Chemical assembly of Archean anorthosites from amphibolite- and granulite-facies terranes, SW Greenland

We report whole-rock, major- and trace-element compositions (obtained by XRF and INA methods) for the amphibolite-facies Buksefjorden and granulite-facies Nordland anorthosites, SW Greenland. In a previous petrologic study on the same sample suite, we documented differences in texture, mineralogy, and mineral compositions between these two anorthosite bodies. Chemical analyses confirm differences in composition between the two bodies, but these differences cannot be explained by variations in metamorphic conditions, and point towards differences in the nature of their protoliths. Analyzed Nordland samples are anorthosites and leucogabbros with 88-98% normative plagioclase, whereas those from Buksefjorden include anorthosite, leucogabbro, and gabbro with ~55-95% normative plagioclase. Two or more compositional groupings can be recognized at each site, which correspond to differences in color and mineralogy of the hand samples. Samples from Buksefjorden are mainly quartz-normative, whereas those from Nordland are olivine (- nepheline) normative. Other differences include higher Ni/Co ratio and REE contents in the granulite-facies anorthosites from Nordland. REE pattern shapes are similar, however, being moderately fractionated at ~0.5-102 chondrites with positive Eu-anomalies. Calculated equilibrium melt patterns are similar for both anorthosites, being relatively flat at ~50-1502 chondrites, suggesting unfractionated (but evolved) parental magmas. Olivine must have been present in the protoliths of the Nordland rocks compared with Buksefjorden. Otherwise, the protoliths contained plagioclase with variable An-content (~An₆₂-An₉₂) and a mafic component with variable Fe/Mg (mg ~0.3-0.8). This mafic component was either hornblende or a combination of ortho- and clinopyroxene in fixed proportions, plus a small amount of magnetite. Mixing calculations demonstrate that some Buksefjorden anorthosites contain two varieties of plagioclase: a calcic type that may correspond to cumulus crystals, and a sodic-type that may correspond to a trapped-melt component. On plots of normative whole-rock An versus mg, compositions of the Buksefjorden and Nordland anorthosites form crude negative arrays that differ from the generally positive trends of mafic layered intrusions (Kiglapait, Skaergaard) and from the generally flats trends of plagioclase-rich cumulate rocks (St. Urbain and Stillwater anorthosites). This difference provides further evidence for the distinctive nature of Archean calcic-anorthosite complexes compared with other types of mafic intrusions. Moreover, this distribution of data points is consistent with the assembly of the protolith of the SW Greenland anorthosites mainly as mixtures of plagioclase and hornblende. Finally, the field for the Buksefjorden and Nordland anorthosites overlaps only slightly with that for the Fiskenaesset Complex, thus extending the known range of compositions for Archean anorthosites in West Greenland.     

攀西地区新街层状岩体粒间不混熔作用:来自斜长石环带结构的记录

位于攀西地区的新街层状岩体赋含大量钒钛磁铁矿,是峨眉山大火成岩省的一部分。岩体下部带和中部带以单斜辉石岩为主,并伴生浸染状钒钛磁铁矿矿化;上部带以辉长岩为主,赋存厚层的钒钛磁铁矿矿体。之前研究认为厚层的钒钛磁铁矿矿体的形成与粒间不混熔的富Fe熔体有关,但对富Fe熔体的演化过程缺乏细致研究。本文通过对新街岩体上部带的富矿辉长岩层和上覆浅色辉长岩中斜长石环带结构和成分的研究,揭示了富Fe熔体的演化过程。在浅色辉长岩中保存的岩浆不混熔的直接证据表现为矿物粒间共轭的富Si交生体和富钛铁矿交生体代表的非反应结构。本次研究发现,与粒间富Si交生体接触的斜长石边部的FeO和TiO_2含量随斜长石牌号(An)值的降低而降低,而与粒间富钛铁矿交生体接触的斜长石边部的FeO和TiO_2含量随An值的降低而升高,说明斜长石的边部成分变化记录了粒间共轭的富Si和富Fe熔体的成分特征。在富矿辉长岩中,斜长石可分为初生和新生两种,初生斜长石的An值介于57~62,FeO含量为0.34%~0.50%,TiO_2含量为0.06%~0.13%,新生斜长石具有相对较高的An值(61~81)和FeO、TiO_2含量,二者的内部和边部还发育增生斜长石,其An值(~50)相对较低;在初生斜长石边部可见不连续的新生斜长石环带和增生斜长石边,造成其内部成分显著不均一,并发育复杂的环带结构。本文认为,初生斜长石是岩浆正常分离结晶作用的产物。在粒间熔体发生不混熔后,不混熔的富Fe熔体逐渐向岩浆房下方迁移并结晶出了一些相对高An值的新生斜长石,或沿一些初生斜长石边部生长形成不连续的高An环带。当富Fe熔体演化至晚期,由于矿物生长空间受限,仅在初生和新生斜长石局部形成了相对低An值的增生边、或沿颗粒裂隙进入斜长石内部形成增生斜长石核。     

Lunar anorthosite 60025, the petrogenesis of lunar anorthosites,and the composition of the Moon

Systematic variations of the mineral chemistry of ferroan anorthosite 60025, which is probably a mixture of closely related materials, suggest that lunar anorthosites formed by strong fractional crystallization and near-perfect adcumulate growth, without trapping liquid. The parent liquid for the most primitive samples was saturated with olivine, plagioclase, pigeonite, and chromite, and evolved to one saturated with plagioclase, pigeonite, high-Ca pyroxene, and ilmenite. The parent liquid also had a very low Na₂O content, and combined with strong fractional crystallization this explains the steep trend of anorthosites on an Mg1 (atomic 100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe)) v. An diagram. The mineral and chemical data for other anorthosites are consistent with such a model. Near-perfect adcumulation can occur if growth takes place at the crystal-liquid interface without the physical accumulation of crystals grown elsewhere, and is encouraged by the shifts in phase boundaries with pressure.Anorthosites are probably the remnants of a crust floating on, and crystallizing at the surface of, a magma ocean originally of bulk Moon composition. Mineralogical and trace element data suggest that the parental liquid for the most primitive anorthosites had previously crystallized no plagioclase and some but perhaps very little pyroxene. Hence the bulk Moon appears to be similar to that proposed by Ringwood (1976) but to have even lower alkalis, a subchondritic $\text{Ca}\text{Al}$ ratio, and REE abundances and patterns close to chondritic. The mare basalt sources are not directly complementary to the feldspathic crust, because experimental and trace element data indicate that they are too magnesian and contain too much high-Ca pyroxene. Other crustal rocks, such as the Mg-suite samples, are not closely related to anorthosites; in addition to their chemical differences they have a different crystallization sequence: ol → plag → px, in contrast with the ol → px → plag inferred for anorthosite parental liquid evolution.     

Fe-Ti deposits in Rogaland anorthosites (South Norway): geochemical characteristics and problems of interpretation

The Rogaland anorthosite province (S. Norway) contains numerous Fe-Ti oxide deposits, including the second most important ilmenite deposit in the world, the Tellnes deposit. The largest deposits are located in the Åna-Sira anorthosite massif. Others occur in the Håland-Helleren anorthosite massif, particularly along the deformed contact with the Egersund-Ogna massif, where they were previously considered formed by metasomatic processes. All deposits are now regarded as magmatic. The structure, mineralogy and geochemistry of 11 selected Fe-Ti deposits (Tellnes, Storgangen, Blåfjell, Laksedal, Kydlandsvatn, Kagnuden, Rødemyr, Hestnes, Eigerøy, Svånes, and Jerneld) are discussed in light of recent models proposed for the origin of Rogaland anorthosites and related rocks. Massif-type anorthosites result from the diapiric uprise of a plagioclase crystal mush which crystallized along a large P–T interval. Except for Tellnes, which is related to a post-deformation dyke, the Fe-Ti deposits in anorthosite massifs have been deformed by this movement during and after their crystallization. The differentiation process of the jotunitic parental magma has built up cumulates in the Bjerkreim-Sokndal layered intrusion and liquids in the Tellnes dyke and other jotunitic intrusions. Ilmenite is a liquidus mineral immediately after plagioclase in the sequence of crystallization of these jotunites, its interstitial character in the rocks resulting from subsolidus recrystallization. Ilmenite can thus accumulate early in the evolution of jotunitic magmas. This feature, together with high contents in Cr, V, Mg and Ni, links the Jerneld, Blåfjell and Svånes deposits (type?1) to the early evolution of a jotunitic magma. In the Bjerkreim-Sokndal intrusion, magnetite can appear with ilmenite at the very beginning of the sequence of crystallization, but normally crystallizes after orthopyroxene and before clinopyroxene and apatite. The early appearance of magnetite is a characteristic feature of type 2 deposits (Tellnes, Storgangen, Kydlandsvatn, Rødemyr I) and suggests conditions similar to the early magnetite cumulates in the Bjerkreim-Sokndal intrusion. Evidence of layering further favours gravity-controlled sorting processes to concentrate the oxides. Large-scale subsolidus segregation of the oxides due to high-temperature deformation can further concentrate these minerals in silicate-absent meter-sized masses. Type 3 deposits (Rødemyr II, Kagnuden, Hestnes and Eigerøy) could be derived from the more evolved stages of differentiation, as indicated by high REE in apatite, high Ti and Zn in magnetite and relatively low Cr, V, Mg, Ni contents in both oxides. The Cr content in both oxide minerals is however higher than in the equivalent cumulates of the Bjerkreim-Sokndal intrusion. Although immiscibility as the mechanism of enrichment leading to silicate-absent oxide-apatite veins, as in Hestnes and Eigerøy, cannot be precluded, there is no direct evidence in the veins, nor has any structural or geochemical evidence of immiscibility ever been found in jotunite dykes and Fe-Ti-P-rich rocks. Further investigations on the influence of subsolidus exchange of elements between the two oxides are needed to improve the use of trace elements as differentiation indexes.     

Rare Earth Element Evidence for the Petrogenesis of the Banded Series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, and its Anorthosites

A rare earth element (REE) study was made by isotope-dilutionmass spectrometry of plagioclase separates from a variety ofcumulates stratigraphically spanning the Banded series of theStillwater Complex, Montana. Evaluation of parent liquid REEpatterns, calculated on the basis of published plagioclase-liquidpartition coefficients, shows that the range of REE ratios istoo large to be attributable to fractionation of a single magmatype. At least two different parental melts were present throughoutthe Banded series. This finding supports hypotheses of previousworkers that the Stillwater Complex formed from two differentparent magma types, designated the anorthositic- or A-type liquidand the ultramafic- or U-type liquid. On the basis of our data,one melt has a REE pattern with a distinctive shallow slopeand is represented by samples from the thick, massive Anorthositezones I and II (AN I and AN II) of the Middle Banded series.Although samples from AN I and AN II are separated by as muchas 1400 m stratigraphically, they have remarkably similar calculatedparent liquid characteristics, with (Ce/Sm)n = 1.7–1.9,(Nd/Sm)n = 1.3–1.4 and (Ce/Yb)n = 2.9–4.6 (wheren denotes chondrite-normalized). These calculated liquids areprobably close to representing A-type magma. In addition, plagioclase-bronzitecumulates from Norite zones I and II (N I and N II), althoughthought to be U-type cumulates, contain plagioclase that hasA-type REE characteristics, implying that A-type magmas wereinjected into the magma chamber during formation of those zones.In contrast, calculated parent liquids of cumulus augite-bearingrocks have REE patterns that display distinctly steeper slopesthan the A-type REE pattern. The extreme is the calculated parentliquid of a plagioclase-bronzite-augite cumulated with (Ce/Sm)n= 2.9, (Nd/Sm)n = 1.7, and (Ce/Yb)n = 10.1. Analysis of published REE and Nd isotopic data for Stillwatercumulates reveals similarities between AN I, AN II, and otherthin plagioclase cumulate layers in the Lower and Upper Bandedseries, which supports the notion that they were all derivedfrom similar (A-type) parent melts. In contrast, plagioclaseseparates from cumulus augite-bearing rocks display light REEand Nd isotopic characteristics that are similar to U-type cumulatesfrom the Ultramafic series as described by previous studies.Thus far, the only cumulates from the Banded series that displayU-type REE and Nd isotopic characteristics are those that containcumulus augite. Therefore, cumulus augite appears to be an importantindicator of magmatic parentage. The REE and Nd isotopic ratios show erratic variation with stratigraphicposition, indicating that the magmas from which the Banded seriescrystallized were injected at various levels into the magmachamber. Different cumulate types crystallized from discreteliquids, as indicated by the correlation between REE signatureand cumulate type. Samples from Olivine-bearing zones III andIV (stratigraphically between AN I and AN II) display a rangein REE ratios; e.g., (Ce/Sm)n = 1.8–2.8 and (Ce/Yb)n =3.9–6.1, results that rule out the crystallization ofthe Middle Banded series from a single magma type. Furthermore,the possibility that AN I and AN II are directly related tothe underlying Ultramafic series, either as flotation cumulatesor as crystallization products of expelled liquids, is not substantiatedby the REE data because the calculated parent magma of AN Iand AN II was different from that of the Ultramafic series asdefined by previous studies. The REE data of this study further constrain interpretationsof published Pb isotopic data (Wooden et al., 1991) and indicatethat the magmas from which the Stillwater Complex formed werederived from two sources that had only small differences inPb isotopic composition. The REE and isotopic data, as wellas crystallization sequences of the two main parental magmas,indicate that the magmas were probably derived from two closelyrelated upper-mantle sources, one harzburgitic and the otherlherzolitic in composition, resulting in the U-type and A-typemagmas, from which orthopyroxene crystallized before and afterclinopyroxene, respectively. Both sources had been enrichedin large-ion lithophile elements, probably owing to mantle metasomatism.     

A mantle or mafic crustal source for Proterozoic anorthosites?

Calculations of fractional crystallization (FC) and assimilation fractional crystallization (AFC) at 11 kb for a variety of primitive magmatic compositions and a mafic assimilant demonstrate that none of them has a bulk composition suitable to be parental to massif anorthosites. Mafic compositions thought to be parental to massif anorthosites have Mg′ values of 0.6 to 0.4 and form coherent arrays with moderately steep slopes on plots of TiO₂, K₂O, and P₂O₅ versus Mg′. The calculated liquid lines of descent (LLD) of basaltic magmas undergoing FC or AFC processes pass through the arrays of anorthosite parent magma compositions with much shallower slopes than the natural arrays, which indicates that the arrays of natural parental magmas were produced by a process other than FC/AFC. Also, by the time most crystallizing basaltic magmas with or without assimilation reach plagioclase saturation, their residual liquids have Mg′ values that are too low to be parental to anorthosites. MORB-like olivine tholeiites and high-aluminum olivine tholeiites (HAOT) from convergent plate margins do reach plagioclase saturation while sufficiently magnesian, but their Wo (Wollastonite) contents are too high such that they reach plagioclase saturation coexisting only with augite and do not reach orthopyroxene saturation (if at all) until Mg′ is too low. Calculations show it is not possible to produce a high-Al melt from typical mantle peridotites that has sufficient TiO₂ to make andesine-type anorthosite.

Calculation of partial melting for an average mafic crustal composition at 11 kbar provides a much closer match to the array of natural parental compositions in terms of minor element concentrations and proportions of mineral components. However, accounting for the entire array requires a more magnesian source composition. Such compositions exist in several crustal xenolith localities. Similar results were obtained using the bulk composition of the Stillwater Complex, which is used as a model mafic source (here the premise is that overdense crustal intrusions might sink back into the mantle). As with the terrain composition, this particular layered intrusion composition is not sufficiently magnesian, however, the fit improves when mixtures of early and late stage portions of the complex (i.e., the denser portions) were run as potential source regions.     

Compositions of magmas and carbonate–silicate liquid immiscibility in the Vulture alkaline igneous complex, Italy

This paper presents a study of melt and fluid inclusions in minerals of an olivine-leucite phonolitic nephelinite bomb from the Monticchio Lake Formation, Vulture. The rock contains 50 vol.% clinopyroxene, 12% leucite, 10% alkali feldspars, 8% hauyne/sodalite, 7.5% nepheline, 4.5% apatite, 3.2% olivine, 2% opaques, 2.6% plagioclase, and < 1% amphibole. We distinguished three generations of clinopyroxene differing in composition and morphology. All the phenocrysts bear primary and secondary melt and fluid inclusions, which recorded successive stages of melt evolution. The most primitive melts were found in the most magnesian olivine and the earliest clinopyroxene phenocrysts. The melts are near primary mantle liquids and are rich in Ca, Mg and incompatible and volatile elements. Thermometric experiments with the melt inclusions suggested that melt crystallization began at temperatures of about 1200 °C. Because of the partial leakage of all primary fluid inclusions, the pressure of crystallization is constrained only to minimum of 3.5 kbar. Combined silicate–carbonate melt inclusions were found in apatite phenocrysts. They are indicative of carbonate–silicate liquid immiscibility, which occurred during magma evolution. Large hydrous secondary melt inclusions were found in olivine and clinopyroxene. The inclusions in the phenocrysts recorded an open-system magma evolution during its rise towards the surface including crystallization, degassing, oxidation, and liquid immiscibility processes.     

滇西富碱斑岩中特殊包体岩石的流体包裹体幔源不混溶特征

滇西地区沿金沙江-哀牢山断裂带产出了一套新生代富碱斑岩,其中发现了与镁铁-超镁铁质深源包体岩石共生的含石英的方解石包晶(体)、石英钠长石伟晶岩包体和含玻璃包裹体的纯石英包晶(体)以及富铁熔浆包体.流体包裹体地球化学研究表明,该四类特殊包体的形成与富含CO2流体持续减压而造成的不混溶作用有关;而玻璃包裹体与水溶液包裹体以...     

REE constraints on fractionation processes of massive-type anorthosites on the Lofoten Islands, Norway

Summary Rare Earth Element (REE) data of 34 samples of magmatic rocks from the Lofoten Islands in Norway lend support to the derivation of anorthosites, ferrodiorites and jotunites by fractionation and cumulus processes from typical basaltic magma. Both REE concentration and Eu anomalies (expressed as Eu/Eu^*) form continuous linear trends from anorthosite towards gabbro, ferrodiorite and jotunite in discrimination diagrams against molar CaO/Al₂O₃ ratios indicating the predominant accumulation of plagioclase. Eu/Eu^* decreases from about 4 in the cumulates (anorthosites) to around 1 in the fine-grained gabbroic dikes and to below 1 in some ferrodiorites and the jotunite. The various types of ferrodiorites and the jotunite are regarded as residual liquids, in some cases with variable amounts of cumulus plagioclase. The whole fractionation series from gabbro towards anorthosites and ferrodiorites can be observed in a single intrusion. With increasing fractionation, the REE patterns generally change from flat, slightly LREE-enriched or LREE-depleted to steep and strongly LREE-enriched. These changes and the REE abundances are mainly controlled by the abundance of apatite. Temporally and spatially related mangerites and charnockites form a trend from low-SiO₂ mangerites with Eu/Eu^* > 1 to intermediate-SiO₂ acidic mangerites with Eu/Eu^* ≈ 1 and charnockites with Eu/Eu^* < 1. Accordingly, the low-SiO₂ mangerites are interpreted as alkali feldspar-rich cumulates and the charnockites as residual liquids derived from the acidic mangerites. The mangerites with Eu/Eu^* around 1 have patterns similar to those of some highly evolved ferrodiorites possibly indicating a genetic link. Received December 12, 1999; revised version accepted November 15, 2000     

The Grader layered intrusion (Havre-Saint-Pierre Anorthosite, Quebec) and genesis of nelsonite and other Fe–Ti–P ores

The Grader layered intrusion is part of the Havre-Saint-Pierre anorthosite in the Grenville Province (Quebec, Canada). This intrusion has a basin-like morphology and contains significant resources of Fe–Ti–P in ilmenite and apatite. Outcropping lithologies are massive oxide alternating with anorthosite layers, banded ilmenite–apatite–plagioclase rocks and layered oxide apatite (gabbro-)norites. Drill cores provide evidence for stratigraphic variations of mineral and whole rock compositions controlled by fractional crystallization with the successive appearance of liquidus phases: plagioclase and ilmenite followed by apatite, then orthopyroxene together with magnetite, and finally clinopyroxene. This atypical sequence of crystallization resulted in the formation of plagioclase–ilmenite–apatite cumulates or “nelsonites” in plagioclase-free layers. Fine-grained ferrodiorites that cross-cut the cumulates are shown to be in equilibrium with the noritic rocks. The high TiO₂ and P₂O₅ contents of these assumed liquids explains the early saturation of ilmenite and apatite before Fe–Mg silicates, thus the nelsonites represent cumulates rather than crystallized Fe–Ti–P-rich immiscible melts. The location of the most evolved mineral and whole rock compositions several tens of meters below the top of the intrusion, forming a sandwich horizon, is consistent with crystallization both from the base and top of the intrusion. The concentrations of V and Cr in ilmenite display a single fractionation path for the different cumulus assemblages and define the cotectic proportion of ilmenite to 21 wt.%. This corresponds to bulk cotectic cumulates with ca. 8 wt.% TiO₂, which is significantly lower than what is commonly observed in the explored portion of the Grader intrusion. The proposed mechanism of ilmenite-enrichment is the lateral removal of plagioclase due to its relative buoyancy in the dense ferrodiorite melt. This plagioclase has probably accumulated in other portions of the intrusion or has not been distinguished from the host anorthosite.     

Origin of nelsonite and Fe–Ti oxides ore of the Damiao anorthosite complex,NE China: Evidence from trace element geochemistry of apatite,plagioclase, magnetite and ilmenite

Nelsonite and Fe–Ti oxides ore are common in Proterozoic massif-type anorthosites and layered intrusions. Their geneses have long been controversial, with existing hypotheses including liquid immiscibility between Si-rich and Fe–Ti–P-rich melts and gravitational fractionation among apatite, magnetite, ilmenite and silicates. In this paper, we report detailed field geology and mineral geochemical studies of the nelsonite and Fe–Ti oxides ore from the Damiao anorthosite complex, NE China. Geological observations indicate that the nelsonite and Fe–Ti oxides ore occur as irregularly inclined stratiform-like or lensoid or veins, and are in sharp contact with the anorthosite and gabbronorite. The widespread veins and lenses structure of the Damiao nelsonite and Fe–Ti oxides ore in the anorthosite indicates their immiscibility-derived origin. The apatite in the nelsonite and gabbronorite shows evolution trends different from that in the gabbronorite in the diagrams of Sr versus REEs and Eu/Eu*, suggesting that petrogenesis of the nelsonite and gabbronorite is different from the gabbronorite. Compared with the gabbronorite, the nelsonite and Fe–Ti oxides ore have magnetite high in Cr, plagioclase high in Sr and low in An, and apatite high in Sr, low in REEs with negative Eu anomaly. The evidence permits us to propose that the Damiao Fe–Ti oxides ore/nelsonite and gabbronorite were derived from different parental magmas. The gabbronorite was formed by solidification of the interstitial ferrodioritic magma in the anorthosite, which was the residual magma after extensive plagioclase and pyroxene crystallization and was carried upward by the plagioclase crystal mesh. In contrast, the Fe–Ti oxides ore and nelsonites and mangerite were produced by crystallization of the Fe–Ti–P-rich and SiO₂-rich magmas, respectively, due to the liquid immiscibility that occurred when the highly evolved ferrodioritic magma mixed with newly replenished magmas. The variation from Fe–Ti oxides ore to nelsonite and gabbro-nelsonite upwards (as apatite content increases with height) in the steeply inclined Fe–Ti oxides orebodies suggest that gravity fractionation may have played important roles during the crystallization of the Fe–Ti–P-rich magma.     

Strontium isotopic constraints on the origin of proterozoic anorthosites

The Proterozoic Giles Complex, central Australia contains an almost complete range of anorthosite types from minor or major layers in gabbronorite intrusions to large anorthosite-troctolite bodies to small orthopyroxene anorthosite massifs; each type has a distinctive Sr isotopic signature. Anorthosite-dominated masses have a regular relationship between ferromagnesian mineralogy, initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and anorthite contents in plagioclase: anorthosite-troctolite bodies have significant olivine, relatively low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7038–0.7043) and An_50–69; orthopyroxene-dominant anorthosites have relatively high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7045–0.7063) and An₄₅₋₆₀. The pattern is found worldwide. Detailed study of one intrusion demonstrates that contamination by wall-rock granulite produces the higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values, anti-correlation between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and An, and determines olivine/orthopyroxene proportions. Olivine-bearing anorthosites form from a primary aluminous tholeiite magma with plagioclase dominating the liquidus; progressive contamination of this parent magma produces a gradation to orthopyroxene anorthosites.     

Geochemistry of cumulates from the Bjerkreim–Sokndal layered intrusion (S. Norway) Part II. REE and the trapped liquid fraction

Rare earth elements in bulk cumulates and in separated minerals (plagioclase, apatite, Ca-poor and Ca-rich pyroxenes, ilmenite and magnetite) from the Bjerkreim–Sokndal layered intrusion (Rogaland Anorthosite Province, SW Norway) are investigated to better define the proportion of trapped liquid and its influence on bulk cumulate composition. In leuconoritic rocks (made up of plagioclase, Ca-poor pyroxene, ilmenite, ±magnetite, ±olivine), where apatite is an intercumulus phase, even a small fraction of trapped liquid significantly affects the REE pattern of the bulk cumulate, together with cumulus minerals proportion and composition. Contrastingly, in gabbronoritic cumulates characterized by the presence of cumulus Ca-rich pyroxene and apatite, cumulus apatite buffers the REE content. La/Sm and Eu/Eu* vs. P₂O₅ variations in leuconorites display mixing trends between a pure adcumulate and the composition of the trapped liquid, assumed to be similar to the parental magma. Assessment of the trapped liquid fraction in leuconorites ranges from 2 to 25% and is systematically higher in the north-eastern part of the intrusion. The likely reason for this wide range of TLF is different cooling rates in different parts of the intrusion depending on the distance to the gneissic margins. The REE patterns of liquids in equilibrium with primitive cumulates are calculated with mass balance equations. Major elements modelling (Duchesne, J.C., Charlier, B., 2005. Geochemistry of cumulates from the Bjerkreim–Sokndal layered intrusion (S. Norway): Part I. Constraints from major elements on the mechanism of cumulate formation and on the jotunite liquid line of descent. Lithos. 83, 299–254) permits calculation of the REE content of melt in equilibrium with gabbronorites. Partition coefficients for REE between cumulus minerals and a jotunitic liquid are then calculated. Calculated liquids from the most primitive cumulates are similar to a primitive jotunite representing the parental magma of the intrusion, taking into account the trapped liquid fraction calculated from the P₂O₅ content. Consistent results demonstrate the reliability of liquid compositions calculated from bulk cumulates and confirm the hypothesis that the trapped liquid has crystallized as a closed-system without subsequent mobility of REE in a migrating interstitial liquid.     

Immiscibility of Fluoride–Calcium and Silicate Melts in Trachyrhyolitic Magma: Data on Acidic Volcanic Rocks from the Nyalga Basin,Central Mongolia

An Early Cretaceous (120 ± 5 Ma) trachyrhyolite lava sheet in the Nyalga basin, Central Mongolia, includes a domain (～0.5 km²) of unusual fluorite-enriched rocks with anomalously high concentrations of CaO (1.2–25.7 wt %) and F (0.6–15 wt %). The textures and structures of the rocks suggest that they were produced by two immiscible melts: fluoride–calcium (F–Ca) and trachyrhyolitic. Data on mineral-hosted inclusions and SEM EDS studies of the matrixes of the rocks indicate that a F–Ca melt occurred in the trachyrhyolitic magmas during its various evolutionary episodes, starting from the growth of minerals in a magmatic chamber and ending with eruptions on the surface. Elevated fluorine concentrations (up to 1.5–2 wt %) in local domains of the trachyrhyolitic melt may have resulted in the onset of its liquid immiscibility and the exsolution of a F–Ca liquid phase. This was associated with the redistribution of trace elements: REE, Y, Sr, and P were preferably concentrated in the F–Ca melt, while Zr, Hf, Ta, and Nb were mostly redistributed into the immiscible silicate liquid. The F–Ca melt contained oxygen and aqueous fluid and remained mobile until vitrification of the trachyrhyolitic magma. The oxygen-enriched F–Ca phase was transformed into fluorite at 570–780°? and a high oxygen fugacity Δlog fO₂ (0.9–1.7) relative to the NNO buffer. Ferrian ilmenite, monazite-group As-bearing minerals, and cerianite crystallized under oxidizing conditions, and the titanomagnetite was replaced by hematite. The Ca- and F-enriched rocks were affected by low-density (0.05–0.1 g/cm³) aqueous fluid, which was released from the crystallizing trachyrhyolitic melt, and this led to the partial removal of REE from the F–Ca phase. The chondrite-normalized REE and Y patterns of the fluidmodified rocks show positive Y anomalies and W-shaped minima from Gd to Ho. A composition of the F–Ca phase close to the original one is conserved in mineral-hosted inclusions and in relict isolations in the rocks matrix. It is so far unclear why fluorite did not crystallize from the F–Ca melt contained in the trachyrhyolitic magma. Conceivably, this was favored by high-temperature oxidizing conditions under which the melt accommodated oxygen and aqueous fluid. The possible origin of mobile oxygen-bearing fluorite–calcic melt at subsolidus temperature should be taken into account when magmatic rocks and ores are studied. Fluorite and accompanying ore mineralization might have been formed in certain instances not by hydrothermal–metasomatic processes but during the fluid–magmatic stage as a result of the transformation of F–Ca melt enriched in REE, Y, and other trace elements.     

Melt inclusions in basalts of Ross Island area,Antarctica

There are many melt and fluid inclusions (mainly CO₂-rich) in olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts in basalts from the Ross Island area. The melt inclusions can be classified as follows: (1) crystalline melt inclusions (type I), (2) fluid-melt inclusions (type II) and (3) glass inclusions (type III). The daughter minerals in type I include olivine, plagioclase, ilmenite, etc. Fluid-melt inclusions are a new type which represent the immiscibility of magma and fluid at a particular stage of evolution. Three types of fluid-melt inclusions were examined in this study: a) crystal + liquid + gas, b) inclusions coexisting with glass inclusions and fluid inclusions, and c) crystal + daughter mineral (dissolved salt) + gas. Both primary and secondary melt inclusions are recognizable in the samples. The secondary melt inclusions were formed during healing of fractures in the host minerals in the process of magma rise. The homogenization temperatures (both Leitz 1350 stage and quench method were used) of melt inclusions in basalts range from 1190 to 135°C at high pressure (about 7 kbars), indicating that the basalts may have come from the upper mantle. Melt-fluid immiscibility in basaltic magma shows that the CO₂-rich fluids may be the main fluid phase in the upper mantle, which are of significance in understanding the evolution of magma and various processes in the deep levels of the earth. The homogenization temperatures of melt and aqueous fluid inclusions in granites and metamorphic rocks in this area vary from 980 to 1100°C and 279 to 350°C, respectively.     

Experimental effects of pressure and fluorine on apatite saturation in mafic magmas, with reference to layered intrusions and massif anorthosites

Apatite is a cumulate phase in the upper parts of some mafic layered intrusions and anorthositic complexes. We investigated the effect of pressure and fluorine on apatite saturation in mafic magmas to better understand under which conditions this mineral crystallizes. Apatite saturation gives information about the formation of silicate rocks, and is of interest in explaining the formation of apatite–oxide-rich rocks (e.g. nelsonites comprising approximately, one-third apatite and two-third Fe–Ti oxide). Two models of formation are proposed for this rock type: crystal fractionation followed by accumulation of apatite and Fe–Ti oxides and liquid immiscibility. New experiments carried out with mafic compositions at 500 MPa confirm that the most important variables on phosphate saturation are SiO₂ and CaO. Fluorine addition leads to apatite saturation at lower SiO₂ and higher CaO concentrations. Comparison of our results with those of previous experimental studies on liquid–liquid immiscibility at upper-to-mid-crustal conditions allows us to investigate the relative importance of apatite saturation versus liquid–liquid immiscibility in the petrogenesis of nelsonites and similar rocks. The liquid line of descent of three natural examples studied (the Sept-Îles intrusive suite, the anorthositic Complex of the Lac-St-Jean and the Skaergaard layered intrusion) do not cross the liquid–liquid immiscibility field before they reach apatite saturation. Thus, the apatite–oxide-rich rock associated with these three intrusive suites are best explained by crystal fractionation followed by accumulation of apatite and Fe–Ti oxides.     

A melt and fluid inclusion assemblage in beryl from pegmatite in the Orlovka amazonite granite, East Transbaikalia, Russia: implications for pegmatite-forming melt systems

Beryl crystals from the stockscheider pegmatite in the apical portion of the Li-F granite of the Orlovka Massif in the Khangilay complex, a tantalum deposit, contain an assemblage of melt and fluid inclusions containing two different and mutually immiscible silicate melts, plus an aqueous CO₂-rich supercritical fluid. Pure H₂O and CO₂ inclusions are subordinate. Using the terminology of Thomas R, Webster JD, Heinrich W. Contrib Mineral Petrol 139:394–401 (2000) the melt inclusions can be classified as (i) water-poor type-A and (ii) water-rich type-B inclusions. Generally the primary trapped melt droplets have crystallized to several different mineral phases plus a vapor bubble. However, type-B melt inclusions which are not crystallized also occur, and at room temperature they contain four different phases: a silicate glass, a water-rich solution, and liquid and gaseous CO₂. The primary fluid inclusions represent an aqueous CO₂-rich supercritical fluid which contained elemental sulfur. Such fluids are extremely corrosive and reactive and were supersaturated with respect to Ta and Zn. From the phase compositions and relations we can show that the primary mineral-forming, volatile-rich melt had an extremely low density and viscosity and that melt-melt-fluid immiscibility was characteristic during the crystallization of beryl. The coexistence of different primary inclusion types in single growth zones underlines the existence of at least three mutually immiscible phases in the melt in which the large beryl crystals formed. Moreover, we show that the inclusions do not represent an anomalous boundary layer.     

Implications of liquid-liquid distribution coefficients to mineral-liquid partitioning

The effect of silicate liquid structure upon mineral-liquid partitioning has been investigated by determining element partitioning data for coexisting immiscible granitic and ferrobasaltic magmas. The resulting elemental distribution patterns may be interpreted in terms of the relative states of polymerization of the coexisting magmas. Highly charged cations (REE, Ti, Fe, Mn, etc.) are enriched in the ferrobasaltic melt. The ferrobasaltic melt is relatively depolymerized due to its low $\text{Si}\text{O}$ ratio. This allows highly charged cations to obtain stable coordination polyhedra of oxygen within the ferrobasaltic melt. The granitic melt is a highly polymerized network structure in which Al can occupy tetrahedral sites in copolymerization with Si. The substitution of Al⁺³ for Si⁺⁴ produces a local charge imbalance in the granitic melt which is satisfied by a coupled substitution of alkalis, thus explaining the enrichment of low charge density cations, the alkalis, in the granitic melt. P₂O₅ increases the width of the solvus and, therefore, the values of the distribution coefficients of the trace elements. This effect is attributed to complexing of metal cations with PO₄^?3 groups in the ferrobasaltic melt.The values of ferrobasalt-granite liquid distribution coefficients are reflected in distribution coefficients for a mineral and melts of different compositions. The mineral-liquid distribution coefficient for a highly charged cation is greater for a mineral coexisting with a highly polymerized melt (granite) than it is for that same mineral and a depolymerized melt (ferrobasalt). The opposite is true for low charge density cations. Mineralliquid and liquid-liquid distribution coefficients determined for the REE's indicate that fractionated REE patterns are due to mineral selectivity and not the state of polymerization of the melt.     

Geochemistry and origin of massif-type anorthosites

Samples of Proterozoic anorthosite complexes from the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Burwash Area of Ontario, and the Nain Complex of Labrador, ranging in composition from anorthosite to anorthositic gabbro, have been analyzed for major elements, Rb, Sr, Ba and nine rare-earth elements (REE), in order to set limits on the compositions and origins of their parent magmas. Similar rock types from the different areas have similar major and trace element compositions. The anorthosites have high Sr/Ba ratios, low REE abundances (Ce about 10, Yb about 0.5–1.5 times chondrites) and large positive Eu anomalies. The associated anorthositic gabbros have lower Sr/Ba ratios, REE abundances nearly an order of magnitude higher than the anorthosites, and small to negligible positive Eu anomalies.Model calculations using the adcumulate rocks with the lowest REE abundances and published distribution coefficients yield parent liquids having REE abundances and patterns similar to those of the associated anorthositic gabbros with the highest REE abundances. Rocks with intermediate REE abundances are the result of incorporation of a liquid component by a plagioclase-rich cumulate similar to the adcumulate samples. The analytical data and model calculations both suggest parent liquids having compositions of 50–54% SiO₂, greater than 20% Al₂O₃, about 1% K₂O, atomic Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) ratios (Mg No.'s) of less than 0.4, 15–30 ppm Rb, 400–600 ppm Sr and 400–600 ppm Ba, 40–50 times chondrites for Ce and 8–10 times chondrites for Yb.The low atomic Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) values for these rocks combined with geophysical evidence suggesting there are not large quantities of ferromagnesian material at depth, indicate that the anorthositic masses are not products of fractional crystallization of mafic melt derived from melting of the mantle. Rather, it is suggested that they are a result of partial melting of tholeiitic compositions at depths shallower than the basalt-eclogite transformation, leaving a pyroxene-dominated residue.     

Geochemistry of the shawmere anorthosite complex,kapuskasing structural zone,Ontario

The Archean Shawmere Anorthosite Complex, at the southern end of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone, consists dominantly of anorthosite (An_{65 –85}) with minor gabbroic and ultramafic units, which are completely enclosed and cut by tonalites. Both the anorthosites and the tonalites are themselves cut by narrow dikes of gabbroic anorthosite. All of the rocks have undergone high grade metamorphism and are recrystallized so that few igneous textures remain.The anorthosites, gabbros and ultramafic rocks of this complex are cumulates which contain calcic plagioclase (An_65–95) and have atomic Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) ratios (Mg#) greater than 0.6; less than 3 ppm Rb; 150–210 ppm Sr; and less than 60 ppm Ba. REE abundanees range from 0.2 to 10 times chondritic and exhibit both light-enriched and light-depleted REE patterns. The lower Mg^# for the samples having more enriched light REE indicates substantial fractions of ferromagnesian minerals crystallized in addition to plagioclase during fractional crystallization, suggesting that the parent magma was basaltic, and not anorthositic. The ranges in Sr, Ba and REE abundances required for the magmas are typical of those for tholeiitic basalts from Archean greenstone belts. Thus the Shawmere Anorthosite Complex may represent cumulates of a crustal-level magma chamber which could have been the immediate source of basic Archean volcanics.One gabbroic anorthositic dike sample has a steeply fractionalted REE pattern with heavy REE abundances less than chondrites and a large positive Eu anomaly. The proposed interpretations is that this rock formed by partial melting of mafic cumulates, perhaps those of the Shawmere Anorthosite Complex itself.