Xenolith Data Research Articles

Thermal and compositional structure of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle: Derivation from shear wave seismic tomography

Seismic tomography can provide unique information on the structure of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM), but seismic velocity reflects both temperature and composition. We present a methodology for evaluating and isolating the relative contributions of these effects, which produces maps of regional geotherm and broad compositional constraints on the SCLM from the inversion of shear wave (Vs) seismic tomography. This approach uses model geotherms quantized in steps of 2.5 mW/m2 and three mantle compositions corresponding to typical Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic SCLM. Starting from an assumed composition for a volume of SCLM, lithospheric density at surface pressure and temperature is calculated for each geotherm at each point; the optimum geotherm is taken as the one yielding a density closest to the mean value derived from mantle xenoliths (3.31 g/cm3), since density varies with composition. Results requiring densities or geotherms outside the known natural range of these parameters worldwide require the choice of a different mantle composition. This technique, applied iteratively to a 275 km × 275 km Vs model developed by S. Grand (University of Texas, Austin), results in maps of the geotherm and regional density, which allow interpretation of SCLM composition within broad limits. These results can then be compared with local (paleo)geotherms and data for mantle composition, derived from xenolith suites. Application of this technique to the SCLM beneath Africa, Siberia, and North America shows good correlation with regional geological features, xenolith data, and other geophysical data.

Geochemistry and petrology of Tertiary volcanic rocks and related ultramafic xenoliths from the central and eastern Oman Mountains

The Tertiary volcanic rocks of the central and the eastern parts of the Oman Mountains consist mainly of basanites with abundant upper mantle ultramafic xenoliths. The lavas are alkaline (42–43 wt.% SiO 2; 3.5–5.5 wt.% Na 2O + K 2O). They include primitive (11–14 wt.% MgO) features with strong OIB-like geochemical signatures. Trace element and Sr–Nd isotope data for the basanites suggest mixing of melts derived from variable degrees of melting of both garnet- and spinel lherzolite-facies mantle source. The associated xenolith suite consists mainly of spinel and Cr-bearing diopside wehrlite, lherzolite and dunite with predominantly granuloblastic textures. No significant difference in chemistry was found between the basanites and xenoliths from the central and eastern Oman Mountains, which indicate a similar mantle source. Calculated oxygen fugacity indicates equilibration of the xenoliths at − 0.43 to − 2.2 log units above the fayalite–magnetite–quartz (FMQ) buffer. Mantle xenolith equilibration temperatures range from 910–1045 + 50 °C at weakly constrained pressures between 13 and 21 kbar. Xenolith data and geophysical studies indicate that the Moho is located at a depth of ∼ 40 km. A geotherm substantially hotter (90 mW m − 2 ) than the crust–mantle boundary (45 mW m − 2 ) is indicated and probably relates to tectonothermal events associated with the local and regional Tertiary magmatism. The petrogenesis of the Omani Tertiary basanites is explained by partial melting of an asthenospheric mantle protolith during an extension phase predating opening of the Gulf of Aden and plume-related alkaline volcanic rocks.

Global 1° × 1° thermal model TC1 for the continental lithosphere: Implications for lithosphere secular evolution

This paper reports a new 1° × 1° global thermal model for the continental lithosphere (TC1). Geotherms for continental terranes of different ages (> 3.6 Ga to present) constrained by reliable data on borehole heat flow measurements (Artemieva, I.M., Mooney, W.D. 2001. Thermal structure and evolution of Precambrian lithosphere: a global study. J. Geophys. Res 106, 16387–16414.), are statistically analyzed as a function of age and are used to estimate lithospheric temperatures in continental regions with no or low-quality heat flow data (ca. 60% of the continents). These data are supplemented by cratonic geotherms based on electromagnetic and xenolith data; the latter indicate the existence of Archean cratons with two characteristic thicknesses, ca. 200 and > 250 km. A map of tectono-thermal ages of lithospheric terranes complied for the continents on a 1° × 1° grid and combined with the statistical age relationship of continental geotherms ( z = 0.04 ⁎ t + 93.6, where z is lithospheric thermal thickness in km and t is age in Ma) formed the basis for a new global thermal model of the continental lithosphere (TC1). The TC1 model is presented by a set of maps, which show significant thermal heterogeneity within continental upper mantle, with the strongest lateral temperature variations (as large as 800 °C) in the shallow mantle. A map of the depth to a 550 °C isotherm (Curie isotherm for magnetite) in continental upper mantle is presented as a proxy to the thickness of the magnetic crust; the same map provides a rough estimate of elastic thickness of old (> 200 Ma) continental lithosphere, in which flexural rigidity is dominated by olivine rheology of the mantle. Statistical analysis of continental geotherms reveals that thick (> 250 km) lithosphere is restricted solely to young Archean terranes (3.0–2.6 Ga), while in old Archean cratons (3.6–3.0 Ga) lithospheric roots do not extend deeper than 200–220 km. It is proposed that the former were formed by tectonic stacking and underplating during paleocollision of continental nuclei; it is likely that such exceptionally thick lithospheric roots have a limited lateral extent and are restricted to paleoterrane boundaries. This conclusion is supported by an analysis of the growth rate of the lithosphere since the Archean, which does not reveal a peak in lithospheric volume at 2.7–2.6 Ga as expected from growth curves for juvenile crust. A pronounced peak in the rate of lithospheric growth (10–18 km 3/year) at 2.1–1.7 Ga (as compared to 5–8 km 3/year in the Archean) well correlates with a peak in the growth of juvenile crust and with a consequent global extraction of massif-type anorthosites. It is proposed that large-scale variations in lithospheric thickness at cratonic margins and at paleoterrane boundaries controlled anorogenic magmatism. In particular, mid-Proterozoic anorogenic magmatism at the cratonic margins was caused by edge-driven convection triggered by a fast growth of the lithospheric mantle at 2.1–1.7 Ga. Belts of anorogenic magmatism within cratonic interiors can be caused by a deflection of mantle heat by a locally thickened lithosphere at paleosutures and, thus, can be surface manifestations of exceptionally thick lithospheric roots. The present volume of continental lithosphere as estimated from the new global map of lithospheric thermal thickness is 27.8 (± 7.0) × 10 9 km 3 (excluding submerged terranes with continental crust); preserved continental crust comprises ca. 7.7 × 10 9 km 3. About 50% of the present continental lithosphere existed by 1.8 Ga.

Southern African crustal evolution and composition: Constraints from receiver function studies

Stacking of approximately 1500 radial receiver functions recorded at about 80 broadband seismic stations deployed in southern Africa reveals systematic spatial variations in the ratio of crustal P and S wave velocities (ϕ), crustal thickness (H), and the amplitude of the converted Moho phases (R). The eastern Zimbabwe and the southern Kaapvaal cratons are characterized by small H (∼38 km), small ϕ (∼1.73), and large R (∼0.15) values, suggesting that the relatively undisturbed Archean crust beneath southern Africa is separated from the mantle by a sharp Moho and is felsic in composition. The Limpopo belt, which was created by a collisional event at 2.7 Ga, displays large H (∼43 km) but similar ϕ and R values relative to the cratonic areas. The Bushveld Mafic Intrusion Complex and its surrounding areas show large ϕ (∼1.78), large H (∼43 km), and small R (∼0.11) values, reflecting the intrusion of mafic material into the original crust as a result of the Bushveld event at 2.05 Ga. Excluding the Bushveld, the spatially consistent and age‐independent low ϕ accentuate the difference between felsic crustal composition and more mafic island arcs that are thought to be the likely source of continental material. Within such an island arc model, our data, combined with xenolith data excluding mantle delamination in cratonic environments, suggest that the modification to a felsic composition (e.g., by the partial melting of basalt and removal of residue by delamination) is restricted to have occurred during the collision between the arcs and the continent.

Upper mantle structure beneath the eastern Colorado Plateau and Rio Grande rift revealed by Bouguer gravity, seismic velocities, and xenolith data

The lithospheric architecture of the Colorado Plateau–Rio Grande rift transition zone reflects a narrow corridor of active tectonism and magmatism between the tectonically stable Colorado Plateau and the stable interior of North America. In this paper we analyze Bouguer gravity data, crustal thickness variations, xenolith data, and seismic wave speed structure to argue that the Rio Grande rift and southeastern Colorado Plateau is underlain by a low‐density upper mantle province that does not trend along upper crustal tectonic boundaries but, rather, is correlated with regions of middle to late Tertiary magmatism. We model uppermost mantle density contrasts using Bouguer gravity along five parallel profiles across the Colorado Plateau and validate our models by converting modeled density contrasts to seismic velocity variations for comparison with regional seismic data, as well as comparing modeled densities to calculated densities from xenoliths. We find that upper crustal features and crustal thickness variations do not explain long‐wavelength (>200 km) variations in Bouguer gravity across the Colorado Plateau–Rio Grande rift. A large 200–440 km wide region of low uppermost mantle density is modeled beneath the eastern Colorado Plateau margin, Jemez Lineament, Rio Grande rift, and parts of the westernmost Great Plains. This region has a density contrast of −90 to −30 kg/m3 relative to the adjacent Colorado Plateau and Great Plains provinces and coincides with previously imaged regions of low upper mantle seismic velocities. In situ densities inferred from xenolith data in the Colorado Plateau support the modeled upper mantle density variations and support the idea that the eastern and western margins of the plateau have been significantly modified by metasomatism. We suggest that the region of low upper mantle density likely reflects some combination of temperature variations, partial melt contents, and compositional variations related to Tertiary magmatic activity and/or thinned lithosphere. The relationship of this zone of modified upper mantle to extension in the Rio Grande rift remains enigmatic, however, particularly given the lack of spatial correlation between the trends of upper mantle structures and surficial extensional structures.

Imaging the seismic structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath the Great Plains, Rio Grande Rift, and Colorado Plateau using receiver functions

The seismic structure of the crust and upper mantle of the southwestern United States is examined using receiver functions calculated from teleseismic arrivals recorded in the Colorado Plateau–Rio Grande Rift–Great Plains Seismic Transect (LA RISTRA) experiment. We apply receiver function estimation and filtering methods developed by Wilson and Aster (2005) to produce receiver functions with decreased sensitivity to noise and deconvolutional instability. Crustal thickness and Vp/Vs ratios are estimated using both direct and reverberated P‐to‐S receiver function modes. We apply regularized receiver function migration methods to produce a multiple‐suppressed image of the velocity discontinuity structure of the subsurface. Our results show that crustal thickness averages 44.1 ± 2.3 km beneath the Great Plains (GP) and 45.6 ± 1.1 km beneath the Colorado Plateau (CP). Crustal thinning beneath the Rio Grande Rift (RGR) is broadly symmetric about the rift axis, with the thinnest crust (35 km) located directly beneath the rift axis, suggesting a pure shear stretched lithosphere beneath the RGR. We also observe a prominent northwest dipping discontinuity, ranging from 65 to 85 km deep beneath the CP, and possible subcrustal discontinuities beneath the GP. These discontinuities, along with recent xenolith data, are consistent with preserved ancient lithospheric structures such as relict suture zones associated with Proterozoic subduction. We observe an upper mantle discontinuity at 220–300 km depth that may correlate with similar discontinuities observed beneath eastern North America. We also observe relatively flat discontinuities at 410 and 660 km depth, indicating there is not a large‐scale thermal anomaly beneath the RGR at these depths.

The role of chemical boundary layers in regulating the thickness of continental and oceanic thermal boundary layers

An important feature of continents and oceans is that they are underlain by chemically distinct mantle, made intrinsically buoyant and highly viscous by melt depletion and accompanying dehydration, respectively. Of interest here are the influences of these preexisting chemical boundary layers on small-scale convective processes (as opposed to large-scale processes, which govern the drift of continents and the eventual fate of oceanic thermal boundary layers, e.g., subduction) at the base of the oceanic and continental thermal boundary layers. This manuscript explores the endmember in which dehydrated and melt-depleted boundary layers are assumed to be strong (in the viscous sense) and chemically buoyant enough that they do not partake in any secondary convection, that is, vertical heat transfer through these lids occurs purely by conduction. This assumption implies that the only part of the thermal boundary layer that participates in secondary convection resides beneath the strong chemical boundary layer. For oceans, this leads to the condition that the onset time of convective instability is suppressed until after the thermal boundary layer has cooled through the base of the strong chemical boundary layer, whose thickness is defined at the outset by the depth at which the solid mantle adiabat crosses the anhydrous peridotite solidus. A scaling law is presented that accounts for the presence of a preexisting strong chemical boundary layer and predicts that the onset time of convective instability beneath oceans correlates with the thickness of the chemical boundary layer, which itself correlates with the potential temperature of the mantle at the time of melting. Estimated paleo-potential temperatures required to generate old oceanic crust in the Pacific and Atlantic may in fact be correlated with onset time of seafloor flattening, but more data are needed to confirm these preliminary observations. Finally, for continents, recent numerical models suggest that the thickness of the convective sublayer, hence the total thermal boundary layer thickness, is also controlled by the thickness of a preexisting strong chemical boundary layer. Xenolith data from cratons are shown to be largely consistent with the model-predicted relationship between the thicknesses of the chemical and thermal boundary layers beneath continents. The conclusion of this study is that the nature of both oceanic and continental thermal boundary layers is likely to be linked to preexisting strong chemical boundary layers.

Nonequilibrium temperatures and cooling rates in thick continental lithosphere

In thick continental lithosphere, the time‐scale for diffusive heat transport is comparable to the half‐lives of Uranium, Thorium and Potassium, implying that temperatures are not in equilibrium with the instantaneous rate of radiogenic heat generation. Solving the heat equation with decaying heat sources leads to a vertical temperature profile which exhibits significant curvature and which may be hotter than a steady‐state profile by as much as 150K. Applying a steady‐state thermal model to xenolith (P, T) data leads to an overestimate of the mantle heat flow. The lithospheric mantle undergoes secular cooling even when thermal conditions at the base of the lithosphere remain steady. Predicted cooling rates are in the range of 50–150 K Ga−1, close to values reported recently for mantle xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton, South Africa. Time‐dependent thermal models depend explicitly on, and hence allow new constraints on, lithosphere thickness.

Composition of the lower crust of the Arabian Plate: a xenolith perspective

Petrological and geochemical data for a suite of mafic granulite xenoliths in Cenozoic alkali basalts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria provide a unique opportunity to explore the composition and nature of the lower crust beneath the Arabian Plate. Two mineralogically and chemically distinct groups of xenoliths occur. Group I is composed of two pyroxenes and plagioclase approximately in equal amounts. Group II is plagioclase rich and has variable proportions of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene. The xenolith mineral assemblages and geothermobarometry of coexisting minerals suggest that these xenoliths represent basaltic cumulates that crystallized under high-pressure conditions in the lower crust. The xenoliths possibly form a part of a lower crustal gabbroic intrusive complex that underlies the Arabian Plate and may represent mafic roots of an arc complex of Pan-African age beneath Arabia. The xenolith data are compatible with available geophysical models on crust thickness and layering. The crust is between 20 and 40 km thick, and its lower part consists of mafic meta-igneous granulites. The chemical averages of xenoliths from different parts of the Arabian Plate are more mafic than the estimated present-day average of model lower crust.

Petrology and geochemistry of crustal and upper mantle xenoliths from the Venetia Diamond Mine - evidence for Archean crustal growth and subduction

Petrographical and geochemical ( i.e. mineral and whole rock major, REE) data, and geothermobarometry estimates for a suite of crustal and upper mantle xenoliths from the Venetia Diamond Mine suggest a major crust forming event involving both subduction and crustal thickening between ~3.0 to ~2.6 Ga. The compositionally diverse xenoliths of felsic to mafic amphibolite, and granulite, and eclogite are compatible with being the respective protolith and restites involved in partial melting. Conditions of melting are constrained by comparing the characteristics of the xenoliths from Venetia with those of experimental charges from recent amphibolite melting experiments. The resulting melt products are correlated with Throndhjemite-Tonalite-Granite (TTG) lithologies currently exposed in the Northern Marginal and Central Zones of the Limpopo Belt. Geochemical data for the eclogite xenoliths in this study suggest that they may be remnants of Archean oceanic crust which has had partial melt extracted from it during subduction, whereas the intermediate-felsic garnet-quartz xenoliths are compatible with being restites from melting shallow, more ferroan sources during crustal thickening. A new geotectonic model for the Limpopo Belt based on the xenolith data is suggested.

The Southern Sierra Nevada Drip and the Mantle Wind Direction Beneath the Southwestern United States

The Miocene-Pliocene convective removal of the southern Sierra Nevada batholithic root and its sinking through the upper mantle provides a natural experiment to estimate the direction and velocity of mantle flow beneath the southwestern United States. Xenolith data, volcanism patterns, and geologic evidence are used to constrain the location and timing of the initial detachment. Seismic tomography images of the upper mantle are used to determine the displacement of the downwelling "tail" by the background mantle flow. The "mantle wind" direction based on this analysis is estimated to be SSW, in contradiction to another recent estimate based on a combination of geodetic data and shear-wave splitting measurements. The conflicting conclusions can be reconciled if the splitting measurements are dominated by anisotropy in the shallow mantle imposed by lithospheric motion. The SSW direction is approximately consistent with global models of asthenospheric counterflow directions, and therefore supports the idea that self-driving plate forces can explain the absolute motion of the North American plate.

Constraints on mantle evolution from 187Os/ 188Os isotopic compositions of Archean ultramafic rocks from southern West Greenland (3.8 Ga) and Western Australia (3.46 Ga)

Initial 187Os/ 188Os isotopic compositions for geochronologically and geologically well -constrained 3.8-Ga spinel peridotites from the Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland and chromite separates from 3.46-Ga komatiites from the Pilbara region of Western Australia have been determined to investigate the osmium isotopic evolution of the early terrestrial mantle. The measured compositions of 187Os/ 188Os(0) = 0.10262 ± 2, from an olivine separate, and 0.10329 ± 3, for a spinel separate from ∼3.8-Ga peridotite G93/42, are the lowest yet reported from any terrestrial sample. The corrections for in situ decay over 3.8 Ga for these low Re/Os phases are minimal and change the isotopic compositions by only 0.5 and 2.2% for the spinel and the olivine, respectively, resulting in 187Os/ 188Os (3.8 Ga) = 0.1021 ± 0.0002 and 0.1009 ± 0.0002, respectively. These data extend direct measurement of Os isotopic compositions to much earlier periods of Earth history than previously documented and provide the best constraints on the Os isotopic composition of the early Archean terrestrial mantle. Analyses of Pilbara chromites yield 3.46-Ga mantle compositions of 0.1042 ± 0.0002 and 0.1051 ± 0.0002. These new data, combined with published initial Os isotopic compositions from late Archean and early Proterozoic samples, are compatible with the mantle, or at least portions of it, evolving from a solar system initially defined by meteorites to a modern composition of 187Os/ 188Os(0) = 0.1296 ± 0.0008 as previously suggested from peridotite xenolith data ( Meisel et al., 2001); the associated 187Re/ 188Os(0) = 0.435 ± 0.005. Thus, chondritic 187Os/ 188Os compositions were a feature of the upper mantle for at least 3.8 billion years, requiring chondritic Re/Os ratios to have been a characteristic of the very early terrestrial mantle. In contrast, nonchondritic initial compositions of some Archean komatiites demonstrate that Os isotopic heterogeneity is an ancient feature of plume materials, reflecting the development of variable Re/Os mantle sources early in Earth history. The lower average 187Os/ 188Os = 0.1247 for abyssal peridotites ( Snow and Reisberg, 1995) indicate that not all regions of the modern mantle have evolved with the same Re/Os ratio. The relative sizes of the various reservoirs are unknown, although mass balance considerations can provide some general constraints. For example, if the unradiogenic 187Os/ 188Os modern abyssal peridotite compositions reflect the prevalent upper mantle composition, then the complementary high Re/Os basaltic reservoir must represent 20 to 40% by mass of the upper mantle (taken here as 50% of the entire mantle), depending on the mean storage age. The difficulties associated with efficient long-term storage of such large volumes of subducted basalt suggest that the majority of the upper mantle is not significantly Re-depleted. Rather, abyssal peridotites sample anomalous mantle regions. The existence of 3.8-Ga mantle peridotites with chondritic 187Os/ 188Os compositions and with Os concentrations similar to the mean abundances measured in modern peridotites places an upper limit on the timing of a late accretionary veneer. These observations require that any highly siderophile element -rich component must have been added to the Earth and transported into and grossly homogenized within the mantle by 3.8 Ga. Either large-scale mixing of impact materials occurred on very short (0–100 myr) timescales or (the interpretation preferred here) the late veneer of highly siderophile elements is unrelated to the lunar terminal cataclysm estimated to have occurred at ∼3.8 to 3.9 Ga.

The carbon isotope geochemistry of mantle xenoliths

Carbon occurs in mantle samples in several chemical, mineralogical and morphological forms. It has been observed as CO 2, CH 4 and CO in fluid inclusions, as carbonate, graphite, diamond, moissanite, solid solution in silicates, and organic compounds. The total carbon concentration reported for mantle xenoliths varies by four orders of magnitude from below 1 ppm to close to 10 000 ppm. About 40% of these samples contain less than 50 ppm, 70% less than 100 ppm and 95% less than 500 ppm C. Carbon with δ 13C of about −5‰ has been identified as a major isotopic composition signature for the mantle (carbonatite and kimberlite carbonates, diamonds and volcanic CO 2 exhalations); it is also observed in mantle xenoliths. However, there may also be a minor signature of C depleted in 13C ( δ 13C=−22‰ to −26‰). Such light carbon has been observed in the dissolution residue of mantle minerals (olivine, pyroxene) and rocks, C fractions that have been interpreted as C dissolved in silicates, in diamonds, graphite, carbide, and hydrocarbons which are thought to be indigenous to the mantle. The data on xenoliths from basalts indicate that their δ 13C distribution is essentially bimodal with peaks at −5‰ and −25‰ although the geologic occurrence of this light carbon has not yet been clearly delineated. Xenoliths from both hotspot and non-hotspot volcanoes cover the whole C isotopic composition range observed in mantle xenoliths; however, on average, xenoliths from non-hotspot volcanoes contain isotopically lighter carbon. Xenoliths from kimberlites cover the whole isotopic composition range as well, but, on average, probably show the lowest degree of 13C depletion. In addition, the second, low δ 13C, mode may occur just above −20‰, coincident with the low 13C mode of southern African diamonds. Differences in the C concentration and isotopic composition have been observed between mantle minerals. The data are too few, however, to support firm conclusions on their size, or on how systematic these differences might be. Chemically more fractionated xenoliths tend to have higher δ 13C values than less chemically fractionated ones. Processes that have been considered to be responsible for the considerable δ 13C range in mantle C include the subduction of organic material and degassing. The observations on mantle xenoliths do not provide support for either, but indicate that as yet unexplored thermodynamic isotope effects, probably involving dissolved C in minerals and SiC bonds, may be responsible for the observed mantle carbon isotope distribution. The occurrence of such isotope effects would help to understand a number of observations on the carbon isotope geochemistry of diamonds. In so far as mantle-degassing models have been based, in part, on the carbon isotopic composition and C/ 3He ratios, an understanding of the mantle carbon isotope geochemistry is essential to support or refute their validity. The xenolith data do not support degassing models based on the assumption of limited indigenous carbon isotope variability within the mantle, nor the supposition that all 13C depleted carbon is of surface origin. The relative proportions of mantle C's of differing isotope signature are not known; they will have to be established for well-founded C cycle models to be developed.

Seismic anisotropy of mantle xenoliths and constraints on upper mantle structure beneath the southern Canadian Cordillera

Seismic properties of upper mantle xenoliths from the southern Canadian Cordillera were determined by numerical calculations from petrofabric analyses in order to provide constraints on the structural interpretation of field seismic data over the region. The samples studied include harzburgite, spinel lherzolite, wehrlite and websterite. The average anisotropy calculated from petrofabrics is 7.5% for V p and 4.8% for V s. Comparison of xenolith data with SKS and refraction/wide-angle reflection data yields possible structural orientations in the upper mantle beneath the southern Canadian Cordillera. Our results suggest that foliation in the asthenosphere is likely horizontal, and the stretching lineation ( X-direction) is oriented NEE, which coincides with the absolute plate motion (APM) of the North American continent. The lack of Pn anisotropy in the region may imply lithologic and structural heterogeneity of the lithospheric upper mantle, which results in an apparent isotropy at regional scales. Our data also suggest that the upper mantle reflection at a depth of ∼50 km revealed on wide-angle data may be caused by the anisotropy of underlying asthenosphere.

Thermal thickness and evolution of Precambrian lithosphere: A global study

The thermal thickness of Precambrian lithosphere is modeled and compared with estimates from seismic tomography and xenolith data. We use the steady state thermal conductivity equation with the same geothermal constraints for all of the Precambrian cratons (except Antarctica) to calculate the temperature distribution in the stable continental lithosphere. The modeling is based on the global compilation of heat flow data by Pollack et al. [1993] and more recent data. The depth distribution of heat‐producing elements is estimated using regional models for ∼300 blocks with sizes varying from 1°×1° to about 5°×5° in latitude and longitude and is constrained by laboratory, seismic and petrologic data and, where applicable, empirical heat flow/heat production relationships. Maps of the lateral temperature distribution at depths 50, 100, and 150 km are presented for all continents except Antarctica. The thermal thickness of the lithosphere is calculated assuming a conductive layer overlying the mantle with an adiabat of 1300°C. The Archean and early Proterozoic lithosphere is found to have two typical thicknesses, 200–220 km and 300–350 km. In general, thin (∼220 km) roots are found for Archean and early Proterozoic cratons in the Southern Hemisphere (South Africa, Western Australia, South America, and India) and thicker (>300 km) roots are found in the Northern Hemisphere (Baltic Shield, Siberian Platform, West Africa, and possibly the Canadian Shield). We find that the thickness of continental lithosphere generally decreases with age from >200 km beneath Archean cratons to intermediate values of 200±50 km in early Proterozoic lithosphere, to about 140±50 km in middle and late Proterozoic cratons. Using known crustal thickness, our calculated geotherms, and assuming that isostatic balance is achieved at the base of the lithosphere, we find that Archean and early Proterozoic mantle lithosphere is 1.5% less dense (chemically depleted) than the underlying asthenosphere, while middle and late Proterozoic subcrustal lithosphere should be depleted by ∼0.6–0.7%. Our results suggest three contrasting stages of lithosphere formation at the following ages: >2.5 Ga, 2.5–1.8 Ga, and <1.8 Ga. Ages of komatiites, greenstone belts, and giant dike swarms broadly define similar stages and apparently reflect secular changes in mantle temperature and, possibly, convection patterns.

The California Arc: Thick Granitic Batholiths, Eclogitic Residues, Lithospheric-Scale Thrusting, and Magmatic Flare-Ups

NOVEMBER 2001, GSA TODAY ABSTRACT Recent geological and geophysical data show that a significant fraction of the crust (~33 km) in the central Sierra Nevada batholith is granitic, requiring that the batholith be underlain by a significant residual mass prior to Cenozoic extension. Although batholith residua are commonly thought to be granulites, xenolith data indicate that eclogite facies residues were an important part of the California arc at depth. The arc was continuously active for >140 m.y., yet most surface and/or shallow crustal magmatism took place via two short-lived episodes: one in the Late Jurassic (160–150 Ma), and a second, more voluminous one in the Late Cretaceous (100–85 Ma). These magmatic flare-ups cannot be explained solely by increases in convergence rates and magmatic additions from the mantle. Isotopic data on xenoliths and midcrustal exposures suggest that North American lower crustal and lithospheric mantle was underthrusted beneath accreted rocks in the arc area. The Late Cretaceous flare-up is proposed to be the result of this major west dipping–lithospheric scale thrusting, an event that preceded flare-up by ~15–25 m.y. I suggest that the central part of the arc shut off at ~80 Ma because the source became melt-drained and not because of refrigeration from a shallowly subducting slab.

Teleseismic studies of the lithosphere below the Abitibi-Grenville Lithoprobe transect

In the past decade, the Abitibi-Grenville Lithoprobe transect has been the site of numerous geological and geophysical surveys oriented towards understanding the lithospheric evolution of the southeastern Superior and adjoining Grenville provinces. Among the different geophysical methods that have been employed, earthquake seismology provides the widest range of information on the deep structures of the upper mantle. This paper presents a review of studies, both complete and ongoing, involving teleseismic datasets that were collected in 1994 and 1996 along the transect. A complete shear-wave splitting analysis has been performed on the 1994 dataset as part of a comparative study on electrical and seismic anisotropies. Results suggest a correlation between the two anisotropies (supported by xenolith data) and favour a lithospheric origin for the seismic anisotropy. The two anisotropies are believed to represent the fossilized remnants of Archean strain fields in the lithospheric roots of the Canadian Shield. Preliminary splitting results for the 1996 experiment suggest that the S-wave azimuthal anisotropy may be depth dependent and laterally varying. Ongoing receiver function analysis and traveltime inversion studies provide velocity models of the crust and upper mantle beneath the study area. Preliminary receiver function results reveal the presence of an S-velocity increase at ~90-100 km depth which appears to be laterally continuous over 200 km. Traveltime inversion models indicate the presence of an elongate, low-velocity anomaly beneath the southern portion of the 1996 array which strikes obliquely to major geological structures at the surface (e.g., Grenville Front). Preliminary interpretation relates this anomaly to the same process (e.g., fixed mantle plume, continental rifting) responsible for the emplacement of the Monteregian Hills igneous province.

Lithospheric petrology beneath the northern part of the Arabian Plate in Syria: evidence from xenoliths in alkali basalts

A petrological model for the upper mantle and lower crust under the northern part of the Arabian Plate (Syria) has been derived on the basis of petrology of upper mantle and lower crustal xenoliths occurring in the Neogene to Quaternary alkali basalts of the Shamah volcanic fields. The xenolith suite has been classified by texture mineralogy and chemistry into the following groups: (1) Type I metasomatised and dry Cr diopside xenoliths with protogranular to porphyroclastic textures; (2) Type II Al augite spinal and garnet pyroxenite and websterite which have igneous and/or porphyroclastic textures and abundant phlogopite and/or amphibole; (3) Cr-poor megacrysts; and (4) mafic lower crustal xenoliths. Estimates of Type I xenolith temperatures are 990–1070°C with pressure between 13 and 19 kbar. Type II xenoliths yield temperatures of 930–1150°C and pressures in the range 12—13 kbar. The lower crustal xenolith mineral assemblages and geothermometry based on coexisting minerals suggest equilibration conditions between 6 and 8 kbar and 820–905°C. Mantle plumes, which may be the source of the volatile flux, have implications for melt generation in the Arabian basalt provinces. It is estimated that the lithosphere beneath the Arabian Plate is less than 80 km thick. Xenolith data and geophysical studies indicate that the Moho is located at a depth of 40–37 km and that the crust-mantle transition zone has a thickness of 8–5 km and occurs at a depth of 27–30 km. The boundary between an upper granitic crust and a lower mafic crust occurs at a depth of 19 km. Type I dry xenoliths show a low overall concentration of REE (La/Yb =1–2 and Sm = 0.7–1.1 times chondrite), whereas Type I hydrous xenoliths are LREE enriched (La/Yb=6–9 and Sm=1.1–1.3 times chondrite). Type II xenoliths show high overall LREE enrichment. Petrological and geochemical data for the lower crustal xenoliths indicate that these xenoliths represent basaltic cumulates crystallised at lower crustal pressures.

Petrology and geochemistry of xenoliths in lamprophyres from the Deccan Traps: implications for the nature of the deep crust boundary in western India

Abstract Alkaline lamprophyre intrusives from the western Deccan Traps (Murud-Janjira, south of Bombay) host rare lithospheric xenoliths and megacrysts. The xenolith suite consists of clinopyroxenites and granulites which show eclogitic affinities. The former have transitional (porphyroclastic to equigranular) textures whereas the latter are porphyroclastic, xenomorphic to meta-igneous. The textural features provide evidence of ductile-brittle deformation. The protoliths of the pyroxenite and granulite xenoliths were formed as cumulates of alkaline and sub-alkaline magmas respectively. Mineral chemistry and geochemical data for the xenoliths bear testimony to the metasomatized nature of the deep crust. The xenolith data coupled with the geophysical evidence indicate that the lower crust beneath Murud-Janjira is dominated by mafic granulites and pyroxenites. The latter have under- and intra-plated the continental crust beneath the region.

Nature of the mantle roots beneath the North American craton: mantle xenolith evidence from Somerset Island kimberlites

The recently discovered Nikos kimberlite on Somerset Island, in the Canadian Arctic, hosts an unusually well preserved suite of mantle xenoliths dominated by garnet–peridotite (lherzolite, harzburgite, dunite) showing coarse and porphyroclastic textures, with minor garnet–pyroxenite. The whole rock and mineral data for 54 Nikos xenoliths indicate a highly refractory underlying mantle with high olivine forsterite contents (ave. Fo=92.3) and moderate to high olivine abundances (ave. 80 wt.%). These characteristics are similar to those reported for peridotites from the Archean Kaapvaal and Siberian cratons (ave. olivine Fo=92.5), but are clearly distinct from the trend defined by oceanic peridotites and mantle xenoliths in alkaline basalts and kimberlites from post-Archean continental terranes (ave. olivine Fo=91.0). The Nikos xenoliths yield pressures and temperatures of last equilibration between 20 and 55 kb and 650 and 1300°C, and a number of the peridotite nodules appear to have equilibrated in the diamond stability field. The pressure and temperature data define a conductive paleogeotherm corresponding to a surface heat flow of 44 mW/m 2. Paleogeotherms based on xenolith data from the central Slave province of the Canadian craton require a lower surface heat flow (∼40 mW/m 2) indicating a cooler geothermal regime than that beneath the Canadian Arctic. A large number of kimberlite-hosted peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton in South Africa and parts of the Siberian craton are characterized by high orthopyroxene contents (ave. Kaapvaal 32 wt.%, Siberia 20 wt.%). The calculated modal mineral assemblages for the Nikos peridotites show moderate to low contents of orthopyroxene (ave. 12 wt.%), indicating that the orthopyroxene-rich mineralogy characteristic of the Kaapvaal and Siberian cratons is not a feature of the cratonic upper mantle beneath Somerset Island.