Petrological feature of spinel lherzolite xenolith from Oki‐Dogo Island: An implication for variety of the upper mantle peridotite beneath southwestern Japan

Abstract

Abstract Spinel lherzolite is a minor component of the deep‐seated xenolith suite in the Oki‐Dogo alkaline basalts, whereas other types of ultramafic (e.g. pyroxenite and dunite) and mafic (e.g. granulite and gabbro) xenoliths are abundant. All spinel lherzolite xenoliths have spinel with a low Cr number (Cr#; < 0.26). They are anhydrous and are free of modal metasomatism. Their mineral assemblages and microtextures, combined with the high NiO content in olivine, suggest that they are of residual origin. But the Mg numbers of silicate minerals are lower (e.g. down to Fo86) in some spinel lherzolites than in typical upper mantle residual peridotites. The clinopyroxene in the spinel lherzolite shows U‐shaped chondrite‐normalized rare‐earth element (REE) patterns. The abundance of Fe‐rich ultramafic and mafic cumulate xenoliths in Oki‐Dogo alkali basalts suggests that the later formation of those Fe‐rich cumulates from alkaline magma was the cause of Fe‐ and light REE (LREE)‐enrichment in residual peridotite. The similar REE patterns are observed in spinel peridotite xenoliths from Kurose and also in those from the South‐west Japan arc, which are non‐metasomatized in terms of major‐element chemistry (e.g. Fo > 89), and are rarely associated with Fe‐rich cumulus mafic and ultramafic xenoliths. This indicates that the LREE‐enrichment in mantle rocks has been more prominent and prevalent than Fe and other major‐element enrichment during the metasomatism.