Phase equilibrium and trace-element modeling of the partial melting of basaltic rocks under low pressure: Implications for plagiogranite generation

Phase equilibria and trace-element modeling using two previously reported basaltic bulk-rock compositions (samples D11 and 104-16), were carried out in this study, in order to better understand mechanism of low-pressure (LP) partial melting of mafic rocks and associated melt compositions. The T–MH2O pseudosections for both samples at three pressures (i.e. 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kbar) display that the H2O-stability field gradually increased with decreasing pressure within the T–MH2O range of 600–1100 °C and 0–12 mol.%. The H2O contents of 10, 5.0, and 0.5 mol.% were selected on the basis of the T–MH2O pseudosections to calculate P–T pseudosections over a P–T window of 0.1–3 kbar and 600–1100 °C, so that the reactions of both the H2O-fluxed and -absent meltings at LP conditions can be investigated. The solidus displays a negative or near-vertical P–T slope, and occurs between 710 and 900 °C at pressure between 0.1 and 3.0 kbar. LP melting of metabasites is attributed to the reactions of the hydrous mineral (hornblende and/or biotite) melting and anhydrous mineral (plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and augite) melting. The hydrous mineral melting is gradually replaced by anhydrous mineral melting as pressure decreasing, as the stability of hornblende decreases with falling pressure. With increasing temperature at a given pressure, the modeled melt compositions are expressed as progressions of the granite-granodiorite-gabbroic diorite fields for sample D11and granite-quartz monzonite-monzonite-gabbroic diorite fields for sample 104-16 on the total alkali–silica diagram. The modeled melts produced through the H2O-fluxed melting display higher Al2O3, CaO, MgO, and lower SiO2 and K2O than those formed by H2O-absent melting at the same P–T conditions. Furthermore, the modeled melts formed by H2O-absent melting, become richer in Al2O3, CaO, MgO, FeO, Na2O, but poorer in SiO2 and K2O as increasing water content. The results of trace-element modeling suggests that the nearly flat REE patterns of modeled bulk-rock composition are inherited by all the modeled melts, and the negative Eu anomalies and Sr depletion of the modeled melts gradually decrease as melting degree increases. Combined with the geochemical characteristics of natural oceanic plagiogranites, which have low K2O contents and flat or slightly LREE-depleted REE patterns, our results imply that a bulk-rock composition with low K2O (<0.17 wt.%) and slightly LREEs depletion is the most likely protolith composition (e.g. basalt D11) for plagiogranites, and the compositions of modeled melts formed by LP H2O-absent partial melting of the basalt D11 at relatively high temperatures (1000–1025 °C) are coincident with those of 1256D tonalites.