Studies of melt inclusions in some basalts from eastern China

Cenozoic basalts widespread in eastern China constitute an important sector of the circum-Pacific Cenozoic basalt belt. Basalt samples were collected from Wudalianchi (Heilongjiang Province), Nushan (Anhui Province), Fangshan (Jiangsu Province), Zhuji (Zhejiang Province), and Mingxi(Fujian Province). These basalts, for the most part, belong to the alkali basaltic series, and partly to tholeiites. A variety of inclusions commonly occurs in the rock-forming minerals of these basalts. The physicochemical conditions of basalt formation in different areas have been reviewed in special reference to the inclusion data. Our studies have shown that there is a close relationship between the features of the inclusions and the physicochemical conditions of basalt formation, which can, therefore, be regarded as a guide to the mechanism of basaltic petrogenesis. The results of research in this aspect are presented in the present paper.