Diagenetic and thermal history of the Jurassic-Tertiary succession of the Zagros Mountains in the Dezful Embayment (SW Iran): constraints from fluid inclusions

To constraint the diagenetic and thermal history in the Mesozoic-Tertiary succession of the Zagros Fold-Belt, a study was performed on fluid inclusions trapped in intergranular, vug, and fracture-filling cements in Jurassic to Miocene outcrop samples collected along the Anneh and Fahliyan Valleys of Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. Petrographic observations showed at least two systems of fractures that postdate intergranular cementation. Two different types of oil-filled fluid inclusions occur in the intergranular cements and in the first fracture network, but they are absent in the second fracture network. Microthermometry of fluid inclusions was used to determine the temperature and salinity of fluids responsible for mineral precipitation. Within intergranular cements and calcite fillings the oldest fractures, precipitation occurred from high saline fluids in a temperature range of 60–120°C, depending on the stratigraphic depth. The strong correlation between fluid inclusions temperature and stratigraphic depth suggests that the intergranular cementation and the first fracture-filling event occurred prior to structural deformation. Furthermore, this correlation indicates a relatively constant paleogeothermal gradient at the time of cement precipitation of about 28°C/Km. On the contrary, fluid inclusions trapped in cements within the second fracture network lack oil and contain freshwater trapped at low temperatures that do not correlate to the stratigraphic position. This suggests second fracturing event occurred after oil migration and during or after deformation of the Zagros Fold-Belt, when the samples were in a near-surface position.     

Structure and chemistry of grain boundaries in deformed, olivine + basalt and partially molten lherzolite aggregates: evidence of melt-free grain boundaries

Olivine grain boundaries in deformed aggregates of olivine + basalt and partially molten lherzolite were analyzed with various electron microscopy techniques to test for the presence of thin (0.5-10 nm) intergranular melt films. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM) observations reveal that most of the boundaries do not contain a thin amorphous phase, although a small fraction of grains are separated by relatively thick (~1 µm) layers of melt. However, due to the anisotropy of the olivine-melt interfacial energy, melt often tapers from a triple junction into an adjoining grain boundary over a length of 1 to 2 µm, giving an effective dihedral angle of only ~2°. The chemistry of olivine-olivine grain boundaries was analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) profiling by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with a probe size of <1.5 nm. Ca, Al and Ti segregate to grain boundaries forming enriched regions of <7 nm width. Although these elements are concentrated in the glass phases, the presence of glass films with the same chemical composition as the bulk glass phases cannot explain concentrations of other elements such as Si and Al at the boundaries. Combined with the HREM results, the STEM/EDX profiling demonstrates the existence of chemical segregation between solid grains but the absence of thin, grain boundary melt films. Additionally, if melt films exist along all of the grain boundaries, as reported for similar samples by other groups, the rock should be substantially weakened. Creep experiments on the partially molten rocks analyzed in this study reveal little weakening at small melt contents, consistent with our observations of melt-free grain boundaries.     

Pegmatite fluids of different origins and their implications for mineralization

Characteristics of ore-forming fluids as inferred from detailed studies of inclusions indicate that pegmatites may have different origins.For example,the granitic pegmatite at Mufushan is originated from magma differentiation at 1100-200℃,while the No.3 Pegmatite Vein in Xinjiang may owe its origin to a pegmatitic magma produced via metamorphic anatexis at 1140-200℃.Pegmatite fluids of the above two types are a melt-liquid system and may evolve into a solid-melt or solid-liquid system that would have a critical bearing on metasomatism and intergranular solutions.The Minxi pegmatite,on the oter hand,resulted from metamorphic differentiation,with its fluid(formed at 400-180℃）exhibiting many features of metamorphism.Pegmatites of different origins are distributed in tectonic units of different characters and are different bot in the nature of ore-foming fluid and in the source of ore-metals.This concept of polygene launches a challenge to the traditional belief that pegmatite is exclusively originated from magma differentiation and may be helphfou for the establishment of a new theory of pegmatite genesis.     

Rock—Forming and Ore—Forming Temperatures of Lianhuashan Tungsten Deposit,Guangdong Province

The Lianhuashan tungsten deposit occurs in the volcanic terrain in the coastal area of Southeast China,where rhyolite,quartz porphyry and granite consitute a complee magmatic series.The orebodies are located in the endo-and exo-contacts between the quartz porphyry and the metasandstone of the Xiaoping coal measues.Hongenization temperatures of melt inclusions in zircon and quartz are 1100℃and 1050℃ for rhyolite,1000℃ and 860℃for quartz porphyry,and 950-1000℃and 820℃ for granite,respectively,demonstrating that the rockforming temperatures dropped successively from the eruptive to the intrusive rocks and that the homogenization temperatures of melt inclusions in zircon are 50-180℃higher than those in quartz.Homogenization temperatures of gas-liquid inclusions in quartz are 230-520℃（mostly 230-270℃）for quartz porphyry,200-450℃（mostly 200-360℃）for ore-bearing quartz veins,150-210℃for granite 170-200℃ for the vein quartz in it.Quartz from the quartz porphyry and from the ore-earing quartz veins show similar characteristics in inclusion type and homogenization temperature,indicating that intergranular solutions must have been formed upon cooling of magma and that ore-forming solutions for the tungstem mineralization were evolved mainly from ore-bearing intergranular solutions in the quartz porphyry.     

Crystallization temperature of wyomingite from Leucite Hills

Wyomingite collected from Leucite Hills is composed mainly of leucite, diopside, phlogopite, and small amounts of apatite, calcite, magnetite and rare amphibole, and is characterized by very high content of potash. Thermal experiments at atmospheric pressure indicate that the liquidus phase is always diopside with liquidus temperature of 1320 °C, and solidus temperature is about 1000 °C. Various kinds of melt inclusions are abundant in all constituent minerals. They comprise mono-phase (glass only), two-phase (gas+glass), three-phase (gas+glass+one crystalline phase) and multi-phase (gas+glass+more than two crystalline phases) inclusions. Thermal experiments have been made on these inclusions in phlogopite, diopside, and leucite in order to estimate the temperature of crystallization by homogenizing these inclusions. The results show that the crystallization of wyomingite began with formation of phlogopite accompanied by diopside at 1270 °C. Although diopside ceased crystallization at 1220 °C recurrent crystallization of phlogopite was noticed between 1120 ° and 1040 °C. Leucite crystallized out abundantly between 1250 ° and 1150 °C. Complete solidification of wyomingite occurred at about 1000 °C.     

Dehydration melting of tonalites. Part II. Composition of melts and solids

 Dehydration melting of tonalitic compositions (phlogopite or biotite-plagioclase-quartz assemblages) is investigated within a temperature range of 700–1000°C and pressure range of 2–15 kbar. The solid reaction products in the case of the phlogopite-plagioclase(An₄₅)-quartz starting material are enstatite, clinopyroxene and potassium feldspar, with amphiboles occurring occasionally. At 12 kbar, zoisite is observed below 800°C, and garnet at 900°C. The reaction products of dehydration melting of the biotite (Ann₅₀)-plagioclase (An₄₅)-quartz assemblage are melt, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, amphibole and potassium feldspar. At pressures > 8 kbar and temperatures below 800°C, epidote is also formed. Almandine-rich garnet appears above 10 kbar at temperatures ≥ 750°C. The composition of melts is granitic to granodioritic, hence showing the importance of dehydration melting of tonalites for the formation of granitic melts and granulitic restites at pressure-temperature conditions within the continental crust. The melt compositions plot close to the cotectic line dividing the liquidus surfaces between quartz and potassium feldspar in the haplogranite system at 5 kbar and a _{H 2O} = 1. The composition of the melts changes with the composition of the starting material, temperature and pressure. With increasing temperature, the melt becomes enriched in Al₂O₃ and FeO+MgO. Potash in the melt is highest just when biotite disappears. The amount of CaO decreases up to 900°C at 5 kbar whereas at higher temperatures it increases as amphibole, clinopyroxene and more An-component dissolve in the melt. The Na₂O content of the melt increases slightly with increase in temperature. The composition of the melt at temperatures > 900°C approaches that of the starting assemblage. The melt fraction varies with composition and proportion of hydrous phases in the starting composition as well as temperature and pressure. With increasing modal biotite from 20 to 30 wt%, the melt proportion increases from 19.8 to 22.3 vol.% (850°C and 5 kbar). With increasing temperature from 800 to 950°C (at 5 kbar), the increase in melt fraction is from 11 to 25.8 vol.%. The effect of pressure on the melt fraction is observed to be relatively small and the melt proportion in the same assemblage decreases at 850°C from 19.8 vol.% at 5 kbar to 15.3 vol.% at 15 kbar. Selected experiments were reversed at 2 and 5 kbar to demonstrate that near equilibrium compositions were obtained in runs of longer duration. Received: 27 December 1995 / Accepted: 7 May 1996     

Calcium self-diffusion in diopside at high temperature: implications for transport properties

We have investigated ⁴⁴Ca self-diffusion in natural diopside single crystals (containing ∼2 atomic % Fe) at temperatures up to 1320 °C (i.e. 30 °C below the nominal melting point). Oxygen fugacity was controlled by gaseous mixtures. Diffusion profiles ranging from ∼50 to 500 nm were analysed by Rutherford Back-Scattering Spectrometry (RBS). The present results are complementary to previous studies, and show that in both synthetic (Fe-poor) and natural (Fe-rich) diopside, there are two different diffusion regimes for Ca with a transition at ∼1230±15 °C. Below this temperature diffusion is characterised by an activation enthalpy of ∼284±10 kJ/mol, while at higher temperatures it increases up to ∼1006±75 kJ/mol. These regimes are proposed to be respectively extrinsic and intrinsic. For the intrinsic regime Ca self-diffusion may involve Ca-Frenkel point defects. These are pairs of a vacancy on a M₂ site and a calcium cation on an interstitial (normally unoccupied) site. The concentration of such point defects depends only on temperature, and it is especially important at very high temperatures. The activation enthalpy for intrinsic diffusion may represent the half defect formation enthalpy plus the migration enthalpy for movement through interstitial sites. For the extrinsic regime we propose Ca self-diffusion to involve extrinsic interstitial point defects with concentration proportional to ()^{–0.19±0.03}. We suggest that for both regimes, Ca diffusion involves the well known M₃ sites in the octahedral layers, as well as sites in the tetrahedral layers, that we call M_4. These sites are especially convenient to explain the observed isotropic diffusion. Increasing concentration of Ca-Frenkel point defects may be related to the onset of premelting, which affects the thermodynamic properties of Fe-“free” diopside above 1250 °C. In the light of the present results, premelting is also expected to occur in natural Fe-bearing diopside and it could strongly influence its thermodynamic and transport properties. Subsequently, in deep upper mantle conditions (T≈1250 °C–1300 °C) where premelting could occur, diffusional cation exchanges with surrounding phases and diffusion controlled creep might be facilitated. Finally, our diffusion data support a previous suggestion that electrical conductivity may be electronic rather than ionic. Received: 17 December 1997 / Revised, accepted: 17 April 1998     

Principal physicochemical parameters of natural mineral-forming fluids

The authors’ database (which includes data from more than 17500 publications on fluid and melt inclusions in minerals) was used to generalize information on the principal physicochemical parameters of natural mineral-forming fluids (temperature, pressure, density, salinity of aqueous solutions, and the gas composition of the fluids). For 21 minerals, data are reported on the frequency of occurrence of the homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in various temperature ranges, which make it possible to reveal temperature ranges most favorable for the crystallization of these minerals. Data on 5260 determinations were used to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of certain temperature and pressure ranges of natural fluids within the temperature intervals of 20–1200°C and 1–12000 bar. Within these intervals, frequencies of occurrence were evaluated for water-dominated and water-poor or water-free fluid inclusions in minerals. The former are predominant at temperatures below 600°C and pressures below 4000 bar, whereas the latter dominate at temperatures of 600–1200°C and pressures of 4000-12000 bar. Illustrative examples are presented for visually discernible magmatic water that exists as an individual high-density phase in melt inclusions in minerals from various rocks sampled worldwide (in the Caucasus, Italy, Slovakia, United States, Uzbekistan, New Zealand, Chile, and others). Attention is drawn to the fact that extensive data testify to fairly high (>1000–1500 bar) pressures during hydrothermal mineral-forming processes. These pressures are much higher not only than the hydrostatic but also the lithostatic pressures of the overlying rocks. Data on more than 18000 determinations are used to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of certain temperature and salinity ranges of mineral-forming fluids within the intervals of 20–1000°C and 0–80 wt % equiv. NaCl and certain temperature and density ranges of these fluids at 20–1000°C and 0.01–1.90 g/cm³. Information is presented on the gas analysis methods most commonly applied to natural fluids in studying fluid inclusions in minerals in 1965–2007. The average composition of the gaseous phase of natural inclusions is calculated based on more than 3000 Raman spectroscopic analyses (the most frequently used method for analyzing individual inclusions).     

Diffusion creep and partial melting in high temperature mylonitic gneisses, Hope Valley shear zone, New England Appalachians, USA

Field, petrographic, microstructural and isotopic studies of mylonitic gneisses and associated pegmatites along the Hope Valley shear zone in southern Rhode Island indicate that late Palaeozoic deformation (c. 275 Ma) in this zone occurred at very high temperatures (>650 °C). High‐energy cuspate/lobate phase boundary microstructures, a predominance of equant to sub‐equant grains with low internal lattice strain, and mixed phase distributions indicate that diffusion creep was an important and possibly predominant deformation mechanism. Field and petrographic evidence are consistent with the presence of an intergranular melt phase during deformation, some of which collected into syntectonic pegmatites. Rb/Sr isotopic analyses of tightly sampled pegmatites and wall rocks confirm that the pegmatites were derived as partial melts of the immediately adjacent, isotopically heterogeneous mylonitic gneisses. The presence of syntectonic interstitial melts is inferred to have permitted a switch from dislocation creep to melt‐enhanced diffusion creep as the dominant mechanism in these relatively coarse‐grained mylonitic gneisses (200–500 µm syn‐deformational grain size). A switch to diffusion creep would lead to significant weakening, and may explain why the Hope Valley shear zone evolved into a major regional tectonic boundary. This work identifies conditions under which diffusion creep operates in naturally deformed granitic rocks and illuminates the deformation processes involved in the development of a tectonic boundary between two distinct Late Proterozoic (Avalonian) basement terranes.     

Composition and origin of rhyolite melt intersected by drilling in the Krafla geothermal field, Iceland

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project Well 1 was designed as a 4- to 5-km-deep exploration well with the goal of intercepting supercritical hydrothermal fluids in the Krafla geothermal field, Iceland. The well unexpectedly drilled into a high-silica (76.5 % SiO₂) rhyolite melt at approximately 2.1 km. Some of the melt vesiculated while extruding into the drill hole, but most of the recovered cuttings are quenched sparsely phyric, vesicle-poor glass. The phenocryst assemblage is comprised of titanomagnetite, plagioclase, augite, and pigeonite. Compositional zoning in plagioclase and exsolution lamellae in augite and pigeonite record changing crystallization conditions as the melt migrated to its present depth of emplacement. The in situ temperature of the melt is estimated to be between 850 and 920 °C based on two-pyroxene geothermometry and modeling of the crystallization sequence. Volatile content of the glass indicated partial degassing at an in situ pressure that is above hydrostatic (~16 MPa) and below lithostatic (~55 MPa). The major element and minor element composition of the melt are consistent with an origin by partial melting of hydrothermally altered basaltic crust at depth, similar to rhyolite erupted within the Krafla Caldera. Chondrite-normalized REE concentrations show strong light REE enrichment and relative flat patterns with negative Eu anomaly. Strontium isotope values (0.70328) are consistent with mantle-derived melt, but oxygen and hydrogen isotope values are depleted (3.1 and ?118 ‰, respectively) relative to mantle values. The hydrogen isotope values overlap those of hydrothermal epidote from rocks altered by the meteoric-water-recharged Krafla geothermal system. The rhyolite melt was emplaced into and has reacted with a felsic intrusive suite that has nearly identical composition. The felsite is composed of quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, titanomagnetite, and augite. Emplacement of the rhyolite magma has resulted in partial melting of the felsite, accompanied locally by partial assimilation. The interstitial melt in the felsite has similar normalized SiO₂ content as the rhyolite melt but is distinguished by higher K₂O and lower CaO and plots near the minimum melt composition in the granite system. Augite in the partially melted felsite has re-equilibrated to more calcic metamorphic compositions. Rare quenched glass fragments containing glomeroporphyritic crystals derived from the felsite show textural evidence for resorption of alkali feldspar and quartz. The glass in these fragments is enriched in SiO₂ relative to the rhyolite melt or the interstitial felsite melt, consistent with the textural evidence for quartz dissolution. The quenching of these melts by drilling fluids at in situ conditions preserves details of the melt–wall rock interaction that would not be readily observed in rocks that had completely crystallized. However, these processes may be recognizable by a combination of textural analysis and in situ analytical techniques that document compositional heterogeneity due to partial melting and local assimilation.     

The behaviour of boron in a peraluminous granite-pegmatite system and associated hydrothermal solutions: a melt and fluid-inclusion study

Detailed analyses of melt and fluid inclusions combined with an electron-microprobe survey of boron-bearing minerals reveal the evolution of boron in a highly evolved peraluminous granite-pegmatite complex and the associated high- and medium-temperature ore-forming hydrothermal fluids (Ehrenfriedersdorf, Erzgebirge, Germany). Melt inclusions in granite represent embryonic pegmatite-forming melts containing about 10 wt% H₂O and 1.8 wt% B₂O₃. These melts are also enriched in F, P, and other incompatible elements such as Be, Sn, Rb, and Cs. Ongoing differentiation and volatile enrichment drove the system into a solvus, where two pegmatite-forming melts coexisted. The critical point is at about 712 °C, 100 MPa, 20 wt% H₂O and 4.1 wt% B₂O₃. Cooling and concomitant fractional crystallisation from 700 to 500 °C induced development of two conjugate melts, an H₂O-poor (A-melt) and an H₂O-rich melt (B-melt) along the opening solvus. Boron is a major element in both melts and is preferentially partitioned into the H₂O-rich melt. Temperature-dependent distribution coefficients D_boron^{B - melt/A - melt} D_{{\rm{boron}}}^{{\rm{B - melt/A - melt}}} are 1.3 at 650 °C, 1.5 at 600 °C, and 1.8 at 500 °C. In both melts, boron concentrations decreased during cooling because of exsolution of a boron-rich hypersaline brine throughout the pegmatitic stage. Boromuscovite containing up to 8.5 wt% was another sink for boron at this stage. The end of the melt-dominated pegmatitic stage was attained at a solidus temperature of around 490 °C. Fluid inclusions of the hydrothermal stage reveal trapping temperatures of 480 to 370 °C, along with varying densities and highly variable B₂O₃ contents ranging from 0.20 to 2.94 wt%. A boiling system evolved, indicating a complex interplay between closed- and open-system behaviour. Pressure switched from lithostatic to hydrostatic and back, generating hydrothermal convection cells where meteoric waters were introduced and mixed with magmatic fluids. Boron-rich solutions originated from magmatic fluids, whereas boron-depleted fluids were mainly of meteoric origin. This highlights the potential of boron for discriminating fluids of different origin. Tin is continuously enriched during the evolution because tin and boron are cross-linked by formation of boron-, fluorine- and tin-fluorine-bearing complexes and is finally deposited within quartz-cassiterite veins during the transition from closed- to open-system behaviour. Boron does not only trace the complex evolution of the Ehrenfriedersdorf complex but exerts, together with H₂O, F and P, an important control on the physical and chemical properties of pegmatite-forming melts, and particularly on the formation of a two-melt solvus at low pressure. We discuss this with respect to experimental results on H₂O solubility and the critical behaviour of the haplogranite-water system which contained variable concentrations of volatiles.     

Homogenization of carbonate-bearing microinclusions in diamond at <Emphasis Type="Italic">P</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis> parameters of the upper mantle

The staged high-pressure annealing of natural cubic diamonds with numerous melt microinclusions from the Internatsional’naya kimberlite pipe was studied experimentally. The results mainly show that the carbonate phases, the daughter phases in partially crystallized microinclusions in diamonds, may undergo phase transformations under the mantle P–T conditions. Most likely, partial melting and further dissolution of dolomite in the carbonate–silicate melt (homogenization of inclusions) occur in inclusions. The experimental data on the staged high-pressure annealing of diamonds with melt microinclusions allow us to estimate the temperature of their homogenization as 1400–1500°C. Thus, cubic diamonds from the Internatsional’naya pipe could have been formed under quite high temperatures corresponding to the lithosphere/asthenosphere boundary. However, it should be noted that the effect of selective capture of inclusions with partial loss of volatiles in relation to the composition of the crystallization medium is not excluded during the growth. This may increase the temperature of their homogenization significantly between 1400 and 1500°C.     

Formation of plagioclase-bearing peridotite and plagioclase-bearing wehrlite and gabbro suite through reactive crystallization: an experimental study

Plagioclase-bearing peridotites are commonly associated with gabbroic rocks sampled around the Moho Transition Zone. Based on mineral chemistry, texture, and spatial relations, the formation of plagioclase-bearing peridotites has been attributed to impregnation of basalt into residual peridotites. We conducted reactive dissolution and crystallization experiments to test this hypothesis by reacting a primitive mid-ocean ridge basalt with a melt-impregnated lherzolite at 1,300 °C and 1 GPa and then cooling to 1,050 °C as pressure decreased to 0.7 GPa. Crystallization during cooling produced lithologic sequences of gabbro–wehrlite or gabbro–wehrlite–peridotite, depending on reaction time. Wehrlitic and peridotitic sections contain significant amounts of plagioclase interstitial to olivine and clinopyroxene and plagioclase compositions are spatially homogeneous. Clinopyroxene in the wehrlite–peridotite section is reprecipitated from the melt and exhibits poikilitic texture with small rounded olivine chadacrysts. Mineral composition in olivine and clinopyroxene varies spatially, both at the scale of the sample and within individual grains. Olivine grains that crystallized close to the melt–peridotite interface are enriched in iron due to their proximity to the basaltic melt reservoir. Consistent with many field studies, we observed gradual spatial variation in olivine and clinopyroxene composition across a lithologically sharp boundary between the gabbro and wehrlite–peridotite. Plagioclase compositions show no obvious dependence on distance from the melt–rock interface and were precipitated from late-stage trapped melts. Compositional trends of olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase are consistent with previous experimental results and natural observations of the Moho Transition Zone. Different lithological sequences form based primarily on the melt–rock ratio, composition of the melt and host peridotite, and thermochemical conditions, but are expected to grade from gabbro to wehrlite or troctolite to peridotite. Plagioclase-bearing peridotite represents the low melt–rock ratio end member where pyroxene is only partially replaced by olivine and melt, whereas dunite is expected to form where melts overwhelm and consume all other phases. This study confirms that under nominally anhydrous conditions, the gabbro–wehrlite–plagioclase-peridotite sequence can be formed by reaction between basalt and lherzolite and subsequent crystallization at intermediate to low pressures. Melt–rock reaction is a fundamental process in the formation of new crust at the shallowest part of the melting column where pyroxene-undersaturated melts percolate through depleted peridotite.     

Magmatogene fluids of metal-bearing reefs in the Bushveld Complex,South Africa: Based on research data on fluid inclusions in quartz

Fluid inclusions in the Merensky Reef quartz and later pegmatite veins crosscutting the Platreef rocks of the Bushveld Complex are studied by a suite of advanced high-precision methods. Based on the conducted studies, we identify a few types of fluids, some having been separated during the crystallization of volatile matter-rich residual melt of original basic magma, while others are derivatives of later felsic (granite) melts that formed crosscutting veins in fully devitrified ultrabasic and basic rocks. The earliest fluid is captured by quartz in symplectitic intergrowths with intercumulus plagioclase from the Merensky Reef pyroxenite occurs as a homogenous dense dry reduced gas (CH₄–N₂ ± CO₂) mixture separated from the aluminosilicate melt at 800–900°C and 3050 bar. The following heterophase highly concentrated fluids (60–80 wt % NaCl eq.) separated at over 550°C and below 3050 bar transport a large number of metals. Major saline components of such fluids included Na, K, Fe, Ca, and Mn chlorides, Ca and Na sulphates and carbonates. According to LA ICP-MS analysis data, inclusions of these fluids contain high concentrations of Fe, Cr, K, and Na at the level of a few wt % and also significant contents of Cu, Sn, Sb, Mo, Au, Ag, Bi, and Ni in a concentration range from a few to thousands of ppm. Relatively lower-temperature (much higher than 450°C) fluids accompanying the crystallization of crosscutting quartz–feldspar pegmatite veins at the Platreef are also highly concentrated (from 70–80% to 40–14 wt % NaCl eq.), oxidized and metal-bearing. High concentrations of metals such as Na, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Pb at the level of wt % and also Ni, Co, Cu, As, Mo, Sn, Sb, and Bi (1–500 ppm) in inclusions in quartz of later pegmatite veins suggest the possible participation of magmatogene fluids related to later felsic intrusions in the redistribution of primary magmatic concentrations of metals. The oxidation of reduced heterophase fluids may be the most important geochemical barrier invoking the crystallization of solid mineral phases from heterophase fluids.     

Melt evolution in subarc mantle: evidence from heating experiments on spinel-hosted melt inclusions in peridotite xenoliths from the andesitic Avacha volcano (Kamchatka,Russia)

Glass-bearing inclusions hosted by Cr-spinel in harzburgite xenoliths from Avacha are grouped based on homogenization temperatures and daughter minerals into high-T (1,200°C; opx + cpx), intermediate (900–1,100°C; cpx ± amph), and low-T (900°C; amph) and are commonly accompanied by larger “melt pockets”. Unlike previous work on unheated inclusions and interstitial glass in xenoliths from Kamchatka, the homogenized glass compositions in this study are not affected by low-pressure melt fractionation during transport and cooling or by interaction with host magma. Primary melt compositions constrained for each inclusion type differ in major and trace element abundances and were formed by different events, but all are silica saturated, Ca-rich, and K-poor, with enrichments in LREE, Sr, Rb, and Ba and negative Nb anomalies. These melts are inferred to have been formed with participation of fluids produced by dehydration of slab materials. The high-T inclusions trapped liquids produced by ancient high-degree, fluid-induced melting in the mantle wedge. The low-T inclusions are related to percolation of low-T melts or hydrous fluids in arc mantle lithosphere. Melt pockets arise from localized heating and fluid-assisted melting induced by rising magmas shortly before the entrapment of the xenoliths. The “high-T” melt inclusions in Avacha xenoliths are unique in preserving evidence of ancient, high-T melting events in arc mantle, whereas the published data appear to characterize pre-eruption enrichment events.     

In situ voltammetric observation of transitions above the liquidus in silicate melts

Reduction potentials (E ⁰) and diffusion rates (D) for divalent nickel in a variety of silicate melts and as a function of temperature have been measured in situ using voltammetric methods. These measurements provide an indirect window into structural changes in melts at temperatures above the liquidus. Slope of the reduction potential versus temperature (related to entropy) and slope of the diffusion rate versus 1/T (related to diffusional activation energy) remain roughly constant or change only gradually above the liquidus, with the exception of a sharp break in slope typically observed about 60–160°C above the liquidus. This sharp break is consistent with a structural transition in the melt rather than with a gradual change in melt structure. A correlation between the transition temperature and the liquidus temperature, combined with the qualitative effect of prior crystallization, suggests that the transition may be related to the melt “preparing” for crystallization roughly 100°C above the liquidus. These observations may have implications for understanding melt activities, partitioning between melt and crystalline phases, and liquid immiscibility.     

The El Teniente porphyry Cu–Mo deposit from a hydrothermal rutile perspective

Mineralogical, textural, and chemical analyses (EPMA and PIXE) of hydrothermal rutile in the El Teniente porphyry Cu–Mo deposit help to better constrain ore formation processes. Rutile formed from igneous Ti-rich phases (sphene, biotite, Ti-magnetite, and ilmenite) by re-equilibration and/or breakdown under hydrothermal conditions at temperatures ranging between 400°C and 700°C. Most rutile nucleate and grow at the original textural position of its Ti-rich igneous parent mineral phase. The distribution of Mo content in rutile indicates that low-temperature (∼400–550°C), Mo-poor rutile (5.4 ± 1.1 ppm) is dominantly in the Mo-rich mafic wallrocks (high-grade ore), while high-temperature (∼550-700°C), Mo-rich rutile (186 ± 20 ppm) is found in the Mo-poor felsic porphyries (low-grade ore). Rutile from late dacite ring dikes is a notable exception to this distribution pattern. The Sb content in rutile from the high-temperature potassic core of the deposit to its low-temperature propylitic fringe remains relatively constant (35 ± 3 ppm). Temperature and Mo content of the hydrothermal fluids in addition to Mo/Ti ratio, modal abundance and stability of Ti-rich parental phases are key factors constraining Mo content and provenance in high-temperature (≥550°C) rutile. The initial Mo content of parent mineral phases is controlled by melt composition and oxygen fugacity as well as timing and efficiency of fluid–melt separation. Enhanced reduction of SO₂-rich fluids and sulfide deposition in the Fe-rich mafic wallrocks influences the low-temperature (≤550°C) rutile chemistry. The data are consistent with a model of fluid circulation of hot (>550°C), oxidized (ƒO₂ ≥ NNO + 1.3), SO₂-rich and Mo-bearing fluids, likely exsolved from deeper crystallizing parts of the porphyry system and fluxed through the upper dacite porphyries and related structures, with metal deposition dominantly in the Fe-rich mafic wallrocks.     

The Influence of Sodium and Potassium Chlorides on Phase Ratios in the Eclogite–CaCO3–H2O + CO2 System at 4 GPa and 1200–1300°C

To characterize the influence of alkaline metal chlorides on the phase ratios under melting of upper mantle eclogites, the eclogite–CaCO₃–NaCl–KCl system with Н₂О + СО₂-fluid was studied in the experiments under 4 GPa and 1200–1300°C. A low difference in temperatures (<100°C) was registered between the eclogite solidus and liquidus (>1200 and <1300°C, respectively), which is characteristic for the near-eutectic compositions. The phase proportions were peculiar for the absence of any silicate melt over the entire temperature range considered. The carbonate melt coexisted with clinopyroxene and garnet within 1200–1250°C, whereas a carbonate melt exclusively occurred under above-liquidus conditions at 1300°C. The melt quenching resulted in the formation of a multiphase fine-grained mixture of Ca, Na, and K carbonates and chlorides containing microinclusions of clinopyroxene and garnet. The occurrence of a high-calcium carbonate melt in Cl-containing eclogite systems might play a significant role in the mantle metasomatism of subduction zones characterized by the water–alkaline–chloride type of fluids.

     

Formation of spinel-cordierite-feldspar-glass coronas after garnet in metapelitic xenoliths: reaction modelling and geodynamic implications

Spinel + cordierite + K‐feldspar + plagioclase + glass form coronas around garnet in metapelitic xenoliths at El Hoyazo and Mazarrón, two localities of the Neogene Volcanic Province (NVP) of SE Spain. The presence of fresh glass (quenched melt) in all phases shows that corona development occurred under partial melting conditions. Algebraic analysis of mass balance in the NCKFMASH system suggests the reaction Grt + Sil + Bt + Pl = Spl + Crd + Kfs + melt as the most plausible model for the development of coronas in the El Hoyazo sample, and indicates that biotite was required as reactant for the formation of cordierite. The P–T conditions for the formation of coronas are estimated at ～820 ± 50 °C, 4.5 ± 0.6 kbar at El Hoyazo, and ～820 ± 50 °C, 4.0 ± 0.4 kbar at Mazarrón. The El Hoyazo xenoliths record a complex P–T history, characterized by early melt production during heating and additional melting during decompression. A local cooling event characterized by minor retrograde reaction and melt crystallization preceded ascent and eruption. This study shows that detailed xenolith analysis may be used to track magma evolution in a chamber.     

Experimental and petrological constraints on local-scale interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H2O-CO2-（K, Na）Cl fluids at middle-crustal conditions： Example from the Limpopo Complex, South Africa

Reaction textures and fluid inclusions in the～2.0 Ga pyroxene-bearing dehydration zones within the Sand River biotite-hornblende orthogneisses（Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex） suggest that the formation of these zones is a result of close interplay between dehydration process along ductile shear zones triggered by H₂O-CO₂-salt fluids at 750—800℃and 5.5—6.2 kbar.partial melting,and later exsolution of residual brine and H₂O-CO₂ fluids during melt crystallization at 650—700℃.These processes caused local variations of water and alkali activity in the fluids,resulting in various mineral assemblages within the dehydration zone.The petrological observations are substantiated by experiments on the interaction of the Sand River gneiss with the H₂O-CO-2-（K,Na）Cl fluids at 750 and 800℃and 5.5 kbar.It follows that the interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H₂O-CO₂-（K.Na）Cl fluids is accompanied by partial melting at 750—800℃.Orthopyroxene-bearing assemblages are characteristic for temperature 800℃and are stable in equilibrium with fluids with low salt concentrations,while salt-rich fluids produce clinopyroxene-bearing assemblages.These observations arc in good agreement with the petrological data on the dehydration zones within the Sand River orthoeneisses.