碳酸盐化橄榄岩的电性研究

为进一步探讨上地幔的高导层成因,了解碳酸盐在上地幔电性方面的作用并估算上地幔高导层的碳酸盐含量,本文对不同碳酸盐含量的橄榄岩及玄武岩样品在2~3 GPa、300~1300℃的条件下进行了电性实验研究.研究初步发现:碳酸盐熔体显著增强橄榄岩、玄武岩样品的导电能力;单纯用含硅酸盐熔体的橄榄岩或单纯用含水橄榄岩可能难以解释上地幔某些区域的异常高导现象;同样,单纯用碳酸盐化的橄榄岩可能也难以解释上地幔某些区域的高导现象;上地幔的高导区很可能是碳酸盐熔体、硅酸盐熔体及水的共存区域.     

The water content and hydrogen isotope composition of continental lithospheric mantle and mantle-derived mafic igneous rocks in eastern China

The water contents of minerals and whole-rock in mantle-derived xenoliths from eastern China exhibit large variations and are generally lower than those from other on- and off-craton lithotectonic units. Nevertheless, the water contents of mineral and whole-rock in Junan peridotite xenoliths, which sourced from the juvenile lithospheric mantle, are generally higher than those elsewhere in eastern China. This suggests that the initial water content of juvenile lithospheric mantle is not low. There is no obvious correlation between the water contents and Mg^# values of minerals in the mantle xenoliths and no occurrence of diffusion profile in pyroxene, suggesting no relationship between the low water content of mantle xenolith and the diffusion loss of water during xenolith ascent with host basaltic magmas. If the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) base is heated by the asthenospheric mantle, the diffusion loss of water is expected to occur. On the other hand, extraction of basaltic melts from the SCLM is a more efficient mechanism to reduce the water content of xenoliths. The primary melts of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basalts in eastern China have water contents, as calculated from the water contents of phenocrysts, higher than those of normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). The Mesozoic basalts exhibit similar water contents to those of island arc basalts, whereas the Cenozoic basalts exhibit comparable water contents to oceanic island basalts and backarc basin basalts with some of them resembling island arc basalts. These observations suggest the water enrichment in the mantle source of continental basalts due to metasomatism by aqueous fluids and hydrous melts derived from dehydration and melting of deeply subducted crust. Mantle-derived megacrysts, minerals in xenoliths and phenocrysts in basalts from eastern China also exhibit largely variable hydrogen isotope compositions, indicating a large isotopic heterogeneity for the Cenozoic SCLM in eastern China. The water content that is higher than that of depleted MORB mantle and the hydrogen isotope composition that is deviated from that of depleted MORB mantle suggest that the Cenozoic continental lithospheric mantle suffered the metasomatism by hydrous melts derived from partial melting of the subducted Pacific slab below eastern China continent. The metasomatism would lead to the increase of water content in the SCLM base and then to the decrease of its viscosity. As a consequence, the SCLM base would be weakened and thus susceptible to tectonic erosion and delamination. As such, the crust-mantle interaction in oceanic subduction channel is the major cause for thinning of the craton lithosphere in North China.     

Podiform chromitites in the lherzolite-dominant mantle section of the Isabela ophiolite, the Philippines

Abstract The Isabela ophiolite, the Philippines, is characterized by a lherzolite‐dominant mantle section, which was probably formed beneath a slow‐spreading mid‐ocean ridge. Several podiform chromitites occur in the mantle section and grade into harzburgite to lherzolite. The chromitites show massive, nodular, layered and disseminated textures. Clinopyroxene (±orthopyroxene/amphibole) inclusions within chromian spinel (chromite hereafter) are commonly found in the massive‐type chromitites. Large chromitites are found in relatively depleted harzburgite hosts having high‐Cr? (Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio = ～0.5) chromite. Light rare earth element (LREE) contents of clinopyroxenes in harzburgites near the chromitites are higher than those in lherzolite with low‐Cr? chromite, whereas heavy REE (HREE) contents of clinopyroxenes are lower in harzburgite than in lherzolite. The harzburgite near the chromitites is not a residual peridotite after simple melt extraction from lherzolite but is formed by open‐system melting (partial melting associated with influx of primitive basaltic melt of deeper origin). Clinopyroxene inclusions within chromite in chromitites exhibit convex‐shaped REE patterns with low HREE and high LREE (+Sr) abundances compared to the host peridotites. The chromitites were formed from a hybridized melt enriched with Cr, Si and incompatible elements (Na, LREE, Sr and H₂O). The melt was produced by mixing of secondary melts after melt–rock interaction and the primitive basaltic melts in large melt conduits, probably coupled with a zone‐refining effect. The Cr? of chromites in the chromitites ranges from 0.65 to 0.75 and is similar to those of arc‐related magmas. The upper mantle section of the Isabela ophiolite was initially formed beneath a slow‐spreading mid‐ocean ridge, later introduced by arc‐related magmatisms in response to a switch in tectonic setting during its obduction at a convergent margin.     

Petrology, geochemistry and tectonic implications of volcanics dredged from the intersection of the Yap and Mariana trenches

Rocks dredged from the forearc very close to the intersection of the Yap and Mariana trenches include a suite of highly depleted arc tholeiites, and several samples of transitional to slightly alkaline basalt. The tholeiites range from magnesian quartz tholeiites with 0.46–0.6% TiO₂, to andesites with up to 62% SiO₂ and 8.2% FeO^*. All show pronounced LREE depletion and have very low contents of Ba and Sr. They are postulated to have been produced by partial melting of upper mantle peridotite residual after MORB extraction, following influx of hydrous fluids from the subducted slab. While these fluids were responsible for small enrichments in Ba, K, Rb and Sr in melts generated, LREE were not involved in the metasomatism, and the strong LREE depletion probably reflects the unmodified, depleted source peridotite.

The second lava suite includes slightly Ne-normative, Ti-augite-bearing basalts with convex-upward REE patterns, showing slight LREE depletion ((La/Sm)_N = 0.76). The chemical features of these basalts support affinities with basalts erupted during the earliest stages of backarc basin opening. A KAr age on one sample(7.8 ± 1.3m.y.) is in good agreement with the initial opening of the Mariana Trough.

The tectonic significance of the dredged arc tholeiite suite is less obvious. A KAr age of10.8 ± 0.4 My on one andesite, and the occurrence of similar lavas in dredges from at least 300 km along the length of the Yap arc, suggest that subduction was occurring beneath the Yap arc in the Late Miocene, after overthrusting of the Yap greenschist allochthon, and while calc-alkaline arc magmatism was occurring further north on the West Mariana Ridge. We suggest that the depleted arc tholeiites in dredge 1438 were generated by abnormally shallow melting of upper mantle beneath the Yap forearc following subduction beneath this area of young, hot Sorol Trough crust. These arc tholeiites represent a magma type transitional between more typical arc tholeiites (e.g. Tongan) and high-Mg andesites and boninites.     

Enriched back-arc basin basalts from the northern Mariana Trough: implications for the magmatic evolution of back-arc basins

The composition of basalts erupted at the earliest stages in the evolution of a back-arc basin permit unique insights into the composition and structure of the sub-arc mantle. We report major and trace element chemical data and O-, Sr-, Nd-, and Pb- isotopic analyses for basalts recovered from four dredge hauls and one ALVIN dive in the northern Mariana Trough near 22°N. The petrography and major element chemistry of these basalts (MTB-22) are similar to tholeiites from the widest part of the Trough, near 18°N (MTB-18), except that MTB-22 have slightly more K₂O and slightly less TiO₂. The trace element data exhibit a very strong arc signature in MTB-22, including elevated K, Rb, Sr, Ba, and LREE contents; relatively lowK/Ba and highBa/La andSr/Nd. The Sr- and Nd- isotopic data plot in a field displaced from that of MTB-18 towards Mariana arc lavas, and the Pb-isotopic composition of MTB-22 is indistinguishable from Mariana arc lavas and much more homogeneous than MTB-18. Mixing of 50–90% Mariana arc component with a MORB component is hypothesized. We cannot determine whether this resulted from physical mixing of arc mantle and MORB mantle, or whether the arc component is introduced by metasomatism of MORB-like mantle by fluids released from the subducted lithosphere. The strong arc signature in back-arc melts from the Mariana Trough at 22°N, where the back-arc basin is narrow, supports general models for back-arc basin evolution whereby early back-arc basin basalts have a strong arc component which diminishes in importance relative to MORB as the back-arc basin widens.     

Chemical heterogeneity of the Archaean mantle,composition of the earth and mantle evolution

New rare earth element (REE) data for Archaean basalts and spinifex-textured peridotites (STP) show a range of La/Sm ratios (chondrite-normalized) from 0.36 to 3.5, with the bulk of the data in the range 0.7–1.3. This supports the hypothesis, based on Sr isotope initial ratios, that the Archaean mantle was chemically heterogeneous. We suggest that the bulk mantle source for Archaean basaltic magmas was close to an undepleted earth material. An average chemical composition of the Archaean mantle is estimated using chemical regularities observed in Archaean STP and high-magnesian basalts. TiO₂ and MgO data show an inverse correlation which intersects the MgO axis at about 50% MgO (Fo₉₂). TiO₂ abundance in the mantle source is measured on this plot by assigning anMgO= 38% for the mantle. Concentrations of other elements are also estimated and these data are then used to obtain a composition for the bulk earth. We suggest an earth model with about 1.35 times ordinary chondrite abundances of refractory lithophile elements and about 0.2 times carbonaceous type 1 chondrite abundances of moderately volatile elements (such as Na, Rb, K, Mn). P shows severe depletion in the model earth relative to carbonaceous chondrites, a feature either due to volatilization or core formation (preferred). Our data support the hypothesis of Ringwood that the source material for the earth is a carbonaceous chondrite-like material.The generation of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) is examined in the light of the model earth composition and Al₂O₃/TiO₂, CaO/TiO₂ ratios. It is suggested that for primitive basalts, these values can be used to predict the residual phases in their source. Comparison of chemical characteristics of inferred sources for 2.7-b.y. Archaean basalts and modern “normal” MORB indicates that the MORB source is severely depleted in highly incompatible elements such as Cs, Ba, Rb, U, Th, K, La and Nb, but has comparable abundances of less incompatible elements such as Ti, Zr, Y, Yb. The cause of the depletion in the MORB source is examined in terms of crust formation and extraction of silica-undersaturated melts. The latter seems to be a more likely explanation, since the degree of enrichment of highly incompatible elements in the crust only accounts for up to 40% of their abundances in the bulk earth and cannot match the depletion pattern in normal MORB. A large volume of material, less depleted than the source for normal MORB must therefore exist in the mantle and can serve as the source for the ocean island basalts and “normal” MORB.Three different mantle evolution models are examined and each suggests that the mantle is stratified with respect to abundances of incompatible trace elements. We suggest that no satisfactory model is available to fully explain the spectrum of geochemical and geophysical data. In particular the Pb and Sr isotope data on oceanic basalts, the depletion patterns of MORB and the balance between lithophile abundances in the crust and mantle, are important geochemical constraints to mantle models. Further modelling of the mantle evolution will be dependent on firmer information on the role of subduction, mantle convection pattern, and basalt production through geologic time together with a better understanding of the nature of Archaean crustal genesis.     

Characteristics of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath Baegryeong Island, Korea: Spinel peridotite xenoliths

Abstract   Geochemical data on Baegryeong Island spinel peridotites found in Miocene alkali basalt provide the information for lithosphere composition, chemical processes, equilibrium pressure and temperature conditions. Spinel peridotite xenoliths, showing transitional textures between protogranular and porpyroclastic textures, were accidentally trapped by the ascending alkali basalt magma. The xenoliths originate at depths from 50 to 70 km with a temperature range from 800 to 1100°C. The variations of modal and mineral compositions of the spinel peridotite xenoliths indicate that the xenoliths have undergone 1–10% fractional melting. The spinel peridotites from Baegryeong Island have undergone cryptic mantle metasomatism subsequent to melt extraction. Metasomatic agent of enriched spinel peridotite xenoliths was carbonatite melt.     

PGE geochemistry of Jiding ophiolite in Tibet and its constraint on mantle processes

The total PGE amount (σPGE) of mantle peridotite in the Jiding ophiolite is slightly higher than that of the primitive mantle, but the PGE contents of basalt are higher than those of the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), with obviously lower Pd/Ir ratios. The accumulates, dyke swarm and basalts show remarkable negative Pt and positive Rh anomalies, resulting in the special N-type PGE patterns. Mantle peridotite and crustal rocks have similar distribution patterns. It is proposed that the PGE distribution patterns in the Jiding ophiolite are closely related with a higher degree of partial melting of the mantle in this region. Magmatic crystallization-differentiation led to PGE fractionation, thus making the contents of PGE in the accumulates decrease in the ascending direction. The higher content of Au in the Jiding ophiolite is the result of metasomatic alteration at later stages. Pt-Pd fractionation indicates that both the PGEs are controlled by their alloy and sulfide phases. Positive Rh anomalies seem to be related with higher oxygen fugacity in the melts.     

New insights on the origin of troctolites from the breakaway area of the Godzilla Megamullion (Parece Vela back‐arc basin): The role of melt‐mantle interaction on the composition of the lower crust

The troctolites and olivine‐gabbros from the Dive 6 K‐1147 represent the most primitive gabbroic rocks collected at the Godzilla Megamullion, a giant oceanic core complex formed at an extinct spreading segment of the Parece Vela back‐arc basin (Philippine Sea). Previous investigations have shown that these rocks have textural and major elements mineral compositions consistent with a formation through multistage interaction between mantle‐derived melts and a pre‐existing ultramafic matrix. New investigations on trace element mineral compositions basically agree with this hypothesis. Clinopyroxenes and plagioclase have incompatible element signatures similar to that of typical‐MORB. However, the clinopyroxenes show very high Cr contents (similar to those of mantle clinopyroxene) and rim having sharply higher Zr/REE ratios with respect to the core. These features are in contrast with an evolution constrained by fractional crystallization processes, and suggest that the clinopyroxene compositions are controlled by melt‐rock interaction processes. The plagioclase anorthite versus clinopyroxene Mg#[Mg/(Mg + Fe^Tot)] correlation of the Dive 6 K‐1147 rocks shows a trend much steeper than those depicted by other oceanic gabbroic sections. Using a thermodynamic model, we show that this trend is reproducible by fractionation of melts assimilating 1 g of mantle peridotite per 1 °C of cooling. This model predicts the early crystallization of high Mg# clinopyroxene, consistent with our petrological observation. The melt‐peridotite interaction process produces Na‐rich melts causing the crystallization of plagioclase with low anorthite component, typically characterizing the evolved gabbros from Godzilla Megamullion.     

Low water contents in pyroxenes from spinel-peridotites of the oxidized, sub-arc mantle wedge

Pyroxene water contents measured by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry for Mexican and Simcoe (WA, USA) spinel-peridotite xenoliths range from 140 to 528 ppm in clinopyroxenes and 39 to 265 ppm in orthopyroxenes. Correlations between these water contents and major-element compositional data for the pyroxenes, associated spinels, and whole-rock xenoliths demonstrate that these water contents record mantle values that have not been perturbed since the xenoliths were brought to the surface by their host magmas. Broad positive correlations of pyroxene water contents with whole-rock Al₂O₃ are consistent with water behaving as an incompatible element during peridotite melting. The main control on the range of pyroxene water contents, however, appears to be the redox state of the peridotite, because estimates of oxygen fugacity from Mössbauer (Simcoe) and microprobe data (Mexico) on spinels are negatively correlated with water contents. This is consistent with the dominant mechanism of H incorporation into pyroxene, which is dependent on the oxidation-reduction of iron. Metasomatism of sub-arc mantle-wedge peridotites by oxidized fluids or melts rising from the slab raises the oxygen fugacity of the peridotites, and where temperature is high enough, induces them to partially melt. The oxidation, in turn, lowers the solubility of water in the peridotite minerals, causing more than half of the original water to be expelled. That water enters the hydrous partial melts and these ascend through the lithosphere to feed the arc magmatic system in the upper crust. Low water contents in pyroxenes from sub-arc mantle-wedge peridotites, such as those from Simcoe and some western Mexican sites, therefore appear to be complementary to the high water contents that characterize subduction-zone magmas and fuel their explosive eruptions. An estimate of water budget in subduction zones, however, indicates that the amount of water coming from the dehydration of mantle-wedge anhydrous minerals probably accounts for less than 5% of the total water present in subduction-related magmas. The high water contents of arc magmas thus are mainly attributed to fluids or melts from the slab proper. The relatively dry sub-arc mantle wedge appears to be an effective medium through which subducted water is transported from slabs toward the surface.     

The southeast Australian lithospheric mantle: isotopic and geochemical constraints on its growth and evolution

Trace elements and isotopic compositions of whole rocks and mineral separates are reported for 15 spinel-bearing harzburgite and lherzolite xenoliths from southeastern Australia. These samples have an exceedingly large range in isotopic compositions, with⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ranging from 0.70248 to 0.70834 and ε_Nd values ranging from +12.7 to −6.3. This range in isotopic compositions can be found in xenoliths from a single locality. The isotopic compositions of clinopyroxene separates and their whole rocks were found to be different in some xenoliths. Samples containing small glass pockets, which replace pre-existing hydrous minerals, generally show only small differences in isotopic composition between clinopyroxene and whole rock. In a modally metasomatized peridotite, significant differences in the Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of a coexisting phlogopite-clinopyroxene pair are present. Coexisting clinopyroxenes and orthopyroxenes from an anhydrous lherzolite have Sr isotopic compositions that are significantly different (0.70248 versus 0.70314), and yield an apparent age of 625 Ma, similar to that found previously by Dasch and Green [1]. However, the Nd isotopic compositions of the clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene are identical indicating recent (within 40 Ma) re-equilibration of Nd.Sr and Nd concentrations in the whole rocks and clinopyroxenes show an excellent positive correlation, and have an average Sr/Nd ratio of 15. This ratio is similar to the primitive mantle value, as well as that found in primitive MORBs and OIBs, but is much lower than that measured in island arc basalts and what might be predicted for a subduction zone-derived fluid. This indicates that a significant proportion of the Sr and Nd in these peridotites is introduced as a basaltic melt with intraplate chemical characteristics.The isotopic compositions of the peridotites reflect long-term, small-scale heterogeneities in the continental lithospheric mantle, and are in marked contrast to the near uniform isotopic compositions of the host alkali basalts (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr= 0.7038–0.7041andε_Nd = +3.6 to +2.9). A minimum of three evolutionary stages are identified in the growth of the continental lithospheric mantle: an early basalt depletion event, recording the initial development and stabilization of the lithospheric mantle, followed by at least two enrichment episodes. These observations are consistent with continental lithospheric mantle growth involving the underplating of refractory peridotite diapirs.     

Partial melting controls on the northwest Kyushu basalts from Saga-Futagoyama

Abstract   The major element and compatible trace element compositions of the northwest Kyushu basalts (NWKBs) collected from Saga-Futagoyama were analyzed to examine the petrogenesis of these basalts. Although nepheline-normative alkaline basalts are not found in the basalts from Saga-Futagoyama, the Saga-Futagoyama basalts almost cover the major element variations of NWKBs. The basalts can be chemically divided into two groups: an Fe-poor group (IPG) and an Fe-rich group (IRG). The compositional variation of IPG basalts is essentially controlled by the partial melting of the source as suggested by the following: (i) bulk rock MgO, FeO and NiO compositions indicate that some IPG samples were equilibrated with mantle olivine; and (ii) correlations between Al₂O₃, CaO and MgO are consistent with those of experimental partial melts of peridotites. The inconsistent behaviors of the elements compatible with clinopyroxene (Cpx), such as V (Sc and Cu), preclude the significant role of the fractional crystallization of Cpx and spinel in IPG variation. IPG basalts have low Al and high Fe concentrations compared to the products of melting experiments involving peridotites and pyroxenites, suggesting that the IPG source would have a lithology and bulk rock composition different from those of typical peridotites and pyroxenites. IRG basalts have negative correlations between Fe₂O₃* and MgO, and between V and Fe₂O₃*/MgO, indicating that IRG basalts would have fractionated Cpx. However, the anomalously Fe-rich feature of IRG basalts compared with NWKBs collected from other areas suggests that the role of Cpx fractionation in NWKBs is minor. Relatively low melting temperatures would have principally caused the large chemical variation of NWKBs.     

Fine-scale isotopic variation in Mariana Trough basalts: evidence for heterogeneity and a recycled component in backarc basin mantle

Fine-scale sampling with alvin and by dredging of the axial ridge in the Mariana Trough between 17°40′N and 18°30°N recovered basalts with isotopic compositions that span the range between N-type MORB and Mariana island arc basalts. There is a local tectonic-morphological control on basalt compositions; MORB-like basalts are found on the deeper ridge segment bounded by the Pagan transform and the ridge offset at 17°56′N, while basalts from the shallower ridge to the north are typical Mariana Trough basalts (MTB) having compositions intermediate between the two endmember rock types. Arc-like basalts were recovered from one site on the axial ridge.The discovery of basalts with such diverse isotopic characteristics from a short (100 km) section of this backarc spreading center constrains the chemical characteristics and distribution of mantle source variability in the Mariana Trough. SrNdPb isotopic variability suggests that the MTB source is heterogeneous on the scale of individual melt batches. The principal component in the MTB mantle source region is depleted peridotite similar to the source of MORB. The enriched component, most evident in the arc-like basalts and intimately mixed in MTB, has isotopic characteristics similar to those observed in the Mariana arc basalts. The isotopic data suggest that source variability for Mariana axial ridge basalts can be explained by mixed arc-like and MORB-like mantle. We hypothesize that there are fragments of old oceanic lithosphere in the backarc source region. This lithospheric component may reflect remnants of subducted seafloor or forearc-volcanic arc mantle that predate rifting in the backarc basin.     

Petrology of the Yugu peridotites in the Gyeonggi Massif,South Korea: Implications for its origin and hydration process

Peridotites exposed in the Yugu area in the Gyeonggi Massif, South Korea, near the boundary with the Okcheon Belt, exhibit mylonitic to strongly porphyroclastic textures, and are mostly spinel lherzolites. Subordinate dunites, harzburgites, and websterites are associated with the lherzolites. Amphiboles, often zoned from hornblende in the core to tremolite in the rim, are found only as neoblasts. Porphyroclasts have recorded equilibrium temperatures of about 1000°C, whereas neoblasts denote lower temperatures, about 800°C. Olivines are Fo_90–91 in lherzolites and Fo₉₁ in a dunite and a harzburgite. The Cr# (= Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio) of spinels varies together with the Fo of olivines, being from 0.1 to 0.3 in lherzolites and around 0.5 in the dunite and harzburgite. The Na₂O content of clinopyroxene porphyroclasts is relatively low, around 0.3 to 0.5 wt% in the most fertile lherzolite. The Yugu peridotites are similar in porphyroclast mineral chemistry not to continental spinel peridotites but to sub‐arc or abyssal peridotites. Textural and mineralogical characteristics indicate the successive cooling with hydration from the upper mantle to crustal conditions for the Yugu peridotites. Almost all clinopyroxenes and amphiboles show the same U‐shaped rare earth element (REE) patterns although the level is up to ten times higher for the latter. The hydration was associated with enrichment in light REE, resulting from either a slab‐derived fluid or a fluid circulating in the crust. The mantle‐wedge or abyssal peridotites were emplaced into the continental crust as the Yugu peridotite body during collision of continents to form a high‐pressure metamorphic belt in the Gyeonggi Massif. The peridotites from the Gyeonggi Massif exhibit lower‐pressure equilibration than peridotites, with or without garnets, from the Dabie–Sulu Collision Belt, China, which is possibly a westward extension of the Gyeonggi Massif.     

Geodynamic significance of ultramafic xenoliths from Eastern Serbia: Relics of sub-arc oceanic mantle?

A suite of highly depleted peridotite xenoliths in East Serbian Palaeogene basanites represents the lithospheric mantle beneath the Balkan Peninsula. The xenoliths are harzburgites, clinopyroxene-poor lherzolites and rare dunites. They contain mostly <5 vol.% of modal clinopyroxene and are characterized by high Mg# in silicates (>91), high Cr# in spinel (mostly 0.5–0.7), and by distinctively low Al₂O₃ contents in orthopyroxene (mostly 1–2 wt.%). They have experienced some mantle metasomatism which has slightly obscured their original composition. Nevertheless, the general characteristics of the xenoliths imply a composition which is significantly more depleted than most non-cratonic sub-continental mantle xenolith suites, as well as orogenic peridotites and abyssal peridotites. Geological and compositional evidence suggests that the xenoliths do not represent Archean mantle. The existence of Proterozoic mantle cannot be entirely excluded, although it is in disagreement with geological evidence. On the other hand, the studied xenoliths are compositionally very similar to peridotites of modern oceanic sub-arc settings. The existence of such a depleted lithospheric mantle segment is also inferred from the presence of rare orthopyroxene-rich xenoliths in the same suite. These are interpreted to have originated as lithospheric precipitates of high-Mg, SiO₂-saturated magmas that require a highly depleted mantle source. Such source is typically required by boninitic-like magmas of intraoceanic suprasubduction settings. A proposed geodynamic model to explain these observations involves accretion or underplating of the lower parts of the Tethyan oceanic lithosphere during the Upper Jurassic closure of the eastern branch of the Vardar ocean.     

Identification of recycled continental material in the mantle from Sr,Nd and Pb isotope investigations

Pb, Nd and Sr isotope compositions of oceanic basalts have been used to identify recycled components of continent derivation in the mantle. The isotopic compositions of Sr, Nd and Pb, together with U, Pb, Sm, Nd, Rb, and Sr abundances have been determined for back-arc basalt glasses from the Scotia Sea and Parece Vela and West Philippine Basins, in addition to basalts from South Sandwich Islands, Ascension, St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha. Comparisons made between the isotopic compositions of South Sandwich Islands basalts and Atlantic MORB glasses permit the identification of recycled components of continent derivation in the source of the island arc basalts. Recycled Sr of continent derivation is also recognisable in back-arc basalt glasses from the Scotia Sea and Parece Vela and West Philippine Basins. However, contemporary reinjection of material with the isotopic structures similar to those identified as a component of island arc and back-arc regions cannot be the sole or dominant influence on the fine structure observed in MORB glasses from the Atlantic Ocean, nor the isotopic compositions of Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and Ascension basalts. Recycled materials are likely to have been responsible for the generation of these heterogeneities only if they have been stored in the mantle for periods of time exceeding 10⁹ years.     

Geochemistry of basalts from central and southern New Hebrides arc: implication for their source rock composition

The basaltic rocks from the central and southern islands of the New Hebrides-Aneityum, Tanna, Erromango, Efate, Emae, Tongoa and Epi, have geochemical features typical of island arc volcanics. They are enriched in LILE and depleted in Zr, Hf, Nb and Ta compared to N-type MORB. The rocks were derived from a similar upper mantle source as N-type MORB but with a higher degree of partial melting. In addition their source was enriched in LILE (K, Rb, Sr, Ba and LREE) probably by migrating hydrous fluids released during the dehydration of the subducted oceanic slab. The basalts from Futuna island which is located farther from the trench, display characteristics typical of calc-alkaline rocks. The Futuna basalts were generated from a different LILE-enriched upper mantle source. It seems that this upper mantle source was modified by interaction with partial melts from the subducted oceanic lithosphere.     

High-pressure partial melting of garnet pyroxenite: possible mafic lithologies in the source of ocean island basalts

Many ocean island basalts (OIB) that have isotopic ratios indicative of recycled crustal components in their source are silica-undersaturated and unlike silicic liquids produced from partial melting of recycled mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). However, experiments on a silica-deficient garnet pyroxenite, MIX1G, at 2.0-2.5 GPa show that some pyroxenite partial melts are strongly silica-undersaturated [M.M. Hirschmann et al., Geology 31 (2003) 481-484]. These low-pressure liquids are plausible parents of alkalic OIB, except that they are too aluminous. We present new partial melting experiments on MIX1G between 3.0 and 7.5 GPa. Partial melts at 5.0 GPa have low SiO₂ (<48 wt%), low Al₂O₃ (<12 wt%) and high CaO (>12 wt%) at moderate MgO (12-16 wt%), and are more similar to primitive OIB compositions than lower-pressure liquids of MIX1G or experimental partial melts of anhydrous or carbonated peridotite. Solidus temperatures at 5.0 and 7.5 GPa are 1625 and 1825°C, respectively, which are less than 50°C cooler than the anhydrous peridotite solidus. The liquidus temperature at 5.0 GPa is 1725°C, indicating a narrow melting interval (∼100°C). These melting relations suggest that OIB magmas can be produced by partial melting of a silica-deficient pyroxenite similar to MIX1G if its melting residue contains significant garnet and lacks olivine. Such silica-deficient pyroxenites could be produced by interaction between recycled subducted oceanic crust and mantle peridotite or could be remnants of ancient oceanic lower crust or delaminated lower continental crust. If such compositions are present in plumes ascending with potential temperatures of 1550°C, they will begin to melt at about 5.0 GPa and produce appropriate partial melts. However, such hot plumes may also generate partial melts of peridotite, which could dilute the pyroxenite-derived partial melts.     

中国东部地幔岩包体的产出及其与地球内部构造的关系

中国东部橄榄岩和榴辉岩深源包体的地理分布构成了全球环太平洋深源包体分布带的重要组成部分。深源包体的产出与地球内部构造密切相关。尖晶石橄榄岩和镁铝榴石橄榄岩两种包体与上地幔的构造分带相一致,榴辉岩包体代表上地幔中局部的分凝体。碱性玄武岩浆的活动和深源岩石带的形成应为板块构造运动的结果。     

Formation time of the big mantle wedge beneath eastern China and a new lithospheric thinning mechanism of the North China craton—Geodynamic effects of deep recycled carbon

High-resolution P wave tomography shows that the subducting Pacific slab is stagnant in the mantle transition zone and forms a big mantle wedge beneath eastern China. The Mg isotopic investigation of large numbers of mantle-derived volcanic rocks from eastern China has revealed that carbonates carried by the subducted slab have been recycled into the upper mantle and formed carbonated peridotite overlying the mantle transition zone, which becomes the sources of various basalts. These basalts display light Mg isotopic compositions(δ26 Mg = –0.60‰ to –0.30‰) and relatively low87 Sr/86 Sr ratios(0.70314–0.70564) with ages ranging from 106 Ma to Quaternary, suggesting that their mantle source had been hybridized by recycled magnesite with minor dolomite and their initial melting occurred at 300-360 km in depth. Therefore, the carbonate metasomatism of their mantle source should have occurred at the depth larger than 360 km, which means that the subducted slab should be stagnant in the mantle transition zone forming the big mantle wedge before 106 Ma. This timing supports the rollback model of subducting slab to form the big mantle wedge. Based on high P-T experiment results, when carbonated silicate melts produced by partial melting of carbonated peridotite was raising and reached the bottom(180–120 km in depth) of cratonic lithosphere in North China, the carbonated silicate melts should have 25–18 wt% CO2 contents, with lower Si O2 and Al2 O3 contents, and higher Ca O/Al2 O3 values, similar to those of nephelinites and basanites, and have higher εNdvalues(2 to 6). The carbonatited silicate melts migrated upward and metasomatized the overlying lithospheric mantle, resulting in carbonated peridotite in the bottom of continental lithosphere beneath eastern China. As the craton lithospheric geotherm intersects the solidus of carbonated peridotite at 130 km in depth, the carbonated peridotite in the bottom of cratonic lithosphere should be partially melted, thus its physical characters are similar to the asthenosphere and it could be easily replaced by convective mantle. The newly formed carbonated silicate melts will migrate upward and metasomatize the overlying lithospheric mantle. Similarly, such metasomatism and partial melting processes repeat, and as a result the cratonic lithosphere in North China would be thinning and the carbonated silicate partial melts will be transformed to high-Si O2 alkali basalts with lower εNdvalues(to-2). As the lithospheric thinning goes on,initial melting depth of carbonated peridotite must decrease from 130 km to close 70 km, because the craton geotherm changed to approach oceanic lithosphere geotherm along with lithospheric thinning of the North China craton. Consequently, the interaction between carbonated silicate melt and cratonic lithosphere is a possible mechanism for lithosphere thinning of the North China craton during the late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Based on the age statistics of low δ26 Mg basalts in eastern China, the lithospheric thinning processes caused by carbonated metasomatism and partial melting in eastern China are limited in a timespan from 106 to25 Ma, but increased quickly after 25 Ma. Therefore, there are two peak times for the lithospheric thinning of the North China craton: the first peak in 135-115 Ma simultaneously with the cratonic destruction, and the second peak caused by interaction between carbonated silicate melt and lithosphere mainly after 25 Ma. The later decreased the lithospheric thickness to about70 km in the eastern part of North China craton.