Petrology of ultramafic xenoliths from Madeira island

1990 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 543-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Munha ◽  
T. Palacios ◽  
N. D. Macrae ◽  
J. Mata
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Evolution ◽  
Alkali Feldspar ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Madeira Island ◽  
Ultramafic Xenoliths ◽  
Storage Zone ◽  
Bulk Chemistry ◽  
Alkalic Basalts

AbstractUltramafic xenoliths from Madeira island are divided into dunite/websterite/wehrlite/clinopyroxenite (DWWC) and harzburgite/lherzolite suites; the harzburgite/lherzolite xenoliths show abundant deformational features and are more refractory (Fo = 90–91) than the DWWC suite (Fo = 77–88).DWWC xenoliths are spinel-bearing olivine ± orthophyroxene cumulates with intercumulus clinopyroxene and rare plagioclase, amphibole and phlogopite. Mineral chemistry and geothermobarometric data indicate that DWWC xenoliths crystallized at 1150–1300 °C from Madeiran alkalic basalts and accumulated in magma reservoir(s) located 36–45 km beneath the island.The harzburgite/lherzolite xenoliths are composed of olivine + orthopyroxene + spinel ± clinopyroxene ± (rare) phlogopite and display alkali feldspar or clinopyroxenite veins and crystal aggregates. The complex thermal evolution recorded by these xenoliths and the close similarity of clinopyroxene REE contents and calculated fO2 values in both harzburgites and DWWC cumulates are attributed to recent infiltration of the harzburgites by melts trapped or crystallized within the mantle; these features, and the refractory bulk chemistry of the harzburgite/lherzolite suite, support the interpretation that these xenoliths represent depleted oceanic lithosphere variously modified by magmatism associated with the genesis of Madeira island. The association of these upper mantle xenoliths with cumulates crystallized from Madeiran magmas (DWWC) suggests that the harzburgite/lherzolite suite originated in the uppermost mantle above magma storage zone(s), probably near the boundary between the mantle and the overlying oceanic crust.

Mantle xenoliths from Tertiary lavas and dykes on Ubekendt Ejland, West Greenland

1998 ◽  
pp. 152-154
Author(s):  
Stefan Bernstein ◽  
C. Kent Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Field Work ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Alkaline Basalt ◽  
Basalt Flow ◽  
Volcanic Province ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Original Series ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Ultramafic Xenoliths ◽  
Extensive Collection

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Bernstein, S., & Brooks, C. K. (1998). Mantle xenoliths from Tertiary lavas and dykes on Ubekendt Ejland, West Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 180, 152-154. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v180.5099 _______________ Mantle xenoliths were found in Tertiary alkaline (basanitic) lavas on Ubekendt Ejland in West Greenland in the mid 1970s by J.G. Larsen. Microprobe analyses of olivine, pyroxene and spinel in two mantle xenoliths, suggested that the xenoliths on Ubekendt Ejland are highly depleted and have high modal olivine contents, and low modal orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene (Larsen 1982). In this respect the mantle xenoliths from Ubekendt Ejland are very similar to the spinel harzburgites from Wiedemann Fjord, in the Tertiary volcanic province of East Greenland (Brooks & Rucklidge 1973; Bernstein et al. 1998). Larsen (1981) also reported dykes containing mantle nodules and a varied suite of cumulates and megacrysts, one of which has subsequently been dated to 34.1 ± 0.2 Ma (Storey et al. 1998) The basalt flow that carries the xenoliths is from what is defined as the Erqua Formation which occurs at the top of the lava succession in western Ubekendt Ejland (Fig. 1; Drever & Game 1948; Larsen 1977a, b). The basalts have not been dated, but are younger than 52.5 Ma, which is the date obtained for the underlying formation (Storey et al. 1998). During July 1997, we spent three weeks collecting xenoliths and prospecting for xenolith-bearing dykes in the Uummannaq district of central West Greenland. The field work resulted in an extensive collection of xenoliths from an alkaline basalt flow described by Larsen (1977a, b), as well as the discovery of a dyke carrying a large number of ultramafic xenoliths of various origins. 

Petrology of ultramafic xenoliths from Rayfield River, south-central British Columbia

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1679-1687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dante Canil ◽  
Mark Brearley ◽  
Christopher M. Scarfe
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Phase Equilibrium ◽  
Partial Melting ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Spinel Lherzolite ◽  
Equilibrium Constraints ◽  
Host Magma ◽  
South Central ◽  
Ultramafic Xenoliths

One hundred mantle xenoliths were collected from a hawaiite flow of Miocene–Pliocene age near Rayfield River, south-central British Columbia. The massive host hawaiite contains subrounded xenoliths that range in size from 1 to 10 cm and show protogranular textures. Both Cr-diopside-bearing and Al-augite-bearing xenoliths are represented. The Cr-diopside-bearing xenolith suite consists of spinel lherzolite (64%), dunite (12%), websterite (12%), harzburgite (9%), and olivine websterite (3%). Banding and veining on a centimetre scale are present in four xenoliths. Partial melting at the grain boundaries of clinopyroxene is common and may be due to natural partial melting in the upper mantle, heating by the host magma during transport, or decompression during ascent.Microprobe analyses of the constituent minerals show that most of the xenoliths are well equilibrated. Olivine is Fo89 to Fo92, orthopyroxene is En90, and Cr diopside is Wo47En48Fs5. More Fe-rich pyroxene compositions are present in some of the websterite xenoliths. The Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) and Cr/(Cr + Al + Fe3+) ratios in spinel are uniform in individual xenoliths, but they vary from xenolith to xenolith. Equilibration temperatures for the xenoliths are 860–980 °C using the Wells geothermometer. The depth of equilibration estimated for the xenoliths using geophysical and phase equilibrium constraints is 30–40 km.

scholarly journals Investigating the diamond potential of southern West Greenland

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 69-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Monrad Jensen ◽  
Karsten Secher
Keyword(s):  
Structural Control ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Large Samples ◽  
Indicator Mineral ◽  
The Government ◽  
Indicator Minerals ◽  
Diamond Potential

Southern West Greenland hosts a province of ultramafic alkaline rocks, including swarms of dykes traditionally described as kimberlites and lamproites (Larsen 1991; Jensen et al. 2002). Since the mid-1990s, commercial diamond exploration has been focused on the Sarfartoq region and the region south-east of Maniitsoq (Fig. 1), and has resulted in numerous reports of diamond-favourable indicator minerals from till sampling, finds of kimberlitic dykes, and recovery of diamonds from kimberlitic rocks. A new digital compilation of company data released from confidential status (Jensen et al. 2003a) presents a comprehensive overview of exploration activities and results that have emerged since the Survey’s first compilation of occurrences of kimberlitic and related rocks (Larsen 1991). The new compilation in a GIS (geographic information system) environment allows for refined assessment of the distribution, structural control and possible spatial and petrogenetic relationships that characterise the kimberlitic occurrences. In 2003, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Government of Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) went further than has been customary in investigating the economic potential of specific sites. Four areas were temporarily closed to application for exploration licences, pending sampling and testing for diamond content of large samples of more than one tonne each from significant kimberlitic occurrences. Additional characterisation and research initiated on these and other occurrences include magnetic mapping, detailed petrography and studies of mantle xenoliths, as well as indicator mineral chemistry. An extensive programme to determine the ages of kimberlitic and related rocks was also initiated in 2003.

Nature and evolution of the northern Victoria Land lithospheric mantle (Antarctica) as revealed by ultramafic xenoliths

2021 ◽  
pp. M56-2020-11
Author(s):  
Massimo Coltorti ◽  
Costanza Bonadiman ◽  
Federico Casetta ◽  
Barbara Faccini ◽  
Pier Paolo Giacomoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Ultramafic Xenoliths ◽  
Large Sector ◽  
Subcontinental Lithosphere ◽  
Comparative Manner

AbstractA review of northern Victoria Land ultramafic xenoliths, collected and studied over more than 30 years, was carried out. More than 200 samples were gathered and characterized in a coherent and comparative manner, both for mantle-derived and cumulate xenoliths. Almost 2000 analyses of major elements and more than 300 analyses of trace elements of in situ and separated olivine, pyroxenes, amphibole, spinel and glass were taken into consideration. Particular attention was devoted to mantle lithologies in order to emphasize the composition and the evolution of this portion of the subcontinental lithosphere. The three main localities in northern Victoria Land where mantle xenoliths were found (i.e. Mount Melbourne (Baker Rocks), Greene Point and Handler Ridge), over a >200 km distance, were described and compared with ultramafic xenoliths in three other localities (Harrow Peaks, Browning Pass and Mount Overlord) that are mainly cumulate in nature. Altogether, these data enabled us to reconstruct a long evolutionary history, from old depletion to most recent refertilization and metasomatic events, for this large sector of the northern Victoria Land subcontinental lithospheric mantle.

Ultramafic mantle xenoliths in the Late Cenozoic Volcanic rocks of the Antarctic Peninsula and Jones Mountains, West Antarctica

2021 ◽  
pp. M56-2019-44
Author(s):  
Philip T. Leat ◽  
Aidan J. Ross ◽  
Sally A. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Incompatible Trace Element ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Gondwana Margin

AbstractAbundant mantle-derived ultramafic xenoliths occur in Cenozoic (7.7-1.5 Ma) mafic alkaline volcanic rocks along the former active margin of West Antarctica, that extends from the northern Antarctic Peninsula to Jones Mountains. The xenoliths are restricted to post-subduction volcanic rocks that were emplaced in fore-arc or back-arc positions relative to the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Antarctic Peninsula volcanic arc. The xenoliths are spinel-bearing, include harzburgites, lherzolites, wehrlites and pyroxenites, and provide the only direct evidence of the composition of the lithospheric mantle underlying most of the margin. The harzburgites may be residues of melt extraction from the upper mantle (in a mid-ocean ridge type setting), that accreted to form oceanic lithosphere, which was then subsequently tectonically emplaced along the active Gondwana margin. An exposed highly-depleted dunite-serpentinite upper mantle complex on Gibbs Island, South Shetland Islands, supports this interpretation. In contrast, pyroxenites, wehrlites and lherzolites reflect percolation of mafic alkaline melts through the lithospheric mantle. Volatile and incompatible trace element compositions imply that these interacting melts were related to the post-subduction magmatism which hosts the xenoliths. The scattered distribution of such magmatism and the history of accretion suggest that the dominant composition of sub-Antarctic Peninsula lithospheric mantle is likely to be harzburgitic.

Fluids composition in the mantle beneath the Eastern Transylvanian Basin inferred from mineral chemistry and noble gases in fluid inclusions of ultramafic xenoliths

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Luca Rizzo ◽  
Barbara Faccini ◽  
Costanza Bonadiman ◽  
Theodoros Ntaflos ◽  
Ioan Seghedi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Inclusions ◽  
Noble Gases ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Alkaline Magmatism ◽  
Volcanic Area ◽  
Crustal Material ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Depleted Mantle ◽  
Magmatic Gases

<p>The investigation of noble gases (He, Ne, Ar) and CO<sub>2</sub> in fluid inclusions (FI) of mantle-derived rocks from the Sub Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) is crucial for constraining its geochemical features and evolution as well as the volatiles cycle, and for better evaluating the information arising from the study and monitoring of volcanic and geothermal gases. Eastern Transylvanian Basin in Romania is one of the places in Central-Eastern Europe where mantle xenoliths are brought to the surface by alkaline magmatism, offering the opportunity for applying the above-mentioned approach. Moreover, this locality is one of the few places on Earth where alkaline eruptions occurred contemporaneously with calc-alkaline activity, thus being a promising area for the investigation of subduction influence on the magma sources and volatiles composition.</p><p>In this work, we studied petrography, mineral chemistry and noble gases in FI of mantle xenoliths found in Perşani Mts. alkaline volcanic products. Our findings reveal that the local mantle recorded two main events. The first was a pervasive, complete re-fertilization of a previously depleted mantle by a calc-alkaline subduction-related melt, causing the formation of very fertile, amphibole-bearing lithotypes. Fluids involved in this process and trapped in olivine, opx and cpx, show <sup>4</sup>He/<sup>40</sup>Ar* ratios up to 1.2 and among the most radiogenic <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He values of the European mantle (5.8 ± 0.2 Ra), reflecting the recycling of crustal material in the local lithosphere. The second event is related to a later interaction with an alkaline metasomatic agent similar to the host basalts, that caused slight LREE enrichment in pyroxenes and crystallization of disseminated amphiboles, with FI showing <sup>4</sup>He/<sup>40</sup>Ar* and <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He values up to 2.5 and 6.6 Ra, respectively, more typical of magmatic fluids.</p><p>Although volcanic activity in the Perşani Mts. is now extinct, strong CO<sub>2</sub> degassing (8.7 × 10<sup>3</sup> t/y) in the neighbouring Ciomadul volcanic area may indicate that magma is still present at depth (Kis et al., 2017; Laumonier et al., 2019). The gas manifestations present from Ciomadul area are the closest to the outcrops containing mantle xenoliths for comparison of the noble gas composition in FI. <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He values from Stinky Cave (Puturosul), Doboşeni and Balvanyos are up to 3.2, 4.4 and 4.5 Ra, respectively, indicating the presence of a cooling magma (Vaselli et al., 2002 and references therein). In the same area and more recently, Kis et al. (2019) measured <sup>3</sup>He/<sup>4</sup>He ratios up to 3.1 Ra, arguing that these values indicate a mantle lithosphere strongly contaminated by subduction-related fluids and post-metasomatic ingrowth of radiogenic <sup>4</sup>He. Our findings consider more likely that magmatic gases from Ciomadul volcano are not representative of the local mantle but are being released from a cooling and aging magma that resides within the crust. Alternatively, crustal fluids contaminate magmatic gases while they are rising to the surface.</p><p> </p><p>Kis et al. (2017). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 341, 119–130.</p><p>Kis et al. (2019) Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 20, 3019-3043.</p><p>Laumonier et al. (2019) Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 521, 79-90.</p><p>Vaselli et al. (2002) Chemical Geology 182, 637–654.</p>

The Tertiary Kærven Syenite Complex, Kangerdlugssuaq, East Greenland: Mineral Chemistry and Geochemistry

1988 ◽  
Vol 52 (367) ◽  
pp. 435-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Martin Holm ◽  
Niels-Ole Prægel
Keyword(s):  
Magma Mixing ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Alkali Feldspar ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Crystal Fractionation ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
General Sequence ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Rock Suite

AbstractThe Kærven syenite complex, which reflects the hitherto earliest recorded stages in the Tertiary of East Greenland, outcrops in the middle reaches of the Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord as a peripheral intrusion to the Kangerdlugssuaq intrusion. The rocks of the Kærven complex range from syenite through alkali feldspar quartz-syenite to alkali feldspar granite. The general sequence of crystallization of the Kærven magmas was: alkali feldspar ± olivine(Fa96−99) ± plagioclase(An41−11), clinopyroxene (augite, ferrosalite, ferrohedenbergite), quartz and amphibole. Whole-rock major and trace-element data show coherent geochemical trends which suggest comagmatism. The data reveal that the Kærven rocks are distinct from the rocks from the adjacent Kangerdlugssuaq intrusion (e.g. higher TiO2, FeOT in low-SiO2 samples, lower Na2O, approx. constant Zr/Nb). The mineral chemistry supports this conclusion, as the Kærven samples typically have calcic amphiboles and clinopyroxenes with a very limited Na-enrichment in contrast to the sodic trends of the Kangerdlugssuaq intrusion. Normative feldspar compositions plot near to the Ab-Or cotectic in the Q-Ab-Or system and a maximum pressure of crystallization of 3–5 kbar with moderate to low PH2O is indicated.Trace elements preferently incorporated in plagioclase and alkali feldspar, i.e. Sr, Ba and Rb, show systematics which are not compatible with an evolution of the rock suite by crystal fractionation of these phases, though possibly alkali feldspar may be partially accumulated in a few very evolved rocks. Numerical calculations do not suggest a magmatic evolution by fractional crystallization of the observed phases. The variation of Sr, Ba and Rb as well as of the incompatible elements Nb, Zr and Th support a derivation of the rock suite mainly by mixing two components, a syenitic and a granitic end-member. It is concluded that magma mixing was the most significant process in the formation of the Kærven rock suite accompanied by some crystal fractionation. Evidence for crustal contamination is detected in a few samples from the outer part of the intrusion but has not affected the main suite of rocks.

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