Evidence for xenolith–host basalt interaction from chemical patterns in Fe–Ti-oxides from mafic granulite xenoliths of the Bakony–Balaton Volcanic field (W-Hungary)

We investigate the effects of xenolith–host basalt interaction on lower crustal mafic granulite xenoliths from the Central Pannonian Basin. The xenoliths are devoid of any signs of melting, nevertheless various phenomena are identified, which indicate that the original mineralogy and chemistry of the xenoliths was modified during interaction with the host basalt. The rock-forming silicates are only slightly affected by alteration, but the Fe–Ti-oxides are overprinted to a significant extent. Complex chemical zoning patterns are detected using high-resolution element mapping in ilmenites and in lamellar titanomagnetite–ilmenite intergrowths. The chemical alteration of the Fe–Ti-oxides was diffusion-controlled and, hence, time and temperature dependent. On the basis of diffusion profiles in titanomagnetite we estimate the duration of xenolith–host basalt interaction to be at least 9–20 h. This is comparable to the time necessary for the ascent of the host basalt to the surface. It is too short to reflect alteration during granulite facies metamorphism in the deep crust. The chemical alteration of the titanomagnetite thus reflects the total duration of the xenolith–host basalt interaction.     

Geochemical and High Pressure Experimental Studies of Garnet Pyroxenite and Pyroxene Granulite Xenoliths from the Delegate Basaltic Pipes, Australia

Subsolidus phase relationships have been determined to pressuresof 15–27 kb for a garnet clinopyroxenite, a garnet-plagioclaseclinopyroxenite, a spinel-garnet websterite, and a two-pyroxenegranulite occurring as xenoliths in the Delegate basaltic brecciapipes. Assuming all the garnet pyroxenite suite xenoliths formedtogether or last equilibrated together, the experimental dataconstrain the P-T conditions of their formation to 13–17kb and 1050–1100 °C; for the pyroxene granulites,pressures of formation of 6–10 kb at temperatures around1100 °C are indicated. In the case of the spinel-garnetwebsterite, the texturally implied exsolution of garnet andorthopyroxene from clinopyroxene, and reaction of spinel withclinopyroxene to yield garnet, are shown to be explicable interms of approximately isobaric cooling of a pre-existing aluminousclinopyroxene+spinel aggregate. The garnet of the garnet andgarnet—plagioclase clinopyroxenites cannot, however, havebeen derived wholly by exsolution processes. New chemical data are presented for the xenoliths studied experimentallyand for several similar examples from Delegate and other easternAustralian localities. Consideration of available major andtrace element and isotopic data for garnet pyroxenite suitexenoliths from Delegate and elsewhere in the world stronglysuggests genetic relationships with their host basaltic rocks.The Delegate examples are interpreted as a series of accumulatesfrom local pockets of alkaline basaltic magma within the Earth'supper mantle, and which have subsequently undergone exsolutionand/or recrystallization in response to subsolidus cooling.A similar origin is suggested for the analogous garnet pyroxenitesfound as layers within western Mediterranean peridotite massifs.The Delegate two-pyroxene granulite xenoliths are consideredto be accidental fragments of metamorphic rocks from the deepcrust beneath eastern Australia.     

山东栖霞大方山玄武岩中地幔熔体玻璃捕虏体岩相学及岩石化学研究

过去地学界对固体地幔岩捕虏体研究已经相当充分。另外,山东栖霞大方山还存在地幔熔体玻璃捕虏体,其化学成分、矿物成分既不同于固体地幔岩也不同于寄主玄武岩。此玻璃体特别富K,而且早于寄主岩浆,二者间很不平衡。富K玻璃捕虏体往往被玄武岩浆消化殆尽,但在野外仍然可以找到少量残留体供室内研究。此熔体玻璃的存在意味着该区玄武岩浆作用不是一元而是多元岩浆体系,还存在早一期的碱性地幔岩浆。后者消化混染于玄武岩浆之中,会产生富K玄武岩。     

Sulfide Petrology of Spinel and Garnet Pyroxenite Layers from Mantle-derived Spinel Lherzolite Massifs of Arieg`, Northeastern Pyrenees, France

Pyroxenite layers in the orogenic spinel lherzolite massifsof Ari?ge are porphyroclastic textured and range in compositionfrom spinel websterite to garnet clinopyroxenite. Each pyroxenitetype forms individual layers or occurs as part of compositelayers in which the Opx/Cpx and Sp/Gt ratios decrease from marginsto core. They are interpreted as crystalline segregations separatedby flow crystallization from continental tholeiites en routeto the surface. The primary magmatic phases consist of Al-richpyroxenes, together with a minor amount of spinel, which startedto crystallize at 1400?C and 20–22 kb pressure; the pyroxeneshave locally survived plastic strains and subsolidus rccrystallizationsand now occur in the form of clinopyroxene and orthopyroxenemegacrysts displaying unmixing features. Although the differentiated silicate liquid was fully expelledduring the flow crystallization process, the layered pyroxeniteshave concentrated the highly incompatible elements S and Cuand locally display significant chalcophile platinum-group elementenrichment (Pd, Pt). Cu and S behave coherently over the wholerange of pyroxenite composition; their highest concentrationsare found in the thinnest websterite layers or at the marginof composite layers. Microscopic investigation of 214 polishedthin sections shows these elements to be present as accessoryCu-Fe-Ni sulfides interstitial among the silicate phase or formingdiscrete bodies included in the relic pyroxene megacrysts. Allthese features indicate the presence of a sulfide liquid, immisciblewith the silicate magma, during the crystallization of the layeredpyroxenites. Sulfide liquid immiscibility probably occurredin response to thermal contrast between the pyroxenites andthe cooler surrounding peridotites. It is proposed that the megacryst-hosted sulfide inclusionswere trapped as linear arrays arranged on host megacryst growthplanes. Due to the slow cooling and complex unmixing historyof the megacrysts, these arrays have been transformed into coarse,isolated sulfide inclusions by subsolidus migration and spheroidizationprocesses. They started to crystallize at T = 1200?C as monosulfidesolid solution (MSS), probably coexisting with a minor amountof Ni- and Cu-rich sulfide liquid down to r=900?C. The reconstructionof the bulk chemistry of each individual inclusion reveals significantbetween-inclusion variations of Cu/Ni+ Fe and Ni/Fe ratios,which would result from strain-induced immobilization of theseliquids. On cooling, the high-temperature MSS has decomposedbelow 230?C into Ni-rich pyrrhotite, nickeliferous pentlandite,chalcopyrite and minor pyrite. The post-magmatic history ofthe interstitial sulfide grains was not unlike that of the inclusions,except at near-surface temperatures where the primary sulfidesresulting from unmixing of MSS have been partly altered intosecondary sulfides by serpentinizing aqueous fluids. In spite of these post-magmatic alterations, the inclusionsand the interstitial sulfide phases are remarkably homogeneousas regards their bulk Ni/Cu ratio, which is close to 3. Thisvalue is characteristic of sulfide separated from primary ratherthan partially differentiated tholeiitic melts. It is thus concludedthat the continental tholeiite parent to the layered pyroxeniteswas saturated with sulfides when it left its mantle source regioaIn this aspect, it would not be different from MORBs which containsimilar sulfide compositions. In both cases, sulfide fractionationcannot be ignored in models for chalcophile trace element fractionationduring initial evolution of these magmas.     

Metasomatism and sulfide mobility in lithospheric mantle beneath eastern Australia: Implications for mantle Re–Os chronology

Spinel lherzolite xenoliths from Tertiary basaltic host magmas at Allyn River, eastern Australia reveal two distinct petrographic and geochemical types. One group is distinguished by xenoliths with undeformed, equilibrated microstructures and interstitial melt patches; The second group shows deformation and contains abundant fluid inclusions but no melt patches. Trace-element signatures of clinopyroxene in these xenoliths provide evidence for metasomatism by a silicate agent with hydrous component and by a carbonate-rich agent respectively.

Melt patches in the undeformed xenoliths contain secondary minerals including clinopyroxene, olivine, feldspar, Mg- and Ca-rich carbonate, apatite, ilmenite and spinel. They are interpreted to represent volatile-rich melt captured shortly prior to entrainment in the host basalt. Sulfide globules, now recrystallised to discrete sulfide phases but inferred to be molten at lithospheric mantle T and P, are closely associated with the melt patches. The close association between sulfide and highly mobile, volatile-bearing fluid has important implications for the mobility of Re and Os, the use of their isotopes in dating mantle events, and the possible effect of volatile-bearing metasomatic agents on their composition.     

The lithosphere beneath the Sangilen Plateau, Siberia: evidence from peridotite, pyroxenite and gabbro xenoliths from alkaline basalts

Summary Ultramafic and mafic xenoliths in Ordovician Agardag alkaline basalt dikes from the Sangilen Plateau, southeastern Siberia, provide samples from the upper mantle and crust beneath central Asia. Three major groups were distinguished among the xenoliths: Group I xenoliths are spinel lherzolites, Group II xenoliths are spinel-garnet clinopyroxenites, and Group III comprises gabbroic xenoliths with two subgroups: Group IIIa comprises garnet bearing gabbroids and Group IIIb is represented by garnet-free gabbroids. The spinel lherzolite xenoliths represent the uppermost lithospheric mantle beneath the Sangilen Plateau and have geochemical characteristics similar to those of primitive mantle. Spinel-garnet clinopyroxenite and gabbroic xenoliths are of igneous origin and represent fragments of intrusive bodies crystallized at depths close to the mantle-crust boundary, as well as in the lower and the upper crust. The gabbroic xenoliths are evidently the crystallization products of melts similar in major and trace element composition to parental magma of the Bashkymugur gabbronorite-monzodiorite intrusion. Gabbroic xenoliths from the Ordovician Agardag alkaline basalt dikes demonstrate the presence of intermediate magmatic chambers within the crust beneath the Sangilen Plateau during the Early Palaeozoic. The relatively high equilibration temperatures of the mantle and lower crust xenoliths in the Agardag alkaline basalt dikes are largely attributable to a plume occurring beneath the Sangilen Plateau during the Ordovician.     

Olivine clinopyroxenite xenoliths in the Oslo Rift,SE Norway

Olivine clinopyroxenite xenoliths in a basalt flow at Krokskogen in the Oslo rift consist mainly of Al-Ti-rich clinopyroxene and alteration products after olivine (possibly also orthopyroxene). The clinopyroxene contains primary inclusions of Cr-Al-bearing titanomagnetite, pyrite and devitrified glass, and secondary fluid inclusions rich in CO₂. On the basis of petrography, mineral compositions and bulk major and trace element chemistry, it is concluded that the xenoliths represent cumulates with about 5% trapped liquid, formed from a mildly alkaline basaltic magma. Microthermometrical analysis of secondary or pseudosecondary fluid inclusions give a minimum pressure of formation of 5.5 to 6 kbars, that is a depth greater than 16–17 km. The host lava has initial _Nd=+4.16±0.17 and _Sr=–5.50±0.26, which is believed to reflect the isotopic composition of the lithospheric mantle source region under south Norway in early Permian time. The isotopic character of the magma which gave rise to the xenoliths is preserved in clinopyroxenes which have _Nd ^t =+1.9 to +2.6 and _Sr ^t = –1.1 to –1.8. The isotopic differences between the host magma and the xenoliths reflect some degree of crustal contamination of the xenolith's parent magma.The xenoliths of this study represent an important source of information about the large masses of dense cumulates found at depth in the crust under the Oslo rift.     

Mantle-Lherzolite Xenoliths from Eastern China: Petrogenesis and Development of Secondary Textures

Spinel-lherzolite xenoliths in alkali basalts from eastern China have porphyroclastic to equigranular textures displaying varying degrees of deformation and subsolidus re-equilibration. The proportions of minerals in these xenoliths vary from 52 to 72% homogeneous olivine (Fo_88-91); 11 to 26% orthopyroxene (Wo_0.9.1.6; En_88-90; Fs_8.7.10.7), with minor discontinuous variations of Al₂O₃, FeO, and CaO; 6 to 19% clinopyroxene (Wo_43.47; En_49.51; Fs_3.7.6.7); and 1 to 5% spinel, with similar Mg# (79.6 to 82.6), but wider variations of Al₂O₃ and Cr₂O₃ (100Cr/(Cr + Al + Fe³⁺) = 8.1 to 23.6). Although previous trace-element and isotopic studies have shown that at least two distinctly different mantle sources were sampled by Cenozoic basalts, mineralogical heterogeneities seem to be minor within the spinel-peridotite-facies lithosphere beneath eastern China.

These xenoliths experienced limited interaction with the host basaltic magma during eruption. Symplectites of secondary, minute silicates, titanomagnetite, and sulfide have replaced orthopyroxene—and to a lesser extent olivine—at the contact with the basalt. The spinel in the margin of the xenolith is continuously zoned by substitutions of Fe₃O₄ (magnetite) and Fe₂TiO₄ (ulvospinel) for MgAl₂O₃ (spinel), and is rimmed by titanomagnetite with a sharp boundary. However, the compositions of the interior clinopyroxenes were commonly modified by metasomatic partial melting, which resulted in “spongy-textured” rinds on primary clinopyroxene. This secondary assemblage is composed mainly of a refractory, jadeite-poor clinopyroxene, which is largely in optica! continuity with the primary clinopyroxene in addition to interstitial feldspars, with minor titanomagnetite and Fe-Ni sulfides. This assemblage was produced by the introduction of K-rich fluids from the enclosing basaltic magma. The intensity of these secondary reactions appears to have been a function of the residence time of the xenolith in the host basalt. Therefore, all secondary alteration of both external and internal primary minerals in these xenoliths are the result of near-surface metasomatic processes, rather than of mantle phenomena.     

Cumulating processes at the crust-mantle transition zone inferred from Permian mafic-ultramafic xenoliths (Puy Beaunit,France)

Ultramafic and mafic xenoliths of magmatic origin, sampled in the Beaunit vent (northern French Massif Central), derive from the Permian (257 Ma) Beaunit layered complex (BLC) that was emplaced at the crust-mantle transition zone (∼1 GPa). These plutonic xenoliths are linked to a single fractional crystallisation process in four steps: peridotitic cumulates; websteritic cumulates; Al-rich mafic cumulates (plagioclase, pyroxenes, garnet, amphibole and spinel) and finally low-Al mafic cumulates. This sequence of cumulates can be related to the compositional evolution of hydrous Mg basaltic magma that evolved to high-Al basalt and finally to andesitic basalt. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions confirm the co-genetic character of the various magmatic xenoliths and argue for an enriched upper mantle source comparable to present mantle wedges above subduction zones. LILE, LREE and Pb enrichment are a common feature of all xenoliths and argue for an enriched sub-alkaline transitional parental magma. The existence of a Permian magma chamber at 30 km depth suggests that the low-velocity zone observed locally beneath the Moho probably does not represent an anomalous mantle but rather a sequence of mafic/ultramafic cumulates with densities close to those of mantle rocks.     

云南马关含橄榄岩捕虏体的玄武岩和煌斑岩

岩体地质简述马关县南部已发现的4个玄武岩火山颈和12条煌斑岩岩脉都分布在木厂一老厂一带。区内主要发育泥盆纪地层,大地构造位置在华南台块滇桂台向斜的西南角。褶皱平缓,主要是一些成北东走向长度不过几公里的短轴背斜和短轴向斜。沿褶皱走向常有一些断裂,顺着这些断裂有许多辉长辉绿岩小侵入体。蒿子坝火山颈位于老厂篙子坝村北约二百米处,是群峦丛中一个低低的小峰,呈椭圆锥状,高出地面不过二、三十米,其根部水平截面长径为近东西方向,长85米,短径60米(图1)。火山颈由两个岩相组成:中央相是由玄武岩胶结的火山角砾岩;边缘相是含橄榄岩捕虏体的玄武岩,岩相宽度不过几米。煌斑岩岩脉多牛夹在沉积岩岩层间,其产状好象岩床。猫耳岩"岩床"位于木厂节节坡村南一里许,岩体出露在猫耳岩峭壁的根部,厚2-3米,长128米(图2)。     

汉诺坝玄武岩化学及其演化趋势

汉诺坝玄武岩于中新世喷出。除了碱性玄武岩以外,夏威夷岩广泛分布,还有苦橄玄武岩和马盖尔岩。有三个岩浆演化趋势:地壳岩浆房内橄榄石和单斜辉石斑晶组合的分离作用产生了从夏威夷岩到马盖尔岩的肯尼迪分异趋势;莫霍面附近的岩浆房内石榴石、普通辉石、歪长石和钛铁矿巨晶组合的分离作用导致了由原生夏威夷岩和碱性玄武岩经过进化的夏威夷岩和碱性玄武岩到拉斑玄武岩的跨式B型分异趋势;原生岩浆演化趋势。     

河北汉诺坝碱性玄武岩的源区和成因

我国华北北部新近纪喷发的汉诺坝玄武岩,岩层出露比较完整,普遍含有超镁铁岩包体和各种高压巨晶。大麻坪代黄沟剖面出露较好,主要岩性为玄武岩,从上到下可分为上三、二、一层和底层。岩相学观察显示这些玄武岩含有1%~5%的捕虏晶且斑晶数量很少。橄榄岩包体为尖晶石二辉橄榄岩,轻稀土略微亏损,轻重稀土无分馏,显示这是只经过少量部分熔融后的原始地幔包体。通过对代黄沟碱性玄武岩中橄榄石、辉石和斜长石等斑晶或捕虏晶的矿物学分析,得出它们的成分变化是玄武岩混合了分解的地幔橄榄岩快速上升造成的。玄武岩的主量元素与二辉橄榄岩相平衡的原生熔体相比,Mg#(52.0~62.7)以及CaO(7.3%~8.5%)、Ni((82~192)×10-6)和Cr((65~192)×10-6)含量都较低。玄武岩的稀土分配模式为轻稀土富集的右倾型,δEu=1.01~1.05,δCe=0.95~1.02,富集高场强元素Nb、Ta、Zr及大离子亲石元素Ba、Sr。玄武岩痕量元素Ba/Rb和Rb/Sr的比值显示源区可能遭受过流体的交代作用。同时,痕量元素显示这一系列玄武岩主要受到部分熔融的控制,大量的结晶分异并未发生,且源区残留石榴子石。分析认为玄武岩岩浆应该是原生岩浆,而不是演化岩浆,影响整个岩浆的形成的过程可能是部分熔融而不是分离结晶。基于目前已发表的实验岩石学结果和理论分析认为汉诺坝玄武岩与辉石岩类相平衡,源区主要矿物相为单斜辉石和石榴子石,可能存在少量的橄榄石。     

Garnet inclusions in alkali basalts of Primorye: Deep-seated xenoliths or cognate megacrysts?

Detailed study of garnet and garnet-pyroxene inclusions from alkali basalts of Primorye allowed us to distinguish two heterogeneous mineral assemblages: early (primary) and late (secondary) ones. The former reflects the initial stage of rock formation and consists of garnet, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, and ilmenite. The latter, orthopyroxene-plagioclase-spinel assemblage replaces garnet. The transformation of garnet typically accompanies the change in the garnet assemblage to a higher temperature pyroxene-plagioclase-spinel assemblage owing to its entrainment in high temperature magma. The study of the chemical composition and textural relationships of minerals, together with the examination of similar mineral assemblages from alkali basalts around the world and mafic-ultramafic intrusions, led us to the conclusion that the garnet inclusions of Primorye are typical xenoliths and xenocrysts representing fragments of tholeiite intrusions of an ophiolite complex that were transformed in the host basaltic magma.     

Petrology of Rhyolitic and Mixed Magma Ejecta from the 1875 Eruption of Askja, Iceland

Volcanic activity in Askja central volcano and its fissure swarmin 1875 occurred in response to a crustal rifting episode inIceland, resulting in up to 70 km lateral flow of magma withinthe crust, caldera collapse and a plinian eruption of acid magma(0·2 km³ dense-rock equivalent). Petrologic studies ofthe predominantly rhyolitic and crystal-poor ejecta reveal thata complex array of other liquid compositions was also present,including icelandite (0.75 per cent) and basalt (1.9 per cent),as well as leucocratic xenoliths of trondhjemite type. Mineralgeothermometers indicate that the rhyolite evolved at 990 to1010 °C and 0·5 Kb P_H2O, the icelandite at 1005 to1020 °C and at f_O2 10^–10 atm. and the basalt at 1140to 1170 °C. A petrologic model of Askja in 1875 consists of a density-stratifiedmagma chamber with a rhyolitic upper part and a lower part offerrobasalt, with an intervening layer of icelandite. The modelcalculations show that the icelandite can be derived from ferrobasaltby 50 per cent fractional crystallization, but one-stage fractionalcrystallization models cannot account for generation of theacid magma. Simple partial or complete fusion of the field-associatedtrondhjemite xenoliths cannot produce the acid magma. Instead,a more complex fusion, hybridization and fractional crystallizationmodel is presented, which is consistent with the available petrologicevidence. This model involves large-scale fusion of pre-existingtrondhjemite intrusions or reactivation of previously consolidatedroof-rock in the magma chamber followed by hybridization ofthe acid magma with 7 to 14 per cent basaltic magma. Finally,10 to 11 per cent fractional crystallization of the dacite hybridis required to produce the observed compositional range withinthe rhyolite ejecta. The 1875 explosive eruption was causedby the ascent of tholeiitic basalt magma from depth during crustalrifting. Influx of new basalt magma in 1874–75 triggeredconvective mixing and hybridization in the compositionally zonedmagma chamber.     

Platinum group element (PGE) geochemistry to understand the chemical evolution of the Earth’s mantle

Platinum group elements (PGE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) are important geochemical and cosmochemical tracers. Depending on physical and chemical behaviour the PGEs are divided into two subgroups: IPGE (Ir, Os, Ru) and PPGE (Pd, Pt, Rh). Platinum group elements show strong siderophile and chalcophile affinity. Base metal sulfides control the PGE budget of the Earth’s mantle. Mantle xenoliths contain two types of sulfide populations: (1) enclosed within silicate minerals, and (2) interstitial to the silicate minerals. In terms of PGE characters the included variety shows IPGE enriched patterns — similar to the melt-depleted mantle harzburgite, whereas the interstitial variety shows PPGE enriched patterns — resembling the fractionated PGE patterns of the basalt. These PGE characters of the mantle sulfides have been interpreted to be representative of multi-stages melting process of the mantle that helped to shape the chemical evolution of the Earth.     

玄武岩成分变异原因

笔者等研究发现山东栖霞和浙江西垄两地新生代玄武岩中分别产有奇特的富钾霞石质和富透长石质熔体玻璃地幔捕虏体,而且它们与寄主玄武岩之间有强烈的混染反应.表明玄武岩浆不是一元系岩浆,而是不同期多元系岩浆.多元系所占比例差别很大,决定了玄武岩浆成分的多样性.另外,此玄武岩成分也很特别:①不见斜长石,主要是铬透辉石(Mg质太多);②含有较多霞石;③全岩SiO2低,37％ ～39％.此玄武岩应称为透辉石岩.     

Ultramafic and Mafic Inclusions from Adak Island: Crystallization History, and Implications for the Nature of Primary Magmas and Crustal Evolution in the Aleutian Arc

Xenolithic inclusions in calc-alkaline andesite from Mt. Moffettvolcano, Adak Island, Aleutian arc, reveal a nearly continuousrecord of crystallization of basaltic magmas in the crust, andpossibly upper mantle, of the arc. The record is more detailedand continuous than that obtained from study of calc-alkalinevolcanic rocks in the arc. Cumulate xenoliths form a progressiveseries in modal mineralogy from ultramafic, hornblende-bearingolivine clinopyroxenite to both hornblende-bearing and hornblende-freegabbros. The cumulate hornblende gabbro xenoliths are typicalof those found in island arc andesites worldwide. Xenolithicinclusions without cumulate textures, here termed compositexenoliths, are characterized by forsteritic olivine, zoned Cr-diopsideand hornblende, and are interpreted to have resulted from reactionand chilling upon magma mixing at depth. The olivine and clinopyroxene in both cumulate and compositexenoliths show the largest and the most complete variation trendsfor Ni, Cr, and FeO/MgO ratio yet reported in igneous xenolithsfrom island arc volcanic rocks. Variation of Ni in olivine indicatesthat the parent magmas for the xenoliths had minimum MgO contentsof 9 wt. per cent. Variation of Cr in clinopyroxene indicatesthat the magmas were basaltic rather than picritic, probablyin equilibrium with spinel lherzolite at near Moho depths. Successiveinjections of batches of primary melt into a magma chamber fractionatingolivine and clinopyroxene can reproduce observed compatibleelement depletion trends. A steady-state process of cotecticcrystallization in a magma chamber continually replenished withbasaltic magma is a possible mechanism for producing large accumulationsof olivine and clinopyroxene, suggesting that Alaskan-type ultramaficcomplexes are related to hydrous basaltic magmas in island arcs.This steady-state open-system crystallization process can alsoyield the abundant high-alumina basalt type in the Aleutianarc. Continued crystallization of high-alumina basalt in lowercrustal magma chambers, recorded in a mineralogically coherentseries of pyroxenite to hornblende gabbro xenoliths, can yieldbasaltic to andesitic magmas of the calc-alkaline series. No xenoliths with a sedimentary protolith have been found atMt Moffett, evidence that the arc crust is igneous in origin,with the lower crust formed of gabbro crystallized from mantle-derivedmelts. Ultramafic cumulates may reside in both the lower crustor upper mantle beneath the arc. A model is proposed wherebythe cumulate crystallization products of hydrous, mantle beneaththe arc. A model is define the upper mantle and lower crustof the arc over time.The net composition added to the crustof the arc is that of high-alumina basalt.     

The origin of coarse garnet peridotites in cratonic lithosphere: new data on xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite, central Siberia

We report new textural and chemical data for 10 garnet peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite and examine them together with recent data on another 21 xenoliths from the 80–220 km depth range. The samples are very fresh (LOI near zero), modally homogeneous and large (>100 g). Some coarse-grained peridotites show incipient stages of deformation with <10 % neoblasts at grain boundaries of coarse olivine. Such microstructures can only be recognized in very fresh rocks, because fine-grained interstitial olivine is strongly affected by alteration, and may have been overlooked in previous studies of altered peridotite xenoliths in the Siberian and other cratons. Some of the garnet peridotites are similar in composition to low-opx Udachnaya spinel harzburgites (previously interpreted as pristine melt extraction residues), but the majority show post-melting enrichments in Fe and Ti. The least metasomatized coarse peridotites were formed by 30–38 % of polybaric fractional melting between 7 and 4 GPa and ≤1–3 GPa. Our data together with experimental results suggest that garnet in these rocks, as well as in some other cratonic peridotites elsewhere, may be a residual mineral, which has survived partial melting together with olivine and opx. Many coarse and all deformed garnet peridotites from Udachnaya underwent modal metasomatism through interaction of the melting residues with Fe-, Al-, Si-, Ti-, REE-rich melts, which precipitated cpx, less commonly additional garnet. The xenoliths define a complex geotherm probably affected by thermal perturbations shortly before the intrusion of the host kimberlite magmas. The deformation in the lower lithosphere may be linked to metasomatism.     

Petrogenesis of Garnet Pyroxenite and Spinel Peridotite Xenoliths of the Tell-Danun Alkali Basalt Volcano,Harrat As Shamah,Syria

A suite of samples, including kaersutite and ilmenite megacrysts, spinel peridotites, garnet pyroxenites, and the alkali basalts that host them, have been studied in an effort to better constrain the mineralogy and chemistry of the subcontinental mantle beneath the central portion of the Arabian plate. Kaersutite megacrysts are classified as Type-A high-pressure precipitates of the alkali basalt host, which transported these xenoliths to the surface and extruded them during formation of the Tell-Danun volcano, southwestern Syria. Ilmenite megacrysts are classified as Type-B megacrysts and could not have precipitated from the alkali basalts presently sampled. Instead, they were derived from a magma that was enriched in the rare-earth elements (REE) by ca. four times and depleted in Zr and Hf, compared to the alkali basalts.

Garnet pyroxenites from the Tell-Danun volcanic field yield temperatures and pressures of 946-1045° C and 8-10 kbar, respectively. These xenoliths likely were precipitated as dikes or along walls of conduits at depths of 24-30 km in the lower crust and/or upper mantle beneath the Arabian plate. Spinel peridotites last were equilibrated at temperatures of 755-1080° C and pressures from 10-20 kbar (30-60 km depth) and could represent samples of a mantle that has been depleted by a prior partial melting event. Many spinel peridotites also contain evidence (specifically in concave-upward REE patterns) of a subsequent enrichment event. However, the age and timing of this depletion, and of the subsequent enrichment event, are not known. This event could have occurred as a consequence of the entrainment of the xenoliths in the LREE- enriched alkali basalts or could have occurred prior to alkali basalt volcanism via metasomatic processes.     

Geochemical Variation in the Greenstones of S.W. England

The characteristic rocks of the Upper Palaeozoic greenstonesof S.W. England are intrusive dolerites and extrusive basicpillow lavas with minor intermediate volcanics and ultrabasics(picrites). Pyroclastics are represented by keratophyric andbasic tuffs. The intrusive greenstones show varying degrees of alteration(spilitization) from a primary ilmenite-plagioclase-clinopyroxene?olivineassemblage to a hydrous low-grade spilite (or meta-dolerite)assemblage composed of variable proportions of albite, chlorite,epidote, calcite, and amphibole. Based on the distribution of elements little affected by secondaryprocesses (Ti, P, Y, Nb, and Zn), the intrusive greenstonescontain representatives of both the alkali olivine basalt andtholeiitic basalt magma series. Magmatic differentiation isgenerally minimal with the Devonian alkali basalt greenstonesbeing principally basaltic, while some of the Carboniferousalkali basalt greenstones tend towards mugearitic compositions.No intrusive acid differentiates have yet been reported. Apart from differences of magma type and minor differentiation,low-grade alteration or ‘spilitization’ has alsogoverned the geochemical variation seen in the greenstones.Spilitization caused (a) local redistribution of principallyCa (forming epidote-rich and calcite-rich patches) and Mg (formingchlorite-rich patches), together with their respective coherenttrace elements, and (b) the variable, but often limited, lossof Ca, Sr, K, Rb, and Ba from many bodies, together with a gainin Na and H₂O. Progressive hydration, however, caused a decreasein the oxidation ratio—a feature found to be common inmany spilitic suites and mainly governed by the relative distributionof chlorite versus epidote.