10% or 50% of basalt mass. For simulations with lower basalt-to-TTG production efficiency, the volume of TTG crust produced is in agreement with net crustal growth models but overall crustal (basaltic and TTG) composition stays more mafic than expected from geochemical data. With higher production efficiency, abundant TTG crust is produced, with a production rate far exceeding typical net crustal growth models but the felsic to mafic crustal ratio follows the expected trend. These modelling results indicate that (i) early Earth exhibited a “plutonic squishy lid” or vertical-tectonics geodynamic regime, (ii) present-day slab-driven subduction was not necessary for the production of early continental crust, and (iii) the Archean Earth was dominated by intrusive magmatism as opposed to “heat-pipe” eruptive magmatism.     

Average composition of the tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite association: Possibilities of application

The possibilities of using the average compositions of tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite association rocks (TTG), which make up a significant part of the Archaean continental crust, have been examined. The results of the TTG average compositions obtained by other researchers and the authors' data of the average compositions of TTG from the Baltic and Ukrainian shields and the entire Archaean crust are given. It is shown that the average compositions of the Archaean TTG of continental large crustal fragments (cratons or provinces) practically do not bear any information on their sources or conditions of their formation. The possibility of obtaining of such information by means of analysis of the average compositions of TTG, composing smaller fragments of the crust, exemplified by rocks of the Karelian subprovinces of the Baltic Shield has been demonstrated.     

Geochemistry of ultrahigh-pressure anatexis: fractionation of elements in the Kokchetav gneisses during melting at diamond-facies conditions

The Kokchetav complex in Kazakhstan contains garnet-bearing gneisses that formed by partial melting of metasedimentary rocks at ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) conditions. Partial melting and melt extraction from these rocks is documented by a decrease in K₂O and an increase in FeO + MgO in the restites. The most characteristic trace element feature of the Kokchetav UHP restites is a strong depletion in light rare earth elements (LREE), Th and U. This is attributed to complete dissolution of monazite/allanite in the melt and variable degree of melt extraction. In contrast, Zr concentrations remain approximately constant in all gneisses. Using experimentally determined solubilities of LREE and Zr in high-pressure melts, these data constrain the temperature of melting to ~1,000 °C. Large ion lithophile elements (LILE) are only moderately depleted in the samples that have the lowest U, Th and LREE contents, indicating that phengite retains some LILE in the residue. Some restites display an increase in Nb/Ta with respect to the protolith. This further suggests the presence of phengite, which, in contrast to rutile, preferentially incorporates Nb over Ta. The trace element fractionation observed during UHP anatexis in the Kokchetav gneisses is significantly different from depletions reported in low-pressure restites, where generally no LREE and Th depletion occurs. Melting at UHP conditions resulted in an increase in the Sm/Nd ratio and a decoupling of the Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf systems in the restite. Further subduction of such restites and mixing with mantle rocks might thus lead to a distinct isotopic reservoir different from the bulk continental crust.     

Chromite and PGE deposits of mesoarchaean ultramafic-mafic suites within the greenstone belts of the Singhbhum craton,India: Implications for mantle heterogeneity and tectonic setting

The Archaean cratonic nuclei of the continents are important as they contain the most significant evidences for the evolution of Earth e.g. the greenstone sequences. In the Indian Shield, one of the important cratons is the Singhbhum craton, where nearly 95% of the Indian chromite deposits and only PGE deposits are located which are hosted within Mesoarchaean ultramafic-mafic rock sequences. The ultramafic units occur as sill like intrusions within the Iron Ore Group (IOG) greenstone belts and often associated with gabbroic intrusions. In the Nuasahi and Sukinda mining districts of these occurrences, detailed petrological, geochemical and isotopic studies have been carried out in the last decades. Petrological and geochemical studies indicate a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) tectonic settings in Archaean for the origin of these ultramafic-mafic sequences. The Os isotopic and platinum group element (PGE) geochemical studies of chromites from the two mining districts indicate presence of a subchondritic source mantle domain beneath and within the Singhbhum craton similar to the Zimbabwean craton of southern African continent. The Os model age calculation indicates melt extraction from a subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) before 3.7 Ga which is similar to the other ancient cratons. As a whole the study supports the premise that India was part of the African continent in pre-Gondwana times and even in early Archaean and suggest possible amalgamation and building up of a supercontinent during late Archaean. However, in comparison with other occurrences, the Singhbhum craton of the Indian Shield and the Zimbabwean craton in southern Africa are characterized by the presence of subchondritic lithospheric mantle domains within the SCLM, which were developed prior to 3.7 Ga.     

Appinite suites and their genetic relationship with coeval voluminous granitoid batholiths

ABSTRACT

Appinite complexes preserve evidence of mantle processes that produce voluminous granitoid batholiths. These plutonic complexes range from ultramafic to felsic in composition, deep to shallow emplacement, and from Neo-Archean to Recent in age. Appinites are a textural family characterized by idiomorphic hornblende in all lithologies, and spectacular textures including coarse-grained mafic pegmatites, fine-grained ‘salt-and-pepper’ gabbros, as well as planar and linear fabrics. Magmas are bimodal (mafic-felsic) in composition; ultramafic rocks are cumulates, intermediate rocks are hybrids. Their geochemistry is profoundly influenced by a mantle wedge extensively metasomatized by fluids/magmas produced by subduction. Melting of spinel peridotite sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) produces appinites whose geochemistry is indistinguishable from coeval low-K calc-alkalic arc magmatism. Coeval felsic rocks within appinite complexes and adjacent granitoid batholiths are crustal magmas. When subduction terminates, asthenospheric upwelling (e.g. in a slab window, or in the aftermath of slab failure) induces melting of metasomatized garnet SCLM to produce K-rich sho shonitic magmas enriched in large ionic lithophile and light relative to heavy rare earth elements, whose asthenospheric component can be identified by Sm-Nd isotopic signatures. Coeval late-stage Ba-Sr granitoid magmas have a ‘slab failure’ geochemistry, resemble TTG and adakitic suites, and are formed either by fractionation of an enriched (shoshonitic) mafic magma, or high pressure melting of a meta-basaltic protolith either at the base of the crust or along the upper portion of the subducted slab. Appinite complexes may be the crustal representation of mafic magma that underplated the crust for the duration of arc magmatism. They were preferentially emplaced along fault zones around the periphery of the granitoid batholiths (where their ascent is not blocked by overlying felsic magma), and as enclaves within granitoid batholiths. When subduction ceases, appinite complexes with a more pronounced asthenospheric component are preferentially emplaced along active faults that bound the periphery of the batholiths.