Low-calcium garnet harzburgites from southern Africa: their relations to craton structure and diamond crystallization

Low-Ca garnet harzburgite xenoliths contain garnets that are deficient in Ca relative to those that have equilibrated with diopside in the iherzolite assemblage. Minor proportions of these harzburgites are of wide-spread occurrence in xenolith suites from the Kaapvaal craton and are of particular interest because of their relation to diamond host rocks. The harzburgite xenoliths are predominantly coarse but one specimen from Jagersfontein and another from Premier have deformed textures similar to those of high-temperature peridotites. Analyses for many elements in the harzburgites and associated iherzolites form concordant overlapping trends. On the average, however, the harzburgites are deficient in Si, Ca, Al and Fe but enriched in Mg and Ni relative to the lherzolites. Both the harzburgites and lherzolites are enstatite-rich with mg numbers [100.Mg/(Mg+Fe_total)] greater than 92 and in these respects differ markedly from residues generated by extraction of MORB. Equilibration temperatures and depths calculated for the harzburgites have the ranges 600–1,400°C and 50–200 km. Those of deepest origin overlap the interval between low-and high-temperature lherzolites that commonly is observed in temperature-depth plots for the Kaapvaal craton, suggesting that some harzburgites may be concentrated relative to lherzolites at the base of the lithosphere. The low-Ca harzburgites and lherzolite xenoliths have overlapping depths of origin, gradational bulk chemical characteristics and similar textures, and therefore both are believed to have formed as residues of Archaen melting events. The harzburgites differ from the lherzolites only in that they are more depleted. Garnets and associated minerals in harzburgite xenoliths differ from minerals of the same assemblage that are included in diamonds in that the latter are more Cr-rich, Mg-rich and Ca-poor. Coarse crystals of low-Ca garnet with the compositional characteristics of diamond inclusions commonly occur as disaggregated grains in diamondiferous kimberlites. Their host rocks are presumed to have been harzburgites and dunites. The differences in composition between the disaggregated grains that are similar to diamond inclusions and those comprising xenoliths imply some differences in origin. Possibly the disaggregated harzburgites with diamond-inclusion mineralogy have undergone repeated partial melting and depletion near the base of the lithosphere subsequent to their primary depletion and aggregation in the craton. Equilibration with magnesite may have reduced the Ca contents of their garnets and decomposition of the magnesite during eruption may have caused their disaggregation.     

Steady state geotherm,thermal disturbances,and tectonic development of the lower lithosphere underneath the Gibeon Kimberlite Province,Namibia

The Gibeon Kimberlite Province of southern Namibia comprises more than 75 group 1 kimberlite pipes and dykes. From the Gibeon Townsland 1 pipe, 38 upper mantle xenoliths (23 garnet lherzolites and 15 garnet harzburgites) were collected and minerals were analysed by electron microprobe for major elements. Pressures and temperatures of crystallisation for xenoliths with either coarse equant, porphyroclastic and mosaic-porphyroclastic textures were estimated by a number of combinations of geothermometers and geobarometers judged to be reliable and accurate for peridotites by Brey and Köhler (1990): The P-T estimates for equilibrated xenoliths agree within the errors of the methods and plot within the stability field of graphite. The P-T values for coarse equant xenoliths fall close to a geothermal gradient of about 44?mW/m² within a very restricted pressure range. The porphyroclastic xenoliths yield similar and higher temperatures at similar depths. In these xenoliths Ca in orthopyroxene and Ca in olivine increase towards the rims and are high in the neoblasts indicating a stage of transient heating at depth. The mosaic-porphyroclastic xenolith minerals yield the highest temperatures, are unzoned and indicate internal mineral equilibrium. The depth of origin for the xenoliths from Gibeon Townsland 1 ranges from 100 to 140 km. The “cold”, coarse equant peridotites are relatively enriched garnet lherzolites with comparatively (to the “hot” peridotites) low modal orthopyroxene contents, whereas the “hot”, mosaic-porphyroclastic peridotites are depleted garnet harzburgites with high modal amounts of orthopyroxene. This is opposite to the findings for peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton where the cold peridotites are depleted harzburgites with high modal orthopyroxene and many of the hot peridotites are fertile lherzolites with low modal abundance of orthopyroxene. We present a model in which the high temperature, depleted garnet harzburgites are equated to the cold, coarse equant peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton. It is envisaged that this material was detached and transported laterally by an upwelling, deflected plume.     

Spinel lherzolite xenoliths from the Premier kimberlite (Kaapvaal craton, South Africa): Nature and evolution of the shallow upper mantle beneath the Bushveld complex

Coarse-grained, granular spinel lherzolites xenoliths from the Premier kimberlite show evidence of melt extraction and metasomatic enrichment, documenting a complex history for the shallow mantle beneath the Bushveld complex. Compositions of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel indicate equilibration within the spinel–peridotite facies of the upper mantle, at depths from 80 to 100 km and temperatures from 720 to 850 °C. Bulk compositions have lower Mg-number [atomic 100 Mg/(Mg + Fe*)] than previously studied spinel peridotites from Premier, and have higher Mg/Si than low-temperature coarse grained garnet lherzolites, suggesting shallower melting conditions or metasomatic enrichment. Clinopyroxene in one sample is highly LREE-depleted indicating very minor modification of a residue of 20% melt extraction, whereas the calculated REE pattern for a melt in equilibrium with a mildly LREE-depleted sample is similar to MORB or late Archean basalt, possibly related to the Bushveld Complex. Bulk and mineral compositions suggest minimal refertilization by silicate melts in four out of six samples, but REE patterns indicate introduction of a LIL-enriched component that may be related to kimberlite.     

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.     

Nature of the mantle roots beneath the North American craton: mantle xenolith evidence from Somerset Island kimberlites

The recently discovered Nikos kimberlite on Somerset Island, in the Canadian Arctic, hosts an unusually well preserved suite of mantle xenoliths dominated by garnet–peridotite (lherzolite, harzburgite, dunite) showing coarse and porphyroclastic textures, with minor garnet–pyroxenite. The whole rock and mineral data for 54 Nikos xenoliths indicate a highly refractory underlying mantle with high olivine forsterite contents (ave. Fo=92.3) and moderate to high olivine abundances (ave. 80 wt.%). These characteristics are similar to those reported for peridotites from the Archean Kaapvaal and Siberian cratons (ave. olivine Fo=92.5), but are clearly distinct from the trend defined by oceanic peridotites and mantle xenoliths in alkaline basalts and kimberlites from post-Archean continental terranes (ave. olivine Fo=91.0). The Nikos xenoliths yield pressures and temperatures of last equilibration between 20 and 55 kb and 650 and 1300°C, and a number of the peridotite nodules appear to have equilibrated in the diamond stability field. The pressure and temperature data define a conductive paleogeotherm corresponding to a surface heat flow of 44 mW/m². Paleogeotherms based on xenolith data from the central Slave province of the Canadian craton require a lower surface heat flow (40 mW/m²) indicating a cooler geothermal regime than that beneath the Canadian Arctic. A large number of kimberlite-hosted peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton in South Africa and parts of the Siberian craton are characterized by high orthopyroxene contents (ave. Kaapvaal 32 wt.%, Siberia 20 wt.%). The calculated modal mineral assemblages for the Nikos peridotites show moderate to low contents of orthopyroxene (ave. 12 wt.%), indicating that the orthopyroxene-rich mineralogy characteristic of the Kaapvaal and Siberian cratons is not a feature of the cratonic upper mantle beneath Somerset Island.     

Lithospheric mantle beneath the south-eastern Siberian craton: petrology of peridotite xenoliths in basalts from the Tokinsky Stanovik

We provide petrographic, major and trace element data for over 30 spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Tokinsky Stanovik (Tok) volcanic field on the Aldan shield to characterize the lithospheric mantle beneath the south-eastern margin of the Siberian craton, which formed in the Mesoproterozoic. High equilibration temperatures (870–1,010°C) of the xenoliths and the absence of garnet-bearing peridotites indicate a much thinner lithosphere than in the central craton. Most common among the xenoliths are clinopyroxene-poor lherzolites and harzburgites with Al₂O₃ and CaO contents nearly as low as in refractory xenoliths from kimberlite pipes (Mir, Udachnaya) in the central and northern Siberian craton. By contrast, the Tok peridotites have higher FeO, lower Mg-numbers and lower modal orthopyroxene and are apparently formed by shallow partial melting (3 GPa). Nearly all Tok xenoliths yield petrographic and chemical evidence for metasomatism: accessory phlogopite, amphibole, phosphates, feldspar and Ti-rich oxides, very high Na₂O (2–3.1%) in clinopyroxene, LREE enrichments in whole-rocks.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Origin of Fe-rich lherzolites and wehrlites from Tok,SE Siberia by reactive melt percolation in refractory mantle peridotites

Lherzolite–wehrlite (LW) series xenoliths from the quaternary Tok volcanic field in the southeastern Siberian craton are distinguished from the more common lherzolite–harzburgite (LH) series by (a) low Mg numbers (0.84–0.89) at high modal olivine (66–84%) and (b) widespread replacement of orthopyroxene (0–12%) and spinel by clinopyroxene (7–22%). The LW series peridotites are typically enriched in Ca, Fe, Mn and Ti, and depleted in Si, Ni and Cr relative to refractory LH series rocks (Mg number ≥0.89), which are metasomatised partial melting residues. Numerical modelling of Fe–Mg solid/liquid exchange during melt percolation demonstrates that LW series rocks can form by reaction of host refractory peridotites with evolved (Mg numbers 0.6–0.7), silica-undersaturated silicate melts at high melt/rock ratios, which replace orthopyroxene with clinopyroxene and decrease Mg numbers. This process is most likely related to underplating and fractionation of basaltic magma in the shallow mantle, which also produced olivine–clinopyroxene cumulates found among the Tok xenoliths.     

Textures and geochemistry of the Saramta peridotites (Siberian craton): Melting and refertilization during early evolution of the continental lithospheric mantle

The Saramta peridotite massif is located within the Sharyzhalgai complex, SW margin of the Siberian craton. The Saramta massif was formed in the Archean and then juxtaposed with granulites of crystalline basement of the Siberian craton. The Saramta harzburgites are highly refractory in terms of lack of residual clinopyroxene, olivine Mg-number (up to 0.937), and spinel Cr-number (∼0.5), suggesting high degree of partial melting. Detailed study of their microstructures shows that they have extensively reacted with a SiO₂-rich melt, leading to the crystallization of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, amphibole and spinel at the expense of olivine. The major element compositions of the least reacted harzburgites are similar to the residues of refractory peridotites produced by the fractional melting (initial melting pressures >3 GPa and melt fractions ∼40%). Moreover, non-residual clinopyroxenes are highly depleted in Yb, Zr and Ti, but highly enriched in LREE. A two-stage history is proposed for the Saramta peridotite: (1) primitive mantle underwent depletion in the garnet stability field followed by melting in the spinel stability field; (2) refractory harzburgites underwent refertilization by SiO₂-rich melt in supra-subduction zone. Rare Saramta lherzolites probably formed from more refractory harzburgites as a result of such a melt–rock reaction. The Saramta peridotites are similar to low-T coarse-grained peridotites of subcratonic mantle. Processes of their formation, as reflected by textures and composition of minerals of the Saramta peridotites, are characteristic of the early stages of subcratonic mantle formation.     

A Forearc (Guleman, Elaziğ) Ophiolite: Evidence from Peridotite Mineral Geochemistry

The Guleman ophiolite,one of the most important ophiolitic massifs of the Southeast Anatolian Ophiolitic Belt,consists of a core of serpentinized mantle rocks overlain by an ultramafic sequence,layered and isotropic gabbro,and sheeted dykes.The ophiolite structurally overlies the Lower Miocene Lice Formation and is overlain by young sandstones and shales of the Upper Maashtrichtian-Lower Eocene Hazar Complex and Middle Eocene Maden Complex.The Guleman ophiolite tectonically overlain by Precambrian to Upper Triassic Bitlis metamorphic massif.The mantle peridotites compose mainly of fresh and in place serpentinized harzburgite tectonite with local bands and lenses of dunites with large-sized chromitite pods.The Guleman peridotites commonly show porphyroclastic texture,high-temperature fabrics such as kink-bands in olivines.According to microprobe analyses,the harzburgite and dunite have low Ca O and Al2O3 abundance similar to Mariana forearc,and their average Cr-(=Cr/(Cr+Al)atomic)ratio of Cr-spinelsis surprisingly high(0.63)besides Fo content of olivine is between 90.9 to 92.3 in peridotites.According to Mg#(Mg/(Mg+Fe2+))versus Cr#in spinel diagram,the degree of partial melting is higher than 35%and spinel values plot in the forearc peridotites field.The Gulemanharzburgites have low Ca O,Al2O3 and Ti O2 contents in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene lammelles,resembling those of depleted harzburgites from modern forearcs and different from moderately depleted abyssal peridotites.Consequently,we propose that the Guleman peridotites form in a forearc setting during the subduction initiation that developed as a result of northward subduction of the southern branch of the Neo-Tethys in response to the convergence between Arabian and Anatolian plates.     

Origin of Neoproterozoic ophiolitic peridotites in south Eastern Desert, Egypt, constrained from primary mantle mineral chemistry

The ophiolitic peridotites in the Wadi Arais area, south Eastern Desert of Egypt, represent a part of Neoproterozoic ophiolites of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS). We found relics of fresh dunites enveloped by serpentinites that show abundances of bastite after orthopyroxene, reflecting harzburgite protoliths. The bulk-rock chemistry confirmed the harzburgites as the main protoliths. The primary mantle minerals such as orthopyroxene, olivine and chromian spinel in Arais serpentinites are still preserved. The orthopyroxene has high Mg# [=Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺)], ~0.923 on average. It shows intra-grain chemical homogeneity and contains, on average, 2.28 wt.% A1₂O₃, 0.88 wt.% Cr₂O₃ and 0.53 wt.% CaO, similar to primary orthopyroxenes in modern forearc peridotites. The olivine in harzburgites has lower Fo (93?94.5) than that in dunites (Fo_94.3?Fo_95.9). The Arais olivine is similar in NiO (0.47 wt.% on average) and MnO (0.08 wt.% on average) contents to the mantle olivine in primary peridotites. This olivine is high in Fo content, similar to Mg-rich olivines in ANS ophiolitic harzburgites, because of its residual origin. The chromian spinel, found in harzburgites, shows wide ranges of Cr#s [=Cr/(Cr + Al)], 0.46?0.81 and Mg#s, 0.34?0.67. The chromian spinel in dunites shows an intra-grain chemical homogeneity with high Cr#s (0.82?0.86). The chromian spinels in Arais peridotites are low in TiO₂, 0.05 wt.% and Y_Fe [= Fe³⁺/(Cr + Al + Fe³⁺)], ~0.06 on average. They are similar in chemistry to spinels in forearc peridotites. Their compositions associated with olivine’s Fo suggest that the harzburgites are refractory residues after high-degree partial melting (mainly ~25?30 % partial melting) and dunites are more depleted, similar to highly refractory peridotites recovered from forearcs. This is in accordance with the partial melting (>20 % melt) obtained by the whole-rock Al₂O₃ composition. The Arais peridotites have been possibly formed in a sub-arc setting (mantle wedge), where high degrees of partial melting were available during subduction and closing of the Mozambique Ocean, and emplaced in a forearc basin. Their equilibrium temperature based on olivine?spinel thermometry ranges from 650 to 780 °C, and their oxygen fugacity is high (Δlog ?O₂?=?2.3 to 2.8), which is characteristic of mantle-wedge peridotites. The Arais peridotites are affected by secondary processes forming microinclusions inside the dunitic olivine, abundances of carbonates and talc flakes in serpentinites. These microinclusions have been formed by reaction between trapped fluids and host olivine in a closed system. Lizardite and chrysotile, based on Raman analyses, are the main serpentine minerals with lesser antigorite, indicating that serpentines were possibly formed under retrograde metamorphism during exhumation and near the surface at low T (<400 °C).     

Composition and thermal evolution of cratonic mantle beneath the central Archean Slave Province, NWT, Canada

The composition and thermal evolution of the upper mantle lithosphere beneath the central Archean Slave Province has been studied using mineral chemical and petrographic data from mantle xenoliths entrained in the Torrie kimberlite pipe. Coarse-, granuloblastic-, and porphyroclastic- textured harzburgite, lherzolite, and pyroxenite xenoliths yield equilibration temperatures ranging between 850 and 1350 °C. Thermobarometry of these samples requires a minimum lithospheric thickness of approximately 180 km at the time of kimberlite magmatism. The distribution of pressures and temperatures of equilibration for the xenoliths lie on a calculated 42 mWm⁻² paleogeotherm, ∼10 mWm⁻² lower than the present heat flow measured at Yellowknife, near the SW margin of the Slave Province. The Mg# [Mg/(Mg + Fe)] of olivine in peridotites varies between 0.906 and 0.938 with an average of 0.920. The Torrie xenolith suite shows variable degrees of serpentinization and/or carbonation with the rim compositions of many clinopyroxene grains showing Ca enrichment, but in general, the xenoliths are homogeneous at all scales. The Torrie xenoliths are rich in orthopyroxene similar to low temperature (<1100 °C) peridotites from southern Africa, and Siberia. Estimates of bulk rock composition based on mineral chemical and modal data reveal a negative correlation between Si and Fe, similar to peridotite xenoliths from Udachnaya. The similarity of olivine Mg#s with other cratons combined with the negative correlation of Fe and Si suggest that the lithosphere beneath the Slave craton has experienced a evolution similar to other cratons globally. Received: 22 January 1998 / Accepted: 27 August 1998     

Peridotites from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 43° N and their petrogenetic relation to abyssal tholeiites

Whole-rock, major and trace element analyses and microprobe mineral analyses were conducted on serpentinized peridotites recovered from the walls of a MAR (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) 43° N fracture zone. These peridotites are extensively serpentinized; serpentine usually makes up 30–100 vol. percent of the bulk rocks. The relict minerals observed consist mainly of olivine and orthopyroxene with subordinate amounts of clinopyroxene and brown spinel. The range in olivine composition is very limited (Fo_91–92). Orthopyroxene forms large, anhedral crystals with clinopyroxene exsolution lamellae and shows undulose extinction with bent cleavages and lamellae. Broad beam microprobe analyses indicate that the composition range of orthopyroxene is also limited (En_89.1–87.6Fs_8.2-8.0Wo_2.7–4.4; Al₂O₃=1.82–2.64 wt%; Cr₂O₃=0.63–0.88 wt%). Clinopyroxene tends to fringe large orthopyroxene crystals or fills the interstices between them. The Mg/Fe ratios of clinopyroxene are practically constant; however, the Ca/(Ca + Mg + Fe) ratios range from 0.48 to 0.45. The Cr/(Cr+Al) and Mg/(Mg+ Fe²⁺) ratios of brown spinel range from 0.57 to 0.36 and 0.69 to 0.56, respectively. The geothermometers utilizing coexisting spinel lherzolite mineral assemblages suggest that the MAR 43° N peridotites attained equilibrium at temperatures from 1100° to 1250° C.Peridotites recovered from the ocean floor are generally considered to have been subjected to partial melting processes and are regarded as residues left after primary magma was removed. Major element chemistry of the MAR 43° N peridotites are compared with those of the ocean-floor ultramafic tectonites reported previously and used together with those published data to demonstrate that the major element abundances of the oceanfloor peridotites define an average trend which is compatible with removal of primary magma from these peridotites at moderate pressures (10–15 kb). Then, the most primitive abyssal tholeiite glasses could be produced by ca. 10% olivine fractionation of such primary magma. Extensive fractionation of olivine and/or orthopyroxene from picritic liquids which are in equilibrium with the lherzolitic or harzburgitic mantle sources at higher pressures (>20 kb) could not yield the majority of the most primitive abyssal tholeiite glasses.     

Geochemical make-up of oceanic peridotites from NW Turkey and the multi-stage melting history of the Tethyan upper mantle

We present the whole-rock and the mineral chemical data for upper mantle peridotites from the Harmanc?k region in NW Turkey and discuss their petrogenetic–tectonic origin. These peridotites are part of a Tethyan ophiolite belt occurring along the ?zmir-Ankara-Ercincan suture zone in northern Turkey, and include depleted lherzolites and refractory harzburgites. The Al₂O₃ contents in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene from the depleted lherzolite are high, and the Cr-number in the coexisting spinel is low falling within the abyssal field. However, the orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene in the harzburgites have lower Al₂O₃ contents for a given Cr-number of spinel, and plot within the lower end of the abyssal field. The whole-rock geochemical and the mineral chemistry data imply that the Harmanc?k peridotites formed by different degrees of partial melting (~%10–27) of the mantle. The depleted lherzolite samples have higher MREE and HREE abundances than the harzburgitic peridotites, showing convex-downward patterns. These peridotites represent up to ~16 % melting residue that formed during the initial seafloor spreading stage of the Northern Neotethys. On the other hand, the more refractory harzburgites represent residues after ~4–11 % hydrous partial melting of the previously depleted MOR mantle, which was metasomatized by slab-derived fluids during the early stages of subduction. The Harmanc?k peridotites, hence, represent the fragments of upper mantle rocks that formed during different stages of the tectonic evolution of the Tethyan oceanic lithosphere in Northern Neotethys. We infer that the multi-stage melting history of the Harmanc?k peridotites reflect the geochemically heterogeneous character of the Tethyan oceanic lithosphere currently exposed along the ?zmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone.     

Metasomatic parageneses in deep-seated xenoliths from pipes Udachnaya and Komsomol'skaya-Magnitnaya as indicators of fluid transfer through the mantle lithosphere of the Siberian craton

The petrography, major element, and trace element (TE) compositions of minerals from two types of modal metasomatites (metasomatized peridotites and pyroxenites) from kimberlite pipes Udachnaya and Komsomol'skaya-Magnitnaya, Yakutia, have been studied. It is shown that texturally and chemically equilibrated metasomatites A consist of a set of superimposed minerals: phlogopite + diopside ± ilmenite ± apatite ± sulfides ± graphite. Their major and trace element compositions have specific features. The contents of TEs in garnet and clinopyroxene from these metasomatites are close to those in garnet and clinopyroxene from low-temperature coarse-grained peridotites richest in TEs. The distribution of a significant portion of TEs between garnet and clinopyroxene from A-type metasomatites and from coarse-grained lherzolites rich in TEs is close to experimental values reported for minerals coexisting with carbonatitic and basaltic fluids. We assume that this metasomatic process was nearly synchronous with the global metamorphism and cratonization of the mantle lithosphere and that high-density silicate–carbonate fluidmelts were metasomatizing agents.Another large mantle metasomatism process in the lithosphere of the Siberian craton was associated with the Middle Paleozoic kimberlite magmatic event, induced by the Yakutian thermochemical plume. Metasomatic minerals (Mg phlogopite + Cr diopside + chromite ± sulfides ± graphite) intensely replaced the minerals of the primary paragenesis, particularly, garnet. These reaction metasomatites show a sine-shaped REE pattern in garnet and disequilibrium between garnet and clinopyroxene. It is supposed that the reaction metasomatism in the mantle lithosphere of the Siberian craton was associated with ingress of reduced asthenospheric fluids at early stages of the kimberlite formation cycle. Metasomatic graphite formed in metasomatites of both types, and this fact evidences for two diamond formation epochs in the history of the mantle lithosphere of the Siberian craton.     

Dunite Formation Processes in Highly Depleted Peridotite: Case Study of the Iwanaidake Peridotite, Hokkaido, Japan

Dunite formation processes in highly depleted peridotites arediscussed based upon a detailed study of the Iwanaidake peridotite,Hokkaido, Japan, which consists mainly of harzburgite with asmall amount of dunite. In the harzburgites, the Mg# [= 100x Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺)] of olivine ranges from 91·5 to 92·5,and the Cr# [= 100 x Cr/(Cr + Al)] of spinel from 30 to 70;in the dunites, the Mg# of olivine ranges from 92·5 to94 and the Cr# of spinel from 60 to 85, respectively. The NiOwt % of olivine in harzburgites ranges from 0·38 to 0·44,and in dunites from 0·35 to 0·37. The Mg# andCr# are higher and NiO wt % is lower in the dunites than inthe harzburgites surrounding the dunites. The Mg# and Cr# exhibitnormal depletion trends expected from simple partial melting,whereas the NiO wt % shows an abnormal trend. On the basis ofmass balance calculations, dunites are considered to be derivedfrom the harzburgites by a process involving incongruent meltingof orthopyroxene (orthopyroxene olivine + Si-rich melt). Hydrousconditions were necessary to lower the solidus, and thus meltingof harzburgite was probably triggered by the introduction ofhydrous silicate melt. The dunite in this massif may have formedin the mantle wedge above a subduction zone. KEY WORDS: depleted peridotite; hydrous melt; incongruent melting; residual dunite; Iwanaidake peridotite     

Cratonic mantle roots, remnants of a more chondritic Archean mantle?

The Earth's continents are cored by Archean cratons underlain by seismically fast mantle roots descending to depths of 200⁺ km that appear to be both more refractory and colder than the surrounding asthenospheric mantle. Low-temperature mantle xenoliths from kimberlite pipes indicate that the shallow parts of these cratonic mantle roots are dominated by refractory harzburgites that are very old (3⁺ Ga). A fundamental mass balance problem arises, however, when attempts are made to relate Archean high-Mg lavas to a refractory restite equivalent to the refractory lithospheric mantle roots beneath Archean cratons. The majority of high-Mg Archean magmas are too low in Al and high in Si to leave behind a refractory residue with the composition of the harzburgite xenoliths that constitute the Archean mantle roots beneath continental cratons, if a Pyrolitic primitive mantle source is assumed. The problem is particularly acute for 3⁺ Ga Al-depleted komatiites and the Si-rich harzburgites of the Kaapvaal and Slave cratons, but remains for cratonic harzburgites that are not anomalously rich in orthopyroxene and many Al-undepleted komatiites. This problem would disappear if fertile Archean mantle was richer in Fe and Si, more similar in composition to chondritic meteorites than the present Pyrolitic upper mantle of the Earth. Accepting the possibility that the Earth's convecting upper mantle has become poorer in Fe and Si over geologic time not only provides a simpler way of relating Archean high-Mg lavas to the lithospheric mantle roots that underlie Archean cratons, but could lead to new models for the nature Archean magmatism and the lower mantle sources of modern hot-spot volcanism.     

Cl-bearing lizardite in metamorphosed kimberlites from the Udachnaya Vostochnaya Pipe,Yakutia

Anhydrite-bearing dolomites and kimberlites from the contact zone of the Udachnaya Vostochnaya pipe, northern part of the Eastern Siberian Platform, were affected by low-grade metamorphism to the zeolite facies. The kimberlites are serpentinized and carbonatized and contain metasomes of anhydrite and saponite pockets. Twenty lizardite pseudomorphs after olivine (Fo _91–82) in the kimberlites were examined on an electron microprobe. The lizardite is rimmed by saponite and contains dolomite, calcite, magnetite, and anhydrite inclusions. Lizardite in the central parts of the pseudomorphs contains 1.5–1.9 wt % Cl and 6–9 wt % Fe₂O₃, and this mineral in the outer portions of the pseudomorphs bears 0.7–1.0 wt % Cl and 2–6 wt % Fe₂O₃ (the paper presents nine microprobe analyses and images showing the distribution of Cl, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Ti, and Fe obtained in characteristic X-ray radiation). The amounts of Fe³⁺ in octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated sites of the Cl-bearing lizardite are roughly equal. Cl was borrowed in the course of serpentinization from the host Early Paleozoic evaporites and brines contained in them. The Cl concentration in our lizardite from the metamorphosed kimberlites from the Eastern Siberian Platform (continental lizardite) is much higher than the Cl concentration in oceanic lizardite from serpentine replacing peridotites (0.03–0.2 wt % Cl). This is likely explained by differences in the Cl concentrations in the metamorphic fluids, their salinity (3% for oceanic water and 65% for brines in the platform cover).     

The Kharamai kimberlite field, Siberia: modification of the lithospheric mantle by the Siberian Trap event

The kimberlites of the Kharamai field intruded through the Siberian Traps shortly after their eruption in Permo-Triassic time. The composition and thermal state of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Kharamai field in lower Triassic time have been reconstructed using major- and trace-element analyses of 345 Cr-pyrope garnet xenocrysts from six of the kimberlites, supplemented by a small suite of mantle-derived peridotite xenoliths. The data define a geotherm lying near a 38 mW/m² conductive model to a depth of ca 170 km, where the base of the depleted lithosphere is defined by a marked increase in melt-related metasomatism and by an inflected geotherm. Compared to the SCLM sampled by Devonian (pre-Trap) kimberlites in the same and adjacent terranes, the Kharamai SCLM in Triassic time was warmer and was cooling from a previous thermal high. It was also thinner than the SCLM beneath the Daldyn and Alakit kimberlite fields, and had been strongly metasomatised. The metasomatism lowered the mean Fo content of olivine (from ≥Fo₉₃ to Fo₉₂), greatly reduced the proportion of subcalcic harzburgites, and increased the proportion of fertile lherzolites, especially in the depth range of 80–130 km. The overall pattern of metasomatism is similar to that observed in the SCLM sampled by the Group I kimberlites of the SW Kaapvaal Craton, and inferred to be related to the Karoo thermal event. These observations suggest that events such as the eruption of the Karoo basalts and Siberian Traps change the composition of the SCLM, but do not necessarily destroy it, at distances of several hundred kilometres from the main eruption centres.     

Tracking flux melting and melt percolation in supra-subduction peridotites (Josephine ophiolite,USA)

Here, we investigate the scale and nature of melting and melt percolation processes recorded by 17 supra-subduction peridotites collected in a ~70 km² area in the northern portion of the Josephine ophiolite (Western USA). We present major and trace element variations in whole rocks; major elements in olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel; and trace elements [including rare earth element (REE)] in clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene. In the Josephine peridotites, compositional variability occurs at different scales. On the one hand, large systematic changes from depleted to fertile peridotites occur on large kilometer scales. Field, petrological and geochemical data can be consistently explained if the Josephine mantle experienced variable degrees of hydrous flux melting (10 to >20–23 %), and we argue that small fractions of subduction-derived fluids (0.015–0.1 wt%) were pervasive in the ~70 km² studied area, and continuously supplied during wedge melting. Fluid localization probably led to increased extent of flux melting in the harzburgitic areas. On the other hand, in single outcrops, sharp transitions from dunite to harzburgite to lherzolite and olivine websterite can be found on meter to centimeter scales. Thus, some fertile samples may reflect limited degrees of refertilization at the outcrop scale. In addition, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene in ultra-depleted harzburgites (Spinel Cr# > 58) show variable degrees of LREE enrichment, which reflect percolation of and partial re-equilibration with, small fractions of boninite melt. Because the enriched samples also show the highest spinel Cr#, we argue that these enrichments are local features connected to the presence of dunite channels nearby. Lastly, trace element concentrations of pyroxenes in Josephine harzburgites show that they are one of the most depleted harzburgites among worldwide ophiolitic peridotites, indicating particularly high degrees of melting, potentially past the exhaustion of clinopyroxene.