全球幔源岩Pb-Sr-Nd同位素体系

根据各种同位素数据库得到的3万多个晚古生代以来的幔源岩(包括洋中脊玄武岩、洋岛玄武岩、岛弧火山岩、大陆与大洋溢流玄武岩以及大陆板内玄武岩)Pb-Sr-Nd同位素资料和图解分析,对各类火山岩的源区以及地幔的垂向与横向不均一性问题作了进一步讨论。笔者认为不存在具有公共性质的EM1、EM2和HIMU地幔端员,它们的源区可能来自上、下地幔过渡带,只在局部地区出现,独一无二。PREMA(FOZO)则是洋岛玄武岩和溢流玄武岩公共端员。DUAPAL异常现象不只是在洋中脊玄武岩中出现,在洋岛玄武岩、岛弧火山岩和大洋溢流玄武岩中也存在同步的地球化学分区现象。溢流玄武岩的同位素体系特征表明它们的源区涉及再循环地幔的壳幔混合、岩石圈减压熔融、上—下地幔过渡带和似原始-略亏损的下地幔。Pb同位素体系为鉴别俯冲带的存在提供了更严格的证据,这种鉴别表明,安第斯弧火山作用不是洋陆俯冲带产生的。     

Combined Sr,Nd, Pb and Li isotope geochemistry of alkaline lavas from northern James Ross Island (Antarctic Peninsula) and implications for back-arc magma formation

We present a comprehensive geochemical data set for a suite of back-arc alkaline volcanic rocks from James Ross Island Volcanic Group (JRIVG), Antarctic Peninsula. The elemental and isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb and Li) composition of these Cenozoic basalts emplaced east of the Antarctic Peninsula is different from the compositions of the fore-arc alkaline volcanic rocks in Southern Shetlands and nearby Bransfield Strait. The variability in elemental and isotopic composition is not consistent with the JRIVG derivation from a single mantle source but rather it suggests that the magma was mainly derived from a depleted mantle with subordinate OIB-like enriched mantle component (EM II). The isotopic data are consistent with mantle melting during extension and possible roll-back of the subducted lithosphere of the Antarctic plate. Magma contamination by Triassic–Early Tertiary clastic sediments deposited in the back-arc basin was only localized and affected Li isotopic composition in two of the samples, while most of the basalts show very little variation in δ⁷Li values, as anticipated for “mantle-driven” Li isotopic composition. These variations are difficult to resolve with radiogenic isotope systematics but Li isotopes may prove sensitive in tracking complex geochemical processes acting through the oceanic crust pile, including hydrothermal leaching and seawater equilibration.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001125

<正>Greenstone belts of the eastern Dharwar Craton,India are reinterpreted as composite tectonostratigraphic terranes of accreted plume-derived and convergent margin-derived magmatic sequences based on new high-precision elemental data.The former are dominated by a komatiile plus Mg-tholeiitic basalt volcanic association,with deep water siliciclastic and banded iron formation(BIF) sedimentary rocks.Plumes melted at90 km under thin rifted continental lithosphere to preserve inlraoceanic and continental margin aspects.Associated alkaline basalts record subduction-recycling of Mesoarchean oceanic crust,incubated in the asthenosphere.and erupted coevally with Mg basalts from a heterogeneous mantle plume.Together.komaliites-Mg basalts-alkaline basalts plot along the Phanerozoic mantle array in Th/Yb versus Nb/Yb coordinate space,representing zoned plumes,establishing that these reservoirs were present in the Neoarchean mantle. Convergent margin magmatic associations are dominated by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basalts eompositionally similar to recent intraoceanic arcs.As well,boninitic flows sourced in extremely depleted mantle are present,and the association of arc basalts with Mg-andesites-Nb enriched basalts-adakites documented from Cenozoic arcs characterized by subduction of young(20 Ma),hot,oceanic lithosphere. Consequently.Cenozoic style "hot" subduction was operating in the Neoarchean.These diverse volcanic associations were assembled to give composite terranes in a subduction-accretion orogen at～2.1 Ga,coevally with a global accretionary orogen at ~2.7 Ga,and associated orogenic gold mineralization. Archean lithospheric mantle,distinctive in being thick,refractory,and buoyant,formed complementary to the accreted plume and convergent margin terranes.as migrating arcs captured thick plumeplateaus. and the refractory,low density.residue of plume melting coupled with accreted imbricated plume-arc crust.     

Trace element evidence for the origin of ocean island basalts: an example from the Austral Islands (French Polynesia)

The Austral Islands, a volcanic chain in the South-Central Pacific Ocean (French Polynesia) are composed mainly of alkali basalts and basanites with subordinate amounts of olivine tholeiites and strongly undersaturated rocks (phonolite foidites and phonolite tephrites). The basaltic rocks have geochemical features typical of oceanic island suites. The distribution of incompatible trace elements indicate that the lavas were derived from a heterogeneous mantle source. The chondrite-normalized patterns of the incompatible elements in basaltic rocks of the Austral Islands are complementary to those of island arc tholeiites. As supported by isotope data, the observed trace element heterogeneities of the source are probably due to mixing of the upper mantle with subducted oceanic crust from which island arc tholeiitic magma was previously extracted.     

岛弧火山岩成因和地球化学特征

岛弧火山岩主要为俯冲带的俯冲板片脱水形成的富大离子亲石元素流体交代地幔楔,并使其发生部分熔融,产生岛弧岩浆作用而形成的,岩石组合通常为玄武岩—安山岩—英安岩—流纹岩及相应侵入岩组合。它以Al2O3、K2O高,低Ti O2,且K2ONa2O为特征,相对富集LILE,亏损HFSE,特别是Ti、Nb、Ta等。本文主要从岛弧岩浆作用的起因着手,分析流体和熔体对地幔楔的交代作用,以及岛弧岩浆作用过程,进而分析岛弧火山岩的地球化学特征。     

The Harrat Al-Birk basalts in southwest Saudi Arabia: characteristic alkali mafic magmatism related to Red Sea rifting

Harrat Al-Birk volcanics are products of the Red Sea rift in southwest Saudi Arabia that started in the Tertiary and reached its climax at ~5 Ma. This volcanic field is almost monotonous and is dominated by basalts that include mafic–ultramafic mantle xenoliths (gabbro, websterite, and garnet-clinopyroxenite). The present work presents the first detailed petrographic and geochemical notes about the basalts. They comprise vesicular basalt, porphyritic basalt, and flow-textured basalt, in addition to red and black scoria. Geochemically, the volcanic rock varieties of the Harrat Al-Birk are low- to medium-Ti, sodic-alkaline olivine basalts with an enriched oceanic island signature but extruded in a within-plate environment. There is evidence of formation by partial melting with a sort of crystal fractionation dominated by clinopyroxene and Fe–Ti oxides. The latter have abundant titanomagnetite and lesser ilmenite. There is a remarkable enrichment of light rare earth elements and depletion in Ba, Th and K, Ta, and Ti. The geochemical data in this work suggest Harrat Al-Birk basalts represent products of water-saturated melt that was silica undersaturated. This melt was brought to the surface through partial melting of asthenospheric upper mantle that produced enriched oceanic island basalts. Such partial melting is the result of subducted continental mantle lithosphere with considerable mantle metasomatism of subducted oceanic lithosphere that might contain hydrous phases in its peridotites. The fractional crystallization process was controlled by significant separation of clinopyroxene followed by amphiboles and Fe–Ti oxides, particularly ilmenite. Accordingly, the Harrat Al-Birk alkali basalts underwent crystal fractionation that is completely absent in the exotic mantle xenoliths (e.g. Nemeth et al. in The Pleistocene Jabal Akwa Al Yamaniah maar/tuff ring-scoria cone complex as an analogy for future phreatomagmatic to magmatic explosive eruption scenarios in the Jizan Region, SW Saudi Arabia 2014).     

Geochemistry of subalkaline and alkaline extrusives from the Kermanshah ophiolite,Zagros Suture Zone,Western Iran: implications for Tethyan plate tectonics

The Kermanshah ophiolite is a highly dismembered ophiolite complex that is located in western Iran and belongs to the Zagros orogenic system. The igneous rocks of this complex consist of both mantle and crustal suites and include peridotites (dunite and harzburgite), cumulate gabbros, diorites, and a volcanic sequence that exhibits a wide range in composition from subalkaline basalts to alkaline basalts to trachytes. The associated sedimentary rocks include a variety of Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous deep- and shallow-water sedimentary rocks (e.g., dolomite, limestone, and pelagic sediments, including umber). Also present are extensive units of radiolarian chert. The geochemical data clearly identifies some of the volcanic rocks to have formed from two distinct types of basaltic melts: (i) those of the subalkaline suite, which formed from an initial melt with a light rare earth elements (LREE) enriched signature and incompatible trace element patterns that suggest an island arc affinity; and (ii) those of the alkaline suite with LREE-enriched signature and incompatible trace element patterns that are virtually identical to typical oceanic island basalt (OIB) pattern. The data also suggests that the trachytes were derived from the alkaline source, with fractionation controlled by extensive removal of plagioclase and to a lesser extent clinopyroxene. The presence of compositionally diverse volcanics together with the occurrence of a variety of Triassic–Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and radiolarian chert indicate that the studied volcanic rocks from the Kermanshah ophiolite represent off-axis volcanic units that were formed in intraplate oceanic island and island arc environments in an oceanic basin. They were located on the eastern and northern flanks of one of the spreading centers of a ridge-transform fault system that connected Troodos to Oman prior to its subduction under the Eurasian plate.     

西天山乔霍特铜矿成矿背景与矿床成因探讨

本文对西天山乔霍特铜矿的围岩火山岩、矿化火山岩和矿石的主、微量元素、Sr-Nd同位素地球化学特征进行了详细研究,并对呈小岩株状侵入到火山岩地层中的辉绿岩进行了单颗粒锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb精确定年.研究表明,围岩火山岩为形成于岛弧区弧后拉张环境中的钙碱性火山岩,系受俯冲带中流体交代的地幔源区通过岩浆结晶分异而来,乔霍特铜矿成矿物质与围岩火山岩具有相同的物质来源.辉绿岩单颗粒锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年获得281.0±1.9Ma年龄,结合前人研究成果,我们认为:奥陶纪或更早时期,南天山洋向北侧中天山地体下俯冲,在乔霍特地区形成岛弧带,奥陶纪晚期(约450Ma)具Ⅰ型花岗岩性质的岩浆侵位,形成了出露于矿区南侧的花岗闪长岩体;中-晚志留世(约430Ma),在浅海相岛弧区弧后盆地中火山喷发形成了巴音布鲁克组火山岩,与火山岩同期的火山喷流-沉积作用形成了乔霍特铜矿初始矿源层;志留纪后,南天山洋持续向北俯冲,于石炭纪末最终闭合,大洋岛弧火山与中天山古老陆块碰撞拼接,281Ma的辉绿岩呈小岩株状侵入到围岩火山岩地层中,初始矿体伴随南天山洋的持续俯冲及西天山增生造山作用受到了强烈的构造叠加改造,最终形成了空间上呈近东西向成群、成带与主控矿断裂近平行展布的矿体.乔霍特铜矿系发育于造山带中的VMS型矿床,应属火山喷流沉积+后期构造热液叠加改造型铜矿,是南天山洋俯冲、闭合及西天山增生造山综合作用的结果.     

Fragments of oceanic islands in accretion–collision areas of Gorny Altai and Salair, southern Siberia, Russia: early stages of continental crustal growth of the Siberian continent in Vendian–Early Cambrian time

The Altai-Salair area in southern Siberia is a Caledonian folded area containing fragments of Vendian–Early Cambrian island arcs. In the Vendian–Early Cambrian, an extended system of island arcs existed near the Paleo-Asian Ocean/Siberian continent boundary and was located in an open ocean realm. In the present-day structural pattern of southern Siberia, the fragments of Vendian–Early Cambrian ophiolites, island arcs and paleo-oceanic islands occur in the accretion–collision zones. We recognized that the accretion–collision zones were mainly composed of the rock units, which were formed within an island-arc system or were incorporated in it during the subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean under the island arc or the Siberian continent. This system consists of accretionary wedge, fore-arc basin, primitive island arc and normal island arc. The accretionary wedges contain the oceanic island fragments which consist of OIB basalts and siliceous—carbonate cover including top and slope facies sediments. Oceanic islands submerged into the subduction zone and, later were incorporated into an accretionary wedge. Collision of oceanic islands and island arcs in subduction zones resulted in reverse currents in the accretionary wedge and exhumation of high-pressure rocks. Our studies of the Gorny Altai and Salair accretionary wedges showed that the remnants of oceanic crust are mainly oceanic islands and ophiolites. Therefore, it is important to recognize paleo-islands in folded areas. The study of paleo- islands is important for understanding the evolution of accretionary wedges and exhumation of subducted high-pressure rocks.     

Extensional collapse of the Gondwana orogen: Evidence from Cambrian mafic magmatism in the Trivandrum Block,southern India

The assembly of Late Neoproterozoice Cambrian supercontinent Gondwana involved prolonged subduction and accretion generating arc magmatic and accretionary complexes, culminating in collision and formation of high grade metamorphic orogens. Here we report evidence for mafic magmatism associated with post-collisional extension from a suite of gabbroic rocks in the Trivandrum Block of southern Indian Gondwana fragment. Our petrological and geochemical data on these gabbroic suite show that they are analogous to high Fe tholeiitic basalts with evolution of the parental melts dominantly controlled by fractional crystallization. They display enrichment of LILE and LREE and depletion of HFSE with negative anomalies at Zre Hf and Ti corresponding to subduction zone magmatic regime. The tectonic affinity of the gabbros coupled with their geochemical features endorse a heterogeneous mantle source with collective melt contributions from sub-slab asthenospheric mantle upwelling through slab break-off and arc-related metasomatized mantle wedge, with magma emplacement in subduction to post-collisional intraplate settings. The high Nb contents and positive Nbe Ta anomalies of the rocks are attributed to inflow of asthenospheric melts containing ancient recycled subducted slab components and/or fusion of subducted slab materials owing to upwelling of hot asthenosphere. Zircon grains from the gabbros show magmatic crystallization texture with low U and Pb content. The LA-ICPMS analyses show ²⁰⁶ Pb/²³⁸ U mean ages in the range of 507-494 Ma suggesting Cambrian mafic magmatism. The post-collisional mafic magmatism identified in our study provides new insights into mantle dynamics during the waning stage of the birth of a supercontinent.     

Petrogeochemical conditions and geodynamic settings of volcanic rocks in the Kiselyovka–Manoma accretionary complex (Russian Far East)

The Kiselyovka–Manoma accretionary complex formed at the end of the Early Cretaceous during subduction of the Pacific oceanic plate underneath the Khingan–Okhotsk active continental margin along the east of Eurasia. It is composed of Jurassic–Early Cretaceous oceanic chert, siliceous mudstone, and limestone that include a significant amount of basic volcanic rocks. The known and newly obtained data on the petrogeochemistry of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous basalt from various parts of the accretionary complex are systemized in the paper. Based on the comprehensive analysis of these data, the possible geodynamic settings of the basalt are considered. The petrogeochemical characteristics provide evidence for the formation of basalt in different parts of the oceanic floor within the spreading ridge, as well as on oceanic islands far from the ridge. The basalts of oceanic islands are mostly preserved in the accretionary complex. The compositional variations of the basalts may be controlled by the different thickness of the oceanic lithosphere on which they formed. This is explained by the varying distances of the lithosphere from the spreading zone.     

东南沿海地区古近纪大陆岩石圈地幔特征及成因

东南沿海地区新生代玄武岩中的橄榄岩包体来自岩石圈地幔 ,上地幔橄榄岩包体的岩石学及地球化学特征都记录了地幔演化的历史。普宁橄榄岩包体斜方辉石含量与太古宙克拉通地幔类似 ,但在矿物学、REE、痕量元素和Sr Nd同位素上又与太古宙岩石圈地幔不同。橄榄岩包体的岩相学、矿物学、REE、痕量元素特征都提供了含H2 O富Si流体交代橄榄岩的证据 ,这种流体可能主要是洋壳物质局部熔融而成。流体交代使橄榄岩富Si,同时富Sr、Pb和强不相容元素等大洋岩石圈物质。这表明普宁大陆岩石圈地幔既保留太古宙岩石圈地幔的特征 ,又具有大洋俯冲地幔的特征 ,它是古老岩石圈地幔向大洋岩石圈地幔转换的一部分 ,这种转换可能是大洋岩石圈与大陆岩石圈地幔相互作用的结果。     

The significance of cherts as markers of Ocean Plate Stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental conditions: New insights from the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Blovice accretionary wedge,Bohemian Massif

The Ediacaran to early Cambrian Blovice accretionary complex, Bohemian Massif, hosts abundant chert bodies that formed on an oceanic plate and were involved in subduction beneath the northern margin of Gondwana. Field relationships of cherts to their host, their microstructure and elemental as well as isotopic compositions revealed diverse processes of chert petrogenesis reflecting depositional environment and position on the oceanic plate. The deep-water cherts formed through a hydrothermal precipitation of silica-rich gels on outer trench swell of the subducted slab with none or only minor addition of terrigenous material. On the contrary, the shallow-water cherts formed in lagoons on seamount slopes, and at least some of them represent a product of hydrothermal replacement of former carbonate and/or evaporite precursors. For both chert types, the hydrothermal fluids were of low temperature and continuous pervasive hydrothermal alteration of oceanic crust, together with an elevated Si content in Neoproterozoic seawater, served as the major source of silica. On the other hand, minor carbon enrichment in chert is mostly linked to variable incorporation of organic matter that was deposited on the seafloor. Rare earth element (REE) systematics of the cherts indicate predominantly oxygenated environment for the shallow-water cherts whereas the deep-water cherts were deposited in diverse redox conditions, depending on their distance from hydrothermal vent. Using these data, we demonstrate that the cherts once formed a part of Ocean Plate Stratigraphy (OPS) now dismembered and mixed with terrigenous siliciclastic material to form OPS mélanges. Combining our data with those from the existing literature, we show that cherts can serve as significant markers of OPS since the Archean, recording a complex interplay between seafloor-related volcanic (production of MORB- and OIB-like magmas) and sedimentary processes, hydrothermal activity at mid-ocean ridges and seamount chains as well as at outer slopes of subducting slabs. However, the cherts also exhibit a secular change in composition and petrogenesis most profoundly affected by an overturn in seawater silica cycle across the Precambrian–Phanerozoic boundary.     

Pacific superplume-related oceanic basalts hosted by accretionary complexes of Central Asia,Russian Far East and Japan

Plume-related oceanic magmatism form oceanic islands, seamounts and plateaus (hereafter “seamounts” or “paleoseamounts”), which are important features in geological history. The accretion of oceanic seamounts to active continental margins significantly contributed to the formation of the continental crust. This paper reviews occurrences of Late Neoproterozoic–Mesozoic seamounts of the Paleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific oceans, which are hosted by accretionary complexes (ACs) of Russian Altai, East Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russian Far East and Japan. The paleoseamounts commonly consist of Ti–LREE–Nb-enriched plume-related basalts (OIB-type or intraplate basalts) capped with massive limestone and associated with other units of oceanic plate stratigraphy (OPS): oceanic floor basalts (MORB), pelagic chert, epiclastic slope facies, etc. The paper presents available geochemical data on the plume-related basalts including the first geochemical data on the Middle Paleozoic OIB-type basalts of the Paleo-Asian Ocean hosted by the Ulaanbaatar AC of Mongolia. An emphasis is made for the structural setting of OPS units, specific geochemical features of intraplate basalts, problems of their identification, and distinguishing from magmatic units of a different origin such as MORB, island-arc and back-arc basalts. Finally, we propose a continuous, though periodical, evolution of the Pacific superplume-related magmatism, which can be more reliably proved by studying Middle Paleozoic OPS units hosted by ACs of Mongolia and Tien Shan, and discuss prospects of future studies.     

Island arc–back-arc basin evolution: implications for Late Riphean–Early Paleozoic geodynamic history of the Sayan–Baikal folded area

We suggest a more rigorous approach to paleogeodynamic reconstructions of the Sayan-Baikal folded area proceeding from update views of the origin and evolution of island arcs and back-arc basins. Modern island arcs and attendant back-arc basins form mainly by trench rollback caused by progressive subduction of negatively buoyant thick and cold oceanic slabs. Slab stagnation upsets the dynamic equilibrium in the subduction system, which accelerates the rollback. As a result, a continental volcanic arc transforms into an island arc, with oceanic crust production in the back-arc basin behind it. As subduction progresses, the island arc and the back-arc basin may deform, and fold-thrust structures, with the involved back-arc basin and island arc complexes, may accrete to the continent (accretion and collision) without participation of large colliding blocks. When applied to the Sayan–Baikal area, the model predicts that the Riphean and Vendian–Early Paleozoic back-arc basins were more active agents in the regional geologic history than it was thought before. They were deposition areas of sedimentary and volcanosedimentary complexes and then became the scene of collision and accretion events, including folding, metamorphism, and plutonism.     

俯冲物质深地幔循环——地球动力学研究的一个新方向

地球上发生的各种地壳运动,大规模的火山喷发,不同深度不同规模的地震活动,规模宏大的山脉和高原的形成,以及地球历史上发生的大陆漂移运动,都被认为与板块构造活动密切相关.但这些运动的动力源究竟来自何方?如何去发现和证明它们的存在以及从理论上去认识和解释,是当今地球科学面临的巨大挑战,也是今后很长一段时间内地球科学的前沿和热...     

Highly depleted oceanic lithosphere in the Rheic Ocean: Implications for Paleozoic plate reconstructions

The Rheic Ocean formed at ca. 500 Ma, when several peri-Gondwanan terranes (e.g. Avalonia and Carolinia) drifted from the northern margin of Gondwana, and were consumed during the Late Carboniferous collision between Laurussia and Gondwana, a key event in the formation of Pangea. Several mafic complexes ranging in age from ca. 400–330 Ma preserve many of the lithotectonic and/or chemical characteristics of ophiolites. They are characterized by anomalously high εNd values that are typically either between or above the widely accepted model depleted mantle curves. These data indicate derivation from a highly depleted (HD) mantle and imply that (i) the mantle source of these complexes displays time-integrated depletion in Nd relative to Sm, and (ii) depletion is the result of an earlier melting event in the mantle from which basalt was extracted. The extent of mantle depletion indicates that this melting event occurred in the Neoproterozoic, possibly up to 500 million years before the Rheic Ocean formed. If so, the mantle lithosphere that gave rise to the Rheic Ocean mafic complexes must have been captured from an adjacent, older oceanic tract. The transfer of this captured lithosphere to the upper plate enabled it to become preferentially preserved. Possible Mesozoic–Cenozoic analogues include the capture of the Caribbean plate or the Scotia plate from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceanic realm. Our model implies that virtually all of the oceanic lithosphere generated during the opening phase of the Rheic Ocean was consumed by subduction during Laurentia–Gondwana convergence.     

Mineral inclusions in diamonds track the evolution of a Mesozoic subducted slab beneath West Gondwanaland

Three major suites of silicate inclusions in sublithospheric diamonds show evidence of formation at depths > 250 km, and for each suite there is evidence of their formation from subducted material. Two of these are the well known basic (majoritic garnet) and ultrabasic (MgSi-perovskite + ferropericlase) suites. The third, the recently recognised Ca-rich suite, is characterised by carbonate, Ca-Si-Ti minerals and some aluminous material. Carbon isotope ratios in the host diamonds and geochemical-petrological features of the inclusions themselves provide evidence for their derivation from subducted lithosphere materials. The diamonds hosting the basic and ultrabasic suites are suggested to form in fluids/melts resulting from the release of water caused by dehydration reactions affecting both the crustal and mantle portions of a subducting slab of ocean lithosphere. Conversely, the diamonds containing the Ca-rich suite are linked with the formation of carbonatitic melts. In the Juina kimberlite province of Brazil, all three suites have been found in close proximity. A model is presented whereby the formation of the suites occurs progressively during the subduction and stagnation of a single lithospheric slab, with all three suites being transported to the lithosphere by a plume with which the carbonatitic melts of the Ca-rich suite are associated. Nd-Sr isotopic data are presented for the Juina majoritic-garnet inclusions, which supports their formation from oceanic crust of Mesozoic age. In conjunction with published age data for a Ca-Si-Ti inclusion, the Juina (Brazil) sublithospheric inclusions document a series of events involving diamond formation during and following the emplacement of a subducted slab between ca 190 and 90 Ma beneath west Gondwanaland. This slab and related subducted slabs dating from the Palaeozoic at the Gondwanan margin may be the source of the widespread DUPAL geochemical anomaly in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The kimberlites bringing the diamonds to the Earth's surface may have arisen from a superplume, developed from a graveyard of former Gondwanan stagnant slabs, at the Core-Mantle-Boundary.     

Imprints of ancient recycled oceanic lithosphere in heterogeneous Indian Ocean mantle: Evidence from petrogenesis of Carlsberg ridge basalts from Northwest Indian Ocean

This paper reports new petrological, geochemical and isotopic data for Carlsberg Ridge Basalts (CRB) of northwest Indian Ocean and evaluates their petrogenetic aspects in the context of the geochemical and tectonic evolution of the Indian Ocean mantle. The CRB samples exhibit tholeiitic to transitional composition of precursor melts derived by high degree, shallow level partial melting of a spinel peridotite mantle source. CRB reflects distinct E-MORB affinity with selective enrichment in incompatible trace elements. Higher values of Zr/Hf (33.8–47.3) and Zr/Sm (24.9–36.4) in conjunction with lower Nb/Ta (1.7–7.3) ratio corroborate their origin from an enriched mantle source. Negative Nb anomalies with lower Nb/Y (0.04–0.11) and Zr/Y (2.5–3.5) conform to a non-plume origin of these basalts. Higher Zr/Nb (25.5–71.5) and Th/Nb (0.6–0.42) compared to OIB substantiate contributions from recycled subduction-processed components in the source mantle. Lower Nb/U (6.2–37.9) values with higher Ba/Nb (6.1–21.9), Ba/Th (27.7–147.5), Zr/Nb (25.5–71.5) and Th/Nb (0.6–0.42) compared to OIB and N-MORB attest to role of a metasomatized oceanic lithosphere that recycled into the depleted upper mantle attributing to the source heterogeneity. Sr-Nd isotopic signatures (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr: 0.702668 to 0.702841 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd: 0.512972 to 0.513068) of CRB suggest a HIMU source component preserved in the northwest Indian Ocean Ridge mantle. The compositional diversity of the Indian Ocean mantle can be translated in terms of periodic refertilization of depleted N-MORB type mantle through delamination and recycling of oceanic (HIMU component) and continental lithosphere (EM I component) concurrent with Neoproterozoic-Palaeozoic amalgamation and Jurassic dispersal of Gondwana Supercontinent respectively. This study complies with the derivation of CRB from a geochemically heterogeneous Indian Ocean mantle that experienced a protracted residence beneath the Gondwana Supercontinent prior to the opening of Indian Ocean and trapped recycled metasomatized oceanic lithosphere genetically linked with multiple stages of paleo-ocean closure and continental convergence during Gondwana assembly.     

Cenozoic volcanism of the eastern Sikhote Alin: Petrological studies and outlooks

Based on geological and isotope geochemical data obtained during the past decade, the eastern Sikhote Alin volcanic belt can be considered as a polygenic structure with spatially superimposed magmatic complexes of different geodynamic stages. Only Late Cretaceous intermediate and silicic volcanics enriched in LILE and depleted in HFSE can be interpreted as typical subduction complexes. Cenozoic lavas of mainly basic composition were formed after the termination of active subduction under complex dynamic conditions of the rearrangement of eastern Eurasia owing to the collision with the Indian plate. The eruption of Eocene-Oligocene-early Miocene basalts corresponded to the transform continental margin environment, rupture of an ancient subducted slab, and upwelling of hot depleted oceanic asthenosphere of the Pacific MORB-type into the Asian subcontinental lithosphere with EMII-like isotopic characteristics. The late Miocene-Pliocene magmatic activity of the eastern Sikhote Alin showed an intraplate character, but the composition of erupted magmas was strongly affected by previous tectonomagmatic events: subduction of different ages and opening of the Sea of Japan Basin. The distinct EMI isotopic signature of low-potassium plateau basalts, which is not observed in the lavas of earlier stages of volcanic belt evolution, suggests that the continental asthenosphere contributed to magma formation, and the direction of mantle flows changed owing to the formation of a new subduction zone.