REE geochemistry of eclogites and associated rocks from Sauviat-sur-Vige, Massif Central, France

Representative samples of metagabbros, eclogites and a garnet peridotite from the Massif de Sauviat-sur-Vige (West Massif Central) have been analyzed for major and trace elements (including REE). The LREE enriched patterns are distinct from those of modern MORB but resemble those of continental or ocean island tholeiites. An intraplate tectoning setting is thus inferred. Geochemical modeling using REE and major element contents suggests that all the rock types might be related genetically by fractional crystallization, and, in some instances, by mixing of cumulates and differentiated liquid as in the case of the garnet peridotite. P, T estimates from microprobe analyses of coexisting garnet-clinopyroxene pairs yield about 820°C, and P > 15 kb for the eclogite facies metamorphism.     

A complex magmatic system beneath the Devès volcanic field,Massif Central,France: evidence from clinopyroxene megacrysts

Clinopyroxene megacrysts and mineral aggregates with clinopyroxene occur in the volcanic deposits at Mont Briançon and Marais de Limagne, which are located in the northern part of the Devès volcanic field (Massif Central, France). The clinopyroxenes can be subdivided into five groups based upon their major and trace element chemistry. Types 1a, 1b and 1c have mg# ～0.80 and are relatively Al-rich and low in Na and Fe³⁺. Subdivision into three groups is based on differing trace element signatures. Type 2 clinopyroxenes have mg# = 0.63–0.65 and higher Na and Fe³⁺ (Fe³⁺/ΣFe > 0.4) contents and may contain apatite inclusions. A type 3 megacryst is Fe-rich (mg# = ～0.52) and has the highest Na and Fe³⁺ contents, as well as containing titanite and apatite inclusions. High Fe³⁺ contents in all clinopyroxenes investigated emphasises the need to consider Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ when assessing the petrologic origin of such megacrysts. The large range in mg# means that the clinopyroxenes could not all have crystallised from the same melt; in fact comparison with the basanitic host lavas from the two localities reveal that nearly all of the megacrysts are xenocrystic in the strict sense. The clinopyroxenes are mostly genetically related, having crystallised from related melts within the magmatic system that had undergone various degrees of differentiation. Similarities in clinopyroxene chemistry indicate that both volcanic centres are linked to the same magmatic system at depth. Assessing the depth of crystallisation reveals that types 1a and 1b formed in the lithospheric mantle, near the asthenosphere–lithosphere boundary, whereas types 1c, 2 and 3 formed in crustal magma chambers or conduits. Eruption was induced by a pulse of Mg-rich magma from the asthenosphere that entered the existing magmatic system, entraining clinopyroxene as megacrysts at several stages of ascent, before erupting at the surface. The style of eruption at Mont Briançon (cinder cone) and Marais de Limagne (maar) is different and most likely reflects local differences in near-surface hydrology. The essentially identical variety in megacrysts at the two localities suggests that eruption must have been nearly contemporaneous.     

Sulfur and selenium systematics of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle: Inferences from the Massif Central xenolith suite (France)

Selenium has been analyzed in addition to S in 58 spinel peridotite xenoliths collected in Cenozoic alkali basalts from the Massif Central (France). The S concentration range now available for this suite, calculated from 123 samples, is the largest ever reported for alkali basalt-hosted xenoliths (<3-592 ppm). Likewise, the Se concentrations range between 0.2 and 67 ppb. No partial melting signature can be identified from the S and Se systematic. Half of the analyzed xenoliths have lost S during supergene weathering. By contrast, neither surficial alteration, nor loss of chalcophile elements during eruption can explain the regional-scale variations of S and Se concentrations. A first group of lherzolite xenoliths sampled in Southern Massif Central, from volcanic centers older and spatially unrelated to the Massif Central plume that triggered the Cenozoic volcanism, contains between 20 and 250 ppm S (with occasional S concentrations up to 592 ppm) and 12-67 ppb Se. It is clear that the highest S values, originally interpreted as representing S abundances in the primitive mantle, were in fact enriched by metasomatism. Highly variable S and Se contents (<5-360 ppm; 9-52 ppb) have also been observed in peridotite xenoliths collected in the Northern Massif Central, from volcanic centers mostly older than the plume. Like Group I xenoliths, these Group II xenoliths were strongly metasomatized by volatile-rich carbonated/silicated melts which precipitated Cu-rich sulfides. A third group of xenoliths from Plio-Quaternary basalts spatially related to the Massif Central Plume are uniformly poor in S (10-60 ppm) and Se (9-29 ppb). In this Group III, poikiloblastic textured xenoliths have lost most of their S and Se budget by peridotite-melt interactions at high melt/rock ratios. Taken as a whole, the Massif Central xenolith suite provides further evidence for strong heterogeneities in the S and Se budget of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. However, the few LREE-depleted fertile lherzolites that escaped strong metasomatic alterations suggest a S- and Se-depleted primitive mantle reservoir compared to currently accepted primitive mantle estimates.     

Chronological and geochemical study of lavas from the Chaîne des Puys,Massif Central,France: Evidence for crustal contamination

Datations of ancient lavas from the Chaîne des Puys through the ²³⁰Th-²³⁸U radioactive disequilibrium method confirm the eruption of several basaltic or slightly differentiated lavas around 40,000 years ago. The study of (²³⁰Th/²³²Th)₀ initial ratios of these lava flows clearly demonstrates the influence of a crustal contamination of magmas superimposed to crystal fractionation. This contamination probably affects many trace elements, in particular, U, Th and Sr. A model based on the (²³⁰Th/²³²Th)₀ initial ratio variations of non-contaminated lavas permits to consider that the first eruptions in the Chaîne des Puys could have occurred about 100,000 years ago.     

Geological, geochemical and metallogenetic evaluation of the Pontgibaud vein swarm and its surrounding area, Massif Central, France

The Pontgibaud vein swarm, which has been exploited since Roman times for Pb, Zn and Ag, is a NNE-trending system located in the Massif Central about 30 km west of Clermont-Ferrand.     

210Pb, 226Ra and 32Si in Pavin lake (Massif Central,France)

Measurements of cosmogenic ³²Si and the U-decay series' nuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ²²⁶Ra in waters and sediments of lake Pavin are reported. Both ²¹⁰Pb and ²²⁶Ra are enriched in the anoxic deep waters compared to the oxic surface waters, respectively by a factor of 4 and 10, whereas ³²Si is depleted by a factor of2. Redox conditions in the lake appear to have no marked effect on the ³²Si. Using a steady-state box model it is shown that the deep-water ³²Si concentration is controlled by the underground lacustrine springs. The residence times of ²¹⁰Pb, ³²Si and ²²⁶Ra are1,10 and80 a, respectively. In the case of ³²Si, where more data are available, the assessed inventory data from the overhead atmospheric fallout and that measured in the sediments agree very well as expected. The ²¹⁰Pb- and ³²Si-based deposition rates during the past100 a ranged from 0.8 to 1.9 mm a⁻¹, earlier these were a factor of3–5 faster. The geochemistry of ³²Si and ²¹⁰Pb in lake Pavin in many ways resembles that in the ocean, only the time scales of the processes involved are faster.     

Muscovite recrystallization and saddle-shaped Ar/Ar age spectra: example from the Blond granite (Massif Central, France)

Muscovites from the Blond granite (West French Massif Central) were dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar single-grain method. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages obtained vary from 305.5 ± 0.3 Ma to 311.3 ± 0.5 Ma, and most of the age spectra are slightly saddle-shaped. The analyzed muscovites show phengitic recrystallization under optical microscope observations, SEM images, and electron microprobe chemical analyses. It is proposed that the saddle-shaped age spectra result from a partial recrystallization, which produced three different isotopic reservoirs in the analyzed white mica single grains: domains of early muscovite, domains of neocrystallized muscovite formed by phengitic and Al-Fe substitutions, and “low-activation energy sites.”     

Petrogenesis of alkaline basalt-hosted sapphire megacrysts. Petrological and geochemical investigations of in situ sapphire occurrences from the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field,Germany

Megacrystic sapphires are frequently associated with alkaline basalts, most notably in Asia and Australia, although basalt is not generally normative in corundum. Most of these sapphire occurrences are located in alluvial or eluvial deposits, making it difficult to study the enigmatic relationship between the sapphires and their host rocks. Here, we present detailed petrological and geochemical investigations of in situ megacrystic sapphires within alkaline basalts from the Cenozoic Siebengebirge Volcanic Field (SVF) in Germany. Markedly, the sapphires show several micrometer thick spinel coronas at the contact with the host basalt, indicating chemical disequilibrium between the sapphire and the basaltic melt, supporting a xenogenetic relationship. However, in situ U–Pb dating of a Columbite Group inclusion within one Siebengebirge sapphire using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) indicates a close genetic relationship between sapphire crystallization and alkaline mafic volcanism in the SVF. The syngenetic mineral inclusion suite including carbonates, members of the Pyrochlore, Betafite and Columbite Groupe minerals, as well as a high abundance of HFSE and of gaseous low-density CO₂ inclusions support a parentage of a highly evolved, MgO and FeO deficient carbonatitic melt. We identified CO₂ to be the link between alkaline basaltic volcanism and the xenocrystic sapphires. Only alkaline volcanic suites can build up enough CO₂ in this magma chamber upon fractionation so that at high degrees of fractionation a carbonatitic melt exsolves which in turn can crystallize sapphires.     

Chemistry of rainwater in the Massif Central (France): a strontium isotope and major element study

Atmospheric aerosols (sea salt, crustal dust, and biogenic aerosols) are the primary source of dissolved species in rainwater as well as one of the sources of dissolved species in river water. Chemical weathering studies require quantification of this atmospheric input. The crustal component of atmospheric input can have various origins, both distant and local. The proportions of the various inputs (marine, distant or local) are determined in this study.Strontium isotope ratios and Ca, Na, K, Mg, Al, Cl, SO₄, NO₃ and Sr concentrations were measured in rainwater samples collected in the Massif Central (France) over a period of one year. Each sample, collected automatically, represents a monthly series of rain events. Chemical composition of the rainwater samples varied considerably and the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios ranged between 0.709198 and 0.713143.Using Na as an indicator of marine origin, and Al for the crustal input in rain samples, the proportion of marine and crustal elements was estimated from elemental ratios. A marine origin of 4 to 100% of Cl, of 0.6 to 20% of the SO₄, of <1 to 10% of Ca, <1 to 40% of K, 4 to 100% of Mg and 1 to 44% of Sr was determined.Strontium isotopes were used to characterize the crustal sources. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the crustal sources varied considerably from 0.7092 to 0.71625 and indicate the occurrence of multiple sources for the crustal component in the analysed rainwaters.     

山东胶州大西庄辉石巨晶Sr-Nd同位素组成及其源区性质

胶州大西庄玄武岩（73 Ma）中的辉石巨晶与寄主玄武岩具有几乎完全相同的同位素组成,其87Sr/86Sr（t）和εNd（t）分别为0.703 3～0.704 1、+4.5～+6.5和0.703 5～0.703 8、+7.1～+7.6,暗示辉石巨晶和寄主岩具有相同的地幔源区,即辉石巨晶是玄武岩浆在高压下结晶的产物.亏损的同位素特征表明：在白垩世末期（～73 Ma）,胶东地区的岩石圈地幔已经由富集转变为亏损,表现出类似于中国东部新生代地幔的同位素特征,即表明当时岩石圈减薄（或置换）已经完成.     

Mingling of Immiscible Dolomite Carbonatite and Trachyte in Tuffs from the Massif Central, France

A pyroclastic tuff from the Velay volcanic province in the FrenchMassif Central contains blocks up to 30 cm long of local basementrocks, lava clasts, coarse-grained cumulates and pyroclasticfragments, with more or less diffuse boundaries with the hosttuff, which probably represent more consolidated parts of thetuff. All of the pyroclastics examined and approximately 10%of the cumulate xenoliths contain carbonates in variable amounts,textures and mineralogy. In some of the tuff samples, dolomiteoccurs in large amounts (up to 57%), principally as immiscibleglobules in trachytic melt (now glass), and represents the firstoccurrence of carbonatite reported from the Massif Central.The other carbonates, magnesiosiderite in the mafic cumulatesor occasionally in some tuffs, and calcite in the felsic cumulates,are always associated with a silicate glass of trachytic composition.Coexisting feldspars and carbonates in the various types ofsample are approximately in Sr isotopic equilibrium with aninitial ratio of about 0·7042. C- and O-isotopic compositionsof the carbonates covary and cover a very wide range of compositionfrom -2·9 to 3·9     

Petrological and geochemical characteristics of Plio-Pleistocene Volcanics from Ponza Island (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

Summary Volcanic rocks on Ponza Island (Tyrrhenian Sea, central Italy) consist of Pliocene submarine rhyolites and Pleistocene subaerial trachyte and comendite lavas. Chemical variations and the homogeneous Sr and Nd isotopic signatures within the analyzed Pliocene rocks are ascribed to crystal fractionation. The absolute isotopic values, however, indicate the important role of a crustal component in the origin of these magmas. The very high-silica rocks were probably derived from a superimposed mechanism which may have been connected to the ascent of hydrothermal magmatic fluids. Compositional and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variations at constant ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values in the Pleistocene rocks are likely due to fractionation of the observed phenocryst assemblage, possibly coupled with minor crustal interaction. These processes, however, cannot account for the extreme enrichment of many incompatible trace elements in the comendites. Some evidence suggests the influence of a halogen- and/or CO₂-rich volatile phase. Received February 17, 2000; revised version accepted November 29, 2000     

Platinum-group element abundances in the upper mantle: new constraints from in situ and whole-rock analyses of Massif Central xenoliths (France)

Fourteen peridotite xenoliths collected in the Massif Central neogene volcanic province (France) have been analyzed for platinum-group elements (PGE), Au, Cu, S, and Se. Their total PGE contents range between 3 and 30 ppb and their PGE relative abundances from 0.01 to 0.001 × CI-chondrites, respectively. Positive correlations between total PGE contents and Se suggest that all of the PGE are hosted mainly in base metal sulfides (monosulfide solid solution [Mss], pentlandite, and Cu-rich sulfides [chalcopyrite/isocubanite]). Laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses support this conclusion while suggesting that, as observed in experiments on the Cu-Fe-Ni-S system, the Mss preferentially accommodate refractory PGEs (Os, Ir, Ru, and Rh) and Cu-rich sulfides concentrate Pd and Au. Poikiloblastic peridotites pervasively percolated by large silicate melt fractions at high temperature (1200°C) display the lowest Se (<2.3 ppb) and the lowest PGE contents (0.001 × CI-chondrites). In these rocks, the total PGE budget inherited from the primitive mantle was reduced by 80%, probably because intergranular sulfides were completely removed by the silicate melt. In contrast, protogranular peridotites metasomatized by small fractions of volatile-rich melts are enriched in Pt, Pd, and Au and display suprachondritic Pd/Ir ratios (1.9). The palladium-group PGE (PPGE) enrichment is consistent with precipitation of Cu-Ni-rich sulfides from the metasomatic melts. In spite of strong light rare earth element (LREE) enrichments (Ce/Yb_N < 10), the three harzburgites analyzed still display chondrite-normalized PGE patterns typical of partial melting residues, i.e., depleted in Pd and Pt relative to Ir and Ru. Likewise, coarse-granular lherzolites, a common rock type in Massif Central xenoliths, display Pd/Ir, Ru/Ir, Rh/Ir, and Pt/Ir within the 15% uncertainty range of chondritic meteorites. These rocks do not contradict the late-veneer hypothesis that ascribes the PGE budget of the Earth to a late-accreting chondritic component; however, speculations about this component from the Pd/Ir and Pt/Ir ratios of basalt-borne xenoliths may be premature.     

Lead-isotope evidence for a Hercynian origin of the Salsigne gold deposit (Southern Massif Central,France)

The Salsigne gold deposit contains a complex association of sulphide layers, gold-rich disseminations, quartz-bearing veins and flat reefs, which are hosted by folded and slightly metamorphosed Paleozoic sediments on both sides of a major thrust zone. It is demonstrated that these various Au-As ore types have similar lead-isotope compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.22–18.56), which are characteristic of Hercynian ore deposits in the southern Massif Central. The Lower Cambrian to Devonian host rocks and associated Pb-Zn-Ba occurrences display distinctly less radiogenic corrected isotopic signatures (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 17.83–17.98), which are characteristic of Cambrian lead in the Montagne-Noire. Concerning the controversial origin of the Salsigne gold mineralization, these results disagree with the former syngenetic hypothesis and support a new model of Hercynian syntectonic gold concentration.This work was supported by BRGM'S scientific program: Le gisement de Salsigne: caractérisation du modèle et évaluation du potentiel aurifère du district     

NdSr isotope and REE geochemistry of alkali basalts from the Massif Central,France

Nd and Sr isotopic compositions as well as trace element concentrations have been determined on a suite of alkali basalts from the Massif Central, in France. Samples show a typical enrichment in incompatible elements. In particular, the REE patterns exhibit a strong fractionation characterized by a ($\text{La}\text{Yb}\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>N</mtext>}}$ ratio of about 20. The Yb_N content is about 10 times chondrite. The $\text{143}\text{Nd}\text{144}\text{Nd}$ ratios exhibit a range from 0.512775 to 0.512989, values quite comparable to those from oceanic island basalts. The $\text{87}\text{Sr}\text{86}\text{Sr}$ ratios vary between 0.70338 and 0.70458 and are anti-correlated with the Nd isotopic ratio.The isotopic and the trace element (in particular REE) data have been used in order to quantitatively model the genesis of the alkali basalts. Among the several types of models tested here, the most likely one appears to be the model of mantle metasomatism. A semi-quantitative approach shows that the source of alkali basalts from the Massif Central was metasomatized prior to melting. In such a model, the basalts could be produced by rather high degrees of partial melting (such as 10 or 15%) of the metasomatically enriched mantle.     

Igneous scapolite-bearing associations in the Chaîne des Puys,Massif Central (France) and Atakor (Hoggar,Algeria)

A scapolite+amphibole+clinopyroxene+Fe-Ti oxide+apatite association has been found as megacrysts in tephra from the Enval-Volvic volcanic line, east of the Chaîne des Puys (Massif Central, France) and in the cinder cone of the Segueïka volcano (Atakor, Algeria). In both kinds, lavahosts are basanites. Although never seen together in a single xenolith, a study of their inclusions indicates close genetic relationship between all 5 phases. This association must be considered as a paragenesis that crystallized within a narrow PT range. Volcanological, petrological and geochemical data suggest that these megacrysts are high-pressure phenocrysts rather than mechanically desintegrated fragments derived from coarse rocks. The composition of the amphibole suggests a pressure between 5 and 15 kb; Fe-Ti oxides imply a temperature close to 1,100° C.Crystallization of sulfur-rich scapolite involves a high fSO₃, and therefore a high fO₂, remarkable for such relatively undifferenciated alkalic magmas. Coexisting Fe-Ti oxides indicate a fO₂ close to 10^–6 bar. Such conditions imply that H₂O was a major component of the gaseous phase. This high water content can be explained in terms of derivation from an hydrated upper mantle source. This is in agreement with other petrological evidences indicating that the basic magmas of the Massif Central crystallized under high fSO₃ conditions.     

Pollen analytical biostratigraphy of the last five climatic cycles from a long continental sequence from the Velay region (Massif Central,France)

In the volcanic region of Velay (Massif Central, France), lake sediment sequences derived from maar craters situated close to one another (Ribains, Praclaux and Lac du Bouchet) have been correlated on the basis of tephrostratigraphical analyses. This has enabled the construction of a sequence (2980 pollen spectra) that begins during the glaciation preceding the Holsteinian and ends in the present. This sequence covers the period from 450 ka, i.e. from the end of marine oxygen isotope stage 12, to the present time, and includes five climatic cycles. The study of a second core from the Praclaux site completed the long Velay sequence. The biostratigraphy of the whole sequence is described in detail and illustrated by a synthetic and simplified pollen diagram. Thirteen temperate forest episodes (interglacials or interstadials) and as many cold periods (glacials or stadials) are defined. Each temperate episode is characterised by particular forest development and vegetation dynamics, and all of them, with the exception of the Holocene, begin and end with a Pinus forest. The vegetation dynamics observed during the Holocene resemble more closely those recorded during the interstadials than during the interglacials. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduced sulfur and iron species in anoxic water column of meromictic crater Lake Pavin (Massif Central, France)

The vertical distribution of reduced sulfur species (RSS including H₂S/HS⁻, S⁰, electroactive FeS) and dissolved Fe(II) was studied in the anoxic water column of meromictic Lake Pavin. Sulfide concentrations were determined by two different analytical techniques, i.e. spectophotometry (methylene blue technique) and voltammetry (HMDE electrode). Total sulfide concentrations determined with methylene blue method (∑H₂S_MBRS) were in the range from 0.6 µM to 16.7 µM and were substantially higher than total reduced sulfur species (RSS_V) concentrations determined by voltammetry, which ranged from 0.1 to 5.6 μM. The observed difference in the sulfide concentrations between the two methods can be assigned to the presence of FeS colloidal species.Dissolved Fe was high (> 1000 µM), whereas dissolved Mn was only 25 µM, in the anoxic water column. This indicates that Fe is the dominant metal involved in sulfur redox cycling and precipitation. Consequently, in the anoxic deep layer of Lake Pavin, “free” sulfide, H₂S/HS⁻, was low; and about 80% of total sulfide detected was in the electroactive FeS colloidal form. IAP calculations showed that the Lake Pavin water column is saturated with respect to FeS_am phase. The upper part of monimolimnion layer is characterized by higher concentrations of S(0) (up to 3.4 µM) in comparison to the bottom of the lake. This behavior is probably influenced by sulfide oxidation with Fe(III) oxyhydroxide species.