Rare and unusual mineral inclusions in diamonds from Mwadui, Tanzania

Syngenetic diamond inclusions from the Mwadui kimberlite reveal that an unusually fertile section of lithospheric mantle beneath the Central African Craton was sampled. This is shown by a very high ratio of lherzolitic to harzburgitic garnet inclusions (1:2) and low Mg/Fe-ratios in olivine and orthopyroxene. Geothermometry applied to the peridotitic inclusions indicates disequilibrium between non-touching inclusion pairs to be common. Disequilibrium between garnet-olivine and garnet-orthopyroxene pairs suggests successive iron enrichment during diamond formation, e.g. leading to the presence of harzburgitic garnet and lherzolitic olivine in the same diamond. Apart from the dominant peridotitic inclusion suite (88%), rare eclogitic inclusions occur (2%) and a number of uncertain paragenesis. Two diamonds, one with eclogitic garnets with moderate pyroxene solid solution and the other with a single ferro-periclase inclusion, suggest the contribution of a small sub-lithospheric component. The finding of the association Fe-FeO-Fe₃O₄ in one single diamond indicates diamond formation over a large range of f _O2 conditions, possibly along redox fronts. Steep compositional gradients may also be reflected by the joint occurrence of harzburgitic garnet and a SiO₂-phase in the same diamond. Alternatively the formation of the SiO₂-phase may be due to extreme carbonation of the peridotitic source. Further unusual findings include the exsolution of a silicate phase from magnetite inclusions, (i.e. primary solution of γ-olivine) and an ilmenite inclusion with an eskolaite (Cr₂O₃) component of 14.5 mol%, the latter together with harzburgitic paragenesis silicate inclusions. Received: 23 August 1997 / Accepted: 7 January 1998     

Structural development of the Precambrian basement in the Bir Safsaf-Aswân area,SW-Egypt

Structural investigations, especially on quartz c-axis fabrics, combined with petrological work, were carried out in Precambrian rocks from the basement outcrops Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr und Gebel Umm Shâghir in the Western Desert in SW Egypt. The principal rock types are migmatites with local mylonite zones. The foliation and shear planes strike WNW-ESE, the axes of the wide and open folds NE-SW to N-S. Investigation of recrystallization features and mineral parageneses lead to P–T-estimates for the different stages of the metamorphic evolution. They range from early granulite facies down to greenschist facies. Quartz-c-axis fabrics of the migmatites and mylonites are similar (crossed-girdle fabrics) but they have a different regional orientation of the strain ellipsoid. Shear zones developed after the main migmatite facies event. The geological evolution of the basement outcrops in Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr and Gebel Umm Shâghir is comparable and the whole region is thought to be part of the East Sahara Craton.

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Zusammenfassung Strukturuntersuchungen, besonders Quarz-c-Achsen-Regelungen, kombiniert mit petrologischen Arbeiten, wurden an Gesteinen der präkambrischen Grundgebirgsaufschlüsse Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr und Gebel Umm Shâghir in der Western Desert, ägypten, durchgeführt. Die hauptsächlich auftretenden Gesteinstypen sind Migmatite mit lokalen Mylonitzonen. Schieferungs- und Scherflächen streichen WNW-ESE, die Achsen der weiten bis offenen Faltung NE-SW bis N-S. Mit Hilfe des Rekristallisationsverhaltens und der Paragenesen werden P-T-Abschätzungen der Metamorphosestadien angegeben. Sie reichen von früher Granulitfazies bis zu später Grünschieferfazies. Die Quarz-c-Achsenregelung in Migmatiten und Myloniten ist ähnlich (Kreuzgürtelregelung), jedoch mit unterschiedlicher regionaler Orientierung des Strainellipsoids. Scherzonen entwickelten sich nach dem migmatitfaziellen Hauptmetamorphose-Ereignis. Die geologische Entwicklung in den Grundgebirgsaufschlüssen von Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr und Gebel Umm Shâghir ist vergleichbar und das gesamte Gebiet wird als Teil des Ostsaharakratons angesehen.

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Résumé Cette note fait état des résultats de recherches menées dans les aires d'affleurement du socle pré-cambrien de Bir Safsaf, du Jebel al Asr et du Jebel Umm Shâghir, dans le désert occidental d'Egypte; ces recherches ont consisté en l'étude des structures, particulèrement des fabriques des axes c du quartz, combinée avec une étude pétrologique. Les roches sont essentiellement des migmatites accompagnées de zones de mylonites locales. La schistosité et les plans de cisaillement y sont orientés WNW-ESE; elles présentent des plis ouverts dont les axes sont NE-SW à N-S. L'étude des structures de recristallisation et des paragenèses minérales fournit une estimation des conditions (p,t) au cours des stades successifs de l'évolution métamorphique. Ces conditions s'échelonnent du faciès des granulites jusqu'à celui des schistes verts. Les fabriques des axes c du quartz sont les mÊmes dans les migmatites et les mylonites (fabrique à «ceintures croisées»), mais ces roches présentent des orientations régionales différentes de l'ellipsoÏde des déformations. L'événement métamorphique principal à caractère migmatitique a été suivi de la formation de couloirs de cisaillement (shear-zones). L'évolution géologique du socle est comparable dans les trois aires étudiées; l'ensemble est considéré comme faisant partie du craton du Sahara oriental.

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, Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr Gebel Umm Shâghir, . . WNW-ESE, — NE-SW N-S. , . . / Kreuzgü rtelregelung /, . . Bir Safsaf, Gebel el Asr Gebel Umm Shaghir , .

     

A proposed GPS method with multi-antennae and single receiver

A method based on multi-antennae linked to a common GPS receiver is proposed. The goal of the technique is to improve height determination for baselines a few kilometres in length. The advantage of this technique resides in the elimination of relative clock parameters in the between-antenna single difference observations. Because single difference observations are free of clock errors more geometrical strength remains to determine the baseline components. This statement is valid as long as intercable biases can be carefully calibrated. For millimetre height determination, the intercable calibration must be done at the same level of accuracy. Under this assumption it is shown that in general the height standard deviation improves by a factor of about three compared to standard GPS data processing. With the proposed method, the effect of relative tropospheric zenith delay errors becomes a bit smaller (in absolute value), compared to standard data processing. To absorb this error, a relative tropospheric zenith delay parameter may be estimated. Even with this additional parameter in the solution the height standard deviation remains two times smaller than the results of standard processing techniques (without tropospheric zenith delay parameter), and at least five times smaller than in the results obtained from standard processing including one tropospheric zenith delay parameter.     

Ferropericlase—a lower mantle phase in the upper mantle

Experiments on compositions along the join MgO–NaA³⁺Si₂O₆ (A=Al, Cr, Fe³⁺) show that sodium can be incorporated into ferropericlase at upper mantle pressures in amounts commonly found in natural diamond inclusions. These results, combined with the observed mineral parageneses of several diamond inclusion suites, establish firmly that ferropericlase exists in the upper mantle in regions with low silica activity. Such regions may be carbonated dunite or stalled and degassed carbonatitic melts. Ferropericlase as an inclusion in diamond on its own is not indicative of a lower mantle origin or of a deep mantle plume. Coexisting phases have to be taken into consideration to decide on the depth of origin. The composition of olivine will indicate an origin from the upper mantle or border of the transition zone to the lower mantle and whether it coexisted with ferropericlase in the upper mantle or as ringwoodite. The narrow and flat three phase loop at the border transition zone—lower mantle together with hybrid peridotite plus eclogite/sediments provides an explanation for the varying and Fe-rich nature of the diamond inclusion suite from Sao Luiz, Brazil.     

The trace element composition of silicate inclusions in diamonds: a review

On a global scale, peridotitic garnet inclusions in diamonds from the subcratonic lithosphere indicate an evolution from strongly sinusoidal REE_N, typical for harzburgitic garnets, to mildly sinusoidal or “normal” patterns (positive slope from LREE_N to MREE_N, fairly flat MREE_N–HREE_N), typical for lherzolitic garnets. Using the Cr-number of garnet as a proxy for the bulk rock major element composition it becomes apparent that strong LREE enrichment in garnet is restricted to highly depleted lithologies, whereas flat or positive LREE–MREE slopes are limited to less depleted rocks. For lherzolitic garnet inclusions, there is a positive relation between equilibration temperature, enrichment in MREE, HREE and other HFSE (Ti, Zr, Y), and decreasing depletion in major elements. For harzburgitic garnets, relations are not linear, but it appears that lherzolite style enrichment in MREE–HREE only occurs at temperatures above 1150–1200 °C, whereas strong enrichment in Sr is absent at these high temperatures. These observations suggest a transition from melt metasomatism (typical for the lherzolitic sources) characterized by fairly unfractionated trace and major element compositions to metasomatism by CHO fluids carrying primarily incompatible trace elements. Melt and fluid metasomatism are viewed as a compositional continuum, with residual CHO fluids resulting from primary silicate or carbonate melts in the course of fractional crystallization and equilibration with lithospheric host rocks.

Eclogitic garnet inclusions show “normal” REE_N patterns, with LREE at about 1× and HREE at about 30× chondritic abundance. Clinopyroxenes approximately mirror the garnet patterns, being enriched in LREE and having chondritic HREE abundances. Positive and negative Eu anomalies are observed for both garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions. Such anomalies are strong evidence for crustal precursors for the eclogitic diamond sources. The trace element composition of an “average eclogitic diamond source” based on garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions is consistent with derivation from former oceanic crust that lost about 10% of a partial melt in the garnet stability field and that subsequently experienced only minor reenrichment in the most incompatible trace elements. Based on individual diamonds, this simplistic picture becomes more complex, with evidence for both strong enrichment and depletion in LREE.

Trace element data for sublithospheric inclusions in diamonds are less abundant. REE in majoritic garnets indicate source compositions that range from being similar to lithospheric eclogitic sources to strongly LREE enriched. Lower mantle sources, assessed based on CaSi–perovskite as the principal host for REE, are not primitive in composition but show moderate to strong LREE enrichment. The bulk rock LREE_N–HREE_N slope cannot be determined from CaSi–perovskites alone, as garnet may be present in these shallow lower mantle sources and then would act as an important host for HREE. Positive and negative Eu anomalies are widespread in CaSi–perovskites and negative anomalies have also been observed for a majoritic garnet and a coexisting clinopyroxene inclusion. This suggests that sublithospheric diamond sources may be linked to old oceanic slabs, possibly because only former crustal rocks can provide the redox gradients necessary for diamond precipitation in an otherwise reduced sublithospheric mantle.     

Direct conversion of los acceleration data to vertical gravity anomalies: A new approach

Most of the existing lunar and planetary gravity data are in the form of LOS (line-of-sight) components which cannot be used for conventional geophysical modelling. Current methods to invert LOS data yield non-unique or poorly constrained results or results of low spatial resolution. An alternate method presented here promises to produce unique, detailed and more reliable results. It utilizes the fact that three non-coplanar LOS acceleration vectors determined at different times at some point of observation uniquely define the total acceleration vector at that point. Vector analysis shows that the local cartesian componentsg _i of the total gravity anomaly vector may be obtained by inversion of the system $$a_{ij} g_j = A_i^2 $$ where thea _ij andA _i 's are, respectively, the local cartesian components and scalar magnitudes of the three required LOS acceleration vectors. In principle, the method is applicable to lunar as well as planetary LOS data.