Internally consistent geothermometers for garnet peridotites and pyroxenites

Mutual relationships among temperatures estimated with the most widely used geothermometers for garnet peridotites and pyroxenites demonstrate that the methods are not internally consistent and may diverge by over 200°C even in well-equilibrated mantle xenoliths. The Taylor (N Jb Min Abh 172:381–408, 1998) two-pyroxene (TA98) and the Nimis and Taylor (Contrib Mineral Petrol 139:541–554, 2000) single-clinopyroxene thermometers are shown to provide the most reliable estimates, as they reproduce the temperatures of experiments in a variety of simple and natural peridotitic systems. Discrepancies between these two thermometers are negligible in applications to a wide variety of natural samples (≤30°C). The Brey and Köhler (J Petrol 31:1353–1378, 1990) Ca-in-Opx thermometer shows good agreement with TA98 in the range 1,000–1,400°C and a positive bias at lower T (up to +90°C, on average, at T _TA98 = 700°C). The popular Brey and Köhler (J Petrol 31:1353–1378, 1990) two-pyroxene thermometer performs well on clinopyroxene with Na contents of ~0.05 atoms per 6-oxygen formula, but shows a systematic positive bias with increasing Na_Cpx (+150°C at Na_Cpx = 0.25). Among Fe–Mg exchange thermometers, the Harley (Contrib Mineral Petrol 86:359–373, 1984) orthopyroxene–garnet and the recent Wu and Zhao (J Metamorphic Geol 25:497–505, 2007) olivine–garnet formulations show the highest precision, but systematically diverge (up to ca. 150°C, on average) from TA98 estimates at T far from 1,100°C and at T < 1,200°C, respectively; these systematic errors are also evident by comparison with experimental data for natural peridotite systems. The older O’Neill and Wood (Contrib Mineral Petrol 70:59–70, 1979) version of the olivine–garnet Fe–Mg thermometer and all popular versions of the clinopyroxene–garnet Fe–Mg thermometer show unacceptably low precision, with discrepancies exceeding 200°C when compared to TA98 results for well-equilibrated xenoliths. Empirical correction to the Brey and Köhler (J Petrol 31:1353–1378, 1990) Ca-in-Opx thermometer and recalibration of the orthopyroxene–garnet thermometer, using well-equilibrated mantle xenoliths and TA98 temperatures as calibrants, are provided in this study to ensure consistency with TA98 estimates in the range 700–1,400°C. Observed discrepancies between the new orthopyroxene–garnet thermometer and TA98 for some localities can be interpreted in the light of orthopyroxene–garnet Fe³⁺ partitioning systematics and suggest localized and lateral variations in mantle redox conditions, in broad agreement with existing oxybarometric data. Kinetic decoupling of Ca–Mg and Fe–Mg exchange equilibria caused by transient heating appears to be common, but not ubiquitous, near the base of the lithosphere.     

Chronology of the high-pressure metamorphism of Norwegian garnet peridotites/pyroxenites

Eclogite facies mineral assemblages are variably preserved in mafic and ultramafic rocks within the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) of Norway. Mineralogical and microstructural data indicate that some Mg–Cr-rich, Alpine-type peridotites have had a complex metamorphic history. The metamorphic evolution of these rocks has been described in terms of a seven-stage evolutionary model; each stage is characterized by a specific mineral assemblage. Stages II and III both comprise garnet-bearing mineral assemblages. Garnet-bearing assemblages are also present in Fe–Ti-rich peridotites which commonly occur as layers in mafic complexes. Sm–Nd isotopic results are reported for mineral and whole rock samples from both of these types of peridotites and related rocks. The partitioning of Sm and Nd between coexisting garnet and clinopyroxene is used to assess chemical equilibrium. One sample of Mg–Cr-type peridotite shows non-disturbed partitioning of Sm and Nd between Stage II garnet and clinopyroxene pairs and yields a garnet–clinopyroxene–whole-rock date of 1703 ± 29 Ma (I= 0.51069, MSWD = 0.04). This is the best estimate for the age of the Stage II high-P assemblage. Other Stage II garnet–clinopyroxene pairs reflect later disturbance of the Sm–Nd system and yield dates in the range 1303 to 1040 Ma. These dates may not have any geological significance. Stage III garnet–clinopyroxene pairs typically have equilibrated Sm–Nd partitioning and two samples yield dates of 437 ± 58 and 511 ± 18 Ma. This suggests that equilibration of the Stage III high-P assemblage is related to the Caledonian orogeny and is more or less contemporaneous with high-P metamorphism of ‘country-rock’eclogites in the surrounding gneisses. The Sm–Nd mineral data for the Fe–Ti-rich garnet peridotites and for a superferrian eclogite, which occurs as a dyke within the Gurskebotn Mg–Cr-type peridotite, are consistent with a Palaeozoic high-P metamorphism. Finally a synoptic P–T–t path is proposed for the Mg–Cr-type peridotites which is consistent with the petrological and geochronological data.     

Evaluation of thermobarometers for garnet peridotites

The accuracy and precision of a large number of combinations of geothermometers and geo-barometers for garnet lherzolites have been evaluated with a suite of well-equilibrated xenoliths from kimberlites of northern Lesotho. Accuracy was tested by comparison of P-T estimates for a diamond-bearing and a graphite-bearing xenolith with the experimentally determined diamond-graphite univariant curve and by comparison of P-T estimates for phlogopite-bearing xenoliths to the high-temperature stability limit of phlogopite (Eggler and Wendlandt, 1979). Precision was evaluated by measuring the scatter of P-T estimates for each of four xenoliths from a wide range of P and T when many point analyses of the constituent minerals are used for P-T estimation. A thermobarometer composed of the uncorrected diopside-enstatite miscibility gap of Lindsley and Dixon (1976), combined with the uncorrected isopleths for aluminum in enstatite coexisting with pyrope of MacGregor (1974), is most satisfactory. Correction schemes such as those of Wells (1977) and Wood (1974) will ultimately provide a better means of P-T estimation, but at the present stage of development they serve to decrease precision without a demonstrable increase in accuracy. Thermometers based on $\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{Mg}$ exchange reactions are imprecise because of variable and unknown $\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{3+}}$ in minerals and xenoliths. The inflection observed in the northern Lesotho paleogeotherm cannot be an artifact of the method of temperature estimation.     

Chemistry and mineralogy of garnet pyroxenites from Sabah,Malaysia

Garnet pyroxenites and corundum-garnet amphibolites from the Dent peninsula of eastern Sabah (North Borneo) occur as blocks in a slump breccia deposit of late Miocene age. The earliest formed minerals include pyrope-almandine garnet, tschermakitic augite, pargasite, and rutile. Cumulate textures are present in two of the six specimens studied. The earlier fabric has been extensively brecciated and partly replaced by plagioclase, ilmenite, and a fibrous amphibole. The bulk composition and mineralogy of these rocks are similar to those of garnet pyroxenite lenses within ultramafic rocks. Estimated temperature and pressure for the origin of the Sabah garnet pyroxenites is 850±150° C and 19±4 kbar.     

Internally consistent thermodynamic data for magnesium sulfate hydrates

Experimental studies on the stability of several Mg-sulfate hydrates including epsomite (MgSO₄·7H₂O), hexahydrite (MgSO₄·6H₂O), starkeyite (MgSO₄·4H₂O), and kieserite (MgSO₄·H₂O) as a function of temperature and relative humidity are in poor agreement with calculations based on thermodynamic properties of these substances taken from the literature. Therefore, we synthesized four different MgSO₄ hydrates and measured their enthalpies of formation by solution calorimetry at T = 298.15 K. The resulting enthalpies of formation from the elements are:

•

Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ (epsomite) = −3387.7 ± 1.3 kJmol⁻¹

•

Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ (hexahydrite) = −3088.1 ± 1.1 kJmol⁻¹

•

Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ (sanderite, MgSO₄·2H₂O) = −1894.9 ± 1.3 kJmol⁻¹

•

Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ (kieserite) = −1612.4 ± 1.3 kJmol⁻¹

Using mathematical programming (MAP) techniques, standard thermodynamic values consistent both with our calorimetric data and previously published humidity brackets could be derived:

•

Epsomite: Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ = −3388.7 kJmol⁻¹, S⁰₂₉₈ = 371.3 Jmol⁻¹ K⁻¹, Δ_fG⁰₂₉₈ = −2871.0 kJmol⁻¹

•

Hexahydrite: Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ = −3087.3 kJmol⁻¹, S⁰₂₉₈ = 348.5 Jmol⁻¹ K⁻¹, Δ_fG⁰₂₉₈ = −2632.3 kJmol⁻¹

•

Starkeyite: Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ = −2496.1 kJmol⁻¹, S⁰₂₉₈ = 259.9 Jmol⁻¹ K⁻¹, Δ_fG⁰₂₉₈ = −2153.8 kJmol⁻¹

•

Kieserite: Δ_fH⁰₂₉₈ = −1611.5 kJmol⁻¹, S⁰₂₉₈ = 126.0 Jmol⁻¹ K⁻¹, Δ_fG⁰₂₉₈ = −1437.9 kJmol⁻¹

Additionally, heat capacity measurements and standard entropy determinations of several magnesium sulfate hydrate minerals from the literature are analyzed and judged against estimates obtained from a linear combination of the heat capacities of MgSO₄ and hexagonal ice. The results of the MAP analysis are compared to these estimates to conclude that heat capacity and entropy correlate well with the number of waters of hydration. However, even the good correlation is not good enough to capture the fine variations in these properties. Consequently, their experimental measurement is inevitable if reliable thermodynamic data are sought. Our MAP thermodynamic data show that epsomite, hexahydrite, and kieserite have stability fields in the T-%RH space. Starkeyite is metastable. Although no MAP data could have been derived for pentahydrite (MgSO₄·5H₂O) and sanderite, their transient existence suggest that both of them are metastable as well.     

Dislocation structures in pyropes from Norwegian and Czech garnet peridotites

The dislocation structures of minerals may give important information on the deformational history of rocks. Dislocations in pyrope-rich garnets are revealed by etching in hydrofluoric acid. Pyropes from Norwegian and Czech garnet peridotites characteristically display tangled arrangements and cell structures similar to those formed in metals and alloys in creep.Publication no. 7 in the Norwegian Geotraverse Project.     

A crustal origin for eclogites and a mantle origin for garnet peridotites: Strontium isotopic evidence from clinopyroxenes

Strontium isotopic data suggest that the classic eclogite-facies rocks of western south Norway described by Eskola (1921) formed from several parental materials in a variety of environments. Mineral separates from essentially basic, bi-minerallic (clinopyroxene and garnet) eclogites that occur as lens-shaped masses within high grade gneisses (country rock eclogites) have Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ values that range from 0.704 for fine-grained varieties to 0.716 for coarse-grained, orthopyroxene-bearing varieties. These high, varied ratios contrast with the very low, restricted ratios (0.701 to 0.704) of similar minerals from ultrabasic, garnet-clinopyroxene-orthopyroxene-olivine assemblages (garnet peridotites) that occur as lenses within large peridotite bodies. The eclogite-facies metamorphism that generated the garnet peridotites may have occurred in the mantle. However, the metamorphism that generated at least the more radiogenic country-rock eclogites must have occurred in the crust. The high Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios of these eclogites could be generated either by forming them from crustal parental rocks or by contaminating mantle-derived parental rocks with radiogenic strontium from the country rocks. If this contamination occurred after intrusion and before eclogite-facies metamorphism, a rather contrived history must be postulated that involves intrusion, contamination accompanied by hydration, subsequent dehydration, and finally eclogite-facies metamorphism. These processes could have occurred within the long, complicated history of the enclosing country rocks. Alternatively, if the contamination occurred during eclogite-facies metamorphism, the presence of some hydrous fluid appears to be required to transport the radiogenic strontium from the enclosing country rocks. The eclogites with the highest Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios are also the most coarse-grained and it is possible that the presence of some intergranular fluid enabled these eclogites to recrystallize to a much larger grain size than would have been possible in a totally anhydrous environment. The garnet peridotites and fine-grained country rock eclogites may have formed from mantle material in the crust but escaped contamination by radiogenic strontium as a result of their position in a dry environment in the crust.Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Contribution No. 2443     

Internally consistent gahnitic spinel-cordierite-garnet equilibria in the FMASHZn system: geothermobarometry and applications

The equilibrium (Mg, Fe, Zn)₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂+2Al₂SiO₅=3(Mg, Fe, Zn)Al₂O₄+5SiO₂ garnet + sillimanite/kyanitc = spinel + quartz was calibrated in the piston-cylinder apparatus between 11 and 30 kbar, and over the temperature range of 950 to 1200°C. Three experimental mixes of Mg no. [100^*MgO/(MgO+FeO)] 40, 47 and 60, in the FeO –MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–ZnO (FMASZn) system were used under low oxygen fugacities and anhydrous conditions. We derive a ternary Fe–Mg–Zn symmetric mixing model for aluminous spinels in equilibrium with garnet, to quantify the increase in gahnitic end-member of spinel with increasing pressure and descreasing temperature. Further experiments in the spinel-cordieritequartz-sillimanite field were combined with garnet-cordierite data from the literature to produce a consistent set of equations describing the exchange reactions in FMASHZn relevant to quartz-sillimanite bearing rocks at granulite facies conditions. As spinel is an important mineral participating in many rocks of aluminous composition at granulite-facies conditions, and as zinc contributes to an enlargement of spinel's stability field towards higher pressures and lower temperatures, the thermobarometric calibrations presented here will be most significant in delineating the prograde and retrograde trajectory of P-T paths.     

Recalibration of mutually consistent garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite geothermometers

Garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite geothermometers have been consistently calibrated, using the results of Fe²⁺–Mg cation exchange experiments and utilizing recently evaluated nonideal mixing properties of garnet. Nonideal mixing parameters of biotite (including Fe, Mg, Al^VI, and Ti) and of cordierite (involving Fe and Mg) are evaluated in terms of iterative multiple least-square regressions of the experimental results. Assuming the presence of ferric Fe in biotite in relation to the coexisting Fe-oxide phases (Case A), and assuming the absence of ferric Fe in biotite (Case B), two formulae of garnet–biotite thermometer have been derived. The garnet–cordierite geothermometer was constructed using Margules parameters of garnet adopted in the garnet–biotite geothermometers. The newly calibrated garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite thermometers clearly show improved conformity in the calculated temperatures. The thermometers give temperatures that are consistent with each other using natural garnet–biotite–cordierite assemblages within ±50 °C. The effects of ferric Fe in biotite on garnet–biotite thermometry have been evaluated comparing the two calibrations of the thermometer. The effects are significant; it is clarified that taking ferric Fe content in biotite into account leads to less dispersion of thermometric results.     

A recalibration of the garnet-olivine geothermometer and a new geobarometer for garnet peridotites and garnet-olivine-plagioclase-bearing granulites

The garnet-olivine Fe-Mg exchange geothermometer and the garnet-olivine-plagioclase geobarometer have been simultaneously calibrated using reversed experimental data based on the model reactions and between 900 and 1500 °C at 9.1–95.0 kbar and between 4.7 and 7.0 kbar at 750–1050 °C, respectively. The resulting garnet-olivine thermometer reproduces experimental temperatures mostly within ±75 °C and the garnet-olivine-plagioclase barometer reproduces experimental pressures well within ±0.19 kbar. These new thermobarometers use the same garnet and olivine activity models and are thermodynamically consistent. Application of these thermobarometers to garnet peridotites from mantle xenoliths, orogenic garnet peridotites over the world and the Adirondack olivine-bearing metagabbros yielded reasonable P–T results. The present garnet-olivine thermometer can be used to measure medium-high-grade to ultrahigh-grade, low-pressure to ultrahigh–high-pressure garnet peridotites and metagabbros, whereas the garnet-olivine-plagioclase barometer has limited application to garnet-olivine-plagioclase-bearing granulites.     

Symplectites in upper mantle peridotites: Development and implications for the growth of subsolidus garnet,pyroxene and spinel

Silicate-oxide symplectites in complex mineral intergrowths are relatively common in upper mantle xenoliths and in xenoliths in the Jagersfontein Kimberlite, South Africa.Harzburgites of olivine and high-Al (1.9–3.6 wt%), Ca (0.6–0.9 wt%) and Cr (0.3–0.9 wt%) enstatite contain symplectites of spinel and diopside, or spinel, diopside and lower-Al (0.8–2.2 wt%), Ca (0.1–0.4 wt%) and Cr (0.02–0.8 wt%) enstatite. From textures and mineral chemistries these symplectites are interpreted to have formed by mineral unmixing and migration from Al–Ca–Cr discrete enstatite to adjoining mineral interfaces.Garnet harzburgites are composed of large (0.5–1 cm) olivine, equally large discrete low-Al (0.6–1.1 wt%), Ca (0.1–0.5 wt%), and Cr (0.1–0.3 wt%) enstatite and smaller interstitial garnet, diopside, and high-Cr and low-Al spinel. Symplectites are composed of either spinel+diopside+garnet, or garnet+spinel. Spinel diopside garnet symplectites have cores of spinel+diopside, resembling symplectites inharzburgites, but surrounded by rims of garnet or garnet+undigested globular spinel. From textures and chemistries we suggest that the spinel+diopside cores formed from Ca-Al-Cr-rich orthopyroxene initially as a nonstoichiometric homogeneous single phase clinopyroxene enriched in Fe, Cr and Al. This was followed by decomposition of the clinopyroxene to diopside+spinel, and subsequent garnet formation in a prograde reaction with olivine or enstatite. In bothharzburgites andgarnet harzburgites the metastable cellular structures may also have formed by the simultaneous precipitation of pyroxene and spinel. In all cases there is a strongly preferred embayment of symplectite bodies into olivine. Olivine appears to have activated adjacent     

Petrology and P–T evolution of garnet peridotites from central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Alpine‐type orogenic garnet‐bearing peridotites, associated with quartzo‐feldspathic gneisses of a 140–115 Ma high‐pressure/ultra‐high‐pressure metamorphic (HP‐UHPM) terrane, occur in two regions of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Both exposures are located within NW–SE‐trending strike–slip fault zones. Garnet lherzolite occurs as <10 m wide fault slices juxtaposed against Miocene granite in the left‐lateral Palu‐Koro (P‐K) fault valley, and as 10–30 m wide, fault‐bounded outcrops juxtaposed against gabbros and peridotites of the East Sulawesi ophiolite within the right‐lateral Ampana fault in the Bongka river (BR) valley. Six evolutionary stages of recrystallization can be recognized in the peridotites from both localities. Stage I, the precursor spinel lherzolite assemblage, is characterized by Ol+Cpx+Opx±Prg‐Amp ± Spl±Rt±Phl, as inclusions within garnet cores. Stage II, the main garnet lherzolite assemblage, consists of coarse‐grained Ol+Opx+Cpx+Grt; whereas finer‐grained, neoblastic Ol+Opx+Grt+Cpx±Spl±Prg‐Amp±Phl constitutes stage III. Stages IV and V are manifest as kelyphites of fibrous Opx+Cpx+Spl in inner coronas, and Opx+Spl+Prg‐Amp±Ep in outer coronas around garnet, respectively. The final (greenschist facies) retrogressive stage VI is accompanied by recrystallization of Serp+Chl±Mag±Tr±Ni sulphides±Tlc±Cal. P–T conditions of the hydrated precursor spinel lherzolite stage I were probably about 750 °C at 15–20 kbar. P–T determinations of the peak stage IIc (from core compositions) display considerable variation for samples derived from different outcrops, with clustering at 26–38 kbar, 1025–1210 °C (P‐K & BR); 19–21 kbar, 1070–1090 °C (P‐K), and 40–48 kbar, 1205–1290 °C (BR). Stage IIr (derived from rim compositions) generally records decompression of around 4–12 kbar accompanied by cooling of 50–240 °C from the IIc peak stage. Stage III, which post‐dates a phase of ductile deformation, yielded 22±2 kbar at 750±25 °C (P‐K) and 16±2 kbar at 730±40 °C (BR). The granulite–amphibolite–greenschist decompression sequence reflects uplift to upper crustal levels from conditions of 647–862 °C at P=15 kbar (stage IV), through 580–635 °C at P=10–12 kbar (stage V) to 350–400 °C at P=4–7 kbar (stage VI), respectively, and is identical to the sequence recorded in associated granulite, gneiss and eclogite. Sulawesi garnet peridotites are interpreted to represent minor components of the extensive HP‐UHP (peak P >28 kbar, peak T of c. 760 °C) metamorphic basement terrane, which was recrystallized and uplifted in a N‐dipping continental collision zone at the southern Sundaland margin in the mid‐Cretaceous. The low‐T , low‐P and metasomatized spinel lherzolite precursor to the garnet lherzolite probably represents mantle wedge rocks that were dragged down parallel to the slab–wedge interface in a subduction/collision zone by induced corner flow. Ductile tectonic incorporation into the underthrust continental crust from various depths along the interface probably occurred during the exhumation stage, and the garnet peridotites were subsequently uplifted within the HP‐UHPM nappe, suffering a similar decompression history to that experienced by the regional schists and gneisses. Final exhumation from upper crustal levels was clearly facilitated by entrainment in Neogene granitic plutons, and/or Oligocene trans‐tension in deep‐seated strike–slip fault zones.     

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

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

A general model for the intrusion and evolution of 'mantle' garnet peridotites in high-pressure and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic terranes

Garnet‐bearing peridotite lenses are minor but significant components of most metamorphic terranes characterized by high‐temperature eclogite facies assemblages. Most peridotite intrudes when slabs of continental crust are subducted deeply (60–120 km) into the mantle, usually by following oceanic lithosphere down an established subduction zone. Peridotite is transferred from the resulting mantle wedge into the crustal footwall through brittle and/or ductile mechanisms. These ‘mantle’ peridotites vary petrographically, chemically, isotopically, chronologically and thermobarometrically from orogen to orogen, within orogens and even within individual terranes. The variations reflect: (1) derivation from different mantle sources (oceanic or continental lithosphere, asthenosphere); (2) perturbations while the mantle wedges were above subducting oceanic lithosphere; and (3) changes within the host crustal slabs during intrusion, subduction and exhumation. Peridotite caught within mantle wedges above oceanic subduction zones will tend to recrystallize and be contaminated by fluids derived from the subducting oceanic crust. These ‘subduction zone peridotites’ intrude during the subsequent subduction of continental crust. Low‐pressure protoliths introduced at shallow (serpentinite, plagioclase peridotite) and intermediate (spinel peridotite) mantle depths (20–50 km) may be carried to deeper levels within the host slab and undergo high‐pressure metamorphism along with the enclosing rocks. If subducted deeply enough, the peridotites will develop garnet‐bearing assemblages that are isofacial with, and give the same recrystallization ages as, the eclogite facies country rocks. Peridotites introduced at deeper levels (50–120 km) may already contain garnet when they intrude and will not necessarily be isofacial or isochronous with the enclosing crustal rocks. Some garnet peridotites recrystallize from spinel peridotite precursors at very high temperatures (c. 1200 °C) and may derive ultimately from the asthenosphere. Other peridotites are from old (>1 Ga), cold (c. 850 °C), subcontinental mantle (‘relict peridotites’) and seem to require the development of major intra‐cratonic faults to effect their intrusion.     

Petrochemical constraints for dual origin of garnet peridotites from the Dabie-Sulu UHP terrane, eastern-central China

Garnet peridotites occur as lenses, blocks or layers within granulite–amphibolite facies gneiss in the Dabie-Sulu ultra-high-pressure (UHP) terrane and contain coesite-bearing eclogite. Two distinct types of garnet peridotite were identified based on mode of occurrence and petrochemical characteristics. Type A mantle-derived peridotites originated from either: (1) the mantle wedge above a subduction zone, (2) the footwall mantle of the subducted slab, or (3) were ancient mantle fragments emplaced at crustal depths prior to UHP metamorphism, whereas type B crustal peridotite and pyroxenite are a portion of mafic–ultramafic complexes that were intruded into the continental crust as magmas prior to subduction. Most type A peridotites were derived from a depleted mantle and exhibit petrochemical characteristics of mantle rocks; however, Sr and Nd isotope compositions of some peridotites have been modified by crustal contamination during subduction and/or exhumation. Type B peridotite and pyroxenite show cumulate structure, and some have experienced crustal metasomatism and contamination documented by high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.707–0.708), low ε_Nd( t ) values (−6 to −9) and low δ¹⁸O values of minerals (+2.92 to +4.52). Garnet peridotites of both types experienced multi-stage recrystallization; some of them record prograde histories. High- P–T  estimates (760–970 °C and 4.0–6.5±0.2 GPa) of peak metamorphism indicate that both mantle-derived and crustal ultramafic rocks were subducted to profound depths >100 km (the deepest may be ≥180–200 km) and experienced UHP metamorphism in a subduction zone with an extremely low geothermal gradient of <5 °C km⁻¹.     

Hf-Nd-Sr isotope systematics of garnet pyroxenites from Salt Lake Crater, Oahu, Hawaii: Evidence for a depleted component in Hawaiian volcanism

We present the first comprehensive major, trace element and Hf, Nd and Sr isotope investigation of clinopyroxene and garnet mineral separates from a set of garnet clinopyroxenite xenoliths from the Salt Lake Crater, Oahu, Hawaii. These xenoliths occur in the posterosional Honolulu Volcanics Series lavas and represent some of the deepest samples from the oceanic mantle lithosphere. Our study shows that the Salt Lake Crater pyroxenites represent high pressure (>20 kb) accumulates from melts similar (but not identical) to the erupted Honolulu Volcanics, and unlike MORB or E-MORB-type melts. All clinopyroxene-garnet mineral pairs in these xenoliths show, within error, zero-age Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd isotope systematics. These pyroxenites have relatively radiogenic Hf isotope compositions (for a given Nd) and define a distinct steep slope (3.3) in ε_Hf-ε_Nd isotope space, similar to the Honolulu Volcanics but unlike other ocean island basalts (OIB). These compositions require an end-member component that falls above the OIB array in Nd-Hf space. This component is different than present-day MORB-mantle and it is best explained by an old depleted oceanic lithosphere. We suggest that this depleted component most likely represents a recycled depleted lithosphere that is intrinsic to the Hawaiian plume. In this respect, the Hawaiian plume is sampling both the enriched portion of a subducted oceanic crust (basalt and sediments) as well as the depleted lithospheric portion of it. This suggests that, at least for Hawaii, the whole subducted oceanic slab package has retained its integrity during subduction and subsequent mixing and storage in the mantle, probably in the order of a billion years, and that the plume is sampling the full range of these compositions.     

A fertile harzburgite–garnet lherzolite transition: possible inferences for the roles of strain and metasomatism in upper mantle peridotites

Porphyroclastic enstatite in a garnet lherzolite xenolith from the Monastery Mine kimberlite, South Africa, has exsolved pyrope garnet, Cr-diopside and Al-chromite, and the specimen is interpreted as representing a transition from fertile harzburgite, (containing high Ca-Al-Cr enstatite) to granular garnet lherzolite. Although the exsolved phases occur in morphologically different forms (fine and coarse lamellae; equant, ripened grains), indicating textural disequilibrium, the exsolved grains are very constant in composition, indicating chemical equilibrium. Theoretically, the exsolution could have been due to a fall in temperature, but the close association of exsolution and deformation of the host enstatite suggests that exsolution was also aided by straining of the enstatite lattice. The phase compositions can be broadly matched with those in other mantle peridotites, except that all phases are characterised by a virtual absence of Ti. In the garnet and diopside Ti, Co, Zr and most of the REE are lower than in published analyses of garnet and diopside in both granular and sheared garnet lherzolites from Southern African kimberlites, and diopside/garnet partitioning for Sr and the REE is higher. Comparison with the trace element chemistry of an enstatite from a fertile harzburgite indicates that, except for Nb, the trace element content and distribution found in the Monastery phases could arise by isochemical exsolution from such an enstatite. On the assumption that (a) the Monastery specimen represents a transition from harzburgite to garnet lherzolite, and (b) many garnet lherzolites are of exsolution origin (as suggested by their modal compositions), the inference is that most garnet lherzolites, and not just the sheared variety, have been subject to varying degrees of Ti, Zr, Sr and REE metasomatism.