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Water occurs in Earth's interior mostly as trace hydroxyl in nominally anhydrous minerals. Clinopyroxene is known to be an important water carrier in the uppermost mantle, and eclogite, which forms a subordinate part of the cratonic lithosphere, contains some 50% of jadeite-rich clinopyroxene, making this potentially a significant H2O reservoir in the bulk lithospheric mantle. Mantle metasomatism, in particular by small-volume melts like kimberlite, is known to enrich the lithosphere in highly incompatible components, but its effect on H2O contents in cratonic eclogite remains unclear. We report H2O concentrations for clinopyroxene and garnet in eclogite and pyroxenite xenoliths from several African kimberlites, obtained by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Except one sample showing evidence for minor within-grain variability of H2O concentrations (< 15%), FTIR images demonstrate that H2O is homogeneously distributed in optically clear areas of clinopyroxene fragments mounted for this study. The samples were variably metasomatised by a kimberlite-like melt, as evidenced by elevated MgO contents and abundances of highly incompatible elements (e.g., Sr, Ce, Th). Although metasomatised eclogites and pyroxenites on average show higher H2O abundances than pristine ones, mantle metasomatism decreases the Al2O3 content in clinopyroxene, which is known to enhance hydrogen incorporation in this mineral. As a consequence, hydrogen incorporation is inhibited, and c(H2O) becomes increasingly decoupled from other highly incompatible components, such as LREE. Thus, eclogite – metasomatised or not - does not significantly contribute to the H2O inventory in the bulk cratonic mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemistry and mineralogy of slabs subducted into lower mantle control slab rheology and impact the deep volatile cycle. It is known that the metamorphism of little-altered oceanic crust results in eclogite rocks with subequal proportions of garnet and clinopyroxene. With increasing pressure, these minerals react to stabilize pyrope-rich tetragonal majoritic garnet. However, some eclogites contain higher proportions of omphacitic clinopyroxene, caused by Na- and Si-rich metasomatism on the ocean floor or during subduction. The mineralogy of such eclogites is expected to evolve differently. Here, we discuss the results of the crystallization products of omphacitic glass at ~ 18 and ~ 25 GPa and 1000 °C to simulate P–T regimes of cold subduction. The full characterization of the recovered samples indicates evidence of crystallization of Na-, Si-rich cubic instead of tetragonal majorite. This cubic majorite can incorporate large amounts of ferric iron, promoting redox reactions with surrounding volatile-bearing fluids and, ultimately, diamond formation. In addition, the occurrence of cubic majorite in the slab would affect the local density, favoring the continued buoyancy of the slab as previously proposed by seismic observations. Attention must be paid to omphacitic inclusions in sublithospheric diamonds as these might have experienced back-transformation from the HP isochemical cubic phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cratonic eclogite is the product of oceanic crust subduction into the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, and it also is a fertile diamond source rock. In contrast to matrix minerals in magma-borne xenoliths, inclusions in diamond are shielded from external fluids, retaining more pristine information on the state of the eclogite source at the time of encapsulation. Vanadium is a multi-valent element and a widely used elemental redox proxy. Here, we show that that xenolithic garnet has lower average V abundances than garnet inclusions. This partly reflects crystal-chemical controls, whereby higher average temperatures recorded by inclusions, accompanied by enhanced Na2O and TiO2 partitioning into garnet, facilitate V incorporation at the expense of clinopyroxene. Unexpectedly, although diamond formation is strongly linked to metasomatism and xenoliths remained open systems, V concentrations are similar for bulk eclogites reconstructed from inclusions and from xenoliths. This suggests an oxygen-conserving mechanism for eclogitic diamond formation, and implies that eclogite is an efficient system to buffer fO2 over aeons of lithospheric mantle modification by subduction-derived and other fluids. Billions of years ago, pieces of subducted oceanic crust were trapped as eclogites in the mantle keels beneath continents. Comparing eclogitic minerals protected inside and evolving outside of ancient diamonds reveals no change in redox state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin and evolution of subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) are important issues of Earth's chemical and physical evolution. Here, we report detailed textural and chemical analyses on a mantle xenolith suite from Befang (Oku Volcanic Group, Cameroon Volcanic Line), which represents a major tectono-magmatic structure of the African plate. The samples are sourced from spinel-facies mantle and are dominated by lherzolites. Their texture is cataclastic to porphyroclastic, and foliation defined by grain-size variation and alignment of spinel occurs in part of peridotites. Spinel is interstitial and has amoeboidal shape. Clinopyroxene REE patterns are similar to those of Depleted MORB Mantle (DMM) except LREEs, which vary from depleted to enriched. The A-type olivine fabric occurs in the subset of one harzburgite and 7 lherzolites studied by EBSD. Orthopyroxene shows deformation consistent with olivine. The fabric of LREE-enriched clinopyroxene is equivalent to those of orthopyroxene and olivine, whereas spinel and LREE-depleted clinopyroxene are oriented independently of host rock fabric. The textural, chemical and thermobarometric constraints indicate that the Befang mantle section was refertilised by MORB-like melt at pressures of 1.0–1.4 GPa and temperatures slightly above 1200–1275 °C. The olivine-orthopyroxene framework and LREE-enriched clinopyroxene preserve the protolith fabric. In contrast, the LREE-depleted clinopyroxene, showing discordant deformation relative to the olivine-orthopyroxene protolith framework, and amoeboidal spinel crystallized from the infiltrating melt. The major element and REEs composition of minerals forming the Befang peridotites indicate subsequent reequilibration at temperatures 930–1000 °C. This was followed by the formation of websterite veins in the lithospheric mantle, which can be linked to Cenozoic volcanism in the Cameroon Volcanic Line that also brought the xenoliths to the surface. This study therefore supports the origin of fertile SCLM via refertilization rather than by extraction of small melt fractions, and further emphasizes the involvement of depleted melts in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) is an intensive variable implicated in a range of processes that have shaped the Earth system, but there is controversy on the timing and rate of oxidation of the uppermost convecting mantle to its present ƒO2 around the fayalite-magnetite-quartz oxygen buffer. Here, we report Fe3+/ΣFe and ƒO2 for ancient eclogite xenoliths with oceanic crustal protoliths that sampled the coeval ambient convecting mantle. Using new and published data, we demonstrate that in these eclogites, two redox proxies, V/Sc and Fe3+/ΣFe, behave sympathetically, despite different responses of their protoliths to differentiation and post-formation degassing, seawater alteration, devolatilisation and partial melting, testifying to an unexpected robustness of Fe3+/ΣFe. Therefore, these processes, while causing significant scatter, did not completely obliterate the underlying convecting mantle signal. Considering only unmetasomatised samples with non-cumulate and little-differentiated protoliths, V/Sc and Fe3+/ΣFe in two Archaean eclogite suites are significantly lower than those of modern mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), while a third suite has ratios similar to modern MORB, indicating redox heterogeneity. Another major finding is the predominantly low though variable estimated ƒO2 of eclogite at mantle depths, which does not permit stabilisation of CO2-dominated fluids or pure carbonatite melts. Conversely, low-ƒO2 eclogite may have caused efficient reduction of CO2 in fluids and melts generated in other portions of ancient subducting slabs, consistent with eclogitic diamond formation ages, the disproportionate frequency of eclogitic diamonds relative to the subordinate abundance of eclogite in the mantle lithosphere and the general absence of carbonate in mantle eclogite. This indicates carbon recycling at least to depths of diamond stability and may have represented a significant pathway for carbon ingassing through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jurassic Victor kimberlite (Attawapiskat Field) was emplaced into an area of the central Superior Craton that was affected by a lithosphere-scale thermal event at ~1.1 Ga. Victor diamonds formed ca. 400 million years after this event, in a lithospheric mantle characterized by an unusually cool model geotherm (37-38 mW/m2; Hasterok and Chapman 2011). The bulk of Victor diamonds derives from a thin (<10 km thick) layer that is located at about 180 km depth and represents lherzolitic substrates (for 85% of diamonds). Geothermobarometric calculations (average pressure and temperature at the 1 sigma level are 57 ± 2 kbar and 1129 ± 16 °C) coupled with typical fluid metasomatism-associated trace element patterns for garnet inclusions indicate diamond precipitation under sub-solidus (lherzolite + H2O) conditions. This conclusion links the presence of a diamond-rich lherzolitic layer in the lithospheric mantle, just above the depth where ascending melts would freeze, to the unusually low paleogeotherm beneath Attawapiskat, because along an average cratonic geotherm (40 mW/m2) lherzolite in the presence of hydrous fluid would melt at depths >140 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium occurs in multiple valence states in nature, whereas Nb is exclusively pentavalent. Both are compatible in rutile, but the relationship of V-Nb partitioning and dependence on oxygen fugacity (expressed as fO) has not yet been systematically investigated. We acquired trace-element concentrations on rutile grains ( n = 86) in nine eclogitic samples from the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and combined them with published results in order to assess the direct and indirect effects of oxygen fugacity on the partitioning of V and Nb into rutile. A well-defined negative correlation between Nb (7-1,200 ppm) and V concentrations (50-3,200 ppm) was found, documenting a competitive relationship in the rutile crystal that does not appear to be controlled by bulk rock or mineral compositions. Based on the published relationship of D and V valence with ∆QFM, we suggest that the priority order of V incorporation into rutile is V > V > V. The inferred Nb-V competitive relationship in rutile from the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt could be explained by decreasing fO due to dehydration reactions involving loss of oxidizing fluids during continental subduction: The increased proportion of V (expressed as V/∑V) and attendant decrease in D is suggested to lead to an increase in rutile lattice sites available for Nb. A similar effect may be observed under more oxidizing conditions. When V/∑V increases, D shows a dramatic decline and Nb concentration increases considerably. This is possibly documented by rutile in highly metasomatized and oxidized MARID-type (MARID: mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside) mantle xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton, which also show a negative V-Nb covariation. In addition, their Nb/Ta covaries with V concentrations: For V concentrations <1,250 ppm, Nb/Ta ranges between 35 and 45, whereas for V > 1,250 ppm, Nb/Ta is considerably lower (5-15). This relationship is mainly controlled by a change in Nb concentrations, suggesting that the indirect dependence of D on fO, which is not mirrored in D, can exert considerable influence on rutile Nb-Ta fractionation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New trace-element data of rutile in kimberlite-borne ~1.85 Ga eclogite and pyroxenite xenoliths from the central Slave craton, as well as ~110 Ma MARID xenoliths from the Kaapvaal craton, provide constraints on the origins of lithospheric and sublithospheric mantle variability in high field strength element ratios. Rutiles in eclogites and pyroxenites have Zr/Hf ranging from 20 to 62 and Nb/Ta ranging from 10 to 40. Rutiles in MARID xenoliths have Zr/Hf from 24 to 33 and Nb/Ta from 10 to 41. Calculated whole-rock Zr/Hf is suprachondritic for eclogites with suggested gabbroic protoliths and subchondritic for boninite-like eclogites; the latter is consistent with cpx-controlled depletion in the protolith source. Within each eclogite type, positive correlations of Zr/Hf with La/Lu and negative correlations with Lu/Hf likely reflect fractionation of cpx and/or plagioclase during crystallisation of the protoliths. Zr/Hf-Nb/Ta relationships of some MARID-type rocks, which are products of lithospheric mantle metasomatism, and eclogite xenoliths plot on a silicate differentiation trend, whereas other samples have higher Nb/Ta at a given Zr/Hf. Fractionation of a few percent rutile from an HFSE-rich mafic melt can generate a trend towards strongly increased Nb/Ta at minimally changed Zr/Hf in the residual melt. Superposition of rutile fractionation on the effects of silicate differentiation, which fractionates Zr/Hf more strongly than Nb/Ta, can explain the Zr/Hf-Nb/Ta relationships of most eclogites from the central Slave craton as well as those of MARID rocks, metasomatised peridotites and group II kimberlites. By contrast, Zr/Hf-Nb/Ta relationships suggest that Group I kimberlites are mixtures between depleted peridotite and carbonatite. Thus, high Nb/Ta is a signature of lithospheric processes and may not be important in deeply subducted eclogites that bypass extended residence in the lithosphere. Conversely, considerable primary Zr/Hf variability was inherited by the eclogites, which is indicative of the compositional diversity of ancient subducted oceanic crust, which is expected to have generated substantial heterogeneity in sublithospheric basalt sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peridotitic sulphide inclusions in diamonds from the central Slave craton constrain the age and origin of their subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) sources. These sulphides align with either a ca. 3.5 Ga (shallow SCLM) or a ca. 3.3 Ga isochron (deep SCLM) on a Re-Os ischron diagram, with variably enriched initial Os/Os. Since some Archaean to recent plume-derived melts carry a subducted crust (eclogite) signature and some cratonic SCLM may have been generated in plumes by extraction of komatiitic liquids, we explain these data by subduction of evolved lithospheric material (shallow SCLM) and melting in a hybrid mantle plume that contains domains of recycled eclogite (deep SCLM), respectively. In upwelling hybrid mantle, eclogite-derived melts react with olivine in surrounding peridotites to form aluminous orthopyroxene, convert peridotite to pyroxenite and confer their crustal isotope signatures. We suggest that it is subsequent to orthopyroxene enrichment of peridotite in an upwelling plume that partial melting of this Al- and Si- enriched source generated komatiites and complementary ultradepleted cratonic mantle residues. Although subduction is needed to explain some cratonic features, melting of a hybrid plume source satisfies several key observations: (1) suprachondritic initial Os/Os in subsets of lithospheric mantle samples and in some coeval Archaean komatiites; (2) variable enrichment of cratonic mantle by high-temperature aluminous orthopyroxene; (3) high Mg# combined with high orthopyroxene content in cratonic mantle due to higher melt productivity of an Al- and Si-richer source; (4) variable orthopyroxene enrichment possibly linked to varying mantle potential temperatures (Tp), plume buoyancy and resultant eclogite load and/or variable availability of subducted material in the source; and (5) absence of younger analogues due to a secular decrease in Tp. Most importantly, this model also alleviates a mass balance problem, because it predicts a hybrid mantle source with variably higher SiO and AlO than primitive mantle, and, contrary to a primitive mantle source, is able to reconcile compositions of komatiites and complementary cratonic mantle residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfide inclusions in diamonds from the 90-Ma Jagersfontein kimberlite, intruded into the southern margin of the Kaapvaal Craton, were analyzed for their Re–Os isotope systematics to constrain the ages and petrogenesis of their host diamonds. The latter have δ13C ranging between −3.5 and −9.8‰ and nitrogen aggregation states (from pure Type IaA up to 51% total N as B centers) corresponding to time/temperature history deep within the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Most sulfides are Ni-poor ([Ni + Co]/Fe = 0.05–0.25 for 15 of 17 inclusions), have elevated Cu/[Fe + Ni + Co] ratios (0.02–0.36) and elemental Re–Os ratios between 0.5 and 46 (12 of 14 inclusions) typical of eclogitic to more pyroxenitic mantle sources. Re–Os isotope systematics indicate two generations of diamonds: (1) those on a 1.7 Ga age array with initial 187Os/188Os (187Os/188Osi) of 0.46 ± 0.07 and (2) those on a 1.1 Ga array with 187Os/188Osi of 0.30 ± 0.11. The radiogenic initial Os isotopic composition for both generations of diamond suggests that components with high time-integrated Re–Os are involved, potentially by remobilization of ancient subducted oceanic crust and hybridization of peridotite. A single sulfide with higher Os and Ni content but significantly lower 187Os/188Os hosted in a diamond with less aggregated N may represent part of a late generation of peridotitic diamonds. The paucity of peridotitic sulfide inclusions in diamonds from Jagersfontein and other kimberlites from the Kaapvaal craton contrasts with an overall high relative abundance of diamonds with peridotitic silicate inclusions. This may relate to extreme depletion and sulfur exhaustion during formation of the Kaapvaal cratonic root, with the consequence that in peridotites, sulfide-included diamonds could only form during later re-introduction of sulfur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium concentrations and isotopic compositions of olivine and 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd of coexisting clinopyroxene from peridotite xenoliths from the Quaternary Labait volcano, Tanzania, document the influence of rift-related metasomatism on the ancient cratonic mantle. Olivines show negative correlations between Fo content and both δ7Li and Li concentrations. Olivines in iron-rich peridotites (Fo85–87) have high Li concentrations (3.2–4.8 ppm) and heavy δ7Li (+5.2 to +6.6). In contrast, olivines in ancient, refractory peridotites have lower Li concentrations (∼2 ppm) and relatively light δ7Li (+2.6 to +3.5). This reflects mixing between ancient, refractory cratonic lithosphere and asthenosphere-derived rift magmas. A uniquely fertile, deformed, high-temperature garnet lherzolite, interpreted to be from the base of the lithosphere, has a 87Sr/86Sr of 0.7029 and 143Nd/144Nd of 0.51286, similar to HIMU oceanic basalts. It provides the best estimate of the Sr–Nd isotope composition of the upwelling mantle (i.e., plume, sensu lato) underlying this portion of the East African Rift, and is slightly less radiogenic compared to previous estimates of the plume that were based on rift basalts. Although elevated δ7Li are not exclusive to HIMU source regions, the data collectively indicate that the plume beneath Labait has HIMU characteristics in Sr, Nd and Li isotope composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major-element compositions of minerals in peridotite xenoliths from the Lac de Gras kimberlites provide constraints on the mode of lithosphere formation beneath the central Slave Craton, Canada. Magnesia contents of reconstructed whole rocks correlate positively with NiO and negatively with CaO contents, consistent with variable partial melt extraction. Alumina and Cr2O3 contents are broadly positively correlated, suggestive of melt depletion in the absence of a Cr–Al phase. Garnet modes are high at a given Al2O3 content (a proxy for melt depletion), falling about a 7 GPa melt depletion model. These observations, combined with high olivine Mg# and major-element relationships of FeO-poor peridotites (<7.5 wt%) indicative of melt loss at pressures >3 GPa (residual FeO content being a sensitive indicator of melt extraction pressure), and similar high pressures of last equilibration (∼4.2 to 5.8 GPa), provide multiple lines of evidence that the mantle beneath the central Slave Craton has originated as a residue from high-pressure melting, possibly during plume subcretion. Apparent low melt depletion pressures for high-FeO peridotites (>7.5 wt%) could suggest formation in an oceanic setting, followed by subduction to their depth of entrainment. However, these rocks, which are characterised by low SiO2 contents (<43 wt%), are more likely to be the result of post-melting FeO-addition, leading to spuriously low estimates of melt extraction pressures. They may have reacted with a silica-undersaturated melt that dissolved orthopyroxene, or experienced olivine injection by crystallising melts. A secular FeO-enrichment of parts of the deep mantle lithosphere is supported by lower average Mg# in xenolithic olivine (91.7) compared to olivine inclusions in diamond (92.6). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the trace-element concentrations in eclogitic and websteritic inclusions in diamonds from Venetia in South Africa. Use of ion microprobe; Similarities in the slopes of garnets from different parageneses; Occurrence of negative and positive europium anomalies.

The behavior of sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) in extensional settings, up to successful rifting, plays an important role in geodynamics and in the global carbon cycle, yet the underlying processes and rates of lithosphere destruction remain poorly constrained. We determined platinum-group element (PGE: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, and Pd) abundances and Re–Os-isotope systematics for well-characterized mantle xenoliths hosted in Cenozoic basalts from the northwestern plateau (Gundeweyn area) and southern rift zone (Dillo and Megado areas) of Ethiopia to provide new insights on the nature and timing of processes leading to the formation and transformation of the off-cratonic lithospheric mantle beneath the East Africa rift system (EARS). The whole-rock PGE concentrations are highly variable, with total PGE abundances ranging from 6.6 to 12.6 ppb for Gundeweyn, 11.5 to 23.3 ppb for Dillo, and 9.9 to 19.4 ppb for Megado mantle xenoliths. The 187Os/188Os ratios of the whole-rock mantle xenoliths vary from 0.1180 to 0.1287 for Gundeweyn, 0.1238 to 0.1410 for Dillo and 0.1165 to 0.1277 for Megado, compared to 0.130 for the Afar plume and ≥ 0.14 for the Kenya plume, with Re depletion ages up to 1.45 Ga for Gundeweyn, 0.64 Ga for Dillo, and 1.65 Ga for Megado mantle xenoliths. The regional differences between refertilizing agents recorded in mantle xenoliths from the plateau area and the rift systems reflect distinct tectonomagmatic settings: (1) low PGE abundances, with some retention of low 187Os/188Os in Gundeweyn peridotites, are ascribed to scavenging by early small-volume oxidizing melts, generated in the convecting mantle ahead of the arrival of the Afar plume. (2) Percolation of late-stage silicate/basaltic melts, associated with the arrival of hot mantle plume and lithosphere thinning in the rift setting, locally led to refertilization and sulfide precipitation and partial replenishment of the PGE (Dillo), with convecting mantle-like 187Os/188Os. Local enclaves of older, cryptically metasomatised mantle with unradiogenic Os (Megado) attest to the heterogeneous nature of melt–peridotite interaction at this stage (pervasive vs. focused melt flow). Highly depleted abundances of the compatible PGE are characteristic of SCLM affected by incipient rifting and percolation of oxidizing melts, here associated with the Afar and Kenya plume beneath the East Africa rift, and may be precursors to advanced degrees of lithosphere destruction/transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern North China Craton (NCC), where an initially diamondiferous deep cratonic mantle root was lost during Paleozoic and Mesozoic time, represents a prime natural laboratory to study the processes and mechanisms of continental lithospheric mantle destruction and replacement, which remain, however, controversial. In this study, detailed petrography, whole-rock and mineral compositions of spinel-facies peridotite xenoliths from Cenozoic basalts in the Huinan area, northeastern NCC, are presented to provide new constraints on the transformation of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). These xenoliths define two groups based on textural observation and mineral modes: Group 1 peridotites show protogranular textures and consist of harzburgites and dunites. They have low Al2O3 contents in whole-rock and orthopyroxene (0.53-1.06 wt.% and 2.10-3.21 wt.%, respectively), high olivine modes (79-96%), whole-rock MgO (44.8-47.9 wt.%) and Mg# (100 Mg/(Mg + FeT) molar: 90.1-90.7), suggesting that they were derived from moderately refractory SCLM. In contrast, Group 2 xenoliths display porphyroclastic to protogranular textures and consist of lherzolites and harzburgites with rare spinel-pyroxene intergrowths. They have overall higher Al2O3 (1.48-3.23 wt.% and 3.02-4.65 wt.%, respectively) in whole-rock and orthopyroxene, lower olivine modes (64-83%), MgO (38.6-44.5 wt.%) and whole-rock Mg# values 87.6-90.1, and they may represent fertile SCLM. Peridotites of both groups have similar equilibration temperatures (i.e., 923-977 °C and 881-1110 °C, respectively), which are not correlated with Mg# in olivines, suggesting that they coexist over a range of depths. However, clinopyroxenes in the Group 1 xenoliths display LREE-enriched and convex-upward REE patterns, whereas those in Group 2 mainly show LREE-depleted and spoon-shaped REE patterns, with minor LREE-enriched and convex-upward ones. In addition, spinel-pyroxene intergrowths indicative of garnet destabilization are ubiquitous in Group 1, consistent with variable Al2O3 over a narrow range of Mg# in some opx and low HREE in some cpx, but rare in Group 2 peridotites. Interaction of the fertile mantle with melts similar to the Cenozoic basalts at high melt-rock ratios eradicated most signatures of their origin in the garnet stability field, whereas the refractory peridotites, which reacted with residual melts or fluids at low melt/fluid-rock ratios, retained evidence for the former presence of garnet. We suggest that, combined, these observations are best reconciled if portions of ancient refractory lithosphere, which were partly delaminated during multiple subduction episodes affecting the eastern NCC, were re-accreted together with fertile mantle during asthenospheric upwelling driven by extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report highly siderophile element (HSE) abundances and Re-Os isotope compositions, obtained by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, of olivine separates from a suite of multiply metasomatised peridotite xenoliths entrained in kimberlites from SW Greenland. Combined with petrographic and compositional observations on accessory base metal sulphides (BMS), the results reveal new insights into the chemical, physical and mineralogical effects of multi-stage rifting and associated melt percolation on the Archaean lithospheric mantle. Refertilised lherzolites are dominated by rare to frequent small (tens of µm) BMS inclusions in olivine, whereas modally metasomatised phlogopite-bearing lherzolite and wehrlites have higher proportions of more Ni-rich BMS, including abundant large interstitial grains (hundreds of µm). The olivine separates display depleted HSE systematics with Primitive Upper Mantle (PUM)-normalised Pd/Ir of 0.014-0.62, and have both depleted and enriched 187Os/188Os (0.1139-0.2724) relative to chondrite that are not correlated with 187Re/188Os. Four out of ten olivine separates retain similarly depleted Os corresponding to Re-depletion model ages of 2.1-1.8 Ga. They may reflect Palaeoproterozoic refertilisation (lherzolitisation) during Laurentia plate assembly, with re-introduction of clinopyroxene and Os-rich BMS into the originally refractory mantle lithosphere by asthenosphere-derived basaltic melts, followed by recrystallisation and occlusion in olivine. Unradiogenic Os is observed regardless of lithology, including from peridotites that contain abundant interstitial BMS. This reflects addition of Os-poor BMS (<< 1 ppm) during more recent wehrlitisation and phlogopite-introduction, and control of the Os isotopic signature by older Os-rich BMS that precipitated from the basaltic melt. Depletions in compatible HSE (< 0.5 × PUM for Ru, Ir, Os) in all but one olivine separate reflect nugget effects (amount of depleted vs. metasomatic BMS inclusions) and/or loss due to sulphide dissolution into oxidising small-volume melts that invaded the lithosphere during recurrent rifting, the latter supported by similar depletions in published bulk peridotite data. Combined, these multiple metasomatic events destroyed all vestiges of Mesoarchaean or older inheritance in the olivine separates investigated here, and highlight that caution is needed when interpreting Proterozoic Os model ages in terms of Proterozoic lithosphere stabilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]