Mantle xenoliths and continental lithosphere composition

1987 ◽  
pp. 161-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. V. Sobolev
Keyword(s):  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Continental Lithosphere

Evidence from mantle xenoliths for relatively thin (<100 km) continental lithosphere below the Phanerozoic crust of southernmost South America

Lithos ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 48 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 217-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R Stern ◽  
Rolf Kilian ◽  
Bettina Olker ◽  
Eric H Hauri ◽  
T.Kurtis Kyser
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Continental Lithosphere

Halogens in amphibole and mica from mantle xenoliths: Implications for the halogen distribution and halogen budget of the metasomatized continental lithosphere

2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes G. Hecker ◽  
Michael A.W. Marks ◽  
Thomas Wenzel ◽  
Gregor Markl
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Continental Lithosphere ◽  
Initial Composition ◽  
Halogen Content ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This study reports halogen contents (F and Cl) of amphibole and phlogopite derived from mantle xenoliths and one peridotite massif, for amphibole and phlogopite megacrysts and ultramafic magmatic cumulates (hornblendites) found in alkaline volcanic rocks from 12 localities in Europe and Africa. Amphibole and phlogopite contain more F than Cl with F/Cl ratios reaching about 160 in phlogopites and 50 in amphiboles. Phlogopites are higher in F (median of 3400 μg/g) than amphibole (median of 1000 μg/g), while median Cl contents are higher in amphibole (290 μg/g) compared to phlogopite (180 μg/g). The Cl contents and the F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite from mantle xenoliths exhibit large differences between samples of the same region, recording very large variations of halogen contents in the continental lithosphere. We suggest that the halogen content in such samples largely depends on the initial composition of percolating melts and fluids in the continental lithosphere. During reaction of these agents with peridotitic wall-rocks, Cl is preferentially retained in the fluid as it is much more incompatible compared to water and F. This desiccation effect continuously increases salinity (Cl content) and decreases the F/Cl ratio in the agent with time, causing variable Cl contents and F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite at a specific locality. Subsequent partial melting processes may then sequester and re-distribute, especially Cl among amphibole, phlogopite and melts/fluids as a result of its strong incompatibility, whereas F is much less affected as it behaves slightly compatible. The impact of even small amounts of amphibole and mica on the total halogen budget in the continental lithosphere is significant and both minerals can effectively contribute to the high halogen contents typical of alkaline melts.

Mantle xenoliths from Tertiary lavas and dykes on Ubekendt Ejland, West Greenland

1998 ◽  
pp. 152-154
Author(s):  
Stefan Bernstein ◽  
C. Kent Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Field Work ◽  
Mantle Xenoliths ◽  
Alkaline Basalt ◽  
Basalt Flow ◽  
Volcanic Province ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Original Series ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Ultramafic Xenoliths ◽  
Extensive Collection

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Bernstein, S., & Brooks, C. K. (1998). Mantle xenoliths from Tertiary lavas and dykes on Ubekendt Ejland, West Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 180, 152-154. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v180.5099 _______________ Mantle xenoliths were found in Tertiary alkaline (basanitic) lavas on Ubekendt Ejland in West Greenland in the mid 1970s by J.G. Larsen. Microprobe analyses of olivine, pyroxene and spinel in two mantle xenoliths, suggested that the xenoliths on Ubekendt Ejland are highly depleted and have high modal olivine contents, and low modal orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene (Larsen 1982). In this respect the mantle xenoliths from Ubekendt Ejland are very similar to the spinel harzburgites from Wiedemann Fjord, in the Tertiary volcanic province of East Greenland (Brooks & Rucklidge 1973; Bernstein et al. 1998). Larsen (1981) also reported dykes containing mantle nodules and a varied suite of cumulates and megacrysts, one of which has subsequently been dated to 34.1 ± 0.2 Ma (Storey et al. 1998) The basalt flow that carries the xenoliths is from what is defined as the Erqua Formation which occurs at the top of the lava succession in western Ubekendt Ejland (Fig. 1; Drever & Game 1948; Larsen 1977a, b). The basalts have not been dated, but are younger than 52.5 Ma, which is the date obtained for the underlying formation (Storey et al. 1998). During July 1997, we spent three weeks collecting xenoliths and prospecting for xenolith-bearing dykes in the Uummannaq district of central West Greenland. The field work resulted in an extensive collection of xenoliths from an alkaline basalt flow described by Larsen (1977a, b), as well as the discovery of a dyke carrying a large number of ultramafic xenoliths of various origins. 

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