Geochemistry of granitic rocks from the Hercynian Sardinia-Corsica batholith: Implication for magma genesis

The Sardinia-Corsica batholith was structured in the late stage of the Hercynian orogenesis. The granitoids intrude mainly metamorphic complexes grading from zeolite up to amphibolite facies. The batholith is heterogeneous consisting of complexes with different affinity, chemical composition, age and degree of deformation. The present paper reports major-and trace-element data for selected samples coming only from Sardinian outcrops.

The rocks range from gabbro-diorite to tonalite, monzogranite and leucogranite. The two latter lithologies are the most abundant, gabbrodiorites and tonalites occurring in minor amounts and mainly in northern-central Sardinia. Over 75% of the granitoids contain microgranular enclaves of magmatic origin. The age of the rocks falls in the interval between 307 and 281 Ma. Sr isotope initial ratios are high, ranging between 0.7083 and 0.7107.

REE, Rb, Sr, Ba, Zr, Th, Ta, Hf, Co and Sc abundances were determined on selected samples. All elements follow three types of trends vs. CaO, which is used as differentiation index. Two trends show positive and negative correlations while the third one shows a bell-shaped pattern. LREE have different degrees of enrichment (La = 20−120× ch) and HREE show variable fractionation with prevailing (Tb/Yb)_n<1. The two peraluminous samples have very different geochemical characteristics.

From the geochemical point of view all the rocks coming from the Sardinian segment of the batholith display a typical calc-alkaline chemical character showing the imprint of both “normal and mature” continental arc geodynamic environments.

Geochemical trends suggest some petrogenetic constraints. The complete sequence of differentiation can be neither the product of crystal/liquid fractionation processes starting from a single basic parent magma nor the product of an AFC process. On the contrary, a two-stage model can be proposed. In the first stage a mafic melt of subcrustal origin interacted with monzogranitic magmas derived from 25–35% degree of melting of a crustal biotite amphibolitic source. Such a mixing process acted together with a crystal/liquid fractionation process to give tonalites and granodiorites. In the second stage lesser degrees of melting of the same crustal source could give the late-stage leucogranitic masses.

A possible scenario, able to take into account field and geochemical data, can be suggested for the genesis of this suite and we propose it as a working model for future investigations.     

Geochemistry and petrology of lavas from the submarine flanks of Réunion Island (western Indian Ocean): implications for magma genesis and the mantle source

Summary Major and trace element data as well as Sr and Nd isotope compositions for submarine lavas from the flanks of Réunion island are reported. The submarine basalts of the island have major and trace element compositions similar to those of the subaerial basaltic rocks. This implies that no compositional change occurs in the shield-building magmas of the two Réunion volcanoes. Fractional crystallization of lavas from both Piton de la Fournaise and Piton des Neiges begin well within the mantle at pressures up to 1 GPa which is significantly deeper than the crust-mantle boundary at about 12 km depth. The Réunion primary magmas form at an average depth of about 4 GPa in agreement with the thickness of the plate beneath the island. Lavas from both Réunion volcanoes have similar trace element compositions with the exception of lower Th/Ba for Piton des Neiges which implies a relatively homogeneous plume source during, at least, the last 2 Ma. The lack of any variation in the partial melting processes during this time span implies a thermal steady state of the plume centre. The Réunion lavas form either from a source that was enriched by partial melting or that contains recycled enriched MORB. Based on MORB- like Ce/Pb and Nb/U ratios an influence by fluid-metasomatized mantle, sediment or continental crustal material in the Réunion source appears unlikely. Received August 15, 2000; revised version accepted June 21, 2001     

雷州英峰岭玄武岩中单斜辉石巨晶的地球化学和地幔交代作用

雷州半岛英峰岭火山岩中单斜辉石巨晶以低Mg^#值(0．62—0．47)、贫重稀土(HREE)和富Al2O3、TiO2、Na2O和中稀土(MREE)为特征，并具有明显的成分变化。随着Mg^#降低，单斜辉石的Al：O，(11．58～6．97％，)、TiO，(2．28～1．06％)和HREE逐渐降低。这种变化特征不同于世界上大多数辉石巨晶的变化规律。随着演化辉石巨晶的大多数不相容元素，如Nb、Sr、Zr、Hf和LREE—MREE逐渐增加。低的Mg^#值和Ni、Co、Cr含量指示巨晶母岩浆是一种强烈演化的残余岩浆(Mg^#=0．27～0．35)。分离结晶模拟表明本研究最富镁的巨晶(Lz-54)的母岩浆很可能是由拉斑玄武质岩浆经70～80％，以单斜辉石为主的结晶分异后形成。而本研究的其它辉石巨晶是该母岩浆在不同演化阶段(25～80％)分离结晶的产物。分离矿物中除了单斜辉石还包含了大量的石榴子石、斜长石和钛铁矿。温压计算表明英峰岭巨晶是高温岩浆在56～60km深的上地幔的结晶产物(r=1290℃～1130℃，P=1.73～1．83GPa)，这一深度有利于石榴子石结晶。对比不同地区辉石巨晶的成分特征和形成条件，作者指出不同地区单斜辉石巨晶各种元素的不同变化规律主要受母岩浆成分和结晶条件控制。巨晶母岩浆在地幔结晶时对围岩橄榄岩进行了不同程度的交代作用。早期贫流体的岩浆对橄榄岩的交代作用较弱，只有Sr，La等强活动性元素被明显改变；晚期富流体(F，P，H2O)岩浆对橄榄岩的交代作用强烈，大多数元素被明显改变。因此，可以推断交代熔体中流体的含量是影响地幔橄榄岩交代作用的关键。     

Morocco,North Africa: a Dyke Swarm Bonanza

正Morocco hosts a Dyke Swarm Bonanza!Remarkable mafic dyke and sill swarms(plumbing system of Large Igneous Provinces,LIPs)have been recognized in the Sahara and in most inliers in the Anti-Atlas of southern     

Comparative study of ultramafic xenoliths and associated lavas from South-Eastern Sicily: nature of the lithospheric mantle and insights on magma genesis

Isotope analyses of lavas from the Hyblean Plateau (SE Sicily) provided first order constraints for the characterization of the relative magma sources, contributing to a better understanding of the tectono-magmatic evolution of the northernmost part of the African plate. To integrate this research, we are currently studying ultramafic xenoliths of mantle provenance exhumed by the Hyblean alkaline volcanics. These mainly consist of anhydrous spinel-facies peridotites and subordinate pyroxenites/websterites. The paragenesis of the latter is extremely variable in terms of modal proportions and mineral composition, with clinopyroxene composition ranging from Cr-diopside to Al-augite, and variable amount of spinel ± garnet. New Sr-Nd isotopic analyses carried out on hand-picked (and leached) clinopyroxenes indicate that peridotites have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ranging from 0.70288 to 0.70309, and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd from 0.51287 to 0.51292. This Sr-Nd isotopic fingerprint approaches that of the HIMU mantle end-member, regionally referred as EAR (European Astenospheric Reservoir) to emphasize a connection with a sub-lithospheric metasomatic component ubiquitous throughout Europe, the Mediterranean area and North Africa. The Sr-Nd analyses of pyroxenites also reveal an EAR affinity, but are slightly distinct from those of peridotites. They display ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ranging between 0.70305–0.70326 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd between 0.51292–0.51299, overlapping the composition typical of the Hyblean alkaline lavas. This possibly implies that pyroxene-rich domain significantly contributed to the genesis of the Hyblean magmas. Therefore, the presented Sr-Nd isotopic ratios suggest that the role of the pyroxene-rich mantle portions was more important than commonly considered in the petrogenetic models of Hyblean magmas. This scenario would be coherent with recent evidences highlighting the importance of pyroxenites (together with peridotites) as contributing sources to basalt generation.     

The role of oxidation-reduction and C-H-O fluids in determining melting conditions and magma compositions in the upper mantle

High pressure experimental studies of the melting of lherzolitic upper mantle in the absence of carbon and hydrogen have shown that the lherzolite solidus has a positive dP/dT and that the percentage melting increases quite rapidly above the solidus. In contrast, the presence of carbon and hydrogen in the mantle results in a region of ‘incipient’ melting at temperatures below the C,H-free solidus. In this region the presence or absence of melt and the composition of the melt are dependent on the amount and nature of volatiles, particularly the CO₂, H₂O, and CH₄ contents of the potential C-H-O fluid. Under conditions of low (IW to IW + 1 log unit atP ∼ 20–35kb), fluids such as CH₄+H₂O and CH₄+H₂ inhibit melting, having a low solubility in silicate melts. Under these conditions, carbon and hydrogen are mobile elements in the upper mantle. At slightly higher oxygen fugacity (IW+2 log units,P∼20–35 kb) fluids in equilibrium with graphite or diamond in peridotite C-H-O are extremely water-rich. Carbon is thus not mobile in the mantle in this range and the melting and phase relations for the upper mantle lherzolite approximate closely to the peridotite-H₂O system. Pargasitic amphibole is stable to solidus temperatures in fertile lherzolite compositions and causes a distinctive peridotite solidus, the ‘dehydration solidus’, with a marked change in slope (a ‘back bend’) at 29–30kb due to instability of pargasite at high pressure. Intersections of geothermal gradients with the peridotite-H₂O solidi define the boundary between lithosphere (subsolidus) and asthenosphere (incipient melt region). This boundary is thus sensitive to changes in [affecting CH₄:H₂O:CO₂ ratios] and to the amount of H₂O and carbon (CO₂, CH₄) present. At higher conditions (IW + 3 log units), CO₂-rich fluids occur at low pressures but there is a marked depression of the solidus at 20–21 kb due to intersection with the carbonation reaction, producing the low temperature solidus for dolomite amphibole lherzolite (T∼925°C, 21 to >31kb). Melting of dolomite (or magnesite) amphibole lherzolite yields primary sodic dolomitic carbonatite melt with low H₂O content, in equilibrium with amphibole garnet lherzolite. The complexity of melting in peridotite-C-H-O provides possible explanations for a wide range of observations on lithosphere/asthenosphere relations, on mantle melt and fluid compositions, and on processes of mantle metasomatism and magma genesis in the upper mantle.     

He,Pb, Sr and Nd isotope constraints on magma genesis and mantle heterogeneity beneath young Pacific seamounts

Pb, Sr and Nd isotope variations are correlated in diverse lavas erupted at small seamounts near the East Pacific Rise. Tholeiites are isotopically indistinguishable from MORB (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.1–18.5; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7023–0.7028; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51326-0.51308); associated alkali basalts always show more radiogenic Pb and Sr signatures (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.8–19.2; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7029–0.7031) and less radiogenic Nd (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd=0.51289–0.51301). The isotopic variability covers 80% of the variability for Pacific MORB, due to the presence of small-scale heterogeneity in the underlying mantle. Isotope compositions also correlate with trace element ratios such as La/Sm. Tholeiites at these seamounts have ³He/⁴He between 7.8–8.7 R _A(R _A= atmospheric ratio), also indistinguishable from MORB. He trapped in vesicles of alkali basalts, released by crushing in vacuo, has low ³He/⁴He (1.2–2.6 R)_Ain conjunction with low helium concentrations ([He]<5×10^–8 ccSTP/g). In many cases post-eruptive radiogenic ingrowth has produced He isotope disequilibrium between vesicles and glass in the alkali basalts; subatmospheric ³He/⁴He ratios characterize the He dissolved in the glass which is released by melting the crushed powders. The narrow range of ³He/⁴He in the vesicles of the alkali basalts suggests that low ³He/⁴He is a source characteristic, but given their low [He] and high (U + Th), pre-eruptive radiogenic ingrowth cannot be excluded as a cause for low inherited ³He/⁴He ratios. Pb, Sr and Nd isotope compositions in lavas erupted at Shimada Seamount, an isolated volcano on 20 m.y. old seafloor at 17°N, are distinctly different from other seamounts in the East Pacific (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.8–19.0, ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr0.7048 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd0.51266). Relatively high ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (15.6–15.7) indicates ancient (>2 Ga) isolation of the source from the depleted upper mantle, similar to Dupal components which are more prevalent in the southern hemisphere mantle. ³He/⁴He at Shimada Seamount is between 3.9–4.8 R _A. Because the helium concentrations range up to 1.5×10^–6, the low ³He/⁴He can not be due to radiogenic accumulation of ⁴He in the magma for reasonable volcanic evolution times. The low ³He/⁴He may be due to the presence of enriched domains within the lithosphere with high (U + Th)/He ratios, possibly formed during its accretion near the ridge. Alternatively, the low ³He/⁴He may be an inherent characteristic of an enriched component in the mantle beneath the East Pacific. Collectively, the He-Pb-Sr-Nd isotope systematics at East Pacific seamounts suggest that the range of isotope compositions present in the mantle is more readily sampled by seamount and island volcanism than by axial volcanism. Beneath thicker lithosphere away from the ridge axis, smaller degrees of melting in the source regions are less efficient in averaging the chemical characteristics of small-scale heterogeneities.     

Geochemistry of Dharwar ultramafics and the Archaean mantle

Geochemical and petrological studies on serpentinised ultramafics of Kadakola, Mysore State, India, indicate that the Archaean mantle beneath the Indian Shield was of peridotitic in nature. This protomantle in the Archaean period was undifferentiated with higher concentrations of siderophile and transitional elements.     

Longitudinal Petrochemical Variation in the Mackenzie Dyke Swarm, Northwestern Canadian Shield

Previous magnetic fabric studies of the giant, radiating, 1.27Ga Mackenzie dyke swarm concluded that flow patterns withinthe dykes support the concept of a mantle plume that is centredbeneath the swarm focus and supplies magma to overlying floodbasalts and developing radial dykes. To examine petrochemicalimplications of the model, compositional variation within thebasalt sequence is compared with that of the dykes along a ‘streamline’ of the swarm between 400 km (just beneath the lavas)and 2100 km from its focus and in a parallel segment farthereast. Evolution of tholeiitic magmas of the main sampled streamis recorded in the upward change of composition in the lavasequence from mg-numbers of 70 to 35. Underlying (feeder) dykeshave a comparable range, but outward along the swarm the rangeof compositions narrows progressively towards its more evolvedend, and at 2100 km, dyke compositions match those in upperlevels of the lava sequence. REE and other trace element abundancesshow a similar contraction in range, and a shift towards moreevolved compositions, both upward in the lava sequence and outwardalong the swarm. Apart from complications owing to crustal contamination,fundamental attributes of the magma (e.g. Zr/Y) change littlewith stratigraphic level or distance from the focus. The moreeasterly stream differs in its high proportion of alkalic compositions,suggesting the existence of distinctive subswarms. Normativemineral variation plots are consistent with fractionation inhigh- (main stream) to low-level (eastern stream) crustal magmachambers. Mackenzie magmatism is compatible with the plume model.Domal uplift related to plume activity initiated central grabencollapse and outward-extending radial fractures, thus providingaccess to plume-derived magmas and loci for magma chamber anddyke swarm development. Multiple magma chambers, forming aroundthe apex, each fed relatively independent subswarms of dykes.Uplift, accompanying fractionation, provided increasing magmatichead by which fractionating magmas could be dispatched to successivelygreater distances. This, and crystal settling in transport,accounts for the increasingly evolved nature of dykes with distancefrom the source. KEY WORDS: mantle plume; flood basalts; dyke swarm; petrochemistry; Precambrian ^*Corresponding author.     

Age and Geochemical Characteristics of a Mafic Dyke Swarm in the Archaean Vestfold Block, Antarctica: Inferences about Proterozoic Dyke Emplacement in Gondwana

Archaean gneisses in the Vestfold Block, Antarctica are cutby abundant tholeiite and rare alkaline dykes. At least fivegenerations of dykes have been recognized on the basis of intrusiverelationships, petrography and geochemistry. Rb-Sr isotopicdata indicate that intrusion of the tholeiites occurred overa period of c. 1000 Ma, during three clearly defined events(viz. c. 2400, 1800, and 1400 Ma). Dykes in the southwesternpart of the Vestfold Block were recrystallized during a lateProterozoic (c. 1000-1100 Ma) high-grade event. Mineral-wholerock Rb-Sr isotopic data show that the terrain was also variablyaffected by an even younger thermal event c. 500 Ma ago whichis correlated with the Pan-African Orogeny. Isotopic, major element and trace element data suggest thatthe tholeiite dyke suites were derived by varying degrees ofpartial melting of compositionally distinct, in some cases ratherheterogeneous subcontinental mantle source regions, combinedwith variations in the extent and nature of crystal fractionation.Extensive crustal contamination does not appear to have playeda significant role in determining compositional trends withinthe different suites, although minor contamination cannot bediscounted. The oldest dykes, a diverse group of high-Mg tholeiites,and the youngest, c. 1400 Ma tholeiites, appear to have beenderived from isotopically similar source regions, which werenevertheless characterized by quite different abundances ofhighly incompatible elements (Pb, Rb, Ba, Th, K, La, and Ce).1800 Ma tholeiites were derived from a more radiogenic mantlesource region, characterized by long-term enrichment in incompatibleelements. Such enrichment is interpreted to be a consequenceof metasomatism of their mantle source region. 2400 Ma high-Mg dykes in Enderby Land have virtually identicalchemical and isotopic compositions to those in the VestfoldBlock, indicating generation from a similar source region; however,1200 Ma tholeiites were apparently derived from a more radiogenicsource region like that of the c. 1800 Ma Vestfold Block dykes.Hence, both Sr isotopic and geochemical data indicate that theancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath Gondwanawas extremely heterogeneous.     

津巴布韦大岩墙层状铬铁矿地球化学特征及地质意义

津巴布韦大岩墙中的层状铬铁矿储量丰富,易于开采且矿石质量较高。本文通过对产自不同次岩浆房的铬铁矿样品进行电子探针分析,表明铬铁矿的地球化学数据较为集中,TiO_2含量较低,Mg#变化不大,Cr#逐渐升高,表现出随着温度和压力的降低,铬铁矿化学成分向着富Cr和富Fe的方向演变。综合分析表明该层状铬铁矿是在拉张环境背景下,由于深大断裂诱发深部地幔发生部分熔融,形成的基性-超基性岩浆快速上涌,随着温度和压力的逐渐降低,由分离结晶作用导致铬铁矿矿物的堆晶沉淀形成层状矿体。     

Geochemistry and genesis of heavy oil in the Erlian Basin

1Introduction StudyonheavyoilintheErlianBasin,NorthChi na,hasbeenreportedbysomescholars(DouLironget al.,1995;TangJietingetal.,1992),butthegene sisandformingmechanismofheavyoilneedtobefur therstudied.Thepapersyntheticallydiscussedthege ochemistry,genesisandinspissationseriesofheavyoil intheErlianBasinbaseduponalargenumberofsta tisticsdataonthephysicalpropertiesofdifferenttypes ofheavyoil,theGCanalysesofsaturatedandaromatic hydrocarbons,andtheGC MSanalysesofsteranesand terpanes. T…     

Fundamentals of the mantle carbonatite concept of diamond genesis

In the mantle carbonatite concept of diamond genesis, the data of a physicochemical experiment and analytical mineralogy of inclusions in diamond conform well and solutions to the following genetic problems are generalized: (1) we substantiate that upper mantle diamond-forming melts have peridotite/eclogite–carbonatite–carbon compositions, melts of the transition zone have (wadsleyite ? ringwoodite)–majorite–stishovite–carbonatite–carbon compositions, and lower mantle melts have periclase/wüstite–bridgmanite–Ca-perovskite–stishovite–carbonatite–carbon compositions; (2) we plot generalized diagrams of diamondforming media illustrating the variable compositions of growth melts of diamonds and paragenetic phases, their genetic relationships with mantle matter, and classification relationships between primary inclusions; (3) we study experimentally equilibrium diagrams of syngenesis of diamonds and primary inclusions characterizing the diamond nucleation and growth conditions and capture of paragenetic and xenogenic minerals; (4) we determine the fractional phase diagrams of syngenesis of diamonds and inclusions illustrating regularities in the ultrabasic–basic evolution and paragenetic transitions in diamond-forming systems of the upper and lower mantle. We obtain evidence for physicochemically similar melt–solution ways of diamond genesis at mantle depths with different mineral compositions.     

Emplacement of the Cleveland Dyke: Evidence from Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Physical Modelling

The igneous rocks of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province(BTVP) comprise intrusive central complexes and associated lavafields in northwest Scotland and northern Ireland. These centresare associated with linear dyke swarms which are radial aroundthe major central complexes. The most extensive dyke swarm isrelated to the Mull intrusive complex and includes the Clevelanddyke, which appears to extend some 430 km from Mull throughthe Scottish Midland Valley (SMV) to the coast of northeastEngland. The dyke may have been emplaced by lateral magma migrationfrom Mull, by vertical magma migration, or by a combinationof these processes associated with the emplacement of the Mullcentre and the presence of a regional stress field in northernBritain. Petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical data for samplescollected across and along the Cleveland dyke have been usedto evaluate its petrogenesis and emplacement mechanism. Thesegment of the dyke north of, and along, the Southern UplandsFault, the southern boundary of the SMV, is not comagmatic withthat to the south, which is now defined as the Cleveland dykesensu stricto. The Cleveland dyke is an olivine-free, plagioclase-and pyroxene-phyric basaltic andesite. Plagioclase mineralogyand bulk composition indicate that it experienced a complexmagmatic history involving polybaric fractional crystallizationand minor crustal contamination. Despite this complex evolution,the dyke magma is relatively homogeneous and shows chemicalcharacteristics closely similar to tholeiitic rocks from Mull.The data substantiate lateral emplacement from this BVTP centre,rather than by vertical emplacement through heterogeneous lithosphere. Numerical modelling of dyke dynamics is consistent with emplacementof the Cleveland dyke as a single pulse of magma from the Mullcentre, flowing in a manner transitional between laminar andturbulent conditions. According to this model, the dyke (volumec. 85 km³ was initiated in a large magma chamber below Mullsubject to a small excess magmatic pressure. Lateral migrationat relatively high velocity (1–5 ms^–1) caused emplacementof the dyke in 1–5 days. Following emplacement, minorvertical ascent of magma may have contributed to the local enechelon distribution of dyke segments.     

On the composition and origin depth of basaltic magma in the upper mantle

The depths of mantle melting zones can be constrained by forward (in terms of physicochemical thermodynamics) or inverse (in terms of equilibrium thermodynamics) modeling. However, there is discrepancy in this respect between fluid-dynamic models of decompression melting in convecting upper mantle and thermodynamic models of basaltic magma sources beneath mid-ocean ridges. We investigate the causes of the mismatch in melting depth predictions with reference to the magmatic systems of the Basin and Range Province in the western margin of North America. The inverse solutions turn out to represent melts from different substrates (depth facies) in the lithospheric mantle, while modeling decompression melting in convecting fertile upper mantle refers to the depths the faults in spreading zones never reach. The discrepancy between forward and inverse solutions may be due to the fact that the respective depth estimates correspond to different levels of the same mantle–crust magmatic systems.     

Geochemical Characteristics and Tectonic Significance of the Kecun Dyke Swarm in the Jiuhuashan Geopark

Please refer to the attachment(s) for more details.     

Primary Ca-rich carbonatite magma and carbonate-silicate-sulphide liquid immiscibility in the upper mantle

A primary carbonate phase with Ca/(Ca+Mg) in the range 0.85–0.95 has been identified in a metasomatized, depleted harzburgite nodule from Montana Clara Island, Canary Islands; textural relations show that this carbonate represents a quenched liquid. Although magnesian carbonate melts have been described from upper mantle peridotites, this is the first reported occurrence of a primary magma within peridotite nodules which has the composition of calciocarbonatite, by far the most common carbonatite type occurring in crustal complexes. The carbonate in the Montana Clara harzburgite host is restricted to wehrlitic alteration zones and is intimately associated with a second generation of minerals, mainly olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel, with glass of syenitic composition, and with Fe−Cu-rich sulphides. The metasomatic assemblage was formed by reaction of a sodiumbearing dolomitic melt, derived from a somewhat deeper level in the upper mantle, with the harzburgite mineral assemblage at a pressure of 15 kbars, or lower. As a result of the reaction the residual carbonatite melt became more enriched in calcium. The calciocarbonatite and sulphide phases almost invariably form globules in the silicate glass, indicating the existence of three immiscible liquids under upper mantle conditions. Several alkaline complexes contain carbonatites occurring with syenitic rock types and its seems feasible that the formation of such close associations might have been influenced by processes of liquid immiscibility which took place under upper mantle conditions. Editorial responsibility: I. Parsons     

Isotopic characteristics of potassic rocks: evidence for the involvement of subducted sediments in magma genesis

The potassic igneous rock suite (with molar K₂O/Na₂O > 1) can be divided into an “orogenic” subgroup that occur in subduction-related tectonic settings and an “anorogenic” sub-group that are confined to stable continental settings. Representatives of both sub-groups possess trace element and isotopic features consistent with the contamination of their magma sources by incompatible element rich and isotopically evolved “metasomatic” components. It is argued here that these metasomatic components are principally derived from subducted lithosphere, including subducted sediments. Most examples of orogenic potassic magmatism (e.g. Italian potassic rocks, Spanish lamproites, Sunda arc leucitites) have trace-element and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic characteristics consistent with the contamination of their mantle sources by a component derived from marine sediments. Anorogenic sub-group potassic magmas have generally similar incompatible trace element and Sr and Nd isotopic characteristics to those of orogenic potassic magmas, but many examples have unusual Pb isotopic compositions with unradiogenic ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb. Modern marine sediments characteristically have low U/Pb ratios and the unradiogenic ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of anorogenic potassic magmas may have evolved during long-term storage of subducted sediments (or components derived from them) within the subcontinental lithosphere. These unusual Pb isotopic compositions require substantial time periods (> 1 Ga) to have elapsed between the fractionation events lowering the U/Pb ratio (i.e. erosion and sedimentation at the Earth's surface) and subsequent potassic magmatism and it is therefore not surprising that most examples of anorogenic potassic magmatism are not associated with recent subduction processes. Although the eruption of potassic magmas is commonly related to rifting or hotspot activity, these processes do not necessarily play an important role in the genesis of the unusual sources from which potassic magmas are derived.