Incompatible element

About: Incompatible element is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2420 publications have been published within this topic receiving 154052 citations.

Geochemical Characteristics and LA-ICP-MS Zircon U-Pb Dating of Amphibolites in the Songshugou Ophiolite in the Eastern Qinling

Abstract: Geochemical studies on the amphibolites in the Songshugou ophiolite from Shangnan County, Shaanxi Province demonstrate that the protolith of the amphibolites is tholeiitic. The amphibolites can be classified into two groups according to their REE patterns and trace element features. Rocks of the first group are depleted in LREE while rocks of the second group are slightly depleted in LREE or flat from LREE to HREE without significant Eu anomaly. The first group of rocks have (La/Yb)N =0.33-0.55, (La/Sm)N= 0.45-0.65, and their La/Nb, Ce/Zr, Zr/Nb, Zr/Y and Ti/Y ratios are averaged at 1.20, 0.12, 31.02, 2.92 and 198, respectively, close to those of typical N-MORB. The second group of rocks have (La/Yb)N=0.63-0.95, (La/Sm)N = 0.69-0.90, and their average La/Nb, Ce/Zr, Zr/Nb, Zr/Y and Ti/Y ratios are 0.82,0.83, 1.15, 0.16, 19.00, 2.58 and 225, respectively, which lie between those of typical N-MORB and E-MORB but closer to the former. The two groups of rocks both exhibit flat pattems from Th to Yb in the highly incompatible elements spider diagram, but the first group of rocks have lower element abundances than the modem N-MORB, indicating a derivation of their mantle source from more depleted mantle source than the present N-MORB. The abundances of Th, Ta, Nb, La and Ce in the second group of rocks are slightly higher than those of the present N-MORB, and other elements, such as Hf, Zr,Sm, Ti, Y and Yb, are close to those of the N-MORB, indicating that the original magma was derived from depleted mantle but mixed with the enriched mantle. These characteristics, combined with the regional geology and previous studies,provide further evidence that the mafic-ultramafic rocks have the features of a typical ophiolite.Zircon grains from the amphibolite are generally rounded, and in most of them a distinguishable core-mantle texture is preserved as shown in the cathodoluminescence (CL) images. The core or core-mantle parts of the zircon grains are also rounded, same as those in basalts from other regions of the world. The

Petrology and geochemistry of meta-ultramafic rocks in the Paleozoic Granjeno Schist, northeastern Mexico: Remnants of Pangaea ocean floor

Abstract: The Granjeno Schist is a meta-volcanosedimentary upper Paleozoic complex in northeastern Mexico. We suggest different tectonic settings for metamorphism of its serpentinite and talc-bearing rocks based on petrographic and geochemical compositions. According to the REE ratios (LaN/YbN = 0.51–20.0 and LaN/SmN = 0.72–9.1) and the enrichment in the highly incompatible elements Cs (0.1 ppm), U (2.8 ppm), and Zr (60 ppm) as well as depletion in Ba (1 – 15 ppm), Sr (1–184ppm),Pb(0.1–14ppm),andCe(0.1–1.9ppm)the rocks have mid-ocean ridge and subduction zones characteristics.TheserpentinitecontainsAl-chromite,ferrian chromiteandmagnetite.TheAl-chromiteischaracterized byCr#of0.48to0.55suggestingaMORBorigin,andCr#of 0.93 to 1.00 for the ferrian chromite indicates a prograde metamorphism.Weproposeatleasttwoserpentinization stagesoflithosphericmantlefortheultramaficrockofthe GranjenoSchist,(1)afirstinanocean-floorenvironment atsub-greenschisttogreenschistfaciesconditionsand(2) later a serpentinization phase related to the progressive replacement of spinel by ferrian chromite and magnetite atgreenschisttolowamphibolitefaciesconditionsduring regional metamorphism. The second serpentinization phase took place in an active continental margin during the Pennsylvanian. We propose that the origin of the ultramaficrocksisrelated toanobductionandaccretional eventatthewesternmarginofPangea. Keywords: ultramafic rocks; serpentinite; Granjeno Schist;northeasternMexico,Gondwana,Pangea

Geochemistry of abyssal peridotites from the super slow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge near 65°E: Implications for magma source and seawater alteration

Abstract: The geochemical characteristics of abyssal peridotite samples from one dredge station (27 degrees 49.74'S, 65 degrees 02.14'E, water depth 4473 m) on the super slow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) near 65 degrees E were investigated. Abyssal peridotites recovered from this site were comprised mainly of lizardite, chlorite, carbonate and magnetite with minor amounts of talc, pyroxene phenocrysts and sparse olivines. Serpentinites exhibit talc veins and major serpentine derived from serpentinization with relict olivine granuloblasts. Olivine grains in serpentinites display exsolution lamellae, indicating the occurrence of talc reduction or decompression during seawater-rock interaction. Pyroxene shows clear cleavage in two directions, with clinopyroxene or orthopyroxene exsolution lamellae. By contrast, bulk rock trace element patterns of serpentinites reveal depletion in most incompatible elements, similarly to the depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt mantle composition, indicating that the SWIR peridotites originated from a depleted mantle source magma and have experienced partial melting. Meanwhile, Rb, Ba, U, Pb, Sr, Li anomalies and the Ce/Pb ratio suggest that these serpentinites have been strongly altered by seawater.

Petrology of spinel lherzolite xenoliths from Youkou volcano, Adamawa Massif, Cameroon Volcanic Line: mineralogical and geochemical fingerprints of sub-rift mantle processes

Abstract: The basaltic maar of Youkou, situated in the Adamawa Volcanic Massif in the eastern branch of the continental segment of the Cameroon Volcanic Line, contains mantle-derived xenoliths of various types in pyroclastites. Spinel-bearing lherzolite xenoliths from the Youkou volcano generally exhibit protogranular textures with olivine (Fo89.4−90.5), enstatite (En89 − 91Fs8.7−9.8Wo0.82−1.13), clinopyroxene, spinel (Cr#Sp = 9.4–13.8), and in some cases amphibole (Mg# = 88.5–89.1). Mineral equilibration temperatures in the lherzolite xenoliths have been estimated from three–two pyroxene thermometers and range between 835 and 937 °C at pressures of 10–18 kbar, consistent with shallow mantle depths of around 32–58 km. Trends displayed by bulk-rock MgO correlate with Al2O3, indicating that the xenoliths are refractory mantle residues after partial melting. The degree of partial melting estimated from spinel compositions is less than 10%: evidences for much higher degrees of depletion are preserved in one sample, but overprinted by refertilization in others. Trace element compositions of the xenoliths are enriched in highly incompatible elements (LREE, Sr, Ba, and U), indicating that the spinel lherzolites underwent later cryptic metasomatic enrichment induced by plume-related hydrous silicate melts. The extreme fertility (Al2O3 = 6.07–6.56 wt% in clinopyroxene) and the low CaO/Al2O3 ratios in the spinel lherzolites suggest that they could not be a simple residue of partial melting of primitive mantle and must have experienced refertilization processes driven by the infiltration of carbonatite or carbonated silicate melts.