scholarly journals Decoding of Mantle Processes in the Mersin Ophiolite, Turkey, of End-Member Arc Type: Location of the Boninite Magma Generation

Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoko Ishimaru ◽  
Yuji Saikawa ◽  
Makoto Miura ◽  
Osman Parlak ◽  
Shoji Arai
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Ratio ◽  
Mantle Melting ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Chromian Spinel ◽  
Crustal Rocks ◽  
Mantle Peridotites ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Mantle Processes ◽  
Ocean Ridge ◽  
High Degree

The Mersin ophiolite, Turkey, is of typical arc type based on geochemistry of crustal rocks without any signs of mid-ocean ridge (MOR) affinity. We examined its ultramafic rocks to reveal sub-arc mantle processes. Mantle peridotites, poor in clinopyroxene (<1.0 vol.%), show high Fo content of olivine (90–92) and Cr# [=Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio] (=0.62–0.77) of chromian spinel. NiO content of olivine is occasionally high (up to 0.5 wt.%) in the harzburgite. Moho-transition zone (MTZ) dunite is also highly depleted, i.e., spinel is high Cr# (0.78–0.89), clinopyroxene is poor in HREE, and olivine is high Fo (up to 92), but relatively low in NiO (0.1–0.4 wt.%). The harzburgite is residue after high-degree mantle melting, possibly assisted by slab-derived fluid. The high-Ni character of olivine suggests secondary metasomatic formation of olivine-replacing orthopyroxene although replacement textures are unclear. The MTZ dunite is of replacive origin, resulted from interaction between Mg-rich melt released from harzburgite diapir and another harzburgite at the diapir roof. The MTZ dunite is the very place that produced the boninitic and replacive dunite. The MTZ is thicker (>1 km) in Mersin than in MOR-related ophiolite (mostly < 500 m), and this is one of the features of arc-type ophiolite.

scholarly journals Cr-spinel records metasomatism not petrogenesis of mantle rocks

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Gamal El Dien ◽  
Shoji Arai ◽  
Luc-Serge Doucet ◽  
Zheng-Xiang Li ◽  
Youngwoo Kil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Mantle Metasomatism ◽  
Mantle Melting ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Chromian Spinel ◽  
Core Composition ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Ocean Ridge ◽  
Petrogenetic Indicator

Abstract Mantle melts provide a window on processes related to global plate tectonics. The composition of chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) from mafic-ultramafic rocks has been widely used for tracing the geotectonic environments, the degree of mantle melting and the rate of mid-ocean ridge spreading. The assumption is that Cr-spinel’s core composition (Cr# = Cr/(Cr + Al)) is homogenous, insensitive to post-formation modification and therefore a robust petrogenetic indicator. However, we demonstrate that the composition of Cr-spinel can be modified by fluid/melt-rock interactions in both sub-arc and sub-mid oceanic mantle. Metasomatism can produce Al-Cr heterogeneity in Cr-spinel that lowers the Cr/Al ratio, and therefore modifies the Cr#, making Cr# ineffective as a geotectonic and mantle melting indicator. Our analysis also demonstrates that Cr-spinel is a potential sink for fluid-mobile elements, especially in subduction zone environments. The heterogeneity of Cr# in Cr-spinel can, therefore, be used as an excellent tracer for metasomatic processes.

scholarly journals Composition and alteration of Cr-spinels from Milia and Pefki serpentinized mantle peridotites (Pindos Ophiolite Complex, Greece)

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Argyrios Kapsiotis
Keyword(s):  
Chromian Spinel ◽  
Mantle Peridotites ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Ferrian Chromite ◽  
Secondary Feature ◽  
Phase Chemistry ◽  
Ocean Ridge ◽  
Chemical Trends ◽  
Greenschist Facies Metamorphism

Abstract The Pindos Ophiolite rocks include variably serpentinized peridotites derived from a harzburgitic and subordinately dunitic mantle. In the serpentinized matrix of these rocks pseudomorphic (mesh, bastite) and non-pseudomorphic (interpenetrating, type-2 hourglass) textures were recognized. Chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) is anhedral to subhedral and often replaced by a porous opaque phase. Chemistry data show that Cr-spinel cores retain their original composition, having Cr#[Cr/(Cr + Al)] that ranges between 0.45 and 0.73, and Mg#[Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)] that varies between 0.52 and 0.65, accompanied by low content in TiO2 ( < 0.11wt. %). The relatively wide variation of their Cr# values reflects that the studied peridotites were produced by variable degrees of melting. It is likely that the Pindos peridotites represent mantle residues originally formed in a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) environment, which were subsequently entrapped as part of a mantle wedge above a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) regime. Cr-spinel adjacent to clinochlore systematically displays limited compositional and textural zoning along grain boundaries and fractures. However, the degree of peridotite serpentinization does not correlate with the abundance of zoning effects in accessory Cr-spinel. Thus, Cr-spinel zoning is thought to represent a secondary feature obtained during the metamorphic evolution of the host peridotites. Core to rim compositional trends are expressed by MgO and Al2O3 impoverishment, mainly compensated by Cr2O3 and FeO increases. Such chemical trends are produced as a result of Cr-spinel re-equilibration with the surrounding serpentine, and their subsequent replacement by ferrian (Fe3+-rich) chromite and clinochlore, respectively, during a brief, fluid assisted, greenschist facies metamorphism episode (T > 300 °C). The limited occurrence of ferrian chromite with high Fe3+# values suggests that elevated oxidizing conditions were prevalent only on a local scale during Cr-spinel alteration

Sources of placer platinum in Yukon: provenance study from detrital minerals

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 879-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana Fedortchouk ◽  
William LeBarge
Keyword(s):  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Chromian Spinel ◽  
Mafic Intrusions ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Mineral Sample ◽  
Back Arc ◽  
Ocean Ridge

Source rocks for the platinum group minerals (PGM), historically reported in a number of Yukon placers, remain either unknown or poorly understood. A study of heavy-mineral samples from five creeks draining bedrock in west and central Yukon was undertaken to confirm the presence of placer platinum, to determine which mafic–ultramafic rock is the source of PGM in Kluane area, southern Yukon, and to explain platinum occurrences in Canadian and Florence creeks, central Yukon, where no known mafic–ultramafic rocks are present. Diverse composition of chromian spinel and clinopyroxenes from three creeks in the Kluane area indicate several sources of ultramafic rocks, including fragments of Alpine-type peridotites formed in back-arc basin and mid-ocean-ridge settings, and a source rock for zoned zinc-rich chromites of unknown origin. The Kluane ultramafic sills are the most likely source of PGM in this area. The heavy-mineral sample from Canadian Creek returned one PGM grain, no chromite, and abundant ilmenite and titanomagnetite. A group of chromium-rich magnesian ilmenites (∼4 wt.% MgO) closely match the composition of ilmenites from continental mafic intrusions produced during continental rift magmatism. This supports the continental rifting event recently proposed for this part of Yukon and indicates the economic potential of the Canadian Creek platinum occurrence. Composition of spinel from Florence Creek sample indicates an Alaskan-type intrusion as the source of PGM.

Petrogenetic insights from chromite in ultramafic cumulates of the Xiarihamu intrusion, northern Tibet Plateau, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xie-Yan Song ◽  
Kai-Yuan Wang ◽  
Stephen J. Barnes ◽  
Jun-Nian Yi ◽  
Lie-Meng Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Major And Trace Elements ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Sulfide Deposit ◽  
Northern Tibet ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Ultramafic Cumulates ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Ocean Ridge

Abstract Chromite is one of the earliest crystallized minerals from mafic melts and has been used as an important “petrogenetic indicator.” Its composition may be modified by interaction with intercumulate melt and adjacent minerals. Thus, chromite in mafic-ultramafic rocks contains clues to the geochemical affinity, evolution, and mantle source of its parent magmas. The Devonian Xiarihamu intrusion, located in the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt in the northern Tibet Plateau, China, hosts a very large disseminated Ni-Co sulfide deposit. This study focuses on geochemistry of the chromite enclosed in olivine of ultramafic rocks of the intrusion. Enrichments in Mg and Al in the rim of the chromite indicate only minor effects of alteration on the compositions of the chromite. The chromites enclosed in the olivines with forsterite percentage (Fo) lower than 87 are characterized by large variations in major and trace elements, such as large ranges of Cr·100/(Cr+Al) (Cr# = 15–47), Mg·100/(Mg+Fe2+) (Mg# = 41–65), and Al2O3 (= 26–53 wt%) as well as 380–3100 ppm V, 70–380 ppm Ga, and 1100–16300 ppm Zn. The chromites display positive correlations between Cr/(Cr+Al) and Ti, Mn, V, Ga, and Sc, inconsistent with fractional crystallization but indicative of an interaction between the chromites, intercumulate melts and hosting minerals. In contrast, chromites hosted in olivine with Fo &gt; 87 in harzburgite have small variations in Cr# (ranging from 37 to 41), Mg# (48 to 51), and Al2O3 (30 to 35 wt%) as well as restricted variation in trace elements, indicating relatively weak interaction with trapped liquid and adjacent phases; these compositions are close to those of the most primitive, earliest crystallized chromites. The most primitive chromite has similarities with chromite in mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) in TiO2 and Al2O3 contents (0.19–0.32 and 27.9–36.3 wt%, respectively) and depletion of Sc and enrichment of Ga and Zn relative to MORB chromite. The geochemistry of the chromite indicates a partial melting of the asthenospheric mantle that was modified by melts derived from the subduction slab at garnet-stable pressures.

scholarly journals Evidence of Late Ediacaran Hyperextension of the Laurentian Iapetan Margin in the Birchy Complex, Baie Verte Peninsula, Northwest Newfoundland: Implications for the Opening of Iapetus, Formation of Peri-Laurentian Microcontinents and Taconic – Grampian Orogenesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cees R. Van Staal ◽  
Dave M. Chew ◽  
Alexandre Zagorevski ◽  
Vicki McNicoll ◽  
James Hibbard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Nous Proposons ◽  
Mafic Rocks ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Iapetus Ocean ◽  
Icp Ms ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Continental Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Ocean Ridge

The Birchy Complex of the Baie Verte Peninsula, northwestern Newfoundland, comprises an assemblage of mafic schist, ultramafic rocks, and metasedimentary rocks that are structurally sandwiched between overlying ca. 490 Ma ophiolite massifs of the Baie Verte oceanic tract and underlying metasedimentary rocks of the Fleur de Lys Supergroup of the Appalachian Humber margin. Birchy Complex gabbro yielded a Late Ediacaran U–Pb zircon ID–TIMS age of 558.3 ± 0.7 Ma, whereas gabbro and an intermediate tuffaceous schist yielded LA–ICPMS concordia zircon ages of 564 ± 7.5 Ma and 556 ± 4 Ma, respectively. These ages overlap the last phase of rift-related magmatism observed along the Humber margin of the northern Appalachians (565–550 Ma). The associated ultramafic rocks were exhumed by the Late Ediacaran and shed detritus into the interleaved sedimentary rocks. Psammite in the overlying Flat Point Formation yielded a detrital zircon population typical of the Laurentian Humber margin in the northern Appalachians. Age relationships and characteristics of the Birchy Complex and adjacent Rattling Brook Group suggest that the ultramafic rocks represent slices of continental lithospheric mantle exhumed onto the seafloor shortly before or coeval with magmatic accretion of mid-ocean ridge basalt-like mafic rocks. Hence, they represent the remnants of an ocean – continent transition zone formed during hyperextension of the Humber margin prior to establishment of a mid-ocean ridge farther outboard in the Iapetus Ocean. We propose that microcontinents such as Dashwoods and the Rattling Brook Group formed as a hanging wall block and an extensional crustal allochthon, respectively, analogous to the isolation of the Briançonnais block during the opening of the Alpine Ligurian–Piemonte and Valais oceanic seaways.SOMMAIRELe complexe de Birchy de la péninsule de Baie Verte, dans le nord-ouest de Terre-Neuve, est constitué d’un assemblage de schistes mafiques, de roches ultramafiques et de métasédiments qui sont coincés entre des massifs ophiolitiques d’ascendance océanique de la Baie Verte au-dessus, et des métasédiments du Supergroupe de Fleur de Lys de la marge de Humber des Appalaches en-dessous. Le complexe de gabbro de Birchy a donné une datation U-Pb sur zircon ID-TIMS correspondant à la fin de l’Édiacarien, soit 558,3 ± 0,7 Ma, alors qu’un gabbro et un schiste tufacé intermédiaire montrent une datation LA-ICP-MS Concordia sur zircon de 564 ± 7,5 Ma et 556 ± 4 Ma, respectivement. Ces datations chevauchent la dernière phase de magmatisme de rift observée le long de la marge Humber des Appalaches du Nord (565-550 Ma). Les roches ultramafiques associées ont été exhumées vers la fin de l’Édiacarien et leurs débris ont été imbriqués dans des roches sédimentaires. Les psammites de la Formation de Flat Point susjacente ont donné une population de zircons détritiques typique de la marge laurentienne de Humber des Appalaches du Nord. Les relations chronologiques et les caractéristiques du complexe de Birchy et du groupe de Rattling Brook adjacent, permettent de penser que ces roches ultramafiques pourraient être des écailles de manteau lithosphérique continental qui auraient été exhumées sur le plancher océanique peu avant ou en même temps que l’accrétion magmatique de roches mafiques basaltiques de type dorsale médio-océanique. Par conséquent, elles seraient des vestiges d’une zone de transition océan-continent formée au cours de l’hyper-extension de la marge de Humber avant l’apparition d’une dorsale médio-océanique plus loin au large dans l’océan Iapétus. Nous proposons que des microcontinents comme de Dashwoods et du groupe de Rattling Brook ont constitués respectivement un bloc de toit et un allochtone crustal d’extension, de la même manière que le bloc Briançonnais a été isolé lors de l’ouverture des bras océaniques alpins de Ligurie-Piémont et de Valais.

scholarly journals Podiform Chromitites and PGE Mineralization in the Ulan-Sar’dag Ophiolite (East Sayan, Russia)

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga N. Kiseleva ◽  
Evgeniya V. Airiyants ◽  
Dmitriy K. Belyanin ◽  
Sergey M. Zhmodik
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Phases ◽  
Sulfur Fugacity ◽  
Mantle Mineral ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Pge Mineralization ◽  
Mid Ocean Ridge ◽  
Podiform Chromitites ◽  
Platinum Group ◽  
Ocean Ridge ◽  
High Degree

In this paper, we present the first detailed study on the chromitites and platinum-group element mineralization (PGM) of the Ulan-Sar’dag ophiolite (USO), located in the Central Asian Fold Belt (East Sayan). Three groups of chrome spinels, differing in their chemical features and physical–chemical parameters, under equilibrium conditions of the mantle mineral association, have been distinguished. The temperature and log oxygen fugacity values are, for the chrome spinels I, from 820 to 920 °C and from (−0.7) to (−1.5); for chrome spinels II, 891 to 1003 °C and (−1.1) to (−4.4); and for chrome spinels III, 738 to 846 °C and (−1.1) to (−4.4), respectively. Chrome spinels I were formed through the interaction of peridotites with mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-type melts, and chrome spinels II were formed through the interaction of peridotites with boninite melts. Chrome spinels III were probably formed through the interaction of andesitic melts with rocks of an overlying mantle wedge. Chromitites demonstrate the fractionated form of the distribution of the platinum-group elements (PGE), which indicates a high degree of partial melting at 20–24% of the mantle source. Two assemblages of PGM have been distinguished: The primary PGE assemblage of Os-Ir-Ru alloys-I, (Os,Ru)S2, and IrAsS, and the secondary PGM assemblage of Os-Ir-Ru alloys-II, Os0, Ru0, RuS2, OsS2, IrAsS, RhNiAs with Ni, Fe, and Cu sulfides. The formation of the secondary phases of PGE occurred upon exposure to a reduced fluid, with a temperature range of 300–700 °C, log sulfur fugacity of (−20), and pressure of 0.5 kbar. We have proposed a scheme for the sequence of the formation and transformation of the PGMs at various stages of the evolution of the Ulan-Sar’dag ophiolite.

Petrological studies of neoproterozoic serpentinized ultramafics of the nubian shield: spinel compositions as evidence of the tectonic evolution of egyptian ophiolites

2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mokhles K. Azer
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Mantle Peridotite ◽  
Eastern Desert ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Chromian Spinel ◽  
Central Eastern Desert ◽  
Suprasubduction Zone ◽  
Mantle Peridotites ◽  
Nubian Shield ◽  
Ophiolitic Rocks

Abstract The mafic-ultramafic rocks of the Gabal El-Degheimi area, Central Eastern Desert of Egypt, are parts of an ophiolitic section. The ophiolitic rocks are dismembered and tectonically enclosed within, or thrust over, island arc assemblages. Serpentinites, altered slices of the upper mantle, represent a distinctive lithology of the dismembered ophiolites. Some portions of the serpentinized rocks contain fresh relicts of primary minerals such as chromian spinel and olivine. The abundance of bastite and mesh textures suggests harzburgite and dunite protoliths, respectively, for these serpentinites. Some fresh cores of chromian spinel are rimmed by ferritchromite and Cr-magnetite. The development of alteration rims around chromian spinel cores indicates their formation during prograde alteration and under oxidizing conditions during lower amphibolite facies metamorphism. Fresh chromian spinels are characterized by high contents of Cr2O3 (48.92-56.74 wt. %), Al2O3 (10.29-20.08wt. %), FeO (16.24-28.46 wt. %) and MgO (4.89-14.02 wt. %), and very low TiO2 contents (<0.16 wt. %). The analyzed fresh chromian spinels have high Cr# (0.62-0.79) characteristic of spinels in mantle peridotite that has undergone some degree of partial melting. The data presented here suggest that the mantle peridotites of the Gabal El-Degheimi area are similar to forearc peridotites of suprasubduction zone environments.

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