Dunites in the mantle section of the Oman ophiolite – The boninite connection

Abstract

Dunites in the mantle section of the Oman ophiolite contain olivines which show both a wide range of compositions (Fo86.2 to Fo94) and very high magnesium numbers. These data are combined with experimental liquidus olivine-melt data to show that the range of olivine compositions requires that the dunites formed from a range of melt compositions and that some of these melts were very magnesian, with MgO concentrations up to MgO = 18–20 wt%. These observations are consistent with the finding of MgO-rich melt inclusions from chromitites in the mantle section of the Oman ophiolite (Rollinson et al., Lithos, 2018). It is proposed that the high Mg-olivines formed in equilibrium with high-Ca boninites, found in the upper section of the pillow lavas sequence of the ophiolite. A model is developed whereby high MgO boninites fractionated olivine through a process of melt-rock reaction/fractionation with the enclosing harzburgite to create a range of dunitic compositions and evolved boninitic lavas. Field evidence shows that the emplacement of boninites was late in the evolution of the Oman ophiolite indicating that the mantle dunites of boninitic origin formed late in the history of the ophiolite. High-Ca boninites form through the shallow, hydrous melting of the mantle wedge in a subduction setting and the presence of boninitic dunites and lavas further supports the view that the Oman ophiolite formed in a fore-arc setting through subduction-induced spreading.