Peculiar Mg–Ca–Si metasomatism along a shear zone within the mantle wedge: inference from fine-grained xenoliths from Avacha volcano,Kamchatka

We found extremely high-Mg# (=Mg/(Mg + total Fe) atomic ratio) ultramafic rocks in Avacha peridotite suite. All the high-Mg# rocks have higher modal amounts of clinopyroxene than ordinary Avacha peridotite xenoliths, and their lithology is characteristically heterogeneous, varying from clinopyroxenite through olivine websterite to pyroxene-bearing dunite. The Mg# of minerals is up to 0.99, 0.98 and 0.97 in clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and olivine, respectively, decreasing progressively toward contact with dunitic part, if any. The petrographical feature of pyroxenes in the high-Mg# pyroxenite indicates their metasomatic origin, and high LREE/HREE ratio of the metasomatic clinopyroxene implies that the pyroxenites are the products of reaction between dunitic peridotites and high-Ca, silicate-rich fluids. The lithological variation of the Avacha high-Mg# pyroxenites from clinopyroxenite to olivine websterite resulted from various degrees of fluid-rock reaction coupled with fractional crystallization of the high-Ca fluids, which started by precipitation of high-Mg# clinopyroxene. Such fluids were possibly generated originally at a highly reduced serpentinized peridotite layer above the subducting slab. The fluids can reach the uppermost mantle along a shear zone as a conduit composed of fine-grained peridotite that developed after continent-ward asthenospheric retreats from the mantle wedge beneath the volcanic front. The fluids are incorporated in mantle partial melts when the magmatism is activated by expansion of asthenosphere to mantle wedge beneath the volcanic front.     

Upper mantle anisotropy beneath northeast India–Asia collision zone from shear-wave splitting analysis

Teleseismic earthquake data recorded by 11 broadband digital seismic stations deployed in the India–Asia collision zone in the eastern extremity of the Himalayan orogen (Tidding Suture) are analyzed to investigate the seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle. Shear-wave splitting parameters (Φ and δt) derived from the analysis of core-refracted SKS phases provide first hand information about seismic anisotropy and deformation in the upper mantle beneath the region. The analysis shows considerable strength of anisotropy (delay time ~0.85–1.9 s) with average ENE–WSW-oriented fast polarization direction (FPD) at most of the stations. The FPD observed at stations close to the Tidding Suture aligns parallel to the strike of local geological faults and orthogonal to absolute plate motion direction of the Indian plate. The average trend of FPD at each station indicates that the anisotropy is primarily originated by lithospheric deformation due to India–Asia collision. The splitting data analyzed at closely spaced stations suggest a shallow source of anisotropy originated in the crust and upper mantle. The observed delay times indicate that the primary source of anisotropy is located in the upper mantle. The shear-wave splitting analysis in the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis (EHS) and surrounding regions suggests complex strain partitioning in the mantle which is accountable for evolution of the EHS and complicated syntaxial tectonics.     

High-Nb hawaiite–mugearite and high-Mg calc-alkaline lavas from northeastern Iran: Oligo-Miocene melts from modified mantle wedge

Tertiary volcanic rocks in northwestern Firoozeh, Iran (the Meshkan triangular structural unit), constitute vast outcrops (up to 250 km²) of high-Mg basaltic andesites to dacites that are associated with high-Nb hawaiites and mugearites. Whole-rock ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages show a restricted range of 24.1 ± 0.4–22.9 ± 0.5 Ma for the volcanic rocks. The initial ratios of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd vary from 0.703800 to 0.704256 and 0.512681 to 0.512877, respectively, in the high-Mg basaltic andesites–dacites. High-Th contents (up to 11 ppm) and Sr/Y values (27–100) and the isotopic composition of the subalkaline high-Mg basaltic andesites–dacites indicate derivation from a mantle modified by slab and sediment partial melts. Evidence such as reverse zoning and resorbed textures and high Ni and Cr contents in the evolved samples indicate that magma mixing with mafic melts and concurrent fractional crystallization lead to the compositional evolution of this series. The high-Nb hawaiites and mugearites, by contrast, have a sodic alkaline affinity and are silica undersaturated; they are also enriched in Nb (up to 47 ppm) and a wide range of incompatible trace elements, including LILE, LREE, and HFSE. Geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the high-Nb hawaiites and mugearites suggest derivation from a mantle source affected by lower degrees of slab melts. Post-orogenic slab break-off is suggested to have prompted the asthenospheric upwelling that triggered partial melting in mantle metasomatized by slab-derived melts.     

Evolution of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath eastern China: Re–Os isotopic evidence from mantle xenoliths in Paleozoic kimberlites and Mesozoic basalts

The ages of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the North China and South China cratons are less well-constrained than the overlying crust. We report Re–Os isotope systematics of mantle xenoliths entrained in Paleozoic kimberlites and Mesozoic basalts from eastern China. Peridotite xenoliths from the Fuxian and Mengyin Paleozoic diamondiferous kimberlites in the North China Craton give Archean Re depletion ages of 2.6–3.2 Ga and melt depletion ages of 2.9–3.4 Ga. No obvious differences in Re and Os abundances, Os isotopic ratios and model ages are observed between spinel-facies and garnet-facies peridotites from both kimberlite localities. The Re–Os isotopic data, together with the PGE concentrations, demonstrate that beneath the Archean continental crust of the eastern North China Craton, Archean lithospheric mantle of spinel- to diamond-facies existed without apparent compositional stratification during the Paleozoic. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic basalt-borne peridotite and pyroxenite xenoliths, on the other hand, show geochemical features indicating metasomatic enrichment, along with a large range of the Re–Os isotopic model ages from Proterozoic to Phanerozoic. These features indicate that lithospheric transformation or refertilization through melt-peridotite interaction could be the primary mechanism for compositional changes during the Phanerozoic, rather than delamination or thermal-mechanical erosion, despite the potential of these latter processes to play an important role for the loss of garnet-facies mantle. A fresh garnet lherzolite xenolith from the Yangtze Block has a Re depletion age of ∼1.04 Ga, much younger than overlying Archean crustal rocks but the same Re depletion ages as spinel lherzolite xenoliths from adjacent Mesozoic basalts, indicating Neoproterozoic resetting of the Re–Os system in the South China Craton.     

Magma–magma interaction in the mantle recorded by megacrysts from Cenozoic basalts in eastern China

ABSTRACT

Recently, besides magma–rock and rock–rock reaction, magma–magma interaction at mantle depth has been proposed as an alternative mechanism to produce diverse compositions of mantle. Clinopyroxene and garnet megacrysts can be formed at this condition since this process is suggested to trigger the high-pressure crystallization of these minerals. Studying on this type of megacrysts provides us important information on the genesis of intraplate basalts and the chemical heterogeneity of mantle, which has not been reported before. Here we present major, trace elements and Sr isotopes of clinopyroxene and garnet megacrysts hosted by Cenozoic basalts from Penglai, Shandong province of eastern China. The megacrysts are suggested to be formed by crystallization from magma because of their moderate Mg^# (74.0–79.9 for clinopyroxene and 58.8–65.0 for garnet) and good correlations between Mg^# and other elements (e.g. CaO, TiO₂, Nd and Lu). The potential crystallized temperature and pressure are estimated to be ~1156°C at 2.6–3.2 GPa, which should occur at the top of asthenosphere or lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary based on the lithospheric thickness in this area (~60–70 km). Since the megacrysts show variable Sr isotopes, and their primary magmas show negative correlation between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Hf/Sm ratios, as well as positive correlation between Ba/Th and Nb/U for clinopyroxenes, it indicates a mixing origin. Cenozoic basalts from Shandong show a mixing trend, and high-pressure fractionation of clinopyroxene and garnet is suggested to occur during the mixing process because some basalts show significantly higher Sm/Yb and lower Ca/Al ratios than others, which again supports our interpretations. When compared to megacrysts and host basalts from other locations of eastern China, similar geochemical variations and a deviation trend relative to the mixing trend are also observed. It indicates that magma–magma interaction can be a common process for formation of intraplate basalts and basalt-borne megacrysts.     

Mafic and silica-rich glasses in mantle xenoliths from Wau-en-Namus,Libya: Textural and geochemical evidence for peridotite–melt reactions

Anhydrous spinel peridotite xenoliths in Quaternary nepheline-basanite and melilite- or sodalite-bearing lavas of the Wau-en-Namus volcano in S Libya range from lherzolites to harzburgites recording melt extraction in a shallow setting (≤ 2 GPa). Primary clinopyroxenes have distinct trace element characteristics documenting LILE (large ion lithophile element) depletion or enrichment events predating the formation of glass pockets and veins in the xenoliths. These glasses are aluminous and alkali-rich, range in composition from ultrabasic to silicic (43–67 wt.% SiO₂) and may contain empty vugs and micro-phenocrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene, spinel, plagioclase, sodalite, apatite that are similar in composition to phenocrysts in the host lavas. Reactions of infiltrating melt and xenolith minerals are documented by diffuse Fe–Ca-rich rims of olivine in contact with glass, and by spongy-textured reaction domains caused by incongruent dissolution of primary pyroxenes and spinel. Some glasses have trace element characteristics similar to that of the host Ne-basanite, suggesting they were derived from the same source during entrainment and transport to the surface. Incompatible element enrichment and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the analyzed host lava are similar to HIMU (high μ; μ = ²³⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb)-type magmas, but the Pb isotopic composition is less radiogenic compared to other intra-plate Neogene magmatic rocks from N Africa.     

Magmatism and metallogeny associated with mantle upwelling: Zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf constraints from the gold-mineralized Jinchang granite,NE China

The Jinchang gold deposit is located in the easternmost portion of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and represents one of the major gold districts in eastern Jilin–Heilongjiang provinces of China. The gold ore bodies are hosted mainly in altered Mesozoic granitoids, breccia pipes and ring and radial faults. Gold mineralization consists of alteration (stockwork in hydrothermally altered granites), breccia, and quartz-sulfide vein-types. Alteration assemblages around the alteration-style ore body show a vertical sequence of potassic, phyllic, and propylitic zones.In this study, we present U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope data on zircons derived from mineralized granophyric granite, biotite monzogranite, granodiorite, and granite porphyry, and sericite Rb–Sr ages from the Jinchang gold deposit. The results show ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 201 ± 3 Ma (MSWD = 1.1), 203 ± 4 Ma (MSWD = 1.4), 201 ± 5 Ma (MSWD = 2.1), and 110 ± 3 Ma (MSWD = 1.6), respectively. Sericite from the gold-mineralized phyllic-altered granodiorite and granite porphyry returns Rb–Sr isochron ages of 110 ± 4 Ma (MSWD = 1.04) and 107 ± 5 Ma (MSWD = 0.91), respectively. Our new data indicate that the gold mineralization at Jinchang took place at ca. 110 Ma and was temporally related to intrusion of the granite porphyry. Zircon ε Hf (200 Ma) values of the ca. 200 Ma granites vary from − 4.8 to + 8.1, with T^C_DM model ages of 727–1535 Ma, reflecting their derivation mainly by partial melting of juvenile Proterozoic crust. The gold-bearing 110 Ma granite porphyry returns ε Hf (110 Ma) values in the range of − 1.6 to + 9.8, with T^C_DM model ages of 542–1069 Ma, suggesting partial melts of juvenile Proterozoic crust with notable input of mantle components as compared to the ca. 200 Ma granites. Compiled oxygen (δ¹⁸O_SMOW = − 0.7–10.1) and hydrogen (δD_SMOW = − 99 to − 70) stable isotopic values of quartz from ores indicate that the ore-forming fluids were predominantly exsolved from magmas with minor amount of meteoric water in quartz-sulfide veins at the late stage. The Hf isotope data from the granite porphyry, integrated with the results from previous data on S and Pb isotopic composition of ores, constrain the source of ore-forming components as lower crust with discernible mantle inputs and wall rock assimilation. Our results have implications bearing on the widespread magmatism and metallogenic event during the Early Cretaceous time in East China, and link them to mantle upwelling that contributed both heat and volatiles for crustal melting and scavenging of metals which in turn were concentrated in upper crustal levels through exsolution for the magmas.     

Cumulate hornblendite enclaves in diorite–porphyrite intrusions from the Shuangyashan,Northeast China,and implications for the transition from lower crust to upper mantle in subduction setting

A suite of hornblendite (amphibole proportion ≥90%) enclaves were found in Late Cretaceous diorite–porphyrite stocks intruding the lower Cretaceous coal strata around the Shuangyashan City, eastern Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China. The enclaves have similar mineralogy and may be divided into clinopyroxene-bearing and clinopyroxene-free hornblendites and both of them show cumulate textures: pargasitic amphibole and clinopyroxene are cumulus and anorthitic plagioclase is intercumulus. The accumulation might have occurred in the magma chamber, minor clinopyroxene enclosed in amphibole was earlier crystallized, followed by a large amount of amphibole, and the residual melt trapped between cumulate crystals finally formed the intercumulus plagioclase. Probably, such a crystallization process could produce layered cumulates: lower part is dominated by clinopyroxene-bearing hornblendite and upper part is composed of clinopyroxene-free one. The enclaves have similar geochemistry and imply a hydrous basaltic parental magma enriched Rb, Ba, Th and other large-ion lithophile elements. The generation of the parental magma might be related to the subduction of Paleo-Pacific plate beneath eastern Eurasian continent at that time. Estimated crystallization pressure, P-wave velocity, and density for the cumulate hornblendite enclaves are generally in agreement with the values of the local crust–mantle transition zone, suggesting that these cumulates may have the origin in the transition from the lower crust to upper mantle in arc and back-arc settings.     

Noble-metal ore genesis and mantle–crust interaction

The mineral and geochemical compositions of noble-metal (first of all, gold) deposits of the Fennoscandian, Siberian, and Northeast Asian orogenic belts are considered. These deposits are of several types: Au (disseminated Au–sulfide and Au–quartz), Au–Bi, Au–Ag, Au–Sb, Ag–Sb, Au–Sb–Hg, and Ag–Hg. They formed in different geodynamic settings as a result of the active motion of crustal tectonic blocks of different nature. Subduction processes (both at the front and at the rear of continent-marginal and island-arc magmatic arcs) resulted in Au–Ag, Ag–Sb, Ag–Hg, Au–Sb–Hg, and Au–Bi deposits. Collision events gave rise to Au and Au–Bi deposits. Intraplate continental rifting and formation of orogenic belts along the boundaries of block (plate) sliding led to the origin of Au and Au–Bi ores in association with Au–Ag, Au–Sb–Hg, and complex ores. In all cases, the formation of noble-metal mineralization was accompanied by magmatism of different types and metamorphism. Because of this diversity of ores, there is no single concept of the genesis of noble-metal mineralization. Several competing models of genesis exist: hydrothermal-metamorphic, pluton-metamorphic, plutonic, activity of mantle fluid flows, and multistage concentration during the crust–mantle interaction with the leading role of sedimentary complexes.     

Evolution of the lithospheric mantle during passive rifting: Inferences from the Alpine–Apennine orogenic peridotites

This paper presents an updated review of recent field/structural and petrologic/geochemical studies on orogenic peridotites from the Alpine–Apennine ophiolites (NW Italy). Results provide determinant constraints to the evolution of the lithospheric mantle during passive rifting of the fossil Ligurian Tethys oceanic basin.The pre-rift, spinel lherzolites precursors, preserved in the mantle section of the Ligurian ophiolites, were resident in the lithosphere along an intermediate geothermal gradient (T about 1000 °C, P compatible with spinel-peridotite facies). Passive rifting by far-field tectonic forces induced whole-lithosphere extension and thinning (the a-magmatic stage). After significant thinning of the lithosphere, the passively upwelling asthenosphere underwent decompression melting along the axial zone of extension. Silica-undersaturated melt fractions infiltrated via diffuse/focused porous-flow through the lithospheric mantle under extension (the magmatic stage) and underwent pyroxenes-dissolving/olivine-crystallizing interaction with the percolated host peridotite.Pyroxenes assimilation and olivine deposition modified the melt compositions into silica-saturated. These derivative liquids migrated to shallower, plagioclase-peridotite facies levels, where they stagnated and impregnated/refertilized the lithospheric mantle. Melt thermal advection by melt infiltration heated to temperatures higher than 1200 °C the lithospheric mantle column above the melting asthenosphere.The syn-rift magmatic and tectonic processes induced significant rheological softening/weakening that destabilized the lithospheric mantle of the Europe–Adria plate along the axial zone of extension. The presence of destabilized lithospheric mantle between the future continental margins played a determinant role in promoting the geodynamic evolution from pre-oceanic rifting to oceanic spreading.The active upwelling of hotter/deeper asthenosphere inside the destabilized axial zone promoted transition to active rifting, enhancing continent break-up. Asthenosphere underwent partial melting and formed aggregated MORB liquids that migrated inside high-porosity dunite channels. The MORB liquids formed olivine-gabbro intrusions and pillowed lava flows (the oceanic crustal rocks).This paper evidences the primary role of mantle destabilization by melt infiltration in the geodynamic evolution of the Ligurian Tethys rifting.     

Mathiasite-loveringite and priderite in mantle xenoliths from the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province,Brazil: genesis and constraints on mantle metasomatism

Alkali-bearing Ti oxides were identified in mantle xenoliths enclosed in kimberlite-like rocks from Limeira 1 alkaline intrusion from the Alto Paranaíba Igneous Province, southeastern Brazil. The metasomatic mineral assemblages include mathiasite-loveringite and priderite associated with clinopyroxene, phlogopite, ilmenite and rutile. Mathiasite-loveringite (55–60 wt.% TiO₂; 5.2–6.7 wt.% ZrO₂) occurs in peridotite xenoliths rimming chromite (～50 wt.% Cr₂O₃) and subordinate ilmenite (12–13.4 wt.% MgO) in double reaction rim coronas. Priderite (Ba/(K+Ba)< 0.05) occurs in phlogopite-rich xenoliths as lamellae within Mg-ilmenite (8.4–9.8 wt.% MgO) or as intergrowths in rutile crystals that may be included in sagenitic phlogopite. Mathiasite-loveringite was formed by reaction of peridotite primary minerals with alkaline melts. The priderite was formed by reaction of peridotite minerals with ultrapotassic melts. Disequilibrium textures and chemical zoning of associated minerals suggest that the metasomatic reactions responsible for the formation of the alkali-bearing Ti oxides took place shortly prior the entrainment of the xenoliths in the host magma, and is not connected to old (Proterozoic) mantle enrichment events.     

Trace-element characteristics of east–west mantle geochemical hemispheres

Recent statistical analyses on the isotopic compositions of oceanic, arc, and continental basalts have revealed that the Earth's mantle is broadly divided into eastern and western hemispheres. The present study aimed to characterize the isotopically defined east–west geochemical hemispheres using trace-element concentrations. Basalt data with Rb, Sr, Nd, Sm, Pb, Th, and U in addition to the isotopic ratios ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb were selected mostly from the GEOROC and PetDB databases. A total of 4787 samples were used to investigate the global geochemical variations. The results show that the wide trace-element variations are broadly explained by the melting of melt-metasomatized and fluid-metasomatized mantle sources. The larger amount of the fluid component derived from subducted plates in the eastern hemisphere than that in the western hemisphere is inferred from the basalts. These characteristics support the hypothesis that focused subduction towards the supercontinent created the mantle geochemical hemispheres.     

Persistence of mantle lithospheric Re–Os signature during asthenospherization of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle: insights from in situ isotopic analysis of sulfides from the Ronda peridotite (Southern Spain)

The western part of the Ronda peridotite massif (Southern Spain) consists mainly of highly foliated spinel-peridotite tectonites and undeformed granular peridotites that are separated by a recrystallization front. The spinel tectonites are interpreted as volumes of ancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle and the granular peridotites as a portion of subcontinental lithospheric mantle that underwent partial melting and pervasive percolation of basaltic melts induced by Cenozoic asthenospheric upwelling. The Re–Os isotopic signature of sulfides from the granular domain and the recrystallization front mostly coincides with that of grains in the spinel tectonites. This indicates that the Re–Os radiometric system in sulfides was highly resistant to partial melting and percolation of melts induced by Cenozoic lithospheric thermal erosion. The Re–Os isotopic systematics of sulfides in the Ronda peridotites thus mostly conserve the geochemical memory of ancient magmatic events in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Os model ages record two Proterozoic melting episodes at ~1.6 to 1.8 and 1.2–1.4 Ga, respectively. The emplacement of the massif into the subcontinental lithospheric mantle probably coincided with one of these depletion events. A later metasomatic episode caused the precipitation of a new generation of sulfides at ~0.7 to 0.9 Ga. These Proterozoic Os model ages are consistent with results obtained for several mantle suites in Central/Western Europe and Northern Africa as well as with the Nd model ages of the continental crust of these regions. This suggests that the events recorded in mantle sulfides of the Ronda peridotites reflect different stages of generation of the continental crust in the ancient Gondwana supercontinent.     

Constraints from eclogite and MARID xenoliths on origins of mantle Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta variability

New trace-element data of rutile in kimberlite-borne ~1.85 Ga eclogite and pyroxenite xenoliths from the central Slave craton, as well as ~110 Ma MARID xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton, provide constraints on the origins of lithospheric and sublithospheric mantle variability in high field strength element ratios. Rutiles in eclogites and pyroxenites have Zr/Hf ranging from 20 to 62 and Nb/Ta ranging from 10 to 40. Rutiles in MARID xenoliths have Zr/Hf from 24 to 33 and Nb/Ta from 10 to 41. Calculated whole-rock Zr/Hf is suprachondritic for eclogites with suggested gabbroic protoliths and subchondritic for boninite-like eclogites; the latter is consistent with cpx-controlled depletion in the protolith source. Within each eclogite type, positive correlations of Zr/Hf with La/Lu and negative correlations with Lu/Hf likely reflect fractionation of cpx and/or plagioclase during crystallisation of the protoliths. Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta relationships of some MARID-type rocks, which are products of lithospheric mantle metasomatism, and eclogite xenoliths plot on a silicate differentiation trend, whereas other samples have higher Nb/Ta at a given Zr/Hf. Fractionation of a few percent rutile from an HFSE-rich mafic melt can generate a trend towards strongly increased Nb/Ta at minimally changed Zr/Hf in the residual melt. Superposition of rutile fractionation on the effects of silicate differentiation, which fractionates Zr/Hf more strongly than Nb/Ta, can explain the Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta relationships of most eclogites from the central Slave craton as well as those of MARID rocks, metasomatised peridotites and group II kimberlites. By contrast, Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta relationships suggest that Group I kimberlites are mixtures between depleted peridotite and carbonatite. Thus, high Nb/Ta is a signature of lithospheric processes and may not be important in deeply subducted eclogites that bypass extended residence in the lithosphere. Conversely, considerable primary Zr/Hf variability was inherited by the eclogites, which is indicative of the compositional diversity of ancient subducted oceanic crust, which is expected to have generated substantial heterogeneity in sublithospheric basalt sources.     

The great sulfur depletion of Earth’s mantle is not a signature of mantle–core equilibration

The extreme depletion of the Earth’s mantle in sulfur is commonly seen as a signature of metal segregation from Earth’s mantle to Earth’s core. However, in addition to S, the mantle contains other elements as volatile as S that are hardly depleted relative to the lithophile volatility trend although they are potentially as siderophile as sulfur. We report experiments in metal-sulfide–silicate systems to show that the CI normalized abundances of S, Pb, and Sn in Earth’s mantle cannot be reproduced by element partitioning in Fe ± S–silicate systems, neither at low nor at high pressure. Much of the volatile inventory of the Earth’s mantle must have been added late in the accretion history, when metal melt segregation to the core had become largely inactive. The great depletion in S is attributed to the selective segregation of a late sulfide matte from an oxidized and largely crystalline mantle. Apparently, the volatile abundances of Earth’s mantle are not in redox equilibrium with Earth’s core.     

Geochemistry and Os–Nd–Sr isotopes of the Gaositai Alaskan-type ultramafic complex from the northern North China craton: implications for mantle–crust interaction

We report petrological, chemical and Os–Nd–Sr isotopic data for the Gaositai ultramafic complex from northern North China craton (NCC) to reveal its petrogenesis. The complex shows features of Alaskan-type intrusions, including (1) the concentric zoning from dunite core, to clinopyroxenite and hornblendite in the rim, and the common cumulative textures; (2) the abundance of olivine, clinopyroxene and hornblende, and the scarcity of orthopyroxene and plagioclase, and (3) the systematic decrease in Mg# of ferromagnesian phases from core to rim, accompanied by the Fe-enrichment trend of accessory spinel. The different rock types show highly varied, radiogenic Os isotopic ratios (0.129–5.2), and unradiogenic Nd isotopic composition (ε_Nd(t) = −8 to −15), but are homogeneous in I_Sr ratios (0.7054–0.7066). The (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os)_i ratios are found to be anti-correlated with ε_Nd(t) values and whole-rock Mg# as well. These data suggest significant crustal contamination during magma evolution. The crustal contaminants are dominantly Archean mafic rocks in the lower crust, and subordinate TTG gneisses at shallower crustal levels. The parental magma was hydrous picritic in composition, derived from an enriched lithospheric mantle source above a subduction zone. The zoned pattern of the complex formed probably through “flow differentiation” of a rapidly rising crystal mush along a fracture zone that was developed as a result of lithospheric extension in a back-arc setting in the northern margin of the NCC at ca. 280 Ma.     

The dynamics of big mantle wedge,magma factory,and metamorphic–metasomatic factory in subduction zones

The East Asian continental margin is underlain by stagnant slabs resulting from subduction of the Pacific plate from the east and the Philippine Sea plate from the south. We classify the upper mantle in this region into three major domains: (a) metasomatic–metamorphic factory (MMF), subduction zone magma factory (SZMF), and the ‘big mantle wedge’ (BMW). Whereas the convection pattern is anticlockwise in the MMF domain, it is predominantly clockwise in the SZMF and BMW, along a cross section from the south. Here we define the MMF as a small wedge corner which is driven by the subducting Pacific plate and dominated by H₂O-rich fluids derived by dehydration reactions, and enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILE) which cause the metasomatism. The SZMF is a zone intermediate between MMF and BMW domains and constitutes the main region of continental crust production by partial melting through wedge counter-corner flow. Large hydrous plume generated at about 200 km depth causes extensive reduction in viscosity and the smaller scale hydrous plumes between 60 km and 200 km also bring about an overall reduction in the viscosity of SZMF. More fertile and high temperature peridotites are supplied from the entrance to this domain. The domain extends obliquely to the volcanic front and then swings back to the deep mantle together with the subducting slab. The BMW occupies the major portion of upper mantle in the western Pacific and convects largely with a clockwise sense removing the eastern trench oceanward. Sporadic formation of hydrous plume at the depth of around 410 km and the curtain flow adjacent to the trench cause back arc spreading. We envisage that the heat source in BMW could be the accumulated TTG (tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite) crust on the bottom of the mantle transition zone. The ongoing process of transportation of granitic crust into the mantle transition zone is evident from the deep subduction of five intra-oceanic arcs on the subducting Philippine Sea plate from the south, in addition to the sediment trapped subduction by the Pacific plate and Philippine Sea plate. The dynamics of MMF, SZMF and BMW domains are controlled by the angle of subduction; a wide zone of MMF in SW Japan is caused by shallow angle subduction of the Philippine Sea plate and the markedly small MMF domain in the Mariana trench is due to the high angle subduction of Pacific plate. The domains in NE Japan and Kyushu region are intermediate between these two. During the Tertiary, a series of marginal basins were formed because of the nearly 2000 km northward shift of the subduction zone along the southern margin of Tethyan Asia, which may be related to the collision of India with Asia and the indentation. The volume of upper mantle under Asia was reduced extensively on the southern margin with a resultant oceanward trench retreat along the eastern margin of Asia, leading to the formation of a series of marginal basins. The western Pacific domain in general is characterized by double-sided subduction; from the east by the oldest Pacific plate and from the south by the oldest Indo-Australian plate. The old plates are hence hydrated extensively even in their central domains and therefore of low temperature. The cracks have allowed the transport of water into the deeper portions of the slab and these domains supply hydrous fluids even to the bottom of the upper mantle. Thus, a fluid dominated upper mantle in the western Pacific drives a number of microplates and promote the plate boundary processes.