Formation and Modification of the Shallow Sub-continental Lithospheric Mantle: a Review of Geochemical Evidence from Ultramafic Xenolith Suites and Tectonically Emplaced Ultramafic Massifs of Western and Central Europe

The petrology and geochemistry of shallow continental lithosphericmantle (SCLM) can be studied via (1) tectonically emplaced ultramaficmassifs and (2) mantle xenoliths entrained in alkaline magmas.Data from these two separate sources are used to identify processesthat have formed and modified the SCLM. In western and centralEurope where the continental crust consolidated in Phanerozoictimes, both sources of information are available for study.Rock types found in ultramafic massifs in Europe are generallysimilar to those found in ultramafic xenolith suites. The mostfrequent lithology is anhydrous spinel lherzolite, grading towardsharzburgite. Massifs reveal pyroxenite layering, harzburgitebands and cross-cutting mafic and ultramafic dykes. The PhanerozoicEuropean SCLM xenoliths and massifs show broad mineralogicaland chemical similarities to Phanerozoic continental spinelperidotites world-wide. The main process that controls the geochemistryof the SCLM is depletion by removal of basaltic melt. Differencesfrom this norm reflect significantly different processes inthe SCLM, such as interaction with melts and fluids. Such processesprobably gave rise to hornblendite veins and pyroxenite layers,although the latter have also been interpreted as recycled oceaniccrust. Rare earth element data for whole-rock peridotites andtheir constituent clinopyroxenes show a variety of patterns,including light rare earth element (LREE) depletion as a resultof removal of basaltic melt, LREE enrichment caused by metasomatism,and U-shaped REE patterns that are probably due to interactionwith carbonatite melts. Extended mantle-normalized incompatibletrace element patterns for whole rocks show enrichment in Rband Ba in peridotites considered to have been subduction-metasomatized,whereas those considered to be carbonate-metasomatized havestrong negative anomalies in Zr, Nb and Hf. Mantle amphibolesare strongly enriched in LREE when found in veins, but can beLREE depleted if they are interstitial. Radiogenic isotope ratiosfor xenoliths and massifs largely overlap, although the xenolithsshow a significant clustering around a ‘plume-component’identical to the Neogene alkaline magmatism of Europe. Thiscomponent is lacking in the massifs, most of which were emplacedinto the crust before the onset of Neogene plume activity. Infiltrationof carbonatite melts is observed petrographically in some xenolithsand evidenced by low Ti/Eu ratios in bulk rocks, but is veryrare. The effect of passage of hydrous fluids from subductingslabs is also seen in some suites and massifs, being exhibitedmainly as unusual Sr and Pb isotope ratios, although enrichmentin K, Rb and Ba, and the presence of modal phlogopite, may alsopoint to subduction-metasomatism. KEY WORDS: peridotites; xenoliths; orogenic massifs; Europe     

Garnet Granulite Xenoliths from the Northern Baltic Shield--the Underplated Lower Crust of a Palaeoproterozoic Large Igneous Province?

Garnet granulite facies xenoliths hosted in Devonian lamprophyresfrom the Kola Peninsula are interpreted to represent the high-grademetamorphic equivalents of continental flood tholeiites, emplacedinto the Baltic Shield Archaean lower crust in early Proterozoictime. Geochronological data and similarities in major and traceelement geochemistry suggest that the xenoliths formed duringthe same plume-related magmatic event that created a widespreadPalaeoproterozoic large igneous province (LIP) at 2·4–2·5Ga. They are, thus, the first samples of the lower crust ofa Palaeoproterozoic LIP to be studied in petrological detail.The suite includes mafic granulites (gar + cpx + rutile ±plag ± opx ± phlog ± amph), felsic granulites(plag + gar + cpx + rutile ± qtz ± Kspar ±phlog ± amph) and pyroxenites (± phlog ±amph), but mafic garnet granulites predominate. Although somesamples are restites, there is no evidence for a predominanceof magmatic cumulates, as is common for Phanerozoic lower-crustalxenolith suites. Metasediments are also absent. Phlogopite and/oramphibole occur in xenoliths of all types and are interpretedto be metasomatic in origin. The K-rich metasomatic event occurredat     

Tertiary--Quaternary Extension-Related Alkaline Magmatism in Western and Central Europe

Primitive mafic alkaline volcanic rocks from the Tertiary-Quaternaryextension-related magmatic province of western and central Europehave major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopiccharacteristics which suggest the involvement of both lithosphericand asthenospheric mantle source components in their petrogenesis.Oxygen isotope data for the volcanic rocks, mantle xenoliths,and lower-crustal mafic xenoliths indicate that extensive crustalcontamination is not involved in the petrogenesis of these magmas. The geochemical characteristics of the lithospheric componentare in part constrained by those of spinel lherzolite and maficgranulite xenoliths entrained within the magmas. This componentappears to be the product of partial melting of phlogopite/amphibole-bearingmantle which was meta-somatized as a consequence of magmaticactivity during and preceding the Hercynian orogeny and duringphases of Permo-Carboniferous extension. Partial melting ofphlogopite is required to account for the generation, of potassicmagmas (leucitites and leucite nephelinites) with K₂O/Na₂O>1. This component appears to differ between the individual Hercynianterrane blocks of Europe, reflecting, in part, their previousmagmatic histories. The asthenospheric component has affinities with the sourceof St. Helena type (HIMU) OIB and may, in part, be 500–400 Ma recycled oceanic lithosphere subducted during the Hercynianorogeny. Alternatively, it could represent a zone of enrichedmantle at the base of the subcontinental lithosphere which ispreferentially partially melted during extension. There appearsto be no need to invoke the existence of deep mantle plumesto explain the HIMU characteristics, although the data do notpreclude them.     

Magmatic Evolution and Ascent History of the Aries Micaceous Kimberlite, Central Kimberley Basin, Western Australia: Evidence from Zoned Phlogopite Phenocrysts, and UV Laser 40Ar/39Ar Analysis of Phlogopite-Biotite

The Neoproterozoic Aries kimberlite was emplaced in the centralKimberley Basin, Western Australia, as a N–NNE-trendingseries of three diatremes infilled by lithic-rich kimberlitebreccias. The breccias are intruded by hypabyssal macrocrysticphlogopite kimberlite dykes that exhibit differentiation toa minor, high-Na–Si, olivine–phlogopite–richteritekimberlite, and late-stage macrocrystic serpentine–diopsideultramafic dykes. Mineralogical and geochemical evidence suggeststhat the high-Na–Si, olivine–phlogopite–richteritekimberlite was derived from the macrocrystic phlogopite kimberliteas a residual liquid following extended phlogopite crystallizationand the assimilation of country rock sandstone, and that themacrocrystic serpentine–diopside ultramafic dykes formedas mafic cumulates from a macrocrystic phlogopite kimberlite.Chemical zonation of phlogopite–biotite phenocrysts indicatesa complex magmatic history for the Aries kimberlite, with theearly inheritance of a range of high-Ti phlogopite–biotitexenocrysts from metasomatized mantle lithologies, followed bythe crystallization of a population of high-Cr phlogopite phenocrystswithin the spinel facies lithospheric mantle. A further oneto two phlogopite–biotite overgrowth rims of distinctcomposition formed on the phlogopite phenocrysts at higher levelsduring ascent to the surface. Ultra-violet laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar datingof mica grain rims yielded a kimberlite eruption age of 815·4± 4·3 Ma (95% confidence). ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar laser profilingof one high-Ti phlogopite-biotite macrocryst revealed a radiogenic⁴⁰Ar diffusive loss profile, from which a kimberlite magma ascentduration from the spinel facies lithospheric mantle was estimated(assuming an average kimberlite magma temperature of 1000°C),yielding a value of 0·23–2·32 days for thenorth extension lobe of the Aries kimberlite. KEY WORDS: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar; diamond; kimberlite; mantle metasomatism; phlogopite–biotite     

Crustal Assimilation as a Major Petrogenetic Process in the East Carpathian Neogene and Quaternary Continental Margin Arc, Romania

Miocene to Pleistocene calc-alkaline volcanism in the East Carpathianarc of Romania was related to the subduction of a small oceanbasin beneath the continental Tisza–Dacia microlate. Volcanicproducts are predominantly andesitic to dadtic in composition,with rare basalts and rhyodacites (51–l71% SiO₂; mg-number0.65–0.26) and have medium- to high-K calcalkaline andshoshonitic affinities. Mg, Cr and Ni are low in all rock-types,indicating the absence of primary erupted compositions. Detailedtrace element and Sr, Nd, Pb and 0 isotope data suggest thatmagmas were strongly crustally contaminated. Assimilation andfractional crystallization (AFC) calculations predict the consumptionof 5–35% local upper-crustal metasediments or sedimentsfrom the palaeo-accretionary wedge. Variations in the isotopiccomposition of the contaminants and parental magmas caused variationsin the mixing trajectories in different parts of the arc Themost primitive isotopic compositions are found in low-K dacitesof the northern Cdlimani volcanic centre and are interpretedas largely mantle derived. A second possible mantle reservoirof lower ¹⁴⁹ Nd/¹⁴⁴ Nd and lower ²⁰⁶ Pb/²⁰⁴ Pb is identifiedfrom back-arc basic calc-alkaline rocks in the south of thearc Both magmatic reservoirs have elevated isotopic characteristics,owing either to source bulk mixing (between depleted or enrichedasthenosphere and <1% average subducted local sediment) orlower-crustal contamination. KEY WORDS: Carpathians; assimilation; calc-alkaline; Sr-Nd-Pb-0 isotopes; laser flurination     

Ultramafic Xenoliths in Plio-Pleistocene Alkali Basalts from the Eastern Transylvanian Basin: Depleted Mantle Enriched by Vein Metasomatism

Ultramafic xenoliths from alkali basalts in the Perjani Mountainsin the Eastern Transylvanian Basin (ETB) of Romania are mainlyspinel Iherzolites, although spinel harzburgites, websterites,clinopyroxenites and amphibole pyroxenites are also present.Amphibole veins cut some spinel peridotite samples. All arederived from the shallow lithospheric upper mantle. In general,textural variations are restricted to protogranular and porphyroclastictypes, compared with the more varied textures found in mantlexenoliths from the alkali basalts of the neighbouring PannonianBasin. Also, ETB peridotites are richer in amphibole. Thus,the mantle beneath the edge of the ETB is less deformed butmore strongly metasomatized than the mantle closer to the centreof the Pannonian Basin.Mineralogical and bulk-rock geochemicalvariations resemble those of spinel Iherzolites from other sub-continentalshallow mantle xenolith suites. There is no apparent correlationbetween deformation and geochemistry, and much of the majorand trace element variation is due to variable extraction ofpicritic melts. The REE patterns of separated clinopyroxenesfrom the peridotite xenoliths are mostly LREE depleted, althoughclinopyroxenes from regions adjacent to amphibole veins haveexperienced an enrichment in La and Ce and a change in theirSr and Nd isotopic values towards those of the vein, while stillretaining an overall LREE depletion. Clinopyroxenes from thewebsterites and clinopyroxenites are more variable. Amphibolein the hydrous pyroxenites and amphibole veins is strongly LREEenriched and is considered to be metasomatic in origin. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Srand ¹⁴³Nd/^l44Nd isotopic ratios of the xenoliths vary between07018 and 07044, and 051355 and 0 51275, respectively. Thesevalue are more depleted than those obtained for xenoliths fromthe Pannonian Basin. The lower ^l43Nd/^l44Nd and higher ⁸⁷Sr/Sr⁸⁶values are found in anhydrous pyroxenites, metasomatic amphibolesin veins and amphibole pyroxenites, and in the only exampleof an equigranular spinel Iherzolite in the suite.The ETB xenolithswere brought to the surface in alkaline vokanism which post-dateda period of Miocene to Pliocene subduction-related cak-alkalinevolcanism. However, the effects of the passage of either slab-derivedfluids or cak-alkaline magmas through the ETB lithospheric mantlecannot be discerned in the chemistry of the xenoliths. The metasomaticamphibole has ⁸⁷Sr/Sr⁸⁶ and ¹⁴³Sr/Sr¹⁴⁴ ratios similar to thehost alkali basalts, but the least evoked cak-alkaline magmasalso have similar Sr and Nd isotope compositions. The REE patternsof the amphibole resembk those of amphiboles considered to havecrystallized from alkaline melts. No preferential enrichmentin elements typically associated with slab-derivedfluids (K,Rb and Sr) relative to elements typically depleted in cak-alkalinemagmas (Ti, 2jr and Nb) has been observed in the vein amphiboles,although some interstitial amphibole is depleted in all incompatibletrace elements, including LREE. Thus, despite its position closeto the calc-alkaline volcanic arc of the Eastern Carpathians,we cannot readily detect any interaction between the lithosphericupper mantle beneath the ETB and subduction-related magmas orfluids. Metasomatism in the lithospheric mantle is instead largelyrelated to the passage of a primitive alkaline magma similarto the host alkali basal ^*corresponding author     

Tertiary Ultrapotassic Volcanism in Serbia: Constraints on Petrogenesis and Mantle Source Characteristics

The Serbian province of Tertiary ultrapotassic volcanism isrelated to a post-collisional tectonic regime that followedthe closure of the Tethyan Vardar Ocean by Late Cretaceous subductionbeneath the southern European continental margin. Rocks of thisprovince form two ultrapotassic groups; one with affinitiesto lamproites, which is concentrated mostly in the central partsof the Vardar ophiolitic suture zone, and the other with affinitiesto kamafugites, which crops out in volcanoes restricted to thewestern part of Serbia. The lamproitic group is characterizedby a wide range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i (0·70735–0·71299)and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_i (0·51251–0·51216), whereasthe kamafugitic group is isotopically more homogeneous witha limited range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i (0·70599–0·70674)and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_i (0·51263–0·51256). ThePb isotope compositions of both groups are very similar (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb18·58–18·83, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 15·62–15·70and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb 38·74–38·99), falling withinthe pelagic sediment field and resembling Mesozoic flysch sedimentsfrom the Vardar suture zone. The Sr and Nd isotopic signaturesof the primitive lamproitic rocks correlate with rare earthelement fractionation and enrichment of most high field strengthelements (HFSE), and can be explained by melting of a heterogeneousmantle source consisting of metasomatic veins with phlogopite,clinopyroxene and F-apatite that are out of isotopic equilibriumwith the peridotite wall-rock. Decompression melting, with varyingcontributions from depleted peridotite and ultramafic veinsto the final melt, accounts for consistent HFSE enrichment andisotopic variations in the lamproitic group. Conversely, themost primitive kamafugitic rocks show relatively uniform Srand Nd isotopic compositions and trace element patterns, andsmall but regular variations of HFSE, indicating variable degreesof partial melting of a relatively homogeneously metasomatizedmantle source. Geochemical modelling supports a role for phlogopite,apatite and Ti-oxide in the source of the kamafugitic rocks.The presence of two contrasting ultrapotassic suites in a restrictedgeographical area is attributable to the complex geodynamicsituation involving recent collision of a number of microcontinentswith contrasting histories and metasomatic imprints in theirmantle lithosphere. The geochemistry of the Serbian ultrapotassicrocks suggests that the enrichment events that modified thesource of both lamproitic and kamafugitic groups were relatedto Mesozoic subduction events. The postcollisional environmentof the northern Balkan region with many extensional episodesis consistent at regional and local levels with the occurrenceof ultrapotassic rocks, providing a straightforward relationshipbetween geodynamics and volcanism. KEY WORDS: kamafugite; lamproite; Mediterranean; Serbia; mantle metasomatism; veined mantle; petrogenesis     

MicroRaman spectroscopy of diamond and graphite in Almahata Sitta and comparison with other ureilites

This work is the first detailed study of carbon phases in the ureilite Almahata Sitta (sample #7). We present microRaman data for diamond and graphite in Almahata Sitta, seven unbrecciated ureilites, and two brecciated ureilites. Diamond in Almahata Sitta was found to be distinct from that in unbrecciated and brecciated ureilites, although diamond in unbrecciated and brecciated ureilites is indistinguishable. Almahata Sitta diamond shows a peak center range of 1318.5–1330.2 cm^?1 and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) range of 6.6–17.4 cm^?1, representing a shock pressure of at least 60 kbar. The actual peak shock pressure may be higher than this due to postshock annealing, if shock synthesis is the source of ureilite diamonds. Diamond in unbrecciated and brecciated ureilites have peak center wave numbers closer to terrestrial kimberlite diamond, but show a wider range of FWHM than Almahata Sitta. The larger peak shift observed in Almahata Sitta may indicate the presence of lonsdaleite. Alternatively, the lower values in brecciated ureilites may be evidence of an annealing step either following the initial diamond‐generating shock or as a consequence of heating during reconsolidation of the breccia. Graphite in Almahata Sitta shows a G‐band peak center range of 1569.1–1577.1 cm^?1 and a G‐band FWHM range of 24.3–41.6 cm^?1 representing a formation temperature of 990 ± 120 °C. Amorphous carbon was also found. We examine the different theories for diamond formation in ureilites, such as chemical vapor deposition and shock origin from graphite, and explore explanations for the differences between Almahata Sitta and other ureilites.     

Ultramafic Xenoliths from the Bearpaw Mountains, Montana, USA: Evidence for Multiple Metasomatic Events in the Lithospheric Mantle beneath the Wyoming Craton

Ultramafic xenoliths in Eocene minettes of the Bearpaw Mountainsvolcanic field (Montana, USA), derived from the lower lithosphereof the Wyoming craton, can be divided based on textural criteriainto tectonite and cumulate groups. The tectonites consist ofstrongly depleted spinel lherzolites, harzburgites and dunites.Although their mineralogical compositions are generally similarto those of spinel peridotites in off-craton settings, somecontain pyroxenes and spinels that have unusually low Al₂O₃contents more akin to those found in cratonic spinel peridotites.Furthermore, the tectonite peridotites have whole-rock majorelement compositions that tend to be significantly more depletedthan non-cratonic mantle spinel peridotites (high MgO, low CaO,Al₂O₃ and TiO₂) and resemble those of cratonic mantle. Thesecompositions could have been generated by up to 30% partialmelting of an undepleted mantle source. Petrographic evidencesuggests that the mantle beneath the Wyoming craton was re-enrichedin three ways: (1) by silicate melts that formed mica websteriteand clinopyroxenite veins; (2) by growth of phlogopite fromK-rich hydrous fluids; (3) by interaction with aqueous fluidsto form orthopyroxene porphyroblasts and orthopyroxenite veins.In contrast to their depleted major element compositions, thetectonite peridotites are mostly light rare earth element (LREE)-enrichedand show enrichment in fluid-mobile elements such as Cs, Rb,U and Pb on mantle-normalized diagrams. Lack of enrichment inhigh field strength elements (HFSE; e.g. Nb, Ta, Zr and Hf)suggests that the tectonite peridotites have been metasomatizedby a subduction-related fluid. Clinopyroxenes from the tectoniteperidotites have distinct U-shaped REE patterns with strongLREE enrichment. They have ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values that range from0·5121 (close to the host minette values) to 0·5107,similar to those of xenoliths from the nearby Highwood Mountains.Foliated mica websterites also have low ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values (0·5113)and extremely high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in their constituent phlogopite,indicating an ancient (probably mid-Proterozoic) enrichment.This enriched mantle lithosphere later contributed to the formationof the high-K Eocene host magmas. The cumulate group rangesfrom clinopyroxene-rich mica peridotites (including abundantmica wehrlites) to mica clinopyroxenites. Most contain >30%phlogopite. Their mineral compositions are similar to thoseof phenocrysts in the host minettes. Their whole-rock compositionsare generally poorer in MgO but richer in incompatible traceelements than those of the tectonite peridotites. Whole-rocktrace element patterns are enriched in large ion lithophileelements (LILE; Rb, Cs, U and Pb) and depleted in HFSE (Nb,Ta Zr and Hf) as in the host minettes, and their Sr–Ndisotopic compositions are also identical to those of the minettes.Their clinopyroxenes are LREE-enriched and formed in equilibriumwith a LREE-enriched melt closely resembling the minettes. Thecumulates therefore represent a much younger magmatic event,related to crystallization at mantle depths of minette magmasin Eocene times, that caused further metasomatic enrichmentof the lithosphere. KEY WORDS: ultramafic xenoliths; Montana; Wyoming craton; metasomatism; cumulates; minette