Search results for "Xenolith"

Geodynamic significance of ultramafic xenoliths from Eastern Serbia: Relics of sub-arc oceanic mantle?

2007

A suite of highly depleted peridotite xenoliths in East Serbian Palaeogene basanites represents the lithospheric mantle beneath the Balkan Peninsula. The xenoliths are harzburgites, clinopyroxene-poor lherzolites and rare dunites. They contain mostly 91), high Cr# in spinel (mostly 0.5–0.7), and by distinctively low Al2O3 contents in orthopyroxene (mostly 1–2 wt.%). They have experienced some mantle metasomatism which has slightly obscured their original composition. Nevertheless, the general characteristics of the xenoliths imply a composition which is significantly more depleted than most non-cratonic sub-continental mantle xenolith suites, as well as orogenic peridotites and abyssal peri…

Nature and origin of eclogite xenoliths from kimberlites

2004

Abstract Eclogites from the Earth's mantle found in kimberlites provide important information on craton formation and ancient geodynamic processes because such eclogites are mostly Archean in age. They have equilibrated over a range of temperatures and pressures throughout the subcratonic mantle and some are diamond-bearing. Most mantle eclogites are bimineralic (omphacite and garnet) rarely with accessory rutiles. Contrary to their overall mineralogical simplicity, their broadly basaltic-picritic bulk compositions cover a large range and overlap with (but are not identical to) much younger lower grade eclogites from orogenic massifs. The majority of mantle eclogites have trace element geoc…

Between carbonatite and lamproite - Diamondiferous Torngat ultramafic lamprophyres formed by carbonate-fluxed melting of cratonic MARID-type metasomes

2008

Abstract New U–Pb perovskite ages reveal that diamondiferous ultramafic lamprophyre magmas erupted through the Archean crust of northern Labrador and Quebec (eastern Canada) between ca. 610 and 565 Ma, a period of strong rifting activity throughout contiguous Laurentia and Baltica. The observed Torngat carbonate-rich aillikite/carbonatite and carbonate-poor mela-aillikite dyke varieties show a large spread in Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotope ratios with pronounced correlations between isotope systems. An isotopically depleted component is identified solely within aillikites (87Sr/86Sri = 0.70323–0.70377; eNdi = +1.2–+1.8; eHfi = +1.4–+3.5; 206Pb/204Pbi = 18.2–18.5), whereas some aillikites and all mela-…

Highly siderophile elements (PGE, Re and Au) in mantle xenoliths from the West Eifel volcanic field (Germany)

2003

Abstract Mantle peridotite xenoliths ranging in modal composition between fertile lherzolites and modally metasomatized harzburgites, and magmatic pyroxenite xenoliths from the West Eifel and Vogelsberg volcanic fields (Germany) have been analyzed for their whole rock major and minor elements, six platinum-group elements PGE (PGE: Os, Ir, Pt, Ru, Rh, Pd), Re and Au, rare earth elements (REE), and several other trace elements (e.g., As, Ta). The bulk rock Ir concentrations range from 0.23 to 9.07 ng/g (total PGE contents range between 43.2 ng/g), exceeding the range previously found in mantle rocks. Two pyroxenite samples show large variabilities in their PGE concentrations, with Ir contents…

Re-enrichment of cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath an evolving rift: Mantle xenoliths from East Antarctica

2006

Four- and five-phase peridotites from a continental rift system: evidence for upper mantle uplift and cooling at the Ross Sea margin (Antarctica)

1992

Upper mantle plagioclase+spinel- and spinel-peridotite xenoliths occur in basanitic and tephritic lavas of the 2.7 my to Recent Mt. Melbourne Volcanic Field (Antarctica). This field belongs to the Cenozoic McMurdo volcanic group which is located between the deep western trough of the Ross Sea rift system and the uplifted rift shoulder of the Transantarctic Mountains. Our samples cover the transition zone between rift and shoulder. We examined texture and composition of plagioclase+spinel and normal spinel peridotites and determined temperatures and pressures of formation using the internally consistent Ca-ol/cpx and 2px-thermobarometer of Kohler and Brey (1990) and Brey and Kohler (1990). D…

Eclogites and garnet pyroxenites: Similarities and differences

2010

Eclogites and garnet pyroxenites are genetically linked to basaltic precursors. Traditionally garnet pyroxenites are linked to fractionation of basaltic Magmas Over a range of mantle pressures and more recently they have been implicated in the genesis of ocean islands. in contrast eclogites are linked to the subduction of slab basalt and gabbro precursors which may be hydrothermally altered. Recently this subduction paradigm has been questioned. We present mineralogical, trace element and O isotopic data for eclogites and garnet pyroxenites that reveal some similarities but also important chemical and isotopic differences that support a distinct provenance (i.e., age and process). Continent…

Characteristics of lower crustal granulite xenoliths from the east Qinling orogenic belt and their tectonic significance

1994

The Tongbai granulites are present mainly as xenoliths in granodioritic gneisses. The xenoliths with a zircon age of 470Ma are older than the host rocks of granodioritic gneisses which yield a zircon age of 435Ma. It is suggested that the granulites were transported from the lower crust to the upper level along with granodioritic magma. Geothermometrical and geobarometrical studies based on the coexisting minerals (Opx-Cpx and Opx-Gar) show that the granulites were crystallized at 818 –840 °C and 9.5−9.8 × 108 Pa corresponding to the lower crust. Tectonically, the Shangdan suture zone constitutes the boundary between the North China and Yangtze plates. The zone is char acterized by the occu…

Trace-element partitioning between amphibole and silicate melt.

2007

Knowledge of the partitioning behavior of trace elements between solid and liquid is a prerequisite for modern igneous and mantle petrology. Most of the mathematical models simulating melt generation, migration and evolution within the mantle and/or the crust require the availability of reliable solid/liquid partition coefficients for the mineral phases involved in the process. Calcic amphiboles are extremely important for the understanding of lithospheric processes because of both their common occurrence in a variety of igneous and metamorphic rocks types and their capability of hosting a large number of geochemically important trace elements. A series of studies on the partitioning behavi…

SHRIMP ZIRCON AGES AND PETROLOGY OF LOWER CRUSTAL GRANULITE XENOLITHS FROM THE LETSENG-LA-TERAE KIMBERLITE, LESOTHO: FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR A NAMAQUA-N…

2013

Recrystallized zircons extracted from intermediate granulites of the Letseng-la-Terae Diamond Mine in northeastern Lesotho provide evidence that the Tugela Terrane of the Mesoproterozoic high-grade Namaqua-Natal mobile belt may extend ~200 km farther west than previously thought. The rock-forming minerals in the investigated lower crustal granulites contain garnet, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and quartz or garnet, wollastonite, plagioclase and quartz. Calculated values for peak granulite-facies metamorphism are ~13 kbar and ~850°C. Thermal overprint and therein granulite-facies metamorphism occurred during the late Mesoproterozoic and is documented by SHRIMP metamorphic zircon ages of 1018 ±…