Structure of melt flow channels in the mantle

Abstract

Structural events during the formation of the mantle peridotite section in the Voikar-Syn’ya massif of the Polar Urals are considered. The structural units of the mantle section were formed during several deformation stages. Dunite bodies in restitic peridotites were formed in the course of deformation that completed the formation of large-scale folds of high-temperature plastic flow of mantle material. The final stage of deformation accompanied by migration of melt through harzburgite occurred in the shallow mantle in the setting of suprasubduction spreading related to the ascent of a mantle diapir. The rate of plastic deformation was relatively low. As a result, the intracrystal translation gliding of dislocations in olivine was the main mechanism in both harzburgite and dunite. The paths of focused melt flow are marked by dunite veins and associated pyroxenite and chromitite. It is suggested that stress concentration in fold hinges and their abrupt relaxation with formation of orthogonal network of weakened zones with high permeability was one of the possible mechanisms of the formation of melt conduits. The dispersed melt ascending from a great depth spontaneously migrated toward these zones. The distribution and structure of chromitite bodies reflect multistage formation of dunite, nonstationary dynamics of melt flow through restite, and abrupt variations of local stress fields in the areas adjacent to melt conduits.