Cryptic metasomatism in the upper mantle beneath Southeastern Austria: A laser ablation microprobe-ICP-MS study

Abstract

Upper mantle xenoliths from the classical location, Kapfenstein, Styria, as well as from Fehring, Styria, and Tobaj, Burgenland, have been analyzed by laser ablation microprobe inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LAM-ICP-MS). At all locations spinel lherzolite is the predominant xenolith type and thus our sample contains nine spinel lherzolites and only one harzburgite (from the richest location, Kapfenstein, sample Ka 167). All the rocks have protogranular to protogranular — porphyroclastic transitional textures. Mineral compositions are typical for fertile upper mantle rocks with 0.89 〈mg〉 0.92 for silicates and 0.10 〈cr〉 0.12 for spinel (0.18 for the harzburgite). The minerals are equilibrated with respect to major, minor and trace elements, except for clinopyroxenes in the sample from Tobaj (To 100) and one sample from Fehring (Feh 002) which have variable incompatible trace element contents.