Chemical Indicator of Spinel During Partial Melting and Subsolidus Equilibration of Mantle Peridotite:Experimental Study and Application to Natural Rocks

Systematic experimental studies on partial melting and subsolidus equilibration of three reconstituted spinel-peridotites have been carried out at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1380℃ and pressures of 1.0 and 1.5 GPa. The results shows (1) during partial melting, Mg# [=Mg/(Mg+Fe)]and Cr# [=Cr/(Cr-Al)]of spinel increase with an increase in degrees of melting) (2) during subsolidus equilibration, with increasing temperatures, Mg# of spinel increases but Cr# of spinel remains almost unchanged in dunite and increases slightly in Iherzolite and harzburgite. The negative and quasi-linear Mg# -Cr# correlation of spinel represents an isotherm of total non-equilibrium. The same results have been obtained by means of mathematical modelling. It is also proved by Mg# -Cr# correlation of spinel in natural peridotites. As a result of the spinel subsolidus equilibration, only variation of Cr# of spinel is limited, and then Cr# of spinel can be used to estimate the relative degree of melting undergone by host rocks     

大别山北坡尖晶石橄榄岩中的高温石榴辉石岩包体：兼论上地幔部分熔融

出露于饶拔寨一带的含尖晶石橄榄岩体是大别山区最大的一个上地幔残片,固态侵位于北大别深成片麻岩中,呈无根侵入体的形式产出。岩体内的石榴辉石岩和榴辉岩包体,具高温成因的特点。属于上地幔部分熔融的产物,在Pl-CIPW值对Al_2O_3图解上落于拉斑玄武岩区;榴辉岩、石榴辉石岩和含尖晶石橄榄岩的REE配分形式相似,均属平坦型,只是尖晶石橄榄岩的∑REE较低。在Ni-Co-Sc三组分图解上,石榴辉石岩投绘于深位玄武岩熔体的趋势线附近,而尖晶石橄榄岩的投点则接近超镁铁质残余的趋势,清楚揭示出地幔部分熔融的迹象。尖晶石的Cr~#=12～21,而共生橄榄石Fo=92～93,说明部分熔融程度不高,估计约15％。尖晶石贫TiO_2暗示熔融过程氧逸度低。饶拔赛含尖晶石橄榄岩的出现表明;伴随超高压岩石单元的折返和隆升,会有大陆地幔残片被携带上来。软流圈的上涌或板片的断离使侵出的岩石圈板片得以维持较高的温度,这也就是石榴辉石岩早期深位退变质为麻粒岩相的原因,是后续的进一步抬升,才出现以韭角闪石 斜长石组合为特征的高角闪岩相的退变质作用。     

Tectonic implication of Lower Cretaceous chromian spinel-bearing sandstones in Japan and Korea

Abstract In Japan and Korea, some Lower Cretaceous terrigenous clastic rocks yield detrital chromian spinels. These chromian spinels are divided into two groups: low-Ti and high-Ti. The Sanchu Group and the Yuno Formation in Japan have both groups, whereas the Nagashiba Formation in Japan and the Jinju Formation in Korea have only the low-Ti spinels. High-Ti spinels are thought to have originated in intraplate-type basalt. Low-Ti spinels (higher than 0.6 Cr#) were probably derived from peridotites, which are highly correlated with an arc setting derivation and possibly with a forearc setting derivation. Low-Ti spinels are seen in the Sanchu Group, the Nagashiba Formation and the Jinju Formation. Low-Ti spinels from the Yuno Formation are characterized by low Cr# (less than 0.6) and these chromian spinels appear to have been derived from oceanic mantle-type peridotite, including backarc. According to maps reconstructing the pre-Sea of Japan configuration of the Japanese Islands and the Korean Peninsula, the Korean Cretaceous basin was comparatively close to the Southwest Japan depositional basins. It is possible that these Lower Cretaceous systems were sediments mainly in the forearc and partly in the backarc regions. The peridotite might have infiltrated along major tectonic zones such as the Kurosegawa Tectonic Zone (= serpentinite melange zone) in which left lateral movement prevailed during the Early Cretaceous.     

A hafnium isotope and trace element perspective on melting of the depleted mantle

New Hf isotope and trace element data on mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) from the Pacific Ocean basin are remarkably uniform (¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf≈0.28313–0.28326) and comparable to previously published data [Salters, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 141 (1996) 109–123; Patchett, Lithos 16 (1983) 47–51]. Atlantic MORB have ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ranging from 0.28302 to 0.28335 confirming the wide range originally identified by Patchett and Tatsumoto [Geophys. Res. Lett. 7 (1980) 1077–1080]. Indian MORB define an even wider range, from 0.28277 to 0.28337, but three exotic samples have very unradiogenic Hf isotope compositions. Their very low ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, together with their trace element characteristics, require the presence of unusual plume-type material beneath the Indian ridge. All other Indian MORB have uniform Hf isotope compositions at about 0.2832, and define a small field displaced to the right of other MORB in Hf–Nd isotope space. The distinct nature of Indian MORB is best explained by the presence in Indian depleted mantle of old recycled oceanic crust and pelagic sediments. Sm/Hf ratios calculated from new high-precision rare earth element and Hf trace element data do not vary in MORB in the same way as in ocean island basalts (OIB): ratios are constant in OIB, but decrease with increasing Sm contents in MORB. The constancy of Sm/Hf in OIB is probably due to an overwhelming influence of residual garnet during melting. By contrast, the decrease of Sm/Hf in MORB is due to the effect of clinopyroxene in the residue of melting beneath ridges, an interpretation confirmed by quantitative modeling of melting. The relationship between Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf ratios in MORB does not require the presence of garnet in the residual mineralogy. The decoupling of Lu/Hf ratios and Hf isotope compositions – the so-called Hf paradox [Salters and Hart, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 70 (1989) 510] – can be explained by melting dominantly in the spinel field at shallow depths beneath mid-ocean ridges.     

Systematic variations in xenocryst mineral composition at the province scale, Buffalo Hills kimberlites, Alberta, Canada

The Buffalo Hills kimberlites define a province of kimberlite magmatism occurring within and adjacent to Proterozoic crystalline basement termed the Buffalo Head Terrane in north-central Alberta, Canada. The kimberlites are distinguished by a diverse xenocryst suite and most contain some quantity of diamond. The xenocryst assemblage in the province is atypical for diamondiferous kimberlite, including an overall paucity of mantle indicator minerals and the near-absence of compositionally subcalcic peridotitic garnet (G10). The most diamond-rich bodies are distinguished by the presence of slightly subcalcic, chromium-rich garnet and the general absence of picroilmenite, with the majority forming a small cluster in the northwestern part of the province. Barren and near-barren pipes tend to occur to the south, with increasing proximity to the basement structure known as the Peace River Arch. Niobian picroilmenite, compositionally restricted low-to moderate-Cr peridotitic garnet, and megacrystal titanian pyrope occur in kimberlites closest to the arch. Major element data for clinopyroxene and trace element data for garnet from diamond-rich and diamond-poor kimberlites suggests that metasomatism of lithospheric peridotite within the diamond stability field may have caused destruction of diamond, and diamond source rocks proximal to the arch were the most affected.     

北祁连拉硐超基性岩体铬尖晶石特征研究及找矿意义

拉硐超基性岩体位于青海省祁连县城东北约15 km处,面积约7．6 km2,岩性主要由蛇纹石化橄榄岩、蛇纹石化辉榄岩、蛇纹岩及纯橄岩组成,共发现157个铬铁矿小矿体,铬铁矿体成群出现,依据野外铬铁矿体分布范围,自西向东划分为10个矿带,通过对其中铬尖晶石取样分析研究,并与区内其他含矿岩体中铬尖晶石样品化验分析结果对比,确定该类岩体不同岩性组合带的找矿方向。     

Cr-spinel assemblage from the Upper Triassic gritstones of the northeastern Siberian Platform

An assemblage of Cr-spinels widespread in Carnian (Upper Triassic) diamondiferous deposits in the northeastern Siberian Platform is studied. Analysis of their morphology and chemical composition has revealed two dominant varieties of Cr-spinels and has demonstrated certain regularities in their distribution in the study area. Correlations have been established between the areal distribution of the recognized types of Cr-spinels and diamond varieties typical of kimberlite sources and between the distribution of Cr-spinels and rounded diamond dodecahedrons. The phase and chemical compositions of polyphase inclusions in the Cr-spinels are studied. The spatial arrangement of inclusions along the crystal growth zones indicates their primary genesis and trapping from the melt during crystallization. Compositional features of some minerals in the inclusions—SiO₂ impurity in apatite and high CaO contents (0.2-0.8 wt.%) in olivines—point to a nonkimberlite source of these Cr-spinels. The presence of K- and Na-containing phases and calcite in the inclusions indicates saturation of the initial melt with alkalies, Ca, and CO₂. The data obtained suggest that the numerous Late Vendian diatremes in K-rich alkaline basites of the Olenek Uplift area are the source of the dominant Cr-spinel variety.     

黔东施秉下翁哨地区金刚石指示矿物地球化学特征及其地质意义

对黔东施秉下翁哨地区金刚石指示矿物镁铝榴石、铬尖晶石分别进行了电子探针（EMPA）主量元素和LA- ICP- MS微区原位微量元素测试,结果表明：镁铝榴石主要属于G9型（约占87%）,次为G12型（约占11%）和G3型（约占2%）,源区为二辉橄榄岩和异剥橄榄岩,当其与橄榄石共生,获得平衡温度（tNi）为686~1225℃,压力（PCr）为1.9~4.0 GPa,少数落在形成金刚石的主要温压范围内（压力约4.0~6.5 GPa,温度约950~1300℃）;铬尖晶石主要来源于橄榄岩尖晶石捕虏晶（Xen）（约占90%）,少量为铬铁矿（Chr）（约占10%）,个别落在全球原生金刚石中铬铁矿包裹体的范围内。研究认为,恢复区域加里东期造山运动以来的古地貌,寻找金刚石指示矿物的母岩体/新岩体及开展其矿物间的对比研究工作,特别是对加里东期以来区域的地幔物质组成、岩石圈厚度和热状态等进行深入研究,将对扬子克拉通的演化、深部地幔结构剖析和金刚石成矿事件等具有重要的科学研究意义。     

The Effect of Cr2O3 on the Partial Melting of Spinel Lherzolite in the System CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-Cr2O3 at 1{middle dot}1 GPa

Chromium as Cr³⁺ substitutes for octahedrally coordinated Alin upper-mantle minerals, thereby reducing the activity of Al₂O₃in the system and hence the concentration of Al₂O₃ in partialmelts. The effect of Cr₂O₃ on melt compositions multiply saturatedwith the spinel lherzolite phase assemblage has been quantifiedin the system CaO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–Cr₂O₃at 1·1 GPa as a function of 100 Cr/(Cr + Al) in the spinel(Cr#_sp). The decrease of Al₂O₃ in the melt with increasing Cr#_spis accompanied by increasing MgO and SiO₂, whereas CaO remainsalmost constant. Consequently, the CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio of the meltincreases with Cr#_sp, and the melt becomes richer in normativediopside, hypersthene and quartz. The effect may explain certainmantle melts with unusually high CaO/Al₂O₃ ratios. The concentrationof Cr₂O₃ in the melt remains low even at high Cr#_sp, which meansthat the strong effect of Cr₂O₃ on partial melting equilibriais not readily apparent from its concentration in the melt itself.The existence of a highly refractory major component such asCr₂O₃ nullifies simplified conclusions from the ‘inverseapproach’ in the experimental study of basalt petrogenesis,as there is insufficient information in the composition of thepartial melt to reconstruct the conditions of melting. KEY WORDS: basalt petrogenesis; partial melting; reversal experiment; spinel lherzolite; system CMAS–Cr₂O₃; CaO/Al₂O₃ of melt; effect of Cr₂O₃     

Using calculated chemical potential relationships to account for coronas around kyanite: an example from the Bohemian Massif

Corona textures around kyanite, involving for example zoned plagioclase separating kyanite from the matrix, reflect the instability of kyanite with the matrix on changing P–T conditions, commonly related to decompression. The chemical potential gradients set up between the kyanite and the matrix as a consequence of slow Al diffusion drive corona development, with the zoning of the plagioclase reflecting the gradients. Calculated mineral equilibria are used to account for corona textures involving plagioclase ± garnet around kyanite, and replacement of kyanite by plagioclase + spinel symplectite, in quartz + plagioclase + K‐feldspar + garnet + kyanite granulite facies gneiss from the Blanský les massif in the Bohemian massif, Czech Republic. In the garnet‐bearing coronas, a commonly discontinuous garnet layer lies between the kyanite and the continuous plagioclase layer in the corona, with both the garnet and the plagioclase appearing mainly to replace matrix rather than kyanite. The garnet layer commonly extends around kyanite from original matrix garnet adjacent to the kyanite. Where garnet is missing in the corona, the kyanite itself may be replaced by a spinel–plagioclase corona. In a local equilibrium model, the mineral and mineral compositional spatial relationships are shown to correspond to paths in μ(Na₂O)–μ(CaO)–μ(K₂O)–μ(FeO)–μ(MgO)–μ(SiO₂) in the model chemical system, Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ (NCKFMAS). The discontinuous nature of the garnet layer in coronas is accounted for by the effect of the adjacent original garnet on the chemical potential relationships. The replacement of kyanite by spinel + plagioclase appears to be metastable with respect to replacement by corundum + plagioclase, possibly reflecting the difficulty of nucleating corundum.