Anhydrous partial melting of an iron-rich mantle I: subsolidus phase assemblages and partial melting phase relations at 10 to 30 kbar

Anhydrous partial melting experiments, at 10 to 30 kbar from solidus to near liquidus temperature, have been performed on an iron-rich martian mantle composition, DW. The DW subsolidus assemblage from 5 kbar to at least 24 kbar is a spinel lherzolite. At 25 kbar garnet is stable at the solidus along with spinel. The clinopyroxene stable on the DW solidus at and above 10 kbar is a pigeonitic clinopyroxene. Pigeonitic clinopyroxene is the first phase to melt out of the spinel lherzolite assemblage at less than 20°C above the solidus. Spinel melts out of the assemblage about 50°C above the solidus followed by a 150° to 200°C temperature interval where melts are in equilibrium with orthopyroxene and olivine. The temperature interval over which pigeonitic clinopyroxene melts out of an iron-rich spinel lherzolite assemblage is smaller than the temperature interval over which augite melts out of an iron-poor spinel lherzolite assemblage. The dominant solidus assemblage in the source regions of the Tharsis plateau, and for a large percentage of the martian mantle, is a spinel lherzolite.     

A suggested origin of MARID xenoliths in kimberlites by high pressure crystallization of an ultrapotassic rock such as lamproite

Chemical, mineralogical and isotopic studies have been made on nodules of the MARID (Mica-Amphibole-Rutile-Ilmenite-Diopside) xenolith suite in southern African kimberlites. All are ultramafic and ultrapotassic (MgO= 20–25%, K₂O=4–9%), with bulk compositions reflecting the wide variation in relative proportions of the five minerals amongst the nodules. They are comparable in major element compositions to magnesian lamproites, in particular the ultrabasic olivine-lamproites of Western Australia. In a number of high pressure experimental studies on ultra-potassic rocks, the phases produced between 25–30 kbar from compositions comparable to those of MARID rocks (in the presence of additional water), were predominantly phlogopite and diopside (±K-richterite, ±ilmenite, ±rutile). Furthermore the compositions of experimental minerals produced in the synthetic-biotite-mafurite-H₂O system by Edgar et al. (1976) are similar to those in MARID rocks.It is suggested on the basis of these observations and the textural appearance of MARID rocks that they are magmatic compositional equivalents of MgO-rich lamproites that crystallized at high pressures. While lamproites have higher average concentrations of incompatible elements, (including REE), some MARID rocks have comparable abundances. It is suggested that late stage vapour-rich melts carrying substantial REE and other incompatible elements escaped from crystallizing MARID magmas into surrounding subcontinental lithosphere, thus resulting in lower levels of these elements in most MARID rocks. In contrast faster crystallization of lamproitic rocks under volcanic/ hypabyssal conditions would prevent similar losses.The MARID proto-magmas are thought to be either partial melts of metasomatised phlogopite peridotite, or small volume asthenospheric melts which are modified and further enriched by incorporation of small partial melts of enriched subcontinental lithosphere during magma ascent.     

Petrological constraints on the origin of arc picrites,New Georgia Group,Solomon Islands

Subduction related picrites from the New Georgia archipelago (Solomon Islands) range in bulk MgO from 13 to 30 wt%. Two generations of olivine are identified based on CaO contents: High-CaO olivine phenocrysts from the picritic parental melt and low-CaO olivine xenocrysts incorporated from either lithospheric or asthenospheric upper mantle. There is also evidence that some of the low-CaO olivines are boninitic in origin. The bulk MgO range in the picrites is largely controlled by assimilation of low-CaO olivine xenocrysts. Oxidation states of the melt (FMQ+2.2), calculated from magnetite activities in liquidus chromites, constrain the MgO content of the parental melt to 13 wt%, assuming Fe–Mg exchange equilibrium between melt and liquidus olivine composition. The dry liquidus temperature of the parent melt based on this MgO content is 1340°C, about 80°C above the temperature obtained with the olivine–clinopyroxene Ca-exchange thermobarometer. The residence time of the low-CaO olivine xenocrysts in the magma, estimated from Ca- and Fe–Mg interdiffusion profiles, did not exceed 1 year.     

High pressure phase relations of primitive high-alumina basalts from Medicine Lake volcano,northern California

Anhydrous phase relations were determined at 1 atm and 10 to 15 kbar for primitive high-alumina basalts (79–35g and 82–72f) from Giant Crater at Medicine Lake volcano. These compositions are multiply saturated with olivine+augite+plagioclase+spinel+/-orthopyroxene near the liquidus at about 11 kbar. Experiments on mixtures of sample 79–35g with orthopyroxene and olivine determined the location of the multiple saturation boundaries where liquid coexists with the assemblage olivine+augite+orthopyroxene+plagioclase at 10 kbar and olivine+augite+orthopyroxene+spinel at 15 kbar. The mix experiments showed that primitive Medicine Lake high alumina basalts (HABs) are close in composition to liquids in equilibrium with a mantle lherzolite source containing olivine+augite+ orthopyroxene+spinel+plagioclase at 11 kbar. Orthopyroxene observed as a near liquidus phase in an 11 kbar experiment on sample 82–72f supports this conclusion. The most primitive HABs from Medicine Lake are low in K₂O (0.07 wt.%), high in MgO (>10 wt.%) and Ni (231 ppm), and have light-rare earth element depletions and large ion lithophile element enrichments. A model for the origin of these near-primary high-alumina basalts is that they are partial melts of a MORB-like mantle lherzolite source that has been enriched by a fluid component derived from the subducted slab. The HAB magma segregated from its mantle residue just below the base of the crust near the crust-mantle boundary.     

Richterite-bearing peridotites and MARID-type inclusions in lavas from North Eastern Morocco: mineralogy and D/H isotopic studies

 K-richterite/phlogopite-bearing peridotite xenoliths and MARID inclusions have been found in Late Cretaceous (67±0.2 million years) monchiquites and an olivine nephelinite from North Eastern Morocco. It is the first evidence of MARID rocks and K-richterite/phlogopite-bearing peridotites outside the kimberlitic context. In the hydrous xenoliths, textural features suggest that K-richterite, phlogopite and Al-poor diopside are replacement minerals. K-richterites contain 2–5 wt% FeO, 0.1–1.5 wt% TiO₂ and <0.5 wt% Cr₂O₃. Micas contain 5.4–7.4 wt% FeO and 0.3–2.2 wt% TiO₂, with Cr and Ni contents <0.2 wt%. Diopsides are Al-poor (<0.2 wt% Al₂O₃) and contain 0.1–0.2 wt% TiO₂, 0.9–1.1 wt% Na₂O and 1.3–1.7 wt% Cr₂O₃. Compared to known K-richterites and micas from metasomatised peridotite nodules (PKP types), the Moroccan minerals are more Fe rich, K-richterites have higher Ti and micas less Cr and Ni. They are thus closer to MARID than to PKP minerals. K-richterites and mica from the MARID inclusions show typical characteristics, e.g. high FeO (4.3–4.7 wt% in richterite and 7.2 wt% in mica), low NiO and/or Cr₂O₃ and the incomplete filling of the tetrahedral site by Si+Al. Ion probe D/H analyses of amphiboles and micas from both xenolith types give high δD values ranging from –8 to –73, with large variations within single grains (up to 50‰). Both the D-enrichment and the δD variations are inherited from the mantle. The similar chemical composition and δD values of K-richterite/phlogopite from the hydrous peridotites and MARID minerals suggest a genetic link between the two types of xenoliths. The conditions required for producing MARIDs and K-richterite/phlogopite-bearing peridotites may thus exist in contexts other than stable cratonic settings. MARID rocks and the associated metasomites may result from a hydrous fluid interaction with a peridotite, the metasomatic agent being characterised by a high K and low Al signature and a high δD value. A D-rich source is involved in the metasomatic event producing the hydrous minerals, and the scatter observed in the δD values suggests a mixing between this source and another one with typical upper mantle D/H composition. As indicated by the low δD (–74) values of micas from the host lava, metasomatism predated and is unrelated to the alkaline volcanism. Received: 9 March 1995 / Accepted: 4 April 1996     

Melting relations of muscovite-granite to 35 kbar as a model for fusion of metamorphosed subducted oceanic sediments

Muscovite-granite was reacted in cold-seal pressure vessels at 2 kbar and in pistoncylinder apparatus between 10 and 35 kbar, with just 0.6 weight per cent water structurally bound in 14 modal per cent muscovite, and with additional water contents varying to 50 weight per cent. Phase relationships are presented through the melting interval with excess water, and with no free water added. Selected reactions above 10 kbars have been successfully reversed. An isobar at 15 kbar shows the effect of varying water contents on the mineral phase boundaries for vapor-present and vapor-absent conditions. For the dry rock, temperatures for the solidus and liquidas (quartz-out) curves, respectively, are 10 kbar-760° C, 1160° C; 15 kbar-810° C, 1220° C; 25 kbar-880° C; 1340° C; 35 kbar-1040° C, 1460° C. The solidus curve corresponds to the melting of muscovite + quartz. With water vapor present, the solidus is considerably lower, 15 kbar-610° C, 25 kbar-665° C. Water solubility in the liquid at 15 kbar is 24±3 weight per cent. Maximum temperatures for quartz and feldspars in the vapor-absent region decrease considerably with increasing water content. Temperatures for the quartz-out curve at 15 kbars are 0.6 % H₂O-1230° C; 24 % H₂O-760° C. At 15 kbars for low water contents, water-undersaturated liquid coexists with quartz and feldspars through hundreds of degrees. Subducted pelagic sediments which metamorphosed to muscovitebearing quartzo-feldspathic rocks would undergo two episodes of melting, beginning at different depths: (1) the first liquid dissolves all pore fluid, and transports it away when it escapes from the crystalline host, (2) reaction of muscovite yields a second liquid, with less dissolved water. According to two published thermal models for a lithosphere slab dipping at 45°, the depths would be (a) 60 km and 92 km, or (b) 17 km and 21 km. Magmas generated by partial fusion in subducted oceanic crust are cooler than the overlying crustal layers and the mantle above the slab by as much as 200° C to 300° C. This must lead to intrusion of relatively cool magma into hot rock. Consequent heating of the magma increases its prospects of reaching high levels in the upper mantle or crust before it solidifies by crossing the solidus curve.     

The MARID (mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside) suite of xenoliths in kimberlite

Within the ‘glimmerite’ nodules occurring within kimberlite pipes we recognize the MARID suite consisting of varying proportions of mica, amphibole, rutile, ilmenite and diopside. Banding of some specimens is interpreted as cumulate layering. All specimens were deformed either before incorporation into the host kimberlite or during intrusion. Compared with minerals in peridotite xenoliths, the MARID ones are lower in Al₂O₃ and Cr₂O₃, but richer in total iron. The MARID micas, amphiboles, diopsides, ilmenites and probably rutiles contain substantial Fe₂O₃ indicative of oxidizing conditions. The amphibole is potassic richterite. Micas of the megacryst suite in kimberlite have less total iron and Fe₂O₃ than micas of the MARID suite. We suggest that the rocks of the MARID suite crystallized under oxidizing conditions from a magma, chemically similar to kimberlite, within the higher parts of the upper mantle: the presence of amphibole restricts the depth to less than ~ 100 km. A xenolith containing olivine and orthopyroxene as well as minerals similar to but not the same compositionally as MARID-types is interpreted as a metasomite, possibly representing wall-rock of a magma body from which MARID-suite rocks crystallized.     

Mantle Xenoliths from the Southeastern Slave Craton: Evidence for Chemical Zonation in a Thick, Cold Lithosphere

We present the first data on the petrology of the mantle lithosphereof the Southeastern (SE) Slave craton, Canada. These are basedon petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical studies of mantlexenoliths in Pipe 5034 of the Cambrian Gahcho Kué kimberlitecluster. Major types of mantle xenoliths include altered eclogite,coarse garnet or spinel peridotite, and deformed garnet peridotite.The peridotites belong to the low-temperature suite and formedat T=600–1300°C and P= 25–80 kbar in a thick(at least 220–250 km), cool lithosphere. The SE Slavemantle is cooler than the mantle of other Archaean cratons andthat below other terranes of the Slave craton. The thick lithosphereand the relatively cool thermal regime provide favourable conditionsfor formation and preservation of diamonds beneath the SE Slaveterrane. Similar to average Archaean mantle worldwide, the SESlave peridotite is depleted in magmaphile major elements andcontains olivine with forsterite content of 91–93·5.With respect to olivine composition and mode, all terranes ofthe Slave mantle show broadly similar compositions and are relativelyorthopyroxene-poor compared with those of the Kaapvaal and Siberiancratons. The SE Slave spinel peridotite is poorer in Al, Caand Fe, and richer in Mg than deeper garnet peridotite. Thegreater chemical depletion of the shallow upper mantle is typicalof all terranes of the Slave craton and may be common for thesubcontinental lithospheric peridotitic mantle in general. Peridotiticxenoliths of the SE Slave craton were impregnated by kimberliticfluids that caused late-stage recrystallization of primary clinopyroxene,spinel, olivine and spinel-facies orthopyroxene, and formationof interstitial clinopyroxene. This kimberlite-related recrystallizationdepleted primary pyroxenes and spinel in Al. The kimberliticfluid was oxidizing, Ti-, Fe- and K-rich, and Na-poor, and introducedserpentine, chlorite, phlogopite and spinel into peridotitesat P < 35 kbar. KEY WORDS: kimberlite xenolith; lithosphere; mantle terrane; chemical zoning; thermobarometry; Slave craton     

碳酸岩的地质地球化学特征及其大地构造意义

从已知碳酸岩的地质产状、岩石学特征、Nd-Sr-Pb-O-C同位素及痕量元素地球化学特征数据,结合高温高压实验岩石学资料,论述了其地幔源区的物质成分、交代过程软流圈地幔部分熔融机制和碳酸岩岩浆的演化模型。碳酸岩既可以产生于拉张岩石圈构造背景,也能够产生于挤压而派生的引张岩石圈构造背景。前者以产于裂谷环境、与硅酸不饱和过碱性岩构成环状碳酸岩—碱性杂岩为特征,主要由起源于软流圈地幔的霞石质超基性—基性岩浆经液态不混溶作用而形成;后者产于碰撞造山过程中派生的引张岩石圈断裂带,以单一的透镜状、条带状和似层状碳酸岩体为标志,直接由导源岩石圈富集地幔的低程度部分熔融作用而产生的碳酸岩浆侵入或喷发所形成。     

Constraints from eclogite and MARID xenoliths on origins of mantle Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta variability

New trace-element data of rutile in kimberlite-borne ~1.85 Ga eclogite and pyroxenite xenoliths from the central Slave craton, as well as ~110 Ma MARID xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton, provide constraints on the origins of lithospheric and sublithospheric mantle variability in high field strength element ratios. Rutiles in eclogites and pyroxenites have Zr/Hf ranging from 20 to 62 and Nb/Ta ranging from 10 to 40. Rutiles in MARID xenoliths have Zr/Hf from 24 to 33 and Nb/Ta from 10 to 41. Calculated whole-rock Zr/Hf is suprachondritic for eclogites with suggested gabbroic protoliths and subchondritic for boninite-like eclogites; the latter is consistent with cpx-controlled depletion in the protolith source. Within each eclogite type, positive correlations of Zr/Hf with La/Lu and negative correlations with Lu/Hf likely reflect fractionation of cpx and/or plagioclase during crystallisation of the protoliths. Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta relationships of some MARID-type rocks, which are products of lithospheric mantle metasomatism, and eclogite xenoliths plot on a silicate differentiation trend, whereas other samples have higher Nb/Ta at a given Zr/Hf. Fractionation of a few percent rutile from an HFSE-rich mafic melt can generate a trend towards strongly increased Nb/Ta at minimally changed Zr/Hf in the residual melt. Superposition of rutile fractionation on the effects of silicate differentiation, which fractionates Zr/Hf more strongly than Nb/Ta, can explain the Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta relationships of most eclogites from the central Slave craton as well as those of MARID rocks, metasomatised peridotites and group II kimberlites. By contrast, Zr/Hf–Nb/Ta relationships suggest that Group I kimberlites are mixtures between depleted peridotite and carbonatite. Thus, high Nb/Ta is a signature of lithospheric processes and may not be important in deeply subducted eclogites that bypass extended residence in the lithosphere. Conversely, considerable primary Zr/Hf variability was inherited by the eclogites, which is indicative of the compositional diversity of ancient subducted oceanic crust, which is expected to have generated substantial heterogeneity in sublithospheric basalt sources.     

Melt/harzburgite reaction in the petrogenesis of tholeiitic magma from Kilauea volcano, Hawaii

We use the results of elevated pressure melting experiments to constrain the role of melt/mantle reaction in the formation of tholeiitic magma from Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Trace element abundance data is commonly interpreted as evidence that Kilauea tholeiite is produced by partial melting of garnet lherzolite. We experimentally determine the liquidus relations of a tightly constrained estimate of primary tholeiite composition, and find that it is not in equilibrium on its liquidus with a garnet lherzolite assemblage at any pressure. The composition is, however, cosaturated on its liquidus with olivine and orthopyroxene at 1.4 GPa and 1425 °C, from which we infer that primary tholeiite is in equilibrium with harzburgite at lithospheric depths beneath Kilauea. These results are consistent with our observation that tholeiite primary magmas have higher normative silica contents than experimentally produced melts of garnet lherzolite. A model is presented whereby primary tholeiite forms via a two-stage process. In the first stage, magmas are generated by melting of garnet lherzolite in a mantle plume. In the second stage, the ascent and decompression of magmas causes them to react with harzburgite in the mantle by assimilating orthopyroxene and crystallizing olivine. This reaction can produce typical tholeiite primary magmas from significantly less siliceous garnet lherzolite melts, and is consistent with the shift in liquidus boundaries that accompanies decompression of an ascending magma. We determine the proportion of reactants by major element mass balance. The ratio of mass assimilated to mass crystallized (M_a/M_c) varies from 2.7 to 1.4, depending on the primary magma composition. We use an AFC calculation to model the effect of melt/harzburgite reaction on melt rare earth and high field strength element abundances, and find that reaction dilutes, but does not significantly fractionate, the abundances of these elements. Assuming olivine and orthopyroxene have similar heats of fusion, the M_a/M_c ratio indicates that reaction is endothermic. The additional thermal energy is supplied by the melt, which becomes superheated during adiabatic ascent and can provide more thermal energy than required. Melt/harzburgite reaction likely occurs over a range of depths, and we infer a mean depth of 42 km from our experimental results. This depth is well within the lithosphere beneath Kilauea. Since geochemical evidence indicates that melt/harzburgite reaction likely occurs in the top of the Hawaiian plume, the plume must be able to thin a significant portion of the lithosphere. Received: 4 February 1997 / Accepted: 27 August 1997     

Anhydrous PT phase relations of an Aleutian high-MgO basalt: an investigation of the role of olivine-liquid reaction in the generation of arc high-alumina basalts

We report results of anhydrous 1 atm and piston-cylinder experiments on ID16, an Aleutian high-magnesia basalt (HMB), designed to investigate potential petrogenetic links between arc high-alumina basalts (HABs) and less common HMBs. ID16 is multiply saturated with a plagioclase/spinel iherzolite mineral assemblage (olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, spinel) immediately beneath the 12 kbar liquidus. Derivative liquids produced at high temperatures in the 10–20 kbar melting interval of ID16 have compositions resembling those published of many moderate-CaO HABs, although lower-temperature liquids are poorer in CaO and richer in alkalies than are typical HABs. Isomolar pseudoternary projections and numerical mass-balance modeling suggest that derivative melts of ID16 enter into a complex reaction relationship with olivine at 10 kbar and 1,200° C–1,150° C. We sought to test such a mechanism to explain the lack of liquidus olivine in anhydrous experiments on mafic high-alumina basalts such as SSS. 1.4 (Johnston 1986). These derivative liquids, however, do not resemble typical arc high-alumina basalts, suggesting that olivine-liquid reaction does not account for Johnston's (1986) observations. Instead, we suggest that olivine can be brought onto the liquidus of such compositions only through the involvement of H₂O, which will affect the influence of bulk CaO, MgO, and Al₂O₃ contents on the identity of HAB liquidus phases (olivine or plagioclase) at pressures less than 12 kbar.     

甘肃龙首山岩带西井镁铁质岩体成因及其构造意义

西井岩体位于北祁连造山带以北,阿拉善地块西南缘的龙首山隆起带。以往的研究多以沿龙首山断裂分布的镁铁-超镁铁质岩带作为和金川岩体相关的岩浆事件进行,而本次选择西井镁铁质岩体进行了精确的地质年代学和地球化学研究,确定了西井岩体岩性主要为橄榄辉石岩和辉长岩,成岩时代为 (421.0±9.0) Ma,可以和北祁连高压变质带榴辉岩年龄相对应;ε_Nd(t)为4.06~5.52,(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i为0.704 548~0.707 575,具有地幔岩石圈特征;微量元素及其同位素计算表明西井岩体经历了约10%的下地壳物质混染。据此得出西井岩体及其龙首山岩带早志留世镁铁质侵入岩体成因模式为:祁连洋壳连续俯冲过程中洋壳与陆壳分离,热的软流圈物质持续冲击地幔岩石圈的底部;由于热传导效应,大地热流沿着地幔岩石圈上升,使得80 km深度的湿的橄榄岩层发生熔融,产生玄武质岩浆作用,玄武质岩浆上升过程中与下地壳物质发生约10%混染,形成西井岩体及其龙首山镁铁超镁铁质岩带。     

Melting and phase relations in the plane tholeiite-lherzolite-nepheline basanite to 40 kilobars with geological implications

Six crystalline mixtures, picrite, olivine-rich tholeiite, nepheline basanite, alkali picrite, olivine-rich basanite, and olivine-rich alkali basalt were recrystallized at pressures to 40 kb, and the phase equilibria and sequences of phases in natural basaltic and peridotitic rocks were investigated.The picrite was recrystallized along the solidus to the assemblages (1) olivine+orthopyroxene+ clinopyroxene +plagioclase+spinel below 13 kb, (2) olivine+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene+spinel between 13 kb and 18 kb, (3) olivine+orthopyroxene+clinopyroxene+ garnet+spinel between 18 kb and 26 kb, and (4) olivine+clinopyroxene+garnet above 26 kb. The solidus temperature at 1 atm is slightly below 1,100° and rises to 1,320° at 20 kb and 1,570° at 40 kb. Olivine is the primary phase crystallizing from the melt at all pressures to 40 kb.The olivine-rich tholeiite was recrystallized along the solidus into the assemblages (1) olivine+ clinopyroxene+plagioclase+spinel below 13 kb, (2) clinopyroxene+orthopyroxene+ spinel between 13 kb and 18 kb, (3) clinopyroxene+garnet+spinel above 18 kb. The solidus temperature is slightly below 1,100° at 1 atm, 1,370° at 20 kb, and 1,590° at 40 kb. The primary phase is olivine below 20 kb but is orthopyroxene at 40 kb.In the nepheline basanite, olivine is the primary phase below 14 kb, but clinopyroxene is the first phase to appear above 14 kb. In the alkali-picrite the primary phase is olivine to 40 kb. In the olivine-rich basanite, olivine is the primary phase below 35 kb and garnet is the primary phase above 35 kb. In the olivine-rich alkali basalt the primary phase is olivine below 20 kb and is garnet at 40 kb.Mineral assemblages in a granite-basalt-peridotite join are summarized according to reported experimental data on natural rocks. The solidus of mafic rock is approximately given by T=12.5 P _Kb+1,050°. With increasing pressure along the solidus, olivine disappears by reaction with plagioclase at 9 kb in mafic rocks and plagioclase disappears by reaction with olivine at 13 kb in ultramafic rocks. Plagioclase disappears at around 22 kb in mafic rocks, but it persists to higher pressure in acidic rocks. Garnet appears at somewhat above 18 kb in acidic rocks, at 17 kb in mafic rocks, and at 22 kb in ultramafic rocks.The subsolidus equilibrium curves of the reactions are extrapolated according to equilibrium curves of related reactions in simple systems. The pyroxene-hornfels and sanidinite facies is the lowest pressure mineral facies. The pyroxene-granulite facies is an intermediate low pressure mineral facies in which olivine and plagioclase are incompatible and garnet is absent in mafic rocks. The low pressure boundary is at 7.5 kb at 750° C and at 9.5 kb at 1,150° C. The high pressure boundary is 8.0 kb at 750° C and 15.0 kb at 1,150° C. The garnet-granulite facies is an intermediate high pressure facies and is characterized by coexisting garnet and plagioclase in mafic rocks. The upper boundary is at 10.3 kb at 750° C and 18.0 kb at 1,150° C. The eclogite facies is the highest pressure mineral facies, in which jadeite-rich clinopyroxene is stable.Compositions of minerals in natural rocks of the granulite facies and the eclogite facies are considered. Clinopyroxenes in the granulite-facies rocks have smaller jadeite-Tschermak's molecule ratios and higher amounts of Tschermak's molecule than clinopyroxenes in the eclogite-facies rocks. The distribution coefficients of Mg between orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene are normally in the range of 0.5–0.6 in metamorphic rocks in the granulite facies. The distribution coefficients of Mg between garnet and clinopyroxene suggest increasing crystallization temperature of the rocks in the following order: eclogite in glaucophane schist, eclogite and granulite in gneissic terrain, garnet peridotite, and peridotite nodules in kimberlite.Temperatures near the bottom of the crust in orogenic zones characterized by kyanitesillimanite metamorpbism are estimated from the mineral assemblages of metamorphic rocks in Precambrian shields to be about 700° C at 7 kb and 800° C at 9 kb, although heat-flow data suggest that the bottom of Precambrian shield areas is about 400° C and the eclogite facies is stable.The composition of liquid which is in equilibrium with peridotite is estimated to be close to tholeiite basalt at the surface pressure and to be picrite at around 30 kb. The liquid composition becomes poorer in normative olivine with decreasing pressure and temperature.During crystallization at high pressure, olivine and orthopyroxene react with liquid to form clinopyroxene, and a discontinuous reaction series, olivine orthopyroxene clinopyroxene is suggested. By fractional crystallization of pyroxenes the liquid will become poorer in SiO₂. Therefore, if liquid formed by partial melting of peridotite in the mantle slowly rises maintaining equilibrium with the surrounding peridotite, the liquid will become poorer in MgO by crystallization of olivine, and tholeiite basalt magma will arrive at the surface. On the other hand, if the liquid undergoes fractional crystallization in the mantle, the liquid may change in composition to alkali-basalt magma and alkali-basalt volcanism may be seen at a late stage of volcanic activity.Publication No. 681, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles.     

A high pressure experimental study on a magnesian-rich leucite-lamproite from the West Kimberley area,Australia: petrogenetic implications

Liquidus and subliquidus phase relations of a leucite-lamproite (wolgidite) from the West Kimberley area, Australia have been studied experimentally under the volatile conditions of 3.22 wt.% H₂O ( \(X_{CO_2 }\) =0.11) and 13.0 wt.% H₂O ( \(X_{CO_2 }\) =0.03) between 10 to 40 kbar. Under these conditions, liquids are vapour undersaturated. In experiments with 13.0 wt.% H₂O, olivine is the liquidus phase up to 24 kbar and orthopyroxene above 24 kbar. Phlogopite and rutile occur close to the liquidus above 16 kbar. Crystallization temperatures of clinopyroxenes are 50–120° C below the liquidus. Based on these results, wolgidite magma is unlikely to be a partial melt of a garnet- or spinel-lherzolite mantle but could be derived from phlogopite+rutile±olivine±or-thopyroxene assemblages occurring as metasomatized mantle.     

Anhydrous P-T phase relations of near-primary high-alumina basalt from the South Sandwich Islands

Anhydrous P-T phase relations, including phase compositions and modes, are reported from 10–31 kbar for a near-primary high-alumina basalt from the South Sandwich Islands in the Scotia Arc. The water content of natural subduction-related basalt is probably <0.5 wt.% and thus, these results are relevant to the generation of primary basaltic magmas in subduction zones. At high pressures (>27 kbar) garnet is the liquidus phase followed by clinopyroxene, then quartz/coesite at lower temperatures. At intermediate pressures (17–27 kbar), clinopyroxene is the liquidus phase followed by either garnet, quartz, plagioclase, then orthopyroxene or plagioclase, quartz, garnet, then orthopyroxene depending on the pressure within this interval. At all lower pressures, plagioclase is the liquidus phase followed at much lower temperatures (100° C at 5 kbar) by clinopyroxene. The absence of olivine from the liquidus suggests that the composition studied here could not have been derived from a more mafic parent by olivine fractionation at any pressure investigated, and supports the interpretation that it is primary. If so, these results also preclude an origin for this melt by partial melting of olivine-rich mantle periddotite and suggest instead that it was generated by partial melting of the descending slab (quartz eclogite) leaving clinopyroxene, garnet, or both in the residue. The generally flat REE patterns for low-K series subduction related basalts argue against any significant role for garnet, however, and it is thus concluded that the composition studied here was extracted at 20–27 kbar after sufficiently high degrees of partial melting (50%) to totally consume garnet in the eclogite source. Melting experiments on three MORB composition, although not conclusive, are in agreement with this mechanism. Results at 30 kbar support an origin for tonalite/trondhjemite series rocks by lower degrees of melting (15–30%), leaving both garnet and clinopyroxene in the residue.     

Petrogenesis of the Early Jurassic Nandaling flood basalts in the Yanshan belt, North China Craton: A correlation between magmatic underplating and lithospheric thinning

Integrated geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic studies of the Early Jurassic Nandaling flood basalts (NFB) in the Yanshan belt, northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), are presented in this paper. These sub-alkaline basalts evolved from a more magnesium-rich parental magma through fractional crystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene. The primitive magma of the NFB originated from 2–5% partial melting of spinel to garnet transitional peridotite at about 70–80 km depth in the Mesozoic lithosphere mantle. The NFB contain a distinctive lithospheric component, characterized by Nb (Ta), Th, U and Ti depletions, LREE enrichments, moderate Sr, and low Nd and Pb initial isotopic ratios, as a result of an interaction between lower crust (15–25%) and primitive magma evoked by magmatic underplating at crust–mantle boundary. The Early Jurassic NFB extruded in an intraplate extensional setting related to post-orogenic collapse in the northern margin of the NCC, indicating an event of lithospheric modification earlier than that in the southern margin (Early Cretaceous). The temporal similarity of the Jurassic–Cretaceous mantle-derived mafic rocks to lower crust replacement, and the decoupling of surface shortening with lithospheric thinning during the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous, suggest the important role of magmatic underplating and subsequent crust–mantle interaction accompanied by asthenosphere upwelling on the evolution of the Mesozoic lithosphere of the NCC. The correlation between lithospheric thinning and magmatic underplating may be an important process in continental rifting.     

Major element composition of the lithospheric mantle under the North Atlantic craton: Evidence from peridotite xenoliths of the Sarfartoq area,southwestern Greenland

The composition and thermal state of the lithospheric mantle under the North Atlantic craton was investigated using a suite of peridotite xenoliths from the diamond-bearing Sarfartoq kimberlite dike swarm of southwestern Greenland. Elevated olivine and whole-rock Mg# (>0.9) attest to the refractory nature of the Sarfartoq mantle showing comparable degrees of depletion to other cratonic roots. Modal analyses indicate that the Sarfartoq mantle is not typified by the orthopyroxene enrichment observed in the Kaapvaal root, but shows more affinity with the Canadian Arctic (Somerset Island), Tanzania, and East Greenland (Wiedemann Fjord) peridotites. The Sarfartoq peridotites have equilibrated at temperatures and pressures ranging from 660 to 1,280 °C and from 2.2 to 6.3 GPa, and define a relatively low mantle heat flow of 13.2±1 mW/m^2. In addition, the lithospheric mantle underneath the Sarfartoq area is compositionally layered as follows: (1) an internally stratified upper layer (70 to 180 km) consisting of coarse, un-deformed, refractory garnet-bearing and garnet-free peridotites and, (2) a lower layer (180 to 225 km) characterized by fertile, CPX-bearing, porphyroclastic garnet lherzolites. The stratification observed in the upper refractory harzburgite layer (70–180 km) is reflected by an increase in fertility (e.g., decrease in olivine abundance and forsterite content) with depth. The sharp nature of the boundary between the upper and lower layers may indicate multistage growth of the lithospheric mantle.Editorial responsibility: T.L. Grove     

The origin of reaction textures in mantle peridotite xenoliths from Sal Island, Cape Verde: the case for “metasomatism” by the host lava

Reaction zones around minerals in mantle xenoliths have been reported from many localities worldwide. Interpretations of the origins of these textures fall into two groups: mantle metasomatic reaction or reaction during transport of the xenoliths to the surface. A suite of harzburgitic mantle xenoliths from Sal, Cape Verde show clear evidence of reaction during transport. The reactions resulted in the formation of olivine–clinopyroxene and Si- and alkali-rich glass reaction zones around orthopyroxene and sieve-textured clinopyroxene and sieve textured spinel, both of which are associated with a Si- and alkali-rich glass similar to that in the orthopyroxene reaction zones. Reaction occurred at pressures less than the mantle equilibration pressure and at temperatures close to the liquidus temperature of the host magma. In addition, there is a clear spatial relation of reaction with the host lava: reaction is most intense near the lava/xenolith contact. The residence time of the xenoliths in the host magma, determined from Fe–Mg interdiffusion profiles in olivine, was approximately 4 years. Our results cannot be reconciled with a recent model for the evolution of the mantle below the Cape Verde Archipelago involving mantle metasomatism by kimberlitic melt. We contend that alkali-rich glasses in the Sal xenoliths are not remnants of a kimberlitic melt, but rather they are the result of reaction between the host lava or a similar magma and xenolith minerals, in particular orthopyroxene. The formation of a Si- and alkali-rich glass by host magma–orthopyroxene reaction appears to be a necessary precursor to formation of sieve textured spinel and clinopyroxene.     

Experimental data at 3 kbars pressure on parental magma to the Bushveld Complex

Experimental studies, mainly under 3 kbars pressure, have been undertaken on representative samples to determine if any of these compositions could be parental magma to the Bushveld Complex. One such composition, with 12.5% MgO, Mg/(Mg + Fe) of 0.72 and quartz-normative, crystallizes olivine, Fo₈₈, as liquidus mineral, at about 1,300° C, followed at only slightly lower temperature by orthopyroxene at 3 kbars pressure. There is a temperature drop of over 100° C before the appearance of plagioclase and finally clinopyroxene. This crystallization sequence is in excellent agreement with the observed sequence in the lower part of the Bushveld Complex.Results at higher pressures show that this composition cannot be a partial melt from mantle peridotite because olivine is replaced by orthopyroxene as the liquidus mineral at lower crustal pressures. A combination of olivine fractionation and contamination was probably involved in the early evolution of this magma.Experimental data on the other compositions show that they are not suitable as parental magma to the lowest portion of the complex. However, the data are used to construct phase diagrams within the basalt tetrahedron at 3 kbars pressure, which are of relevance to the crystallization of basic magmas in the upper crust.Research undertaken at the Grant Institute of Geology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland