Olivine Inclusions Research Articles

Electron probe microanalysis and microscopy: Principles and applications in characterization of mineral inclusions in chromite from diamond deposit

Electron probe microanalysis and microscopy is a widely used modern analytical technique primarily for quantifying chemical compositions of solid materials and for mapping or imaging elemental distributions or surface morphology of samples at micrometer or nanometer-scale. This technique uses an electromagnetic lens-focused electron beam, generated from an electron gun, to bombard a sample. When the electron beam interacts with the sample, signals such as secondary electron, backscattered electron and characteristic X-ray are generated from the interaction volume. These signals are then examined by detectors to acquire chemical and imaging information of the sample. A unique part of an electron probe is that it is equipped with multiple WDS spectrometers of X-ray and each spectrometer with multiple diffracting crystals in order to analyze multiple elements simultaneously. An electron probe is capable of analyzing almost all elements (from Be to U) with a spatial resolution at or below micrometer scale and a detection limit down to a few ppm.Mineral inclusions in chromite from the Wafangdian kimberlite, Liaoning Province, China were used to demonstrate the applications of electron probe microanalysis and microscopy technique in characterizing minerals associated with ore deposits, specifically, in this paper, minerals associated with diamond deposit. Chemical analysis and SE and BSE imaging show that mineral inclusions in chromite include anhydrous silicates, hydrous silicates, carbonates, and sulfides, occurring as discrete or single mineral inclusions or composite multiple mineral inclusions. The chromite–olivine pair poses a serious problem in analysis of Cr in olivine using electron probe. Secondary fluorescence of Cr in chromite by Fe in olivine drastically increases the apparent Cr2O3 content of an olivine inclusion in a chromite. From the chemical compositions obtained using electron probe, formation temperatures and pressures of chromite and its mineral inclusions calculated using applicable geothermobarometers are from 46kbar and 980°C to 53kbar and 1130°C, which are within the stability field of diamond, thus Cr-rich chromite is a useful indication mineral for exploration of kimberlite and diamond deposit. A composite inclusion in chromite composed of silicate and carbonate minerals has a bulk composition of 33.2wt.% SiO2, 2.5wt.% Al2O3, 22.0wt.% MgO, 7.5wt.% CaO, 2.5wt.% BaO, 0.8wt.% K2O, 25.5wt.% CO2, and 0.8wt.% H2O, similar to the chemical composition of the Wafangdian kimberlite, suggesting that it is trapped kimberlitic magma.

Olivine with diamond-imposed morphology included in diamonds. Syngenesis or protogenesis?

The identification of syngenetic inclusions in diamond (i.e. inclusions of minerals that crystallized at the same time and by the same genesis as their host) has long been of paramount importance in diamond studies. However, the widespread assumption that many or most inclusions in diamonds are syngenetic is based on qualitative morphological criteria and few direct measurements. In order to provide statistically significant information on inclusion–host genetic relations for at least one kimberlite, we have determined the crystallographic orientations of 43 olivine inclusions with diamond-imposed morphology, a feature generally interpreted to indicate syngenesis, in 20 diamonds from the Udachnaya kimberlite (Siberia). Our unprecedented large data set indicates no overall preferred orientation of these olivines in diamond. However, multiple inclusions within a single diamond frequently exhibit similar orientations, implying that they were derived from original single monocrystals. Therefore, regardless of the possible chemical re-equilibration during diamond-forming processes, at least some of the olivines may have existed prior to the diamond (i.e. they are protogenetic). Our results imply that a diamond-imposed morphology alone cannot be considered as unequivocal proof of syngenicity of mineral inclusions in diamonds.

Revisiting the last major eruptions at Stromboli volcano: inferences on the role of volatiles during magma storage and decompression

Abstract Stromboli is a unique open conduit volcano and a natural laboratory for investigating how volatiles migrate and concentrate under dynamic conditions. Fluid phases are involved in magma decompression and pressurization, modulate Strombolian activity and govern magma rise and fragmentation processes. Here, we have revisited the available data on the last two major eruptions at Stromboli volcano and concentrated our analysis on the 2007 eruption. First, we analysed petrological-geochemical data to assess equilibrium conditions by using standard thermobarometry; we then used a grid of selected reactions which involve solid-melt-fluid equilibria to better constrain the P – T regimes that adequately describe our system. Primitive hydrous basaltic melts, reported in literature and preserved as melt inclusions in olivine (with 2.3–3.8 wt% of H 2 O and 890–1590 ppm CO 2 ), are in equilibrium with forsteritic olivine and a diopsidic clinopyroxene at average pressures of 260 (±47) MPa for temperatures approaching 1170 (±17) °C and calculated (mole fraction of CO 2 within the melt) in the range 0.60–0.76. Ca-rich or ultracalcic melts are regarded as the result of decompression along a steep adiabatic and/or isothermal curve. During this process the magma will cross-cut the stability field of diopside and enter the liquidus field. The earlier crystallized diopside is destabilized and reacts with the coexisting liquid phase leading to the formation of ultracalcic melts. Ejected golden pumices (with 2–3 wt% H 2 O) are in equilibrium with Ca-pyroxene, forsteritic olivine and anorthitic plagioclase at 150–220 MPa and temperatures of 1120–1150 °C. Evolved melt inclusions (substantially degassed) in less magnesian olivine ( c. Fo 70 ) of the scorias show average equilibration pressures of 78 (±20) MPa and temperatures of 1138 (±14) °C. In summary, the higher P–T regimes associated with the origin of primitive melt inclusions are representative of the base of the chamber, where the ferromagnesian phases may crystallize and cumulate. The magma with a bulk composition typical of the pumices is stored in the middle and main part of the chamber (likely its axial sector) and these materials are erupted during paroxysmal and, more rarely, major explosions. Finally, more evolved melt inclusions found in the olivine of the scorias are indicative of crystallization within the conduit or its root zone connected to the upper part of the chamber. Pure extensional regimes and recent geophysical data suggest the existence of a prolate ellipsoidal magma chamber below Stromboli. To constrain its volume we estimated the magma volumes associated with SO 2 degassing (during the 2007 major eruption) by applying a refined petrological model that allowed us to estimate the magma fluxes in the subvolcanic region (i.e. the magma flux entering the degassing zone). The long-term trend of this magma flux follows an overall exponential decay, typical of pressurized magmatic systems, and indicates that magma rise was accompanied and followed by slow decompression. This trend was shown to be consistent with release of elastic strain accumulated either by pressurization of the rocks surrounding the magma reservoir, by pressurization of the magma itself or both. By analysing the reservoir elastic response during magma decompression, we found that the current Stromboli magma chamber volume may be adequately constrained to 1–2 km 3 .

Spinel inclusions in olivine and plagioclase crystals in a layered gabbro: a marker and a tracer for primary phenocrysts in a differentiating magma reservoir

The problem of whether cumulate rocks were formed by crystal settling or by in situ crystallization after magma emplacement is an important issue concerning the mechanisms of magmatic differentiation. However, it is hard to distinguish these two processes for plutonic rocks because the primary texture and chemical composition have generally been modified by postcumulus processes. To contribute this problem, we studied the distribution and compositions of Cr-spinel inclusions hosted in olivine and plagioclase in the Murotomisaki Gabbroic Intrusion (MGI), SW Japan. It is shown that the olivine-hosted inclusions are restricted to specific horizons where accumulation of olivine phenocrysts is thought to have occurred and that the compositional variations of the Cr-spinel are explained by a secondary compositional modification that probably took place after the magma emplacement. It is also shown that the Cr-spinel inclusions in a chilled margin have suffered the least compositional modification and nearly retains the primary composition. Those in the interior of the intrusion, on the contrary, have been significantly modified by re-equilibration with residual melt driven by cation diffusions through the host phases. Those in plagioclase have been less modified. It is shown that all the spinel inclusions had primarily the same and common composition at the time of magma emplacement. This implies that all the inclusion-bearing crystals, olivine and plagioclase, represent primary phenocrysts that had already existed in the emplaced magma. In this way, spinel inclusion in the MGI may be regarded to be a useful petrographic “marker” for identifying intratelluric phenocrysts and also as a “tracer” to trace the motion of the primary phenocrysts after the magma emplacement.

NanoSIMS analyses of apatite and melt inclusions in the GRV 020090 Martian meteorite: Hydrogen isotope evidence for recent past underground hydrothermal activity on Mars

We measured the hydrogen isotopes and water contents of melt inclusions and apatite that locate far from shock-induced melt veins in the Martian meteorite GRV 020090, using nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS). The melt inclusions in olivine show hydration profiles, with both the water contents and the δD values increasing from the cores (2σ) (170±7ppm and 3386±126‰) to the rims (5337±200ppm and 5519±65‰). The extremely high δD values of the melt inclusions relative to a maximum of 4239±81‰ of apatite that crystallized from the last residual melt convincingly argue that the observed hydration postdated emplacement of the parent magma of GRV 020090. This is also a robust line of evidence for past-presence of liquid water on Mars. Diffusion simulation of the hydration profiles of both water contents and δD values constrains the duration of liquid water up to 130,000–250,000years at 0°C or 700–1,500years at 40°C. All analyses of the melt inclusions, including the hydration profiles, show a logarithmic correlation between the water contents and the δD values, plotting within a two-endmember mixing area. The extremely D-enriched endmember represents Martian underground water, with a δD value of 6034±72‰ (2σ). This is the highest δD value reported in Martian meteorites and it is consistent with the recent analyses of Martian soils by the Curiosity rover (Leshin et al., 2013), suggestive of more water escaped from Mars than previous estimates.The analyses of apatite show a distinct positive correlation between the water contents (0.10–0.58wt%) and the δD values (737–4239‰), which can be explained by assimilation of D-rich Martian crustal materials and enhancement of water via fractional crystallization. The observed correlation suggests that the water contents of Martian mantle reservoirs might have been overestimated from D-enriched apatite in previous studies. Our estimation based on the least contaminated apatite grains from GRV 020090 turned out a low water content of the primordial parent magma (380–750ppm), which was likely derived from a relatively dry Martian mantle reservoir of GRV 020090 (∼38–75ppm H2O).

Origin of podiform chromitite, a new model based on the Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet

Podiform chromitites have been interpreted as the result of melt–rock reaction and related melt mixing in upper mantle sections of ophiolites. However, the discovery of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) minerals, especially diamond and coesite, in many podiform chromitites and host peridotites, raises fundamental questions about the validity of this model. Chromitites in the Luobusa ophiolite of Tibet range from massive, to nodular to disseminated. Chromite grains in both the chromitites and peridotites have variable but relatively high MgO and are classified as magnesiochromite. Many magnesiochromite grains in the massive chromitites contain inclusions of forsterite and pyroxene, as well as diamonds and other unusual minerals. Forsterite inclusions have Fo numbers of 97–99 and NiO contents of 1.11–1.29wt.%. Mg#s (=100∗Mg/(Mg+Fe)) of clinopyroxene inclusions are 96–98 and those of orthopyroxene are 96–97. X-ray studies show that the olivine inclusions have very small unit cells and short cation–oxygen bond distances, suggesting crystallization at high pressure. In contrast, magnesiochromite grains in nodular and disseminated chromitites lack pyroxene inclusions and their olivine inclusions have lower Fo numbers of 94–96 and lower NiO contents of 0.35–0.58wt.%. In addition, magnesiochromite in massive ores has higher Fe3+/Fetotal (0.42) than that in nodular and disseminated ores, which have ratios of 0.22. Disseminated chromitites also show systematic changes in olivine and magnesiochromite compositions from the dunite envelope to the massive ore, indicating melt–rock reaction. These observations suggest that the formation of podiform chromitites is a multi-stage process. Magnesiochromite grains and perhaps small bodies of chromitite crystallize deep in the mantle under low ambient ƒO2 from partial melts of peridotite. UHP minerals and highly magnesian olivine and pyroxene inclusions are trapped in these magnesiochromite grains. When oceanic crustal slabs are trapped in suprasubduction zones (SSZ), they are modified by island arc tholeiitic and boninitic magmas, which change the magnesiochromite compositions and deposit chromitite ores in melt channels.

Experimental study of trace element release during ultrahigh-pressure serpentinite dehydration

Subduction of serpentinite is envisaged to play a key role in volatile and element recycling at convergent plate margins, but there is currently little known about the composition of the fluid phase(s) released by devolatilisation of deeply subducted serpentinite. We have performed a series of ultrahigh pressure experiments to examine the phase relations and fluid compositions produced by reaction of a natural serpentinite under sub-arc conditions. We employ a novel technique of forming synthetic fluid inclusions in olivine at run conditions to preserve samples of experimental fluids for subsequent analysis. Our experiments confirm that the breakdown of antigorite and chlorite are the most important fluid-producing reactions from serpentinite at sub-arc depths. For our low CaO/Al2O3 peridotitic composition at 3.5 to 4.0 GPa we find that clinopyroxene reacts out below 750 °C and chlorite breaks down progressively between 700 and 800 °C to form garnet harzburgite.Raman analysis of synthetic fluid inclusions indicates that all experiments contained a single aqueous fluid phase, which – together with a lack of textural or mineralogical evidence for hydrous melting – indicates that the water-saturated solidus for our starting composition is above 900 °C at 4.0 GPa. Element concentrations in the fluid for three experiments were determined in situ via laser ablation ICP-MS of individual fluid inclusions. In general, the fluids are enriched in trace elements compared to the bulk starting material, but particularly so for Li, B, LILE, LREE, and U. Chlorite dehydration fluids have high Li/B, LREE/HREE and Ce/Y due to retention of some B in olivine, and retention of Y and HREE in garnet. Our results indicate that fluids produced by serpentinite dehydration at sub-arc depths may carry some of the slab-derived trace elements required for arc magmatism, and may fractionate key trace element ratios in the dehydrated residues, which in turn may ultimately contribute to the geochemical heterogeneity of mantle-derived magmas.

Zonation of H2O and F Concentrations around Melt Inclusions in Olivines

Studies of both naturally quenched and experimentally reheated melt inclusions have established that they can lose or gain H_(2)O after entrapment in their host mineral, before or during eruption. Here we report nanoSIMS analyses of H2O, Cl and F in olivine around melt inclusions from two natural basaltic samples: one from the Sommata cinder cone on Vulcano Island in the Aeolian arc and the other from the Jorullo cinder cone in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Our results constrain olivine/basaltic melt partition coefficients and allow assessment of mechanisms of volatile loss from melt inclusions in natural samples. Cl contents in olivine from both samples are mostly below detection limits (≤0·03 ± 0·01 ppm), with no detectable variation close to the melt inclusions. Assuming a maximum Cl content of 0·03 ppm for all olivines, maximum estimates for Cl partition coefficients between olivine and glass are 0·00002 ± 0·00002. Olivines from the two localities display contrasting H_(2)O and F compositions: Sommata olivines contain 27 ± 11 ppm H_(2)O and 0·28 ± 0·07 ppm F, whereas Jorullo olivines have lower and proportionately more variable H_(2)O and F (11 ± 12 ppm and 0·12 ± 0·09 ppm, respectively; uncertainties are two standard deviations for the entire population). The variations of H_(2)O and F contents in the olivines exhibit clear zonation patterns, increasing with proximity to melt inclusions. This pattern was most probably generated during transfer of volatiles out of the inclusions through the host olivine. H_(2)O concentration gradients surrounding melt inclusions are roughly concentric, but significantly elongated parallel to the crystallographic a-axis of olivine. Because of this preferential crystallographic orientation, this pattern is consistent with H_(2)O loss that is rate-limited by the ‘proton–polaron’ mechanism of H diffusion in olivine. Partition coefficients based on olivine compositions immediately adjacent to melt inclusions are 0·0007 ± 0·0003 for H_(2)O and 0·0005 ± 0·0003 for F. The H_(2)O and F diffusion profiles most probably formed in response to a decrease in the respective fugacities in the external melt, owing to either degassing or mixing with volatile-poor melt. Volatile transport out of inclusions might also have been driven in part by increases in the fugacity within the inclusion owing to post-entrapment crystallization. In the case of F, because of the lack of data on F diffusion in olivine, any interpretation of the measured F gradients is speculative. In the case of H_(2)O, we model the concentration gradients using a numerical model of three-dimensional anisotropic diffusion of H, where initial conditions include both H2O decrease in the external melt and post-entrapment enrichment of H_(2)O in the inclusions. The model confirms that external degassing is the dominant driving force, showing that the orientation of the anisotropy in H diffusion is consistent with the proton–polaron diffusion mechanism in olivine. The model also yields an estimate of the initial H_(2)O content of the Sommata melt inclusions before diffusive loss of 6 wt % H_(2)O. The findings provide new insights on rapid H_(2)O loss during magma ascent and improve our ability to assess the fidelity of the H_(2)O record from melt inclusions.

Eight good reasons why the uppermost mantle could be magnetic

Wasilewski et al. (1979) concluded that no magnetic remanence existed in the uppermost mantle and that even if present, such sources would be at temperatures too high to contribute to long wavelength magnetic anomalies (LWMA). However, new collections of unaltered mantle xenoliths indicate that the uppermost mantle could contain ferromagnetic minerals. 1. The analysis of some LWMA over cratons and forearcs suggest magnetic sources in the uppermost mantle. 2. The most common ferromagnetic phase in the uppermost mantle is stoichiometric magnetite. Assuming a 30. km-thick crust, and crustal and mantle geotherms of 15. °C/km and 5. °C/km, respectively, the 600. °C Curie temperature implies a 30. km-thick layer of mantle. 3. The uppermost mantle is cooler than 600. °C in Archean and Proterozoic shields (>. 350. °C), subduction zones (>. 300. °C) and old oceanic basins (>. 250. °C). 4. Recently investigated sets of unaltered mantle xenoliths contain pure magnetite inclusions in olivine and pyroxene formed in equilibrium with the host silicate. 5. The ascent of mantle xenoliths occurs in less than a day. Diffusion rates in olivine suggest that the growth of magnetite possible within this time frame cannot account for the size and distribution of magnetite particles in our samples. 6. Demagnetization of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of unaltered mantle xenoliths unambiguously indicates only a single component acquired upon cooling at the Earth's surface. This is most easily explained as a thermoremanent magnetization acquired by pre-existing ferromagnetic minerals as xenoliths cool rapidly at the Earth's surface from magmatic temperatures, acquired during ascent. 7. Modern experimental data suggest that the wustite-magnetite oxygen buffer and the fayalite-magnetite-quartz oxygen buffer extend several tens of km within the uppermost mantle. 8. The magnetic properties of mantle xenoliths vary consistently across tectonic settings. In conclusion, the model of a uniformly non-magnetic mantle should be revisited. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Eitelite in sheared peridotite xenoliths from Udachnaya-East kimberlite pipe (Russia) ? a new locality and host rock type

For the first time eitelite Na 2 Mg(CO 3 ) 2 was observed as a daughter phase in the melt inclusions in olivine from one of the deepest known mantle rocks sampled by kimberlite magma – sheared peridotite xenoliths (190 – 230 km), taken from the Devonian (~370 Ma) Udachnaya-East kimberlite pipe (Siberian craton, Russia). Eitelite was identified by confocal Raman spectroscopy and confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Raman spectra of eitelite in the melt inclusions are characterized by a very strong band at 1105 cm −1 attributed to CO 3 2− symmetric stretching, and weaker bands at 207–208 and 260–263 cm −1 due to lattice vibration. Our findings of eitelite in the melt inclusions entrapped by olivine of mantle xenoliths indicate that this rare carbonate can crystallise from primitive mantle-derived alkaline carbonatite melt.

Is the ‘Azores Hotspot’ a Wetspot? Insights from the Geochemistry of Fluid and Melt Inclusions in Olivine of Pico Basalts

The concept of an 'Azores mantle plume' has been widely debated, and the existence of an Azores hotspot questioned. In an effort to shed new light on this controversy, we present He isotope and major, trace and volatile element compositions for basaltic scoriae from five monogenetic cones emplaced along the fissure zone of Pico Island, the youngest island of the Azores archipelago. The bulk scoriae and lavas are moderately alkaline basalts, and their He isotope ratios, determined on olivine crystals, vary between 10*2 and 11*1 ± 0*1 Ra. In contrast, melt inclusions hosted in olivine (Fo76-83*5) span a large range of compositions (K2O = 0*7-1*7 wt %; Ce = 32-65 ppm; Nb = 21-94 ppm), which extends the compositional field of lavas erupted along the Pico fissure zone. This chemical evolution is predominantly controlled by polybaric fractional crystallization. Most melt inclusions share similar enrichments in large ion lithophile and light rare earth elements, and trace element ratios (La/Sm, La/Yb, Sr/Nd, Ta/Th, Zr/Y) with their bulk-rocks. Only a few of them differ in their lower contents of incompatible elements and La/Sm, Li/Ta and Na/K ratios, a feature that is ascribed to distinct conditions of melting. As a whole, the melt inclusions preserve high and variable volatile contents, and contain up to 1*8-2*0 wt % of H2O and 0*4 wt % of CO2. The total fluid pressures, retrieved from the dissolved CO2 and H2O concentrations, and the PCO2 from fluid inclusions, indicate magma ponding and crystallization at the crust-mantle boundary (ca. 18 km deep). The H2O/Cl and H2O/Ce ratios in the inferred parental undegassed basalts of the Pico fissure zone average 0*036 ± 0*006 and 259 ± 21, respectively. The latter value is significantly higher than that reported for typical mid-ocean ridge basalts from the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, but is similar to published ratios for submarine undegassed basalts from the Azores platform. Combining the calculated compositions of Pico primary magmas formed by low degrees of melting with recent geophysical data for the Azores, we propose a model for Azores magma generation involving the decompression melting of a water-enriched mantle domain (H2O = 680-570 ppm) with an estimated temperature excess of ≤120°C with respect to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

K2O‐rich trapped melt in olivine in the Nakhla meteorite: Implications for petrogenesis of nakhlites and evolution of the Martian mantle

AbstractWe used new analytical and theoretical methods to determine the major and minor element compositions of the primary trapped liquid (PTLs) represented by melt inclusions in olivine and augite in the Martian clinopyroxenite, Nakhla, for comparison with previously proposed compositions for the Nakhla (or nakhlite) parent magma. We particularly focused on obtaining accurate K2O contents, and on testing whether high K2O contents and K2O/Na2O ratios obtained in previous studies of melt inclusions in olivine in Nakhla could have been due to unrepresentative sampling, systematic errors arising from electron microprobe techniques, late alteration of the inclusions, and/or boundary layer effects. Based on analyses of 35 melt inclusions in olivine cores, the PTL in olivine, PTLoliv, contained (by wt) approximately 47% SiO2, 6.3% Al2O3, 9.6% CaO, 1.8% K2O, and 0.9% Na2O, with K2O/Na2O = 2.0. We infer that the high K2O content of PTLoliv is not due to boundary layer effects and represents a real property of the melt from which the host olivine crystallized. This melt was cosaturated with olivine and augite. Its mg# is model‐dependent and is constrained only to be ≥19 (equilibrium Fo = 40). Based on analyses of 91 melt inclusions in augite cores, the PTL in augite, PTLaug, contained (by wt) 53–54% SiO2, 7–8% Al2O3, 0.8–1.1% K2O, and 1.1–1.4% Na2O, with K2O/Na2O = 0.7–0.8. This K2O content and K2O/Na2O ratio are significantly higher than inferred in studies of melt inclusions in augite in Nakhla by experimental rehomogenization. PTLaug was saturated only with augite, and in equilibrium with augite cores of mg# 62. PTLaug represents the Nakhla parent magma, and does not evolve to PTLoliv by fractional crystallization. We therefore conclude that olivine cores in Nakhla (and, by extension, other nakhlites) are xenocrystic. We propose that PTLoliv and PTLaug were generated from the same source region. PTLoliv was generated first and emplaced to form olivine‐rich cumulate rocks. Shortly thereafter, PTLaug was generated and ascended through these olivine‐rich cumulates, incorporating fragments of wallrock that became the xenocrystic olivine cores in Nakhla. The Nakhla (nakhlite) mantle source region was pyroxenitic with some olivine, and could have become enriched in K relative to Na via metasomatism. A high degree of melting of this source produced the silica‐poor, alkali‐rich magma PTLoliv. Further ascension and decompression of the source led to generation of the silica‐rich, relatively alkali‐poor magma PTLaug. Potassium‐rich magmas like those involved in the formation of the nakhlites represent an important part of the diversity of Martian igneous rocks.

ULTRABAZICKÉ HORNINY TĚŠÍNITOVÉ ASOCIACE V ZÁPADNÍ ČÁSTI SLEZSKÉ JEDNOTKY

The teschenite association occurring in southwest part of the Silesian Unit (Carpathian Flysch Belt) consists of several types of predominantly alkaline basic to ultrabasic intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks. Ultrabasic rocks such as peridotites and picrites represent geochemically relatively primitive melt. Primary magmatic mineral assemblages of ultrabasic rocks are characterized by a large amount of olivine (Fo 81–86 mol. %), clinopyroxene (predominantly diopside: XMg = 0.65–0.85, Na = 0.02–0.04 apfu; aegirine-augite sometimes forms small rims around diopside: XMg = 0.00–0.14, Na = 0.40–0.98 apfu) and rare chrome spinel to chromite with Cr/(Cr+Al) values 0.55–0.62 in peridotite or 0.26–0.69 in picrites. Olivine, linopyroxenes or spinelides in these rocks appear as suitable for calculation of PT conditions. The temperatures obtained using the olivine-clinopyroxene thermobarometry (1 294–1 322 °C; 8–11 kbar) are consistent with the appearance of these two minerals in the crystallization sequence of peridotite. However, the temperatures calculated for spinelide inclusions in olivine are ~ 500 °C lower than the experimentally derived liquidus for ultrabasic melt. This difference can be explained by subsolidus re-equilibration during cooling. Younger mineral assemblage in peridotite consists of phlogopite, pargasite, and magnetite.

Nepheline and sodalite in the matrix of the Ningqiang carbonaceous chondrite: Implications for formation through parent-body processes

Ningqiang is an ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite that chemically and petrologically resembles CV3 chondrites. The matrix of Ningqiang shows much higher abundances of Na, K, and Al by factors of 4.4, 2.7, and 1.6, respectively, than in CV3 chondrites. Our scanning and transmission electron microscope observations and synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that the major proportions of these elements can be attributed to the presence of nepheline and sodalite. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction data shows that the feldspathoids constitute 7.7vol.% of all crystalline phases in the matrix. Nepheline and sodalite occur mostly as discrete, equidimensional grains 2–5μm in diameter that are dispersed homogeneously in the matrix. Most of the grains contain inclusions of Fe-rich olivine and minor Ca pyroxene, magnetite, troilite, and pentlandite.Despite the high abundances of Na, K, and Al in the matrix of Ningqiang, the bulk meteorite abundances of these elements are comparable to those of the CV group (e.g., Rubin et al., 1988). This means that the chondrules, which constitute a major proportion of the volume other than the matrix in Ningqiang, are depleted in Na, K, and Al. In fact, our analyses and observations show that the chondrules in Ningqiang overall contain very small amounts of these elements. Our interpretation of these findings suggests that nepheline and sodalite in the Ningqiang matrix were originally formed by Na-metasomatism of the chondrules and Ca–Al-rich inclusions in the meteorite parent body. Afterward, they were likely disaggregated and scattered into the matrix. However, it is difficult to envisage that the disaggregation and scattering occurred in situ in the present setting of the meteorite. Hence, we suggest that the Ningqiang meteorite underwent these processes before final lithification.

Exsolution Lamellae in Orthopyroxene of Lherzolite from the Pauza Ultramafic Rocks, Ne Iraq: Evidence of Deep Mantle Signature in the Zagros Suture Zone

The Pauza ultramafic body is part of Upper Cretaceous Ophiolitic massifs of the Zagros Suture Zone, NE Iraq. The present study reveals evidence of Ultra-high pressure (UHP), and deep mantle signature of these peridotites in the Zagros Suture Zone throughout the observation of backscattered images and micro analyses which have been performed on orthopyroxen crystals in lherzolite of Pauza ultramafic rocks.Theorthopyroxen shows abundant exsolution lamellae of coarse unevenly distributed clinopyroxene coupled with the submicron uniformly distributed needles of Cr-spinel. The observed clusters of Opx–Cpx–Spl represent the decompression products of pyrope-rich garnet produced as a result of the transition from ultra-high pressure garnet peridotite to low-pressure spinel peridotite (LP). Neoblastic olivine (Fo92 – 93) with abundant multi-form Cr- spinel inclusions occurs as a fine-grained aggregate around orthopyroxene, whereas coarse olivine (Fo90-91) free from chromian-spinel is found in matrix. The similarity of the Cr-spinel lamellae orientations in both olivine and orthopyroxene, moreover, the enrichments of both Cr and Fe3+ in the Cr-spinel inclusions in neoblastic olivine relative to Cr-spinel lamellae in orthopyroxene, suggest that spinel inclusions in olivine have been derived from former Cr-spinel lamellae in orthopyroxene. Neoblastic olivine is formed by reaction of silica-poor ascending melt and orthopyroxene. It is inferred that the olivines with multi-form spinel inclusions has been formed by incongruent melting of pre-existing spinel lamellae-rich orthopyroxene.

Melting and subsolidus phase relations in the system Na2CO3-MgCO3 H2O at 6 GPa and the stability of Na2Mg(CO3)2 in the upper mantle

Phase relations in the Na2CO3-MgCO3 system have been studied in high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) multi-anvil experiments using graphite capsules at 6.0 ± 0.5 GPa pressures and 900–1400 °C temperatures. Sub-solidus assemblages are represented by Na2CO3+Na2Mg(CO3)2 and Na2Mg(CO3)2+MgCO3, with the transition boundary near 50 mol% MgCO3 in the system. The Na2CO3-Na2Mg(CO3)2 eutectic is established at 1200 °C and 29 mol% MgCO3. Melting of Na2CO3 occurs between 1350 and 1400 °C. We propose that Na2Mg(CO3)2 disappears between 1200 and 1250 °C via congruent melting. Magnesite remains as a liquidus phase above 1300 °C. Measurable amounts of Mg in Na2CO3 suggest an existence of MgCO3 solid-solutions in Na2CO3 at given experimental conditions. The maximum MgCO3 solubility in Na-carbonate of about 9 mol% was established at 1100 and 1200 °C. The Na2CO3 and Na2Mg(CO3)2 compounds have been studied using in situ X-ray coupled with a DIA-type multi-anvil apparatus. The studies showed that eitelite is a stable polymorph of Na2Mg(CO3)2 at least up to 6.6 GPa and 1000 °C. In contrast, natrite, γ-Na2CO3, is not stable at high pressure and is replaced by β-Na2CO3. The latter was found to be stable at pressures up to 11.7 GPa at 27 °C and up to 15.2 GPa at 1200 °C and temperatures at least up to 800 °C at 2.5 GPa and up to 1000 °C at 6.4 GPa. The X-ray and Raman study of recovered samples showed that, under ambient conditions, β-Na2CO3 transforms back to γ-Na2CO3. Eitelite [Na2Mg(CO3)2] would be an important mineral controlling insipient melting in subducting slab and upwelling mantle. At 6 GPa, melting of the Na2Mg(CO3)2+MgCO3 assemblage can be initiated, either by heating to 1300 °C under “dry” conditions or at 900–1100 °C under hydrous conditions. Thus, the Na2Mg(CO3)2 could control the solidus temperature of the carbonated mantle under “dry” conditions and cause formation of the Na- and Mg-rich carbonatite melts similar to those found as inclusions in olivines from kimberlites and the deepest known mantle rock samples—sheared peridotite xenoliths (190–230 km depth).

Experimental melting of hydrous peridotite–pyroxenite mixed sources: Constraints on the genesis of silica-undersaturated magmas beneath volcanic arcs

The most primitive arc magmas expressed as melt inclusions in forsteritic olivine display silica-undersaturated, nepheline normative compositions, sometimes associated with high CaO contents. Involvement of a heterogeneous mantle source containing an amphibole-bearing clinopyroxene-rich component is often mentioned to account for the origin of these magmas. However, the proportions and the role of such mantle source component in arc magma genesis remains a matter of debate. To better understand the generation of silica-undersaturated magmas in arcs and the role of clinopyroxenites during arc magma genesis, we have performed melting experiments on a heterogeneous hydrous mantle (hydrous lherzolite mixed with variable amounts of amphibole-bearing clinopyroxenite) at 1 GPa under oxidizing conditions (close to the fayalite–magnetite–quartz: FMQ-buffer). Unlike under anhydrous conditions, pyroxenites and peridotites have similar solidus temperatures under hydrous conditions, but the melt productivity still increases with increasing fraction of pyroxenite in the source. For peridotite-rich sources (up to 50% clinopyroxenite) the presence of orthopyroxene buffers the partial melts to compositions identical in terms of major elements to regular peridotite melts. When orthopyroxene leaves the residue (above 50% of pyroxenite), melts become nepheline-normative, with CaO/Al2O3 ratios >1. Comparison between experimental melts produced by melting homogeneous mixed sources (homogeneous melting) and aggregated melts from heterogeneous sources (heterogeneous melting) shows that the later are more silica-undersaturated and richer in CaO. Our experiments confirm that nepheline-normative melt inclusions have sampled pure or poorly-mixed clinopyroxenite melts from a heterogeneous mantle source, while hypersthene-normative lavas are likely to result from a more advanced stage of magma mixing. Amphibole–clinopyroxenite heterogeneities in the mantle wedge could originate by density-driven delamination of lower crustal cumulates consisting of clinopyroxene + amphibole ± olivine. Partial melts of these cumulates can be efficiently extracted and suffer only little interaction with surrounding peridotites before their entrapment as melt inclusions; alternatively, they can react with peridotite to form secondary orthopyroxene-free metasomatic veins, which may also contribute to the source of silica-undersaturated arc magmas.

Petrogenesis of late cenozoic basaltic complexes in the southern Baikal and southern Khangai volcanic areas in central Asia: Evidence from melt inclusions

Data on melt inclusions in minerals provide direct information on the physicochemical petrogenetic parameters of Late Cenozoic basaltic complexes in the Southern Baikal and Southern Khangai Volcanic Areas (SBVA and SKVA, respectively) in Central Asia. Newly obtained data on inclusions in olivine reveal differences between the temperatures of the magmatic systems that produced basalts in SBVA and SKVA. The comparison of the experimentally determined homogenization temperatures and parameters calculated from data on the composition of glasses in the melt inclusions allowed us to realistically evaluate the temperatures of the petrogenetic processes that generated Late Cenozoic basaltic complexes in SBVA (1130–1160°C and 1175–1250°C) and SKVA (1145–1185°C, 1210–1270, and about 1300–1310°C). The analysis of fluid phases in the inclusions testifies that basaltic melts in SBVA were rich in carbon dioxide, which ensured elevated pressures (up to 5–6.6 kbar) during the crystallization of the minerals. Data on the composition of inclusions in the olivine highlight differences between the chemistries of magmatic systems in the two territories: elevated TiO2, Al2O3, and CaO concentrations at relatively low FeO and MgO contents in the SBVA melts as compared to analogous concentrations in the SKVA basaltic magmas. The petrochemical and geochemical parameters of the primary melt inclusions and the composition of the olivine generally testify that deep plume magmatic processes were actively involved in the generation of basalts in both SBVA and SKVA. Data on melt inclusions in olivine and the composition of the clinopyroxene reveal similarities between the geochemistry, mineralogy, and crystallization parameters of Late Cenozoic basalts in both SBVA and SKVA and Cretaceous-Paleogene basalts in the Tien Shan and their certain differences from the plume-related systems of the OIB type. These data suggest that the geodynamic environment of the Cenozoic and Late Mesozoic intraplate plume magmatism in Central Asia were different from the geodynamic environment of typical long-lived mantle plumes like that at Hawaii.

Mineral inclusions in fibrous diamonds: constraints on cratonic mantle refertilization and diamond formation

We analyzed mineral microinclusions in fibrous diamonds from the Wawa metaconglomerate (Superior craton) and Diavik kimberlites (Slave craton) and compared them with published compositions of large mineral inclusions in non-fibrous diamonds from these localities. The comparison, together with similar datasets available for Ekati and Koffiefontein kimberlites, suggest a general pattern of metasomatic alteration imposed on the ambient mantle by formation of fibrous diamond. Calcium and Fe enrichment of peridotitic garnet and pyroxenes and Fe enrichment of olivine associated with fibrous diamond-forming fluids contributes to refertilization of the cratonic mantle. Saline—carbonatitic—silicic fluid trapped by fibrous diamonds may represent one of the elusive agents of mantle refertilization. Calcium enrichment of peridotitic garnet and pyroxenes is expected in local mantle segments during fibrous diamond production, as Ca in the carbonatitic fluids is deposited into the surrounding mantle when oxidized carbon is reduced to diamond. Harzburgitic garnet evolves towards Ca-rich compositions even when it interacts with Ca-poor saline fluids. An unusual trend of Mg enrichment to Fo95–98 is observed in some olivine inclusions in Wawa fibrous diamonds. The trend may result from the carbonatitic composition of the fluid that promotes crystallization of magnesian olivine and preferentially oxidizes the fayalite component. We propose a generic model of fibrous and non-fibrous diamond formation from carbonatitic fluids that explains enrichment of the mantle in mafic magmaphile and incompatible elements and accounts for locally metasomatized compositions of diamond inclusions.

Textural Evidence for the Chromite‐Oversaturated Character of the Melt Involved in Podiform Chromitite Formation

AbstractWell‐preserved oval‐shaped dunite clots occur within the exceptionally fresh massive podiform chromitites from the Coto Block of the Zambales Ophiolite Complex, the Philippines. The dunite/chromitite boundary shows an interlocking texture; olivine inclusions in chromites in the podiform chromitites show the same optical extinction with larger adjacent olivines in the dunite clots. This texture was formed by the reaction between chromite‐oversaturated melt and its dunite inclusions. The existence of such type of melt was previously only hypothesized to explain the origin of layered and podiform chromitites but is now confirmed by this discovery.