Chronology, Petrology and Isotope Geochemistry of the Erro-Tobbio Peridotites (Ligurian Alps, Italy): Records of Late Palaeozoic Lithospheric Extension

Mantle peridotites from the Erro–Tobbio (ET) ophioliticunit (Voltri Massif, Ligurian Alps) record a tectono-metamorphicdecompressional evolution, indicated by re-equilibration fromspinel- to plagioclase- to amphibole-facies conditions, andprogressive deformation from granular to tectonite to mylonitefabrics. The peridotites are considered to represent subcontinentallithospheric mantle that was tectonically denuded during riftingand opening of the Jurassic Ligurian Tethys ocean, similar tothe Northern Apennine (External Ligurides) ophiolitic peridotites.We performed chemical and isotopic investigations on selectedgranular and tectonite spinel peridotites and plagioclase tectonitesand mylonites, with the aim of defining the nature of the mantleprotoliths, and to date the onset of exhumation of the ET peridotites.Spinel- and plagioclase-bearing tectonites and mylonites exhibitheterogeneous bulk-rock major and trace element composition,despite rather homogeneous mineral chemistry, thus indicatingthat the ET mantle protoliths record a composite history ofpartial melting and melt migration by reactive porous flow.The lack of correlation between the observed geochemical heterogeneityand the structural type (granular, tectonite, mylonite) indicatesthat the inferred reactive porous flow event preceded the exhumation-relatedlithospheric history of the Erro–Tobbio mantle. The tectono-metamorphicevolution caused systematic chemical changes in minerals: (1)Al decrease in orthopyroxene; (2) Al decrease, and Cr and Tiincrease in spinels; (3) Al and Sr decrease, Cr, Ti, Zr, Sc,V and middle to heavy rare earth element increase and developmentof a negative Eu anomaly in clinopyroxene. The studied sampleshave Nd isotope compositions consistent with a mid-ocean ridgebasalt mantle reservoir. Sm/Nd isotope data on plagioclase andclinopyroxene separates (and corresponding whole rocks) fromtwo plagioclase peridotites, representative of the plagioclase-bearingmylonitic extensional shear zone, have yielded ages of 273 ±16 Ma and 313 ± 16 Ma, for the plagioclase-facies recrystallizationstage, significantly older than the expected Jurassic age. Thisindicates that the Erro–Tobbio peridotites represent subcontinentallithospheric mantle that was tectonically exhumed from spinel-faciesdepths to shallower lithospheric levels during Late Carboniferous–Permiantimes. Our results are consistent with the previously documentedevidence for an extensional regime in the Europe–Adrialithosphere during Late Palaeozoic time, and they representthe first record that extensional mechanisms were also activeat lithospheric mantle levels. KEY WORDS: plagioclase-bearing peridotites; subcontinental lithospheric mantle; mantle exhumation; Sm/Nd dating     

Transformation of Archaean Lithospheric Mantle by Refertilization: Evidence from Exposed Peridotites in the Western Gneiss Region, Norway

Orogenic peridotites occur enclosed in Proterozoic gneissesat several localities in the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) ofwestern Norway; garnet peridotites typically occur as discretezones within larger bodies of garnet-free, chromite-bearingdunite and are commonly closely associated with pyroxenitesand eclogites. The dunites of the large Almklovdalen peridotitebody have extremely depleted compositions (Mg-number 92–93·6);the garnet peridotites have lower Mg-number (90·6–91·7)and higher whole-rock Ca and Al contents. Post-depletion metasomatismof both rock types is indicated by variable enrichment in thelight rare earth elements, Th, Ba and Sr. The dunites can bemodelled as residues after very high degrees (>60%) of meltextraction at high pressure (5–7 GPa), inconsistent withthe preservation of lower degrees of melting in the garnet peridotites.The garnet peridotites are, therefore, interpreted as zonesof melt percolation, which resulted in refertilization of thedunites by a silicate melt rich in Fe, Ca, Al and Na, but notTi. Previous Re–Os dating gives Archaean model ages forthe dunites, but mixed Archaean and Proterozoic ages for thegarnet peridotites, suggesting that refertilization occurredin Proterozoic time. At least some Proterozoic lithosphere mayrepresent reworked and transformed Archaean lithospheric mantle. KEY WORDS: Archaean mantle; Proterozoic mantle; Western Gneiss Region, Norway; mantle metasomatism; garnet peridotite     

H2O in metamorphism and unexpected behaviour in the preservation of metamorphic mineral assemblages

The preservation of mineral assemblages that were fluid‐present during their prograde history is primarily related to the consumption of the fluid by growth of more hydrous minerals as the retrograde history begins. The range of behaviour relating to the preservation of mineral assemblages is examined using calculated phase diagrams for fluid‐saturated conditions, contoured for the H₂O content of the mineral assemblage. At equilibrium, as a mineral assemblage crosses contours of decreasing H₂O content along a pressure–temperature path, it dehydrates, the fluid being lost from the rock. If the assemblage crosses contours of increasing H₂O content, the mineral assemblage starts to rehydrate using any fluid on its grain boundaries. When the rock has consumed its fluid, the resulting mineral assemblage is that preserved in the rock. Conditions relating to the preservation of mineral assemblages are discussed, and examples of the consequences of different pressure–temperature paths on preservation in a metapelitic and a metabasic rock composition are considered on phase diagrams calculated with thermocalc .     

Thermal structure of the Alboran Domain in the Rif (northern Morocco) and the Western Betics (southern Spain). Constraints from Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material

In the Rif (northern Morocco) and the Western Betics (southern Spain), the Alboran Domain forms a complex stack of metamorphic nappes including mantle peridotites (Beni Bousera and Ronda). We present in this paper new temperature data obtained in the Alboran Domain based on Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM thermometry). In the lower metamorphic nappes of the Alboran Domain (lower Sebtides–Alpujárrides) temperature ranges from > 640 °C at the base of the metapelitic sequence to 500 °C at the top. The relationships between field isotherms and nappe structure show that peak temperatures were reached during strong ductile thinning of these nappes whereas they partly postdate this main episode in the Rif. In the upper nappes of the Alboran Domain (Ghomarides–Maláguides), generally supposed to be only weakly metamorphosed, temperatures range from ～500 °C at their base down to < 330 °C at the top. This temperature gradient is consistent with progressive Cenozoic resetting of K–Ar and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages. These nappes were thus affected by a significant thermal metamorphism, and the available age data in the underlying Sebtides–Alpujárrides show that this metamorphism is related to the metamorphic evolution of the whole Alboran Domain during the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene. Such thermal structure and metamorphic evolution can be explained by generalized extension in the whole Alboran Domain crustal sequence. At a larger scale, the present thermal structure of the Alboran Domain is roughly spatially consistent around the Beni Bousera peridotites in the Rif, but much more affected by late brittle tectonics around the Ronda peridotites in the Western Betics. Therefore, on the basis of the observed thermal structure, the metamorphic evolution of the Alboran Domain can be interpreted as the result of the ascent of hot mantle units contemporaneous with thinning of the whole lithosphere during an Oligo‐Miocene extensional event. The resulting structure has however been dismembered by late brittle tectonics in the Western Betics.     

Extreme Nd isotopic variation in the Trinity Ophiolite Complex and the role of melt/rock reactions in the oceanic lithosphere

 Peridotites, dykes and gabbros from the 470–420 Ma Trinity Ophiolite Complex of northern California exhibit large geochemical rare earth element (REE) and Nd isotopic variations on the small scales which are indicative of a complex history. The Trinity Ophiolite, which covers an area of ≈1600 km², consists of three distinct units: (1) a ∼2–4 km-thick sheet of plastically deformed peridotites, including various ultrabasic lithologies (plagioclase and spinel lherzolite, harzburgite, wherlite and dunite); the peridotite unit is a fragment of mantle lithosphere of oceanic affinity; (2) a series of small (∼1 km diameter) undeformed gabbroic massifs; (3) several generations of basic dykes. The peridotites display the largest geochemical and isotopic variations, with ɛ_Nd(T) values ranging from +10 down to 0. In the gabbroic massifs and intrusive dykes, the variation in model ɛ_Nd(T) values is reduced to 7 ɛ_Nd units: 0 to +7. As a general rule, peridotites, gabbros and dykes with ɛ_Nd(T) values around 0 or +3 give less depleted L(light)REE patterns than do those with ɛ_Nd(T) values in the range +7 to +10. In the peridotites, the Nd isotopic variations take place over very short distances, with jumps as large as 7 ɛ_Nd units occurring on scales of less than 20 m. Comparison with available age data indicates that the peridotites with ɛ_Nd(T)≈+10 could be slightly older than the intrusive gabbro massifs and basic dykes (470 Ma vs. 420 Ma). Strontium isotopic data used in connection with Sm-Nd results demonstrate that the 10 ɛ_Nd units variation displayed by the Trinity Peridotite is a primary feature and not an artefact due to REE mobility during seawater interaction. The variable Nd isotopic signatures and variable LREE patterns in the Trinity Peridotite cannot represent mantle source characteristics as there is evidence that this unit was partially melted when it rose as part of the upwelling convecting mantle. Field, petrographic, geochemical and isotopic data rather suggest that the observed heterogeneity is due to local reactions between a 470 Ma proto-peridotite with ɛ_Nd(T)=+10 and younger (420 Ma) basaltic melts with lower ɛ_Nd(T) values (i.e. the gabbroic massifs and the dykes). The gabbros and basic dykes of the Trinity Complex have geochemical and isotopic compositions similar to the arc basalts from the adjacent Copley Formation, so it is proposed that the younger melts are related to arc magmatism. Received: 13 January 1995/Accepted 5 May 1995     

An early Palaeozoic supra-subduction lithosphere in the Variscides: new evidence from the Maures massif

Petrographic and geochemical studies of peridotites and melagabbros from the Maures massif (SE France) provide new constraints on the Early Palaeozoic evolution of the continental lithosphere in Western Europe. Peridotites occur as lenses along a unit rooted in the main Variscan suture zone. They are dominantly spinel peridotites and minor garnet–spinel peridotites. Spinel peridotites represent both residual mantle and ultramafic cumulates. Mantle-related dunites and harzburgites display high temperature textures, with olivine (Mg#_0.90), orthopyroxene (Mg#_0.90) and spinel (TiO₂ < 0.2%; Cr#_0.64–0.83) compositions typical of fore-arc upper mantle. Ultramafic cumulates are dunite adcumulates, harzburgite heteradcumulates and mesocumulates, melagabbro heteradcumulates and amphibole peridotites, with olivine (Mg#_0.85–0.89), orthopyroxene (Mg#_0.86–0.89) and Cr-spinel (TiO₂ = 0.5–3.3%; Cr#_0.7–0.98) compositions typical of ultramafic cumulates. Cr-spinel compositions of both spinel peridotite types suggest their genesis in a supra-subduction zone lithosphere. Core to rim zoning in spinel is related to the incomplete influence of regional metamorphism and serpentinisation. The covariation of major and minor elements with Al₂O₃ for cumulates is consistent with igneous processes involving crystal accumulation. Both mantle and cumulate dunites and harzburgites have U-shaped REE patterns and extremely low trace element contents, similar to peridotites from modern fore-arc peridotites (South Atlantic) and from ophiolites related to supra-subduction zones (Semail, Cyclops, Pindos, Troodos). Melagabbros also have U-shaped REE patterns similar to xenoliths from the Philippine island arc, but also similar to intrusive ultramafic cumulates from the Semail nappe of Oman related to a proto-subduction setting. A wehrlite has a REE pattern similar to that of amphibole peridotites reflecting metasomatism of clinopyroxene-bearing peridotites due to subduction-related fluids. The Maures spinel peridotites and melagabbros are therefore interpreted as the lowermost parts of a crustal sequence and minor residual mantle of lithosphere generated in a supra-subduction zone during Early Palaeozoic time. Garnet–spinel peridotites are chemically close to melagabbros, but have recorded high pressure metamorphism before their retrogression similar to spinel peridotites into amphibolites to greenschists facies metamorphism. They indicate burial to mantle depths of the margin of the supra-subduction lithosphere during the Early Palaeozoic continental subduction. Both peridotite types were exhumed during the Upper Palaeozoic continental collision. Comparable observations from other Variscan-related peridotites, in particular of the Speik complex of the Autroalpine basement, and a common age for the subduction stage allow extension of these regional conclusions to a broad area sharing the Cambrian suture zone, extending from the Ossa-Morena to the Bohemian massif.     

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

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

Trace element and isotope geochemistry of depleted peridotites from an N-MORB type ophiolite (Internal Liguride,N. Italy)

 Mantle peridotites of the Internal Liguride (IL) units (Northern Apennines) constitute a rare example of the depleted lithosphere of the Jurassic Ligurian Tethys. Detailed chemical (ICP-MS and SIMS techniques) and isotopic investigations on very fresh samples have been performed with the major aim to constrain the timing and mechanism of their evolution and to furnish new data for the geodynamic interpretation. The data are also useful to discuss some general geochemical aspects of oceanic-type mantle. The studied samples consist of clinopyroxene-poor spinel lherzolites, showing incipient re-equilibration in the plagioclase-facies stability field. The spinel-facies assemblage records high (asthenospheric) equilibration temperatures (1150–1250° C). Whole rocks, and constituent clinopyroxenes, show a decoupling between severe depletion in highly incompatible elements [light rare earth elements (LREE), Sr, Zr, Na, Ti] and less pronounced depletion in moderate incompatible elements (Ca, Al, Sc, V). Bulk rocks also display a relatively strong M(middle)REE/H(heavy)REE fractionation. These compositional features indicate low-degree (<10%) fractional melting, which presumably started in the garnet stability field, as the most suitable depletion mechanism. In this respect, the IL ultramafics show strong similarity to abyssal peridotites. The Sr and Nd isotopic compositions, determined on carefully handpicked clinopyroxene separates, indicate an extremely depleted signature (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.702203–0.702285; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.513619–0.513775). The Sm/Nd model ages suggest that the IL peridotites melted most likely during Permian times. They could record, therefore, the early upwelling and melting of mid ocean ridge basalt (MORB) type asthenosphere, in response to the onset of extensional mechanisms which led to the opening of the Western Tethys. They subsequently cooled and experienced a composite subsolidus evolution testified by multiple episodes of gabbroic intrusions and HT-LP retrograde metamorphic re-equilibration, prior to their emplacement on the sea floor. The trace element chemistry of IL peridotites also provides useful information about the composition of oceanic-type mantle. The most important feature concerns the occurrence of Sr and Zr negative anomalies (relative to “adjacent” REE) in both clinopyroxenes and bulk rocks. We suggest that such anomalies reflect changes in the relative magnitude of Sr, Zr and REE partition coefficients, depending on the specific melting conditions. Received: 15 February 1995/Accepted: 4 August 1995     

Geochemical syntheses among the cratonic,off-cratonic and orogenic garnet peridotites and their tectonic implications

Garnet-bearing mantle peridotites, occurring as either xenoliths in volcanic rocks or lenses/massifs in high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure terrenes within orogens, preserve a record of deep lithospheric mantle processes. The garnet peridotite xenoliths record chemical equilibrium conditions of garnet-bearing mineral assemblage at temperatures (T) ranging from ~700 to 1,400°C and pressures (P) > 1.6–8.9 GPa, corresponding to depths of ~52–270 km. A characteristic mineral paragenesis includes Cr-bearing pyropic garnet (64–86 mol% pyrope; 0–10 wt% Cr₂O₃), Cr-rich diopside (0.5–3.5 wt% Cr₂O₃), Al-poor orthopyroxene (0–5 wt% Al₂O₃), high-Cr spinel (Cr/(Cr + Al) × 100 atomic ratio = 2–86) and olivine (88–94 mol% forsterite). In some cases, partial melting, re-equilibration involving garnet-breakdown, deformation, and mantle metasomatism by kimberlitic and/or carbonatitic melt percolations are documented. Isotope model ages of Archean and Proterozoic are ubiquitous, but Phanerozoic model ages are less common. In contrast, the orogenic peridotites were subjected to ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism at temperature ranging from ~700 to 950°C and pressure >3.5–5.0 GPa, corresponding to depths of >110–150 km. The petrologic comparisons between 231 garnet peridotite xenoliths and 198 orogenic garnet peridotites revealed that (1) bulk-rock REE (rare earth element) concentrations in xenoliths are relatively high, (2) clinopyroxene and garnet in orogenic garnet peridotites show a highly fractionated REE pattern and Ce-negative anomaly, respectively, (3) Fo contents of olivines for off-cratonic xenolith are in turn lower than those of orogenic garnet and cratonic xenolith but mg-number of garnet for orogenic is less than that of off-cratonic and on-cratonic xenolith, (4) Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃, CaO and Cr# of pyroxenes and chemical compositions of whole rocks are very different between these garnet peridotites, (5) orogenic garnet peridotites are characterized by low T and high P, off-cratonic by high T and low P, and cratonic by medium T and high P and (6) garnet peridotite xenoliths are of Archean or Proterozoic origin, whereas most of orogenic garnet peridotites are of Phanerozoic origin. Taking account of tectonic settings, a new orogenic garnet peridotite exhumation model, crust-mantle material mixing process, is proposed. The composition of lithospheric mantle is additionally constrained by comparisons and compiling of the off-cratonic, on-cratonic and orogenic garnet peridotite.     

Equilibration History of the Basel Alpine-Type Peridotite, Red Mountain, New Zealand

The Red Mountain alpine peridotie forms the basal, dominantlyharzburgitic tectonite portion of an ophiolite suite in SouthIsland, New Zealand. Olivine and pyroxene Mg/Fe compositionsare constant for individual lithologies, but generally increasethrough the series harzburgite, orthopyroxenite, harzburgiticdunite, dunite. An olivine-clinopyroxene dominated transitionalperidotite along the western margin of the mass has more Fe-richsilicates than in the harzburgitic suite. Fe-Mg silicate-spinelrelationships and the distribution of Al between coexistingpyroxene and spinel indicate nearly complete post-layering equilibration.A partial re-equilibration is suggested by narrow compositionalrims on pyroxenes and spinel. Relative to the mineral cores,the rims show enhanced partitioning of Al into spinel relativeto pyroxene. The Fe-Mg relationships between silicates and spinel,and the compositional variations from cores to rims of pyroxenesand spinels indicate that the rims formed at lower temperaturesthan the mineral cores. This conclusion is supported by theapplication of several geothermometers, which give average temperaturesof equilibration and partial re-equilibration of 1000–1070?C and 920–1030 ?C, respectively. Pyroxene overgrowthson olivine probably represent pre-equilibration cooling phenomena.Equilibration pressures cannot be estimated with precision becauseRed Mountain pyroxenes have Al contents that vary as a functionof whole-rock Al₂O₃, and other compositional variables, as wellas of T and P of equilibration. The lack of plagioclase in theharzburgite tectonites, and the wide range of (Al/Cr)_spinelindicate equilibration at fairly high pressures, probably atdepths within the 25–80 km range. The transitional peridotiteprobably formed by re-equilibration of residual crystals withbasaltic melt at shallower (<25 km) depths, and is evidencesupporting the conclusion that the ultramafic and mafic partsof the ophiolite suite at Red Mountain represent complementaryparts of the same melting event.     

Crust-mantle relationships in the French Variscan chain: the example of the Southern Monts du Lyonnais unit (eastern French Massif Central)

Garnet lherzolite from the Lyonnais area (eastern French Massif Central) occurs as several lenses elongated within the regional foliation of garnet-biotite-sillimanite gneisses. Within the peridotites a mylonitic foliation can be observed which clearly is oblique to the regional foliation of the surrounding gneisses. Petrological and thermobarometric studies emphasize a tectonometamorphic re-equilibration for both crustal and mantle rocks characterized by a prograde metamorphic stage followed by retrograde evolution. During the burial stage, interpreted as lithospheric subduction, the peridotites underwent their mylonitic deformation, under high-pressure conditions (23–30 kbar). In contrast, the paragneisses have suffered their deformation during the retromorphic evolution under mesozonal conditions (6–8 kbar, 700°C). Our thermobarometric investigations allow us to interpret the granulitic/ultramafic association from the Monts du Lyonnais area as a lithospheric section buried into a Palaeozoic subduction zone, laminated during continental collision and uplifted by erosion processes.     

Re-equilibration of melt inclusions trapped by magnesian olivine phenocrysts from subduction-related magmas: petrological implications

We describe and model a potential re-equilibration process that can affect compositions of melt inclusions in magnesian olivine phenocrysts. This process, referred to as “Fe-loss”, can operate during natural pre-eruptive cooling of host magma and results in lower FeO^t and higher MgO contents within the initially trapped volume of inclusion. The extent of Fe-loss is enhanced by large temperature intervals of magma cooling before eruption. The compositions of homogenised melt inclusions in olivine phenocrysts from several subduction-related suites demonstrate that (1) Fe-loss is a common process, (2) the maximum observed degree of re-equilibration varies between suites, and (3) within a single sample, variable degrees of re-equilibration can be recorded by melt inclusions trapped in olivine phenocrysts of identical composition. Our modelling also demonstrates that the re-equilibration process is fast going to completion, in the largest inclusions in the most magnesian phenocrysts it is completed within 2 years. The results we obtained indicate that the possibility of Fe-loss must be considered when estimating compositions of parental subduction-related magmas from naturally quenched glassy melt inclusions in magnesian olivine phenocrysts. Compositions calculated from glassy inclusions affected by Fe-loss will inherit not only erroneously low FeO^t contents, but also low MgO due to the inherited higher Mg##of the residual melt in re-equilibrated inclusions. We also demonstrate that due to the higher MgO contents of homogenised melt inclusions affected by Fe-loss, homogenisation temperatures achieved in heating experiments will be higher than original trapping temperatures. The extent of overheating will increase depending on the degree of re-equilibration, and can reach up to 50 °C in cases where complete re-equilibration occurs over a cooling interval of 200 °C. Received: 2 November 1998 / Accepted: 27 September 1999     

Petrological constraints on the cooling history of high-temperature garnet peridotite massifs in lower Austria

High-temperature peridotite massifs occur as lensoid bodies with high-pressure granulites in the southern Bohemian massif. In lower Austria the peridotites comprise garnet lherzolites lacking primary spinel, rare garnet and garnet-spinel harzburgites, and harzburgites containing Cr-rich primary spinel instead of garnet. These phase assemblages suggest initial high-pressure equilibration and are consistent with results from garnet-orthopyroxene geobarometry indicating equilibration at around 3–3.5 GPa. Maximum temperature estimates obtained on core compositions of coexisting minerals from the peridotites are not higher than ca. 1100 °C. In contrast, pyroxene megacryst compositions, garnet exsolution textures in the garnet pyroxenites, and results from geothermometry indicate much higher original equilibration temperatures in most of the pyroxenites (up to 1400 °C). High temperatures, modal zoning, the occasional presence of Mg-rich garnetites and chemical evidence suggest that the pyroxenites are cumulates which crystallized from low-degree melts derived from the sub-lithospheric mantle. Isothermal interpolation of the high temperatures to an upper mantle adiabat suggests that the melts were derived from a minimum depth of 180–200 km. The formation of small garnet II grains and garnet exsolution lamellae in the pyroxenites and pyroxene megacrysts may reflect isobaric cooling of the cumulates from temperatures above 1400 °C to ca. 1100–1200 °C (at 3–3.5 GPa) to approach the ambient lithospheric isotherm. This model differs from other models in which the formation of garnet II was explained by an increase in pressure during cooling in a subduction zone. Isobaric cooling was followed by near-isothermal decompression from 3–3.5 GPa to 1.5–2 GPa at 1000–1200 °C, as indicated by the increase of Al in pyroxenes near garnet. Further cooling in the spinel lherzolite stability field is indicated by spinel exsolution lamellae in pyroxenes from lherzolites. The formation of symplectites and kelyphites indicate sub-millimetre scale re-equilibration during exhumation in the course of the Carboniferous collision in the Bohemian massif. The peridotite massifs represent fragments of normal (non-cratonic) lithospheric mantle from a Paleozoic convergent plate margin. Received: 22 July 1996 / Accepted 28 February 1997     

Petrogenesis of highly depleted peridotites and gabbroic rocks from the Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt (eastern Cuba)

The Moa-Baracoa and Mayarí-Cristal massifs (eastern Cuba) are two ophiolitic complexes mainly constituted by harzburgite tectonites and minor dunites, cut by gabbroic dykes. The Moa-Baracoa massif exhibits a well developed Moho transition zone and an incomplete crustal section made up of layered gabbros and tectonically emplaced pillow basalts. A plutonic crustal section is absent in the Mayarí-Cristal massif and mantle tectonites are in tectonic contact with arc-related volcanic rocks. Mantle peridotites are very refractory in terms of modal composition, whole rock major element and HREE contents implying that Moa-Baracoa and Mayarí-Cristal harzburgites are residues after high degrees (20–30%) of partial melting. The relative enrichment of Th, Nb, Ta and LREE in peridotites is due to re-equilibration of melting residues with percolating melts. Peridotites lost on average 6 wt% of relative MgO by intense seafloor weathering. REE contents and Mg# of melts in equilibrium with cumulate gabbros from the Moho transition zone and crustal section of the Moa-Baracoa massif coincide with those of the spatially-related pillow basalts. On the other hand, no geochemical relation has been inferred between melt in equilibrium with Mayarí-Cristal segregate and the spatially-related arc volcanics. Our results indicate that the Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt formed at an original back-arc spreading centre. The Moa-Baracoa massif represents a portion of MORB-like lithosphere located nearby a back-arc mid-ocean spreading ridge, and the Mayarí-Cristal massif represents a piece of transitional (MORB to IAT) mantle located closer to the paleo-volcanic arc than Moa-Baracoa.     

Relics of eclogite facies assemblages in the Ceará Central Domain, NW Borborema Province, NE Brazil: Implications for the assembly of West Gondwana

The Borborema Province, in the NE of Brazil, is a rather complex piece in the Brazil–Africa puzzle as it represents the junction of the Dahomeyide/Pharusian, Central African, Araçuai and Brasilia fold belts located between the West-African/São Luis, Congo/São Francisco and Amazonas craton. The correlation between the Dahomeyides from W-Africa (Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Mali) and the Borborema Province involves the Médio Coreaú and Central Ceará domains. The inferred continuation of the main oceanic suture zone exposed in the Dahomeyides of W Africa is buried beneath the Phanerozoic Parnaíba Basin in Brazil (northwest of the Médio Coreaú domain) where some high density gravity anomalies may represent hidden remnants of an oceanic suture. In addition to this major suture a narrow, nearly continuous strip composed of mainly mafic pods containing relics of eclogite-facies assemblages associated with partially migmatized granulite-facies metapelitic gneisses has been found further east in the NW Borborema Province. These high pressure mafic rocks, interpreted as retrograded eclogites, are located between the Transbrasiliano Lineament and the Santa Quitéria continental arc and comprise primitive to evolved arc-related rocks with either arc- or MORB-type imprints that can indicate either deep subduction of oceanic lithosphere or roots of continental and oceanic magmatic arcs. Average peak P–T conditions under eclogite-facies metamorphism (T = 770 °C and P = 17.3 kbar) were estimated using garnet–clinopyroxene thermometry and Jd content in clinopyroxene. Transition to granulite-facies conditions, as well as later widespread re-equilibration under amphibolite facies, were registered both in the basic and the metapelitic rocks and suggest a clockwise P–T path characterized by an increase in temperature followed by strong decompression. A phenomenon possibly related to the exhumation of a highly thickened crust associated with the suturing of the Médio Coreaú and Central Ceará domains, two distinct crustal blocks separated by the Transbrasiliano Lineament.     

Melt- versus fluid-induced metasomatism in spinel to garnet wedge peridotites (Ulten Zone, Eastern Italian Alps): clues from trace element and Li abundances

The peridotite bodies of the Ulten Zone (Upper Austroalpine, Italian Eastern Alps) are enclosed in Variscan migmatites and derive from a mantle wedge environment. They display the progressive transformation of porphyroclastic spinel peridotites (T=1,200°C; P=1.5 GPa) into fine-grained garnet–amphibole peridotites (T=850°C; P=3 GPa). Detailed bulk-rock and mineral trace element analyses of a sample suite documenting the entire metamorphic evolution of the peridotites revealed several stages of metasomatism. The spinel peridotites derive from a depleted mantle that became enriched in some large ion lithophile element (LILE) and light rare earth elements (LREE). The same signature pertains to clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene, indicating that this metasomatic signature was acquired at the recorded temperature of 1,200°C. Such a temperature is considerably above the wet peridotite solidus and hence the metasomatic agent must have been a hydrous melt. Moreover, the Li-enrichment of the spinel-facies pyroxenes (up to 24 ppm Li) reflects disequilibrium distribution after exchange with a presumably mafic melt. ^cpx/opx D _Li=3–7 and ^cpx/ol D _Li=2.7–8 indicate that the spinel-facies clinopyroxene hosts higher Li amounts than the coexisting minerals. LREE fractionation, variable LREE enrichment, LILE enrichment with respect to HFSE (average clinopyroxene Pb _N /Nb _N =16–90) in spinel lherzolites can be related to chromatographic effects of porous melt flow. The significant enrichment of pyroxenes from the spinel lherzolites in Pb, U and Li indicates that the metasomatic melt was subduction-related. All these features suggest that the spinel lherzolites formed a mantle wedge layer percolated by melts carrying recycled crustal components and rising from a deeper source of subduction magmas. The garnet + amphibole peridotites equilibrated at temperatures well below the wet solidus in the presence of an aqueous fluid. Bulk-rock trace element patterns display pronounced positive anomalies in Cs, Ba, Pb and U and moderate enrichment in Li, indicating addition of a crustal component to the mantle rocks. Amphibole hosts most of these trace elements. Clinopyroxene displays high LILE/HFSE (Pb _N /Nb _N =300–600), low Ce/Pb (1.4–2.7 in garnet-facies clinopyroxene compared with 2.6–24.5 in the spinel-facies one) and variable LILE and LREE enrichments. The coupled increase of modal amphibole, Sr and Pb, together with positive Pb–Sr and Pb–U correlations, further indicate that incompatible element influx in these samples was fluid-mediated. In the garnet-facies samples, amphibole and, interestingly, olivine have similarly high Li concentrations as clinopyroxene, leading to ^cpx/amph D _Li=0.7 and ^cpx/ol D _Li=0.7–0.8, the latter being up to ten times lower than in the spinel-facies rocks. Due to its high modal abundance, olivine is the main host of Li in the garnet–amphibole peridotites. The observed metasomatic features provide evidence for the infiltration of an aqueous fluid in the mantle wedge above a subducting slab. This fluid most likely derived from subducted crustal rocks that underwent partial melting. Successive retrograde re-equilibration during exhumation of the garnet peridotite is accompanied by garnet and clinopyroxene breakdown and amphibole formation. This process produced minor changes, such as an increase of HREE and Li in amphibole, and an increase of Li in olivine. The general trace element signature remains essentially unchanged during retrogression and further hydration, indicating that fluids with a similar composition to the one present at the garnet–amphibole peridotite formation, were responsible for increased amphibole formation. The combined evidence from the metamorphic and metasomatic evolution indicates that the peridotites experienced first corner flow in a mantle wedge, followed by subduction and finally entrapment and exhumation within a crustal slab. During their entire history the Ulten peridotites were percolated first by melts and then by aqueous fluids, which added recycled crustal components to the mantle wedge.     

Trace element geochemistry of primary mantle minerals in spinel‐peridotites from polygenetic MOR–SSZ suites of SW Turkey: constraints from an LA‐ICP‐MS study and implications for mantle metasomatism

Ophiolites exposed across the western Tauride Belt in SW Turkey represent tectonically emplaced fragments of oceanic lithosphere incorporated into continental margin following the closure of the Neotethys Ocean during the Late Cretaceous. The mantle sections of the ophiolites contain peridotites with diverse suites of geochemical signatures indicative of residual origin by melt depletion in both mid‐ocean ridge (MOR) and supra‐subduction zone (SSZ) settings. This study uses a laser‐ablation inductively‐coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) for in situ measurements of trace elements in primary mantle phases in order to identify the upper mantle petrogenetic processes effective during variable stage of melt extraction in these discrete tectonic settings and to discriminate between the effects of reaction with chemically distinct mantle melts migrating through the solid residues. Trace element signatures in pyroxenes suggest small‐length scales of compositional variations which may be interpreted to be a result of post‐melting petrogenetic processes. Relative distribution of rare earth elements and Li between coexisting orthopyroxene‐clinopyroxene pairs in the peridotites suggests compositional disequilibrium in sub‐solidus conditions, which possibly reflects differential effects of diffusive exchange during melting and melt transport or interaction with subduction melts/fluids. On the basis of Ga abundances and Ga–Ti–Fe⁺³# [Fe⁺³/(Fe⁺³ + Cr + Al)] relationships of chrome‐spinels it is documented that the peridotites have experienced the combined effects of partial melting and variable extent of melt‐solid interaction. The MOR peridotites have spinels with geochemical signatures indicative of melt‐depleted residual origin with subsequent incompatible element enrichment through melt impregnation, while the Ga–Ti–Fe⁺³# relationships of chrome‐spinels in SSZ peridotites indicate that these highly depleted peridotites are not simple melt residues, but have been subject to significant compositional modification by interaction with subduction related melts/fluids. The observed compositional variations, which are related to long‐term tectonic reorganisation of oceanic lithosphere, provide evidence for a time integrated evolution from a mid‐ocean ridge to a supra‐subduction zone setting and may be a possible analogue to explain the coexistence of geochemically diverse MOR–SSZ suites in other Tethyan ophiolites. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Petrogenesis of base metal sulphide assemblages of some peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton (South Africa)

Thirty-two peridotite xenoliths from kimberlitic pipes of the Kaapvaal craton were analysed for S and studied in reflected light microscopy and electron microprobe. Correlation between whole-rock S concentrations and sulphide modal abundances has been obscured by kimberlite-related sulphur within the mantle and by low-temperature contamination processes during emplacement. Mantle-derived base metal sulphides (BMS) occur as solitary inclusions (SI) and intergranular blebs. Unfractured SI encloses intergrowths of Ni-poor and Ni-rich monosulphide solid solution (Mss) phases, coexisting with pentlandite (Pn) and Cu-rich sulphides. Textural relationships between Mss phases and Cu-sulphides are consistent with fractional crystallization of Mss from a Cu–Fe–Ni sulphide melt. Pn-rich euhedral SI may have crystallized from a more metal-rich sulphide melt. However, the opaque mineral assemblages of both fractured sulphide inclusions and intergranular BMS point to a progressive desulphurization of Mss, yielding Pn-rich grains, often replaced by Fe-poor heazlewoodite and abundant magnetite, while Cu-sulphides are replaced by native copper. This trend is consistent with reducing conditions generated by low-temperature serpentinization. A residual origin cannot be ruled out for the Mss enclosed in the most refractory peridotites, although their Ni/Fe ratios are too low to be consistent with an equilibration with olivine at magmatic temperatures. Modal abundances of mantle-derived BMS increase in the Fe-enriched metasomatized peridotites. At least two BMS precipitation processes can be recognized: (1) precipitation of Fe–Cu-rich immiscible sulphide melts in phlogopite-(ilmenite–rutile) peridotites and (2) sulphidation reactions from an H₂S-rich fluid phase in phlogopite-K richterite peridotites.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Origin of the recrystallisation front in the Ronda peridotite by km-scale pervasive porous melt flow

 It is well established that porous melt flow in the upper mantle may significantly affect partial mantle melt compositions. Less well established are the length-scale of porous flow and whether porous melt flow can be a volumetrically important magmatic process. The only source for observations concerning the length-scale and nature of pervasive porous melt flow are peridotite massifs. Here we present such observations in the form of structural, and major and trace element data from peridotites of the Ronda massif, southern Spain. Trace element concentrations were obtained with high analytical precision (ICP-MS) and include trace elements rarely analysed in peridotites, such as Rb, Th, Nb and Ta. The western portion of the Ronda massif can be divided into two structural facies. The first and oldest is composed of deformed, porphyroclastic spinel peridotites, the second of virtually undeformed granular spinel peridotites. They are separated by a recrystallisation front across which grain growth of all phases occurred. The granular domain can be further subdivided into three subfacies: coarse-granular, fine-granular, and layered-granular peridotites. According to structural facies, km-scale spatial variations unrelated to Ca and Al abundances have been recognised for mg-numbers [atomic Mg/(Mg±Fe)] and incompatible elements such as rare earth elements (REE), Th and high-field-strength elements (HFSE; including Ti). Such variations are reminiscent of those commonly ascribed to mantle metasomatism, but have never been documented on the km-scale. The origin of the recrystallisation front is related to km-scale pervasive melt percolation. Feed-back processes between grain growth and melt fraction could have led to important accumulation of melt at the recrystallisation front, accomplished mainly by melting/dissolution. Variation in melt fraction across the front explains the spatial variation in the degree of recrystallisation, mg-numbers, REE fractionation, and HFSE abundances, and could account for many of the classical differences between basalts from convergent and extensional tectonic settings. Whereas the coarse-granular peridotites reflect a stage of steady-state pervasive porous melt flow, the fine- and layered-granular facies probably reflect the terminate stages of porous melt flow. Processes associated with both domains are pyroxene-forming freezing reactions at decreasing melt volumes, and progressive channelling of melt flow associated with olivine-producing reactions. Both processes show complex overprinting relationships in both time and space. Received: 10 January 1995/Accepted: 1 September 1995     

Subsolidus reactions monitored by trace element partitioning: the spinel- to plagioclase-facies transition in mantle peridotites

Mantle peridotites of the External Liguride (EL) Units (Northern Apennines) mainly consist of fertile spinel-lherzolites partially recrystallized to plagioclase-facies assemblages, and are consequently appropriate to investigate the interphase element partitioning related to the transition from spinel- to plagioclase-facies stability field. Evidence for the development of the plagioclase-facies assemblage is mainly given by: (1) large exsolution lamellae of orthopyroxene and plagioclase within spinel-facies clinopyroxene; (2) plagioclase rims around spinel; (3) granoblastic domains made up of olivine+plagioclase±clino-and orthopyroxene. In situ major and trace [REE (rare-earth elements), Ti, Sc, V, Cr, Sr, Y, Zr and Ba] element mineral analyses have been performed, by electron and ion probe, on selected samples which show the progressive development of the plagioclase-bearing assemblage. The main compositional variations observed during the change from spinel- to plagioclase-facies minerals are as follows: (1) clinopyroxenes decrease in Al, Na, Sr, Eu/Eu^* and increase in Y, V, Sc, Cr, Zr and Ti; (2) amphiboles decrease in Eu/Eu^*, Sr, Ba and increase in Zr and V; (3) spinels decrease in Al and increase in Cr and Ti. The most striking feature is the decoupling in the behaviour of similarly incompatible elements (D about 0.1) in clinopyroxene, e.g. Sr decrease is mirrored by Zr increase. Massbalance calculations indicate that the trace element interphase redistribution documented in the EL peridotites occurred in a closed system and in response to the metamorphic reaction governing the transition from the spinel- to the plagioclase-facies stability field. The observed element partitioning reveals, moreover, that subsolidus re-equilibration processes in the upper mantle produce HFSE (high-field-strength element)/REE fractionation in minerals, which must be evaluated for a reliable determination of mineral-melt distribution coefficients. The results of this study furnish evidence for subsolidus metamorphic evolution during decompression, without concomitant partial melting processes. This is consistent with the interpretation that the EL peridotites represent subcontinental lithospheric mantle emplaced at the surface in response to lithospheric thinning and tectonic denudation mechanisms related to the Triassic-Jurassic rifting of the Ligure-Piedmontese basin.