Olivine-rich Troctolites Research Articles

Onset and Progression of Serpentinization and Magnetite Formation in Olivine-rich Troctolite from IODP Hole U1309D

Serpentinization of olivine-rich troctolite from core 227, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1309D ranges from 10 to 90. Two episodes of serpentinization are recognized. The first, dominant in weakly serpentinized samples, is an approximately isochemical (except for water) replacement of olivine (Fo(8485)) by a mixture of serpentine (antigorite, Mg-number 92) and brucite (amakinite-rich; Mg-number 65). The compositions of the minerals in type 1 veins are a reflection of FeMg exchange between olivine and the brucite serpentine formed during early serpentinization. The early serpentinite veins (type 1) are thin ( 005 mm), irregular, and exploit pre-existing cracks in olivine. The presence of antigorite suggests that early serpentinization occurred at T 300C. Type 1 veins reflect rock-dominated serpentinization, became isolated early in their history, and persist as relicts in all but the most altered samples. The main episode of serpentinization is manifested by through-going lizardite (average Mg-number 96)magnetite veins (type 2). Type 2 veins define an anastomosing foliation, may be several millimeters in width and appear to exploit pre-existing, favorably oriented type 1 veins. Type 2 veins reflect open-system serpentinization. Magnetite in these veins formed by oxidation of the Fe in brucite and serpentine, whereas addition of silica to the system converted the Mg-component of the brucite to serpentine. Magnetite forms one or more distinct bands in the interior of the vein and is never in direct contact with relict olivine. A bruciteserpentine mixture, similar to that found in type 1 veins, but with lizardite instead of antigorite, is commonly present at the margins of type 2 veins (i.e. where they are in reaction contact with relict olivine). We interpret type 2 veins as a steady-state system where brucite continually forms at the olivinevein contact and then reacts out in the interior of the vein. This continual formation and destruction of brucite imposes an exceptionally low a(SiO2) on the system. Magnetite and olivine are never in contact in type 2 veins (or anywhere else) because the olivine-out reaction yields ferroan brucite and not magnetite. The desilication of serpentine in the type 2 veins is a reflection of the inherent instability of Fe-rich serpentine with respect to magnetite at low silica activity. Thus, the composition of serpentine in equilibrium with magnetite in serpentinites is a function of serpentinemagnetite and not serpentineolivine equilbria.

Geochemistry of a long in-situ section of intrusive slow-spread oceanic lithosphere: Results from IODP Site U1309 (Atlantis Massif, 30°N Mid-Atlantic-Ridge)

IODP Site U1309 was drilled at Atlantis Massif, an oceanic core complex, at 30°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). We present the results of a bulk rock geochemical study (major and trace elements) carried out on 228 samples representative of the different lithologies sampled at this location. Over 96% of Hole U1309D is made up of gabbroic rocks. Diabases and basalts cross-cut the upper part of the section; they have depleted MORB compositions similar to basalts sampled at MAR 30°N. Relics of mantle were recovered at shallow depth. Mantle peridotites show petrographic and geochemical evidence of extensive melt–rock interactions. Gabbroic rocks comprise: olivine-rich troctolites (> 70% modal olivine) and troctolites having high Mg# (82–89), high Ni (up to 2300 ppm) and depleted trace element compositions (Yb 0.06–0.8 ppm); olivine gabbros and gabbros (including gabbronorites) with Mg# of 60–86 and low trace element contents (Yb 0.125–2.5 ppm); and oxide gabbros and leucocratic dykes with low Mg# (< 50), low Ni (∼ 65 ppm) and high trace element contents (Yb up to 26 ppm). Troctolites and gabbros are amongst the most primitive and depleted oceanic gabbroic rocks. The main geochemical characteristics of Site U1309 gabbroic rocks are consistent with a formation as a cumulate sequence after a common parental MORB melt, although (lack of systematic) downhole variations indicate that the gabbroic series were built by multiple magma injections. In detail, textural and geochemical variations in olivine-rich troctolites and gabbronorites suggest chemical interaction (assimilation?) between the parental melt and the intruded lithosphere. Site U1309 gabbroic rocks do not represent the complementary magmatic product of 30°N volcanics, although they sample the same mantle source. The bulk trace element composition of Site U1309 gabbroic rocks is similar to primitive MORB melt compositions; this implies that there was no large scale removal of melts from this gabbro section. The occurrence of such a large magmatic sequence implies that a high magmatic activity is associated with the formation of Atlantis Massif. Our results suggest that almost all melts feeding this magmatic system stays trapped into the intruded lithosphere.

Sulfur mineralogy and geochemistry of serpentinites and gabbros of the Atlantis Massif (IODP Site U1309)

In-situ uplifted portions of oceanic crust at the central dome of the Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N) were drilled during Expeditions 304 and 305 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) and a 1.4 km section of predominantly gabbroic rocks with minor intercalated ultramafic rocks were recovered. Here we characterize variations in sulfur mineralogy and geochemistry of selected samples of serpentinized peridotites, olivine-rich troctolites and diverse gabbroic rocks recovered from Hole 1309D. These data are used to constrain alteration processes and redox conditions and are compared with the basement rocks of the southern wall of the Atlantis Massif, which hosts the Lost City Hydrothermal Field, 5 km to the south. The oceanic crust at the central dome is characterized by Ni-rich sulfides reflecting reducing conditions and limited seawater circulation. During uplift and exhumation, seawater interaction in gabbroic-dominated domains was limited, as indicated by homogeneous mantle-like sulfur contents and isotope compositions of gabbroic rocks and olivine-rich troctolites. Local variations from mantle compositions are related to magmatic variability or to interaction with seawater-derived fluids channeled along fault zones. The concomitant occurrence of mackinawite in olivine-rich troctolites and an anhydrite vein in a gabbro provide temperature constraints of 150–200 °C for late circulating fluids along local brittle faults below 700 m depth. In contrast, the ultramafic lithologies at the central dome represent domains with higher seawater fluxes and higher degrees of alteration and show distinct changes in sulfur geochemistry. The serpentinites in the upper part of the hole are characterized by high total sulfide contents, high δ 34S sulfide values and low δ 34S sulfate values, which reflect a multistage history primarily controlled by seawater–gabbro interaction and subsequent serpentinization. The basement rocks at the central dome record lower oxygen fugacities and more limited fluid fluxes compared with the serpentinites and gabbros of the Lost City hydrothermal system. Our studies are consistent with previous results and indicate that sulfur speciation and sulfur isotope compositions of altered oceanic mantle sequences commonly evolve over time. Heterogeneities in sulfur geochemistry reflect the fact that serpentinites are highly sensitive to local variations in fluid fluxes, temperature, oxygen and sulfur fugacities, and microbial activity.

Chemical and mineralogical heterogeneity in the basal zone of the Partridge River Intrusion: implications for the origin of Cu–Ni sulfide mineralization in the Duluth Complex, midcontinent rift system

Copper–nickel sulfide mineralization in the Partridge River Intrusion of the 1.1 Ga Duluth Complex is restricted primarily to a 100 m thick zone near the base of the intrusion, which is heterogeneous at meter scales in terms of both sulfide contents and rock types, which include dunite, melatroctolite, troctolite, leucotroctolite, gabbro, olivine gabbro, gabbronorite, and rare norite. Olivine-rich troctolites and melatroctolites appear to have required mineral accumulation on a substrate, whereas augite troctolite and gabbros are thought to have formed via in situ crystallization of magmas ranging in composition from high-Al olivine tholeiite to high-Ti tholeiite. δ18O values of orthopyroxene-poor rocks in the Partridge River Intrusion range from 5.2 to 6.7‰. δ18O values of 6.7‰ are consistent with less than 20% contamination by high-18O metasedimentary country rock, either via devolatilization or local partial melting. Rocks with greater than ∼15% orthopyroxene, gabbronorites, and norites, are characterized by δ18O values in excess of 6.9‰, and required the assimilation of larger amounts of siliceous country rocks. Sulfur isotopic values in leucotroctolitic rocks that contain less than ∼400 ppm S and that overlie the basal zone range between −1.5 and 2‰, values that are consistent with those of mantle-derived sulfur. In contrast, δ34S values in the basal zone range from −1.4 to 10.5‰, where the 34S-enriched samples require an input of sulfur from metasedimentary country rocks. δ34S values of the rocks in the basal zone correlate with variations in olivine Fo content but not with S abundance. The wide range in δ34S values of rocks in the basal zone strongly suggests that magmas interacted with layers in the sedimentary country rocks that were themselves characterized by variable sulfide contents and δ34S values. The S isotopic data suggest that the heterogeneity observed in the basal zone results from the emplacement of relatively thin sheets of compositionally distinct magma. All rock types present in the basal zone can be produced as a result of variable degrees of fractionation of a parental high-Al olivine tholeiite, followed by varying degrees of contamination of derivative liquids by country rocks. The S-contamination process was essential for the development of Cu–Ni mineralization, and was restricted to the earliest stages in the development of the Duluth Complex at a time when volatile species such as S and H2O, and low-T partial melts of country rocks, were available to magmas.

Formation of hybrid cumulates: melatroctolites in Intrusion 4 of the Honningsvåg Intrusive Suite, northern Norway

New mapping shows that the 1160-m-thick Layered Series of the mafic to ultramafic Intrusion 4 of the Honningsvåg Intrusive Suite, North Norwegian Caledonides, comprises approximately 25% feldspathic peridotite, 55% melatroctolite (olivine-rich troctolite), 5% troctolite, <2% olivine melagabbro (olivine-rich olivine gabbro) and 13–15% olivine gabbro. The cumulate sequence can be divided into eight macrocyclic units, the base of each unit resulting from magma replenishment. Compositions of olivine and plagioclase obtained from ca. 1700 electron microprobe point analyses, display complex and limited variations (Fo 87–74 and An 80–67) relative to stratigraphic height. The origin of olivine-rich cumulates, such as melatroctolites (52–72% olivine) and olivine melagabbros (29–37% olivine), in large quantities, is difficult to explain by either simple fractional crystallisation or conventional layer-forming processes. A new genetic model is proposed involving suspension of pre-existing cumulus crystals during magma recharge in a periodically replenished magma chamber, their partial resorption and simultaneous crystallisation of liquidus olivine. Cumulates formed in this way represent mixtures of crystals that crystallised from compositionally different magmas and are, therefore, termed hybrid cumulates. Apart from their distinctly non-cotectic bulk modal proportions, the hybrid nature of the olivine-rich cumulates is evidenced by partially resorbed plagioclases enclosed within cumulus olivines. The occurrence of resorbed plagioclase inclusions in olivine gabbros and large variations in modal plagioclase content suggest that these may also be hybrid cumulates.