The Significance of Multiple Saturation Points in the Context of Polybaric Near-fractional Melting

Experimental petrologists have successfully located basalticliquid compositions parental to mid-ocean ridge basalt thatare, within experimental resolution, multiply saturated withthree-phase harzburgite or four-phase lherzolite assemblageson their liquidus at some elevated pressure. Such an experimentalresult is a necessary consequence of any paradigm in which eruptedbasalts derive from single-batch primary liquids that equilibratewith a mantle residue and undergo no subsequent magma mixingbefore differentiation and eruption. Here we investigate whether,conversely, such evidence of multiple saturation is sufficientto exclude dynamic melting models wherein increments of meltare mixed after segregation from residues, during melt transportor in magma chambers. Using two independent models of crystal–liquidequilibria to simulate polybaric near-fractional peridotitemelting, we find that aggregate liquids from such melting processescan display near-intersections of liquidus surfaces too closeto distinguish experimentally from exact multiple saturationpoints. Given uncertainties in glass compositions, fractionationcorrections, experimental temperature and pressure conditions,and achievement of equilibrium, these results suggest that polybaricmixtures can in fact masquerade as mantle-equilibrated single-batchprimary liquids. Multiple saturation points on the liquidussurfaces of primitive basalts do, however, preserve informationabout the average pressure of extraction of their constituentincrements of liquid. KEY WORDS: mantle melting; basaltic volcanism; experimental igneous petrology; thermodynamic modelling; inverse method     

Re-Os and Lu-Hf Isotope Constraints on the Origin and Age of Pyroxenites from the Beni Bousera Peridotite Massif: Implications for Mixed Peridotite-Pyroxenite Mantle Sources

A suite of pyroxenites from the Beni Bousera peridotite massif,northern Morocco, have been analysed for Re–Os and Lu–Hfisotopic compositions. Measured sections of the massif indicatethat pyroxenite layers make up between 1 and 9% by volume ofthe total outcrop. Clinopyroxenes from two Cr-diopside pyroxeniteshave unradiogenic Hf isotope compositions (     

The Shape and Volume of the Skaergaard Intrusion, Greenland: Implications for Mass Balance and Bulk Composition

Re-examination of the Skaergaard intrusion in the context ofits regional setting, combined with new data from explorationdrilling, has resulted in a revised structural model for theintrusion. It is modelled as an irregular box, c. 11 km fromnorth to south, up to 8 km from east to west, and 3·4–4km from the lower to the upper contact. The walls of the intrusionare inferred to follow pre-existing and penecontemporaneoussteep faults, and the floor and roof seem largely controlledby bedding planes in the host sediments and lavas, similar toregional sills. The suggested shape and volume are in agreementwith published gravimetric modelling. Crystallization alongall margins of the intrusion concentrated the evolving meltin the upper, central part of the intrusion, best visualizedas an ‘onion-skin’ structure inside the box. Thetotal volume is estimated to c. 280 ± 23 km³, of which13·7% are referred to the Upper Border Series (UBS),16·4% to the Marginal Border Series (MBS) and 69·9%to the Layered Series (LS). In the LS, the Lower Zone (LZ) isestimated to constitute 66·8%, the Middle Zone (MZ) 13·5%and the Upper Zone (UZ) 19·7%. The new volume relationshipsprovide a mass balance estimate of the major and trace elementbulk composition of the intrusion. The parental magma to theSkaergaard intrusion is similar to high-Ti East Greenland tholeiiticplateau basalts with Mg number c. 0.45. The intrusion representsthe solidification of contemporary plateau basalt magma trappedand crystallized under closed-system conditions in a crustalreservoir at the developing East Greenland continental margin. KEY WORDS: bulk composition; emplacement; mass proportions; Skaergaard intrusion; structure     

U-Pb Zircon Calendar for Namaquan (Grenville) Crustal Events in the Granulite-facies Terrane of the O'okiep Copper District of South Africa

The O'okiep Copper District is underlain by voluminous 1035–1210Ma granite gneiss and granite with remnants of metamorphosedsupracrustal rocks. This assemblage was intruded by the 1030Ma copper-bearing Koperberg Suite that includes jotunite, anorthosite,biotite diorite and hypersthene-bearing rocks ranging from leuconoriteto hypersthenite. New sensitive high-resolution ion microprobeage data demonstrate the presence of 1700–2000 Ma zirconas xenocrysts in all of the intrusive rocks, and as detritalzircon in the metasediments of the Khurisberg Subgroup. Thesedata are consistent with published Sm–Nd model ages ofc. 1700 Ma (T_CHUR) and c. 2000 Ma (T_DM) of many of the intrusivesthat support a major crust-forming event in Eburnian (Hudsonian)times. In addition, U–Th–Pb analyses of zirconsfrom all major rock units define two tectono-magmatic episodesof the Namaquan Orogeny: (1) the O'okiepian Episode (1180–1210Ma), represented by regional granite plutonism, notably theNababeep and Modderfontein Granite Gneisses and the Concordiaand Kweekfontein Granites that accompanied and outlasted (e.g.Kweekfontein Granite) regional tectonism [F₂(D₂)] and granulite-faciesmetamorphism (M₂); (2) the Klondikean Episode (1020–1040Ma), which includes the intrusion of the porphyritic RietbergGranite and of the Koperberg Suite that are devoid of regionalplanar or linear fabrics. Klondikean tectonism (D₃) is reflectedby major east–west-trending open folds [F₃(D_3a)], andby localized east–west-trending near-vertical ductilefolds [‘steep structures’; F₄(D_3b)] whose formationwas broadly coeval with the intrusion of the Koperberg Suite.A regional, largely thermal, amphibolite- to granulite-faciesmetamorphism (M₃) accompanied D₃. This study demonstrates, interalia, that the complete spectrum of rock-types of the KoperbergSuite, together with the Rietberg Granite, was intruded in ashort time-interval (<10 Myr) at c. 1030 Ma, and that therewere lengthy periods of about 150 Myr of tectonic quiescencewithin the Namaquan Orogeny: (1) between the O'okiepian andKlondikean Episodes; (2) from the end of the latter to the formalend of Namaquan Orogenesis 800–850 Ma ago. KEY WORDS: U–Pb, zircon; O'okiep, Namaqualand; granite plutonism; granulite facies; Koperberg Suite; Namaquan (Grenville) Orogeny     

The Origin and Evolution of Silica-saturated Alkalic Suites: an Experimental Study

Experimental simulation of incremental crystal fractionationof a hy-normative hawaiite indicates that the spectrum of compositionsfrom mildly alkalic hawaiite to sodic rhyolite found in silica-saturatedalkalic suites of the ocean islands and continental hotspotsand rifts can be produced by fractionation at 9·3 kbarwith bulk water contents >     

The Relationship between Tectono-metamorphic Evolution and Argon Isotope Records in White Mica: Constraints from in situ 40Ar-39Ar Laser Analysis of the Variscan Basement of Sardinia

The basement of Sardinia represents a nearly complete sectionof a segment of the Variscan belt that experienced a polyphasetectono-metamorphic evolution and Barrovian metamorphism. Thisbasement is well suited to investigate the relationship betweentectono-metamorphic evolution and argon isotope records in whitemica. Micaschists from the garnet zone (maximum T of up to 520–560°C)contain two texturally and chemically resolvable generationsof white mica: (1) deformed celadonite-rich flakes, defininga relict S₁ foliation preserved within the main S₂ foliationor enclosed in rotated albite porphyroblasts; (2) celadonite-poorwhite micas aligned along the main S₂ foliation. The S₁ foliationdeveloped earlier and at a deeper crustal level with respectto that at which the thermal peak was reached. From the staurolitezone (T of up to 590–625°C) to the sillimanite + K-feldsparzone, white mica is nearly uniform in composition (muscovite)and is predominantly aligned along the S₂ foliation or is oflater crystallization. In situ ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar laser analysesof white mica yielded ages of     

Mantle Xenoliths from the Southeastern Slave Craton: Evidence for Chemical Zonation in a Thick, Cold Lithosphere

We present the first data on the petrology of the mantle lithosphereof the Southeastern (SE) Slave craton, Canada. These are basedon petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical studies of mantlexenoliths in Pipe 5034 of the Cambrian Gahcho Kué kimberlitecluster. Major types of mantle xenoliths include altered eclogite,coarse garnet or spinel peridotite, and deformed garnet peridotite.The peridotites belong to the low-temperature suite and formedat T=600–1300°C and P= 25–80 kbar in a thick(at least 220–250 km), cool lithosphere. The SE Slavemantle is cooler than the mantle of other Archaean cratons andthat below other terranes of the Slave craton. The thick lithosphereand the relatively cool thermal regime provide favourable conditionsfor formation and preservation of diamonds beneath the SE Slaveterrane. Similar to average Archaean mantle worldwide, the SESlave peridotite is depleted in magmaphile major elements andcontains olivine with forsterite content of 91–93·5.With respect to olivine composition and mode, all terranes ofthe Slave mantle show broadly similar compositions and are relativelyorthopyroxene-poor compared with those of the Kaapvaal and Siberiancratons. The SE Slave spinel peridotite is poorer in Al, Caand Fe, and richer in Mg than deeper garnet peridotite. Thegreater chemical depletion of the shallow upper mantle is typicalof all terranes of the Slave craton and may be common for thesubcontinental lithospheric peridotitic mantle in general. Peridotiticxenoliths of the SE Slave craton were impregnated by kimberliticfluids that caused late-stage recrystallization of primary clinopyroxene,spinel, olivine and spinel-facies orthopyroxene, and formationof interstitial clinopyroxene. This kimberlite-related recrystallizationdepleted primary pyroxenes and spinel in Al. The kimberliticfluid was oxidizing, Ti-, Fe- and K-rich, and Na-poor, and introducedserpentine, chlorite, phlogopite and spinel into peridotitesat P < 35 kbar. KEY WORDS: kimberlite xenolith; lithosphere; mantle terrane; chemical zoning; thermobarometry; Slave craton     

East African Rift System (EARS) Plume Structure: Insights from Quaternary Mafic Lavas of Turkana, Kenya

Quaternary mafic lavas from Lake Turkana (northern Kenya) provideinformation on processes operating beneath the East AfricanRift in an area of anomalous lithospheric and crustal thinning.Inferred depths of melting beneath Turkana (15–20 km)are shallower than those recorded elsewhere along the rift,consistent with the anomalously thin crustal section. The maficlavas have elevated incompatible trace element contents whencompared with mid-ocean ridge basalts, requiring an enrichmentevent in the source region. Basalts with low Sr isotopic ratios(     

Petrogenesis of Tertiary Continental Intra-plate Lavas from the Westerwald Region, Germany

Tertiary volcanic rocks from the Westerwald region range frombasanites and alkali basalts to trachytes, whereas lavas fromthe margin of the Vogelsberg volcanic field consist of morealkaline basanites and alkali basalts. Heavy rare earth elementfractionation indicates that the primitive Westerwald magmasprobably represent melts of garnet peridotite. The Vogelsbergmelts formed in the spinel–garnet peridotite transitionregion with residual amphibole for some magmas suggesting meltingof relatively cold mantle. Assimilation of lower-crustal rocksand fractional crystallization altered the composition of lavasfrom the Westerwald and Vogelsberg region significantly. Thecontaminating lower crust beneath the Rhenish Massif has a differentisotopic composition from the lower continental crust beneaththe Hessian Depression and Vogelsberg, implying a compositionalboundary between the two crustal domains. The mantle sourceof the lavas from the Rhenish Massif has higher ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pband ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr than the mantle source beneath the Vogelsbergand Hessian Depression. The 30–20 Ma volcanism of theWesterwald apparently had the same mantle source as the QuaternaryEifel lavas, suggesting that the magmas probably formed in apulsing mantle plume with a maximum excess temperature of 100°Cbeneath the Rhenish Massif. The relatively shallow melting ofamphibole-bearing peridotite beneath the Vogelsberg and HessianDepression may indicate an origin from a metasomatized portionof the thermal boundary layer. KEY WORDS: continental rift volcanism; basanites; trachytes; assimilation; fractional crystallization; partial melting     

Polymetamorphism in the NE Shackleton Range, Antarctica: Constraints from Petrology and U-Pb, Sm-Nd, Rb-Sr TIMS and in situ U-Pb LA-PIMMS Dating

Metapelitic rock samples from the NE Shackleton Range, Antarctica,include garnet with contrasting zonation patterns and two agespectra. Garnet porphyroblasts in K-rich kyanite–sillimanite–staurolite–garnet–muscovite–biotite schistsfrom Lord Nunatak show prograde growth zonation, and give Sm–Ndgarnet, U–Pb monazite and Rb–Sr muscovite ages of518 ± 5, 514 ± 1 and 499 ± 12 Ma, respectively.Geothermobarometry and P–T pseudo-section calculationsin the model system CaO–Na₂O–K₂O– TiO₂–MnO–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂Oare consistent with garnet growth during prograde heating from540°C/7 kbar to 650°C/7·5 kbar, and partial resorptionduring a subsequent P–T decrease to <650°C at <6kbar. All data indicate that rocks from Lord Nunatak were affectedby a single orogenic cycle. In contrast, garnet porphyroblastsin K-poor kyanite–sillimanite– staurolite–garnet–cordierite–biotite-schistsfrom Meade Nunatak show two growth stages and diffusion-controlledzonation. Two distinct age groups were obtained. Laser ablationplasma ionization multicollector mass spectrometry in situ analysesof monazite, completely enclosed by a first garnet generation,yield ages of c. 1700 Ma, whereas monazite grains in open garnetfractures and in most matrix domains give c. 500 Ma. Both agegroups are also obtained by U–Pb thermal ionization massspectrometry analyses of matrix monazite and zircon, which fallon a discordia with lower and upper intercepts at 502 ±1 and 1686 ± 2 Ma, respectively. Sm–Nd garnet datingyields an age of 1571 ± 40 Ma and Rb–Sr biotiteanalyses give an age of 504 ± 1 Ma. Integrated geochronologicaland petrological data provide evidence that rocks from MeadeNunatak underwent a polymetamorphic Barrovian-type metamorphism:(1) garnet 1 growth and subsequent diffusive garnet annealingbetween 1700 and 1570 Ma; (2) garnet 2 growth during the RossOrogeny at c. 500 Ma. During the final orogenic event the rocksexperienced peak P–T conditions of about 650°C/7·0kbar and a retrograde stage at c. 575°C/4·0 kbar. KEY WORDS: garnet microtexture; P–T pseudosection; geochronology; polymetamorphism; Shackleton Range; Antarctica