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Bimodal magmatism is characteristic of the geodynamic evolution of the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), which is a reference area for the study of the processes leading to continental break-up before seafloor spreading. There are abundant emissions of basalts and rhyolites, which are in possible parent–daughter relationships. However, the P – T –H2O conditions of production and storage of the basaltic end member remain unclear. Crystallization experiments have been conducted on an alkali basalt from the MER to define its pre-eruptive conditions and shed light on the compositional evolution of derivative liquids and source conditions. The experiments were performed at 100 to 200 MPa, 975°C to 1080°C, varying H2O/CO2 ratios, corresponding to melt water contents of 1 to 5 wt %, at f O2 slightly lower than the Fayalite-Magnetite-Quartz (FMQ) solid buffer. Comparison between the petrological attributes of the starting rock and the experiments shows that the basaltic magma was stored at 150 to 200 MPa, 1050 ± 10°C, with 1 to 2 wt % H2O in melt, with f O2 near FMQ prior to eruption. Geochemical modelling shows that the corresponding mantle source contained about 0.1 wt % H2O, reflecting a metasomatized source. Extensive crystallization of such basalts produces SiO2-rich liquids, which are not yet peralkaline, however. This underscores that extreme fractionation (>90 wt %) is required in order to produce peralkaline derivatives from mildly alkaline basalts. This extreme fractionation and the water-rich nature of the starting basalt readily explain the H2O-rich condition of peralkaline rhyolites that have fueled caldera forming eruptions in the Rift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc (i.e. the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt) comprises more than 100 eruptive centres, spanning the entire Quaternary period (Pleistocene to Holocene in age), and with deposits ranging in composition from alkaline basalt to rhyolite. At least one of the volcanoes is currently active; Mount Meager / Q̓welq̓welústen erupted explosively 2360 years BP and has ongoing fumarolic activity. Long-term forecasting of eruption frequency and style depends on reconstruction of the history and timescales of magmatic processes preceding previous volcanic eruptions. Utilising diffusion chronometry, we investigate the Mount Meager Volcanic Complex focusing on Holocene olivine-phyric basalts (Lillooet Glacier basalts) exposed by the retreat of the Lillooet Glacier. We identify two distinct olivine populations in samples of quenched, glassy basalt lavas that record different magmatic processes and histories. Glomerocrysts of Fo83 olivine phenocrysts, entrained and transported by a hot mafic input, form Population 1. These exhibit resorption and normally zoned outermost rim compositions of Fo76–78; a third of them also show interior reverse compositional zoning. A second population of skeletal microphenocrysts have the same composition as the phenocryst rims (i.e. Fo76–78) and are in equilibrium with the adjacent matrix glass. We estimate the pre-eruptive temperature- f O2 conditions in a shallow reservoir (100 MPa; ~3 km) for a melt with H2O content of 0.5 to 1 wt % as ~1097°C to 1106°C (± 30°C), and NNO + 0.5 (±1.1), respectively. Using these input parameters, we report Fe-Mg diffusion chronometry results for 234 normally zoned profiles from 81 olivine phenocrysts. Diffusion modelling of compositional profiles in oriented crystals indicates pre-eruptive magmatic residence times of 1 to 3 months. These remarkably short residence times in shallow reservoirs prior to eruption suggest very short periods of unrest may precede future eruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical and isotopic characteristics of terrestrial basalts are constrained within the concept of mantle chemical geodynamics that explains the existing variety of basaltic rocks within a framework of several end-member reservoirs in Earth's mantle. In contrast, there is no comparable fully developed model explaining the isotopic composition of lunar basaltic rocks, in part owing to the lack of well-constrained age–isotope relationships in different groups of basalts identified on the Moon. Notably, the absence of agreement upon ages includes basalts from a unique group of meteorites collectively known as 'YAMM' (basalts Yamato-793169: Y-793169, Asuka-881757: A-881757, Miller Range 05035: MIL 05035 and regolith breccia Meteorite Hill 01210: MET 01210), which appear to show chemical signatures different from all other known lunar basaltic rocks. We present high-precision Pb–Pb ages and initial Pb isotopic ratios for two samples from this group, MIL 05035 and A-881757. These meteorites have Pb isotope ratios different from those of the other lunar basalts, suggesting they are derived from a distinct and depleted mantle source, with a 238U/204Pb ratio (μ value) lower than any other mantle source. Their depletion in rare earth elements, in conjunction with recalculated initial Nd and Sr isotopic ratios from published data and using our new age, appear to support this conclusion. The chemical and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic characteristics of this low-μ source appear to be the opposite of those of the KREEP reservoir and many, if not all, features described in other lunar basalts (such as low- and high-Ti mare basalts) can be explained by a binary mixing of material derived from low-μ and KREEP-like reservoirs. This mixing might be the result of a slow, convection-like mantle overturn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various crustal processes shape both the lower oceanic crust and mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). To better understand how these crustal processes influence MORB compositions, we conducted comprehensive petrographic and geochemical investigations on gabbroic rocks and erupted lavas dredged from a segment of the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) spanning from 7°50′S to 8°30′S. The petrographic and geochemical analyses of the gabbroic rocks revealed evidence of melt-rock reaction through reactive porous flow in olivine gabbro and gabbro. This process resulted in distinctive features in clinopyroxene, including disequilibrium textures with a troctolite/anorthosite matrix, complex variations in Mg#-Cr-Ti [Mg# = molar Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)] relationships, and considerable enrichment and fractionation of incompatible trace elements. A significant finding of our study is the close resemblance of trace element ratios in MORB and olivine-hosted melt inclusions to those of melts in equilibrium with clinopyroxene from olivine gabbro and gabbro with Sr anomaly (Sr/Sr* = SrN/sqrt[PrN*NdN]; N refers to chondrite-normalized values) greater than ~0.7. This observation strongly indicates that the composition of MORB is influenced by the melt-rock reaction taking place in the lower oceanic crust. Furthermore, our findings suggest that evolved melts in equilibrium with clinopyroxene having Sr/Sr* values lower than ~0.7 are less likely to erupt onto the seafloor and are instead trapped within the lower oceanic crust. Oxide gabbronorite is characterized by coarse-granular, pegmatitic textures and exhibits mineralogically and chemically more evolved characteristics compared to olivine gabbro and gabbro. It is inferred that the oxide gabbronorite formed through the in situ freezing of highly evolved melts within a melt-rich layer. Finally, we present a comprehensive model for melt evolution in the lower oceanic crust at the 7°50′S–8°30′S CIR by integrating all petrological and geochemical data obtained from gabbroic rocks, MORB, and olivine-hosted melt inclusions. This holistic model contributes to a better understanding of the intricate processes governing MORB composition in the context of the lower oceanic crust dynamics at slow-spreading ridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires (MLBA) in southern Patagonia, a volcanic plateau formed from ~12 Ma to present, provides an opportunity to investigate the temporal evolution in volcanism as this region transitions from the subduction of the Nazca plate to the formation of the slab window produced by the collision of the Chile Ridge and the Andean subduction zone. Here, we report new major, minor, and trace element contents, as well as Sr, Nd, Pb, and Hf isotopes of the MLBA lavas. Three distinct geochemical endmembers can be distinguished in the MLBA basalts: a subduction-influenced endmember, a transitional component similar to the South Atlantic enriched mid-ocean ridge basalts, and an enriched component akin to the EM1 mantle composition. Lavas older than ~1.5 Ma define a compositional continuum between the subduction-influenced and transitional endmembers; this trend is also present in many other southern Patagonian plateaus regardless of their distance to the trench, eruption age, and the composition of the continental blocks where they are located. In contrast, MLBA basalts younger than ~1.5 Ma uniquely define a transition into the EM1 mantle component at the time when this region was affected by the slab window. The estimated pressures and temperatures of mantle-melt equilibration for the MLBA basalts indicates an increase in both parameters after the formation of the slab window that roughly correlate with the changes in lava composition. The basalts' composition from all southern Patagonia plateaus points to the presence of the South Atlantic mid-ocean ridge basalt mantle influenced by the Discovery, Shona, and Bouvet hotspots rather than the sub-slab mantle, as represented by the Chile Ridge basalts. This observation challenges the hypothesis that the sub-slab mantle within the slab window has had an important role in the composition of the erupted lavas. Instead, it suggests the presence of a South Atlantic mantle beneath southern Patagonia either within the mantle wedge, consistent with a long-lasting South Atlantic convection cell beneath South America, or in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle metasomatized before or just after the opening of the South Atlantic basin, as demonstrated by the composition of southern Patagonia mantle xenoliths. Although it is difficult to precisely distinguish the contributions of the asthenosphere from that of the metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath this region, our work suggests significant contributions from the latter in the composition of the MLBA lavas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melt-based thermobarometers are essential tools to recover pre-eruptive magma storage conditions through their application to bulk rock and liquid chemistry. In active volcanic systems, thermobarometric results can be combined with independent geophysical data during or after an eruption to validate conceptual models. In this contribution, we revisit the thermobarometer for melts equilibrated with the mineral assemblage of olivine + plagioclase + augitic clinopyroxene (OPAM). We first demonstrate that the most widely applied OPAM thermobarometer suffers from both random and systematic uncertainty, even for anhydrous melts, and that the uncertainty increases proportionally with melt H2O. To address this issue, we use a modern compilation of anhydrous and hydrous OPAM-saturated experiments to regress a new empirical melt-based OPAM thermometer and barometer. Our new equations recover a validation dataset with a standard error estimate of ±1.14 kbar and ± 36 °C for pressure and temperature, respectively, as well as a low systematic uncertainty that does not depend on melt H2O. Additionally, we present a novel statistical approach to determine the probability that a given melt is OPAM-saturated, which can be used alongside rigorous petrographic and geochemical observations. Our thermobarometer and saturation test are presented as a user-friendly R script that reads from an input csv file to be populated with natural data. We benchmark the new calibrations on the products of the 2015 eruption of Wolf Volcano (Isabela Island, Galápagos archipelago) and the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption (Iceland), both of which have independent geophysical estimates of magma storage that agree well with our thermobarometric results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-MgO (>9 wt %) basaltic rocks can be primary magmas and are used to constrain the geochemistry and temperature of the mantle. However, high MgO contents can also result from mixing between evolved melts and antecrysts or xenocrysts, and thus, the whole-rock composition might not represent the solidified equivalents of primary magma. Whether such mixing with crystals can result in erroneous interpretations of mantle processes remains unclear. This study presents a petrological and geochemical investigation of the post-collision high-MgO (>9 wt %) Lugu volcanic rocks in the southern Qiangtang terrane, central Tibet. The Lugu volcanic rocks comprise porphyritic and intersertal alkali basalts. Zircon U–Pb ages and 40Ar/39Ar dating suggest that the two types of alkali basalts were erupted at c. 29 Ma. Based on detailed petrographic observations and geochemical analysis, the porphyritic alkali basalts may represent near-primary melts, which are characterised by low SiO2 contents (40.9–45.1 wt %), high CaO/Al2O3 ratios (1.1–1.5), and arc-like trace element patterns. We suggest these basalts were derived by partial melting of enriched garnet peridotite (>3 GPa) in the presence of H2O and CO2. These geochemical features are different from those of the c. 30-Ma (ultra)-potassic rocks in the Qiangtang terrane, indicating that a heterogeneous lithospheric mantle existed beneath the Qiangtang terrane during the Oligocene. In contrast, although the intersertal alkali basalts have high MgO contents (>9 wt %), evidence from mineral chemistry indicates that the whole-rock compositions of the intersertal alkali basalts represent mixtures of evolved residual melts and cumulate crystals. They were the product of polybaric fractional crystallisation and the subsequent mixing of crystals and residual melts in a magmatic plumbing system. Furthermore, when intersertal alkali basalts are assumed to be primary melts, they would have been derived by partial melting of shallow (~2.5 GPa) CO2-poor pyroxenite or peridotite. These conditions are different from interpretations of the nature of the mantle source and melting conditions for porphyritic alkali basalts. Our results highlight that the interpretation of petrogenetic processes should be preceded by detailed mineralogical investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apatite can incorporate significant amounts of H2O and CO2, potentially recording volatile abundance and behavior during magma evolution. Here we conducted in situ measurements of CO2 and H2O concentrations in apatite, along with elemental compositions, from two contemporaneous alkaline volcanic suites (Tianbao and Tudiling) in the South Qinling belt in central China to better understand the CO2 and H2O contents and behavior in evolving alkaline melts. Apatite from alkali basalts in Tianbao contains variable CO2 contents ranging from <100 ppm to 2.7 wt.% and H2O contents ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 wt.%. Apatite from REE-enriched trachytes, which evolved from alkali basalt, shows significantly lower CO2 contents and a continuous decrease in H2O during magma fractionation. The observations suggest that CO2 loss commenced at the early stages of magma evolution, whereas significant H2O loss occurred during subsequent magma fractionation in tandem with REE-enrichment. In comparison, apatite grains from the Tudiling trachyte, which is genetically linked with carbonatite, contain higher CO2 contents (0.6 to 1.5 wt.%) but lower REE concentrations than the Tianbao trachytes. Apatite in the Tudiling trachyte is inferred to have crystallized from a carbonated alkaline magma prior to significant CO2 loss and the separation of Tudiling carbonatitic melts, where subsequent liquid immiscibility led to REE enrichment into the carbonatitic melts. The volatile characteristics of apatite from the two volcanic suites provide valuable insights into two different evolutionary processes of alkaline/carbonatitic magmas, the behavior of CO2 and H2O, and the enrichment of REE in alkaline systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many lines of evidence from high P – T experiments, thermodynamic models, and natural observations suggest that slab-derived aqueous fluids, which flux mantle wedges contain variable amounts of dissolved carbon. However, constraints on the effects of H2O–CO2 fluids on mantle melting, particularly at mantle wedge P – T conditions, are limited. Here, we present new piston cylinder experiments on fertile and depleted peridotite compositions with 3.5 wt.% H2O and XCO2 [= molar CO2 / (CO2 + H2O)] of 0.04–0.17. Experiments were performed at 2–3 GPa and 1350°C to assess how temperature, peridotite fertility, and XCO2 of slab-derived fluid affects partial melting in mantle wedges. All experiments produce olivine + orthopyroxene +7 to 41 wt.% partial melt. Our new data, along with previous lower temperature data, show that as mantle wedge temperature increases, primary melts become richer in SiO2, FeO*, and MgO and poorer CaO, Al2O3, and alkalis when influenced by H2O–CO2 fluids. At constant P – T and bulk H2O content, the extent of melting in the mantle wedge is largely controlled by peridotite fertility and XCO2 of slab-fluid. High XCO2 depleted compositions generate ~7 wt.% melt, whereas, at identical P – T , low XCO2 fertile compositions generate ~30 to 40 wt.% melt. Additionally, peridotite fertility and XCO2 have significant effects on peridotite partial melt compositions. At a constant P – T –XCO2, fertile peridotites generate melts richer in CaO and Al2O3 and poorer in SiO2, MgO + FeO, and alkalis. Similar to previous experimental studies, at a constant P – T fertility condition, as XCO2 increases, SiO2 and CaO of melts systematically decrease and increase, respectively. Such distinctive effects of oxidized form of dissolved carbon on peridotite partial melt compositions are not observed if the carbon-bearing fluid is reduced, such as CH4-bearing. Considering the large effect of XCO2 on melt SiO2 and CaO concentrations and the relatively oxidized nature of arc magmas, we compare the SiO2/CaO of our experimental melts and melts from previous peridotite + H2O ± CO2 studies to the SiO2/CaO systematics of primitive arc basalts and ultra-calcic, silica-undersaturated arc melt inclusions. From this comparison, we demonstrate that across most P – T –fertility conditions predicted for mantle wedges, partial melts from bulk compositions with XCO2 ≥ 0.11 have lower SiO2/CaO than all primitive arc melts found globally, even when correcting for olivine fractionation, whereas partial melts from bulk compositions with XCO2 = 0.04 overlap the lower end of the SiO2/CaO field defined by natural data. These results suggest that the upper XCO2 limit of slab-fluids influencing primary arc magma formation is 0.04 < XCO2 < 0.11, and this upper limit is likely to apply globally. Lastly, we show that the anomalous SiO2/CaO and CaO/Al2O3 signatures observed in ultra-calcic arc melt inclusions can be reproduced by partial melting of either CO2-bearing hydrous fertile and depleted peridotites with 0 < XCO2 < 0.11 at 2–3 GPa, or from nominally CO2-free hydrous fertile peridotites at P > 3 GPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling of material at subduction zones has fundamental implications for melt composition and mantle rheology. Ocean island basalts (OIBs) sample parts of the mantle from variable depths that have been diversely affected by subduction zone processes and materials, including the subducted slab, metasomatising melts and fluids. Resultant geochemical differences are preserved at a variety of scales from melt inclusions to whole rocks, from individual islands to chains of islands. Here we examine a global dataset of ocean island basalt compositions with a view to understanding the connection between silica-saturation, olivine compositions, and halogens in glass and olivine-hosted melt inclusions to reveal information regarding the mantle sources of intraplate magmatism. We find that minor elements incorporated into olivine, although informative, cannot unambiguously discriminate between different source contributions, but indicate that none of the OIB analysed here are derived solely from dry peridotite melting. Nor can differences in lithospheric thickness explain trace element variability in olivine between different ocean islands. We present new halogen (F, Cl, Br/Cl, I/Cl) data along with incompatible trace element data for the global array and encourage measurement of fluorine along with heavier halogens to obtain better insight into halogen cycling. We suggest that Ti-rich silica-undersaturated melts require a contribution from carbonated lithosphere, either peridotite or eclogite and are an important component sampled by ocean island basalts, together with altered oceanic crust. These results provide new insights into our understanding of mantle-scale geochemical cycles, and also lead to the potential for the mantle transition zone as an underestimated source for observed volatile and trace-element enrichment in ocean island basalts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional crystallization of Fe–Ti oxides can induce detectable Mg isotopic changes during late-stage basalt differentiation. Because chromite and olivine are early crystallizing phases during basaltic melt differentiation, the effect of chromite crystallization on the fractionation of Mg isotopes during early-stage basalt differentiation is still poorly understood. Here, we examine the possibility of chromite induced Mg isotope fractionation with a Mg isotopic study of chromite–olivine pairs in dunites and chromitites collected from major types of basaltic intrusive rock suites formed by fractional crystallization in different tectonic settings. The chromite δ26Mg (= [(26Mg/24Mg)sample / (26Mg/24Mg)DSM3–1] × 1000) values range from −0.19‰ to 0.30‰ in the Luobusa ophiolite, −0.09‰ to 0.78‰ in the Kızıldağ ophiolite, −0.04 to 0.42‰ in the Gaositai Alaskan-type complex, similar to those previously reported from the Stillwater layered intrusion (−0.05 to 0.84‰; Bai et al., 2021). They are significantly higher than those of coexisting olivine (δ26Mg = −0.48 to −0.10‰). The Δ26MgChr-Ol (= δ26MgChr − δ26MgOl) values in the rock suites investigated here fall largely between equilibrium fractionation lines of spinel–olivine pairs and magnesioferrite–olivine pairs, indicating equilibrium Mg isotopic fractionation. Furthermore, the Δ26MgChr-Ol values increase with decreasing Cr content of chromite in the dunites and chromitites, showing that high 26Mg has a greater affinity to Al-rich chromite than Cr-rich chromite. Fractional crystallization of such isotopically high chromite is expected to progressively lower the Mg isotope values of the in the remaining magma. Furthermore, continental basaltic magmas typically experience early crystallization of olivine and Al-rich chromite. Their δ26Mg values correlate positively with MgO (FeO, Cr,) and CaO/Al2O3 ratios and negatively with total alkali contents (Na2O + K2O). This indicates that detectable Mg isotopic fractionation occurred in intra-continental basalt magmas, probably by fractional crystallization of olivine and chromite. The observed low-δ26Mg intra-continental basalts can be accurately modeled by olivine + chromite fractionation with fractionation factors (Δ26MgChr-Melt) of 0.20‰, 0.60‰, and 1.18‰ as observed in the chromitites investigated during this study. Therefore, the early-stage basaltic melt differentiation involving separation of olivine and chromite may induce resolvable Mg isotopic fractionation, and the δ26Mg values of continental basalts should be used with caution in petrogenetic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructural and textural characteristics of a spinel corona that formed around a faceted corundum xenocrystal by reaction with the hosting basaltic melt in the Siebengebirge volcanic field demonstrate that the crystallographic and shape preferred orientation of spinel is influenced by the orientation of the reaction interface with respect to the corundum crystal lattice. The spinel roughly shows the common topotactic orientation relationships with corundum, where one of the |$\{111\}_{Spl}$| planes is parallel to the (0001) |$_{Crn}$| plane, and three of the |$\{110\}_{Spl}$| planes are parallel to the |$\{10\overline {1}0\}_{Crn}$| planes. In detail, there are subtle but systematic deviations from this topotactic relationship due to small rotations about the c-axis and/or an a-axis of corundum. The former is observed when the corundum c-axis is closely parallel to the interface plane, while the latter require a corundum a-axis orientation perpendicular to the interface. In this case, the preferred sense of rotation depends on the sign of the a-axis direction, irrespective of the spinel growth direction being parallel or antiparallel to this axis. Additionally, the selection of either one or both of two spinel twin variants that equally fulfill the topotactic orientation relationship depends on the orientation of the corundum-spinel interface with respect to the lattices of both the corundum and the spinel. Finally, also the grain boundary character is controlled by the interface orientation and the corundum lattice. Despite the differences between corona segments, the nature of these textures are persistent along and across each segment. We emphasize that all these microstructural and textural features are ascribed to the period of spinel growth in magmatic environment. The extent to which prominent slip planes in spinel are aligned parallel with the corundum-spinel interface seems to be of crucial importance for the nature of the spinel texture and microstructure, indicating that the activity of dislocations pertaining to these slip systems ease the accommodation of lattice misfit across the corundum-spinel interface. By comparison with experimentally grown spinel layers, we infer predominantly interface reaction controlled growth of the studied spinel corona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding dendritic crystallization is key to obtaining petrological information about rapid crystallization events. Clinopyroxene dendrites from a basaltic rock fulgurite from Nagpur, India, exhibit curved branches with corresponding lattice rotation that exceeds 180° for some branches. This paper combines crystallographic orientation mapping with microstructural observations and compositional information to determine the dendrites' 3-D morphology and their bending mechanism. Dendrites exhibit a network of branches in the (010) plane, following either {001}* (normal to {001} planes, strong lattice curvature) or < 10–1 > (weak lattice curvature). Three or more orders of branches are observed in the (010) plane, alternating between {001}* and < 10–1>. Side branches with weak lattice curvature extend sub-perpendicular to the (010) plane, following either {021}* (sprouting from {001}* branches) or < 12–1 > (from <10–1 > branches) and defining curved 'ribbons' containing their respective central branch. All branches rotate about [010], with a consistent rotation sense regardless of elongation direction in sample or crystal coordinates. Bending must therefore be caused by local asymmetric thermal and compositional fields in the melt, generated by dendritic growth itself, not by sample-scale compositional, thermal or mechanical gradients. The most likely cause of bending is asymmetric distribution of melt supersaturation around branch tips, related to unequal growth rates perpendicular to different facets. Lattice rotation is inferred to occur via preferential incorporation of high densities of [001] (100) edge dislocations of one sign. High inferred dislocation densities imply that the preservation of bent dendrites requires rapid quenching. Higher inferred degree of undercooling (based on microstructural observations) correlates with greater lattice curvature. Bent dendrites can thus potentially be used to deliver information about spatial variations in degree of undercooling and place limits on the history of a sample after dendritic crystallization. Finally, finding lattice rotation exclusively about [010] is a new criterion to identify cryptic dendritic growth stages in euhedral crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene alkaline lavas in the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula and its off-lying islands are the latest stage of magmatic activity that took place in response to lithospheric extension in the back-arc region of the South Shetland subduction system. The alkaline magmatism occurred much later than the main pulse of Cretaceous arc magmatism and generated basaltic extrusive rocks during several sub-aqueous/sub-glacial and sub-aerial eruption periods. The suite consists primarily of alkali olivine basalts with oceanic island basalt (OIB)-like trace element signatures, characterized by elevated highly to less incompatible element ratios compared to MORB. The samples have higher 87Sr/86Sr (0.70301–0.70365), and lower 143Nd/144Nd (0.51283–0.51294) and 176Hf/177Hf (0.28291–0.28298) than depleted MORB mantle. Their lead isotope ratios vary within a limited range with 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb ratios of 18.797–18.953, 15.577–15.634, and 38.414–38.701, respectively. Sr, Nd, Hf and Pb isotope systematics suggest involvement of diverse source materials in the genesis of the alkaline magmas. Evaluation of radiogenic isotope and trace element data indicates that the source of the alkaline melts had a complex petrogenetic history, reflecting the effects of mantle hybridization along the slab mantle interface through interaction of mantle wedge peridotites with volatile-bearing, siliceous melts produced by melting of subducted sediments and basaltic oceanic crust. Hf-Nd isotope and trace element projections further demonstrate that the metasomatizing melt was likely generated by eclogite partial melting at sub-arc to post-arc depths, in equilibrium with a garnet-bearing residue and involved breakdown of high field strength elements (HFSE) retaining phases. Consumption of metasomatic amphibole during partial melting of hybridized peridotite at the wet solidus appears to have had a significant effect on the final melt compositions with high HFSE, Na and H2O contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of the early Archean ocean floor remains a topic of important debate. There are relatively few well-preserved occurrences worldwide where such terrains may be studied in detail because of structural dismemberment, metamorphic overprinting and pervasive early stage hydrothermal alteration to recent weathering. The 3.41-Ga dominantly mafic formations of the Nondweni Greenstone Belt (NGB) covering 270 km2 in the south-eastern Kaapvaal Craton comprise submarine volcanics that exhibit a wide range of textural features, including pillows, chill zones and brecciated flow tops, and various spinifex textures, including the rare platy pyroxene type, cumulate layers, and tuffs. Channelized subaqueous lava lakes that underwent fractionation are capped by thick spinifex-textured units and pillows. Early stage seafloor alteration is regionally variable, ranging from intense to minimal, with preservation of original mineralogy in many areas. Mafic volcanic rocks of the NGB contrast with those of the Barberton Greenstone Belt both in the style of volcanism and in the associated compositional range of komatiitic basalt to basalt with a complete absence of high-Mg komatiites. Olivine-phyric rocks, or derivatives thereof, are largely absent and pyroxene is the main controlling phase with orthopyroxene in the most primitive komatiitic basalts and clinopyroxene in the evolved lava lake sequences. The abundance of orthopyroxene typifies the long-standing silica-enriched character of the Kaapvaal Craton. Three exceptionally well-preserved and well-exposed sequences were studied utilizing hand-drilled samples and deep coring providing unprecedented stratigraphic and textural detail and field controls for more than 400 samples. A unifying feature of the mafic volcanics of the NGB is the range of compositions and ratios of incompatible elements most clearly illustrated by a series of high- and low-Ti compositional lineages reflecting differing sources or degrees of mantle partial melting. Sharp boundaries between high- and low-Ti flow successions indicate sudden changes in the melting regimes or the interaction of flow sequences from different volcanic centres. Th/Nb ranges from 0.1 to 0.2 and reveals crustal contamination of primitive lavas. The primary magma that gave rise to the most primitive komatiitic basalts with 19.5% MgO was derived from partial melting of a mantle plume source in the garnet stability field. Trace element modeling shows that the sequences studied in detail have been modified by fractionation and crustal contamination with the most likely contaminant being the Ancient Gneiss Complex (3.43–3.66 Ga), which is extensively exposed in Eswatini and probably underlies the Paleoarchean terrains in the southern Kaapvaal Craton. The geotectonic setting was likely that of a submerged felsic crustal platform as enclaves within an oceanic plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanic rocks of the Java sector of Sunda arc have a wide range of isotopic compositions that indicate significant addition of subjected sediment. What processes control these geochemical characteristics is a topic of long-standing debate. Here we report Sr–Nd–Pb radiogenic isotope ratios and geochemical data from stratigraphically well-constrained rocks of Sundoro volcano in central Java that represent the volcano's activity since 34 ka. The rocks range from basalt (51 wt % SiO2) to andesite (63 wt % SiO2) and are dominated by basaltic andesite. We divide them into magma types A, B and C, having low, medium and high 87Sr/86Sr and Pb isotopic ratios, respectively. According to various differentiation indices, the three magma types have separate, parallel 87Sr/86Sr, Ba/Zr and La/Yb trends and disparate Pb isotopic trends. The dominant process of intracrustal differentiation appears to be magma mixing, in which each of the three magma types represents the mixing of a distinct mafic end-member and a distinct felsic end-member. The distinct geochemical profiles of these magma types indicate that the three mafic end-members are genetically unrelated and that their differences may represent characteristics of their magma sources. On the basis of trace element ratios (Ba/Yb and La/Yb) and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions, we estimate that magma types A, B and C represent mantle wedge materials fluxed by ~1%, ~1.5% and ~2% slab-derived materials containing 50%, 55% and 65% sediment component, respectively, reflecting increasing proportions of sediments and increasing slab flux. Geochemical data from Merapi volcano, interpreted using the same approach, reveal a similar increase in the slab-derived flux to the magma source, raising the possibility that such short-lived variations in magma genesis, perhaps related to the subduction of bathymetric relief features, characterize the unusual magmatism beneath the volcanic front of the central Java sector of the Sunda arc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin of intraplate volcanic provinces in continental interiors remains equivocal. One of the major gaps is the absence of a clear understanding of thermal state and the role of recycled carbon. Here we present results from detailed temperature estimation, trace element content of olivine and integrated Sr-Nd-O-Mg-Zn isotopic studies on Meso-Cenozoic basalt and basanite from the Tuoyun Basin in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The calculated crystallization temperatures are in the range of 1101°C–1273°C for basalt and 1037°C–1295°C for basanite, consistent with ambient upper mantle-derived melts. Olivine Zn/Fe, Mn/Zn and Fe/Mn ratios fall in the hybrid source region composed of peridotite and pyroxenite for both basalt and basanite, which is also in agreement with their bulk-rock CaO-MgO trends, FeO/MnO ratios (62.8–77.4 for basalt, 57.8–65.1 for basanite) and FCKANTMS values (overall major element compositions; 0.52–0.68 for basalt, 0.43–0.64 for basanite). Trace elemental modeling shows that the basalt was produced by higher degrees of partial melting with more pyroxenite contribution than basanite. Mg and Zn isotopes show lighter Mg (−0.45 to −0.55‰ for basalt, −0.45 to −0.47‰ for basanite) and heavier Zn (0.37–0.41‰ for basalt, 0.38–0.48‰ for basanite) isotopic compositions than primitive mantle, indicating the possible involvement of recycled sedimentary carbonate in mantle source. Conversely, the basalt and basanite lack typical 'carbonatitic fingerprints' such as high CaO/Al2O3 ratios and negative Zr, Hf and Ti anomalies. Furthermore, the Sr-O isotopes display typical mantle affinity without explicit crustal signatures. Such a decoupling is attributed to carbonate species transition and decarbonation reactions between carbonate and surrounding silicate during plate subduction at a depth of >150 km where the following reactions take place: CaMg(CO3)2 (dolomite) = MgSiO3 (magnesite) + CaCO3 (aragonite) and MgCO3 (magnesite) + SiO2 (coesite) → MgSiO3 (enstatite) + CO2. When the recycled carbonates are exhausted, crustal Sr-O is released but the Mg-Zn isotopic anomalies are inherited by the silicate products ('ghost carbonate'). These silicates are expected to be involved in the subsequent mantle upwelling that induces decompression melting to generate intraplate magmas. We therefore propose recycled carbonates in the mantle sources of the Tuoyun lavas that underwent recycling at depths >150 km were incorporated as 'ghost carbonate' with recycled Mg and Zn elements in the partial melting process rather than directly in the carbonate form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly magnesian, olivine-phyric tholeiitic basaltic and picritic lavas with >5 wt% TiO2 from the Prinsen af Wales Bjerge (PAWB) region are chemically distinct from all other Paleogene East Greenland flood basalts and from basalts in the North Atlantic Igneous Province. The ~100-m-thick lava succession rests on the 61 Ma Urbjerget Formation, is intercalated with volcaniclastic sediments, and has 57 Ma 40Ar/39Ar stepwise degassing ages. It is part of the Milne Land Formation, the first of the major flood basalt formations in East Greenland, and the result of plume impingement of the Kangerlussuaq area in East Greenland during the initial stages of continental breakup. The Ti-rich picrites have relatively primitive compositions and contain Mn- and Ni-rich olivine up to Fo88. Intermediate to high 87Sr/86Sri (0.7034–0.7044) and low Pb isotopic compositions reflect 4–11% crustal contamination, whereas the initial εNd (+4 − +5) and 187Os/188Os ratios (0.121–0.129) overlap with recent Icelandic basalts and appear little affected by contamination processes. The mantle source of the Ti-rich picrites contained garnet and was pyroxene-rich and similar to that of later low-Si alkaline basalts. The Ti-rich picrites of the PAWB, similar to other Ti-rich melts of the Kangerlussuaq region, represent analogies of MgO-rich and variably TiO2-enriched melts from pyroxene rich sources of traditionally accepted mantle plumes like Hawaii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is not well known which chemical differentiation pathways basaltic melts will take when they are iron metal saturated. Thermodynamically, the pathway seems predictable. So long as Fe metal is a stable liquidus phase and relative oxygen fugacity (fO2) is not subject to major fluctuations, the activity of FeO (aFeOmelt) is buffered by the iron–wüstite (IW) equilibrium 2Femetal + O2 → 2FeOmelt. Metallic Fe also stabilizes olivine through the equilibrium 2Femetal + O2 + SiO2 melt → Fe2SiO4 olivine. That equilibrium tends to suppress the enrichment in bulk SiO2 when Fe saturated basaltic melts differentiate. We document the differentiation history of tholeiitic cumulates from the Siberian craton that carry up to 30 modal % metallic Fe. Our study is complemented by differentiation experiments at two redox states, one set in Fe metal capsules at 1.6 log units below IW (IW-1.6) and a second set in graphite capsules at IW + 1.5. Iron saturated differentiation pathways do not show enrichments in FeO nor in bulk SiO2 because olivine remains stable along the entire liquid line of descent. By contrast, melts equilibrated at IW + 1.5, that is, outside metallic Fe saturation, crystallize pigeonite as first silicate and follow a normal (terrestrial) differentiation pathway involving marked SiO2 enrichment. The Fe-saturated path duplicates in detail the liquid line of descent we derive for the cumulates. Iron-saturated experiments have limited applicability to the Earth because there are so few terrestrial basalts saturated with metallic Fe; however, they might apply to the Moon. Many lunar basalts appear to have been saturated with an Fe-Ni phase during their emplacement on the lunar surface, and potentially during generation within the lunar mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melting phase relations involving model carbonated basalt with excess silica were studied in experiments over the pressure range of 4–7 GPa in the system CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-CO2 to determine if there is a sharp decrease in the melting temperatures along the transition from carbon dioxide vapor (vapor) to dolomite. The phase assemblages of clinopyroxene + garnet + coesite + vapor + carbon dioxide-bearing silicate liquid (silicate liquid) and clinopyroxene + garnet + coesite + dolomite + carbonate liquid, exist over 4–5 and 5.8–7 GPa, respectively. These two distinct phase assemblages form the two, vapor + silicate liquid and dolomite + carbonate liquid-bearing divariant surfaces. The dissolved carbon dioxide and the molar calcium number [Ca# 100*(Ca/Ca + Mg)] of the silicate and carbonate liquids are approximately 4–8 wt% and between 50–55 and 35–40 wt% and 69–71, respectively. The compositions of phases vary little, implying minimal topography along the two surfaces, and the temperatures rise linearly along the silicate liquid-bearing divariant surface over 4–5 GPa. Between 5.2 and 5.6 GPa, however, the temperatures decrease precipitously by ~200–250°C and, along with this steep decline, the liquid changes from silicate to carbonate, with the rest of the phase assemblage of clinopyroxene + garnet + coesite + vapor, persisting. Hence, and this is important to emphasize, this liquid, coexisting with vapor, is carbonate in composition in the absence of dolomite. Isobaric invariance, at 5.4 GPa/1250°C, 5.6 GPa/1150°C, and 5.8 GPa/1100°C, consists of the six-phase assemblage of clinopyroxene + garnet + coesite + vapor + dolomite + carbonate liquid. Melting phase relations are thus univariant, and correspond to that of a solidus 'ledge', i.e. with a negative Clapeyron slope, in this part of the composition space. The melting reaction along the ledge is clinopyroxene + vapor = garnet + coesite + dolomite + carbonate liquid, and the ledge separates the two divariant surfaces. The Ca# of the coexisting carbonate liquid and dolomite here are opposite to those of the carbonate liquid and dolomite on the calcite-magnesite join at similar pressures as in this study. This is most likely a consequence of the combined effects of (a) observations from experiments and theory that the fusion curve of calcite starts to diverge from that of magnesite toward lower temperatures at pressures in excess of ~5 GPa, and (b) the pressure, where ultrabasic silicate–carbonate (~2.5–3 GPa) and excess-silica carbonate-basalt (>4 GPa, as inhere) systems undergo carbonation. These, in turn, cause the liquid and dolomite in experiments here to become more calcic and more magnesian than observed in experiments on the calcite-magnesite join. The solidus ledge, here, has a profound effect because the most plausible modern-day model ocean crust subduction zone geotherms in Earth will, in all likelihood, intersect it and cause fusion of dolomite, thereby, in effect, liberating all carbon from what once was a carbonate-basalt mixture. Thereafter, little exists to suggest that there is anything 'deep' to the carbon cycle, through recycling, with most of it likely confined to less than ~200 km in Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies investigating magmatic volatile contents indicate widespread enrichment of carbon, sulfur, and halogens in ocean island basalts (OIBs). At El Hierro in the Western Canary Islands, magmas with exceptionally high CO2 and S contents have been erupting throughout the Holocene. High S content of up to 5200 ppm requires an oxidised mantle source, but estimates of initial magmatic oxygen fugacity (f O2) are sparse. Here, we present estimates of f O2 and magmatic temperature for El Hierro together with a global mantle potential temperature dataset to evaluate redox and temperature conditions in the early stages of melt evolution for volatile-rich OIBs. Oxygen fugacities calculated using vanadium partitioning between melt inclusions (MIs) and their olivine hosts are >FMQ + 2.9 (2.9 log10 units above the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer), indicating that El Hierro magmas are highly oxidised. MI and matrix glass sulfur speciation data record f O2 between FMQ-1 to FMQ + 2; these values strongly depend on the position of the S2− to S6+ transition relative to the FMQ buffer. Nonetheless, glass sulfur speciation data record lower oxygen fugacity than V partitioning data, indicating MIs were able to maintain Fe3+/ΣFe and S6+/ΣS equilibrium with the surrounding melt during their evolution. The high f O2 of El Hierro magmas is coupled with an average mantle potential temperature estimate of 1443 ± 66°C (1σ, n  = 17) for the broader Canary Islands, which is slightly higher than the average potential temperature estimated for adjacent mid-ocean ridge segments (1427 ± 33°C, 1σ, n  = 474), albeit the two values are well within error. We find that ~98% of Canary Island rock compositions are not suitable for calculation of mantle potential temperatures using currently available methods. This is caused by the presence of substantial pyroxenite and volatile-enriched peridotite mantle domains under the Canary Islands. A wider compositional calibration of various petrological models is necessary to precisely determine mantle potential temperatures for volatile-rich alkali basalts. Our high oxygen fugacity estimates for El Hierro magmas reflect the fertile, fusible, and volatile-enriched nature of the mantle source beneath the Western Canary Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the effects of high-pressure crystallization and immiscible sulfide melt segregation under mantle conditions on the compositional variation of basaltic magmas, using clinopyroxene megacrysts in the Cenozoic basalts of eastern China. These clinopyroxene megacrysts are large (up to >10 cm in size) and homogeneous at the grain scale. They were crystallized from variably evolved parental magmas and then captured by their host basalts. The large and systematic variations of [Sm/Yb]N, Lu/Hf, Fe/Mn, Sc/La, Ni and Cu with Mg# in the clinopyroxene megacrysts suggest their co-precipitation with garnet and with immiscibility between sulfide and silicate melts. This is consistent with the appearance of garnet megacrysts in the host basalts and abundant sulfide globules in the clinopyroxene megacrysts. The covariation between Ni contents of sulfide globules and Mg# of the clinopyroxene megacrysts suggests a genetic relationship between sulfide globules and clinopyroxene megacrysts. High-pressure crystallization of clinopyroxene and garnet results in decrease of Mg# and concentrations of CaO, MnO and heavy rare earth elements (e.g. Yb) and increase of Fe/Mn and [Sm/Yb]N in the residual melts. Therefore, geochemical characteristics of low Mg#, low CaO and MnO contents and high Fe/Mn and [Sm/Yb]N in basalts do not necessarily indicate a pyroxenite mantle source. In addition, caution is needed when applying the olivine addition method to infer the primary compositions of alkali basalts without considering the effects of high-pressure crystallization of clinopyroxene and garnet. The calculated pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions of the clinopyroxene megacrysts are close to those of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath eastern China, and the low primitive [Sm/Yb]N (~4.0) of melts parental to the clinopyroxene megacrysts suggests final equilibration at relatively low pressures most likely beneath the LAB. Hence, a melt-rich layer is expected close beneath the LAB. Melt pools in this melt-rich layer provide a stable and closed environment for the growth of compositionally homogeneous clinopyroxene megacrysts. As a result, melts in these melt pools are compositionally evolved with low and variable Mg#. Subsequent pulses of melt aggregation/supply from depths with primitive compositions and high Mg# will disturb these melt pools, cause magma mixing and trigger the eruption of magmas carrying clinopyroxene and garnet megacrysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase equilibria and trace-element modeling using two previously reported basaltic bulk-rock compositions (samples D11 and 104-16), were carried out in this study, in order to better understand mechanism of low-pressure (LP) partial melting of mafic rocks and associated melt compositions. The T–MH2O pseudosections for both samples at three pressures (i.e. 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kbar) display that the H2O-stability field gradually increased with decreasing pressure within the T–MH2O range of 600–1100°C and 0–12 mol.%. The H2O contents of 10, 5.0, and 0.5 mol.% were selected on the basis of the T–MH2O pseudosections to calculate Pressure–Temperature (P–T) pseudosections over a P–T window of 0.1–3 kbar and 600–1100°C, so that the reactions of both the H2O-fluxed and -absent meltings at LP conditions can be investigated. The solidus displays a negative or near-vertical P–T slope, and occurs between 710 and 900°C at pressure between 0.1 and 3.0 kbar. LP melting of metabasites is attributed to the reactions of the hydrous mineral (hornblende and/or biotite) melting and anhydrous mineral (plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and augite) melting. The hydrous mineral melting is gradually replaced by anhydrous mineral melting as pressure decreasing, as the stability of hornblende decreases with falling pressure. With increasing temperature at a given pressure, the modeled melt compositions are expressed as progressions of the granite-granodiorite-gabbroic diorite fields for sample D11and granite-quartz monzonite-monzonite-gabbroic diorite fields for sample 104-16 on the total alkali–silica diagram. The modeled melts produced through the H2O-fluxed melting display higher Al2O3, CaO, MgO, and lower SiO2 and K2O than those formed by H2O-absent melting at the same P–T conditions. Furthermore, the modeled melts formed by H2O-absent melting, become richer in Al2O3, CaO, MgO, FeO, Na2O, but poorer in SiO2 and K2O as increasing water content. The results of trace-element modeling suggest that the nearly flat rare earth elements (REE) patterns of modeled bulk-rock composition are inherited by all the modeled melts, and the negative Eu anomalies and Sr depletion of the modeled melts gradually decrease as melting degree increases. Combined with the geochemical characteristics of natural oceanic plagiogranites, which have low K2O contents and flat or slightly light rare earth (LREE)-depleted REE patterns, our results imply that a bulk-rock composition with low K2O (<0.17 wt.%) and slightly LREEs depletion is the most likely protolith composition (e.g. basalt D11) for plagiogranites, and the compositions of modeled melts formed by LP H2O-absent partial melting of the basalt D11 at relatively high temperatures (1000–1025°C) are coincident with those of 1256D tonalites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cores recovered by International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 345 to the Hess Deep Rift (HDR) include lower crustal cumulates from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) and primitive basalts from the Cocos–Nazca Rift (CNR). This study presents major and trace element compositions of channel samples—the continuous strips of rock removed during core splitting—from this expedition. Consistently high Eu/Eu* anomalies (1·37–5·22) and strong correlations among major element oxides in samples of cumulates indicate that rock composition at the meter scale is controlled by the accumulation and segregation of plagioclase and olivine. However, constant Mg# (82·22 ± 0·66) among 13 samples through a ∼50 m interval suggests that this cumulus was host to percolating, replenishing melt(s). Modeling finds this rock composition to be in equilibrium with melts having Mg# = 58–61. This is identical to the mean value of EPR lavas (57·7 ± 6·2) and suggests that melt buffering by permeable crystal mush is a common and important process in controlling mid-ocean ridge basalt compositions at fast-spreading ocean centers. Analyses of the cumulates provide the most comprehensive composition of in situ , fast-spreading lower oceanic crust currently available. These are compiled with analyses of gabbros, dikes, and lavas from across the HDR to calculate the bulk composition of fast-spreading oceanic crust produced at the equatorial EPR. This bulk composition is strikingly similar to the composition of the primitive basalts from the CNR, and these compositions have nearly identical modeled fractional crystallization histories. Lower abundances of incompatible elements in the primitive basalt suggest that CNR magmatism is the result of the resumption of decompression melting in mantle that previously produced EPR crust. However, higher abundances of chalcophile elements in the CNR basalt point to a diversity of mantle melts that is not evident in calculations of the composition of bulk oceanic crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic variations in the crystal cargo and whole-rock isotopic compositions of mantle-derived basalts in the intraplate Dunedin Volcano (New Zealand) indicate the influence of a complex mantle-to-crust polybaric plumbing system. Basaltic rocks define a compositional spectrum from low-alkali basalts through mid-alkali basalts to high-alkali basalts. High-alkali basalts display clinopyroxene crystals with sector (hourglass) and oscillatory zoning (Mg#61–82) as well as Fe-rich green cores (Mg#43–69), whereas low-alkali basalts are characterized by clinopyroxenes with unzoned overgrowths (Mg#69–83) on resorbed mafic cores (Mg#78–88), coexisting with reversely zoned plagioclase crystals (An43–68 to An60–84 from core to rim). Complex magma dynamics are indicated by distinctive compositional variations in clinopyroxene phenocrysts, with Cr-rich zones (Mg#74–87) indicating continuous recharge by more mafic magmas. Crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite occurred within a polybaric plumbing system extending from upper mantle to mid-crustal depths (485–1059 MPa and 1147–1286°C), whereas crystallization of plagioclase with subordinate clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite proceeded towards shallower crustal levels. The compositions of high-alkali basalts and mid-alkali basalts resemble those of ocean island basalts and are characterized by FOZO-HIMU isotopic signatures (87Sr/86Sri = 0.70277–0.70315, 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51286–0.51294 and 206Pb/204Pb = 19.348–20.265), whereas low-alkali basalts have lower incompatible element abundances and isotopic compositions trending towards EMII (87Sr/86Sri = 0.70327–70397, 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51282–0.51286 and 206Pb/204Pb = 19.278–19.793). High- and mid-alkali basalt magmas mostly crystallized in the lower crust, whereas low-alkali basalt magma recorded deeper upper mantle clinopyroxene crystallization before eruption. The variable alkaline character and isotope composition may result from interaction of low-alkaline melts derived from the asthenosphere with melts derived from lithospheric mantle, possibly initiated by asthenospheric melt percolation. The transition to more alkaline compositions was induced by variable degrees of melting of metasomatic lithologies in the lithospheric mantle, leading to eruption of predominantly small-volume, high-alkali magmas at the periphery of the volcano. Moreover, the lithosphere imposed a filtering effect on the alkalinity of these intraplate magmas. As a consequence, the eruption of low-alkali basalts with greater asthenospheric input was concentrated at the centre of the volcano, where the plumbing system was more developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southern part of the eastern branch of the East African Rift is characterized by extensive volcanic activity since the late Miocene. In the Crater Highlands, part of the North Tanzanian Divergence zone, effusive and pyroclastic rocks reflect nephelinitic and basaltic compositions that formed between 4·6 and 0·8 Ma. The former are best represented by the Sadiman volcano (4·6–4·0 Ma) and the latter occur in the giant Ngorongoro crater (2·3–2·0 Ma), the Lemagarut volcano (2·4–2·2 Ma) and as a small volcanic field in the Laetoli area (2·3 Ma), where basaltic rocks known as Ogol lavas were erupted through fissures and several cinder cones. Compositionally, they are alkaline basalts with 46·0–47·9 wt% SiO2, 3·0–4·3 wt% of Na2O + K2O, Mg# of 61 to 55, and high Cr and Ni content (450–975 and 165–222 ppm respectively). Detailed textural and compositional analysis of the major minerals (olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and spinel-group minerals) reveals the heterogeneity of the rocks. The primary mineral assemblage that crystallized from the Ogol magmas comprises macro- and microcrysts of olivine (Fo89·5–84·2), Cr-bearing diopside to augite, magnesiochromite–chromitess, magnetite–ulvöspinelss, andesine–oligoclasess and fluorapatite, with glass of phonolitic composition in the groundmass. All samples contain appreciable proportions of xenocrystic minerals of macro- and microcryst size, with large variations in both concentration and mineral populations between samples. Xenocrysts include olivine with reverse zonation (Fo84·1–72·5), rounded and embayed clinopyroxene cores of variable composition, anhedral Cr-free magnetite–ulvöspinelss and embayed oligoclase. These xenocrysts as well as variations in major and trace element contents, 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0·70377–0·70470) and 143Nd/144Nd(i) (0·51246–0·51261) ratios provide evidence of multi-stage magma mixing and mingling between Ogol and adjacent Lemagarut volcano basaltic melts with only very minor contamination by Precambrian granite–gneisses. Elevated alkalinity of Ogol lavas, which positively correlates with isotope ratios, and the presence of xenocrystic green core clinopyroxene, perovskite, schorlomite and titanite indicate additional mixing and mingling with evolved nephelinitic magmas and/or assimilation of nephelinitic Laetolil tuffs or foidolitic rocks related to the Sadiman volcano. Owing to their heterogeneity, estimates on the crystallization conditions for the Ogol rocks are difficult. Nevertheless, clinopyroxene–liquid thermobarometry indicates crystallization temperatures of around 1150–1220 °C and records upper-crustal depths of 3–12 km (1–4 kbar). Despite the fact that Ogol basalts are hybrid rocks that formed under open-system conditions with well-documented mixing and mingling processes, they seem to be the best examples closest to primary basaltic melts within the Crater Highlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike many Archean diorites and granitoids that arguably formed in different geodynamic settings, their post-Archean counterparts are commonly regarded to have formed at convergent margins, although in detail their petrogenesis remains contentious. Here we present new whole-rock data and zircon Hf–O isotope analyses from dioritic (750–730 Ma), granitic (810–790 Ma) and tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG)-like intrusions (800–740 Ma) from the Panxi and Hannan regions, which form part of an extensive Neoproterozoic convergent margin exposed in South China. The dioritic rocks from the Panxi region exhibit high zircon εHf(t) (+10.1 to +13.1) and sub-mantle to mantle-like δ18O (3.1–6.3 ‰) values, whereas those from the Hannan region preserve low εHf(t) (+4.1 to +8.1) and high δ18O values (5.9–6.6 ‰), indicating that the dioritic melts were derived from subduction-modified lithospheric mantle sources and experienced variable degrees of lower crustal contamination. Zircons within granite and TTG from the Panxi region show a narrow range of Hf isotopic compositions generally spanning 2–4 εHf units (+3.1 to +7.9 for most felsic intrusions). By contrast, those from the Hannan region show a much wider range of zircon εHf(t) values spanning almost 10 εHf units (+1.1 to +10.9). Based on their O–Hf–Nd isotopic signatures, we propose that the granite and TTG from both areas were derived through partial melting of hydrated basaltic rocks in the arc root, and that the isotopic variability between the intrusions mirrors spatial and temporal chemical variations in these deep crustal source rocks. In both regions, the granites, along with mantle-derived mafic–ultramafic and intermediate rocks, show a coupled evolution associated with increasing εNd(t) and εHf(t) and decreasing δ18O with decreasing ages, whereas the TTGs formed during late-stage arc magmatism and preserve relatively homogeneous Nd–Hf isotopes and mantle-like δ18O values. Combined, these data record continuous crustal thickening through underplating of juvenile magmas and a progressive increase in the depth of melting, along with a decrease in the degree of interaction between the melts and basement rocks within the arc root. Our results suggest that slab melting was not required to produce post-Archean TTG signatures. Further, we suggest that the variability in the Hf–O–Nd isotopic compositions of metaluminous (I-type) granites mostly does not reflect a heterogeneity in upper mantle signatures, and that there is no conclusive evidence for the involvement of partial melts of subducted sediment based on Hf–O isotope signatures in zircon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new geochemical, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope, and 40Ar/39Ar data from Pleistocene basalts of the Western Snake River Plain (WSRP), Idaho, USA to explore their petrogenesis and to investigate the nature of the lithosphere at the western boundary of the North American craton. The basalts are divided into three groups based on their geochemical and isotopic characteristics. Prior to ∼1 Ma, volcanoes in the WSRP erupted iron-rich tholeiites (FeB1), but subsequent volcanism was dominated by concurrent eruptions of mildly alkaline, alumina-rich lavas (AlB) and iron-rich tholeiites (FeB2) with isotopic signatures similar to the AlB lavas. New 40Ar/39Ar dates of AlB and FeB2 basalts range from 0·920 ± 0·049 to 0·287 ± 0·014 Ma. MELTS models of FeB1 differentiation trends indicate that the range of compositions in this suite can be produced by 10–15 % crystallization of olivine and plagioclase at low pressure using the least evolved FeB1 composition as a parental magma; isotopic ratios can be produced via combined assimilation of a Miocene rhyolite and fractional crystallization. Additional modeling suggests that parental magmas at AlB centers were produced by 3–12 % equilibrium melting of a garnet–spinel-enriched mantle source, slightly different from that proposed for the youngest mildly alkaline lavas of the eastern and central Snake River Plain. Our new geochemical, isotopic, and geochronological data for the FeB2 basalts suggests that they are related to AlB-type magmas via a combination of fractional crystallization and assimilation of evolved mafic crust. MELTS models suggest that crystallization of an AlB parental melt at a depth of 6–8 km (2·5 kbar) could produce residual liquids having many of the major oxide characteristics of FeB2 ferrobasalts. Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic signatures of these three suites indicate a dominant contribution from an enriched plume source. FeB1 lavas are probably products of mixing between melts of an enriched plume mantle source (represented by Imnaha and Steens Basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group) and isotopically heterogeneous sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) that has been isolated from the convecting mantle since the Archean. Isotopic ratios of FeB2 and AlB lavas capture mixing between enriched plume mantle and a more isotopically homogeneous ancient SCLM domain characteristic of the eastern and central Snake River Plain, with a coupled decrease in lithospheric contribution and degree of partial melting through time to the present. Mixtures of enriched asthenospheric reservoirs with lithospheric mantle have been proposed for neighboring volcanic fields to the east along the strike of the Yellowstone–SRP hotspot track, and to the west owing to differences in the mantle underlying the boundary of the North American craton and accreted terranes. Our petrogenetic model for the Pleistocene WSRP basalts suggests that there is also a lateral, across-strike gradient in the geometry and interaction of enriched plume mantle and ancient lithosphere. We reiterate suggestions that the WSRP is a lithosphere-scale conduit connecting initial plume-head impingement in east–central Oregon with the subsequent Yellowstone–SRP hotspot plume-tail track. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rock type most commonly associated with komatiite throughout Earth's history is tholeiitic basalt. Despite this well-known association, the link between komatiite and basalt formation is still debated. Two models have been suggested: that tholeiitic basalts represent the products of extensive fractional crystallization of komatiite, or that basalts are formed by lower degrees of mantle melting than komatiites in the cooler portions of a zoned plume. We present major and trace element data for tholeiitic basalts (∼7·5 wt% MgO) and dunites (46–48 wt% MgO) from the Palaeoproterozoic Winnipegosis Komatiite Belt (WKB), which, along with previous data for WKB komatiites (17–26 wt% MgO), are utilized to explore the potential links between komatiite and basalt via crystallization processes. The dunites are interpreted as olivine + chromite cumulates that were pervasively serpentinized during metamorphism. Their major and immobile trace element relationships indicate that the accumulating olivine was highly magnesian (Mg# = 0·91–0·92), and that small amounts (4–7 wt% on average) of intercumulus melt were trapped during their formation. These high inferred olivine Mg# values suggest that the dunites are derived from crystallization of komatiite. The tholeiitic basalts have undergone greenschist-facies metamorphism and have typical geochemical characteristics for Palaeoproterozoic basalts, with the exception of high FeO contents. Their REE patterns are similar to Winnipegosis komatiites, although absolute concentrations are higher by a factor of ∼2·5. The ability of thermodynamic modelling with MELTS software to reproduce komatiite liquid lines of descent (LLD) is evaluated by comparison with the crystallization sequence and mineral compositions observed for Winnipegosis komatiites. With minor caveats, MELTS is able to successfully reproduce the LLD. This modelling is extended to higher pressures to simulate crystallization of komatiitic melt in an upper crustal magma chamber. All major and rare earth element characteristics of the tholeiitic basalts can be reproduced by ∼60 % crystallization of a Winnipegosis komatiite-like parental melt at pressures of ∼1·5–2·5 kbar at oxygen fugacities between QFM − 1 and QFM + 1, where QFM is the quartz–fayalite–magnetite buffer. Winnipegosis basalts have low Mg# values that are not in equilibrium with mantle peridotite. They therefore cannot represent primary mantle melts derived from cooler mantle than the komatiites, and require fractional crystallization processes in their formation. Furthermore, their trace element characteristics indicate a depth of melting indistinguishable from that of the Winnipegosis komatiites, and derivation from an identical depleted mantle source. All geochemical and geological evidence is therefore consistent with their derivation from a komatiitic melt, and the presence of a large komatiite-derived dunite body in the WKB provides evidence of extensive fractionation of komatiite in the upper crust. The observed uniform basalt compositions are interpreted as the result of a density minimum in the evolving komatiitic melt at temperatures between clinopyroxene and plagioclase saturation, with efficient extraction of melt from a mixture containing ∼60 % crystals. We conclude that the WKB basalts formed by fractional crystallization of a komatiitic parental melt, and suggest that this model may be more broadly applicable to other localities where komatiites and associated basalts show similar geochemical or isotopic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The island of Pantelleria, located in the Sicily Channel Rift Zone (Italy), has been the site of violent peralkaline silicic magmatism alternating with minor effusive to low-intensity Strombolian eruptions of basaltic composition. The basaltic rock suites exposed on the island were sampled to investigate the plumbing system dynamics through the study of chemical stratigraphy and temporal records of olivine crystals. Our petrographic and geochemical observations, together with the compositional variability of olivine, suggest different evolutionary histories for basaltic magmas erupted over two major periods divided by the ∼45 ka Green Tuff (GT) eruption. Core-to-rim compositional traverses across olivine crystals document different types of zoning. We recognized olivine zones affected by Fo oscillations at very fine scales in the inner cores, rims and/or in intermediate portions of crystals and used them to reconstruct the residence and passage of crystals through different magmatic environments, with P–T –ƒO2 and compositional characteristics constrained by thermodynamic modeling. The sequence of magmatic environments evidenced by olivine zoning indicate that the pre-GT volcanic period was dominated by injection at shallow crustal levels (∼300–200 MPa) of primitive melts, initially moving from a deep storage zone at the crust-mantle boundary. Supply of this magma significantly decreased after the GT eruption, while the dynamics of magma transfer within the upper portion of the plumbing system were greatly enhanced. The diffusive relaxation of olivine zoning provided the timing of storage and migration of a crystal through different environments. For magmas feeding the ancient (>45 ka) basaltic activity we retrieved transfer histories that are much longer (up to ∼3 years) if compared with those calculated for the post-GT basalts (1–9 months). The compositional and temporal dataset presented in this study supports the idea that the GT eruption and the subsequent collapse of the volcanic edifice could have caused major changes to the internal structural setting of Pantelleria, creating more favorable conditions for the migration of magmas in the upper portions of the plumbing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal size distribution analysis is a non-destructive, quantitative method providing insights into the crystallization histories of magmas. Traditional crystal size distribution data collection requires the manual tracing of crystal boundaries within a sample from a digital image. Although this manual method requires minimal equipment to perform, the process is often time-intensive. In this study we investigate the feasibility of using the Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by SCANing electron microscopy (QEMSCAN) software for semi-automated crystal size distribution analysis. Four Apollo 15 mare basalt thin sections were analysed using both manual and QEMSCAN crystal size distribution data collection methods. In most cases we observe an offset between the crystal size distribution plots produced by QEMSCAN methods compared with the manual data, leading to differences in calculated crystal residence times and nucleation densities. The source of the discrepancy is two-fold: (1) the touching particles processor in the QEMSCAN software is prone to segmenting overlapping elongate crystals into multiple smaller crystals; (2) this segmentation of elongate crystals causes estimates of true 3D crystal habit to vary between QEMSCAN and manual data. The reliability of the QESMCAN data appears to be a function of the crystal texture and average crystal shape, both of which influence the performance of the touching particles processor. Despite these limitations, QEMSCAN is able to produce broadly similar overall trends in crystal size distribution plots to the manual approach, in a considerably shorter time frame. If an accurate crystal size distribution is required to calculate crystal residence time or nucleation density, we recommend that QEMSCAN should only be used after careful consideration of the suitability of the sample texture and average crystal shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magmatism in the East African Rift System (EARS) contains a spatial and temporal record of changing contributions from the Afar mantle plume, anciently metasomatized lithosphere, the upper mantle and the continental crust. A full understanding of this record requires characterizing volcanic products both within the rift valley and on its flanks. In this study, three suites of mafic, transitional to alkaline lavas, were collected over a northeast-southwest distance of ∼150 km along the southeastern Ethiopian Plateau, adjacent to the Main Ethiopian Rift. Specifically, late Oligocene to Quaternary mafic lavas were collected from Chiro, Debre Sahil and the Bale Mountains. New major element, trace element, 40Ar/39Ar ages and isotopic results (Sr, Nd, Pb, Hf, Os, He) show spatial and temporal variation in the lavas caused by dynamical changes in the source of volcanism during the evolution of the EARS. The trace element compositions of Oligocene and Miocene Chiro lavas indicate derivation from mildly depleted and nominally anhydrous lithospheric mantle, with variable inputs from the crust. Further south, Miocene Debre Sahil and alkaline Bale Mountains lavas have enriched incompatible trace element ratios (e.g. Ba/Nb = 12–43, La/SmN = 3·1–4·9, Tb/YbN = 1·6–2·4). Additionally, their 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, 176Hf/177Hf and 206Pb/204Pb values trend toward a radiogenic Pb (HIMU) component. Radiogenic 187Os/188Os in these lavas correlates positively with 206Pb/204Pb and trace element indicators consistent with ancient metasomatic enrichment of their mantle source. In contrast, transitional Miocene Bale Mountains lavas have lower incompatible trace element abundances, less enriched trace element ratios (Ba/Nb ∼7, La/SmN = 2·3–2·5) and less radiogenic isotopic signatures that originate from melting garnet-bearing, anhydrous lithospheric mantle (Tb/YbN = 2·5–2·9). Pliocene and Quaternary Bale Mountains basaltic lavas are chemically and isotopically similar to Main Ethiopian Rift lavas. Trace element and isotopic indicators in both of these suites denote an amphibole-bearing source distinct from that sampled by the older Bale Mountains lavas. Isotopically, Pliocene and Quaternary Bale lavas have notably less radiogenic Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotopic ratios. Quaternary Bale Mountains lavas have the strongest mantle plume contribution (3He/4He = 12·1–12·5 RA), while other Bale Mountains, Debre Sahil and Chiro lavas were derived dominantly by melting of lithospheric or upper mantle sources (3He/4He = 5·1–9·1 RA). A multi-stage, regional-scale model of metasomatism and partial melting accounts for the spatial and temporal variations on the southeastern Ethiopian Plateau. Early Debre Sahil and alkaline Bale Mountains mafic lavas are melts derived from Pan-African lithosphere containing amphibole-bearing metasomes, while later transitional Bale basalts are melts of lithosphere containing anhydrous, clinopyroxene-rich veins. These ancient metasomatized domains were eventually removed through preferential melting, potentially during thermal erosion of the lithosphere or lithospheric foundering. Pliocene and Quaternary Bale Mountains lavas erupted after tectonic extension progressed throughout Ethiopia and was accompanied by increased plume influence on the volcanic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine REE (Rare-Earth Element) and isotopic (Sr–Hf–Nd–Pb) signatures in OIB (Ocean Island Basalts) as a function of lithospheric thickness and show that the data can be divided into thin- (<12 Ma) and thick-plate (>12 Ma) sub-sets. Comparison to geophysically constrained thermal plate models indicates that the demarcation age (∼12 Ma) corresponds to a lithospheric thickness of about 50 km. Thick-plate OIB show incompatible element and isotopic enrichments, whereas thin-plate lavas show MORB-like or slightly enriched values. We argue that enriched signatures in thick-plate OIB originate from low-degree melting at depths below the dry solidus, while depleted signatures in MORB and thin-plate OIB are indicative of higher-degree melting. We tested quantitative explanations of REE systematics using melting models for homogeneous fertile peridotite. Using experimental partition coefficients for major upper mantle minerals, our equilibrium melting models are not able to explain the data. However, using a new grain-scale disequilibrium melting model for the same homogeneous lithology the data can be explained. Disequilibrium models are able to explain the data by reducing the amount of incompatible element partitioning into low degree melts. To explore new levels of detail in disequilibrium phenomena, we employ the Monte-Carlo Potts model to characterize the textural evolution of a microstructure undergoing coarsening and phase transformation processes simultaneous with the diffusive partitioning of trace elements among solid phases and melt in decompressing mantle. We further employ inverse methods to study the thermochemical properties required for models to explain the OIB data. Both data and theory show that OIB erupted on spreading ridges contain signatures close to MORB values, although E-MORB provides the best fit. This indicates that MORB and OIB are produced by compositionally indistinguishable sources, although the isotopic data indicate that the source is heterogeneous. Also, a posteriori distributions are found for the temperature of the thermomechanical lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (TLAB), the temperature in the source of OIB (Tp, oib) and the extent of equilibrium during melting (i.e. grain size). TLAB has been constrained to 1200–1300°C and Tp, oib is constrained to be <1400°C. However, we consider the constraints on Tp, oib as a description of all OIB to be provisional, because it is a statistical inference from the global dataset. Exceptional islands or island groups may exist, such as the classical 'hotspots' (Hawaii, Reunion, etc) and these islands may originate from hot sources. On the other hand, by the same statistical arguments their origins may be anomalously hydrated or enriched instead. Mean grain size in the source of OIB is about 1–5 mm, although this is also provisional due to a strong dependence on knowledge of partition coefficients, ascent rate and the melting function. We also perform an inversion in which partition coefficients were allowed to vary from their experimental values. In these inversions TLAB and Tp, oib are unchanged, but realizations close to equilibrium can be found when partition coefficients differ substantially from their experimental values. We also investigated bulk compositions in the source of OIB constrained by our inverse models. Corrections for crystallization effects provided ambiguous confirmations of previously proposed mantle compositions, with depleted mantle providing the poorest fits. We did not include isotopes in our models, but we briefly evaluate the lithospheric thickness effect on isotopes. Although REE data do not require a lithologically heterogeneous source, isotopes indicate that a minor enriched component disproportionately contributes to thick-plate OIB, but is diluted by high-degree melting in the generation of thin-plate OIB and MORB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new U-series disequilibria results for 37 basalts collected from the flanks and axial valley of the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, making Endeavour one of the most well-characterized spreading ridges along the global ridge system. Detailed studies of Endeavour basalts provide a geological framework for the tectonic, magmatic, and hydrothermal evolution of the ridge, and the geochemical diversity of basalts that result from short spatial- and temporal-scale variations in mantle sources and melting processes. Because the geologic and geochemical context of these basalts is well known, new uranium series disequilibria and model ages place additional constraints on the recent magmatic evolution of the ridge. While Endeavour basalts vary widely and include depleted, normal, transitional, and enriched compositions, relatively little variation is observed in Th/U ratios or238U–230Th disequilibria in near zero-age basalts. The largest variation in both exists in lavas erupted most recently in the axial valley (the 'Graben Trend') with overall higher230Th excesses. Some basalts with lower230Th excesses collected from pillow mounds on the flanks of the ridge (the 'Inflated Trend') have aged significantly since eruption and document the episodic nature of volcanic and tectonic regimes at Endeavour. Uranium-series melting models using two lithologies (peridotite and eclogite) can account for U–Th systematics in near zero-age basalts. These models indicate that mixing of diverse, deeply-generated, enriched melts and homogeneous, shallowly-generated, depleted melts can account for the geochemistry of Endeavour basalts. In addition, decreasing porosity and melting rate of the eclogite component is primarily responsible for chemical and physical changes occurring at the Endeavour segment through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most geochemically unique drill cores recovered within the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain (YSRP) province, the Sugar City geothermal test well was drilled into intra-caldera rhyolite lavas and tuffs erupted during the middle to late Pliocene and the resurgent basaltic volcanism erupted during the Pleistocene. This sequence parallels the two main stages proposed for YSRP hotspot calderas: i.e. the eruption of several large-volume, ash-flow tuff sheets followed by caldera collapse, then cessation of major rhyolitic activity and gradual subsidence accompanied by filling and eventual burial of the caldera by basalt lava flows. We employ stratigraphic relationships, paleomagnetism, and major, trace element, and Sr–Nd isotope geochemistry to develop models for the origin of the basaltic and rhyolitic magmas within a geographical and temporal context. The basalts are characterized by distinct groupings based on depth and geochemistry and reflect the dominant compositions observed on the surface, e.g. Snake River olivine tholeiite (SROT) and evolved type (e.g. Craters of the Moon). We also observe contaminated basalts that interacted with rhyolite/granite. The basaltic magma formed by shallow partial melting in the plume channel carved into the lithosphere. The older rhyolites preserve the classical characteristics of A-type granites and display major element and trace element concentrations typical for Eastern SRP caldera centres and minimal stratigraphic variation. Multiple lines of evidence document extensive magmatic differentiation and coupled basalt–rhyolite interactions. We find that the most plausible origin for the rhyolites is via partial melting of a hybrid source, comprising Archean crustal components and younger juvenile mafic intrusions. Assimilation of hydrothermally altered material is also required for some eruptive units. The rhyolites did not evolve from residual magma left over from the climactic Kilgore eruption (4·0 Ma), but instead represent discrete magma generation events in the course of a few hundred thousand years between 4·0 to 3·8 Ma. Beginning at approximately 3.3 Ma, basalts were able to erupt through the solidified composite pluton that formed below the caldera. The transition from rhyolite to basalt is tied to the declining flux of basaltic magma as North America moved away from the Yellowstone hotspot core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sulfur (S) and copper (Cu) contents of primitive mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and ocean island basalts (OIB) are similar, although the latter are thought to be derived from hotter mantle. To reconcile the sulfur and chalcophile element budgets of OIB, we developed a model to describe the behavior of sulfide and Cu during decompression melting of mantle by combining experimental constraints on decompression melting at different excess mantle potential temperatures, T P, between 1400 and 1650°C, and empirical sulfur content at sulfide saturation (SCSS) models, which take into account the effect of Ni and Cu present in the equilibrium sulfide melt. Model calculations at T P = 1450–1650°C were applied to explain the S and Cu inventory of high-Mg# 'reference' OIB. Modeling indicates that partial melts relevant to OIB generation have higher SCSS than those of primitive MORB, because of the positive effect of temperature on SCSS. Therefore, for a given abundance of sulfide in the mantle, hotter mantle consumes sulfide more efficiently than colder mantle. Calculation of SCSS along melting adiabats at T P = 1450–1550°C, with variable initial S content of peridotite, indicates that sulfide-undersaturated primitive Icelandic basalts with ∼720 ppm S and 74–115 ppm Cu can be generated by 10–25 wt % melting of peridotite containing 100–150 ppm S. The S and Cu budgets of OIB that are thought to represent low-degree melts can be satisfied by (1) peridotite partial melting if a sulfide-saturated partial melt with a Ni content in the sulfide melt ≥25–30 wt % is derived from relatively cold mantle (T P ≤ 1450°C), or (2) if primitive melts parental to OIB are enriched in S (>1500 ppm), or (3) an extremely low (≤1%) degree of melting is applicable. Alternatively, if the Ni content in the equilibrium sulfide in the peridotitic mantle is ≤20–25 wt %, mixing of partial melts, derived from low-degree melting of MORB-eclogite and metapelite, with S-depleted peridotite partial melts may be necessary to reconcile the measured S and Cu contents in the low- F (<10%, where F is melt fraction) basalts from Galapagos spreading center, Lau Basin and Loihi for T P of 1450–1650°C. In this last case, sulfides, equivalent to 50–100 ppm S in the peridotite mantle, can be exhausted by 1–9 wt % partial melting. The total S inventory of the heterogeneous mantle source of these basalts is higher because of the presence of subducted eclogite ± sediments. Our analysis also suggests that compared with peridotite, which is likely to become sulfide-free during partial melting owing to the high SCSS for its partial melts, subducted MORB-eclogite and metapelite probably play important roles in retaining sulfide in the Earth's shallow mantle, owing to low SCSS in their partial melts and high initial sulfide abundances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new set of thermodynamic models is presented for calculating phase relations in bulk compositions extending from peridotite to granite, from 0·001 to 70 kbar and from 650°C to peridotite liquidus temperatures, in the system K2O–Na2O–CaO–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–TiO2–Fe2O3–Cr2O3 (KNCFMASHTOCr). The models may be used to calculate phase equilibria in partial melting of a large range of mantle and crustal compositions. They provide a good fit to experimental phase relation topologies and melt compositions across the compositional range of the model. Compared with the preliminary model of Jennings, E. S. & Holland, T. J. B. (2015) (A simple thermodynamic model for melting of peridotite in the system NCFMASOCr. Journal of Petrology 56, 869–892) for peridotite–basalt melting relations, the inclusion of K2O and TiO2 allows for better modelling of small melt fractions in peridotite melting, and in reproducing rutile-bearing eclogite melting at high pressures. An improved order–disorder model for spinel is now incorporated. Above 10 kbar pressure, wet partial melting relations may be significantly affected by the dissolution of silicates in aqueous fluid, so the set of models includes an aqueous low-density silicate-bearing fluid in addition to a high-density H2O-bearing silicate melt. Oxygen fugacity may be readily calculated for the whole range of bulk compositions investigated, and the effect of water content on melt f O2 is assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkaline magmatism associated with the West Antarctic rift system in the NW Ross Sea (NWRS) includes a north-south chain of shield volcano complexes extending 260km along the coast of Northern Victoria Land (NVL), numerous small volcanic seamounts located on the continental shelf and hundreds more within an ~35 000km2 area of the oceanic Adare Basin. New 40Ar/39Ar age dating and geochemistry confirm that the seamounts are of Pliocene-Pleistocene age and petrogenetically akin to the mostly middle to late Miocene volcanism on the continent, as well as to a much broader region of diffuse alkaline volcanism that encompasses areas of West Antarctica, Zealandia and eastern Australia. All of these continental regions were contiguous prior to the late-stage breakup of Gondwana at ~100 Ma, suggesting that the magmatism is interrelated, yet the mantle source and cause of melting remain controversial. The NWRS provides a rare opportunity to study cogenetic volcanism across the transition from continent to ocean and consequently offers a unique perspective from which to evaluate mantle processes and the roles of lithospheric and sublithospheric sources for mafic alkaline magmas. Mafic alkaline magmas with >6wt % MgO (alkali basalt, basanite, hawaiite, and tephrite) erupted across the transition from continent to ocean in the NWRS show a remarkable systematic increase in silica-undersaturation, P2O5, Sr, Zr, Nb and light rare earth element (LREE) concentrations, as well as LREE/HREE (heavy REE) and Nb/Y ratios. Radiogenic isotopes also vary, with Nd and Pb isotopic compositions increasing and Sr isotopic compositions decreasing oceanward. These variations cannot be explained by shallow-level crustal contamination or by changes in the degree of mantle partial melting, but are considered to be a function of the thickness and age of the mantle lithosphere. We propose that the isotopic signature of the most silica-undersaturated and incompatible element enriched basalts best represent the composition of the sub-lithospheric magma source with low 87Sr/86Sr (≥0≥7030) and δ18O olivine (≥5·0), and high 143Nd/144Nd (~0·5130) and 206Pb/204Pb (≤20). The isotopic 'endmember' signature of the sub-lithospheric source is derived from recycled subducted materials and was transferred to the lithospheric mantle by small-degree melts (carbonate-rich silicate liquids) to form amphibole-rich metasomes. Later melting of the metasomes produced silica-undersaturated liquids that reacted with the surrounding peridotite. This reaction occurred to a greater extent as the melt traversed through thicker and older lithosphere continentward. Ancient and/or more recent (~550-100 Ma) subduction along the Pan-Pacific margin of Gondwana supplied the recycled subduction-related material to the asthenosphere. Melting and carbonate metasomatism were triggered during major episodes of extension beginning in the Late Cretaceous, but alkaline magmatism was very limited in its extent. A significant delay of ~30 to 20 Myr between extension and magmatism was probably controlled by conductive heating and the rate of thermal migration at the base of the lithosphere. Heating was facilitated by regional mantle upwelling, possibly driven by slab detachment and sinking into the lower mantle and/or by edge-driven mantle flow established at the boundary between the thinned lithosphere of the West Antarctic rift and the thick East Antarctic craton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure in basaltic dykes is significantly different from that in sills and lava lakes of the same bulk composition. For a given width of intrusion (or depth of lava lake), vertical tabular bodies are coarser grained than horizontal bodies, with an invariant plagioclase shape across the intrusion. When comparing samples from sills and dykes for which the average grain size is the same, the dyke samples contain fewer small grains and fewer large grains than the sill samples. In contrast, the variation of median clinopyroxene-plagioclase-plagioclase dihedral angles in dykes correlates precisely with that observed in sills and is a function of the rate of diffusive heat loss. These patterns can be accounted for if the early stages of crystallization in dykes primarily involve the growth of isolated grains suspended in a well-mixed convecting magma, with the final stage (during which dihedral angles form) occurring in a crystal-rich static magma in which heat loss is primarily diffusive. In contrast, crystallization in sills occurs predominantly in marginal solidification fronts, suggesting that any convective motions are insufficient to entrain crystals from the marginal mushy layers and to keep them suspended while they grow. An exception to this general pattern is provided by members of the Mull Solitary Dykes, which propagated 100-1000 km SE from the Mull Palaeogene Igneous Centre, Scotland, through the shallow crust. These dykes, where sampled >100 km from Mull, have a microstructure indistinguishable from that of a sill of comparable thickness. We suggest that sufficient nucleation and crystallization occurred in these dykes to increase the viscosity sufficiently to damp convection once unidirectional flow had ceased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neogene back-arc mafic volcanism in the northern Puna Plateau produced a suite of mainly high-Mg, calc-alkaline, basaltic andesites to andesites that form small scoria cones and lava fields. We present the first comprehensive geochemical study of the mafic suite in the northern Puna that complements work on similar rocks from the southern Puna Plateau. The emphasis is on magma genesis and evolution in both areas, and on a combined interpretation of the two regional datasets in the geodynamic context of back-arc magmatism in the central Andes. The results from the northern Puna suite (bulk-rock and mineral compositions, thermobarometry and radiogenic isotope ratios) are consistent with a predominantly asthenospheric source for the mafic magmas, with variable but locally significant contamination by crustal material. Quantifying the crustal and mantle input fails in most cases because the data display contradictory features, such as high compatible element contents (Mg, Ni, Cr) paired with moderate contents of silica and incompatible lithophile elements that defy classical models of magma mixing, fractionation and assimilation. We suggest that magma evolution involved selective assimilation during turbulent flow, probably at more than one level in the crust. Comparison with the southern Puna mafic suite reveals many features in common (high magma temperatures, textural evidence of rapid magma ascent and cooling, assimilation of crust at different depths). However, the volume of erupted magma is greater in the south than in the north and the volcanism in the south is slightly younger. There is much compositional overlap between the two regions, but the southern Puna suite extends to more primitive compositions. These differences suggest a stronger crustal influence in the northern Puna andesites, which we suggest is due to the presence of an extended upper-crustal melt zone associated with the Altiplano-Puna ignimbrite province. Radiogenic Sr and Nd isotope data from both suites define two diverging trends of variation with MgO that can be explained with a crustal component common to both trends, similar to the silicic ignimbrites, and two contrasting mantle components. The more common and regionally more widespread of the two mantle components (also seen in the frontal arc magmas) has 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd values of 0·705 and 0·5126, respectively, which we attribute to an asthenospheric source enriched by subduction erosion. The less common of the two has Sr and Nd initial ratios (0.708 and 0.51235) that we attribute to melting or assimilation of enriched lithosphere. This component has been found only in the northern Puna and it may have an origin in delaminated lithosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the axial melt lens (AML) beneath fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges has been detected by seismic reflection for decades, its nature and role in the accretion of lower oceanic crust and the evolution and eruption of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are still poorly constrained. Plutonic rocks consisting of quartz-bearing gabbros, diorites and tonalites, which might represent the upper part of a fossilized AML, have for the first time been recovered from an intact fast-spreading oceanic crust section by Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole 1256D. Whole-rock major elements show a wide and continuous compositional range (e.g. Mg# 24-70) and apparent enrichments in Ti and Fe at intermediate MgO contents (4-6 wt %). Trace element characteristics are coherent for the different lithology groups defined by petrography and mineral modes; that is, gabbro, clinopyroxene-rich diorite, amphibole-rich or oxide-rich diorite and tonalite. The gabbros and diorites are consistent with modeled products of MORB fractional crystallization, composed of mixed melt and cumulate in varying ratios. Modeled trace elements (especially with respect to Eu) support a model in which the tonalites originated from low-degree partial melting of the sheeted dikes overlying the AML, rather than extreme fractional crystallization. Enrichments in rare earth elements (REE) in clinopyroxenes from the gabbroic and dioritic intrusive rocks suggest strong assimilation of REE-rich tonalitic components by evolved MORB magmas. Hydrothermal alteration was pervasive during cooling of the plutonic system, which can be traced by petrography, mineral compositions and bulk-rock geochemistry. The upper part of AML, largely composed of lowdensity and high-viscosity felsic magmas, may serve as a barrier to eruptible MORB melts in the lower part of AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report new major, trace and volatile element contents (H2O, CO2, F, S, Cl), and new Sr, Nd, Pb and He isotopes on submarine glasses from the Galapagos Archipelago from several dredging expeditions. Four groups are distinguishable on the basis of composition and geographical distribution: the Fernandina group (³He/4He>22 RA), which is similar to the less degassed primitive mantle; the Sierra Negra group (enriched Pb and Sr isotopes, ³He/4He = 8-20 RA), produced by mixing the Floreana (HIMU-type) and Fernandina end-members; the Pinta group (high Δ7/4, Δ8/4 and Th/La ratios, ³He/4He = 6-9 RA), an enriched mantle (EM)-type mantle indicative of recycled material in the source; and the depleted mantle (DM) group, characterized by an isotopic composition similar to mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). Only a single submarine glass with the isotopic composition of the Floreana end-member has been identified in the sample suite. Degassing has significantly lowered the glass CO2 content with little effect on the H2O concentration. Volatile data for oceanic basalts reveal that CO2-H2O gas-melt equilibration at eruption depth is common in ocean island basalts (OIB) and rare in MORB, suggesting different ratios of melt transport to bubble formation and gas-melt equilibration. The Galapagos glasses range from sulfide saturated to undersaturated, and a subset of samples indicate that S degasses at pressures≤400 bars. Assimilation of hydrothermally altered material affected the volatile contents of a number of samples in the groups. Once shallow-level processes have been accounted for, we evaluate the volatile contents in the different Galapagos mantle sources. Ratios between volatile and refractory elements with similar incompatibilities are used to estimate the volatile budget of the Galapagos mantle plume. Most of the glasses from the Fernandina, Sierra Negra and Pinta groups have high volatile/refractory element ratios, whereas a few pristine DM group lavas have ratios similar to those measured in MORB. The volatile/refractory element ratios are consistent with previous reports for the high ³He/4He, HIMU and MORB components. The values measured for the Pinta group, however, are higher than those found in other OIB associated with the presence of recycled material (EM-type). Our data suggest that mixing between the different mantle components is pervasive throughout the archipelago, which acts to normalize the volatile data between the groups. The Fernandina component can be modeled by a 6-20% mixture of the high ³He/4He primitive mantle component with the MORB source, assuming a two-layered mantle and using existing estimates of helium concentrations. The resulting estimated volatile content and H/C mass ratio for the high ³He/4He primitive mantle are consistent with previous estimates, but calculated C/³He ratios are lower than the canonical ratio. This indicates the following: (1) the estimates require ~20-50 times higher C or lower ³He contents, which is difficult to reconcile with the measured volatile/refractory ratios in oceanic basalts; (2) the C/³He ratio is not constant throughout the mantle; (3) an impact erosion model, rather than a two-layered mantle model, is more consistent with the relatively constant C/³He ratios observed in oceanic basalts, although it is unclear how representative oceanic basalts are of the lower mantle. The high volatile content of the high ³He/4He component will affect mantle dynamics and melt migration during plume-ridge interaction as this component would be predicted to be less viscous than the ambient mantle. The lower viscosity material would have an enhanced vertical upwelling, which could explain the buoyancy flux of the Galapagos plume without the need for a temperature anomaly. A lower viscosity, high ³He/4He component could also provide an explanation for the lack of high ³He/4He in Galapagos Spreading Center lavas erupting in the vicinity of the Galapagos plume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crustal metasomatism by subduction is considered as an important mechanism for generating mantle heterogeneity through infiltration of different metasomatic agents into the mantle. As a consequence of the subduction of oceanic crust (including oceanic basaltic rocks and seafloor sediments), both carbonate and silicate metasomatism are expected to occur at the slab-mantle interface in an oceanic subduction channel. This is demonstrated by an integrated study of major and trace elements, stable Mg-isotopes and radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes in Cenozoic and Mesozoic alkali basalts from the West Qinling orogen, China. Although the two series of continental basalts show ocean island basalt (OIB)-like trace element distribution patterns and relatively depleted Sr- Nd-Hf isotope compositions, they exhibit differences in other geochemical variables. The Cenozoic basalts have low SiO2, but high CaO and MgO concentrations and high CaO/Al2O3 ratios but low d26Mg values of -0.54 to -0.32‰. They have relatively high abundances of melt-mobile incompatible trace elements such as the light rare earth elements (LREE) and most large ion lithophile elements (LILE), but low abundances of K, Pb, Zr, Hf and Ti, with high (La/Yb)N values but low Ti/Eu and Hf/Sm ratios. In contrast, the Mesozoic basalts have relatively high SiO2, but low CaO and MgO concentrations and low CaO/Al2O3 ratios, but high d26Mg values of-0.35 to -0.21‰. They have relatively low abundances of melt-mobile incompatible trace elements such as the LILE and LREE, but are relatively enriched in Zr, Hf and Ti, with low (La/Yb)N values but high Ti/Eu and Hf/Sm ratios. These observations indicate a significant difference in the composition of the mantle sources between the two periods of alkali basalt magmatism. Whereas the low d26Mg values of the Cenozoic basalts indicate the involvement of sedimentary carbonate in their mantle source, the high d26Mg values of the Mesozoic basalts point to a primary contribution from a silicate component. Metasomatic reaction of depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-source mantle peridotite with carbonate and silicate melts, respectively, at the slab-mantle interface in the Paleotethyan oceanic subduction channel are responsible for the generation of their mantle sources. Both carbonate and silicate melts have been incorporated into the depleted MORB-source mantle wedge producing 'crustal metasomatis'm in an oceanic subduction channel. We suggest that the type of metasomatic agent in the mantle sources is the key to the composition of the resultant alkali basalts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plagioclase-bearing ultraphyric basalts, which can have up to 35% accumulative, millimetre-sized plagioclase crystals, were episodically erupted during some stages of building of La Réunion Island volcanoes. Selected rock samples were analysed from the two volcanoes of the island (four samples from Piton des Neiges and two from Piton de la Fournaise). We summarize the results of petrographic and geochemical studies of the whole-rocks and silicate melt inclusions trapped within plagioclase (An84.2-71.7) macrocrysts, which contain aliquots of the parental melts of their hosts. Melt inclusion compositions are used to discuss the origin of La Réunion plagioclasebearing ultraphyric basalts, with special emphasis on the magma storage system that led to their production. Experimentally re-homogenized melt inclusions were analysed by electron microprobe and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for their major and trace elements. Together with the textural observations, these results indicate that the host crystals are inherited, although their parental magma compositions are close to that of the host lava. Petrographic lines of evidence suggest that the plagioclase macrocrysts originate from batches of plagioclase-rich mush or fragments of anorthositic gabbro ripped from the magma chamber walls. The parental melts of the plagioclases evolve predominantly by clinopyroxene+plagioclase crystallization. The density contrasts between minerals and liquid allow their efficient segregation. We propose that plagioclases are collected below the magma chamber roof as a flotation cumulate, thereby forming plagioclase-rich mush and anorthositic gabbro, whereas clinopyroxenes sink. The plagioclase-ultraphyric basalts are derived from the remobilization of this mush, or fragments of the anorthositic cumulate, upon the input of a new batch of magma that triggers their eruption. We postulate that the periodic occurrence of these striking basalts during specific periods of the volcano's growth corresponds to decreases in the magma supply, which promoted plagioclase crystallization and its segregation by flotation. Finally, we suggest that the plagioclase-ultraphyric basalts from the Riviè re des Remparts and Riviè re de l'Est valleys, previously regarded as components of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, are instead products of the declining activity of an older volcano, possibly Les Alizé s volcano. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of the mineralogical and chemical modifications of peridotite xenoliths during magma transport and cooling at the Earth's surface. The xenoliths are entrained in three small-volume (<1 km3), monogenetic, Miocene-Oligocene, basanite domes in the Moesian Platform, north Bulgaria, arranged along a NNE-directed right-lateral strike-slip fault. The domes show symmetrically decreasing volumes of erupted magma correlated with the size and quantity of the entrained xenoliths, according to their position along the fault. The xenoliths exhibit different degrees of mineralogical and chemical interaction with their host rocks, with the extent of interaction strongly depending on their position in the dome. Xenoliths from the fine-grained brecciated carapaces of the domes show very thin, fine-grained, reaction rims around orthopyroxene and spinel, and thin diffusion zones around olivine, limited mostly to the rims of the xenoliths. Clinopyroxene shows almost no visible reaction and is always strongly depleted in light rare earth elements (LREE) and Sr. Melt pockets in the xenoliths are small, composed mostly of fine-grained olivine and clinopyroxene. Modelling of Fe-Mg zoning in olivine suggests a very short residence time of a few days in the magma during transport and fast cooling at the Earth's surface. In contrast, xenoliths from the interior of the domes, hosted in holocrystalline groundmass, are much more strongly affected by the host basanite magma. Their constituent minerals have wider reaction rims around orthopyroxene, sometimes leading to its entire consumption, and show transformation of spinel into chromite. Fe-Mg diffusion profiles in olivine are up to 400 μm wide and calculations indicate diffusion times up to 200 days, recording protracted cooling in the inner part of the dome. Melt pockets are much larger and coarser-grained, composed of minerals identical to the host groundmass. With few exceptions, clinopyroxene is sieve-textured and shows variable enrichment in LREE and Sr, ranging from several times higher than in the depleted xenoliths to complete equilibration with the host basanite. Strongly veined xenoliths show stronger chemical modifications, facilitated by infiltrated melt, which also progressively increase depending on the position of the xenoliths in the dome. The most enriched xenoliths from the core of the dome exhibit large inter- and intra-grain variations in Sr and LREE. Our study demonstrates that chemical and mineral modifications, although starting at the time of entrainment of the xenoliths at mantle depths, were completed mostly during their residence in the magma at the surface. The reaction phenomena are the result of post-entrainment partial melting, and reactions between xenolith minerals and infiltrated fluids and melts from the host basalts. The large inter- and intra-crystal chemical variations in a single xenolith suggest that reactions strongly depend on the access of fluids and melts (permeability) in different parts of the xenoliths. The results of this study allow us to introduce the term 'host basalt metasomatism' for those mantle xenoliths that have undergone chemical alteration at or near the surface during cooling of the host magma. Comparison with xenoliths stored in large-scale magmatic systems under La Palma (Canary Islands) shows that, although the products of interaction between xenoliths and host rocks are similar, there are considerable differences in the mechanism of entrainment, depth and longevity of the reactions between small-volume and large-scale magmatic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion (ELI) is the product of part of an ~60 Ma open-system magma chamber. The 16 coupled peridotite-troctolite ± gabbro macro-rhythmic units it contains represent crystallization of multiple batches of basaltic and picritic magma. Within the ELI, Unit 10 has been considered the type example of batch fractionation of magma on Rum for more than 50 years, successively producing peridotite, troctolite and olivine gabbro. Detailed field observations and logs of the Unit 10 peridotite cumulate are presented here, together with mineralogical and textural analyses of Cr-spinel seams and their peridotite host-rocks. Numerous harrisite layers are commonly associated with diffuse, laterally discontinuous, platinum-group element (PGE) enriched Cr-spinel seams. Multiple millimetre- to centimetre-thick Cr-spinel seams occur at the bases and tops and within harrisite layers. These relationships are inconsistent with simple batch fractionation of magma. Critically, the harrisite layers also exhibit centimetre- to metre-scale, upward oriented apophyses that point to injection of magma into the overlying cumulate, indicating an intrusive origin for the harrisite. Quantitative textural and chemical analysis suggests that the Cr-spinel seams formed via in situ crystallization within the crystal mush together with intrusive peridotites from an assimilation reaction between the replenishing magma and peridotitic crystal mush. Intrusive magma replenishment in Unit 10 caused significant compositional disequilibrium between the crystallizing phases in response to the postcumulus migration of reactive liquid, resulting in chemical zoning of intercumulus plagioclase crystals. We propose that the Unit 10 peridotite is intrusive and that repeated small-volume magma replenishments are responsible for incremental construction of a large proportion of the peridotite body, similar to recent interpretations of parts of Unit 12 and Unit 14. Moreover, it is suggested that some or all of the injections of magma occurred into the crystal mush, rather than at the magma chamber floor. This new model of intra-mush Cr-spinel formation may have significant economic implications for PGE enrichment in other layered intrusions, such as the peridotite-hosted chromitites of the Stillwater Complex Ultramafic Series (Montana, USA). It is also worth noting that thin platiniferous chromitite seams considered to have formed in situ occur below the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex (South Africa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand fully the role of amphibole in the fractionation of Nb/Ta during arc magma evolution, we conducted experiments with mid-K and high-K basalts to determine amphibole/melt Nb, Ta and Ti partition coefficients (DNb, DTa and DTi) at variable conditions of bulk TiO2, P, T, H2O and fO2. The experimental results show that, at crustal pressures, amphibole is the most important crystalline phase in hydrous basaltic systems. The amphibole/melt Nb, Ta, and Ti partitioning results are 0.16-0.90 for DNb, 0.13-0.68 for DTa, 1.81-10.63 for DTi and 0.76-2.81 for DNb/DTa. Bulk TiO2 and fO2 show no observable effects. T and H2O, in addition to the compositions of amphibole and melt, are the main affecting factors. DNb, DTa, DTi and DNb/DTa increase with decreasing temperature, amphibole Mg# and melt H2O content and increasing melt polymerization. During cooling and crystallization of arc magmas at crustal pressures, amphibole Mg# decreases and melt polymerization increases, leading to significant increase in amphibole/melt DNb, DTi and DNb/DTa. Nb/Ta fractionation in evolved melts will thus be enhanced with crystallization progress. Meanwhile, melt H2O content will increase with the degree of crystallization, which slows down the increase in these D values. Therefore, the trend and extent of Nb/Ta fractionation in the melt by amphibole critically depends on temperature and melt H2O content. Only low temperatures or low H2O contents at high temperatures lead to high D values. For arc magmas with an average H2O of ~3.9wt %, DNb and DNb/DTa are in general >0.40 and >1.20, respectively, which explains why amphibole fractionation results in lower Nb/Ta ratios in evolved arc magmas. The bulk Nb/Ta fractionation trend during arc magma evolution appears to be generally controlled by fractional crystallization of amphibole. Experimental and modeling results suggest that amphibole is a main fractionating phase during arc magma evolution and continental crust formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]