Search

• Cathodoluminescence imagery and Ti-zoning of corundum crystals ("Carmel Sapphire") record growth from a silicate melt in an evolving open system at very low oxygen fugacity (Oliveira et al., [19]). These spectacular structures are only one form of TiN in the Carmel sapphire; it also occurs in large inclusions coexisting with Fe-Ti silicides and TiB SB 2 sb , and as regular crystals that appear to have crystallised directly from Fe-Ti silicide melts (Griffin I et al. i , [10], [11], [12]). We thank the Galuskins for their detailed study of the explosion breccias and the nitrides included in corundum aggregates from Mt Carmel; space considerations have limited our previous publication of such detailed data on this interesting aspect of these important samples. We suggest that the report of böhmite /bauxite represents analyses of spots consisting of amorphous carbon plus micro-inclusions of corundum; this would be consistent with the apparently higher C content of the EDS spectrum. [Extracted from the article]

Xenolithic corundum aggregates in Cretaceous mafic pyroclastics from Mount Carmel contain pockets of silicate melts with mineral assemblages [SiC (moissanite), TiC, Ti2O3 (tistarite), Fe-Ti-Zr silicides/phosphides] indicative of magmatic temperatures and oxygen fugacity (fO2) at least 6 log units below the iron-wüstite buffer (ΔIW ≤ –6). Microstructural evidence indicates that immiscible, carbon-rich metallic (Fe-Ti-Zr-Si-P) melts separated during the crystallization of the silicate melts. The further evolution of these metallic melts was driven by the crystallization of two main ternary phases (FeTiSi and FeTiSi2) and several near-binary phases, as well as the separation of more evolved immiscible melts. Reconstructed melt compositions fall close to cotectic curves in the Fe-Ti-Si system, consistent with trapping as metallic liquids. Temperatures estimated from comparisons with experimental work range from ≥1500 °C to ca. 1150 °C; these probably are maximum values due to the solution of C, H, P, and Zr. With decreasing temperature (T), the Si, Fe, and P contents of the Fe-Ti-Si melts increased, while contents of Ti and C decreased. The increase in Si with declining T implies a corresponding decrease in fO2, probably to ca. ΔIW-9. The solubility of P in the metallic melts declined with T and fO2, leading to immiscibility between Fe-Ti-Si melts and (Ti,Zr)-(P,Si) melts. Decreasing T and fO2 also reduced the solubility of C in the liquid metal, driving the continuous crystallization of TiC and SiC during cooling. The lower-T metallic melts are richer in Cr, and to some extent V, as predicted by experimental studies showing that Cr and V become more siderophile with decreasing fO2. These observations emphasize the importance of melt-melt immiscibility for the evolution of magmas under reducing conditions. The low fO2 and the abundance of carbon in the Mt. Carmel system are consistent with a model in which differentiating melts were fluxed by fluids that were dominated by CH4+H2, probably derived from a metal-saturated sublithospheric mantle. A compilation of other occurrences suggests that these phenomena may commonly accompany several types of explosive volcanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xenocrysts and xenoliths in Upper Cretaceous pyroclastics on Mount Carmel (northern Israel) represent a series of similar magma-fluid systems at different stages of their evolution, recording a continuous decrease in oxygen fugacity (fO2) as crystallization proceeded. Corundum coexisting with Fe-Mg-Cr-Al spinels, other Fe-Mg-Al-Na oxides, and Fe-Ni alloys in apparent cumulates crystallized at fO2 values near the iron-wüstite (IW) buffer (fO2 = IW±1) and is zoned from high-Cr cores to lower-Cr rims, consistent with fractional crystallization trends. The reconstructed parental melts of the cumulates are Al-Cr-Fe-Mg oxides with ca. 2 wt% SiO2. Corundum in other possible cumulates that contain Cr-Fe (Fe 45 wt%) alloys has low-Cr cores and still lower-Cr rims. Corundum coexisting with Cr0 (fO2 = IW-5) in some possible cumulates has low-Cr cores, but high-Cr rims (to >30% Cr2O3). These changes in zoning patterns reflect the strong decrease in the melting point of Cr2O3, relative to Al2O3, with decreasing fO2. The electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) analyses show that all Cr in corundum that coexists with Cr0 is present as Cr3+. This suggests that late in the evolution of these reduced melts, Cr2+ has disproportionated via the reaction 3Cr2+(melt) → 2Cr3+(Crn) + Cr0. The most Cr-rich corundum crystallized together with β-alumina phases including NaAl11O17 (diaoyudaoite) and KAl11O17 (kahlenbergite) and β″-alumina phases; residual melts crystallized a range of (K,Mg)2(Al,Cr)10O17 phases with the kahlenbergite structure. The parental melts of these assemblages appear to have been Al-Cr-K-Na-Mg oxides, which may be related to the Al-Cr-Fe-Mg oxide melts mentioned above, through fractional crystallization or liquid immiscibility. These samples are less reduced (fO2 from IW to IW-5) than the assemblages of the trapped silicate melts in the more abundant xenoliths of corundum aggregates (fO2 = IW-6 to IW-10). They could be considered to represent an earlier stage in the fO2 evolution of an "ideal" Mt. Carmel magmatic system, in which mafic or syenitic magmas were fluxed by mantle-derived CH4+H2 fluids. This is a newly recognized step in the evolution of the Mt. Carmel assemblages and helps to understand element partitioning under highly reducing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggregates of corundum crystals with skeletal to hopper morphology occur in pyroclastic rocks erupted from Cretaceous basaltic volcanoes on Mt Carmel, N. Israel. The rapid growth of the crystals trapped volumes of the parental Al2O3-supersaturated melt; phenocrysts of tistarite (Ti2O3) in the trapped melts indicate crystallization at oxygen fugacities 6–7 log units below the Iron-Wüstite buffer (fO2 = ΔIW − 6 to − 7), induced by fluxes of mantle-derived CH4-H2 fluids. Cathodoluminescence images reveal growth zoning within the individual crystals of the aggregates, related to the substitution of Ti3+ in the corundum structure. Ti contents are < 0.3 wt% initially, then increase first linearly, then exponentially, toward adjacent melt pockets to reach values > 2 wt%. Numerical modelling indicates that the first skeletal crystals grew in an open system, from a moving magma. The subsequent linear increase in Ti reflects growth in a partially closed system, with decreasing porosity; the exponential increase in Ti close to melt pockets reflects closed-system growth, leading to dramatic increases in incompatible-element concentrations in the residual melts. We suggest that the corundum aggregates grew in melt/fluid conduits; diffusion modelling implies timescales of days to years before crystallization was terminated by explosive eruption. These processes probably operate in explosive volcanic systems in several tectonic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scandium is often considered as immobile during chemical weathering, based on its low solubility. In contrast to other conservative (i.e. relatively immobile) elements incorporated into accessory minerals resistant to weathering (e.g. zirconium, thorium or niobium), the scarcity of scandium minerals indicates that the processes accounting for scandium's immobilisation are distinctive. However, the evolution of scandium speciation during weathering is unknown, limiting the understanding of the processes controlling its dynamics in the critical zone. Exceptional scandium concentrations in east Australian laterites provide the possibility of unravelling these mechanisms. We follow scandium speciation through thick lateritic profiles (> 30 m) using a multiscale mineralogical and spectroscopic approach involving electron microprobe, laser-ablation–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, selective leaching and X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, complemented by mass-transfer calculations. We show that the initial reservoir of scandium contained in the parent rock is preserved under reducing conditions occurring in the lowest horizons of the profiles. The dissolution of scandium-bearing clinopyroxene generates smectitic clays that immobilise and concentrate scandium. It is subsequently trapped in the lateritic duricrust by goethite. Scandium mobilisation appears in this horizon and increases upward as a result of the dissolution of goethite, possibly assisted by dissolved organic matter, and the precipitation of hematite. Molecular-scale analyses demonstrate that changes in speciation govern scandium dynamics, with substitution in smectitic clays and adsorption on iron oxyhydroxides playing a crucial role in scandium immobility in the saprolite and lower lateritic duricrust. The higher affinity of scandium for goethite relative to hematite drives scandium mobilisation in the upper lateritic duricrust, leading to its concentration downward in the lower lateritic duricrust. These successive mechanisms illustrate how the unique complexity of the critical zone leads to scandium concentrations that may form new types of world-class scandium deposits. Comparison with conservative elements and with rare-earth elements, expected to have similar geochemical properties, emphasizes the unique behaviour of scandium in the critical zone. While scandium remains immobile during the early stages of weathering, intense and long-term alteration processes, observed in lateritic contexts, lead to scandium mobilisation. This study highlights the dependence of scandium mobility on weathering conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hibonite (CaAl12O19) is a constituent of some refractory calcium-aluminum inclusions (CAIs) in carbonaceous meteorites, commonly accompanied by grossite (CaAl4O7) and spinel. These phases are usually interpreted as having condensed, or crystallized from silicate melts, early in the evolution of the solar nebula. Both Ca-Al oxides are commonly found on Earth, but as products of high-temperature metamorphism of pelitic carbonate rocks. We report here a unique occurrence of magmatic hibonite-grossite-spinel assemblages, crystallized from Ca-Al-rich silicate melts under conditions [high-temperature, very low oxygen fugacity (fO2)] comparable to those of their meteoritic counterparts. Ejecta from Cretaceous pyroclastic deposits on Mt Carmel, N. Israel, include aggregates of hopper/skeletal Ti-rich corundum, which have trapped melts that crystallized at fO2 extending from 7 log units below the iron-wustite buffer (ΔIW = -7; SiC, Ti2O3, Fe-Ti silicide melts) to ΔIW ≤ -9 (native V, TiC, and TiN). The assemblage hibonite + grossite + spinel + TiN first crystallized late in the evolution of the melt pockets; this hibonite contains percentage levels of Zr, Ti, and REE that reflect the concentration of incompatible elements in the residual melts as corundum continued to crystallize. A still later stage appears to be represented by coarse-grained (centimeter-size crystals) ejecta that show the crystallization sequence: corundum + Liq → (low-REE) hibonite → grossite + spinel ± krotite → Ca4Al6F2O12 + fluorite. V0 appears as spheroidal droplets, with balls up to millimeter size and spectacular dendritic intergrowths, included in hibonite, grossite, and spinel. Texturally late V0 averages 12 wt% Al and 2 wt% Mn. Spinels contain 10-16 wt% V in V0-free samples, and <0.5 wt% V in samples with abundant V0. Ongoing paragenetic studies suggest that the fO2 evolution of the Mt Carmel magmatic system reflects the interaction between OIB-type mafic magmas and mantle-derived CH4+H2 fluids near the crust-mantle boundary. Temperatures estimated by comparison with 1 atm phase-equilibrium studies range from ca. 1500 °C down to 1200-1150 °C. When fO2 reached ca. ΔIW = -7, the immiscible segregation of Fe,Ti-silicide melts and the crystallization of SiC and TiC effectively desilicated the magma, leading to supersaturation in Al2O3 and the rapid crystallization of corundum, preceding the development of the hibonite-bearing assemblages. Reports of Ti-rich corundum and SiC from other areas of explosive volcanism suggest that these phenomena may be more widespread than presently realized, and the hibonite-grossite assemblage may serve as another indicator to track such activity. This is the first reported terrestrial occurrence of krotite (CaAl2O4), and of at least two unknown Zr-Ti oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) is a key parameter of Earth's mantle, because it controls the speciation of the fluids migrating at depth; a major question is whether the sublithospheric mantle is metal-saturated, keeping ƒO2 near the Iron-Wustite (IW) buffer reaction. Cretaceous basaltic pyroclastic rocks on Mt. Carmel, Israel erupted in an intraplate environment with a thin, hot lithosphere. They contain abundant aggregates of hopper-shaped crystals of Ti-rich corundum, which have trapped melts with phenocryst assemblages (Ti2O3, SiC, TiC, silicides, native V) requiring extremely low ƒO2. These assemblages are interpreted to reflect interaction between basaltic melts and mantle-derived fluids dominated by CH4 + H2. Similar highly reduced assemblages are found associated with volcanism in a range of tectonic situations including subduction zones, major continental collisions, intraplate settings, craton margins and the cratons sampled by kimberlites. This distribution, and the worldwide similarity of δ13C in mantle-derived SiC and associated diamonds, suggest a widespread process, involving similar sources and independent of tectonic setting. We suggest that the common factor is the ascent of abiotic (CH4 + H2) fluids from the sublithospheric mantle; this would imply that much of the mantle is metal-saturated, consistent with observations of metallic inclusions in sublithospheric diamonds (e.g. Smith et al. 2016). Such fluids, perhaps carried in rapidly ascending deep-seated magmas, could penetrate high up into a depleted cratonic root, establishing the observed trend of decreasing ƒO2 with depth (e.g. Yaxley et al. in Lithos 140:142-151, 2012). However, repeated metasomatism (associated with the intrusion of silicate melts) will raise the FeO content near the base of the craton over time, developing a carapace of oxidizing material that would prevent the rise of CH4-rich fluids into higher levels of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). Oxidation of these fluids would release CO2 and H2O to drive metasomatism and low-degree melting both in the carapace and higher in the SCLM. This model can explain the genesis of cratonic diamonds from both reduced and oxidized fluids, the existence of SiC as inclusions in diamonds, and the abundance of SiC in some kimberlites. It should encourage further study of the fine fractions of heavy-mineral concentrates from all types of explosive volcanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The Taohuadao A-type granites are derived from magmas with δ18O values of 5.23‰. • The δ18O variation in Type 1 zircon is resulted from fractional crystallization. • The screened Li-isotope of Type 1 zircon is around 2.0 ± 3.3‰. • The granites were produced by fractionation of reduced, anhydrous basaltic melts. Abstract The origins of the Mesozoic low-δ18O A-type granites in eastern China are quite controversial. A new "low-δ18O" granite, the Taohuadao alkaline (A 1 -type) granite from the Zhoushan archipelago, offshore from Zhejiang, is reported in this study. Integrated in situ analyses of Hf-O-Li isotopes in zircon are used to provide insights on the petrogenesis and evolution of this granite, and low-δ18O granites in general. Three types of zircon have been recognized in Taohuadao samples: zircon with sector/oscillatary zoning (Type 1), disturbed zoning (Type 2) and extremely high-U (Type 3) grains. Data are carefully screened for radiation damage and post-magmatic alteration and only Type 1 zircon represents a magmatic origin. In Type 1 zircons, Type 1a with normal mantle δ18O zrn value of 5.23‰ has a positive δ7Li value (2.0 ± 3.3‰), while Type 1b has a δ18O value of ∼4.81‰ and highly variable negative δ7Li values (−31.9‰ to −0.3‰). In contrast to the O-Li isotopes, zircon is quite homogeneous in terms of Hf isotopes (εHf (t) = −3.5 ± 1.7), suggesting that the Taohuadao A 1 -type granites were derived from a simple source. Our results show that the magmatic zircon δ18O zrn values are negatively correlated with Hf content but positively correlated with Zr/Hf ratio in zircon, which indicates that fractional crystallization plays an important role in producing the slightly low δ18O signature. The anhydrous nature of the A 1 -type granites suppressed the crystallization of biotite and hornblende, while low oxygen fugacity is responsible for insufficient precipitation of magnetite, both of which drive the later differentiates towards slight depletion in 18O. Therefore, we suggest a ferrogabbro-type fractional crystallization may have played a major role in producing the chemical and oxygen isotopic variations of the Taohuadao A 1 -type granite and accounts for ∼0.5‰ 18O-depletion. The extremely depleted δ7Li in Type 1b zircons is most likely a result of diffusion-driven fractionation. Mantle-like O-Li isotopes and very low Li abundance in zircon suggest a predominantly mantle origin with little, if any, involvement of continental crustal materials in the granite. Thus the Taohuadao A 1 -type granite was most likely produced by intensive fractionation of reduced, anhydrous basaltic melts, rather than by mixing of mantle- and crustally-derived melts as previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Igneous activity in the rear-arc of the Paleogene Urumieh–Dokhtar Magmatic Belt of Iran has to date been poorly studied. An example of such activity, Late Eocene potassic mafic to intermediate magmatic rocks in the Lahrud area of NW Iran, is the focus of this work. These lavas include olivine-bearing clinopyroxene-phyric basalts, analcime-bearing leucite–clinopyroxene-phyric basalts, andesites, and trachytes, and Paleocene–Early Eocene pyroclastic rocks. Monzo-syenite plugs (dated here at ∼37 Ma), clinopyroxene-phyric basaltic dikes, and leucite-bearing clinopyroxene-phyric basaltic dikes intrude older lavas and pyroclastic rocks. Olivine-bearing clinopyroxene-phyric basalts and analcime-bearing leucite–clinopyroxene-phyric basalts are characterized by large phenocrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene, leucite, and analcime. Clinopyroxene-rich enclaves and partially resorbed mantle xenoliths also occur. Olivine phenocrysts are zoned from high-Mg# cores (Mg# = 90) to Fe-rich rims (Mg# = 66). Clinopyroxene phenocrysts from the olivine-bearing clinopyroxene-phyric basalts, analcime-bearing leucite–clinopyroxene-phyric basalts and clinopyroxene crystals in the enclaves show complex oscillatory zoning, sieve textures, and resorption textures, but with systematic core–rim compositional trends. Their 87Sr/86Sr isotopic compositions measured in situ range from 0·7037 to 0·7068 (mean = 0·7052 ± 0·0004), suggesting negligible crustal assimilation during fractional crystallization. The Lahrud lavas are potassic and are enriched in light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements such as Th, Rb, K and U. High field strength elements (HFSE), such as Nb, are depleted in the olivine-bearing clinopyroxene-phyric basalts and analcime-bearing leucite–clinopyroxene-phyric basalts, but enriched in the trachytes and trachytic ignimbrites. The isotopic compositions vary: 87Sr/86Srt from 0·7045 to 0·7052, εNd(t) from +2·8 to +3·3, and εHf(t) from +7·2 to +7·7. The rocks have radiogenic lead 206Pb/204Pb from 18·66 to 18·76, 207Pb/204Pb from 15·58 to 15·62, and 208Pb/204Pb from 38·73 to 38·81. Modeling of major and trace elements using the MELTS algorithm indicates that the geochemical variations in the basaltic to andesitic rocks are reasonably explained by shallow fractional crystallization with some complications owing to source heterogeneity, crustal assimilation, and magma mixing. The isotopic data imply that partial melting of old sub-continental lithospheric mantle was not responsible for the Lahrud potassic magmas; Hf isotopes and Zr/Nb ratios suggest derivation from an enriched mantle wedge, whereas ratios of incompatible trace elements (e.g. La/Yb, Ba/La, Ce/Pb, Th/Yb) and high 87Sr/86Sr suggest mantle metasomatized by slab-derived fluids or melts dominated by a sediment component. Geochemical modeling using the Arc Basalt Simulator version 5 reveals that the HFSE-depleted, olivine-bearing, clinopyroxene-phyric basalts originated from a high-temperature mantle wedge (2·2 GPa, 1310°C) fluxed intensively (5%) by melts from a deep hot slab (6 GPa, 1000°C). The moderately HFSE-depleted, olivine-bearing, clinopyroxene-phyric basalts reflect melting of a lower-temperature mantle wedge (2·2 GPa, 1300°C) with a lesser amount of slab melt flux (4%) from a lower temperature and shallower slab (3 GPa, 866°C). In contrast, the leucite–clinopyroxene-phyric basalts and andesites are from a similar source to the moderately HFSE-depleted, olivine-bearing, clinopyroxene-phyric basalts (3 GPa, 866°C) but with a contribution from a lower temperature mantle wedge (2·2 GPa, 1270°C). During Late Eocene times, slab retreat and upper-plate extension occurred in the rear-arc region of the Urumieh–Dokhtar Magmatic Belt. The Lahrud potassic magmas were generated from a high-temperature mantle wedge, which resulted in melting of the slab; this slab melt flux further promoted melting of the mantle wedge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meta-analysis of about 13,000 analyses of scandium content in garnet grains shows that, below the spinel–garnet transition, this phase carries about three-quarters of the Sc budget of the mantle, indicating its control on Sc mobility. The Sc content of garnets in mafic rocks is low, due to a dilution effect resulting from their high modal content in garnet. Garnets from ultramafic rocks exhibit a wider range of Sc concentrations. We assess the relative influence of thermobarometry, crystal chemistry and fluid-related events on the distribution of Sc in garnet from such rocks to improve the tracking of geochemical processes in the mantle. Pressure and temperature of equilibration in the mantle are second-order factors influencing the Sc content of garnet, while crystal chemistry, in particular C r C r + A l and C a C a + M g , is the main parameter controlling the compatibility of Sc. Scandium is incorporated in both X and Y sites of Cr-Ca-rich garnets, resulting in a behaviour intermediate between rare-earth elements, incorporated in the X site, and trivalent transition elements, occupying the Y site. This affinity for both sites results in a mild compatibility of Sc in the garnet stability field of the mantle; hence Sc concentration in garnet increases with melt extraction and can be reduced by silicate-melt metasomatism. In contrast, metasomatism by volatile-rich fluids increases the Sc concentration in garnet. The control of garnet on the compatibility of Sc in deep lithospheric rocks demonstrates the potential of using Sc to track the conditions of formation of magmas and their residual rocks, as well as the origin and nature of metasomatic fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cadomian orogen of NW Iran includes a series of metamorphic rocks with zircon U-Pb ages between ca 562 and 505 Ma (Ediacaran to middle Cambrian). The Ediacaran-Cambrian basement is intruded by a series of Late Eocene-Late Oligocene I-type granitic rocks. U-Pb geochronology, integrated with geochemical and isotopic data for the basement rocks in NW Iran, provides further evidence of a Cadomian (562-505 Ma) arc-related magmatic event lasting ∼ 60 Myr. Cadomian magmatism in Iran was a part of a ∼ 100 Myr long episode of subduction-related arc magmatism at the northern margin of Gondwana. Zircon Hf-isotope compositions show that during Cadomian magmatic arc activity, juvenile arc magmas interacted with reworked Archean crust to generate the Ediacaran-Cambrian igneous rocks. Our results document both inheritance of old zircons and the presence of zircons with juvenile signatures in NW Iran, suggesting that the geotectonic setting for the Cadomian rocks was an Ediacaran continental magmatic arc and probably a neighboring back-arc basin. The occurrence of Ediacaran ophiolitic slices in NW Iran may provide evidence of back-arc basin opening at that time. Cenozoic plutonism in NW Iran is part of an Eocene-Oligocene magmatic 'flare-up' along the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Belt in central Iran, which lasted for ca 30 Myr. The melts responsible for the formation of these rocks had an essentially juvenile signature with minor contamination by Archean to Cadomian middle-lower continental crust. Continuous convergence between Arabia and Iran was accompanied by the transition of SW Eurasia from a compressional to an extensional convergent plate margin in Eocene-Oligocene times, leading to orogenic collapse, core-complex formation, exhumation of Cadomian crust and a major increase in arc magmatism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread Miocene (24-8 Ma) ultrapotassic rocks and their entrained xenoliths provide information on the composition, structure, and thermal state of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle in southern Tibet during the India-Asia continental collision. The ultrapotassic rocks along the Lhasa block delineate two distinct lithospheric domains with different histories of depletion and enrichment. The eastern ultrapotassic rocks (89°E-92°E) reveal a depleted, young, and fertile lithospheric mantle (87Sr/86Srt = 0.704-0.707 [t is eruption time]; Hf depleted-mantle model age [TDM] = 377-653 Ma). The western ultrapotassic rocks (79°E-89°E) and their peridotite xenoliths (81°E) reflect a refractory harzburgitic mantle refertilized by ancient metasomatism (lavas: 87Sr/86Srt = 0.714-0.734; peridotites: 87Sr/86Srt = 0.709-0.716). These data integrated with seismic tomography suggest that upwelling asthenosphere was diverted away from the deep continental root beneath the western Lhasa block, but rose to shallower depths beneath a thinner lithosphere in the eastern part. Heating of the lithospheric mantle by the rising asthenosphere ultimately generated the ultrapotassic rocks with regionally distinct geochemical signatures reflecting the different nature of the lithospheric mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preservation of ultrahigh-pressure and super-reduced phases (diamond, moissanite, etc.) in the harzburgites and chromitites of the Yarlung Zangbo ophiolites (South Tibet, China) has major implications for mantle recycling and lithosphere evolution in the tectonic system related to the closing of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean. However, important aspects of the genesis of these enigmatic ophiolites and the related geodynamic evolution are still unclear. In the Zedang ophiolite of the eastern Yarlung Zangbo Suture, detailed mineral chemical data reveal that the harzburgite domain in the east [spinel Cr# (mole Cr 3+ /(Cr 3+ + Al 3+ ) = 0.62–0.33] is more depleted than the lherzolite domain in the west (spinel Cr# = 0.30–0.17) and shows much lower equilibration temperatures (by ∼250–150 °C) than the lherzolites. Clinopyroxene trace-element compositions indicate that the harzburgites underwent pervasive metasomatism after melt extraction, while the lherzolites did not. New zircon U–Pb ages show that the harzburgites were intruded by dolerite dykes with chilled margins at ∼130–128 Ma, consistent with the widespread mafic magmatism at ∼130–120 Ma in the Yarlung Zangbo ophiolites. Nd–Hf isotopic data indicate that the Zedang lherzolites subcreted the pre-emplaced harzburgites concurrently with the intrusion of the dolerite dykes into the harzburgites, and that the lherzolites and dolerites both were derived from upwelling asthenosphere with minor slab input. Available zircon geochronology and Hf-isotope data show that juvenile magmatism in the adjacent Gangdese Arc was almost completely interrupted from ∼130–120 Ma. We suggest that the extension of the overlying harzburgitic lithosphere, subcretion of lherzolites, intrusion of mafic dykes, and the waning of Gangdese-Arc magmatism all reflect a southward trench migration in the Neo-Tethyan subduction system from the Gangdese Arc to the oceanic forearc lithosphere. This magmatic relocation and tectonic linkage are inferred to be the far-field effects of plate reorganization related to the Lhasa-Qiangtang collision and the breakup of Gondwanaland in the early Cretaceous. This model provides a solution for the global “ophiolite conundrum”: supra-subduction-zone type ophiolites with mid-ocean-ridge features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podiform chromitites enclosed in depleted harzburgites of the Luobusa massif (southeastern Tibet) contain diamond and a highly reduced trace-mineral association. Exsolution of diopside and coesite from chromite suggests inversion from the Ca-ferrite structure in the upper part of the mantle transition zone (>400 km). However, the trace-element signatures of the chromites are typical of ophiolitic chromitites, implying primary crystallization at shallow depths. Os-Ir nuggets in the chromitites have Re-Os model ages (TRD) of 234 ± 3 Ma, while TRD ages of in situ Ru-Os-Ir sulfides range from 290 to 630 Ma, peaking at ca. 325 Ma. Euhedral zircons in the chromitites give U-Pb ages of 376 ± 7 Ma, εHf = 9.7 ± 4.6, and δ18O = 4.8‰-8.2‰. The sulfide and zircon ages may date formation of the chromitites from boninite-like melts in a supra-subduction-zone environment, while the model ages of Os-Ir nuggets may date local reduction in the transition zone following Devonian subduction. Thermo-mechanical modeling suggests a rapid (≲10 m.y.) rise of the buoyant harzburgites from >400 km depth during the early Tertiary and/or Late Cretaceous rollback of the Indian slab. This process may occur in other collision zones; mantle samples from the transition zone may be more widespread than currently recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite diverse geochronological-geochemical studies on Cenozoic igneous rocks from the SE segment of the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Belt (UDMB) of Iran, the nature of the Oligocene magmatic rocks from the farthermost end of the SE segment- where it is linked to the Makran magmatic belt- has been ignored due to the difficulty of access. In this study, we focus on syn -collisional mafic to felsic igneous rocks of calc-alkaline and high-K calc-alkaline affinities from the SE segment of the Urumieh-Dokhtar Magmatic Belt (UDMB) near Nagisun, south of Bam. The Nagisun rocks have low Sr/Y and La (n) /Yb (n) , similar to igneous rocks from typical arcs. Zircon U Pb ages show comparable ages for plutonic (~ 34–25 Ma) and volcanic (~34–27 Ma) rocks. The εHf(t) values for zircons from plutonic rocks range from −0.3 to +12.8, whereas the εHf(t) values for the volcanic rocks vary from −2.6 to +13. Modelling of trace elements compositions using Nagisan basaltic samples indicate that an 87:2:11 mixture of the depleted MORB mantle, subducting (trench)-sediments and altered oceanic crust with 5% aggregated fractional melting closely matches the trace-element abundances of the Nagisun basaltic rocks. Indeed, the modelling of Sr and Nd isotopic data emphasizes that the Nagisun magmatic rocks could be products of bulk mixing between a depleted MORB mantle and/or a mixed, fertilized mantle with the Cadomian lower and upper continental crust. Furthermore, our compiled data display that the magmatism in the SE segment of the UDMB changed through time from normal calc-alkaline magmatism to adakitic magmatism at ~20 Ma, after the collision with Arabia began ca 27 Ma. • Collision-related, Oligocene magmatic rocks are abundant in the SE segment of the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt of Iran. • Zircon U-Pb data show ages of 34-25 Ma for plutonic rocks and 34-27 Ma for volcanic rocks from SE UDMB. • Isotope modelling suggests mixing between the mantle and Cadomian crust for the formation of these rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A review of previous work relevant to the formation of concentrations of chromite in peridotites from ophiolitic (s.l.) sequences highlights some of the key problems in understanding the complex processes involved. This review forms the basis for chromitite-genesis models that integrate new geochemical data with petrologic, field and microstructural observations, and for a re-interpretation of previous data and concepts. The geochemical data include major- and trace-element contents of chromite and coexisting phases and especially the nature and Os-isotope compositions of platinum-group minerals (PGM) and base-metal sulfides (BMS); the PGM data in particular provide new insights into chromitite formation. Differences in the morphology, structural relationships, and geochemical signatures of chromitites allow the recognition of three distinct types. Type I is the most abundant and is distinguished by bulk-rock enrichment in Os, Ir and Ru relative to Rh, Pt, and Pd; it shows no consistent spatial location within the ophiolite “stratigraphy”. The second type (Type IIA) is generally confined to the shallower zones of the oceanic lithosphere (mainly as concordant layers, bands and seams, but also as discordant pods or irregular bodies), and is significantly enriched in the incompatible platinum-group elements (PGE) with generally higher total PGE contents than Type I. The third type (Type IIB) shows the same spatial distributions and PGE patterns as Type IIA but has a more limited range of Cr# and a wider range of Mg# that overlap with the compositional range of chromites from layered mafic intrusions. Reaction of melts with peridotite wall-rocks results in the extraction of pyroxene into the melts, forming anastomosing dunitic melt channels in the mantle sections of ophiolites. The Os-isotope heterogeneity in PGMs within single chromitite samples, as described in Part I, provides clear evidence that melt mingling take place on very small scales. This suggests that ophiolitic chromitites are generated through the disequilibrium precipitation of chromite, forced by small-scale mingling of melts that had different SiO2 contents, reflecting derivation from different source rocks, different degrees of partial melting and/or wall-rock reaction. Progressive reaction, crystallization and mixing of melts within the channel system assures the presence of a spectrum of melts at any one time, making the system self-sustaining; each new injection of mafic melt would find more evolved melts with which to react, producing more chromite. Chromite is carried to its final deposition by migration of the chromite-bearing melts, or fluids derived from them. This explains the general association of chromitite with the dunitic portions of ophiolitic mantle; dunite margins around chromite segregations represent the original host rock intruded by chromitite-forming fluids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Platinum-group minerals are the dominant control on the budget of platinum-group elements in ophiolitic chromitites. They vary widely in distribution, morphology, chemistry and Os-isotope compositions. Their distribution in different types of chromitites, and different microstructural sites within them may reflect the role of chromite as a physical “collector” of the platinum-group elements during crystallisation of both phases from melts. The platinum-group minerals show significant Os-isotope heterogeneity on the scale of single micrometric grains enclosed within individual chromite grains. This micro-scale isotopic heterogeneity, and their random spatial distribution within the chromites, argue strongly against an origin of the platinum-group minerals via exsolution from the chromite lattice during post-magmatic cooling. A re-interpretation of their microstructures and Os isotopes analysed in situ had led us to review the traditional models, and to propose several origins for the platinum-group minerals in chromitites. (1) The suites of platinum-group minerals mainly record crystallisation during mixing of multiple different melts and physical entrapment in chromite. (2) Some platinum-group minerals in chromitites may have been scavenged from wall–rock peridotite during migration of the parental melts of the chromitite. (3) Other platinum-group minerals may have precipitated from metasomatic fluid/melts that infiltrated existing chromitites. The recrystallization of pre-existing platinum-group minerals during polyphase metamorphism or “recycling” of the chromitite into deeper mantle levels can explain the presence of micrometric platinum-group minerals with distinct Os-isotope compositions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most eclogite xenoliths from the Roberts Victor kimberlite (South Africa) have been metasomatized by melts/fluids in the carbonatitic–kimberlitic spectrum, and these can be used to define a progressive metasomatic process. Several stages of this progressive metasomatism have been recognized within one sample (RV07-17), using petrography, major- and trace-element compositions, and Sr- and O-isotope data. Four zones in RV07-17 are distinguished in terms of the compositions of their garnets. From Zone 1 to Zone 4, the microstructure becomes less equilibrated; secondary minerals and fluid inclusions become abundant; the pyrope content of the garnets increases; and clinopyroxene shows progressive enrichment in MgO. The garnets of Zone 1 have flat REE patterns from Lu to Sm, with a strong depletion in the LREE. Toward Zone 4, the relative abundance of the MREE of the garnets drops significantly, giving smoother patterns. A large relict clinopyroxene grain in Zone 1 shows a strong depletion in the LREE, but the LREE/MREE of the recrystallized clinopyroxene increases from Zone 1 to Zone 4. From Zone 1 to 4, 87Sr/86Sr in clinopyroxene increases along with Sr content and δ18O of the garnet decreases from 8.2 to 5.7‰ as the MgO content increases. Trace-element data imply that the fluids that metasomatized RV07-17 were closer to carbonatitic than kimberlitic in composition. Aside from the one relict clinopyroxene, all original compositional information in this xenolith has been swept away, making it difficult to define the protolith. To know the origin of the xenolithic eclogites, and to use them as evidence for different geodynamic/tectonic scenarios, the least metasomatized samples must be studied; unfortunately these make up a tiny proportion of the widely studied xenolith population at Roberts Victor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Trace-element and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions of garnet and clinopyroxene in mantle xenoliths from the diamondiferous Lac de Gras kimberlites, central Slave craton, constrain the nature, effects and timing of metasomatic modification of the underlying subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). Hypothetical carbonatite melts in equilibrium with peridotitic garnet from the >3.3Ga ultra-depleted shallow SCLM (<145km) have strongly sinusoidal REE patterns and negative Ti–Zr–Hf anomalies similar to those in natural carbonatites. Patterns of calculated kimberlitic melts in equilibrium with garnet from the less-depleted ~3.3Ga deep SCLM (>145km), which has normal LREE-depleted to mildly sinusoidal REE patterns and weak (or absent) negative Ti anomalies, match natural kimberlite compositions. These systematics translate to distinctly higher Ce/Yb, Sm/Er and Lu/Hf, and lower Zr/Sm and Sm/Nd in shallow peridotites, compared to deep peridotites. The latter show a continuum of trace-element ratios compatible with progressive interaction between a kimberlite-like melt and garnet-bearing mantle, leading to loss of Y and HREE and enrichment in LREE and Sr in the melt, increasing sinuosity of the REE, and lower Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf in the garnet, as the melts evolve to more volatile-rich compositions. Minerals in the majority of deep peridotites display a small range of 143Nd/144Nd (0.5123–0.5129) over a large range of 147Sm/144Nd (0.08 to 0.43) at the time of entrainment in the kimberlite, which indicates isotopic homogenisation less than 350Ma ago. Combined with their variable 176Hf/177Hf (0.2825–0.2881), this can be modelled by mixing an ancient fluid-metasomatised cratonic mantle residue with ~1 to 10% kimberlite melt, which obliterated the original Nd-isotope compositions, but was less efficient at overprinting Hf isotopes. While samples from the shallow SCLM are few, this layer appears to have largely escaped pervasive kimberlite-related overprint: it retained radiogenic Hf (176Hf/177Hf=0.2879) similar to that of undisturbed ancient depleted mantle, and highly unradiogenic Nd (143Nd/144Nd=0.5099). This may reflect Proterozoic or earlier metasomatism by HFSE-poor, strongly LREE-enriched metasomatic fluids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mixed-habit diamonds have experienced periods of growth where they were bounded by two surface forms at the same time. Such diamonds are relatively rare and therefore under-investigated. Under certain physical and chemical conditions, smooth octahedral faces grow concurrently with rough, hummocky cuboid faces. However, the specific conditions that cause this type of growth are unknown. Here we present a large array of spectroscopic data in an attempt to investigate the impurity and carbon-isotope characteristics, as well as growth conditions, of 13 large (>6 mm diameter) plates cut from mixed-habit diamonds. The diamonds all generally have high nitrogen concentrations (>1400 ppm), with the octahedral sectors enriched by 127--143% compared to their contemporary cuboid sectors. Levels of nitrogen aggregation are generally low (2--23% IaB) with no significant difference between sectors. IR-active hydrogen features are predominantly found in the cuboid sectors with only very small bands in the octahedral sectors. Platelet characteristics are variable; only one sample shows a large B' band intensity in the octahedral sector, with no platelets occurring in the cuboid sector. Other samples either show a small B' band in both sectors, or just in the cuboid sector, or none at all. These data support a model that shows the concentration-adjusted aggregation rate of nitrogen to be the same in both sectors, whereas the subsequent platelet development is reduced in the cuboid sectors. This is because the interstitial carbon atoms have interacted with disk-crack-like defects only found in cuboid sectors, which in turn reduces their chances of aggregating to form platelets. These disk-crack-like defects are also thought to be the most likely site for the IR-active hydrogen features and they maybe intrinsic to cuboid growth in mixed-habit diamonds. When they are graphitized, as they are in all of the diamonds in this study, this may reflect a heating event prior to volcanic exhumation. Spectroscopic analysis of the green cathodoluminescence exhibited by all of the diamonds shows nickel centers to be present in only the cuboid sectors. Carbon isotope data, obtained by secondary ion mass spectrometry, show very little variation in seven of the diamonds. The total range of 217 analyses is -7.94 to -9.61 (±0.15)‰, and the largest variation in a single stone is 0.98‰. No fractionation in carbon isotopes is seen between octahedral and cuboid sectors at the same growth horizon. These data suggest that the source fluid chemistry, as well as pressure, temperature, and oxygen fugacity were very stable over time, allowing such large volumes of mixed-habit growth to occur. The high concentration of impurities, namely nitrogen and hydrogen, is probably the critical factor required to cause mixed-habit growth. The impurity and isotopic data fall in line with previous modeling based on diamond growth from reduced carbonates with the loss of a 13C-enriched CO2 component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kuruman Kimberlite Province contains the oldest known kimberlites in the Kaapvaal Craton (∼1·6–1·8 Ga), but only limited geochronological and isotopic data exist for this province. To provide better constraints on the sources of the kimberlite magmas and the timing of magmatism, we have carried out in situ U–Pb dating and Sr–Nd isotopic analysis of groundmass perovskite from four of the Kuruman kimberlites (Bathlaros, Elston, Helpmekaar and Zero). We also have measured the Sr-isotope composition of groundmass apatite and carbonate in several of the kimberlites, for comparison with published whole-rock isotopic data. Attempts to date perovskite using in situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) were hindered by extensive Pb loss, even in apparently unaltered grains, yielding anomalously young emplacement ages. The assumption of a Mesoproterozoic common-Pb component allows the extraction of intercept ages from the least altered grains (Bathlaros, 1640 ± 13 Ma; Elston, 1663 ± 49 Ma; Helpmekaar, 1638 Ma; Zero, 1845 ± 45 Ma). The smaller sampling volume of secondary ion mass spectrometry and the ability to measure 204Pb, thus allowing more precise common-Pb corrections, produces concordant ages. These reveal that kimberlite intrusion occurred over a time span of ∼200 Myr (Bathlaros, 1647 ± 27 Ma; Zero, 1835 ± 25 Ma), with emplacement ages younging to the east. The results of this study suggest that alteration may disrupt the U–Pb system in perovskite. In situ Sr and Nd isotope analyses [LA-multi-collector (MC)-ICP-MS] of perovskite show a moderate range in values (87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0·70383–0·70507; &varepsilon;Nd(i) = –2·7 to 1·5), but similar mean values among the four kimberlites (87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0·70396–0·70425; &varepsilon;Nd(i) = –0·8 to 0·8). The Nd-isotope compositions of perovskite are similar to those of whole-rock samples of the host kimberlite (&varepsilon;Nd(i) = 1·0 to −3·0), whereas Sr in perovskite and apatite (87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0·70424–0·70427) is more radiogenic than the whole-rock values (87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0·70293–0·70382). However, groundmass carbonates generally yield lower values (87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0·70348–0·70405), closer to those of the kimberlite samples, indicating that the whole-rock Sr isotope compositions are largely controlled by carbonates, probably assimilated from the immediate country rocks. The isotopic data suggest that the Kuruman kimberlite magmas were initially derived from a deeper sub-lithospheric source region, but their distinctive compositional characteristics were imposed through assimilation, first of metasomatized sub-continental lithospheric mantle and later of crustal material, during magma ascent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Three leaching methods have been tested on garnet and clinopyroxene separates from Roberts Victor xenolithic eclogites, in an attempt to remove secondary materials and uncover the primary compositions of the samples. A “typical” leaching treatment commonly used to clean mineral separates proved insufficient. However, the secondary material can be completely removed by treating the separates in 80°C 6N HCl for approximately 14h, followed by 6N HNO3 and then washing in MQ water ultrasonically for 20min three times. Further leaching produced no change in the isotopic composition (Sr, Nd, Hf) of the residual minerals. The leaching process produces largest relative changes in Sr-isotope compositions, and less in Nd- and Hf-isotope compositions. After this leaching process, measurement of the primary isotopic compositions of Sr, Nd and Hf in the eclogitic garnets can be achieved. The HREE patterns of the leachates are similar to those of the host minerals, but the leachates are enriched in LREE and LILE and show pronounced positive Eu anomalies. The leachable material is a mixture of the primary host minerals and secondary minerals (±fluid inclusions) deposited by a metasomatic melt/fluid. The leachates have very radiogenic Sr-isotope compositions (87Sr/86Sr=0.706–0.712 at the time of kimberlite eruption time (128Ma)) and this range suggests that the melt/fluid was heterogeneous in terms of Sr-isotope composition, and that it may be related to diamond-forming fluids. The results for these samples suggest that some Eu anomalies, commonly used to shallow crustal processes, such as plagioclase fractionation, in eclogite protoliths were actually introduced by a secondary melt/fluid percolating in the lithospheric mantle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Podiform chromitites in ophiolite usually are interpreted as the crystallization products of mafic magmas, contemporaneous with the generation of the ophiolite at mid-oceanic ridges or back-arc spreading centres. However, the real ages of the chromitites can rarely be determined directly, because their chemistry provides few opportunities for geochronology. Here we employ the 187Re–188Os decay system (N-TIMS) to date the chromitite and a cross-cutting troctolite in the Sartohay ophiolite, northwestern China, and we have dated zircons separated from the troctolite by SHRIMP U–Pb methods. Inherited zircons from the troctolite yield a lower intercept age of 0.48±0.08Ga and an upper intercept age of 2.28±0.11Ga; two concordant grains give ages >2.4Ga. Whole-rock Re–Os data for the troctolites and chromites plot between 2.45Ga and 0.43Ga reference isochrons. Plots of TMA vs 187Os/188Os suggest mixing between ultra-depleted chromitite and suprachondritic troctolite, mainly affecting the 187Os/188Os of the troctolites; subsets of troctolite samples scatter around reference isochrons with ages of 0.4–0.5Ga. The zircon data and the Re/Os data are consistent with published Sm–Nd evidence that the troctolites, and hence the Sartohay ophiolite, were formed in Palaeozoic time. However, the 187Os/188Os compositions of the chromites (0.1109±4 to 0.1249±5), give Neo-Proterozoic to Paleo-Archean model ages (T MA =0.8–3.5Ga), indicating extraction from the primitive mantle as early as 3.5Ga, some 3Ga before the formation of the Sartohay ophiolite. A Re–Os apparent isochron age (2.45Ga), the old T Ma model ages and the ancient zircon ages (>2.4Ga) all are consistent with part formation of the Sartohay chromitite in Archean time, and then reworked in the Palaeozoic time. We suggest that a volume of early Archean depleted mantle remained within the Siberian lithospheric mantle for 2.5–3.0Ga; it later became portions of the mantle wedge above the Paleozoic subduction zone of the Paleo-Asian Ocean, and ultimately was incorporated into the overthrust ophiolite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Os-isotope compositions of platinum-group minerals (PGMs) in ophiolite chromitites are commonly regarded as resistant to fluid-related processes, and have been used to track the evolution of Earth's convecting mantle. However, we have found significant differences in 187Os/188Os between primary and secondary PGMs from metamorphosed ophiolite chromitites of the Dobromirtsi Ultramafic Massif, in the Central Rhodope Metamorphic Core Complex of southeastern Bulgaria. Primary (magmatic) PGMs hosted in unaltered chromite cores have 187Os/188Os from 0.1231 to 0.1270, and 187Re/188Os ≤ 0.002. TMA and TRD model ages, calculated relative to the Enstatite Chondrite Reservoir, cluster around three main peaks: ca. 0.3, 0.4, and 0.6 Ga. Secondary PGMs, produced by alteration of magmatic PGMs, have a wider range of variation (187Os/188Os = 0.1124-0.1398, 187Re/188Os = 0.024); these grains yield TMA and TRD model ages from -1.7 Ga up to 2.2 Ga. The larger range in 187Os/188Os in the secondary PGMs is interpreted as due to reactions between the primary PGMs and infiltrating metamorphic-hydrothermal fluids with a range of Os-isotope compositions. This redistribution of Os in PGMs during metamorphism has significant implications for the interpretation of both whole-rock and in situ Os-isotope data in mantle-derived rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: New in situ analyses of Re–Os systematics in single grains of sulfides in Cainozoic basalt-borne spinel lherzolite xenoliths from the Chudleigh Province (Australian craton) and Atherton Province (Tasman Fold Belt) are reported. The sulfide data and previously reported U–Pb and Hf-isotope data for detrital zircons and zircons from granitoids (Murgulov et al., 2007; 2009) show correlations between mantle events and crustal magmatism in northeast Queensland, Australia. About half of the analysed sulfide grains have sub-chondritic 187Os/188Os (0.1130–0.1252) and 187Re/188Os (0.0214–0.2061), suggesting preservation of their isotopic signatures during subsequent infiltration of asthenospheric silicate melts/fluids. Collision and accretion processes have probably initiated a melt-extraction event followed by cratonic lithosphere stabilisation at ~2.2Ga (TMA model age). Metasomatism of the mantle lithosphere most likely involved infiltration of asthenospheric melts/fluids during lithospheric thinning and rifting beneath the Chudleigh Province at ~1.82Ga, 0.81Ga and 0.35Ga (TRD Rhenium-depletion model ages), beneath the Atherton Province at ~1.75Ga and 0.44Ga (TRD), and during suturing at ~1.23Ga (TRD), an event recorded beneath both provinces. In the Georgetown Inlier TRD model ages coincide with episodes of granitoid production and demonstrate a close temporal linkage between events in the cratonic lithospheric mantle and crust. However, such linkages cannot be demonstrated in the Tasman Fold Belt; no ~0.44Ga, 1.23Ga or 1.75Ga granites outcrop in this region, and the shallow part of the subjacent lithospheric mantle (~27km depth) experienced a younger (~0.44Ga) metasomatic event not observed in the deeper lithosphere (~49km depth, ~1.75Ga). The younger event may be associated with the reactivation of ancient lithospheric sutures during mantle upwelling and back-arc rifting. The older events may imply that the edge of the cratonic lithospheric mantle root, metasomatised at ~1.75Ga and 1.23Ga, was rifted during a younger event (~0.44Ga?). Its scattered fragments have been embedded at greater depth within the lithospheric mantle beneath the Atherton Province following collision, accretion and lithosphere suturing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The "Taihua Group" is a collective term for a series of old terranes scattered along the southern margin of the North China Craton. The timing of formation and thermal overprinting of the Taihua Group have long been contentious, and its relationship with the Qinling orogenic belt has been unclear. In this study, new data from integrated in-situ U–Pb dating and Hf isotope analysis of zircons from an amphibolite (from the Xiong’ershan terrane) and a biotite gneiss (from the Lantian-Xiaoqinling terrane) indicate that the Upper Taihua Group formed during the Paleoproterozoic (2.3–2.5 Ga) and thus was originally part of the southern edge of North China Craton, detached during the Mesozoic Qinling orogeny and displaced about 100 km north from its original location. This suggests that the Taihua Group became part of the tectonic terrane associated with the Qinling orogeny and now forms part of the overthrust basement section of the Qinling belt. Before the Qinling orogeny, the Taihua Group was metamorphosed at 2.1 Ga. The initial Hf-isotope compositions of zircons, together with positive εNd(t) values for the whole-rocks, imply that the original magmas were derived from a juvenile source with some assimilation of an Archean crustal component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Peridotitic garnet xenocrysts from 33 Group II and 29 Group I kimberlites have been used to map the lithospheric mantle along a southwest to northeast traverse across the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa. A minimum age difference of 10 m.y. exists between the Group II and Group I kimberlites in this region, and the compositions of their respective garnet xenocryst suites can define changes in mantle composition over this time interval. Depths of origin for each garnet were derived empirically using the garnet geotherm method. The location of each grain was then projected onto a cross-section. Using a gridding algorithm, the vertical and lateral distribution of Ti, Zr and Zr/Y in the garnets and the calculated X Mg of coexisting olivine are contoured for the cross-section. The resulting images show that significant changes occurred in the lithospheric mantle beneath the craton between the emplacements of the two groups of kimberlites. The nature of these changes defines three domains with different metasomatic styles along the cross-section, recognisable by different geochemical signatures in garnet. In the southwest Prieska domain, metasomatism was dominated by interaction of the lithosphere with mafic silicate melts, resulting in garnets with high Ti, Fe and Zr, and low Zr/Y. In the central Kimberley domain, metasomatic signatures consistent with the interaction of the host peridotite with a hydrous, highly alkaline fluid (phlogopite-style metasomatism) are most commonly observed, resulting in high Zr and high Zr/Y, but low Ti and moderate Fe. In the northeastern Swartruggens domain, a high-Fe signature, probably related to the intrusion of the Bushveld complex, predates further phlogopite-style metasomatism during the Group II/Group I interval. Changes in the thermal structure of the lithosphere between kimberlite groups indicate that metasomatism by mafic fluids involves heating, but phlogopite-style metasomatism does not. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Detailed in-situ analyses of trace-element patterns, N contents, N aggregation state and δ 13C define two populations of gem-quality diamonds in the A154 kimberlite; these probably formed at different times and from different media. Four octahedra with 500–1200 ppm N and 12–35% B aggregation represent an older population; flat REE patterns and low Ba+K indicate that they crystallised from fluids similar to those in many monocrystalline diamonds worldwide. The second population includes coated octahedra and uncoated etched octahedra. On two etched stones, abundant flat-based trigons bottom out 10–15 μm below the faces of the stones, in a layer with abundant microinclusions (0.5 μm diameter) enriched in LREE, Ba and HFSE. Four coated octahedra with 800–1200 ppm N and 11–20% B aggregation have trace-element patterns consistent with growth from a fluid with high LREE+Ba, similar to that in the microinclusion-rich layers of the etched octahedra; the contents of LREE and Ba, and Ba/La, increase toward the rims. The coats on these stones typically have higher Ba than the outer cores, but Ba/La may be either higher or lower. δ 13C is relatively constant (−5.5 to −4.7‰) across one etched octahedron but drops to −9.7‰ in the microinclusion layer. The core of a coated stone has δ 13C like that of the microinclusion layer (−9.8 to −10.5‰), but δ 13C drops to −13.9‰ in the coat. In the coated stones, core-to-rim decreases in the degree of N aggregation are not correlated with N content, but are accompanied by increases in Ba and LREE. This pattern, the lack of δ 13C zoning in the one stone analysed, and homogeneous CL images suggest that the coated stones have grown continuously from a range of evolving fluids. The opaque coats appear to represent a final late stage of accelerated growth in some diamonds, rather than random overgrowths on pre-existing diamonds. Zoning patterns and FTIR data are consistent with the growth of the coated and etched gem-quality stones at 1200–1250 °C in the deep lithosphere shortly before their entrainment in the kimberlite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An existing model for the temporal and genetic relationships between the Kidston gold-bearing Breccia Pipe and the nearby Lochaber Ring Dyke Complex has been evaluated using in situ U–Pb and Hf-isotope analyses of zircon grains. The Oak River Granodiorite, the host rock to the Kidston Breccia Pipe, has 1,551 ± 6 Ma old zircon cores overgrown by 417.7 ± 2.2 Ma rims. The Black Cap Diorite and Lochaber Granite within the Lochaber Ring Dyke Complex have crystallisation ages of 350.7 ± 1.3 and 337.9 ± 2.6 Ma respectively. The gold-rich Median Dyke within the Kidston Breccia Pipe has a crystallisation age of 335.7 ± 4.2 Ma, and thus is temporally related to the Lochaber Granite. However, zircon grains from the Median Dyke have less radiogenic Hf-isotope compositions ( ɛHf from −7.8 to −15.8) than those from the Black Cap Diorite ɛHf = 0.4 to −7.2) and the Lochaber Granite ( ɛHf = −1.0 to −7.5), but within the range defined by zircons from the Oak River Granodiorite ɛHf = −8.0 to −29.2). The Hf-isotope data thus rule out the proposed fractional crystallisation relationship between the Kidston gold-bearing rocks and the Lochaber Ring Dyke Complex. The Kidston Median Dyke may have been produced by mixing between Lochaber Granite magmas and magmas derived by remelting of the Oak River Granodiorite, which was itself derived from Proterozoic crust. There is no evidence for a juvenile component in the Lochaber Ring Dyke Complex or the Median Dyke. The gold enrichment in the Kidston rocks thus may reflect the multi-stage reworking of the Proterozoic crust, which ultimately produced the Carboniferous felsic magmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group II (143-117 Ma) and Group I kimberlites (108-74 Ma) intrude across the southwest boundary of the Kaapvaal craton, sampling the same volume of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) in two time slices. Major and trace element analyses of 3699 peridotitic garnet xenocrysts were used to construct paleogeotherms for 17 kimberlite localities , and to place each garnet at its depth of origin. The Ti contents of each garnet and the calculated XMg of its coexisting olivine were projected onto a southwest-northeast section across the craton boundary, and splines were used to interpolate between the virtual boreholes in each age group. The sections show that the cratonic SCLM extends at least 75 km southwest of the mapped craton boundary, suggesting a dipping contact. Marked differences between the time-slice sections show that between 117 and 108 Ma the SCLM on both sides of the craton boundary was heated and chemically refertilized by infiltrating asthenosphere-derived melts, thinning the depleted layer by ~40 km. The thermal and geochemical changes record a significant tectonothermal event that may be related to changes in the stress field associated with opening of the South Atlantic, or with mantle upwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In situ Re–Os isotopic data for sulfide grains in mantle-derived peridotite xenoliths from eastern China demonstrate a close temporal linkage between crustal tectonism and fluid-migration events in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). In the Cathaysia block, T RD and T MA ages of sulfides with 187Re/188Os<0.11 cluster in four groups: Paleoproterozoic (∼1.8), Mesoproterozoic (∼1.3 to 1.5 Ga) and Neoproterozoic (0.9 Ga and 0.6 Ga), corresponding to known major crustal growth events. In the Sino-Korean block, the most robust T RD and T MA ages from sulfides, and some published whole-rock data, indicate that the earliest SCLM formed together with the oldest Archean crust and was modified in Paleoproterozoic time (ca 1.8 Ga), corresponding to the collision between the eastern and western parts of the block. Meso- to Neoproterozoic ages (ca 1.4 Ga, 0.9 Ga, 0.6 Ga) record younger thermal events, the latest of which also is known from zircon ages in lower-crustal xenoliths. The scarcity of Archean sulfide- and whole-rock model ages may reflect widespread Proterozoic modification of the SCLM, but may also be due to preferential sampling of young SCLM by volcanoes situated along zones of asthenospheric upwelling, controlled by a network of major shear zones. Widespread Mesozoic magmatism in the Cathaysia block may be represented by abundant mantle sulfides with mildly superchondritic 187Os/188Os and “future” model ages. This would imply that the sublithospheric mantle has developed a superchondritic Re/Os over perhaps the last 1 Ga, requiring its isolation from the convecting asthenosphere. The SCLM beneath eastern China has had a very complex history, and is now a mixture of refractory and fertile mantle domains with different ages, modified during a number of events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Three types of zircon coexist in an unusual lower crustal xenolith from the Valle Guffari diatreme (Hyblean Plateau, Sicily): igneous Type 1 (near-euhedral, weakly zoned; Ce/Ce⁎ >1); partially recrystallised Type 2 (ovoid, structureless; weak Ce anomaly); hydrothermal Type 3 (sugary, spongy-textured, probably related to F-rich aqueous fluids). U–Pb dating by LAM-ICPMS, supported by in situ Hf-isotope analysis, suggests that both Type 1 and Type 2 zircons were originally Archean (ca 2.7 Ga), though many of these grains have experienced severe Pb loss. The U–Pb ages of the hydrothermal zircons cluster around 246 Ma, interpreted as the timing of the hydrothermal event. Their ε Hf (+8.5 to −1.2) indicates the mixing of old crustal components and material from a juvenile source. In situ Os-isotope analyses of sulfides hosted in peridotite xenoliths from Valle Guffari show Paleoproterozoic–Archean T RD minimum ages, corresponding to the age of the oldest zircon grains in the crustal xenolith. Other peaks of T RD ages suggest that multiple metasomatic events have affected the lithospheric mantle. These observations suggest that the lower crust and the upper part of the lithospheric mantle beneath the Hyblean Plateau represent the northernmost portion of the African Plate. These two units have coexisted since at least late Archean time, and have remained linked through several episodes of crustal modification, including the Permo-Triassic hydrothermal event, which was probably related to the onset of rifting in the Ionian Basin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Major- and trace-element data on the constituent minerals of garnet peridotite xenoliths hosted in early Paleozoic (457–500 Ma) kimberlites and Neogene (16–18 Ma) volcanic rocks within the North China Craton are compared with those from the pre-pilot hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD-PP1) in the tectonically exhumed Triassic (∼220 Ma) Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane along its southern margin. P–T estimates for the Paleozoic and Neogene peridotite xenoliths reflect different model geotherms corresponding to surface heat flows of ∼40 mW/m2 (Paleozoic) and ∼80 mW/m2 (Neogene). Garnet peridotite xenoliths or xenocrysts from the Paleozoic kimberlites are strongly depleted, similar to peridotites from other areas of cratonic mantle, with magnesium olivine (mean Fo92.7), Cr-rich garnet and clinopyroxene with high La/Yb. Garnet (and spinel) peridotite xenoliths hosted in Neogene basalts are derived from fertile mantle; they have high Al2O3 and TiO2 contents, low-Mg-number olivine (mean Fo89.5), low-Cr garnet and diopside with flat rare earth element (REE) patterns. The differences between the Paleozoic and Neogene xenoliths suggest that a buoyant refractory lithospheric keel present beneath the eastern North China Craton in Paleozoic times was at least partly replaced by younger, hotter and more fertile lithospheric mantle during Mesozoic–Cenozoic times. Garnet peridotites from the Sulu UHP terrane have less magnesian olivine (Fo91.5), and lower-Cr garnet than the Paleozoic xenoliths. The diopsides have low heavy REE (HREE) contents and sinusoidal to light REE (LREE)-enriched REE patterns. These features, and their high Mg/Si and low CaO and Al2O3 contents, indicate that the CCSD-PP1 peridotites represent a moderately refractory mantle protolith. Details of mineral chemistry indicate that this protolith experienced complex metasomatism by asthenosphere-derived melts or fluids in Mesoproterozoic, and subsolidus re-equilibration involving fluids/melts derived from the subducted Yangtze continental crust during UHP metamorphism in the early Mesozoic. Tectonic extension of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle of the North China Craton and exhumation of the Sulu UHP rocks in the early Mesozoic induced upwelling of the asthenosphere. Peridotites sampled by the Neogene basalts represent newly formed lithosphere derived by cooling of the upwelling asthenospheric mantle in Jurassic–Cretaceous and Paleogene time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Orogenic peridotites occur enclosed in Proterozoic gneisses at several localities in the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) of western Norway; garnet peridotites typically occur as discrete zones within larger bodies of garnet-free, chromite-bearing dunite and are commonly closely associated with pyroxenites and eclogites. The dunites of the large Almklovdalen peridotite body have extremely depleted compositions (Mg-number 92–93·6); the garnet peridotites have lower Mg-number (90·6–91·7) and higher whole-rock Ca and Al contents. Post-depletion metasomatism of both rock types is indicated by variable enrichment in the light rare earth elements, Th, Ba and Sr. The dunites can be modelled as residues after very high degrees (>60%) of melt extraction at high pressure (5–7 GPa), inconsistent with the preservation of lower degrees of melting in the garnet peridotites. The garnet peridotites are, therefore, interpreted as zones of melt percolation, which resulted in refertilization of the dunites by a silicate melt rich in Fe, Ca, Al and Na, but not Ti. Previous Re–Os dating gives Archaean model ages for the dunites, but mixed Archaean and Proterozoic ages for the garnet peridotites, suggesting that refertilization occurred in Proterozoic time. At least some Proterozoic lithosphere may represent reworked and transformed Archaean lithospheric mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garnetite xenoliths from ultramafic diatremes in northeastern Arizona provide insights into hydration and metasomatism in the mantle. The garnetites contain more than 95% garnet, some of which has complex compositional zonation related to growth in fractures within grains. Accessory minerals include rutile, ilmenite, chlorite, clinopyroxene, and zircon. Zircon grains in one rock were analyzed in situ to determine U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic compositions. Most U–Pb analyses plot on or near concordia in the range 60–85 Ma but a few are discordant. The range in 176Hf/177Hf is about 0·2818–0·2828, with grains zoned to more radiogenic Hf from interiors to rims. The garnetite protolith contained zircons at least 1·8 Ga in age, and garnet and additional zircon crystallized episodically during the interval 85–60 Ma. The garnetites are interpreted as mantle analogues of rodingites, formed in metasomatic reaction zones caused by water–rock interactions in Proterozoic mantle during late Cretaceous and Cenozoic subduction of the Farallon plate. Associated eclogite xenoliths may have been parts of these same reaction zones. The rodingite hypothesis requires serpentinization in the mantle wedge 700 km from the trench, beginning 5–10 Myr before tectonism related to low-angle subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of mineral inclusions, carbon isotopes, nitrogen contents and nitrogen aggregation states in 29 diamonds from two Buffalo Hills kimberlites in northern Alberta, Canada were conducted. From 25 inclusion bearing diamonds, the following paragenetic abundances were found: peridotitic (48%), eclogitic (32%), eclogitic/websteritic (8%), websteritic (4%), ultradeep? (4%) and unknown (4%). Diamonds containing mineral inclusions of ferropericlase, and mixed eclogitic-asthenospheric-websteritic and eclogitic-websteritic mineral associations suggests the possibility of diamond growth over a range of depths and in a variety of mantle environments (lithosphere, asthenosphere and possibly lower mantle).Eclogitic diamonds have a broad range of C-isotopic composition (δ13C=-21‰ to -5‰). Peridotitic, websteritic and ultradeep diamonds have typical mantle C-isotope values (δ13C=-4.9‰ av.), except for two 13C-depleted peridotitic (δ13C=-11.8‰, -14.6‰) and one 13C-depleted websteritic diamond (δ13C=-11.9‰). Infrared spectra from 29 diamonds identified two diamond groups: 75% are nitrogen-free (Type II) or have fully aggregated nitrogen defects (Type IaB) with platelet degradation and low to moderate nitrogen contents (av. 330 ppm-N); 25% have lower nitrogen aggregation states and higher nitrogen contents (∼30% IaB; <1600 ppm-N).The combined evidence suggests two generations of diamond growth. Type II and Type IaB diamonds with ultradeep, peridotitic, eclogitic and websteritic inclusions crystallised from eclogitic and peridotitic rocks while moving in a dynamic environment from the asthenosphere and possibly the lower mantle to the base of the lithosphere. Mechanisms for diamond movement through the mantle could be by mantle convection, or an ascending plume. The interaction of partial melts with eclogitic and peridotitic lithologies may have produced the intermediate websteritic inclusion compositions, and can explain diamonds of mixed parageneses, and the overlap in C-isotope values between parageneses. Strong deformation and extremely high nitrogen aggregation states in some diamonds may indicate high mantle storage temperatures and strain in the diamond growth environment. A second diamond group, with Type IaA–IaB nitrogen aggregation and peridotitic inclusions, crystallised at the base of the cratonic lithosphere. All diamonds were subsequently sampled by kimberlites and transported to the Earth''s surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A mineral inclusion, carbon isotope, nitrogen content, nitrogen aggregation state and morphological study of 576 microdiamonds from the DO27, A154, A21, A418, DO18, DD17 and Ranch Lake kimberlites at Lac de Gras, Slave Craton, was conducted. Mineral inclusion data show the diamonds are largely eclogitic (64%), followed by peridotitic (25%) and ultradeep (11%). The paragenetic abundances are similar to macrodiamonds from the DO27 kimberlite (Davies, R.M., Griffin, W.L., O''Reilly, S.Y., 1999. Diamonds from the deep: pipe DO27, Slave craton, Canada. In: Gurney, J.J., Gurney, J.L., Pascoe, M.D., Richardson, S.H. (Eds.), The J. B. Dawson Vol., Proc. 7th Internat. Kimberlite Conf., Red Roof Designs, Cape Town, pp. 148–155) but differ to diamonds from nearby kimberlites at Ekati (e.g., Lithos (2004); Tappert, R., Stachel, T., Harris, J.W., Brey, G.P., 2004. Mineral Inclusions in Diamonds from the Panda Kimberlite, S. P., Canada. 8th International Kimberlite Conference, extended abstracts) and Snap Lake to the south (Dokl. Earth Sci. 380 (7) (2001) 806), that are dominated by peridotitic stones.Eclogitic diamonds with variable inclusion compositions and temperatures of formation (1040–1300 °C) crystallised at variable lithospheric depths sometimes in changing chemical environments. A large range to very 13C-depleted C-isotope compositions (δ13C=-35.8‰ to -2.2‰) and an NMORB bulk composition, calculated from trace elements in garnet and clinopyroxene inclusions, are consistent with an origin from subducted oceanic crust and sediments. Carbon isotopes in the peridotitic diamonds have mantle compositions (δ13C mode -4.0‰). Mineral inclusion compositions are largely harzburgitic. Variable temperatures of formation (garnet TNi=800–1300 °C) suggest the peridotitic diamonds originate from the shallow ultra-depleted and deeper less depleted layers of the central Slave lithosphere. Carbon isotopes (δ13C av.=-5.1‰) and mineral inclusions in the ultradeep diamonds suggest they formed in peridotitic mantle (∼670 km). The diamonds may have been entrained in a plume and subcreted to the base of the central Slave lithosphere.Poorly aggregated nitrogen (IaA without platelets) in a large number of eclogitic (67%) and peridotitic (32%) diamonds, with similar nitrogen contents, indicates the diamonds were stored in the mantle at low temperatures (1060–<1100 °C) following crystallisation in the Archean. Type IaA diamonds have largely cubo-octahedral growth forms, and Type II and Type IaAB diamonds, with higher nitrogen aggregation states, mostly have octahedral morphologies. However, no correlation between these groups and their mineral inclusion compositions, C-isotopes, and N-contents rules out the possibility of unique source origins and suggests eclogitic and peridotitic diamonds experienced variable mantle thermal states. Variation in mineral inclusion chemistries in single diamonds, possible overgrowths of 13C-depleted eclogitic diamond on diamonds with peridotitic and ultradeep inclusions, and Type I ultradeep diamond with low N-aggregation is consistent with diamond growth over time in changing chemical environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Melt inclusions in clinopyroxenes from lherzolitic xenoliths from the deep lithospheric mantle beneath the Slave Craton (Lac de Gras area, Canada) reveal multiple origins for carbonatitic melts. One type of inclusions consists of a series of silicate–carbonate–silicate concentric layers, interpreted to have unmixed under disequilibrium conditions during rapid ascent to the surface. Bulk major- and trace-element compositions are typical of Group 1 kimberlites and quantitative nuclear microprobe imaging of the globules reveals fractionation of related elements (e.g. F–Br, Nb–Ta) between the silicate and carbonate components. The globules probably formed by partial melting of carbonated peridotite, consistent with results of melting experiments and some models for the generation of kimberlite magmas. They provide evidence for a genetic relationship between some carbonate-rich magmas and ultramafic silicate magmas, and for the possibility of unmixing processes of these melts during their evolution.The second inclusion type comprises carbonate-rich globules interpreted as samples of Mg-carbonatite melt that quenched on ascent to the surface. Bulk major- and trace-element compositions indicate that the melts were derived from a carbonate-rich source and oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotope data are consistent with the involvement of recycled crustal material and suggest that some mantle-derived carbonatites are unrelated to kimberlites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Major elements, trace elements including highly siderophile elements (HSE) and Re–Os isotope ratios were analysed in situ on individual sulfide grains and one Fe metal grain enclosed in fresh xenocrystic olivine and pyroxenes from kimberlites in the Lac de Gras area, central Slave Craton. Reconstruction of low-temperature assemblages to high-temperature precursor sulfides shows that there are two major sulfide populations: nickeliferous monosulfide solid solution (mss), and a distinct group of S-deficient Ni- and Co-rich sulfides ((Ni,Co,Fe)3-xS2). The inclusion suite is unusual because all (Ni,Co,Fe)3-xS2, a subgroup of mss, and Fe metal inclusion have high W concentrations (up to 3400, 2600 and 24,000 ppm, respectively) and because (Ni,Co,Fe)3-xS2 have higher Ni and Co concentrations (mean 47 and 6.8 wt.%, respectively) combined with higher metal/sulfur (mean Me/S=1.1) than the great majority of mantle-derived sulfides reported in the literature. Ca-in-olivine temperatures indicate that the host olivine and included sulfides are derived from the deep layer of the stratified lithosphere beneath Lac de Gras.Re–Os isotope data were collected for 24 mss inclusions. 187Re/188Os ranges from 0.006 to 2.71, and 187Os/188Os from 0.1002 to 0.4732, corresponding to γOs from -21 to 272. The sulfides show a major mode of TRD at ∼2.8 Ga, extending to 3.9 Ga, and of TCHUR at ∼2.9 Ga. Eleven samples define an isochron at t=3.27±0.34 Ga, with an enriched initial 187Os/188Os at t of 0.10725±0.00014 (γOs,i=2.53±0.13; MSWD=0.75).Weak covariations of Os contents and 187Re/188Os in mss with Mg/(Mg+Fe) of host olivine are consistent with variable degrees of melt depletion of sulfide-bearing peridotite. The incoherent behaviour of incompatible element abundances, the unrelated enrichment in the fluid-mobile elements W, As and Zn, and the unsupported radiogenic Os and recent Re-enrichment in some sulfides suggest repeated metasomatic processes subsequent to melting. The formation of the unusual (Ni,Co,Fe)3-xS2 could be related to metasomatism or alteration of mantle sulfide. However, the major element compositions of mss and (Ni,Co,Fe)3-xS2 would also be consistent with an igneous origin, by fractionation from extremely Ni-rich sulfide melts that unmix from S-bearing metal melts expected in the lower mantle.Despite the evidence for interaction with fluids, some sulfides were able to preserve ancient melt-depletion signatures. Model ages and the isochron age in the deep lithosphere beneath Lac de Gras exceed the age of the overlying crust of the Contwoyto terrane. This “age paradox” may be reconciled if the lithospheric mantle beneath the adjacent older Central Slave Basement Complex (CSBC) was thrust beneath the younger Contwoyto terrane during collision of these two entities, resulting in a translithospheric northeast-dipping suture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Storgangen orebody is a concordantly layered, sill-like body of ilmenite-rich norite, intruding anorthosites of the Rogaland Intrusive Complex (RIC), SW Norway. 17 zircon grains were separated from ca. 5 kg of sand-size flotation waste collected from the on-site repository from ilmenite mining. These zircons were analysed for major and trace elements by electron microprobe, and for U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopes by laser ablation microprobe plasma source mass spectrometry. Eight of the zircons define a well-constrained (MSWD=0.37) concordant population with an age of 949±7 Ma, which is significantly older than the 920–930 Ma ages previously reported for zircon inclusions in orthopyroxene megacrysts from the RIC. The remaining zircons, interpreted as inherited grains, show a range of 207Pb/206Pb ages up to 1407±14 Ma, with an upper intercept age at ca. 1520 Ma. The concordant zircons have similar trace element patterns, and a mean initial Hf isotope composition of 176Hf/177Hf949 Ma=0.28223±5 (&epsiv;Hf=+2±2). This is similar to the Hf-isotope composition of zircons in a range of post-tectonic Sveconorwegian granites from South Norway, and slightly more radiogenic than expected for mid-Proterozoic juvenile crust. The older, inherited zircons show Lu–Hf crustal residence ages in the range 1.85–2.04 Ga. One (undated) zircon plots well within the field of Hf isotope evolution of Paleoproterozoic rocks of the Baltic Shield. These findings indicate the presence of Paleoproterozoic components in the deep crust of the Rogaland area, but do not demonstrate that such rocks, or a Sveconorwegian mantle-derived component, contributed significantly to the petrogenesis of the RIC. If the parent magma was derived from a homogeneous, lower crustal mafic granulite source, the lower crustal protolith must be at least 1.5 Ga old, and it must have an elevated Rb/Sr ratio. This component would be indistinguishable in Sr, Nd and Hf isotopes from some intermediate mixtures between Sveconorwegian mantle and Paleoprotoerzoic felsic crust, but it cannot account for the initial 143Nd/144Nd of the most primitive, late Sveconorwegian granite in the region, without the addition of mantle-derived material. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A suite of diamonds from eastern Australia, “Group B”, are essentially eclogitic. However, mineral inclusion compositions are unlike eclogitic diamonds from other occurrences. Garnets are very Ca-rich (Gr61–84) and clinopyroxenes are mostly diopsidic (16±10 mol% Jd). Other inclusions in these diamonds are SiO2, titanite, olivine, molybdenite and melilite—a truly unique suite! Garnet and clinopyroxene are not accompanied by indications of fertile mantle conditions. Rather, we find depletions in Fe, Mn, Na, K, coupled with high Ni and Cr in some clinopyroxenes. The chemistry of the garnets and clinopyroxenes suggests affinities with rodingites—metasomatised mafic rocks that occur in ophiolites.“Group B” diamonds are 13C-enriched (δ13C=+1.1±1.3‰ (1 S.D.)). Internal structures include evidence of brittle failure and of rapid growth. The diamonds have high nitrogen contents and positive nitrogen isotopes (δ15N=+10.1±4.7‰). This may indicate that the diamonds formed from 13C-enriched carbon (+3‰), such as that derived from marine carbonates within the mafic rocks. The many unusual features of these diamonds can be interpreted to indicate that the diamonds formed in a subduction environment. However, resorption on the surfaces of the diamonds indicates that they were brought to the upper crust by magmatic activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Os isotopic compositions of mantle rocks generally are considered to be established during melt-depletion events and to be robust to subsequent disturbances (e.g. metasomatism). Consequently, Os isotopes are used to date the main melting event that a mantle section has undergone, i.e. transformation of fertile asthenospheric material into a depleted, buoyant lithosphere. However, Os resides almost entirely in Fe–Ni–Cu sulphides, which can be very mobile under mantle conditions. In situ laser ablation multi-collector ICP-MS measurement of Re/Os isotopic ratios in sulphides from spinel peridotite xenoliths demonstrates that whole-rock Os-isotope signatures record the mixing of multiple sulphide populations. Sulphides residual after melting events have unradiogenic Os isotopic compositions reflecting ancient melt depletion; those introduced by later metasomatism events contain more radiogenic Os. Therefore, the whole-rock Os isotopic signature can be strongly altered by metasomatic processes, and studies of mantle-derived xenoliths show that such disturbance is quite common in the lithospheric mantle. Because melt-depletion ages estimated from individual sulphide inclusions are systematically older than those obtained from whole-rock analysis, caution is essential in the interpretation of the Os model ages derived from whole-rock analysis, and their use and abuse in geodynamic models. This work suggests that sulphide could become a key phase in unravelling the formation and evolution of the lithosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines the structure of quenched carbonate-silicate inclusions in lherzolitic clinopyroxene macrocrysts. Composition of mantle carbonatites; Role of carbon recycling by subduction in carbonatite magmatism; Relevance of the isotopic disequilibrium between carbonatitic inclusions and clinopyroxene.

Reports in situ laser-ablation analyses of sulphides in rocks derived from the Earth's mantle. Finding that the sulphides do not have the patterns of chondritic highly siderophile, or iron-loving, elements (HSEs); Interpretation of the findings; Suggestion that non-chondritic HSE patterns directly reflect processes occurring in the upper mantle, including melting and sulphide addition via metasomatism, and are not evidence for the addition of core material or of exotic meteoritic components.

The Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone of western Iran is characterized by significant Mesozoic magmatic activity (from the early Jurassic to the late Cretaceous), with Cenozoic rocks being less common. Granitoids are prevalent in this zone, displaying A-, I-, and S-type geochemical characteristics. Despite several studies on these granitoids, there are still some questions regarding their sources– especially the S- and A-type granitoids – and the crustal growth and recycling in this zone, which require further studies using isotopes. This study focuses on the Aligoodarz, Kolah-Ghazi, and Golpayegan granitoids from the central SaSZ to better understand crustal growth and recycling in the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone. The Aligoodarz and Kolah-Ghazi granitoids are identified as S-type granites, showing strong peraluminous signatures. Geochemical evidence suggests a mixture of melts from sub-crustal metasedimentary and meta-igneous sources, with factors such as source diversity and disequilibrium melting contributing to their formation. in contrast, the Golpayegan granitoids exhibit high total alkali (Na 2 O + K 2 O) contents and high field strength elements, indicating alkaline magmatic affinity. Their geochemical signatures suggest derivation from an enriched portion of an Indian MORB-like protolith. Golpayegan syenites share similarities with within-plate A1 granites, suggesting they are related to anorogenic silica-oversaturated granitoids. Golpayegan A-type granites probably originated from high-degree fractionation of alkali basic magmas. Golpayegan gabbros may be derived from a MORB or OIB-like mantle source, with characteristics indicating the presence of garnet in the mantle source and potentially deep melting from a mantle plume. Newly compiled zircon U Pb data from the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone show a complex magmatic chronology spanning from approximately 180 million years ago to the Eocene epoch, revealing peaks of magmatic activity at various intervals. Distinct phases of A-, I-, and S-type magmatism are identified, and synthesis of zircon U Pb ages and Hf O isotope data reveals the simultaneous occurrence of S-type and I-type magmas during specific periods. Furthermore, our study explores the tectonic settings underlying these magmatic processes and proposes scenarios involving subduction, continental rifting, and asthenospheric upwelling to elucidate the geological dynamics of the SaSZ. • Abundant Jurassic-Cretaceous A-, S-, and I-type granitoids are found in the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone of Iran. • The granitoids exhibit evidence of mantle and crustal components, defining crustal growth and recycling processes. • The SaSZ rocks are believed to have originated from Jurassic subduction and late Cretaceous asthenospheric upwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sources of fluids and metals in porphyry systems of continental-collision settings are poorly constrained. Mercury isotopes display unique mass-independent fractionation (expressed as Δ199Hg) and may provide important constraints on metal and volatile sources given that Hg is a highly volatile metal. Here, we report Hg isotope data on ore-forming porphyries, barren magmatic rocks, and mantle-derived mafic magmas from southern Tibet. The fertile porphyries and coeval mafic magmas display mainly positive Δ199Hg values (up to +0.25 per mil), while Δ199Hg values in barren magmatic rocks and mafic magmas are largely negative (-0.54 to 0.00 per mil). The positive Δ199Hg values observed here are consistent with seawater and marine sediments, suggesting that the ultimate source of fluids involved in the genesis of post-subduction porphyry copper deposits was the mantle lithosphere metasomatized by previous oceanic plate subduction. Our Hg isotope data provide an alternative view to current metallogenetic models on collisional porphyry systems that focus on melting of the lower continental crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sources of fluids and metals in porphyry systems of continental-collision settings are poorly constrained. Mercury isotopes display unique mass-independent fractionation (expressed as Δ199Hg) and may provide important constraints on metal and volatile sources given that Hg is a highly volatile metal. Here, we report Hg isotope data on ore-forming porphyries, barren magmatic rocks, and mantle-derived mafic magmas from southern Tibet. The fertile porphyries and coeval mafic magmas display mainly positive Δ199Hg values (up to +0.25 per mil), while Δ199Hg values in barren magmatic rocks and mafic magmas are largely negative (-0.54 to 0.00 per mil). The positive Δ199Hg values observed here are consistent with seawater and marine sediments, suggesting that the ultimate source of fluids involved in the genesis of post-subduction porphyry copper deposits was the mantle lithosphere metasomatized by previous oceanic plate subduction. Our Hg isotope data provide an alternative view to current metallogenetic models on collisional porphyry systems that focus on melting of the lower continental crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium oxynitrides (Ti(N,O,C)) are abundant in xenolithic corundum aggregates in pyroclastic ejecta of Cretaceous volcanoes on Mount Carmel, northern Israel. Petrographic observations indicate that most of these nitrides existed as melts, immiscible with coexisting silicate and Fe-Ti-C silicide melts; some nitrides may also have crystallized directly from the silicide melts. The TiN phase shows a wide range of solid solution, taking up 0–10 wt% carbon and 1.7–17 wt% oxygen; these have crystallized in the halite (fcc) structure common to synthetic and natural TiN. Nitrides coexisting with silicide melts have higher C/O than those coexisting with silicate melts. Analyses with no carbon fall along the TiN–TiO join in the Ti–N–O phase space, implying that their Ti is a mixture of Ti3+ and Ti2+, while those with 1–3 at.% C appear to be solid solutions between TiN and Ti0.75O. Analyses with >10 at% C have higher Ti2+/Ti3+, reflecting a decrease in fO2. Oxygen fugacity was 6 to 8 log units below the iron–wüstite buffer, at or below the Ti2O3–TiO buffer. These relationships and coexisting silicide phases indicate temperatures of 1400–1100 °C. Ti oxynitrides are probably locally abundant in the upper mantle, especially in the presence of CH4–H2 fluids derived from the deeper metal-saturated mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary sulphides occur both as micro-inclusions in major silicate and oxide phases and as individual grains in spinel lherzolite and pyroxenite xenoliths from Qilin, southeast China. Most of the lherzolite-hosted sulphide inclusions, typically 20-50 µm across, occur as isolated spheres or spheroids; host grains are olivine, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene, but not spinel. In contrast, sulphide inclusions in pyroxenite are mostly 20-80 µm across and are almost exclusively hosted by clinopyroxene and spinel. These sulphide inclusions are typically multifaceted polygons, with their shapes epitaxially controlled by the host minerals. Isolated sulphide grains occur only in pyroxenite; they are up to 500 µm across, show evidence of deformation and are spatially associated with spinel. Lherzolite-hosted sulphide grains are polyphase assemblages that consist of pentlandite ± chalcopyrite ± Ni-poor monosulphide solid solution (mss1) ± Ni-rich monosulphide solid solution (mss2) ± cubanite ± heazlewoodite ± millerite ± bornite. Pyroxenite-hosted sulphide grains are pyrrhotite with minor chalcopyrite. All assemblages are likely to be the low-T ( <= 300°C) re-equilibrated products of high-T monosulphide solid solutions (MSS). The bulk compositions of these sulphide grains, estimated using proton microprobe analysis, show no consistent differences between the inclusion suites and intergranular sulphide grains, either in spinel lherzolite or pyroxenite samples. Average values of 111 proton microprobe analyses reveal that the lherzolite-hosted sulphides are rich in Ni (21%), Cu (<9%), Se (110 ppm) and platinum group elements (PGE) ( <= 30 ppm) but poor in Fe (37%) compared with the pyroxenite-hosted sulphides (Ni 1·4%, Cu <4%, Se 35 ppm, PGE absent, Fe 61·5%). Other trace elements (Co, Zn, As, Mo, Ag, Sn, Sb, Te and Pb) show no significant difference between the two suites. Lherzolite-hosted sulphides are inferred to be derived from immiscible sulphide melts trapped in residual mantle during partial melting. The sulphide melts had themselves undergone MSS fractionation before their incorporation into the depleted mantle rocks. In contrast, pyroxenite-hosted sulphides were produced by sulphur saturation during the crystallization of mafic magmas intruded into lherzolitic mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]