Mantle Of Siberian Craton Research Articles

Protracted fluid-metasomatism of the Siberian diamondiferous subcontinental lithospheric mantle as recorded in coated, cloudy and monocrystalline diamonds

Five typical coated diamonds (from Udachnaya, Yubileynaya, and Aikhal kimberlite pipes) with untypically low microinclusion abundances and four monocrystalline diamonds (Udachnaya, Mir, Nyurbinskaya pipes) that exhibit thin intermediate microinclusion-bearing zones were examined in details for growth structures, characteristic infrared absorption and photoluminescence, and composition of microinclusions. The internal structures of diamonds of both types imply that fluid inclusions entrapment in diamonds does not necessarily relate to the terminal stage of rapid fibrous growth. Instead, nitrogen aggregation state in some diamonds showed that both fibrous coats and inclusion-bearing layers might experience an annealing during mantle residence long enough to pre-date the ultimate kimberlite eruption, whereas the diamonds with internal inclusion-bearing zones also experienced later protracted history of monocrystalline growth. The presence of chloride-carbonate-silicate fluids/melts in monocrystalline diamonds indicate their generation from media generally similar to that observed in some fibrous diamonds. However, the composition of these metasomatizing fluids is different for the mantle beneath Udachnaya (mostly carbonatitic) and other pipes (Aikhal, Yubileynaya, Mir; variable abundance of silicic high-density fluids). The abundance of silica-rich fluids record either a heterogeneous distribution of eclogites in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, or the operation of silica-rich slab-derived fluids. The inclusion abundance as well as the type of growth (fibrous or monocrystalline) is considered to be controlled by the volume of fluid fluxes; in this case, fluid consumption leads to decreasing growth rates, diminishing inclusion entrainment and stability of layered octahedrons. The detected minor compositional variations of high-density fluids in these diamonds may be due to local scale thermal perturbation in the host source and/or limited chemical heterogeneity of the parental fluid. The high amount of chlorides in high-density fluids from monocrystalline diamonds provide a new evidence for compositions of fluids/melts acting as primary metasomatic agent in the deep mantle of Siberian craton.

Formation of Siberian cratonic mantle websterites from high-Mg magmas

Garnet–(olivine) websterite xenoliths from the lithospheric mantle of the central and northeastern parts of the Siberian Craton contain exsolution microstructures after Si- and Ti-rich precursor garnets. We petrographically, geochemically, and thermobarometrically investigated 13 such xenoliths from the Mir, Obnazhennaya, and Udachnaya kimberlite pipes. All samples contain garnet grains with needle- to lamellae-shaped precipitates (up to 3.0 vol%), including Ti-oxide and/or pyroxene. Orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene grains host oriented lamellae of complementary Ca-rich and Ca-poor pyroxene, respectively, in addition to lamellae of garnet and Ti- and/or Cr-oxides. The common exsolution lamellae assemblages in garnet and pyroxene imply that exsolution occurred during cooling from high-temperature precursors. Exsolution is unlikely to have resulted from variations in pressure, given experimental and thermodynamic constraints. Host mineral partitioning of transition metal and lanthanide elements with different diffusivities record temperatures that range between those of local geotherms and a dry pyroxenite solidus. Inferred magmatic minimum temperatures of 1500–1700 °C satisfy the physical conditions predicted from experimental studies of the solubility of excess Si and Ti in garnet. Granular inclusions of all major minerals within each other imply an overlapping crystallisation history. The reconstructed compositions of the websterite whole-rocks have high MgO contents (15.7–35.7 wt%). A plot of MgO/SiO2 versus SiO2 forms an array, apart from the compositions of natural websterites that formed by interaction of peridotite with basaltic or siliceous melts. The array overlaps the compositional range of komatiite flows from Commondale and Barberton, South Africa, including spinifex, massive, and cumulate subtypes of komatiites. Other major and minor element abundances and ratios of the Siberian websterite suite resemble those of South African Al-enriched komatiites and are distinct from melt–rock reaction websterites. Therefore, the mineral microstructures and geochemistry of the Siberian websterites are suggestive of the former presence of a thermal anomaly. We propose that mantle plume activity or a similar form of lower-mantle ascent played a major role in stabilising cratonic nuclei before amalgamation of the present-day Siberian Craton.

Post-Archean formation of the lithospheric mantle in the central Siberian craton: Re–Os and PGE study of peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite

The formation age of the Siberian cratonic mantle is not well established. Re–Os data on various mantle-derived materials brought up by kimberlite magmas have shown that it contains Archean components, but the reported ages range broadly (3.4 to <1Ga). We report Re–Os isotope and PGE concentration data for a suite of 29 fresh, well-characterized xenoliths from the Udachnaya-East kimberlite representing all major peridotite rock types and a large part of the cratonic mantle profile. Several xenoliths with very low Os contents (<0.3ppb) and/or high Re/Os ratios are not suitable for age estimates. The Os (and Ir) depletions are common in cpx-bearing spinel harzburgites and coarse garnet harzburgites, but are not found in deformed, high-T peridotites. Twenty refractory (Al2O3 0.1–1.6%) peridotites yield TRD ages from 0.9 to 2.2Ga. TRD for a subset of six high-Mg# (0.92–0.93), low-T (⩽930°C) spinel harzburgites and a single garnet harzburgite yield a narrow range from 2.0 to 2.2Ga with an average of 2.1±0.1Ga, which we consider the best estimate for the age of the melting event that initially formed the lithospheric mantle beneath Udachnaya. The TRD estimates for less refractory (Mg# 0.907–0.919) deformed garnet peridotites show a greater range and are generally lower (0.9–2.0Ga; average 1.54±0.28Ga) apparently due to the effects of melt metasomatism on the initial melting residues. The predominant part of the mantle in the central Siberian craton formed in the Paleoproterozoic and not in the Archean, unlike cratons in southern Africa and North America. Minor older components reported earlier from Udachnaya may be fragments of pre-existing lithosphere trapped during stacking of melting residues formed about 2Ga ago. We argue that the formation of cratonic lithospheric mantle, with common high-Mg# (⩾0.92) and opx-enriched peridotites, was not limited to the Archean as previously thought, but continued in the Paleoproterozoic, i.e. that asthenospheric mantle was generally hot enough to experience high-degree melting on a large scale and thus sustain the “Archean” tectonic regime till much later in the Earth’s history.

Paleoproterozoic formation age for the Siberian cratonic mantle: Hf and Nd isotope data on refractory peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite

The formation age of the Siberian cratonic mantle is not well established as yet. Re–Os data on various mantle-derived materials have shown that it contains Archaean components, but the reported Re-depletion ages show a broad variation range (3.4 to 1Ga) and are commonly ≤2Ga for peridotite xenoliths. We report Hf and Nd isotope data for cpx and garnet separated from nine refractory spinel and garnet peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite. The cpx from low-opx spinel harzburgites show extremely high εHf values, from +607 to +2084, which testify to long-term evolution of these rocks with high Lu/Hf ratios, consistent with their residual origin and near absence of post-melting enrichments in the Lu–Hf system. Such high εHf values are unusual for cpx from other cratonic peridotites and are higher than those reported for depleted cpx in off-cratonic peridotites. The clinopyroxenes from low-opx spinel harzburgites yield Hf model ages from 1.9 to 1.7Ga while the cpx from high-opx spinel harzburgites yield Hf model ages from 3.0 to 1.9Ga. When plotted together, they define a Lu/Hf isochron with an age of 1.80Ga, which we consider as a robust estimate of the formation age (melt extraction event) because it is obtained on residual rocks that show no evidence for HREE and Hf enrichments and because the model ages for three out of four individual samples are similar to each other. The cpx have high εNd of +94 to +123, which are inconsistent with their low Sm/NdPM of <1 and yield no meaningful age estimates. The consistently high, positive εNd in these cpxs can be interpreted in terms of long-term evolution of refractory peridotites with high Sm/Nd, followed by relatively recent LREE enrichments.We infer that a significant part of the lithospheric mantle in the central Siberian craton may have been formed during a major event (or a series of events) at around 1.8Ga. Older ages reported for the central Siberian craton may refer to less common materials from cratonic or other domains formed in the Archaean that were later incorporated into the cratonic roots. The transition from the “Archaean” to “modern” tectonic regimes in Siberia and possibly elsewhere may have taken place at 1.8–1.9Ga rather than at ~2.5Ga, i.e. in the second half of the Paleoproterozoic rather than at the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary, at which time the asthenospheric mantle became generally too cold to experience high-degree melting on a large scale. The ~1.8Ga formation age of the Siberian cratonic mantle is coeval with that for a major part of the ancient continental crust in the central Siberian craton. The temporal crust–mantle links may be explained either by the generation of the initial source materials for continental crust in the same melting event that formed the residual peridotites or, alternatively, by subduction and melting of pre-existing proto-lithosphere destabilized by a major mantle upwelling that formed the residual mantle.

High water contents in the Siberian cratonic mantle linked to metasomatism: An FTIR study of Udachnaya peridotite xenoliths

The processes that control water distribution in nominally anhydrous minerals from peridotites are twofold. Melt depletion will remove water while metasomatism can potentially add water to these minerals. These processes can lead to a wide range of outcomes in water contents, which in turn could play a role in mantle rheology and long-term cratonic root stability. To examine these complexities, water concentrations in minerals from well-characterized peridotites from the Udachnaya kimberlite in the central Siberian craton were analyzed by FTIR. The peridotites span a complete top to bottom cross-section of typical cratonic lithospheric mantle (2–7GPa and 700–1400°C). Diffusion modeling of water content profiles across olivine grains shows that water loss during decompression is limited to the 100μm rims of olivines; the cores preserved their mantle water contents. Water contents range from 6 to 323ppm wt H2O in olivine, 28–301ppm H2O in orthopyroxene (opx), 100–272ppm H2O in clinopyroxene (cpx) and 0–23ppm H2O in garnet. Melting modeling cannot reproduce the high water contents of cratonic mantle peridotites and any potential partial melting trend must have been erased by later events. The water contents of minerals, however, are correlated with modal abundances of clinopyroxene and garnet, bulk rock FeO, TiO2 and SiO2 as well as with light and middle rare earth elements in clinopyroxene and garnet. These relationships are best interpreted as interaction of residual, melt-depleted peridotites with silicate melt, which produced modal and cryptic metasomatism. Importantly, the water enrichment in the Siberian cratonic mantle took place prior to kimberlite magmatism and eruption. Water addition by metasomatism occurred from pressures >4GPa all the way to the base of the cratonic root below central Siberia, but was limited to shallower levels (<5GPa) in the Kaapvaal cratonic lithosphere. The difference in olivine water contents at the deepest levels of the Kaapvaal (<5ppm H2O) and Siberian (6–323ppm H2O) cratonic roots may be linked to oxygen fugacity and resulting fluid speciation or, alternatively, to reaction with different metasomatic agents. Calculated viscosities for the deepest Udachnaya samples are similar to those inferred for the asthenosphere. If these xenoliths are representative of the deep cratonic lithosphere, water is not as important a parameter as previously thought in the strength of cratonic lithosphere, otherwise the cratonic root beneath Udachnaya would have been delaminated. Alternatively, the metasomatic xenoliths may not be representative of the Siberian cratonic root and kimberlites preferentially sample cratonic mantle lithosphere material located near, and metasomatized by, melt conduits, which served as channels for upward migration of water-rich melts and fluids including kimberlites. In that case, the cratonic root overall still may have relatively low water contents, which in addition to its less metasomatized (more refractory) and thereby buoyant nature, still play a role in making it strong enough to resist delamination by the surrounding asthenosphere.

Petrological-geophysical models of the internal structure of the lithospheric mantle of the Siberian Craton

Based on the simultaneous inversion of unique ultralong-range seismic profiles Craton, Kimberlite, Meteorite, and Rift, sourced by peaceful nuclear and chemical explosions, and petrological and geochemical data on the composition of xenoliths of garnet peridotite and fertile primitive mantle material, the first reconstruction was obtained for the thermal state and density of the lithospheric mantle of the Siberian craton at depths of 100–300 km accounting for the effects of phase transformation, anharmonicity, and anelasticity. The upper mantle beneath Siberia is characterized by significant variations in seismic velocities, relief of seismic boundaries, degree of layering, and distribution of temperature and density. The mapping of the present-day lateral and vertical variations in the thermal state of the mantle showed that temperatures in the central part of the craton at depths of 100–200 km are somewhat lower than those at the periphery and 300–400°C lower than the mean temperature of tectonically younger mantle surrounding the craton. The temperature profiles derived from the seismic models lie between the 32.5 and 35 mW/m2 conductive geotherms, and the mantle heat flow was estimated as 11–17 mW/m2. The depth of the base of the cratonic thermal lithosphere (thermal boundary layer) is close to the 1450 ± 100°C isotherm at 300 ± 30 km, which is consistent with published heat flow, thermobarometry, and seismic tomography data. It was shown that the density distribution in the Siberian cratonic mantle cannot be described by a single homogeneous composition, either depleted or enriched. In addition to thermal anomalies, the mantle density heterogeneities must be related to variations in chemical composition with depth. This implies significant fertilization at depths greater than 180–200 km and is compatible with the existence of chemical stratification in the lithospheric mantle of the craton. In the asthenosphere-lithosphere transition zone, the craton root material is not very different in chemical composition, thermal regime, and density from the underlying asthenosphere. It was shown that minor variations in the chemical composition of the cratonic mantle and position of chemical (petrological) boundaries and the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary cannot be reliably determined from the interpretation of seismic velocity models only.

Thermodynamic-Geophysical Modeling of the Interior Structure of the Siberian Cratonic Mantle along Cross-Cutting Profiles Kimberlite and Meteorite

Using a thermodynamic-geophysical approach, we map the 2-D interior structure of the Siberian cratonic mantle along the ultra-long cross-cutting seismic profiles Kimberlite and Meteorite carried out in Russia with peaceful nuclear explosions. There is a systematic decrease in temperature from west to east for the Kimberlite profile and a weak decrease from NW to SE for the Meteorite profile. Cratonic mantle shows a significant heterogeneity in the distribution of seismic velocities, temperature and density, topography of seismic boundaries and degree of layering at depths up to ~200 km reflecting somewhat different thermal state along both seismic profiles. Temperatures in the central part of the craton are somewhat lower than those at the periphery and 300-400°C lower than the average temperature in the surrounding mantle. A change of composition from depleted to fertile material reveals a negligible effect on seismic velocities that is practically unresolved by seismic methods, but remains the most important factor for the density increase of cratonic root. The distribution of density in the mantle cannot be attributed to any single composition, either depleted or enriched in basaltic components. This finding suggests a significant fertilization with depth and is compatible with the chemical stratification in the root of the craton. The thickness of the thermal boundary layer (TBL, conductive lid + transition layer) can be estimated as 300 ± 30 km thick along the Kimberlite and Meteorite profiles. At the base of the TBL, the temperature is close to 1450 ± 100°C isotherm; the calculated density corresponds to the PREM model density

Metasomatic Processes in the Central Siberian Cratonic Mantle: Evidence from Garnet Xenocrysts from the Zagadochnaya Kimberlite

(Cr2O3 ¼ 0·5^9· 3w t %, CaO¼ 3·2^10· 3w t %), with510% falling in the wehrlitic field and 53% falling in a transitional region between the lherzolitic and harzburgitic fields. A representative subset of the garnets (n ¼ 28) was further analysed for trace elements by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Based on both major and trace element data, three main compositional groups are distinguished: Group A garnets (Cr2O3 ¼ 1·3^5·2 wt %) may contain inclusions of chromian diopside and are characterized by progressively increasing, chondrite (CI)-normalized rare earth element (REE) abundances from La to Lu; Group B garnets (Cr2O3 ¼ 5·4^8·6 wt %) are less depleted in light REE (LREE) and show nearly flat patterns from Sm to Lu; Group C garnets (Cr2O3 ¼ 7·3^8·4 wt %) are characterized by humped to strongly sinusoidal REE patterns, with Yb between 0· 5a nd 3·0 � CI. Numerical simulations of melt^rock interactions show that the wide spectrum of garnet REE compositions can be produced by a unique episode of melt injection and percolation through a refractory mantle column, whereby the melt progressively changes its composition owing to chromatographic ion exchange, fractional crystallization, and assimilation of peridotitic minerals, under decreasing melt/rock ratios. The calculated composition of the metasomatizing melt has a kimberlitic affinity, but is distinct from the composition of the host Zagadochnaya kimberlite. Most of the Group B and C garnets show replacement by a secondary mineral assemblage of (Ca, Cr)-poor garnet, chromian diopside, and chro

Seismic velocities, anisotropy and deformation in Siberian cratonic mantle: EBSD data on xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite

The study presents microstructures and crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) of minerals obtained by electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) in a suite of 23 fresh mantle xenoliths (20 peridotites, 2 eclogites and 1 pyroxenite) from the Udachnaya kimberlite in central Siberian craton. The suite includes coarse spinel- and garnet-facies peridotites equilibrated at 760–1000 °C from the upper part of the mantle lithosphere (45–160 km) and porphyroclastic garnet peridotites from the base of the lithosphere (160–210 km; 1200–1320 °C). The data indicate that dislocation creep is the main deformation mechanism in the peridotites and eclogites. The CPO patterns of olivine suggest a dominant activation of the (010) [100] slip system. Within this general pattern, coarse peridotites show a better alignment of [100]-olivine while porphyroclastic rocks have a better alignment of [010]-olivine. Recrystallization in the porphyroclastic peridotites reduces olivine grain size and facilitates the development of a mosaic matrix that leads to a decrease in the CPO strength. Orthopyroxene in peridotites slips parallel to (100) [001]; clinopyroxene shows a clear slip direction on [001] in both peridotites and eclogites. Seismic properties estimated from the CPO data and modal abundances of major minerals show significant differences between peridotites, eclogites and pyroxenites; some differences also exist between peridotite types. Importantly, coarse peridotites have much higher anisotropy than eclogites and may yield higher P-wave velocities in the fast direction (V p ≥ 8.8 km/s). Thus, the extremely high sub-Moho velocities (V p > 8.7 km/s) reported from some seismic profiles in the Siberian craton can be better explained by strong anisotropy of coarse peridotites in a horizontally foliated mantle rather than by the presence of abundant eclogites.

Composition of the Siberian cratonic mantle: evidence from Udachnaya peridotite xenoliths

Bulk compositions and mineral analyses for forty-one, large, garnet- and spinel-facies peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite in the central Siberian platform have many similarities to those of well-studied peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa. Coarse Mg-rich lherzolites and harzburgites with equilibration temperatures below 1000 °C are abundant and are believed to form the principal rock type in the Siberian lithosphere. The low-temperature Udachnaya peridotites have an average mg number [Mg/(Mg+Fe)] of 92.6 with a wide dispersion in modal enstatite, ranging to over 40 wt%. High-temperature peridotites are relatively richer in Fe and Ti and are commonly deformed, with porphyroclastic or mosaic-porphyroclastic textures, some of the latter having fluidized enstatite. The Udachnaya peridotites have experienced late-stage metasomatism before, during and after eruption. Garnets and pyroxenes in many of the high-temperature rocks are zoned, probably by reaction with melt prior to eruption. Virtually all the peridotites contain secondary diopside, inhomogeneous on a micron scale, that mantles primary orthopyroxene. It is believed to have crystallized along with lesser amounts of intergranular calcite and monticellite during eruption. Bulk analyses for total Fe in many specimens are higher than whole-rock Fe calculated from the electron probe analyses and the modes. The magnitude of the difference between the two measurements of total Fe correlates with loss-on-ignition, suggesting that Fe has been introduced during serpentinization following eruption. These late metasomatic processes have thus affected some major as well minor and trace element compositions. The similarities in bulk composition of peridotites from Udachnaya and the Kaapvaal are evidence of a common origin. Low-temperature cratonic peridotites differ from oceanic peridotites in having higher mg numbers (>92) and in having relatively high but wide-ranging modal enstatite (Mg/Si = 1.06–1.49 weight fraction). The Udachnaya low-temperature peridotites have an inverse correlation between FeO (calculated from the probe analyses and modes) and SiO2. This correlation is also present in the Kaapvaal data but is complicated by a greater range in fertility that produces a positive variation of Fe with Si. A negative trend for Fe/Si can be seen within a portion of the Kaapvaal data, that for low-Ca harzburgites, in which the variation in fertility is restricted. The negative trends for Fe/Si can be interpreted as a consequence of either segregation of olivine and orthopyroxene by metamorphic differentiation or partial sorting during cumulate formation.