Magmatism-related localized deformation in the mantle: a case study

A deformed composite peridotite-pyroxenite xenolith in Pliocene alkali basalts from the Pannonian Basin (Szentbékkálla, Bakony—Balaton Highland Volcanic Field) has been studied in detail. A narrow shear zone of intense deformation marked by porphyroclast elongation and recrystallization runs along the peridotite-pyroxenite contact. The xenolith contains a large volume of euhedral olivine neoblasts and tablet grains of olivine away from the shear zone interpreted as products of annealing and recrystallization in the presence of grain boundary fluid. Estimates of the time required for growth of recrystallized olivine grains suggest that the annealing took place in situ in the mantle and not during transport of the xenolith in the basalt magma. The grain boundary fluid present during recrystallization was a vapor rich silicate-melt different from the host basaltic melt that entrained the xenolith. This study demonstrates that high-stress deformation zones and associated fluid-assisted recrystallization, which are common features in kimberlite mantle xenoliths, also occur in some mantle xenoliths from alkali basalts. The suggested high-stress deformation zones in the mantle beneath the Pannonian Basin may be produced by paleoseismic events in the lithosphere associated with faulting related to the ascent of basalt magma.Editorial responsibility: J. Hoefs

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