Do We Really Need Mantle Components to Define Mantle Composition?

We discuss the concept of components in the Earth's mantle startingfrom a petrological and geochemical approach, but adopting anew method of projection of geochemical and isotopic data. Thisallows the compositional variability of magmatic associationsto be evaluated in multi-dimensional space, thus simultaneouslyaccounting for a large number of compositional variables. Wedemonstrate that ocean island basalts (OIB) and mid-ocean ridgebasalts (MORB) are derived from a marble-cake mantle, in whichdifferent degrees of partial melting of recycled lithosphere,which are heterogeneous in age and composition, contribute tothe magma genesis. This view is supported by the variabilityin the geochemical and isotopic signatures of OIB that are observedon the scale of a single ocean island as well as on that ofan ocean, mostly varying between two extreme compositions, thatare not strictly related to the commonly accepted mantle components(DMM, EMI, EMII, HIMU). Rather they are a distinctive featureof the mantle source sampled at each ocean island and are stronglydependent on the Pb isotope system. We recommend a change inperspective in studies of MORB–OIB geochemistry from onebased on physically distinct mantle components to a model basedon the existence of a marble-cake-like upper mantle. Althoughresembling the statistical upper mantle, this model impliesthat geochemical homogenization can be attained only withinthe limits of local mantle composition, so that a world-wideuniform depleted reservoir cannot be sampled by simply extendingthe volume of the region undergoing partial melting. KEY WORDS: geochemistry; isotope; mantle; OIB     

Magma Genesis and Mantle Dynamics at the Harrat Ash Shamah Volcanic Field (Southern Syria)

A geochemical and petrological study of Miocene to recent alkalibasalts, basanites, hawaiites, mugearites, trachytes, and phonoliteserupted within the Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field was performedto reconstruct the magmatic evolution of southern Syria. Themajor element composition of the investigated lavas is mainlycontrolled by fractional crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene,± Fe–Ti oxides and ± apatite; feldspar fractionationis restricted to the most evolved lavas. Na₂O and SiO₂ variationswithin uncontaminated, primitive lavas as well as variably fractionatedheavy rare earth element ratios suggest a formation by variabledegrees of partial melting of different garnet peridotite sourcestriggered, probably, by changes in mantle temperature. The isotopicrange as well as the variable trace element enrichment observedin the lavas imply derivation from both a volatile- and incompatibleelement-enriched asthenosphere and from a plume component. Inaddition, some lavas have been affected by crustal contamination.This effect is most prominent in evolved lavas older than 3·5Ma, which assimilated 30–40% of crustal material. In general,the periodicity of volcanism in conjunction with temporal changesin lava composition and melting regime suggest that the Syrianvolcanism was triggered by a pulsing mantle plume located underneathnorthwestern Arabia. KEY WORDS: ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages; intraplate volcanism; mantle plume; partial melting; Syria     

晋东北地区燕山运动的基本特征——来自1∶25万应县幅区域地质调查的总结

晋东北地区燕山期地壳活动剧烈而频繁,经历了3次由伸展→挤压转换→隆升和岩浆活动过程。燕山运动早期形成早侏罗世断陷盆地和中侏罗世挤压坳陷型聚煤构造盆地;中期中晚侏罗世形成被NW、NE向深大断裂围限的火山断陷盆地,中基性—酸性火山喷发和浅成、超浅成中酸性岩浆侵入,晚侏罗世末形成了一系列NNE向褶皱和逆冲推覆构造带;晚期早白垩世再次形成断陷盆地和开阔平缓褶皱,义县组不整合在火山岩之上,晚白垩世处于挤压造山后的山体隆升阶段,左云组不整合在义县组之上,伴随有壳源型花岗岩侵入,NW、NE向断裂复活,形成地堑、地垒式断裂组合,导致山体隆升。     

鄂尔多斯盆地伊盟隆起区东部微烃渗漏区的遥感识别及其意义

微烃渗漏遥感探测的机理主要是建立在烃类微渗漏异常地球化学表征和形成的基础上。本文主要依据Schum acher(1996)和Saunders等(1999)提出的烃类微渗漏异常地球化学原理和模型,以鄂尔多斯盆地伊盟隆起东部为研究区,以多光谱遥感和航空放射性遥感为探测手段,分别利用氧化铁指数(TM3/TM1)、亚铁指数(TM5/TM4)和黏土化指数(TM5/TM7)来识别Fe3 氧化物、Fe2 氧化物和有机质、黏土化和碳酸盐化的相对富集区,同时用矿物组合图像来增强显示上述信息。综合亚铁指数(TM5/TM4)分割图像、矿物组合图像、航放铀、钍、钾信息及钍归一化铀指数等信息,提取了研究区微烃渗漏地段。研究表明,研究区存在两条Fe2 氧化物和有机质相对富集区带。一条为与库布齐沙漠走向近于一致的北部近东西向带,它与石油部门发现和描述的油气渗漏区域基本一致。另一条为泊海子—准召—新庙不连续的北西向带,它的北界与泊海子—准召断裂展布基本一致。在垂直中部北西向微烃渗漏带的剖面上,清晰显示亚铁指数(Fe2 )、航放测量铀(U)、钍归一化铀(Ud)为正异常;氧化铁指数(Fe3 )、航放测量总道值(Tc)和钾(K)、钍归一化(Kd)为负异常的特点。研究认为地表还原带是由油气微渗漏形成的,推测受断裂、裂隙带控制的、主要由油气微渗漏形成的还原带对东胜铀矿带形成聚集起了重要作用。     

Heterogeneous mantle melting and magmatic processes at the East Pacific Rise (2.6–3.1°S): Evidence from mid-ocean ridge basalt geochemistry and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes

ABSTRACT

We present the major and trace elements and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 2.6–3.1°S. These samples are low-K tholeiites and show significant variation in their major element compositions (e.g. 4.60–8.18 wt% MgO, 8.34–12.12 wt% CaO, 9.78–14.25 wt% Fe₂O₃, and 0.06–0.34 K₂O wt%). Trace element abundances of the 2.6–3.1°S MORB are variably depleted (e.g. (La/Sm), _N = 0.51–0.78, Zr/Y = 2.35–3.42, Th/La = 0.035–0.056, and Ce/Yb = 2.38–3.96) but closely resemble the average N-MORB. In the compatible elements (Ni and Cr) against incompatible element Zr plots, the 2.6–3.1°S MORB show well-defined negative correlations, together with a liquid line of descent (LLD) modelling and petrographic observations, implying a significant role of olivine, plagioclase and clinopyroxene fractionation during magma evolution. When compared to global MORB and peridotites, the 2.6–3.1°S MORB and most of the other axial lavas from the South EPR show similar Zn/Fe, Zn/Mn, and Fe/Mn ratios, attesting to a peridotite-dominated mantle lithology. However, the relationships between incompatible trace element ratios, such as Zr/Rb and Nb/Sm, and the negative correlation between Zr/Nb and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr indicate a geochemically heterogeneous mantle source. The mantle beneath the South EPR likely consists of two components, with the enriched component residing as physically distinct domains (e.g. veins or dikes) in the depleted peridotite matrix. In the Sr–Nd–Pb isotope space, the South EPR MORB lie along the mixing lines between the depleted MORB mantle (DMM) and the ‘C’-like Pukapuka endmember. We infer that low-F melts derived from these enriched materials may cause localized mantle heterogeneity (veins or dikes) via an infiltration process. Subsequent melting of the refertilized mantle may impart an isotopically distinct characteristic to South EPR MORB.     

由PREM地球模型计算的洛夫数

本文选取迄今为止最完善的地球模型ＰＲＥＭ,利用它所定义的地球内部基本间断面及所给物质密度的弹性等参数分布,通过求解弹性地幔运动方程,得到形变位移矢量,由此计算出二阶洛夫数。本文的理论值与观测结果符合良好。     

华北克拉通基性火山岩高场强元素对Ar-Pt界限及新生代地幔源区特征的示踪

华北克拉通不同时代基性火山岩存在向富集方向演化的趋势,并出现明显的Ａｒ－Ｐｔ界限和新生代异常．元古宙基性火山岩比太古宙富集大部分高场强元素（ＨＦＳＥ）和轻稀土元素（ＬＲＥＥ）,ＲＥＥ分异程度显著增加,而且相容性接近的不相容元素（如Ｎｂ,Ｔａ）的相对不相容性发生了改变．新生代玄武岩ＨＦＳＥ及Ｎｉ高度富集,ＲＥＥ强烈分异,δ（Ｅｕ）值最高．Ａｒ－Ｐｔ界限可能与地幔熔融时物理条件（如氧逸度）的改变和地幔富集作用有关．新生代玄武岩独特的地球化学特征可能主要反映了地幔源区的特殊性———“似ＯＩＢ型”富集地幔,其形成既可能有携带远洋沉积物的俯冲古老玄武岩洋壳部分熔融残余的贡献,也可能有直接循环（如通过拆沉作用）的陆壳物质的贡献,同时还可能涉及了地幔柱活动的影响．     

西昆仑卡日巴生岩体和苦子干岩体的隆升：来自磷灰石裂变径迹分析的证据

笔者对采自青藏高原西北部塔什库尔干县城西侧卡日巴生花岗岩体和苦子干碱性花岗岩体的7个不同高程的样品进行了磷灰石裂变径迹年龄和径迹长度的测试分析。结果表明,自5Ma以来,这一地区经历了脉动式的,总体由缓慢到快速的隆升过程。通过“径迹年龄—高程”法等计算的隆升速率表明,5～2Ma隆升速率为0.1mm/a±;2Ma后,隆升速率增至2mm/a±。同时对样品进行了径迹长度的分析,表明5Ma以来的隆升并不是一个持续抬升过程,存在着相对稳定的阶段,总体表现为一脉动式隆升。并结合区域地质资料分析,认为早期的隆升与印度板块与欧亚大陆的碰撞挤压有关,2Ma后的隆升是由青藏高原内部热均衡调整造成的。所测试的样品中,6个样品的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄在2.14～5.19Ma,显示出随着样品高程的增加,裂变径迹年龄增大的规律。而其中一个样品的单颗粒径迹年龄较为分散,揭示了早期与隆升有关的热历史的信息。     

Secular variation of the poloidal magnetic field at the core–mantle boundary

A region of enhanced conductivity at the base of the mantle is modelled by an infinitesimally thin sheet of uniform effective conductance adjacent to the core–mantle boundary. Currents induced in this sheet by the temporally varying magnetic field produced by the geodynamo give rise to a discontinuity in the horizontal components of the poloidal magnetic field on crossing the sheet, while the radial component is continuous across the sheet. Treating the rest of the mantle as an insulator, the horizontal components of the poloidal magnetic field and their secular variation at the top of the core are determined from geomagnetic field, secular variation and secular acceleration models. It is seen that for an assumed effective conductance of the sheet of 10⁸  S, which may be not unrealistic, the changes produced in the horizontal components of the poloidal field at the top of the core are usually ≤10 per cent, but corrections to the secular variation in these components at the top of the core are typically 40 per cent, which is greater than the differences that exist between different secular variation models for the same epoch. Given the assumption that all the conductivity of the mantle is concentrated into a thin shell, the present method is not restricted to a weakly conducting mantle. Results obtained are compared with perturbation solutions.