Dunite Formation Processes in Highly Depleted Peridotite: Case Study of the Iwanaidake Peridotite, Hokkaido, Japan

Dunite formation processes in highly depleted peridotites arediscussed based upon a detailed study of the Iwanaidake peridotite,Hokkaido, Japan, which consists mainly of harzburgite with asmall amount of dunite. In the harzburgites, the Mg# [= 100x Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺)] of olivine ranges from 91·5 to 92·5,and the Cr# [= 100 x Cr/(Cr + Al)] of spinel from 30 to 70;in the dunites, the Mg# of olivine ranges from 92·5 to94 and the Cr# of spinel from 60 to 85, respectively. The NiOwt % of olivine in harzburgites ranges from 0·38 to 0·44,and in dunites from 0·35 to 0·37. The Mg# andCr# are higher and NiO wt % is lower in the dunites than inthe harzburgites surrounding the dunites. The Mg# and Cr# exhibitnormal depletion trends expected from simple partial melting,whereas the NiO wt % shows an abnormal trend. On the basis ofmass balance calculations, dunites are considered to be derivedfrom the harzburgites by a process involving incongruent meltingof orthopyroxene (orthopyroxene olivine + Si-rich melt). Hydrousconditions were necessary to lower the solidus, and thus meltingof harzburgite was probably triggered by the introduction ofhydrous silicate melt. The dunite in this massif may have formedin the mantle wedge above a subduction zone. KEY WORDS: depleted peridotite; hydrous melt; incongruent melting; residual dunite; Iwanaidake peridotite     

Mineralogy,geochemistry, and geotectonic significance of the Neoproterozoic ophiolite of Wadi Arais area,south Eastern Desert,Egypt

ABSTRACT

The dismembered ophiolites in Wadi Arais area of the south Eastern Desert of Egypt are one of a series of Neoproterozoic ophiolites found within the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS). We present new major, trace, and rare earth element analyses and mineral composition data from samples of the Wadi Arais ophiolitic rocks with the goal of constraining their geotectonic setting. The suite includes serpentinized ultramafics (mantle section) and greenschist facies metagabbros (crustal section). The major and trace element characteristics of the metagabbro unit show a tholeiitic to calc-alkaline affinity. The serpentinized ultramafics display a bastite, or less commonly mesh, texture of serpentine minerals reflecting harzburgite and dunite protoliths, and unaltered relics of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and chrome spinel can be found. Bulk-rock chemistry confirms harzburgite as the main protolith. The high Mg# (91.93–93.15) and low Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratios (0.01–0.02) of the serpentinized peridotite, together with the high Cr# (>0.6) of their Cr-spinels and the high NiO contents (0.39–0.49 wt.%) of their olivines, are consistent with residual mantle rocks that experienced high degrees of partial melt extraction. The high Cr# and low TiO₂ contents (0.02–0.34 wt.%) of the Cr-spinels are most consistent with modern highly refractory fore-arc peridtotites and suggest that these rocks probably developed in a supra-subduction zone environment.     

Mineralogical and geochemical patterns of mantle xenoliths from the Jixia region (Fujian Province,southeastern China)

The paper discusses the results of mineralogical and petrographic studies of spinel lherzolite xenoliths and clinopyroxene megacrysts in basalt from the Jixia region related to the central zone of Cenozoic basaltic magmatism of southeastern China. Spinel lherzolite is predominantly composed of olivine (Fo_89.6–90.4), orthopyroxene (Mg# = 90.6–92.7), clinopyroxene (Mg# = 90.3–91.9), and chrome spinel (Cr# = 6.59–14.0). According to the geochemical characteristics, basalt of the Jixia region is similar to OIB with asthenospheric material as a source. The following equilibrium temperatures and pressures were obtained for spinel peridotite: 890–1269°C and 10.4–14.8 kbar. Mg# of olivine and Cr# of chrome spinel are close to the values in rocks of the enriched mantle. It is evident from analysis of the textural peculiarities of spinel lherzolite that basaltic melt interacted with mantle rocks at the xenolith capture stage. Based on an analysis of the P–T conditions of the formation of spinel peridotite and clinopyroxene megacrysts, we show that mantle xenoliths were captured in the course of basaltic magma intrusion at a significantly lower depth than the area of partial melting. However, capture of mantle xenoliths was preceded by low-degree partial melting at an earlier stage.     

Origin of mineral chemical stratification in the mantle section of the Table Mountain massif (Bay of Islands Ophiolite, Newfoundland, Canada)

Mineral chemical data have been collected from the 6 km thick mantle section of the Table Mountain massif (Bay of Islands Ophiolite Complex, Newfoundland). The samples chosen represent the geochemical background, i.e. exclude samples from the vicinity of bands, dykes and pods of dunites and pyroxenites within the host harzburgites and (rare) lherzolites. Three large mineral-chemical domains can be distinguished as a function of depth below the crustal gabbros. The intermediate mantle section (2–5 km beneath the gabbros) has a very depleted geochemical pattern with Cr# [100Cr/(Cr + Al)] in spinel > 44, low Ti. The basal kilometer of the mantle section shows a steep geochemical gradient towards less depleted mineral chemistries (Cr# as low as 10). Both the intermediate and basal mantle rocks fit into a progressive partial melting trend. The top of the mantle section (0–2 km below the gabbros) shows Cr# between 30 and 44, but also higher Ti and ferric iron in spinel, and Na in clinopyroxene. Microstructural evidence for melt-related clinopyroxene is locally preserved and, in one area, plagioclase lherzolites occur. The topmost mantle section is considered to have been affected by melt infiltration. The geochemical variation is larger than elsewhere, suggesting that melt-infiltration, or at least the process of trapping of melt, was heterogeneous. In most melt-infiltrated harzburgites, plagioclase is absent. Other peridotites show good microstructural evidence for melt-infiltration but little chemical evidence to substantiate it. Both features are discussed and can be explained by a variety of processes demonstrating the complexity of melt-infiltration.     

The Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone ophiolitic mélange (southern Tibet): new insights from geochemistry of ultramafic rocks

The southern contact of the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone ophiolitic belt is marked by a highly sheared serpentinite mélange containing ultramafic blocks. These peridotites can be divided into three main groups. (1) Lherzolites and Cpx-harzburgites contain brownish spinel with Mg# of 0.7–0.75 and Cr# of 0.15–0.27. They resemble fertile abyssal peridotites with generally smooth LREE-depleted and fairly flat MREE–HREE profiles. (2) Transitional harzburgites contain reddish spinels with Mg# of 0.57–0.66 and Cr# of 0.35–0.46. They resemble depleted abyssal or supra-subduction zone peridotites in that MREE–HREE profiles have positive slopes indicative of high degrees of partial melting. LREE profiles vary from depleted to slightly enriched, consistent with some interacting melt. (3) Harzburgites and dunites contain dark reddish spinels with Mg# of 0.47–0.68 and Cr# of 0.40–0.63. They have U-shaped profiles characteristics of interaction between LREE-enriched melt and REE-depleted mantle residues. Fractional melting modelling indicates that Cpx-harburgites may be the residues from 5 to 15% melting, transitional harzburgites from 15 to 23% melting, and harzburgites and dunites from 22 to 29% melting. The South Sandwich arc-basin system is considered a modern analog of the initial geodynamic setting.     

Petrogenesis of ultramafic and mafic xenoliths from Mesozoic basanites in southern Sweden: constraints from mineral chemistry

Jurassic basanite necks occurring at the junction of two major fault zones in Scania contain ultramafic (peridotites, pyroxenites) and mafic xenoliths, which together indicate a diversity of upper mantle and lower crustal assemblages beneath this region. The peridotites can be subdivided into lherzolites, dunites and harzburgites. Most lherzolites are porphyroclastic, containing orthopyroxene and olivine porphyroclasts. They consist of Mg-rich silicates (Mg# = Mg/(Mg + Fe_tot) × 100; 88–94) and vermicular spinel. Calculated equilibration temperatures are lower in porphyroclastic lherzolites (975–1,007°C) than in equigranular lherzolite (1,079°C), indicating an origin from different parts of the upper mantle. According to the spinel composition the lherzolites represent residues of 8–13% fractional melting. They are similar in texture, mineralogy and major element composition to mantle xenoliths from Cenozoic Central European volcanic fields. Dunitic and harzburgitic peridotites are equigranular and only slightly deformed. Silicate minerals have lower to similar Mg# (83–92) as lherzolites and lack primary spinel. Resorbed patches in dunite and harzburgite xenoliths might be the remnants of metasomatic processes that changed the upper mantle composition. Pyroxenites are coarse, undeformed and have silicate minerals with partly lower Mg# than peridotites (70–91). Pyroxenitic oxides are pleonaste spinels. According to two-pyroxene thermometry pyroxenites show a large range of equilibration temperatures (919–1,280°C). In contrast, mafic xenoliths, which are mostly layered gabbronorites with pyroxene- and plagioclase-rich layers, have a narrow range of equilibration temperatures (828–890°C). These temperature ranges, together with geochemical evidence, indicate that pyroxenites and gabbroic xenoliths represent mafic intrusions within the Fennoscandian crust.     

Refractory chromitites recovered from the Eretria mine,East Othris massif (Greece): Implications for metallogeny and deformation of chromitites within the lithospheric mantle portion of a forearc-type ophiolite

The chrome ores of the abandoned Eretria mine of the East Othris ophiolite occur within a pervasively serpentinized and sheared harzburgite body. They consist of massive chromitites with mylonitic fabric in imbricate shaped pods. Modal analyses of these ores average at about 90–95% chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) and 5–10% secondary silicates. Chromian spinel compositions vary in Cr# [Cr/(Cr + Al) × 100] and Mg# [Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) × 100] from 44 to 62 and from 59 to 81, respectively. Trace element (Ti, Ni, V, Mn, Zn, Sc, Co and Ga) contents in Cr-spinel do not show significant variations from grain cores to grain boundaries. However, Cr-spinel compositions show depletions in Ti, Zn and Sc when compared to the composition of accessory Cr-spinel from typical mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Mineral inclusions hosted in Cr-spinel comprise a range of (hydrous and anhydrous) silicate and base metal (BM) minerals occasionally intergrown with phosphate minerals and rare intermetallic compounds. A number of these inclusions have Cr-spinel rims with higher Cr# (63–68) than those of the enclosing Cr-spinel grains.The absence of dunite sheaths around chromitites is interpreted as an artifact of dunite structural obliteration during prolonged ductile shearing within harzburgite. The microtextural characteristics of a number of inclusions in Cr-spinel imply that they were initially fully molten. Furthermore, primary hydrosilicate (amphibole, phlogopite) inclusions in Cr-spinel indicate that chromitites crystallized from a water-bearing melt. Chromian spinel rims around silicate inclusions probably represent early crystals generated from a primitive magma produced by melting of a depleted mantle source.Geochemical calculations demonstrate that the parental melts of chromitites had intermediate affinity between MORB and arc-related magmas. Our preferred hypothesis for the genesis of the Eretria chromitites is that they were formed from a melt originated within the hydrated mantle wedge beneath a nascent forearc basin during subduction initiation.     

Variation in mantle lithology and composition beneath the Ngao Bilta volcano,Adamawa Massif,Cameroon volcanic line,West-central Africa

Mantle peridotites entrained as xenoliths in the lavas of Ngao Bilta in the eastern branch of the continental Cameroon Line were examined to constrain mantle processes and the origin and nature of melts that have modified the upper mantle beneath the Cameroon Line.The xenoliths consist mainly of lherzolite with subordinate harzburgite and dunite.They commonly contain olivine,orthopyroxene,clinopyroxene and spinel although the dunite is spinel-free.Amphibole is an essential constituent in the lherzolites.Mineral chemistry differs between the three types of peridotite:olivines have usual mantle-like Mg#of around 90 in lherzolites,but follow a trend of decreasing Mg#(to 82)and NiO(to 0.06 wt.%)that is continuous in the dunites.Lherzolites also contain orthopyroxenes and/or clinopyroxenes with low-Mg#,indicating a reaction that removes Opx and introduces Cpx,olivine,amphibole and spinel.This is attributed to reaction with a silica-undersaturated silicate melt such as nephelinite or basanite,which originated as a low-degree melt from a depleted source as indicated by low Al2O3 and Na2O in Cpx and high Na2O/K2O in amphibole.Thermobarometric estimates place the xenoliths at pressures of 11–15 kbar(35–50 km)and temperatures of 863–957
C,along a dynamic rift geotherm and shallower than the region where carbonate melts may occur.The melt/rock reactions exhibited by the Ngao Bilta xenoliths are consistent with their peripheral position in the eastern branch of the Cameroon Volcanic Line in an area of thinned crust and lithosphere beneath the Adamawa Uplift.     

A Forearc (Guleman, Elaziğ) Ophiolite: Evidence from Peridotite Mineral Geochemistry

The Guleman ophiolite,one of the most important ophiolitic massifs of the Southeast Anatolian Ophiolitic Belt,consists of a core of serpentinized mantle rocks overlain by an ultramafic sequence,layered and isotropic gabbro,and sheeted dykes.The ophiolite structurally overlies the Lower Miocene Lice Formation and is overlain by young sandstones and shales of the Upper Maashtrichtian-Lower Eocene Hazar Complex and Middle Eocene Maden Complex.The Guleman ophiolite tectonically overlain by Precambrian to Upper Triassic Bitlis metamorphic massif.The mantle peridotites compose mainly of fresh and in place serpentinized harzburgite tectonite with local bands and lenses of dunites with large-sized chromitite pods.The Guleman peridotites commonly show porphyroclastic texture,high-temperature fabrics such as kink-bands in olivines.According to microprobe analyses,the harzburgite and dunite have low Ca O and Al2O3 abundance similar to Mariana forearc,and their average Cr-(=Cr/(Cr+Al)atomic)ratio of Cr-spinelsis surprisingly high(0.63)besides Fo content of olivine is between 90.9 to 92.3 in peridotites.According to Mg#(Mg/(Mg+Fe2+))versus Cr#in spinel diagram,the degree of partial melting is higher than 35%and spinel values plot in the forearc peridotites field.The Gulemanharzburgites have low Ca O,Al2O3 and Ti O2 contents in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene lammelles,resembling those of depleted harzburgites from modern forearcs and different from moderately depleted abyssal peridotites.Consequently,we propose that the Guleman peridotites form in a forearc setting during the subduction initiation that developed as a result of northward subduction of the southern branch of the Neo-Tethys in response to the convergence between Arabian and Anatolian plates.     

Melt/peridotite interaction in the Southern Lanzo peridotite: Field, textural and geochemical evidence

This paper presents field, petrographic–structural and geochemical data on spinel and plagioclase peridotites from the southern domain of the Lanzo ophiolitic peridotite massif (Western Alps). Spinel lherzolites, harzburgites and dunites crop out at Mt. Arpone and Mt. Musinè. Field evidence indicates that pristine porphyroclastic spinel lherzolites are transformed to coarse granular spinel harzburgites, which are in turn overprinted by plagioclase peridotites, while strongly depleted spinel harzburgite and dunite bands and bodies replace the plagioclase peridotites. On the northern flank of Mt. Arpone, deformed, porphyroclastic (lithospheric) lherzolites, with diffuse pyroxenite banding, represent the oldest spinel-facies rocks. They show microstructures of a composite subsolidus evolution, suggesting provenance from deeper (asthenospheric) mantle levels and accretion to the lithosphere. These protoliths are locally transformed to coarse granular (reactive) spinel harzburgites and dunites, which show textures reminiscent of melt/rock reaction and geochemical characteristics suggesting that they are products of peridotite interaction with reactively percolating melts. Geochemical data and modelling suggest that <1–5% fractional melting of spinel-facies DMM produced the injected melts. Plagioclase peridotites are hybrid rocks resulting from pre-existing spinel peridotites and variable enrichment of plagioclase and micro-gabbroic material by percolating melts. The impregnating melts attained silica-saturation, as testified by widespread orthopyroxene replacement of olivine, during open system migration in the lithosphere. At Mt. Musinè, coarse granular spinel harzburgite and dunite bodies replace the plagioclase peridotites. Most of these replacive, refractory peridotites have interstitial magmatic clinopyroxene with trace element compositions in equilibrium with MORB, while some Cpx have REE-depleted patterns suggesting transient geochemical features of the migrating MORB-type melts, acquired by interaction with the ambient plagioclase peridotite. These replacive spinel harzburgite and dunite bodies are interpreted as channels exploited for focused and reactive migration of silica-undersaturated melts with aggregate MORB compositions. Such melts were unrelated to the silica-saturated melts that refertilized the pre-existing plagioclase peridotites. Finally, MORB melt migration occurred along open fractures, now recorded as gabbroic dikes.

Our data document the complexity of rock-types and mantle processes in the South Lanzo peridotite massif and describe a composite tectonic and magmatic scenario that is not consistent with the “asthenospheric scenario” proposed by previous authors. We envisage a “transitional scenario” in which extending subcontinental lithospheric mantle was strongly modified (both depleted and refertilized) by early melts with MORB-affinity formed by decompression partial melting of the upwelling asthenosphere, during pre-oceanic rifting and lithospheric thinning in the Ligurian Tethys realm.     

The Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone ophiolitic mélange (southern Tibet): new insights from geochemistry of ultramafic rocks

The southern contact of the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone ophiolitic belt is marked by a highly sheared serpentinite mélange containing ultramafic blocks. These peridotites can be divided into three main groups. (1) Lherzolites and Cpx-harzburgites contain brownish spinel with Mg# of 0.7–0.75 and Cr# of 0.15–0.27. They resemble fertile abyssal peridotites with generally smooth LREE-depleted and fairly flat MREE–HREE profiles. (2) Transitional harzburgites contain reddish spinels with Mg# of 0.57–0.66 and Cr# of 0.35–0.46. They resemble depleted abyssal or supra-subduction zone peridotites in that MREE–HREE profiles have positive slopes indicative of high degrees of partial melting. LREE profiles vary from depleted to slightly enriched, consistent with some interacting melt. (3) Harzburgites and dunites contain dark reddish spinels with Mg# of 0.47–0.68 and Cr# of 0.40–0.63. They have U-shaped profiles characteristics of interaction between LREE-enriched melt and REE-depleted mantle residues. Fractional melting modelling indicates that Cpx-harburgites may be the residues from 5 to 15% melting, transitional harzburgites from 15 to 23% melting, and harzburgites and dunites from 22 to 29% melting. The South Sandwich arc-basin system is considered a modern analog of the initial geodynamic setting.     

西昆仑库地蛇绿岩富Al型豆荚状铬铁矿床成因

西昆仑库地蛇绿岩发育小规模的铬铁矿床,矿体呈豆荚状和层状、似层状,均与纯橄岩紧密伴生。这些纯橄岩主要由橄榄石和副矿物尖晶石组成,与方辉橄榄岩相比,橄榄岩中的橄榄石粒径粗(平均2.5mm),Mg#(88~90)低,这与它们全岩低Mg#(90)值,富Al_2O_3、TiO_2、Cr_2O_3、Fe_2O_3相吻合,与熔融残余成因的纯橄岩明显不同,反映了其很可能是由熔体与方辉橄榄岩反应而成。矿体主要由块状、浸染状及脉状铬铁矿石组成;铬铁矿石中的尖晶石具有低而相对稳定的Cr#(43~56),低于富铬型铬铁矿矿床中的铬铁矿(Cr#60)。块状矿石与纯橄岩呈突变接触,矿石中的尖晶石呈浑圆状,包裹有较多橄榄石、辉石等硅酸盐矿物及角闪石等含水硅酸盐矿物;浸染状铬铁矿石中的尖晶石与橄榄石颗粒构成交织结构,或呈云朵状,沿橄榄石颗粒边界相互连接,矿石的结构构造显示了熔/岩反应成因特征。通过计算分析,我们认为该区富铝型铬铁矿石是由拉斑玄武质熔体与地幔橄榄岩反应而成,由于熔体中含有较高的H_2O,参与反应的熔体可能源于弧后扩张脊环境。     

Serpentinites and their tectonic signature along the Northwest Zagros Thrust Zone, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Two types of serpentinized peridotites are distinguished within the Northwest Zagros Thrust Zone (NW-ZTZ) in Kurdistan region of Iraq. One is found as lower members of ophiolite sequences, such as the Mawat and Penjwin ophiolites of the upper Cretaceous age. The other is represented by intraformational isolated serpentinite bodies in Betwat, Qaladeza, and Qalander areas within the Walash–Naopurdan volcano-sedimentary unit of the Paleocene to Eocene paleo-arc tectonic setting. Serpentinites within the NW-ZTZ consist mainly of lizardite and chrysotile, with subordinate amounts of syn-serpentinization magnetite, carbonates, chromium chlorite, tremolite, and talc as secondary minerals, and olivine, clinopyroxene, and chromian spinel as primary minerals. Minor antigorite is also found in the sheared serpentinites often found in ophiolite sequences. Petrological and geochemical studies of serpentinites from the NW-ZTZ show that, of the original protoliths of serpentinites, those associated with ophiolites are residual depleted harzburgite and dunite. The $ {\text{Cr}}\# \left( {{{ = {\text{ Cr}}} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{ = {\text{ Cr}}} {\left( {{\text{Cr}} + {\text{Al}}} \right){\text{ atomic ratio}}}}} \right. \kern-0em} {\left( {{\text{Cr}} + {\text{Al}}} \right){\text{ atomic ratio}}}}} \right) $ of chromian spinel is more than 0.6, and the forsterite content of olivine is 91–92. On the other hand, the original protolith of isolated serpentinite bodies is less depleted harzburgite or depleted lherzolite, which has spinel with Cr# less than 0.6 and olivine with 90–91 forsterite contents. Whole rock chemistry of major, trace, and rare earth elements shows that the serpentinites of ophiolite sequences are depleted in CaO, Al₂O₃, and SiO₂, Sr, and Zr, and are enriched in MgO, Ni, and Cr, in comparison with the isolated serpentinites. Cr# of the disseminated unaltered chromian spinels indicates that the serpentinites of both types had been originated from the supra-subduction zone tectonic setting; the serpentinites of ophiolite sequences obducted and thrusted over the continental margin during the obduction of the Tethyth oceanic crust onto the Arabian continental margin during the upper Cretaceous period. Isolated serpentinite bodies represent serpentinized forearc mantle wedge peridotites emplaced by diapiric upwelling into non-accretionary forearc tectonic settings during the Paleocene to Eocene age.     

Silicification of peridotites at the stalemate fracture zone (Northwestern Pacific): Reconstruction of the conditions of low-temperature weathering and tectonic interpretation

During cruise SO201-1b of the joint Russian-German expedition on the R/V Sonne in 2009, mantle peridotites affected by varying secondary alteration were dredged on the eastern slope of the northwestern segment of the Stalemate transverse ridge adjacent to the eponymous fracture zone. The collection discussed in this paper included four samples of silicified serpentinites after dunites and 11 lherzolite samples serpentinized to a varying degree. The abundance of amorphous silica and quartz, very high SiO₂ content (up to 88.7 wt %), and unusually low MgO (up to 1.4 wt %) in the serpentinized dunites strongly distinguish these rocks from the known products of hydrothermal alteration and low-temperature (seafloor) weathering of peridotites in the oceanic crust. In order to determine the conditions and processes resulting in the silicification of peridotites at the Stalemate Fracture Zone, thermodynamic modeling accounting for the kinetics of mineral dissolution implemented in the GEOCHEQ program package was used in this study. The results of modeling allowed us to suppose that the geochemical and mineralogical effects observed in the silicified serpentinized dunites of the Stalemate Fracture Zone are consequences of low-temperature deserpentinization of oceanic materials under subaerial conditions.     

Platinum-group elements distribution and spinel composition in podiform chromitites and associated rocks from the upper mantle section of the Neoproterozoic Bou Azzer ophiolite, Anti-Atlas, Morocco

The distribution of platinum-group elements (PGEs), together with spinel composition, of podiform chromitites and serpentinized peridotites were examined to elucidate the nature of the upper mantle of the Neoproterozoic Bou Azzer ophiolite, Anti-Atlas, Morocco. The mantle section is dominated by harzburgite with less abundant dunite. Chromitite pods are also found as small lenses not exceeding a few meters in size. Almost all primary silicates have been altered, and chromian spinel is the only primary mineral that survived alteration. Chromian spinel of chromitites is less affected by hydrothermal alteration than that of mantle peridotites. All chromitite samples of the Bou Azzer ophiolite display a steep negative slope of PGE spidergrams, being enriched in Os, Ir and Ru, and extremely depleted in Pt and Pd. Harzburgites and dunites usually have intermediate to low PGE contents showing more or less unfractionated PGE patterns with conspicuous positive anomalies of Ru and Rh. Two types of magnetite veins in serpentinized peridotite, type I (fibrous) and type II (octahedral), have relatively low PGE contents, displaying a generally positive slope from Os to Pd in the former type, and positive slope from Os to Rh then negative from Rh to Pd in the latter type. These magnetite patterns demonstrate their early and late hydrothermal origin, respectively. Chromian spinel composition of chromitites, dunites and harzburgites reflects their highly depleted nature with little variations; the Cr# is, on average, 0.71, 0.68 and 0.71, respectively. The TiO₂ content is extremely low in chromian spinels, <0.10, of all rock types. The strong PGE fractionation of podiform chromitites and the high-Cr, low-Ti character of spinel of all rock types imply that the chromitites of the Bou Azzer ophiolite were formed either from a high-degree partial melting of primitive mantle, or from melting of already depleted mantle peridotites. This kind of melting is most easily accomplished in the supra-subduction zone environment, indicating a genetic link with supra-subduction zone magma, such as high-Mg andesite or arc tholeiite. This is a general feature in the Neoproterozoic upper mantle.     

新疆中天山南缘乌瓦门地区蛇绿岩中超镁铁岩的成因:来自岩石矿物学和地球化学的证据

本文对新疆中天山南缘乌瓦门蛇绿混杂岩中的超镁铁岩进行了岩石矿物学和地球化学研究,对其成因和形成环境进行限定。乌瓦门蛇绿混杂岩中的超镁铁岩为蛇纹石化二辉橄榄岩,由橄榄石(Fo=89.1~90.6)、斜方辉石(Wo0.4-2.4En87.2~90.7Fs8.9-10.9;Mg#=89.0~91.0)、单斜辉石(Wo49.1-51.3En16.0~48.4Fs0.9-4.3;Mg#=90.2~92.1)和尖晶石(Mg#=71.8~77.5;Cr#=9.3~13.4)组成。主量元素组成上,以低Mg O(37.74%~41.34%)、高Al2O3(2.58%~3.39%)、高Ca O(2.23%~3.68%)和高Ti O2(0.05%~0.11%)为特征。微量元素上,亏损稀土元素(REE总量为1.73×10-6~4.63×10-6),亏损不相容元素(如,Rb=0.4×10-6~1.39×10-6,Zr=0.73×10-6~3.28×10-6,Hf=0.04×10-6~0.11×10-6),富集相容元素(如,Cr=2516×10-6~2793×10-6,Co=84.6×10-6~119×10-6,Ni=1641×10-6~2261×10-6)。矿物学和地球化学特征一致指示,乌瓦门蛇绿混杂岩中的超镁铁岩为经历过低程度(5%~10%)部分熔融作用的残余地幔橄榄岩,形成于洋中脊环境,是MOR型蛇绿岩中的地幔橄榄岩。     

Metasomatism of sub-arc mantle peridotites below southernmost South America: reduction of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> f</Emphasis>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> by slab-melt

Quaternary basalts in the Cerro del Fraile area contain two types of mantle xenoliths; coarse-grained (2–5 mm) C-type spinel harzburgites and lherzolites, and fine-grained (0.5–2 mm) intensely metasomatized F-type spinel lherzolites. C-type xenoliths have high Mg in olivine (Fo = 90–91) and a range in Cr# [Cr/ (Cr + Al) = 0.17–0.34] in spinel. Two C-type samples contain websterite veinlets and solidified patches of melt that is now composed of minute quenched grains of plagioclase + Cr-spinel + clinopyroxene + olivine. These patches of quenched melts are formed by decompression melting of pargasitic amphibole. High Ti contents and common occurrence of relic Cr-spinel in the quenched melts indicate that the amphibole is formed from spinel by interaction with the Ti-rich parental magma of the websterite veinlets. The fO₂ values of these two C-type xenoliths range from ΔFMQ −0.2 to −0.4, which is consistent with their metasomatism by an asthenospheric mantle-derived melt. The rest of the C-type samples are free of “melt,” but show cryptic metasomatism by slab-derived aqueous fluids, which produced high concentrations of fluid-mobile elements in clinopyroxenes, and higher fO₂ ranging from ΔFMQ +0.1 to +0.3. F-type lherzolites are intensely metasomatized to form spinel with low Cr# (∼0.13) and silicate minerals with low MgO, olivine (Fo = ∼84), orthpyroxene [Mg# = Mg/(Mg + ΣFe) = ∼0.86] and clinopyroxene (Mg# = ∼0.88). Patches of “melt” are common in all F-type samples and their compositions are similar to pargasitic amphibole with low TiO₂ (<0.56 wt%), Cr₂O₃ (<0.55 wt%) and MgO (<16.3 wt%). Low Mg# values of silicate minerals, including the amphibole, suggest that the metasomatic agent is most likely a slab melt. This is supported by high ratios of Sr/Y and light rare earth elements (REE)/heavy REE in clinopyroxenes. F-type xenoliths show relatively low fO₂ (ΔFMQ −0.9 to −1.1) compared to C-type xenoliths and this is explained by the fusion of organic-rich sediments overlying the slab during the slab melt. Trench-fill sediments in the area are high in organic matter. The fusion of such wet sediments likely produced CH₄-rich fluids and reduced melts that mixed with the slab melt. High U and Th in bulk rocks and clinopyroxene in F-type xenoliths support the proposed interpretation.     

Petrogenesis of lherzolites from the Purang ophiolite,Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone,Tibet: origin and significance of ultra-high pressure and other ‘unusual’ minerals in the Neo-Tethyan lithospheric mantle

ABSTRACT

The Purang ultramafic massif, located in the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) of the Tibetan Plateau, consists mainly of harzburgites and minor lherzolites. The spinel-bearing lherzolites of the NW part of the massif display a granular texture, consisting of large olivine and pyroxene crystals with curvilinear grain boundaries. These lherzolites contain chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) of low Cr# [100 × Cr/(Cr +Al) = 24.7–30.2], enstatite with high Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) = 90.0–91.2] and relatively high Al₂O₃ content (3.3–4.1 wt%), and diopside with high Mg# (90.2–93.3) and Al₂O₃ content (4.6–5.0 wt%). These compositions are analogous to those of spinel and pyroxenes from residual peridotites. However, the Purang lherzolites show U-shaped primitive mantle (PM)-normalized rare earth element (REE)-profiles, which are not consistent with a potential origin as melting residues. The high LREE contents and positive Ti anomalies shown by the investigated lherzolites coupled with the low TiO₂ content of their mineral constituents imply that these rocks possibly stored LREE- and Ti-bearing arc-related melts/fluids in their groundmass.

A mineral assemblage composed of diamond, super-reduced [(SuR) moissanite, native Cr] and crustal-derived minerals (zircon, corundum, rutile), has been separated from the Purang lherzolites. Uranium-Pb geochronological dating of zircons yielded an age range between 1718 and 465 Ma, indicating that they represent ancient crustal material delivered into the upper mantle via previous subduction events. Diamonds and old zircons (± crustal minerals) were carried to shallow mantle levels by asthenospheric magmas produced during a slab rollback-induced decompression melting process. The recovery of SuR minerals is consistent with fluid percolation and crystallization of alteration-related minerals in the lithospheric parts of a (hydrated) mantle wedge, resulting in the formation of highly reduced micro-environments.     

Sc,Cr, Co and Ni partitioning between minerals from spinel peridotite xenoliths

The partitioning of divalent (Co, Ni) and trivalent (Sc, Cr) trace elements between olivine, ortho- and clinopyroxene and spinel from spinel peridotite xenoliths has been investigated. These peridotites cover a wide range in modal composition from dunite to primitive lherzolites and have equilibrated in the upper mantle between >900° C and <1,200° C.The distribution of Co and Ni shows only minor variation through the whole sequence. In contrast, Sc partitioning between ortho- and clinopyroxene and olivine and clinopyroxene as well as Cr partitioning between olivine and clinopyroxene or olivine and orthopyroxene display high but systematic variations which can be assigned to dependences upon equilibration temperatues. Empirical temperature calibrations are given for Sc-orthopyroxene/clinopyroxene, Sc-olivine/clinopyroxene and Cr-olivine/clinopyroxene which, in principle, may permit to estimate equilibration temperatures not only for lherzolites or harzburgites but for orthopyroxene-free peridotites, too.Sc and Ni partition coefficients between spinel and mantle silicate minerals are primarily dependent upon the major element composition of spinel (e.g. Cr and Al) although a temperature dependence can still be identified. Probably such compositional effects are not observed for trace element partitioning between pyroxenes and olivine or ortho- and clinopyroxene only for the reason that in normal spinel peridotites these minerals show much less variation in major element composition than their coexisting spinels.     

Chemical Indicator of Spinel During Partial Melting and Subsolidus Equilibration of Mantle Peridotite:Experimental Study and Application to Natural Rocks

Systematic experimental studies on partial melting and subsolidus equilibration of three reconstituted spinel-peridotites have been carried out at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1380℃ and pressures of 1.0 and 1.5 GPa. The results shows (1) during partial melting, Mg# [=Mg/(Mg+Fe)]and Cr# [=Cr/(Cr-Al)]of spinel increase with an increase in degrees of melting) (2) during subsolidus equilibration, with increasing temperatures, Mg# of spinel increases but Cr# of spinel remains almost unchanged in dunite and increases slightly in Iherzolite and harzburgite. The negative and quasi-linear Mg# -Cr# correlation of spinel represents an isotherm of total non-equilibrium. The same results have been obtained by means of mathematical modelling. It is also proved by Mg# -Cr# correlation of spinel in natural peridotites. As a result of the spinel subsolidus equilibration, only variation of Cr# of spinel is limited, and then Cr# of spinel can be used to estimate the relative degree of melting undergone by host rocks