A petrogenetic study of the garnet pyroxenite enclaves in spinel peridotite,North Dabieshan,China

Recently, garnet pyroxenite enclaves within peridotites occurring near Raobazhai, Huoshan County, have been discovered. The garnet pyroxenite is small pods, decimeters in size, enclosed within intensively serpentinized peridotites. Major mineral components comprise: garnet (Prp_25–35), sodium augite (Jd_10–25) with a small amount of ilmenite. There are two stages of retrometamorphism: the retrogressive granulite facies mineral assemblage is superimposed by that of amphibolite facies. The host rocks of the garnet pyroxenite are spinel peridotites, including spinel harzburgite and lherzolite. Due to intensive serpentinitization, only 5%–40% of the relic olivine (Fo_92–93) are preserved. The orthopyroxenes are Mg-rich (En_87–93) with bending of cleavages and granulation at their margins showing intracrystalline plasticity. On the basis of garnet-clinopyroxene Fe?Mg exchange equilibrium geothermometry proposed by Ellis & Green (1979) and Krogh (1988)K _D=4.06–5.28;T=793–919°C,P=1.5 GPa are estimated for the garnet pyroxenite. It is inferred that the peridotites are mantle rocks about 60 km in depth. During the exhumation of the orogenic belt, it was tectonically emplaced into the lower crust in the solid state and then uplifted to the shallow depth. Obviously, this kind of garnet pyroxenite must be petrogenetically related to its host rock. The REE distribution pattern and the Ni?Co?Sc diagram reveal that they are chemically equivalent to the basaltic melt and ultramafic residua respectively derived from partial melting of mantle rocks.     

Enriched,HIMU-type peridotite and depleted recycled pyroxenite in the Canary plume: A mixed-up mantle

The Earth's mantle is chemically and isotopically heterogeneous, and a component of recycled oceanic crust is generally suspected in the convecting mantle [Hofmann and White, 1982. Mantle plumes from ancient oceanic crust. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 57, 421–436]. Indeed, the HIMU component (high µ = ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb), one of four isotopically distinct end-members in the Earth's mantle, is generally attributed to relatively old (≥ 1–2 Ga) recycled oceanic crust in the form of eclogite/pyroxenite, e.g. [Zindler and Hart, 1986. Chemical geodynamics. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 14, 493–571]. Although the presence of the recycled component is generally supported by element and isotopic data, little is known about its physical state at mantle depths. Here we show that the concentrations of Ni, Mn and Ca in olivine from the Canarian shield stage lavas, which can be used to assess the physical nature of the source material (peridotite versus olivine-free pyroxenite) [Sobolev et al., 2007. The amount of recycled crust in sources of mantle-derived melts. Science 316, 412–417], correlate strongly with bulk rock Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios. The most important result following from our data is that the enriched, HIMU-type (having higher ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb than generally found in the other mantle end-members) signature of the Canarian hotspot magmas was not caused by a pyroxenite/eclogite constituent of the plume but appears to have been primarily hosted by peridotite. This implies that the old (older than ~ 1 Ga) ocean crust, which has more evolved radiogenic isotope compositions, was stirred into/reacted with the mantle so that there is not significant eclogite left, whereas younger recycled oceanic crust with depleted MORB isotopic signature (< 1 Ga) can be preserved as eclogite, which when melted can generate reaction pyroxenite.     

Effects of melt percolation on the Re-Os systematics of continental mantle lithosphere: A case study of spinel peridotite xenoliths from Heilongjiang,NE China

Os isotope ratios of mantle peridotites have been considered to be largely immune to recent melt-rock interaction. However, Os isotope ratios and PGE (Platinum group elements) concentrations of the Yong’an xenoliths have been significantly modified by melt percolation, and are not suitable for determining the formation age of lithosphere mantle in Yong’an. In this study, the Yong’an spinel peridotite xenoliths are divided into two groups: N-Type and E-Type. The N-Type group including cpx (clinopyroxene)-poor lherzolite and harzburgite, shows a large variation of Cr#(sp) (13.2-48) and sulfur contents (from 171 ppm to below detection limit), whereas the E-Type peridotites are mainly refractory harzburgites and are characterized by high Cr#(sp) (35.3-42.2) and overall low sulfur contents (below 51 ppm). Both types show similar major and REE (rare earth element) patterns. Furthermore, the N-Type peridotites display a restricted range of iridium-group PGE (IPGE), Os/Ir and Ru/Ir ratios (Os/Ir = 0.64-1.12, Ru/Ir = 1.52-1.79) and variable palladium-group PGE (PPGE) contents (3.4-14.9 ppb), whereas the E-Type peridotites show a large variation of Os/Ir and Ru/Ir ratios (Os/Ir = 0.33-0.84, Ru/Ir = 0.94-1.6), and a restricted range of PPGE (4.3-6.9 ppb). 187Os/188Os ratios of E-Type peridotites are higher than those of N-Type peridotites at comparable fertility levels. These results suggest that N-Type peridotites may have been overprinted by metasomatism via small melt fractions, in which the percolation of the volatile-rich, small melt fractions only resulted in LILE (large ion lithophile element) enrichment of clinopyroxene, and their whole rock PGE contents and Re-Os isotope values were little changed. Moreover, E-Type peridotites may have been modified by melt-rock reaction involving relatively large melt fractions, which may result in the formation of secondary cpx and olivine and the removal of IPGE-bearing minerals such as Ru-Os-(Ir) alloys or laurite, followed by precipitation of secondary sulfides from melt with radiogenic isotopic signature.     

Chromian spinel lamellae in olivine from the Iwanai-dake peridotite mass,Hokkaido, Japan

Lamellar inclusions of chromian spinel (Cr/Cr + Al> 0.7), clinopyroxene and chromian spinel-clinopyroxene symplectite occur in olivines from alpine-type peridotites which have equilibrated at relatively low temperature (<700°C). They occur most commonly in dunite with very magnesian olivine (Fo₉₃ to Fo₉₅) and discrete grains of Cr-rich spinel. Olivine which initially equilibrated with magnesian and Cr-rich liquid had contained small amounts of calcium and trivalent chromium in the octahedral site, and lamellar chromian spinel and diopsidic clinopyroxene exsolved during the annealing process. The ordinary depletion of chromium or absence of chromian spinel lamellae in olivines in igneous rocks may be partly due to the effective exclusion of chromium from olivine upon cooling.     

Electrical conductivity of a spinel lherzolite and a garnet peridotite to 1550°C: relevance to the effects of partial melting

Electrical conductivity σ of two ultramafic rocks (a spinel lherzolite and a garnet peridotite) has been investigated to melting temperature at 1 bar under known oxygen fugacity environment. The electrical conductivity of the two rocks is found to increase with degree of partial melting and an ～ 15% melt fraction is necessary for the electrical conductivity to increase by ～ 1 order of magnitude. For a given melt fraction electrical conductivity of a spinel lherzolite is lower than that of a garnet peridotite and may be attributed to the differences in the composition of the melts formed.     

Textural, isotopic and REE variations in spinel peridotite xenoliths, Massif Central, France

Sr and Nd isotope analyses and REE patterns are presented for a suite of well-documented mantle-derived xenoliths from the French Massif Central. The xenoliths include spinel harzburgites, spinel lherzolites and some pyroxenites. They show a wide range of textures from undeformed protogranular material through porphyroclastic to equigranular and recrystallised secondary types. Textural differences are strongly linked to trace element geochemistry and variations in radiogenic isotope ratios. Many undeformed protogranular xenoliths are Type IA LREE-depleted with MORB-type ε_Sr values between − 30.7 and − 23.6, and ε_Nd values + 13.9 to + 9.4. A second group of undeformed xenoliths are Type IB LREE-enriched with higher ε_Sr values (− 22.7 to − 10.6) and lower ε_Nd values (+ 11.9 to + 5.6). Deformed xenoliths with porphyroclastic, equigranular and secondary recrystallised textures are all Type IB (LREE-enriched, ε_Nd < 6.4, ε_Sr > 11.8). It is proposed that two separate events have given rise to the observed mixing arrays: (1) MORB-source depleted mantle was enriched by a component derived from an enriched mantle. Deformation and recrystallisation accompanied this event. (2) Subsequently, unenriched MORB-source mantle interacted with magmas chemically akin to the host basalts, and enrichment occurred with little deformation. Hypotheses of Tertiary mantle diapirism resulting in isochemical deformation and refinement of protogranular mantle to equigranular mantle are untenable because of differences in REE patterns and isotopic ratios between different textural groups.     

Distribution of trace elements in spinel and garnet peridotites

The distribution of trace elements in the upper mantle has been discussed on the basis of the trace element abundances in bulk rocks and constituent minerals of two spinel and garnet facies peridotite xenoliths in alkali basalts from eastern China. The data presented are consistent with the suggestion that highly incompatible elements (Rb, Ba, Th, U, Sr, Nb, Ta) mainly reside in intergranular components, and to a lesser extent in fluid inclusions in minerals. The LILE composition in olivine and orthopyroxene can be seriously affected by the presence of fluid inclusions. Consequently the subsolidus partitioning of the LILE cannot be used to infer the olivine-melt and orthopyroxene-melt partition coefficients for these elements. There is a significant difference in (Opx/Cpx)_HREE ratios for spinel and garnet peridotites, suggesting a P-T control on equilibrium partition coefficients.     

High-pressure partial melting of garnet pyroxenite: possible mafic lithologies in the source of ocean island basalts

Many ocean island basalts (OIB) that have isotopic ratios indicative of recycled crustal components in their source are silica-undersaturated and unlike silicic liquids produced from partial melting of recycled mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). However, experiments on a silica-deficient garnet pyroxenite, MIX1G, at 2.0-2.5 GPa show that some pyroxenite partial melts are strongly silica-undersaturated [M.M. Hirschmann et al., Geology 31 (2003) 481-484]. These low-pressure liquids are plausible parents of alkalic OIB, except that they are too aluminous. We present new partial melting experiments on MIX1G between 3.0 and 7.5 GPa. Partial melts at 5.0 GPa have low SiO₂ (<48 wt%), low Al₂O₃ (<12 wt%) and high CaO (>12 wt%) at moderate MgO (12-16 wt%), and are more similar to primitive OIB compositions than lower-pressure liquids of MIX1G or experimental partial melts of anhydrous or carbonated peridotite. Solidus temperatures at 5.0 and 7.5 GPa are 1625 and 1825°C, respectively, which are less than 50°C cooler than the anhydrous peridotite solidus. The liquidus temperature at 5.0 GPa is 1725°C, indicating a narrow melting interval (∼100°C). These melting relations suggest that OIB magmas can be produced by partial melting of a silica-deficient pyroxenite similar to MIX1G if its melting residue contains significant garnet and lacks olivine. Such silica-deficient pyroxenites could be produced by interaction between recycled subducted oceanic crust and mantle peridotite or could be remnants of ancient oceanic lower crust or delaminated lower continental crust. If such compositions are present in plumes ascending with potential temperatures of 1550°C, they will begin to melt at about 5.0 GPa and produce appropriate partial melts. However, such hot plumes may also generate partial melts of peridotite, which could dilute the pyroxenite-derived partial melts.     

Eclogite-melt/peridotite reaction: Experimental constrains on the destruction mechanism of the North China Craton

To study the mechanism of melt-peridotite reaction pertinent to the destruction of the North China Craton (NCC) lithosphere, a series of experiments were performed at a pressure of 2.0 GPa and temperatures from 1250 to 1400°C using Bixiling eclogite and Damaping peridotite as starting materials. The experimental results show that the reaction between eclogite melt and peridotite causes dissolution of olivine and orthopyroxene and precipitation of clinopyroxene in the melt. The experimental run products, cha...     

Rheological contrast between garnet and clinopyroxene in the mantle wedge: An example from Higashi-akaishi peridotite mass,SW Japan

Garnet clinopyroxenites occur within foliated dunite in the Higashi-akaishi peridotite mass, located within the subduction-type high-pressure/low-temperature Sanbagawa metamorphic belt. The garnet clinopyroxenites contain 3–80% garnet, and garnet and clinopyroxene are homogeneously distributed. Garnet crystals contain extensive, regular dislocation arrays and dislocation networks, suggesting that dislocation creep was the dominant deformation mechanism. Analyses of crystallographic orientation maps indicate similar grain sizes and aspect ratios for garnet and clinopyroxene, regardless of modal composition, indicating that these minerals deformed with similar degree of plasticity. Moreover, indexes of crystallographic fabric intensity (i.e., J-index and M-index) for both garnet and clinopyroxene tend to increase with increasing modal composition of garnet. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that water content in garnet is ～60 ppm, whereas that in clinopyroxene is ～70 ppm. Olivine crystal-preferred orientations in the Higashi-akaishi peridotite mass, characterized by [0 0 1] (0 1 0), are thought to have developed during deformation under wet conditions. Consequently, we argue that the presence of water could act to enhance garnet plasticity during deformation. The results reveal contrasting influences of water on the deformation of garnet and diopside: under wet conditions compared with dry, the strain rate increases by two orders of magnitude for garnet but by an order of magnitude for diopside. Given the influence of water on the creep strength of garnet, garnet within the Higashi-akaishi mass may have become significantly as weak as clinopyroxene during deformation.     

Apatite-fission-track geochronology and its tectonic correlation in the Dabieshan orogen,central China

The thermochronology based on a combination ofradiometric age and closure temperature (Tc) is widelyaccepted as a sensitive method to provide constraintson tectonic evolution of the orogen, and numerousadvances as a result of thermochronological applica-tions have been made recently in the Dabieshan oro-gen[1—5]. Zircon U/Pb, hornblende Ar/Ar and biotiteAr/Ar ages with Tc= 800—300℃[6] will yield a wealthof information on the cooling and exhumation of rockscrossing crustal levels of 30—1…     

Partitioning of U and Th during garnet pyroxenite partial melting: Constraints on the source of alkaline ocean island basalts

Uranium series disequilibria in ocean island basalts (OIB) provide evidence for the presence of garnet in their source region. It has been suggested that enriched OIB signatures derive from mantle lithologies other than peridotite, such as eclogite or pyroxenite, and, in particular, that silica-poor garnet pyroxenite is the source lithology for alkali basalts. To test the ability of such a source to produce the U–Th disequilibria observed in alkali OIB, we determined experimentally clinopyroxene-melt and garnet-melt partition coefficients for a suite of trace elements, including U and Th, at 2.5 GPa and 1420–1450 °C. The starting composition for the experiments was a 21% partial melt of a silica-poor garnet pyroxenite. Experimentally determined clinopyroxene-melt partition coefficients range from 0.0083 ± 0.0006 to 0.020 ± 0.002 for Th and from 0.0094 ± 0.0006 to 0.024 ±0.002 for U, and garnet-melt partition coefficients are 0.0032 ± 0.0004 for Th and 0.013 ± 0.002 for U. Comparison of our experimental results with partition coefficients from previous experimental studies shows that the relative compatibilities of U and Th in both garnet and clinopyroxene are different for different mineral compositions, leading to varying degrees of U/Th fractionation with changing lithology. For a given melting rate and extent of partial melting, mafic lithologies tend to produce larger ²³⁰Th excesses than peridotite. However, this effect is minimized by the greater overall extents of melting experienced by eclogites and pyroxenites relative to peridotite. Results from chromatographic, batch, and fractional melting calculations with binary mixing between partial melts of pyroxenite and peridotite, carried out using our new partitioning data for the pyroxenite component and taking into account variable productivities and different solidus depths for the two lithologies, suggest that OIB are not the product of progressive melting of a source containing a fixed quantity of garnet pyroxenite. Melting a peridotite with enriched signatures, and mixing those melts with melts of a depleted, “normal” peridotite, is an alternative explanation for the trends seen in Hawaiian, Azores and Samoan lavas.     

Mineral chemistry of spinel peridotite xenoliths from Baengnyeong Island, South Korea, and its implications for the paleogeotherm of the uppermost mantle

Abstract   The mantle-derived xenoliths entrained in the Pliocene basanite from Baengnyeong Island, South Korea, are spinel lherzolites and spinel harzburgites. The overall compositional range of the Baengnyeong xenoliths matches that of the post-Archean xenoliths of lithospheric mantle origin from eastern China, but without any compositional evidence for a refractory Archean mantle root. Mineral compositions of the xenoliths have been used to estimate the equilibrium temperatures and pressures, and to construct a paleogeothermal gradient of the source region. The xenolith-derived paleogeotherm is constrained from about 820°C at 7.3 kbar to 1000°C at 20.6 kbar. Like those from the post-Archean Chinese xenoliths of lithospheric mantle origin, the Baengnyeong geotherm is considerably elevated relative to the conductive models at the depth of the crust–mantle boundary, reflecting a thermal perturbation probably related to lithospheric thinning. There is no significant P / T difference between harzburgite and lherzolite, which suggests that the harzburgites are interlayered with lherzolites within the depth interval beneath Baengnyeong Island.     

华北盆地强震孕育的动力学机制研究

强震活跃区通常出现在地壳变形剧烈的地区.但是,华北盆地地壳变形速率小,而破坏性强震却十分频繁.文中利用有限元方法对华北盆地发震断层下方可能存在的速度异常体进行了力学分析,计算结果显示：无论这个异常区是低速异常还是高速异常,在水平构造力的作用下（无论是挤压还是引张力作用）,应力及应变能密度都在空间某些区域积聚.根据本文的工作及前人的研究结果,认为华北盆地强震孕育的物理机制如下：华北克拉通在减薄、破坏过程中,浸入的岩浆或上涌的地幔物质经过漫长的地质时期演化,成为低速异常体.当断裂带下面存在这种低速异常体时,水平向构造力的作用,会使异常体上方应力集中、应变能积聚.当异常体上方的应力水平达到某种限度,介质发生破坏.在破坏过程中,异常体释放的能量,使断裂带上的应变能集聚速度加快;另一方面,异常体的破坏使断层的闭锁面积减小.随着外部构造应力的持续加载,当发震断层上的应力及能量积累达到一定极限,断层产生错动,发生强震.同时,文中结果还显示,断层在从闭锁、积累能量到解锁、发生强震的过程中,其下方的低速异常体起着重要的推进作用.     

Petrology of the Hujialin garnet clinopyroxenite in the Su-Lu ultrahigh-pressure province, eastern China

Abstract Garnet clinopyroxenite containing porphyroclastic clinopyroxene with garnet lamellae from the Su-Lu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) province, eastern China, records a three-stage evolutionary history. Stage A: precursor aluminous clinopyroxene associated with Mg-rich spinel was stable. Stage B: Mg-rich spinel and aluminous clinopyroxene recrystallized to form porphyroblasts of garnet and diopside with garnet lamellae, respectively. Thereafter, these porphyroblasts were granulated and recrystallized to form equigranular neoblasts in the matrix, being driven by subsolidus deformation. Stage C: the assemblage developed retrograde hornblende, epidote, spinel, chlorite, calcite, and dolomite. The estimated composition of the precursor aluminous clinopyroxene indicates that equilibrium conditions of the stage A were 900-1000°C, and 1.0-1.5 GPa. The neoblast garnet-clinopyroxene pairs, not conjectural, give 740 ± 50°C and higher than 2.5 GPa for the climax conditions of stage B. This implies that the Hujialin garnet clinopyroxenite was transported from a low dP/dT setting to a high dP/dT setting, probably related to subduction during stage B. The Hujialin garnet clinopyroxenite as well as adjacent UHP eclogite which records 700°C and 3.0 GPa as the maximum physical conditions, experienced amphibolite facies retrogression, suggesting that they shared a common P-T history during exhumation.     

Characteristics of the mantle source region of sodium lamprophyres and petrogenetic tectonic setting in northeastern Hunan,China

~~Characteristics of the mantle source region of sodium lamprophyres and petrogenetic tectonic setting in northeastern Hunan,China~~     

The Paleozoic Huoshenmiao iron skarn deposit in the Tongbai area of North Qinling Orogen,China:Insights from garnet U-Pb dating and geological constraints

The Qinling Orogen is a composite orogenic belt that can be subdivided into the North and South Qinling,broadly separated by the Shangdan suture zone.These two ...     

Ultrahigh-pressure garnet lherzolite from Chijiadian, Rongcheng County, in the Su-Lu region of eastern China

Abstract Petrological studies of a serpentinized garnet lherzolite body in Rongcheng of the Su-Lu region of eastern China revealed unusually high pressure. Spinel lherzolite probably in a subducting slab was transformed to garnet lherzolite at mantle depth. During exhumation, they were subsequently subjected to the granulite and then amphibolite overprinting and a phase of serpentinization. The peak P–T conditions of the garnet lherzolite estimated after detailed analysis of the metamorphic texture are 4–5 GPa and 820°C or 5–6 GPa and 780°C, depending on the chosen geothermobarometers. The lower dP/dT of the garnet lherzolite can be interpreted as the results of subduction of an old (say 100 Ma older than the time of collision) and cold, slab underneath the margin of the Sino–Korean craton.     

Ce anomaly in minerals of eclogite and garnet pyroxenite from Dabie-Sulu ultrahigh pressure metamorphic belt: Tacking subducted sediment formed under oxidizing conditions

~~Ce anomaly in minerals of eclogite and garnet pyroxenite from Dabie-Sulu ultrahigh pressure metamorphic belt:Tacking subducted sediment formed under oxidizing conditions@Deltlef Günther$Institute of Inorganic Chemistry,ETHZürich,Universitatsstrasse6,CH-092Zürich,Switzerland~~…     

A Nd and Sr isotopic study of the Trinity peridotite; implications for mantle evolution

Field evidence indicates that the Trinity peridotite was partially melted during its rise as a part of the upwelling convecting mantle at a spreading center. A SmNd mineral isochron for a plagioclase lherzolite yields an age,T = 427 ± 32 Ma and initialε_Nd = + 10.4 ? 0.4 which is distinctly higher than that expected for typical depleted mantle at this time. This age is interpreted as the time of crystallization of trapped melt in the plagioclase lherzoliteP-T field. This time of crystallization probably represents the time when the massif was incorporated as a part of the oceanic lithosphere. The SmNd model age of the plagioclase lherzolite totalrock isT_CHUR^Nd = 3.4 AE. This suggests that the Trinity peridotite was derived from a mantle that was depleted rather early in earth history. The peridotite contains many generations of pyroxenite dikes and some microgabbro dikes. We report data for two dikes that clearly crosscut the main metamorphic fabric of the peridotite. A microgabbro dike yields a SmNd mineral isochron age ofT = 435 ± 21 Ma andε_Nd = + 6.7 ? 0.3. A pyroxenite dike yields an initialε_Nd = + 7.3 ± 0.4. The initialε_Nd values for the pyroxenite and gabbro dikes are fairly similar to those for the depleted mantle at this time and are distinct from the lherzolite—demonstrating that they are not genetically related. RbSr data do not give any coherent pattern. However, some bounds can be put on initial Sr values ofε_Sr ? ?21 for the plagioclase lherzolite andε_Sr ? ?8.7 for the microgabbro dike. It is plausible that the dikes represent cumulates left behind from island arc magmas that rose through the the oceanic lithosphere within the vicinity of a subduction zone. Major and trace elements and SmNd isotopic data indicate a multiple stage history for the Trinity peridotite; a small melt fraction was extracted from an undepleted source ～ 3.4 AE or more ago to produce the proto-lherzolite; a large fraction of melt (～ 12 to 23%) was extracted from the proto-lherzolite to produce the present rock; the lherzolite was then crosscut by dikes from average depleted mantle ～ 0.44 AE ago. The data are compatible with the depleted mantle source being formed very early in earth history. Although most available data indicate that the depleted upper mantle has been relatively well stirred through time, the Trinity data suggest that very ancient Nd isotopic values are preserved and thus chemical and physical heteorgeneities are sometimes preserved in the depleted source of mid-ocean ridge basalts as well as the oceanic lithosphere which they intrude.