Reaction relationships of chrome-spinels in igneous rocks — further evidence from the layered intrusions of Rhum and Mull,Inner Hebrides,Scotland

Compositions of chrome-spinels in peridotites from the layered igneous rocks of Rhum and of the Ben Buie intrusion, Mull, show evidence of post-depositional reaction relationships with the cumulus olivine and/or the intercumulus liquid. Some seam-forming spinels in the Ben Buie intrusion are highly aluminous, more so than those in the Rhum intrusion. Occasional zoned spinels, in both intrusions, show enrichment in Al towards their rims. The evidence suggests that the spinel reaction trend involving Cr-Al exchange proceeds in the direction of Al-enrichment. Equilibrium between chrome-spinel and cumulus olivine appears to have been attained rarely, thus limiting the application of the olivine-spinel geothermometer.     

伊通上地幔剪切带捕虏体中富铝尖晶石的地球化学特征

伊通上地幔剪切带中辉石岩、二辉橄榄岩和易剥橄榄岩是3个主要地幔捕虏体,其中尖晶石的化学成分以富铝为特征。辉石岩中尖晶石在薄片下呈绿色,为铝含量高、铬含量低的铝尖晶石;与之相比,二辉橄榄岩和易剥橄榄岩中尖晶石在薄片下呈棕色,为铝含量相对较低、铬含量相对较高的富铝铬尖晶石。尖晶石的颜色与Al、Mg、Cr、Fe含量有关。在不同捕虏体中尖晶石成分具有不同的变化范围,尖晶石化学成分之间存在一定的相关性,Mg#与Cr#,Mg#与Fe2 和Cr与Al呈现负相关性,而Mg#与Al#呈现出正相关性,反映不同捕虏体中尖晶石具有同一来源和成因联系。在地幔岩石部分熔融和结晶过程中Cr和Al的分异明显。固溶体条件下基本服从八面体Cr Al替代关系,而不同地幔捕虏体中尖晶石的成分差异是岩浆部分熔融和结晶过程中元素分异、固溶体离子替代的结果。     

The crystallisation trends of spinels in tertiary basalts from Rhum and Muck and their petrogenetic significance

Spinels are commonly observed in alkali olivine basalts and olivine basalts that form the Plateau Magma Series of the British Tertiary Province. The spinels are either partly or wholly enclosed within olivine or may have adhered to olivine surfaces, and have undergone cation exchange and reaction with the cooling basaltic melt. Detailed microprobe traverses indicate complex exchanges involving Fe-Mg, Cr-Al, Fe³⁺-R³⁺ and Fe²⁺ Ti-R³⁺ substitutions. Some of these changes are due to a reaction with liquid that produced plagioclase and resulted in Al depletion in the spinel. A complex series of solid solutions between hercynite-magnesioferrite-chromite and Al-Cr-titomomagnetite, is indicated in a combination that precludes the disappearance of spinel by a simple peritetic reaction with the melt. The initial spinels are compositionally distinct from the chromites found in the Rhum layered series and underline the great compositional variability of liquidus spinels that can crystallise from basaltic liquid. Some of this variability may relate to the changing solubility of Cr, which behaves as a trace element, in basaltic liquids in response to slight changes in the structure of the melt.LDGO Contribution no. 2575     

Chromian spinel as a petrogenetic indicator in abyssal and alpine-type peridotites and spatially associated lavas

The composition of chromian spinel in alpine-type peridotites has a large reciprocal range of Cr and Al, with increasing Cr# (Cr/(Cr+Al)) reflecting increasing degrees of partial melting in the mantle. Using spinel compositions, alpine-type peridotites can be divided into three groups. Type I peridotites and associated volcanic rocks contain spinels with Cr#<0.60; Type III peridotites and associated volcanics contain spinels with Cr#>0.60, and Type II peridotites and volcanics are a transitional group and contain spinels spanning the full range of spinel compositions in Type I and Type II peridotites. Spinels in abyssal peridotites lie entirely within the Type I spinel field, making ophiolites with Type I alpine-type peridotites the most likely candidates for sections of ocean lithosphere formed at a midocean ridge. The only modern analogs for Type III peridotites and associated volcanic rocks are found in arc-related volcanic and intrusive rocks, continental intrusive assemblages, and oceanic plateau basalts. We infer a sub-volcanic arc petrogenesis for most Type III alpine-type peridotites. Type II alpine-type peridotites apparently reflect composite origins, such as the formation of an island-arc on ocean crust, resulting in large variations in the degree and provenance of melting over relatively short distances. The essential difference between Type I and Type III peridotites appears to be the presence or absence of diopside in the residue at the end of melting.Based on an examination of co-existing rock and spinel compositions in lavas, it appears that spinel is a sensitive indicator of melt composition and pressure of crystallization. The close similarity of spinel composition fields in genetically related basalts, dunites and peridotites at localities in the oceans and in ophiolite complexes indicates that its composition reflects the degree of melting in the mantle source region. Accordingly, we infer from the restricted range of spinel compositions in abyssal basalts that the degree of mantle melting beneath mid-ocean ridges is generally limited to that found in Type I alpine-type peridotites. It is apparent, therefore, that the phase boundary OL-EN-DI-SP +meltOL-EN-SP+melt has limited the degree of melting of the mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges. This was clearly not the case for many alpine-type peridotites, implying very different melting conditions in the mantle, probably involving the presence of water.     

Petrogenesis of some Ligurian peridotites—I. Mineral and bulk-rock chemistry

Bulk-rock and mineral compositions of eleven lherzolitic specimens have been determined. Eight samples are from the Erro-Tobbio thrust sheet of the Gruppo di Voltri, western Liguria; three samples are from allochthonous eastern Ligurian masses within the External Ligurides. All specimens consist of spinel (±plagioclase) in addition to ol + opx + cpx, and have been derived from mantle portions of the South Alpine-Apennine lithospheric plate.Electron microprobe analyses of 11 olivines, 17 orthopyroxenes, 13 clinopyroxenes, eight spinels and one plagioclase have been performed. Except for Ca-rich and Ca-poor lamellae in some pyroxenes, and iron-enriched rims in a few spinels, the analyzed phases are remarkably homogeneous. Mineral compositions vary insignificantly from rock to rock. Consideration of major element partitioning in coexisting opx + cpx pairs, combined with the petrogenetic grid for aluminous lherzolite bulk compositions, yield the following provisional P-Tequilibration conditions: Erro-Tobbio complex, 1150 ± 50°C, 16 ± 6 kbar; External Ligurides, 1000 ± 50°C, 14 ± 6 kbar. Evidently the western Ligurian peridotites equilibrated at higher temperatures and possibly at slightly greater depths with the upper mantle than those from eastern Liguria.The lherzolite samples have nearly identical bulk-rock major element compositions. Comparisons with estimated compositions for the upper mantle, and for model pyrolite indicate that these Ligurian peridotites are primitive or only very slightly depleted in basaltic constituents. Thus, based on major element chemistry, the Ligurian peridotites cannot be regarded as residua left after extensive partial fusion, hence evidently cannot have produced large proportions of oceanic tholeiite liquid; on the other hand, they seem to represent a fertile mantle source for such melts.Relics of garnet have not been found, and apparent temperatures for both Erro-Tobbio and eastern Ligurian ultramafic suites exceed the classical intraplate oceanic geotherm; accordingly, these bodies may represent rising mantle material that recrystallized during ascent in the general vicinity of a spreading center, without having undergone extensive partial melting.     

Petrogenesis of Dunite Xenoliths from Koolau Volcano, Oahu, Hawaii: Implications for Hawaiian Volcanism

Ultramafic xenoliths from Koolau Volcano on the island of Oahu,Hawaii, are divided into spinel lherzolite, pyroxenite, anddunite suites. On the basis of a study of the petrography andmineral compositions of 43 spinel lherzolites, 12 pyroxenites,and 20 dunites, the following characteristics of the dunitesin relation to the other nodule types and to Hawaiian lavasemerge. (1) The forstente content of olivines in the Koolaudunites (Fo_82.6-Fo_{89 7} ) overlap those of Hawaiian tholeiiticand alkalic lavas and are generally lower than those in abyssallherzolites and dunites and in Koolau spinel lherzolites. (2)Most of the dunites contain no orthopyroxene, all except twocontain chrome spinel, and a few contain interstitial plagioclaseand clinopyroxene. (3) Chrome spinels from the Koolau dunitesare distinctly higher in Cr/(Cr+Al), lower in Mg/(Mg+ Fe²⁺)and higher in TiO₂ than those from abyssal basalts and peridotites.Chrome spinels in the dunites correspond closely in compositionto chrome spinels in Hawaiian tholeiitic and alkalic lavas.(4) The abundance of dunite relative to other nodule types decreasesoutward from the central part of the volcano. The dunites areinterpreted not as residues of partial fusion of the mantlebut as crystal accumulations stored at shallow depths beneaththe central part of Koolau Volcano and derived from picriticmagmas parental to the shield-building tholeiitic lavas.     

Oxide and sulphide mineralogy of the Peuyuk kimberlite,Somerset Island,N.W.T., Canada

The Peuyuk kimberlite is divisable into three petrographically distinct phases (A, B, and C) on the basis of oxide mineralogy and the presence or absence of an immiscible carbonate liquid.Phase A contains spinels (titan-magnesian-aluminous chromite) and perovskite with no reaction rims or complex mantles, and no evidence of an immiscible carbonate liquid.Phase B contains complexly zoned and mantled oxides with no evidence of an immiscible carbonate liquid. The spinels are zoned from titan-magnesian-aluminous chromite to members of the magnesian ulvospinel-ulvospinel-magnetite series. The zoned spinels are mantled by a serpentine-carbonate mixture followed by a mixture of Ti free magnetite and minor rutile. Perovskites are mantled by nickeliferous pyrite (0–11 % Ni) and rutile.Phase C is characterized by the presence of an immiscible carbonate liquid. Spinels are either discrete crystals of magnesian ulvospinel-ulvospinel-magnetite or as discrete rims of this composition upon cores of titan-magnesian-aluminous chromite. Rutile rims are poorly developed upon perovskites. Sulphides associated with the silicate groundmass are Cu-pentlandite, heazle-woodite and chalcopyrite. Nickeliferous pyrite is associated with the carbonate fraction.Common to all phases of the intrusion is a red titanium poor aluminous-magnesian chromite which is interpreted to have formed prior to the fluidized intrusion of the kimberlite. All other spinels being considered to have crystallized after fluidization.The spinel composition trends may reflect decreasing oxygen fugacities (10^–19 to 10^–22 bars) in response to falling temperatures (800–600° C) along the quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffer.In the immediate post-fluidization history of the diatreme all phases crystallized titan-magnesian-aluminous chromite but the trends of Ti and Fe enrichment observed in phases B and C was prevented in phase A possibly by rapid cooling. Slower cooling coupled with reaction of earlier formed phases with residual H₂O and CO₂ rich fluids resulted in the phase B assemblage. Extensive reaction of this type was prevented in phase C by the separation of an immiscible carbonate liquid.     

Les péridotites et pyroxénolites à grenat du Bois des feuilles (Monts du lyonnais) (France)

The author describes a new occurrence of garnet peridotite and garnet pyroxenite interlayered in the biotite-sillimanite-garnet gneisses at the top of the granulitic serie of the Monts du Lyonnais (Massif Central français). Its dimensions are rather significant for a crustal gisement (500×100 m). It is only composed of forsterite, enstatite, chromiferous diopside, pyrope and spinel peridotites with their products of retrograde transformations as kelyphites, amphiboles, chlorites, lizardite, ores, etc. The petrographic studies show the heterogeneity of the massif and the anteriority of the red spinel upon the garnet which always forms a corona around the spinel. The peridotites are intermingled with numerous streched and dislocated layers of garnet websterites with rare centimetric levels. These pyroxenites would be derived of particular magmatic processes (partial anatectic melting followed by cristallisation) developped from an upper mantle level in a primary pyrolitic lherzolitic (s. l) or garnet peridotitic material. The garnet peridotite of “Le Bois des Feuilles” would be, in fact, a “secondary garnet lherzolite” derived: - either from a spinel lherzolite intermingled with garnet websterite layers and their “dunitic” remnants, to form a “pseudo-garnet lherzolite” like this of Beni Bouchera described by Kornprobst; - or from a spinel lherzolite associated with garnet websterites and submitted temporarily, at the time of its diapiric rising movement from the mantle towards the crust to the conditions of the spinel garnet lherzolite facies. The plastic deformations and intense laminations form blastomylonites of mixed rocks recristallised ultimately under granulitic facies conditions. These rocks are, pro parte, not very different from the other crustal garnet peridotites, in spite of the frequency of the spinel inclusions in garnet. In corollary, it seems that numerous crustal garnet peridotites would have the same origin.     

The metamorphic evolution of Mg---Cr type Norwegian garnet peridotites

Mineralogical and microstructural data are presented which demonstrate that the garnet peridotites variably preserved in Alpine-type bodies within the Western Gneiss Region of Norway have had a prolonged, 7-stage, evolutionary history. High-temperature Al-pyroxene ± spinel protolith assemblages (ass. I) are only rarely preserved but predate the coarse-grained P_max garnet lherzolite assemblages (ass. II). Porphyroclastic textured samples demonstrate subsequent recrystallisation to a lower-pressure 5-phase garnet + spinel lherzolite assemblage (ass. III). Most samples show development of kelyphites of intimately intergrown replacement pyroxenes + spinel (ass. IV) around garnets. These are in turn frequently overgrown by late coarser-grained coronas of orthopyroxene + pargasittic amphibole + spinel (ass. V). The chrome-depleted secondary garnets are interpreted to have predated kelyphite formation contrary to most previous interpretations. Assemblages VI and VII reflect the late-stage stability at reduced temperatures of firstly aluminous chlorite and finally serpentine + talc assemblages.

As the peridotites may contain up to six generations of certain mineral phases (notably orthopyroxene) and individual grains are frequently compositionally zoned, considerable care has been exercised over the selection of mineral compositions appropriate to the various mineral equilibria used to deduce the overall P-T path followed by these rocks. Finally, general aspects of the origin and tectonic setting of these rocks and of the age of the various observed assemblages are discussed. Whilst the early assemblages (I and II) appear to be mid-Proterozoic in age, the later assemblages (III å VII) are probably all Caledonian).     

西藏雅鲁藏布江缝合带普兰地幔橄榄岩铬尖晶石成因研究

普兰蛇绿岩位于雅鲁藏布江缝合带西段,其中地幔橄榄岩由方辉橄榄岩、含单斜辉石方辉橄榄岩以及少量二辉橄榄岩及纯橄岩组成。尖晶石是地幔橄榄岩中常见的副矿物,可以作为重要的岩石学成因指示剂。在野外地质调查基础上,通过岩相观察、电子探针、尖晶石成分面分析、电子背反射衍射分析,可将普兰地幔橄榄岩铬尖晶石分为三类:第一类铬尖晶石呈自形,粒径较小(<100μm),或包裹于斜方辉石中,或杂乱分布于橄榄石和辉石之间,具有高Cr^#(>0.6)、低Mg^#(0.43~0.57)的特征,为部分熔融+玻安质熔体交代成因;第二类铬尖晶石呈半自形-他形,粒径较大(>100μm),常含有橄榄石、辉石包裹体,具有中Cr^#(0.17~0.42)、高Mg^#(0.63~0.77)的特点,主要受部分熔融作用影响;第三类铬尖晶石呈他形蠕虫状与辉石交生在一起构成后成合晶结构,粒径变化较大,具有低Cr#(0.17~0.28)、高Mg^#(0.67~0.77)的特点。EBSD分析结果显示尖晶石、辉石的结晶学优选方位(CPO)较为相似,表明为同一矿物分解而来,单斜辉石与大陆岩石圈地幔捕掳体中石榴子石的稀土元素对比表明构成后成合晶结构的辉石和铬尖晶石为具有大陆岩石圈地幔属性的高压石榴子石退变分解而成。综合分析表明:普兰蛇绿岩的地幔橄榄岩体在从石榴子石相深度上升过程中发生了石榴子石退变、岩石部分熔融及熔体渗透作用,岩体经历了威尔逊旋回初期的大陆裂谷阶段,主体经历了中-低程度的部分熔融,类似大洋中脊环境,局部受到了富硅、富镁玻安质熔体的影响。     

Chromian spinels in lherzolite inclusions from Itinome-gata,Japan

Spinel, which constitutes from 0.7% to 3% of lherzolite inclusions, occurs as primary anhedral grains (chrome-rich variety) and as a secondary phase as breakdown products of garnet (alumina-rich variety). Although individual primary spinel grains are chemically homogeneous, spinels are characterized by a wide range of Cr/Al ratios and a relatively narrow range of Mg/Fe″ ratios, even in a single lherzolite sample. The chemical variations of spinels are considered to have the following origin: When garnet lherzolite enters the stability field of the spinel peridotite facies as a consequence of slow upward transport, both orthopyroxenes and clinopyroxenes are recrystallized with loss of jadeite and some Tschermak's component to reach equilibrium. A part of the Tschermak's component reacts with olivine to form pyroxene and spinel. This secondary spinel component is alloted to the primary chromian spinel. However, these reactions did not always reach equilibrium with the major constituent minerals in the lherzolites.     

The Origin of Amphibole in Lherzolite Xenoliths from Nunivak Island, Alaska

Ten lherzolite xenoliths collected on Nunivak Island, Alaska,contain interstitial chromian pargasitic amphibole. Of 2000lherzolite nodules examined from the maars of the island, however,50 per cent contain relics of such an amphibole in the formof fine-grained zones of euhedral diopside, olivine and spinelin a porous Al-rich glass. These nodules are believed to havebeen amphibole-bearing fragments of the upper mantle, that partiallymelted during their ascent to the surface in the Nunivak basalts.The textural intimacy and chemical zoning exhibited by the interstitialamphibole and spinel in the lherzolite xenoliths indicate thatalthough the amphibole predates the Nunivak basalts, it is asecondary aluminous phase. The amphibole was formed in the uppermantle during a pervasive metasomatic event caused by risingtemperature and the infiltration of alkali-rich fluid, priorto the introduction of basaltic magmas.     

Petrogenesis of ultramafic and mafic xenoliths from Mesozoic basanites in southern Sweden: constraints from mineral chemistry

Jurassic basanite necks occurring at the junction of two major fault zones in Scania contain ultramafic (peridotites, pyroxenites) and mafic xenoliths, which together indicate a diversity of upper mantle and lower crustal assemblages beneath this region. The peridotites can be subdivided into lherzolites, dunites and harzburgites. Most lherzolites are porphyroclastic, containing orthopyroxene and olivine porphyroclasts. They consist of Mg-rich silicates (Mg# = Mg/(Mg + Fe_tot) × 100; 88–94) and vermicular spinel. Calculated equilibration temperatures are lower in porphyroclastic lherzolites (975–1,007°C) than in equigranular lherzolite (1,079°C), indicating an origin from different parts of the upper mantle. According to the spinel composition the lherzolites represent residues of 8–13% fractional melting. They are similar in texture, mineralogy and major element composition to mantle xenoliths from Cenozoic Central European volcanic fields. Dunitic and harzburgitic peridotites are equigranular and only slightly deformed. Silicate minerals have lower to similar Mg# (83–92) as lherzolites and lack primary spinel. Resorbed patches in dunite and harzburgite xenoliths might be the remnants of metasomatic processes that changed the upper mantle composition. Pyroxenites are coarse, undeformed and have silicate minerals with partly lower Mg# than peridotites (70–91). Pyroxenitic oxides are pleonaste spinels. According to two-pyroxene thermometry pyroxenites show a large range of equilibration temperatures (919–1,280°C). In contrast, mafic xenoliths, which are mostly layered gabbronorites with pyroxene- and plagioclase-rich layers, have a narrow range of equilibration temperatures (828–890°C). These temperature ranges, together with geochemical evidence, indicate that pyroxenites and gabbroic xenoliths represent mafic intrusions within the Fennoscandian crust.     

Chromian spinel-rich black sands from eastern shoreline of Andaman Island,India: Implication for source characteristics

Black sands rich in chromian spinel commonly occur in pockets along the eastern shoreline of Andaman Island where various types of peridotites and volcanics belonging to the Andaman ophiolite suite are exposed in close vicinity. The chemistry of these detrital chromian spinels has been extensively used here in identifying the source rocks vis-à-vis deciphering the source characteristics. The composition of the chromian spinels (Cr#: 0.20–0.88, Mg#: 0.26–0.77, Al ₂ O ₃: 5.04–48.21 wt.%, TiO ₂: up to 1.39 wt.% and Fe ²⁺/Fe ³⁺: 1.73–9.12) varies widely signifying multiple sources, of which mantle peridotites and volcanic rocks are relevant in an ophiolitic terrain. The volcanic chromian spinels are relatively fresh, commonly euhedral, sometimes with compositional variations, and contain inclusions in contrast to the mantle peridotitic chromian spinels which are rounded, extensively fractured, and altered. We used a number of geochemical bivariate plots in order to know the provenance protoliths. The volcanic chromian spinels show geochemical characters of MORB, related to spreading centers (either MOR or back-arc) and also boninites/arc-tholeiites, related to active subduction. On the other hand, the peridotitic spinels indicate partially depleted lherzolite and depleted harzburgite source of the ophiolite suite.     

An Al-spinel ultramafic-mafic inclusion suite and high pressure megacrysts in an analcimite and their bearing on basaltic magma fractionation at elevated pressures

An analcimite sill, which intrudes Carboniferous sedimentary rocks northwest of the township of Barraba in northeastern New South Wales, is exceedingly rich in ultramafic and mafic inclusions and also contains a varied megacryst assemblage. The majority of inclusions belong to an ultramafic-mafic granulite suite whose members generally contain a Cr-poor green spinel. Layering is preserved in many inclusions and their textures are appropriate to those arising from recrystallization at subsolidus temperatures. Ultramafic granulites of the Al-spinel suite are mainly pyroxenites, with rarer lherzolites, and mafic granulites usually consist of the assemblage plagioclasea-luminous pyroxenes-spinel. Ca-rich tschermakitic clinopyroxenes and coexisting aluminous Ca-poor orthopyroxenes define a trend of moderate iron enrichment. Spinels also display significant Fe²⁺ → Mg substitution. Plagioclase in some plagioclase-bearing pyroxenites and mafic granulites contains numerous rod-like inclusions of spinel, compositionally similar to the discrete spinels unassociated with plagioclase. The formation of spinel in plagioclase is believed to have resulted largely from the migration of (Mg, Fe²⁺) to Al-rich nucleation sites in the feldspar. Other inclusion types include Cr-spinel lherzolites —more Fe-rich than Cr-diopside lherzolite inclusions in alkaline volcanics — and rare wehrlite heteradcumulates, probably cognate with the host analcimite. The megacryst assemblage is dominated by anorthoclase megacrysts, which are accompanied, in order of decreasing abundance, by megacrysts of tschermakitic clinopyroxene, titanbiotite, kaersutite, and aluminous titanomagnetite. The Al-spinel mafic granulites have low Ti, K and P contents and their petrochemical affinities are high-alumina mafic alkaline to transitional. They compare closely in major and minor element chemistry with some ocean ridge basalts. The Al-spinel ultramafic-mafic inclusions suite is interpreted as the remnants of a layered ultramafic-mafic “pluton ” which initially crystallized at pressures in the vicinity of 10 kb and subsequently re-equilibrated at subsolidus temperatures (ca 950° C) and comparable pressures. The parent magma was K-poor, ol-normative subalkaline and its fractionation at moderate pressures, controlled mainly by olivine and subcalcic clinopyroxene, resulted in decreases in the derivative liquids in their saturation levels and ol contents, and increases in Al and Ca. These trends are reflected in the compositions of the mafic granulites. The pressure regime of megacryst formation apparently was greater than 10–12 kb i.e. the megacrysts precipitated before acquisition of xenoliths of the Al-spinel granulite suite by the analcimite host. Anorthoclase fractionation produced only limited compositional changes in the original alkali basaltic melt.     

Serpentinized Peridotites at the North Part of the Wadi Allaqi District (Egypt): Implications for the Tectono-Magmatic Evolution of Fore-arc Crust

The Neoproterozoic Allaqi-Heiani suture （800-700 Ma） in the south Eastern Desert of Egypt is the northernmost linear ophiolitic belt that defines an arc-arc suture in the Arabian- Nubian shield （ANS）. The Neoproterozoic serpentinized peridotites represent a distinct lithology of dismembered ophiolites along the Allaqi-Heiani suture zone. The alteration of peridotites varies, some contain relicts of primary minerals （Cr-spinel and olivine） and others are extremely altered, especially along thrusts and shear zones, with development of talc, talc-carbonate and quartz-carbonate. The fresh cores of the chromian spinels are rimmed by ferritchromite and Cr- magnetite. The fresh chromian spinels have high Cr# （0.62 to 0.79）, while Mg# shows wider variation （0.35-0.59）. High Cr# in the relict chromian spinels and Fo content in the primary olivines indicate that they are residual peridotites after extensive partial melting. The studied ophiolitic upper mantle peridotites are highly depleted and most probably underwent high degrees of partial melting at a supra-subduction zone setting. They can be produced by up to -20%-22% dynamic melting of a primitive mantle source. The mineralogical and geochemical features of the studied rocks reflect that the mantle peridotites of the north part of the Wadi Allaqi district are similar to the fore-arc peridotites of a supra-subduction zone.     

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and exhumation of garnet peridotite in Pohorje, Eastern Alps

New evidence for ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism (UHPM) in the Eastern Alps is reported from garnet‐bearing ultramafic rocks from the Pohorje Mountains in Slovenia. The garnet peridotites are closely associated with UHP kyanite eclogites. These rocks belong to the Lower Central Austroalpine basement unit of the Eastern Alps, exposed in the proximity of the Periadriatic fault. Ultramafic rocks have experienced a complex metamorphic history. On the basis of petrochemical data, garnet peridotites could have been derived from depleted mantle rocks that were subsequently metasomatized by melts and/or fluids either in the plagioclase‐peridotite or the spinel‐peridotite field. At least four stages of recrystallization have been identified in the garnet peridotites based on an analysis of reaction textures and mineral compositions. Stage I was most probably a spinel peridotite stage, as inferred from the presence of chromian spinel and aluminous pyroxenes. Stage II is a UHPM stage defined by the assemblage garnet + olivine + low‐Al orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + Cr‐spinel. Garnet formed as exsolutions from clinopyroxene, coronas around Cr‐spinel, and porphyroblasts. Stage III is a decompression stage, manifested by the formation of kelyphitic rims of high‐Al orthopyroxene, aluminous spinel, diopside and pargasitic hornblende replacing garnet. Stage IV is represented by the formation of tremolitic amphibole, chlorite, serpentine and talc. Geothermobarometric calculations using (i) garnet‐olivine and garnet‐orthopyroxene Fe‐Mg exchange thermometers and (ii) the Al‐in‐orthopyroxene barometer indicate that the peak of metamorphism (stage II) occurred at conditions of around 900 °C and 4 GPa. These results suggest that garnet peridotites in the Pohorje Mountains experienced UHPM during the Cretaceous orogeny. We propose that UHPM resulted from deep subduction of continental crust, which incorporated mantle peridotites from the upper plate, in an intracontinental subduction zone. Sinking of the overlying mantle and lower crustal wedge into the asthenosphere (slab extraction) caused the main stage of unroofing of the UHP rocks during the Upper Cretaceous. Final exhumation was achieved by Miocene extensional core complex formation.     

Oxygen Thermobarometry of Orogenic Lherzolite Massifs

The oxidation state has been determined for spinel peridotitesfrom 13 orogenic lherzolite massifs including Beni Bousera,Ronda, and 11 smaller massifs in the French Pyrenees. The oxygenfugacity (f_o2) was calculated for 67 samples from microprobeanalyses using a set of secondary spinel standards to correctthe ferric iron content in the spinels. The utility of thismethod is confirmed by the good agreement between the calculatedvalues and those determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy on 28samples. The spinel peridotites of Ronda and Beni Bousera are relativelyreduced, averaging -11 and -1.5 log units relative to fayalite-magnetite-quartz(FMQ) respectively, which is in agreement with values from abyssalperidotites and mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) glasses. The Pyreneanmassifs are relatively oxidized and are intermediate between the abyssal peridotites and continentalxenolith suites. No systematic gradients are observable. Instead,variations of up to 2 log units in f_o2 occur at a localizedscale. This type of variation is also observed for trace elementsand radiogenic isotopes. The harzburgites at Beni Bousera recordthe most reduced conditions. Local oxidation coincides withthe appearance of amphibolc, indicating that metasomatizingfluids or melts are generally oxidized compared with the hostperidotites. Partial re-equilibration in the plagioclase peridotitefades has occurred at Ronda, causing the spinels to become Crrich. Re-equilibration is extremely heterogeneous. Mild oxidationappears to attend the crystallization of fine-grained plagioclase. The similarity in fo₂ values at Beni Bousera and Ronda indicatesa fairly uniform oxidation state at a scale of {small tilde}200 km. This scale of homogeneity is also observed in the Pyrenees,where no significant variation in f_o2 is apparent along 200km of strike in the Northern Pyrenean Zone.     

The chemistry and origin of zincian spinel associated with the Aggeneys Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag deposits,Namaqualand, South Africa

Zincian spinel or gahnite [(Zn,Fe,Mg)Al₂O₄] occurs in metamorphosed sulphide-rich rocks, garnet quartzites, quartz-magnetite rocks, aluminous metasediments, barite-magnetite rocks, quartz veins, and pegmatites associated with the Aggeneys base metal deposits, Namaqualand, South Africa. Zincian spinel in, sulphide-bearing rocks, is considered to have formed predominantly by desulphurization reactions involving a member of the system Fe-S-O and sphalerite with sillimanite or garnet. Gahnite in sulphide-free garnet quartzites, quartz-magnetite rocks and barite-magnetite rocks probably formed from Zn and Al that were hydrothermally derived whereas gahnite in aluminous metasediments was derived from the metamorphism of metalliferous shales, in which Zn may originally have been linked to organic material. Gahnite is Zn-rich in sulphide-bearing rock, but is Fe-rich in sulphide-free garnet quartzites and quartz-magnetite rocks. Although Zn-rich spinels represent guides to ore in the Aggeneys area and elsewhere in the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex, Fe-rich spinels should not be discounted because Zn-rich and Fe-rich spinels occur within metres of sulphides at Aggeneys.     

安徽女山地幔橄榄岩捕虏体的同位素组成:中国东部新生代岩石圈地幔时代制约

位于安徽省境内的女山新生代碱性玄武岩中含有大量而且类型丰富的地幔橄榄岩包体,主要类型有尖晶石相、石榴石相、尖晶石-石榴子石过渡相二辉橄榄岩以及少量的方辉橄榄岩,其中部分尖晶石二辉橄榄岩样品中出现富含挥发分的角闪石、金云母和磷灰石。本文选择该区的尖晶石二辉橄榄岩和方辉橄榄岩包体进行了较为详细的岩石学、矿物学、地球化学研究工作。结果显示,除2个方辉橄榄岩表现难熔特征外,其它25件尖晶石相二辉橄榄岩均具有饱满的主量元素组成。二辉橄榄岩样品的Sr-Nd-Hf同位素均表现为亏损地幔的性质,不同于古老克拉通型难熔、富集的岩石圈地幔。富含挥发份交代矿物的出现以及轻稀土元素不同程度的富集,表明女山岩石圈地幔经历了较为强烈的交代作用,然而Re-Os同位素及PGE分析结果表明交代作用并没有显著改变Os同位素组成。二辉橄榄岩样品均具有较高的Os同位素组成,结合其饱满的主量元素组成,亏损的同位素特征,表明女山地区岩石圈地幔整体为新生岩石圈地幔。但1个方辉橄榄岩样品给出了较低的Os同位素比值0.1184,其Re亏损年龄为1.5Ga,它可能来自于软流圈中残留的古老难熔地幔。