Experimental examination of two-pyroxene graphical thermometers using natural pyroxenes with application to metaigneous pyroxenes from the Adirondack Mountains,New York

Clinopyroxene with exsolved orthopyroxene and coexisting orthopyroxene with exsolved clinopyroxene (inverted pigeonite) in metaigneous rocks from the Adirondacks, New York, were experimentally homogenized at temperatures near those inferred for their original crystallization. The purposes were several: (1) to test the graphical two-pyroxene geothermometer of Lindsley (1983); (2) to test the hypothesis of Bohlen and Essene (1978) that these were originally igneous pyroxenes; and (3) to test whether modal recombination of complexly exsolved pyroxenes yields realistic compositions. Experiments on Fe-rich compositions at 930° and 870° C (1 GPa) are compatible with the graphical thermometer of Lindsley (1983); however, this graphical thermometer yields apparent temperatures approximately 50° C too high for experiments at 1050° C and 1100° C (0 MPa). This suggests that at intermediate Mg/Fe the augite isotherms for these temperatures lie at lower wollastonite compositions than shown by Lindsley. The results are, however, in good agreement with isotherms derived from the solution model of Davidson (1985). When these isotherms are applied to a variety of terrestrial and lunar igneous rocks and the metaigneous rocks from the Adirondacks, temperatures given by augite and pigeonite compositions from coexisting pairs are similar. Comparison of the experimentally homogenized compositions with modally recombined compositions of Bohlen and Essene (1978) show that discrepancies between augite and pigeonite temperatures may nevertheless arise if pyroxene grains formed by granular exsolution are not correctly reintegrated.     

Geothermometry in the Kiglapait Aureole: Part II. Evaluation of Exchange Thermometry in a Well-Constrained Thermal Setting

Previous determination of a well-constrained thermal profilerepresenting peak conditions of metamorphism for the contactaureole of the Kiglapait Intrusion, Labrador, provides the basisfor critical comparative geothermometry of cation exchange thermometersapplied to mafic and ultramafic granulites. Knowledge of theshape of the profile and constraints on the temperature of theintruding magma allow calculation of cooling rates which rangefrom 150?C/m.y. at the contact to 30?C/m.y. at 2500 m from thecontact. Substitution of these rates in diffusion equationspermits discrimination between geothermometers which are eitheradequately or poorly calibrated, as well as thermometers whichare probably inappropriate for use in metamorphic terranes.Our results suggest that the two-pyroxene thermometer (Lindsley& Andersen, 1983) is accurate from 950 to 750?C. Below 750?C,both limbs of the miscibility gap require at least minor recalibration,or the projection scheme of Lindsley & Andersen (1983) requiresadjustment. Results from the cpx-ilm thermometer are erraticand imply that the solution models for pyroxene and ilmenite,as presently formulated in this thermometer, are inadequate.Results from the opx-ilm, ol-ilm, and opx-ol thermometers areinconsistent. Theoretical calculations at both high and lowtemperatures show that these three thermometers cannot giveinternally consistent results. Results from Fe-Ti oxide thermometrysuggest that these minerals are easily re-equilibrated due tocation interdiffusion between grains. However some grain pairsappear to retain compositions appropriate to peak thermal conditions.     

Ternary feldspar thermometry in granulites from the Oaxacan Complex,Mexico

Coexisting feldspars from across 2,000 km² of the granulite facies Oaxacan Complex, southern Mexico exhibit variable amounts of solid solution from nearly binary (Ab-An and Ab-Or) to substantially ternary (Ab-An-Or). Reintegrated analyses of 21 coarsely exsolved perthite (AF)-plagioclase (PL) pairs yield AF=Or_30–63 Ab_30–56An_2–15 and PL=Or_1–2Ab_70–84An_11–28. These data have been used to test existing two feldspar geothermometers for this extended composition range.For all compositions, temperature estimates show relatively little spread in value (660° to 795° C, 7 kbar) using the Haselton et al. (1983) calibration (HHHR). These temperatures are in fair agreement with estimates of 750±40° C for feldspar pairs with nearly binary compositions using the Stormer (1975) thermometer (STO). However, STO temperatures increase significantly (to 990° C) with increasing ternary solid solution in AF, suggesting that thermometers derived for binary systems are inaccurate for ternary compositions. Isotherms drawn from HHHR which take into account variable anorthite solution in alkali feldspar show that estimated temperature decreased by 50–100° C for each 5 mole percent anorthite in alkali feldspar.Experimentally determined solvus relations (Seck 1971) require feldspars with significant ternary solid solution to have crystallized or to have equilibrated at higher temperature than feldspars with more binary compositions. However, petrographic and field relations of ternary and binary feldspars in the Oaxacan Complex suggest they were all equilibrated at similar metamorphic pressures and temperatures and do not support a model where ternary feldspars have preserved higher premetamorphic temperatures. The composition of coexisting feldspars from other Precambrian granulite-facies terranes are also inconsistent with Seck's (1971) results. Hence, thermometers which fit Seck's solvus relations may not yield accurate temperatures in high grade metamorphic terranes. Parallel tie-lines for ternary and binary feldspars in the Oaxacan Complex and the consistency of inferred temperatures (HHHR) for many granulite terranes suggest that estimation of temperature using tie-line slopes rather than solvus width may yield more accurate results for these samples.Peak metamorphic conditions in the Oaxacan Complex are inferred to have been 730±50° C, 7±1 kbar. Pressure estimates from four garnet-plagioclase barometers show good agreement. Results of feldspar thermometry are consistent with diopside-forsterite equilibria in marbles which restrict T=720–765° C at P=7 kbar.     

A critical evaluation of two-pyroxene thermometry in Adirondack granulites

Temperatures have been calculated from the composition of sixty-five coexisting ortho- and clinopyroxene pairs from the Adirondacks, New York, using calibrations proposed by Wood & Banno (1973), Ross & Huebner (1975), Saxena (1976) and Wells (1977), in order to test the accuracy and precision of pyroxene thermometers in metamorphic granulites. Calculated temperatures are highly scattered ($\text{<600–900°}\text{C}$) and show no systematic variation within the Adirondack terrane. Several pyroxene pairs from very localized areas near Colton (N.W. Adirondacks) and Tupper Lake (C. Adirondacks) yield similar scattered temperatures (600–900°C), which disagree with feldspar and oxide thermometry and are inconsistent with the stability of various silicate and/or sulfide assemblages. All pyroxene thermometer models are sensitive to ferrous-ferric ratios with variations of up to 50°C when Fe³⁺ is estimated from pyroxene stoichiometry of pyroxene compositions obtained by microprobe analysis. These data suggest that the present pyroxene thermometers are sufficiently inconsistent, inaccurate and imprecise that they should not be used as quantitative thermometers in metamorphic rocks.     

金红石Zr和锆石Ti含量地质温度计

作为近年来新提出的两种单矿物微量元素温度计(金红石Zr含量温度计和锆石Ti含量温度计),由于其简单实用,一经提出便引起了广泛注意,许多研究者尝试将温度计应用于各种不同类型的岩石中。到目前为止每种温度计都存在几个不同的计算公式、这些公式的适用范围和适用的地质情况目前已有统一认识,但是对于所测定温度的地质意义还存在争议。在对变质岩中金红石Zr含量温度计的应用研究中,一部分研究者发现这个温度计所得到的温度与造岩矿物阳离子配分温度计相吻合,因此可以指示峰期变质温度。然而,在对大别-苏鲁造山带超高压变质岩的研究中发现,金红石Zr含量温度计得到的温度比峰期变质温度明显偏低。通过对比国内外的研究分析,认识到不仅压力、活度、元素扩散、流体作用的参与导致的退变反应可能致使微量元素温度计所记录的温度偏低,而且矿物的不同生长世代或生长介质的不同都可能致使微量元素温度偏低。因此,在应用地质温度计时,要结合样品的岩相学、矿物包裹体和微量元素、U-Pb体系定年等方面予以综合考虑,并对矿物的形成环境和形成世代加以限定,从而为合理解释矿物中微量元素的分配及其记录的温度信息提供有效制约。     

K-Ar Radiometric Age Determinations of White Micas from the Piemont Zone,French-Italian Western Alps

The olivine-clinopyroxene (Fe-Mg partition) geothermometer of Powell and Powell (1974) was derived on the basis of clinopyroxene mixing parameters which imply a large miscibility gap in CaFeSi₂O₆-CaMgSi₂O₆-CaAl₂SiO₆ clinopyroxenes at 950° C. Application of the Powell and Powell thermometer in an empirical way (ignoring likely errors in mixing parameters) is limited by the fact that almost all natural clinopyroxene-olivine pairs are constrained by the form of the equation to have 1-bar temperatures within the narrow (915–1,060° C) limits of their calibration points.Temperatures obtained from the Powell and Powell thermometer have been compared with those obtained from clinopyroxene-orthopyroxene (miscibility gap) thermometers; agreement with the latter is poor. There are discrepancies between calculated and observed (experimental) temperatures for iron-rich clinopyroxene-olivine pairs. It is concluded that application of the thermometer in its present form is unlikely to produce reliable results.     

Recalibration of mutually consistent garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite geothermometers

Garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite geothermometers have been consistently calibrated, using the results of Fe²⁺–Mg cation exchange experiments and utilizing recently evaluated nonideal mixing properties of garnet. Nonideal mixing parameters of biotite (including Fe, Mg, Al^VI, and Ti) and of cordierite (involving Fe and Mg) are evaluated in terms of iterative multiple least-square regressions of the experimental results. Assuming the presence of ferric Fe in biotite in relation to the coexisting Fe-oxide phases (Case A), and assuming the absence of ferric Fe in biotite (Case B), two formulae of garnet–biotite thermometer have been derived. The garnet–cordierite geothermometer was constructed using Margules parameters of garnet adopted in the garnet–biotite geothermometers. The newly calibrated garnet–biotite and garnet–cordierite thermometers clearly show improved conformity in the calculated temperatures. The thermometers give temperatures that are consistent with each other using natural garnet–biotite–cordierite assemblages within ±50 °C. The effects of ferric Fe in biotite on garnet–biotite thermometry have been evaluated comparing the two calibrations of the thermometer. The effects are significant; it is clarified that taking ferric Fe content in biotite into account leads to less dispersion of thermometric results.     

Equilibration temperatures of the ordinary chondrites: A new evaluation

Kretz (1982) and Lindsley (1983) have each calibrated the Ca-pyroxene thermometer. These new calibrations are applied to 24 analyzed pyroxenes from 24 H6, L6 and LL6 chondrites. Both thermometers agree that the H group equilibrated to a significantly lower temperature, 820°–830°C, than the L and LL groups. The two thermometers disagree on the value of the higher temperature of equilibration of the L and LL groups, giving values of 860°C (Lindsley) to 930°C (Kretz).     

Two-pyroxene thermometry of Precambrian granulites from Cape Riche, Albany-Fraser Province, Western Australia

Coexisting Ca-poor and Ca-rich pyroxenes in granulites at Cape Riche, in the Precambrian Albany-Fraser Province, Western Australia, are dominantly chemically homogeneous within individual samples, suggesting a major episode of equilibration. However, occasional grains in a few samples contain exsolved domains interpreted as relics of an earlier, higher-T assemblage. Pyroxene pairs in ten, presumably isothermal, samples from a restricted area are used to (i) assess the suitability of several versions of the two-pyroxene thermometer for application to metamorphic rocks, and (ii) determine the thermal history of the Cape Riche pyroxenes. The various versions of the two-pyroxene thermometer applied to the well-equilibrated homogeneous pyroxene grains show poor to good precision and yield mean temperatures varying widely from 683° to 893°C, in the following order of increasing T: Lindsley (1983; opx version), 683°± 11°C; Kretz (1982; K_D version), 705°± 19°C; Ross & Huebner (1975), 709°± 30°C; Kretz (1982; solvus version), 735°± 24°C; Fonarev & Graphchikov (1982; opx version), <750°C; Lindsley (1983; cpx version), 784°± 40°C; Fonarev & Graphchikov (1982; cpx version), ~820°± 30°C; Wood & Banno (1973), 849°± 16°C; Powell (1978), 854°± 23°C; Wells (1977), 893°± 10°C. Independent T estimates, based on mafic assemblages and garnet-biotite thermometry, suggest that the major episode of metamorphism occurred at 700-800°C (P ~ 5 kbar). Therefore the Wells, Powell, Wood & Banno and Fonarev & Graphchikov (cpx) temperatures are almost certainly too high. In the absence of a more precise independent T estimate it is difficult to assess the relative merits of the results obtained from the remaining versions of the two-pyroxene thermometer, none of which can be unequivocally demonstrated to be seriously in error, though the Lindsley (opx) T is probably too low. Other significant shortcomings evident in the results include the relatively poor precision obtained from the three methods based on purely graphical representation of the augite limb of the solvus (i.e., the Ross & Huebner, Fonarev & Graphchikov (cpx) and Lindsley (cpx) versions), and the apparent dependence of derived T on Mg/Fe²⁺ ratio for the Powell, Wood & Banno and Lindsley (cpx) methods. For the bulk compositions of exsolved domains, the different versions of the two-pyroxene thermometer yield mean temperatures 23° to 82°C (overall mean, 65°C) higher than for homogeneous grains in the same samples. These exsolved domains are interpreted as relics of a higher-T (peak?) metamorphic assemblage, rather than an igneous precursor.     

Experimental constraints on ureilite petrogenesis

This experimental study explores the petrogenesis of ureilites by a partial melting/smelting process. Experiments have been performed over temperature (1150-1280 °C), pressure (5-12.5 MPa), and low oxygen fugacity (graphite-CO gas) conditions appropriate for a hypothetical ureilite parent body ∼200 km in size. Experimental and modeling results indicate that a partial melting/smelting model of ureilite petrogenesis can explain many of the unique characteristics displayed by this meteorite group. Compositional information preserved in the pigeonite-olivine ureilites was used to estimate the composition of melts in equilibrium with the ureilites. The results of 20 experiments saturated with olivine, pyroxene, metal, and liquid with appropriate ureilite compositions are used to calibrate the phase coefficients and pressure-temperature dependence of the smelting reaction. The calibrated coefficients are used to model the behavior of a hypothetical residue that is experiencing fractional smelting. The residue is initially olivine-rich and smelting progressively depletes the olivine content and enriches the pyroxene and metal contents of the residues. The modeled residue composition at 1260 °C best reproduces the trend of ureilite bulk compositions. The model results also indicate that as a ureilite residue undergoes isothermal decompression smelting over a range of temperatures, Ca/Al values and Cr₂O₃ contents are enriched at lower temperatures (below ∼1240 °C) and tend to decrease at higher temperatures. Therefore, fractional smelting can account for the high Ca/Al and Cr₂O₃ wt% values observed in ureilites. We propose that ureilites were generated from an olivine-rich, cpx-bearing residue. Smelting began when the residue was partially melted and contained liquid, olivine, and carbon. These residues experienced varying degrees of fractional smelting to produce the compositional variability observed within the pigeonite-bearing ureilites. Variations in mineral composition, modal proportions, and isotopic signatures are best described by heterogeneous accretion of the ureilite parent body followed by minimal and variable degrees of igneous processing.     

Activity/composition relations in the ternary feldspars

Activity/composition relations are presented for high-structural state feldspars whose bulk compositions lie within the ternary system NaAlSi₃O₈ CaAl₂Si₂O₈-KAlSi₃O₈. The expressions are parameterized from the data for coexisting feldspars of Seck (1971a) using an asymmetric regular solution approximation for the excess Gibbs free energy of mixing and an Al-avoidance model for the configurational entropy of solution. The solution properties of the plagioclase and alkali-feldspar binaries have been made to conform to the recent work of Thompson and Hovis (1979) and Newton et al. (1980). Using the proposed model the ternary feldspar solvus is extrapolated in temperature (up to 1,500° C) and pressure (up to 5kbars). A new two-feldspar geothermometer is presented which provides somewhat more reasonable estimates of crystallization temperatures than the equations and graphs of Stornier (1975), Powell and Powell (1977), Brown and Parsons (1981) and Haselton et al. (1983). In conjunction, some criteria are suggested for establishing the existence of equilibrium tie-lines between coexisting ternary feldspars in rhyolites and trachytes. Calculated values of the activity of KAlSi₃O₈ in plagioclase are examined in some detail. These compare favorably with independent estimates obtained from experimentally grown plagioclases precipitating at liquidus temperatures from igneous rocks of widely varying alkali contents.     

A REE-in-plagioclase–clinopyroxene thermometer for crustal rocks

A REE-in-plagioclase-clinopyroxene thermometer has been developed on the basis of the temperature- and composition-dependent rare-earth element (REE) partitioning between coexisting plagioclase and clinopyroxene. This two-mineral exchange thermobarometer is constructed using parameters from lattice strain models for REE?+?Y partitioning in plagioclase and in clinopyroxene that were independently calibrated against experimentally determined mineral-melt partitioning data. An important advantage of this REE-based thermometer is that it can provide accurate temperatures through linear least-squares analysis of REE?+?Y as a group. Applications of the REE-in-plagioclase-clinopyroxene thermometer to volcanic and cumulate rocks show that temperatures derived from the new thermometer agree well with independently constrained magma crystallization temperatures, which adds confidence to applications of the REE-exchange thermometer to natural rocks with a wide spectrum of composition (i.e., from basalt to rhyolite). However, systematic temperature differences appear between the REE- and Mg-exchange thermometers for the volcanic and cumulate rocks. Through numerical simulations of diffusion in plagioclase-clinopyroxene systems, we demonstrate that (1) due to their slower diffusion rates, REE in minerals preferentially records crystallization or near-crystallization temperatures of the rock, and that (2) Mg is readily rest to lower temperatures for rocks from intermediately or slowly cooled magma bodies but records the initial crystallization temperatures of rocks from rapidly cooled magmas. Given their distinct diffusive responses to temperature changes, REE and Mg closure temperatures recorded by the two thermometers can be used in concert to study thermal and magmatic histories of plagioclase- and clinopyroxene-bearing rocks.     

Diopside-jadeite join at 16–22 GPa

Phase relations on the diopside-jadeite join were experimentally determined at 16–22 GPa pressures and temperatures in the vicinity of 1500 °C under hydrous and 2100 °C under anhydrous conditions, using a split-sphere anvil apparatus (USSA-2000). Starting compositions on the diopside-jadeite join produced assemblages containing CaSiO₃ perovskite. This assured that the coexisting garnet with compositions in the ternary system Mg₂Si₂O₆(En)-CaMgSi₂O₆(Di)-NaAlSi₂ O₆(Jd) had the maximum Ca content possible under the given conditions. Garnet reached its maximum Ca content at 17 GPa, and exsolved CaSiO₃ perovskite at higher pressures. The garnet composition closest to the join, En₅Di_47.5Jd_47.5 (mol%), was reached at 18–19 GPa and 2100 °C. The maximum Na content of garnet limited by the coexisting pyroxene did not exceed 51 mol% jadeite at 22 GPa and 2100 °C. At 22 GPa, pyroxene was replaced with NaAlSiO₄ (calcium ferrite structure) and stishovite under anhydrous conditions, while in the presence of H₂O a new hydrous Na-bearing phase with the ideal composition Na₇(Ca, Mg)₃AlSi₅O₉(OH)₁₈ was synthesized instead. Garnet coexisting with CaSiO₃ perovskite and MgSiO₃ ilmenite at 22 GPa and 1400 °C was En₅₁Di₉Jd₄₀, coincidentally identical to the first garnet forming in the ternary system at 13 GPa. The new data are applicable to the Earth's transition zone (400–670 km depths) and suggest that the transformation from eclogite to garnetite would occur primarily over a limited depth interval from 400 to 500 km. Gaps in the observed garnet compositions suggest immiscibility, which could potentially cause a sharp 400 km discontinuity in an eclogitic mantle.     

Towards a more practical two-feldspar geothermometer

The thermodynamic basis of several recent attempts to formulate a simple two-feldspar geothermometer is discussed, together with a review of earlier empirical geothermometers and ones based on experimental studies in the ternary feldspar system. It is shown that double-binary thermometers which involve the combination of regular solution mixing models for the binary alkali feldspar system with ideal mixing in plagioclases do not give a satisfactory representation of two-feldspar relations, especially for albite-rich compositions where a critical point exists. Thermometers based on mixing parameters for ordered alkali feldspar frameworks are even more unjustified both because low-plagioclases are certainly non-ideal, and because of uncertainty in knowing the degree of Al-Si order in the alkali feldspar when exchange equilibrium was achieved. A thermodynamic thermometer requires knowledge of ternary activities which are at present unknown.Experimental determinations of relationships in the ternary feldspar system are reviewed and the correct general form of the thermometer constructed using mainly the experimental data of Seck (1971a) and Smith and Parsons (1974). Chemographic tests for equilibrium between feldspar pairs are suggested and petrographie features discussed.In an appendix new values are given of Margules parameters calculated for binary disordered alkali feldspars from recent solvus data up to 15 kbars, and their physico-chemical basis examined. We suggest that accurate representations of the mixing properties of disordered alkali feldspars using Margules parameters are at present premature.     

Oxygen isotope thermometry of basic lavas and mantle nodules

Measurements have been made of the oxygen isotope and chemical composition of glass and phenocrysts in lavas and coexisting minerals in mantle nodules. Temperatures of formation of these assemblages have been estimated from various chemical thermometers and range from 855° to 1,300° C. The permil fractionations between coexisting orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene in the lavas and nodules are all near zero. The fractionations between pyroxene and olivine vary from +1.2 to –1.4 and are a smooth function of temperature over the entire range. This function is given by T(° C)=1151-173 (px-d)-68²(px-d) and has an uncertainty of ±60° (2). At temperatures above 1,150° C, olivine in the nodules becomes more¹⁸O-rich than coexisting clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and plagioclase. In combination with the experimental work of Muehlenbachs and Kushiro (1974), the olivine-pyroxene fractionations indicate that olivine also becomes substantially more¹⁸O-rich than basaltic liquids above 1,200° C. Geothermometers based on the oxygen isotope equilibration of basaltic liquid with olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase are presented.     

加拿大Slave 克拉通橄榄岩的平衡温压计算

加拿大Slave克拉通Jericho金伯利岩筒携带的橄榄岩包体提供了研究大陆岩石圈地幔物质组成和热结构的窗口。文章总结了地幔岩矿物温压计的研究进展,测量了Jericho金伯利岩携带的9个新鲜橄榄岩包体的矿物主量元素和微量元素,并使用不同的矿物温压计估算了平衡温度和压力。结果表明Nickel 和 Green（1985）的石榴子石—斜方辉石压力计可以较好地估算含石榴子石橄榄岩形成时的压力,Taylor（1998）二辉石温度计和Nimis 和 Taylor（2000）单斜辉石温度计的计算结果一致。具有粗粒变晶结构的尖晶石—石榴子石橄榄岩和石榴子石橄榄岩样品的平衡温度为575~843℃,压力为2.4~3.6 GPa,表明Slave克拉通岩石圈地幔温度较低。而残斑结构尖晶石—石榴子石二辉橄榄岩的平衡温度1109℃,压力为5.0 GPa,来源深度为~156 km,可能被早期金伯利岩浆携带到岩石圈地幔中部冷却,然后再被侏罗纪喷发的Jericho金伯利岩筒带到地表。使用石榴子石—单斜辉石稀土元素温压计获得的平衡温度高于主量元素温度计的结果,表明Slave克拉通岩石圈地幔经历了逐渐冷却的过程。此外,Slave克拉通浅部的尖晶石橄榄岩保留了强烈亏损的早期岩石圈地幔特征,而下部的岩石圈地幔经历了金伯利岩熔体和硅酸盐熔体的交代作用。     

The thermal history of equilibrated ordinary chondrites and the relationship between textural maturity and temperature

The compositions and textures of phases in eleven equilibrated ordinary chondrites from the H, L, and LL groups spanning petrographic types 4-6 were studied and used to constrain the thermal histories of their parent bodies. Based on Fe-Mg exchange between olivine and spinel, average equilibration temperatures for type 4-6 chondrites encompass a small range, 586-777 °C, relative to what is commonly assumed for peak temperatures (600-950 °C). The maximum temperatures recorded by individual chondrites, which are minima relative to peak metamorphic temperatures, increase subtly but systematically with metamorphic type and are tightly clustered for H4-6 (733-754 °C) and LL4-6 (670-777 °C). For the Ls, Ausson (L5) records a higher maximum olivine-spinel temperature (761 °C) than does the L4 chondrite Saratov (673 °C) or the L6 chondrite Glatton (712 °C). Our data combined with olivine-spinel equilibration temperatures calculated for other equilibrated ordinary chondrites using mineral compositions from the literature demonstrate that, in general, type 4 chondrites within each chemical group record temperatures lower than or equal to those of types 5-6 chondrites.For H chondrites, the olivine-spinel closure temperature is a function of spinel grain size, such that larger grains, abundant in types 5-6 chondrites, record temperatures of ∼740 °C or more while smaller grains, rare in types 5-6 but abundant in type 4 chondrites, record lower temperatures. Olivine-spinel temperatures in the type 6 chondrites Guareña and Glatton are consistent with rapid (50-100 °C/Myr) cooling from high temperatures in the ordinary chondrite parent bodies. With one exception (∼500 °C/Myr), olivine-spinel data for St.-Séverin (LL6) are consistent with similar cooling rates. Cooling rates of order 100 °C/Myr at ∼750 °C for type 6 chondrites are considerably higher than previously determined cooling rates for lower temperatures (?550 °C) based on metallography, fission tracks, and geochronology. For H chondrites, current thermal models of an “onion shell” parent body are inconsistent with a small range of peak temperatures based on olivine-spinel and two pyroxene thermometry combined with a wide dispersion of cooling rates at low temperatures. Equilibrated chondrites may have sampled regions near a major transition in physical properties such as near the base of a regolith pile.     

Behavior of Siderophile and Chalcophile Elements in the Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle beneath the Changbaishan Volcano,NE China

The mantle xenoliths in the Quaternary ChangbaishanVolcano in southern Jilin Province contain spinel-facies lherzolites. The equilibration temperatures for these samples range from 902oC to 1064oC based on the two-pyroxene thermometer of Brey and K?hler (1990), and using the oxybarometry of Nell and Wood (1991), the oxidation state was estimated from FMQ-1.32 to -0.38 with an average value of FMQ-0.81 (n?=?8), which is comparable to that of abyssal peridotites and the asthenospheric mantle. The fO2 values of peridotites, together with their bulk rock compositions (e.g., Mg#, Al2O3, CaO, Ni, Co, Cr) and mineral compositions (e.g., Mg# of olivine and pyroxene, Cr# [=Cr/[Cr+Al]] and Mg# [=Mg/[Mg+Fe2+] of spinel), suggest that the present-day subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Changbaishan Volcano most likely formed from an upwelling asthenosphere at some time after the late Mesozoic and has undergone a low degree of partial melting. The studied lherzolite xenoliths show low concentrations of S, Cu, and platinum group elements (PGE), which plot a flat pattern on primitive-mantle normalized diagram. Very low concentrations in our samples suggest that PGEs occur as alloys or hosted by silicate and oxide minerals. The compositions of the studied samples are similar to those of peridotite xenoliths in the Longgang volcanic field (LVF) in their mineralogy and bulk rock compositions including the abundance of chalcophile and siderophile elements. However, they are distinctly different from those of peridotite xenoliths in other areas of the North China Craton (NCC) in terms of Cu, S and PGE. Our data suggest that the SCLM underlying the northeastern part of the NCC may represent a distinct unit of the newly formed lithospheric mantle.     

Cooling process of a granitic body deduced from the extents of exsolution and deuteric sub-solidus reactions: Case study of the Okueyama granitic body, Kyushu, Japan

The variation in cooling processes with depth in a magma body is evaluated quantitatively by analysis of the extent of exsolution coarsening and deuteric coarsening as sub-solidus reactions. This method is applied to evaluation of the Okueyama granitic body of central Kyushu, Japan. Exsolution coarsening has produced microperthite textures in this body, while deuteric coarsening has resulted in patchperthite, myrmekite, and reaction rims, respectively. Through measurement of six textural parameters, including the width and spacing of lamellae and the thickness of myrmekite and reaction rims, the extent of these sub-solidus reactions is shown to increase systematically with depth in the granite body, indicating that the Okueyama cooled gradually from the roof. The hornblende–plagioclase and ternary feldspar thermometers indicate temperature a range of 710 to 620 °C for volume diffusion associated with exsolution coarsening, while deuteric coarsening is found to have occurred at temperatures below 500 °C on the basis of the ternary feldspar thermometer. The cooling period corresponding to exsolution coarsening is estimated using a one-dimensional heat transfer model, yielding periods of 820 y at the roof and 1390–1890 y at the base of the exposure (1000 m below the roof) depending on total depth of the original magma body.     

Inter- and intra-crystalline temperature and pressure estimates on pyroxenes from NE Brazil mantle xenoliths

Mercier's thermobarometer (Mercier 1980) and Saxena's thermometer (Dal Negro et al. 1982) were applied to single pyroxenes of both porphyroclastic (PF) and protogranular (PR) spinel peridotitic nodules enclosed in alkaline products related to necks of North-Eastern Brazil. Intercrystalline temperatures obtained using both orthopyroxene (opx) and clinopyroxene (cpx) compositions were in agreement, and were lower in protogranular than in porphyroclastic nodules (1051±57 and 1266±19°C respectively). In contrast, pressure estimates using cpx and opx were conflicting, in particular as regards PF nodules. In fact for PF nodules cpx compositions point to 27–32 kbar (mean 29±2) whereas opx compositions point to 17–19 kbar (mean 18±1). Conversely, PR nodule cpx and opx compositions point to similar values 17–24 and 15–18 kbar respectively (mean 19±4). The result obtained for PF nodules using cpx composition clearly contrasts with petrographic evidence and it is due to the peculiar composition of PF cpx (e.g. low Ca content, from 0.645 to 0.737 atoms per formula unit, a.f.u.) that strongly affects the barometric formulation. The PR and PF cpxs reveal similar mean intracrystalline temperature estimates (712±112 and 778±217°C, respectively). These, considering the difference of about 200°C in the intercrystalline temperature estimates, indicate that the exchange cation reaction between the M1 and M2 sites was a faster process in PF than in PR cpx, favoured by the low Ca content of PF cpx. Thus alternatively, the composition of PF cpx, characterized by a high rate of Ca » Mg substitution in the M2 site, may not affect the intercrystalline temperature. Therefore the difference of about 200°C found in intercrystalline temperatures between PR and PF cpxs, in spite of their same pressure values, may be interpreted as indicating an anomalous temperature gradient in the region.