Andean subduction-related mantle xenoliths: Isotopic evidence of Sr–Nd decoupling during metasomatism

Sr–Nd isotopic analyses on some mantle xenolith samples from the Northern, Southern and Austral Andean volcanic zones exhibit radiogenic Sr enrichment without dramatic changing of the Nd isotopic composition. This anomalous effect (Sr–Nd decoupling) makes these samples plot displaced to the right side of the “mantle array” trend (here called the “MORB–OIB–BSE trend”) in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr vs. ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotopic diagram. Such behavior reflects processes that took place in the mantle and can be related to: i) the mixture of a depleted mantle and an enriched source (enriched mantle II—EMII); ii) the mixture of a depleted mantle and a mixture of mantle-derived and slab-derived melts; and iii) a chromatographic process that occurs during the percolation of a metasomatic agent through the mantle.     

The effect of metasomatism on the Cr-PGE mineralization in the Finero Complex, Ivrea Zone, Southern Alps

The magmatic metasomatism that was responsible for producing chromitite–dunite bodies in the unusual phlogopite peridotite of the Finero Complex in Permian to Triassic times also influenced the Cr-platinum group elements (PGE) mineralization. At least the end stages of this metasomatism are recorded in compositional zoning of chromite grains in the podiform chromitite. Metasomatic melt, with or without vapor, reacted with chromite to produce core-to-rim Cr enrichment of extant chromite grains and was concurrent with pyroxene crystallization. Under conditions of lower melt/rock ratio, metasomatism resulted in core-to-rim Al enrichment in chromite and crystallization of amphibole between chromite and clinopyroxene. This early, high-temperature metasomatism is unrelated to the later and pervasive K-metasomatism that crystallized phlogopite and was associated with the intrusion of clinopyroxenite dikes that cut the peridotite. Much later, serpentinization of olivine locally depleted chromite in Al and enriched it in Fe and formed minor amounts of magnetite.The PGE, which are present mainly as laurite inclusions in chromite, were remobilized by the early metasomatism. This resulted in substantial variation in the PGE contents of chromitites and imposed a characteristic PGE pattern in which chondrite-normalized Os, Ir, Ru and Rh contents are high but Pt and Pd contents are low. The slopes of PGE chondrite-normalized concentration patterns are systematically related to absolute PGE abundance and to rock mode. Chromitites with low modal orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and amphibole exhibit negative PGE slopes and contain relatively high PGE concentrations, whereas chromitites rich in these silicate minerals have positive slopes and low PGE contents.     

The Mud Tank carbonatite complex,central Australia —an example of metasomatism at mid-crustal levels

The Mud Tank carbonatite complex comprises a series of lenses emplaced about 730 Ma ago along a 5 km segment of a ductile shear zone. Each lens consists of a carbonate core surrounded by mica-rich zones, emplaced into granitoid cataclasites, mafic granulites and rare lenses of aluminous rocks. Xenoliths of all sizes abound in the complex. Inclusions of unfoliated mafic granulites lack hypersthene, contain albitic plagioclase and Na-rich taramite to hastingsite amphiboles, and are enriched in Si, Na and Ba and depleted in Fe, Zr and Pb relative to similar granulites in the country rocks. Alkali-syenite inclusions contain riebeckite and aegirine. The complex contains magnesio-katophorite to magnesio-arfvedsonite amphibole, with late riebeckite and ferri-winchite, abundant phlogopitic mica and sparse acmitic pyroxene. Mineral thermobarometry suggests original emplacement at>650°C, 0.5 Gpa under high water and fluorine fugacities. Present configuration of the and entrainment of parts of the metasomatic aureole along shear zones. of abundant detrital magnetite, apatite and zircon drew attention to these bodies more than 40 years ago. A carbonatitic origin, first proposed by Crohn and Gellatly (1969), has been supported by aeromagnetic interpretation (Tipper 1966), preliminary geochemistry (Gellatly 1969), geochronology (Black and Gulson 1978) and stable isotope studies (Wilson 1979). Crohn and Moore (1984) reviewed earlier work, and concluded that alkali metasomatism typical of carbonatite complexes did not occur around the Mud Tank complex. We demonstrate that such metasomatism is present, but of unusual character.     

Granulite facies metamorphism and metasomatism in the gabbro-anorthosites of the Kolvitsa massif,Kola Peninsula

The investigation of the Kolvitsa gabbro-anorthosite massif showed that its melanocratic layers conformable with metamorphic banding are mafic differentiates transformed into eclogite-like rocks during prograde metamorphism. During the peak and retrograde stage of the Svecofennian metamorphism in the White Sea region at t = 910–750°C and P = 14-7 kbar, the infiltration of Fe-, CO₂-, Si-, and Na-bearing fluids with X_{H2 O} < 0.4X_{H_2 O} < 0.4 resulted in metasomatic alterations of the melanocratic gabbro-anorthosite interlayers, dissolution of a number of elements, and their reprecipitation with the formation of cross-cutting zoned metasomatic veins with abundant magnetite and ilmenite. The high content of hematite in the ilmenite suggests that the veins were formed at an increase in oxygen fugacity from logf_O2 = - 14.5\log f_{O_2 } = - 14.5 to logf_O2 = - 11\log f_{O_2 } = - 11, which caused the Fe²⁺ → Fe³⁺ transition and iron precipitation. The increase in at the conditions corresponding to the metamorphic peak was probably related to the neutralization of solutions during their infiltration through the gabbro-anorthosites. The reprecipitation of components and the formation of cross-cutting veins occurred owing to interaction between the melanocratic layers in the gabbro-anorthosites and a fluid phase and, contrary to previous models, did not involve the fluid transport of components from the zones of charnockite formation and granitization located far away from the sites of reprecipitation. This is demonstrated by the similarity of mineral compositions and major component contents in the melanocratic gabbro-anorthosite layers and cross-cutting metasomatic veins and regular distribution of trace elements.     

Geochemistry of mafic dikes in the Singhbhum Orissa craton: implications for subduction-related metasomatism of the mantle beneath the eastern Indian craton

Mafic dikes, which transect the Mesoarchaean Singhbhum Granitoid Complex, are the most abundant members of the Newer Dolerite dikes of the Singhbhum Orissa craton. These dikes are subalkaline and exhibit a tholeiitic differentiation trend. Studied dikes underwent fractional crystallization of clinopyroxene and plagioclase. They show enriched patterns for the light rare earth elements (LREE) and large ion lithophile elements (LILE). On primitive mantle-normalized multi-element patterns, they possess Ba, Nb, Sr, P, and Ti depletions similar to subduction-related basaltic rocks. The high (La/Yb) _n and (Gd/Yb) _n ratios suggest that the studied mafic dikes were derived by low degrees of partial melting of a garnet-bearing source. Judging by trace elemental ratios (e.g. Ba/Y, Nb/Y, Ba/Th and Th/Nb), the studied dikes were derived from a mantle source metasomatized by a subduction component (e.g. fluids derived by dehydration of the subducting slab). We conclude that interaction between these fluids and the overlying mantle was the main cause of (LREE and LILE) enrichment and Nb (high field strength elements) depletion in the mafic dikes.     

Silica and volatile-element metasomatism of Archean mantle: a xenolith-scale example from the Kaapvaal Craton

Textural evidence in a composite garnet harzburgite mantle xenolith from Kimberley, South Africa, suggests metasomatism of a severely melt-depleted substrate by a siliceous, volatile-rich fluid. The fluid reacted with olivine-rich garnet harzburgite, converting olivine to orthopyroxene, forming additional garnet and introducing phlogopite, and small quantities of sulfide and probable carbonate. Extensive reaction (>50%) forming orthopyroxenite resulted from channelized flow in a vein, with orthopyroxene growth in the surrounding matrix from a pervasive grain-boundary fluid. The mineralogy of the reaction assemblage and the bulk composition of the added component dominated by Si and Al, with lesser quantities of K, Na, H, C and S, are consistent with experimental studies of hybridization of siliceous melts or fluids with peridotite. However, low Na, Fe and Ca compared with melts of eclogite suggest a fluid phase that previously evolved by reaction with peridotitic mantle. Garnet and phlogopite trace element compositions indicate a fluid rich in large-ion lithophile (LIL) elements, but poor in high field-strength elements (HFSE), qualitatively consistent with subduction zone melts and fluids. An Os isotope (T_RD) model age of 2.97 ± 0.04 Ga and lack of compositional zonation in the xenolith indicate an ancient origin, consistent with proposed 2.9 Ga subduction and continental collision in the Kimberley region. The veined sample reflects the silicic end of a spectrum of compositions generated in the Kimberley mantle lithosphere by the metasomatizing effects of fluids derived from oceanic lithosphere. These results provide petrographic and chemical evidence for fluid-mediated Si-, volatile- and trace-element metasomatism of Archean mantle, and support models advocating large-scale modification of regions of Archean subcontinental mantle by subduction processes that occurred in the Archean.     

Geochemistry of Neoproterozoic mafic intrusions in the Panzhihua district (Sichuan Province,SW China): Implications for subduction-related metasomatism in the upper mantle

Metasomatism above subduction zones is an important process that produces heterogeneous mantle and thus a diversity of igneous rocks. In the Panzhihua district, on the western margin of the Yangtze Block (SW China), two Neoproterozoic mafic intrusions, one olivine gabbro and one hornblende gabbro, have identical ages of 746 ± 10 and 738 ± 23 Ma. Both of the gabbros are tholeiitic in composition and have arc-like geochemical compositions. The hornblende gabbros have K₂O concentrations ranging from 0.70 to 1.69 wt.% and show enrichment of Rb, Ba, U, Th and Pb and depletion of Nb,Ta and Ti. They have variable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7045–0.7070) with constant ɛNd(t) values (−0.12 to −0.93). The olivine gabbros have relatively low K₂O (0.19–0.43 wt.%), are depleted in Rb and Th relative to Ba and U, and have obvious negative Nb–Ta and Zr–Hf anomalies on primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagrams. Their ɛNd(t) values range from −0.64 to −1.73 and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios from 0.7070 to 0.7075. Both types of gabbro experienced fractional crystallization of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, amphibole and minor Fe–Ti oxide. The parental magmas of the olivine and hornblende gabbros were formed by about 20% partial melting of garnet–spinel lherzolite and spinel lherzolite, respectively. According to trace elemental ratios, the hornblende gabbros were probably derived from a source strongly modified by subducted slab fluids, whereas the olivine gabbros came from a mantle source modified by subducted slab melts. The close association of the olivine gabbros and hornblende gabbros suggests that a steep subduction zone existed along the western margin of the Yangtze Block during Neoproterozoic time. Thus, the giant Neoproterozoic magmatic event in South China was subduction-related.     

Changing direction of magnetic fabric in a thrust unit: an example from the Karkonosze-Izera massif (SW Poland)

The southern and eastern margins of the Karkonosze-Izera massif in the West Sudetes expose a nappe pile overthrust toward the NW onto the pre-Variscan continental basement of the Saxothuringian basin. The uppermost thrust sheet, the Leszczyniec nappe, shows an entirely different structural pattern in comparison to all underlying units. Although this contrast of structural trends has been long recognized, the irregular distribution of structural data prevented its reliable tectonic interpretation. Therefore, the AMS method was applied in the area to collect more structural information from meta-igneous, often massive and weakly foliated and lineated rocks of the Leszczyniec unit. An analysis of the magnetic fabric confirms the general difference of structural plan between the Leszczyniec nappe and the underlying tectonic units, interpreted below to result from the juxtaposition of entirely decoupled crustal segments. Furthermore, the AMS data reveals a discrepancy of the magnetic fabric within the Leszczyniec unit itself, between the metabasites and penetrating them metagranitoids. The latter rocks demonstrate a continuous transition of a structural trend towards that, typical of the underlying nappe pile. This abrupt change probably reflects an uplift of the Leszczyniec unit into the shallower crustal level dominated by a different deformation regime.     

An example of trondhjemite genesis by means of alkali metasomatism: Rockford Granite,Alabama Appalachians

A model for trondhjemite genesis is proposed where granite is transformed to trondhjemite via infiltration by a Na-rich metamorphic fluid. The Rockford Granite of the Northern Alabama Piedmont serves as the case example for this process and is characterized as a synmetamorphic, peraluminous trondhjemite-granite suite. The major process operative in the conversion of granite to trondhjemite involves cation exchange of Na for K in the feldspar and mica phases through a volatile fluid medium. Whole-rock ¹⁸O values for the trondhjemites are negatively correlated with atomic proportion K/Na ratio indicating a partial reequilibration of the altered granitoids with a Na- and¹⁸O-rich metamorphically derived fluid. Biotite decomposition to an Al-epidote-paragonitic muscovite-secondary quartz assemblage is also associated with the sodium metasomatism, as are apatite replacement by Al-epidote and secondary zircon crystallization. Rare albitization of primary magmatic plagioclase and discontinuous grossularite reaction rim growth on magmatic garnet are present in the trondhjemites indicating the mobility of Ca during alkali metasomatism. The replacement of magmatic phases by me tasomatic phases exemplifies the chemical changes produced during infiltration metasomatism where the trondhjemites are depleted in P₂O₅, Th, Rb, U, K₂O, V, Sn, F, MgO, Pb, TiO₂, FeO^* and Li and enriched in CaO, Na₂O, Zr and Sr relative to the granites. Other elements, such as Cr, MnO, Cu, Zn, Co, Ba, SiO₂, Ni, Al₂O₃, are shown to be relatively immobile during the metasomatism. The infiltration metasomatism probably occurred during prograde regional metamorphism, when a discrete fluid phase was produced in the surrounding amphibolite-grade metasediments. Foliation planes in the granite apparently served as conduits for fluid flow with reaction-enhanced permeability accompanying the 8% molar volume reduction during Na-for-K exchange in the feldspars. A source for the Na and Sr in the metamorphic fluid may have been paragonitic muscovite in the metasedimentary country rocks. Rubidium and K were probably retained in metasedimentary biotite. The Silent Lake pluton in southeastern Ontario is a possible analogue to the alkali metasomatic processes affecting the Rockford Granite.     

阿尔巴尼亚布尔齐泽壳-幔过渡带豆荚状铬铁矿成因及其对富Ti熔体交代作用的记录

豆荚状铬铁矿是关键金属铬的重要来源之一,尽管豆荚状铬铁矿的研究取得了诸多进展,但对于发育于蛇绿岩壳-幔过渡带的铬铁矿成因却涉及较少。阿尔巴尼亚布尔齐泽岩体壳-幔过渡带中产出的Cerruja豆荚状铬铁矿矿床,其矿体及纯橄岩围岩普遍被辉石岩脉穿切,辉石岩脉与矿体接触带以及辉石岩脉中的铬尖晶石强烈破碎,在铬尖晶石的裂隙和包裹体中发育大量富Ti矿物相,如金红石、钛铁矿和榍石等,是研究壳-幔过渡带铬铁矿成因的理想对象。Cerruja豆荚状铬铁矿及纯橄岩围岩中铬尖晶石Cr#分别为0.56~0.58和0.52~0.55,属于高铝型铬铁矿。接触带及辉石岩脉中的铬尖晶石Cr#明显升高（分别为0.57~0.67和0.72~0.83）,且Ti、V、Mn、Sc、Co、Zn和Ga含量也升高。本文依据铬尖晶石的结构及矿物化学成分变化特征,提出布尔齐泽壳-幔过渡带铬铁矿经历多阶段演化叠加：首先,Mirdita-Pindos洋盆在侏罗纪（约165 Ma）发生洋内初始俯冲,软流圈物质上涌生成的MORB-like弧前玄武质熔体随着俯冲的进行逐渐向玻安质熔体演变,期间产生的过渡型熔体与地幔橄榄岩反应生成高铝型铬铁矿;然后,部分MORB-like弧前玄武质熔体随着堆晶间隙分离结晶往富Fe和Ti的方向演化,改造早期形成的高铝型铬铁矿并结晶高铬型铬铁矿,同时生成金红石、钛铁矿和榍石等富Ti矿物相。     

Role of chemical processes on shear zone formation: an example from the Grimsel metagranodiorite (Aar massif,Central Alps)

Alpine deformation in the Grimsel granodiorite (Aar massif, Central Alps) at greenschist facies conditions (6.5 ± 1 kbar for 450°C ± 25°C) is characterized by the development of a network of centimetre to decametre localized shear zones that surround lenses of undeformed granodiorite. Localization of deformation is assumed to be the result of a first stage of extreme localization on brittle precursors (nucleation stage) followed by a transition to ductile deformation and lateral propagation into the weakly deformed granodiorite (widening stage). A paradox of this model is that the development of the ductile shear zone is accompanied by the crystallization of large amounts of phyllosilicates (white mica and chlorite) that maintains a weak rheology in the localized shear zone relative to the host rock so that deformation is localized and prevents shear zone widening. We suggest that chemical processes, and more particularly, the metamorphic reactions and metasomatism occurring during re‐equilibration of the metastable magmatic assemblage induced shear zone widening at these P–T–X conditions. These processes (reactions and mass transfer) were driven by the chemical potential gradients that developed between the thermodynamically metastable magmatic assemblage at the edge of the shear zone and the stable white mica and chlorite rich ultramylonite formed during the first stage of shear zone due to localized fluid infiltration metasomatism. P–T and chemical potential projections and sections show that the process of equilibration of the wall rocks (μ–μ path) occurs via the reactions: kf + cz + ab + bio + MgO + H₂O = mu + q + CaO + Na₂O and cz + ab + bio + MgO + H₂O = chl + mu + q + CaO + Na₂O. Computed phase diagram and mass balance calculations predict that these reactions induce relative losses of CaO and Na₂O of ～100% and ～40% respectively, coupled with hydration and a gain of ～140% for MgO. Intermediate rocks within the strain gradient (ultramylonite, mylonite and orthogneiss) reflect various degrees of re‐equilibration and metasomatism. The softening reaction involved may have reduced the strength at the edge of the shear zone and therefore promoted shear zone widening. Chemical potential phase diagram sections also indicate that the re‐equilibration process has a strong influence on equilibrium mineral compositions. For instance, the decrease in Si‐content of phengite from 3.29 to 3.14 p.f.u, when white mica is in equilibrium with the chlorite‐bearing assemblage, may be misinterpreted as the result of decompression during shear zone development while it is due only to syn‐deformation metasomatism at the peak metamorphic condition. The results of this study suggest that it is critical to consider chemical processes in the formation of shear zones particularly when deformation affects metastable assemblages and mass transfer are involved.     

The types and mechanisms of metasomatism

Metasomatism is considered as a group of various replacement phenomena - the effect of pore fluids and surface energy at the solid-fluid interface. Various types of metasomatism are identified, dependent on the volume of equilibrium mineral-forming systems and types of equilibrium, distance of mass-exchange, stage nature of the metasomatic process, energy of the active fluid, relationship between metasomatism and other types of replacement, and its molecular mechanism. The physicochemical types and elements of molecular physics and the kinetics of metasomatism are discussed. -- Author.     

The Carboniferous shoshonitic (s.l.) gabbro–monzonitic stocks of Veiros and Vale de Maceira,Ossa-Morena Zone (SW Iberian Massif): Evidence for diverse subduction-related lithospheric metasomatism

Post-collisional potassium-rich rocks are a critical petrogenetic and geodynamic marker across the European Variscan Belt. We present a detailed characterization of the only potassium-rich mafic intrusions identified so far in the Ossa-Morena Zone (Iberian Massif). Using new major, trace and SmNd isotopic whole-rock analyses, as well as mineral chemistry analyses, we discussed the petrogenesis of the early Carboniferous potassium-rich Veiros and Vale de Maceira (Portugal) stocks in the geotectonic framework of the southern Iberia, marked by the collision of the Ossa-Morena Zone, a Gondwanan terrane, with the South Portuguese Zone, a Laurussian terrane. The Veiros and Vale de Maceira shoshonites (s.l.) range from gabbros to syenites, with a predominance of monzonites and monzogabbros, characterized by different proportions of olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, alkali feldspar, phlogopite and brown hornblende. The Veiros stock is mainly composed of fine-grained ultrapotassic rocks, and the Vale de Maceira stock is composed chiefly of medium-grained shoshonite rocks. A small group of hornblende-bearing medium-grained calk-alkaline rocks was also identified. The stocks have high contents of K₂O, MgO, total alkalis, Th and other LILE, high ratios of LREE/HREE and LREE /HFSE, and show a Nb-Ta-Ti negative anomaly, typical of orogenic settings. Sr and Nd isotopes yielded moderate radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd, that might suggest the involvement of a crustal component. However, the combined use of isotopic and elemental compositions rules out significant contamination by crustal materials upon ascent and emplacement. Instead, a source metasomatised by subduction-related fluids and hydrous melts from the slab is proposed. This diversely metasomatised source was a phlogopite-amphibole-bearing and (phlogopite-free) amphibole-bearing lherzolite at the upper part of the garnet stability field in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. The Devonian mafic volcanic rocks point to a northward dipping (present coordinates) subduction of the Rheic oceanic plate underneath the Ossa-Morena Zone during the Variscan Orogeny. However, the Veiros and Vale de Maceira magmas originated during the post-collisional stage from the partial melting of the supra-subduction metasomatized lithosphere. The melting occurred during a period of enhanced heat due to asthenospheric upwelling related to the slab break-off of the Rheic's slab. The stocks are concomitant with the profusion of granitoid intrusions, which is compatible with a post-collisional tectonic setting. They are also coeval with the opening of the Beja-Acebuches back-arc, likely related to slab roll-back of a segment of the Rheic oceanic crust, implying polyphasic subduction and a complex geodynamic setting for the late stages of oceanic closure in southern Iberia.     

Late Miocene calc-alkalic volcanism in northwestern Mexico: an expression of rift or subduction-related magmatism?

Magmatism in NW Mexico records a Late Miocene transformation from convergence to extension in the Gulf of California rift system. Miocene calc-alkalic rocks in the Baja California peninsula are related to the final subduction of the Farallon plate system, but the heterogeneous nature of volcanism younger than 12.5 Ma has led to conflicting tectonic interpretations. Neogene volcanic rocks in the Sierra Santa Ursula, Sonora, were emplaced in three magma pulses, according to mapping, K–Ar geochronology, and geochemistry. From 23.5 to 15 and 14 to 11.4 Ma, calc-alkalic rocks show an arc-like signature. The 12–11 Ma calc-alkalic dacites, however, are characterized by higher K, Rb, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, and light REE abundances than are the older rocks. The timing, petrography, and geochemistry of the 12–11 Ma rocks are interpreted to reflect postsubduction magmatism. A change in magma chemistry from predominantly calc-alkalic to tholeiitic rocks at 10.3 Ma corresponds to orthogonal extension during early Gulf of California evolution. Sr, Nd, and Pb radiogenic isotope signatures show minor changes over time. The volcanic record for 20–12.5 Ma at Sierra Santa Ursula and adjacent areas is consistent with the reconstructed history of the Guadalupe microplate. The interval of magmatism produced from 12 to 11 Ma appears to reflect changes in plate geometry during the transition from subduction to rifting.     

The difficulties of dating mafic dykes: an Antarctic example

Archaen gneisses of the Vestfold Hills of East Antarctica are transected by several compositionally discrete suites of tholeiitic dykes. A representative of one of those suites, which has been dated in the present study, shows that not only Rb–Sr whole-rock isochrons, but also U–Pb zircon techniques (if not properly applied) can produce erroneous crystallisation ages. Two zircon populations were recovered from the mafic dyke itself, one of which is 2,483±9 Ma in age and clearly of xenocrystic origin. The other yields an age of 1,025±56 Ma, which is not ascribed to the magmatic crystallisation of the dyke, but rather to the time that it underwent metamorphic/metasomatic alteration as a response to high-grade tectonism in the adjacent mobile belt. It is presumed that the zircon in question formed by the breakdown of another mineral or minerals (possibly magmatic baddeleyite), due either to ingress of a siliceous fluid, or more probably by the release of silica from the breakdown of pyroxene to amphibole. A cogenetic 1–2 cm wide felsic vein, of late magmatic/early hydrothermal origin, also contains two zircon populations. Again, most of the grains therein, which are interpreted as of xenocrystic origin, grew at 2,483±9 Ma. However, a few euhedral zircons with very high U and Th contents grew at 1,248±4 Ma, which is taken to be the formation age of both the felsic vein and the enclosing mafic dyke.     

Vorticity analysis in calcite tectonites: An example from the Attico-Cycladic massif (Attica,Greece)

Although calcite tectonites are widespread in nature their use to quantify flow vorticity is limited. We use new (micro-)structural, petrofabric and vorticity data to analyse the kinematics of flow in outcrop-scale calcite mylonite zones. These zones are genetically related to a crustal-scale NE-directed ductile thrust (Basal Thrust) that emplaced the Blueschist over the Basal unit during the exhumation of the Attico-Cycladic Massif. Calcite microstructures reveal that the last stage of deformation occurred at temperatures 200–300 °C achieved by mild heating, which is possibly related with the reburial of the Basal Thrust's footwall. Vorticity analyses were based on the degree of asymmetry of calcite c-axis fabrics as well as on the assumption that the orientation of the long axes of calcite neoblasts within an oblique foliation delineates the direction of instantaneous stretching axis. Both methodological approaches provide consistent estimates with a simple shear component between 55% and 82% (W_n = 0.76–0.96). The use of the stress axis (σ₁) orientation recorded by twin-c-axis-pairs to quantify vorticity generally gives significantly lower simple shear component. Comparison of our vorticity estimates with previous estimates inferred from quartz fabrics and rigid porphyroclasts reveals that exhumation-related deformation in the nappe pile was steady state.     

Platinum group element enrichment in the upper mantle peridotites of the Monte Maggiore ophiolitic massif (Corsica,France): Mineralogical evidence for ore-fluid metasomatism

Summary Positive platinum and gold anomalies (up to 130 and 54 ppb, respectively)have been identified in ophiolitic mantle peridotites from the Monte Maggiore Massif(MMM), Corsica.Forty-four grains of platinum-group minerals (PGM) were found in seven rock samples with Pt, Pd, Os and Ir contents as low as 20,10, 5 and 1.9 ppb, respectively. PGM are mainly alloys: of native osmium, iridium, platinum, palladium and gold, tetraferroplatinum more or less rich in copper, the Cu-bearing equivalent of rustenburgite, potarite, moncheite and Ni-rich merenskyite. The presence of these low temperature minerals (<650°C) which precipitated after the pentlandite, allows us to rule out the possibility of a magmatic origin for platinum group element (PGE) anomalies. Therefore the model presented here proposes the late precipitation of PGM linked to a hydrothermal system created by the rising of a fluid-enriched magma occurring under a mid-oceanic ridge during the diapiric uprising of asthenospheric mantle at about 0.9 GPa.Compositional evolution of tetraferroplatinum and late stage precipitation of tellurides and intermetallic compounds are evidence of PGE fractionation as the fluid became progressively enriched in Te, Bi, Cu, Sri and Pb, and depleted in S. This occurred during the transport and entrapment of the fluid in cooler parts of the residual peridotite surrounding the melting zone.The proposed mechanism for PGE anomalies in the Monte Maggiore mantle peridotites illustrates a mineralizing process involving concentration and transport of PGE through a fluid-rich medium followed by sudden precipitation of PGM along preferential fractures caused by a thermal gradient.

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Enrichissement en éléments du groupe du platine (EGP) dans les péridotites ophiolitiques du manteau supérieur, massif du Monte Maggiore, Corse: mise en évidence, à partir d'études minéralogiques, d'un métasomatisme lié à un fluide minéralisant

Résumé Dans le Massif du Monte Maggiore (MMM), Corse, des anomalies de platine et d'or (respectivement, jusqu' à 130 et 54 ppb) ont été mises en évidence dans des péridotites du manteau ophiolitique.Quarante quatre grains de minéraux du groupe du platine (MGP) ont été observés dans sept échantillons ayant des teneurs en Pt, Pd, Os et Ir respectivement aussi faibles que 20, 10, 5 et 1,9 ppb. Les MGP sont principalement des alliages: osmium, iridium, platine, palladium et or natifs, téétraferroplatine plus ou moins riche en cuivre, équivalent cuprifère de la rustenburgite, potarite, ainsi que monchéite et merenskyite riche en nickel. Ces minéraux de basses températures (< 650 °C) qui ont précipité après la pentlandite permettent d'écarter une origine magmatique pour les anomalies en éléments du groupe du platine (EGP). A l'opposé, le modèle propose une précipitation tardive des MGP liée à un système hydrothermal créé par la montée d'un magma enrichi en fluides, au sein d'un diapir mantellique ascendant à l'aplomb d'une dorsale médioocéaniq,ue, sous des pressions de l'ordre de 0.9 GPa.L'évolution de la composition des tétraferroplatines et la cristallisation tardive des tellurures et des composés intermétalliques témoignent du fractionnement des EGP, alors que le fluide minéralisant s'enrichit progressivement en Te, Bi, Cu, Sn et Pb et s'appauvrit en S. Ceci s'est produit durant le transport et le piégeage du fluide dans les zones plus froides du massif représentées par les péridotites résiduelles autour de la zone de fusion.Le mécanisme proposé pour les péridotites anomales en EGP du manteau du Monte Maggiore illustre un type de processus minéralisant impliquant la concentration et le transport des EGP dans un milieu enrichi en fluides, suivi de la précipitation rapide des MGP le long de fractures préférentielles sous l'effet d'un gradient thermique.

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With 3 Figures and 2 Plates     

A correction procedure for metasomatism in an Archean greenstone belt

A graphical procedure is described by which analytical data for a suite of metavolcanic rocks may be tested to detect, and correct for, later metasomatic modification of individual sample compositions. The method involves plotting the analytical data in terms of oxide molecular proportion ratios in the form log $\text{X}\text{Z}$ vs. log $\text{Y}\text{Z}$, where X, Y, and Z are the oxide molecular proportions (e.g. SiO₂, Al₂O₃…) calculated from the whole-rock weight per cent analyses. For metasomatism involving several components, a single X, Y, Z diagram does not provide a unique solution for possible changes in X, Y, and Z, but for a suite of metasomatised samples, a unique solution can be tested for by using a set of such diagrams.Two initial assumptions are required: firstly, that the altered rocks initially had compositions which, when plotted on the diagrams used, would conform with the well-defined trends shown to be present in relatively unaltered post-Mesozoic suites; secondly, that Al₂O₃ remained immobile during alteration. For the method to be applied to any particular set of analytical data a second relatively immobile component must also be identified, using the first assumption above.The method has been applied to major-element analyses of approximately 250 samples of mafic to felsic volcanic rocks from the Archean greenstone belt at Timagami, northeast Ontario. It has shown that alkalies, lime, magnesia, and iron have moved appreciably and differently in different parts of the belt. We therefore suggest caution in the characterization of Archean volcanics as low-K tholeiites, calc-alkaline, and so on, by simple comparison of their compositions with those of young volcanics.     

碱交代成矿作用的地球化学共性和归类

迄今为止,在国内和国外广大地区已发现了极其众多的下列元素的各种类型矿床,例如: 1.产于钠长石化花岗岩、花岗伟晶岩体中的铌、钽、锂、铷、铯、铍、钨、锡等矿床(或称岩体浸染型、变花岗岩型、自变质型、云英岩型等等)和钾长石化花岗岩中的稀土矿床。     

The Dolodau dykes,Canada: An example of an archean carbonatite

Summary The Archean Dolodau carbonatite dykes occur near a late tectonic syenite stock located in the Northern Volcanic Zone of the Abitibi greenstone belt. The biotite sovite and amphibole-biotite silicocarbonatite dykes produced fenitization of the host rocks. The Dolodau carbonatites compare favourably with Phanerozoic carbonatites in petrography, mineralogy and geochemistry. An Archean age is suggested by field geology and the isotope data available. The similarities suggest that Archean carbonatite petrogenetic processes were similar to modern day processes.

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Die Dolodaugänge, Kanada: ein Beispiel eines archaischen Karbonatites

Zusammenfassung Die archaischen Karbonatitgänge von Dolodau liegen in der Nähe eines spättektonischen Syenit-Stockes in der nördlichen vulkanischen Zone des Abitibi Greenstone Belts. Die Biotit-Sovit- and Amphibol-Biotit Silicokarbonatit-Gänge führten zu Fenitisierung der umgebenden Gesteine. Die Dolodau-Karbonatite lassen sich gut mit phanerozoischen Karbonatiten vergleichen, was Petrographie, Mineralogie and Geochemie betrifft. Ein archaisches Alter wird durch Geländebeziehungen and Isotopendaten belegt. Diese Ähnlichkeiten weisen darauf hin, daß archaische Karbonatit-bildende Vorgänge ihren modernen äquivalenten ähnlich sind.