Inside the magma chamber of a dying ridge segment in the Oman ophiolite

For the first time, the crystallized remnant of an oceanic ridge magma chamber is documented in the Oman ophiolite. It exists in the centre of a 40 km long monoclinal ridge (Jebel Dihm, Wadi Tayin massif), exposing a full crustal section perpendicular to the spreading direction. New detailed mapping supported by U‐Pb zircon geochronology suggests that the active, fast‐spreading ridge that died just prior to detachment of the ophiolite is preserved and largely intact. Our observations provide insights into the crystallizing mush zone of a magma chamber, before it crosses the external walls and solidifies as deformed gabbros. Our data provide new constraints on the shape and internal dynamics of a magma chamber, including gabbro subsidence from the floor of a perched melt lens and the limited contribution of sills to crustal accretion. By locating precisely the palaeo‐ridge axis, prior full spreading rate estimates can be increased to ~140 km Ma^?1.     

Chromite crystallization in a multicellular magma flow: Evidence from a chromitite dike in the Oman ophiolite

The investigated chromitite dike is located at the top of an upwelling mantle structure of the Oman ophiolite (Maqsad diapir), in undeformed dunites displaying evidence for magma impregnation and circulation, just below the paleo-ridge axis. The chromitite dike is undeformed, its shape is that of an upward widening tube. It exhibits an internal layering which is roughly perpendicular to the cavity axis and comprises a vertical succession of four main layers showing a graded-bedding. Chromitite magmatic structures are beautifully preserved and result from a progressive crystallization from small euhedral crystals to wide octahedron-shaped nodules; dissolution textures provide evidence for late magmatic desequilibrium; sedimentation structures include flattening of the largest nodules. The silicate matrix comprises poikilitic forsterite and a locally abundant association of primary pargasite and plagioclase and alteration minerals (vesuvianite-chlorite-dolomite); pargasite inclusions are very abundant in the chromite. Chromite composition changes from one layer to the other and from core to rim in the chromite nodules (chromium decreases and titanium increases); Ti contents are generally high (0.4 to 0.8 wt.% TiO₂) with respect to podiform chromites. Platinum-group elements are not abundant but they show a strong fractionation at the scale of the orebody and of the main graded-bedded layers (Pd/Ir ratio varies from 0.5 to 11.5). REE patterns of chromitite parallel to those of gabbros and furthermore display a sea water related hydrothermal alteration (Ce negative anomaly).

The chromitite dike of Maqsad provides evidence for the crystallization of chromitite bodies in subvertical magma conduits below oceanic ridges; it corroborates the model of Cassard et al. (1981) and Lago et al. (1982) concerning the formation of chromitite pods in ophiolites which were later deformed and transposed into the horizontal plane due to the plastic flow prevailing away from the paleo-axial zone. Layering and chromite compositional variations are ascribed to a multicellular convective system segregating various stocks of chromite particles either in the upwelling flow of fresh magma or in the convective cells of fractionated residual magma in the confined part of the cavity. The estimated life-time for the magma influx is very short (<2 months). The parent-magma was probably of MORB-type and already fractionated (Ti-rich and PGE-poor), which is consistent with the strong evidence of magma-peridotite interactions in the core of the Maqsad diapir. Hydrous fluids were present during chromite crystallization (pargasite inclusions) suggesting that fluid-rich melts occur in the upper mantle.     

Chromite deposits in the ophiolite complex of Northern Oman

In the ophiolite series of N. Oman numerous small and large elongated podiform chromite deposits occur within the peridotite complex at a certain level of 100–200 meters below the layered zone, which grades into the overlying gabbro complex. The chromite grains were corroded after their deposition; their composition shows a large variation in Cr/Al ratio and a small variation in Cr/Fe ratio. The chromium is thought to have been liberated from clino-pyroxenes during partial melting of lherzolitic upper mantle material. Precipitation of large quantities of chromite at the specific level below the gabbro complex is related to the plagioclase- /spinel-lherzolite transition, but the influence of a change in oxygen fugacity is also considered.     

Chromite deposits in the northern Oman ophiolite: Mineralogical constraints

Chromite deposits in the northern Oman ophiolitic complex occur in three structural contexts, i.e., (1) at the base of the cumulate series, (2) in the top kilometer of the mantle sequence, and (3) in the deeper parts of the mantle. Types 1 and 2 are characterized by the diversity of interstitial silicates where in decreasing order of abundance olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, and amphibole occur, as opposed to type 3 which contains only olivine. They differ however in ore texture. Similar silicates also occur as euhedral inclusions in chromite crystals, but their proportions are reversed. The composition of the interstitial silicates is comparable to that found in early cumulates. Type-1 and type-2 chromite deposits crystallized from a magma similar to that from which the basal cumulates formed (Al₂O₃, 15.1–16.1 wt%; FeO/MgO, 0.55–0.60). The type-3 chromites were derived from a magma of much lower Al₂O₃ content (12.5 wt%). It is considered that they belong to an older episode in the magmatic evolution of the complex.     

The upper cretaceous ophiolite complex of Masirah Island,Oman

Masirah Island is almost entirely composed of a highly faulted and unmetamorphosed folded ophiolite complex which is unconformably overlain by unfolded Eocene limestone and is correlated with the Upper Cretaceous Semail Complex of the Oman Mainland. The ophiolites include serpentine, basalt, pyroclastics and some radiolarite, and intrusive complexes largely composed of serpentine, peridotite, picrite, anorthosite, gabbro and granite, with transitional varieties. Emplacement structures within the intrusions are extremely complicated, with the gabbros full of blocks mostly of serpentine up to 1 km or more in diameter. There are also late stage veins, lenses and irregular bodies of granite. Ophiolites, probably derived from the mantle, are ultrabasic differentiates with soda metasomatism. Tectonic structures are largely pre-Eocene. They include fractures, some of which are parallel to the late Tertiary submarine Masirah fault which is related to continental drift.     

The volcanic stratigraphy and petrogenesis of the Oman ophiolite complex

The volcanic stratigraphy and trace element geochemistry of the Oman ophiolite complex indicate a multistage magmatic origin comprising: (1) magmatism due to sea-floor spreading in a marginal basin; (2) magmatism associated with discrete submarine volcanic centres or seamounts; (3) magmatism associated with crustal uplift and rifting; and (4) magmatism associated with continent-arc collision.Trace element petrogenetic modelling is used to investigate the nature of the mantle source region and the partial melting and fractional crystallization history for each magmatic event. The petrogenetic pathway for the sea-floor spreading lavas requires a high degree of melting of a mantle that was depleted in incompatible elements prior to subduction but subsequently selectively enriched in certain elements (mostly LIL elements and H₂O) from an underlying subduction zone; it also requires magma mixing in an open system magma chamber prior to eruption. The seamount lavas were probably derived by a similar degree of partial melting of a similar source, but fractional crystallization was restricted to smaller high-level magma chambers. The rifting lavas were derived from a mantle source that was more depleted than the seamount lavas prior to subduction but which was later modified by a larger subduction zone component. The syn-collision lavas were however derived from an enriched mantle source, which probably underlay the passive continental margin rather than the marginal basin complex. Results such as these may provide considerable insight into the petrogenetic changes accompanying the transitions from spreading to arc volcanism in a supra-subduction zone setting.     

Seismic wave velocity and anisotropy of serpentinized peridotite in the Oman ophiolite

Shallow seismic measurements in harzburgite from the Oman ophiolite performed in a zone where the maximum horizontal anisotropy is expected (vertical foliation and horizontal lineation) point to a dominant dependence of seismic properties on fracturing.

Optical microscopy studies show that microcracks are guided by the serpentine (lizardite) penetrative network oriented subparallel to the harzburgite foliation and subperpendicular to the mineral lineation, and that serpentine (lizardite) vein filling has a maximum concentration of (001) planes parallel to the veins walls. The calculated elastic properties of the oriented alteration veins filled with serpentine in an anisotropic matrix formed by oriented crystals of olivine and orthopyroxene are compared with seismic velocities measured on hand specimens.

Laboratory ultrasonic data indicate that open microcracks are closed at 100 MPa pressure, e.g. (J. Geophys. Res. 65, (1960) 1083) and (Proc. ODP Sci. Results Leg 118, (1990) 227). Above this pressure, laboratory measurements and modeling show that P-compressional and S-shear wave velocities are mainly controlled by the mineral preferred orientation. Veins sealed with serpentine are effective in slightly lowering P and S velocities and increasing anisotropy. The penetrative lizardite network does not affect directly the geometry of seismic anisotropy, but contributes indirectly in the fact that this network controls the microcrack orientations.

Comparison between seismic measurements of peridotite and gabbro in the same conditions suggest that P- and S-waves anisotropies are a possible discriminating factor between the two lithologies in the suboceanic lithosphere.     

Geochemistry of arc-related mantle peridotites and gabbros from the Chaldoran ophiolite,NW Iran

ABSTRACT

The Neo-Tethys-related Chaldoran ophiolite peridotites in NW Iran are remnants of mantle lithosphere, exhumed tectonically during the Late Cretaceous. Harzburgite is the predominant peridotite type, associated with oceanic lower crust cumulate gabbros occasionally. The ophiolite rocks are unconformably overlain by Late Cretaceous-Paleocene sediments. New whole-rock geochemistry of the variably serpentinized harzburgites shows a depleted nature, exemplified by low Al₂O₃, CaO, TiO₂, V and Y and high Ni, Cr and Mg and also low rare earth element (REE) contents. The harzburgites present LREE enrichment. Positive correlations between some LREEs and high field strength elements (HFSE) suggest enrichment of LREEs by melt re-fertilization processes. Cr-spinels have Cr number of [Cr# = Cr/(Cr + Al) = 0.53–0.67], showing medium to high degree of partial melting (F = ~17-20%). Both whole-rock and mineral chemistry data show a supra-subduction zone setting and progressive depletion along with increase in spinel Cr# (MOR to fore arc). The cumulate gabbros have high MgO and SiO₂, low TiO₂ and Ti/V < 10 and also low chondrite normalized Dy (<8.5). The gabbro samples show enriched LREEs and LILEs and depleted HREEs and HFSEs with respect to MORBs.

Subduction initiation (SI) model in a fore-arc/proto-fore-arc environment is suggested for the upper mantle evolution of the Chaldoran ophiolite. The rocks have experienced depletion in a second melting process at the later stages of SI and compositions were probably modified by extraction of island arc tholeiitic (IAT) and possibly boninitic (BON) melts. The chemostratigraphic progression for ‘subduction initiation rule (SIR)’ is likely traceable in Chaldoran mafic-ultramafic sequence, which corresponds to the most Neo-Tethyan ophiolites and is similar to MOR to supra-subduction zone (SSZ) evolution of most Iranian ‘Inner’ and ‘Outer Zagros’ ophiolitic peridotites.     

Alpine-type gabbros within the Krivaja-Konjuh ultramafic massif in the ophiolite zone of the Dinarides,Yugoslavia

Summary Gabbros of two kinds, one related to dolerite and the other related to peridotite, are widespread in the Dinaride ophiolite zone. Gabbros within the Krivaja-Konjuh peridotite massif, along the Gostovii River and near Romanovac Mountain, exemplify the second kind. The gabbroic rocks range from feldspathic wehrlite and feldspathic dunite through troctolite and olivine gabbro to olivine-free gabbro, all of which are more or less serpentinized or uralitized.The gabbro is characterized by foliation and layering in which cumulus textures are well shown. Peridotite and gabbro intergrade and are interlayered, but in places feldspar seems to have been introduced metasomatically into peridotite along gabbro dikes. The gabbro masses, like their internal structures, parallel layering in the surrounding peridotite. Intrusive relations, however, are indicated by gabbro dikes in peridotite, and xenoliths of peridotite in gabbro. Absence of gabbro dikes in the surrounding Jurassic rocks shows that the gabbro was intruded into peridotite before both were emplaced tectonically.Chemically, the gabbros are typically alpine, with high ratios of CaO: Na₂O, high MgO: FeO ratios, and low K₂O and TiO₂. Plots of chemical composition suggest a close affinity between gabbro and olivine tholeiite and olivine basalt.It is proposed that a primary magma of olivine tholeiite composition was produced by partial melting of the upper mantle material below an ancient Jurassic(?) Mid-oceanic ridge at a depth of 35 to 70 km. The melt was moved to higher levels and it was intruded into the peridotites moving upwards and crystallization began at a depth below 30 km. The trends of differentiation processes have been disscused in detail.

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Alpinotype Gabbros innerhalb des Ultramafit-Massivs von Krivaja-Konjuh in der Ophiolith-Zone der Dinariden, Jugoslawien

Zusammenfassung In der Ophiolith-Zone der Dinariden kommen verbreitet Gabbros zweierlei Art vor: die eine steht zu Doleriten in Beziehung, die andere zu Peridotiten. Gabbros innerhalb des Peridotit-Massivs von Krivaja-Konjuh, längs des Flusses Gostoviéi und nahe dem Berg Romanovac sind Beispiele für die zweite Art. Die gabbroiden Gesteine variieren von Feldspat-führenden Wehrliten und Feldspat-führenden Duniten über Troktolithe und Olivin-Gabbros bis zu Olivin-freiem Gabbro; sie sind alle mehr oder weniger serpentinisiert oder uralitisiert.Der Gabbro ist durch Faltung und Bänderung, in der Cumulus-Texturen gut erkennbar sind, charakterisiert. Peridotit und Gabbro gehen ineinander über und zeigen Wechsellagerung, aber an manchen Stellen scheint der Feldspat längs Gabbrogängen metasomatisch in den Peridotit eingedrungen zu sein. Die Gabbromassen liegen ebenso wie ihre internen Strukturen parallel zur Schichtung der umgebenden Periodotite. Gabbrogänge in Peridotit und Xenolithe von Peridotit in Gabbro zeigen indessen intrusive Beziehungen an. Die Abwesenheit von Gabbrogängen in den umgebenden jurassischen Gesteinen zeigt, daß der Gabbro in den Peridotit vor deren gemeinsamen tektonischen Platznahme intrudierte.Vom chemischen Standpunkt aus sind die Gabbros typisch alpin, mit großen (CaO: Na₂O)- und (MgO: FeO)-Verhältnissen und kleinen TiO₂-und K₂O-Werten.Es wird vorgeschlagen, daß ein primäres Magma von olivintholeiitischer Zusammensetzung durch partielle Aufschmelzung von Material des Oberen Mantels unterhalb einer alten jurassischen(?) mittelozeanischen Schwelle in einer Tiefe von 35–70 km entstand. Die Schmelze wurde in höhere Niveaus bewegt und in die sich aufwärts bewegenden Peridotite intrudiert; die Kristallisation begann in einer Tiefe von unter 30 km. Die Tendenzen der Differentiationsprozesse werden im Detail diskutiert.

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With 7 Figures     

Geochemistry of cumulus peridotites and gabbros from the Marum ophiolite complex,northern Papua New Guinea

The layered cumulus rocks of the Marum ophiolite complex in northern Papua New Guinea range from highly magnesian dunite, wehrlite, and lherzolite through pyroxenite to norite-gabbro with minor anorthosite and ferronorite-gabbro near the top of the sequence. Most of the cumulates, particularly the gabbroic rocks, are characterised by recrystallised adcumulus textures and all intercumulus melt (mesostasis) has been expelled. Trends in the cumulate sequence from Mg-rich to more Fe-, Ca- and Al-rich compositions are consistent with the formation of the layered sequence by magmatic accumulation from mafic tholeiitic magmas with varying degrees of differentiation. The cumulates are characterised by extremely low levels of ‘incompatible’ elements (K, Ba, Rb, P, Zr, Nb, Hf, Y and REE) at all levels of differentiation. REE patterns are strongly depleted in LREE; HREE abundances range from ≦0.3 chondrites in peridotite to 3 x chondrites in the norite-gabbros. The Marum cumulates resemble low-Ti peridotites and gabbros found in other orthopyroxene-bearing ophiolite sequences. The parent magmas of the Marum cumulates are inferred to have been strongly depleted in ‘incompatible’ trace elements (～ 2,000 ppm Ti, ～20 ppm Zr, 6–9 x chondrites HREE with La_N/Sm_N～0.5). These abundances are lower than found in typical MORB and back-arc basin basalts or their picritic parents. The dissimilarity of trace element abundances of the inferred Marum parent magmas with MORB-type high-alumina olivine tholeiites supports the conclusion drawn previously from the petrology of the cumulates that the parent magmas to the Marum ophiolite were not of MORB composition but resembled the strongly depleted, Ni-rich magnesian olivine-poor tholeiites and quartz tholeiites of the Upper Pillow Lavas of the Troodos ophiolite. The Marum parent magmas are believed to have been formed by shallow melting of refractory peridotite, and are chemically and genetically distinct from the LREE-enriched high-Ti lavas (Tumu River basalts) which occur in faulted contact. The geochemical data do not permit unequivocal assignment of a tectonic environment for the formation of either the Tumu River basalts or the plutonic suite; their juxtaposition results from thrust emplacement.     

Structures in podiform chromite from the Maqsad district (Sumail ophiolite,Oman)

About 15 chromite bodies have been recognized in the Maqsad area of the Oman ophiolite. The occurrence in this area of three chromite bodies within the cumulate sequence must be integrated into the classification of Cassard et al. (1981) which presently explains only those pods lying in the uppermost mantle sequence (plastically deformed harzburgites and dunites). The occurrence of chromite bodies within the cumulates and the abundance of chromite in the Maqsad area are related to the exceptional magmatic activity and the unusual plastic-flow pattern particular to this area. It was probably a feeding zone along the oceanic spreading center sitting on top of a mantle diapir.     

Upper crustal podiform chromitite from the northern Oman ophiolite as the stratigraphically shallowest chromitite in ophiolite and its implication for Cr concentration

A new type of podiform chromitite was found at Wadi Hilti in the northern Oman ophiolite. It is within a late-intrusive dunite body, possibly derived from olivine-rich crystal mush, between the sheeted dike complex and upper gabbro. This chromitite forms small (<30 cm in thickness) pods with irregular to lenticular shapes. Neither layering nor graded bedding is observed within the pods. The chromitite is in the upper crust, by far shallower in ophiolite stratigraphy than the other podiform chromitites that have ever been found in the Moho transition zone to the upper mantle. It is distributed along a small felsic to gabbroic melt pool within the dunite body, which was formed by melting of gabbroic blocks captured by the mush. Chromian spinel was precipitated due to mixing of two kinds of melt, a basaltic interstitial melt from the mush and an evolved, possibly felsic, melt formed by the melting of gabbro blocks. The podiform chromitite reported here is strikingly similar in petrography and spinel chemistry to the stratiform chromitite from layered intrusions. The former contains plagioclase and clinopyroxene as matrix silicates instead of olivine as well as includes euhedral and fine spinel with solid mineral inclusions. Chromian spinel of the upper crustal podiform chromitite from Oman has relatively low content of (Cr₂O₃ + Al₂O₃), the Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio of around 0.6, and the relatively high TiO₂ content ranging from 1 to 3 wt%. We conclude that assimilation of relatively Si-rich materials (crustal rocks or mantle orthopyroxene) by olivine-spinel saturated melts can explain the genesis of any type of chromitite.Editorial responsibility: V. Trommsdorff     

Genesis of the Batinah mélange above the Semail ophiolite,Oman

The Batinah mélange which overlies the late Cretaceous Semail ophiolite in the northern Oman Mountains comprises mostly sedimentary rocks of deep-water facies, alkalic lavas and intrusives, all of continental margin affinities, together with smaller volumes of Semail ophiolitic and metamorphic rocks. Four intergradational textural types of mélange can be recognized. Sheet mélange has large (>1 km) intact sheets either with little intervening matrix or set in other mélange types, and with an organised sheet orientation fabric. Slab mélange is finer textured (>100 m) and more disrupted. Block mélange has smaller (> m) blocks with some matrix and a weak to random block fabric. Clast mélange is matrix-supported rudite with a weak depositional clast fabric. Structural relationships, particularly the absence of tectonic fabrics, the decreasing strength of fragment fabrics with increasing fragmentation, and the abundance of brittle fragmentation, suggest that these mélange types formed by either gravity-driven sedimentary processes or superficial sliding or thrusting of individual rock slabs.In the slab mélange, long sequences can be pieced together, passing up from Upper Triassic mafic sub-marine extrusives and sediments into radiolarian cherts, hemipelagic and redeposited limestones, and terminating in non-calcareous radiolarities with Mn-deposits of early Cretaceous age. Mafic sills are numerous. These sequences can be matched with sub-ophiolite rocks now exposed in fault corridors through the Semail. These sequences become progressively disrupted upwards in the corridors and can be traced continuously into overlying mélange, which then thins away from the corridors.We argue that, during late Cretaceous emplacement over the Arabian margin, active fault corridors split the Semail slab and acted as conduits up which sub-ophiolite rocks were supplied to the ophiolite surface. There the rocks were redisributed by superficial processes.     

Chemical variations of abyssal peridotites in the central Oman ophiolite: Evidence of oceanic mantle heterogeneity

Basal peridotites above the metamorphic sole outcropped around Wadi Sarami in the central Oman ophiolite give us an excellent opportunity to understand the spatial extent of the mantle heterogeneity and to examine peridotites−slab interactions. We recognized two types of basal lherzolites (Types I and II) that change upward to harzburgites. Their pyroxene and spinel compositions display severely variations at small scales over < 0.5 km, and encompass the entire abyssal peridotite trend; clinopyroxenes (Cpxs) show wide ranges of Al₂O₃, Na₂O, Cr₂O₃ and TiO₂ contents. Primary spinels show a large variation of Cr# [= Cr/(Cr + Al)] from 0.04 to 0.53, indicating various degrees of partial melting. Trace-element compositions of peridotites and their pyroxenes also show a large chemical heterogeneity in the base of the Oman mantle section. This heterogeneity mainly resulted from variations of partial-melting degrees due to the change of a mantle thermal regime and a distance from the spreading ridge or the mantle diapir. It was overlapped with subsolidus modification during cooling and fluid metasomatism prior and/or during emplacement. The studied peridotites are enriched in Rb, Cs, Ba, Sr and LREE due to fluid influx during detachment and emplacement stages. Chondrite (CI)-normalized REE patterns for pyroxenes are convex upward with strong LREE depletion due to their residual origin, similar to abyssal peridotites from a normal ridge segment. The Cpxs are enriched in fluid mobile elements (e.g., B, Li, Cs, Pb, Rb) and depleted in HFSE (Ta, Nb, Th, Zr) + LREE, suggesting no effect of melt refertilization. Their HREE contents, combined with spinel compositions, suggest two melting series with 1–5% melting for type II lherzolites, 3– < 10% melting for type I lherzolites and ~ 15% for harzburgites. Hornblendes are enriched in fluid-mobile elements relative to HFSE + U inherited from their precursor Cpx. The clinopyroxenite lens crosscuts the basal lherzolites, forming small-scale (< 5 cm) mineralogical and chemical heterogeneities. It was possibly formed from fractional crystallization of interstitial incremental melt that formed during decompression melting of a normal MORB mantle source. The studied peridotites possibly represent a chemical heterogeneity common to the mantle at an oceanic spreading center.     

雅鲁藏布江蛇绿岩带的康金拉铬铁矿中发现金刚石

前人在雅鲁藏布江蛇绿岩带的罗布莎铬铁矿石中发现许多异常矿物,包括金刚石和柯石英等典型压力指示矿物.蛇绿岩型铬铁矿石中为什么会产出金刚石等异常矿物,与其伴生的铬铁矿和蛇绿岩是什么成因,是一个新的重大科学问题.为此,开展了同一蛇绿岩带中康金拉矿区的铬铁矿的人工重砂研究.从1116kg的铬铁矿样品中发现了近千粒金刚石,以及自然元素、金属互化物、氧化物、硫化物、硅酸盐、钨酸盐和碳酸盐矿物等一批异常矿物.从一个新的矿区发现了大批金刚石,不仅是对罗布莎铬铁矿中存在金刚石的佐证,并且将金刚石的产出规模增加了几个数量级,由此引出蛇绿岩铬铁矿中金刚石是否成矿的新问题.尤其重要的是,从同一蛇绿岩带的不同铬铁矿床中再次发现金刚石,为探讨金刚石及其寄主的铬铁矿和蛇绿岩的成因,提供了新的重要依据.     

The fluid dynamics of a basaltic magma chamber replenished by influx of hot,dense ultrabasic magma

This paper describes a fluid dynamical investigation of the influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma into a reservoir containing lighter, fractionated basaltic magma. This situation is compared with that which develops when hot salty water is introduced under cold fresh water. Theoretical and empirical models for salt/water systems are adapted to develop a model for magmatic systems. A feature of the model is that the ultrabasic melt does not immediately mix with the basalt, but spreads out over the floor of the chamber, forming an independent layer. A non-turbulent interface forms between this layer and the overlying magma layer across which heat and mass are transferred by the process of molecular diffusion. Both layers convect vigorously as heat is transferred to the upper layer at a rate which greatly exceeds the heat lost to the surrounding country rock. The convection continues until the two layers have almost the same temperature. The compositions of the layers remain distinct due to the low diffusivity of mass compared to heat. The temperatures of the layers as functions of time and their cooling rate depend on their viscosities, their thermal properties, the density difference between the layers and their thicknesses. For a layer of ultrabasic melt (18% MgO) a few tens of metres thick at the base of a basaltic (10% MgO) magma chamber a few kilometres thick, the temperature of the layers will become nearly identical over a period of between a few months and a few years. During this time the turbulent convective velocities in the ultrabasic layer are far larger than the settling velocity of olivines which crystallise within the layer during cooling. Olivines only settle after the two layers have nearly reached thermal equilibrium. At this stage residual basaltic melt segregates as the olivines sediment in the lower layer. Depending on its density, the released basalt can either mix convectively with the overlying basalt layer, or can continue as a separate layer. The model provides an explanation for large-scale cyclic layering in basic and ultrabasic intrusions. The model also suggests reasons for the restriction of erupted basaltic liquids to compositions with MgO<10% and the formation of some quench textures in layered igneous rocks.     

五大连池新期火山岩浆房动力稳定性探讨

岩浆房系统的稳定性决定于岩浆房本身的冷却和内部运动以及岩浆房周围岩体的挤压和振动等外界因素,一定条件下,外部因素可能起到更为重要的作用。以五大连池新期火山老黑山岩浆房为例,基于岩浆热传导方程和岩浆房系统振荡的杜芬方程组,通过数学变换和计算得到:五大连池新期火山岩浆房固结与否和岩浆房中岩浆的存在历史密切相关;围岩无预热条件下老黑山岩浆房已固结了6 0年左右,而在充分预热条件下,岩浆房尚需6 0年左右才完全固结,因此较保守的结论是岩浆房已近于完全固结。同时杜芬模型揭示火山区岩浆房系统可能存在复杂的非线性动力学行为。     

Petrology of a leucogabbroic interval within basal layered gabbros at North Arm Mountain,Bay of Islands ophiolite

Data from detailed sample traverses in the layered gabbro unit of the North Arm Mauntain massif, Bay of Islands ophiolite, allow meter-scale resolution of magmatic processes in spreading ridge magma chambers. One suite of 46 samples from a 195 m interval near the base of the layered gabbro unit contains cumulus plagioclase (An_73.7–87.5; average modal abundance=75%), clinopyroxene (Mg#=80.3–86.0; 18%), and olivine (Fo_76.6–82.1; 6%), with intergranular orthopyroxene (Mg#=78.0–83.3; 1%), and accessory Cr-Al spinel (Cr#=32.3–41.4). Ilmenite rims spinel in one sample. Whole rock Zr contents range from <6 to 15 ppm. Plots of stratigraphic height in the traverse versus petrogenetic indicators (e.g. Mg#'s of mafic phases and An in plagioclase) reveal both normal and reverse cryptic variation patterns; the patterns for all indices are generally correlated. The normal portions of the patterns formed during fractional crystallization of basalt batches. Ranges of mineral compositions in the normal trends suggest that 29–38% crystallization of each batch of basalt occurred before magmatic replenishment. The reverse cryptic trends formed by crystallization of hybrid magmas produced during periods of magma mixing. Other evidence for magma mixing is the systematic association of spinel and reversely zoned plagioclase with the reverse trends. Experiments and observations of natural assemblages indicate that 55% modal plagioclase crystallizes from basalts at the olivine+plagioclase+clinopyroxene+liquid piercing point. The average plagioclase content of this suite of leucogabbros from North Arm Mountain is too high to have formed from simple crystallization at the piercing point. Petrologic modeling indicates the leucogabbros may have formed from basalts into which a small amount (<10%) of plagioclase was resorbed during mixing; the initial compositions of these hybrid basalts lie in the plagioclase primary phase volume. Other suites of layered gabbros from North Arm Mountain are not so plagioclase-rich as the leucogabbros described above. Crystallization of basalts in the plagioclase primary phase volume and the consequent formation of plagioclaserich gabbros may occur in restricted portions of zoned magma chambers underlying oceanic spreading centers, or may occur episodically in the overall lifetimes of the magma chambers.     

The fluid dynamics of a basaltic magma chamber replenished by influx of hot,dense ultrabasic magma

This paper describes a fluid dynamical investigation of the influx of hot, dense ultrabasic magma into a reservoir containing lighter, fractionated basaltic magma. This situation is compared with that which develops when hot salty water is introduced under cold fresh water. Theoretical and empirical models for salt/water systems are adapted to develop a model for magmatic systems. A feature of the model is that the ultrabasic melt does not immediately mix with the basalt, but spreads out over the floor of the chamber, forming an independent layer. A non-turbulent interface forms between this layer and the overlying magma layer across which heat and mass are transferred by the process of molecular diffusion. Both layers convect vigorously as heat is transferred to the upper layer at a rate which greatly exceeds the heat lost to the surrounding country rock. The convection continues until the two layers have almost the same temperature. The compositions of the layers remain distinct due to the low diffusivity of mass compared to heat. The temperatures of the layers as functions of time and their cooling rate depend on their viscosities, their thermal properties, the density difference between the layers and their thicknesses. For a layer of ultrabasic melt (18% MgO) a few tens of metres thick at the base of a basaltic (10% MgO) magma chamber a few kilometres thick, the temperature of the layers will become nearly identical over a period of between a few months and a few years. During this time the turbulent convective velocities in the ultrabasic layer are far larger than the settling velocity of olivines which crystallise within the layer during cooling. Olivines only settle after the two layers have nearly reached thermal equilibrium. At this stage residual basaltic melt segregates as the olivines sediment in the lower layer. Depending on its density, the released basalt can either mix convectively with the overlying basalt layer, or can continue as a separate layer. The model provides an explanation for large-scale cyclic layering in basic and ultrabasic intrusions. The model also suggests reasons for the restriction of erupted basaltic liquids to compositions with MgO<10% and the formation of some quench textures in layered igneous rocks.