Petrology of rodingites from the equatorial Mid-Atlantic fracture zones and their geotectonic significance

Rodingites were dredged from fracture zones of the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge along with serpentinized ultramafics, and fresh and metamorphosed basalts and gabbroids. These rodingites were generated by a metasomatic process at low temperature involving an enrichment in lime and water, and a loss of silica and alkalis. The parent rocks were gabbronorites which intruded ultramafic material as it ascended from the upper mantle to its present location in the upper oceanic crust. The gabbronorites were probably altered to rodingites while they were still in the lower oceanic crust. Since the rodingitization process appears to be concomitant, complementary and simultaneous with the serpentinization of the host ultramafic rocks, we infer that the serpentinization process also took place in the deeper part of the oceanic crust. These two simultaneous metasomatic processes thus predate the major phase of tectonic events which uplifted these blocks as cold, solid diapiric emplacements of ultramafic material and accompanying rodingites to their present positions along lines of weakness expressed as fracture zones.     

西藏阿里西部地区超镁铁岩的岩石化学及其上地幔化学模式的探讨

本文探讨了该区超镁铁岩化学成分的分带性;本区方辉橄榄岩与其它地区的化学成分的对比;以及与其密切共生的岩浆岩化学成分的互补关系;及本区上地幔可能的化学分带模式。得出结论:(1)从地质和岩石化学证据表明本区的方辉橄榄岩是地幔物质呈固态侵位的。(2)方辉橄榄岩与共生的岩浆岩有成因联系。(3)本区可能存在上地幔双层化学模式。     

北秦岭丹凤群向西延入祁连造山带的地质意义

依据前人及笔者近期对北秦岭的早古生代丹凤群(蛇绿岩套)追索研究表明,该带向西可延展至甘肃陇西一带,且向更西可与甘肃的雾宿山和青海的拉脊山出露的早古生代岩系相对比,从而构成位于祁连中间隆起带南侧,与北祁连褶皱带相对应的优地槽(蛇绿岩)带。本文研讨了其火山岩系的岩石系列组合与形成环境,并认为它的向西延展,显示北秦岭与祁连造山带间不但是相互连接的,而且两区具有相同的构造格架,属华北板块南部边缘的同一造山带。     

Contributions of basaltic underplating to crustal growth in island arc and extensional tectonic settings in the Chinese Tianshan Orogenic Belt,NW China

A mafic–ultramafic intrusive belt comprising Silurian arc gabbroic rocks and Early Permian mafic–ultramafic intrusions was recently identified in the western part of the East Tianshan, NW China. This paper discusses the petrogenesis of the mafic–ultramafic rocks in this belt and intends to understand Phanerozoic crust growth through basaltic magmatism occurring in an island arc and intraplate extensional tectonic setting in the Chinese Tianshan Orogenic Belt (CTOB). The Silurian gabbroic rocks comprise troctolite, olivine gabbro, and leucogabbro enclosed by Early Permian diorites. SHRIMP II U-Pb zircon dating yields a 427 ± 7.3 Ma age for the Silurian gabbroic rocks and a 280.9 ± 3.1 Ma age for the surrounding diorite. These gabbroic rocks are direct products of mantle basaltic magmas generated by flux melting of the hydrous mantle wedge over subduction zone during Silurian subduction in the CTOB. The arc signature of the basaltic magmas receives support from incompatible trace elements in olivine gabbro and leucogabbro, which display enrichment in large ion lithophile elements and prominent depletion in Nb and Ta with higher U/Th and lower Ce/Pb and Nb/Ta ratios than MORBs and OIBs. The hydrous nature of the arc magmas are corroborated by the Silurian gabbroic rocks with a cumulate texture comprising hornblende cumulates and extremely calcic plagioclase (An up to 99 mol%). Troctolite is a hybrid rock, and its formation is related to the reaction of the hydrous basaltic magmas with a former arc olivine-diallage matrix which suggests multiple arc basaltic magmatism in the Early Paleozoic. The Early Permian mafic–ultramafic intrusions in this belt comprise ultramafic rocks and evolved hornblende gabbro resulting from differentiation of a basaltic magma underplated in an intraplate extensional tectonic setting, and this model would apply to coeval mafic–ultramafic intrusions in the CTOB. Presence of Silurian gabbroic rocks as well as pervasively distributed arc felsic plutons in the CTOB suggest active crust-mantle magmatism in the Silurian, which has contributed to crustal growth by (1) serving as heat sources that remelted former arc crust to generate arc plutons, (2) addition of a mantle component to the arc plutons by magma mixing, and (3) transport of mantle materials to form new lower or middle crust. Mafic–ultramafic intrusions and their spatiotemporal A-type granites during Early Permian to Triassic intraplate extension are intrusive counterparts of the contemporaneous bimodal volcanic rocks in the CTOB. Basaltic underplating in this temporal interval contributed to crustal growth in a vertical form, including adding mantle materials to lower or middle crust by intracrustal differentiation and remelting Early-Paleozoic formed arc crust in the CTOB.     

On the nature of mantle heterogeneities and discontinuities: evidence from a very dense wide-angle shot record

A seismic survey with a receiver spacing of 50 m provided one of the most densely sampled wide-angle seismic reflection images of the lithosphere. This unique data set, recorded by an 18-km-long spread, reveals that at wide-angles the shallow subcrustal mantle features high amplitude reflectivity which contrasts with a lack of reflectivity at latter travel times. This change in the seismic signature is located at approximately 120–150 km depth, which correlates with the depth estimates of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) of previous DSS studies. This seismic signature can be simulated by two-layer mantle model. Both layers with similar average velocities differ in their degree of heterogeneity. The shallow heterogeneous layer and the deeper and more homogeneous one correlate with the lithosphere and the asthenosphere, respectively. Studies involving surface outcrops of ultramafic massifs and mantle xenoliths infer that the upper mantle is a heterogeneous mixture of ultramafic rocks (lherzolites, harzburgites, pyroxenites, peridotites, dunites, and small amounts of eclogites). Laboratory measurements of physical properties of these mantle rocks indicate that compositional variations alone can account for the wide-angle reflectivity. A temperature increase would homogenize the mixture, decreasing the seismic reflection properties due to melting processes. It is proposed that this would take place below 120–150 km (1200 °C, the LAB).     

云南潞西三台山超镁铁岩体Os-Nd-Pb-Sr同位素特征及地质意义

滇西地区特提斯造山带具有多块体拼合的构造特点,是东特提斯造山带的重要组成部分之一,其大地构造演化对理解全球特提斯造山带具有重要的地质意义.在腾冲和保山地块之间的龙陵-瑞丽断裂带中出露超镁铁质岩石,曾被解释为两个陆块缝合的证据.本文采用高灵敏度高精度超低本底Re-Os、Sm-Nd、Pb和Rb-Sr同位素分析技术,对采自该断裂带潞西三台山的超镁铁岩样品进行了Os-Nd-Pb-Sr同位素测定.分析结果表明,这些超镁铁岩石具有强烈富集特征.分析的5个岩石样品具有高的初始~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr值(0.71074～0.71444)、低的初始ε_(Nd)值(-6.2～-10.6)、低初始γ_(Os)值(-4.8～-8.8)和较高的初始铅同位素比值,其Os同位素模式年龄值(t_(RD))为0.97～1.71Ga.Nd-Os同位素组成特征表明,三台山超镁铁岩具有古老的富集大陆岩石圈地幔岩石的特征,不能作为腾冲和保山地块的缝合证据.     

Devonian rodingite from the northern margin of the North China Craton: mantle wedge metasomatism during ocean–continent convergence

The northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) was an active convergent margin during Palaeozoic and preserves important imprints of magmatic and metasomatic processes associated with oceanic plate subduction. Here, we investigate the mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Xiahabaqin–Sandaogou complexes from the northern NCC including pyroxenite, hornblendites, hornblende gabbro, and their rodingitized counterparts within a serpentinite domain. We present petrological, zircon U–Pb geochronological, and geochemical data to constrain the nature and timing of the magmatic and metasomatic processes in the subduction zone mantle wedge. The rock suites investigated in this study are characterized by low contents of SiO₂, Na₂O, and K₂O, with high CaO, FeO, Fe₂O₃, and MgO. The rodingitized rocks show markedly high CaO and lower MgO compared to their ultramafic protolith, suggesting extensive post-magmatic infiltration of Ca-rich, Si-poor fluids derived by serpentinization of mantle peridotite. The enrichment of large ion lithophile and light rare earth elements such as Ba, Sr, K, La, and Ce with relative depletion of high field strength elements like Nb, Ta, Zr, and Hf in the ultramafic rocks collectively suggest metasomatism of a fore-arc mantle wedge by fluids released through dehydration of subducted oceanic slab and subduction-derived sediments. Dehydration and decarbonation leading to metasomatic fluid influx and serpentinization of mantle wedge peridotite account for the enriched geochemical signatures for the rodingitized rocks. The zircon grains in these rocks show textures indicating magmatic crystallization followed by fluid-controlled dissolution–precipitation. Magmatic zircons from altered pyroxenite, hornblendite, and rodingitized pyroxenite in Xiahabaqin yield protolith crystallization ages peaks at 396 Ma and 392 Ma and metasomatic grains show ages of 386 Ma, 378 Ma, and 348 Ma. The zircons from hornblendite and basaltic trachyandesite indicate protolith emplacement during 402–388 Ma. Metasomatic zircon grains from rodingitized hornblende gabbro in Sandaogou complex show a wide range of ages as 412 Ma, 398 Ma, 383 Ma, and 380 Ma. The common magmatic zircon ages peaks at 398–388 Ma in most of the rocks suggest a similar time for magma crystallization in the Xiahabaqin and Baiqi during Middle Devonian. Subsequently, repeated pulses fluids and melts resulted in metasomatic reactions in mantle wedge until early Permian. The Lu–Hf analysis of the zircon grains from these rocks display markedly negative εHf(t) values ranging from ?22.4 to ?7.7, suggesting magma derivation from an enriched, hydrated lithospheric mantle through fluid–rock interaction and mantle wedge metasomatism. Rodingitization processes are associated with exhumation of ultramafic mantle wedge rocks within a serpentinized subduction channel close to the subducted slab in response to slab roll back in a long-lasting subduction regime. This study offers insights into magmatic and metasomatic processes of ultramafic rocks in the fore-arc mantle wedge which were exhumed and accreted to an active continental margin during the southward subduction of the Palaeo-Asian oceanic lithosphere beneath the NCC.     

Strontium isotope and alkali element abundances in ultramafic rocks

The concentrations of the trace elements Na, K, Rb and Sr and the isotopic composition of Sr have been measured in a suite of ultramafic rocks, including alpine-type intrusions, inclusions in basalts and kimberlite pipes, zones from stratiform sheets, and a mica peridotite. From these data and those available in the literature the following conclusions can be drawn. Alpine-type ultramafic material appears to be residual in nature and can be neither the source material for the derivation of basalts nor the refractory residue of modern basalts. Alpine-type ultramafic intrusions appear to have no relationship with ultramafic zones in stratiform sheets and were probably derived from the upper mantle. A genetic relationship exists between basalts and their ultramafic inclusions, but it is extremely doubtful that this inclusion material could give rise to basalts by partial fusion. There is a possible genetic relationship between basalts and ultramafic inclusions in kimberlite pipes, and this ultramafic material is a potential source for the derivation of basalts. Ultramafic inclusions in basalts are probably not fragments of an alpine-type ultramafic zone in the mantle. An attempt has been made to synthesize the data and interpretations of this study by way of speculations on the role of ultramafic rocks in the differentiation history of the earth.     

Genetic Implications of Two Different Ultramafic Rocks from Hongseong Area in the Southwestern Gyeonggi Massif, South Korea

Two distinct ultramafic bodies occur in Baekdong and Bibong in the Hongseong area within Gyeonggi massif of South Korea. The Hongseong area is now extensively documented as an extension of the Dabie-Sulu collision belt in China. The Baekdong ultramafic body has a NWW elongation direction. This elongation trend is similar to the general trend of the Dabie-Sulu collision belt. The Bibong ultramafic body is elongated in a NNE direction and runs parallel to the direction of the main fault in the study area. The Baekdong ultramafic bodies show porphyroclastic and mylonitic textures while those at Bibong exhibit a mosaic texture. Both were grouped into peridotite and serpentinite based on their modal abundance of serpentine. In the olivine (Fo) vs. spinel [Cr# = Cr/ (Cr+Al)] diagram, both ultramafic rocks fall with in olivine spinel mantle array. The compositions of olivine, orthopyroxene and spinel indicate that the Baekdong ultramafic rock formed in deeper parts of the upper-mantle under passive margin tectonic setting. The SREE content of Baekdong ultramafic rock vary from 0.19 to 5.7, exhibits a flat REE pattern in the chondrite-normalized diagram, and underwent 5% partial melting. Conversely, large variation in SREE (0.5 21.53) was observed for Bibong ultramafic rocks with an enrichment of LREE with a negative slope and underwent 17 24% partial melting. The Baekdong ultramafic rocks experienced three stages of metamorphism after a high pressure residual mantle stage. The first stage of metamorphism occurred under the eclogite-granulite transitional facies (1123 911°C, >16.3 kb) the second under the granulite facies (825 740°C, 16.3 11.8 kb) and the third is the retrogressive metamorphism under amphibolite facies (782 718°C, 8.2 8.7 kb) metamorphism. The Baekdong ultramafic rocks had undergone high-P/T metamorphism during subduction of the South China Block, and experienced a fast isothermal uplift, and finally cooled down isobarically. Evidences for metamorphism were not identified in Bibong ultramafic rocks. Hence, the Baekdong ultramafic rocks with in the Hongseong area may indicate a link on the Korean counterpart of Dabie-Sulu collision belt between North and South China Blocks.     

塔里木克拉通东北缘二叠纪镁铁质岩浆氧化物与硫化物成矿条件对比

塔里木克拉通东北缘坡北、磁海等地二叠纪幔源岩浆活动形成了镍钴硫化物矿床和铁钴氧化物矿床,两者赋矿镁铁-超镁铁岩体的年龄相近(290～260 Ma),主、微量元素和Sr-Nd-Hf同位素组成相似,分配系数接近的微量元素比值分布于相同趋势线,揭示两者岩浆源区相同,可能为俯冲板片流体交代的亏损地幔或软流圈地幔。两类矿床镁铁-超镁铁质岩中Co与Ni含量正相关,Co主要富集在基性程度高的岩石中;块状硫化物与磁铁矿矿石中Co与Ni相关性差,Co和Ni具有不同的富集机制,Co热液富集作用明显。北山镁铁-超镁铁杂岩体是地幔柱相关软流圈上涌,诱发俯冲板片交代的亏损岩石圈地幔发生部分熔融,形成的高镁母岩浆演化过程中经历壳源混染、硫化物饱和富集镍钴形成铜镍钴硫化物矿床,富铁母岩浆氧逸度高、富水,岩浆分离结晶磁铁矿、叠加热液作用富集钴,形成铁钴氧化物矿床。     

The Age of Ultramafic Rocks of the Main Ural Fault

The results of U–Pb zircon age dating of ultramafic massifs occurring as a chain along the Main Ural Fault zone (MUF) are given. Three groups of ages were obtained (Ma): 2500?2800, 600?2100, and 430?440. The first age group represents the time of origin of the ultramafic rocks in the Earth’s mantle. The second age group records the time of metamorphism of these rocks prior to intrusion into the host rocks. The third age group determines the time of the intrusion of ultramafic magma into the host rocks. It was established that the intrusion of ultramafic magma along the entire length of the Ural ultramafic belt occurred in the age range of 430?440 Ma.     

韭菜地等地的新生代玄武岩及其超镁铁岩包体的岩石学研究

韭菜地和鸡笼山两地的玄武岩为新生代的火山锥体,主要岩石为碧玄岩和碱性橄榄玄武岩,其中含有较丰富的超镁铁岩包体。玄武质岩石属碱性系列的钾质亚系,SiO_2不饱和,Al_2O_3较低且富含K、Ti和P等不相容元素,具有Al_2O_3/CaO值较高、M值在60—70之间、固结指数近于40、熔融程度低(4％)等特征,表明玄武质岩石是地幔橄榄岩低度熔融的产物。超镁铁岩包体中易熔组分与不饱和型包体组分相近,其矿物化学特征为:橄榄石的Fo值和斜方辉石的En值较低,单斜辉石的Al_2O_3、TiO_2和Na_2O较高,表明包体相对地富集易熔组分,与原始地幔组分相似。估算包体的矿物平衡温度和压力分别为1050℃和21.6×10~3Pa。     

Hot contacts of garnet peridotites in middle/upper crustal levels: new constraints on the nature of the late Variscan high-T/low-P event in the Moldanubian (Central Vosges/NE France)

P–T  paths based on parageneses in the immediate vicinity of former high-temperature contact zones between mantle peridotites and granulitic country rocks of the Central Vosges (NE France) were derived by applying several conventional thermometers and thermobarometric calculations with an internally consistent dataset. The results indicate that former garnet peridotites and garnet–spinel peridotites were welded together with crustal rocks at depths corresponding to 1–1.2 GPa. The temperature of the crustal rocks was about 650–700 °C at this stage, whereas values of 1100 °C (garnet peridotites) and 800–900 °C (garnet–spinel peridotites) were calculated for the ultramafic rocks. After emplacement of the mantle rocks, exhumation of the lower crust took place to a depth corresponding to 0.2–0.3 GPa. The temperatures of the incorporated peridotite slices were still high (900–1000 °C) at this stage. This is indicated by the presence of high- T  /low- P parageneses ( c . 800 °C, 0.2–0.3 GPa) in a small (1–10 m) contact aureole around a former garnet peridotite. Crustal rocks distant to the peridotites equilibrated in the same pressure range at lower temperature (650–700 °C). High cooling rates (10²–10³ °C Ma⁻¹) were calculated for a garnet–biotite rock inclusion in the peridotites and for the crustal rocks at the contact by applying garnet–biotite diffusion modelling. Minimum rates of 0.75–7.5 cm a⁻¹ are required for vertical ascent of rock units (30 km vertical distance) derived from the crust–mantle boundary, resulting in a late Variscan (340 Ma) high- T  /low- P event.     

Petrogenesis of ultramafic and mafic rocks of the Thompson Nickel Belt,Manitoba

Abundant sill-like bodies of serpentinized ultramafic rocks, with associated nickel sulfide deposits, are found on the western side of the Thompson Nickel Belt near the Moak Lake-Setting Lake cataclastic fault zone. The ultramafic rocks range in composition from dunite to orthopyroxenite and feature variable alteration. Chemical variation across the bodies is suggestive of in-situ differentiation controlled mainly by olivine and orthopyroxene. Relative abundances of some elements, incompatible for olivine and orthopyroxene, suggest a parental liquid of komatiitic affinity. Ultramafic and mafic rocks are petrogenetically linked. A high degree of partial melting of mantle material and subsequent low-pressure crystal fractionation are responsible for the spectrum of composition from ultramafic to mafic.Publication 19-84, Ottawa-Carleton Centre for Geoscience Studies     

Likely “mantle plume” activity in the Skellefte district,Northern Sweden. A reexamination of mafic/ultramafic magmatic activity: Its possible association with VMS and gold mineralization

Most attention has been given to the geology of the extensive VMS and subordinate precious metals mineralization in the Skellefte district. Less attention has been given to indications of deep-seated origins of felsic and mafic/ultramafic volcanic rocks; of VMS and precious metals mineralizing fluids; and the primary origins of these metals. A holistic view of the significance of mafic/ultramafic volcanic rocks to both the geotectonic evolution of the area and the existence of its important base and precious metals deposits has never been presented. These subjects are discussed in this investigation.Primitive mantle normalized spider diagrams of rare-earth-elements (REE) distinguish two groups of mafic/ultramafic volcanic rocks, each with distinct geochemical characteristics: a mid-ocean-ridge “MORB”-type, and a geochemically unusual and problematic calc–alkaline–basalt “CAB”-type which is the main subject of this investigation. The “MORB”-type mafic volcanic rocks are mostly older than the Skellefte Group felsic volcanic rocks hosting the VMS deposits, whereas the more primitive “CAB”-type mafic/ultramafic volcanic rocks are mostly younger.A common source for these “CAB”-type, mafic-(MgO wt.% < 14%) and ultramafic-(MgO wt.% > 14%) volcanic rocks is suggested by their similar and distinctive geochemical features. These are near-chondritic (Al-undepleted) Al₂O₃/TiO₂ ratios; moderate to strong high-field-strength-element (HFSE) depletion; light-rare-earth-element (LREE) enrichment and moderate heavy-rare-earth-element (HREE) depletion. They outcrop throughout an area of at least 100 × 100 km. Gold mineralization is spatially associated with ultramafic volcanic rocks.Zr and Hf depletion has been shown to be associated with Al-depletion in mafic/ultramafic volcanic rocks elsewhere, and has been attributed to deep-seated partial melting in ascending mantle plumes. Zr and Hf depletion in “CAB”-type Al-undepleted mafic/ultramafic volcanic rocks is therefore unusual. The solution to this dilemma is suggested to be contamination of an Al-depleted mantle plume by felsic crustal rocks whereby Al-depleted ultramafic magmas become Al-undepleted. It will be argued that this model has the potential to explain previous observations of deep-seated origins; the spatial association of ultramafic volcanic rocks with occurrences of gold mineralization; and even the primary origin of metals in VMS deposits.     

Geochemical Features, Age, and Tectonic Significance of the Kekekete Mafic-ultramafic Rocks, East Kunlun Orogen, China

The Kekekete mafic-ultramafic rocks are exposed in the Kekesha-Kekekete-Dawate area,which are in the eastern part of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt.It outcrops as tectonic slices intruding tectonically in the Paleoproterozoic Baishahe Group and the Paleozoic Nachitai Group.The Kekekete mafic and ultramafic rocks is located near the central fault in East Kunlun and lithologically mainly consists of serpentinite,augite peridotite,and gabbro.The LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age of the gabbro is 501±7 Ma,indicating that Kekekete mafic-ultramafic rocks formed in the Middle Cambrian.This rock assemblage is relatively poor in SiO2 and(Na2 O+K2 O) but rich in MgO and SFeO.The chondrite-normalized REE patterns of the gabbro dip slightly to the right;the primitive mantle and MORBnormalized spidergrams of trace elements show enrichment of large-ion lithophile elements(Cs,Rb,Ba,etc.) and no differentiation of high field strength elements.The general dominance of E-MORB features and the geochemical characteristics of OIB suggest that the Kekekete mafic-ultramafic rocks formed in an initial oceanic basin with slightly enriched mantle being featured by varying degrees of mixing of N-MORB depleted mantle and a similar-OIB-type source.From a comprehensive study of the previous data,the author believes that the tectonic history of the East Kunlun region was controlled by a geodynamic system of rifting and extension in the late stages of the Neoproterozoic to early stages of the Early Paleozoic and this formed the paleo-oceanic basin or rift system now represented by the ophiolites along the central fault in East Kunlun,the Kekekete mafic-ultramafic rocks and Delisitan ophiolite.     

富碱斑岩中超镁铁深源包体岩石的元素地球化学分析

云南省鹤庆县六合乡富碱斑岩体中的超镁铁深源岩石包体，对于研究富碱斑岩岩浆的起源和演化及其成岩成矿作用具有重要意义。在对深源包体岩石的元素地球化学特征进行系统研究后，发现该深源包体具有原始上地幔岩在地幔条件下受到一定程度富集地幔流体交代作用改造的特征，具有富集地幔的低程度部分熔融属性，为富碱斑岩的成岩成矿作用提供了重要的元素地球化学依据。     

Mineralogy of the upper mantle: A review of the minerals in mantle xenoliths from kimberlite

The importance of ultramafic and eclogitic xenoliths in kimberlite as representing the rocks and minerals of the upper mantle has been widely perceived during the last decade. Studies of the petrology and mineral chemistry of these mantle fragments as well as of inclusions in diamond, have led to significant progress in our understanding of the mineralogy and chemistry of the upper mantle. For example, it is now known that textural differences in the ultramafic xenoliths (lherzolite, harzburgite, pyroxenite and websterite) are partially reflected in chemical differences. Thus xenoliths that display a ‘fluidal’ texture, indicative of intense deformation are less depleted in Ca, Al, Na, Fe and Ti than those xenoliths in which granular textures are predominant. It is believed this relative depletion may indicate the sheared (fluidal texture) xenoliths are representative of primary, undifferentiated mantle. This material on partial melting would produce ‘basaltic-type’ material, and leave a residuum whose chemistry and mineralogy is reflected by the granular xenoliths.Also present in kimberlite are large single phase xenoliths that may be either one single crystal (xenocryst, megacryst) or an aggregate of several crystals of the same mineral (discrete xenolith, or discrete nodule). These large single phase samples consist of similar minerals to those occurring in the ultramafic xenoliths but chemically they are distinct in being generally more Fe-rich. The relation between these xenocrysts to their counterparts in the ultramafic xenoliths is unknown. Also unknown, at the present time, is the exact relation between diamond and kimberlite. Evidence obtained from study of the mineral inclusions in diamond suggests that diamond forms in at least two chemically distinct environments in the mantle; one eclogitic, the other, ultramafic. Interestingly, this suggestion is true for diamonds from worldwide localities.The mineral-chemical results of studies on xenoliths and inclusions in diamond have been convincingly interpreted in the light of experimental studies. It is now possible based on several different geothermometers and barometers to determine relatively reasonable physical conditions for the final genesis of many of these mantle rocks. For the most part the final equilibration temperatures range between 1000 and 1400°C and pressure in the region 100–200 km. These conditions are consistent with an upper mantle origin. Future studies will undoubtedly attempt to more concisely, and accurately, define these conditions, as well as understand better the chemical and spatial relationship of the rock-types in the mantle.     

Baddeleyite and zircon U-Pb ages of the ultramafic rocks in Chigu Tso area,Southeastern Tibet and their constraints on the timing of Comei Large Igneous Province

A suite of ultramafic and mafic rocks developed in the Chigu Tso area, eastern Tethyan Himalaya. Baddeleyite and zircon U-Pb ages acquired by SIMS and LA-ICP-MS from olivine pyroxenite rocks in the Chigu Tso area are 138.9±3.0 Ma and 139.0±1.9 Ma, respectively. These two Early Cretaceous ages are similar with the ages of the more abundant mafic rocks in the eastern Tethyan Himalaya, indicating that this suite of ultramafic and mafic rocks in the Chigu Tso area should be included in the outcrop area of the Comei Large Igneous Province (LIP). These ultramafic rocks provide significant evidence that the involvement of mantle plume/hot spot activities in the formation of the Comei LIP. Baddeleyite U-Pb dating by SIMS is one reliable and convenient method to constrain the formation time of ultramafic rocks. The dating results of baddeleyite and zircon from the olivine pyroxenite samples in this paper are consistent with each other within analytical uncertainties, suggesting that baddeleyite and zircon were both formed during the same magmatic process. The consistency of baddeleyite U-Pb ages in the Chigu Tso area with zircon U-Pb ages for a large number of Early Cretaceous mafic rocks in the eastern Tethyan Himalaya further support that zircon grains from such mafic rocks yielding Early Cretaceous ages are also magmatic in origin.