Trace element distribution among rock-forming minerals from metamorphosed to partially molten basic igneous rocks in a contact aureole (Fuerteventura, Canaries)

Low pressure partial melting of basanitic and ankaramitic dykes gave rise to unusual, zebra-like migmatites, in the contact aureole of a layered pyroxenite–gabbro intrusion, in the root zone of an ocean island (Basal Complex, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands). These migmatites are characterised by a dense network of closely spaced, millimetre-wide leucocratic segregations. Their mineralogy consists of plagioclase (An_32–36), diopside, biotite, oxides (magnetite, ilmenite), +/− amphibole, dominated by plagioclase in the leucosome and diopside in the melanosome. The melanosome is almost completely recrystallised, with the preservation of large, relict igneous diopside phenocrysts in dyke centres. Comparison of whole-rock and mineral major- and trace-element data allowed us to assess the redistribution of elements between different mineral phases and generations during contact metamorphism and partial melting.

Dykes within and outside the thermal aureole behaved like closed chemical systems. Nevertheless, Zr, Hf, Y and REEs were internally redistributed, as deduced by comparing the trace element contents of the various diopside generations. Neocrystallised diopside – in the melanosome, leucosome and as epitaxial phenocryst rims – from the migmatite zone, are all enriched in Zr, Hf, Y and REEs compared to relict phenocrysts. This has been assigned to the liberation of trace elements on the breakdown of enriched primary minerals, kaersutite and sphene, on entering the thermal aureole. Major and trace element compositions of minerals in migmatite melanosomes and leucosomes are almost identical, pointing to a syn- or post-solidus reequilibration on the cooling of the migmatite terrain i.e. mineral–melt equilibria were reset to mineral–mineral equilibria.     

Melting of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle by the Emeishan mantle plume; evidence from the basal alkaline basalts in Dongchuan, Yunnan, Southwestern China

The Emeishan continental flood basalt (ECFB) sequence in Dongchuan, SW China comprises a basal tephrite unit overlain by an upper tholeiitic basalt unit. The upper basalts have high TiO₂ contents (3.2–5.2 wt.%), relatively high rare-earth element (REE) concentrations (40 to 60 ppm La, 12.5 to 16.5 ppm Sm, and 3 to 4 ppm Yb), moderate Zr/Nb and Nb/La ratios (9.3–10.2 and 0.6–0.9, respectively) and relatively high _{Nd (t)} values, ranging from − 0.94 to 2.3, and are comparable to the high-Ti ECFB elsewhere. The tephrites have relatively high P₂O₅ (1.3–2.0 wt.%), low REE concentrations (e.g., 17 to 23 ppm La, 4 to 5.3 ppm Sm, and 2 to 3 ppm Yb), high Nb/La (2.0–3.9) ratios, low Zr/Nb ratios (2.3–4.2), and extremely low _{Nd (t)} values (mostly ranging from − 10.6 to − 11.1). The distinct compositional differences between the tephrites and the overlying tholeiitic basalts cannot be explained by either fractional crystallization or crustal contamination of a common parental magma. The tholeiitic basalts formed by partial melting of the Emeishan plume head at a depth where garnet was stable, perhaps > 80 km. We propose that the tephrites were derived from magmas formed when the base of the previously metasomatized, volatile-mineral bearing subcontinental lithospheric mantle was heated by the upwelling mantle plume.     

Partial crustal melting beneath the Betic Cordillera (SE Spain): The case study of Mar Menor volcanic suite

The Neogene Volcanic Province (NVP) within the Betic Cordillera (SE Spain) consists of three main metapelitic enclave suites (from SW to NE: El Hoyazo, Mazarrón and Mar Menor). Since the NVP represents a singular place in the world where crustal enclaves were immediately quenched after melting, their microstructures provide a “photograph” of the conditions at depth just after the moment of the melting.

The thermobarometric information provided by the different microstructural assemblages has been integrated with the geophysical and geodynamical published data into a model of the petrologic evolution of the Mar Menor enclaves. They were equilibrated at 2–3 kbar, 850–900 °C, and followed a sequence of heating melt producing reactions. A local cooling event evidenced by minor melt crystallization preceded the eruption.

The lower crustal studies presented in this work contribute to the knowledge of: (i) the partial melting event beneath the Mar Menor volcanic suite through a petrologic detailed study of the enclaves; (ii) how the microstructures of fast cooled anatectic rocks play an important role in tracing the magma evolution in a chamber up to the eruption, and how they can be used as pseudothermobarometers; (iii) the past and current evolution of the Alborán Domain (Betic Cordillera) and Mediterranean Sea, and how the base of a metapelitic crust has melted within an active geodynamic setting.     

The palaeoenvironment associated with a partial Iguanodon skeleton from the Upper Weald Clay (Barremian, Early Cretaceous) at Smokejacks Brickworks (Ockley, Surrey, UK), based on palynomorphs and ostracods

In 2001 a partial skeleton of an Iguanodon was discovered in the Upper Weald Clay (Barremian, Early Cretaceous) at Smokejacks Brickworks near Ockley, Surrey, UK. When the dinosaur was excavated, a detailed stratigraphic section was logged and 25 samples taken for palynological and micropalaeontological (ostracod and megaspore) analysis, including a detailed sample set of the dinosaur bed itself. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the palynoflora revealed rich and well-preserved non-marine assemblages of pollen and spores, including early angiosperms, and freshwater green algae. Four types of angiosperm pollen are described and assigned to the genus Retimonocolpites Pierce, 1961, but left in open nomenclature. Some marine elements such as dinoflagellate cysts are identified as the result of reworking of Middle and Upper Jurassic sediments. The pollen/spore assemblages depict a vegetational change from principally gymnosperm-dominated assemblages at the base to principally pteridophyte-dominated assemblages at the top of the section. The dinosaur bed shows a pteridophyte-dominated assemblage, with a significantly high amount of the freshwater green alga Scenedesmus novilunaris He Cheng-quan et al., 1992. Samples close to the dinosaur bed yielded the first useful ostracod finds from Smokejacks Brickworks: well-preserved assemblages containing Cypridea clavata (Anderson, 1939), Damonella cf. pygmaea (Anderson, 1941), Stenestroemia cf. cressida Anderson, 1971 and Stenestroemia sp. A, and fragments and damaged valves of a thin-shelled ostracod, possibly belonging to Mantelliana Anderson, 1966. Those identified as Cypridea clavata show a wide range of morphological variety and in opposition to Anderson's (1967, 1985) taxonomic scheme, which would assign them to up to five different taxa, they are considered to be intraspecific variants of a single species. The possibilities and limitations of age determination of the Wealden sediments using palynomorphs and ostracods are discussed; distinct forms of early angiosperm pollen, together with the ostracod fauna, are consistent with an early Barremian age. Pollen and spores are discussed in terms of their parent plants and the reconstruction of vegetation and palaeoclimate. Palynology and ostracods give evidence for temporary freshwater conditions at the time when the Iguanodon died and the carcase was buried.     

History of crustal growth and recycling at the Pacific convergent margin of South America at latitudes 29°–36° S revealed by a U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope study of detrital zircon from late Paleozoic accretionary systems

Detrital zircon provides a powerful archive of continental growth and recycling processes. We have tested this by a combined laser ablation ICP-MS U–Pb and Lu–Hf analysis of homogeneous growth domains in detrital zircon from late Paleozoic coastal accretionary systems in central Chile and the collisional Guarguaráz Complex in W Argentina. Because detritus from a large part of W Gondwana is present here, the data delineate the crustal evolution of southern South America at its Paleopacific margin, consistent with known data in the source regions.Zircon in the Guarguaráz Complex mainly displays an U–Pb age cluster at 0.93–1.46 Ga, similar to zircon in sediments of the adjacent allochthonous Cuyania Terrane. By contrast, zircon from the coastal accretionary systems shows a mixed provenance: Age clusters at 363–722 Ma are typical for zircon grown during the Braziliano, Pampean, Famatinian and post-Famatinian orogenic episodes east of Cuyania. An age spectrum at 1.00–1.39 Ga is interpreted as a mixture of zircon from Cuyania and several sources further east. Minor age clusters between 1.46 and 3.20 Ga suggest recycling of material from cratons within W Gondwana.The youngest age cluster (294–346 Ma) in the coastal accretionary prisms reflects a so far unknown local magmatic event, also represented by rhyolite and leucogranite pebbles. It sets time marks for the accretion history: Maximum depositional ages of most accreted metasediments are Middle to Upper Carboniferous. A change of the accretion mode occurred before 308 Ma, when also a concomitant retrowedge basin formed.Initial Hf-isotope compositions reveal at least three juvenile crust-forming periods in southern South America characterised by three major periods of juvenile magma production at 2.7–3.4 Ga, 1.9–2.3 Ga and 0.8–1.5 Ga. The ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf of Mesoproterozoic zircon from the coastal accretionary systems is consistent with extensive crustal recycling and addition of some juvenile, mantle-derived magma, while that of zircon from the Guarguaráz Complex has a largely juvenile crustal signature. Zircon with Pampean, Famatinian and Braziliano ages (< 660 Ma) originated from recycled crust of variable age, which is, however, mainly Mesoproterozoic. By contrast, the Carboniferous magmatic event shows less variable and more radiogenic ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf, pointing to a mean early Neoproterozoic crustal residence. This zircon is unlikely to have crystallized from melts of metasediments of the accretionary systems, but probably derived from a more juvenile crust in their backstop system.     

Experimental constraints on the effects of pressure and H2O on the fractional crystallization of high-Mg island arc basalt

H₂O-undersaturated melting experiments of synthesized basalt (SiO₂ = 50.7 wt.%, MgO = 8.3 wt.%, Mg# = 60) were conducted at fO₂ corresponding to NNO+1 and NNO−1 to clarify the effects of pressure (2–7 kbar) and H₂O on fractional crystallization in island arcs. H₂O content was ranged from nominally anhydrous to 4.4 wt.%. Differentiation trends, namely the liquid lines of descent, change sensitively according to pressure-H₂O relations. Tholeiitic differentiation trends are reproduced with H₂O ≤ ∼2 wt.% in primary magma. With such quantities of H₂O, fractional crystallization is controlled by olivine + plagioclase at 2 kbar. Increasing the pressure from 2 to ≥4 kbar induces early crystallization of orthopyroxene instead of olivine and therefore SiO₂ enrichment in the residual melts is suppressed. Increasing H₂O (≥ ∼2 wt.% in primary magma) stabilizes clinopyroxene relative to orthopyroxene and/or magnetite. Although the phase relations and proportions strongly depend on fO₂ and H₂O content, differentiation trends are always calc-alkaline.     

An experimental study of the grain-scale processes of peridotite melting: implications for major and trace element distribution during equilibrium and disequilibrium melting

The grain-scale processes of peridotite melting were examined at 1,340°C and 1.5 GPa using reaction couples formed by juxtaposing pre-synthesized clinopyroxenite against pre-synthesized orthopyroxenite or harzburgite in graphite and platinum-lined molybdenum capsules. Reaction between the clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene-rich aggregates produces a melt-enriched, orthopyroxene-free, olivine + clinopyroxene reactive boundary layer. Major and trace element abundance in clinopyroxene vary systematically across the reactive boundary layer with compositional trends similar to the published clinopyroxene core-to-rim compositional variations in the bulk lherzolite partial melting studies conducted at similar P–T conditions. The growth of the reactive boundary layer takes place at the expense of the orthopyroxenite or harzburgite and is consistent with grain-scale processes that involve dissolution, precipitation, reprecipitation, and diffusive exchange between the interstitial melt and surrounding crystals. An important consequence of dissolution–reprecipitation during crystal-melt interaction is the dramatic decrease in diffusive reequilibration time between coexisting minerals and melt. This effect is especially important for high charged, slow diffusing cations during peridotite melting and melt-rock reaction. Apparent clinopyroxene-melt partition coefficients for REE, Sr, Y, Ti, and Zr, measured from reprecipitated clinopyroxene and coexisting melt in the reactive boundary layer, approach their equilibrium values reported in the literature. Disequilibrium melting models based on volume diffusion in solid limited mechanism are likely to significantly underestimate the rates at which major and trace elements in residual minerals reequilibrate with their surrounding melt. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Low-pressure,water-assisted anatexis of basic dykes in a contact metamorphic aureole,Fuerteventura (Canary Islands): oxygen isotope evidence for a meteoric fluid origin

Migmatites produced by low-pressure anatexis of basic dykes are found in a contact metamorphic aureole around a pyroxenite–gabbro intrusion (PX2), on Fuerteventura. Dykes outside and inside the aureole record interaction with meteoric water, with low or negative δ¹⁸O whole-rock values (+0.2 to −3.4‰), decreasing towards the contact. Recrystallised plagioclase, diopside, biotite and oxides, from within the aureole, show a similar evolution with lowest δ¹⁸O values (−2.8, −4.2, −4.4 and −7.6‰, respectively) in the migmatite zone, close to the intrusion. Relict clinopyroxene phenocrysts preserved in all dykes, retain typically magmatic δ¹⁸O values up to the anatectic zone, where the values are lower and more heterogeneous. Low δ¹⁸O values, decreasing towards the intrusion, can be ascribed to the advection of meteoric water during magma emplacement, with increasing fluid/rock ratios (higher dyke intensities towards the intrusion acting as fluid-pathways) and higher temperatures promoting increasing exchange during recrystallisation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Oxygen Isotope Evidence for Chemical Interaction of Ki lauea Historical Magmas with Basement Rocks

Klauea historical summit lavas have a wide range in matrix ¹⁸O_VSMOWvalues (4·9–5·6) with lower values in rockserupted following a major summit collapse or eruptive hiatus.In contrast, ¹⁸O values for olivines in most of these lavasare nearly constant (5·1 ± 0·1). The disequilibriumbetween matrix and olivine ¹⁸O values in many samples indicatesthat the lower matrix values were acquired by the magma afterolivine growth, probably just before or during eruption. BothMauna Loa and Klauea basement rocks are the likely sources ofthe contamination, based on O, Pb and Sr isotope data. However,the extent of crustal contamination of Klauea historical magmasis probably minor (< 12%, depending on the assumed contaminant)and it is superimposed on a longer-term, cyclic geochemicalvariation that reflects source heterogeneity. Klauea's heterogeneoussource, which is well represented by the historical summit lavas,probably has magma ¹⁸O values within the normal mid-ocean ridgebasalt mantle range (5·4–5·8) based on thenew olivine ¹⁸O values. KEY WORDS: Hawaii; Klauea; basalt; oxygen isotopes; crustal contamination     

Phase Relations and Melting of Anhydrous K-bearing Eclogite from 1200 to 1600{degrees}C and 3 to 5 GPa

To investigate eclogite melting under mantle conditions, wehave performed a series of piston-cylinder experiments usinga homogeneous synthetic starting material (GA2) that is representativeof altered mid-ocean ridge basalt. Experiments were conductedat pressures of 3·0, 4·0 and 5·0 GPa andover a temperature range of 1200–1600°C. The subsolidusmineralogy of GA2 consists of garnet and clinopyroxene withminor quartz–coesite, rutile and feldspar. Solidus temperaturesare located at 1230°C at 3·0 GPa and 1300°C at5·0 GPa, giving a steep solidus slope of 30–40°C/GPa.Melting intervals are in excess of 200°C and increase withpressure up to 5·0 GPa. At 3·0 GPa feldspar, rutileand quartz are residual phases up to 40°C above the solidus,whereas at higher pressures feldspar and rutile are rapidlymelted out above the solidus. Garnet and clinopyroxene are theonly residual phases once melt fractions exceed 20% and garnetis the sole liquidus phase over the investigated pressure range.With increasing melt fraction garnet and clinopyroxene becomeprogressively more Mg-rich, whereas coexisting melts vary fromK-rich dacites at low degrees of melting to basaltic andesitesat high melt fractions. Increasing pressure tends to increasethe jadeite and Ca-eskolaite components in clinopyroxene andenhance the modal proportion of garnet at low melt fractions,which effects a marked reduction in the Al₂O₃ and Na₂O contentof the melt with pressure. In contrast, the TiO₂ and K₂O contentsof the low-degree melts increase with increasing pressure; thusNa₂O and K₂O behave in a contrasted manner as a function ofpressure. Altered oceanic basalt is an important component ofcrust returned to the mantle via plate subduction, so GA2 maybe representative of one of many different mafic lithologiespresent in the upper mantle. During upwelling of heterogeneousmantle domains, these mafic rock-types may undergo extensivemelting at great depths, because of their low solidus temperaturescompared with mantle peridotite. Melt batches may be highlyvariable in composition depending on the composition and degreeof melting of the source, the depth of melting, and the degreeof magma mixing. Some of the eclogite-derived melts may alsoreact with and refertilize surrounding peridotite, which itselfmay partially melt with further upwelling. Such complex magma-genesisconditions may partly explain the wide spectrum of primitivemagma compositions found within oceanic basalt suites. KEY WORDS: eclogite; experimental petrology; mafic magmatism; mantle melting; oceanic basalts