Melting of hydrous pyroxenites with alkali amphiboles in the continental mantle: 2. Trace element compositions of melts and minerals

The trace element compositions of melts and minerals from high-pressure experiments on hydrous pyroxenites containing K-richterite are presented. The experiments used mixtures of a third each of the natural minerals clinopyroxene, phlogopite and K-richterite, some with the addition of 5% of an accessory phase ilmenite, rutile or apatite. Although the major element compositions of melts resemble natural lamproites, the trace element contents of most trace elements from the three-mineral mixture are much lower than in lamproites. Apatite is required in the source to provide high abundances of the rare earth elements, and either rutile and/or ilmenite is required to provide the high field strength elements Ti, Nb, Ta, Zr and Hf. Phlogopite controls the high levels of Rb, Cs and Ba.Since abundances of trace elements in the various starting mixtures vary strongly because of the use of natural minerals, we calculated mineral/melt partition coefficients (D_Min/melt) using mineral modes and melting reactions and present trace element patterns for different degrees of partial melting of hydrous pyroxenites. Rb, Cs and Ba are compatible in phlogopite and the partition coefficient ratio phlogopite/K-richterite is high for Ba (1 3 6) and Rb (12). All melts have low contents of most of the first row transition elements, particularly Ni and Cu ((0.1–0.01) × primitive mantle). Nickel has high D_Min/melt for all the major minerals (12 for K-richterite, 9.2 for phlogopite and 5.6 for Cpx) and so behaves at least as compatibly as in melting of peridotites. Fluorine/chlorine ratios in melts are high and D_Min/melt for fluorine decreases in the order apatite (2.2) > phlogopite (1.5) > K-richterite (0.87). The requirement for apatite and at least one Ti-oxide in the source of natural lamproites holds for mica pyroxenites that lack K-richterite. The results are used to model isotopic ageing in hydrous pyroxenite source rocks: phlogopite controls Sr isotopes, so that lamproites with relatively low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr must come from phlogopite-poor source rocks, probably dominated by Cpx and K-richterite. At high pressures (>4 GPa), peritectic Cpx holds back Na, explaining the high K₂O/Na₂O of lamproites.     

Petrogenesis of the amphibole-rich veins from the Lherz orogenic lherzolite massif (Eastern Pyrenees, France): a case study for the origin of orthopyroxene-bearing amphibole pyroxenites in the lithospheric mantle

The Lherz orogenic lherzolite massif (Eastern French Pyrenees) displays one of the best exposures of subcontinental lithospheric mantle containing veins of amphibole pyroxenites and hornblendites. A reappraisal of the petrogenesis of these rocks has been attempted from a comprehensive study of their mutual structural relationships, their petrography and their mineral compositions. Amphibole pyroxenites comprise clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and spinel as early cumulus phases, with garnet and late-magmatic K₂O-poor pargasite replacing clinopyroxene, and subsolidus exsolution products (olivine, spinel II, garnet II, plagioclase). The original magmatic mineralogy and rock compositions were partly obscured by late-intrusive hornblendites and over a few centimetres by vein–wallrock exchange reactions which continued down to subsolidus temperatures for Mg–Fe. Thermobarometric data and liquidus parageneses indicate that amphibole pyroxenites started to crystallize at P ≥ 13 kbar and recrystallized at P < 12 kbar. The high Al^VI/Al^IV ratio (>1) of clinopyroxenes, the early precipitation of orthopyroxene and the late-magmatic amphibole are arguments for parental melts richer in silica but poorer in water than alkali basalts. Their modelled major element compositions are similar to transitional alkali basalt with about 1–3 wt% H₂O. In contrast to amphibole pyroxenites, hornblendites only show kaersutite as liquidus phase, and phlogopite as intercumulus phase. They are interpreted as crystalline segregates from primary basanitic magmas (mg=0.6; 4–6 wt% H₂O). These latter cannot be related to the parental liquids of amphibole pyroxenites by a fractional crystallization process. Rather, basanitic liquids mostly reused pre-existing pyroxenite vein conduits at a higher structural level (P ≤ 10 kbar). A continuous process of redox melting and/or alkali melt/peridotite interaction in a veined lithospheric mantle is proposed to account for the origin of the Lherz hydrous veins. The transitional basalt composition is interpreted in terms of extensive dissolution of olivine and orthopyroxene from wallrock peridotite by alkaline melts produced at the mechanical boundary layer/thermal boundary layer transition (about 45–50 km deep). Continuous fluid ingress allowed remelting of the deeper veined mantle to produce the basanitic, strongly volatiles enriched, melts that precipitated hornblendites. A similar model could be valid for the few orthopyroxene-rich hydrous pyroxenites described in basalt-hosted mantle xenoliths. Received: 15 September 1999 / Accepted: 31 January 2000     

A suggested origin of MARID xenoliths in kimberlites by high pressure crystallization of an ultrapotassic rock such as lamproite

Chemical, mineralogical and isotopic studies have been made on nodules of the MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) xenolith suite in southern African kimberlites. All are ultramafic and ultrapotassic (MgO= 20–25%, K₂O=4–9%), with bulk compositions reflecting the wide variation in relative proportions of the five minerals amongst the nodules. They are comparable in major element compositions to magnesian lamproites, in particular the ultrabasic olivine-lamproites of Western Australia. In a number of high pressure experimental studies on ultra-potassic rocks, the phases produced between 25–30 kbar from compositions comparable to those of MARID rocks (in the presence of additional water), were predominantly phlogopite and diopside (±K-richterite, ±ilmenite, ±rutile). Furthermore the compositions of experimental minerals produced in the synthetic-biotite-mafurite-H₂O system by Edgar et al. (1976) are similar to those in MARID rocks.It is suggested on the basis of these observations and the textural appearance of MARID rocks that they are magmatic compositional equivalents of MgO-rich lamproites that crystallized at high pressures. While lamproites have higher average concentrations of incompatible elements, (including REE), some MARID rocks have comparable abundances. It is suggested that late stage vapour-rich melts carrying substantial REE and other incompatible elements escaped from crystallizing MARID magmas into surrounding subcontinental lithosphere, thus resulting in lower levels of these elements in most MARID rocks. In contrast faster crystallization of lamproitic rocks under volcanic/ hypabyssal conditions would prevent similar losses.The MARID proto-magmas are thought to be either partial melts of metasomatised phlogopite peridotite, or small volume asthenospheric melts which are modified and further enriched by incorporation of small partial melts of enriched subcontinental lithosphere during magma ascent.     

Accessory phase controls on the geochemistry of crustal melts and restites produced during water-undersaturated partial melting

The profound geochemical conseqences of accessory phase behaviour during partial melting of highgrade metapelites are demonstrated with reference to two geochemically distinct crustal melts produced by biotite dehydration melting reactions under granulite facies (kbar, 860°CC) conditions. These two leucogneiss suites, from the Brattstrand Bluffs coastline, eastern Antarctica, have similar field relations, transport distances (10–100 s of metres) and major element chemistry. Type 1 leucogneisses have low Zr, Th and LREE, positive Eu anomalies and Zr/Zr^* and LREE_t/LREE_t ^* values less than 1.0 (i.e. less than required to saturate the melt). Mass balance constraints suggest that these melts have been extracted before equilibration with host melanosomes. The dry, peraluminous nature of vapour-undersaturated melts inhibits monazite and zircon solubility and results in concentration of these phases in the residue. Melts are consequently depleted in LREE and HREE. Melanosomes show complementary enrichment in LREE, while HREE patterns are dominated by residual garnet. Type 2 leucogneisses, in contrast, have strongly enriched Zr, Th and LREE abundances, negative Eu anomalies and Zr/Zr^* and LREE_t/LREE_t ^*>1 resulting from accessory phase entrainment. Vapour-absent partial melting under moderate (6–8 kbar) pressure granulite-facies conditions of a pelitic source containing monazite is likely to give disequilibrium melts depleted in LREE and HREE as monazite and garnet are concentrated in the residue. If temperatures are high enough (850–870° C) to permit relatively large degrees of partial melting then the feldspar component of the source will be removed almost completely, giving melts with large positive Eu anomalies. Melts formed under vapour-present conditions are unlikely to show such extreme LREE and HREE depletion or positive Eu anomalies, even at high degrees of partial melting. Disequilibrium melting coupled with source entrainment could fortuitously produce REE and trace element signatures similar to those typical of S-type granites and usually ascribed to equilibrium melting conditions.     

Experimental Melting of Carbonated Peridotite at 6-10 GPa

Partial melting of magnesite-bearing peridotites was studiedat 6–10 GPa and 1300–1700°C. Experiments wereperformed in a multianvil apparatus using natural mineral mixesas starting material placed into olivine containers and sealedin Pt capsules. Partial melts originated within the peridotitelayer, migrated outside the olivine container and formed poolsof quenched melts along the wall of the Pt capsule. This allowedthe analysis of even small melt fractions. Iron loss was nota problem, because the platinum near the olivine container becamesaturated in Fe as a result of the reaction Fe₂SiO₄^Ol = Fe^Fe–Ptalloy + FeSiO₃^Opx + O₂. This reaction led to a gradual increasein oxygen fugacity within the capsules as expressed, for example,in high Fe³⁺ in garnet. Carbonatitic to kimberlite-like meltswere obtained that coexist with olivine + orthopyroxene + garnet± clinopyroxene ± magnesite depending on P–Tconditions. Kinetic experiments and a comparison of the chemistryof phases occasionally grown within the melt pools with thosein the residual peridotite allowed us to conclude that the meltshad approached equilibrium with peridotite. Melts in equilibriumwith a magnesite-bearing garnet lherzolite are rich in CaO (20–25wt %) at all pressures and show rather low MgO and SiO₂ contents(20 and 10 wt %, respectively). Melts in equilibrium with amagnesite-bearing garnet harzburgite are richer in SiO₂ andMgO. The contents of these oxides increase with temperature,whereas the CaO content becomes lower. Melts from magnesite-freeexperiments are richer in SiO₂, but remain silicocarbonatitic.Partitioning of trace elements between melt and garnet was studiedin several experiments at 6 and 10 GPa. The melts are very richin incompatible elements, including large ion lithophile elements(LILE), Nb, Ta and light rare earth elements. Relative to theresidual peridotite, the melts show no significant depletionin high field strength elements over LILE. We conclude fromthe major and trace element characteristics of our experimentalmelts that primitive kimberlites cannot be a direct productof single-stage melting of an asthenospheric mantle. They rathermust be derived from a previously depleted and re-enriched mantleperidotite. KEY WORDS: multianvil; carbonatite melt; peridotite; kimberlite; element partitioning     

An experimental study of partitioning of fluorine between K-richterite,apatite, phlogopite,and melt at 20 kbar

Phase relations have been determined at 20 kbar and primarily under suprasolidus conditions in the Fe−Ti-free F-bearing K-richterite—phlogopite and K-richterite—apatite systems in order to assess the partitioning of F among phlogopite, K-richterite, apatite, and melt under upper-mantle conditions. Both systems are pseudoternary because they contain forsterite, enstatite and a diopside-rich clinopyroxene from the breakdown of the mica and K-richterite. The F-bearing K-richterite systems have lower minimum melting temperatures than the F-bearing phlogopite —apatite system at the same pressure. However in the systems studied, F in phlogopite appears the most effective component in altering minimum liquid compositions whereas comparison between the present study and previous systems suggests that the presence of P₂O₅ during melting may result in more K-enriched melts. Variations in the compositions of the F-bearing phases are primarily controlled by the bulk compositions of the end-member minerals and by temperature, although buffering by non-F bearing minerals (e.g. clinopyroxene) may be effective. Distribution coefficients (as wt% ratios) between F-bearing minerals and coexisting liquids have been determined as functions of bulk composition and temperature for products of experiments. Distribution coefficients between K-richterite—liquid, apatite—liquid, and phlogopite—liquid are ≥1 to slightly <1 for most bulk compositions, indicating thatF is generally a compatible element. This conclusion is in agreement with the sequence ofF distribution for similar phases in ultrapotassic rocks. These results preclude F-bearing mineral reservoirs in the mantle, at depths corresponding to 20 kbar, being capable of producing F-enrichment in ultrapotassic magmas, or being effective in redox melting processes. Editorial responsibility: K. Hodges     

Phase relations and chemistry of Ti-rich K-richterite-bearing mantle assemblages: an experimental study to 8.0 GPa in a Ti-KNCMASH system

Experiments have been conducted in a peralkaline Ti-KNCMASH system representative of MARID-type bulk compositions to delimit the stability field of K-richterite in a Ti-rich hydrous mantle assemblage, to assess the compositional variation of amphibole and coexisting phases as a function of P and T, and to characterise the composition of partial melts derived from the hydrous assemblage. K-richterite is stable in experiments from 0.5 to 8.0 GPa coexisting with phlogopite, clinopyroxene and a Ti-phase (titanite, rutile or rutile + perovskite). At 8.0 GPa, garnet appears as an additional phase. The upper T stability limit of K-richterite is 1200–1250 °C at 4.0 GPa and 1300–1400 °C at 8.0 GPa. In the presence of phlogopite, K-richterite shows a systematic increase in K with increasing P to 1.03 pfu (per formula unit) at 8.0 GPa/1100 °C. In the absence of phlogopite, K-richterite attains a maximum of 1.14 K pfu at 8.0 GPa/1200 °C. Titanium in both amphibole and mica decreases continuously towards high P with a nearly constant partitioning while Ti in clinopyroxene remains more or less constant. In all experiments below 6.0 GPa ΣSi + Al in K-richterite is less than 8.0 when normalised to 23 oxygens+stoichiometric OH. Rutiles in the Ti-KNCMASH system are characterised by minor Al and Mg contents that show a systematic variation in concentration with P(T) and the coexisting assemblage. Partial melts produced in the Ti-KNCMASH system are extremely peralkaline [(K₂O+Na₂O)/Al₂O₃ = 1.7–3.7], Si-poor (40–45 wt% SiO₂), and Ti-rich (5.6–9.2 wt% TiO₂) and are very similar to certain Ti-rich lamproite glasses. At 4.0 GPa, the solidus is thought to coincide with the K-richterite-out reaction, the first melt is saturated in a phlogopite-rutile-lherzolite assemblage. Both phlogopite and rutile disappear ca. 150 °C above the solidus. At 8.0 GPa, the solidus must be located at T≤1400 ^°C. At this temperature, a melt is in equilibrium with a garnet- rutile-lherzolite assemblage. As opposed to 4.0 GPa, phlogopite does not buffer the melt composition at 8.0 GPa. The experimental results suggest that partial melting of MARID-type assemblages at pressures ≥4.0 GPa can generate Si-poor and partly ultrapotassic melts similar in composition to that of olivine lamproites. Received: 23 December 1996 / Accepted: 20 March 1997     

A review and assessment of experiments on Kimberlites,Lamproites and Lamprophyres as a guide to their Origin

Liquidus experimental studies on kimberlite, lamproite and lamprophyre compositions are reviewed with respect to the information they carry on the mantle origin of these rock types. This information is coupled with melting experiments on peridotite in the presence of H₂O and mixed H₂O+CO₂ volatile species. The origin of most lamproites is explained by the melting of mica-harzburgite assemblages at depths ranging from 40km for leucite lamproites to more than 150km for olivine lamproites. Clinopyroxene-rich, silica-poor lamproites remain enigmatic, but are possibly derived by the melting of a mica-bearing ultramafic source richer in clinopyroxene and under more oxidized, CO₂-bearing conditions. There are insufficient experimental studies on kimberlite to reasonably constrain their origin, and what remain are only general indications of the compositions of partial melts of mantle under volatile-bearing conditions. Melt compositions are not sufficiently well known to prevent very conceptual use of melt ‘names’ such as ‘kimberlitic’ or ‘carbonatitic’, and melts similar to alkaline and ultramafic lamprophyre may be hidden under this shroud. Clearer definition of the origins of alkaline melt compositions such as kimberlites and various lamprophyre types badly needs more exact bracketing of melt compositions of a variety of possible mantle mineral assemblages. The recently-developed sandwich reversal technique is ideally suited to study small degrees of partial melting, and could usefully be applied to lherzolitic and non-lherzolitic materials with hydrous and/or carbonate minerals.     

Petrology of ultramafic nodules from São Tomé Island, Cameroon Volcanic Line (oceanic sector)

Ultramafic xenoliths were found in recent alkali basalts from São Tomé Island. These include spinel peridotites (lherzolites, harzburgites and dunites) and pyroxenites (orthopyroxenites and clinopyroxenites). Textures and mineral compositions indicate that pyroxenites originated from crystal/liquid separation processes operating on magmas similar to those giving rise to their present host rocks whereas spinel peridotite xenoliths had an accidental origin; Fo (>89) and Ni (>0.36 wt.%) contents in olivines, Mg# (91–95) of orthopyroxenes and low Ti in clinopyroxene (primary crystals: TiO₂<0.06 wt.%) and in spinel (TiO₂<0.1 wt.%) are within the range reported for abyssal peridotites, indicating São Tomé spinel peridotites represent refractory residues of melting. Nevertheless, the lack of correlation between mineral chemistry and modal composition suggests that spinel peridotite xenoliths are not simple residues and were affected by infiltration of fluid/melts within the mantle. The wide temperature range obtained for spinel peridotites (700 to >1150 °C) is compatible with a long period of pre-entrainment cooling supporting Fitton's [Tectonophysics 94 (1983) 473] hypothesis that proposes oceanic lithosphere uprising in the Cameroon Volcanic Line prior to the initiation of the current thermal regime, related to São Tomé magmatism. The association of upper mantle (peridotite) xenoliths with igneous cumulates (pyroxenites) suggests that the spinel peridotite suite originated in the uppermost mantle above the São Tomé magma storage zone(s), probably in a region of high strain rate, near the boundary between the mantle and the overlying oceanic crust.     

Generation of granites after amphibolites

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive experimental study of the formation of granitoid melts at the expense of olivine-normative amphibolites. It was shown that trondhjemite-tonalite and granite-granodiorite melts can be generated by incongruent melting reactions at pressures of 5–25 kbar at T = 800–1000°C. The compositions of coexisting phases and phase reactions were investigated in detail. It was found that interaction between these hydrous melts and the overlying peridotite material results in the metasomatic alteration of peridotites and formation of andesite melts. The granitization of amphibolite was explored. Infiltration granitization was experimentally reproduced for the first time at T = 750°C and P _f = 5 kbar. Fluid percolation through amphibolite produced a column of feldspathized and debasified rocks and granite melt completely replacing amphibolite in the proximal zone. Another extreme type of granitization occurring in amphibolite at the contact with granite melt was investigated at T = 800–950°C and P _f = 7 kbar. The diffusion of silica and alkalis resulted in the metasomatic alteration of amphibolite and formation of granitic droplets and lenses with the development of migmatite-like zones, which significantly differ in composition and structure from the zones of infiltration granitization. All the models addressed in this paper (derivation of granitoid series, interaction of granitoid melts with peridotites, and infiltration and diffusion granitization) provide insight into the mechanism of formation of many natural objects.     

The influence of water on melting of mantle peridotite

This experimental study examines the effects of variable concentrations of dissolved H₂O on the compositions of silicate melts and their coexisting mineral assemblage of olivine + orthopyroxene ± clinopyroxene ± spinel ± garnet. Experiments were performed at pressures of 1.2 to 2.0 GPa and temperatures of 1100 to 1345 °C, with up to ∼12 wt% H₂O dissolved in the liquid. The effects of increasing the concentration of dissolved H₂O on the major element compositions of melts in equilibrium with a spinel lherzolite mineral assemblage are to decrease the concentrations of SiO₂, FeO, MgO, and CaO. The concentration of Al₂O₃ is unaffected. The lower SiO₂ contents of the hydrous melts result from an increase in the activity coefficient for SiO₂ with increasing dissolved H₂O. The lower concentrations of FeO and MgO result from the lower temperatures at which H₂O-bearing melts coexist with mantle minerals as compared to anhydrous melts. These compositional changes produce an elevated SiO₂/(MgO + FeO) ratio in hydrous peridotite partial melts, making them relatively SiO₂ rich when compared to anhydrous melts on a volatile-free basis. Hydrous peridotite melting reactions are affected primarily by the lowered mantle solidus. Temperature-induced compositional variations in coexisting pyroxenes lower the proportion of clinopyroxene entering the melt relative to orthopyroxene. Isobaric batch melting calculations indicate that fluid-undersaturated peridotite melting is characterized by significantly lower melt productivity than anhydrous peridotite melting, and that the peridotite melting process in subduction zones is strongly influenced by the composition of the H₂O-rich component introduced into the mantle wedge from the subducted slab. Received: 7 April 1997 / Accepted: 9 January 1998     

Experimental insights into the formation of high-Mg basaltic andesites in the trans-Mexican volcanic belt

High-Mg basaltic andesites and andesites occur in the central trans-Mexican volcanic belt, and their primitive geochemical characteristics suggest equilibration with mantle peridotite. These lavas may represent slab melts that reequilibrated with overlying peridotite or hydrous partial melts of a peridotite source. Here, we experimentally map the liquidus mineralogy for a high-Mg basaltic andesite (9.6 wt% MgO, 54.4 wt% SiO₂, Mg# = 75.3) as a function of temperature and H₂O content over a range of mantle wedge pressures. Our results permit equilibration of this composition with a harzburgite residue at relatively high water contents (>7 wt%) and low temperatures (1,080–1,150°C) at 11–14 kbar. However, in contrast to the high Ni contents characteristic of olivine phenocrysts in many such samples from central Mexico, those of olivine phenocrysts in our sample are more typical of mantle melts that have fractionated a small amount of olivine. To account for this and the possibility that the refractory mantle source may have had olivine more Fo-rich than Fo₉₀, we numerically evaluated alternative equilibration conditions, using our starting bulk composition adjusted to be in equilibrium with Fo₉₂ olivine. This shifts equilibration conditions to higher temperatures (1,180–1,250°C) at mantle wedge pressures (11–15 kbar) for H₂O contents (>3 wt%) comparable to those analyzed in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from this region. Comparison with geodynamic models shows that final equilibration occurred shallower than the peak temperature of the mantle wedge, suggesting that basaltic melts from the hottest part of the wedge reequilibrated with shallower mantle as they approached the Moho.     

The system granite-peridotite-H2O at 30 kbar,with applications to hybridization in subduction zone magmatism

Experiments with mixtures of granite, peridotite and H₂O at 30 kbar were designed as a first step to test the hypothesis that the calc-alkaline igneous rocks of subduction zones are formed by differentiation of magmas derived by partial melting of hybrid rocks generated in the mantle wedge, by reaction between hydrous siliceous magma rising from subducted oceanic crust, and the overlying mantle peridotite. Experiments were conducted in gold capsules in half-inch diameter piston-cylinder apparatus. Results are presented in a 900° C isotherm, and in a projection of vapor-present phase fields onto T-granite-peridotite. Isobaric solution of peridotite in hydrous, H₂O-undersaturated granite liquid at 900° C causes only small changes in liquid composition, followed by precipitation of orthopyroxene until about half of the liquid has solidified; then orthopyroxene is joined by jadeitic clinopyroxene, garnet, and phlogopite. Phlogopite-garnet-websterite continues to be precipitated, with evolution of aqueous vapor, until all of the liquid is used up. The product of hybridization is a pyroxenite without olivine. The products of partial melting of this material would differ from products derived from peridotite because there is no olivine control, and the clinopyroxenes contain up to 7% Na₂O, compared with less than 1% Na₂O in peridotite clinopyroxenes. The reaction products are directly analogous to those in the model system KAlSiO₄-Mg₂SiO₄-SiO₂-H₂O, where, with decreasing SiO₂ in the hydrous siliceous liquid, the field for phlogopite expands, and phlogopite instead of orthopyroxene becomes the primary mineral. If this occurs with less siliceous magmas from the subducted oceanic crust, there is a prospect for separation of discrete bodies of phlogopite-rock as well as phlogopite-garnet-websterite. We need to know the products of hybridization, and the products of partial melting of the hybrid rocks through a range of conditions.     

Stability range and decomposition of potassic richterite and phlogopite end members at 5–15 GPa

Summary The phase relations of K-richterite, KNaCaMg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂, and phlogopite, K₃Mg₆ Al₂Si₆O₂₀(OH)₂, have been investigated at pressures of 5–15 GPa and temperatures of 1000–1500 °C. K-richterite is stable to about 1450 °C at 9–10 GPa, where the dp/dT-slope of the decomposition curve changes from positive to negative. At 1000 °C the alkali-rich, low-Al amphibole is stable to more than 14 GPa. Phlogopite has a more limited stability range with a maximum thermal stability limit of 1350 °C at 4–5 GPa and a pressure stability limit of 9–10 GPa at 1000 °C. The high-pressure decomposition reactions for both of the phases produce relatively small amounts of highly alkaline water-dominated fluids, in combination with mineral assemblages that are relatively close to the decomposing hydrous phase in bulk composition. In contrast, the incongruent melting of K-richterite and phlogopite in the 1–3 GPa range involves a larger proportion of hydrous silicate melts. The K-richterite breakdown produces high-Ca pyroxene and orthoenstatite or clinoenstatite at all pressures above 4 GPa. At higher pressures additional phases are: wadeite-structured K₂Si^VISi^IV ₃O₉ at 10 GPa and 1500 °C, wadeite-structured K₂Si^VISi^IV ₃O₉ and phase X at 15 GPa and 1500 °C, and stishovite at 15 GPa and 1100 °C. The solid breakdown phases of phlogopite are dominated by pyrope and forsterite. At 9–10 GPa and 1100–1400 °C phase X is an additional phase, partly accompanied by clinoenstatite close to the decomposition curve. Phase X has variable composition. In the KCMSH-system (K₂CaMg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂) investigated by Inoue et al. (1998) and in the KMASH-system investigated in this report the compositions are approximately K₄Mg₈Si₈O₂₅(OH)₂ and K_3.7Mg_7.4Al_0.6Si_8.0O₂₅(OH)₂, respectively. Observations from natural compositions and from the phlogopite-diopside system indicate that phlogopite-clinopyroxene assemblages are stable along common geothermal gradients (including subduction zones) to 8–9 GPa and are replaced by K-richterite at higher pressures. The stability relations of the pure end member phases of K-richterite and phlogopite are consistent with these observations, suggesting that K-richterite may be stable into the mantle transition zone, at least along colder slab geotherms. The breakdown of moderate proportions of K-richterite in peridotite in the upper part of the transition zone may be accompanied by the formation of the potassic and hydrous phase X. Additional hydrogen released by this breakdown may dissolve in wadsleyite. Therefore, very small amounts of hydrous fluids may be released during such a decomposition. Received April 10, 2000; revised version accepted November 6, 2000     

Solubility of carbon dioxide in melts of andesite,tholeiite, and olivine nephelinite composition to 30 kbar pressure

Carbon dioxide solubilities in H₂O-free hydrous silicate melts of natural andesite (CA), tholeiite (K 1921), and olivine nephelinite (OM1) compositions have been determined employing carbon-14 beta-track mapping techniques. The CO₂ solubility increases with increasing pressure, temperature, and degree of silica-undersaturation of the silicate melt. At 1650° C, CO₂ solubility in CA increases from 1.48±0.05 wt % at 15 kbar to 1.95±0.03 wt % at 30 kbar. The respective solubilities in OM1 are 3.41±0.08 wt % and 7.11±0.10 wt %. The CO₂ solubility in K1921 is intermediate between those of CA and OM1 compositions. At lower temperatures, the CO₂ contents of these silicate melts are lower, and the pressure dependence of the solubility is less pronounced. The presence of H₂O also affects the CO₂ solubility (20–30% more CO₂ dissolves in hydrous than in H₂O-free silicate melts); the solubility curves pass through an isothermal, isobaric maximum at an intermediate CO₂/(CO₂+H₂O) composition of the volatile phase. Under conditions within the upper mantle where carbonate minerals are not stable and CO₂ and H₂O are present a vapor phase must exist. Because the solubility of CO₂ in silicate melts is lower than that of H₂O, volatiles must fractionate between the melt and vapor during partial melting of peridotite. Initial low-temperature melts will be more H₂O-rich than later high-temperature melts, provided vapor is present during the melting. Published phase equilibrium data indicate that the compositional sequence of melts from peridotite +H₂O+CO₂ parent will be andesite-tholeiite-nephelinite with increasing temperature at a pressure of about 20 kbar. Examples of this sequence may be found in the Lesser Antilles and in the Indonesian Island Arcs.     

Petrogenesis of the ~740 Korab Kansi mafic-ultramafic intrusion,South Eastern Desert of Egypt: Evidence of Ti-rich ferropicritic magmatism

The Neoproterozoic Korab Kansi mafic-ultramafic intrusion is one of the largest (100 km²) intrusions in the Southern Eastern Desert of Egypt. The intrusion consists of Fe-Ti-bearing dunite layers, amphibole peridotites, pyroxenites, troctolites, olivine gabbros, gabbronorites, pyroxene gabbros and pyroxene-hornblende gabbros, and also hosts significant Fe-Ti deposits, mainly as titanomagnetite-ilmenite. These lithologies show rhythmic layers and intrusive contacts against the surrounding granites and ophiolitic-island arc assemblages. The wide ranges of olivine forsterite contents (Fo_67.9-85.7), clinopyroxene Mg# (0.57–0.95), amphibole Mg# (0.47–0.88), and plagioclase compositions (An_85.8-40.9) indicate the role of fractional crystallization in the evolution from ultramafic to mafic rock types. Clinopyroxene (Cpx) has high REE contents (2–30 times chondrite) with depleted LREE relative to HREE, like those crystallized from ferropicritic melts generated in an island-arc setting. Melts in equilibrium with Cpx also resemble ferropicrites crystallized from olivine-rich mantle melts. Cpx chemistry and its host rock compositions have affinities to tholeiitic and calc-alkaline magma types. Compositions of mafic-ultramafic rocks are depleted in HFSE (e.g. Nb, Ta, Zr, Th and U) relative to LILE (e.g. Li, Rb, Ba, Pb and Sr) due to the addition of subduction-related hydrous fluids (rich in LILE) to the mantle source, suggesting an island-arc setting. Fine-grained olivine gabbros may represent quenched melts approximating the primary magma compositions because they are typically similar in assemblage and chemistry as well as in whole-rock chemistry to ferropicrites. We suggest that the Korab Kansi intrusion crystallized at temperatures ranging from ~700 to 1100 °C from ferropicritic magma derived from melting of metasomatized mantle at <5 Kbar. These hydrous ferropicritic melts were generated in the deep mantle and evolved by fractional crystallization under high ƒO₂ at relatively shallow depth. Fractionation formed calc-alkaline magmas during the maturation of an island arc system, reflecting the role of subduction-related fluids. The interaction of metasomatized lithosphere with upwelling asthenospheric melts produced the Fe and Ti-rich ferropicritic parental melts that are responsible for precipitating large quantities of Fe-Ti oxide layers in the Korab Kansi mafic-ultramafic intrusion. The other factors controlling these economic Fe-Ti deposits beside parental melts are high oxygen fugacity, water content and increasing degrees of mantle partial melting. The generation of Ti-rich melts and formation of Fe-Ti deposits in few layered intrusions in Egypt possibly reflect the Neoproterozoic mantle heterogeneity in the Nubian Shield. We suggest that Cryogenian-Tonian mafic intrusions in SE Egypt can be subdivided into Alaskan-type intrusions that are enriched in PGEs whereas Korab Kansi-type layered intrusions are enriched in Fe-Ti-V deposits.     

Les pyroxénolites à amphibole et les amphibololites associées aux lherzolites du gisement de Lherz (Ariège,France): un exemple du rôle de l'eau au cours de la cristallisation fractionnée des liquides issus de la fusion partielle de lherzolites

Amphibole pyroxenites with or without garnet and amphibolites (hydrous facies) which occur in the Lherz outcrop form monofacies or composite dykes cutting the primary schistosity of the spinel lherzolite. They coexist with monofacies or composite dykes of amphibole — free pyroxenites, with or without garnet (anhydrous facies), which are folded with the peridotite. The range of compositions, from olivine tholeiite (anhydrous facies only) to olivine basanites and nephelinites (hydrous facies) signifies a peculiar differenciation which could result from 1) fractionations closely controled by variation of the PH₂O/Pt in liquids derived from partial melting of a peridotite originally containing a small amount of water. 2) tectonic features of the emplacement of the ultrabasic body up to the lower levels of the crust, during which residual liquids, increasingly undersatured and enriched in alkalies and titanium, have been segregated. The result of such a process is the formation of rocks (amphibolites) having a chemical composition close to that of some olivine melilitic nephelinites flows.     

Richterite-bearing peridotites and MARID-type inclusions in lavas from North Eastern Morocco: mineralogy and D/H isotopic studies

 K-richterite/phlogopite-bearing peridotite xenoliths and MARID inclusions have been found in Late Cretaceous (67±0.2 million years) monchiquites and an olivine nephelinite from North Eastern Morocco. It is the first evidence of MARID rocks and K-richterite/phlogopite-bearing peridotites outside the kimberlitic context. In the hydrous xenoliths, textural features suggest that K-richterite, phlogopite and Al-poor diopside are replacement minerals. K-richterites contain 2–5 wt% FeO, 0.1–1.5 wt% TiO₂ and <0.5 wt% Cr₂O₃. Micas contain 5.4–7.4 wt% FeO and 0.3–2.2 wt% TiO₂, with Cr and Ni contents <0.2 wt%. Diopsides are Al-poor (<0.2 wt% Al₂O₃) and contain 0.1–0.2 wt% TiO₂, 0.9–1.1 wt% Na₂O and 1.3–1.7 wt% Cr₂O₃. Compared to known K-richterites and micas from metasomatised peridotite nodules (PKP types), the Moroccan minerals are more Fe rich, K-richterites have higher Ti and micas less Cr and Ni. They are thus closer to MARID than to PKP minerals. K-richterites and mica from the MARID inclusions show typical characteristics, e.g. high FeO (4.3–4.7 wt% in richterite and 7.2 wt% in mica), low NiO and/or Cr₂O₃ and the incomplete filling of the tetrahedral site by Si+Al. Ion probe D/H analyses of amphiboles and micas from both xenolith types give high δD values ranging from –8 to –73, with large variations within single grains (up to 50‰). Both the D-enrichment and the δD variations are inherited from the mantle. The similar chemical composition and δD values of K-richterite/phlogopite from the hydrous peridotites and MARID minerals suggest a genetic link between the two types of xenoliths. The conditions required for producing MARIDs and K-richterite/phlogopite-bearing peridotites may thus exist in contexts other than stable cratonic settings. MARID rocks and the associated metasomites may result from a hydrous fluid interaction with a peridotite, the metasomatic agent being characterised by a high K and low Al signature and a high δD value. A D-rich source is involved in the metasomatic event producing the hydrous minerals, and the scatter observed in the δD values suggests a mixing between this source and another one with typical upper mantle D/H composition. As indicated by the low δD (–74) values of micas from the host lava, metasomatism predated and is unrelated to the alkaline volcanism. Received: 9 March 1995 / Accepted: 4 April 1996     

0.1GPa块状榴辉岩脱水部分熔融:局部熔融体系和温度的影响

选取了湖北英山东冲河含有含水矿物黑云母和角闪石的退变质榴辉岩块状样品, 在0.1 GPa的恒压下, 分别进行了750、800、850、900℃四个温阶、恒温加热4 h的开放体系的脱水部分熔融实验.熔融从含水矿物的脱水暗化开始, 850℃时出现玻璃质熔体.镜下观察显示, 熔体主要分布在后成合晶边界、熔融程度最高的样品顶端、石英颗粒边界及裂隙内部这3个局部熔融体系内.受局部体系内部物质组成的控制, 同一温阶、不同体系内的熔体成分变化很大, 呈基性、中性和酸性.随着温度的升高, 同一体系内的熔体成分均向酸性方向演化.该实验结果表明, 恒压下局部熔融体系内物质组成的不同和温度的变化是影响熔体成分的2个重要因素, 这为理解榴辉岩块状样品的脱水部分熔融行为及与其他基性变质岩类的熔融行为进行对比提供了实验依据.      

The beginnings of hydrous mantle wedge melting

This study presents new phase equilibrium data on primitive mantle peridotite (0.33 wt% Na₂O, 0.03 wt% K₂O) in the presence of excess H₂O (14.5 wt% H₂O) from 740 to 1,200°C at 3.2–6 GPa. Based on textural and chemical evidence, we find that the H₂O-saturated peridotite solidus remains isothermal between 800 and 820°C at 3–6 GPa. We identify both quenched solute from the H₂O-rich fluid phase and quenched silicate melt in supersolidus experiments. Chlorite is stable on and above the H₂O-saturated solidus from 2 to 3.6 GPa, and chlorite peridotite melting experiments (containing ~6 wt% chlorite) show that melting occurs at the chlorite-out boundary over this pressure range, which is within 20°C of the H₂O-saturated melting curve. Chlorite can therefore provide sufficient H₂O upon breakdown to trigger dehydration melting in the mantle wedge or perpetuate ongoing H₂O-saturated melting. Constraints from recent geodynamic models of hot subduction zones like Cascadia suggest that significantly more H₂O is fluxed from the subducting slab near 100 km depth than can be bound in a layer of chloritized peridotite ~ 1 km thick at the base of the mantle wedge. Therefore, the dehydration of serpentinized mantle in the subducted lithosphere supplies free H₂O to trigger melting at the H₂O-saturated solidus in the lowermost mantle wedge. Alternatively, in cool subduction zones like the Northern Marianas, a layer of chloritized peridotite up to 1.5 km thick could contain all the H₂O fluxed from the slab every million years near 100 km depth, which suggests that the dominant form of melting below arcs in cool subduction zones is chlorite dehydration melting. Slab P–T paths from recent geodynamic models also allow for melts of subducted sediment, oceanic crust, and/or sediment diapirs to interact with hydrous mantle melts within the mantle wedge at intermediate to hot subduction zones.