Differentiation of Ferro-Basaltic Magmas under Conditions Open and Closed to Oxygen: Implications for the Skaergaard Intrusion and Other Natural Systems

Because processes such as fractional crystallization and crystallizationunder conditions closed to oxygen are difficult to simulatein the laboratory there is a need for quantitative models ofmagma crystallization behaviour. Comparison of experimentaldata on an iron-rich basaltic composition with predictions ofthe MELTS free energy minimization algorithm shows that althoughliquidus temperatures and silicate mineral equilibria are predictedrelatively well, the saturation of Fe–Ti oxides is notWe have used the same experimental data to construct an alternativecrystallization model based on known equilibrium phase relations,mineral–melt partitioning of major elements, and massbalance constraints. The model is used to explore the consequencesof equilibrium and fractional crystallization in systems openand closed to oxygen. Liquid lines of descent for perfect equilibriumand perfect fractional crystallization are predicted to be verysimilar. In a system open to oxygen the model predicts thatmagnetite saturation leads to strongly decreasing iron and increasingsilica contents of residual liquids, whereas systems closedto oxygen crystallize less abundant magnetite, leading to aless pronounced iron depletion in the liquid. Predicted bulksolid compositions and variations of f_o2, with falling temperatureagree well with those observed or inferred from the cumulatesof the Skaergaard intrusion, but none of the predicted liquidlines of descent are consistent with the extreme iron enrichmentproposed for this intrusion based on mass balance calculations.Compositional factors such as water and phosphorus are not thoughtto be the source of the discrepancy as the cumulates of theBasistoppen sill (which closely resemble those of Skaergaard)may be used to calculate a liquid line of descent in agreementwith that predicted by the model for fractional crystallizationclosed to oxygen. A comparison of the predicted T-f_o2, pathsand liquid lines of descent with those inferred from naturalsystems suggests that volcanic centres such as Iceland and Hawaiievolve under conditions open to oxygen, whereas evidence fromplutonic environments (e.g. Skaergaard and Kiglapait layeredintrusions) suggests that they evolved under conditions moreclosed to oxygen. The compositional evolution of the melt phasein volcanic and plutonic systems may therefore be different,although the results of this study suggest that magnetite saturationwill limit Fe enrichment in all environments to <20wt% FeO^*,consistent with enrichments reported for volcanic glasses. KEY WORDS: Skaergaard; ferro-basalt; iron enrichment; oxygen fugacity ^*Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universitt Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany. Telephone: $ 49-921-553718. Fax $ 49-921-553769. e-mail: mike.toplis{at}uni-bayreuth.de     

Melt inclusions in augite from the nakhlite meteorites: A reassessment of nakhlite parental melt and implications for petrogenesis

Abstract– The nakhlites, a subgroup of eight clinopyroxenites thought to come from a single geological unit at the Martian surface, show melt inclusions in augite and olivine. In contrast to olivine‐hosted melt inclusions, augite‐hosted melt inclusions are not surrounded by fractures, and are thus considered preferential candidates for reconstructing parent liquid compositions. Furthermore, two types of augite‐hosted melt inclusion have been defined and characterized in four different nakhlites (Northwest Africa [NWA] 817, Nakhla, Governador Valadares, and NWA 998): Type‐I isolated inclusions in augite cores that contain euhedral to subhedral augite, Ti‐magnetite, and pigeonite plus silica‐rich glass and a gas bubble; Type‐II microinclusions that form trails crosscutting host augite crystals. Fast‐heating experiments were performed on selected pristine primary augite‐hosted melt inclusions from these four samples. Of these, only data from Nakhla were considered robust for reconstruction of a nakhlite parental magma composition (NPM). Based upon careful petrographic selection and consideration of iron‐magnesium ratios, our data are used to propose an NPM, which is basaltic (49.1 wt% SiO₂), of high Ca/Al (1.95), and K₂O‐poor (0.32 wt%). Thermodynamic modeling at an oxygen fugacity one log unit below the QFM buffer using the MELTS and PETROLOG programs implies that Mg‐rich olivine was not a liquidus phase for this composition. Our analysis is used to suggest that olivine megacrysts found in the nakhlites are unlikely to have coprecipitated with augite, and thus may have been introduced during or subsequent to accumulation in the magma chamber, possibly from more evolved portions of the same chamber.     

An Experimental Study of the Influence of Oxygen Fugacity on Fe-Ti Oxide Stability, Phase Relations, and Mineral--Melt Equilibria in Ferro-Basaltic Systems

Equilibrium crystallization experiments at atmospheric pressureand over a range of oxygen fugacity (fO₂) have been carriedout on a ferro-basaltic composition similar to liquids proposedto have been parental to much of the exposed portion of theSkaergaard intrusion. Before Fe-Ti oxide saturation the liquidline of descent is little affected by fO₂. However, the appearancetemperatures of the magnetite-ulvspinel solid solution (Mt)and the ilmenite-haematite solid solution (Ilm) depend stronglyon fO₂. Above the fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ) buffer Mtis the first oxide phase to appear on the liquidus, but belowthe FMQ buffer Ilm is the first oxide to crystallize. The appearancetemperature of Mt is 1100C at FMQ and the Mt liquidus slopeis 30C/log fO₂ unit between FMQ–;2 and FMQJ+1. The Ilmliquidus is at 1100C between FMQ and FMQ–2, but movesto lower temperature at higher fO₂ where Mt is the first oxidephase. The results indicate that the ferric iron content ofMt-saturated melts varies linearly with inverse temperature,and that Ilm saturation is closely related to melt TiO₂ content.Mt saturation produces an immediate enrichment of SiO₂ and depletionin FeO^* in the melt phase, whereas Ilm saturation produces similarenrichment in SiO², but inn enrichment may continue for 10Cbelow the ilmenite liquidus. The experimental liquids reacha maximum of 18 wt% FeO^*, at 48 wt% SiO₂ for ilmenite-saturatedmelts at low f_O2, more differentiated melts having lower ironand higher silica. Cotectic proportions, derived from mass balancecalculations, are in good agreement with data from natural samplesand other experimental studies. Olivine resorption is inferredat all fO₂, with the onset of resorption occurring 10C higherthan the appearance of magnetite. The effect of fO₂ on silicatemineral compositions, and partitioning of elements between coexistingmineral-melt pairs, is small. Thermodynamic considerations suggestthat variations of Fe-Mg partitioning between the iron-richolivines, pyroxenes and melts produced in this study may beexplained by known non-idealities of Fe-Mg mixing in the crystallinephases, rather than nonidealities in the coexisting melts. Theseexperiments also provide insights into many features commonto natural tholeiitic series of volcanic and plutonic rocks,and provide experimental data required for modelling of fractionalcrystallization and crystallization closed to oxygen, processeswhich are not easily investigated experimentally. KEY WORDS: ferro-basalt; Fe-Ti oxides; oxygen fugacity; Skaergaard intrusion; iron enrichment ^*Corresponding author. Present address: Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Univerritt Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany