The origin of spongy texture in minerals of mantle xenoliths from the Western Qinling, central China

Spongy textures are observed in mantle peridotite xenoliths hosted in Cenozoic kamafugites from the Western Qinling, central China. These textures are mainly developed in clinopyroxenes and spinels, and occur as spongy rims consisting of low-Na clinopyroxene, ilmenite, and bubbles, enclosing nonspongy cores. The ilmenites and bubbles exhibit shapes and sizes that vary with the width of the spongy rims. The spongy-textured minerals preserve primary shapes and well-defined grain boundaries and do not show apparent interaction with contact minerals or observed melts except the subsequent melts forming melt pockets. The xenocrysts display reactive zoning textures with host magmas rather than spongy textures. Compositionally, the spongy rims are enriched in Ca, Ti, and most trace elements, have high Cr#, and are depleted in Na, Al, Fe, Al^VI, and Al^IV/Al^VI compared with the cores. These observations suggest that melts/host magmas did not play any significant role in the formation of the spongy textures. We therefore propose that spongy-textured clinopyroxenes and spinels in Western Qinling peridotite xenoliths developed from a decompression-induced partial melting event prior to formation of melt pockets and xenolith entrainment in host magmas.     

Origin of Fe-rich lherzolites and wehrlites from Tok,SE Siberia by reactive melt percolation in refractory mantle peridotites

Lherzolite–wehrlite (LW) series xenoliths from the quaternary Tok volcanic field in the southeastern Siberian craton are distinguished from the more common lherzolite–harzburgite (LH) series by (a) low Mg numbers (0.84–0.89) at high modal olivine (66–84%) and (b) widespread replacement of orthopyroxene (0–12%) and spinel by clinopyroxene (7–22%). The LW series peridotites are typically enriched in Ca, Fe, Mn and Ti, and depleted in Si, Ni and Cr relative to refractory LH series rocks (Mg number ≥0.89), which are metasomatised partial melting residues. Numerical modelling of Fe–Mg solid/liquid exchange during melt percolation demonstrates that LW series rocks can form by reaction of host refractory peridotites with evolved (Mg numbers 0.6–0.7), silica-undersaturated silicate melts at high melt/rock ratios, which replace orthopyroxene with clinopyroxene and decrease Mg numbers. This process is most likely related to underplating and fractionation of basaltic magma in the shallow mantle, which also produced olivine–clinopyroxene cumulates found among the Tok xenoliths.     

The pressure and temperature conditions and timing of glass formation in mantle-derived xenoliths from Baarley, West Eifel, Germany: the case for amphibole breakdown, lava infiltration and mineral – melt reaction

Summary Mantle-derived xenoliths from Baarley in the Quaternary West Eifel volcanic field contain six distinct varieties of glass in veins, selvages and pools. 1) Silica-undersaturated glass rich in zoned clinopyroxene microlites that forms jackets around and veins within the xenoliths. This glass is compositionally similar to groundmass glass in the host basanite. 2) Silica-undersaturated alkaline glass that contains microlites of Cr-diopside, olivine and spinel associated with amphibole in peridotites. This glass locally contains corroded primary spinel and phlogopite. 3) Silica-undersaturated glass associated with diopside, spinel ± olivine and rh?nite microlites in partly to completely broken down amphibole grains in clinopyroxenites. 4) Silica-undersaturated to silica-saturated, potassic glass in microlite-rich fringes around phlogopite grains in peridotite. 5) Silica-undersaturated potassic glass in glimmerite xenoliths. 6) Silica-rich glass around partly dissolved orthopyroxene crystals in peridotites. Geothermometry of orthopyroxene–clinopyroxene pairs (P = 1.5 GPa) gives temperatures of ∼ 850 °C for unveined xenoliths to 950–1020 °C for veined xenoliths. Clinopyroxene – melt thermobarometry shows that Cr-diopside – type 2 glass pairs in harzburgite formed at 1.4 to 1.1 GPa and ∼ 1250 °C whereas Cr-diopside – type 2 glass pairs in wehrlite formed at 0.9 to 0.7 GPa and 1120–1200 °C. This bimodal distribution in pressure and temperature suggests that harzburgite xenoliths may have been entrained at greater depth than wehrlite xenoliths. Glass in the Baarley xenoliths has three different origins: infiltration of an early host melt different in composition from the erupted host basanite; partial melting of amphibole; reaction of either of these melts with xenolith minerals. The composition of type 1 glass suggests that jackets are accumulations of relatively evolved host magma. Mass balance modelling of the type 2 glass and its microlites indicates that it results from breakdown of disseminated amphibole and reaction of the melt with the surrounding xenolith minerals. Type 3 glass in clinopyroxenite xenoliths is the result of breakdown of amphibole at low pressure. Type 4 and 5 glass formed by reaction between phlogopite and type 2 melt or jacket melt. Type 6 glass associated with orthopyroxene is due to the incongruent dissolution of orthopyroxene by any of the above mentioned melts. Compositional gradients in xenolith olivine adjacent to type 2 glass pools and jacket glass can be modelled as Fe–Mg interdiffusion profiles that indicate melt – olivine contact times between 0.5 and 58 days. Together with the clinopyroxene – melt thermobarometry calculations these data suggest that the glass (melt) formed over a short time due to decompression melting of amphibole and infiltration of evolved host melt. None of the glass in these xenoliths can be directly related to metasomatism or any other process that occurred insitu in the mantle. Received November 23, 1999; revised version accepted September 5, 2001     

Contrasting types of metasomatism in dunite, wehrlite and websterite xenoliths from Kimberley, South Africa

Dunite, wehrlite and websterite are rare members of the mantle xenolith suite in the Kimberley kimberlites of the Kaapvaal Craton in southern Africa. All three types were originally residues of extensive melt extraction and experienced varying amounts and types of melt re-enrichment. The melt depletion event, dated by Re-Os isotope systematics at 2.9 Ga or older, is evidenced by the high Mg# (Mg/(Mg + Fe)) of silicate minerals (olivine (0.89-0.93); pyroxene (0.88-0.93); garnet (0.72-0.85)), high Cr# (Cr/(Cr + Al)) of spinel (0.53-0.84) and mostly low whole-rock SiO₂, CaO and Al₂O₃ contents. Shortly after melt depletion, websterites were formed by reaction between depleted peridotites and silica-rich melt (>60 wt% SiO₂) derived by partial melting of eclogite before or during cratonization. The melt-peridotite interaction converted olivine into orthopyroxene.All three xenolith types have secondary metasomatic clinopyroxene and garnet, which occur along olivine grain boundaries and have an amoeboid texture. As indicated by the preservation of oxygen isotope disequilibrium in the minerals and trace-element concentrations in clinopyroxene and garnet, this metasomatic event is probably of Mesozoic age and was caused by percolating alkaline basaltic melts. This melt metasomatism enriched the xenoliths in CaO, Al₂O₃, FeO and high-field-strength-elements, and might correspond to the Karoo magmatism at 200 Ma. The websterite xenoliths experienced both the orthoyproxene-enrichment and clinopyroxene-garnet metasomatic events, whereas dunite and wehrlite xenoliths only saw the later basaltic melt event, and may have been situated further away from the source of melt migration channels.     

Experimental peridotite–melt reaction at one atmosphere: a textural and chemical study

Sieve-textured clinopyroxene and spinel are common in mantle xenoliths and have been interpreted to be the result of partial melting, mantle metasomatism and host magma–xenolith reaction during transport. In this paper, we test the latter hypothesis with a series of reduced and oxidized experiments at 1,200 and 1,156°C at one atmosphere using a synthetic leucitite melt and discs of natural peridotite. Our results show that sieve texture development on clinopyroxene and spinel in mantle xenoliths is the result of a multistage reaction process. In the first step, orthopyroxene undergoes incongruent dissolution to produce a silica and alkali-rich melt together with olivine. As this melt migrates along grain boundaries it causes incongruent dissolution of clinopyroxene and spinel. The incongruent dissolution mechanism involves complete dissolution of the clinopyroxene or spinel followed by nucleation and growth of a secondary clinopyroxene or spinel once the reacting melt is saturated. The reaction of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel with infiltrated host magma results in a range of melt compositions that are very similar to those interpreted to be due to very small degrees of partial melting. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Pervasive melt percolation reactions in ultra-depleted refractory harzburgites at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 15° 20′N: ODP Hole 1274A

ODP Leg 209 Site 1274 mantle peridotites are highly refractory in terms of lack of residual clinopyroxene, olivine Mg# (up to 0.92) and spinel Cr# (∼0.5), suggesting high degree of partial melting (>20%). Detailed studies of their microstructures show that they have extensively reacted with a pervading intergranular melt prior to cooling in the lithosphere, leading to crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel at the expense of orthopyroxene. The least reacted harzburgites are too rich in orthopyroxene to be simple residues of low-pressure (spinel field) partial melting. Cu-rich sulfides that precipitated with the clinopyroxenes indicate that the intergranular melt was generated by no more than 12% melting of a MORB mantle or by more extensive melting of a clinopyroxene-rich lithology. Rare olivine-rich lherzolitic domains, characterized by relics of coarse clinopyroxenes intergrown with magmatic sulfides, support the second interpretation. Further, coarse and intergranular clinopyroxenes are highly depleted in REE, Zr and Ti. A two-stage partial melting/melt–rock reaction history is proposed, in which initial mantle underwent depletion and refertilization after an earlier high pressure (garnet field) melting event before upwelling and remelting beneath the present-day ridge. The ultra-depleted compositions were acquired through melt re-equilibration with residual harzburgites. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Evidence of melt/rock interaction in the Cr-spinel bearing wehrlite rocks of Bangriposi,India: Implications for nature of the metasomatic agent

Cr-spinel bearing wehrlite rocks of Bangriposi are found within the multiply deformed metasedimentary rocks of Singhbhum Group belonging to North Singhbhum Mobile Belt of eastern India. Detailed mineralogical and geochemical studies reveal that these rocks have suffered a two-stage alteration involving a deeper level modal and cryptic metasomatism and a subsequent shallower depth pervasive hydrothermal alteration. Cryptic metasomatism is defined by elevated LREE contents of the wehrlite and its clinopyroxne grains. Metasomatism induced changes in the modal mineralogy of the rocks include the absence of primary orthopyroxene grains, presence of secondary diopside-phlogopite(now present as vermiculite) defining disequilibrium reaction textures and secondary orthopyroxene rims around serpentinized olivine. The mineralogical and geochemical changes due to the metasomatic event present a contrasting picture in regard to the metasomatic history of the rocks. Possible scenarios involving a single stage or multiple stage metasomatism events have been discussed while explaining the metasomatic reactions that took place. An attempt has been made to estimate the REE concentrations of the final equilibrating melt from REE contents of clinopyroxene grains of the wehrlite. The possibility of the LREE-enriched equilibrating melt of the wehrlite rocks(the deeper level metasomatic agent) being similar to residual melts from the E-MORB type parental melts of nearby gabbro suite has been ruled out by geochemical modeling. REE abundance patterns of several natural enriched melts have been compared with REE pattern of calculated LREE-enriched equilibrating melt of the wehrlite and most resemblance has been observed with calcic and potassic melts. It is therefore suggested that the Cr-spinel bearing wehrlite rocks of Bangriposi has been affected by a calcio-potassic melt in deeper level, prior to the shallow level serpentinization event.     

Trace element compositions of minerals in garnet and spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Vitim volcanic field, Transbaikalia, eastern Siberia

Peridotite xenoliths from the Bereya alkali picrite tuff in the Vitim volcanic province of Transbaikalia consist of garnet lherzolite, garnet–spinel lherzolite and spinel lherzolite varieties. The volcanism is related to the Cenozoic Baikal Rift. All peridotites come from pressures of 20–23 kbar close to the garnet to spinel peridotite transition depth, and the presence of garnet can be attributed to cooling of spinel peridotites, probably during formation of the lithosphere. The peridotites show petrographic and mineral chemical evidence for infiltration by an alkaline silicate melt shortly before their transport to the Earth's surface. The melt infiltration event is indicated petrographically by clinopyroxenes which mimic melt morphologies, and post-dates outer kelyphitic rims on garnets which are attributed to an isochemical heating event within the mantle before transport to the Earth's surface. Single-mineral thermometry gives reasonable temperature estimates of 1050±50°C, whereas two-mineral methods involving clinopyroxene are falsified by secondary components in clinopyroxene introduced during the melt infiltration event. Excimer Laser–ICP-MS analysis has been performed for an extensive palette of both incompatible and compatible trace elements, and manifests the most thorough dataset available for this rock type. Orthopyroxene and garnet show only partial equilibration of trace elements with the infiltrating melt, whereas clinopyroxene and amphibole are close to equilibration with the melt and with each other. The incompatible element composition of the infiltrating melt calculated from the clinopyroxene and amphibole analyses via experimental mineral/melt partition coefficients is similar to the host alkali picrite, and probably represents a low melt fraction from a similar source during rift propagation. The chemistry and chronology of the events recorded in the xenoliths delineates the series of events expected during the influence of an expanding rift region in the upper mantle, namely the progressive erosion of the lithosphere and the episodic upward and outward propagation of melts, resulting in the evolution of the Vitim volcanic field.     

Depletion and enrichment processes in the lithospheric mantle beneath the Kola Peninsula (Russia): Evidence from spinel lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths

A suite of spinel lherzolite and wehrlite xenoliths from a Devonian kimberlite dyke near Kandalaksha, Kola Peninsula, Russia, has been studied to determine the nature of the lithospheric mantle beneath the northern Baltic Shield. Olivine modal estimates and Fo content in the spinel lherzolite xenoliths reveal that the lithosphere beneath the Archaean–Proterozoic crust has some similarities to Phanerozoic lithospheric mantle elsewhere. Modal metasomatism is indicated by the presence of Ti-rich and Ti-poor phlogopite, pargasite, apatite and picroilmenite in the xenoliths. Wehrlite xenoliths are considered to represent localised high-pressure cumulates from mafic–ultramafic melts trapped within the mantle as veins or lenses. Equilibration temperatures range from 775 to 969 °C for the spinel lherzolite xenoliths and from 817 to 904 °C for the wehrlites.

Laser ablation ICP-MS data for incompatible trace elements in primary clinopyroxenes and metasomatic amphiboles from the spinel lherzolites show moderate levels of LREE enrichment. Replacement clinopyroxenes in the wehrlites are less enriched in LREE but richer in TiO₂. Fractional melt modelling for Y and Yb concentrations in clinopyroxenes from the spinel lherzolites indicates 7–8% partial melting of a primitive source. Such a volume of partial melt could be related to the 2.4–2.5 Ga intrusion of basaltic magmas (now metamorphosed to garnet granulites) in the lower crust of the northern Baltic Shield. The lithosphere beneath the Kola Peninsula has undergone several episodes of metasomatism. Both the spinel lherzolites and wehrlites were subjected to an incomplete carbonatitic metasomatic event, probably related to an early carbonatitic phase associated with the 360–380 Ma Devonian alkaline magmatism. This resulted in crystallisation of secondary clinopyroxene rims at the expense of primary orthopyroxenes, with development of secondary forsteritic olivine and apatite. Two separate metasomatic events resulted in the crystallisation of the Ti–Fe-rich amphibole, phlogopite and ilmenite in the wehrlites and the low Ti–Fe amphibole and phlogopite in the spinel lherzolites. Alternatively, a single metasomatic event with a chemically evolving melt may have produced the significant compositional differences seen in the amphibole and phlogopite between the spinel lherzolites and wehrlites. The calculated REE pattern of a melt in equilibrium with clinopyroxenes from a cpx-rich pocket is identical to that of the kimberlite host, indicating a close petrological relationship.     

Geochemical and O-isotope constraints on the evolution of lithospheric mantle in the Ross Sea rift area (Antarctica)

Peridotite xenoliths found in Cenozoic alkali basalts of northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, vary from fertile spinel-lherzolite to harzburgite. They often contain glass-bearing pockets formed after primary pyroxenes and spinel. Few samples are composite and consist of depleted spinel lherzolite crosscut by amphibole veins and/or lherzolite in contact with poikilitic wehrlite. Peridotite xenoliths are characterized by negative Al₂O₃–Mg# and TiO₂–Mg# covariations of clino- and orthopyroxenes, low to intermediate HREE concentrations in clinopyroxene, negative Cr–Al trend in spinel, suggesting variable degrees of partial melting. Metasomatic overprint is evidenced by trace element enrichment in clinopyroxene and sporadic increase of Ti–Fe_tot. Preferential Nb, Zr, Sr enrichments in clinopyroxene associated with high Ti–Fe_tot contents constrain the metasomatic agent to be an alkaline basic melt. In composite xenoliths, clinopyroxene REE contents increase next to the veins suggesting metasomatic diffusion of incompatible element. Oxygen isotope data indicate disequilibrium conditions among clinopyroxene, olivine and orthopyroxene. The highest δ¹⁸O values are observed in minerals of the amphibole-bearing xenolith. The δ¹⁸O_cpx correlations with clinopyroxene modal abundance and geochemical parameters (e.g. Mg# and Cr#) suggest a possible influence of partial melting on oxygen isotope composition. Thermobarometric estimates define a geotherm of 80°C/GPa for the refractory lithosphere of NVL, in a pressure range between 1 and 2.5 GPa. Clinopyroxene microlites of melt pockets provide P–T data close to the anhydrous peridotite solidus and confirm that they originated from heating and decompression during transport in the host magma. All these geothermometric data constrain the mantle potential temperature to values of 1250–1350°C, consistent with the occurrence of mantle decompressional melting in a transtensive tectonic regime for the Ross Sea region.     

山东昌乐新生代碱性玄武岩与地幔捕虏体中各类单斜辉石的地球化学特征及其意义

山东昌乐位于华北克拉通东部,郯庐断裂带中段,广泛出露挟裹幔源捕虏体的新生代碱性玄武岩.为深入了解华北克拉通演化,依据岩相学特征、矿物化学成分特征,把昌乐碱性玄武岩中单斜辉石主要分为三大类:第1类为幔源捕虏体中原生单斜辉石,其主、微量元素含量呈现趋势不一致的解耦现象,且LREE、HREE各异特征表明其经历了多期、不同程度的地幔富集交代和部分熔融作用（低于10%的尖晶石相部分熔融）,交代熔体包括地幔富碱（K）富Al硅酸盐熔/流体,可能有碳酸盐熔体的贡献;第2类为幔源捕虏体中筛状单斜辉石,是部分熔融和熔体交代作用的共同产物,从无筛孔部位到筛孔周围远离筛孔部位和紧挨着筛孔部位,呈现出受熔体作用逐渐加强趋势,离筛孔较远部位记录了玄武质熔浆作用之前的一次富碱（K）富Al熔体交代的特征,而紧挨着筛孔的部位受晚期玄武质熔浆作用的影响最强;第3类为幔源捕虏体中反应边单斜辉石及玄武岩中斑晶单斜辉石,两者的化学成分及形成条件相似,显示HFSE正异常,LILE负异常,受OIB特征寄主玄武岩浆强烈的影响.昌乐新生代碱性玄武岩地幔捕虏体中单斜辉石显示经历多期"熔体作用"和不同程度的部分熔融特征,是研究区岩石圈地幔不均一性的体现.      

K-rich glass-bearing wehrlite xenoliths from Yitong,Northeastern China: petrological and chemical evidence for mantle metasomatism

 Ultramafic xenoliths in Cenozoic alkali basalts from Yitong, northeast China comprise three types in terms of their modal mineralogy: lherzolite, pyroxenite and wehrlite. The wehrlite suite always contains interstitial pale/brown glass which occupies several per cent by volume of the whole rock. The texture of the wehrlites is porphyroclastic with some large strained grains of olivine (0.5–1 mm) scattered in a very fine grained matrix (0.1 mm), implying a metamorphic origin for the protolith rather than an igneous origin. The host minerals are compositionally zoned, showing evidence of reaction with a melt. Petrological evidence for resorption of spinel (lherzolite) and orthopyroxene (wehrlite) by infiltrating melt further supports the hypothesis that the wehrlites result from interaction between a partial melting residue and a melt, which preferentially replaced primary spinel, Cr-diopside and enstatite to produce secondary clinopyroxene (cpx) + olivine (ol) ± chromite ± feldspar (fd). The composition of the mineral phases supports this inference and, further indicates that, prior to melt impregnation, the protoliths of these wehrlites must have been subjected to at least one earlier Fe-enrichment event. This explanation is consistent with the restricted occurrence of glasses in the wehrlite suite. The glass is generally associated with fine-grained (0.1 mm) minerals (cpx+ol+chromite ±fd). Electron microprobe analyses of these glasses show them to have high SiO₂ content (54–60 wt%), a high content of alkalis (Na₂O, 5.6–8.0%; K₂O, 6.3–9.0%), high Al₂O₃ (20–24%), and a depletion in CaO (0.13–2.83%), FeO (0.89–4.42%) and MgO (0.29–1.18%). Ion probe analyses reveal a light rare earth element-enrichment in these glasses with chondrite normalised (La)_n = 268–480. The high K₂O contents in these glasses and their mode of occurrence argue against an origin by in-situ melting of pre-existent phases. Petrographic characteristics and trace element data also exclude the possibility of percolation of host-basalt related melts for the origin of these glasses. Thus the glasses must have resulted from local penetration of mantle metasomatic melts which may have been produced by partial melting of peridotites with involvement of deep-seated fluids. Such melts may have been significantly modified by subsequent fractional crystallization of ol, cpx and sp, extensive reaction with the mantle conduit and the xenolith transport process. Received: 1 August 1995 / Accepted: 19 June 1996     

Primitive andesites from the Taupo Volcanic Zone formed by magma mixing

Andesites with Mg# >45 erupted at subduction zones form either by partial melting of metasomatized mantle or by mixing and assimilation processes during melt ascent. Primitive whole rock basaltic andesites from the Pukeonake vent in the Tongariro Volcanic Centre in New Zealand’s Taupo Volcanic Zone contain olivine, clino- and orthopyroxene, and plagioclase xeno- and antecrysts in a partly glassy matrix. Glass pools interstitial between minerals and glass inclusions in clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and plagioclase as well as matrix glasses are rhyolitic to dacitic indicating that the melts were more evolved than their andesitic bulk host rock analyses indicate. Olivine xenocrysts have high Fo contents up to 94%, δ¹⁸O_(SMOW) of +5.1‰, and contain Cr-spinel inclusions, all of which imply an origin in equilibrium with primitive mantle-derived melts. Mineral zoning in olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase suggest that fractional crystallization occurred. Elevated O isotope ratios in clinopyroxene and glass indicate that the lavas assimilated sedimentary rocks during stagnation in the crust. Thus, the Pukeonake andesites formed by a combination of fractional crystallization, assimilation of crustal rocks, and mixing of dacite liquid with mantle-derived minerals in a complex crustal magma system. The disequilibrium textures and O isotope compositions of the minerals indicate mixing processes on timescales of less than a year prior to eruption. Similar processes may occur in other subduction zones and require careful study of the lavas to determine the origin of andesite magmas in arc volcanoes situated on continental crust.     

Geochemistry of Rock-Forming Minerals in Mantle Xenoliths from Basalts of Sverre Volcano,Spitsbergen Archipelago

The paper reports the results of SIMS and SEM-EDS study of rock-forming minerals from melt pockets in the central part of a spinel peridotite xenolith taken from Quaternary alkaline basalts of Sverre Volcano in the northwestern part of West Spitsbergen Island. Olivine and clinopyroxene are analyzed to trace changes related to the metasomatic interaction between spinel lherzolite and a carbonate melt with formation of corresponding secondary minerals and silicate glass. It is established that the metasomatic interaction of the carbonate melt with minerals of host spinel lherzolite is accompanied by partial recrystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene, or crystallization of the second generation of these minerals. Percolating carbonate melt caused significant changes in the major, trace, and rare-earth element composition of the considered minerals, thus placing constraints on the use of the composition of these minerals for calculation of P–T parameters, estimating equilibrium, and modeling petrological processes in mantle.     

Magmatic modification of the uppermost mantle beneath the Basin and Range to Colorado Plateau Transition Zone; Evidence from xenoliths, Wikieup, Arizona

Upper mantle xenoliths from Wikieup, AZ, provide abundant evidence for magmatic modification of the uppermost mantle beneath the Transition Zone between the Colorado Plateau and the southern Basin and Range province. Upper mantle lithologies in this xenolith suite are represented by spinel peridotite, wehrlite, plagioclase peridotite, and Al-augite group pyroxenites. Isotopic data for these xenoliths yield relatively uniform values and suggest a common petrogenesis. Al-augite-bearing gabbro and pyroxenite xenoliths from this locality are interpreted to have formed by crystal fractionation processes from parent alkali basalts similar to the Wikieup host basalt. Mineral and whole rock compositions show consistent trends of increasing incompatible element contents (Fe, Al, Ca, Na, K, LIL, and LREE), and decreasing compatible element contents (Mg, Cr, Ni) from spinel peridotite to wehrlite to plagioclase peridotite to the host basalt composition. These compositional trends are interpreted as resulting from varying degrees of magma-mantle wall rock interaction as ascending mafic magmas infiltrated upper mantle peridotite. Small degrees of melt infiltration resulted in slightly modified spinel peridotite compositions while moderate degrees metasomatized spinel peridotite to wehrlite, and the highest degrees metasomatized it to plagioclase peridotite. Whole rock compositions and clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and whole rock isotopic data suggest that the infiltrating magmas were the same as those from which the gabbros and pyroxenites crystallized, and that they were alkalic in composition, similar to the Wikieup host alkali olivine basalts. Relatively uniform ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd for the mineral separates and whole rocks in spite of the significantly wide range in their ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.71–0.23 in clinopyroxene) suggests that the Wikieup xenoliths including gabbro, pyroxenite, peridotite, wehrlite, and plagioclase peridotite, are all relatively young rocks formed or metasomatized by a relatively recent magmatic episode. Received: 21 May 1996 / Accepted: 23 December 1996     

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

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

Petrogenesis of silicate inclusions in the Weekeroo Station IIE iron meteorite: differentiation,remelting, and dynamic mixing

The Weekeroo Station IIE iron meteorite contains a variety of felsic and mafic inclusions enclosed in an FeNi-metal host. Petrographic, EMP, and SIMS data suggest that the petrogenesis of the silicates was complex, and included differentiation, remelting, FeO-reduction, and dynamic mixing of phases.Differentiation produced a variety of olivine-free inclusion assemblages, ranging from pyroxene + plagioclase + tridymite with peritectic compositions, to coarse orthopyroxene, to plagioclase + tridymite and its glassy equivalent. Individual phases have similar trace-element abundances and patterns, despite large variations in inclusion textures, modes, and bulk compositions, probably as a result of mechanical separation of pre-existing phases in an impact event that dynamically mixed silicates with the metallic host. Trace-element data imply that augite and plagioclase grains in different inclusions crystallized from the same precursor melt, characterized by relatively unfractionated REE abundances of ∼20–30 × CI-chondrites except for a negative Eu anomaly. Such a precursor melt could have been produced by ∼2–5% equilibrium partial melting of an H-chondrite silicate protolith, or by higher degrees of partial melting involving subsequent fractional crystallization. Glass appears to have formed by the remelting of pre-existing plagioclase and orthopyroxene, in a process that involved either disequilibrium or substantial melting of these phases. During remelting, silicate melt reacted with the FeNi-metal host, and FeO was reduced to Fe-metal. Following remelting and metal-silicate mixing, inclusions apparently cooled at different rates in a near-surface setting on the parent body; glass- or pigeonite-bearing inclusions cooled more rapidly (≥2.5°C/hr between 1000–850°C) than pigeonite-free, largely crystalline inclusions.The results of this study point to two likely models for forming IIE iron meteorites, both involving collision between an FeNi-metal impactor and either a differentiated or undifferentiated silicate-rich target of H-chondrite affinity. Each model has difficulties and it is possible that both are required to explain the diverse IIE group.     

Metasomatism and sulfide mobility in lithospheric mantle beneath eastern Australia: Implications for mantle Re–Os chronology

Spinel lherzolite xenoliths from Tertiary basaltic host magmas at Allyn River, eastern Australia reveal two distinct petrographic and geochemical types. One group is distinguished by xenoliths with undeformed, equilibrated microstructures and interstitial melt patches; The second group shows deformation and contains abundant fluid inclusions but no melt patches. Trace-element signatures of clinopyroxene in these xenoliths provide evidence for metasomatism by a silicate agent with hydrous component and by a carbonate-rich agent respectively.

Melt patches in the undeformed xenoliths contain secondary minerals including clinopyroxene, olivine, feldspar, Mg- and Ca-rich carbonate, apatite, ilmenite and spinel. They are interpreted to represent volatile-rich melt captured shortly prior to entrainment in the host basalt. Sulfide globules, now recrystallised to discrete sulfide phases but inferred to be molten at lithospheric mantle T and P, are closely associated with the melt patches. The close association between sulfide and highly mobile, volatile-bearing fluid has important implications for the mobility of Re and Os, the use of their isotopes in dating mantle events, and the possible effect of volatile-bearing metasomatic agents on their composition.     

粗粒与剪切结构橄榄岩捕虏体及其单斜辉石微量元素对比

地山西栖霞具不同结构的“干”灾晶石相橄榄岩进行了全岩化学、微量元素,矿物成分和单斜辉石微量元素分析和对比。表明在橄榄岩从粗粒结构向剪切结构的转化中,随着变质变形作用的增强存在着复杂的熔／流体的加入富集和熔体的提取亏损作用;交代介质属具强渗透性的SiO2不饱和的硅酸盐碳酸岩熔体。同时发现不同结构橄榄岩中单斜辉石的REE与其全岩的REE程度有如下的关系;粗粒结构橄榄岩石中矿物与岩石的差别量大,但REE的配合分形可以反映全岩的情况;剪切结构橄榄岩中两者的差别较小。其它高度不相容微量元素可能主要赋存粒间组分或／和矿物流体包裹体中。     

Comparative petrology of silicates in the Udei Station (IAB) and Miles (IIE) iron meteorites: Implications for the origin of silicate-bearing irons

The textures and mineral chemistries of silicate inclusions in the Udei Station (IAB) and Miles (fractionated IIE) iron meteorites were studied using optical and electron microscopy, SEM, EMPA, and LA-ICP-MS techniques to better understand the origin of silicate-bearing irons. Inclusions in Udei Station include near-chondritic, basaltic/gabbroic, feldspathic orthopyroxenitic, and harzburgitic lithologies. In Miles, most inclusions can be described as feldspathic pyroxenite or pyroxene-enriched basalt/gabbro. The trace-element compositions of both orthopyroxene and plagioclase grains are similar in different lithologies from Udei Station; whereas in different inclusions from Miles, the compositions of orthopyroxene grains are similar, while those of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and especially Cl-apatite are variable. Orthopyroxene in Miles tends to be enriched in REE compared to that in Udei Station, but the reverse is true for plagioclase and clinopyroxene.The data can be explained by models involving partial melting of chondritic protoliths, silicate melt migration, and redox reactions between silicate and metal components to form phosphate. The extent of heating, melt migration, and phosphate formation were all greater in Miles. Silicates in Miles were formed from liquids produced by ∼30% partial melting of a chondritic precursor brought to a peak temperature of ∼1250 °C. This silicate melt crystallized in two stages. During Stage 1, crystallizing minerals (orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, chromite, and olivine) were largely in equilibrium with an intercumulus melt that was evolving by igneous fractionation during slow cooling, with a residence time of ∼20 ka at ∼1150 °C. During Stage 2, following probable re-melting of feldspathic materials, and after the silicate “mush” was mixed with molten metal, plagioclase and phosphate fractionally crystallized together during more rapid cooling down to the solidus. In Udei Station, despite a lower peak temperature (<1180 °C) and degree of silicate partial melting (∼3-10%), silicate melt was able to efficiently separate from silicate solid to produce melt residues (harzburgite) and liquids or cumulates (basalt/gabbro, feldspathic orthopyroxenite) prior to final metal emplacement. Olivine was generally out of equilibrium with other minerals, but orthopyroxene and plagioclase largely equilibrated under magmatic conditions, and clinopyroxene in basalt/gabbro crystallized from a more evolved silicate melt.We suggest that a model involving major collisional disruption and mixing of partly molten, endogenically heated planetesimals can best explain the data for IAB and fractionated IIE silicate-bearing irons. The extent of endogenic heating was different (less for the IABs), and the amount of parent body disruption was different (scrambling with collisional unroofing for the IAB/IIICD/winonaite body, more complete destruction for the fractionated IIE body), but both bodies were partly molten and incompletely differentiated at the time of impact. We suggest that the post-impact secondary body for IAB/IIICD/winonaite meteorites was mineralogically zoned with Ni-poor metal in the center, and that the secondary body for fractionated IIE meteorites was a relatively small melt-rich body that had separated from olivine during collisional break-up.