Thermal History of the Horoman Peridotite Complex: A Record of Thermal Perturbation in the Lithospheric Mantle

The ascent history of the Horoman peridotite complex, Hokkaido,northern Japan, is revised on the basis of a detailed studyof large ortho- and clinopyroxene grains 1 cm in size (megacrysts)in the Upper Zone of the complex. The orthopyroxene megacrystsexhibit distinctive M-shaped Al zoning patterns, which werenot observed in porphyroclastic grains less than 5 mm in sizedescribed in previous studies. Moreover, the Al and Ca contentsof the cores of the orthopyroxene megacrysts are lower thanthose of the porphyroclasts. The Upper Zone is inferred to haveresided not only at a higher temperature than previously suggestedbut also at a higher pressure (1070°C, 2·3 GPa) thanthe Lower Zone (950°C, 1·9 GPa), in the garnet stabilityfield, before the ascent of the two zones. The Horoman complexprobably represents a 12 ± 5 km thick section of lithosphericmantle with an 10 ± 8°C/km vertical thermal gradient.The current thickness of the Horoman complex is 3 km, whichis a result of shortening of the lithospheric mantle by 0·25± 0·1 during its ascent. The Upper Zone appearsto have experienced a heating event during its ascent throughthe spinel stability field, with a peak temperature as highas 1200°C. The effect of heating decreases continuouslytowards the base of the complex, and the lowermost part of theLower Zone underwent very minor heating at a pressure higherthan 0·5 GPa. The uplift and associated deformation,as well as heating, was probably driven by the ascent of a hotasthenospheric upper-mantle diapir into the Horoman lithosphere. KEY WORDS: Horoman; P–T trajectory; thermal history; Al diffusion in pyroxene; geothermobarometry     

Origin of Plagioclase Lherzolite from the Nikanbetsu Peridotite Complex, Hokkaido, Northern Japan: Implications for Incipient Melt Migration and Segregation in the Partially Molten Upper Mantle

The Nikanbetsu peridotite complex, Hokkaido, Japan, is composedof mainly fertile lherzolite, which shows several lines of evidencefor incipient partial melting in the spinel–plagioclasefacies. There are petrological, textural and mineral chemicalvariations in plagioclase-free and -bearing lherzolites fromthe base to the top of the complex within the total thicknessof 1400 m. Two-pyroxene and spinel symplectites occur only atthe base of the complex. Mass-balance calculations on theirbulk compositions suggest that they lost the Al component frompyropic garnet. The Wo content of orthopyroxene cores continuouslyincreases, whereas the Al content decreases from the base upward.Ca–Na zoning patterns of plagioclase in the plagioclaselherzolites characteristically change from W-shaped patternsat the base to oscillatory patterns in the upper part of thecomplex. These lines of petrological, textural and mineral chemicalevidence indicate that incipient partial melting occurred everywherein the complex, with an increase in the degree of melting fromthe base toward the top, in proportion to a monotonous riseof the equilibrium temperature from 1100°C to 1250°C.The systematics of plagioclase zoning provides evidence forsimultaneous incipient partial melting, melt migration, decompressionand melt crystallization in the ascending upper-mantle rocks. KEY WORDS: melt migration; oscillatory zoning; partial melting; plagioclase lherzolite; symplectite     

Thermal history of iherzolite xenoliths—I. Petrology of iherzolite xenoliths from the ichinomegata crater,oga peninsula,northeast Japan

The thermal history of four spinel lherzolites (Lhz-13. Lhz-28, Lhz-29 and Lhz-53) from tuff breccia of the Ichinomegata crater, northeast Japan, has been studied in detail. Lhz-13 and Lhz-53 showed nearly perfect chemical homogeneity of the constituent minerals, and increase of Ca near the rim of olivine is the only disequilibrium evidence observed. In addition to the Ca zoning in olivine, Lhz-28 and Lhz-29 revealed compositional zoning in the Mg/Mg + Fe ratio and Ca content in ortho- and clinopyroxenes. Lhz-13 and Lhz-53 equilibrated at about 800°C in the upper mantle, based on Fe/Mg partitioning between olivine/spinel and olivine/clinopyroxene, and on the mutual solubility of Ca between olivine and pyroxenes. Lhz-28 and Lhz-29 also equilibrated originally at about 800°C, but were preheated at about 1000°C prior to their entrapment by the ascending host magma. The Fe/Mg partitioning between olivine /spinel and olivine/clinopyroxene reequilibrated during the preheating event: however, the Ca solubility did not reequilibrate. Olivine alone has rehomogenized with a high-Ca content but pyroxenes were compositionally zoned with Ca. The preheating event, indicated by the high-Ca content in the core of olivine, is recognized from about a half of the Ichinomegata Iherzolites (50 xenoliths were studied).The duration of heating during the transport of the xenolith by the magma (estimated from the width of the Ca zoning in the rim of olivine) ranges between several hours to a year depending on the rock specimen. From the requirement to reset olivine core compositions, the duration of the preheating event was estimated as greater than 1000 yr.     

Metamorphic re-equilibration and metasomatism of highly chromian,garnet-rich peridotitic xenoliths from South African kimberlites

A history of decompression and metasomatism is preserved in a suite of highly chromian, garnet-rich peridotitic xenoliths from the diamondiferous Newlands and Bobbejaan kimberlites, South Africa. A high proportion of the garnets and chromites in these rocks plot in the diamond-facies fields on Cr₂O₃–CaO and Cr₂O₃–MgO wt% plots, and Cr-rich compositions are found in both the harzburgitic and lherzolitic fields. Petrographic evidence suggests that the earliest known mineralogies were those of olivine-bearing, garnet-rich rocks. These were modified by a decompression event that caused recrystallization of garnets and led to orientated spinel and pyroxene inclusions in garnet. Chemical zonation within garnet is divided into (1) external re-equilibration between garnet and matrix; (2) internal re-equilibration between garnet and its inclusions; and (3) metasomatically induced zoning between garnet core and a metasomatic rim. The compositional trajectories associated with zonations (1) and (2) in Ca–Cr plots may be closely modelled by means of sliding, garnet–spinel transition reactions whose slopes vary with bulk Ca composition; at intermediate Ca compositions, the trajectories closely match the slope of the lherzolite line or harzburgite/lherzolite boundary. The decreasing Cr/(Cr + Al) of the garnet in these zonations is in agreement with the evidence for decompression given by the petrographic recrystallization features, and overall decompression of probably 10–20 kb is indicated. We speculate on the age of these events, and consider the possibility of their association with major orogenic events documented by South African crustal rocks at 2.9–2.7 Ga, and events evidenced by peridotite-xenolith Re–Os model ages at 2.8–2.7 Ga.     

A petrological study of the younger Tongan andesites and dacites,and the olivine tholeiites of Niua Fo'ou Island,S. W. Pacific

Basaltic andesites are the dominant Tongan magma type, and are characterized by phenocrysts of augite, orthopyroxene (or rarely pigeonite), and calcic plagioclase (modally most abundant phase, and interpreted as the liquidus phase). The plagioclase phenocrysts exhibit slight oscillatory reverse zoning except for abrupt and thin more sodic rims, which are interpreted to develop during eruptive quenching. These rim compositions overlap those of the groundmass plagioclase. The pyroxene phenocrysts also exhibit only slight compositional zoning except for the outermost rim zones; the compositions of these rims, together with the groundmass pyroxenes, vary throughout the compositional range of subcalcic augite to ferroaugite through pigeonite to ferropigeonite, and are interpreted in terms of quench-controlled crystallization. This is supported, for example, by the random distribution of Al solid solution in the groundmass pyroxenes, compared to the more regular behaviour of Al in the phenocryst pyroxenes. The analysed Niua Fo'ou olivine tholeiites are aphyric; groundmass phases are plagioclase (An_17–88), olivine (Fa_18–63), titanomagnetite (usp. _59–73), and augite-ferroaugite which does not extend to subcalcic compositions; this is interpreted to be due to higher quenching temperatures and lower viscosities of these tholeiites compared to the basaltic andesites.Application of various geothermometers to the basaltic andesites suggest initial eruptive quenching temperatures of 1,008–1,124 ° C, plagioclase liquidus temperatures (1 bar) of 1,210–1,277 ° C, and orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene equilibration of 990–1,150 ° C. These calculated temperatures, together with supporting evidence (e.g. absence of olivine and amphibole, liquidus plagioclase, and plagioclase zoning patterns) are interpreted in terms of phenocryst crystallization from magmas that were either strongly water undersaturated, nearly anhydrous, or at best, water saturated at very low pressures (< 0.5 kb). This interpretation implies that these Tongan basaltic andesites did not originate by any of the currently proposed mechanisms involving hydrous melting within or above the Benioff zone.     

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

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

Diffusion-controlled development of silica-undersaturated domains in felsic granulites of the Bohemian Massif (Variscan belt of Central Europe)

Plagioclase rims around metastable kyanite crystals appear during decompression of high-pressure felsic granulites from the high-grade internal zone of the Bohemian Massif (Variscan belt of Central Europe). The development of the plagioclase corona is a manifestation of diffusion-driven transfer of CaO and Na₂O from the surrounding matrix and results in isolation of kyanite grains from the quartz- and K-feldspar-bearing matrix. This process establishes Si-undersaturated conditions along the plagioclase–kyanite interface, which allow crystallization of spinel during low-pressure metamorphism. The process of the plagioclase rim development is modeled thermodynamically assuming local equilibrium. The results combined with textural observations enable estimation of equilibration volume and diffusion length for Na and Ca that extends ∼400–450 and ∼450–550 μm, respectively, around each kyanite crystal. Low estimated bulk diffusion coefficients suggest that the diffusion rate of Ca and Na is controlled by low diffusivity of Al across the plagioclase rim.     

Metamorphic Petrology of Xenoliths from Kenya and Northern Tanzania and Implications for Geotherms and Lithospheric Structures

Pyroxenitic and peridotitic xenoliths from the Quaternary volcanicfield of Marsabit (northern Kenya) bear strong evidence of decompressionand cooling. Pyroxenites are mostly garnet (grt) websteritesand grt clinopyroxcnites with some olivine (ol) and amphibole(amph). Grt is mostly rimmed by kelyphitic reaction zones butotherwise appears to have been in stable association with thepyroxenes. Along contacts between grt and rare ol, medium-grainedsymplectites consisting of orthopyroxene (opx), clinopyroxene(cpx), and spinel (spl) occur. Garnets do show significant compositionalvariations from core to rim. Primary pyroxenes are strained,have exsolution lamellae, and are chemically zoned. Integratedcore compositions of pyroxenes and grt compositions yield temperaturesof 1065–950 C and pressures of 28–23 kb (stage1). Pyroxene rims in contact with grt or kelyphite show Ca concentrationssimilar to, but Al concentrations higher than pyroxene rimsremote from garnet. Grt-opx contacts yield pressures of 11.5–9.0kb, and temperatures of 860–770C are obtained from pyroxenerims (stage 2). Peridotites from Marsabit show various stages of transformationfrom the garnet peridotite to the spinel peridotite stabilityfield. On the basis of differences in textures and mineral compositionsthey can be grouped into four types. Type I has a granular textureand contains fine-grained opx-cpx-spl symplectites frequentlysurrounding kelyphite which, in turn, may enclose relict grt.Rare matrix spl has higher Cr/(Cr + Al) ratios (0.25–0.32)than symplectitic spl (0.09). As in grt pyroxenites, matrixpyroxenes are strained, show exsolution lamellae, and have rimcompositions which are dependent on their positions relativeto former garnet. Integrated core compositions of matrix pyroxenessuggest former equilibration temperatures between 1050 and 880Cand pressures between 25 and 19 kb (opx—grt barometryusing composition of relict grt; stage 1). Pyroxene rims yieldsignificantly lower temperatures of 920–785 C (stage2). These P—T estimates and the occurrence of one compositexenolith consisting of type I peridotite and grt pyroxenitepoint to a common P—Tevolution of both grt pyroxenitesand type I peridotites. Granular type II peridotites are characterizedby medium-grained clusters of opx + cpx + spl amph and containmatrix spl, too. Pyroxenes are never strained and are free ofexsolution lamellae. All minerals are homogeneous and thereare no compositional differences between pyroxenes and spinelsof the matrix and those of the spl—opx—cpx clusters.Cr/(Cr+Al) ratios of spl are between 0–07 and 0.11. Two-pyroxenetemperatures are relatively uniform (970–925 C at anassumed pressure of 12 kb; stage 2). Type III peridotites arecoarse-grained granular spl peridotites without any indicationof the former presence of grt. Cr/(Cr + Al) ratios of spl aresimilar to those of peridotite type II. Pyroxenes show minorchemical zoning with Ca increasing in opx but decreasing incpx from core to rim indicating temperatures of 960–900C for pyroxene cores and of up to 1000C     

加勒比海小安德列斯岛弧Kick’emJenny海底火山岩的斜长石成分环带:示踪大洋岛弧岩浆房的演化

我们对采自于加勒比海地区小安德列斯岛弧(Lesser Antilles Arc)Kick’em Jenny(KEJ)海底火山玄武岩中的斜长石斑晶进行了矿物形态和成分分析。利用电子探针(EMPA)和LA-ICP-MS测定了具有环带结构的斜长石斑晶中主量元素的空间分布,同时也利用LA-ICP-MS分析了斜长石中Sr的分布。结果表明,在不同的矿物斑晶中,元素含量均表现出和环带结构相联系的空间分布变化。斜长石斑晶中最主要的结构为韵律环带以及熔蚀结构,所测定的矿物边缘都存在An值从由内向外迅速降低的致密韵律环带,可能反映了快速结晶时的不平衡;而晶体内部的稀疏韵律环带结构是由岩浆填充或对流活动导致的。部分斜长石的熔蚀层An值由内向外升高,反映了高Ca岩浆填充的过程。这说明斜长石斑晶的矿物形态和元素环带可以用来制约俯冲带海底火山岩浆从源区上升到岩浆房再到喷发的复杂过程,包括岩浆演化、熔体多次填充、熔体与结晶矿物之间的反应、以及矿物再熔融等。这对于理解海底火山的喷发以及岛弧岩浆岩的演化有重要意义。     

Crustal thickening of the lower crust of the Kohistan arc (N. Pakistan) deduced from Al zoning in clinopyroxene and plagioclase

The lower-crustal rocks of the Kohistan complex (northern Pakistan) are mostly composed of metabasic rocks such as pyroxene granulites, garnet granulites and amphibolites. We have investigated P–T trajectories of the relic two-pyroxene granulites, which are the protolith of the amphibolites within the Kamila amphibolite belt. Aluminous pyroxene retains igneous textures such as exsolution lamellae developed in the core. The significant amount of Al in clinopyroxene is buffered by breakdown reactions of plagioclase accompanied by film-like quartz as a product at grain boundaries between plagioclase and clinopyroxene. Distinct Al zoning profiles are preserved in pyroxene with exsolution lamellae in the core and in plagioclase adjacent to clinopyroxene in pyroxene granulites. In the northern part of the Kamila amphibolite belt, Al in clinopyroxene increases towards the rim and abruptly decreases at the outer rim, and anorthite in plagioclase decreases towards the rim and abruptly increases near the grain boundary between plagioclase and clinopyroxene. In the southern part of the Kamila amphibolite belt, Al in clinopyroxene and anorthite in plagioclase simply increase towards the margins of the grains. The anorthite zoning in plagioclase is in agreement with the zoning profiles of Ca-Tschermaks and jadeite components inferred from variations of Al, Na, Ti and Fe³⁺ in clinopyroxene. Assuming that the growth surface between them was in equilibrium, geothermobarometry based on Al zoning in clinopyroxene coexisting with plagioclase indicates that metamorphic pressures significantly increased with increasing temperature under granulite facies metamorphism. The peak of granulite facies metamorphism occurred at conditions of about 800 °C and 800–1100 MPa. These prograde P–T paths represent a crustal thickening process of the Kohistan arc during the Early to Middle Cretaceous. The crustal thickening of the Kohistan arc was caused by accretion of basaltic magma at mid-crustal depths.     

Electron-probe studies of the earlier pyroxenes and olivines from the Skaergaard intrusion,East Greenland

Pyroxenes and olivines from the earlier stages of fractionation of the Skaergaard intrusion (Wager and Brown, 1968; Brown, 1957) have been studied using the electron microprobe. The subsolidus trend for both Ca-rich and Ca-poor pyroxenes has been established, from the Mg-rich portion of the quadrilateral to the Hed-Fs join, together with the orientations of the tie-lines joining coexisting pyroxenes. For the Mg-rich Ca-poor pyroxenes, Brown's (1957) solidus trend has been modified slightly. From a study of a previously undescribed drill core, reversals in the cryptic layering have been found in the Lower Zone. The reversals are attributed to existence within the convecting magma chamber of local temperature differences. The Skaergaard magma temperatures are postulated to have passed out of the orthopyroxene stability field into the pigeonite stability field at EnFs ratios of 7228, for Ca-free calculated compositions, and specimen 1849, a perpendicular-feldspar rock, is interpreted as straddling the orthopyroxene-pigeonite transition interval. The cessation of crystallisation of Ca-poor pyroxene and the increase in Wo content of the Ca-rich pyroxene trend have been reexamined, and Muir's (1954) peritectic reaction (pigeonite+liquid=augite) has been confirmed. The composition at which Ca-poor pyroxene starts reacting with the liquid is postulated as Wo₁₀ En_36.7Fs_{53 3}. It is suggested that the cessation of crystallisation of Ca-poor pyroxene is sensitive to the amount of plagioclase crystallising from the liquid.A complete series of accurate olivine compositions for the whole Skaergaard sequence is presented for the first time, including the compositions of the Middle Zone olivine reaction rims.     

Magmatic modification of the uppermost mantle beneath the Basin and Range to Colorado Plateau Transition Zone; Evidence from xenoliths, Wikieup, Arizona

Upper mantle xenoliths from Wikieup, AZ, provide abundant evidence for magmatic modification of the uppermost mantle beneath the Transition Zone between the Colorado Plateau and the southern Basin and Range province. Upper mantle lithologies in this xenolith suite are represented by spinel peridotite, wehrlite, plagioclase peridotite, and Al-augite group pyroxenites. Isotopic data for these xenoliths yield relatively uniform values and suggest a common petrogenesis. Al-augite-bearing gabbro and pyroxenite xenoliths from this locality are interpreted to have formed by crystal fractionation processes from parent alkali basalts similar to the Wikieup host basalt. Mineral and whole rock compositions show consistent trends of increasing incompatible element contents (Fe, Al, Ca, Na, K, LIL, and LREE), and decreasing compatible element contents (Mg, Cr, Ni) from spinel peridotite to wehrlite to plagioclase peridotite to the host basalt composition. These compositional trends are interpreted as resulting from varying degrees of magma-mantle wall rock interaction as ascending mafic magmas infiltrated upper mantle peridotite. Small degrees of melt infiltration resulted in slightly modified spinel peridotite compositions while moderate degrees metasomatized spinel peridotite to wehrlite, and the highest degrees metasomatized it to plagioclase peridotite. Whole rock compositions and clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and whole rock isotopic data suggest that the infiltrating magmas were the same as those from which the gabbros and pyroxenites crystallized, and that they were alkalic in composition, similar to the Wikieup host alkali olivine basalts. Relatively uniform ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd for the mineral separates and whole rocks in spite of the significantly wide range in their ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.71–0.23 in clinopyroxene) suggests that the Wikieup xenoliths including gabbro, pyroxenite, peridotite, wehrlite, and plagioclase peridotite, are all relatively young rocks formed or metasomatized by a relatively recent magmatic episode. Received: 21 May 1996 / Accepted: 23 December 1996     

Mineral chemistry of lava flows from Linga area of the Eastern Deccan Volcanic Province,India

Several basaltic lava flows have been identified in the study area in and around Linga, in the Eastern Deccan Volcanic Province (EDVP) on the basis of distinctly developed structural zones defined by primary volcanic structures such as columnar joints and vesicles. These basaltic lava flows are spatially distributed in four different sectors, viz., (i) Bargona–Gadarwara (BG) sector (ii) Shikarpur–Linga (SL) sector (iii) Arjunvari–Survir Hill (AS) sector and (iv) Kukrachiman–Morand Hill (KM) sector. A three-tier classification scheme has been adopted for the characterization and classification of individual lava flows. Each lava flow consists of a Lower Colonnade Zone (LCZ) overlain by the Entablature Zone (EZ) and Upper Colonnade Zone (UCZ). The LCZ and UCZ grade into a distinct/indistinct Lower Vesicular Zone (LVZ) and Upper Vesicular Zone (UVZ), respectively. The LCZ and UCZ of the flows are characterized by columnar joints while the EZ is marked by multi-directional hackly jointing. The geometry of different joint patterns corresponds to different styles of cooling during solidification of lava flows. Detailed petrographic studies of the investigated lava flows reveal inequigranular phenocrystal basalts characterized by development of phenocrystal phases including plagioclase, clinopyroxene and olivine, whereas groundmass composition is marked by tiny plagioclase, clinopyroxene, opaque mineral and glass. Electron microprobe analyses indicate that the olivine has a wide range ∼Fo₂₂ to Fo₆₆ revealing a wide spectrum of compositional variation. Pyroxene compositions are distinctly designated as Quad pyroxenes. Phenocrystal pyroxenes are mostly diopsidic, while the groundmass pyroxenes mainly correspond to augite with a minor pigeonite component. Pyroxene phenocrysts are characterized by a prominent Ti-enrichment. Phenocrystal plagioclase grains are calcic (An_52.7–An_72.9), whereas groundmass plagioclase are relatively sodic (An_39.2–An_61.6). Groundmass opaque minerals are characteristically found to be Ti–magnetite/ilmenite/pyrophanite. Pyroxene thermometry reveals a temperature span of 850°C to 1280°C for the studied lavas while olivine–clinopyroxene thermometry yields a temperature range from 1040°–1160°C. The variation of temperature for the lava flows is ascribed to their normal cooling history after eruption.     

Compositional controls on spinel clouding and garnet formation in plagioclase of olivine metagabbros,Adirondack Mountains,New York

Olivine metagabbros from the Adirondacks usually contain both clear and spinel-clouded plagioclase, as well as garnet. The latter occurs primarily as the outer rim of coronas surrounding olivine and pyroxene, and less commonly as lamellae or isolated grains within plagioclase. The formation of garnet and metamorphic spinel is dependent upon the anorthite content of the plagioclase. Plagioclase more sodic than An_38±2 does not exhibit spinel clouding, and garnet rarely occurs in contact with plagioclase more albitic than An_36±4. As a result of these compositional controls, the distribution of spinel and garnet mimics and visually enhances original igneous zoning in plagioclase. Most features of the arrangement of clear (unclouded) plagioclase, including the shells or moats of clear plagioclase which frequently occur inside the garnet rims of coronas, can be explained on the basis of igneous zoning. The form and distribution of the clear zones may also be affected by the metamorphic reactions which have produced the coronas, and by redistribution of plagioclase in response to local volume changes during metamorphism.Authors listed alphabeticallyPublished by permission of the Director, New York State Museum, Journal Series Number 299     

Spinel compositional variation in the crustal and mantle lithologies of the Othris ophiolite

Spinels from cumulus and non-cumulus members of the Othris ophiolite display a considerable variation in composition. Cumulus picrites and gabbros contain either a primary chromite and/or a reaction spinel formed by reaction with co-existing silicates (Cr-Al varia tion) or intercumulus liquid (Cr-Fe variation). Non-cumulus peridotites contain spinels which vary along a Cr-Al trend. Harzburgites contain a Cr-spinel and lherzolites a more aluminous spinel. The occurence of gabbroic segregations within the host lherzolite appears to affect the spinel chemistry. Spinels adjacent to these plagioclase—diopside veinlets are richer in aluminium than the spinels scattered within the depleted lherzolite surrounding the veinlet. [Protoclastic harzburgites contain a highly aluminous spinel phase either as an exsolution phase within pyroxenes or as a groundmass spinel.] The Cr-Al variation of the peridotites is believed to have resulted from interaction with interstitial aluminous liquid—in situ basaltic melt from a fused peridotite?     

P–T–t evolution of spinel–cordierite–garnet gneisses from the Sauwald Zone (Southern Bohemian Massif, Upper Austria): is there evidence for two independent late-Variscan low-P/high-T events in the Moldanubian Unit?

The Sauwald Zone, located at the southern rim of the Bohemian Massif in Upper Austria, belongs to the Moldanubian Unit. It exposes uniform biotite + plagioclase ± cordierite paragneisses that formed during the post-collisional high-T/low-P stage of the Variscan orogeny. Rare metapelitic inlayers contain the mineral assemblage garnet + cordierite + green spinel + sillimanite + K-feldspar + plagioclase + biotite + quartz. Mineral chemical and textural data indicate four stages of mineral growth: (1) peak assemblage as inclusions in garnet (stage 1): garnet core + cordierite + green spinel + sillimanite + plagioclase (An_35–65); (2) post-peak assemblages in the matrix (stages 2, 3): cordierite + spinel (brown-green and brown) ± sillimanite ± garnet rim + plagioclase (An_10–45); and (3) late-stage growth of fibrolite, muscovite and albite (An_0–15) during stage 4. Calculation of the P–T conditions of the peak assemblage (stage 1) yields 750–840°C, 0.29–0.53 GPa and for the stage 2 matrix assemblage garnet + cordierite + green spinel + sillimanite + plagioclase 620–730°C, 0.27–0.36 GPa. The observed phase relations indicate a clockwise P–T path, which terminates below 0.38 GPa. The P–T evolution of the Sauwald Zone and the Monotonous Unit are very similar, however, monazite ages of the former are younger (321 ± 9 Ma vs. 334 ± 1 Ma). This indicates that high-T/low-P metamorphism in the Sauwald Zone was either of longer duration or there were two independent phases of late-Variscan low-P/high-T metamorphism in the Moldanubian Unit.     

Pyroxenes from lherzolite inclusions of Itinome-gata,Japan

The lherzolites have recrystallized to plagioclase lherzolites consisting of olvine, pyroxenes, chromian spinel, plagioclase and pargasite at a depth of 20 to 25 km in the uppermost part of the mantle. It is believed that the garnet lherzolites and spinel lherzolites were originally derived from depths of 50–75 km and 30–50 km respectively. The clinopyroxenes contained about 10 mol. % of jadeite and Tschermak's molecules, respectively and the orthopyroxenes also included about 5–10% of Tschermak's component. Transported upward, the garnet was transformed through pyroxene-spinel symplectite to olivine, plagioclase and spinel aggregates, and most of the jadeite amd some Tschermak's components in the pyroxenes formed secondary pyroxenes and pargasite, and finally plagioclase under isochemical conditions.     

La lherzolite à amphibole du gisement de Caussou (Ariège,France)

The Caussou outcrop consists mostly of a spinel-bearing lherzolite with irregular patches of amphibole lherzolite. The characteristic paragenesis of the latter is: forsterite + bronzite+Ti-rich K-bearing pargasite ± diopside, with 10 to 15% amphibole in the rock. Petrographic and chemical analysis of the two types of rocks and their constituent minerals lead to the conclusion that the spinel-lherzolite recrystallized locally as amphibole lherzolite in the presence of a gas phase containing water, and probably Ti and alkali elements as well, at approximately 7 to 8 Kb and 1100° C (for \(P_{{\text{H}}_2 {\text{O}}} = P_{{\text{total}}} \) ). Two hypothesis could account for this local recrystallization:

1. The amphibole lherzolite could represent a subsolidus recrystallization of the spinel lherzolite occuring in the stability field of plagioclase lherzolite at the time of the emplacement.
2. Or, in the same P-T conditions, the Ti-pargasite could precipitate from a liquid of nephelinite composition produced by limited partial melting of the spinel lherzolite.

In either case the original peridotite that produced the two existing types at Caussou could be considered as an undifferentiated fragment of the upper mantle.     

Kinetics of a garnet granulite reaction

It is necessary to understand the mechanisms of disequilibrium reactions in metamorphic rocks in order to (1) model the rate of reaction in response to changing state variables during tectonic process, and (2) interpret the assemblages of natural disequilibrium samples in terms of tectonic history. A sample was selected from an area of known tectonic history to examine in detail and document the kinetics of reaction. The sample preserves evidence of the garnet granulite to gabbro transition.Orthopyroxene and anorthite coronas around garnet and orthopyroxene rims around clinopyroxene are textural observations suggesting the overall reaction: garnet+clinopyroxene+quartz+plagioclase(matrix) orthopyroxene+ anorthite (corona). The disequilibrium nature of reaction is evident from compositional zoning of garnet, some zoning of clinopyroxene, and difference between corona anorthite (An₉₀) and matrix plagioclase (An₃₅).Several texturally-distinguished microenvironments in a single thin section were investigated to determine how components were redistributed during reaction; T and P are assumed to have been the same throughout. The compositional data are best explained by a partial equilibrium model in which orthopyroxene, garnet rims, Fe-rich clinopyroxene, and a hypothetical intergranular fluid approach equilibrium and are not in equilibrium with reactant garnet cores and matrix plagioclase. Corona texture suggests that intergranular diffusion had some effect but the composition data indicate that it was not rate-limiting. The fact that garnet rim compositions are nearly in equilibrium with product phases (with respect to Mg-Fe partitioning) suggests that diffusion in garnet can be considered a rate-limiting reaction step. Combining the differential equation of zoning for this system with mass and volume balance equations of reaction enables one to predict the density change with time by numerical integration.I conclude that comparison of core compositions of zoned minerals in high-grade rocks is meaningful only if a compositional plateau is preserved that can be proven not to be altered by diffusion. Diffusion in pyroxene is apparently too fast at high grade to make relict pyroxenes useful tracers of metamorphic conditions. The rim composition of zoned phases depends on the relative rate of reaction and internal diffusion; the approach of the rim of a reactant phase to equilibrium with products is a measure of the degree to which intragranular diffusion is rate-limiting. In general, this work supports reaction models that assume that intergranular diffusion is rapid and that interface kinetics or intragranular diffusion are usually rate-limiting factors.Reactions controlled by diffusion in garnet are slow geologically. Tectonic hysteresis can be produced because garnet can form in granulite assemblages more rapidly than it is consumed with changing heat flow. The rate of gabbro-garnet granulite transition depends on whether plagioclase reacts by zoning or separate product grains nucleate.     

矿物结构特征对岩浆混合过程的指示： 以新西兰Ruapehu全新世安山岩中的辉石为例

根据矿物结构可以有效的识别开放性体系内的各种岩浆过程,在岩相学研究基础上,对全新世喷发的Ruapehu火山 Whakapapa组安山岩内的辉石斑晶进行了系统的矿物学分析。所研究样品中辉石斑晶以普通辉石及顽火辉石为主,具多样 结构与形态,根据其结构和成分特征可分为3类：（1）骸晶状的辉石（SP型）,具有破碎的、筛孔状外形,核部具有异常高 的FeOT含量,可能为壳源捕掳晶;（2）具均一结构及成分的辉石（HP型）,其内部未显示明显的熔融结构,形成于岩浆房 的内部,基本未受基性岩浆混合的影响;（3）具核-幔-边结构的 “绿核”辉石（GCP型）,其幔部相比核部及边部具有更 高的En、Mg#、CaO、MgO和Cr2O3含量以及更低的FeOT、TiO2含量。且GCP辉石边部相比核部更加富CaO、MgO而贫 FeOT、TiO2。GCP型辉石幔部（边部）与核部形成明显的反环带结构,两者界线清晰,成分上存在突变,是偏基性岩浆注 入岩浆房边界层时,岩浆发生大规模扩散、混合之前形成于脉状岩浆“通道”内;而GCP辉石边部则结晶于混合后的岩浆 之中。辉石的结构及岩相学特征暗示,安山岩在喷发前经历了岩浆混合及地壳物质的混染,混合过程主要发生于地壳浅部 岩浆房的边界层及粥状层内,且这种混合过程可能是诱发火山喷发的重要机制之一。