The Geochemistry of Ultramafic to Mafic Volcanics from the Belingwe Greenstone Belt, Zimbabwe: Magmatism in an Archean Continental Large Igneous Province

The evolution of the late Archean Belingwe greenstone belt,Zimbabwe, is discussed in relation to the geochemistry of theultramafic to mafic volcanic rocks. Four volcanic types (komatiite,komatiitic basalt, D-basalt and E-basalt) are distinguishedin the 2·7 Ga Ngezi volcanic sequence using a combinationof petrography and geochemistry. The komatiites and D-basaltsare rocks in which isotopic systems and trace elements are depleted.Chemical variations in komatiites and D-basalts can be explainedby fractional crystallization from the parental komatiite. Incontrast, komatiitic basalts and E-basalts are siliceous anddisplay enriched isotopic and trace element compositions. Theirchemical trends are best explained by assimilation with fractionalcrystallization (AFC) from the primary komatiite. AFC calculationsindicate that the komatiitic basalts and E-basalts are derivedfrom komatiites contaminated with 20% and 30% crustal material,respectively. The volcanic stratigraphy of the Ngezi sequence,which is based on field relationships and the trace elementcompositions of relict clinopyroxenes, shows that the leastcontaminated komatiite lies between highly contaminated komatiiticbasalt flows, and has limited exposure near the base of thesuccession. Above these flows, D- and E-basalts alternate. Thekomatiite appears to have erupted on the surface only in theearly stages, when plume activity was high. As activity decreasedwith time, komatiite magmas may have stagnated to form magmachambers within the continental crust. Subsequent komatiiticmagmas underwent fractional crystallization and were contaminatedwith crust to form D-basalts or E-basalts. KEY WORDS: komatiite; crustal assimilation; Belingwe greenstone belt; continental flood basalt; plume magmatism     

大兴安岭吉峰科马提岩地质地球化学特征

野外地质调查和室内岩石学研究表明,大兴安岭北段吉峰林场一带变质超基性岩为具有典型鬣刺结构的科马提岩。科马提岩系列由橄榄质科马提岩、玄武质科马提岩及拉斑玄武岩、辉长岩等岩石组成。科马提岩显示了从超镁铁质到镁铁质地球化学趋势,拉斑玄武岩具有从富镁到富铁的趋势,而上覆长英质火山岩则遵循钙-碱趋势。科马提岩稀土配分型式为类似于南非超镁铁质科马提岩的平坦型或轻稀土略富集而重稀土平坦型。科马提岩系列8件样品的Sm-Nd同位素数据构成一条相关性较好的等时线,等时线年龄为1727Ma±74.7Ma,I_Nd=0.510725±0.0000798,ε_Nd(t)=6.94±1.56,表明科马提岩形成于中元古代早期,其源区为亏损的软流圈地幔。这一地壳增生事件可能与松嫩地块从西伯利亚地台南缘裂解有关。      

非均匀温度场中熔体结晶作用与科马提岩结构成因

具有重要岩石学和构造学意义的科马提岩，最吸引人同时又最令人困惑的特征之一是它的鬣刺结构和分层构造。本文从喷出地表的岩桨冷凝时温度分布、熔体性质与结晶作用的密切联系，把科马提岩浆喷发形成的岩流作为一个冷凝整体。通过与金属铸锭浇注成形和矿石冶炼生产的比较，发现它们在冷凝固结过程中温度场特征、熔体的性质、结晶能力和结晶方式都有十分相似的特点，并以此为出发点详细解析了科马提岩的鬣刺结构和岩石分层构造的形成     

Intrusion and Crystallization of a Spinifex-Textured Komatiite Sill in Dundonald Township, Ontario

Although komatiite has been defined as an ultramafic volcanicrock characterized by spinifex texture, there is a growing recognitionthat similar textures can also form in high-level dykes andsills. Here, we report the results of a petrological and geochemicalinvestigation of a 5 m thick komatiite sill in Dundonald Township,Ontario, Canada. This unit forms part of a series of komatiitesand komatiitic basalts, some of which clearly intruded unconsolidatedsediments. The komatiite sill is differentiated into a spinifex-texturedupper part and an olivine cumulate lower part. Features characteristicof the upper sections of lava flows, such as volcanic brecciaand a thick glassy chilled margin, are absent and, instead,the upper margin of the sill is marked by a layer of relativelylarge (1–5 mm) solid, polyhedral olivine grains that gradesdownwards over a distance of only 2 cm into unusually large,centimetre-sized, skeletal hopper olivine grains. This is underlainby a 1 m thick zone of platy spinifex-textured olivine and coarse,complex, dendritic, spinifex-textured olivine. The texture ofthe olivine cumulate zone in the overlying unit is uniform rightdown to the contact and a lower chilled margin, present at thebase of all lava flows, is absent. The textures in the silland the overlying unit are interpreted to indicate that thesill intruded the olivine cumulate zone of the overlying unit.Thermal modelling suggests that soon after intrusion, a narrowinterval of the overlying cumulate partially melted and thatthe liquid in the upper part of the sill became undercooled.The range of olivine morphologies in the spinifex-textured partof the sill was controlled by nucleation and crystallizationof olivine in these variably undercooled liquids. KEY WORDS: komatiite; intrusion; spinifex texture; olivine     

山东蒙阴苏家沟科马提岩岩石学特征

针对山东省镜内发现的科马提岩,阐述了其岩石学、矿物学、岩石化学、副矿物等特征,并与国内外资料对比,度为该岩石为一套典型的超镁铁质科马提岩。     

胶东变质超镁铁—镁铁质岩石的地球化学特征及地幔源区性质

本文以地球化学方法为研究手段,结合野外宏观地质特征,论述了胶东地区前寒武纪变质建造中超镁铁—镁铁质岩石的地球化学性质及其成因。研究结果表明,该区超镁铁—镁铁质岩石为地幔不同程度熔融的产物,超镁铁质岩石相当于科马提岩类;镁铁质岩石为拉斑玄武岩类,并按橄榄质科马提岩→玄武质科马提岩→拉斑玄武岩演化系列的化学组成表现出连续的变化趋势。 拉斑玄武岩中的微量元素(主要是稀土元素)地球化学特征表明,其形成环境与现代板块构造的典型火山(岛)孤或孤后盆地环境相类似,并反映出地幔源区具有“富集型”地幔的特点,且存在着地幔不均一性。     

Towards a volcanic–structural balance: relative importance of volcanism, folding, and remobilisation of nickel sulphides at the Perseverance Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposit, Western Australia

Perseverance is a world-class, komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide deposit situated in the well-endowed Leinster nickel camp of the Agnew–Wiluna greenstone belt, Western Australia. The mine stratigraphy at Perseverance trends north-northwest (NNW), dips steeply to the west, and is overturned. Stratigraphic footwall units lie along the western margin of the Perseverance Ultramafic Complex (PUC). The PUC comprises a basal nickel sulphide-bearing orthocumulate- to mesocumulate-textured komatiite that is overlain by a thicker, nickel sulphide-poor, dunite lens. Hanging wall rocks include rhyodacite that is texturally and compositionally similar to footwall volcanic rocks. These rocks separate the PUC from a second sequence of nickeliferous, E-facing, spinifex-textured komatiite units (i.e. the East Perseverance komatiite). Past workers argue for a conformable stratigraphic contact between the PUC and the East Perseverance komatiite and conclude that the PUC is extrusive. This study, however, clearly demonstrates that these komatiite sequences are discordant, implying that the PUC may have intruded rhyodacite country rock as a sill with subsequent structural juxtaposition against the East Perseverance komatiite. Early N–S shortening associated with the regional D_I deformation event (corresponding to the local D_P1 to D_P3 events at Perseverance) resulted in the heterogeneous partitioning of strain along the margins of the competent dunite. A mylonite developed in the more ductile footwall rocks along the footwall margin of the PUC, while isoclinal F₃ folds, such as the Hanging wall limb and Felsic Nose folds, formed in low-mean stress domains along the fringes of the elongated dunite lens. Strata-bound massive and disseminated nickel sulphides were passively fold thickened in hinge areas of isoclinal folds, whereas basal massive sulphides lubricated fold limbs and promoted thrust movement along shallowly dipping lithological contacts. Massive sulphides were physically remobilised up to 20 m from their primary footwall position into deposit-scale fold hinges to form the 1A and Felsic Nose orebodies. First-order controls on the geometry of the Perseverance deposit include the thermomechanical erosion of footwall rocks and the channelling of the mineralised komatiitic magma. Second- or third-order controls are several postvolcanic deformation events, which resulted in the progressive folding and shearing of the footwall contact, as well as the passive fold thickening of massive and disseminated sulphide orebodies. Massive sulphides were physically remobilised into multiple generations of fold hinges and shear zones. Important implications for near-mine exploration in the Leinster camp include identifying nickeliferous komatiite units, defining their three-dimensional geometry, and targeting fold hinge areas. Fold plunge directions and stretching lineations are indicators of potential plunge directions of massive sulphide orebodies.     

Partitioning of elements between majorite garnet and melt and implications for petrogenesis of komatiite

Partitioning of elements between majorite garnet and ultrabasic melt has been studied at 16 GPa and 1950° C. Ca, Ti, La, Sm, Gd, Zr, Hf, Fe, Ni, Mn, K, and Na are enriched in the melt, whereas Al, Cr, V, Sc and Yb are concentrated in majorite garnet. Thus, majorite garnet fractionation by partial melting could produce chemical heterogeneities in these elements deviating from chondritic abundance. Using the partitioning behaviour of elements between majorite garnet and ultrabasic melt, the petrogenesis of komatiite is discussed. A simple model to explain the chemical varieties of komatiites is as follows. Aluminadepleted komatiite was generated by partial melting of the primitive mantle at 200–650 km depth, and alumina-enriched komatiite is the product of remelting of the residual solid at the same depths, whereas alumina-undepleted komatiite was formed by partial melting of the primitive upper mantle at depths shallower than 200 km. We suggest the possibility of large-scale chemical layering or heterogeneity in the early Archean upper mantle as an alternative model for komatiite genesis; shallower mantle depleted in majorite garnet and the underlying mantle enriched in majorite garnet. Alumina-depleted and alumina-enriched komatiites in the early Archean might be generated by a high degree of partial melting of the layered mantle. Such chemical layering could have been homogenized by the late Archean. This explains the observations that alumina-depleted and alumina-enriched komatiites were generally formed in the early Archean but alumina-undepleted komatiite was erupted in the late Archean.     

全球苦橄岩与太古宙科马提岩对比：全数据模式的启示

苦橄岩和科马提岩都是富镁的超镁铁质火山岩,早先,学术界大多关注它们之间的相似性,而对于它们之间的差异性很少强调。于是认为二者的地球化学性质近似,成因类似,形成条件类似。本文采用全数据模式的研究方法,从数据库收集了全球太古宙全部科马提岩和后太古宙全部苦橄岩数据,对比的结果表明,太古宙科马提岩与后太古宙苦橄岩完全不同,它们之间几乎没有可比性。科马提岩与苦橄岩,不仅地球化学特征不同,而且成因不同,形成条件不同,产出时代不同,源区组成也不同。这种不同,反映了太古宙和后太古宙不可能属于同样的构造体制。太古宙是火球时代, 地球异常的热, 主导的可能是静止盖幔构造（stagnant lid tectonics）;后太古宙是热球时代,地球相对冷了许多,主导的是板块构造（plate tectonics）。科马提岩在太古宙广泛出露,无需地幔柱模式;而苦橄岩在后太古宙很少出露,才真正需要地幔柱模式。     

The abundances of some trace-elements in the first-ever reported sample of spinifex-textured komatiite from Ghatti Hosahalli,Karnataka

The paper reports wavelength-dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometric data on the abundances of Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Ba, Pb, and Th in the first-ever reported sample of spinifex-textured komatiite from India at Ghatti Hosahalli in Karnataka. With some exceptions, these abundances are similar to those reported for the spinifex-textured komatiite from the Barberton greenstone belt in South Africa. The values for some alteration-resistant element ratios — Ti/Zr, Ti/Y, Ti/Sc, Ti/V, Zr/Y, Zr/Sc, Sc/Y, V/Zr, and V/Sc — for chondrite and for spinifex-textured komatiites from Ghatti Hosahalli (India), Barberton (South Africa), Munro (Canada), and Yilgarn (Australia) reveal that, except for the Ti/Zr ratio for the Ghatti Hosahalli komatiite, the other ratios from the four terrains define a unique trend that is almost superimposed on the trend defined by these ratios for chondrite. This suggests that the processes of formation of komatiitic lavas from the four far-separated terrains were similar, and that, the source regions from which these lavas formed had a chondritic composition.     

Low- and high-alumina komatiites from a Late Archaean sequence,Newton Township,Ontario

Late Archaean komatiitic lavas from Newton Township, Ontario, consist of 6 chemically distinct magma types: 3 komatiites and 3 komatiitic basalts. The succession is unusual in containing both Al- and HREE-depleted komatiites and Al- and HREE-undepleted komatiites. The two types form distinct stratigraphic units separated by komatiitic basalts. Two komatiite types are strongly LREE depleted, whilst the third and the associated komatiitic basalts range from mildly depleted to enriched. Of the six magma types, only the two strongly LREE depleted komatiites represent primary mantle melts. The other komatiite type and the komatiitic basalts were derived from the primary komatiite magmas by combinations of olivine (+chromite) fractionation, assimilation of continental crust, and magma mixing. The two primary magmas may have been derived from similar sources, their contrasting chemistry being due to differing degrees of garnet segregation during melting. A generally applicable conclusion is that a wide range of komatiitic magma types can be generated from a relatively homogeneous depleted mantle, under conditions likely to prevail during the eruption of late Archean greenstone belt sequences.     

Thermomechanical erosion at the Alexo Mine, Abitibi greenstone belt, Ontario: implications for the genesis of komatiite-associated Ni–Cu–(PGE) mineralization

The archetypical komatiite-hosted Alexo Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposit occurs in the 2,720–2,710-Ma Kidd-Munro Assemblage of the western Abitibi greenstone belt in Dundonald Township, Ontario. Detailed mapping of a 200-m long glacially polished outcrop provides unequivocal evidence that the host komatiite flow thermomechanically eroded footwall andesites: (1) the contact between komatiite and andesite is very sharp but delicately scalloped, marked by a <1-cm-thick selvedge of black aphanitic komatiite and clearly transgresses pillow structures and interpillow breccias in the andesite without any evidence of a regolith, shearing, or folding, producing multiple nested embayments on scales from hundreds of meters to a few centimeters; (2) the andesites have been contact metamorphosed and altered along the entire length of the outcrop and the degree of metamorphism/alteration is thicker and more intense around embayments; (3) xenoliths of andesite in komatiite are more common within embayments; (4) komatiitic dikes penetrate downward into underlying andesites, primarily along the lateral margins of embayments; and (5) many of the dikes and marginal rocks exhibit geochemical evidence of contamination. This physical and geochemical evidence for thermomechanical erosion, combined with S isotopic evidence for a major component of non-magmatic country-rock S in the ores, provides additional support for the roles of thermomechanical erosion and incorporation of country-rock S in the genesis of komatiite-associated Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposits. The detailed mapping also reveals that the stratigraphy of the ore zone is considerably more complex than previously reported, indicating that the sulfides were emplaced in several stages, confirming the dynamic nature of the ore emplacement process in komatiite-associated Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposits.     

Formation of Spinifex Texture in Komatiites: an Experimental Study

The formation of platy olivine spinifex, the texture that characterizeskomatiite lavas, has long been enigmatic. A major problem isthat the dendritic morphology of the olivine resembles thatof crystals grown in laboratory experiments at high coolingrates (>50°C/h), but at the position where these texturesform, up to several meters below the komatiite flow top, thecooling rate cannot have been greater than 1–5°C/h.We performed experiments that demonstrate that the platy habitof spinifex olivine or pyroxene is a consequence of slow coolingof ultramafic magma in a thermal gradient (7–35°C/cm).The charges were cooled at rates between 2 and 1428°C/hand, even at the low cooling rates, the thermal gradient ledto constrained growth and the development of preferentiallyoriented dendritic crystals with morphologies like those innatural platy spinifex-textured lavas. Under these conditions,olivine starts to crystallize at temperatures well below theequilibrium liquidus temperature (37°C < –T<56°C) depending on the composition of the starting material.When the cooling rate is high, the thermal gradient has a negligibleeffect on the texture and the crystals have a random orientation,like that in the upper parts of komatiite flows. KEY WORDS: komatiite; spinifex; cooling rate; experimental petrology; thermal gradient     

Quantifying the Building Blocks of Igneous Rocks: Are Clustered Crystal Frameworks the Foundation?

Most phenocryst populations in volcanic rocks, and those preservedin shallow-level igneous intrusions, are clustered (variouslyreferred to as clots, clumps or glomerocrysts). These clustersof crystals are the building blocks that accumulate to formthe high-porosity, touching crystal frameworks from which igneouscumulates form. Examination of touching crystal frameworks inolivine- (komatiite cumulates and experimental charges) andplagioclase-dominant crystal populations (Holyoke flood basalt,Connecticut, USA) reveal complex, high-porosity, clustered crystalarrangements. Olivine touching frameworks in komatiite flowsare interpreted to form in hundreds of days. Plagioclase frameworksare calculated to have formed in less than 17 years for a crystalgrowth rate of 1 x 10^-10 mm/s to less than 3 years for a growthrate of 5 x 10^-10 mm/s based on crystal size distributions.The origin of crystal clusters is likely to involve either (ora combination of) heterogeneous nucleation, remobilization ofcumulate mushes or crystals sticking together during settlingand/or flow. The spatial distribution pattern of clustered crystalframeworks from both natural and experimental examples constrainsfields on spatial packing diagrams that allow the identificationof touching and non-touching crystal populations, and furtherimprove our understanding of crystal packing arrangements andcluster size distributions. KEY WORDS: cumulates; CSD; komatiite; basalt; spatial packing; textural analysis     

华北地块东段和龙超镁铁质科马提岩的发现及特征

和龙岩体赋存于新太古代夹皮沟—金城洞花岗绿岩带中,与围岩发生同变形变质。岩体具有典型的科马提岩冷凝结构分层和鬣刺结构、冷凝多面体节理。上述特征是作者1990年发现确认的。该科马提岩的矿物学特征:玻璃质脱玻形成铁皂石等矿物;斜方辉石和橄榄石鬣刺呈中空骸晶状,大部被滑石、铁白云石、绿泥石、磁铁矿等取代,但仍保留完好的长柱状假像;堆积带中橄榄石呈微细粒、新鲜,仅发生网状蛇纹石化。岩石化学特征富MgO,CaO/Al_2O_3=1.04,用科马提岩分类图判别为超镁铁质科马提岩。     

四川北部前震旦系科马提岩

四川的前震旦系基底(即花岗岩-绿岩地体)中,普遍发育有科马提岩套。很多地质学家认为,通过对科马提岩的研究可能了解地幔的演化。笔者对四川北部前震旦系基底中的超基性、基性岩资料进行了一次清理,在此基础上阐述了科马提岩的分布、产状、岩石类型、地球化学等。本文还介绍了当今国际上对科马提岩成因的最新观点。     

Komatiites I: Eruption and Flow

Because of their high eruption temperatures and ultrabasic composition,komatiite lavas had low viscosities, which typically rangedfrom 0-1 to 10 Pa s. A major consequence of this low viscosityis that most lavas erupted as turbulent flows. An analysis oftheir ascent through the lithosphere suggests ascent velocitiesin the range of 1 to over 10ms^–1 and Reynolds numbersmuch greater than the critical value of 2000. The lavas wouldhave remained turbulent for most or all of their subsequentflow and emplacement. Typical horizontal flow rates are estimatedto range from 0?5 to 100 m² s^–1 per unit width of flow.Such turbulent lava flows would have lost their heat by convectionto the surroundings, at rates which are orders of magnitudegreater than the rates for laminar flows, which cool by conduction.A quantitative analysis of the cooling of komatiites indicatescooling rates from over 1000 ?C hr^–1 to a few ?C hr^–1,while the flows remained turbulent. These rates are in an appropriaterange to cause phenomena such as high nucleation rates, strongsupersaturation of the lava, delayed nucleation of olivine,and skeletal or dendritic crystal morphologies. Komatiites often flowed over ground composed of rocks with lowermelting temperatures. It is proposed that the turbulent lavasmelted the ground to form deep thermal erosion channels. Meltingrates at the lava source are calculated at several metres perday, and deep troughs with depths of several metres to hundredsof metres and lengths of several kilometres probably formed.Laboratory experiments performed to simulate thermal erosionshow qualitative agreement with the theory with channel depthdecreasing downstream. The experiments also revealed that thechannel margins become undercut during thermal erosion to formoverhanging sides of the channel. Some sinuous rilles observedin the mare regions of the Moon are thought to have formed bythermal erosion (Hulme, 1973). They provide analogues of thechannels postulated to form in komatiite eruptions, where conditionswere in fact more favourable for thermal erosion. An assessmentof the role of olivine crystals, precipitated in the cooling,turbulent flows, indicates that they will remain in suspensionuntil the lava has come to rest. Contamination of komatiite lava by underlying rock can be asmuch as 10 per cent. Some illustrative calculations show howthe major element and trace element compositions of residualmelts can be significantly modified by combined assimilationand fractional crystallization in a moving flow. Assimilationof tholeiitic basalt into a komatiite can cause incompatibletrace element ratios, such as Ti/Zr and Y/Zr, and the rare earthpatterns of derivative lavas, to vary substantially. Some ofthe variations in such geochemical parameters, which are oftenascribed to mantle heterogeneity, also could have resulted fromassimilation of the ground. Assimilation could have modifiedthe isotope geochemistry of lava suites and led to apparentages which differ from the true eruption age. The thermal erosionmodel also provides an explanation of the formation of somenickel sulphide ores found at the bottom of thick komatiiteflows. It is proposed that ores can form by assimilation ofsulphur-rich sediment, which combines with Ni from the komatiiteto form an immiscible liquid.     

Highly siderophile element geochemistry of Os-enriched 2.8 Ga Kostomuksha komatiites, Baltic Shield

New analyses of highly siderophile elements (HSE; Re, Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, and Pd) obtained by Carius tube digestion isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (ID-ICPMS) technique are reported for ¹⁸⁷Os-enriched 2.8 Ga komatiites from the Kostomuksha greenstone belt. As a result of a significant improvement in the yield over our previous digestions by the NiS fire-assay technique, these komatiites have now been shown to contain 22 to 25% more Os, Ir, and Pt and 34% more Ru. The emplaced komatiite lavas at Kostomuksha thus had siderophile element abundances comparable to those of the Abitibi belt. The discrepancies observed between the two techniques are interpreted to be the result of incomplete digestion of HSE carriers (particularly chromite) during the NiS fire-assay procedure. Our results for UB-N peridotite reference material agree well with those obtained by the high-pressure ashing digestion ID-ICPMS technique reported in the literature. Two types of komatiite lavas have been distinguished in this study based on the IPGE (Os, Ir, and Ru) behavior during lava differentiation. The Kostomuksha type is unique and is characterized by an incompatible behavior of IPGEs, with bulk solid-liquid partition coefficients for IPGEs being close to those for olivine. Cumulate zones in this type of komatiite lava occupy <20% of the total thickness of the flows. The Munro type exhibits a compatible behavior of IPGEs during lava differentiation. The cumulate zone in this type of komatiite occupies >20% of the total thickness of the flows. The calculated bulk partition coefficients indicate that, as with the other Munro-type komatiite lavas, the bulk cumulate contained an IPGE-rich minor phase(s) in addition to olivine. The non-CI chondritic HSE pattern for the source of the Kostomuksha komatiites calculated here is similar to that of Abitibi komatiites and to average depleted spinel lherzolite (ADSL) and supports the hypothesis of a non-CI chondritic HSE composition of the Earth’s mantle. The absolute HSE abundances in the source of the Kostomuksha komatiite have been demonstrated to be comparable to those of the source of Abitibi komatiites, even though the two komatiites contrast in their Os isotopic compositions. This supports the earlier hypothesis that if core-mantle interaction produced the ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os radiogenic signature in the Kostomuksha source, it must have occurred in the form of isotope exchange at the core-mantle boundary. Other explanations of the radiogenic Os signature are similarly constrained to conserve the elemental abundance pattern in the mantle source of Kostomuksha komatiites.     

Anhydrous melting of peridotite at 0–15 Kb pressure and the genesis of tholeiitic basalts

The anhydrous melting behaviour of two synthetic peridotite compositions has been studied experimentally at temperatures ranging from near the solidus to about 200° C above the solidus within the pressure range 0–15 kb. The peridotite compositions studied are equivalent to Hawaiian pyrolite and a more depleted spinel lherzolite (Tinaquillo peridotite) and in both cases the experimental studies used peridotite –40% olivine compositions. Equilibrium melting results in progressive elimination of phases with increasing temperature. Four main melting fields are recognized; from the solidus these are: olivine (ol)+orthopyroxene (opx)+clinopyroxene (cpx)+Al-rich phase (plagioclase at low pressure, spinel at moderate pressure, garnet at high pressure)+liquid (L); ol+opx+cpx+Cr-spinel+L; ol+opx+Cr-spinel +L: ol±Cr-spinel+L. Microprobe analyses of the residual phases show progressive changes to more refractory compositions with increasing proportion of coexisting melt i.e. increasing Mg/(Mg+Fe) and Cr/(Cr+Al) ratios, decreasing Al₂O₃, CaO in pyroxene.The degree of melting, established by modal analysis, increases rapidly immediately above the solidus (up to 10% melting occurs within 25°–30° C of the solidus), and then increases in roughly linear form with increasing temperature.Equilibrium melt compositions have been calculated by mass balance using the compositions and proportions of residual phases to overcome the problems of iron loss and quench modification of the glass. Compositions from the melting of pyrolite within the spinel peridotite field (i.e. 15 kb) range from alkali olivine basalt (<15% melting) through olivine tholeiite (20–30% melting) and picrite to komatiite (40–60% melting). Melting in the plagioclase peridotite field produces magnesian quartz tholeiite and olivine-poor tholeiite and, at higher degrees of melting (30–40%), basaltic or pyroxenitic komatiite. Melts from Tinaquillo lherzolite are more silica saturated than those from pyrolite for similar degrees of partial melting, and range from olivine tholeiite through tholeiitic picrite to komatiite for melting in the spinel peridotite field.The equilibrium melts are compared with inferred primary magma compositions and integrated with previous melting studies on basalts. The data obtained here and complementary basalt melting studies do not support models of formation of oceanic crust in which the parental magmas of common mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are attributed to segregation from source peridotite at shallow depths ( 25 km) to leave residual harzburgite. Liquids segregating from peridotite at these depths are more silica-rich than common MORB.     

Physical volcanology and geochemistry of Palaeoarchaean komatiite lava flows from the western Dharwar craton,southern India: implications for Archaean mantle evolution and crustal growth

ABSTRACT

Palaeoarchaean (3.38–3.35 Ga) komatiites from the Jayachamaraja Pura (J.C. Pura) and Banasandra greenstone belts of the western Dharwar craton, southern India were erupted as submarine lava flows. These high-temperature (1450–1550°C), low-viscosity lavas produced thick, massive, polygonal jointed sheet flows with sporadic flow top breccias. Thick olivine cumulate zones within differentiated komatiites suggest channel/conduit facies. Compound, undifferentiated flow fields developed marginal-lobate thin flows with several spinifex-textured lobes. Individual lobes experienced two distinct vesiculation episodes and grew by inflation. Occasionally komatiite flows form pillows and quench fragmented hyaloclastites. J.C. Pura komatiite lavas represent massive coherent facies with minor channel facies, whilst the Bansandra komatiites correspond to compound flow fields interspersed with pillow facies. The komatiites are metamorphosed to greenschist facies and consist of serpentine-talc ± carbonate, actinolite–tremolite with remnants of primary olivine, chromite, and pyroxene. The majority of the studied samples are komatiites (22.46–42.41 wt.% MgO) whilst a few are komatiitic basalts (12.94–16.18 wt.% MgO) extending into basaltic (7.71 – 10.80 wt.% MgO) composition. The studied komatiites are Al-depleted Barberton type whilst komatiite basalts belong to the Al-undepleted Munro type. Trace element data suggest variable fractionation of garnet, olivine, pyroxene, and chromite. Incompatible element ratios (Nb/Th, Nb/U, Zr/Y Nb/Y) show that the komatiites were derived from heterogeneous sources ranging from depleted to primitive mantle. CaO/Al₂O₃ and (Gd/Yb)_N ratios show that the Al-depleted komatiite magmas were generated at great depth (350–400 km) by 40–50% partial melting of deep mantle with or without garnet (majorite?) in residue whilst komatiite basalts and basalts were generated at shallow depth in an ascending plume. The widespread Palaeoarchaean deep depleted mantle-derived komatiite volcanism and sub-contemporaneous TTG accretion implies a major earlier episode of mantle differentiation and crustal growth during ca. 3.6–3.8 Ga.