Melt Enrichment of Shallow Depleted Mantle: a Detailed Petrological, Trace Element and Isotopic Study of Mantle-Derived Xenoliths and Megacrysts from the Cameroon Line

Major element, trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopiccompositions of ultramafic xenoliths and megacrysts from thecontinental Cameroon line provide evidence for metasomatismof the upper most lithospheric mantle by enriched melts duringthe Mesozoic The megacrysts probably crystallized within thelower continental crust from melts similar to the host magmas.All the xenoliths originated as depleted residues after theextraction of basaltic melts, but some indicate evidence ofinteraction with enriched partial melts before entrainment.The U–Pb isotopic data on garnet are consistent with coolingthrough >900C at >300 Ma. The Sm–Nd isotope systematicsin constituent phases appear to have been in equilibrium ona xenolith scale at the time of entrainment, indicating derivationfrom mantle that remained at temperatures >600C until eruption.Spinel therzolies that show simple light rare earth element(LREE) depletions are characterized by isotopic compositionsthat are comparable with, but slightly more depleted than AtlanticN-MORB, suggesting that the unmetasomatized sub-continentallithosphere of the Cameroon line may be isotopically similarto that of sub-oceanic lithosphere. The Nd-depleted mantle modelages of these xenoliths are consistent with late Proterozoicdepletion, similar in age to much of the overlying continentalcrust. In contrast, samples that have LREE-enriched clinopyr-oxenes(La/Yb =4.7–9.4) contain trace amounts of amphibole, areenriched in U and have more radiogenic Pb and Sr. These xenolithsyield U–Pb and Sm–Nd model ages consistent withMesozoic enrichment, in agreement with the age of enrichmentof the source regions of the basalts, as deduced from Pb isotopiccompositions. Clinopyroxenes record three orders of magnitudeenrichment in U and LREE accompanied by progressive K depletionassociated with the growth of trace amphibole, with K/U ratiosthat range from 12000 to 1. The ratios of the trace elementsthought to have similar bulk D in mantle melting, Ce/Pb, Ba/Rband Nd/Sr ratios, display regional variations related to thetime integrated history of enrichments indicated by Nd isotopiccompositions. Mass balance calculations suggest that the meltsresponsible for the most recent enrichment of the lithospherehad higher La/Yb and U/Pb than Cameroon line host magmas, andwere probably the product of small degrees of partial meltingassociated with the earliest stages of the breakup of Pangea. KEY WORDS: Cameroon line; mantle xenoliths; megacrysts; REE; isotopic composition; trace element     

Mantle Sources and Melting Dynamics in the British Palaeogene Igneous Province

The North Atlantic igneous province offers an unrivalled opportunityto study mantle sources contributing to flood basalt magmatism,and melting dynamics associated with active and passive upwellingof hot mantle beneath the lithosphere. In this study, Palaeogenebasalts sampled at localities across the British Isles (fromthe Hebrides in the north to Lundy Island in the south) areshown to have concentrations of Nb, Zr and Y consistent withderivation from two mantle sources: ‘Icelandic’(plume) mantle and hot N-MORB-like mantle forming an outer envelopeto the plume. These sources were sampled over the period 61–58Ma (chrons 26R–26N). Values of     

Palaeogene Continental to Oceanic Magmatism on the SE Greenland Continental Margin at 63{degrees}N: a Review of the Results of Ocean Drilling Program Legs 152 and 163

Drilling along a 63°N transect off SE Greenland during OceanDrilling Program (ODP) Legs 152 and 163 recovered a successionof volcanic rocks representing all stages in the break-up ofthe volcanic rifted margin. The rocks range from pre-break-upcontinental tholeiitic flood basalt, through syn-break-up picrite,to truly oceanic basalt forming the main part of the seaward-dippingreflector sequence (SDRS). All the lava flows recovered fromthe transect were erupted in a subaerial environment. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ardating shows that the earliest magmas were erupted at     

Geochemical and Isotopic Evidence for Crustal Assimilation Beneath Krafla, Iceland

The Krafla volcanic system consists of a central volcano andassociated fissure swarm in the NE axial rift zone of Iceland.Lavas spanning the whole of Krafla's exposed volcanic history(estimated to be 0-> 300 ka) have been analysed and rangein composition from olivine tholeiite to rhyolite. Major-elementcompositions suggest that fractional crystallization exertsthe main control over the differentiation process. However,K₂O and the very incompatible trace elements, Rb, Th, and U,are all enriched beyond the extent expected by closed-systemfractional crystallization. Fractionation coupled with periodicreplenishment and tapping of the reservoir is unlikely to beresponsible for this enrichment, despite the geophysical evidencesuggesting a large number of inflations and deflations of ashallow magma reservoir (Tryggvason, 1986). Th- and O-isotope results confirm the work of previous authorsthat crustal assimilation is operating on a local scale beneathKrafla. A model is suggested, fitting both the Th- and O-isotopicdata, which involves the partial melting and incorporation ofa hydrothermally altered wall-rock contaminant during fractionalcrystallization (i. e., AFC processes). This process of partialmelting is likely to enhance the most highly incompatible elementconcentrations (e. g., increasing Rb/Zr) more than expectedby closed-system fractional crystallization.     

Mantle Dynamics: A Nd, Sr, Pb and O Isotopic Study of the Cameroon Line Volcanic Chain

The Cameroon line comprises a 1600-km long Y-shaped chain of< 30 m.y. old volcanoes and <70 m.y. old plutons extendinginto mainland Africa from the Atlantic island of Pagalu. Thedistribution of basaltic volcanic centres is ideal for comparingsub-continental and sub-oceanic sources for basalts and forstudying the influence of the lithosphere on magma generation.We report Nd, Sr, Pb and O isotopic data for more than thirty(principally basaltic) samples from all the main volcanic centrestogether with data for two granulite facies xenoliths. Thosebasalts which display no obvious evidence of crustal contaminationyield initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios ranging from 0.7029 to 0.7035,Nd between +2 and +7 and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb between 19?0 and 20?6.The Nd and Sr isotopic compositions define a field on the lefthand side of the ‘mantle array’ (that is with relativelyunradiogenic Sr) and include some data which show overlap withcompositions observed for St. Helena. ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios extendto 40?4—amongst the more radiogenic observed for alkalibasalts. The Nd and Sr isotopic data are similar in oceanicand continental sectors indicating that the magmas are derivedfrom generally similar mantle sources. Despite this overallsimple picture, the source of the Cameroon line volcanics hasin fact been variable in both time and space. Pb is less radiogenicand Sr is more radiogenic in transitional to hypersthene-normativecompositions. There is a progression to more radiogenic leadisotopic compositions with time for the Cameroon line as a wholethat is most strikingly displayed in the 30 m.y. eruptive historyof Principe. These space-time data are difficult to reconcilewith conventional plume models or with some dispersed ‘plumpudding’ models. The heterogeneities require isolationtimes considerably longer than the age of the south Atlanticsea floor (120 Ma). The eruptive lavas with the most radiogenicPb observed (accompanied by unradiogenic Nd) precisely straddlethe continental edge (i.e. occur in both oceanic and continentalsectors) with no dependency on Nd and Pb concentrations. A modelis proposed which links these observations with the destructionof lithosphere, and the impregnation of the uppermost mantleby the St. Helena hot spot during the formation of the SouthAtlantic ocean. This mantle was subsequently melted to formthe Cameroon line which appears to be derived from a risinghot zone initiated by the early plume activity. The magmaticproducts reflect the mantle mixing that took place during continentalbreakup, the consequent cooling and thickening of the lithosphereand the continued interaction between rising plume componentsand this lithosphere. The depth from which magmas are currentlybeing tapped at the continent/ocean boundary is estimated atless that 150 km.     

Plume-Lithosphere Interactions in the Generation of the Basalts of the Kenya Rift, East Africa

Major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic datafor mafic volcanic rocks are used to assess the number of mantleplumes contributing to the Tertiary–Holocene magmatismof the Kenya Rift Valley, current estimates of which vary fromnone to three. Rocks ranging in composition from nepheliniteto hypersthene-normative basalt have been sampled from threelithospheric zones: the Tanzanian craton, the craton marginreworked during the late Proterozoic, and the Mozambique mobilebelt. The magmas are interpreted as the products of variabledegrees of partial melting within the spinel–garnet peridotitetransition zone. Trace element and isotopic compositions fromall three zones are broadly similar to those of oceanic islandbasalts, but there is considerable compositional variation,which is related to a strong overprint from the lithosphereon plume-derived melts. Sr and Nd isotopic ratios provide theonly clear distinction between magmatic rocks from the threelithospheric domains. Within each setting, mafic magmatism hastended to become less silica undersaturated with time, and atany one locality magmatism has migrated towards the centre ofthe rift. Magmas may have formed as a result of the infiltrationof plume-derived melts into the base of the lithosphere. Theextent of interaction of inferred plume melts with the lithospherehas not varied systematically in time or space. The plume componentappears to be similar to the source of oceanic island basalts. KEY WORDS: Kenya Rift Valley; mantle plumes; geochemistry; metasomatism